#again i don't usually curse but i honest to god couldn't have made it as good if i didn't curse here

[xviiigumix0]

GO FOR IT, FUSHIGURO ! +_+

1097 words 𓆏 gn! reader fluff, cursing, no use of capital letters.

megumi had a big fat crush for you. and the idiot didn't even notice until nobara pointed it out.

''i don't know...'' fushiguro mumbled as sank into the couch ''everytime I see them i feel...nauseous, as if there's something on my stomach'' he closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest ''those are called butterflies, you dumbass'' kugisaki's voice rang from the kitchen, as she finished cooking her breakfast ''hey!'' megumi frowned ''those cannot be butterflies, y/n is my friend'' he protested against nobara's teasing before quickly being cut off by her, yet again 'yeah, a friend you have a big fat crush on.' she sat on the dining table, in a way she could be seen by megumi and yuji who were on the living room across, as the first cheeks grew crimson.

''i dont wanna agree but, nobara's onto something, actually'' yuji chimed leaning forward on his seat towards fushiguro, who covered his face with one arm, shifting in the sofa ''well, even if i did like them, the fuck would i do about it?'' megumi exclaimed in annoyance. he had known you since he entered jujutsu tech, you've always been friends, but lately, something had changed. whenever he saw you he felt a fever incoming, he felt his hands trembling and and something similar to a wave of nausea, what is wrong with you he thought, all of a sudden things were just different around you, or even at the thought of you. he couldn't shake you off his mind, but yet, he did not feel so good around you, physically.

''tell them.'' nobara and itadori chimed in unison. and all of a sudden fushiguro's face flushed hot, quickly sitting up and shaking his hands ''no, no...i cant do that, were just friends and what if...'' he trailed off, his words becoming more of a ramble to himself. because, to be honest, he has thought about telling you, he has thought about it a lot, megumi already had every single scenario meticulously organized from bad to worst in his head, in his mind there's no way you like him.

''oh my god, fushiguro can you shut the fuck up? y/n likes you, i would know.'' nobara argued, taking another bite of her waffles. ''just go for it, fushiguro'' yuji encouraged, standing up next to megumi, tapping his shoulder ''and if they reject you, we can cry together'' he reassured.

''i won't cry'' megumi rolled his eyes.

𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟 𓆝 𓆟 𓆞 𓆝 𓆟

''how did i agree to this?'' he thought to himself and sighed, bouquet in one hand, chocolates in another. someway, somehow, kugisaki and itadori brought him into this. ''maybe i should just text them, tell them it was nothing...''

the three of them had organized a perfect plan for fushiguro to confess, at the end of the day, you and megumi would meet up in an empty classroom under the excuse of megumi having a plan to prank nobara (she did not agree to that). and as the sun set, he would tell them everything he felt, they even wrote script which took hours to complete since fushiguro wasn't exactly fond off his friends teasing him for his feelings for you. nobara and maki managed to discover your favorite flowers, and itadori interrogated you about the food and specially sweets you liked, saying one day he'll invite you out to eat. the plan was perfect, totally foolproof, except for one detail.

megumi's heart was pounding in his chest, cold sweat down his face, his cheeks kept getting hotter each step he took towards the classroom you two would be meeting in, his mind was going a hundred miles per hour. until he stood in front of that door. he suddenly forgot about everything he was thinking about, his mind going totally blank.

he silently opened the door, and closed it behind him as he made his way over you, holding the flowers and the chocolate box behind his back, quickly going over everything he wanted to tell you. ''y/n'' he said in his usual, stoic tone, giving no signs of nervousness or doubt. you turned around, facing him. good lord. just in that moment, he totally processed why he liked you, the way the sunset hit you skin, your eyes, your hair, it was simply perfect. and the way you spoke to him, always so nice and sweet, can a man ask for more?

''fushiguro!'' you smiled so brightly when you looked at him, there's no question of why he loved you.

he took a deep breath at his own lack of words, flushing at your sight.

''is everything goo-''

''i love you''

''what?'' you softly stuttered

''i always had, i... i planned this for you and...'' he stumbled over his words, forgetting the whole script he had planned and bringing both his hands closed to his chest as he held your flowers and chocolates. ''its not going how i planned to'' he finished, looking at you, almost vulnerable as he poured his heart out.

'' fushi, i...'' you found yourself blushing as you stared at him in surprise

''this is your you'' he extended his arms, offering the gifts, you gladly accepted them

''i thought you were avoiding me.'' you stated taking the gifts with both your hands ''i thought i did something wrong''

he opened his eyes wide, fuck.

he took a deep breath, thinking how he could explain it to you, i love you so much it makes me sick didn't seem like the best option right now.

''i'm an idiot y/n, i'm an idiot that didn't want to accept how much he like you'' he stated, putting his brows together as he leaned in closer to you, the sunset making his eyes shine ''i did avoid you, i didn't know how to...react to my feelings so i...i'm sorry, im stupid'' he shifted his eyes towards the floor, now avoiding your sweet gaze

''i...love you too, idiot'' you said, smiling to yourself, managing to get a gasp out of him. you placed the box and the flowers in a desk, and stepping closer to him, you cupped his face with both of your hands, making him look at you ''you're really stupid, but its a part of why i like you so much'' you laughed, making you touch your foreheads

megumi closed his eyes and took each wrist on his hands lovingly ''are you not mad at me'' he mumbled after some seconds ''i couldn't be'' you answered softly.

''can i be your boyfriend?''

''i would be glad to accept you as my boyfriend''

haaiii:3 this is kinda risky to post since is my first writing post, but fuck it im doing it. also, im sorry if anything i write sounds kinda weird or out of place, english is not my first language and it was just kinda implanted into my brain in 6th grade so i never truly 'learned'.

anyways, i hope you liked it !11!!!1!

-kat / gumi :3

#dividers by pommecita #jujutsu kaisen #jujutsu sorcerer #megumi fushiguro #jjk megumi #megumi x reader #fushiguro x reader #jjk fushiguro #jjk #jjk x reader #jujustu kaisen #jujutsu megumi #megumi jujutsu kaisen #fanfiction #fanfic #writing #writers on tumblr #jjk fanfic #yuji itadori #nobara kugisaki #jjk headcanons #jujutsu kaisen headcanons #megumi headcanons #megumi fushiguro headcanons #xviiigumix0

[lalixlizzie]

Sky full of stars

_______________________________________________

Regina Mills x fem!Reader

A/N: This is the first time I write something like this, sorry if you don't understand something, English is not my first language but I try to write the best I can.

Warnings: None.

_______________________________________________

It was a starry night, the moon was shining brighter than usual, everyone was having fun at Granny's. It had become very common for you and them to meet almost every day in that cafeteria.

They are celebrating that they prevented another curse from being carried out in Storybrooke, to be honest you think everyone is already tired of how repetitive this situation is. You think everyone needs a break.

Everyone is having a good time, but there's someone you can't get out of your head. Regina was the only person who didn't seem to enjoy the night.

She was sitting alone at one of the tables in the place looking out the window. You didn't like that, she should be happy and celebrating, not sad looking out the window waiting for it to be time to leave. You took a deep breath and went straight towards her.

��Hey.” You said as you reached her table. Mills looked up and her eyes connected with yours.

Those beautiful almond eyes were now looking at you. Oh god, you could faint right now. You never had the chance to tell Regina how you feel about her, whenever you wanted to try, things happened that prevented you from doing so.

“Hey...” She looks at you confused and then looks at the others. “ I thought you were celebrating with Emma and the Charmings ”

“It's tiring, they smile all the time, it seems like something is happening to them. ” You joke, to which Regina laughs. You never get tired of hearing her laugh. “Can i sit?”

The mayor nodded and with her arm indicated the place where you could sit. As you do so, she looks at you with a smile.

“ Why are you looking at me like that? Do I have something on my face? ” You began to touch your face to get rid of what made the brunette smile.

“No...” Mills moved closer to you to stop your hands, moving them away from your face as she intertwined her fingers with yours.

You started to get nervous, but you couldn't show it. What happens if she realizes that you like her? Will she talk to you again? You did not know. But after asking a thousand questions in your head, there was something that made you return to the conversation.

“Henry told me he had a lot of fun with you the other day. ”

“Oh, I just took him to the arcade and then we went for ice cream. It wasn't a big deal.”

“It's not what you did, but what he told me you told him”

You said a lot of things to that kid, you don't really remember the things you guys talk so much about. Emma almost always asks you to take care of him for a while while she finishes paperwork at the police station.

And that was a problem, many things went through your mind again. What could Henry have said to his mother?

You had no problem letting Emma know, since you have been friends for years and always tell each other things, no matter how stupid they are. And Henry liked to be part of your conversations, so you always included him.

But Regina... She wasn't the same as Emma.You don't know if she would take things well or badly.

“And... what did he tell you? ” You said as best you could, you weren't going to show that you were nervous.

“He told me something funny, that you like me.”

You swore you were going to kill that kid. Your cheeks began to burn, you were embarrassed, surely the former Evil Queen could see it.

“Everyone likes you, Regina. You are charming and a very good person. ” You tried to make an excuse so she wouldn't see the obvious.

She started shaking her head. “Not in a friend way. He said you were in love with me.”

“Oh...” These moments are the ones you wish the earth would swallow you and disappear. You never thought you'd feel this way. “I'm so sorry, I don't know how he could say that to you, I've never said that. I'm really sorry if you felt uncomfortable, I didn't mean...”

You couldn't finish your excuse because you felt the softness of Mills's lips on yours. You felt a million butterflies in your stomach. You couldn't believe what was happening. Did she silence you with a kiss? Like in the movies? Oh God.

After a few seconds, Regina separated her lips from yours and you just stared at each other, no one spoke for minutes. You could only concentrate on the moon reflected in the brunette's beautiful eyes.

“Does this... Does this mean anything to you?” You asked, afraid that the answer would be "no."

“Of course yes, I also have feelings for you. I thought Henry told you.”

“He didn't.” You said quickly.

“Well, now you know it.” She came a little closer to you, and gently and delicately placed her hands on your cheeks, and then kissed you.

#ouat #once upon a time #regina mills #regina x reader #regina mills x reader #the evil queen #regina mills imagine #once upon a time imagine #ouat imagine

[thepaintedlady00]

The Sandman and the Girl Without Dreams

Chapter 8: Later

TW: blood, violence, salty Penelope, fluff, dirty thoughts, slight smut

This chapter is going to be 👀 interesting, settle in, she's longer than chapter 6 was so get some snacks and a drink and enjoy! 🥰

Why don't the Endless have fucking cell phones? I thought bitterly to myself as I stared at the man holding Morpheus' ruby. Something was wrong, I could feel it in the unusual quiet of the mark. Ever since our reunion it had pulsed with the steady thrum of him, what he was feeling or even just the soft caress of his power. But, ever since our departure in Hell all feeling had faded, and as I stared at the man holding the ruby I couldn't shake the feeling he had something to do with it.

He didn't beat Morpheus, no, this stranger was nowhere near as cunning nor powerful even with the stolen jewel. Something had happened though, but what? In the background the news reported some kind of traffic accident as the kind waitress stepped up to his table and smiled. "Best seat in the house. How are you doin today?"

"How am I doing today? Well… I'm feeling better than I have in quite some time, thank you." He said with a smile, one that didn't feel quite genuine or fake.

"Mmm. I could use some of that. What's your secret?" The waitress asked.

"Shall I tell you the truth?"

"Well, honesty is the best policy."

"That's what they say isn't it? Well, I hope that's true." He held up the glistening red jewel and smiled. "This is my secret."

"It's gorgeous," the waitress remarked.

His eyes shifted to hers, an unsettling gleam in them. "It makes dreams come true."

The waitress laughed a little. "I bet it does. And what are you dreaming of? New house? New job?"

"A new world. A more honest one." I practically scoffed. Honesty coming from a thief, how ironic.

"That is the dream, isn't it?" She sighed. "Well, can I get you a cup of coffee while we wait for our dreams to come true?"

The ruby seemed to flare as he spoke, "Yes, please. But we won't be waiting for long."

"Well I'd better hurry and get you that coffee then." She turned, heading around the counter as he watched after her.

This man was weird, but not the usual kind of weird, everything about him was just off in a way that I couldn't place. But watching him stare at everyone in the diner made a pit form in my stomach. That pit made me decide it was best to stick around for a little, to see if Dream would be close behind or if I'd be finding a way to get his ruby and get back to London on my own. His sand sent me here, that must mean he knew and was coming back for me. I'd hoped as much at least. 

Getting back to London with nothing to my name would be complicated, not impossible, but a lot more work and criminal activity than I'd wanted to have to do. My stomach growled again and I cursed myself quietly. You know better than to go off with Johanna without your wallet! Stupid, stupid! I eyed every plate the waitress brought out. It had been a long night, being in Hell and all, and I was starving not to mention exhausted. I sighed, Why the fuck can't I just go home and take a nap? Or a shower? God I probably smell so bad right now. Johanna was going to kill me when I got back.

The diner had a few more people come in. A girl, frantically checking her phone every second and moving around in her seat nervously. A young man preparing for a job interview. And a couple, a classic example of people that fought to look happy but very much so were not. There were various conversations going on throughout the establishment. The couple made small talk with the waitress, asking about her son and her writing before just as politely arguing about what the man should order. The girl and young man talked about his job interview and how poor of a matchmaker the waitress was. It was all so normal, standard for some small town diner, then Mr. Weirdo Ruby Thief started doing whatever the hell he was doing and shit started getting weird. 

The waitress stopped in front of me and opened her mouth to ask if I needed anything but then realized something and stopped herself, rushing back over to the man with the ruby. Our eyes locked and a hint of confusion flashed over his face before she spoke. "I'm so sorry, sir! It's their anniversary."

"Yes, I heard you introduced them."

"Yes I did." She sounded proud.

"And you're not really a waitress, are you Bette? You're a writer."

She chuckled. "Well, I'm a waitress who writes."

"Fiction? Non-fiction?"

"Well, all my characters are based on real people, but it's fiction I guess because my stories always have a happy ending."

The man nodded. "Well that's because you know when to stop."

"How do you mean?"

"The problem with stories is if you keep them going long enough they all end in death, don't they?" He said calmly, the silence swallowing something in the waitresses mind before the ding of the kitchen bell pulled her out of it.

"So, what'll you have handsome?" She asked.

His jaw tightened slightly as he looked out the window for a moment. "Ah. May I ask, you don't really think I'm handsome do you?"

For a moment she struggled to answer, but as the ruby glowed in between his fingers she suddenly blurted out, "No, of course I don't."

He gripped the jewel tighter. "Why did you call me that? Why did you lie?"

"I don't know…" She stuttered. "I guess I was just trying to be… I just wanted to make you feel… I wanted you to like me.'

"I do like you," he said softly, so softly I almost didn't hear. "I like this version of you much better, don't you?" When she nodded, quick, tense and uneasy he continued. "Isn't it a relief to tell the truth for once? Don't you wish we could live in a world where we could say what we actually think?"

"I do."

"Well it starts with us, Bette, you and I are going to change the world. Make a more honest one."

They stared at one another for a while before she walked away, her features twisted into confusion. Everything started getting worse from there. No matter where I looked, no matter what conversation I honed in on, anger and frustration filled the diner. The young woman stood to leave, but just stood there, looking at the door before the waitress said in a dead voice, one devoid of all the cheer it had held earlier. "Did you hear from Donna?” No reply, just a shake of her head. “You wanna wait a little while longer?"

She turned around and nodded, taking the seat she’d just vacated and settled back in.

After that anyone that tried to leave would end up the same, confused, frozen before they'd just go back to their seats. Sometimes the whole diner would reenact when they'd first arrived. All the while Weirdo Ruby Thief made slow rounds through the place, having conversations with everyone he could. I didn't hear them all, but the ones I did revolved around lies and truth. After about two hours my head was swarmed with the noise and the tension. It was thick in the air, so much so it made it hard to breathe as memories of a similar environment began to resurface.

I set my head down on the counter, taking deep breaths, trying to keep myself tethered to the present. He was coming. I told myself, over and over and over again until another thirty minutes had passed. Dream you fucking ass you'd better come get me. I thought with a sigh. A hand suddenly hit the counter beside me and startled me straight up. The ruby man smiled, but even that was wrong. "Hello."

"Hi." I replied tensely.

"You seem to be the only person here that the ruby doesn't affect. That means you must be the only other honest person here."

I arched my brow. "I wouldn't say either of us is purely honest."

He chuckled. "The ruby does not lie."

"Well, let's test this magic ruby then?" I leaned a little closer. "I am a four eyed alien from a far away planet. Is that a lie?"

"Obviously," he said.

"No, did the ruby tell you it was a lie?"

His smile grew tense. "Well no."

"Let's do another one then, something simple. I am very tired and hungry. Truth or lie?"

He looked visibly shaken. "I… I don't know."

I hummed. "It must be broken then. Maybe you should go home and figure that out."

"My ruby has never not worked before. How are you doing this?"

"Your ruby?" I laughed. "Do you not know who it really belongs to?"

He tilted his head, looking at me curiously. "You know of the ruby, and its previous owner?"

"Yeah, previous might not be the word I'd use when he gets here. He doesn't really like it when people take his stuff and claim it as their own."

"How do you know all this?"

I sighed, spinning in my seat slightly. "Listen buddy, I've had a really long night so unless you want to buy me some food I'd really appreciate it if you just fucked off back to your weird little ruby corner."

His lips twitched. "You're rather rude aren't you?"

"Only to thieves that like to run their mouths and play dollhouse with random people in diners."

"I'm not playing!" He insisted. "I am ridding these people of lies. I’m building a better world."

"Ridding them of lies?" I asked, looking around at the misery that had already begun to set in. "Because to me this looks like you doing your freaky thing to keep these people from leaving just so you can feel some tiny ounce of power. As for this whole better world of yours eradicating lies won’t fix all the issues the world has. The truth holds evil in it just as much as lies do. And using a stolen magic ruby to achieve this perfect world of yours is just not the way to go, especially when it’s clear that it’s hurting these people."

He looked offended at my words, but sat next to me regardless. "What is your name?"

"What makes you think I'm gonna tell you?"

"You haven't tried to leave." He smiled. "And I think I know why."

"You don't."

"You want to see how this plays out. You're here to test me, to see if I can truly rid this world of lies."

I fought the urge to laugh. "Ah, so you think all this is about you."

"Isn't it though? Is that not why you're here?"

"I honestly don't know why I'm here, weird ruby guy. But I can tell you for certain it's not for you. Though I'm not opposed to sticking around and watching the real owner of that ruby kick your ass."

"My name is John. John Dee, or I suppose Burgess might be appropriate."

I went stiff for a moment, the memories of that damn house echoing in my ears before I looked at him closely. He resembled Roderick some, but looked so much like Ethel I didn't know how I'd missed it. With a laugh I nodded to myself. "You're Ethel Cripps bastard. I heard the rumors but never thought I'd actually run into either of you."

He shook his head, fingers stroking over the ruby, almost nervously. "You knew my mother?"

"In passing. I knew your father and your brother too."

"How?"

"They kept me chained up in their basement for two years before sending me away to an insane asylum."

John looked conflicted. He still couldn't quite tell if I was telling the truth or not. "That's not possible… you, you would be hundreds of years old."

I shrugged. "I've got a very good skincare routine."

"What were they like? The family I never had?"

Wrong person to ask for a heartfelt story bud. "Roderick, your father, was an abusive piece of shit that didn't care about anyone but himself or power. Alex, your brother, was a coward and a real lousy friend. And you, it would seem, didn't fall far from the tree."

He shook his head. "No. I'm helping these people."

"Listen, John, if you really want to help these people let them go home. Let them lie to themselves, to others, because it's not your business. You're not god and you sure as hell aren't the Sandman."

"You know him." I stood, making my way to the door. "You can't leave! The ruby won't let you."

Hand on the door handle I looked back at him. "Fuck you and the ruby. I'm going to wait for the real owner to get here and then maybe, if I'm lucky, I'll get to watch him take the damn thing from you along with all your weird psycho powers."

The door slid open and I stepped through, flipping him off as I went, but as I closed the door I turned to a sight that most definitely wasn't a diner parking lot. A long path of tall hedges was now in front of me. God damn it. I turned to look back around the door, which was now gone. "Great, so now I can't even walk through doors without teleporting places… That's just awesome." I grumbled to myself continuing down the path.

It just had to be a maze, didn't it? A maze that I had no way to determine which way was the beginning or the end. I just walked forward, hoping that one of these paths led to food. The hedges were well maintained and the path beneath my feet looked like gravel but felt as smooth as a well made sidewalk. Soon butterflies began appearing, starting with just one or two but quickly turning into dozens lining the hedges and fluttering off down particular paths, almost like they were leading me, and I followed because, well it couldn’t exactly get any worse than lost in a magic maze and starving. Eventually the hedges opened up to a large circular courtyard. All the paths led here, at least that's what it looked like from the quick look I got before the butterflies suddenly swarmed me.

They circled me with the feather light touches of their wings until I stepped forward, trying to get out of the bubble they'd created, and slammed face first into a solid mass. The butterflies quickly began to disperse revealing the tall figure I'd run into. He was clothed in a long gray robe and looked down at me with white clouded eyes. As I stumbled back he steadied me with a single hand, the other held a large book to him as chains rattled together with his movement. The smell of dust and old paper overwhelmed me.

"You are early," he said calmly. "Or perhaps you are on time…"

"Y… You were expecting me?"

"No." He stood in front of me for a moment. "You're bigger than you were last time."

I looked down at myself, still in the dress Dream had magically given me. Bigger? Last time? "I'm sorry I don't understand what's happening."

"Most don't." He said, walking away, his tall figure casting no shadow in the sunlight as he moved to a small table set with tea and snacks. He promptly took a seat and began pouring himself and me a cup of tea.

I looked around the garden, at the beautiful flowers blooming and the tall statues that depicted seven figures. They all felt so familiar as I stopped at one of the statues, my eyes tracing its chiseled features, settling on the pendant that hung around her neck. Death? I moved to another, a face I'd seen so often, the shoulders and lithe figure one I'd been pressed up against only hours ago. If I had any doubts, the raven that stood beside him washed them away. Dream. It had to be him.

"I believe you have met my sister, Death, and that you are intimately acquainted with my brother, Dream."

"I… I wouldn't say intimately," I answered nervously.

"I would. This is inevitable when it comes to the two of you."

"What is all this?" I asked.

He lifted the cup in his hand. "Afternoon tea."

"No, this place… You…" I shook my head and looked at him. Maybe one question at a time would help speed things along? "Who are you?"

"I am Destiny." He said plainly.

"You're one of his siblings… an Endless." I answered nervously.

"Yes."

Looking around at the large hedges and statues I sighed. "What is this place?"

"My garden. You have traveled here many times."

"It feels familiar but I don't remember…"

He nodded. "You were quite young. The most recent time was after. You were as you are now."

Then it came back to me. "You were there, outside the club that night."

With a shrug he took a sip of his tea. "I've not left my garden. You were here, you walked past and you chose a path."

"So I was just hallucinating then?" It wouldn't be the first time.

"No. You had a choice in front of you. To enter the club or to wait, this choice brought your mind, at least, to me. You saw me where you were, and I saw you where I was. Just because you did not see the garden or the path doesn't mean it wasn't real."

"The last time I saw you… You said 'it likes to change for you'." I looked at the tea and the small decorated plate of food as I took the seat across from him. "What did you mean?"

"I meant what I said."

I sighed. Of course Destiny would be vague as fuck. "Okay, well then what did what you said mean?"

"That it likes to change for you."

We stared at one another for a moment. "You can't be serious with this." He didn't react, merely drank more of his tea. "Fine! What is it and why does it change for me?"

"It is this, the book, it tells me of what is to come and how it shall be. What is written is usually more definite, set in stone, there are some changes through the eons, often to choices made and choices not. It just seems to do so more for you."

My eyes glued to the chain around his wrist. "Are you a prisoner to it?"

"I suppose that is one way to see it." He gestured to the food. "Eat, Penelope. You are hungry."

"You know my name?"

"I know a great deal about you. Your favorite color, your favorite among my flowers, your preference of tea and food."

"How?"

"As I said, you have been here many times. You did not have this many questions, though, you were just as vocal then if not more so."

I filled my plate, unable to ignore the pangs of hunger rumbling through me. If this was poisoned at least I'd die with a full stomach. While I ate and drank Destiny was silent. He just sat, sipping his tea and occasionally looking around the garden. I couldn't tell if he was blind or if his eyes just looked that way and I had the feeling he wouldn't answer even if I asked.

"This is the most you're gonna give me, isn't it?" 

He turned back to me. "You may have all the food and drink you wish."

"No, I mean answers."

"I do not interfere in the affairs of mortals."

"Then why am I here?"

"Because here is where you were meant to be."

"How do I get back?"

He gestured to the maze around us. "You choose a path."

My eyes narrowed. "And it'll take me back to the diner?"

"It will take you where you are meant to go."

"Of course." I stood and looked around at the plethora of paths. "What happens if I pick the wrong one?"

Destiny stood beside me, a hand on my shoulder. "No path chosen is simply right or wrong."

With a heavy sigh I looked up at him. "You've been nice and all, but talking to you is very difficult."

He made a noise, not a laugh and not a scoff, something in between. "You have told me this many times."

When I turned back to the hedges the butterflies had returned, clinging to the hedged path on the right, some swirling out to circle me or land in my hair. "What's with the butterflies?"

"Butterflies often represent metamorphosis, change and rebirth." He stated. "They tend to arrive with you."

"They aren't yours?"

Destiny squeezed my shoulder. "Good luck, Penelope."

I watched him walk down another path, the chains echoing in the distance before the noise was gone entirely. Turning back to the butterflies I shrugged, starting down the path they marked. "Guess I'm gonna just have to trust you guys."

Following the butterflies through all the twists and turns of the maze was easy, but after walking for what felt like hours I was starting to second guess their purpose. My feet ached, even with the comfortable shoes and smooth path. After a while, an eternity maybe, I stopped. "Are you even leading me the right way?"

The mass continued down the path and took a left turn. With no real options I followed and turned to find them lining the edges of the diner door. "Damn, okay. Sorry for doubting you." I put my hand on the handle and gave the hedges one last look. "Bye I guess."

I stepped into the diner, now darkened by the night outside and nearly slipped. The floor was streaked and splattered with blood and their air was filled with the tang of copper and burning flesh. The bodies of everyone that had been in the diner littered the floor and there at the end of the counter with a bucket of ice cream and a spoon sat John fucking Burgess. Anger filled me at the sight of him, unbothered, uncaring of the lives he’d trapped and let die here. He turned at the sound of the bell above the door and smiled at me. 

“You’re back.” I marched towards him without a word and shoved his bucket of ice cream off the table before moving to sit three or four seats away from him. “That was very rude.”

“Yeah, well murderers don’t get ice cream.”

We sat in the dark, the only sounds coming from the old tv in the corner for what seemed like forever. I kept my eyes on the wall ahead of me, scared that if I looked at the bodies, the blood for long enough I’d be dragged back into the blood that drenched my own past. After a while the power went out completely as thunder and lightning filled the sky outside. John turned and watched me. “I’m not a bad person, you know.”

I scoffed. “Okay, John, whatever you want to believe.”

“I just want to build a world without lies.” He said. “Is that such an evil thing?”

I turned and glared at him. “It is when this is what you build it on. You killed these people.”

“I -”

“Don’t.” I warned him. “If I hear one more word come out of your mouth I won’t wait for the Sandman to get here and kick your ass, I’ll do it myself.”

He didn’t seem afraid, but uncertain, so he remained quiet as we waited in the dark. It didn’t take much longer until the door to the diner opened with a ding and the sound of his familiarly light steps echoed in the diner entrance. John stood first, but I could feel Dream's eyes glued to me. With a smile I turned. “You’re late.”

“Are you hurt?” He asked, voice calm and gentle, though the rage of his worry hit me like a train. 

“No.” I assured him, standing up and moving closer. “But, I’m very confused as to why I’m here.”

“As am I,” he admitted, eyes running over every inch of me in a quick double check. “Are you alright?”

I knew what he meant, and all I could give him was a weak nod, one he saw right through. Lifting a hand from his pocket he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear, his hand lingering on my cheek. “Wait outside with Matthew while I finish this.”

I eyed the door. “Maybe I should just stick with you? The last two times I’ve tried to leave you I’ve ended up in a not so fun place… And the door might teleport me somewhere random again.” His eyebrows rose slightly at the word again and I waved him off. “We can talk about that later.”

Dream opened the door for me and nodded. “Go, please.”

“Okay,” I mumbled. “But if I end up in some random shit hole you’d better come for me.”

“I’m certain you’ll be fine for a few minutes,” he said, that spark of amusement reassuring me as I stepped out into the cloudy night. 

Matthew was perched on top of one of the cars in the parking lot. “Hey, Penny! How’d you get here?”

“The magic sand,” I answered, sitting on top of the hood and looking over at him. “What the hell happened to you guys?”

“The magic ruby,” he replied.

I chuckled and hugged myself in an attempt to stay warm while I waited. “This magic shit is absolutely out of control.”

He cawed. “Tell me about it. So, you were with the ruby thief?”

“Yeah, for a little bit.” I sighed. “Then I got teleported to Dream’s brother's garden and had tea with Destiny.”

The bird looked over at me in awe. “Wait what?”

I laid down across the windshield. “It's a very long story, dear Matthew.”

***

Dream had felt something after sending Penelope back to the Waking World, it was only a slight twinge, an uncomfortable itch at the back of his mind and so he’d chosen to move forward in his final quest to retrieve the last of his stolen tools. Donning his helm and using his sand to take him and Matthew to where his ruby was hidden, for the first time since his release Dream felt at ease. Here he was, in the warehouse, about to complete his quest to regain his power and save his realm, but things didn’t go as he’d planned. Upon his arrival he could feel his power radiate from the jewel but something was different. It had been altered, changed. When he’d reached out to it the blast had knocked him clear into the wall and there he had remained for hours until the burning tug of Penelope's piqued anxiety woke him.

It hadn’t taken him too long to locate the ruby, the path of ruin that lay between it and him spoke volumes of whomever had altered it. The power, his power, was being used to strip humanity of their dreams and ensure their descent into pain and anger and panic. Outside the diner Dream felt her, here, but how? Why? With a simple instruction for his raven he entered the diner. “Wait here, Matthew.”

There sitting rigidly in one of the counter seats was Penelope. The blood was pungent in the air and though Dream hadn’t looked down at the bodies that lined the floors he knew that they’d died gruesomely. The man that had stolen his ruby and altered it stood, looking at him with a curious gaze, but he didn’t care, all he saw was her. When she turned in her seat and gave him a tense smile he nearly lost control of the tempered anger he’d been slowly burning away at. “You’re late.”

If there hadn’t been blood or bodies or a thief in their midst he would have chuckled, but he could hear the unsteadiness in her voice, could feel the clawing of old painful memories dragging down the walls she’d desperately tried to keep up to save her from the horrors they’d bring with them. So, as gently and as calmly as he could he uttered, “Are you hurt?”

“No.” If her answer had been anything different nothing would have been able to stop him from tearing every inch of this diner and the man within it to shreds. “But, I’m very confused as to what I’m doing here.”

“As am I,” he’d admitted, eyes looking away at the bodies and blood that were quite similar to what he’d seen in her memories. She now stood in front of him and he couldn’t help looking down the length of her in search of any mark or injury, nor could he help the lingering touch. “Are you alright?”

The weak nod she provided did little to calm his worry, but it was the glossiness of her eyes that told him everything he needed to know. “Wait outside with Matthew.”

Penelope looked at the door nervously. “Maybe I should just stick with you? The last two times I’ve tried to leave you I’ve ended up in a not so fun place… And the door might teleport me somewhere random again.”Again? She waved him off. “We can talk about that later.”

He took a step back and opened the door for her, eyes looking out into the parking lot before he gave her a nod. “Go, please.”

“Okay,” She grumbled. “But if I end up in some random shit hole you’d better come for me.”

He couldn’t help the tiny smirk and the wave of amusement that filled him. “I’m certain you’ll be fine for a few minutes.”

Dream watched her hop onto the hood of the nearest car and begin talking with his raven before he turned his attention to the thief, John Dee. John Burgess. He resembled his brother in their old age, but his eyes reminded him too much of Roderick. “Hello. I’m John. I’m glad you’re here. The power has gone out. So there’s no TV, and no one left to talk to now that our rude friend is gone.”

His jaw clenched at the implication that Penelope was in any way his friend. First he steals my ruby and now he intends to insult my lady? “What is it you think you’re doing?”

“Saving the world from its lies.” He believed he was truly saving them, Dream noted. The ruby had affected his mind from the start.

“The ruby wasn’t made for that.”

“Oh, you’re the Sandman. My mother was right in assuming you’d come for it, and our friend told me you would be coming.”

“You must return it to me so that I can repair the damage you have done.”

An offended look flashed in John's eyes. “I’m not giving it to you, it’s mine.”

“It is harming you, John, and your world.”

“It’s revealing the truth,” he persisted, but the sorrowful look on his face told Dream that somewhere deep inside John knew the truth of his words. “This is the truth of mankind.”

“No. You’re wrong. This is the truth of mankind.” Over his shoulder the vision of the diners' casual pleasantries played. Dream watched John's eyes flicker between the faces of those he’d driven to madness.

“They’re lying to themselves. It’s all lies.”

“Not lies, John. Dreams.” He corrected calmly. “Kate dreams of running away, where no one will find her. Garry dreams of proving his father was wrong about him. Bette dreams of creating something that matters to people. Their dreams inspired them. Their dreams kept them alive. But if you rob them of their dreams, if you take away their hope, then… yes, this is the truth of mankind. The ruby is hurting you, John. It has too much of my power within it. It stole more when I tried to use it.”

“Then perhaps if I use it to steal the rest of your powers, I will be the king of dreams.”

For a moment Dream felt afraid. He was weakened, and he had much more to lose than he had at the beginning of his quest. But, he pushed through it and said, “If you’d rob a Dream lord of his power, you shall do so in his realm. In dreams.”

Much like the dreams of his family line John Burgess dreamt of the mansion. Morpheus didn’t care to take in the details, focused solely on preparing himself for whatever fight John Burgess would give him, and when he finally broke free of the dreams hold and looked around at the crumbling ruins of his palace with a mocking cry, “Is this your palace… Dream lord? Is this your throne… King of Lies? Well it’s mine now!”

The walls around them coated in orange flames, devouring what little remained. “Are you watching? Can you see me? Using your own powers to burn away your lies?”

“You must stop,” He’d answered, appearing before him. “It is not too late to save yourself.”

“Oh, you think it’s me that needs saving?”

“Your father stole the ruby from me and cursed you with it.”

“You mean he blessed me with it. Your reign ended when my father captured you. Your kingdom is my birthright. Your power resides within me.” He could feel the ruby draining what remained of his power, his life as he sank to the ground curling in on himself. Yet, in spite of the pain, Dreams' thoughts were on Penelope. If she had felt the pain he did during his duel with Lucifer, she would certainly feel this as well. He was afraid. Afraid he’d fail her, afraid she’d come to try and save him and be lost again because of him. “How does it feel to know I hold your life in my hands?”

“You’re hurting the dreamers,” he managed to say. You’re hurting her.

“Well it’s time they woke up!” John shouted. “Your life and your lies end now.”

His hand closed tightly around the ruby, crushing it in his hand and releasing the power within it. Dream felt a rush fill him, his power - all of it returning all at once. In the palm of his hand John stood, praising his own victory before he noticed where he was. “Thank you, John.”

“But I killed you,” he said in a shaking voice.

“You destroyed the ruby and released the power inside it. I would never have thought of that. I’d forgotten just how much of myself I had placed in the jewel.”

“Are you going to kill me?”

“I could. Perhaps I will.” He thought for a moment, looking down at the worried face of the man who’d never truly been given a chance to thrive without his ruby’s influence. In spite of what he had done in the diner, and long before, Dream knew Penelope would choose mercy. If she knew what he did, saw the dark fester of corruption placed within John Dee by the ruby and the lies of his mother, she would spare him. And so, Dream said, “But the dream stone was not made for mortals. And it came to you through no fault of your own. So, no, John. I will not kill you.”

He took him back to the only true home he had, whatever facility he had been staying within before his release, and laid him gently back onto his bed. “Sleep well, John.”

He would not hurt anyone ever again.

***

I looked down at my arm, watching the black veins that had begun to spread a few minutes ago fade away, the pain had died down, now just a tiny fragment of the discomfort had remained. Matthew looked over my shoulder at my arm and sighed. “That’s probably a good sign, right? If you’re okay then surely the boss is too… right?”

“I don’t know,” I said worriedly. “I’m not sure how it works.”

The diner door opened and Dream stepped out into the chilled air shrugging off his coat. I jumped off the hood of the car and grabbed him. “Are you okay?” My eyes looked for any scratch or visible injury but found nothing. “What the hell happened?”

He draped his coat over my shoulders. “John attempted to use the ruby to steal what remained of my power. He failed and is now back where he belongs.”

“So, did you get your ruby back?” I asked, letting my hands fall away from him to greedily shove them into the long sleeves of his coat.

“In a sense. I retrieved the power within it.”

“Is that good?”

“The stone itself held little importance, my power was what I required from it.”

I nodded, rubbing my arms to help heat them. “Okay, well you got any more fun little scavenger hunts planned?”

He shook his head, his lips twitching as he made an effort not to smile. “No, this was the last.”

I hugged myself and smiled up at him. “Do you feel better then?”

“I do.” He admitted as we started walking away from the diner and the lingering smell of blood. The streets were littered with destruction, cars burning and trash blowing around, no doubt it was caused by John before he’d gotten to the tiny diner.

“All the damage the ruby did, can you undo it?” Matthew asked from the ground beside us.

Dream sighed. “The ruby didn’t do this. John merely used it to reveal wounds that were hidden, but never healed. Soon the rebuilding will begin. In this realm and in mine, but tonight at least, humanity will sleep in peace.” His gaze shifted back to me. “How is it you were not among the bodies in the diner?”

I leaned into him slightly as we walked and shrugged. “The ruby didn’t work on me. Got any idea what that's about?”

“I'm not sure,” he said. “But I am glad that it did not affect you.”

“Oh, were you worried about me Dream?” I said in a light tone, bumping him with my arm.

“Very.”

My heart fluttered at the admission and I smiled up at him. “It’ll take a lot more than a little jewel to take me out, Dream of the Endless.”

He stopped suddenly and I felt the rattling of his nervousness. “I would like you to accompany me, back to my realm.”

“I thought it needed to be repaired.”

“It does,” he said. “But I promised you a conversation.”

“I can wait a little longer, Dream, you don’t have to-”

“I also do not wish to part with you yet. Not after finding you at the center of danger twice now because of my absence.” He sighed and closed the distance between us, resting his head against mine. “It would ease my mind considerably if you remained beside me for just a while longer. But if you wish to return home I will escort you there and make certain you remain safe as best as I can.”

With a smile I said, “I am rather curious to see this famous dream world of yours, I hear it’s all the rage.”

Taking his sand from his coat he looked down at me with a tiny smile. “It is not yet returned to its former glory, but I think you’ll still find it to your liking.”

I put a hand over his pouch. “This isn’t going to send me somewhere random again, is it?”

“No,” he gently pulled me into him. “I will ensure you do not stray from my side again.”

“Good.” I whispered as heat flooded my face.

From the ground beside us Matthew tutted. “You’re gonna make sure I don’t get sent to any murder diners too, right boss?”

I closed my eyes as the sand moved around us, my hands clutching onto Dream’s arms as the spinning sensation washed over me and just as quickly faded away. For a minute I was scared to open my eyes as a light breeze caressed my face. “Open your eyes, Penelope.”

At first all I could see was the black of his shirt, but as I looked down at the ground black sand nearly engulfed my shoes. I lifted my head and looked out at the vast expanse of mountains and tall carved gates. I knew this place. I’d thought of it so often on those restless nights, desperate to dream. The sound of the ocean beating against the shore moved me from Dreams arms as I moved to get a better look at it. Tears began filling my eyes at the sight, it was far more beautiful than I could have imagined. With a bright smile I turned back to him. “How is this possible?”

Dream shrugged. “I don’t know, but I am glad to welcome you to The Dreaming.”

“It’s incredible,” I whispered, desperately trying not to cry. 

“This is just one small piece of it,” He told me, a sense of pride filling me as he looked out at the ocean. “Soon it will all be as it should.”

“My Lord!” A voice called out. Beside me Dream moved to meet whomever it was trying to get his attention, but I couldn’t seem to tear my eyes away from the view. I never thought I’d get to see it, none of this.

Dream’s gentle hand on my arm pulled me at last from the ocean as I turned and met the eyes of a very surprised looking woman. She wore a fancy outfit that looked like a suit but far more embellished. The glasses hung low on her nose, causing her to push them up so she could stare at me in shock a bit more clearly. She was beautiful, everything about her elegant. “Lucienne, this is Penelope.”

Lucienne smiled at Dream first, before she smiled even wider at me. “Hello, my lady. It is an honor to meet you.”

I blushed at the fancy titles. “I’m hardly a lady, Penelope is just fine.”

“I was not expecting visitors, my Lord,” she admitted. “I thought something horrible had happened when you did not appear back at the palace. I am glad to see that I was wrong.”

Dream held his arm out to me. “Would you like to accompany us back to my palace?”

I nodded, probably a bit too eagerly. “Absolutely!”

“Unfortunately there is not much of it left, but I will repair it soon.”

Arm in arm we walked to the large gate, carved with details and images I’d never be able to imagine. Without thinking I reached out and ran my hand long it, jumping when the gates shook and began opening. From my side Dream said nothing, merely looked down at me with tender eyes. It was the first time I’d seen him look so relaxed, so happy. I liked it.

In the vast bleak distance a crumbling castle stood, the trees and fields all darkened and dead. It was a sad sight, but as we moved deeper along the path the forest and grass and plants seemed to start regaining their vibrant color until the entire path was beautiful and teeming with life. I left his side to look around in awe. “This is amazing, Dream.”

He and Lucienne stayed close to one another, occasionally speaking softly as I explored. At a slight fork in the path Dream and Lucienne continued on the main road, heading toward the palace, but as I wandered closer three little butterflies flew past my head and down the smaller path. With a tiny smile I followed them. After they led me out of the maze in Destiny’s garden I had to assume that they’d lead me somewhere important. The path widened and led across a small bridge, opening at the end to what looked to be a garden and two houses. The graves that lined the rim of the property were a bit startling, but the place didn’t feel ominous or dangerous.

Two voices bickered in the distance. “Cain! Cain come see, the trees have gotten their leaves back!”

“You’re seeing things again, you twat!”

“No I’m not! There's really leaves on them, and birds!”

As I moved past the still dead plants and looked around the large fountain at the center of the small courtyard I saw one of the figures. “Hello?”

He turned, startled, and looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh, he… Hello!”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. I was just following the butterflies and they led me, well here.”

The man quickly regained his composure, moving towards me with a beaming smile. “It’s quite alright! We haven't had guests in ages! Cain! Cain, come quick, there's a guest in the garden!”

Another man walked quickly from one of the houses, a pitchfork tight in his hand. “Abel I swear if you call me out here one more time I’ll-” His eyes grew wide at the sight of me and he looked at his companion. “There’s a guest in the garden.”

“I told you!” He cried cheerfully. “Forgive me, my name is Abel, the owner and keeper of the House of Secrets. It is a pleasure to meet you, uh, what is your name?”

“Penelope!” I replied offering him my hand.

He shook it happily and laughed. “Penelope! Oh it is very good to meet you!”

Cain shoved his way between us, shaking my hand gently but firmly. “I am Cain, owner and keeper of the House of Mysteries. Forgive my brother's unseamly manners.”

“It’s alright,” I insisted while looking around. “You have lovely homes, both of you.”

“Thank you! Apologies for the state of our garden. I’m afraid it’s been in a state of disarray for a century!” Abel said.

I shrugged off Dreams' coat, hugging it to my chest as I knelt down to inspect the flowers. My fingers gingerly touched the leaves and stems. “They’re not too bad, they just need a bit of love and attention.”

One of the butterflies fluttered from over my shoulder, landing on the wilted petals of the flower I held. It sat there for a long minute, beating its wings before flying into my hair. There right before my eyes the flower began to change, the darkened wilted petals twitched and began to regain their soft velvety feel and their pigment. Then, all around us the flowers began to come back to life. Water began pouring from the fountain and soon everything in the once dead courtyard breathed in new life. Cain and Abel looked around in awe before they turned to me. Cain spoke. “How did you do this?”

“I didn’t do anything,” I assured them standing. 

Abels eyes found the black mark on my arm and he quickly elbowed his brother and mumbled into his ear, pointing slightly. Cain’s eyes went from annoyed to wide as saucers in seconds. Before I could ask if they were alright the two of them were bowing and speaking rushed apologies and praises of thanks. A flash of black filled my peripheral vision as Morpheus and Lucinne made their way across the bridge. Oh, right… I bit my bottom lip. I was supposed to be following them. At first Morpheus looked upset, but the expression quickly softened as the two of them took in the space and the still bowed and speaking brothers. 

“Cain, Abel,” He called to them, finally snapping them out of their state and back up.

“Lord Morpheus!” They cried in unison.

He came to my side and I held his coat out to him. “I don’t think I need this anymore, the weather here is quite lovely.”

With a smile he looked to the sky. “Yes, it seems to be clearing up nicely.”

As he pulled his coat back on Cain and Abel approached. “Thank you, my lady!”

“Our garden has never looked more beautiful!” Abel insisted.

I smiled at the two and shrugged. “I didn’t do anything, I was just looking at the flowers.”

They looked at each other and then to Morpheus, who spoke first. “It seems you two have already been introduced to Penelope.”

“Yes,” they both said. 

“She is quite welcome in the House of Secrets!” Abel stated gesturing to the house on the right.

Cain’s brows furrowed. “She’s also welcome in the House of Mysteries!”

I laughed at the two as more butterflies began filling the courtyard. Beside me, Dream looked around before looking down at me with a curious glint in his eyes. “I’m afraid tours of your houses will have to wait. We are going to attend to the palace now and then, I believe we are overdue for an important conversation.”

With a smile I nodded at him. “Yeah, we should probably get to that.” Turning to the brothers I shook both their hands. “It was a pleasure visiting, I’ll try to come back again for a tour of both your houses, they sound amazing.”

Each bowed once again. Cain spoke, “It would be my honor, my lady.”

Abel bowed lower and followed his words. “It would be mine as well, my lady, you are welcome anytime!”

With a gentle tug Dream led me back across the bridge and to the main path. “It seems Constantine was right to warn me of your talent for disappearing.”

I blushed. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to wander off. I was just following these guys.” I gestured to the butterflies that fluttered through the air around us. “They like to lead me places and are, I think, trying to be helpful.”

He looked at them before returning his eyes to me. “You know these butterflies then?”

“Don’t sound so sarcastic, Dream,” I said with a smirk. “They helped guide me out of your brothers maze.”

Dream stopped walking, his eyes clouding over with concern. “You were in my brother's realm? When?”

“A few hours ago. When things started getting weird at the diner I left, but when I opened the door and walked through I was in the middle of a hedge maze and the door kind of vanished behind me. These little guys led me to an opening where I ran into your brother, literally.”

His brows furrowed in confusion. “What did he say?”

I shrugged. “I’m not entirely sure, does he always answer questions by not really answering them?”

“Yes,” he said, continuing down the path. “I suppose he can be quite cryptic. Though I’m surprised he spoke to you at all, he does not interfere with the affairs of mortals.”

“Yeah, he told me that much. But he seemed to know me already,” I said thinking back on the encounter. “He said I’d been to his garden many times before, that I was smaller the last time he saw me. It was odd.”

Dream hummed, deep in thought. “I suppose a conversation with Destiny is overdue.”

“Don’t worry about it,” I answered. “You have a lot on your plate now that you’ve got your stuff back and besides, something tells me he wouldn’t really tell you much more than he did me.”

“Very well,” he looked down at me. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“No! He was quite polite. We had tea and snacks.”

“He offered you tea? Snacks?” He inquired with a hint of amusement.

“Is that not something he does often?”

“No, it is not.”

I shrugged. “Well, maybe it’s because I’m such good company.”

The fondness of his eyes nearly took me to the ground. "That you are, my lady."

Every time he said it a shiver ran up my spine and flooded me with heat. I knew he felt it by the too smug upturn of his lips. His eyes watched my reaction, the darkness drinking it greedily. I nudged him. "Cut it out."

"I have no idea what you are referring to."

"You're an ass," I whispered.

A few quiet moments passed before he asked, "So, you've met Destiny. Any other siblings of mine you know?"

"Your sister, Death," I replied. "She was there the night I pulled myself out of the river. And I don't really know who the others are, so I'm not sure."

Morpheus nodded. "When you said goodbye to me, that last time…" His jaw clenched for a moment. "I knew you weren't planning on coming back."

I looked up at him and smiled sadly. "I know. I felt it."

"I wanted to speak to you then," he admitted. "I wanted to tell you not to do it."

Guilt filled me, something that hadn't been his intention judging by the way he quickly tried to speak. "I'm sorry. I didn't think about how it would affect you…" I looked at the ground. "I honestly kind of thought it wouldn't have bothered you that badly."

"Why? Why would you have thought that?"

I shrugged. "You're you. You're a god, more than a god and I'm just me… Just a human. I figured to you I was just a spec in your endless lifetime."

He stopped, lifting my chin with his fingers. "Do you still think this?"

"No," I replied softly. "No, I don't. I feel it… What you feel for me, at least some of it."

"You are no minor spec, Penelope Barlow, you are every star in the sky, a galaxy in my endless lifetime."

I cleared my throat, wiping away the tiny tears that had begun to sting my eyes. "So, was that the only time you wanted to talk to me?"

"No," he smiled. "When you first called me Sandy I nearly broke my silence."

Laughing I wrapped my arm back around his. "Yeah, that's what it looked like."

"I also…" he paused, a tentative feeling pulling on his lungs. "When he told you to beg me… If you had, I would have spoken. I would have given him whatever he wanted if it meant keeping you from them."

I was crying now, as I looked up at the side of his face. Through a wobbling smile I asked, "Were you angry with me?"

Morpheus turned his head quickly and without breaking his stride wiped my tears and squeezed my arm. "No. I could never have been angry with you, Penelope."

I mean if we're doing the confessions now I might as well get it off my chest. "While I was… While I was there, I was convinced you'd hate me, or at least what I'd let myself become."

A bleak silence surrounded us for a moment as we slowly followed Lucienne down the path. "I have lived for a very, very long time. Over the course of my life I've hated many people and beings with ease. So, believe me when I say that I would never be capable of hating you. Never. You could single handedly destroy me and The Dreaming and I would not hate you."

I shook my head. "I would never!"

He nudged me gently with a soothing pulse lulling the guilt back to sleep. "Good, because I would truly find it difficult to feel saddened for my realm with the sight of you wielding my power before me."

A wave of that want we'd shared in Hell washed over me like ice water. I chuckled. "I mean, I can think of better scenarios for that."

"As can I," he replied, returning his gaze to the path ahead.

“So, is that something I’ll be able to do?” I asked once it seemed both of us had grown calmer. “Use your power?”

“I’ll admit, I’m not quite sure.” He answered. “There have not been pairings such as ours between a mortal and an Endless before. In fact such a thing should be impossible, and yet…”

“And yet, here we are,” I finished for him. “An odd pairing indeed.”

The words Lucifer had said resurfaced as I looked up at his relaxed features. Soul bound. I wanted to ask him what they meant… If they meant what I felt they did, but all the words I had ready in my mind faded once I saw the bridge. Two stone hands held it up out of the water, pieces of both were chipped or cracked, but the hands held the bridge firmly, refusing to let it fall into the water below. I let out a soft breath and shook my head as my eyes moved to the palace. Even crumbling and faded as it was, its beauty was undeniable. Faint glimmers of the golden domed rooftops caught the rising sunlight. The carved stone was dull and missing in large chunks but it reminded me of the statues of marble from Rome and Greece, no less beautiful even severed. 

Beside me Morhpeus sighed. “Such a sorry display. I had hoped to bring you here after I’d finished repairs, but…”

I could feel his hesitation at admitting something so vulnerable in front of Lucienne, who’d stood patiently at the side of the bridge, waiting for us. “It’s beautiful, Dream. Even like this.”

His starry eyes glittered back at me as we walked across the bridge and to the large palace doors. Beyond them was a large empty room with a set of twisted stairs and at the top, lit by three broken windows was Dreams throne. For a moment I was overwhelmed by the fact that this was all real - all had been real the whole time. The man gently letting go of my arm to move deeper into the crumbling space was a king… an immortal one. As he stopped in the center of the room he took a deep breath and raised his hands. Beside me, Lucienne gripped her book tighter and held her breath.

I felt the power before I saw it. Strong, steady and raw. It was him, every last piece. The glass and rubble lifted into the air, tiny glittering particles of sand swirling around the room with them. All around us the air grew tighter, the mark on my arm sang along, reacting to the power, to him. Everything moved, restoring to its rightful place and above head the ceiling, or lack thereof, of stars seemed to grow brighter as the color of the palace, of The Dreaming, returned. Once everything was finished and Dream's arms lowered back to his sides a light huff of air escaped his lips. “At last, my palace is as it should be.”

Lucienne released the breath she’d held and smiled at him. “Is there anything you require of me, my Lord? A list of all that still needs repaired perhaps?”

“Later,” he replied, turning to her and gesturing down one of the long hallways. “For now, I think there is a specific task you should see to.”

With a smile and a look of realization she hurried down the hall, the two of us following after her. As soon as the doors opened and the large expanse of books and papers came into her view she made a soft noise. Her fingers ran along the bookshelves and she clutched her notebook to her chest. “My Lord…”

“Welcome home, Lucienne.” He said. “I thank you, for your unwavering loyalty during my absence.”

“Thank you, Lord Morpheus.” The smile on her face was one of unbridled joy as she leafed through the papers left on the desks and looked through the books on the shelves.

Once she’d moved far enough away Dream turned to me and gestured towards the table. “I believe it is at last, later.”

“So it is, Dream King.”

“Ask your questions, and I shall do my best to answer them.”

I laughed, leaning against the table instead of sitting. “I don’t know where to start.”

“The beginning, then?”

With a nod I looked down at the mark, lightly tracing over the raven shape. “Was it a gift? Or was it an accident?”

Dream thought on the question for a moment. “Both, I suppose. While I did not give it to you knowingly, it is born of a sacred gift, one I could not control even if I’d wanted to.”

The words returned. “In Hell, Lucifer said that they heard rumors of you being soul bound to a mortal. Is that what this is called?”

“Yes. It is common among humans, though I believe the term is different. Mortals cannot see the mark that connects them to another, but given the oddity of our circumstance you and others seem to be able to see it as if it were a mere tattoo.”

“So, what exactly does it mean?”

He sighed softly, not out of frustration or annoyance, more out of mindfulness. He was thinking of what to say, how to say it so I would understand his meaning. So, I waited patiently. “Humans call them soulmates. Among the Endless and other beings it is called Soul Bound. Its meaning is different depending on the individuals, but the simplest answer I can give you is that you and I are bound together, soul to soul. Whatever it is that I am made of, you are too.”

The words I’d heard so long ago echoed in my head. “Two tethered stars…”

Dreams head tilted slightly. “Where did you hear that?”

“Right before I pulled myself out of the river, I heard a voice… I don’t remember exactly what it said, but I remember those words.”

He hummed in response. “An accurate phrasing I suppose.”

Destiny’s words joined all the others in my head. I cleared my throat and fidgeted with my fingers in front of me. “During my, uh, tea party with Destiny… He said that we were intimately acquainted… That such was inevitable when it came to us. Is that…” God, how do I put this without sounding desperate? “Is this pull between us just the mark?”

“No.” Dream replied, moving closer to me. “The mark binds us together, this is true, but it cannot make either of us feel things that are not already there. The… pull… That’s just how we feel.”

I blushed, chewing on my lip a little before saying, “It’s quite a strong pull.”

Dream chuckled, moving even closer. “They’re quite strong feelings.”

“Mine or yours?” I finally looked up at him, meeting the darkened gaze that bore down into me.

“I would argue they’re equals, as we are.”

“Equals? Does that mean I’m queen now?”

“If that’s what you wish,” he said, eyes falling to my lips.

I smiled, continuing my teasing. “Would I get a crown? You don’t have one.”

He made a noise, a huff and a chuckle. “I’ve not needed a crown, but I could make one for you if the queen is what you decide you wanted to be.”

“Maybe later,” I whispered, moving in closer to him, leaving just a small distance between us.

With a hum of acknowledgement he spoke, “I won my duel against Lucifer.”

My heart nearly stopped. “You did.”

“I believe I was promised a kiss.”

“You were.” My hands moved to smooth over his coat. “Would you like to be rewarded for your noble victory now, Dream Lord?”

“Yes.”

With an unbelievably smug smirk I lifted myself up, using his coat. “Very well.”

When our lips met it felt like a bolt of lightning had struck between us and we both pulled back a little breathlessly. My heart hammered in my ears as his hands pulled me impossibly closer, squeezing my side slightly and gently cupping the back of my neck, easing my head back towards his, easing our lips back together. It was soft, almost feather light, both of us testing the waters for a moment before his hand on my neck pulled me into a deeper kiss.

The slow, languid movements of our mouths were more intense than I imagined. I'd kissed people before, but while those all felt hollow and stiff this felt impossibly, unbearably deep. I felt the swell of emotions that built inside him and that he poured into the kiss. Everything was relaxed… Everything felt as natural as breathing, so much so I'd questioned why we hadn't been doing this the whole time.

In the distance a book hitting the floor pulled us away from one another. Dreams breath fanned across my face as he brushed his nose against mine before settling his forehead to mine. I swallowed, unclenching my hands from his coat. "Well, how was your reward?"

"Worth the wait," he said with a relaxed look on his face. "It will be your turn to ask for a kiss next time."

"Oh? You intend to make me beg you for a kiss?" I questioned, sounding far too breathless than I'd intended to.

Dream smirked. "Beg? No. Not yet at least."

I tried to mask the sharp breath I took. "You should know, Dream Lord, I'm not much of a beggar."

"A challenge?" He posed. "How refreshing."

Just as we stepped away from one another Lucienne returned with a stack of books in her arms. "Everything is just as I left it!"

"What are these?" Dream asked.

"A few volumes on soul bonds," she answered. "I figured you two would want to do some digging, seeing as this is the first record of this kind of pairing ever happening."

"Thank you, Lucienne." I grabbed a book from her pile, leaving through the pages carefully while Dreaming held his own book, but looked at me instead of the pages. 

We sat across from one another, reading or at least I was, when I felt an odd sensation, like something tickling my head. "Can you hear me?"

My eyes flashed up to him from across the table. "I don't know, can you hear me?"

A grin flashed as his eyes slid down to his book. "I can almost always hear you."

"This is new," I noted, resisting the urge to scratch my head.

"Is it uncomfortable?"

"No," I insisted. "I kind of like hearing your voice in my head."

I could feel the thrill of my words rush through him. "Shall I repay the favor then? Give you a taste of what I've been enduring for the past day?"

"I have no clue what you're referring to, my Lord."

Eyes looked up from the book, gleaming with the challenge in my words. "Perhaps I should make you beg for a kiss, since you seem so persistent in trying to get a rise out of me."

I smiled, looking down at my own pages. "If I were trying to get a rise out of you I'd be thinking of much dirtier things."

"Like what?"

"The memories of you naked perhaps?" I bit my lip. "Or maybe your lips being put to better use than the pouting you do so often?"

Fire filled my chest, burning straight to my core. I adjusted in my seat, squeezing my thighs together trying to alleviate the sudden strong ache. Morpheus lowered his book just enough to flash his smirking lips at me. "Problem, my lady?"

"That's cheating, you ass."

Beside us Lucienne made a noise. "I’ve found something interesting, according to some reports, soul bound individuals might be able to communicate through your thoughts alone, how intriguing. Have either of you tried that?" We glanced at one another, my red cheeks were all the answers she needed as she shut her book and sent the two of us a glare. "You were just doing it weren't you?"

"Yes," he answered. "We were just… Testing the limits."

"You're going to end up right back in Hell for that," I joked, fighting a laugh.

Lucienne had promptly excused herself, leaving Dream and I to tease one another silently. Eventually we'd both grown tired of pretending to read and had instead started walking back to the throne room. As the dim light of the sun began to set out the large windows I sighed. "I should probably go home. Johanna is going to kill me for disappearing without warning."

Dream gently pulled me closer to him. "I'm sure Constantine will understand, given the circumstance."

"Understanding isn't exactly one of her strongest talents, especially since I’ve been gone for almost two full days.”

He pulled his pouch of sand from his coat. "I shall keep you safe from her wrath then."

"You sure you know how to use that?" I teased. "Wouldn't want to get lost."

"You're not letting that go, are you?"

"Not anytime soon."

"Fret not, you won't get lost, not with me beside you," he replied, his hand pushing me tighter against him. "But you should still hold onto me."

I regathered the front of his coat in my hands and tugged myself into him, just as we had been moments ago. His eyes flared, the darkness hungry and wanting as I murmured, "Like this?"

With a thoughtful noise his hand pushed me even closer to him. "Perhaps a bit closer."

"Better?" I asked, nose bumping his.

"Much." With his free hand he poured the sand, letting it swirl around us. 

As the sand fell away, revealing the dark office in the apartment, neither of us moved, dared to break apart. I smiled at him, eyes flashing to his lips. "Thank you for bringing me back."

His eyes did the same. "It was a pleasure to have you, at last, visit The Dreaming."

"I had a wonderful time. Your realm is spectacular."

Our hot breaths swirled together. "You are always welcome to return. Anytime you wish."

Finally I lifted myself up higher on my feet. "Were you satisfied with your winning kiss, Dream of the Endless?"

"No." His voice was low, the power it held curling around us. "With you I doubt I ever will be."

Humming, I pulled on his coat more. "Maybe another will help?"

A smug smirk spread on those perfect lips. "Are you asking me to kiss you, Penelope?"

"Please," I breathed and in an instant his resolve was broken. His hand fisted into my hair, pulling me the rest of the way into his lips. 

This kiss wasn't like the first, there was no tentative gentleness, no soft caressing. This kiss was fire, tongues and teeth and need. My hands moved from his coat to his hair, twisting into the dark locks and tugging slightly. When a soft moan escaped him I did it more, chasing the sound. With two long strides he had me pinned against my desk, the wood scraping against the floor, making us both pull away and look at one another, breaths heaving.

Wordlessly his hands gathered up the silky material of my dress, tugging it up higher, higher, higher until my bare thighs pressed back against the wood. His hands squeezed my sides as he lifted me, effortlessly on top of the desk, neither of us caring when a stack of folders fell off. I gasped at the feeling of his cold fingers dragging down my legs until they reached my knees and he pulled my legs further apart, slotting himself between them and leaning over me. 

"If you want to stop," he began breathlessly, "You need to tell me."

"I want more," I replied in a heated groan.

"More," he hummed. "How much more?"

His hands slid up my thighs, under the silk, his fingers brushing my core, where I wanted him most. My sharp gasp filled the air between us as I pulled his hair. "All of you."

The stars in his eyes were gone, replaced by a hungry, consuming darkness. "As my lady commands."

His thumb brushed across the soft fabric of my panties once and then the sound of them tearing echoed in my ears and when he moved to do it again the fabric was gone. I let out a huff. "What if I liked that pair?"

"I'll get you another." He rasped as his thumb lightly glossed over my clit. My hands fell to his shoulders, digging into the fabric of his coat, and my head fell back against the wall. Morpheus took advantage of the opening and pressed an open mouthed kiss to my throat, moving slowly to various spots, sucking hard enough to leave at least a few marks behind as his fingers mimicked the pace.

His free hand pushed my hair over my shoulder and pulled my sleeve down, latching his lips onto my shoulder and biting down hard. The moan that left me was louder than I was expecting, but any embarrassment I might have felt was burned away as his fingers pushed down harder and moved faster. My hips moved against him, trying desperately to quicken the pace, but before I could get too comfortable with the rhythm I’d created his free hand grabbed my hip and held me down against the desk. I whined softly. "Don't get greedy now, my lady, just take what I give you."

I huffed, pulling his hair and lifting his head from my neck. Lips against his I said, "I wouldn't have to be greedy if you'd give me what I want, Dream Lord."

"Very well," he whispered, a glimmer of amusement in his eyes as he pressed a soft kiss to my lips just as his fingers dipped in between my wet folds, teasing for only a second before sliding in. 

My eyes closed as he swallowed my moan with his kiss. His hand moved from my hip to my neck, tilting my head back and exposing my throat to him again. I gripped his hair in one hand and used his shoulder as leverage as I ground myself against his fingers. "Morpheus," I whined softly.

"Well, well, what have we here?" Johanna said with a whistle from the doorway.

I gasped as his fingers left me. "Johanna!"

Smirking, she held her hands up innocently. "Don't stop on my account, I just needed to grab this." She grabbed the hand crossbow and started out the door. "Glad you're not dead by the way! When you and your Sandman are finished I can give you a wallop for making me worry."

"Get out!"

"I'm going!" The door slid half closed behind her before she stuck her head back in. "Just a word of advice Sandman, she goes absolutely nuts if you-"

"JOHANNA!" I yelled, throwing the nearest object at the door just as it closed. Morpheus and I looked at one another for a moment before I slumped against his shoulder, giggling softly. "I'm so sorry."

He chuckled and rubbed my back. "Don't be, we probably should have checked to make sure we were alone before we engaged in our pleasantries."

"Pleasantries," I said, lifting my head to smile at him. "Does that mean you enjoyed it?"

"Was there any doubt that I was enjoying myself?" He asked curiously.

"No," I mumbled, playing with his coat. "I just don't want you to regret anything."

“Regret?” He lifted my chin and pressed a soft kiss to my lips. "I could not regret any moment spent with you.”

I pressed my lips back to his, gently coaxing his mouth open and tangling my tongue with his. When we pulled away, I bumped my nose against his and smiled. "Does that mean you'll be back for another… Kiss?"

"Among other things, yes."

"When will I see you again?"

“Soon,” he assured, kissing me again before pulling back and pouring his sand into his palm. "Goodnight, Penelope."

"Goodnight, Morpheus."

Standing alone in the office was bittersweet. I was home at last, after a literal night in Hell and day stuck at some crazy diner and being teleported all over. It felt relaxing to be back in such a familiar space, but at the same time my body tingled at the emptiness it felt now that he was gone. I sighed and forced my slightly wobbly legs to move to the door and face the wrath Johanna had prepared for me.

I didn't even get fully out the door before the shoe hit me in the thigh. "Ow!"

"You wanna tell me what the hell just happened?"

"You interrupted a very heated make out session?"

She scoffed. "Make out session? Is that what you're gonna call it?"

"Shut up! I've walked in on you doing way worse!"

Johanna nodded. "Fair point. Now where the hell have you been?"

"Hell." I answered. "I got dragged to Hell last night. Then after a fun conversation with the devil our friend the Sandman showed up and tried to send me home with his magic sand. But, surprise twist, I wound up at some crazy American murder diner with a lunatic. Obviously I tried to get out of there as fast as I could and had a lovely tea party with the Sandman's brother, Destiny."

Silence. Then she whistled. "Fuck thats… Thats…"

"Absolutely insane?"

"Yeah that sums it up." She rolled her eyes and came closer, shoving my shoulder lightly. "Are you okay?"

I smiled. "A bit beat up but otherwise fine."

"Good, you scared the hell out of me… No pun intended."

"Well, now that you’ve promptly ruined my night and embarrassed me, I'm going to go shower because I smell like an egg."

Johanna laughed. "Try not to get dragged to hell or teleport!"

I flipped her off and headed to my bedroom. It felt strange being here after all I’d been through over the past day, but soon the comfort of having my things around me settled in. The space was small, as was common for an apartment I’d found, but I didn’t have many personal possessions so it was tidy and well organized. The bed was pushed against the wall opposite the door, with room on either side of it. A small window that looked down into the street was covered by white curtains and a little armchair sat snuggly in the corner with a pile of books on top of the worn cushions and a packed bag ready and waiting. It had been a long time since I needed to use the bag, Johanna had even suggested I unpack it at one point, but I never did just in case.

Grabbing a soft pair of shorts and a loose fitting shirt I headed to the bathroom, gently folding the dress Dream had changed mine into and putting it in my laundry hamper. My clean clothes sat on the countertop as I hopped into a boiling hot shower and finally felt the grime and stress slide off me. It was a wonder what hot water could do for a person, and after the day I’d had I needed it more than I thought. I spent a long time just letting the water massage my sore muscles before I eventually got out and got dressed.

A loud thump echoed in the living room, pulling a feeling of unease and perhaps paranoia into my chest. “Johanna, that you?”

No response. I grabbed the small blade out of my night stand and slowly opened the door, peeking out into the dark hallway before moving. The living room was only lit by one small lamp in the far corner and a sliver of moonlight from the windows. On the floor was a broken mug and a spill of whatever drink had been inside it, but no one was in sight. Maybe Johanna had been called out in a rush and knocked it over? 

My gut tightened, warning me of the coming blow before I’d even seen it. Two large arms wound around me, crushing me into the body of my assilaint. Without hesitation I dove the blade into his arm and then quickly shifted my body weight, pulling me out of his loosened grip. From the floor I had more options, the knees tried and true. As my heel hit the side of his knee a sickening pop filled the space and he went tumbling down with a string of curses. One look at him and I knew exactly who he was.

“Adam.”

“Barlow.” He ground out through his clenched teeth. “Been a long time. So long I almost forgot what I bitch you are.”

“I could say the same to you. How many more did you bring with you this time?”

“With me? Just the usual bunch.” On cue two more people moved from the shadows.

I didn’t see their faces, I didn't need to to know who they were. “Lucy, Greg, I’d say it's good to see you but I don’t want to lie to people about to get their asses kicked.”

“Don’t make this difficult, Barlow.” The shrill voice of the woman said. “Elias is done playing games.”

“Yeah he’s not very good at them,” I responded coldly, shaking off the fear that the mere sound of his name filled me with.

“Fine, have it your way.”

As the two of them lunged forward toward me a crossbow bolt shot right over my shoulder and into Lucy’s eye. The shrill cries filled the room as Greg tackled me to the ground. Johanna ditched the crossbow and jumped over him, pushing his shoulder down into my knife. She leapt on top of Adam and with her own blade dug it deep into his throat. I pulled my knife up Gregs shoulder, hot blood splashing against my cheek. His hand wrapped tightly around my throat, squeezing so hard I could feel my blood moving beneath his fingers. With a quick pull and an even quicker push I forced the blade into his throat and twisted, holding it there until his grip went slack along with his body weight. Tossing him to the side I lay on the ground, gasping for air, attention quickly finding Johanna in the darkness as she was thrown onto the floor next to me by a very angry, half blind Lucy. I forced myself up, pulling her by the leg down onto the ground with us and Johanna without missing a beat finished the job. We both collapsed onto the bloody floor and let the silence wash over us. The adrenaline pulsed through me, keeping my body and mind from feeling the weight of what just happened.

"You gonna call him?" Johanna asked as she caught her breath.

"I'm gonna have to, aren't I?"

"Well I'm not cleaning this mess up."

I sighed pulling the phone from my blood soaked pocket. "He's gonna be unbearable."

"He's always unbearable," she argued. "Useful though."

I dialed the number with my stiff fingers. It only rang once before he picked up. "Ma moitié, it has been far too long!"

"Pierre," I replied with a sore smile. "It's good to hear your voice."

"I can say the same to you, but something tells me this is not a social call."

"Sorry, if you're busy-"

He scoffed. "I am never too busy for you my darling! How many this time?"

"Three. But I have a feeling they won't be the last."

"I will be there first thing in the morning, Ma moitié. Are you hurt? I can have one of my associates come for you."

"I'm alright Pierre," I said. "I've got Johanna with me."

A chuckle. "This is good! The witch is sturdy!"

I laughed and Johanna sent me a glare. "If he calls me sturdy at any point in your conversation I'll kick his French ass when he gets here."

"She has threatened to kick my ass, no?"

"Play nice," I said to both of them.

"I am always nice," Pierre argued. "Now, stay safe my darling I will see you soon."

"Thank you, see you soon."

I tossed the phone in the general direction of the couch and melted into the floor. There we lay, as we had so many times before, in a pool of blood in silence dreading where the next step would take us.

"Are you going to have to leave?" She said it so quietly I almost hadn't heard her. 

"No," I replied. "I'm not running this time."

A soft, relieved sigh left her. "Good. As much as I hate to admit it, I'd miss my friend too much."

Friend such a simple word and yet from the mouth of Johanna Constantine it felt like the highest of praises. "I would have missed you too, Jo."

Groaning, she stood. "Don't get all sappy on me Barlow."

"I would never! Not when Pierre will be sappy enough for both of us."

She groaned again, moving toward her bathroom. As the shower started I felt the pain of the fight start to settle in. With a heavy sigh I put my hand over my heart, feeling its steady beating beneath it. I'm alive. I did my best to keep my thoughts from focusing on the lives I'd just taken, guilt and remorse swimming inside me, an untameable ocean that I was adrift on. So, I turned my thoughts to Morpheus, to the Dreaming that I'd only just returned from. Warm calm spread over me and the sound of echoing waves played in my ears and the sand beneath me felt warm. It felt so real, so soothing.

I dug my fingers into the sand and my eyes snapped open. This feels real. Sure enough I was back on the beach, black sand sticking to the spots of blood that coated me. How the fuck?

"Lord Morpheus has sent me to escort-" The sound of footsteps approaching had me whirled around, eyes meeting Lucienne's as she took in my bloody and disheveled appearance. "Oh! My lady, what's happened?!"

I smiled, an action meant to sooth her worry but with my current appearance probably only added to it. "It's nothing. "I, um, I'm not sure how I got here."

Lucienne approached slowly, almost looking as if I were some wild creature. "Lord Morpheus has a theory. He sent me to escort you to the palace."

"That would be much appreciated. Thank you Lucienne."

"Are you sure you're alright, my lady?"

"A bit of a tussle back in the waking world, but I'm fine." I said, pushing the pain that wracked my body down and desperately trying to avoid the pit of disgust and remorse that settled in my stomach.

She merely nodded before leading me back down the path that Morpheus had taken me down not long ago. As we neared the palace I felt him through the mark clearer and clearer with each step. The warm wave of his power soothing over me made me forget the forming bruises, the pain and blood and the building weight of what I’d done.

He stood at the top of the stairs, in front of the throne, leafing through the pages of a book. "When I said you were welcome back whenever you wished I didn't quite expect your return so soon. Though I suppose..."

His voice trailed off as he looked down at me. The glistening blue in his eyes quickly shifted with rage and I suddenly remembered what I looked like. Nervously I looked down at my sandy blood covered self. "Oh! I'm sorry for tracking all this sand through your castle."

Morpheus descended the stairs slowly, deathly calm. "Who did this?"

"Dream, breathe," I said, attempting to soothe.

His anger flared. "Who?"

When he finally stood in front of me I smiled at him and placed a gentle hand on his jaw. "Breathe. I'm alright... It's okay."

His eyes trailed over every new mark that I'd gotten from the fight, but they stayed locked on the forming hand shaped bruise that covered my throat, that lapped over the small marks he'd left there just hours ago. "Okay? No. This is far from okay. Tell me who did this so I can see that they shall never awaken."

"That's not a problem." I swallowed the lump in my throat. "Johanna and I already took care of it."

His eyes only softened slightly. "Are you hurt?"

"No, the blood isn't mine." I answered, melting into his chest and breathing in his comforting scent. Tears pricked the edges of my eyes as I said as solidly as I could, "I don't know how I got here, but I'm really really glad to see you."

His arms were around me in an instant, his hands not shying away from the mess of sand and blood. "I have you."

"I'm sorry," I mumbled into his chest. "It's probably very annoying having me getting into constant troubles."

"It is, but that's not your fault." He said as he lifted me into his arms. "For now let's get you taken care of."

I didn’t register us moving, maybe we hadn’t, but when he pulled away we were in a different room. Large stained glass windows illuminated us in color. I was about to ask him where we were when I saw the large silk adorned bed and the realization hit me, along with the obvious blush. This is his room. It was clean and held very little in it, which for Dream only made it feel more like his. He moved through the room with ease, though he was far from relaxed. His shoulders were stiff and the muscles in his jaw were strained by how hard he was clenching it. 

“Morpheus,” I said softly. If he’d heard me he didn’t react, waving his hand and a large bathtub appeared, already filled with hot water, bubbles and flowers. I smiled a little at how much thought he’d put into such a mundane thing. Body still stiff as I moved closer to him, a gentle hand rubbing along his shoulders. “Morpheus, I’m alright.”

He turned to me, eyes swimming with anger and guilt, his emotions burning between us. “Forgive me.”

“For what?” I asked softly.

“I should have stayed, should have made sure you were safe before departing. I should have left Matthew with you at the very least.”

I stroked my fingers along his jaw. “Breathe.” Pulling his hand to my chest I let him feel the beating of my heart beneath the skin. “I’m alive. I’m here.”

His forehead pressed against mine. “May I help you undress?”

“Oh you’ll have to, I’m quite stiff.” I said lightly.

If he had been anyone else I would have felt embarrassed, weak, at the very feeling of his light caresses and soft kisses as he undressed me slowly, though if the magic tub appearing told me anything he didn’t need to go through all the effort of physically undressing me, instead he chose to, which only further proved that Dream of the Endless wasn’t anyone else. I felt safe, comfortable, unbearably adored. It was different… As he helped ease me into the warm water I looked up at him and felt a pang of guilt fill me. He had so much to do, taking care of me was probably the biggest bother. He pulled his coat off, rolling up the sleeves of his shirt and sat next to the tub and moved my hair from my face. “Stop.”

“What?”

“Stop thinking you’re a burden to me.” His voice was soft, far too soft. “If I had anything more important I would be doing it. But this, you, are the most important thing in my realm currently.”

I sighed. “I’m still sorry. You shouldn’t have to worry about me every time you leave.”

Dream slowly began rinsing my hair out, working his fingers through to detangle the sticky strands coated with sand and blood. “I know what it feels like to lose you, Penelope.” My breath caught in my throat. “I know what this world feels like without you in it and so I will worry… Not because I think you are fragile, or incapable, but because I do not wish to ever feel that emptiness again.”

I leaned into his hands. “I… I’m sorry that I put you through that.”

His blunt nails scratched my scalp, pulling some of the tension from my body, and he pressed a kiss to my shoulder. “No more apologies, just relax.”

“If I relax anymore I’m going to fall asleep,” I mumbled as his hands moved to wash my face off. I looked up at him with a tired smile. “Is this how you do your sandman thing? Hot baths and scalp massages.”

He chuckled, the rigidness of his body slowly starting to ease. “No, nothing so intimate I assure you.”

“Oh, so I’m just special then?”

“Yes.”

After all the blood and grime was washed off me Morpheus wrapped me into a soft, warm towel that I just knew by the feel of it had been made with magic. He then redressed me in clothes similar to the ones I’d arrived in, but softer and clean. I was so tired I just leaned against him, snuggling into the coldness of his skin. I didn’t remember him taking us back to the apartment, but there we were, him moving around my room to tuck me under my covers, and me keeping a firm hold on him for fear he’d simply vanish.

“Will you stay with me?” I whispered, eyes far too heavy. “Just for a little?”

Morpheus joined me on the bed, pulling me into him the second he got settled. “Of course I will.”

I lifted my head from his chest and pressed a soft kiss to his lips, one he returned. “Goodnight, Sandy.”

“Given your sleep deprived state, I’ll let that go just this once. Now, go to sleep, Penelope.”

Even with the bodies and blood no doubt still in the living room and the ever present weight of what this attack meant lingering in my bones, I slept. It was the first time in a long time I felt truly safe, truly at peace.

Tag List:

@blu3what

@swearingsolemnly

@toomanystoriessolittletime

@cosmos-bunny

@missnightingale1971

@superwholockbooknerd526

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#dream of the endless x reader #the sandman series #dream of the endless imagine #dream of the endless #dream the endless #dream smut #sandman morpheus #morpheus imagine #the sandman x you #sandman netflix #the sandman fanfic #morpheus #morpheus fanfiction #morpheus imagines #morpheus smut #morpheus x reader

[madwomansapologist]

Moonboys: first meetings

Masterlist | Rules | Taglist | Library | More Moon Knight | AO3

synopsis: Love is hard. You have to fight for it. But falling in love is so easy.

translation: "Vai se foder" = "Go fuck yourself" | "Hijo de puta" = "Motherfucker" (that is not a great way to translate that curse word, but its the best we can do"

warnings: female!reader. brazillian!reader for Jake because I make the rules here. mention of Matt Murdock. a asshole gets what he deserved. pure fluff. mention to Marc's past, but then more fluff. even for jake. fluff for everyone 💐💐💐

note: happy valentine's day everyone!!!

Steven Grant

• Steven had been yelled by Donna for a lot of reasons. Because he was late, or teaching kids, or acting like a tour guide, or chattering about the egyptian culture, or bored while doing the day's chore. And even tho he really did all those, Steven would be lying if didn't mention the huge amount of times he was daydreaming about love

• He dreamed about a girl that would rock his world. Steven liked to think that one day she would enter the museum, their eyes would meet and then... They would just know that their lives were intertwined. That everything that ever happened was just the fates taking them to each other arms. Steven didn't dreamed about a girlfriend, but about a soulmate

• Steven is obssessed over egyptian culture, but he always thought that those invisible red strings bonding soulmates was the peak of romance. Steven is not a specialist on japanese culture, but he likes that way of thinking. And, yes, he did listen to Folklore a few times

• He dreamed about it so many times, but never thought that it could be possible. So when Steven found out that Donna was going to be replaced with a new staff manager, the last thing he thought about was love. He only prayed to whatever gods listening that this new person would be better than Donna was. Or at least not worse

When monday came, Steven made sure he would arrive at time. First impressions matter, specially in a boss-employee relationship. With time before his work began, he walked around the National Art Gallery. Steven found himself admiring the photographs of the Book of the Dead. And when he felt the presence of someone beside him, he couldn't help himself.

"Do you know they belived that, after their death, they would be able to read the book to make sure they are making every step right?" Steven chattered, happy to talk about his interest.

"If I was Osiris, I would consider this cheating." You responded with a light giggle. "Every culture have their own funeral rites, but I think that the egypcian is the fairer."

Steven looked at you with curiosity, but when he saw you his whole body just stumble. You were divine. You looked divine. Steven could feel his cheeks getting hotter. All he wanted was to pull his shirt up his face and hide himself, but he couldn't move.

"Why do you say that?", Steven whispered.

"Everyone always has a chance to try again", your eyes lingered to his face, but soon they come back to those photographs. "Don't matter what they do wrong. If they are unable to pass the heart weighing, or to declare the correct prayers for the pantheon, or to be honest about their flaws during live. They will just... live again. Until they are finally able to pass all those tests. Death isn't the end is just... a chance to begun again."

Steven couldn't even breath. He feel like his body was combusting. Steven usually are the one that talk with passion, but this is the first time he ever heard someone that was... willing to be heard by him. It was a nice feeling.

"Oh, I am so sorry." Your smile was a lovely sight. "I didn't mean to chatter."

"No! I... You didn't chatter. I mean, you did, but it didn't botter me. Not at all", and now he was the one chattering. "I was trying to say that I liked to hear you talking."

You tried not to laugh and it it hurts you cheeks not to, but you didn't want him to be more embarrassed. He was just so sweet. So delicate. "That's fine... Sorry, whats your name?"

"Steven. With a V." He smiled. "And you are..."

And then he saw. The employee identification pin on your right shoulder. The one that not only said your name, but also your role. Staff manager.

• Maybe... just maybe, Steven finally was going to live his chick flick romance.

Marc Spector

• Marc was avoiding anything that could be related to love. After his marriage, after everything he went through, that last thing he wanted was to deal with that. Marc wasn't looking for love but he couldn't control his heart. And he tried. The list of things he couldn't control was short, but larger than he wanted: what his heart wish, and what Konshu demands

• And Konshu wanted him to fight. Marc get used to that, what does not mean he didn't understand the consequences of his own violence. His brain gets that he don't have a choice, bus his heart... Oh, it wrecked little thing never does what Marc want

• On the subway, going back to his home, all those feelings that he fought decided to came out of the spot Marc hid them. All at once. Marc felt everything. The blame, the guilt, the anger. He heard his brother's voice, his momma screaming, his father divided between his lover and his kid. Marc felt everything. Someone in the subway called for help, what ended with him on a hospital

• When he get himself together, after the fear and panic dissapear, Marc tried to get out of there. And at that moment, when he was puting his combat boots while sit at the bed, you opened the blue curtains

"I don't need help", said Marc, not caring if he would sound rude. He continue to focous on his boots.

He heard the heels of the person walking around his bed. "If thats what you think, Mr. Spector", you responded sitting on the bed beside his. Marc saw a green pair of high heels, but continued to focous on his own pair of shoes. "Oh, sorry. Its Doctor Spector, right? It must be for you to be so sure that everything is fine."

"My ego is not so fragile. Say whatever you want, I am going home." Marc stand up and look at the doctor in front of him. His mind frooze. He shouldn't, but suddenly Marc's body wanted to just sit there with you. You were, well, gourgeous. "I don't have time for this bullshit."

"Either do I." You mirrored him, standing up. "But if you realize that actually you may need help, considering how many bruises you have on your torso and that your exams are so bad that I am actually scared about your living conditions, then comeback here."

"I wont."

"As you wish." You made your way out of that space reseverd for those who are unconsious. "But I have a certain experience with vigilantes and I know that they always come back."

Mark felt his heart beating faster.

"W-What did you say?" He walked towards you. "Don't you think that you need to rest? You're saying weird things, doc."

"Okay", you smiled. "If thats how you want to face that situation. Until our next meeting."

• You were right. Marc come back, like all those vigilantes that you had deal with before. You still not so sure, but you think that Matt Murdock was marketing your work to others.

Jake Lockley

• Steven wanted to love so bad that almost didn't realized when his chance was right before his eyes, Marc was running away from love without noticing that he was running towards it, but Jake... Jake didn't have time for this

• Jake has work to do. He is the one protecting those dumbass. He is the one fighting. Doing the dirty work that Konshu needs. He is the one that need to deal with anger, sadness, madness. Jake don't have time for love. But he always have time for one beer

• Thats what Jake do when he need to exhale for a second. He go to a bar, take a few beers, watch a game and go home. He is a simple man

Jake only have that moment to exhale. A moment where Konshu, Marc, Steven or anything else didn't need his attencion. Is only Jake, his beer and a game. But that man turned that moment into something he didn't want to enjoy anymore. He was yelling, saying bullshit with his friends, making everyone's night a living hell.

"Hijo de puta", Jake murmured to himself.

But after some minutes a uncomfortable way to behave in public turned into something more. That man stand up, so drunk that Jake could smeel the alcohol, and decided that he didn't have enough fun. He decided that need to go after a woman who was drinking alone.

"Hello, hottie", that made Jake lick his lips. He corrected his posture, now looking at the drunk man. He touched the woman's hair. Jake was ready to interfere. "What about some company?"

"Vai se foder", you responded with a smile. Jake didn't realized, but a smile was trying to break free from him. "No."

"Oh, I love latinas." The man continued. "They have a fire that... Now I am imagining what else your filthy mouth can do."

Jake stand up and walked towards the pig, but you acted before he could do anything. When he saw the beer going straight to that man's head, Jake got himself in a state of shock.

"Are you fucking stupid?", you screamed to the man. "Don't you ever look at me again. Did you heard me?" Then you looked around until you found the barman that gave you your beer. "Hi, could you give me another one? I am so sorry for the mess, he will clean everything."

• Thats it. Jake was in love.

GENERAL TAGLIST: @suakemi @notanalienindisguiseblink

if you enjoyed, please reblog! i promise it makes a difference ♡

@ madwomansapologist.tumblr

#madwomansapologist #marvel x reader #marvel imagine #marvel #marvel mcu #mcu imagine #moon knight #moon knight x reader #moon knight x you #moon knight x y/n #moon knight imagine #steven grant #steven grant x you #steven grant x reader #steven grant x y/n #steven grant imagine #marc spector #marc spector imagine #marc spector x reader #marc spector x you #marc spector x y/n #jake lockley #jake lockley imagine #jake lockley x y/n #jake lockley x you #jake lockley x reader

[styxnbones]

(gehenna-calling) cass peach, apollo hot pepper, kelley banana

🍑 [PEACH] How do they show their kindness? How kind are they truly?

Cass is not a terribly kind person, as a baseline. She never had a great example of it to look up to, and the environment she grew up in tended to punish selfless behavior far more often than it was rewarded. But, they aren't incapable of it. The easiest way to earn their kindness is to be an obstacle towards something she wants and be open to that kind of manipulation, but the best way is to remind her of herself in some way. Cass is generally pretty ruthless with herself, but reflections of her own state can sometimes stoke those tiny motes of empathy into doing something selfless for someone else, since she feels like she herself shouldn't need it. In terms of how they show it, if it seems like Cass is being kind or supportive verbally, or through her presence, it is 100% completely fake and purely to achieve some goal. But, if Cass is being genuinely kind its almost certainly going to be through doing or giving something, usually anonymously if they can.

🌶️ [HOT PEPPER] Who would your OC declare their sworn enemy if they could meet them?

Ok initially this came to mind as a joke but honest to god I think in catching up on all the shit that happened while she was in torpor- learning about Ronald Reagan would fucking enrage her. Like, he's had beef with politicians before (he was literally a high profile cult leader in the 60's) but I think that motherfucker would take the cake in Apollo's mind as the worst of the worst and she would be sooooo pissed that he died before she woke up so she couldn't kill him herself.

🍌 [BANANA] Have parts of your OC been lost to time (in-universe)? What do they wish they could lose from themselves?

Though I haven't pinned down an exact timeline for Kellen, I don't think they've been a kindred for too terribly long- but regardless of that I'd say what they've lost more than anything is the desire for independence. When they first left home for college, they had it in their mind that they'd never be going back- that this was their escape and from here they'd be able to take control of everything and handle it on their own. Turns out they sucked shit at it, and their refusal to ask for help only made things worse. Consequently, going home again to take care of their mother felt like a defeat. Like being dragged back into the pit they'd spent their whole life trying to claw their way out of. But, in time and since being embraced and discovering how great it feels to be bound, they've sort of resigned themself to the idea that maybe they just weren't built to move through life on their own guidance. Some people were simply designed to be followers, rather than leaders, and there's no point wasting energy trying to break out of that role when they could be putting that effort towards finding someone worthwhile to follow- cause it certainly isn't Jesus. As for what they wish they could lose- they wish they cared less, specifically about their family. Kellen is a person of very intense emotions and very little control over them, and so much of the stress and strife in their life has come in part bc they simply couldn't stop caring about their shitty fucked up family in spite of all its done to hurt them. That's part of why they enjoy Bernadette as a regnant so much- her blood carries a hint of that almost primordial apathy that is the trujah curse, and it gives Kel a taste of what its like to not give a fuck.

#cass oc #apollo/leora oc #kellen oc

[doctor-grimshaw-and-co]

Interview Series 1: Dr. Grimshaw

Interviewer: So, Dr. Grimshaw, we hear that you have quite the little practice here. Can you tell us about it?

Dr. Grimshaw: Oh, yes, of course! Well, I founded the practice, originally in London, in 1657; a little under ten years before the Great Plague of London! Ahh, I was around for the first outbreak of the Plague back in 1346, as well! I wasn't under my own practice at that time, however. I suppose I should give a bit of my own backstory, so that you can follow along...

I'm roughly 2,080 years old; I've since forgotten my actual birthyear, but I update my age about every five years; the next time being in 2025. I also do not remember my birthday. But I do remember, when I was a young lad, possibly under 10, I studies in Greece under a little known physician, Eukleides. He has unfortunately been lost to time; but I'll always remember how he made me love to learn! When I was about 20, I was fully practicing medicine with him, and looking to take on an apprentice! However, in our little city of... of... hm... I can't seem to remember the name... It will come back to me in the middle of the night, probably. Either way, these beings started to come to the city. Many had promised to give greater knowledge to the little boys than the philosophers already there! But then some of them promised all the adults under 25! What luck! Of course, I accepted; Eukleides was a bit jealous, but proud nonetheless! I started studying these new texts, these new methods of treatment, all these new things! Ah, it was wonderful! My new teacher, Resheph, taught me these new, amazing things! I studied sigils of protection, of health, of healing! I could draw these designs of people and save them from death! When I was roughly 25, some political and religious representatives from the Middle East came and declared that what we were doing was forbidden, an abomination to God. Our entire town was to be burned to the ground! The teachers took their apprentices and ran; some of them died before they could get away, and about half were tracked down and murdered... I was almost one of them... My teacher... My friend, Resheph told me, "I can give you the power to save many people for the rest of time... Slice your palm, and I shall slice mine, and we shall be bonded in blood...!" And I did... My hair went from a nice brown, complementing my skin, to a stark black, as with my eyes... I... I do regret the contract... Afterall, immortality is actually more of a curse than a blessing... I, do not remember most of my life... there are many blank spaces, some that span years... decades... Even in a life as long as mine, surely I should remember important historical details! But, I don't... The main thing I don't remember is the time before Eukleides... I don't know who my parents were, or why I was studying under him... To be honest, I don't really remember what he looked like, I just remember how he made me feel... and what we did together... Ah... I'm getting sentimental! My apologies!

Anyway, after my contract, obviously I couldn't be killed. I had also gained what I was so desperately coveting from Resheph; his ability to manipulate energy itself! During this day and age, it's known as psionic powers. And I can do many a thing with it! I can use it to heal magical curses, hexes, jinxes, even poisonings! I can also heal physical injuries, but that takes a greater deal of energy, so I don't really do that very often; usually only when I've gotten into a tussle with some other magical creature, typically angels trying to kill me... Ah... What was the question again...?

Interviewer: Can you tell us about your practice?

Dr. Grimshaw: Oh, dear! I've gone terribly off topic! Ahem, right! I started my practice after sojourning from Eastern Europe to England, for about... hmm... 1,500 years? Yes, that sounds about right! I had met Dr. Boris Ivanovich when I was in modern day Ukraine; I'm not sure how old he is... Anyway, we'd travelled about Europe and Scandinavia for that time, performing medical miracles from country to country; usually until we were chased out of town for being "heathens" or "witches"... I cannot count the amount of times I've had to be reanimated, have limbs reattached, including my head, escape from bindings and swim to the surface, or reset my own legs after falling from the gallows... Haah... But anyway, we travelled about, and eventually settled in England. After about 100 years of travelling through there, Ireland, Scottland, and Wales, practicing medicine; I decided to open my own practice! Dr. Boris didn't want his name attached, however; he felt he was unfit for a public role... I helped a great deal in the Great Plague of London! When I studied under Resheph, he taught me about the tiny microbes in the air! He, didn't phrase it like that; he called them "small pestilences" that take over unclean bodies. When the plague hit London, I knew that I had to be completely covered; I was head to toe in leather, and waxed clothing! I mean, I had always completely covered myself for safety's sake, but I had to do more! My favorite herbs to stuff my beak with were garlic, basil, and caraway! Although, caraway was harder to get... During the Plague, Dr. Boris would reanimate human victims to try and get answers; but most didn't know sign language, and were illiterate... He did try to get me to translate, but we did not have the water for the both of us to be taking baths every day...

During our time in London, I had to fake their accent, and it stuck with me to this day, haha... England has always seemed to have a habit of othering people who don't look or sound like them... Having darker, well, everything, made me a target... I had always had a mask; the Plague just changed its shape. I like this shape better, though! I've always liked ravens.

In about 18... 1810? No, 1830! 20...? Ugh! Sometime in the early 1800's! We immigrated to America! I would say I deeply regret this, but then again, without it we wouldn't have met Dr. Damien... I had opened a practice in the mountains, catering to all walks of life! I was quite proud! I still am! Dr. Damien was a travelling physician who had heard about us from the locals as he happened to be passing through on his way North to Canada. At first, he was a bit startled by my mask, but after explaining the reason behind it... well, the medical reason, at least... he asked to practice with us! We all settled down in this old wood building. Immediately, Dr. Boris could tell something was off; but he was intrigued by it, so he didn't tell us about his feelings. He ended up finding a supposedly abandoned graveyard about half a mile behind our practice. He did not tell us about it, until one night we caught him carrying a corpse in through the back! Of course, during this time, we learned about Dr. Damien being an alchemist, and a skilled one at that! He could achieve only what people have dreamed of! He told me he sold his soul to something, but he wasn't sure what... Haah... We still haven't really figured out what he sold it to... I know I sold my soul to a demon, seeing that whenever any sort of Holy Scripture or ritual is done near me, I start to get headaches, stomach aches, heartburn, back pain, haahh... Even Nurse Willow has to be careful what kind of ritual protection she's putting on the building... I personally just let my parts of the building be un-blessed and deal with the light nausea that happens when she renews spells. I'm certainly not going to stop her from feeling safe; she lives here too!

After a long while of receiving patients who were dressed in outdated styles, sometimes by decades! We discovered that our building is the epicenter of a blip in space-time! The radius seems to extend to most of the, rather large, forest behind us, as well as at least five miles away; but seeing that other buildings are in the way, we can't really get a good estimate, plus we don't know if the blip is circular, ovular, or otherwise... Every so often, there will be a new body or tombstone in the graveyard. We still treat people from the 1800's sometimes. We still move forward in time, seemingly. It is 2023, correct?

Interviewer: Yes, it is. Are there any other happenings around the area?

Dr. Grimshaw: Well, we frequently have visitors from other realms, including demons, angels, Fae, eldritch beings, mutated animals, and the like. Also, amongst the local deer population, there seems to be an outbreak of Chronic Wasting Disease; please, be careful! It looks like it's about to make the jump from deer to humans!

Interviewer: Of course. What is the source of your powers?

Dr. Grimshaw: Well, my main source is myself; I use the mental energy I have to use my powers. I can also get energy from my sugar, fat, and, if worse comes to worse, my muscle stores. Also, electricity and living things via skin to skin contact. If I'm truly in a pinch, I'll take my boots and socks off and run on the energy of the Earth's magnetic field. Those other sources tend to drain my energy faster than the main one so, I tend to stick to using my mental energy.

Interviewer: Well, Dr. Grimshaw, you've answered all our questions, so, we hope you have a good day!

Dr. Grimshaw: Already? Ah, well, I guess I have been going on tangents this entire time... Oh well, you have a good day as well!

#lore for the lore gods! #oc lore #plaguecore #plague doctors #plague doctor oc #magic oc #dr. grimshaw #dr. j. damien #dr. boris ivanovich #nurse willow #oc post #interview series 1 #long post

[myra-bird]

Slime girls = Best girls (Part 1)

I wasn't supposed to be here. "Slimes" were supposed to stay on the bottom floor of the dungeon, not climbing to dangerously dizzying heights, felling her fellow fiends floor by floor. And I certainly wasn't supposed to be doing it to help a human heroine plunder the tower's treasure! 

Sorry, am I getting annoyingly alliterative again? Octavia says I do that when I get nervous. She also says I start sucking on my bottom lip. That usually ends up with her sucking on my bottom lip and that's how I more or less ended up in this mess... 

.... 

See, before that gleaming goddess came into my life, I was content to be a lowly slyme (that's the correct spelling, but no one ever gets it right), and I never really imagined doing anything but getting splattered over the dungeon walls by adventurers and then sloooowly pulling myself back together while they tried and failed to climb the tower. 

Really, I kind of felt like my role was mostly ornamental. I never ran a tower of unspeakable horrors myself, but I honestly think they are in woeful need of a reorg if they are anything like my cursed keep. I mean, why put all the wimpy monsters at the bottom where warriors can smash them and grab what little loot they offer?! If I was running this joint, I would have at least a dozen of my best baddies ready and raring to go on the first floor! But no one asks a slyme for its opinion. Noooooo, they just take us for granted and put us on the ground floor to get ground up! 

But I digress...Octavia says I do that a lot too. Still, it's hard to stay on track when your story used to be wait, splat, recover, wait, splat, repeat. Ooh I'm definitely digressing darn it! And now I'm alliterating annoyingly again! Aaahhh! 

Sorry. It's just that I get especially nervous when I think about the first time I met the woman that changed my life. I never saw a knight shine so brightly. Solid gold armor, molded with an intricate feather design that complemented the phoenix crest helmet that obscured her upper face but left her smooth, supple chin exposed and revealed her full, sadistically smirking lips... 

I remembered wondering why she would leave such a vital area unguarded, and  later she would tell me that it was  so the arrogant demons and hellspawn would see her smiling as she smote them and lose all sense of their bully's cowardly courage and allow for her to get the upper hand. 

So imagine her surprise as she brought down her golden sword, gleaming so bright it made her auburn hair glow like a flowing fire, readly to cleave me in twain effortlessly, and instead of a scream of terror or roar of impotent rage, she heard a ball of slime half whisper, half whimper, "Dark Gods you are beautiful!" 

Imagine my surprise when she stopped her blade just shy of my dome and laughed, "Well that's a first! Is this some slyme trick you've learned to avoid getting splattered along the dungeon wall?" Imagine my mortal terror when she pulled off her helm to reveal her brownish green eyes blazing and her rosy cheeks glowing as her delicate doll like nose flared in comtemptous mirth. 

"You can splatter me against the wall if you want to..." I stammered silly and stuttering and could not hide the blush that ran through my entire bulbous body. Worse still, I lost the concentration I used to maintain my spherical shell, and my body shifted and slid and splorped until it revealed my true form. 

"Why you aren't a bottom floor bitch after all! You are an honest to badness slyme girl!" The armored attention of my ardor gasped in what sounded like 99% shock and maybe 1% excitement, but I had never been one for math. 

I suppose I couldn't blame her for being shocked. Slymes are a zenny a dozen. They are big round blorbs of glorb that get picked last in team sports and mostly get stuck in the worst monster jobs. Slyme girls however, are exceedingly rare since slymes don't even breed sexually (not that it prevents folks from trying) and we are supposed to be selected at birth, based on some version of phrenology for people who are all head. 

Me, I preferred to keep what I knew about myself a secret, more or less content to hide in an armor of jelly than take on the "tasks" usually assigned slyme girls: espionage (fucking creepy, crusty old men then stealing their secrets), assassination (fucking dusty decrepit dudes then smothering them in our ample glubs), and just plain trophies (which I think screams for itself at this point.) No, it was better to get splatted than that. But when I let my guard down in front of my golden goddess, my blue blorbs blossomed into a curvy, comely coquette with a short slime bob, a plump pucker, button nose, and eyes that shined like iridescent jewels (because they were)! I even allowed myself a little hope that the knight was still eyeing my form moments after my sudden transformation for reasons other than shock. 

"Soooo..." she practically let the word drip from her lips like honey, leaving it, and me dangling as she circled me with her sword still drawn, and her ever more blazing eyes still drawn to me. "If they knew what you really were, they would give you a much more 'intense' assignment. Wouldn't they?" She let the question linger and it felt much more threatening than her sword or her stare. Still, a part of me hoped she would offer me some quid pro quo that would give me an excuse to spend more time with her. I nodded meekly and my blush gave me a light purple hue. 

"Well I hate blackmailers almost as much as I hate slavers, so I wouldn't do that to a sister, not even a monster six hundred and sixty six times removed." My jaw dropped. I had to push it back into place and everything! My experience with the "good" guys to this point had left me with the impression that they basically favored a different color scheme than us.

But here was a woman who had me at her mercy, or at least thought she did, and she actually showed it. 

I suppose she saw my shock , because she sheathed her sword and said, "The way I see it, you have a real choice, in many ways the same choices you always had. You can go back to hiding in your sphere, slip right out the front door and see what lies beyond this tower, or...." she smiled as she slipped her helm down and I knew I had no choice at all, "you can come with me as I clear out this festering horde of evil and we can find out together what you are really made of." 

Dear reader, is it any wonder you find this journal on a floor higher than I even knew this tower extended before?! At least, I suspect that is where you will find it, because tomorrow we face...no, I will save that for "The End", if that is what it is to be. In the meantime, I am digressing just when I got to the good part! 

So there I was, exposed, embarrassed, and eerily excited, and you'll have to excuse the alliteration because I can't even think about it without blushing all the way magenta and sucking my bottom lip like a pretty, plump pacifier. I couldn't believe she was offering to join forces with me, I can't believe I was even considering it. I had never so much as tripped a bard before, and here I was planning to scale what Dungeons Digest described as 58 on "100 Most Challenging Dungeons to Challenge Before You Die (Which you will in these dungeons)"?! 

So imagine my surprise when I stammered,  "I would follow you anywhere!" Again, I am turning practically pink remembering Octavia's smug smile, twisting captivatingly cruelly like a knife as she turned and walked towards the stairs in the back of the room. I knew that by following her up, I would be betraying everything I was supposed to believe in and putting a target on myself for the rest of eternity…at least. Unholy armies of darkness tend to take a much more moralistic view on turning against them than you might think. If I went up even one step outside of my designated watch, some beholder would feel beholden to blab or some ratt would rat me out. It would mean a destiny of torment for only a minute chance for a minute of happiness.

And dear reader, it might seem like I made a foolish choice, but you haven't watched my lady's chainmail stockings shift and shimmer as she ascends angelically up the stairs.

Eternal torment sounded like a bargain. If I only knew then what I know now…

I would have taken those steps two at a time!

[paarthursass-writes]

for the fanfic ask game: 😂 ❤️ 💕

😂 What’s the funniest comment someone has left on a fic of yours?

I am blessed with so many funny people in the comments of my fics, to be honest. BUT I have to say the one that made me cackle the LOUDEST was on Chapter 6 of 'not in death, but just in sleep,'

" Maybe Alfi could try smuggling some Ritalin into Herbie's next meal, then he might get 5 minutes of rest "

Genuinely made me guffaw. Like, yes, they just need to wait a hundred years or so so Herbert can get an ADHD diagnosis and then everything about him makes so much more sense. God bless.

❤️ Who is your favorite character to write for and why?

I'll give a "one character per fandom" answer for this one.

I'm sure it's no surprise (considering I RPed him for so many years) that when it comes to the Cat Returns, the Baron of course was my favorite to write. Admittedly I didn't write much for the other characters outside of occasionally Muta and Toto (I think? It's been a while admittedly), but I got SUCH a kick out of writing Baron. I loved all of the contrasting aspects of his character; how intelligent, adaptable, and perceptive he was with how OBLIVIOUS he could be in the next second. How he often felt like he was the "only rational" person in the Bureau (with how Muta and Toto so often got into their spats) vs how incredibly impulsive and dramatic he could be in other times. I love digging into characters who have those layers within them.

I also do have a special place in my heart for dark!verse Baron. How I initially wrote him to be "evil" Baron, but evidently the Baron's integrity was still too great and I couldn't erase that part of his character completely. He was just Baron but 10x more emotionally constipated and broody. It was so much fun. I loved writing for that verse SO MUCH.

For Tanz der Vampire, it's a little hard for me to pick one character. What I love so much about the cast in that show is how absolutely unhinged ALL of the characters are. Every single person in that show has something wrong with them and it's so much fun.

But, I will say, Herbert probably takes the crown for this one. He's so flighty, and even just writing him when he's not the POV character can be so much fun because Herbert is so often in his own world. I joked that at the beginning of 'not in death,' Alfred was still living in a horror/mystery/heist genre, while Herbert was in a teen romcom. He can be SO BAD at reading the room sometimes and he's SO SPOILED but he's also SUCH a romantic and such a sweetie but then he can be so MEAN if he doesn't like a person, too. Again it's about the CONTRAST, it's about the DICHOTOMY of the character. Herbert's also very fun because he can jump from one extreme to the next. He can wail and cry about how unfair things are but then at the drop of a pin he'll smiling and giggling and twirling his hair. I sometimes don't fully know how Herbert will react in certain scenes, and I just have to let the flow of the conversation dictate what Herbert does and says, and that kind of unpredictability is really fun for me.

💕 What is the WIP that you are most excited about?

I don't usually have multiple WIPs going at the same time, though this time I guess I technically do. 'Dancing on Knives' isn't shelved yet, and I do have a TDV post-canon one-shot that I'm playing around with, but the one I'm most excited for is definitely 'No Change of Heart.'

When I first started thinking about doing a Beauty and the Beast AU for TDV, I had two options in front of me: one where Herbert was the Beast, and one where Alfred was the Beast. I had pretty solid ideas for both routes, but the one where Herbert became the Beast excited me the most as I thought more and more about it. Figuring out how the curse would effect Koukol and Krolock too really intrigued me, as did exploring what would happen to the surrounding area if Krolock were "out of commission" for a long time. I also got VERY excited when I realized I could incorporate the "Prince appearing in Beauty's dreams every night to implore her to love the Beast" aspect of the original fairy tale, seeing as Herbert canonically can affect Alfred's dreams. A lot of things fell into place for this AU as I started to think about it, and I'm very excited to share where it's going with people!

#asks #catsafari25 #thanks for sending this in!

[emmet-appreciation]

I was watching their pokeani episode. I was going to finish it. instead i got sidetracked and drew this instead

template + fun stuff under the cut:

#tw cursing #tw strong language #again i don't usually curse but i honest to god couldn't have made it as good if i didn't curse here #my art #pokeani #pokemon anime #ingo #emmet #nobori #kudari #submas #subway bosses #subway masters #eelektross #best wishes is incredibly stupid but it's so endearing to watch anyway

[folkwhorerain]

Jealousy, Jealousy (Wanda Maximoff x fem reader)

pairing: Wanda Maximoff x fem reader

Summary: reader is a shy and insecure Avenger whit a crush on Wanda, but she never made the first move on the sokovian. What if, during a party, finally something happens between the two of them?

Warnings: angst, reader being insecure, language (I think?), alcohol and sexual tension (feel free to tell me if I should add more).

English is not my first language, so bare with my grammar please, lol. This is my first fanfiction ever so forgive me if it's not anything special or it is lame.

I got inspired by "Jealousy, Jealousy" by Olivia Rodrigo, so I suggest you listen to it while reading, if you want.♥️

You hated them. You hated Tony's parties.

Don't get me wrong, you enjoyed the Avengers company, but parties were definitely not your thing. You always felt... out of place.

You were fine with chatting with the team during this day when you spent some time together, but when parties where that huge like tonight's one, all you wanted to do was staying in your room.

The fact is that you can't help but compare yourself to the others. You never felt enough and you were intimated by Tony's friends and the other heroes. You were just... You. No one special with no cool superpowers, you were good at hand to hand combat and you were really smart, but that was it; you always thought that was lame. Like that wasn't enough, you were the newest recruit in the team. The Avengers all welcomed you well and you grew attached to all of them, especially Natasha, but still, you didn't feel like that was enough for you to be considered "the cool Avenger", and you were still private about your feelings and emotions; when something was wrong the only answer that you had when they asked you what bothered you was "it's nothing". But it wasn't nothing. You felt an outsider in the team, you felt like you weren't enough for them and the worst part is that you knew it was all in your head, but you couldn't help it.

The first person that always comes to your mind when you think of someone cool is Wanda. Her powers affascinates you and you loved her determination. You can't say you two are close, but she always treated you well and she respected your boundaries, that's why now you have a crush on her and that's part of the reason you didn't want to go to the party. Seeing her well dressed while smiling to people who weren't you and while Vision was trying to get her attention would only make it worse.

You considered staying in your room while scrolling your social media, not having any strength to get up and get ready, especially when you were still in your bathrobe and your thoughts were only about a certain witch. However you knew Natasha would've dragged you out of the room if you wouldn't come so, after a few curses and annoyed groans, you threw your phone on the pillow and started to get dressed.

You didn't want to get the attention to you, people would start a conversation and tonight you weren't into it at all, so you opted for a green skirt and a black, cropped sweater and a little bit of makeup. Nothing more.

I'm already so sick of this bullshit, you thought to yourself, then you took a deep breath and went downstairs.

–

As you expected, the biggest room of the Stark Tower was filled with people you didn't know, but you were sure they were mostly Tony's friends.

They were all so confident with their drinks in hands, perfect combed hair and fancy dresses worth millions of dollars.

You weren't nothing like these people: you didn't get why people would spend millions for pieces of cloth. It was a waste of money, but how you wished you saw it differently, maybe you would be one of these apparently happy people with a lot of friends, and not the weirdo of the group with a lack of confidence so evident you couldn't even enjoy a relaxing event.

A few tears tried to escape your eyes, but you wouldn't let them. Steve was watching you and, from the look he was giving you, he already sensed something was off with you; so you did what was best and faked a smile, which he returned gladly before he went back to his conversation with Bucky.

You felt like a creep standing in the corner of the room doing nothing, so you started looking around searching for Nat. After a few second you saw her talking, or better, flirting with Bruce at the bar while she had a Martini on her hand.

You frowned sympathetically. Cute. He really likes her a lot, you thought seeing Bruce embarrassed and intimidated by the widow.

Suddenly a waiter asked you if you wanted a glass of wine and you accepted, maybe a little alcohol would help you get through this more easily. You took a sip and enjoyed the feeling of the wine in your throat.

“This is ridiculous.” you whispered.

“What is ridiculous?” you heard someone ask you.

You turned to see who it was and that's when you saw her: Wanda was smiling at you with a curious expression on her face.

You blinked a few times, amazed by the girl in front of you: she was wearing a short, black dress, and her ginger hair was loose on her shoulders. She decided to put on a little bit of makeup and a red lipstick. Not like her typical style, but you liked her anyway. She was always so beautiful.

You shook your head, realizing she was waiting for an answer. "Uhm, parties, I guess.” She nodded. “I mean, Tony's events are always too exaggerated.” you added before biting your lips, clearly embarrassed.

“I know how you feel.” Wanda agreed. “I always have to try so hard to fit in during things like these.” She chuckled while looking around the room.

“Well, at least you're trying.” You said before giving her a dry laugh, looking down at your glass.

The ginger tilted her head sympathetically. “Well, maybe that's the problem.”

You frowned in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“I mean... trying too hard is the problem.” She explained. “If you feel like you have to try so hard it becomes unbearable, maybe that means that the thing you're doing is not good for you.” She added before biting the inside of her cheek.

You simply hummed in agreement and took another sip of wine, too intimated by her beauty.

Don't think something awkward. She can read minds. Don't think how beautiful she is- shit. Stop thinking.

“If you'll excuse me, Vision is looking for me.” She said with a smirk on her face before leaving you alone again.

You watched her walk away, analizing her every move. God, how you wanted her to be yours. She was not, of course. Why would she be with someone like you? She could have Vision and every other man in this room, so why would she choose a girl like you? Speaking of the devil, Vision approached her with a few guys and she gave him her brightest smile.

You watched all the interaction, still in the corner of the room.

He was so confident with his perfect posture and his good manners. He would be the best for her. He's the kind of man, or synthezoid, or whatever, that could always reassure her and find the perfect words to make her feel better. He would try and cheer her up and find the better jokes to tell, just like he's probably doing right now. In fact the sokovian was laughing at something he said and her beautiful laugh echoed through the room.

You felt jealousy rush through your veins.

“I wanna be him so bad!”

All the people in the room turned to look at you with puzzled expression.

Your eyes went wide when you realized you practically yelled what you wanted was just a thought so, without a second thought, you rushed out of the party and went straight to your room.

You slammed the door and let the tears escape. You took off your make up and headed straight to bed, overthinking what just happened, screaming in your pillow.

I always ruin everything!

You didn't expect you would've said that out loud and right now you didn't expect to hear someone to knock on your door. You didn't answer, though, you kept your head buried in the pillow. It was probably Natasha who wanted to talk about what happened and you definitely weren't going to say a word.

The door opened anyway and you groaned in annoyance.

“Listen, Nat-” You started to say but stopped immediately when you saw it wasn't the russian spy, but Wanda.

“Hi.” She greeted you with a shy smile. “May I sit?” She asked pointing the bed.

You composed yourself and nodded shyly. “Yeah.”

Wanda gave you a swift smile and sat next to you, crossing her legs on the bed. Your breath itched when you felt your knees touching. You two have never been this close and the situation was making you nervous, thing that didn't go unnoticed by Wanda considering the fact that you were playing with the ring on your index finger.

You never noticed but Wanda knows you very well. She knows your moves, the way you play with your hands when you're nervous, the way your eyes shine when you talk about your interests or the way you are quieter than usual when you're sad.

The truth is that Wanda liked you very much and she knew you liked her too. She didn't want to tell you 'cause she wanted you to take courage and say it first and, to be fully honest, she was scared. What if your crush was temporary and you would eventually get bored? What if she loses you just like she lost her parents and Pietro? She would never, ever accept it.

“So... Why did you run away?” She asked like it wasn't obvious you just yelled in front of everyone.

“Are you seriously asking, Wanda?” You snapped before you could stop yourself.

She looked at you with sad eyes before looking down at her hands. “Sorry…”

“No, no... Don't apologize.” You whispered. “You have nothing to apologize for. I shouldn't have… God, I'm pathetic.”

You threw your head in your hands and sighed. I'm so sick of myself!

“Why are you sick of yourself?” The sokovian asked you before placing a hand on your knee.

You looked at the hand and then at her.

“Sorry, I shouldn't have read your mind, but sometimes your thoughts are really loud.” she chuckled, starting to rub her thumb on your knee. You were speechless, all this interaction was making you crazy. You craved more of her touch and now, more than ever, you wanted to kiss her. However you pushed those feelings aways and started to open up to avoid thinking about something inappropriate. “I'm just… me. I mean, I'm not special.”

“Why do you think that?” She asked raising an eyebrow, her hand never leaving your skin.

You took a deep breath. “Wanda, come on! Tony's friends are so cool, he's loved by everyone, Natasha is a badass russian spy, you have these amazing superpower. Thor is literally a God, for fuck's sake!”

“You compare yourself to the others too much. It's not healthy, Y/N.” She sweetly stated wiping away a tear from you cheek.

You closed your eyes for a second, enjoying her touch, but then you came back to reality. “I know, but I can't help it. The others seem to be so confident and happy, and all the girls at the party... Fuck, they're so pretty-”

"Beauty is not your lack.” She interrupted you smirking, her hand still on your cheek.

“I- I just wish I was them... I wish I had the courage Vision has.” You admitted, looking down.

“Why him?” The ginger asked placing two fingers under your chin, forcing you to look at her in those piercing green eyes.

“Because I'm so jealous he gets all your attentions and I don't just because I'm too insecure.” You said it in a whisper, almost inaudible, but Wanda heard you and you knew judging by the smile on her face.

“You want my attentions?” She asked leaning in.

Her face was so close to yours that it was hard to breathe. You could smell her perfume and that alone was making you want her more. You had the urge to kiss her and touch her and taste her, but right now Wanda was waiting for a response so you simply nodded, not trusting your voice.

“You already have them.” She admitted, making you frown in confusion. “There might be a hundred people in the room, but I would always notice you and only you, Y/n.” You were speechless, partly because of her confession, partly because she was so damn close to your face it made your heart race fast, and before you could realise, she kissed you.

Her lips were so soft against yours and her hands were in the right places. However, after a few moments, you realized you froze and didn't reproached the kiss. Wanda broke the kiss, a disappointed look on her face.

“I'm sorry, I thought you liked me t-”

Before she could finish her sentence, you kissed her. You kissed her with so much confidence it surprised both you and Wanda.

Your right hand was on her neck and the other was on her waist, pulling her close.

You felt her smirk on the kiss and the hand that before was on your knee now was up your thigh.

“God, this skirt was making me crazy the whole night.” She breathed out, making the hand go higher and higher where you needed it the most.

Before you could realize you still had your party outfit on, Wanda started caressing slowly your inner thigh, making you gasp. Hearing the affect she had on you, the ginger bite your lobe before whispering something that made you shiver.

“Let me show you all the attentions I have for you, babygirl.”

alright, that was it. I know it's not good, but I had this idea the other night and I just had to write it.

Feedback is appreciated. <3

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff x reader #elizabeth olsen #lizzie olsen #marvel #mcu x reader #tony stark #natasha romanoff #black widow #thor odinson #steve rogers #marvel cinematic universe #comics #wandavision #Vision #paul bettany

[poisonmaximoff]

BELATED FATE (Elizabeth Olsen x FemReader).

The whole story: here.

Chapter 3. A day together

Y/n's POV:

Madison gave me several ideas, and I still struggled to choose a perfect one, when I heard a notification.

"Did you decide where should we go? ;)" Elizabeth's message popped up on the screen.

"no, i'm still trying to pick a perfect option :(" I immediately responded.

"Cute :D You can relax your brain now, I know what I'd love to visit. How about this new water park, that's not far from Disneyland? Only if you can swim, of course. I don't want you to drown ;)"

Water park. Great. With my freaking fear of heights and inability to go further than waist deep into water. "aww you're worried about me ^^ sounds amazing!" I text her back cursing myself for not being able to say no to her.

"I just have nothing to wear to your funeral. Okay, then I'll send you location a little later and I'll be waiting for you there on Saturday at 11 am. See you, Y/n"

"ok, see you too"

Shit. I have two days to convince myself that everything will be fine, so I don't accidentally get a panic attack right there. Oh, and now I need to buy a new bikini too, but that's what I can handle for sure.

Time has flown by almost imperceptibly. It's already 10 am on a Saturday morning, and as usual I'm getting my stuff in a hurry. Thank God I didn't oversleep at least. I gathered all the necessary things in my backpack and put on my new black bikini, which by sheer chance turned out to be quite revealing. I'd love to go straight in it, but unfortunately I have no desire to end up in the police station, so I put on a black t-shirt with regular shorts over it and leave my apartment.

I barely made it there in time. I immediately recognized the familiar woman waving to me while approaching the main gate.

"Hi, Y/n" She said in her usual a bit raspy voice and smiled at me.

"Good morning, Elizabeth. To be honest, your choice is a little unexpected for me, you know" I smiled back at her once again admiring her features. She isn't wearing any makeup now and still looks stunning.

"Well, these are pretty hot days, so water park is a perfect solution, don't you think? And please call me Lizzie, Y/n." She said with a soft expression.

"But that's how everyone calls you!"

"Yes, exactly, that's why you can call me that too"

"It's no fun, I don't wanna be like everyone else. Can I call you El?" I asked with a puppy eyes, having no idea how she'd react to this.

"You're so weird" she said slightly furrowing brows for couple of seconds, but without removing the smile from her face. "Okay, call me whatever you want and let's go."

I was genuinely glad that she didn't mind me calling her El, even though I don't understand why I wanted to be different from the others. What a typical pick me.

Half an hour later we were already lying on our sun loungers, enjoying a wonderful weather. I felt her eyes on me, so I slowly turned my head in her direction. Meeting her green eyes that were staring at me intently, I couldn't help but ask her what's so interesting about me. She chuckled without any embarrassment from being caught. "I'm just hypnotizing you, so that you could finally go with me to the water slides." That was an unbelievably smooth and kind of funny response. And how can I refuse her after that?

"Alright, alright, let's go." I get up from my sun lounger and start to run my eyes over all the slides in the water park, choosing the least dangerous one. I turn around, so I can tell her where we're going and see her eyes instantly go up, obviously being on my ass before that.

"Staring is rude, ma'am." I say with a smirk, although in fact this little detail gives me butterflies in my stomach. Or maybe it was just a coincidence I think, but seeing her cheeks covered in slight blush convinces me of the opposite.

Ignoring my last sentence, she points to a huge winding waterslide. "I want the big one." She says as she watches my expression drastically change from  a confident to a shocked one. I stare wide-eyed at it, and then at her. I can't believe she's going to make me do it. Of course I can say that I'm literally terrified, but then she'll definitely think that I'm a coward. We can't have that.

"Are you okay, honey? We can just swim in the pool, if you're afraid." She asked in a fake sweet tone, which made me want to prove her wrong even more.

"I'm not a child, c'mon, let's go."

Elizabeth just smiled and shook her head before following me. As soon as we got to the top of the slide, I immediately regretted not saying to her that I was actually scared. I was afraid to even look down, so as not to accidentally provoke a panic attack. I was literally amazed that El is absolutely calm and she obviously feels comfortable here.

"Hey, are you okay?" She asked me noticing my puzzled expression.

I didn't have time to answer, as we heard a young guy's voice, who was going to instruct us. Well, at least we have to go down the water slide together instead of going separately, which I definitely wouldn't able to handle. I sat in front of her, and she sat behind me, carefully placing her feet on my legs.

"Is that okay? It's just more comfortable that way."

"Yes, s-sure" I answered a little haltingly, not entirely certain if it was because of the upcoming descent, or because of the close contact with her body.

"Are you ready, ladies?" We heard a loud voice from a guy behind us.

"YES"

"NO" We shouted at the same time and the guy immediately pushed us, laughing at my crazy screaming.

To say that it was the worst experience of my life would be an understatement. Those miserable thitry seconds seemed like an eternity to me, and when we got to the end of the slide, we just fell at full speed into the pool. I literally couldn't stop screaming so I didn't close my mouth and disgusting pool water filled my mouth.

When I emerged from the water, I found Elizabeth laughing so loudly that people turned to look at us.

"What the hell is so funny about that?" I asked indignantly, spitting out water and trying to catch my breath, not understanding if she's laughing at the way I fell or at my frightened face. Without waiting for an answer, I turn around and start swimming towards the stairs in order to finally get out of the pool.

She immediately follows me trying to turn me around, but I'm moving really fast not wanting to look her in the eyes. "Hey, Y/n, please wait, I didn't mean to offend you in any way, you just had a funny expression on your face. I'm sorry, I won't laugh at you anymore, if it offends you!"

I don't know why this affected me this much. It's like everything she does makes me ten times more emotional than the same things other people do. If Mads laughed at me, I'd just drop it. But Elizabeth...

"I'm sorry, Y/n..." She repeats.

I stop at the stairs, turn around and see the worried look in her eyes. I don't want her to be upset, especially since she sincerely apologized, although she didn't have to do it.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I reacted this way, I don't know what got into me, It's probably adrenaline, I've never been on such waterslides before." I say with my head lowered because of the feeling of embarrassement.

"You could've just said to me, that you're not comfortable doing it. I'd never laugh at you or something like that, it's totally okay to have certain fears and I respect it. I just want us both to have a good time, not just me.  So let's go get some ice cream and we should better just sunbathe, okay?" her tone is so gentle that it just melts my heart.

I didn't expect her to treat me like that. This causes me a storm of emotions, which I do my best to ignore. I simply thank her for caring and follow her to the bar.

We spent the rest of the day talking about random things like clothing brands, ice cream flavors, our favorite music and movie genres. Even though we have quite different tastes in many things, I still feel comfortable around her and I notice that she also finds it easy to talk to me.

The day passed almost unnoticed in her company. We interrupted only for snacks and swimming in the pool. The rest of the time we just talked about everything that came to our minds. Interesting thing that even though we discussed a lot of things, we learned almost nothing special about each other. I only found out that Elizabeth loves to cook and adores flowers, her favorite ice cream flavor is a mixture of strawberry and chocolate, and she would also like to adopt a Pomeranian someday. Well, I'm going to get to know her little by little.

After collecting our things and changing from wet bikinis to dry clothes, we headed to the exit. A small feeling of bitterness crept into my heart as we approached the main gate. Knowing damn well that it's the time we should say goodbye to each other, we silently stood there for a couple more minutes. Elizabeth cleared her throat and decided to break the silence first.

"Y/n, I had a truly wonderful time today. I really needed to break out of my routine and hang out with someone new, so thank you for keeping me company."

I smiled at her words. "Thanks to you too for getting me out of my home, I don't hang out with someone that often and I really enjoyed your company too."

I decide to say goodbye right away so as not to reduce our small talk to an awkward silence. "Bye, El. See you at work."

"Get home safely, Y/n, see you later."

With these words, we parted our ways. An hour later, I was sitting in the kitchen at home, eating some takeaway food and thinking about today.

She gives me very conflicting emotions. Sometimes I feel so comfortable with her, as if I've known her all my life, and sometimes she makes me so nervous, as if I have to pass a vital exam. I don't know much about her other than basic things and some interests that we don't even share, but I'm starting to feel some affection to her.

Realizing that I can always possibly end up catching actual feelings for her makes me dive deeper into my thoughts. C'mon, Y/n. The fact that you both watch Marvel doesn't make you soulmates. She's six years older than you. Your social circles are too different. Her family is a part of the beau monde, and there will never be a place for you. And yes, I almost forgot, she is engaged and will soon become the wife of a promising businessman. She deserves this life, she deserves someone to take a good care of her and you're not good enough. You will never be good enough for such woman like her. That's why you have to do everything in your power to save yourself from this destroying feelings.

Elizabeth's POV:

I got home completely immersed in my thoughts. Closing the door behind me, I lean my back against it, tilting my head up a little, and close my eyes.

"Babe, are you home already?" Boyd's voice comes from the bathroom I think. "I was just going to call you, I thought you'd be here when I come back."

I open my eyes in surprise, because he promised me to be at home late in the evening. And he came earlier exactly when I'd prefer to be alone. "Hi, Bo. I didn't expect you to be home this early" I say taking off my shoes and heading to the bathroom.

"I decided to finish earlier today, so I could spend Saturday night with you" he says looking out of the doorway and smiling at me. "Wow, you look a little tanned, have you been to the beach or something?"

"Yes, something like that. Look, I think I spent too much time under the sun, so I don't actually feel really well. I'd better go to my room to rest, if you don't mind. I'm so sorry that I ruined your plans and I promise to make it up to you" I say kissing his cheek and waiting for response.

"Oh. Of course. Can I help you with anything?"

"You know that I'll always call you, if I need your help." I excuse myself and go to my room.

As soon as I closed the door on my side, a huge wave of guilt immediately washes over me. I just lied to the person who put his business on hold just to spend some time with me. Selfish, lying, ungrateful bitch, who doesn't even know what she needs. That's who I currently am.

I lie down on the large bed, covering my face with my hands and my mind drifts to one particular person. How easily she made me laugh simply being herself, how excitedly she talked about her collections of different cards and Funko Pops, how attentively she listened when I talked about gardening, although I knew it wasn't interesting to her at all. She is exactly what her mother told me about her.

I remember how I couldn't contain myself from taking a quick looks at her curves. She caught me red-handed when my gaze lingered on her lower body, even though it wasn't even sexually suggestive. I hope she already forgot about it, I don't want her to think that I have this kind of interest in her.

Although my brain is increasingly replaying different scenarios in my head involving Y/n. It scares me so much, that some day an innocent interest grows into something I don't even want to think about. I can barely handle the overwhelming sensation I constantly feel, because of my inability to take my life into my own hands. No, I have to figure out how to avoid additional mental and physical problems, such as sudden feelings for the girl I don't even know much about.

#elizabeth olsen #elizabeth olsen fanfic #elizabeth olsen fanfiction #elizabeth olsen x reader #elizabeth olsen x you #lizzie olsen #marvel fanfiction #wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff fanfic #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x you

[jinxxedwammys]

In celebration of 100 followers I present to you

Wammy boys in oddly specific AUs I found on pinterest and stuff.

Warnings: Swearing (mostly in Mello’s part as usual lol)

L

"I mistook you for my best friend and jumped on your back in public and now I'm embarrassed"

🎂🍨🍦🍭🍮🎂🍨🍦🍭🍮🎂🍨🍦🍭🍮🎂🍨🍦🍭🍮🎂🍨🍦🍭🍮🎂

It was during the Kira case when L was closely investigating Light Yagami at To-Oh University that this extremely awkward encounter occurred. The sun was high in the sky, locusts and could be heard and cherry blossom littered the wide walkway leading into the school.

You had your heavy bag slung across your shoulders. It was filled with textbooks and papers (some of which you had forgotten to turn in) as well as a few personal items. You weren't really paying much attention to your surroundings until you spotted one of your male friends!

You hadn't seen him since the beginning of high-school. To say you were excited was an understatement. In your excitement you took a running jump onto his back knocking him to the ground. He let out a yelp and that was when you realized...

This man was NOT your friend.

"Oh my God I'm so sorry I thought you were someone else" you hurriedly said pushing yourself up and on your knees an apparent redness in your face.

He seemed to be unbothered for the most part, he turned to you, crouching in a sort of fetal position.

"It's alright I understand" He replied.

"No, no its not.. I'm an idiot I should have realized" you shoved your face into your hands covering how red your face now was.

"It is alright, I'm uninjured and it was an honest mistake" you frowned a little not entirely trusting his forgiveness, but this time, you took it.

He gave you a polite smile before standing up and helping you to your feet. He wished you a good day, and left, but not before sneaking a note containing his alias and phone number.

Mello

"I lost my little sibling Matt in Ikea and I need your help finding them"

🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫🍫

"Fuck.... Shit... Motherfucker" You heard from the other side of the store shelf as you browsed through various decor items. This mystery person had been spewing profanities for the past five minutes. You sighed with slight annoyance placing the wooden model hand you had been staring at for God knows how long back, making your way to the neighboring isle.

"Hey, you've been cursing up a storm... what's going on?" You asked, hand on your hip awaiting a response. Mello looked up at you with a look of anger and exhaustion on his face.

"I'm looking for my idiot friend. He got hopelessly lost in the chair section and I've been trying to find him for like an hour now" He ran a hand through his hair pushing his bangs to the sides of his face.

"I can help you look for him!" You offered.

"You don't have to"

"I want to! I don't really have anything else to do, so it's fine. To be completely honest I don't know why I came here." He shrugged. "Oh my name's Y/N by the way"

"I'm Mello" He replied before setting off out of the isle leaving you to sprint a but to catch up. His pace was fast and he seemed to have some plan on how to tackle this, but you weren't exactly sure.

After what seemed like an eternity of silently weaving through the labyrinth of shelves and furniture displays, you spoke up.

"So... how old is your friend?"

"We're both 19... His name is Matt." You kept walking until he stopped directly in front of the office showroom section.

"He might be here, so keep an eye out for a tall brunette idiot with goggles." You nodded keeping close to Mello. Again you snaked through isles. Eventually your search devolved into looking into cabinets, drawers, anything that would open, but to no avail.

"Where the fuck is he?" Mello said under his breath as he slammed shut another cabinet.

That was when a tall brunette wearing goggles walked by dual wielding hotdogs... You sighed heavily before approaching Matt.

"Matt?" You called out gaining the attention of both Matt and Mello. Mello stood beside you before going on to scold his friend almost as if he were an unruly child.

"Sorry about that I hope looking for him wasn't that unbearable... would you like to meet up sometime again in the future?" Mello asked. You nodded in response.

"I'd love to! This was quite fun actually. Though let's not go to an ikea next time."

Near

"We both like walking In the park at night and I think you're a stalker so I accidentally attack you"

🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖🎲🃏🪀🤖

It was 2am, the night was calm yet you were restless nothing you tried allowed you to fall asleep. It was like this most nights. You would then go to the park near your house to get some fresh air and tire yourself out... and on a night like this, that seemed like a perfect idea. You didn't even change out of your pajamas before you left. As you entered the park, you felt... odd. As if someone was watching you and sure enough, as you turned your head to look behind you you saw a man following about two yards behind you.

Naturally your thoughts went wild with what ifs and possible escape plans. Yet you calmed your mind opting to check if this guy was really following you. With every corner you turned your heart sank. Panic started to set in and you rushed to get together an improvised weapon.... Your housekey! You gripped it tightly in your hand as if it were a knife and swiftly approached the man going to jab him in the eye, yet he caught your arm with ease, turning it behind you and pushing you to the ground, similarly to how a police officer would apprehend a resistant assailant.

"Why did you attack me" he questioned, plopping down just above your hips.

"Let me go, stalker!!!" You yelled at him thrashing around attempting to escape his grasp.

"What are you talking about? I'm not stalking you." He calmly said.

"That's exactly what a stalker would say! Let me go!" He sighed lifting himself off of you and crouching beside you. You rolled over and sat with your legs crossed.

"I swear to you, I was only out for a walk. I take nighttime walks sometimes, though this was the first time I've been in this park."

"Then how come every time I turned you followed?"

"I did? I'm sorry, I didn't even realize" He stated plainly. You sighed he seemed truthful.

"Fine... I'm sorry too, I probably shouldn't have assumed you were a stalker or something and attacked you" you admitted. He shook his head.

"It's alright, I understand... I can be scary" you snorted and laughed. The light of the nearby streetlamp lit his features. A frail, sweet looking man with long white hair who seemed to be somewhat reserved. You felt a little silly that you thought someone like him would hurt you much.

"You're not scary... In all honesty you're quite cute!" You admitted, reaching out a finger to poke his nose.

"Thanks, you're actually quite cute as well, maybe we could meet up here in the morning?" He suggested.

Matt

"I come here when I want to be alone and I didn't think anyone knew about it so where the hell did you come from"

🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮🚬🥽🎮

This day was aweful. Work was extremely stressful. Your coworker put important documents in the shreader for the 10th time that week and you were the one tasked with rewriting, tracking down, requesting new copies and piecing together ones that couldn't be recovered otherwise. And of course your boss made every minute of it a nightmare. So after work, you drove to your favorite place. An abandoned warehouse off the highway about 5 minutes from your house.

It was virtually untouched by people now that the walls were covered in graffiti and the place had been ransacked for leftover valuable items. You made your way inside noticing something was off... there was a leather couch that wasn't yours, a coffee table... even a TV and game console plugged into a power supply, another handheld game on the coffee table next to an ashtray with a few cigarette butts, one of which was still smoking.

You were beyond confused. From the last time you were here someone had basically moved in... it had only been a week since you last came here. You warily approached the couch. Well... whoever left it here probably won't mind! you thought I just hope they didn't sabotage it or something. You then sat down noting that it was a perfectly normal couch and you were just paranoid.

That was when a guy came in, he was tall and lenky, had brown hair and was dressed in a striped shirt, a frankly hideous vest with fur lining, black pants and goggles atop his head. He had been holding a can of coke and a cigarette, yet those were both dropped as he saw you.

"Who are you?" He half shrieked.

"Who are YOU? You yelled back.

"I asked first!"

"My name is Y/N.. I come here all the time when I'm stressed and want to be alone I didn't think anyone else knew about it"

"S..Same but.. I come here to get away from a friend of mine... he can be quite aggressive and it's scary" He sat down beside you picking up his handheld game. "Oh and my name is Matt!"

"Hmm.. then let's share this space from now on, Matt!" He nodded in agreement.

"Yea! I hope we meet again soon"

Beyond Birthday

"We live in the same apartment complex and I accidentally leave my laundry in the washer for a minute too long and you decide to take out all my wet clothes to put yours in just as I walk in"

🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪🩸🔪

It was late night. You had been putting off laundry for the past week, but now you were down to a pair of underwear and your nightgown, so you had to do your wash.. you reluctantly gathered your clothes and made your way to the communal washer and dryer. You threw your clothes in and put a coin in the coinslot then set the washer to start.

You sighed and made your way back to your room to relax a little while your clothes were still washing. It had been about two hours and your laundry was probably done. The timer you had set went off and you gathered yourself and brought the remainder of your clothes as well as your box of dryer sheets.

The moment you walked in your eyes widened in horror. Some odd man sat frantically pulling your clothes out of the washer onto the dirty floor.

"What the hell are you doing??!!" You yelled rushing over to stop him. He peered up at you from his crouching position.

"You left your clothes in too long, its my turn now" You blinked

"Only for a few minutes... it just got done less than 5 minutes ago.. now my clothes are all dirty again.. damn it"

"Sorry" He said. His beady eyes were wide and innocent looking. "I'll let you do yours again... I'll pay" He said before shoving yours back in and starting it again.

When that was done he pulled a jam jar out of seemingly nowhere and perched on top of the washer dipping his hand inside the jar and licking his fingers clean of jam. It was disgusting... But you decided to not pay any more attention to it than you had to.

The rest of the time you spent with him was in silence, all you heard was the washer and his lip-smacking. When the washer finished you silently transferred your clothes to the dryer.. this time without your oddball fellow tenant interfering much. Though when he got his own clothes in he did crawl away which freaked you out.

#wammy boys #wammy boys x reader #wammy kids #l lawilet #l x reader #l lawliet x reader #near #near x reader #near death note #l death note #nate river #nate river x reader #mello #mello death note #mello x reader #mihael keehl x reader #mihael keehl #matt x reader #matt death note #mail jeevas #mail jeevas x reader #bb death note #bb x reader #beyond birthday #beyond birthday x reader #death note #death note x reader #thanks for 100 followers #100 followers

[duckugou]

golden

Kenma x GN!reader

Im trying to stray away from my comfort zone of just writing readers that use she/her so bear with me

sorry if this lowkey sucks but it was inspired by harry styles song golden

cw: big cursing, huge fluff, strangers to friends to lovers, comfort, aged up!

come to my asks to be a part of my taglist! just let me know what kinds of fics/ what fandom/ what characters/ etc you want to be tagged in!

Requests are open!!

-------------------------------------

Being a streamer comes with perks. Being comfy at home, not having to face people in real life every day, playing games, typical shit. Another perk is making good friends.

Meeting people on a voice chat is common for Kenma -guys and gals alike. What he wasnt expecting one night was the sweetest voice on the other end of his headphones.

"You're all fucks- I'm better at this game than all of you combined. Try me."

To think that was the sentence that made Kenma's ears perk up and burn.

"What the hell ever- we have the great Kodzuken on our side." One of the guys said, half joking half dead serious.

"Oh yeah, he isn't even speaking up to defend your pussy asses- probably knows I could beat him too." You could hear the smirk in that last part.

"U-uh, no. You can't beat me. Nobody can actually. Not at this game." Kenma rebutted , confident in his gaming skills but not so much his speaking skills to this stranger.

"Oh man, you certainly sound confident. Come on, Kodzuken- 1v1 me then. Show me who the best really is."

Kenma suddenly felt nervous. Should he really demolish this stranger? Isn't it polite to let the person you like win? He didn't like this person yet but god their voice was attractive.

"Fine. Send the request." He decided.

"Sent, fucker."

The game resulted in a tie because this stranger actually knew what they were doing. They both threw friendly insults at each other the whole time of course, making each of them laugh a little.

"Okay fine. The great Kodzuken himself almost beat me. Im almost honored to have a great streamer almost beat me."

"Well you almost beat me too- uh-" Kenma stuttered over the fact that he didn't know how to address this stranger.

"Oh! Call me Y/n." The person giggled.

"You can uh, call me Kenma."

"Oh you don't want me to repeat your title over and over like everyone else?" They laughed.

"No, friends don't call me that. They use my name name." His ears were burning.

"Friends, huh? Guess that means you owe me your number so we can schedule a rematch where I can properly beat your ass."

"Huh, guess so."

A few months had gone by and Y/n and Kenma were as close as they could be. They found out they live close by each other and began hanging out a lot.

Y/n would be in the back of his streams on occasion and wouldn't hesitate to speak up during them. Thats the thing about Y/n. They've always been so outspoken. Since the start. Everything they talk about comes so easy to Y/n. Nothing is held back. Kenma knows everything about them. He on the other hand is still a bit closed off. Quiet. The two are so opposite yet so alike. Kenma doesn't speak much about himself, opting to listen.

Especially when talking about past relationships.

One night, they were sat in Kenmas room in separate chairs, letting conversations flow.

"So, you've dated but why have the relationships ended?" Y/n asked.

"Ah, I dont know- its not important. Why did yours end?" Kenma flipped the question as he always does.

"One guy cheated," Y/n tossed a piece of popcorn in the air, missing their mouth and brushing it off. "One girl left because she was leaving for school, and one guy just didn't mesh with me. Your turn." Y/n pushed the question back.

"Uh- well. I don't click with people easily. I'm pretty closed off so when I date it usually ends in hurt feelings by accident or they get sick of me." Kenma finally admitted.

"Huh." Y/n flopped onto their stomach on the bed after setting down the popcorn. "Don't you like anyone though? Like- if you liked someone enough, do you think you would give opening up a shot?"

"I mean I guess. Nobody ever takes the time to...pry me open." That got a laugh out of Y/n. Good. "But yeah I do like someone."

Sitting up suddenly, Y/n became visibly excited.

"TELL ME WHO."

"No god no- it isnt important." Kenmas ears burned again.

"Come onnnnn. Its gotta be someone big time cool to earn your heart. I have to approve."

Y/n pulled Kenma from his chair to the bed, not letting go of his hand as he sat down.

"Theyre very cool- and very sweet. Understanding. Someone who stands up for me and makes me comfortable-" Kenma began gushing.

"Do I know them?" Y/n interrupted.

"Y-yeah. You sure do." Kenma scratched the back of his neck.

"Oooh ok, a guessing game. Describe them more- their looks!" Y/n held his hand tighter, bouncing up and down with excitement.

"Well- ok." Kenma took a deep breath and decided he could be vague enough. "Theyre short. As short if not shorter than me. Competitive. Very cute smile-"

"TOO VAGUE give me the JUICY DETAILS" Y/n pushed.

"They uh- they have..pretty eyes." He was staring at this point, eyes wandering around Y/ns face to find more things to describe. "cute nose too I guess. Squishy cheeks. Glasse-"

"WHO THE HELL IS IT KENMA- its starting to sound like youre describing me." Y/n laughed.

"No- I'm totally not!" Kenma rushed.

"Tell this person you like them. You look so happy when you talk about them. Its kind of sickening."

"I can't just do that." Kenma stated flatly.

"Yeah you can."

"No-"

"DO ITTTT. Nothing to be scared of- it's CUTE. They would be dumb to not like you."

Kenma sighed, knowing he couldn't tell Y/n the truth about who he liked. What does he usually do when he's put in a corner like this? Oh thats right-

"Who do you like then Y/n?" He asked, proud of himself for deflecting again.

"Oh thats easy. You." Y/n said, letting go of his hand and laying back on the bed, leaving Kenma sitting up and stunned.

"What? No I mean a crush idiot. Who do you liiikkkeee?" Kenma pushed, hoping he didn't hear Y/n wrong.

"You, Kenma. I've had a crush since our first tie in a game. Thought that was obvious-"

Kenma flopped back on the bed as well. The both of them looking at each other.

"Oh. My person is uh... really... open and honest." Kenma said quietly.

"Is that why you wont tell them?" Y/n asked just as hushed.

"Yeah... what if right now they say yes but then their feelings change one day? That would hurt so bad. Worse than not telling them ever." He whispered.

There was silence. They knew what they both just admitted. Kenmas heart started racing. This might've fucked everything up. He might lose them. But they like him too so why is he so scared?

Y/n held his hand again.

"I know that youre scared because I'm so open...but hey... If you wanna give it a try..." Y/n whispered, scared about whether or not their honesty fucked them over.

"You might be right this time Y/n." Kenma whispered.

The space between them was closed due to both of them being drawn together like magnets in that moment. A sweet kiss.

"Let's try it then. I'll work on... being more open if you'd like." Kenma said.

"Kenma. I dont want you to change one bit. I like you the way you are."

Acceptance. It was the best thing Kenma has ever felt.

#kenma #kenma fic #kenma fluff #kenma gamer #haikyuu fic #haikyuu x reader #kenma x reader #haikyuu fluff #harry styles golden lyric AHHHH

[differentkettleoffishalltogether]

I’m On Fire [Chapter 2]

With her sister’s wedding fast approaching and her Mom hounding her about finding a date, Y/N makes a terrible decision that lands her and her least favorite genius in a confusing situation.

Chapter Summary: Y/N and Spencer start to put a plan together.

A/N:  I’ve got a head cold at the mo’ but I had to get a covid test just in case so I’m not allowed leave my room till I get the results! So enjoy a bonus chapter while I wallow on my own for like 36 hours :( On a positive note, thank you guys all so much for the response to chapter 1 I really didn’t see that coming! I’ve tagged everyone who asked, let me know if you wanna be added

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem Reader

Category: Fake Dating, Enemies to Lovers, (Eventual) Smut, Fluff, Angst, it’s a Slow Burn Baby

Warnings: Cursing, some NSFW language/themes

Word Count: 6.1k

Previous Chapter -- Next Chapter

Series Masterlist

Masterlist 

"Are you coming up or what?"

The question was still ringing in my ears. It caught me completely off guard. 'Up' as in up to Spencer's apartment? Where he lived? I knew he lived somewhere in theory, just like I knew deep down that he wasn't made in a test tube. 

Without noticing I've undone my seatbelt and I'm hopping out of the car, following him around to the front door. I guess I am coming up.

Spencer's apartment is more cosy than I thought it was going to be. It's warm and lived in. It's not big, but I think that might be what makes it homely. Something about the way he behaves had me thinking it would be fully decked out in stainless steel or glass or something. But it wasn't pristine, it was messy. 

There were books bursting from the shelves that lined the walls of the apartment, along with books laid open over nearly every surface in the place, it looked like he was in the middle of reading all of them, and honestly, I didn't doubt it. Maybe I'd misjudged him. He even had some photos of what looked like his family, and maybe friends, even some of the BAU, lining his walls or propped up on his mantle. He had little trinkets and souvenirs on his shelves too, evidence that he'd been around the country for reasons other than a case. I would never admit it to him but there was a real charm to the place.

Once we got inside he took off his bag and suit jacket, tossing them on the desk just inside of the door. I wasn't sure what I was supposed to do, and he seemed to pick up on my awkward energy.

"You can make yourself at home" he said, his confident streak remaining. I had no idea what to do with that. What would even make me comfortable in Spencer Reid's apartment? I took a seat on his sofa and just sat with my hands resting in my lap. Really not even sure where I should look without feeling like I was invading his privacy. Even though I wanted to. I think it was morbid curiosity, looking for clues on who this man might actually be outside of the BAU. What I really wanted to do was stand up and walk around, soaking in every bit if this place as if it would help me decipher our messy relationship.

He returned to the living room a few moments later, two mismatched mugs in his hands. He places one in front of me on the coffee table. I pick it up and take a sip. It's lemon and ginger, how did he know what kind of tea I liked? I held the mug in my hands inhaling the steam in an effort to relax. When I look up he's watching me, arms folded across his chest.

"So, how does this thing work. What's the game plan?" I honestly have no real idea. This evening really got away from me, I was still expecting to snap out of it and wake up in my bed at any moment.

"Well I can't say I've ever been in a Sandra Bullock movie before either so this is uncharted territory for me too" I say with a chuckle, trying to ease the tension. Even a little. I can see him crack a small smile but hides it almost instantly, his face hardening again.

"My sister, Margot, she's getting married in like 4 months." I can feel myself tense and I shake out my shoulders, I have to remind myself that he's agreed to this already, "Fuck it, I'm just going to be honest with you. My Mom's mostly freaked out that I'm too attached to this job and that I'll just never find someone again." I shouldn't have said again, fuck. I hope he didn't pick up on that. Who am I kidding. "Even though, I'm not sure I care if I do or don't?" he doesn't say anything, like he's waiting for me to continue. I know I've shared a little too much already but I keep going.

"Margot's 2 years younger than me, I introduced her to her fiancé Philip, we met in college, he's a sweetheart. But since they've gotten engaged Mom's gotten exponentially weirder. I think she's convinced I'm fully going to die alone, as if that would be the worst thing that could ever happen? Anyway, she's been trying to auction me off to all these guys, using this wedding as an excuse. I'm not sure how much of that phone call you actually heard earlier but Mom was trying to sell me on this guy, David, and I just… snapped." I look up at Spencer and he unfolds his arms, leaning in ever so slightly coaxing the story out of me.

"David, he uh, he worked for my father for a while back in high school, filing documents and stuff, busy work mostly. He used to make out with me when he was at our house after school, but then he'd ignore me in the halls the next morning. I know it's because I was a pariah back then or something but I didn't want to think about it today and I just got worked up. I shouldn't have let on that you were my date, I was just going to ask if I could bring Garcia or something, and I'm sorry." I cover my face in my hands, "I'm insane, you can back out if you want to."

I can hear him move from his spot on the opposite side of the sofa, he takes my wrists and gently pulls my hands from my face. He looks into my eyes, "I'm in this now Y/N, what do you need me to do?" he asks, and there's a genuine earnest in his voice that I think I've only ever heard a handful of times. And it's never been directed at me.

"Okay, well we've got a few months before you ha–, wait, fuck!" I throw my head back, there's already a complication, "shit" I curse under my breath. His eyebrows knit together, sitting upright.

"What's the matter?" he asks.

"I forgot about my Mom's 50th, it's next month. They've got this whole huge party planned back home in upstate New York. I've gotta go and they'll probably want to meet you, or they're gonna have a load of questions for me at least. I can try and get you out of it I'm sure"

He gets that cocky look again, he shakes his head "I don't know, I've always liked a bit of competition" he reclines back into his corner of the sofa, taking a satisfied sip from his own mug before speaking again. "You know, if I've got to learn enough to pass as your boyfriend in a month, surely that means you've got to learn enough to pass as my girlfriend within the month, no?"

Oh god. What have I done, why didn't I think this far ahead. "I mean, yeah I guess you're right." I had to remember he was doing me a favor. I had to get over myself. "Okay, if you're sure you're up for that?" I ask, and he nods, and I think he looks excited, or maybe he just finds the whole situation funny.

"If anyone's up for the competition it's you" he says, and I'm not sure if that's a compliment or a dig but I nod in agreement.

He takes another sip of his tea, collected and relaxed. I can't help but notice how at ease he is when he's in his own surroundings. I'm so used to seeing him sitting at a desk surrounded by paperwork, or combing through file after file in the make-shift office in a small-town police station, usually flustered or anxious, or antagonizing me whenever he wasn’t. This was a different Spencer. Completely in control, at ease.

"Alright, shall we get started then, we can't really afford to waste any time can we?" he was actually sort of right, so I nodded. It was only now occurring to me that I'd have to share parts of my personal life with him if I wanted this plan to work. We already knew the basics about each other, I'd read his file when I started at the BAU, I'd read everyones. And I feel like it was safe to presume he'd done the same.

His eyes bore directly into mine as he leaned forward, I think he was enjoying how uncomfortable I must've looked.

"How about I ask you some rapid-fire questions and you have to answer 'em?" he asks, and it's as good of a plan as any, and I can't think of any other suggestions, so I nod.

"Okay, shoot." I say, unsure and nervous, so I brace myself. I'm just grateful that he's making my life easier rather than harder for what feels like the first time since I met him.

I really should've known better.

He leans in, "So Y/N, first question, when did you lose your virginity?"

I almost choke on the mouthful of tea I just took, that can't be what he just asked, and he looks like he's savoring my shocked expression.

"I uh, I don't think you need to know that?" is all I can get out.

"Really? You think that's something your boyfriend wouldn't know about you?" he's right, but I didn't want to admit it outright.

"I feel like I sort of already hinted. It was that same guy David, I was 18, he was 19. We had sex on the couch while my parents went out one evening. I kept my bra on the whole time, he came, I didn't. It was all very standard stuff." I wasn't sure what compelled me to add that last part. I think I was giving in to the open honestly thing. "So what about you Doc?" I challenged.

He didn't seem embarrassed, or even shy. "I must've bloomed little later than you" he admits with a soft chuckle, "Vivian Stewart, I was 21, she was too. It was the last semester of my last PhD and I figured I must be missing out on something. And I sure was" he smirks to himself. "I came, she did too, 3 times. I did a lot of research ahead of time" he mirrored my story and I rolled my eyes. It was hard not to feel a little impressed but I tried with everything I had to stifle it so he couldn't tell. I wish it didn't make me feel something but it did. I gulp down the mouthful of tea that's been sitting in my throat.

I have to shake myself back to reality. I can't give him the satisfaction of throwing me. "My turn." I command, "When was your last relationship Dr. Reid?" I ask, "I mean like, serious one, not like hook-up" I clarify before he can ask. He thinks on it for a moment.

"I'm not sure what you classify as fully serious, but I guess it was this girl, Rebecca, we dated for a while when I first joined the BAU but it didn't work out. What about you?" he flips it back.

"So that was what, like 6-ish years ago?" I ask, he just nods.

"Mine was like 3 years ago now I think. I met this guy Nathan on my first week of college, we dated for like 4 years. He moved here for me when I got accepted by the BAU." I had to stop myself from delving into the detail. It was a long time ago now but it still hurt. "Long story short, the hours were demanding and they got in the way more than I would've liked. We ended up splitting a couple months after I got the job." I tried to play it off like it wasn't one of the more devastating things to happen in my life. But something told me he’d registered that, so he didn't push.

His energy picks up and he looks at me with a grin, but there's something a little sinister behind it. "I've got a more fun question for you." he leans in closer to me, "Y/N, when was the last time you got laid?" I just looked at him in shock. 

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me, I can go first if you really need me to?" his voice didn't waver,

"Fuck you Reid, I know when it was!" I snapped back at him. I did have to think back a little farther than I'd like to pull up the memory.

"Met this guy in a bar when I was out with Pen one night, we went back to his place and hooked up." I say as deadpan as I can make it.

"Well that's not very exciting is it?" he jokes, "Did you at least cum that time?" I know he's just trying to rile me up, but I answer anyway.

"As a matter of fact I did" I earn back a little of my confidence.

"I'm so happy for you, but you did manage to avoid my initial question" fuck "when was this exciting night of yours Y/N?" he probes, like I really, really wished he wouldn't. I could lie, but I'm sure he'd be able to tell. I cringe before I can say it.

"About 8 months ago" I mutter, just low enough for him to hear.

"Sorry, did you just say 8 months ago?" He nearly shouts in disbelief, he seems to find it funny.

"Hey fuck you Spencer!" I go on the defensive, "When was the last time you even got laid?"

"Like two and half weeks ago" he says, confident, and still laughing, "Wait wait, when was the last time you got yourself off? I know you're not waiting 8 months!" he giggles and I think I could kill him. I know I kept giving him outs but was it too late for me to just get up and leave?

"I'm not doing this with you if you're just gonna make fun of me Reid, I get enough of that at work" I get out, my voice is serious but I'm trying to hide how awkward all of this is making me feel, and I don't know that I'm doing a very good job.

I can tell that's gotten to him, he relaxes and eases up on the giggling. "Look okay wait Y/N. I'll stop, I'm not actually trying to make fun of you. I was being serious, I think stuff like this is important if we're gonna have to be comfortable around each other enough to seem like a real couple. Plus, it'll just help break the ice?" he shrugs. "But you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

I soften, because I agree, even thought I hate that he's right. "Fine" I collect my thoughts, "2 nights ago I'm pretty sure." I regret it almost instantly, but breaking the ice is supposed to feel awkward.

"Same here actually," he chuckles, "what'd you do?" I'm so startled by the question I almost forget how to answer.

"I, uh, my, my vibrator? I just felt like uh, I watched some..." I still can't force out a whole sentence. It's not like I was always awkward about sex or anything, I could talk to Garcia, or honestly probably any of the other team members about it. But with Spencer it didn't feel as comfortable. He still sat calmly, smiling just a little.

"Same here, 2 nights back, but with my hands I guess. I wonder if we were doing it at the same time?" he mutters the last part gently and my head goes a bit fuzzy. My eyes drift away from his face and settle on his hands, the mug he's holding looks so tiny with his fingers wrapped around it, I wondered how they'd look wrapped around my-

"Okay I think that's enough for one night, don't you think?" I jump up off the sofa and turn, mostly so that he doesn't catch the blush thats creeping from my neck up to my cheeks. And because I don't know what I'll say, or regret saying, if this conversations continues on its current trajectory.

"Sure," he says, standing up next to me, and I want to move further away instantly, "you're probably right, and it's getting a little late now anyway" he glances at his watch. Ushering me back towards his front door and opening it up. Before I can walk out he lightly touches my shoulder to turn me back to face him, and I wonder if he can feel the heat radiating from every part of me.

"So are you free next Friday after work?" he asks, and I'm so flustered I almost forget why, I just nod. "Perfect, how about we come here again and we can dive into preparing? You could also make a start on getting these onto a hard drive?" he gestures to the antique looking hardbacks adorning the shelves.

'Sounds great!" I perk up, feigning enthusiasm, "See you then!"

"Well, see you Monday morning actually Y/N" he smirks as I walk out the door. Fuck, he was right.

I really hadn't thought this through.

——

The weekend was a bit of a blur. I decided to try and put some useful information into a document for Spencer. It felt strange to try and condense my life into as few pages as possible. I knew Reid had an eidetic memory, and nothing would necessarily overwhelm him. But I also knew that he was someone that the team relied on to fill in a lot of the gaps in the rest of the our knowledge. So I felt bad about dumping a load of information on him, especially considering it was a favor he was doing for me.

I'd complied the majority of my life into a 15 page document and printed it out. Hopefully that would address most of what my family could guerrilla attack him with. There was also something unsettling about the imbalance. I was going to give him so many of the intricate details of my life in a little file, whereas all I really knew about Spencer was what I'd taken it upon myself to learn about him throughout the past few years.

I'd read all of his work while I was in college, given how he was the gold standard of getting into the BAU at a young age, I wanted to know who this guy was. I think I'd pictured something different. And I couldn't deny there was something enticing about finally getting to know him after all of these years of working together. Maybe this could actually be fun, or interesting at least.

----

I arrived early on Monday morning. I thought I was first into the office as usual but Garcia was sitting in my desk chair waiting for me. The second she saw me walk in she tensed, she must've known we were the only people in this early.

"What happened! You've been avoiding me all weekend?" she asked, and she was right. I'd drafted enough texts to her, trying to explain what the plan was, mostly without wanting to admit that she was right. Maybe I was stubborn.

"Alright okay, I drove Reid home." I admitted, dropping my bag by my desk. She rolls her eyes at me, dramatic as always.

"Well I knew that already Y/N damn! What happened next?"

"Fine, we went into his apartment and talked for a while. Trying to sort out the details, get a handle on things I guess?" I said, unsure of how much I should actually give away about our conversation.

"What things!?" She shouts, standing up from my desk,

"I don't know Pen, like logistics and stuff, I still haven't decided how I feel about that little stunt you pulled on Friday night!" I let my frustration get the better of me, and maybe that's why I haven't talked to her. It could also be because I know she's able to read me like a book and I'm not even sure how I feel about this whole situation.

"I call bullshit." She counters, "I know you were relived as hell when I sorted that whole thing out. You would've had anxiety tummy all weekend if I hadn't called Spencer!" I just go silent, she was right. I'd gotten so caught up in the whole, 'how to have a fake boyfriend' that I'd almost forgotten about how stressed I was about Spencer hearing my call in the first place.

"Okay, shit" I sigh. "Maybe you were right Pen. We're actually meeting up again this Friday after work to make a plan for the next while, so I guess that's progress?" I shrug, trying to play it off like this whole situation doesn't make my stomach flip.

"Ohhhhh! So like a date?" She probes, her enthusiasm rising drastically.

"Oh my God Pen no! Like an appointment at best" I diffuse the situation

"Ugh that's no fun" she says, not even trying to disguise her disappointment.

As if on cue Dr. Reid walks through the double doors into the bullpen. Both Garcia and I wave, overall awkwardly, but making an attempt pretend like things were completely normal and like nothing had changed since the last time we were all in the office together.

Penelope heads to her office as the bullpen starts to fill up quickly. Less than an hour later though Garcia's back at my desk and there's a new case that needs the teams attention in Boston. I follow her into the conference room and wait for the rest of the team to join. Spencer follows a moment later with 2 cups of coffee in his hands. I can see my mug in his hand and my automatic response is that he's messing with me. But he places my mug in front of me in the circular table before taking the seat next to me, listening to Garcia's briefing. I don't know if he's ever sat next to me in this conference room, at least not by choice.

I barely had any time to finish my coffee before I have to say goodbye to Garcia and hop on the jet to Boston.

----

The case was grueling. More so than usual. It was wrapped up late on Thursday night and the team decided to fly back home first thing on Friday morning. I was exhausted. Even if there was enough time to get sleep each night it wasn't like I got any. Whenever a case got on top of me like this it made it hard to rest, or get it off my mind at all until it was wrapped up. So even though it was over, that didn't mean I wasn't exhausted.

Hotch gave the team the rest of the day off, given that we have until submit our paperwork by Monday. I wasn't sure if Spencer's invitation from the following week still stood. I didn't want to ask, partly because I was so tired, but also because I was scared. I wasn't about to show up at his house in an effort to have a heart to heart, or hand him a condensed version of my life story on a manilla envelope if he was as drained as I was.

Standing by my desk I packed up everything I'd need to get my paperwork done over the weekend, I was just about finished when Spencer snuck up behind me, perching himself on the edge of my desk. "So, you almost ready to go?" he asks, like it's the most obvious question in the world. I couldn't really hide my surprise.

"Oh yeah. That's fine, I mean, if you're still cool with that?" I ask, and I hate how flustered I sound, like he makes me nervous.

"Of course, why wouldn't I be?" He chuckles, standing up straight.

"Cool, gimme a sec and I'll be good to go."

I pack up the rest of my stuff quickly and we make our way out. There's something that feels a little eerie about the two of us being in an elevator together alone again. It was a different kind of awkward to how it felt a week before hand. It almost felt like a kind of tension rather than a hatred or a rivalry. Either way we rode down in silence.

Once we got to the basement Spencer walks out of the elevator and walks straight to my car without having to ask. I unlock it and he hops into the passenger seat. Like this is a natural interaction. Something we do all the time. And I don't hate it as much as I thought I would.

"So," he says, buckling up his seat belt and breaking the silence, "do you know how to get to my place from here or do you need directions again?"

"Well I've got to turn on the engine first" I tease, hoping he picks up on the reference to our last car ride, he chuckles like he does.

"Are you hungry?" he asks

"Starving."

The delivery guy get's to Spencer's apartment at almost the same time we do.

---

Once the food's been demolished the two of us finally sit on his sofa, the same sides as the week before. "So, shall we get back into this?" He asks, sitting forward slightly to pull a notebook out of his satchel on the floor. It's small and lavender, and it's got a pen clipped into the spine. He cracks it open and flips to a specific page.

"Sorry, what's that?" I ask, pointing to the book, he looks confused,

"They're my notes?" he says, like it should be obvious

"Your notes?" I ask,

"My notes on you." he smirks, again like I'm silly for even asking.

He had notes on me? He had a whole notebook on me? What was even in that thing?

"You've got notes on me?" I ask, my hands reaching out to grab it, but he retreats faster than I can catch him. "What have you got in there that's so serious?"

"Nothing." and his tone's a bit too stern and I don't really want to push it when he's being so uncharacteristically nice to me.

"I've actually got this ready for you" I pull the file out of my own bag and toss it to him. "I'm not sure exactly what you need to know but that should be the majority of it at least."

He opens it up and glances over the the pages. It takes him all of 2 minutes to get through the whole thing. It feels unsettling that he's taking in a boiled down version of my life while I'm just sitting on the opposite side of the sofa. Trying to avoid the attention I pipe up.

"Um, hey, maybe it would be a good time for you to show me where to make a start digitizing your books over here?" I stand up and make my way to the shelf. He jumps up off the sofa and walks toward me, visibly excited.

"That's actually a great idea, I thought that the theses from my degrees could be a good place to start, since I'm pretty sure they're not backed up anywhere." he guides me to a section of the book case by the window. There's a series of leather bound hardbacks, the same gold font embossed on the spines. I recognize all of them, pulling out the first one.

"This is my favorite" I say without thinking about it and he does a double take, clearly thrown.

"You've, uh, you read my work?" he asks, completely puzzled. I'm sort of proud that I've managed to make him this awkward, and I nod.

"Mmhm, back before I joined the BAU actually. Before I really knew you" I regret saying the last part, it comes out a little meaner than I really wanted it to so I back track. "Spencer, I read all of your work while I was in college, you were like the gold standard. I don't think I slept more than 2 hours a night throughout my PHD because I was just trying to get as much done as you." and his face softens at the admission. But it takes him a moment before he responds. Leaving the two of us in silence a little too long.

"I had no idea" is all he says.

"I think this one was best" I say propping up the one in my hand, "you get a bit cockier as you move on” His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, "but I'll start with all of these I guess" I grab the matching books and stack them in my arms. Walking over to his desk and setting up. Glancing at the clock it was only 7pm so I decided to just make a start.

Spencer didn't contest. Letting me just get settled at his desk, I pull out my laptop and begin work on transcribing the first volume. After a few minutes he silently places a cup of tea down beside me and goes to sit on the sofa. The time rolls in quickly after that, each time I look up at Spencer he's carefully combing through the file I'd given him. Re-reading it and making little markings in his lavender notebook. I'm not really sure what I put in there that was worth making a note on but clearly he was reading between the lines on some things. That little notebook was like a profile of me.

When he seemed like he'd finished writing he pulls out his phone, scrolling through it aimlessly like I'd never seen him do before. It made him look so normal. His eyebrows knit together as he's looking at something on his screen and he stands up. Making his way over to me at the desk and shows me what he was looking at.

"Who's this?" he asks, "This guy you're with?"

I recognize the photo instantly. It's from a few years earlier, Nathan and I on the beach, my head resting on his chest. He'd taken it while we were on vacation celebrating our anniversary. That was about a month before I got into the BAU, I had no idea that was going to be our last anniversary. I gulp down the emotions that it stirs. I'm mostly over the whole thing by now, but looking at old photos like that, photos of happier times, it can still sting.

"That's uh, the boyfriend I was telling you about last week. Nathan, we broke up not long after I joined the BAU?" he nods, but he's smart, and I kind of figure he already knew that.

"Ah alright" he takes out the hardback and jots another note down. Maybe he's trying to get a read on me.

"What are you doing?" I gesture to the phone,

"It's research, do you not think that if you and I were really dating that stalking your social media profiles would be on my agenda?" he's smug, and he's right. But I guess I just didn't expect it from him.

"Well that's not really fair now is it? I can't reciprocate, you've got no social media presence whatsoever!" he finds that funny, letting out a deep chuckle and tucking his phone away in his back pocket.

"Maybe so, but that imbalance is hardly my fault. Besides, you've read all my dissertations apparently..."

"Bastard" I joke, slamming my laptop shut and throwing a pen from his desk at him so that it lightly bounces off the top of his head.

"Hey, there's no need for violence Y/N!" he rubs the spot beneath his curls, "Maybe it's time you took a break actually?" he says, sitting himself back down on the sofa.

I was reluctant to admit it but he was right. My eyes were starting to go a little fuzzy after looking at the screen for so long. I stand up and stretch my arms out above my head, feeling my spine stretch out after sitting for so long, letting out a low groan. Spencer waves me over to the sofa and I join him.

"How about we go back to basics?" Spencer asks with a small grin, and I can't help but let out a long sigh.

"I thought I was taking a break, no more questions" he just laughs at me,

"Relax, you're not that interesting, it's just a simple question." he states, and I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find it funny or offensive

"Ugh, fine, shoot"

"Well, actually it's two questions" he corrects, "what's your favorite movie, and what's your favorite snack?"

I'm confused mostly by the fact that it actually is a simple question, I was expecting something a lot more contentious, but also because he looks eager to know the answer.

"I'm not really sure what my favorite movie is to be honest, one of them is Night of the Living Dead?"

He nods to himself, and jots it down in the notebook again, "Alright, I can make that work" he stands up off the sofa before turning back to me, "and snack?"

"Peanut butter cups I guess?" I respond and he grins ear to ear, which is a completely new sight, and I like it way more than I thought I would.

"Perfect, gimme 2 minutes!" he leaves the living room and wanders towards the kitchen.

Spencer returns a few minutes later with a DVD, a packet of peanut butter cups , and a thick knitted blanket gathered in his arms. He drapes the blanket over me and gently places the peanut butter cups on top of it before popping the DVD into the player and sitting down beside me. I'm not really sure how to process any of the situation. Am I about to watch a movie on Spencer Reid's sofa? Sitting next to Spencer Reid?

"I... I, uh, thought you were just asking for your notes?" I ask, pointing at the notebook resting in his lap. He picks it up and throws it onto the coffee table.

"Sometimes I find experience is the best teacher, don't you?" he asks before pressing play, “And besides, it should keep you quiet for a whole 96 minutes” of course.

I can only nod in agreement, I'm not really sure what I'll say if I try to speak. I get myself cosy under the warm blanket and we watch the movie in near silence.

Once the credits roll Spencer finally speaks up, "I actually went to see a screening of this last month downtown, there was this little old horror movie fest-" I cut him off without really realizing, I'm just strangely excited that we've genuinely got something in common.

"Holy shit, I was there!" I say, more enthusiastic than the situation calls for.

He laughs at my excitement, "Well, I guess we have more overlap than I thought, that should probably help with the whole charade." he stretches his arms up over his head and let's out a small, gentle yawn. I'd been enjoying myself more than I thought I would, or would ever tell Spencer, that I'd almost forgotten that we'd both been on a case for almost every waking moment of the past week. I really should feel a lot more drained than I do.

I was just after midnight when I suggested that I head back home. I offered to take some of the books home to work on throughout the weekend but Spencer insisted that I just work on them whenever I came over again. I sort of felt like I should thank him for the evening when I was on my way out the door, or give him a quick hug, no that felt wrong. In the end all I could really muster was a lousy, "goodnight" and a meek wave on my way out the door before I drove home. And couldn't get to sleep.

— —

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[peanut-butter-parkerxx]

comfort

Peter just wants to lay down with you but there's something that kinda makes him uncomfortable and you try to confront him about it...

Pairing: Peter Parker x fem!reader

Status: dating

Warning: mentions of bra's

Y/n's POV

I was laying on peters bed liking the tiktoks that I thought were funny and saving the ones I wanna do for later when Peter suddenly opens the door mumbling a few incoherent words then I can tell he sensed me since he looked up so quickly, eyes wide open and a small smile, getting bigger by the second, appeared on his lips.

"Babyyyyyy" he quickly took his shoes and jacket off and flopped on the bed his head resting on my stomach while his arms hugged my lower belly.

"Oof" I laughed since he basically jumped on me, he looked up resting his chin on my stomach

"I'm sorry did I hurt you y/n/n?" He whispered voice as soft as butter

"No it didn't hurt, it was just unexpected" I smiled playing with his soft hair "come closer, I wanna hug you" I made grabby hands and he just laughed, resting his head on my chest now, hugging my waist his legs were between mine so I crossed them around his middle and wrapped my arms around his neck kissing his head once in a while

He shifted a couple of times, making me think he's just trying to get comfortable so I ignored it, but he shifted again and silently huffed. He gave in for a few minutes then lifted his head up again to peck my lips and lay next to me.

I got very confused coz usually I'd have to make him move but he's never done this before, it made me kinda sad to be honest. Did I do something wrong? Omg do I smell bad? Does my shirt smell bad?

At first I didn't say anything since he looked unbothered and I was anything but that, I mean if you think about it, would you like your boyfriend to randomly stop cuddling you for no reason and just lay beside you? Is he mad at me?

Our cuddles would last for hours! And this one didn't even last for 10 minutes! I turned around seeing him looking at his phone with his left hand and his other is draped around my waist

"So what do you wanna order, babe?" He looked up his brown eyes hopeful for food

"Oh uh" so he's not mad at me? "W-Whatever you w-want" I silently cursed at myself for being nervous, now he'll get suspicious. And in fact he did.

"Oookay? You okay bubba?" He tilted his head? Caressing my cheek for a moment before setting his gaze on his phone again to order some food

"Yeah yeah I'm fine, it's jus- nothing no I'm fine" He nodded slowly not really convinced but let it go, for now. He laid on his side, his right hand supporting his body, leaned in and kissed me. As a way to make sure that I'm not mad at him or anything. I obviously kissed back not wanting to seem more suspicious than I already was.

He pulled away smiling, his eyes adoring my face. I would be a psycho if I didn't smile from that look.

"Ok well I'll go set up the ingredients so we can make brownies after, sounds good?" I only nodded still smiling. But that didn't convince him so he started kissing my forehead down to my nose to my lips a couple times making me laugh.

"Ok ok! We're gonna make brownies" i verbally agreed this time. He nodded happily and left the room, all the doubt I had were long gone.

The food arrived to our luck and we stuffed our face with the delicious hot meal, Peter also got my favorite drink AND were about to make brownies so to say I was happy was an understatement.

"OOOH GIRL YOU'RE SHINING" I was mixing the brownie batter swaying my hips to the song 'classic' by MKTO, while Peter took my spatula and used it as a microphone running around the kitchen singing his heart out

"LIKE THE FIFTH AVENUE DIAMONDDD" he pointed at me and I laughed "AND THEY DONT MAKE YOU LIKE THEY USED TO, YOURE NEVER GOING OUT OF STYLEEE" he shook his head as if he's confirming the lyrics and we continued on well, I continued on finishing the brownies

but Peter did make an effort, he sprayed the pan and sprinkled the chocolate chips. And he said and I quote he did "the most important parts for making a brownie"

"I WANNA THRILL YOU LIKE MICHEAL" he made the thriller dance moves while sprinkling the chocolate chips "I WANNA KISS YOU LIKE PRINCE" he turned around trapping me between him and the counter behind me, grabbed me by the back of my neck and kissed me until the chorus came in. And i couldn't contain my laughter by the sudden energy my boyfriend got from the food.

"YOURE OVER MY HEAD, IM OUTTA MY MIND. THINKIN' I WAS BORN AT THE WRONG TIME" he suddenly pulled away belting the rest of the song "BABY YOURE SO CLASSIC" we both sung together after he stopped me from putting the pan in the oven claiming its 'too dangerous' and he doesn't want me to get hurt, i mean can you blame him? I'm a totally clutz.

"Ok so why don't we watch something while we're waiting for the brownies?" He suggested putting on the timer.

"Sure" I suddenly jumped on his back (but he still caught me) waiting for him to go to the living room. He laughed at the sudden clinginess (he lovedddd it) and walked out of the kitchen. "TO INFINITY AND BEYONDDDD" he shouted sprinting to the living room. And I squealed from the sudden movement.

"Take the remote, babe" he turned so I can take the remote from the shelf.

"Got it" then flopped us on the couch, causing us to laughed. The jump made me cuddle him as the big spoon while his back rested in my front as the little spoon. At first everything was okay, the first 10 minutes of our favorite show was watched at peace but then the shifting began again. Am I making him uncomfortable?

"Babe, what's wrong? You've been doing this everytime we're cuddling today?" I asked him, so done with the feeling I'm getting.

"Uhhh" but to my luck...

*dinggg*

the oven dinged alerting us that the brownies' finished "oh looks like our brownies are done I-I-I'll go get them!" He rushed to the kitchen and I huffed in annoyance.

The rest of the night went smoothly, but I still had the pang of guilt in my heart. I wanted to know what wrong. so enough is enough, I turned my attention away from series to my boyfriend.

"Pete?" He somehow sensed the hurt in my voice and immediately turned to my side cupping my cheeks

"Baby what wrong?" His eyes scanned my face

"N-Nothing it's just- am I uncomfortable?" I didn't know what to say but hopefully he got the message

"W-what? Why would you say that?" The tv was long gone now he caressed my checks with his thumb trying to soothe the tension

"Well, everytime we've been cuddling you'd shift away, I don't wanna sound clingy or anything but y-you've never done that before" suddenly feeling ashamed and embarrassed by question, I couldn't even look at him in the eye. His eyes widened in shock and his face was full of guilt

"Baby it's nothing I swear, you did nothing wrong. He pulled me in so I could sit on his lap, his hands caressed my jaw slightly admiring my features.

"Then what happened?" My voice croaked not believing him by the second.

"Well it's jus-" his cheeks suddenly became darker, the heat risen to the tip of his ears and on his neck. I was confused to why he suddenly got all flustered.

"Pete it's fine, you can tell me" I rested my forearm on his shoulders slightly touching the small hairs that are on the nape of his neck.

"N-no it's just uh ur b-bra is uncomfortable so I just decided to sleep next to y-you inste-ad" he squeaked out, eyes closing from embarrassment. Wait- what?

"What?" A small smile crept on my face, and my mind suddenly pieced everything together, the material of my shirt is rather thin, he hugged my stomach first then I told him to come closer, he shifted a couple times due to the wiring! Oh my god how could I be so stupid?

"Y-Your b-bra, there's nothing wrong with it and I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything it's just, I didn't know they put metal on a piece of clothing?" He tilted his head confused.

"Yeah" I nodded laughing "well there's like a wiring around my chest like under my boobs" I showed him the area from his shirt. And I could tell he got even more flustered when I said 'boobs' coz his posture immediately stiffened again.

"We can talk about it pete it's fine, it's normal to communicate in what make you uncomfortable, in fact it's important!" I assured him

"Well I just thought you'd get more comfortable if you were wearing it and if I say something you'd have to take it off or something" he looked down at his lap, I could not believe this boy, he'd think I'd purposely wear a bra even if I didn't have to?

"Believe me, if I didn't have to wear this 'thing' I wouldn't, it's hurts so much at the end of the day since the wiring basically suffocates you" his eyes shot up immediately when he heard 'hurt' and tilted his head.

"Then why would you wear it if it hurts you?" Now it was my turn to get flustered

"Uhh well I just thought maybe you'd get uncomfortable" I nervously laughed

"No no Baby I want you to be nothing but comfortable around me, you don't have to wear you're bra infront of me or when we're hanging out. I looked at him lovingly, proud of how he handled the situation, respectfully and kindly. I leaned in so our lips could briefly touch and mumbled a

"Thanks Pete"

"You're welcome" he replied "now please kiss me" I laughed at his eagerness but Peter didn't have any of it and smashed our lips together.

"Wanna get ready for bed?" He slowly pulled away but right after the words left his mouth he kissed me again

"Yes" we finally pulled away, for real this time. And went or his bedroom. I was already wearing sweats and the thin t-shirt so I was ready to go. Peter came out of the bathroom now in his flannel sweats and a grey t-shirt flopping on the bed and taking me with him. I squealed trying to stop the fall but obviously failing. I stood up again trying to find my bag causing Peter to whine.

"Baaaaabe where are you going?" He whined

"Taking off my bra so we can cuddle, I missed our cuddles since you couldn't give me any today" I fake pouted, taking the bra off and putting it in my backpack. Peter cheeks turned red again turning his head immediately after looking at my laced black bra.

"You okay there hun?" I smirked at his flustered state

"Y-yeah everything's great" he shook his head and grabbed me again, turning us around so he can lay on my stomach

"Better?" I whispered my hands immediately going to his luscious curls.

"Much" he kissed the exposed part of my stomach and covered both of our bodies with his duvet. "I love you" he closed his eyes sighing in content

"I love you too" I replied although I'm not sure he listened since immediately after he talked I heard little snores from him. Finally closing my eyes feeling nothing, but pure happiness.

Idk what this is but I thought of it yesterday and decided to try and make it come to life 😂 tell me ur thoughts! And if u have any requests my inbox is always open :)

Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/evening/night!

-quacksonlover

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