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#a proper ficlet this time
tj-dragonblade · 1 year
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FLUFFBRUARY 2023: Feb 4
Prompts: daydream snow rest
On AO3
"What's wrong, love?"
Dream glanced again at the table across the pub, off to Hob's right, and his expression soured a little further. "That student is. Daydreaming, of me."
Oh? Curious, Hob snuck a surreptitious look; there was a young person at the table in question with books and papers spread around them, doing schoolwork to all appearances, but apparently their focus was not so single-minded as it might appear.
He looked back to Dream. "No harm in that, is there? Unless." He frowned. "Are they imagining violence?"
"No. They perceive my form as pleasing, and they would imagine themselves my lover."
Ah. "Don't tell me you're offended that a lowly mortal dares dream of one such as you?" He was joking, mostly, poking at wounds far enough in the past that he could lend them a little levity, but also he couldn't be entirely sure that wasn't why Dream looked so broody.
But Dream shook his head, a spare movement to one side and back. "It is not...offense. These thoughts are private so far as they know, and it would be a poor thing indeed, to. Police, the fantasies of others."
"Then what is it, dove?"
"...I would not enjoy it, the way they dream of touching me. The things they wish to do with me. And it is...discomfiting, to be subjected to it."
That made sense, actually, though Hob couldn't say he'd ever thought of it before. "So is it, ah...discomfiting, when you catch wind of my daydreams?"
The corner of Dream's mouth tilted up. "No, Hob. Yours are welcome; yours are pleasing. I wish to share intimacy with you, and you are well acquainted with the many ways that I enjoy it."
"So mostly it's because they're a stranger, but having, ah. Extremely familiar thoughts about you?"
"...Yes."
"Can't you just, I don't know, cut it off? Take it away? Make them stop?"
Dream frowned. "It would be an egregious abuse of my duty, to banish a daydream simply because I mislike it." Unspoken was the implication that once upon a time he would not have hesitated, but he was trying to be better these days.
Hob nodded in sympathy. "Want to get out of here, then?"
Dream, surprisingly, again shook his head. "This is our tradition, Hob. I would not give it up simply because I am uncomfortable."
No matter how often they were seeing one another these days, June 7th they always met here at their table in the New Inn (every year, now!), a standing date in honor of their history. Hob was absurdly touched that Dream counted that the most important factor at the moment. He smiled, slow and warm, all the love he held for this marvelous creature before him curling soft in his chest. "Well." He reached to touch Dream's hand across the table between them, light and affectionate, curling their fingers together. He rested his chin in his other hand, elbow propped on the table, and gazed at Dream with half-lidded eyes. "I guess I'll just have to distract you, then."
Dream arched an eyebrow, his expression shifting into something that Hob would've labeled 'resignedly curious'. Probably thought Hob meant to out-sexy the stranger across the pub. Well, hah. Hob knew how to read a room, thank you very much, and he could tell that would not be the most effective approach right now.
He settled into his own mind, collecting himself to craft a proper daydream. Idle thoughts and fleeting images weren't enough; it had to be spun with focus for Dream to see it easily. So he focused—on the slender hand clasped in his, the crystal blue eyes watching him—and he imagined.
The day was warm out, a bit muggy, and the fans were struggling to make a difference, so...maybe something completely opposite, then. A nice cozy little cabin, tucked away in the mountains, snowed in and secluded. A cheery fire, burning bright in the hearth. A plush sofa, big enough and soft enough that he could snuggle back into the corner of it with his legs up along the length and Dream nestled in between them, back to chest. An anthology book in his hand, semi-forgotten, as Dream told him about how the stories within had been conceived and written and brought into being. A quiet evening resting in each other's company, Hob listening spellbound to Dream waxing rhapsodic about these aspects of his duty that he loved best.
Hob blinked, keeping the daydream active in the back of his mind as he focused on Dream before him again.
Dream was staring at him, eyes shining and red-rimmed, mouth curving up in a brilliant-if-slightly-watery smile. "Hob." He squeezed Hob's hand gently.
Hob squeezed in return. "Better?"
Miraculously, Dream's pending tears stayed put through a fluttering blink. "Yes. Thank you."
Hob smiled softly, brushed his thumb over the back of Dream's knuckles. "'Course, dove. Anytime."
And in the daydream, he threaded his fingers through Dream's hair to keep him close against his chest, bowed to press a tender kiss to the crown of Dream's head, basking in the warmth of the moment shared.
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xenon-demon · 11 months
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only one (1) coherent thought in my skull right now and it’s domestic steddie with Steve washing Eddie’s hair after he’s discharged from hospital post-Vecna.
I’m imagining Eddie’s being discharged to Steve’s house, because Steve is but a simple man with a saviour complex (and also a crush on Eddie) so he’s letting Wayne and Eddie stay with him. Partly so they have somewhere to be while the government sorts out some new housing for them, but mostly because Eddie needs support for these first few weeks out of hospital and Wayne is away at work a lot. Having Steve around as well means Eddie won’t end up in a situation where he needs a hand but is stuck home alone for hours.
Eddie’s recovered enough for discharge but still requires a lot of physical therapy, and one of the things he still can’t do is raise his arms above his head. He can’t wash his hair pretty much at all, and while the nurses washed it for him in hospital, they didn’t do it frequently enough for Eddie’s standards. His hair has been driving him insane, as the limp, greasy feeling against his face, neck and scalp makes him want to claw his skin off. When he’s told how long it’s expected to take before his arms have full range of motion again, he makes a joke-that’s-not-really-a-joke about going back to his buzzcut days just to avoid dealing with the feeling.
Steve is horrified at the suggestion, and immediately offers to wash Eddie’s hair for him. He also divulges that part of the reason he styled his hair the way he did in high school was because he played a lot of sports, and couldn’t stand the feeling of sweaty hair against his neck and face. Sure, he genuinely did want his hair to look good, but styling it up so it was out of his face was an added bonus.
Eddie’s hair is driving him so crazy that he says yes, especially once he realises Steve might actually get where he’s coming from.
Cue an emotionally tense shower, where both Steve and Eddie are stripped down to their boxers because they don’t want to this fully clothed but they sure as fuck don’t want to do it naked, either. (Spoiler alert, they’d both actually love to have a naked shower together, they’re just both too nervous to bring that up at this stage!)
But then Eddie slips while in the shower, still unsteady on his feet and learning to adjust to his bad leg, so Steve makes an executive decision to switch over to the bath. After a bit of manoeuvring they find a comfortable position to do this; Eddie sitting in front of Steve in the bath, Steve’s legs stretched out either side of him. Between the physical intimacy of having your hair washed by someone else, and the way they don’t have to look at each other’s faces as they do this, they end up talking. They get a lot more personal than they were able to in hospital or during Spring Break, and it’s such a nice experience that they’ll each happily put up with the sensory hell of waterlogged boxers.
Eventually - after Eddie and Wayne have moved into their new place, but Eddie and Steve are over at each other’s houses often enough that they might as well still be living together - Eddie can move his arms enough to wash his hair on his own. He’s gotten more used to his bad leg and can stand long enough to even shower if he wants to. They go about three weeks with Eddie washing his own hair, both of them desperately missing this little routine they’d built but not wanting to admit it. One day, however, Eddie feels so lonely and so tired from physical therapy that day that he asks Steve to wash his hair for him. Steve accepts in a heartbeat, almost before Eddie’s even had time to say the words.
It feels different that time. The energy between them is charged, everything feeling more intimate somehow. It’s so palpable a difference that after Steve runs the conditioner through Eddie’s hair to let it sit for a few minutes, Eddie turns around in the bath to face Steve. He takes a breath, trying to steel his nerves, and asks: can I kiss you?
Steve doesn’t answer him; he thinks the way he leans in and slots his lips in between Eddie’s is answer enough.
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cerise-on-top · 15 days
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Hi!! This might be awkward because it's my first time requesting something but I'll try my best.
Could you write a Fem!Reader x Farah where the reader is a Belly Dancer?
Just them meeting and feeling a spark between them. I'm a dancer and it would mean the world to me.
Thanx in advance!
Hey there! I went a little wild with that one since I've been wanting to write something a bit more elaborate for a while now, hope you don't mind =)
Farah with a Belly-Dancer!Reader
The chill of the evening made you shiver, its breeze gently caressing your skin as though you were a lover long lost. And yet, your performance continued as the audience cheered for you. Four evenings you had been performing now, calming the minds and souls of the weary freedom fighters that battled demons each day, trying to gain their freedom from their cruel oppressors. In the darkness of the night, you danced, giving them a glimpse of hope, showing them what they’re fighting for: A future in which neither man nor woman, adult nor child, had to fear for their life. A future in which everyone was treated as equal with love and compassion. From the ashes of war, that future would arise, growing, nurtured by the community found in the broken homes of the people crying for help. You were there to remind the fighters that that was the life to be had once all of this was over.
A small celebration it was, with many having gone to bed, dreaming of green plains among which their children would play. But not you. You would dance the night away. For as long as you could move, for as long as you could improve someone’s night, you would continue to dance. Your graceful movements, paired with the drums of another, made for quite the spectacle. Although tired, the people cheered for you to continue, to entertain them with your entire being. Those fights riddled them with fear, engraving into their hearts emblems of terror, but you dulled the pain, if just for the duration of which you performed your heart out. The rewards weren’t applause, whistles and flowers being thrown at your feet, it was tomorrow. A tomorrow that was one day closer to being ideal. One day, the wars would be over, but until then you shall hold on.
And the chill of the evening almost made her shiver as well. Farah took notice of the gathering of people over at the building, convening in front of it as though offerings to praise the gods were being made. But there was no such thing, for a benevolent and kind deity would never allow this many of her brothers and sisters to fall. And yet, her curiosity betrayed her in that she turned to look at the blissful scene. As her people clapped along to the music, she felt intrigued. Who was it that brought joy in such dark times? Who would bring about such bright smiles? Who would make those soldiers feel at ease during times of war? It must have been someone, who had lost their mind, evidently. And yet, there was a sense of gratitude. Why wallow in misery, one day it will all have been worth it. One day, those uncertain times would finally be over and they could finally rebuild their cities from the rubble, that, which has been so unfairly been laid waste to.
And among that stage was something Farah would have never believed, had she not seen it with her own eyes. A trick of the dim light, perhaps. Maybe even a phantom, sent to entice her. She was strong, much more so than even her closest companions would believe, but what she saw on stage gave her a feeling of contentment. There was no certainty you were real, perhaps you were an illusion caused by her fears and worries, perhaps you were a foul demon that sought to get her off her path of righteousness. Either way, you were ethereal. The passion behind your movements was enough to convince her that you must have been some greater being. You brought cheer and happiness to the almost hopeless. Oh, how Farah wished she could have gone onto that stage, show her chivalrous side and protect you from all harm. But her mission would allow her to do so anyway.
And what you saw almost made you freeze in place. A woman, hardened by the battles she’s fought and won, but the kindness in her eyes was very much there. She was rough around the edges, she had been beaten down so many times, but she never ceased to fight, she never ceased to do what was right. For herself and the people she believed in. From below, she stared right back at you, her eyes sparkling brighter than the stars above. Although you had recognized her from hearsay, you never would have thought you would get to see her in person, much less have someone of such importance watch your performance. It was the incentive you needed, the energy boost given to you after a small break, that invigorated you. You were born anew under her gaze, a warm feeling overcoming you. And just like that, just because that woman watched you with such intent, you could continue to dance the night away.
But even as that youthful joy began to settle in your heart, you felt the urge to talk to that woman. She, who had no name you knew of so far, had captivated you in a way you couldn’t describe as you were. Perhaps the gods knew what it was you were feeling, but you, a mere mortal, lacked the understanding. And thus, as the masses slowly began to disperse, seeking the warmth of rest, you stepped off the stage for just a moment. There she was, her arms crossed, and yet she seemed approachable. With a gentle smile, she waved you over. In a world where most deities seem to leave humanity to fend for its own, why would a goddess of beauty, love and war come to call you, of all people? It was an enigma you had naught but an inkling of a reason. And yet, despite all the wars she’s fought in, she seemed to be so kind. Your heart was drawn to hers.
“Your performance was really nice.” Her voice, sweeter than sugar trapped in honey, enticed you. Her melodious voice beckoned you closer, and you followed suit.
“Thank you, that’s very kind of you. You’re the commander, right? It’s an honor to meet you. I’m Y/N.” Almost shy in your approach, but you seemed more fierce than a lion defending his own kin. Although you held no guns, you fought for your beliefs in your own ways. How admirable.
Farah may not have been a believer of destiny, thinking that one could only carve one’s own path as the world would do whatever it took to prevent one from achieving the greatest of things, but it felt as though her and you had been intertwined. Oh, what cruelly sweet fate had brought you together? What made you meet under these circumstances? But perhaps fate had brought you together for a reason?
And for the first time that evening, the both of you could finally share in the warmth of a new companionship.
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branmuffins22 · 3 months
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Could you write a bit of Small Town Paranormal Investigations for WIP Wednesday please?
Yes I could, thanks for the push!
"Huh," Luz's voice pulled her out of her head, as she too looked around, "Looks like they got rid of the jukebox." And just as she was starting to get her confidence back, a new, confusing, human thing had to rear its head. "The… jukebox?" "Oh, it's like a— actually, I never figured out what you guys call 'em in the Demon Realm." She pulled out her phone, likely to look up a picture, "It's a box full of vinyl records, you stick a snail— er, a quarter— in the slot, then you pick a disc, and it plays it. They're like, classic staples of retro diners, even if most of 'em are just there to sit around and look pretty."
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beaulesbian · 2 years
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i loved reading so many headcanons how the byler kiss/confession should go, and wanted to share this thought i had about it too. kind of mix of povs.
(side note, i made a post about how will and mike often sit beside each other throughout the seasons, as well as having lots of heart-to-hearts in s4. and i think the perfect way it would go is this exact similar setting as their previous talks. comfortable next to each other, the heart-to-heart turns to offers of comfort and with that the inevitable confession of feelings.)
they’re sitting on mike’s bed, it’s a few days/weeks after mike and el officially broke up (they agreed platonic friends will be the best relationship for them, and mike feels so much lighter since then. he didn’t realize how much the guilt of not feeling for her what she deserved weighted him down.)
they’re going over the last conversation they had about vecna with the group, and how will feels to sense him again. as he’s recounting past memories and feelings, his hand is shaking again, he can’t controll the fear that always grips him when that sense of vecna being near sets in.
mike reaches to hold and steady will’s hand, not unlike when will was possesed by the mind flayer (or vecna as they know now) few years ago.
he wanted to reach for will’s shoulder again, but decided against that, he needed to offer more comfort, because seeing will in pain hurts, and mike would do anything to help will not be in pain again, any way he can.
they stay like that for few long moments, just mike reassuring will that everything will be alright and they will beat vecna once and for all, that he won’t allow will to get hurt.
the warm touch of mike’s hand on will’s is helping him feel better. it’s breaking through the constant cold tension in his neck where he senses vecna the most.
he takes a minute to properly look around mike’s room and how it changed since he last visited. the room is an unusual mess, the bed is also different from the bunk beds where he used to sleep during sleepovers some years ago. then it hits will, what he’s exactly looking at, up on most of the walls.
“you kept my drawings.”
“yes.” mike is looking at him the whole time as will is taking in the room around him. he can’t stop looking at him. he’s worried that if he would look away, will would disappear, or this moment would turn out to be just a dream.
will meets his eyes and they’re stuck looking at each other for what feels like eternity, exchanging countless confessions of longing and hurt, and conversations that they aren’t brave enough to say out loud. will grips mike’s hand in his and thinks he could spent ages counting mike’s freckles and never get bored.
he thinks, “now or never”, as he motions to the rolled up painting near the bed. the painting he made for mike.
“the painting. it was for you. from me, i mean. just from me. i’m sorry i lied about it. i couldn’t-.. I couldn’t say more, not at that time. but i think, maybe i can say it now.”
he doesn’t say more. not yet, but mike hears it. he can connect the dots now.
oh.
oh.
he feels mike’s fingers in his hand move to link them together. it feels right.
will hears a whispered confession, like mike is scared to speak louder. as if the words he’s about to say don’t belong on his tongue but feel right being said to will, at this moment, at any moment.
“i can’t lose you, not because i need you, or because i want you to need me, but because i love you. i do, i really do. i think i did for a long time and i tried to push it away, but that made everything worse. but you.. with you i feel like i’m not a mistake, either.”
will looks up at mike’s eyes again, with a look full of understanding and acceptance. then, mike is leaning forward, glancing between will’s eyes to his lips, waiting just a breath away before will leans the rest of the way, reaching across the space to kiss mike.
it’s a tentative, slow and sweet kiss. short and unsure at first, and so, so gentle. they part and will’s hands curl in mike’s hair as they lean their foreheads together, both smiling so brightly. mike’s arms envelop him in a full, and long overdue hug.
will is gripping hard at mike’s shoulder blades like his fingers meant to always be there, never wanting to let go, and mike quietly sobs happy tears into his neck as all the tension between them dissipates.
the love between them palpable, and somehing new is being formed between them, fragile and beautiful and theirs.
the hug lasts until they hear a faint knock at the door, and they see jonathan in the doorway, who see them hugging and smiles to himself, happy to see them embracing, finally.
their moment is allowed to be just what they needed to convey to the other, not interrupted too early, letting them share a full dialogue without almost any words (they don’t need them to understand what they feel). more words will come later. will presses his cheek into mike’s shoulder as he can’t stop smiling, he feels mike do the same thing, holding him tigher just like he longed for most of the past year.
they’re happy and full of new strength to defeat the evil that’s attacking their hometown.
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errantknightess · 1 year
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WIP file name game
Thanks @every-lemon for the tag~
RULES: post the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! and then tag as many people as you have WIPS.
Admittedly, my WIP folder is a bit of a mess. I tend to either start a new file for every new idea that never proceeds beyond loose notes, or dump a bunch of unrelated things into a single file. And then I forget about all of them. Putting this under a cut for length ^^"
Promptis Gift Exchange 2023 (which you're obviously not allowed to ask about) promptis server holiday drabbles Smile for the camera assembling the bed kiss prompto week prompts Twitter prompt requests Stuck in between post-dawn domestic fluff promptis double sleeping bag Fools' gold never too late Sick day hanahaki pride drabble 30s first kiss soulmate drabble cont mistletoe do chocobos dream Kimi no Na Wa AU Secret Garden AU collab Call me what you want Singing to sleep whumptober scenting horror games Sunshine boy part 2 Chances not taken
I don't even know this many people, but I'm tagging @mathclasswarfare and @serendipity3008 if you’re inclined to do this ^^
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jinjeriffic · 4 months
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DC x DP prompt/ficlet
Throwing my hat in the ring with this idea that has been doing the zoomies in my brain for days. The Tim/Danny Accidental Ghost Marriage to Fake Dating to Friends to Lovers AU:
Pariah Dark was a piece of shit. Before his imprisonment, mortals would sometimes manage to bargain with the Ghost King for scraps of power. One of the "standard" deals was to send PD a "Bride" to play with and feed on (because I HC he feeds on fear and pain) and what better way than a little mortal battery that couldn't get away from him? The deal was sealed with a cursed amulet. Now in one instance, the contract was never fulfilled (maybe the petitioner died before he could complete his half) and the amulet was lost. After Pariah was imprisoned and couldn't make deals anymore the knowledge of the rituals needed was gradually forgotten since they didn't work anymore...
Eventually the amulet gets dug up by archeologists (maybe in Egypt or Mesopotamia?) and ends up in a traveling exhibit in Gotham. A Rogue robs the place (Riddler? Two-Face? doesn't really matter). When the Bats show up to foil the robbery, during the fight with the goons a drop of Red Robin's blood gets on the amulet, there's a blinding flash of green light and the amulet is suddenly glued to him.
While everyone is dazed by the ghostly magic flashbang, Fright Knight pops out of a portal, yoinks Red Robin across his saddle and jumps back through the portal before anyone can stop him. Cue the Bats trying to frantically figure out what in the multi-dimensional occult hell happened and where RR went?!
Meanwhile, Danny is disturbed to receive a ghostly missive in his college dorm to tell him that his Mail Order Bride has been delivered to his Ghost Zone Palace and is awaiting him so they can consummate their Unholy Matrimony.
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Danny: Wtf I have to study I don't have time to get MARRIED
Fright Knight: I'm sorry my liege, but according to the laws of ghosts, gods and magic you already ARE
Danny: Wtf. How did this happen?
RR: I would like to know that too
Danny: Oh shit, you're a superhero. Frighty, you can't just kidnap people! Especially not SUPERHEROES!
RR: While that's good to hear, I would really like to know about this supposed marriage..?
FK: I am not aware of the exact details, I was merely summoned to retrieve the Bride of the Ghost King. There used to be standard magical contracts for this, which went into effect when the Bride bled on the King's Token...
RR: Shit
Danny: Hold on, PARIAH got married? Multiple times??
FK: ...but we can always consult the Royal Archivist, if we can dig him out from under the several thousand years worth of paperwork that piled up while there was no King actively ruling...
Danny: Oh ancients, am I gonna have to deal with that?? I have exams to prepare for, dude!
RR: ...the dead still have to do exams? And paperwork?? *horror*
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Some time and explanations later...
Royal Archivist: It took some digging, but I believe I have found the contract in question. You are one Timothy Drake-Wayne, correct?
Tim: Fml
RA: Ahem. The contract was sealed with your mortal blood, as is standard procedure. Congratulations, you are officially King-Consort of the Infinite Realms! Until death do you part, and all that
Danny: Can I see that contract? ...This isn't in English
RA: Oh dear, looks like we will have to schedule your Royal Highness classes in reading cuneiform/hieroglyphics
Tim: Okay, does it say anywhere in that contract how to dissolve it? What's the procedure for a ghost divorce? Fright Knight mentioned the previous king being married multiple times
RA: Well usually, when Pariah tired of a consort he would simply devour their soul...
Danny: Ewwwww I am so not doing that
Tim: I concur. I can't imagine my soul would taste good anyway
Danny: That's what you took from that??
RA: ...but when you die and your soul passes into the Afterlife proper, the contract will be fulfilled. As long as you're not resurrected again.
Tim: Nuts, there goes that loophole
RA: Until then you are the Consort and duty-bound to fulfill his Royal Highness' every whim; ghostly, spiritual, carnal...
Danny: *sinks through the floor in embarrassment*
Tim: Can't he just... release me from the contract? Take the amulet off me or something?
RA: Not without obliterating your soul, no
Danny and Tim: Fuck
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Some time later, while Danny is away consulting other ghosts on possible ways of dissolving the contract, they discover the nasty little clause that if Tim isn't in regular physical contact with Danny the amulet starts draining his life force. To prevent victims from escaping you see... Danny really really hates Pariah right now.
They eventually return to the mortal plane to explain to the Batfam what the hell is going on and that they're still trying to fix it. In the meantime, Danny can't miss any more classes (studying areospace engineering at MIT or sth) and Tim has to stick close to him because of the curse...
Alfred: Oh dear, looks like Master Timothy will have to go to college after all *unflappable British Smugness*
Bruce pulls a lot of strings to fast track Tim getting his high school diploma and let him attend classes with Danny (he's not officially enrolled yet, but Money, Dear Boy). They never know when Danny has to respond to a ghost emergency or Red Robin to a Bat emergency, so they stay pretty much joined at the hip in their civilian lives. Of course there's gonna be rumors. Why did the Wayne CEO suddenly drop everything to go to college? So they make up a story about Danny and Tim having been secret boyfriends for a while and Tim becoming so smitten that he moves with him to Boston...
Cue the fake dates, interviews with magazines, couple photoshoots to really sell the bit... and the two young men gradually becoming friends... and then "Feelings?? But what do I do?? He was forced into this?" etc.
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unclewaynemunson · 9 months
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I definitely think it takes Eddie a while to accept that Steve changed. He remembers what he was like in high school.
When Steve asks him out, for whatever reason, Eddie says yes. But he’s determined not to fall in love, because deep down Harrington’s still a dick. But he’s cute, and Eddie can smile and play pretend.
But then! Steve goes full happy relationship mode, he tells Robin (obv), introduces Eddie to the other adults as his bf, and is just generally being sweet.
MY SWEET ANON I HOPE YOU'LL STILL SEE THIS!!!
I'm so sorry it took me ages to answer this one! But I really loved the idea of this (the good ol' steddie + misunderstanding about what they mean to each other with a dash of terrible communication skills my beloved) so i wanted to give it my proper attention, which i didn't have enough time for over the past few months. Buuut the words have finally found their way to my keyboard so here is the first part of what probably will turn into a 3-part ficlet, I hope it's something like what you had in mind when you sent this ask to me <3
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Eddie has been acting weird all day. Maybe Steve is too much of a romantic, but he can't help it: he wanted to celebrate this day. Exactly a month ago, he asked Eddie out. And it's been good. They've spent a lot of time together. They've been on lots of dates, spent plenty of nights together... But today, things are different, somehow. Eddie is different. He turned Steve down for a dinner date, he didn't stop by Family Video during lunchtime, and when Steve shows up at the trailer to surprise him with flowers, he merely frowns and pulls back from their kiss before it can even properly get started.
'Everything alright?' Steve asks, trying to catch his boyfriend's gaze – which isn't exactly easy with how Eddie is turning away from him to not-so-gently put the flowers down in a corner of the trailer's living room.
'Yeah, sure,' Eddie mumbles, not really looking at him. 'It's just – I didn't really expect to see you today. We didn't have plans.'
Steve chuckles, trying to get the tension out of his chest. 'Didn't know I was expected to schedule an appointment before coming here.' He tries to play it off as a joke, but the tone of his voice doesn't really want to cooperate.
Eddie finally turns back towards him and Steve catches the end of an eye-roll.
'I'm just not feeling too great today, alright?' It sounds a bit stiff and Steve pauses. He wonders if he did something wrong, if he somehow invaded Eddie's space – even though he has showed up at the trailer on countless evenings in the past month.
'What's wrong?'
'Nothing,' Eddie answers, a little bit too fast. 'I told you, I'm not feeling so well.'
And now that he can see his face properly, Steve notices that Eddie is indeed looking paler than usual.
'Hey, don't worry about it,' he says. 'I can stay to take care of you, if you want to. We don't have to do anything. You can go to bed early and I'll keep you company. I can make you some soup, read to you... You could've just told me you're not feeling good, you know. I would've picked up some fruit on my way over here and stopped by the library for you.'
'You don't have to do any of that, Steve.'
Steve tries to ignore the fact that it's been ages since Eddie has last called him by his official first name. He doesn't like the sound of it.
'But I want to,' he says instead. He takes a step towards Eddie, lifts his arms to wrap them around him – but Eddie swats his arms away before he can properly embrace him.
'Don't.' He sounds cold and detached, so different from how he usually sounds. 'Don't act like this is something it isn't.'
'Like this is something –' Steve echoes, completely caught off-guard by this turn of events. 'Like what?'
'Jesus Christ, you really don't know when to stop, do you?'
'What?' He takes a stumbling step backwards, driven away by the force in Eddie's words.
'We're not – like that,' Eddie stutters out. 'We're just fucking around, aren't we? So you don't need to pretend. You don't need to bring me flowers. You don't need to take care of me when I'm sick. You don't owe me anything, alright? You can go home.'
Steve takes another step backwards, until his back collides with the door of the trailer. He blindly grabs the door handle behind him.
'Alright,' he says, trying desperately not to let his voice tremble audibly. 'I hear you, loud and clear. I'll – I'll leave you alone, then.'
Read pt2 here (Edit: it's actually 5 parts now. You can read the whole thing on ao3 here)
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wileys-russo · 8 months
Text
ignorance is bliss ficlet II l.williamson x reader
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my angry cinnamon roll gf’s 🤭
feel free to read the proper full fic that this is a spin off from here
ignorance is bliss ficlet II l.williamson x reader
"did she say she wasn't coming?" lia asked again with a frown as you shrugged hopelessly, just as clueless to your girlfriends absence from training as the rest of the team, leah now almost an hour late and not answering anyone's calls.
"no she was already up and getting ready when i left, she seemed fine?" you explained, having left before your girlfriend to get a coffee with lotte who had then driven the two of you to training, leahs unusual absence causing a pit of worry to form in the bottom of your stomach.
"oh thank god here she is hold on.” you breathed a sigh of relief as her contact flashed on your screen.
“may i please be excused quickly jonas? its leah." you asked softly, wincing as you interrupted the briefing and felt everyone’s eyes watching on as you hurried out of the room, accepting the call.
"leah where the hell are you? you're late and you're never late! in fact you are always on my case about making us late to things." you rambled, stepping outside and holding the phone to your ear.
"yeah uh, i sort of…ran into some car trouble on the way there." leah replied in a strange tone of voice making you frown. "car trouble? whats happened? are you alright?" you questioned quickly with growing concern, leaning against the wall behind you as your mind raced with all the worst case scenarios.
"well..." leah trailed off and you waited patiently for an answer but there wasn't one. "well? just spit it out lee, as long as you're safe we can fix whatever happened, a car is only something material babe." you assured her softly, feeling your chest tighten with nerves at her obvious hesitation to come clean.
"no no it wasn't an accident or anything I um, well I-" leah danced around her words and you felt your patience thinning, bouncing on the balls of your feet.
"isortoflostmylicensecauseigotdonespeedingagainandineedyoutocomeandpickmeup." your girlfriend word vomited so fast you couldn't make out a single word of what she was saying. "what? slower please lee." you pinched at the bridge of your nose, exhaling deeply.
"i sort of lost my license cause i got done speeding again and i need you to come and pick me up…please." leah repeated and your eyes widened as you finally understood, the silence on your side of the line causing leahs stomach to twist into knots.
"please don't be mad i know you're always onto me about it and i really think this is the thing i needed to learn my lesson but- hey are you laughing at me?" leah frowned as you doubled over, resting a hand on your knee as you were indeed laughing at the predicement.
"oi its not funny! i can't drive for three months now!" leah shouted and you could almost hear the stroppy pout which would be forming on the older girls lips.
"it is funny because i did in fact warn you of this time and time again and you never listened. i told you so!" you sung out with a grin, leah somewhat relieved you weren't upset with her but also not appreciating that your amusement was at her expense.
"too bad i wasn't there to flirt your way out of it huh?" you smiled smugly, rewarded with an annoyed huff and a half understood grumbled insult.
"sorry what was that? you're going to walk to training? wonderful i'll see you soon!" you teased, leah yelling out a hasty apology and practically begging you not hang up, something which was more than rare from your normally over confident girlfriend.
"please come get me! i'm stranded and it's really embarrassing, what if someone recognises me?" leah whined and you rolled your eyes that of course that was her biggest concern right now.
"why don't you just sit in the car then while you wait?" you sighed with a small smile, the silence on the other end telling you all you needed to know.
"oh leah....you didn't. not again!" "stop leah'ing me, you sound like my mum!" "oh i can't wait to tell your mum about this." "don't you fucking dare!"
this was not a one off occasion. leah determined to buy the most tricked out car she could had spared no expense on the bells and whistles, though one of these had time and time again meant she’d locked her keys inside the insanely posh vehicle.
"baby i warned you when you bought that stupidly expensive car that the self locking feature would bite you in the ass." "now is so not the time for an i told you so. just come and pick me up!" "come pick you up..." "right now?" "leah!" "sorry. please please please come pick me up gorgeous. i love you?"
"i'll get someone to drive me now. you know you could just get an uber leah." "what did i say about leah'ing me!" ~
"there she is." you pointed out your girlfriend with a grin as katie slowed down a little, leah sat on the curb with her hoodie pulled over her head, clearly attempting to hide herself but the glaringly obvious red and blue arsenal tracksuit did her no favors.
"she looks like that kid who runs away from home gets about five minutes down the road and calls for their parents to come pick them up!" beth laughed at your girlfriends sour expression as you pulled beside her, though you'd note that to the others in the back all pointing and teasing her.
"you had to bring a crowd?" leah grumbled, standing to her feet and crossing her arms over her chest, glaring at beth and laura in the back who were pulling faces at her.
"what’s to say other than we all just had to witness the miracle for ourselves!" katie beamed as you leaned over and whispered something quickly in her ear, the irish woman nodding subtly with a smirk.
"go on then speed demon in ya hop!" katie teased, leah reaching for the door handle as she suddenly jerked the car forward and away from her, the four of you grinning as leahs jaw tightened.
“come on leah, in we get!” laura called out much like you would encourage a dog to return to its owner, which was not lost on leah who gave the younger girl a frighteningly filthy look.
"come on woman we haven't got all day you know!" beth tapped at her wrist mocking the time as once again leah reached for the door and katie moved the car forward slightly, sending the four of you into hysterics like naughty school kids at the back of the bus.
"nah you know what fuck this! i'm walking." your girlfriend fumed, kicking at the back of katies car and storming off down the road. you were quick to unbuckle yourself, jumping out and racing off after her as the girls all called out for her to get in the car.
"baby, get in the car." you grabbed her hand, looking at her with an amused smile as the taller blonde simply glared back at you wordlessly as you wrapped yourself around her in a hug, her arms remaining stoic by her side as she refused to engage in it.
"relax the face, relax the face." you cooed sarcastically and stroked at her forehead and cheeks trying to smooth away the deep frown lines as the defender smacked your hands away but you saw a hint of a smile grace her features as you stole a quick kiss and tugged her back with you towards the car.
leahs frown deepened as she was met with slow claps and she slid in the back beside laura, flipping them all off and sinking down into her seat.
"good news mccabe. as my work wife you have now been promoted and unlocked a new daily task. driving us to training!" you grinned as the irish woman rolled her eyes playfully.
"only if you caress my thigh and hold my hand like you do with blondie darlin." katie smirked at leah through the rear view mirror as you agreed, reaching out to accept her offered hand, intertwing your digits over the middle console.
"mccabe if you'd like to ever walk again i'd suggest you not touch her, or else i may have to accidentally studs up tackle you in every single drill." leah warned seriously, katie only grinning and bringing your intertwined hands up to her mouth, kissing your knuckles as you sarcastically swooned and leah huffed.
"now now don't worry, i'm sure vivs happy to share." beth teased, holding her hand up toward leah expecting her to kiss it as the blonde simply shot her a murderous look and smacked it away.
this was going to be a long three months.
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steddiehyperfixation · 2 months
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so you don't get lost (steddie ficlet)
written for @steddielovemonth day 17 rating: T cw: alcohol tags: first kiss, clubbing, college au, platonic stobin prompt: Love is about a hand reaching out to you so you don't get lost
“She’s totally into me, right?” Robin asks as they wait for their drinks at the bar, her smile a mile wide, and it’s been a minute since Steve’s seen her smile like that. 
“Yeah, totally,” Steve agrees. The girl Robin’s been talking to all night is drifting back over to them even as they speak, the two of them like magnets since they first traded smiles on the dance floor earlier that night. 
Robin glances back at her and bites back a wider grin. She bounces on her tippy toes and whispers to Steve, “If I make out with her it’s not gonna make you feel awkward, is it?” 
Steve shakes his head. “Go ahead,” he encourages. 
It had been a group effort to get Robin out tonight. Her university friends had enlisted Steve to help drag her out of the mopey funk she’d been in since getting broken up with two weeks ago, and it had taken an hour of Steve hyping her up while she kept crying off her attempts to do her makeup before she finally managed to make it to the club. He’s just glad it had been worth it. 
“I don’t even know if I remember how to do this,” Robin mutters, a little nervously, as she and Steve grab their drinks and rejoin her friends on the dance floor. But it turns out, she has nothing to worry about. The two girls resume their orbit around each other, and the second the next beat drops and the lights strobe, the other girl finally pulls Robin into a heated kiss. Steve watches this, and he smiles fondly. She deserves it. He’s happy for her. 
And he’s totally not jealous. Not necessarily of Robin, obviously, or the girl she’s kissing, but simply of the fact that they’ve so easily found a hot drunk stranger to make out with at the club and he…hasn’t. He can’t even remember the last time he’s had a decent kiss, much less scored at a club, though not for not wanting to. 
Steve finds himself glancing at Robin’s friend Eddie, the tatted-up metalhead Steve’s felt a pull towards since the first time they’d met. He thinks about kissing him every time they’re out together, and maybe there was a time when Steve would’ve just gone for it, a time before he’d taken a few too many hits to the ego and developed doubts and insecurities, but now the thought just makes him nervous. Eddie makes him nervous. 
He feels that nervousness now as Eddie catches him staring and he shakes those lovely dark curls out of his face and smiles at him. It bubbles in his stomach, flutters in his chest. Steve downs the rest of his drink and looks away. The alcohol floods heat through his veins and blurs his vision, but the ever-present thrum of anxiety just from being in Eddie’s proximity still isn’t dulled. He bobs numbly to the music, avoiding looking at anybody at all now, only staring at the floor or the wall or some super fascinating point just above everyone’s heads, sure he looks like an absolute freak. 
It goes beyond just wanting to kiss Eddie; Steve’s not stupid, he knows the only explanation for this sheer amount of nervousness he feels around him is that he’s got an actual, proper crush. Because not only is Eddie super fucking hot, he’s also sweet. Steve is an outsider in this group and he knows it, the college dropout who only tags along because Robin insists on it, but Eddie never makes him feel like that. It’s always Eddie who makes sure he’s included in conversations, always Eddie who makes a point to loop Steve into the context of inside jokes and stories whenever Robin is too distracted to. Steve craves those interactions, gets a thrill every time Eddie so much as speaks to him. So he doesn’t only want to kiss him, he also just wants Eddie to like him, wants him to see him as a friend at the very least. But it’s not like they’ve ever even hung out outside of a group setting, and sometimes Steve fears Eddie’s just being nice and he doesn’t actually see him as anything at all. 
Steve’s drifted so far into his own head he doesn’t realize his group is on the move, pushing deeper into the dance floor and leaving him behind. 
“Steve!” Eddie’s voice calls out to him and snaps him out of it. Everyone else has been taken by the crowd, but Eddie hangs back, reaching his hand out to Steve. 
Steve takes it, swallowing down the way his heart pounds as Eddie’s fingers curl around his hand. Eddie pulls him through the throng of jostling, sweaty bodies, and even though he maintains a tight grip on Steve’s hand, he still keeps looking back at him like he’s making extra sure Steve doesn’t get lost. Warmth blooms in Steve’s chest. Maybe he’s just drunk, maybe he’s just delusional, but all of the sudden he feels so very very cared for. 
“Thanks,” Steve says, nearly shouting to be heard over the music. 
“‘Course.” Eddie smiles as he turns around to face him. They’ve caught up to their friends now, but he’s still holding Steve’s hand. “I’d never just leave you stranded.” 
Of course he wouldn’t. He never has before. Steve just smiles back and squeezes Eddie’s hand. 
They’ve only just let go of each other when Robin and her girl, still kissing clumsily and staggering about the dance floor, stumble straight into Steve and knock him off balance. “Woah!” Eddie reaches for him again instantly, looping an arm around Steve’s waist to keep him from toppling over or careening into the crowd. 
“Ah! Sorry!” Robin giggles before she’s whisked away again. 
Eddie laughs. “Good for her, right?” 
“Yeah, good for her,” Steve says, watching his best friend spin out of sight, and when he looks back he startles at how close he and Eddie are, suddenly very aware of Eddie’s arm around his waist and his hands on Eddie’s chest. 
“You okay?” Eddie asks, his grip on Steve tightening like he means to steady him. 
“Yeah, thanks again.” Steve regains his footing, but he doesn’t pull away. There’s something there, he thinks, in the way Eddie’s always reaching out to him so he doesn’t get lost, literally and figuratively, in crowds and conversations. It could just be friendly, it could just be nothing, but for the first time, Steve lets himself hope. He even thinks about leaning in right now, but then he thinks about it too much, and he doesn’t. 
Instead, there’s a weird moment where they’re both just staring at each other. Eddie’s got this confused little smile on his face like he’s waiting to see what Steve will do, and when Steve doesn’t do anything, Eddie’s smile abruptly becomes more playful as if he’s trying to break the tension, and he starts theatrically swaying them to the music, even though it is most definitely not the swaying sort of beat. Steve laughs, his racing heart making it come out giddy and giggly, especially when Eddie drops his waist to grab his hand and twirl him around. 
Eddie pulls him in close again then, and this time Steve doesn’t think at all. In fact, it’s unclear which one of them leans in first; all Steve knows is that their lips finally, finally meet in the middle and he finally, finally gets to tangle his hands in Eddie’s hair, and it’s sweet and it’s hungry and it’s absolutely perfect. Steve holds onto Eddie and he gets lost in him. 
When Steve meets back up with Robin outside after the club closes, they exchange a celebratory, congratulatory high five, the both of them with matching kiss-swollen lips and dates set for next week. 
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piratefishmama · 5 months
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Nest | Part 17
A Steddie A/B/O ficlet
It’d been a week.
An entire week since Steve had last seen Eddie. He’d holed up in his apartment, spent the majority of his forced holiday time curled up in bed, or camping out on the sofa watching reruns of bad television. Robin had told him mid-way through the week that they weren’t in trouble, Wayne Munson didn’t intend to press for any complaints or legal action, but she’d heard nothing from Eddie.
Steve wasn’t in trouble, Owens wasn’t in trouble, he already had his next shift lined up at the end of the following week, already a new patient on the books to be seen to although he swore to himself that he wouldn’t be remotely as hands on as he’d been with Eddie. He’d do the minimum just like everyone else, he’d be there when he was needed, would provide care as required, but that was it.
He’d already had two complaints from other tenants shoved under his door about the stench though. Depressed alpha wasn’t a good smell, for Steve, people compared it to mould spores. Like walking into a bakery after a month of it being closed, only nobody had taken the produce away leaving everything to rot.
And the smell spread.
It didn’t matter that the owner of the building had boasted proper padding and ventilation in the ‘Alpha Safe’ apartments before he’d moved in, the smell seeped into every single corner, settled into fabrics, snuck under the front door and out into the hallway. He wanted his Omega.
He didn’t even really know his omega, but he wanted him. He’d made promises, promises he couldn’t keep with Eddie so far away. Promises he didn’t know if he’d ever be able to keep and wasn’t that just a terrifying notion. Eddie was alone again. His heat would come again, he’d be alone for it, there was no way he’d be able to get a clinic trip for free again. Freebies happen once and only in dire situations, after that you have a month to sort yourself out an alpha to join you, or you’re on your own.
It didn’t matter if a week of that month was spent recovering from an unsuccessful heat, you had a month, and Steve was well aware of the ticking clock, he spent most of the time just, looking at it on the wall. Ticking away, precious minutes going by tick by tock. It was ridiculous, he’d barely thought about Eddie Munson for years until he walked into that clinic and all of a sudden he was all Steve could think about. He pined, he yearned, he ached to see him, to make sure he was okay, and yet he couldn’t make himself take that trip to the trailer park where he knew Eddie lived.
It was an invasion of privacy, he’d already broken most of the policies at Nest, he didn’t want to break the last one too, even if he didn’t get Eddie’s address from the database at the clinic, even if he already kind of knew where Eddie lived beforehand.
Eddie deserved his privacy, he deserved his space to heal, to figure out what’d happened on his own time, to get himself and his head clear, to—screw it.
Steve had waited an entire week, he was going to get himself up, get himself showered, dressed, apply patches to his scent glands, he was going to open his front door and— stop dead in place because stood there, with a hand raised, poised to knock, was one Eddie Munson, his big brown doe eyes wide in surprise. “Uhm…” Eddie dropped his hand “hey, Steve, can… can we talk?”
“Eddie…” he rocked forwards, hands flexing as if to reach out, only to catch himself at the last minute, releasing a pained little whine from his throat, he wanted to touch, wanted to hold, to bury his face into all that hair and just breathe he was so close, so, so very close and every inch of Steve’s very being screamed at him to pull Eddie closer, to hold him as tightly as possible and never let him go again, but he couldn’t, he couldn’t, he wasn’t allowed, he didn’t have permission, he didn’t—
“It’s okay, alpha… you can touch, it’s okay” the dam broke in an instant, the second those consenting words reached his ears, he was wrapping Eddie up in his arms and holding him as tightly as he could, face buried into the side of his neck, arms squeezing him tight, if he could get any closer, if they could merge into one being, he’d do it. “Christ, big boy” Eddie huffed into his shoulder, even as he curled his own arms around Steve, even as he buried his nose into the fabric of Steve’s sweater and breathed deeply, letting himself be held.
Steve whined, squeezing him to his chest, desperate to smell him, but unable to, the Omega had patches on, hiding his scent from the world. Fuck he hated those blasted little things. “How are you here?”
Eddie eased back, forcing Steve to loosen his grip just so Eddie could look at him face to face “Buckley came by the trailer… can… can we go inside?” Robin. You scheming, rule breaking, beautiful human being. “We can talk in the hallway if you want but I’d rather—”
“No! Yeah, uhm. Yes, come in, sorry.” He stepped aside, motioning with his hand to let Eddie in, if he could think about anything other than the fact that Eddie was there, maybe he’d have felt self-conscious, maybe he’d have worried about the mess that’d built from him just wallowing, but no, he was just glad Eddie was there. No longer drenched in the sweet smell of heat, but still everything Steve could ever want.
He was back to his old self, leather, ripped denim, his rings clunky on his fingers, he didn’t look like an omega and likely sure as hell didn’t act like one either.
He was still the most beautiful thing Steve had ever seen in his life. Maybe that was the rose tinted glasses, Steve didn’t care. Eddie was there, in his living room, making himself comfortable on the couch, seemingly uncaring about the smell.
“You can close the door, Steve, I’m okay.” Right, he’d been holding it open. He closed it, they were together. In the same room. Eddie had closed himself in with Steve voluntarily.
Honestly he could just cry. Eddie was there, he was safe. He was okay.
“Eddie I— I didn’t—”
“Didn’t hurt me, I know, Steve. I know you spent the whole night holding me while I slept, making sure I was okay. I know. I know you’re a good Alpha Stevie, I know.”
“You… you know?”
“Mmhm, Buckley. I mean… I kind of figured, once my head cleared up a little, nothing felt different and I wasn’t in any pain, which… I figured I probably would have been had you—y’know, but Robin came by with a tape from your boss. It just confirmed what I figured out myself. I’d have come sooner but… well, cramps. Can you sit down?” Steve startled into action, quickly sitting himself down in his arm chair, opposite where Eddie had sat on the couch to give him some space. “Look… I uh… I know… I know things were said at the clinic, and like… I get that you had a job to do, and that included making me feel better an all that shit, so—if—if you want, I can just—just forget that you said anything, y’know? Just… I don’t expect anything from you, I mean… You were just doing your job, an I was super inappropriate with you like, the whole time, the shit I said—I—I’m sorry dude, I—I wasn’t in my right mind an I know you were probably just bein nice an I appreciate that—”
“Eddie, what the hell are you talking about?”
“You said you wanted to spend my next heat with me, right? An uh… other stuff…” Stuff that’d made his knees weak when he’d remembered it. When the memories of Steve so close, his firm body pressed so tightly against his, when he’d remembered everything, when it’d all slammed back into his brain at breakneck pace leaving him horny and breathless, desperate for something thicker than his own fingers, endlessly frustrated that he didn’t have anything close to what he needed. “But I figured that was probably just to make me feel better or some shit, an I get it, I get that, I mean… there’s no hard feelings, I don’t expect anything from yo—”
“Eddie, do you want me?”
“What?” The poor Omega struck just a little stupid by the abrupt question.
“Simple question” Steve slipped from the arm chair, lowering himself down to his knees in front of his Omega, he reached both hands up to cup those perfectly soft cheeks, in awe of how beautiful Eddie was up close, the way those plush lips parted ever so slightly to breath a little heavier, the way his beautiful doe eyes widened, chocolate brown disappearing as black pupils blew wide, locked on Steve, the way his cheeks warmed under Steve’s palms. He only wished he could smell him. Wished Eddie hadn’t come out wearing those blasted patches. “Do you want me?”
“If… If I say yes will you finally kiss me?” There was only one way Steve could possibly answer that question, and that was by closing the gap between their lips, finally claiming the very first of many promised kisses still to come.
Part 19 (The End)
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v3nomly · 8 months
Text
「 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞. 」
꒰characters...꒱ Astarion x Reader
꒰summary...꒱ It's been a long journey, and you find yourself with proper lodgings for the first time in weeks. As well as an opportunity for a tender moment with Astarion.
꒰warnings...꒱You give astarion a handjob.
꒰a/n..꒱Like the slut I am I couldn't stop thinking about Astarion, so here's a short and sweet soft moment. Enjoy this short ficlet while I procrastinate my longfic!
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The smell of lavender and lemon hung in the steamy air of the room. A haze of mist collected on the small but ornate window veiling the otherwise bright moonlight. Leaving you to bask in the flickering candlelight, its warm orange flame casting a faint glow onto the normally pallid vampire's face. Astarion hummed as you brushed the plush rag across his skin. Crimson splotches stain his pale skin, like jewels on a nobleman. A king bathed in red, ruthless and victorious.
Slowly you work, removing each blemish, until the visage of the man underneath you is unmarred. The evidence of the day's events washed away, leaving you two in a welcomed reprieve. A comfortable limbo between the dusk of today and the dawn of tomorrow. Astarion's eyes slid shut, leaning into your touch. It was moments like these that you cherished, moments where he allowed himself the comforts of affection. You drop the rag outside of the tub, before returning your hands, fingertips ghosting over his face, across his lips, and down his neck. Only halting once your fingers had found their home, threaded into his thick, curly locks.
"Everything okay?" you ask, voice barely above a whisper, not quite ready to disturb the peace that had fallen over you, but unwilling to let him simmer in whatever thought ran rampant in his head. Astarion opened his eyes only partially. Allowing you the faintest glimpse of his entrancing ruby irises. His plush pink lips part his mind working between a sarcastic quip and the truth. Before his words fall into the latter.
"Ruminating," he responds, his brows furrowing, as if the honesty distresses him. He inclines his head, causing your fingers to slip from the tresses, His eyes opened, a softer look to them than what you'd normally see in camp.
It seems the closer you got to Cazador the more Astarion pulled away. A far-off look in his eyes in the moments of calm. Or a near-nervous energy veiled by the excitement that surrounded him during a fight. Then there were these moments spent with you. Where he allowed himself to be more truthful than he had been in a long time. Still, he made an effort, against all odds, against the very fiber of his being. He never hid away from you.
You lean forward, lips brushing over Astarion's jaw. Causing his arms to tighten around your waist, pulling you closer. The bubbly water sloshes with the movement, threatening to spill over the wood of the tub. "You deserve peace," you say lips connecting with his skin, as if solidifying your words. Moving to the other side, you repeat the action, "You deserve happiness." You move to his lips, hands capturing his face in such a gentle embrace that he questions if you are real. "Astarion?" you call softly, afraid that he's drifted back into his thoughts.
He lifts his hand, water falling from his fingers, and for a moment he hesitates. Astarion had never questioned something as simple as running his fingers through a partner's hair, but with you, the action felt different, more important. "I'm here," he responds, fingers carding through your hair. His nose nuzzles against your own, a comfort you've grown used to. A simple yet, intimate mannerism he's picked up since confessing that he had grown to care for you.
Even now, when his mind slips into thoughts of the past or whatever turbulent future lies before him. Astarion moves to reassure you because while he'll never admit it out loud, his eyes scream the answer. 'I don't deserve comfort. I don't deserve love. I don't deserve you.' Your heart aches, practically shattering each time the look makes it past his perfectly crafted mask.
"Let me take care of you," a silent plea, his lips part, as if surprised that someone would ever wish to do such a thing, and he nods once as if speaking would rouse him from this dream.
Gently you push Astarion back. His body shifted to bask in the bath once more, shoulders pressed against the rim of the wood, arms placed to brace himself on each side of the tub.
Your fingers dance down his chest, playful and teasing. Under the water, they maintain their path across his stomach, over the defined lines of his navel.
His dead heart skipped a beat, his eyes filled with anticipation.
Your hand wraps around his aching cock, so gently as if he might just break, and with you maybe he would. His head fell back as the motion of your hand slowly stroked him. Astarion's chest hurt, with a peculiar kind of happiness. Each tender moment with you —the ones where you touched him as a lover deserving and worthy of affection— wanes the pains of his past only slightly, but still enough for him to grow into someone new.
"What about you?" he asks, voice filled with hesitancy, a vulnerability that he seldom allows even you to see. As if the idea of not proving his worth remains a truly foreign concept.
"Your pleasure is my pleasure," you watch as Astarion's mind works through his thoughts.
"In that case who am I to complain," his words are meant in jest, but you've known him long enough—intimately enough— to know exactly what he means. It is distinct in the way that his muscles relax and his fingers untense from the tub's frame. Astarion trusts you and even if he dare not affirm it aloud —in fear of ruining everything— maybe he's allowed himself to love you.
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© 2023 v3nomly do not plagiarize, translate, or repost my writing to any other site.
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theminecraftbee · 2 months
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smallishsona au: in which joel smallishbeans is the world's most reluctant persona protagonist.
My ongoing au in which Joel is a wild card in an original Persona setting, based on Persona 3/4/5 but not the same as any of them. He and the other members of the cherry blossom hill in Season 10 will awaken to their Personas and try to explore Altered Space, a mysterious realm people are vanishing into, in order to rescue the Vanished and save the world. Also, Joel will do this while despairing the whole time that he somehow ended up in a story that wants him to make friends to get superpowers. That also.
The Story So Far (actual ficlets, listed here in in-universe chronological order):
1: Basic premise/Joel arrives in New Hermiton, hints at Joel's backstory. Written as a bit more of a general au post than a fic, but the important first chapter of this story. Some of the mechanics weren't finalized when I wrote this so some of the keywords are wrong.
2: Joel wakes up in the hospital after awakening his Persona, first proper ficlet.
3: Joel forms his first Social Link with Skizz.
AU Tag:
smallishsona au (contains everything to do with this au on my blog)
chronological tag (only works on desktop, shows all the au posts in chronological order, by which we mean "order i made them" not plot order.)
Important Premise/Mechanics Posts :
Premise/World Mechanics: contains all the basic information on what Persona even is, as well as an explanation of the specific mechanics this specific "Persona game" that I made up runs off of. Contains important concepts like what Altered Space is, what the Vanished are, and how Personas work.
The Main Party: contains the current information on what the main party is, what order they join in, what their Persona and combat abilities are like, and a few little hints as to what they are like themselves.
Social Links: a list of all of Joel's social links, as described by Joel. Gives an arcana to every single social link Hermit.
Velvet Room Mechanics: the specifics of how Joel's velvet room works for him, how Igor fuses Personas, and a little about Jimmy.
Additional Notable Brainstorming Posts:
Velvet Room Jimmy initial thoughts
Early social link brainstorming for Cleo, Xisuma, Doc, Scar, Skizz
Early version of party brainstorming
Early explanation of AU/premise
Additional small "Persona theming" thoughts
Party weapons brainstorming
Lizzie thoughts
Joe, Scar and Grian before the main plot
Bdubs the teacher and pharmacist
Etho, the lovers
Bonus:
Art of Velvet Room Attendant Jimmy by @/phoenixtherobot!
Comic of Etho and Joel's first meeting by @/crystaldoodler!
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ghuleh-recs · 1 month
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It's @chapel-of-rizztual's birthday!! So obviously I had to make us a mixtape of my favorite rizz fics. I was stoked to make this one because it meant I got to reread some of my favorite ghoul smut 😈 If you follow rizz you know what a joy it is to realize you're both on tumblr at the same time. You'll notice your feed slowly being taken over in the best possible way by a wonderful stream of consciousness reblogging spree. I have to add that chapel-of-rizztual is so damn supportive of fellow creatives, as well--sharing anything and everything we make. So let's all treat ourselves to some s tier ghoul smut in rizz's honor and maybe leave a comment or two as a lil' bday treat. ♡
recs under the cut.
In the heat of the moment - phantom x rain x mountain (polyghouls)
“Shit, I’m sorry-I didn’t realise.” He raises his arms as Rain pulls a clean hoodie on him. “I don’t know what’s wrong with me today.” Rain chuckles lightly, running a hand across Phantoms chest, smoothing out the hoodie. “You’re in heat, darling. I wouldn’t expect anything different.” He blinks up confusedly at Rain trying to take in what he’d just said to him. “I-what? What!?” Or…. Phantom goes into heat onstage but doesn’t realise because it’s his first one topside.
The only exception - aether x dewdrop
Aether smiles sweetly at him, brushing a few stray hairs from his face. “You feel better after that, Honeydrop?” Dew nods, not trusting his voice. His eyes drop down to Aethers lips for a spit second before looking back into his eyes. Aether chuckles lightly. “You want a kiss, darling?” Dew nods again and Aether surges forward to capture Dews lips in his. He gives Dew a few little pecks before pulling back. Dew whines and follows his lips. “More.” He whispered. Aether cradles his cheek and pull him in for another kiss, a proper kiss thins time, not just little pecks. Dew let’s Aether lead the the kiss, letting himself melt completely into it with a contented sigh. Or… After a stressful day Dewdrop finds himself seeking comfort from the one ghoul he trusts the most.
tumblr ficlet - lingerie - cumulus x mountain x swiss x phantom x rain
“I-uh- well, we? We all saw it in the shopping centre the other day. And we all thought- well it’s just- we all thought of you? So…yeah.” Mountain fidgets nervously as he edges his way towards the door. “I’m-uh- going back to my room, the other are also there. You can-Uh-you can join us when you unwrap it.” He seem to snap out his nervousness for a second. “If you want! There’s no pressure! I just..yeah, no pressure.” He gives her an awkward thumbs up and slips out the door without another word. Cumulus would laugh at him if she wasn’t so excited to find out what was making him so nervous. She tears the paper from the box, giggling and rolling her eyes when she recognises the lingerie brand that’s stamped on the box. Typical Boys.
Don't want to close my eyes - mountain & aether (& dew)
Mountain’s insomnia has been flaring up recently, the past few weeks he’d been getting less and less sleep each night, which led to the last couple of nights where he’d been unable to sleep. Tossing turning in his bed, eyes heavy, unable to switch his brain off. He’d given up trying to sleep tonight. His room felt too suffocating, too familiar, the endless tossing and turning had become boring. Or… Mountain hasn’t been sleeping. Aether helps.
With desire flowing through my veins - copia x mountain
After realising no one had seen Mountain for almost a week, Copia, riddled with anxiety and worry, sets out to find the Earth Ghoul. He gets a little more then he bargained for when he does eventually find him.
tumblr ficlet - first time - dewdrop x phantom
Despite what everyone thought, Dew liked the new ghoul. Sure, he wasn’t Aether, but Dew didn’t think that was a bad thing. He liked how easy the new ghoul was. How desperate for attention he was, how he’d do anything with a simple command, no fighting back. Dew liked how much control he had over him, something he never really had before, he liked how he could do anything to the new ghoul and he didn’t even question it, he’s just happy to be getting the attention he desperately wanted.
tumblr ficlet - body worship - copia x dewdrop
It was a joke. A self deprecating one, but a joke non the less. And it had made the congregation at mass laugh, all be it an awkward laugh, but it was a laugh and Copia was taking that as a win.  Dew didn’t find it funny. If he’s being honest he didn’t really understand what Copia was trying to get at, he’d always viewed the man as some above godly creature, so to hear him say something so…low about himself made an uneasy feeling swirl in his belly. 
𖤐 you know the drill--bookmark, read, and leave kudos/comments!
Did I forget your favorite? You've got a standing invitation from me to add your own rec and reblog ♡
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trensu · 2 months
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So this was originally a little ficlet i added to @gyroshrike's EXCELLENT angel dust fanart. You should check it out IMMEDIATELY. Anyway, I ended up writing it out into a proper fic so I could post it to ao3 here. and i thought i might as well make it its own tumblr post as well since the fic is done already. Enjoy!
“What do you mean no?” Cherri asks, annoyed. “This is the fifth fucking outfit you’ve shot down.”
Angel doesn’t know why he thought Cherri would be helpful on this shopping trip. He forgot that Cherri’s idea of fashion involves singed tops and torn up bottoms. He snatches the clothes from Cherri’s hands and throws them back on the rack.
“Ya keep pickin’ slutty clothes!” Angel replies, also annoyed. 
“That’s because you are a slut, bitch.”
Angel gives her a two fingered salute because he’s fucking cultured. Cherri cackles and flips him off in return. Angel marches to the other end of the store to the rack full of boring colors like navy, gray, and black. They don’t go with his coloring at all. It’s the only rack left he hasn’t looked through in the entire store, though. Cherri follows behind him, purposely shoving racks and mannequins to make a mess as they go.
“Well, I ain’t tryin’ ta look slutty this time,” Angel says as he aggressively inspects the rack of clothing.
“Good luck getting that cat in bed after your date,” Cherri snorts.
“It’s a first date! Husk ain’t like that,” Angel says, feeling a bit offended on Husk’s behalf. “He’s a gentleman.”
“Yeah, the drunk arsehole is a total gentleman,” Cherri rolls her eye. 
“He is about this kinda thing. He’s a classy guy, okay? So I’m givin’ classy a try,” Angel insists. He reaches the end of the rack with nothing to show for it. He growls. “Fuck this place, it ain’t got shit. Let’s go.”
“Fuck yes! About fucking time,” Cherri cheers.
After blowing off steam with Cherri, Angel sneaks back into the hotel. Not that he’d done anything wrong; he just doesn’t want to bump into Husker at the bar after the spectacular failure of a shopping trip. He’s stressed because he was running out of time to get an outfit together. He knows he gets catty under pressure. (Ha. Catty.) He doesn’t want to risk getting catty with Husker.
Once inside, Angel wanders the upper levels for a bit until he is absolutely sure that Charlie was nowhere around. He knows Charlie would be overjoyed to help but she's about as subtle as machine gunfire when she's happy. Angel wants his future upscale look to be a surprise for Husk.
Since Charlie can’t be considered, Angel is left with one last option. With extreme reluctance, he makes his way to Charlie’s room. He makes sure not to show anything but confidence and charm when he knocks on the door.
Vaggie opens it with a scowl.
“Angel. What do you want?” Vaggie asks in that flat yet annoyed tone she was so good at doing.
“Heyyy, Vaggie. Ya know that redemption thing Charlie always yaps about?” Angel starts. Vaggie’s scowl deepens, so Angel continues before she could say anything. “I was thinkin’ I should change up my look, so I ain’t so sexy and tempting. Looking like a prude is a virtue, ain’t it? You’re the biggest prude I know! Wanna help a fella out? For redemption and sh–uh, stuff?”
Angel bats his eyes at Vaggie, channeling his ‘I’m a sweet, naive virgin, please take advantage of me’ character. It’s a very popular character in his line of work. He is much better at that than at looking innocent but he figures it’s basically the same thing. Vaggie glares at him. Okay, slight miscalculation on Angel’s part, then.
“No,” she says, and tries to close the door. Angel catches it with two hands before it shuts completely.
“Wait!”
“I’m not helping you with whatever porno you’re doing,” Vaggie says. 
“It ain’t for porn!” Angel says. He’s not exactly insulted that Vaggie assumed it was a porn thing, but he’s not not insulted either. He’s got a life outside of porn, sometimes!
Vaggie stares at him. It’s an expectant stare. It’s a stare that clearly says Angel has to give her a reason to not harpoon him with that spear she carries everywhere. (It’s also super judgemental but that doesn’t offend Angel since Vaggie looks at everyone except Charlie judgmentally).
A small jolt of embarrassment hits him. He wishes it was a porn thing now. 
He doesn’t want to say it out loud, this tiny frail chance Husk gave him by asking him out. If he says it out loud, Vaggie will scoff. She’d roll her eyes and ask him why he’s even bothering to try. Does he really think anyone would seriously want to date a cokehead pornstar? This is a pipe dream and Husker will get fed up with him so fast.
(Vaggie wouldn’t say any of that, a part of Angel knows. Those were Valentino’s words, but he’s so sure that Vaggie must have thought it at least once. Everybody must think that about him at least once).
The longer he stays quiet the more Vaggie’s glare softens until she starts to look genuinely concerned. And, fuck, Angel can’t have that. He’d die (again) if Vaggie felt sorry enough to be nice to him. He pastes on his smile and keeps his tone girlfriend-ly.
“I got a hot date, Vaggie, that’s all,” Angel says. “Wanna try somethin’ a little different for it.”
Vaggie is not convinced by his nonchalance which makes Angel wonder if he’s losing his touch. His acting skills are second to none! She should be eating out of the palm of his hand with this performance! Instead, she marches out of the room and waves him along.
“Follow me,” Vaggie says in her drill sergeant voice that makes everyone who hears it straighten their spine and find themselves already halfway to a salute.
Angel learns that Vaggie approaches clothes shopping with the same tactical focus and determination she approaches any mission, which is weird but whatever. She stealthily leads him to the nicer side of town into a more upscale shop than Angel is used to. She marches through the shop without bothering to ask Angel for his input on anything. Still she manages to pick out a few outfits that went well with his coloring and in his size. Angel has never appreciated her observational skills more.
“Try these on and show me,” she demands, piling her pickings into both sets of Angel’s arms and shoving him into a dressing room.
Angel complies without protest. He sashays out of the dressing room like a supermodel four times before Vaggie nods in satisfaction on the last option. She actually smiles at him.
“This one. You’ll impress your date with this one,” Vaggie says without a hint of irony.
Angel smiles back and thanks her enthusiastically. He ignores how he hadn’t recognized himself in the mirror in any of the outfits. He ignores how uncomfortable the clothes feel on his body. The clothes are classy, just like Husker prefers. That’s what matters.
When Husker shows up at his door for their date, he does a double take.
“What the hell are you wearing?” Husk asks, confused.
Angel starts to lean flirtatiously into his space, a salacious come on right on the tip of his tongue. He catches himself halfway and quickly straightens himself with an awkward laugh.
“Just somethin’ I found in the back of the closet,” he lies through his teeth.
He’d devoted time to doing his makeup just right and making sure the clothes were crisp and clean. He still feels uncomfortable in them but all things considered, Angel thinks the final product came out pretty good. The way Husker looks at him now makes him wonder if he overestimated his looks for once.
Husk’s eyes narrow as he studies Angel. His gaze trails Angel top to bottom. It doesn’t feel very sexy but Angel supposes the point is to not look like a whore so this means he succeeded, right? 
“Sure,” Husk says, notes of confusion still in his tone. “You ready to go?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah, of course!” Angel stutters like a moron.
“Alright,” Husker says after a beat.
Husk gives Angel another suspicious look, shoulders tense and wings pulled close. Something shifts in his expression that Angel can’t read. He’s afraid it might be disappointment. Husker shakes out his wings and offers Angel his arm, which Angel accepts with relief.
“So, where ya takin’ me, Huskie?”
Husker tells him about a little place with good food, better drinks, and a live jazz band. As they walk out of the hotel, Angel almost cozies up against Husk, so tempted to rub his cheek against Husker’s furry ear. He catches himself again and over-corrects by pulling away from Husk until their linked arms are the only point of contact. Husk stumbles a bit with the weight shift. He shoots him another indecipherable look. Husker opens his mouth to say something but appears to change his mind and snaps it shut.
That’s okay, though, right? Husker wasn’t much of a talker anyway! Angel fills the silence between them with nervous babble. Angel is normally very good at conversation but tonight he keeps having to stop and restart mid-sentence when his stories get crass. Being crass is not good first date behavior. Husker grunts every now and then but it’s clear he’s only listening with half an ear. It doesn’t help Angel’s nerves at all.
The date goes downhill from there.
Husker finds them a booth when they arrive at their destination and helps Angel order their food and drinks. He points out several he thinks Angel will like.
Usually, he and Husker can pound back alcohol like nobody’s business. They sometimes make a game of it and those nights are some of the best Angel has because he gets to see Husker soften and relax in his company. However, Angel is an affectionate drunk and Husk has had to nudge Angel away more than once those nights. Husker is always sweet about it now, with gentle hands and amusement in his eyes. Husker always helps him back to his room afterwards like a perfect gentlemanly escort. Despite that, Angel can’t help feeling a bit stung at the rejection each time.
Tonight, he only orders one drink. He knows he can’t be getting too handsy with Husk on their date. He’s sure it would annoy him. He doesn’t want Husker to regret asking him out. With his focus strictly on keeping up his good behavior and watching his alcohol intake, Angel barely touches the food Husker recommended to him. 
Husker keeps shooting him these looks that make Angel anxious. With each glance, Husker slinks deeper into his taciturn demeanor. Of course, Angel overcompensates with his babbling. At one point, Husk has to shush him during the jazz show. Angel clacks his jaws shut in shame, because he knows how much Husker likes jazz and here he is ruining the experience for him. At least Husk is nice enough to hold Angel’s hands throughout the rest of the show, though he probably only does it to keep Angel from fidgeting too much.
When they leave the joint, Husker doesn’t offer his arm again. He doesn’t even walk very close to him. Angel's stomach churns so much, he’s afraid if he opens his mouth to speak, he’ll puke the two bites of food he ate earlier.
They’re halfway back to the hotel when Husk clears his throat. His hands are in his pockets as he trudges on, keeping his eyes on the crumbling sidewalk.
“You didn’t have to say yes,” Husk says, not even glancing at Angel or faltering in his steps as he speaks. Angel, on the other hand, halts in confusion.
“What?” Angel asks, not sure what Husker was talking about but the tone of voice made his stomach drop. Husk sighs, stopping in his tracks to finally look up at Angel. His face was closed off in his standard apathetic frown.
“When I asked you out,” Husker says, his tone going to his usual bored gruffness. He hasn’t used that tone towards Angel in a long time. Hints of panic start crawling up Angel’s veins. “You didn’t have to say yes.”
“What?” Angel asks again like a fucking idiot. He hopes he doesn’t sound as shaky and pathetic as he feels.
Husker’s voice goes flatter though his tail has started to twitch uneasily.
“You should’ve said no if you didn’t want to…be with me. We woulda been fine.”
“Huskie–”
And at last some of that soft, hidden sincerity crept back into Husker’s voice. Only a little bit, but it’s there.
“I’d still be your friend, Legs,” Husker says, gazing into Angel’s eyes and sounding painfully honest. “I wouldn’t abandon you over that.”
“No! I-I–”
Husker looks away with a bitter grin. Angel’s heart cracked at the sight.
“I’d need a day or two to lick my wounds, but I knew it was a long shot anyway. I woulda come back,” Husker shrugs when he finishes going for nonchalance, but his wings are once again curled protective and close, making his usual slouch look less like carelessness and more like defeat. Husker doesn’t wait for Angel’s response, instead choosing to continue walking back to the hotel.
Angel stands in place, floored by how badly he fucked up. He notices his breathing becoming erratic. He does his best to do the calming breathing thing Charlie taught them all. It works well enough to get him running to Husker again though Angel still feels unsteady and insecure. Most of him is screaming to fucking book it in the other direction because fuck, fuck, Angel hates feelings. But Husker also hates feelings and he basically threw up his guts at Angel despite it. The least Angel can do is return the gesture, right? He owes Husker that much.
“Husker, wait!” he shouts. 
Husker’s posture becomes more guarded but he doesn’t acknowledge Angel’s call. Angel catches up quickly (Husk can’t go too far too fast with those short legs, Angel thinks, helplessly fond despite the anxiety). Dodging around Husker’s wings that quiver with tension, Angel grabs the crook of his arm to bring him to a stop and place himself in Husk’s way. He lets go quickly at Husk’s glare but somehow manages to stand his ground.
“I did want! Husk, I wanted ta say yes, I wanted ta go on this date so much,” Angel says desperately, feeling a telltale burning around his eyes and hating himself for it.
The tension in Husker’s body breaks free as his patience caves to his temper. His wings flare open and his tail whips side to side aggressively.
“Then why are you acting so fucking fake? With the clothes and you treating me like I got the fucking plague! I thought we were done with that bullshit,” Husker snaps furiously.
“Cuz I wanted ta…I wanted ta be good for ya, Husk,” Angel chokes out, shoulders slumped in defeat. “You like classy. I wanted ta be a good, classy sorta guy for ya. I-I fucked up. I always fuck this shit up. I don’t mean ta do it.”
Angel stares at the poor excuse of a sidewalk they’re on, blinking back tears. Husker doesn’t say anything for a long time. Angel nearly loses his nerve and turns tail when Husker speaks again.
“You fucking dumbass,” Husk says. 
His voice is deep and warm and fond, the way it is on their drinking nights together. Angel’s head snaps to Husk at his words. That cocky little smirk– the one Angel first saw after Husk had pulled him out of his self-destructive spiral at the club and realized that if he wasn't careful he'd lose his heart to the guy–has replaced the angry slant of Husk’s mouth.
“Hey!” Angel protests with a cautious smile. Husk rolls his eyes.
“Don’t expect compliments if you’re gonna act stupid,” Husk says and offers his arm to Angel. “You’re already classy enough for me, Legs.”
Angel takes his arm and looks down at him slyly.
“But not good, huh?” Angel tries to tease but Husker doesn’t take it.
Instead, Husk looks at him intensely and says firmly, “If this redemption shit the princess keeps talking about ain’t total bullshit, you’d be the one to make it.”
“Oh,” Angel says, stunned, then adds to cover how hard it made his heart beat, “Husker, ya big ol’ flirt. I betcha say that ta all the pretty boys.”
“Fuck you,” Husk grins at him. Angel bats his eyes and lets his voice go all breathy.
“Oh, yes! Please, daddy,” Angel simpers. He adds a loud moan for good measure. Husker throws his head back with a rough, loud laugh. Angel knows immediately he wants to hear it again forever.
By the time Husk drops Angel off at the door of his room, the pair of them have relaxed significantly. Angel opens the door slightly to peek in on Fat Nuggets. After he makes sure his Nugs is sleeping soundly, Angel catches Husk’s sleeve before he could make a sneaky escape.
“Hey, Husk, can we get a do-over? A new first date? I want ta do it right next time.” Angel asks shyly. The corner of Husk’s mouth quirks up, making his golden eyes crinkle in a way that makes Angel’s heart melt.
“Depends,” Husker says with that charming smirk. “You gonna wear that stupid outfit next time?”
“Oh baby,” Angel says, plastering himself against the door frame in one of his sexiest poses. “I’m gonna wear my sluttiest dress for my handsome kitty. Everyone’s gonna wish they were you when they see us togetha.”
Husk snorts.
“When you put it like that…”
“You can put it wherever ya want, daddy,” Angel flirts. He’s only half-joking but he keeps his hands to himself to keep things light. Husker rolls his eyes in good humor.
“A do-over sounds good.”
Angel drops the pose instantly, beaming at Husk.
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
Angel’s heart flutters at the small smile that accompanies Husk’s assurance.
“Next week?”
Husker nods in agreement.
“Great!” Angel said, probably a little too enthusiastically.
Before Angel canlose his nerve, he dips down and presses a light, meek kiss on Husker’s cheek. When he pulls back, Husker’s eyes are as wide as saucers and his wings have puffed up in a way Angel hadn’t seen before. If Angel didn’t know any better, he’d say Husker was downright flustered. And oh god, Angel wanted to make him blush all over. Husker would be so cute in bed.
“G‘night, Huskie!” Angel says quickly and slams the door closed behind him.
After nearly tearing himself out of the uncomfortable clothes, Angel crawls into bed wearing only his boxer briefs. Next time, he thinks to himself in joy and disbelief. I get a next time.
He knows it will be perfect because next time he’ll be himself. Angel. Because that’s all Husker wanted. Just Angel.
He curls up around Fat Nuggets and allows himself one quiet, happy squeal.
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generalluxun · 12 days
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Be Careful What you Wish for- A Season 6 Miraculous ficlet
Chloé bit her lip to keep from panting. The climb had been excruciating. Any number of tools would have made it easier. Sabrina was the one who normally thought of these things.  Now it was just Chloé on her own, and she was way out of practice with thinking. Climbing though, climbing she could do. Spite helped too. Banished to London for a summer! The last words of that Dupain-Cheng still echoed in her head. Ridiculous am I? I’ll show you ridiculous.
This is how Chloé ended up dressed all in black and perched atop the Dupain-Cheng bakery. The trapdoor down was unlocked, which was good, because she’d forgotten the prybar back home. She lifted the door slowly and listened… silence.  Chloé crept down onto Dupain-Cheng’s bed and- Froze.
“No, I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to tell him. I have to tell him before the school year starts. It’s a new beginning. I’ve got a new recipe baking downstairs for the first day of class. I’m going to do things right this year, from the start,” Marinette’s voice carried more than the usual agitation.
“But Marinette,” a high pitched voice answered back, “What good would it do? He seems happy the way things are. Everyone does!” A series of unidentifiable clicks sounded from below.
Marinette’s reply was quieter, “Happy lies, Tikki? My word as empty as this box is right now? It’s eating me up inside. Will it be easier or harder if it comes out some other way?”
“Who else would know?”
The sound of pacing down below. “It doesn’t make it right Tikki, just because you don’t get caught. Argh. You know what? I’ll practice on Cat Noir! He should know too. I just don’t want him feeling guilty when he hears the full story. I know my partner, he’ll blame himself.”
CAT NOIR?! Chloé bit her knuckle to keep from screaming. The bed shifted just slightly under her. She froze again, dancer's training allowing her to lock every joint in place.
“I don’t know, Marinette. He might ask why you kept the secret, and that might clue him in as to-”
“Marinette!” a deep voice boomed up from below, “Honey, the oven is smoking!”
“Oh no!” Marinette squeaked, “My cookies! C’mon Tikki!”
A thump, a familiar scramble, another thud, and the sound of MArinette’s feet pounding down the steps.
Chloé dared to unfreeze, letting her breath out in a gasp. She clamped her lips shut again and screamed wordlessly into her closed mouth.
DUPAIN-CHENG?! Of ALL people?
A little voice soothed that if it was true then at least Chloé’s life had been upended by someone with superpowers, and that made it a little easier to stomach.  The rest of her sprung into action though, racing down the stairs to Marinette’s room proper. She was doubly bent on revenge now. There had to be somethin-
It would have been so easy to miss. It was just a single line, a crack of color from a drawer left barely ajar. It was Marinette’s tacky sewing chest, but that color… Chloé hooked her finger in the crack and pulled the drawer open slowly. For the second time in as many minutes she nearly swallowed her tongue.
She knew it instantly. She’d held it once before. That gaudy red bulb of a box. The Miracle box. It sat there, solid proof that she hadn’t misunderstood, that Dupain-Cheng hadn’t just gone insane or been playing pretend. This was all real. Chloé lost sense of time. The past year was running itself through her mind, this new reality fitting itself into every interaction. She needed to scream. She needed to scream more than she ever had in her whole life. She couldn’t even begin to guess what she would scream about, or why, but the need was overwhelming.
Another harsh thumping from below cut off the explosion, making her swallow the scream painfully. Footsteps- Dupain-Cheng! Chloé grabbed the box, not even knowing why anymore. She shoved the drawer shut and bolted up to the bed. She almost made it to the trap door.
The creak from below left her poised, one hand on the thin barrier to her escape.
“-hy not?!” Marinette normally reserved that level of anger for her, “It’s over, we beat Monarch. The Butterfly is probably lodged in a filter at the local sewage treatment plant. It’ll end up in a Landfill, which as far as I’m concerned is the best place for it.”
“But Marinette…” Tikki protested.
“No buts, Tikki. I’m making changes aren’t I? Cat Noir can know. It’s time. The two of us can coordinate the team so much better if we aren’t chasing each other’s shadows half the time.”
“Marinette, it’s not over.”
“It is Tikki, we won!” That wasn’t the sound of disagreement, it was the sound of a plea.
“Even if the Ladybug isn’t needed right now, you’ll always be the guardian, Marinette. You can’t let your guard down.”
Marinette let out a growl of frustration, “Gah! Forever? I’m fourteen Tikki! I can’t believe-”
She cut herself off. Chloe could hear her deep inhale and exhale.
“I’m sorry, Tikki. I’m grateful. I’m grateful for your advice. I’m grateful I’ve had the chance to help so many people. I’m grateful for the changes in my life. I’m grateful for all of it. Still, there are times that I just wish…
“I dream of it sometimes, Tikki. Someone comes along. I hand them the box and I say. ‘I’m done. You are the Guardian now. I’m going to go live a normal life with those I love. I wish you luck in your new Guardianship, may it be easier than mine.”
Chloé’s head bounced off Marinette’s wall. The wave of sudden nausea gave her no choice. There was a shout of alarm from below. Chloe threw caution to the wind and scrambled up to the roof, silence be damned.
As the trapdoor slammed shut behind her Dupain-Cheng’s voice carried up, “Help! It’s a giant bug! A Mouse! A Bug-Mouse!”
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