#cuts everyone out of my life because the noise in my head became too loud and I feel bad for keeping them in when they get nothing from me!

[angelicichor]

One thing about me I'm insane and it's a problem to everyone

#virgo talks #lmao #cuts everyone out of my life because the noise in my head became too loud and I feel bad for keeping them in when they get nothing from me! #genuinely sorry bout that but uh #what's done is done #though if they reach back out I'll let them back in but I am!! Constantly afraid of existing in other people's spheres!!! #Yay : ) #People who loved me the most have all turned their backs on me and now I live with a perpetual fear of creating close bonds #because exposing my heart means leaving it open for new bleeding wounds! #And I'm a machine made for love so you can probably understand how that mindset goes against my very programming but alas!! #Pain is hurt and hurt leads to solitude which leads to lonelines if left to fester for too long! #I'm ok btw just felt a bit silly lmao

[thehighladywrites]

That's your mother, but she's my wife first…

⋆⭒˚｡‎♡‧₊˚ pairing: cassian x fem!reader, the inner circle mentioned

⋆⭒˚｡‎♡‧₊˚ summary: 18+ nsfw, mdni, light angst, stress, smut, fluff, praise, cassian channelling his inner general, reader being an absolute sweetheart who deserves everything good in life fr

⋆⭒˚｡‎♡‧₊˚ amara’s note: okay so I don’t have any kids so some parts might be inaccurate but close your eyes please🤞🏽i have nothing else to say, i just wanna fuck cassian so bad rn...

Spilled milk, mismatched socks, wailing babies.

Gods, what you wouldn’t do for a moment of peace…

Your children were usually calm, even when they were tumbling down stairs and running into tables, but during your youngest twin kids teething phase, they developed an interest for chewing on anything. Their outburst put your two other kids in distress, making it a difficult period for everyone.

In your attempt to keep your twins safe, you unintentionally became the evil mother for denying them the joy of chewing on concrete bricks, their father’s important books and a million other dangerous things that a child simply shouldn’t be putting in their mouth. 

They had been given enchanted teething toys made out of moonstone by their uncle Rhysand, but it didn’t keep them entertained at all. Safety was apparently too boring for them.

This morning was extra rough because Cassian had to leave early for a mission, leaving you with four kids. Although the two oldest ones, 7 and 12, could get themselves ready for the day, they still needed some help with some things. You were downright in a foul mood, feeling the weight of frustration and helplessness as the twins wailed and your oldest ones argued, all while trying to keep your emotions hidden.

“ You took the last pancake, Ves!” your son angrily sliced the remains of his food as your daughter, Vesna, looked at him with anger. “ I don’t care. I told you that I wanted it and you made no move for it, Therian. Blame yourself and be quicker next time.” she bickered back. They kept arguing about that stupid pancake as you picked your twins and moved to the rocking chair across the livingroom to sooth them. The kitchen seamlessly flowed into the living room, creating an open floor plan that allowed you to effortlessly monitor Vesna and Therian.

 “ It’s okay, babies. There we go, hush now.” But it didn’t work, they kept screaming and you were at your breaking point. You felt like the worst mom ever as you looked up, took a deep breath and blinked back tears. 

You almost yearned for Cassian's return, craving the comfort of your mate's presence amid the chaos. Yet, the nagging self-doubt held you back, hesitant to burden him with your distress and feeling a twinge of selfishness in the idea of asking him to cut short his mission. Despite the internal struggle, you chose to tough it out, convincing yourself that countless women had faced similar challenges, wondering if you could measure up to their strength.

Unbeknownst to you, you had been signaling Cassian with your feelings through the bond since this morning. He was already on his way back the moment your emotions reached him. He was just in time to hear your daughter’s frustration directed towards you, though none of you had felt his presence or heard him approach your home. 

“Mom, you're seriously failing at shutting them up. It's not dragon taming to handle two kids, and it shouldn't be this painful for the rest of us. How about you take them outside and only come back when you've figured out how to keep them quiet? Because none of us can stand the noise.” You looked at her stunned as a million thoughts went through your head. Guilt, anger and self-doubt took root inside you.

 Guilt, because was she right? Anger, because she shouldn’t have spoken to you like that ever. Self-doubt, because your fears and feelings about motherhood were spoken out loud. 

Your first-born had a sour expression on her face that quickly fell before she looked down at her plate sheepishly. Maybe she felt regret? But what made her react like that instantly? Your daughter could be hotheaded and it usually took her a few hours to calm down, but not this quick. 

Looking at where she removed her eyes from, you look and see your husband, body tense and wings tucked in tightly. You felt immediate comfort and wanted to throw yourself in his arms and fucking cry. How you had missed him this much in only a few hours was a mystery. 

His boots thudded heavily against the wooden floors as he approached your embarrassed daughter. “Look at me,” was all he needed to say before Vesna reluctantly lifted her head. She knew he was going to chew her out. He clenched his jaw in anger as he looked down at her. “Your lack of empathy for what your mother is dealing with right now is astounding. Instead of criticizing, maybe you should try contributing to the solution. We're a family, and we handle things together, not by throwing blame around. She's your mother, but remember that she's my mate and wife first, and no one speaks to my mate and wife with disrespect ever, not even you. Now go ahead and apologize to her.”

Your husband, ever the general.

With teary eyes, realizing the gravity of her words, Vesna approached you. “Hey, Mommy,” she mumbled, avoiding eye contact. She hadn’t called you mommy in forever. “I... I shouldn't have said those things. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be so harsh. I know it must be difficult and my anger took over. I really love you and I’m sorry.”

You were a bit surprised by the apology and softened your expression before replying, “It's okay, sweetheart. We all have our moments. Just remember, we're a team, and we need to support each other.” She nodded, still feeling a bit guilty, and said, “I'll try to do better. Can I help you with anything now?”

A genuine smile appeared on your face as your replied, “That would be wonderful. Let's work together to make things smoother for everyone. How about you start clearing the table and Therian picks up things from the floor.” She nodded and gave you a small kiss on the cheek before hurriedly making her way back to the kitchen table. Cassian gave her a kiss on the head and gave her a proud smile.  “I’m glad you apologized, and it takes courage to admit when we’re wrong. Let’s move forward now. Your willingness to help now means a lot. Thank you.”

Feeling the tension ease after the daughter's apology, your mate approached you. He gently placed a hand on your shoulder and said, “Hi pretty.” You look up at him with a thankful smile. “Hi lover.” He smiles right back at you. “I know it's been a rough day. I’m so proud of you, sugar. We'll get through this together. How about you go upstairs and soak in the tub while I take care of the kids.” He leaned down, pressing a soft kiss on your forehead, and wrapped his arms around the twins who had gone quiet.

Feeling reassured by Cassian’s comforting words, you smiled appreciatively. You gave him a tender kiss in thanks before scurrying upstairs, grateful for the support and unity he provided for your family. 

As you undressed, a delightful surprise caught your eye – the tub was filled, and a slice of your favorite cake awaited you on a nearby table. Gratefully, you thanked The House for the steaming tub and the unexpected treat. Stepping in, you let the heat envelop you, soothing the tension in your muscles. Time seemed to blur as you relaxed in the warm water — minutes or hours, it was hard to keep track. Exhaustion gradually overcame you, and your eyelids grew heavy in the comforting embrace of the tub, a sweet slice of cake adding to the calmness of the moment.

Entering the room, Cassian caught sight of you in the steaming tub, content and relaxed. A mixture of emotions flooded over him – admiration and a deep love that seemed to intensify in this quiet scene. He approached silently, not wanting to disturb the serene moment. Gently, he reached out to stroke your hair, his eyes reflecting the warmth and affection he felt. In that intimate moment, a silent understanding passed between you, affirming that you’d never be alone ever. You’d be there for each other and it made your heart swell. 

Curiosity lit up your eyes, you looked at your husband and asked, “Hey, where are the kids? Did you take care of them?”

A gentle smile played on his lips as he revealed, “Actually, Rhysie and Feyre picked them up. They thought we could use a quiet weekend, just the two of us. They’re taking Nyx, Ves and Theiran on a trip up the mountains but the twins are staying at the River House with Elain and Lucien. She made a special herbal blend that helps their gums, it’s all very Elain.”

Surprise and gratitude washed over you as you processed the thoughtful gesture. “That's so sweet of them, you remarked, a genuine smile forming. “A quiet day sounds perfect.” You exchanged a glance, appreciating the unexpected silence given by thoughtful friends.

“So, are we entirely alone for the entire weekend?” You attempted to conceal your smile as warmth surged in your belly upon meeting Cassian's gaze, only to discover him returning a heated look. “Indeed, sweetness. It's just you and me, alone. Whatever shall we do to pass the time?” His commanding, taunting voice always managed to drive you crazy. He had a charming voice that you could listen to forever. “I can think of a few ways…” you responded as you stood up, dripping wet. You beckoned him closer  and deeply inhaled his delicious scent. He smelled like home. Throwing your arms around him, you inched your lips closer to his, teasing him, not letting him get close enough for a real kiss. He frowned and slightly pouted. “Either give a proper kiss or I walk away.” You knew it was a false threat. Cassian wouldn’t ever leave your embrace now that he was turned on. 

But you decided to keep playing with him, wanting to see how far you could push him. 

“Yeah? Walk away then, baby.” You let your arms drop to the side, slightly tilting your head with a small smirk on your lips. You felt a surge of amusement as you observed him, jaw tight and knuckles white from clenching, meeting your gaze with defiant determination. “Stop fucking with me, y/n/n. You want me as much as I do.” It was his turn to return a mocking smirk. “ What, you think I don’t know you by now? You think I don’t know that you wanna be fucked until you can’t think straight? Little one, I have years on you. I know your body better than you. I’ll ask again. Are you going to kiss me properly or do I walk away?”

 Fucking hell. He really did know your body better than you since his words only fueled you on. While you enjoyed toying with him, it was time to throw in the towel. No way where you wasting any more time. With hands behind your back you looked up at him, doe-eyed and blushy. “I’ll give you a proper kiss, Cassie. Then please take me to bed.” He smiled down at you with a devilish smile, putting his hand on your hips as he pulled towards his warm chest. “ Whatever my baby wants, she gets.” With hands on his chest, you stood on your toes as water swished around your legs, putting your plush lips against his soft ones. 

 Careful, gentle, loving, comforting and really fucking hot.

That was all you could think of when you were kissing him. One of his warm hands roamed all over your body as his other one cupped your face, deepening the kiss. Your own hands stayed in one spot, your favorite place to put your hands. His chest. You absolutely loved touching his chest. Giving his pecs a light squeeze, resting against them, anything really. Centuries of honing his body into a weapon had made him look like a god. 

You wanted to dry off and move to your bedroom, and as if Cassian had read your thoughts, he grabbed the towel without breaking the kiss and wrapped it around you. He simply picked you up, wrapping your legs around his waist as he moved to the bedroom before gently lowering you to the soft bed. Cassian caught your wrists and pinned them, crisscrossed, above your head while he settled between your legs, once again wrapping them around his waist. You kissed until your lips swelled and pulled away for air. 

He forced your legs apart, hand cupping your pussy. You let out a gasp, quickly gripping onto his broad shoulders. Cassian carefully watched your face as it contorted into pleasure when he pushed in two fingers, your eyes rolling into the back of your head as you let out a moan.

 “Feels good, wifey? ” Cassian asked as your nails dug into his shoulders, hips bucking into his touch. “ mhmm, yeah it feels really fucking good.” you managed to respond as you felt his fingers speed up, curling into that delicious spot that made you absolutely melt. 

He wanted to be inside of you, fuck you and ruin you all over the sheets. “ It would feel a lot better  if I had you wrapped around my cock.” He said, looking up at you through is his dark lashes, eyes full of mirth. You clenched around his fingers at the thought of him filling you up with his thick cock. It had been a while since you had been properly dicked down by him, since you two were busy with life and kids. Quickies, fingering and handjobs were all you had time for since the twins were born 6 months ago. As much as you loved your kids, you also loved alone time with your mate and it was rare these days. So of course you’d use this weekend to get fucked, and maybe that would help you relax a bit. Cassians cock had always been the answer for you. 

Mad? Get dicked down. Sad? Get dicked down. Happy? Get dicked down. 

Huh. 

No wonder you had four kids…

You nodded eagerly at him, “ Please cassie, fill me up. I really need it.” He sat up, dumped his clothes on the floor and positioned his cock infront of your throbbing core, teasing a bit. He used his fingers to scissor you open a bit. When you felt even more slick under his touch he retracted his fingers and licked your wetness off of them. He smiled at around his fingers and said, “Delicious.” Your chuckle morphed seamlessly into a moan when he slammed his lenght into you.

  He let out a sound of pleasure as he pushed himself into you. You clenched around his cock, you were so wet and slippery around him. He let out a pleased groan as he started giving you deep strokes. His pace quickened with the intention of finishing inside of you. He loved to make a mess of your pussy like that, fuck you full of his cum and watch it slowly drip out. Nothing made him more possessive than seeing his mate full of his cum. “Fuck, you’re taking me so well, sweetheart. Such a good girl for me, I’m so proud of you, my beautiful girl.” He knew the exact words you needed today and it made you feel so emotional that he knew you this well. 

You blushed. Pleasure crept up your spine once more. Your legs were starting to shake, sweat coated your back. He pulled you into his arms and kissed you as his strokes were getting faster and faster, his lips muffling your moans. He kept up the pace, feeling the pleasure flow through his body, bringing him closer to climax. He loved the feeling of you around him.

 He was addicted to it. He was addicted to you.

You moaned and arched your back as he continued to fuck into you. You wanted to cum so badly, and as if Cassian once again read your mind, he said something that almost made you cry.

“ Don’t cum yet.”

He must have caught your annoyed stare because he looked down, sporting his usual grin, and said, “I want us to come together. You can handle that, right, pretty?” Your brows furrowed as you attempted to feign annoyance, though deep down, you weren't truly bothered at all.

 No, no you weren’t mad at all because if he was adamant about you finishing together, then you’d do everything in your power to make it happen. You got closer to him, pressing a quick kiss before deepening it as your tounges swirled around each other before you pulled away, biting his lip. He let out a groan and it only spurred you on. You pulled out all your tricks, whispering downright filthy things in his ear. That seemed to do the trick. Cassian thrusted deeper and deeper, rubbing tight circles on your neglected clit before you came in unison. 

You moaned at the feeling, warmth filled you as his pace started to slow down. Your mate collapsed on top of you and your put his head on your chest as you ran your fingers through his hair. He remembered that he hadn’t pulled out yet but before he could you stopped him. 

“ Please baby, don’t pull out yet. It feels really warm and good and I want you in me forever.”

You felt his chest rumble with a gentle laughter. “ Whatever you want, you shall have. You did so well, sugar. I love you.” You kissed his forehead and gave him praise back. “ Thank you, baby. I’m so happy you’re here, I love you too.”

Safe to say you fucked the whole weekend, everywhere, only taking breaks for food and occasional naps. But you also basked in the intimacy of having him. by yourself. Eating together, talking about everything between the heavens and earth, cracking jokes and just enjoying yourselves. 

You and your mate, together for all eternity...

#talkswithamara #acotar #acotar x reader #acotar imagine #acotar fanfiction #a court of thorns and roses #fanfic #cassian x reader #cassian #azriel x reader #rhysand x reader #feyre x reader #lucien vanserra x reader

[aaronhotchnersworld]

aaron hotchner x bau wife reader

hurt

The unsub we’ve have been trying to find is a very smart man. We’ve been here for a week and still have nothing. Everyone’s frustrated, especially aaron. I love aaron, of course i do, im his wife. I just wish he would take a breather sometimes.

The unsub had been luring young women out of bars at night, torturing them for 3 days, then shooting them in the back of the head.

Spencer has just figured out where the unsub had been taking them, 3 abandoned building with a huge field next to it. There were all side by side meaning we had to split up.

Aaron and I had decided that it’s best if we split when getting an unsub, because we both get overprotective and we don’t want anything to affect our performance.

“reid and jareau, take the last building. y/l/n and morgan, take the second building, prentiss and i will take the first building” Hotch directed us. My last name is hotchner now, but we keep is y/l/n at work so it’s not confusing.

I feel nervous, like something bad is going to happen. Aaron noticed, as he came over and gave me a touch on the shoulder and a reassuring smile. I love Aaron so much.

Everyone quickly went to where they were supposed to be. As derek and I approached the building, I heard a noise coming from the field. “Derek I think he’s in the field” i told him. Derek agreed and radioed to aaron to tell him.

We quickly made our way down to the field, separating due to how big it was. “are you sure you’re okay if we separate?” derek asked me. I told him yes. He went left and I went right.

After about 5 minutes of going into the field, I heard a noise behind me. I quickly tried to radio “I think I hea-” but was quickly cut off when I got thrown to the ground. “you fucking bitch” he told me.

I tried to get up but then a loud gunshot rang out and I quickly realized I had just been shot in the abdomen.

The unsub quickly ran.

“Y/L/N do you copy” aaron shouted into the radio.

“Y/L/N I repeat do you copy?!” He said louder this time.

“Y/N” he shouted with fear in his voice.

I did everything I could to try and answer but I couldn’t. I can’t even imagine how scared aaron is right now. I really wish he was here.

“y/n” i heard and quickly realized it was aaron. thank god he found me. He quickly rushed over to me and screamed into his radio “I need a medic immediately, agent down, gunshot wound to the abdomen, medic now”

I looked at the love of my life as tears rolled down my cheeks. I could see the fear in his eyes. “It’s okay you’re gonna be okay” He told me. “I lo- love you aaron” I told him in fear. “I love you so much y/n you are going to be okay I promise” I began to cry more as my eye lids became heavier.

“no no no you can’t close your eyes let me see those beautiful eyes of yours”

“i’m scared”

I could see how that made him more upset. “you are going to be okay, we’re gonna grow old together and have children. You are the love of my life and I promise you it will all be okay” He told me as he put pressure on my abdomen and stroked my hair.

“tha- that” i try to say but I choke on my blood coming out of my mouth. He turns me on my side and screams “WHERE IS THE FUCKING MEDIC” I can hear the fear in his voice. “a- aaron” i say desperately. “it’s okay sweetie it’s all okay” he told me.

“i’m- im so tired” “i know sweetie i know but keep those pretty eyes open alittle longer” I can see the tears rolling down his cheeks and I so desperately want to close my eyes but I do my best not too.

We hear sirens and aaron starts screaming “WE’RE OVER HERE”

I begin to close my eyes. “no no no no please open your eyes y/n.” he cries out. you do your best to open your eyes but you can’t and the last thing you remember is him screaming for you to open your eyes.

aarons pov:

Derek has to practically drag me away from y/n as the paramedics hurry on over. “gunshot wound to the abdomen” i quickly tell them as tears run down my cheeks. “I have to go with her” i tell derek. “aaron listen to me, you are in no condition to go with her. they will take care of her but you need to listen to me, jj is going to ride with her, she’ll be okay” derek told me.

We all quickly arrive at the hospital and I am a mess. I go to the restroom and look in the mirror. I have so much blood on me. It looks like i’ve been shot. My breath catches in the back of my throat. I can’t believe. I don’t know what i’ll do if she doesn’t make it. She is the love of my life she has to be okay. “aaron you should change your clothes” I look up to see derek holding out a bag of clothes. I can tell he’s scared.

“derek, what if she dies? i- i can’t live without her she has to be okay” i say as tears roll down my cheeks.

“y/n is one of the strongest girls I have ever met, she will be okay and she has you waiting for her when she wakes up. I know she will wake up” he reassures me.

He leaves the bathroom giving me time to compose myself. I start to think about all the memories I have with y/n.

y/n joined the team 8 years ago. We started dating 6 years ago and got married 3 years ago. She is the love of my life. y/n has been there for me through everything, she is kind, smart, beautiful and my girl.

i decide to change my clothes because i have so much blood on mine. i change my clothes and try my best to wash my hands but there is still blood on them no matter how much i wash them. I punch the mirror out of frustration. I NEED her to be okay.

I walk out of the bathroom and go back to the waiting room. “y/f/n y/l/n” we hear. I quickly stand up as the doctor walks over to us. “y/n lost a lot of blood, it was touch and go for awhile but we managed to get her back. The bullet did a lot of damage. she should wake up within the next few hours but we recommend one person at a time in there so she doesn’t get overwhelmed. She will need to stay here in the hospital for about a week or two. She will need help and I highly recommend she does not stay alone.” He told us. The entire team sighs in relief knowing that y/n will be okay. They all tell me to go see her first.

“i’m her husband, she’ll be with me” I quickly told him. “Am i able to see her?” “yes you can, follow me please”

I quickly stand up and follow him to y/n’s room. “Once you take her home in about a week or two, it’s important to make sure her wound doesn’t get infected. you are going to have to change her bandage once a day, she can’t do it herself. It’ll be very painful but if you don’t do it, it could get infected. She is going to be in alot of pain and it will be hard for her to do most things. It’s important to make sure she rests and doesn’t overdo it.” He informs me.

“I’ll take care of her” I tell him. I walk into her room and the doctors leaves. A tear rolls down my cheek as I look at her. I know she is going to be okay but I don’t want her to be in pain. I pull up a chair and sit next to her. I take her hand into mine. I don’t know how long i’ve been sitting here, it might have been 5 minutes or it might have been 2 hours. I feel her squeeze my hand.

“y/n” I say softly as I stroke her hair. She squeezes my hand again. “hey hey hey y/n open your eyes my love” I tell her. She slowly opens her eyes. “hi beautiful” I tell her as a tears runs down my cheek. “aaron” she says but it comes out all raspy. “it’s okay” I say as I wipe the tears that fall from her eyes

“what happened” she asks. “we went to catch the unsub and you got shot in the abdomen” I softly told her as I stroked her hair. “I wanna go home” she cried out. “I know baby I know, you have to stay here for about a week but then we’ll go home and i’ll take care of you y/n/n” I tell her.

“I love you aaron” “I love you y/n”

“Do you want to see the rest of the team?” I softly asked her. She nods her head. I go and get the rest of the team, they are all so happy to see her awake. They all stay for about 2 hours but then we can all see how tired y/n is. They say there goodbyes and head out.

“where is jack?” she asks me

“he is staying with Jessica right now, i’ll go get him tomorrow and bring him here”

“I’d love to see him tomorrow”

“I’ll make sure he is here . You should get some rest sweetheart” I tell her softly. “i’m not tired” “I can tell when you’re lying, I know you are tired why don’t you rest those pretty little eyes of yours?”

“I want to spend time with you” I couldn’t help but smile. “I’ll be right here when you wake up”

“promise?”

“I promise” I say as I kiss her forehead and stroke her hair. I watch as she slowly falls asleep.

one week later

The doctors have cleared y/n to go home today. I know how badly she wants to go home.

“Are you ready to go home?” I ask her. “yes please. can you- can you help me change into my clothes?” she asks me as she looks at the floor.

“Of course i’ll help you, don’t be ashamed” I softly tell her.

I guide her into the bathroom with her clothes in my hand. I pull the string on her gown and pull it off of her. I help her put her underwear and sweatpants on as she groans in pain. “i know sweetie i’m sorry” i tell her. I help her put her bra and sweatshirt on.

We eventually arrive home and I help her up the stairs and into the house. We make our way to the couch and I slowly help her sit down. She groans in pain.

“I’m sorry sweetie I know it hurts”

I see her eyes fill with tears as she leans into me. I give her a hug and ask her “what do you need?”

“I just need you aaron, I love you”

“I love you too” I say as I kiss her forehead. “Do you think you’re up for Jack to come back home? I’ve been having him stay with Jessica while you were in the hospital”

“i’d love for Jack to come back home”

Two hours later

It is now 8pm and Jessica has just brought Jack back over and i’m so happy to see y/n and Jack happy. I made sure to let Jack know he needs to be careful because y/n is very hurt.

“Y/N” I hear jack yell happily

“hi buddy” I hear y/n say happily. Jack gives her a hug but he makes sure to be careful. I can see how tired y/n is. “How about we watch a movie?” I say to both Jack and y/n

“YAY MOVIE” jack yells and y/n giggles. I sit on the end, y/n in the middle and Jack next to y/n. We let jack pick the movie. He picks the polar express.

About 30 minutes into the movie, I can really tell y/n is struggling to stay awake. “lean on my shoulder y/n it’s okay if you fall asleep” I whisper to her. She slowly leans her head on my shoulder and I ask her if she is in any pain, she says she isn’t.

She quickly falls asleep and I kiss her forehead. After the movie is over, y/n is still sleeping and Jack looks tired.

“Jack” I whisper

“yes daddy?”

“why don’t we get you to bed?”

“what about y/n?”

“don’t worry about her buddy, I got her”

I slowly stand up and lay y/n’s head down on the pillow. Jack gives y/n a kiss on the forehead and I smile. He really loves her. He doesn’t call her mom which I completely understand but I know he looks up to her like a mother figure.

I take Jack to bed. “I love you Jack, good night buddy” I tell him.

“Goodnight daddy I love you too”

I go back out to y/n and slowly pick her up, being extra careful. She groans in pain. “It’s okay sweetie i’m just taking you to bed”

I lay her under the covers and sit next to her. I stroke her hair and ask her “are you in pain sweetie?”

she nods her head yes as tears fill her eyes

“I’ll go get you one of your pain pills”

I quickly go get her a painkiller and a glass of water. She takes it and I get in bed with her.

“what do you need?”

“I just need you”

I slowly move over so i’m directly next to her and lay her head on my chest carefully.

“is this good?” I ask her

“it’s perfect”

“go to sleep sweetheart” I tell her. I can feel her breathing slow down as she falls asleep.

#aaron hotchner #aaron hotchner x you #aaron hotchner x fem!reader #aaron hotch hotchner #criminal minds #aaron hotch imagine #aaron hotch fanfiction #fem reader

[wormstacheangel]

When Dean finally rescued Cas from the empty, he expected a happy reunion. He envisioned a strong hug like the first time he had escaped. He expected a long-awaited kiss and repeated confessions that weren’t said with sorrow or heartache. He expected to find the same Cas that was taken, but that would have been too easy.

Cas was left awake, alone, and in complete darkness for months on end.

So when Dean went into the empty, ready to wake up the love of his life, he found Cas curled in on himself—staring blankly out into the void of nothingness. He whispered something so softly and quickly that Dean couldn’t pick up on the actual words, but it sounded familiar. Almost like he was humming a song.

Dean tried to get him to stand up on his own, but he quickly realized that Cas wasn’t even looking at him. His gaze was distant, seeing something Dean can’t even imagine. He then noticed the white film over his eyes dimmed the once bright blue.

His fingertips gently traced over the skin he had only dreamt of touching for months before he took a deep, shaky breath to steady himself. With that slight pause, Dean used whatever desperate strength he had and dragged Cas back to the portal.

Back home.

As they got closer, the light of the portal seemed to startle Cas, and he started to shove Dean away. Dean had to put Cas down so he could take his green jacket off and place it over Cas’s head to calm him before he slowly continued to walk through the portal and into the bunker’s library where Jack, Rowena, Eileen, and Sam were waiting for them.

When they walked through, Dean quickly shushed them as he fell to his knees with Cas still in his arms, hidden under the jacket, and covering his ears at the sudden loud voices surrounding them.

Dean looked around at his family, all sharing the same worried glances knowing they were on the same page. Cas’s welcome home party would be pushed back until further notice.

Cas didn’t cry. His expression didn’t change much at all. All Cas did was sit or lay on Dean’s bed with the lights off. All but the desk light. It was an old lightbulb, so the light wasn’t a bright white like the rest of the place. Instead, it illuminated a soft golden glow against the wall.

Cas squinted at it at first, blinking so inhumanly at it, until all Cas did was stare at it. Whenever Dean made any move to turn it off or even just get near the lamp, Cas made a little whine at the back of his throat.

Little noises were the most Dean can get out of Cas. At least it brought him a little relief. It meant Cas could see him at that moment.

Cas still did that rapid talking or singing whenever it was a little bit too quiet. It made Dean wonder if Cas knew he was out of the Empty. Especially during those times when he would stare right past him, unblinking with cold eyes.

It was only the end of the second week when Dean broke down.

[continue under the cut or on AO3]

He didn’t mean to. He was trying so damn hard to keep it together, especially in front of Cas, but one night he just lost it. He can blame the lack of booze in his system, or as he wants, he can blame Sam, who came up to him about a stupid case. It pissed him off more than it should have. The fact that Sam even believed for a second that he would leave the bunker while Cas was like-well the way he was, just gave him enough of an excuse to raise his voice at someone.

Eileen had to step in and tell him to cool off.

Dean stormed off without a glance back and went to his room. He changed into his pajamas and climbed into bed beside Cas. He laid on his stomach as he wrapped one arm over the top of Cas’s waist, scooting close enough so that he could rest his head on Cas’s shoulder. He then opened his mouth to wish him goodnight just like every night, but something in Dean just broke.

He felt the pressure rise up his throat as he tried to hide his face into the familiar body beside him, but the sob still came.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry it took me so long to go get you. Fuck, Cas, please.” Dean took a shaky breath, sniffling as he reached to hold Cas’s hand closer to him. “We missed- I...I missed you. I missed you so much, Cas.” Dean brought Cas’s hand up to his lips and kissed the knuckles before letting the hand rest by his head. His eyes closed as he sighs, “I love you. So come back to me, okay?"

The only response Dean got was a squeeze of the hand, which was enough hope for the future, and more than Dean could have ever asked for at that moment.

As the days went on, Cas didn’t change. Literally and figuratively. He was still an angel, so there was no need for him to shower or brush his teeth, but Dean swore that Cas’s facial hair was growing, so he liked shaving him at least once a week. Cas seemed to like it by the humming noise he made.

They did learn a couple of things as the days went on.

One, peace and quiet are not what they strive for.

It only brought Cas anxiety, and his humming or singing became much louder and more desperate. They fixed that problem with a Bluetooth speaker constantly playing music in the background, a playlist Jack made mixed in with a playlist Jack helped Dean make. It made the humming stop, and Cas started to roll over in bed. He even sat back against the headboard with his eyes closed a few times.

A month after Cas got back, Dean's phone died in the middle of the night, and the silence must have gotten to him. He covered his ears while he started muttering to himself again. Dean woke up and pulled Cas to his chest while softly sing to him in his still half-asleep phase. He didn’t know why that was his first instinct, but he went along with it cause it started to calm Cas down. Then, Cas held him back for the first time—tucking his head right under Dean's jaw and relaxing.

Dean tried not to stiffen at the touch; if he were honest with himself, he would admit he was trying not to cry because he was busy singing. Busy, not wanting to disrupt this moment.

That night Dean sang all night long until Jack checked on them in the early hours and connected his phone.

Two, always have a light source on.

The lamp was the first one they had. Cas constantly wanted it on, but it bothered Dean all the time when he wanted to sleep. So they bought a cool starlight projector, Sam’s idea, that kept the light on the cement ceiling and not on Dean’s face. Cas seemed to enjoy it as he laid on his back, watching it all night, letting Dean curl up on his side as he slept through the night.

Three, never leave Cas alone.

Nobody wanted to leave Cas alone for more than a minute if they could help it. So they made plans to keep him company at all hours of the day. Of course, they weren’t crowding him. They all came in one by one, except for Dean, who would say, “This is my room. I get to come and go as I damn well please.”

Sam liked to sit by Cas's side and talk nerd like they usually would while cleaning his guns or doing research to help another hunter. He would even pause during the one-way conversation to give Cas some time to answer or try to imagine what Cas would say in that situation. Sam was always calm, wanting to keep it as normal as possible while Cas just stared at him, sometimes his eyebrows knitted together, and Dean had to excuse himself as he felt his chest tighten up.

Eileen sat by his side and watched shows she liked while she talked to Cas out loud and signed so he could hear her voice. Even then, she didn’t talk much. Instead, she let the laptop do the talking as she pets Cas’s hair while sitting on the chair by the bed.

Jack came in the most next to Dean. He liked reading to him or talking about how his skills as the new God have improved thanks to Amara.

"Dad, I hope you'll be proud of me." Jack once whispered to Cas, who was having a bad day, checking out more than usual as he stared off into the distance. Eyes wide and almost screaming.

It was almost the end of the second month when another big mile-stone happened.

Jack was lying in bed with Cas while Dean was at his desk, cleaning his guns obsessively again. Jack was reading him a book he bought during his recent trip to the bookstore with Eileen, it was a Star Wars story.

Jack was getting into the book as he read slower but louder during a big fight scene. He got so excited that he even jumped up and looked back at Cas, "Did you hear that, Dad? He won!"

Cas smiled back at him- a genuine smile- and Dean almost dropped the piece of metal in his hand while Jack froze, his shoulders tightening up while he scrunched up his lips as if trying to hold back his cry.

Instead, he quietly composed himself as he asked in a shaky voice, "You want me to read the rest?"

Cas only blinked at him, keeping the slight smile, and Jack took it as a yes. Jack sat beside him again with a big smile plastered on his face, wiping his eyes every other word, as he rested his head on Cas's shoulder to continue reading. Dean didn’t miss when Cas tilted his head down to rest his cheek on Jack’s hair.

He had to excuse himself again.

After that day, Cas slowly started to open up a little more.

Once Dean woke up with Cas out of bed. Dean was already in full panic mode, his shoes on the wrong feet and jacket inside out as he called out for Sam.

Then just as quick as the panic came, relief flooded him when he found Cas in the kitchen trying to make coffee. He turned towards Dean and gave him the smallest of smiles, but it filled Dean with such solace that he just dragged himself to Cas’s space. Dean held his arms open to press Cas into him, and without a second thought, Cas fell right into him as if it was an everyday normal occurrence.

That was the start of Cas now being up and around the bunker. It was like when a baby starts crawling, everyone keeping tabs on the baby’s first steps, except this baby was an eon old celestial being.

The library, Dean’s room, the Dean-cave, and the kitchen were Cas’s favorite places just to sit. He always had Dean’s headphones on, softly playing music, just in case it went quiet, and it took a while for him to be able to walk around without those.

It was the sixth month when Cas wished Dean a goodnight first and then added, “I love you, Dean.”

Dean fought the lump in his throat, but Cas instantly pulled him in, his arms wrapped securely around him. He had so much he wanted to say to Cas just to hear his voice again, anything to listen to his voice again, but instead, he kisses Cas’s chest before saying, “I love you, too.”

Days came and went. Sometimes it seemed like Cas was getting better as he talked a little more, but then those days would come when he would just stare off into the stars on their ceiling. Not moving an inch or bothering to fake breath like he liked. Those days the music was a little louder, and Cas held on to Dean a little tighter.

“I don’t want to go back. Please,” Cas pleaded as he stared wide-eyed at the darkness in the corner of their room. As if he was having a nightmare with his eyes wide open. “Please don’t make me…I-I don’t want to be in the dark again!”

Dean took Cas’s face in between his hands to hold his gaze. Only talking when he knew Cas was seeing him. “It’s okay, Cas. I got you. Nobody’s taking you away from me ever again.”

“Promise?” Dean felt Cas’s grip at his shoulder, holding him with desperation.

“Promise.”

That’s how Cas became human.

The nightmares have him waking up screaming some days, but at least Cas knew he was safe from the Empty’s clutches.

He was going to live his human life being loved and taken care of, and Dean was happy to say he felt Cas was doing the same for him.

#i am reposting this fic i wrote in October cause i didn't realize all my suptober fics are kinda gone #and i really liked this one so here you go #i edited just a little but not a lot so sorry about mistakes if beta's wanna beta with me that would be dope #destiel #wormstachewrites #my writing #fic #deancas #destiel fic #dean saves cas from the empty #selective mutism castiel #cas deal with the trauma of the empty #castiel is scared of the dark #dean #cas

[wastelandcth]

Tomorrow Will Be Kinder - afi

summary: A brighter day is coming my way. 

author’s notes: I’m going to be really honest, this was @in-superbloom​ birthday present last week and I wanted to share it with her first before everyone else got to read it too. Inspired by this song!

warnings: angst, ashton is sad and that’s okay. 

masterlist || request

Ashton watched as the black clouds passed overhead, swirling into themselves before being spit back out. They were heavy with rain and at a moment's notice, prepared to flood the Earth with their torrential tears. If he was truly worried about the rain, he would've moved inside, found comfort in the warmth of the home he'd made for himself. He probably would've wrapped himself up in the fuzzy robe that was currently on the floor of his bathroom and laid around the house listening to the pitter-patter of the raindrops against the roof and the windows. He would've sipped on a warm coffee and watched as the mountains he lived in disappeared behind the fog of rain and thunder, listening to the music that nature provided for him. If he was really worried about the rain, Ashton would've been more careful to no be in his pool, floating through the water as he tried to clear his mind the only noise around him was the muffled sound of thunder beneath the surface of the water.

But Ashton did not have a care in the world. Well actually, that was a lie. He had a lot of cares in the world and it was sinking him down further and further, weighing on him like a stack of brick placed on his shoulders ready to pull him deeper under the water, until the first raindrop landed against his forehead.

The past couple of days had been a whirlwind for him. His body and mind were completely apart and Ashton had, on multiple occasions, found himself doing things he'd never even remember starting. There was the day where Ashton looked up only to find himself in the studio with Calum, something he hadn't remembered planning or even getting up to do. Then there was the date night he'd gone to, where his eyes were focused on the screen for far too long before he realized that he'd been at a movie theatre. It seemed like his life was going on without him and Ashton wasn't too sure how to stop it. The raindrop, a heavy and cold presence on his skin, left him gasping as the world paused for just a moment, everything hanging in a suspended silence before the sky opened up and curtains of rain fell down on Ashton.

"What are you doing?" a voice called out, over the splashing of rain and thunder, bringing Ashton's eyes from the sky and over to the sliding glass door that had opened up much like the skies had a few seconds ago, "You're an absolute madman!"

Ashton watched her, her own wide eyes watching the scene in front of her, as she rushed over to the edge of the pool with a towel in her hands and her eyes squinting as the raindrops crashed against her skin. He was out of the pool before he could even register his body moving, his hands taking the towel and wrapping it around his shoulders, not that it made much of a difference. The dry towel soon became another weight on his shoulders, soaked with rainwater and the pool water that Ashton had dragged out with him.

"What are you doing here?" he asked confused, his hands on her arms as he watched the soft strands of her hair stick to her forehead, "I thought you were out of town this week?"

"My meetings got canceled," she called out, her body jumping over the loud crack of thunder that shook the ground beneath them, "I called but you didn't answer."

Ashton frowned, his eyes searching for any sense of regret in her eyes, another loud crack of thunder finally spurring him into motion as his feet led both of them back through the glass doors. The whoosh of the doors sliding close, blocking out the rain storm from their shivering bodies, made Ashton's ears ring and with the silence that it left behind. His eyes watched his backyard, only hours before sunny and bright now covered in fog and clouds that felt more like his brain, the wind picking up and slamming down onto the ground. The trees around his house shook and swayed, dancing in the wind as the world shook around the storm.

"Ashton," her voice whispered, the warmth on her hand finding the cold skin of Ashton's back, the feeling sending goosebumps through his body as his eyes closed, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Ashton mumbled, "I guess it's just been a bad day," he shrugged, his eyes finally opening to look over at her, a frown finding its way on his face as he saw her, "We need to get you into a warm shower, you're going to get sick."

Before she could answer, before she could throw a snarky reply back at him, Ashton took her hand and led her through the quiet of his house. Their footsteps echoed through the halls, the silence cut sharply when the shower was turned on. He knew he was being stubborn, that she was just trying her best to help him vent and open up with what was on his mind, but Ashton could barely put into words what exactly was wrong. The bathroom was soon steaming, the warm fog enveloping Ashton and her in the safety of the shower, melting down Ashton's stress and fog in his own brain.

"I missed you," Ashton whispered, his forehead leaning against hers as he breathed in the steam, letting it clear his lungs and his mind, "I missed you a lot."

"I missed you too," she whispered, her hands coming up to tangle in the curls Ashton knew she loved so much, "And you know that I'm always here for you. That the cloudy days are going to clear up."

Laying in bed, under the bedsheets with the warmth of her body next to his, Ashton looked out the tall windows that his bedroom had. He remembered when he'd first toured the place, the large windows almost made him skip the tour, he had never liked the idea of big windows because it meant that he'd have to buy large curtains and he wasn't even sure where to start looking for them. But he eventually looked past the troubles that came with large windows and  as he laid there in bed, listening to the soft breaths that left her as she laid her head on his chest, he realized that those giant windows were a blessing. The storm outside had slowly passed, the harsh wind reduce to a soft breeze and the black clouds now replaced with thin white clouds floating through the sky.

"I love you," Ashton whispered, knowing that the words would fall on sleeping ears and that he would eventually find the courage to scream them out when she was awake, "Brighter days are coming our way."

Because Ashton knew that the dark days had taken over and that they felt impossible to get away from, that the wind and the thunder in his brain would soon end and eventually, the sun would shine. He knew that the cold he felt in his bones would be replaced with warmth one day, much like the warmth he felt there next to her in bed, and that eventually the stars would align and Ashton knew that tomorrow would be kinder.

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#ashton irwin fics #ashton irwin fanfic #ashton irwin blurbs #ashton irwin imagines #ashton irwin x reader #ashton irwin x you #ashton irwin #5sos fics #5sos fanfic #5sos blurbs #5sos imagines #5sos x reader #5sos x you #5sos #5 seconds of summer #gemma writes

[young-dumb-and-vaccinated]

The Sommelier (Hannibal x Female!Reader) pt. 1

Ding dong fannibals I’m back on my bullshit :) 

I discovered that I cannot for the life of me be concise so this one might come in a couple parts. I don't anticipate it's gonna go as long as Cult Girl but we'll see. Y/n is an introverted waitress at a fancy restaurant with a crush on a mysterious regular. An encounter with a dangerous criminal pulls her into his world.

Trigger warnings: graphic descriptions of violence; implied drug use; religiously-motivated violence.

In some ways, waitressing was the perfect job for an introvert. Customers didn’t see you as a person, they saw you as an NPC. As long as that was the case, you weren’t expected to engage with them beyond the script: you take their order, bring them the food and they, hopefully, leave a tip. To ensure that, you perfected the art of fake happiness. You were there to make money, not friends. 

Well, there was an exception to every rule. Yours was the sommelier. 

The sommelier was a regular at the restaurant, but never ordered a meal. He mostly just sat at the bar, drank expensive wine, and watched the people come and go for hours at a time. Among the waitstaff, he was a bit of a local cryptid. Waitresses whispered about the handsome gentleman with an unidentifiable accent and deep pockets. About how lucky you had to be to score a bartending shift on one of the nights he showed up. It got to the point where bartending shifts were swapped like currency, because every woman on staff wanted the chance to meet the sommelier. 

One of the more religious line chefs liked to remind you all that the devil would come as everything you could ever desire. He was fully convinced that the sommelier was Satan incarnate, and he wasn’t completely off the mark. Standing at six feet tall with features sharp enough to cut diamonds, the sommelier wouldn’t look out of place in a vampire thriller. He always dressed in dark suits. Your coworkers hypothesized this was so the bloodstains wouldn’t show. Despite the chef’s well-intended (if not condescending) warnings, even the threat of eternal damnation couldn’t scare you off. 

As much as you liked to believe you were above stupid workplace gossip, you knew you weren’t. You were never the most socially adept person, but this gave you something to connect over. It’s how you discovered that you and the other waitresses were all in the same boat; broke, lonely and in desperate need of some excitement. And if that came in the form of a wine-loving vampire taking a liking to your restaurant, there were certainly worse ways to go. 

Unfortunately, not even the chance at encountering the sommelier could make you look forward to working Easter Sunday. Your manager had you working from noon to midnight that day. As employers went, he wasn’t much of a tyrant. He offered you time and a half and even let you switch from waiting tables to bartending halfway through the shift. He, too, knew how coveted the bartending shifts were. And you weren’t in any position to refuse, either. You quite enjoyed having a roof over your head and food in your stomach. 

That didn’t make up for the fact that most of the other twenty-something employees had left for the holiday, and you were one of the few stragglers left available. Easter was the most dreaded workday of the year, because the infamous after-church crowd quadrupled in size and lasted all day. They came in double-digit parties, had no concept of birth control and tipped in prayer. Too many times had you reached for what looked like a generous cash tip, only to find that it was a church pamphlet disguised as a fifty.

You clocked in at noon exactly, after waiting for the second hand to pass the twelve just to be sure. 

“[F/N]!” Your coworker, Charissa, grabbed your attention before you could walk away. “I heard you’re at the bar this evening. Congratulations.” 

“He’s not going to show up, Charissa.” You rolled your eyes. You decided to go into this shift expecting the absolute worst, that way you wouldn’t be setting yourself up for disappointment. “It’s Easter.” 

“You don’t know that.” Charissa nudged you in the side. 

You grinned. “Why would a vampire come to dinner on the one day everyone is gonna be wearing a cross?” 

“Oh, shit, I didn’t think of that.” Charissa gasped. “Well, good luck anyway.”

The first wave of customers filing through the door and filling the restaurant with noise pushed all optimism out of your head. Sighing, you approached a person that Charissa had already seated. 

“Hi, my name is [F/N], I’ll be your server today.” You greeted the first customer in your block. “Can I get you something to drink today?” 

The man couldn’t have been a day over twenty-five, if that. He was still lively in a way that meant he hadn’t experienced the drain that was a minimum wage job. He was wearing a shirt that said ‘on fire for Christ’ under a flannel with no buttons. One look and you knew he wasn’t going to tip. 

The man flashed a row of eerily white teeth. “I thought you said you would bring the wine?” 

You momentarily thought you’d already taken his drink order and shook your head. “I’m sorry, did I--”

“Ah, I see your confusion.” The man shrugged and forced a laugh. “You’re waitressing this week, you and I are going on a date next week. My mistake.” 

Great. You thought. It hasn't even been five minutes and I'm already being gaslit.

Any interaction that forced you to go off-script was bad, but this was a particularly irritating diversion. “Would you like to see a wine list?”

“I’m Chase.” He said. “It’s nice to meet you, [F/N].” 

“Have you decided on a drink?” You repeated, trying not to grit your teeth too obviously. 

"I'll have a glass of your finest coke, please." He faked an English accent, poorly.

"We only carry Pepsi products." You said, dreading how this joker would react to such a minor inconvenience.

He threw his head back and made a face like he had just taken a bullet to the chest. "No, it's gotta be coke! It's coke or nothing!"

"Did you want something else, then?" You tried to hurry him along. "The bartender makes a very nice mimosa-"

He smacked the table as if he had some urgent question. "McDonald's or Chick-Fil-A? There is a right answer, so choose wisely."

"...uh," You mumbled, just praying that he would order a drink already. There wasn't even a Chick-fil-A in the area. "I like McDonald's."

Again, he acted like he was shot in the chest. "Oh, you're down zero to two!"

"If you need a few minutes to select a drink," You said. "I can come back-"

He grabbed your arm and forced a laugh. "I'm just kidding around with you, [F/N]. Pepsi is fine."

You scribbled the order down on your notepad, mostly just to pry your wrist from his grip. You wanted to go into the bathroom and scrub yourself down, but perhaps it was just easier to chop the whole arm off. That way you could get worker's compensation, too.

The tables were filling up and you had spent far too long coaxing a drink order out of this youth pastor creep. You had actual families to wait on. The shift was off to a horrible start.

You made him wait for as long as you could get away with. You took drink orders from three full booths before returning to the youth pastor. Because you knew he was raring to corner you again.

You planted the pop in front of him, the glass already wet with condensation. "Have you decided on a meal?"

"I was just looking over this menu and something caught my eye." He began, looking at the holiday menu your manager had printed off. "This rack of lamb, it's a special, right?"

"Right." You nodded. "It's a pretty large meal, though, so I'd recommend sharing it-"

"No, y'see.." he cut you off. "Jesus was the lamb of god. He died on the cross for your sins. And, look!"

He pointed to the menu. "It says it's a 'praying hands' lamb!"

"Oh!" You forced yet another smile. "I can see the confusion. That just refers to how the rack is arranged."

"I think it's a sign from god." He said.

You demonstrated the shape of the dish with your fingers. "See, the rib bones are long and the racks are Frenched, so the dish takes the shape of a pair of, well, praying hands."

"I'll take it." He nodded furiously.

He took a sharp breath in through his nose and you started to seriously wonder if his definition of "coke or nothing" had a double meaning. It formulated in your head as a joke, but it became more and more of a serious inquiry by the minute.

You leaned in just slightly to get a closer look at his face. Some details you hadn't noticed before were beginning to come into focus. His eyes were vacant and glassy. A small but noticeable stream of blood trickled from his nostril.

"Sir?" You said in a clear, projected voice. "Is there someone I could call for you?"

He turned his head. "Jesus died for your sins."

You looked around the room for any sign of your manager, a supervisor or anyone with a shred of authority. "This man needs help!"

In your haste to call attention to the situation, you didn't see him pick up his steak knife.

"You want to know what Jesus felt when you pierced him?" He muttered, just loud enough for your ears alone.

You felt the serrated knife puncture your skin before you had time to process his words. The pain shot through your body, making you freeze in place.

A chorus of screams filled the restaurant. Blood was pouring from the open wound in a quantity you didn't think possible. Underneath, the knife went straight through your hand and into the table.

The man gripped the handle and gave it a twist, a look of horrifying pleasure on his face. At this point, several people had stepped in to restrain him. He was tall and athletic and could easily overpower many of the other customers, which he did. He found another steak knife and began to cut throats while chanting an incomprehensible prayer.

An older woman claiming to be a doctor rushed to your side. She made a makeshift tourniquet from a napkin and a butter knife. Everything after that was a blur. You struggled to stay conscious as the woman tried to guide the knife from the table while keeping it embedded in your hand.

Soon enough, police and ambulances arrived on the scene. The woman placed you in the care of one of the many EMTs, then rushed away to assist the others.

"I'm just doing what Jesus says!" The youth pastor shouted, before gouging his knife into another man's throat. "Spreading his love!"

The officers notably didn't open fire and made an attempt to de-escalate. Maybe that was how the youth pastor was able to escape. 

#hannibal nbc #hannibal x reader #hannibal lecter #hannibal x you #tw religion #tw christianity #long form #tw customer service #tw blood #tw violence

[pennylanefics]

Unknown - Isaac Lahey

a/n: this turned out a lot longer than i expected, but i’m happy with it :) super soft isaac is my weakness

•••

Scott had warned you about going out at night during a full moon. Everyone had, honestly. But people telling you what to do wasn’t how you went about life, so that’s why you found yourself running to the grocery store for some dinner.

Sure, you had things to make at home, but nothing sounded good. You let Scott know you were heading out, just so he was aware of your location. Though you were sure nothing would happen.

Strolling the many aisles of the store, you quietly hum to yourself and finally find a box of frozen toasted ravioli in the freezer section. You also grab a bag of chicken nuggets and a bag of waffle fries for more variety, and head to check out.

“What’s got you out on a full moon?” The cashier asks. You pause from getting your wallet out of your bag.

“Huh?” He laughs and scans your items.

“You gotta be careful on full moon nights in Beacon Hills. I’ve seen shit happen, and it’s not pretty.” You nod, saying nothing, getting a bad vibe from this guy. Once your things were bagged and paid for, you dart out of the store and to your car as quickly as you can.

You came to a stop at a stop light, the roads empty from any soul. As you wait for the light to turn green, something falls on top of your car. Or jumps.

The sound of whoever, or whatever, raises your anxiety, and you are too terrified to get out and look. Instead, you grab your phone and call Scott, whispering to him in case you made a sudden noise and startled whatever was outside.

“Scott?” You whisper-yell to him. “There’s something on my car.”

“Something on your car?”

“Y-yeah. On top of it. I’m at the intersection of-” You were cut off by a scream emitting from your throat as the creature broke your windshield. Your shaky hands unbuckle yourself from the seatbelt and as fast as you can, you jump out of your car and try to run away.

The wolf, as you had now determined from the sound of their growl, caught your leg and tore your jeans, their claws digging into your skin. You let out a loud scream as the pain courses through your body. The phone was still in your hand, surprisingly, so Scott heard everything.

As the wolf was beginning to tear at your back, something startled them and they ran off, leaving you bleeding out and attempting to speak to Scott.

He raced to you, though feeling the effects of the full moon, he was able to bring you to his house, where Melissa was waiting for you to tend to your wounds. The pain became too much, causing you to pass out. But Melissa monitored you the entire time.

“How are you feeling?” She asks when you finally awake the following morning. You groan and realize you’re laying on your stomach.

“Like I’ve been hit like a truck,” you moan. She chuckles and hands you a glass of water, helping you sit up. You hiss sharply as you sit on the stitches that Melissa sewed the wounds up with.

“I’d advise you to sleep on your stomach for the next few nights, at least until some of the stitches are gone. Scott is wanting you to stay here for a couple days, just so we can watch you and make sure nothing else happens.” You sigh and try to stand, but ultimately fail due to the weakness of your leg.

“Where is he?”

“At school. He didn’t want to go because he wanted to watch over you, but I made him. No use in staying around if you’re just resting.” You chuckle and sit back down, the pain slightly subsiding as you put pressure on your other leg.

“He’ll be back in a few hours. I’m sure he’s going to want to know everything that happened,” Melissa continues.

“I’m not even sure I know what happened. I mean I remember it breaking my windshield and running for my life. I didn’t even see who attacked me.” Melissa rubs your shoulder and gives you a couple painkillers to take.

“They’ll figure it out. They always do. Scott can always go to Derek to help figure it out.”

—

You were ordered to lay down for the rest of the day, per Melissa, but when Scott and Stiles returned from school, you weren’t allowed much rest.

Scott and Stiles run through the door as soon as Stiles parks his jeep. They run up to the guest room, where you are staying, and are very happy to see you awake.

“Why the hell would you go out on a full moon?!” Stiles scolds you.

“Fuck off,” you mumble, sitting up with the help of Scott. The medicine you took earlier had worn off, so Scott took some of your pain until you could comfortably sit up. You leaned against your friend while Stiles stood in front of you two.

“I don’t know who attacked me, so don’t even ask, I went out because I wanted some food to make, I was aware of my surroundings the entire time, and the wolf jumped on top of my car. I couldn’t do much, I didn’t even know what it was until it broke my windshield and I ran out.”

“I wonder if it’s one of those new wolves that Derek bit,” Stiles wonders, the wheels in his head turning.

“It doesn’t matter who it was now. (Y/N) said she didn’t see, so there’s really nothing to be done. The most important thing, though, is that she’s alive.” Stiles nods and takes a seat next to you, hugging you carefully.

A week later, you were back at school like nothing had happened, though you were still healing. Your friends weren’t able to help you throughout the entire day, but you managed. Thanks to someone.

Isaac saw you struggling to put things into your backpack from your locker after school ended one day, so he came over to help.

“Do you need someone to hold your backpack?” He asks nicely. His bright blue eyes captivated you and his smile was just as bright.

“Uh sure, thank you. I’m still recovering from an accident, so it’s still a little tough to get around.” He takes your backpack from your shoulder and holds it open for you, allowing you to stuff some books in and take some out.

“You’re Isaac, right? On the lacrosse team with Stiles and Scott?” He chuckles and zips your backpack for you.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“I recognize the curly hair,” you grin glancing up at his golden locks. He blushes a little and throws the bag over his shoulder for you.

“I’ll walk you to your car, I can tell carrying it was uncomfortable.”

“Well thank you, again.”

From that moment, you and Isaac grew very close, spending lots of time together on the weekends, seeing each other every day in school, him helping you with your backpack and walking you to your car as well.

A year later, and a relationship had blossomed. Months after meeting, Isaac confessed his feelings and asked you to be his girlfriend. It was a sweet moment and Scott was so happy to hear that you two were together. He thought Isaac was great for you, after having his name cleared after his father was killed.

Thankfully, you had fully healed from your attack wounds, although they left deep scarring, you were slowly accepting that it happened, and there’s nothing to do. Isaac had been so loving and tender with them, though.

You told him the truth after a couple months of being together, that you were attacked by a werewolf. Since then, he always took time to run his fingers along them, kissing them sweetly in more intimate moments, and assuring you that they are perfect and don’t make you any less beautiful; he in fact told you they make you look even more beautiful, and it shows you’re strong.

Now, there was an alpha pack in town, looking to stir up trouble, and of course involving the pack.

It was a normal day at school, so far. During your independent study, you and Isaac offered to help your teacher get some stuff from the storage closet. She knew you were dating, so she told you, “no funny business”.

You and Isaac stood in the closet, rummaging through different boxes to find what you needed.

“Should we partake in some “funny business”?” Isaac cheekily asks. You giggle and smack his chest.

“No. As much as I would love to, she trusts us t-” Your sentence was interrupted by the door to the closet slamming shut. Isaac whips around and jiggles the handle, and when it doesn’t budge, he starts to freak out.

“Isaac, it’s okay,” you whisper, your hand coming to rest on his shoulder.

“No, no, no, no,” he mumbles, running his hands through his hair in a stressful manner.

“Hey, look at me, babe,” you try to get his attention off the fact that it’s a small space. He ignores you and tries to push the door, knocking and banging on it for someone to hear.

“There’s something against it,” he breathes, shrugging his cardigan off and continuing to push on the door.

“Isaac, please calm down, it’s going to be fine.” He starts screaming and pounding on the door, slightly terrifying you. You try once more to pry him away from it, but he turns to you, eyes golden, canines on show.

You stumble back, scared of his current state.

“Babe, please, listen to my voice, Isaac!”

He growls, and fear runs through you. His claws latch onto your arm, digging into your skin. You yelp and trip over your feet, falling against the shelving.

Suddenly, the door flies open and Scott grabs Isaac by the shoulder, throwing him to the ground. He growls again as his alpha screams to anchor him. You slowly walk out of the closet, holding your wrist close to your chest.

Scott stands and comes over to make sure you’re okay, but he can tell there is something else wrong.

“I’m so sorry, baby, I didn’t mean to do that,” Isaac whimpers, tears in his eyes. You stare down at him, nights of the attack flashing in your mind. The growl the wolf let out that night.

Isaac’s growl.

“It’s okay,” you whisper, wanting to run all the way home.

“(Y/N)?” Scott breaks you from your daze. “What’s wrong?” You try to explain it, but Isaac’s beautiful eyes stop you. He’s vulnerable at the moment, you couldn’t tell him.

“N-nothing. I’m just gonna go to the nurse,” you mumble, dashing away from the two wolves and to the nurse. They share a worried glance, but brush it off and carry on with the day.

When school ends, Isaac cautiously makes his way over to you.

“(Y/N)?” He calls out, stepping up to your locker. You don’t make eye contact with him for a moment, trying to ignore the voice in your head telling you to.

“Baby, please. I’m so sorry I hurt you, you know I didn’t mean to,” he begs. Finally, you look at him and shut your locker.

“I know. I said it was okay.”

“But you-” You walk away, events playing in your head as he yells for you. You quickly run out of the school and to your car.

Later that night, you head over to Scott’s house to talk with him.

“Hey, what’s up?” He answers the door, letting you in from the rain.

“I need to talk to you.”

“Okay.” You two head up to his room, and for the time being, you completely forget that Isaac lives with Scott.

“Is this about earlier?” He asks.

“Yeah. I, um, I’m…”

“It’s really unlike you to be scared around Isaac. And I could smell the fear on you, it was so strong.”

“He’s the one who attacked me,” you blurt out. Scott is stunned speechless.

“Wh...How do you know?”

“His growl. It’s the same growl I heard when I was caught by him.”

“Are you sure?”

“Aren’t you the one that said every wolf has a different growl? I know what I heard, and as soon as I heard his growl today, it brought me back to that night and I began to relive it and-”

“What?” A new voice makes your blood run cold. Isaac opens the door even more and steps inside. Tears were evident in his eyes and on his cheeks.

“I did it?” He breathes out, his hands shaking at the thought.

“Isaac, listen-”

“No, it’s okay,” he whimpers, leaving the room almost immediately. Scott tries to stop him, but he’s too quick.

“Should I go talk to him?” You wonder. Scott shakes his head.

“Give him some time, until he’s ready to come to terms with it.”

That day came a week later. Isaac had been avoiding you all week at school, not wanting to be reminded of what he did. But it wasn’t him, it was the full moon.

Scott had something up his sleeve, though. He asked you to meet him at his house after school, but when you arrived, he wasn’t there. Isaac had to answer the door, and had to face you by himself.

“Uh, I guess since I’m here, can we talk?” You ask him softly. He nods and lets you in. You follow him up to his room and he takes a seat on the bed.

“Isaac, I don’t blame you, if that’s what you’re worried about. I talked to Scott about the whole thing and he said that since it was a full moon, and your first full moon, you had no idea what you were doing. You had no recollections because it wasn’t you.”

“It was me,” he whispers. “I gave you those awful scars, I put you through so much pain, and I hate myself for it.”

“Now what happened to my scars being beautiful?” You tease, wanting to lighten the mood. Isaac surprisingly chuckles, but stops moments later.

“They are beautiful, but I put you through so much pain that night.”

“You don’t remember it, though, do you? Because if you did, as soon as you saw my scars, you would have known it was you.” He nods and stares at his hands.

“I just don’t think I can be with you and forget what happened,” he whispers. Your heart shatters at his words and you sigh.

“Please don’t do this, Isaac,” you beg softly. “I don’t blame you, I don’t hate you, I-”

“How can you sit here and look at me, and not be reminded of that night?”

“Because I love you!” He goes silent. Sure, you’ve said it before, but now, it feels different.

“I truly love you, Isaac. I may have been hurt, but I’m alive.”

“But…”

“No. I don’t care about anything else. Yeah, at first, it was hard to come to terms with, but I’m okay now.”

“I always knew there was something about you that I recognized, your scent. You smelled so familiar when we first met, but I could never figure out what it was. I even asked Derek and he had no idea. But now…”

“Hey,” you whisper, cupping his cheeks, making him look up at you. “It’s. Okay. I promise. Please believe me when I tell you that I’m not upset with you and that I don’t care that it was you.” He stares into your eyes and after a few moments, he nods. You let go of his face, but he stands up as soon as you do.

You step back a couple inches and wait for him to either say something or walk out of the room. To your surprise, he falls into your arms, pulling you close to him, and begins crying into your shoulder. His body shakes with sobs and the sounds break your heart.

“I’m so sorry, babe. I really am. I know I wasn’t aware, but I feel awful.”

“I know, Isaac. You’re okay.” His face is nuzzled in your shoulder, the tears pooling on your shirt.

“I love you so much,” he whimpers, his voice slightly strained. “I’m so sorry, I promise to never hurt you like that again.” Your hands run up and down Isaac’s back comfortingly, not saying anything else and just letting him get everything out.

“Can I stay the night with you?” You ask him when he pulls away. You knew it was a long shot and you weren’t even sure he would want you there.

“Of course, baby,” he smiles, caressing your cheek with his hand, wiping your tears away while doing so.

He pulls you over to the bed, and sits down, but before you follow him, he stops you. As tender as ever, he removes your shirt and shorts, discarding them to the side.

“Turn around,” he softly orders. You do so, facing the wall of his room. His fingers ever so gently dance across the deep scarring on your back and thigh. Quiet sniffles sound through the room as Isaac comes face to face with what he’s done, after finding out that it was him after all.

“Come lay down on your stomach,” he says this time. You wipe your tears away and climb onto the bed, your head turned to the side to watch him a little.

“So so beautiful,” he whispers, straddling your back like he is going to give you a massage. Instead, he leans down and presses his lips to the scars on your back, kissing them one by one, up until he reaches your shoulder.

“Yet so much pain,” he continues, moving down to the back of your thigh and doing the same. By now, tears were free falling down your cheeks and onto your arm.

“I already said this, but I promise to never hurt you like this again. You mean the world to me and I never want you to be in pain because of me. For the wrong reasons.” A giggle escapes your lips at his slightly sexual connotation. He flips you back around and crawls up your body to face you.

“I love you,” he tells you once more, kissing your lips as sweetly as ever and as passionately as ever. “Please don’t leave me.”

“I won’t,” you confirm, bringing him back down for another kiss. “You mean the world to me as well, Isaac.”

#isaac lahey #isaac lahey imagines #isaac lahey imagine #isaac lahey x reader #daniel sharman #teen wolf #teen wolf imagines #imagines #fanfiction #fanfic

[arts-and-drafts]

Reconnaissance (Hermit Tommy AU)

(hooo boy here comes the start of a very long project, in which wrongs try to be righted in more worlds than one. This is a slight continuation of the fic Vulnerable, so maybe check that out of you're confused. Enjoy!)

TW: Death

-

Legend has it that the End connects all worlds.

There is countless spawns, countless new worlds created every second, but there is only one End. The End connects all threads of the wide, wide universe, and if you go far enough, you can see the start of other civilizations on pale islands farther out than the fabled badlands. If you go far enough, if you traverse the End more than any have before, you can start to see beginnings.

Xisuma knows this is all talk. But all legends start in truth. The End is where the admin begins his search.

He's surprised to find Tommy's old world very quickly.

There are few worlds that are completely closed off from the End, and of those few only one is still actively inhabited.

The Dream SMP. The name can't be a coincidence.

Xisuma turns to the world's history now, the hardest part of locating the world now over. It's then that Xisuma learns the best news; the world is regularly open to MCC, and that means a way in.

He tells only Tango of his plan, prepares him for the worst. If Xisuma leaves and doesn't return, Hermitcraft won't have an admin, and the world will die. It would be irresponsible to leave with that much responsibility on his shoulders, but Xisuma would not ask any of his hermits to go in his place, and he reminds Tango firmly of this when the mod protests his decision.

Xisuma spends the next month teaching Tango how to take up the mantle of admin while Xisuma is gone, and before the night of MCC he relinquishes the power in its entirety to his closest confidant. The transfer of administrator leaves both Xisuma and Tango out of commission for quite a while, Xisuma's body struggling through the sudden withdrawal of magic and Tango's attempting to adjust to the influx of power that came too quickly for him to process.

Xisuma departs while Tango rests, leaving the unsure promise of return in his wake in a book and quill before he steps through the portal to MCC.

Xisuma knows where to go. The portal to the Dream SMP has been reignited since the scare last time, and the former admin easily slips through the gateway during the hubbub of the event.

xisumavoid joined the game

<FoolishG> o/

<Ranboo> who

<ItsFundy> wait what

<xisumavoid> Hello. Do any of you know a Dream?

<awesamdude> Who are you?

Xisuma stared at his communicator screen. He chose to not disclose his reasoning for his arrival, on edge because of Tommy's state he was in when he found Hermitcraft. These people could be extremely dangerous.

<xisumavoid> I'm Xisuma, I'm not going to stay long. I just need to speak with Dream. This is his world, correct?

Silence.

Xisuma nervously tucked his communicator away. This world had set him on edge enough; his ability of perception was not as heightened as it used to be since his admin abilities were passed over, but he could still feel that the magic of this world was strained and warped.

The magic of Hermitcraft that he was used to felt light, warm, like a summer breeze on a perfect day, with small snaps of explosive energy that came from volatile and powerful players all in one space. It was generally pleasant.

This world felt...dull. Dull and stretched out too far, as if there wasn't enough magic to go around. What little there was felt tainted somehow, wrong in a way that Xisuma could not describe.

It was suffocating. Xisuma wanted to be out of there as quickly as he could.

The former admin looked around, cringing slightly at the awful mess of cobblestone and dirt and wood planks that made up a wall all around spawn. Besides the crude structure, spawn was abandoned and uninhabited.

Odd.

Xisuma chose not to dwell on it too much, and turned to a crack in the wall where he could leave the box.

He ventured out to a forest of spruce, nothing to be seen for 10 chunks in every direction. All that was in Xisuma's render distance was untouched trees.

The hermit tried his communicator again.

<xisumavoid> Where is everyone? There are no structures close to spawn. Can someone offer coordinates?

"Why are you here." Came a voice in response. Xisuma jumped out of his skin, whipping around so fast he nearly fell off the wall.

A creeper hybrid stood a few blocks from him, clad in ornate golden armor that Xisuma could tell was imbued with enchanted netherite. The look on his face was as cold and intimidating as his netherite sword clutched firmly in one of his paws.

"Uh--hello! I'm here to see Dream." Xisuma replied warily. "What's your name?"

"Sam." The hybrid offered bluntly. "And I can't let you see him."

A flicker of confusion disrupted the growing unease in Xisuma's mind. "I'm unarmed, I promise-"

"It's not for him." Sam cut him off, and Xisuma swallowed his words.

"...I don't understand." Xisuma said, getting the feeling that his wariness of the new server was not nearly enough as it should be. It was then that the hermit noticed Sam deflate, only barely, but enough for Xisuma to see that the hybrid was crushed with guilt.

"...He killed the last person that tried to talk to him." Sam explained lowly. Xisuma blinked. "For your safety and the server's, I can't let you see him. I don't know you, and I don't know if you're here to break him out."

"I'm not worried about dying, I--why is it a big deal?" Xisuma asked carefully. Sam's head snapped up to stare at him with hollow eyes, sending a shiver down the hermit's spine despite how close he was with Doc.

"...It was his last life." Sam said, slowly and deliberately, speaking as if it was terrible taboo to utter the words.

"You can't respawn here?" Xisuma asked, his unease pitching. There was respawn magic here, he could feel it, this wasn't a hardcore world.

"We can." Sam explained curtly. "But if we die and it's important, it's...that's it. We only get three lives."

Sam then looked down, and Xisuma noticed how tired the hybrid suddenly seemed. His paw clenched the hilt of his sword so tight that it shook in his grip.

"Tubbo only had one left." Sam muttered thickly, his voice full of regret and bitterness. Xisuma's stomach dropped.

"...Tubbo is dead?" The hermit realized, slowly. Sam looked up, his eyes now very suspicious as he looked Xisuma over again.

"Who are you? Why are you talking like you know Tubbo and Dream?" Sam interrogated, lifting his blade. Xisuma didn't even blink, his mind fuzzy with the static of shock and disbelief. Tubbo...was dead.

"I...came here for Tommy." Xisuma answered distantly. "He...I wanted to bring Tubbo back to him."

The color drained from Sam's face, but in Xisuma's state he really didn't have the energy to process the look of shock.

"Tommy's alive?"

_

"Tango, look into my eyes, only my eyes."

"No, nope." Tango jerked away from Keralis's hypnotizing stare. "Nice try."

"Tango," Keralis said again, his voice a disappointed purr. He really was laying it on thick. "I just want to know where Shishwammy is."

"He's doing important admin stuff, I told you!" Tango said, his bark having no real bite. Xisuma instructed him exactly; no one was to know where he went. X didn't want any of his hermits to follow him into that world of destruction.

Tango kept it locked, just as he promised, but Keralis was making it so difficult.

"Look, Keralis, I'm really tired. Can I please go back to resting." Tango tried. Keralis's huge eyes stared through him for a couple seconds, but then the hermit visibly backed off. Tango breathed a sigh of relief.

"...Get well soon, sweetface." Keralis hummed reluctantly, turning and shooting out the opening to Toon Towers. Tango watched his silhouette get smaller and smaller on the horizon before turning back to his bed.

What he told Keralis wasn't a lie. His bones felt like they'd been individually hit by a ravager from all the magic that now flowed through him. The humming of every life force in Hermitcraft had been giving him a nonstop headache.

He'd definitely gained more respect for Xisuma's role in their world after experiencing what that truly meant, but he always worryingly came back to the reason the power was given to him in the first place.

It'd been radio silence from Xisuma's end since he left for the SMP, but Tango could still feel his life force pulling at his mind, distantly. It was a very odd sensation, but knowing his friend was still alive and connected to Hermitcraft gave him comfort.

Still. Tango was out of his element, and he hoped Xisuma would return as soon as possible.

Splashing sounds of water gradually became louder and louder to Tango, making him throw an arm over his face in annoyance. He just wanted to sleep, void's sake.

"Tango, my friend! How are you, big man!" A punch to the arm startled Tango into nearly falling out of bed, Tommy's signature loud 'pah-HAH' following his scrambling attempt to get upright.

"Oh, shut up!" Tango said, a traitorous smile growing on his face while Tommy giggled.

"What do you want, Tommy." Tango sighed exaggeratedly. Tommy shuffled in place, a poorly hidden look of mischief in his eyes.

"...You have any TNT?" Tommy reached, and Tango pinched the bridge of his nose. Of course. "What for."

"I wanna scare Zedaph when he goes to bed with an explosion noise!" Tommy grinned, all coyness instantly abandoned. Tango locked eyes with the excited kid.

"Tommy, get your shulker boxes." Tango ordered, and Tommy gave a cheer, bolting for the ender chest in the corner. "All right! Gonna do fucked up shit, we're wrongens!"

"Hey, no swearing in front of the kids." Tango chastised goodnaturedly, prepared to say "you" when Tommy asked what children were around.

The question never came. Tango turned away from digging through his chests of gunpowder to check if Tommy had heard him, all humor fading away when he noticed the kid frozen in place looking down at the contents of his ender chest.

"Tom?" Tango asked, approaching with enough speed to not startle the boy. He peered over Tommy's head when there was no response, and found what looked to be a lodestone compass gripped in Tommy's scarred hand.

"...Tommy?" Tango tried again, hesitantly laying a hand on the kid's shoulder. "What's up?"

"It's." Tommy choked, and Tango tensed in alarm when he noticed tears threatening the boy's eyes. "It's not moving-"

"What?" Tango asked, and a stake was driven right through his chest when Tommy looked up with the most crushing expression of despair Tango has ever seen in his life.

"Tubbo's--" Tommy's face screwed up, the tears finally falling. He turned back to the still compass, caving in on himself to press it to his chest. A pitiful, grueling wail grew in the boy's throat, and Tango's eyes widened as he put the pieces together all at once.

That was a soul compass, and it was still. Whoever was on the other end was still as well.

Tommy's best friend was dead.

#to be continued :)c #reconnaissance #hermit tommy au #hermitcraft fic #dream smp fic #meraki post

[well-its-not-human-anymore]

So this is a personal one for me to ask and if you're not comfortable with it don't mind it; how would the tmnt boys (seperate) react when the reader confesses that they're autistic after the boys got curious when she had some peculiar, behavior or stims. The reader would be stressed, because she has a crush on the tmnt boy in question and she didn't want them to find her weird or just stop interacting with her. When she's met with confusion instead, because the boys never heard of it, cue this weird conversation where reader tells them to the best of her ability what it is and the boys just keep asking questions. Also some general headcannons with it maybe?

Okay so I'm actually really happy that you asked me this because I feel like ASD isn't portrayed a lot in any type of media. My ADD and ASD have a lot of overlap so I hope I can capture what you're asking of me!

Now let's get into it!

TMNT Headcanons

The boys reacting to an autistic reader

Leonardo

he wasn't really sure what was happening the first time you reacted

one minute you were standing next to him doing dishes and the next you were attempting to claw your skin off like an angry cat

Leo tried not to look annoyed as he watched you rub your hands against your shirt until your flesh started to turn red

you looked like you were crying but he knew you weren't

but your face was starting to turn purple and your cheeks were puffy from the effort of holding your breath

"Y/N? You need to breathe."

You shot a glare at him, scathing eyes meeting his now very concerned expression

your own softened and you clutched your arms to your chest, heaving oxygen into your lungs until your face became a normal shade again

"Are you okay?"

The words were stuck in your throat and you weren't sure if you should nod or shake your head

so you gave him a half-hearted shrug

he frowned back at you but turned to finish the dishes on his own

when he questioned you about it later he couldn't help but be curious

"Well actually it's uh- it's kinda a sensory type of thing? There are certain textures that I can't stand touching do I avoid them but if I come into contact by accident my brain just kinda explodes and I shut down."

"How exactly does that work though?"

"I don't really understand it much but like- you know that feeling you get when you think there's a bug on you and there's not but it really really feels like it?"

He nodded

"Yeah, it feels like that. And anytime I touch something that triggers that reaction it takes FOREVER to get the feeling off my skin. That's why I usually wear gloves when I do dishes. Guess I just forgot to grab 'em today."

He was sympathetic

and god, you were so embarrassed

lucky for you, Leo's not an asshole

"Well thank you for explaining it to me, you really freaked me out earlier. I'll talk to April and see if we can keep a pair or two at the lair just in case you forget again."

Consider your heart melted

you couldn't even find the words to thank him and holy shit was your face red

"Hey y/n?"

"Yeah Leo?"

"Why didn't you ever tell me- us that you were autistic?"

Did you rip the band aid off now or make something up? Which would ,technically speaking, be less catastrophic in the long run?

"I uh- I really like you and I really didn't want you or the other's to look at me differently..."

wow, you liked him? miss ma'am you have saved this boy a world of anxiety and damn does he thank you for it

"Thanks for telling me... and y/n? I really like you to."

Awh fuck yeah, best possible execution of band aid-ripping-off ever

Donatello

Donnie wished he could act surprised when you finally told him

he really wanted to, it would've made you feel better for sure

but he sucked at lying and he didn't want to make you feel like he thought you were an idiot

because that was so far from the truth

after going through extensive research on Mikey's behalf when he suspected he had ADHD Donnie had stumbled across many different websites that discussed the symptoms and overlaps between both disorders

to make a long story short, Donnie knew that you had ASD and he was waiting for you to tell him

it would probably come off as rude if he brought it up in conversation right?

he didn't want to risk it

but that didn't stop him from keeping an eye on you and your behaviors

he was a man of science, of course he was going to analyze you

not in a weird way or anything, just as a curious sort of precaution

but the longer you were involved in the turtle's lives the more noticeable your stims and meltdowns got, Donnie did his best to cover for you without making you suspicious of him

eventually he'd come up with something that he hoped would come across as a friendly gesture and wouldn't set you off or scare you away

it was game night at the lair and you, as always, were perched on the arm of the sofa, a large grin plastered on your face

inside your head was exploding but you were masking it pretty well if you do say so yourself

but Donnie was, well... donnie was donnie

so when he noticed you starting to rock a little more visibly he removed his attention from commentating the game and grabbed a pair of headphones from the side table

you were beyond confused when he passed them to you but your face revealed everything

"They're noise cancelling, try them on."

holy shit it was like putting your head underwater, everything was muffled

not in the way normal headphones did, you quite literally couldn't hear anything at all, just a calm amount of nothing

you nearly started crying when you realized that Donnie had figured you out on his own

but you'd never been more relieved about anything in your life

Raphael

he wouldn't admit that he was mesmerized by your presence

you practically radiated calm

his complete opposite

it was his favorite thing about you, because despite your quiet disposition and calming aura you weren't afraid to call him out or rebut any of his insults

this was not something you expected him to appreciate nor was it something you thought would make you catch feelings

but damn if you didn't

he'd been sitting in on yours and Donnie's little experiment for an hour or so now, watching you both exchange quiet whispers and inside jokes that you always seemed to lag on

then you slipped up

not bad, nothing detrimental to the project, just the same mistake that you'd already made ten times over

you might as well have exploded

"Y'N, you just have to move thi-"

"I KNOW DONATELLO. I FUCKING KNOW AND I JUST CAN'T DO THIS BULLSHIT!"

you set everything down gently enough to avoid breaking it before turning and storming out of the lab, waving your hands like they were on fire

Raph and Donnie exchanged a look that sent the larger red turtle following after you

when you calmed yourself down enough to talk you kept your gaze locked on the wall, explaining that you couldn't make eye contact when you were upset

he might not be the smartest brother, but Raph's no dummy, he put those pieces together pretty quickly after you told him that one small detail

he wasn't upset that you didn't tell him and you'd personally never been more relieved

your heart nearly splattered into the stratosphere when you finally gace him your own explanation

"yeah, I like ya too."

you grinned so wide you were sure your face would split open and your entire body rocked side to side with excitement

he thought that was pretty adorable too

And he did stick around to offer a bit of support when you apologized to Donnie for screaming at him

Michaelangelo

to be frank it probably shouldn't have taken so long for Mikey to realize that you were autistic

the similarities between your own personality and his ADHD were so in sight it was near painful

it was his turn to make dinner that night and you'd made sure that you came over early to help him set up, you knew how side-tracked he'd get and you were the poster child for solid routine

what more perfect matchup existed?

trick question, there isn't one

you were on one side of the counter cutting vegetables and he was on the other throwing said vegetables into the mixing pot

the music was at an ungodly level of loud so your only means of communication were screaming over it

"MIKEY."

"WHA?"

"YOU GOT THE-"

"YEAH."

"AND THE-"

"UH HUH."

"COOL, HAVE YOU SEEN THE-"

"TONGS? NO, THE SKEWERS. YEAH, THEY'RE IN THE OTHER DRAWER."

"THANKS."

the two of you went about your previous tasks, thinking nothing of the conversation that had just taken place

at least until you'd begun washing your knife and cutting board

that's when Casey walked in, looking both perturbed and annoyed at the same time

"Alright, which one of you knows telepathy?"

Mikey exchanged a glance with you and you returned it with a raised eyebrow

"The hell you mean brah?"

he looked at the both of you like you were the ones that had grown four extra heads before speaking again

"You literally just had a conversation with like five words and somehow just knew what the other meant? What's up with that?"

you glanced at Mikey again

"Holy shit, did we?"

"I mean, not really. You used your hands."

now all three of you were confused but it quickly became two when Casey shook his head in defeat and left the room

"You know I think he's right."

he blinked first and your staring contest ended

"But you used your hands-"

"I got autism Mikey, one does not simply not use their hands as forms of speech."

"You're-"

"Yep."

was the silence laughing at you? could it do that? it was kinda rude

"Huh, that actually makes sense, that's not mean is it?"

you shook your head no

"You're just me but fast."

Mikey agreed with that, pestered you with a few more questions, and went back about working, as did you, you saw no reason to address it further

but your cheeks burned red

"Yo- Y/N that actually explains why everyone else thinks we're a thing."

you didn't know if you could choke on air or not but you did it anyways

"Are we?"

he gave you his signature grin

"If we are then Raph owes April a hundred bucks."

you returned his smile

"Oh this oughta be good."

I'd like to preface this by apologizing for my near three week absence. Life got crazy and my writer's block hopped on a train, went through a school zone, killed seven pedestrians, and committed tax fraud before tumbling off a cliff never to be seen again.

But on the bright side- I got my SAT scores back and started some scholarship applications. Super happy with that. School's out in a few weeks so I'll be able to write more (hopefully).

Anyways, I hope I got this one down okay. I may have hyper analyzed the request so I might be a little off. But I really enjoyed doing this one and I hope you like it!

-Mars 🌠

#tmnt bayverse #tmnt headcanons #tmnt x reader #askbox #ask response #writing requests #writing blog #writersblock #tmnt raphael #tmnt donatello #tmnt michelangelo #tmnt leonardo #tmnt 2014 #tmnt 2016

[vanillann]

double sided recipe card (pietro maximoff x reader)

a/n: hi, pietro is literally the love of my life so OF COURSE i’d do this!! also request are always open so don’t be scared to send an ask whenever!!

word count: 2.3k

“Has anyone seen Pietro?”

I swung around the kitchen of the compound, walking in to find Clint and Nat in a conversation about who knew what. They both smiled when they saw me but Clint's face dropped slightly when he realized my words.

“Why do you need Roadrunner?” Clint crossed his arm, leaning back on the kitchen island slightly.

“I have his physical and if he wants to go to the mission tomorrow,” I tried off, smiling at Clint when he rolled his eyes.

“I think he’s in Wanda’s room,” Nat pointed over her shoulder, patting my shoulder when I passed her.

I did the lightest jog to the evaluator, finding Wanda’s floor number and smashing the button. The folder played between my fingers, my eyes begging to look but I knew I’d get in trouble if I was caught on camera.

The smallest ding drew me from my stares, informing me I had made it to the correct floor. I skipped out lightly, smiling when I noticed Wanda's door slightly ajar, the slightest bit of laughter spilling out into the hallway. I didn’t think much of him in Wanda’s room, he tended to sit around everyones room beside his own.

I stepped closer to the door, my knuckles ready to knock but I stopped when I noticed a female voice laugh. I looked closer, noticing Pietro sat in front of the T.V. his back turned to me but his knees were pressed to his chest as he stared at the T.V.

“Pietro,” a little bit of a younger Wanda's face smiled from the screen, her giggles sounded the same as they do now as she looked up.

“I’m shocked you didn’t see it coming,” Pietro's voice sounded around the room, the entire video was starting to catch up. Wanda mentioned she had a few older home videos in her room, she didn’t watch them but she never had to heart to watch them.

“I’ll kill you.”

Pietro suddenly slammed his hand on the remote, doing his best to make the video stop but the laughter never stopped. He held in the air, ready to throw it at the T.V. before my feet took off. I don’t know how I made it to his side so fast, my hand wrapping around the remote as I placed my other hand on his back.

“Hey,” my voice was soft as I got his hand to fall, he looked shocked for a second and I realized he probably was upset. I was watching but that didn’t matter as he curled closer to me. His hands pulled at the overshirt hoodie that clung to my frame, his face pulling closer.

He didn’t cry, just took angry breaths and held himself closer to me. By the time dinner rolled around he had drifted off, his hands lose on my shirt as I played with the edge of the folder.

“Piet-” Wanda knocked lightly on the door, a little smile on her face before she spotted us on the floor.

“Hey Wanda,” I spoke softly, trying to get his hand off so I could speak away from my ear, making sure I didn’t wake him. Wanda waited a second, most likely reading my mind for a second before she gave a sad smile.

“The home video?”

I just nodded, following her from her own room to the kitchen, where I could smell the food flooding the building.

“He does alot of bottling up, with the anniversary of mother birth-” Wanda trailed off, upset as she spoke about her poor mother.

“When’s her birthday?”

“Tomorrow,” Wanda shrugged, both of us stepping foot in the elevator.

“During the mission? I’m so sorry, I can lie to Tony and tell him you aren’t clear-”

“Don’t worry about it (Y/N), it’ll be good not to think about it.” Wanda smiled lightly, looping her arm in mine as she leaned on me slightly.

“Thank you, for being there for him.

“Of course, you know I care about you both.” The door slid open, the smell even stronger as we heard Steve’s laugh fill the compound.

“Care isn’t the word I’d use,” her accent was thicker as she rolled her eyes at me, the hint of a smirk on her lips as we walked closer to the kitchen. I pinched her side, laughing when she jumped slightly.

Once we made it to the kitchen the smell well smashed into my system, walking over to look down at the soup that was lightly boiling.

“It’s a Saliva meal,” Wanda handed me a bowl, holding one in her own hand while she waited for me to hurry up.

“Should I wake Pietro? He wouldn’t want to miss this-“

“I’ll make it again, for now he should rest.” Wanda held my arm, smiling at my concern for her brother as I gently picked up the ladle and became pouring my own soup in the bowl. I watched the light brown broth pour into the bowl and suddenly I knew exactly what I had to do.

“Wanda, would you leave the recipe card out for this?”

I stumbled into the kitchen, the reusable bag full of different ingredients practically falling from the bag.

“Aren’t you glad you aren’t an Avenger,” I heard Pepper’s soft voice from behind me, her giggles coming from the doorway. I only shrugged, looking down gloomy as the ingredients that sat over the island.

“What are you making?” I felt her presence beside me now, looking over the food beside me. I didn’t say a word, holding up the recipe card Wanda had thankfully left out.

“This is what we had last night,” Pepper noticed, looking at the side of my face with the smallest smirk ever across it.

“I’m making it for Pietro for when they get back, he didn’t get any last night.”

Pepper bumped my shoulder, my eyes rolling in the back of my head before I reached for a tomato. I let it roll around in my hand a few times, looking down at the card Pepper had placed back down.

“You don’t know what you're doing?”

“Nope,” I popped the “p”, walking around the island to grab one of the pots and filling it up with water. I placed it on the stove, staring at it for a little bit as if waiting for something to happen.

“Would you like help?”

I probably should say yes, I was trying to make this soup when I should barely make a bowl of cereal. Maybe soup was one of the easier foods to make but I would spend half the time as a few words still in Russian on the card.

“I’ve got it don’t worry,” I brushed her off, simply because I was hoping if I could pull this off alone he would be proud of me. I was hoping he’d make a smartass comment with that little smirk and mention that I did a great job.

“Okay, let me know if you need help. I’m always happy to do so for you and Wanda, just not Tony.” I laughed slightly at her sarcasm, waving over my shoulder as I heard her light footsteps leave the kitchen.

I finally reached out and turned the burner on, smiling when I heard the small click signaling it was in fact on and ready to begin boiling the water. I turned back to the island, picking at the index card. I assumed it was a family recipe but the handwriting and the older terms were used within the recipe.

As I finally placed the tomato on the cutting board, a large knife in hand I thought things were falling into place.

I was in fact, wrong.

I panicked when I heard the elevator open, hearing a light noise of voices enter the floor. I couldn’t be everyone as they weren't as loud and also with how late it was. Clint wasn’t going to hang around with everyone at 2:12 in the morning.

“Just go in the kitchen,” I heard a light female voice speak, my panic rising as I realized Pietro was in fact home and probably seconds away from walking in the kitchen.

I hid my bandage hand behind my back, trying to block the few things I managed to chop before I attacked my own hand with it by accident.

“Why?” His accent was thick with sleep, which made a little smile dance across my lips. I understood why Nat was teaching them to lose the accent for safety reasons but I loved the way they spoke with it.

“Just do,” I saw the door slightly move, knowing someone was going to walk in soon and part of me panicked. I was more worried about Pepper finding me like this, she would have my head if she saw this and I didn’t let her help.

“Fine fine,” I watched him finally walk into the kitchen, lucky alone, as he looked around it for a second. When his eyes spotted me against the counter he smiled but it quickly fell when he spotted the mess behind me.

“(Y/N)?”

“Pietro?” I spoke with nerves. my body on high alert.

“What’s this?” He looked down at the island, his eyes spotting the recipe card I had forgotten to put away. His finger picked it up, a sad smile on his lips before he even read the words on the card.

“My mothers,” his voice sounded far away, as if for a second he was back home before the bomb, before they lost everything but each other.

“Wanda let me use it,” I pointed with my unharmed hand, trying my best to make him comfortable with the conversation.

“She told you?”

“Just a few details,’ I brushed off, my eyes suddenly looking everywhere but him as I wanted to leave the kitchen and run into my own room. I had already ruined the meal, let's not ruin a whole friendship.

“You told me you couldn’t cook?”

I laughed at the memory, I completely forgot about the time I told him about Bruce’s birthday. Thor and I thought making a cake was a great idea but it ended up with a weird green blob. I was much younger then sure, but it definitely showed my abilities with making any sort of food.

“You remember that story?”

“I remember all your stories, as you do mine.” I finally stopped looking at the floor, looking up at him as he titled his head at me. His arms were crossed on the island but his under eye bags stood out against the harsh light of the kitchen. The natural light was long gone and it was only the moon that bought light from the outside.

“You should probably get to bed,” I wasn’t thinking straight as I walked forward and lightly pushed open the door for him. I high when my fresh cut hand hit the wooden door slightly too hard.

Even as tired as he was, Pietro was at my side in milliseconds, looking over my hand with the awkward bandage across it.

“What did you do?” I ignored the little pet name, trying to pull my hand from his grip.

“I’m really bad at cutting potatoes,” I shrugged, the awkward smile making its way across my lips. He said nothing, looking up at me with a disapproving look.

“You must be more careful,” he looked at it a little longer but eventually let my hand fall to my side as he smiled slightly at me.

The silence felt like it lasted forever, like it would never end, but it eventually did when he spoke.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t exactly make it,” I pointed to the brown sad water with nothing else in it. I didn’t make it far before things started going bad. Pietro frowned at me, speeding around the kitchen quickly before he stood in front of me.

A bowl was held in his hand, the brown water now had a few of the vegetables floating around in it, it looked much better but still not what Wanda made last night.

“I don’t know what you mean, I have it right here.” He held a spoonful up, taking a wide bite. I could tell it wasn’t what he thought but he didn’t look like he was going to be sick.

“It’s not your mothers recipe,” I looked up at him, trying my best not a smile at his little pout every time I said something.

“No, it’s your own.” He placed the bowl down, flipping the index card around and grabbing a pen that stayed in the kitchen for any reason. I panicked when I saw him start writing on it, my hand shooting out to stop him but he just quickly moved to the otherside of the island.

“That was your mother Pietro!”

“Now it’s your and my mothers! Two of my favorites on one card, don’t tell Wanda that,” he pointed at me with the last part, his smirk painted across his face making me feel little butterflies in my stomach.

I watched him write my name across the top with the ingredients he saw I had used. Once he was down he slid it across the table, smiling when I laughed at the title.

“(Y/N)’s Happy Mistake.”

“Yes, it’s my personal favorite,” he smiled, my own growing wider as the seconds went on with his looking at me like that.

“Thank you.”

“I should be thanking you, for everything,” he walked slowly, for the first time, around the island. He leaned beside me, his arm touching my own. I let my head rest there, smiling when I felt him leave a gentle kiss on my crown.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Anything Pietro,” I felt myself lean closer to him. I knew we would have to talk about this feeling in the morning, but we were both too tired to care for now.

“There aren’t any potatoes in my mothers’ soup.”

join the taglist!!

permanent taglist:

@kittykylax​ @itstaylorcale @head-over-heart @marvel-rhapsody @accioxtina @always-spaced-out @carnations-red @onetoomanyfilms

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#pietro maximoff x reader #pietro maximoff x y/n #marvel x reader

[thatsgay-writes]

Catra x twin!sister reader where reader travels in alot of planets to find her sister and when she landed on etheria she explored the whispering woods and found melog, with their help she found glimmer and she led her to her castle and she finally met her sister. Catra wasn't pleased about it thinking that her family abounded her she just pushes reader away and goes to her room. Reader stays and went to deal with catra. They talked (mostly arguing) and in the end catra and reader hugs and they became very dear friends.

(I'm basically making you a nicer version of Catra with super girl powers (which you don't use in the story) and Lena Luthor as your wife because why not. I am also putting everyone in their early to late 20s... I also forgot to add Melog :( sorry.)

"Space log, day... 2000?" You mumble as you speak into the recorder on your ship. "It's been... 4 years since my son was born. 8 years since my people finally fully integrated with the civilization of our sister planet. 10 years since I renounced my royal title. 12 years since I met the love of my life. 16 years since my home world was destroyed by the Horde and my parents were killed. And... 24 years since I have last seen my baby sister." You breath out, having lost hope after so many years of things going wrong. "Lena and Madden have stayed on the planet Oa while I explore this last planet. It appeared almost 2 years ago and was the last place the Horde had ever been. Who or whatever is on the planet must be powerful." "This... This will be the final planet I explore. I have no hope of seeing my sister again." God you were so tired of the disappointment you felt every time you couldn't find your sister. "Happy 26th birthday." You mumble out as you get closer to the new planet. "End log."

---

"This is spaceship Kr 97. Requesting permission to land. I repeat requesting permission to land." You spoke into your radio, hoping to hear anything back. Maybe this planet didn't have the technology yet for radios? "If anyone can hear me. My name is Y/n and I come in peace. I will be landing my ship on your planet and will wait 2 days before exploring on my own." You say into your radio before putting it back where it had been hanging and controlling your ship into the planets atmosphere. It was a little bit of a bumpy landing but you landed your ship just fine on the outskirts of what seemed to be a forest. You set a 48 hour alarm on your phone. You weren't sure how the people or creatures of the planet told time, so you just stuck with what you knew. It had kept you alive so far anyways.

"Alrighty." You say to yourself as you step off of your ship. You take a deep breath as you feel the yellow sun power you up. "48 hours, let's get to work."

---

You spent the next two days cleaning up in and around your spaceship, setting up a camp, and watching how the forest worked so you knew what you could eat and what you couldn't. You had been sitting on the ground relaxing when you hear your timer go off. You click the loud noise off and stand up, grabbing the bag you had prepared. While learning the forest, you had seen some villages that seemingly lead towards somewhere and you had decided that the best course of action was to hop from village to village to see if their was a kingdom or something of that nature that you could get into contact with. You just hoped everyone was nice and that this wouldn't be a hard planet to navigate.

---

The first town you enter seems to be a farming village. You can tell because you had to walk through fields and saw, what you assume, were the livestock on the planet. You stood behind some trees for a while as you assessed how the villagers acted. You watched as kids ran around playing with their friends, shopkeepers and homeowners leaving their windows open in the nice weather, clearly not scared of being robbed. You decide that it's safe enough to enter and you have your powers to back you up incase things go wrong. It was weird because the planet had 3 moons and only 1 sun, usually planets had the suns out number moons but it was enough. You fix your cloak over your ears and tuck them back so they wouldn't be noticeable or a defining characteristic if things went sideways.

You walk slowly through the village, having expected to get some attention from your large black robe. And you do get some curious looks but it's mainly all friendly smiles. You are almost halfway through the village, aiming to enter one of the shops and ask around, when a something hits your leg. You look down and see a ball a few inches in front of your foot. You pick it up, making sure to retract your claws, and hold it out to the toddler who was staring at you and his ball. "Here you go." You say to him as you hold the ball out and shake it a little so his attention goes to it. He waddles up to you and takes the ball from you. He stares at it for a few seconds before making motions with his hands, wanting you to hold him.

Without hesitating, you pick him up and hold him close to your chest. "Where is your mother, kitten?" You ask him as he reaches up to play with your ear that were still under your hood. "Kitty!" He squeals as he knocks the hood off your head and you hear an audible gasp from behind you. "Oh my gosh, Catra I am so sorry! We didn't think you were visiting till next week. We would have prepared a feast for you and the rest of the princesses." You turn around and see an elderly looking man, who's eyes widen at the sight of you. "Have you gotten taller and cut your hair again?" He asks confused. You give him a small smile, "I'm sorry but I'm not this Catra you speak of. Are you saying there is someone similar looking to me on your planet?" You ask and the man gives you a weird look when you call it his planet but slowly nods his head. You feel hope for the first time in years and eagerly ask the man if you could stay near the town till she came next week. He gave you a bit of a weird look, not sure who you were now and unsure of your intentions, even though your reaction was positive. "Sure."

---

After returning the toddler to his mother, you basically sprinted back to your ship in excitement. "Lena! Lena!" You shout happily into the radio on your ship. Time is a little different on the planet as the sun was just starting to set but it would already be completely dark on Oa. But by your clock it was only 9, so Lena and Madden should still be awake. "Y/n?" You hear your name crackle through the radio and a smile appears on your face. "Lena you'll never believe it! There is someone on this planet that supposedly looks just like me and vice versa!" You say into the radio, feeling like a kid on Nova day. "I think it's her... I hope its her." You say as you image seeing your sister again for the first time in 24 years. "I'm so happy for you y/n! We will start making preparations to join you soon." You bite your lip in thought. "Maybe you should wait... I just wouldn't want to overwhelm her, you know?" You can almost hear Lena nodding on the other end of the phone. "That makes sense, we'll plan to leave by the end of the week if everything goes well."

"Geez I love you so much." You mumble with a wide grin. "And Madden too. Is he still up?" "No he fell asleep a few minutes before you radioed, he spent all day playing." "Oh well, tell him I love him and I'll radio back in the morning." "Okay, bye." "Bye."

---

"We need to be very careful about this." Glimmer says as she and the best friend squad enter the village who sent a letter the day before about someone who looked like Catra in their village. "We already knew that there were other people out there but as we already know not all of them are friendly." Catra walks next to Adora, numbly nodding along. Could this be it? Could she finally learn where she came from? Everyone else in the Horde had been born into it and Adora had come through a portal but no one really knew where Catra was from. "Are you okay?" Adora asked as she squeezed Catra's hand, nervous at how silent her girlfriend was. Catra just mutely nods back.

---

"This planet is simply marvelous!" The group hears you laugh out after being greeted by the village leader. "They look almost just like you Catra." Bow comments as they watch your tall figure move around as you play with the kids of the village and let them climb all over you. "Y/n!" You hear someone call your name and turn to see the village leader standing with a group of people and... Catra. They watch as you freeze and let your mouth fall open in shock. You set the kids down and encourage them to go play together. You walk towards the group with a smile. You go down the line of friends shaking their hands and introducing yourself, ignoring their looks of surprise, before finally reaching Catra. "Wow..." You breathe out in absolute awe. You can feel your eyes get misty the longer you stare at her. "You look so much like mom." You say with a watery laugh that completely sets Catra off.

"Who are you?" She asks as she pushes her finger into your chest making you take a step back. "What? Catra, I'm your sibling. I thought the similarities would make that clear." She glares at you and you can feel the whole village watching the interaction. "Just because we look similar doesn't mean anything." You move quickly and grab her right hand and hold it up next to your left one, both birthmarks showing.

You watch as Catra freezes. Her face and body come to a complete stop as her eyes flicker between the identical birthmarks and your face. "I know you must have questions and I do too. But I have spent the last 8 years going all across the galaxy looking for you and right now all I want is a hug... Please?" You get out as you let go of Catra's hand only for her to push you away one last time and storm into a temporary tent that had been set up for the best friend squad.

You take a second to take a breath before following after her. "I wouldn't follow after her, she needs time to cool down." A blonde, Adora, said to you as she placed a hand on your should to stop you. "I've dealt with people with anger issues before." You say as you brush her hand off. "I know how to handle this." You say and walk towards the tent again, not giving anyone a chance to stop you.

---

"You can't hide away in here sister." You say as you enter the tent, dodging a pillow that was thrown at your head. "Don't call me that." She mumbled angrily. "And why not, you are my sister are you not? I mean everyone saw the birth mark." Catra stands up angrily. "If you were my sister, you would have spent longer than 8 years looking for me! And how can you even compare me to this "mom" that I know absolutely nothing about!? Where are they anyways, huh? Where's great old mom and dad that I have spent the last 25 years not knowing about!" She unloads onto you and your feel your heartbreak at how disheveled she looked. You shouldn't have assumed everything would be smiles and laughs when the two of you first met.

"26." "Huh?" "You're... We're 26. Our birthday was 2 days ago." "So I don't even know my own birthday!" Catra explodes. "Get out." She says suddenly and quietly. "What?" "I said get out." She repeats and you shake your head at her. "I'm not leaving." You watch as Catra's hair stand up. "I am giving you one last warning, get out now or I will do something I might not regret." You cross your arms and stare her down. "I have spent the last 8 years planet hopping with my family looking for you. I. Am. Not. Leaving."

Catra jumps at you suddenly, attempting to scratch, hit, kick, do anything to make you leave the tent. Instead of doing what she wanted, you just wrapped her in a tight hug and sat on the ground. You stay like that for a while, her trying to hold back sobs and angry tears before finally letting go and you just rubbing circles on her back to try and calm her down. "Why?" Is all she says after almost an hour of being in that position. "Why what?" "Why now?" You let out a sad sigh at her question. "Mom and Dad are dead, killed by the Horde Prime and his followers when I was 10." You can feel Catra flinch at how blunt you were and the fact that she had worked for the Horde only a few years ago. "You had already been missing for 8 years at that point, multiple search teams being sent out but none could find you." You squeeze Catra tighter as you feel yourself relive all the grief that you carried for the past 16 years.

"I managed to get most of our people off the planet and to our sister planet before the Horde completely destroyed everything. Got everyone situated on that planet, met the love of my life, renounced my claim to any throne, and finally I started looking for you." It's silent for a few minutes as Catra absorbed everything you said. "So..." You asked as you wiped your tears off your face. "What about you?"

You and Catra spent the rest of the night and next day sharing stories about your childhood and how differently but similar the two of you had grown up. You even got to tease her about Adora and the fact that you were, technically, her older sister by 2 minutes. You were also very excited when you got to show Catra around the ship you had taken to get to Etheria.

---

"So I am guessing everything went well?" Lena asked over the radio after you finally called her about coming to Etheria. "It was a little rocky at the beginning but we smoothed things over... She's great Lena, you guys are gonna love each other." You say with a giant smile on your face as you look at Catra who was relaxing in the copilot seat next to you.

#Catra x reader #x reader #spop #spop x reader #she ra and the princess of power fanart #she ra and the princesses of power x reader #platonic

[god1ngs]

━‎ second chance

synopsis; dream offers you a deal

contains; manipulation, fighting, war, guilt tripping, death threats

prolouge + 2.1k wc

note; wow this was really long, but i hope you enjoy the prologue of seven days! also i'm changing the update schedule to every wednesday because im impatient lmao

seven days masterlist ; masterlist ; next part

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎everyone was fighting. there was no time to think as people charged into battle, screaming echoing off trees and shaking the leaves. the war went on, the violence unceasing between the dream smp and l'manberg. this was the worst possible outcome.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you never liked war, even if you were known for starting chaos, this wasn't the type of chaos you wanted nor needed. l'manberg was still fragile, still in a new and weakened state, having not been built too long ago. war would only tear it down.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎before you joined l'manberg, you and dream were close. really close. the two of you could be seen everywhere and, without a doubt, were two of the closest people on the server. and yet the two of you had drifted apart before everyone else.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it started when dream became more power hungry, demanding l'manberg to be tore down simply for his own tyrannical reasons. you noticed, the change in his attitude evident, yet didn't say anything. it didn't stop dream from lashing out at you and even exiling you though.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was too late however, even by then. you were already too entangled with dream, and he knew it.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't spoke to dream since your exile. you stayed in the walls of l'manberg, usually only speaking to wilbur or tommy. you were more lonely. dream was, in a sense, all you had. he was the one person you talked to and the one who seemed to care about you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎sure, you spoke to george and sapnap, but they weren't dream. dream was the one you favored, despite saying you liked them all equally. that was clear, no matter how much you insisted you didn't.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was even more clear when dream began speaking.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎dream, sapnap, and george stood outside the towering walls of l'manberg. they had tnt and weapons that were far greater than your own. they were intimidating, exactly as they had planned. they stopped the violence for a moment, pausing when dream raised a hand up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"i want to speak to [name]."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was as if time had stopped. you were stood behind wilbur, but the only person you could see was dream. an arm was placed in front of you, wilbur's, and he said something. but you weren't listening, too caught up in the way dream was staring at you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎was he staring at you? you couldn't tell with his mask on.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you came back to your senses, looking up at wilbur. you had always been one of the loud ones of l'manberg, but you stayed quiet as he talked to dream. you heard your name amongst his words, but couldn't decipher what he was saying.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎then it happened.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎within seconds everything was gone. ash scattered across the once green grass and smoke rising in the air. it happened all so quickly. you had ash in your hair and there were bits of stone and wood laying around. you all ran to the caravan, trying not to get caught in any more flying debris.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎glass crunched beneath your feet as you walked in the caravan. part of it was gone and the glass panes had been broken. it was evident how much destruction had been done by dream. so why were you still thinking about him?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't noticed, but your ears were ringing. you were lightheaded and there was blood on your once clean uniform. "i consider this a win." wilbur said, ever so confident. it was refreshing to see his confidence still in tact. it reminded you of dream.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you stood beside the caravan now, the destruction of your home creating a sinking feelinf in your chest. however, it was gone once wilbur stood on top of the vehicle. he wrote the declaration of independence, the giggles from you and your comrades filling the air.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was a change of heart from the war that ended only minutes ago.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎afterwards, you all got patched up. wilbur had been bandaging your hand, having got shards of class from the windows of the caravan stuck in it, when he suddenly sighed. "[name]." he said firmly, looking at you. had you done something?

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"did you hear what dream said today?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎it was all a blur, the loud sounds of war and your own thoughts had drowned out the sound of anything else. "no? what did he say?" you asked, something arising in your chest. you couldn't tell what it was, but there was a familiar sense of giddiness. you were giddy to know what dream had said, willing to be hooked on every syllable coming from him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he only shook his head, wrapping your hand. "nothing. just something about how he wanted to talk to you." he answered, not noticing the way you got somewhat upset. you hummed, nodding your head before he turned to the night sky. it was late, much later than you were supposed to be up.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎everyone else had already been asleep, having been nursed hours ago, but you had only just noticed the shards of glass in your hand. you didn't know how the pain had left you unaffected, but dream had always told you how strong you were.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"you should go to bed," wilbur murmured after a moment of silence. "it's late and we have things to do tomorrow." you nodded quietly, unaware of the tired look on the mans face. you bid your goodnights, and with that, you went back to your home.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you had been trying to go to sleep for hours. you couldn't seem to stay still enough to go to sleep. perhaps you still had energy from earlier. you sat up, frowning as you glanced out of your window. the grass, once lush and green, was now tainted with the aftermath of war.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎maybe a walk would help.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you got a knife, a simple form of protection in case anyone tried to attack you. you walked out of your house, careful to be quiet to not wake any of the others. you hoped you were the only one having sleeping problems.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you found yourself wandering out of the walls of l'manberg, sitting beside a lake. it was peaceful, the gentle glow of the moonlight reflecting off the water. it was silent, the crickets and the sway of the leaves being the only noise around.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎or so you thought.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you hadn't even heard anyone come behind you. you were alone, weren't you? it appears not. "i haven't seen you in a while." his voice cut through the peaceful atmosphere, bringing dread and longing all at once.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you turned to look back at dream, the smile mask haunting and causing you a sense of peace at the same time. your mouth ran dry, eyes wide as you looked up at him. this was the first time you two have talked in months.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you nodded in agreement to his words, wondering if you should be scared or excited of the man. you wanted to feel nervousness, to be put off by his sudden appearance, but all that came was the relief of finally being able to talk to him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"not talking, huh? do you even miss me?" he asked, taking a seat beside you. you panicked, frantically trying to tell him that you had missed him, but he only laughed in your face. "calm down," he teased, the grin in his voice calming you down. "you always overreact at every little thing."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you apologized sheepishly, embarrassment tickling you. he sighed, leaning back on his palms as he stared at the moonlight. was he relaxed? "you know, i tried to talk to you earlier. in front if l'manberg. did you not hear me?" he turned to look at you, tilting his had quizzically.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you shook your head, rubbing at your arm. "no, i didn't. i'm sorry. it was really loud then." you explained, being comforted as he put a hand on yours. "it's alright. just make sure you listen for me next time okay?" his grip got tighter at his words, a passive aggressiveness punctuating them.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎you nodded quietly, his iron grip alleviating at your movement. silence washed over you two again, your mouth opening and closing at the words you wanted to say but didn't know how to. it changed once he pulled you closer to him.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"do you know why i exiled you, [name]?" he asked. you were confused, brows furrowing as you shook your head. "no .. why did you exile me, dream?" you asked, hesitant but willing to get the answer. he hadn't told you what he had exiled you for, having only told you he was done with you and to get out of his sight.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎his hand left yours, instead resting on your chin and tilting your head to look up at him. he was much more intimidating with the moonlight shining behind him, yet looked like an angel all the same. once more, his grip tightened on your chin. you winced, knowing there would be a mark there.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"you threatened my power. you were the one thing holding me back from doing what's necessary. exiling you was the only way i could make sure you wouldn't get in my way," dream seethed, snarling beneath his mask. he snatched your face closer to his, your eyes wide with confusion and fear. "but you're threatening my control again."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he let you go, you grabbing your chin out of pain and stammering at him. he reached for his sword, bringing it out of its sheath and pointing it at you. you were vulnerable, only having a knife that you couldn't possibly reach for with him keeping his eyes on you, not without risking your safety.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"killing you in the only way i can make sure you don't hold me back anymore."

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he raised his sword, and your life flashed before your eyes. you begged. you pleaded for mercy, tears welling in your eyes and your hands covering your head. "please dream!" you sobbed, sniffling as you begged him to spare your life. "i won't get in your way anymore, i swear! i'm sorry!"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎your life should have been over with, but he stopped. he tilted his head down at you, his sword still pointing at your chest. you whimpered, tears streaming down your face. you couldn't even feel the embarrassment of it with all the fear weighing you down.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he weighed his options, thinking for a moment. unbeknown to you, he grinned beneath his mask. he would play with you for a little while longer. "alright." he said, amusement coating his tone. he tilted your chin up with the end of his sword, the blade nearly caressing your neck. it scared you, how easily dream would be able to kill you.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎dream almosted pitied how pathetic you were.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"i'll give you seven days. a week for you to say goodbye to everyone, and when those seven days are over, you come right here, at this time, and you get to convince me to either spare your life a second time or i kill you. understand?"

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎the joy in his voice, the raw delight, terrified you. you nodded frantically, not passing up on a chance to have your life spared. your mind was already racing with thoughts to convince him to spare your life.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"if you try to go against me in any way possible within this week, i'll kill you in front of your friends instead. do we have a deal?" he put his sword away, putting his hand out towards you. you hesitated, terrified to touch him. yet he only insisted, shakily shaking his hand.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎he snatched you towards him again, his tight grip on your hand making it ache. you swallowed with nervousness, catching a glimpse of his wide grin underneath his mask. all the more reason to be terrified of dream.

‎ ‎ ‎ ‎ ‎"don't disappoint me."

taglist,

━‎ ‎ ‎@paradigmax ; @pachowpachowbucket ; @acatstalkingyou ; @angelicaschuyler-church ; @saucey-kneecapzz42020 ; @piano-boo ; @i-need-hugs ; @strawbrinkofdeath ; @halloweenpoison13

#dream smp x reader #dream smp x you #dream smp x y/n #mcyt x you #mcyt x reader #dream x reader #dream imagine #wilbur soot x reader #wilbur soot x y/n #various x reader #dream smp #mcyts #( ♡ ) + bones writes #( ♡ ) + seven days

[thirstyforcharacters]

Tequila (Bucky Barnes x Reader)

Summary: Every person has a soulmate. When your soulmate experiences pain, so do you, and any bruises, scars, or other markings that they get appear on your skin. Or, the story of how aliens attacking Las Vegas was the best thing to ever happen to you.

Notes: Hello! I already did a very similar soulmate AU for Sam Wilson (which you can read here), but I love soulmate AU’s so much that I decided to do one for Bucky, too! Hopefully, I made them different enough that they don’t seem too repetitive. Did I write this while I was supposed to be watching a documentary on Bach for music history? Maybe. But I think this was a much better use of my time. Hope you enjoy! (no y/n, no pronouns)

Warnings: canon typical violence, alien invasion, blood (not too much tho), car crash

WC: 1.9 k

For all of your life, you couldn’t feel your left arm.

When you started to crawl, your parents noticed you only used your right arm to pull yourself forward while your left would hang limply at your side. Your parents brought you to the doctor, deeply concerned, but when she examined your arm, she found nothing wrong. No x-rays showed broken or deformed bones, and no MRI’s showed any problems in the brain. By all medical standards, you should be able to move your left arm. You just couldn’t. Everyone hoped that it would go away, but to their chagrin, it remained unmoving throughout your childhood. You obviously knew your arm was there since you could clearly see it, but you couldn’t feel the nerve endings inside it. When you poked your arm with your other finger, you felt absolutely nothing. And weirdly enough, your family said it was always cold to the touch, no matter how warm the rest of your body was.

You had a feeling that it had something to do with your soulmate, and when you reached adulthood (specifically around 24), you were almost positive that was the reason. You often woke up with random injuries that you knew you didn’t give yourself. Gunshot wounds, deep slashes, broken bones, and large bruises were commonly branded on your skin. You were positive that if your soulmate was getting shot at every other night, then they almost definitely had some sort of damage done to their arm that affected your own. But if they had had this condition since you were born, how old were they? That was always a question that kind of weirded you out. You didn’t particularly want to be “meant to be” with some wrinkly, old person! Especially if they were somehow getting themselves into this much trouble. And now that you thought about it, none of these injuries were on your (or their) left arm. How could that be if they’ve literally been hurt everywhere else on their body?

When you weren’t in and out of the hospital with randomly serious injuries, you were quite busy cooking up a storm in Turkey, Tacos, and Tequila, your restaurant in Las Vegas. You and your best friend, Nicolás, had opened it three years ago; you were the head chef and he ran the business side of things. The two of you had talked about opening a restaurant together since you were teenagers, so both of you had moved to Vegas together after college/culinary school. Together, you found that you were an unstoppable team, and within a year of opening, you were one of the most popular restaurants throughout all of Vegas! Most times, because you were so busy, your soulmate problem stayed in the back of your mind. But every once in a while, a bruise would appear on your eye or a large cut down the length of your leg, and you would be reminded again.

Nic, as you called him, already found his soulmate. Oliver had moved in with you a year ago, and joined you side by side in the kitchen. You became almost as close with him as you had with Nic. They were adorable together, and never made you feel like the third wheel. There were some times, though, where you found yourself a little bit jealous that they had found each other so quickly, and that neither of them had ever suddenly started bleeding all over a nearly complete order of mango fish tacos.

Whenever you got a little down about it, Nic would always clap you on the shoulder and say, “You’ll find them someday. And when you do, break their nose. They deserve it for the hell they’re accidentally putting you through.”

It never failed to make you laugh. You had half a mind to do just that when you met the love of your life. You just didn’t know when that would be.

On yet another hot and dry Nevada night, you were closing up at the restaurant (or morning, you supposed, since it was nearly 1 am). Nic, Oliver, and your other employees had gone home already, so it was only you that remained. You turned off the lights and locked the door. You pushed your way through the drunken crowds and tourists on the street and made your way to your car. As you were opening the door, you could hear gasps of shock coming from the crowd of people roaming the streets. You looked up and saw an eerie flash of green across the sky, and a strange-looking, portal appeared in the sky! Shrieks of fear permeated the air as grotesque, reptilian creatures began spilling from the portal.

Frantically, you flung yourself into your car and turned over the engine, hoping to escape the clutches of these aliens. Though your apartment was in the opposite direction of the portal, as per usual, there was a decent amount of traffic, so you weren’t sure how good your chances were. But you figured you’d at least be safer in your car than exposed outside of it.

You were able to pull into traffic and weave through it fairly well, making good use of the side streets that only the locals knew about. But the creatures were overtaking the city faster than you could drive. You knew you didn’t have long before they caught up with you.

Just when that thought popped into your head, a blinding flash of light appeared in your rearview mirror. A loud bang, almost like a cannon, sounded, and through your mirror, you saw a truck hurtling toward you at breakneck speed! You attempted to swerve out of the way, but the truck crashed into your car, shoving it against a street light! The driver’s side of your car crumpled against the lamppost, and the glass in your window shattered at the contact. You attempted to cover your face with your hands, but a piece of glass still managed to make a pretty deep cut above your left eye, as well as a few pieces of shrapnel sinking into your legs. The whiplash from the contact damaged your neck as well; pain spread throughout your neck and back. All you could do was sob in agony. You had never felt this much pain in your life.

Your hand was trembling as you unbuckled your seatbelt, but you found yourself unable to leave your car! The driver’s side door was crushed, the truck was smushed against your passenger door, and there was no way you would be able to climb out of the backseat, nor lift yourself out of the broken window with the injuries you sustained. You were trapped. You waited for a little bit, until some of the chaos surrounding you died down; even in your damaged state, you knew that no one would be able to hear you even if you screamed for help as loudly as you could.

You strained your ears, and were able to hear gunfire, commands being shouted, and the hissing of these reptilian creatures. Eventually, instead of the noise of a battle, you could hear voices trying to dig people out of the rubble. Somehow, they sounded familiar, but you couldn’t place how. Well, if they were rescuing people, you figured they were your only chance.

“Help,” you screamed, “I’m trapped in my car! Please help me!”

You heard footsteps sprinting in your direction and a voice call, “Don’t worry, we’ll get you out of there!”

You watched in amazement as the truck on your passenger’s side was surrounded by a glowing, red presence, and moved out of the way! It had to be the Avengers! Who else would be able to do something that crazy? You were brought out of your thoughts by your car being dragged away from the pole, making you jump. A face popped up in your shattered window. He was gorgeous; bright, blue eyes, short, chestnut hair, and a warm smile. He took hold of the broken door and wrenched it from its fastenings.

“Hi. My name is Bucky Barnes. This is Wanda Maximoff,” the man said, gesturing back to a woman wearing scarlet, “we’re going to get you out of here, okay?”

“Okay,” you replied, relieved, “thank you so much!”

He smiled again, “Oh, it’s no problem. You should probably stay there until the EMT’s get here. Moving might make your injuries even worse.”

You nodded slightly in reply, but the pull in your neck made you groan in pain.

He winced, “Try not to move that, either. You may not be bleeding there, but I don’t want you to hurt yourself.”

“Okay.”

“Here, let me help you with that. I can at least stop the bleeding,” he offered, gesturing to your forehead and leg.

“Oh, thank you!” you answered.

He nodded and reached for some bandages he had in his jacket with his metal arm. His left arm. Suddenly, you noticed things you didn’t notice before. He also had a large cut above his left eye, in the same spot as your injury. It wasn’t bleeding, though, perhaps because of his enhancements. You noticed him moving his neck in a circular motion, seemingly to stretch it out. He had holes in his pants and small puncture wounds on his legs, in the same spots where glass was sticking out of you. Again, though, they were already healing. Could that be why you had never felt your arm before? Because your soulmate’s was metal? It would make complete sense.

“Are you okay?”

You didn’t even realize you had zoned out until Bucky addressed you. He was gently cleaning the wound on your forehead.

“Yes,” you whispered, fixated on the wound on his forehead.

His eyebrow raised, “Are you sure? You seem a little out of it.”

“I-I’m fine. I just noticed something kind of strange. I think the cut on your forehead matches mine.”

He touched his forehead, “Oh, yeah, I forgot about that with the adrenaline and everything. Only got it maybe 20 minutes ago.”

“That’s when my car crashed. And you’re having neck pain, like me,” you murmured, “and your arm is metal. I’ve never been able to feel my arm.”

His eyes widened, “Really? You think we’re meant to be?”

“Maybe,” you replied.

He nodded, “It seems likely. What’s your name?”

You gave him your name and he smiled again.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a century.”

You giggled softly, “I guess that explains why I’ve been experiencing this since I was born. I was afraid you’d be gross and wrinkly.”

He chuckled, “Well, hopefully you don’t think I’m either of those things.”

“Definitely not.”

The EMT’s arrived then. Bucky stepped aside and the medics removed you from your car.

As you were being loaded into the ambulance, Bucky approached you.

“How can I get in contact with you after this?”

“Just come by Turkey, Tacos, and Tequila. It’s my restaurant, I’m almost always there,” you told him.

“Okay. I’ll drop by sometime soon, when you’re better of course.”

“Looking forward to it.”

“Me too.”

As he was walking away, you couldn’t stop the grin forming on your lips. Sure, what had happened to you today was terrible. But you knew you would heal, and now, you had also finally met your soulmate. No wonder why you were randomly injured all of the time! If today was any indicator of what the rest of your relationship would look like, though, you’d probably need all of that tequila you were selling for yourself.

#bucky barnes #winter soldier #marvel #mcu #Bucky barnes x reader #winter soldier x reader #Bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes fanfiction #Bucky barnes fic #winter soldier fluff #winter soldier fanfiction #winter soldier fic #x reader #x reader fanfiction #x reader fic #x reader fluff #soulmate au

[i-want-all-the-cookies]

This is a Donald piece (w/ fem reader) I did last Halloween, that I've decided to share on here as well. Hope you guys like it.

Word count: 2.9k

I had just sat down to apply some makeup when my phone started ringing. A smile appearing on my face as I glanced at the screen, "Hey Julia, my bestest friend ever."

"Cut the crap. I need help figuring out what to wear." she replied back bluntly.

"Geez Juls, it's a metal concert, so just wear black. If you have black tops, use them. If you have black jeans or skirts, put those on. Black shoes, boots, sneakers, you get the jist right?"

"Ugh, I don't even listen to this music. Remind me why I'm going again?" she whined.

"You're going because your beautiful, gorgeous friend, Me, won tickets. And you're my plus one."

"You mean I'm your ride there." she scoffed.

I gasped loud enough for her to hear over the speaker. "Juls, even if your sister hadn't let you borrow her car, I would have still wanted you to come. I know you've been stressed lately with college, and this can be a good opportunity to let loose and try something different. Who knows you might even like it."

There was a pause on the line before she sighed. "Fine...you're right. I'll be there in an hour to pick you up."

I smiled as I put the phone back down and started on my makeup again.

A little over an hour later we were pulling into the venue's parking lot.

"Geez, you weren't kidding." Julia said grabbing my arm. "Most everyone is wearing black. Oh look that girl has a pink top on." she said pointing to a girl whose pink hair matched the top she was wearing. "Is that a skull on the front, no, wait, what is that?" she asked when the girl turned our way.

"Close your mouth Juls." I said lifting her jaw with my index finger. She narrowed her eyes and swatted my hand away.

"Come on, lets go in." I said laughing as I pulled her towards the entrance.

As soon as we stepped inside we were immediately hit with a wave of heat and noise. Our chest vibrated, as the bass hit, and Julia's eyes widened at the sensation as she clutched at her shirt. I laughed at her expression and pulled her further inside. Quickly finding a spot on the outskirts of the crowd that gave us enough space to move but still close enough to see the stage. Julia clung to me for dear life, as I watched the singer move across the stage. His long black hair falling over his shirtless chest.

A few songs in she started to relax and actually enjoy the show. She even started talking to a guy nearby. I took a few glances in their direction. He was cute, and I could tell she thought so too, by the way she kept touching his arm when they talked.

After a while she tapped my shoulder and leaned in. "I'm going outside to talk to...shit I never asked his name. This guy." she yelled over the music and pointed to the guy standing next to her.

I gave him a once over, he didn't seem like the type to try anything shady. "You want me to go with?" I asked anyway.

She shook her head no. "I have my phone if you need me." she lifted her phone for me to see. "You stay here and drool over Mr. Hot Singer." she said with a wink, before turning to leave.

With Julia gone I wove into the crowd trying to get closer to the stage. I was almost there when someone suddenly bumped into me. Causing me to fall back and slam into something hard. I immediately felt strong hands wrap around my waist, keeping me from falling.

"Sorry." I said as I looked up into crimson red eyes.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

I nodded yes, as I felt my cheeks heating up. This guy seriously gave the lead singer a run for his money. With his extremely pale white skin, and blonde hair that was swept up in an extravagant style. I also noticed that he had multiple piercings across one of his eyebrows and down his earlobes. And that tattoos covered his neck and hands.

My heart pounded as I looked down to his lips. His nostrils suddenly appeared to flare and his eyes became a darker shade of red, almost black. Maybe it's the lighting in the room I thought to myself, as I kept looking into his eyes, watching as his pupils dilated.

Suddenly he grabbed my hand and lead me out of the crowd and into a small storage room nearby. He closed the door behind us muffling the sound of the music.

It was dark inside and I could barely make out his outline in the small space. I stood there quietly, listening to the sound of our breathing. Unsure of what to do, or why I even followed a complete stranger into a dark room in the first place.

He took a step towards me, and instinctively I took a step back and felt something sharp touch my finger.

"Ouch." I exclaimed bringing my hand up to my face, trying to look at it in the darkness of the room.

I could feel a liquid start to run down my finger. Is that blood? I thought, but before I could bring my finger closer, I felt the stranger grab my hand and place my finger in his mouth. My heart picked up in pace as he began sucking and rolling his tongue around it.

"That's not sanitary." I whispered, since that was the only thing I thought to say. I regretted it immediately, as he stopped and slowly slipped my finger out of his mouth.

"What's your name little one?" he asked not letting go of my hand.

I responded, and was embarrassed at how breathy I sounded.

"I'm Donald Na" he whispered and took a step closer bringing his lips down to my ear. "I've had my eyes on you since you walked in. And now that I've had a taste I'm not sure I can let you go."

Confused, I opened my mouth to ask what he meant but was cut off by his lips crashing onto mine, and his tongue slipping inside my mouth. Our lips soon started moving in sync while our tongues swayed against each other.

I felt as his teeth lightly grazed my bottom lip, causing a sharp pain that made me wince. I immediately tasted the blood that dripped into my mouth, right before his lips came down once more, with his tongue slowly licking at the cut he had created on my lip.

I should be pushing him away. I should be resisting, I thought, but for whatever reason I couldn't. It was almost as if I was in some sort of daze that I couldn't shake myself out of. And instead I closed my eyes and allowed myself to keep falling deeper and deeper into the kiss.

_________

The next thing I knew, I was laying in my bed, as the sun was starting to seep in through the curtains. I rubbed my eyes and tried to sit up, as every muscle in my body ached. I felt soo exhausted and I would have easily gone back to sleep, if it wasn't for the fact, that I noticed I was wearing a shirt that didn't belong to me.

Confused I looked down at the black shirt that was way too big. This was definitely not mine, I thought, as panic started to set in. I tried to recall what happened the night before. The last thing I could clearly remember was making out with the handsome blonde.

Did I bring him home?

Is he still here?

I slowly got off my bed and opened my dresser, pulling out some shorts, and slipping them on.

I then opened my bedroom door and carefully peered out. Not seeing anyone I tiptoed to the bathroom, and then the living room, followed by the kitchen. I sighed in relief as I realized that no one else was in my apartment but me.

I let myself fall onto the couch and pulled my phone out of my purse. I had five missed calls, four new messages, and a voicemail. They all appeared to be from Julia.

I pressed the phone to my ear to listen to the voice message, and immediately pulled it away as soon as it started because of Julia's screaming. "You bitch! I can't believe you left me here alone to go with that hot tall blonde! I know he was hot, but what happened to chicks before dicks? I'm so hurt right now, and the only thing that will make me feel better is full details. All of it! I need the deets! Oh and a large caramel boba milk tea, then we'll be good again." The voice message ended right after.

I then opened my messages.

"Dang, who's the freaking hot blonde you're talking to? And does he have a brother?"

"I can't believe you just waved bye to me and left with blondie!!"

"I better get full deets or your dead! 💀"

"Ha! I have a date with Nick next week so I'm not so mad anymore, but I still need the deets!"

I put the phone down on the coffee table and buried my face in my hands. I started to wonder if she would believe me if I tell her I don't remember. When I  heard a knock at the door.

I rolled my eyes thinking it was Julia checking up on me, and I stood and opened the door.

My breath caught in my throat and I took a step back as I looked into his red eyes again. Suddenly the memories from last night started flooding into my mind. I remembered everything. The kissing in the storage room and ME asking if he wanted to come over. I also remembered waving bye to a confused Julia.

My face started heating up as I remembered what happened after walking in the front door. And what we did that started in the livingroom and ended in the bedroom.

"It's cute that you can still blush even with all the blood you lost last night." he said as he walked into my apartment and closed the door.

"I figured you were going to be tired this morning, so I got you a caramel frappuccino." he said taking a seat on the couch and placing a drink holder down on my coffee table, grabbing the second drink for himself.

"Y-your'e a vampire!" I said pointing a shaky finger at him.

"Oh good you remember." he said happily as he took a sip. "Sometimes it takes a while to remember after establishing a pact."

"I didn't complete any pacts!" I exclaimed angrily.

He lifted a brow at me. "Would you like me to remind you of the pact we did last night?" he said as he removed a bra from between the couch cushions and dangled it from his finger. "You look good in my shirt by the way." he added with a smile as his eyes roamed by body.

Embarrased, I snatched my bra away and tossed it by the tv.

He laughed and pulled something out of his pocket. "Make sure to take these daily." he said tossing me a bottle.

I turned it over in my hands and frowned. "Iron pills?"

"It's so that you don't become anemic. Especially since I'll be coming by a lot due to our pact." he replied.

My heart started to beat faster in my chest at the thought of what he considered to be our pact.

His nostrils flared as he put his drink down on the table, and his eyes darkened as he looked at me. "Be careful little one. Don't tempt me when you're still recovering. Because I may not be able to hold myself back." he growled.

I pinched my thighs together in alarm. "Can ...can you smell me?" I asked.

His brows suddenly furrowed. "Are human males able to do that?" he asked.

"No, but all the books I've read about vampires and werewolves state that they can smell a human's...excitement." I said as I looked away embarrassed.

He threw his head back in deep laughter that bounced off my apartment walls. When he calmed down he stood and walked over to me, taking hold of my hand and bringing my wrist up to his nose, as he took a deep inhale.

"Humans do have a smell. Some smell better than others, but it's more similar to the smell you receive when warm cookies come out of the oven. To me, you smell like that drink on the table. Sweet like caramel with a little hidden bite of something stronger underneath. It's what drew me to you last night."

He let go of my hand. "But I don't need to smell you to know you're... excited, was it?" he said with a smirk as he brought his finger up to my chest. "I can hear this." He said lightly pressing his finger where my heart was beating.

"And I can practically see all the areas of your body swell as the blood rushes to them. Like here." he said caressing my cheek. "And here." his thumb lightly sweeping across my lips. His eyes darted down as a smirk appeared on his face. "And even he-"

I covered his mouth with my hand to stop him from stating any other part, and I felt his lips turn up into a smile underneath.

He gently removed my hand and led me to the couch to take a seat. "Here, take some." he said handing me a drink.

I put the straw to my mouth and quickly pulled it away. "Wait, is there blood in here?" I looked at him. "Is there blood in there?" I asked pointing to his own cup.

"No. Of course not." he answered with a chuckle. "This is plain coffee. Well not plain, it does have some steamed milk, vanilla syrup, and a caramel drizzle."

I scrunched my eyebrows. "But I thought vampires couldn't eat or drink regular food, or be outside in the daylight for that matter?" I asked.

He once again bellowed in laughter. "Little one, you really shouldn't believe everything that you read. Most of that was made up by humans of long ago. So they could say that to each other and sleep soundly at night."

I frowned  and touched at my neck with my fingertips, "And what about me? Am I going to turn into a vampire now?"

He lifted up my chin making me look into his eyes. "Is that what you want?" he asked with a serious expression.

"I don't know." I answered truthfully.

He smiled and patted my head. "Well we have plenty of time to decide that, but to answer your question. No you're not turning into a vampire, not right now, anyway. But because of what happened last night, you will probably notice certain changes. Like an increased sense of smell and taste. This will most likely happen to you everytime after I visit."

"Visit? But why do you have to keep visiting? Can't we just end it here and go our separate ways?" I asked.

He chuckled, "Because it's no fun to only have one taste. Plus, I know that's not what you really want. And that it's your fear asking that question right now." he said with a sincere smile as he moved a strand of hair out of my face, his fingers lightly grazing my cheek. The touch sending shivers down my body, making my heart race again.

He narrowed his darkened eyes at me. "I told you that it's dangerous to tempt me right now little one." he said with a sigh, as he closed his eyes to calm himself. When he opened them once more the color was back to their normal crimson. "As much as I love hearing your heart race, I think it's safer if I leave so you can rest."

Before I could protest he leaned over and placed a kiss on my forehead. He then grabbed his drink and stood up. "Plus, I think that's enough information for today anyway.... Make sure to drink that." he said pointing to the caramel frappuccino on the coffee table.

He opened my door and before stepping out he turned, "I'm sure you're aware that you can't mention this to anyone right?"

I nodded my head in agreement.

He smiled, "Good girl, also make sure you take those iron supplements, and I'll make sure to text before coming over."

He gave me one last wink before stepping outside and closing the door behind him.

I sat on my couch dumbfounded, as I reached for the cold drink, bringing it up to my lips, and finally taking a sip. My eyes widened at how delicious it tasted. Wow, he wasn't kidding about my sense of taste increasing, I thought, before taking a bigger gulp.

I leaned back on the couch and covered my face. What the hell am I supposed to tell Julia now, I thought with a heavy sigh.

#Donald Na as a sexy vampire #most people think he's one anyway #search how to become a blood donor #he's not the sparkling kind #that's a different story #Weak Hero #Donald Na #Halloween inspired #my writing needs improvement #I really notice when I read my older pieces #slight cringe

[binniedeactivated]

txt reactions. ||  👾👾

Reaction to them cheating on you...

a/n; was just in the mood to write this, purely self indulgent because this is what sam smith at 5am does to me <3

soobin;

it’s been a while since you and soobin had done anything romantic. so, while he was at work you decided to fix the house up pretty and make him a big dinner. the both of your work schedules prevented you both from even touching each other, you were much too tired. most nights you guys would come home and go straight to bed. you thought a nice dinner, some lingerie and soft sex would get you both back on your game again. you got off work a little earlier tonight and  put your plan into action, making all of his favorite foods and lighting some candles in your bedroom to make everything look as romantic as possible. you even went as far as to making the bathtub water floral and inserting scented candles in there also.

you were excited. you were finally going to do something with your boyfriend other than sleep inside the same bed as him night after night. you thought he would be really happy about it as well considering he was often moody when you two weren’t clingy like usual. you lit the last candle while you heard a bit of bustling on the side of the door and you assumed soobin could be coming in at any moment. you turned off the light and stood further away from the door, waiting to surprise him.

as soon as the keys unlocked the door you heard a body slam into the wall beside it while soobin closes the door with his foot. you heard soft moans and you could see soobin rushing to take his jacket off just to throw it on the floor beside him and lift the girl on the wall by her thighs. your blood began to boil.

“fuck soobin-- you really gonna fuck me right here? while you’re girlfriend isn’t home?”.

“we have another hour baby”. soobin groans and moves his lips to her neck. she grips his hair strands and continues letting the meek noises flow from her throat.

“you have another hour?”. you spoke up loud enough to startle them. soobin jumps and immediately puts her down to glare back at you in fear. “baby i was just--”.

“i got off work early and bought all this shit just so we can have a romantic night to ourselves. I cooked, I set up the bathroom and the bedroom. I made it all nice and pretty thinking maybe we can eat and have some fun. but now I see why you haven’t been touching me. It isn’t because we’re tired it’s because you’re too busy fucking someone else”.

the girl breathes, releasing her grip from soobin’s forearm. “maybe I should leave--”.

“yeah maybe you should. now”. 

she scoots past soobin and slips out of the door with ease. soobin could only stare at you in guilt. “It’s not even like that baby I swear”.

you blow the candles out one by one. “sure it wasn’t soobin. you were about to fuck her had I not spoke up sooner. how long has it been?”.

“what are you talking about?”.

you take a spoon from his plate and throw it at his chest. “you know what the hell I’m talking about. how long have you been fucking her?”.

he rubs himself in pain. “only a few weeks”.

“good. i hope you continue to enjoy her for the rest of your life. you’re going to need someone to keep you company because I’m not staying with you”.

“baby I just felt like we haven’t really been doing anything so I thought--”.

“so you thought--hey let me just go cheat? you’re an idiot and that’s a stupid ass excuse”

“cmon--you know I’m a man we have needs”.

“I’m a woman with needs too soobin! you think we all don’t crave sex sometimes? what did you think I was making this whole night about?! I wanted to spend time with you and have sex. but you’re getting your needs met with someone else so I’ll do the same thing. like I said enjoy her. this will be the last time you ever see me again”.

“I’m sorry--look I’m sorry I’ll cut ties with her and I won’t do again”.

“save every last apology you have. I’m not taking it. I’m find someone else”.

yeonjun;

it was all over everywhere. especially stan twitter. and quite frankly you were tired of seeing it. it was yeonjun doing his solo song at their recent concert, singing jealous by labrinth. he sung it as painfully and brutal as if someone stuck a stake through his heart with no care in the world. but he wasn’t the hurt one here. it was you. he was cheating on you repeatedly with numerous women, not giving a damn about his actions until you caught him. and now here he was, singing his heart out on stage and crying, making everyone believe you were the one that broke his heart.

his voice croaked and cracked when he sung it. and you’ll admit it he sung it beautifully. so beautiful it made you cry every time you heard it. it was sad that you both had to end a three year relationship because he didn’t know how to be with you and you only. you were sick of his games, his lies, you were sick of it all. you wanted to be completely free of him. you moved to a different city and took an acting job elsewhere. one you were proud of in fact. well, you were proud of it before you realized who was casted to play as your ex in the next episode.

you avoided yeonjun during rehearsal as much as you possibly could. but that didn’t stop him from singing about you on stage and pouring his heart out as if he missed you. you didn’t believe he missed you. you thought he just missed the fact that you gullible enough to fall for every lie he told. today was another taping day. like the script instructed you open the door and yeonjun was required to be there with a sullen expression on his face.

“what are you doing here?”.

“just give me another chance. please. I swear this time I’ll do right by you”.

you attempt to shut the door in his face but he holds it open with arm. which wasn’t in the script at all. neither was his next line.

“please. please I’m sorry for everything I’ve done. I know i wasn’t the best boyfriend. I was so stupid for thinking those girls could ever make up for the endless love that you showered me with. I’m so dumb for taking you for granted in the moment I thought that having multiple partners would make me feel better about myself and boost my ego but it only hurt me in the end. It made me feel so empty. you were the only person that could ever make me feel whole”.

you cross your arms, seeing that this became real.

“yeah, you’re stupid for losing me but i’m not responsible for your wholeness yeonjun. you are. don’t ever depend on someone else to make you happy that’s selfish. the emotional trauma and stress you put me through is something I will never go through again. you broke me beyond repair. I constantly poured out for you and all you did was take. you didn’t appreciate me and I don’t deserve that. you sung about how you were jealous of anyone else I ever come across because you’re afraid of someone loving me the way you should’ve. I’m not running back to you anymore”.

tears raced down his cheeks.

“I’ll be good to you. just please let me be good to you”.

“no. I’m done with you”.

beomgyu;

the front door open and closed softly but he didn’t think you were awake. little did he know you were. in fact you were wide awake. your pregnancy hormones kept you up later than usual. you were grateful though because you were wide awake enough to see beomgyu. to see him try to discreetly throw his condom wrapper in the nearby garbage before taking his jacket off and placing it on the coat rack.

you quickly turned the kitchen light on behind him which startled him completely. he frighteningly turns around to face you, he could already tell you weren’t too pleased with how late he was coming in. his heart started to pound rapidly hoping you wouldn’t suspect anything. but you saw everything. even down to the purple hickeys on his neck that he failed to cover.

“I’m so sick and tired of this gyu. I’m so sick”.

“I had to work late tonight. me and the boys-“.

“you and the boys weren’t doing anything because I already texted yeonjun and soobin and they said you got off work two hours ago. so where the hell where you?”. you fold your arms, hating how he was getting you worked up while you were carrying his child. he swallows,

“I had some extra things to take care of”.

“like what? who were you fucking gyu? because I’m not stupid”.

“why would I cheat on you while you’re pregnant? that’s bad for baby. I think you’re just stressing yourself out at this point”.

“I’m stressing myself out?!”. you lean over as best as you could just to pluck the wrapper out the garbage can and angrily flick it at his face. “what the fuck is this then? and why are you lying about it?!”.

“babe that’s from the last time we--”.

“that’s bullshit beomgyu! when have we ever used a condom?! please tell me and then after that please tell me what the hell are those marks are your neck?!”.

he reaches his hand up to try and cover them. “mosquitos--I’ve been getting bitten by a lot of bugs lately”. you shove him backwards.

“get out! please get out until you can learn how to stop cheating and lying. go get yourself some fucking help. I’m not doing this with you! when the baby is born we can figure out some custodial situations but I don’t want to be with you if you don’t want to be with me. I’m done with this. I’m done with us”.

“don’t do this. you know what I want most is to be a dad. how are you just going to kick me out?”.

you shook your head in disbelief. “pack your shit and go beomgyu”. you hated yourself for crying. “I don’t want you here anymore”.

“I’ll admit it then i was cheating. alright? is that what you wanted to hear?”.

“it’s sad that it took me threatening to kick you out for you to come clean. you’re not even man enough to tell me straight up?”.

“I won’t do it anymore. just please let me father my son in the same household I can’t do any of that custody crap. don’t be like this”.

“you did it to yourself. had you made it clear that you wanted to love me, the mother of your son, you wouldn’t be out here cheating and lying like you are right now. I’m not stressing myself over this anymore beomgyu. get out. take all of your stuff with you”.

taehyun;

friday nights always ended like this. you and taehyun cuddled together on his living room sofa eating too many snacks to name. surrounded by complete darkness except for the movie blaring on the television screen. most would think that couples your age would love to spend their friday nights partying or drinking. however you and taehyun were a different pair.

“sweetheart can you get your elbow off my bladder that’s why I have to go pee every five seconds”.

“no you have to pee every five seconds because you’re lowkey pregnant”.

as taehyun gets up he laughs at your comment. “whatever. I’ll be back can you pause it?”.

you shove another piece of popcorn in your mouth before pressing the middle on the remote, rushing him. in the midst of waiting though you realized taehyun’s phone was getting numerous notifications, most of which you brushed off thinking it was the group chat he’s in with the boys. but an unfamiliar number popped up on his phone screen, one you haven’t saw before. in pure wonder you grab ahold of his phone, taking another peak at the bathroom door before unlocking it to see the message.

333-333-333: are you still with her? when she goes to sleep you should come over...

with a jaw clenched you angrily squeeze his phone, wanting to lock it again so you can gather your thoughts. but you couldn’t help yourself from scrolling through his message thread with whoever the number was, which you assumed was some girl because she’d been sending him nudes since a couple of weeks ago. and to make matters worse he was responding with heart eyes. once the sink in the bathroom went off taehyun closes the door behind himself and you immediately lock his phone, glaring at him with the coldest expression you could muster.

“sweetheart? what’s the matter? why do you have my phone?”.

with your heart racing you launch his phone at his chest. “fuck you taehyun!”. you remove the blankets off yourself to fetch your shoes. he winces at the sudden hit just before unlocking his phone to see that you had opened his message thread. shit.  “why are you going through my phone?”.

“that’s all you have to fucking say?! why was i going through your phone? why were you getting nudes from some other girl?! that’s the real question!”. you grab your bag and approach the door. of course taehyun was trying his best to pull you back over to him. you snatch his arms of your torso in a fit of rage. “she’s just a friend--”.

“we’ve been dating for 5 years and you do this shit?! fuck you. if you didn’t want me anymore you could’ve just said that. don’t call me, don’t text me or talk to me anymore. we’re done”.

“sweetheart please. I can’t be alone. I didn’t even mean to text her i don’t know what came over me”.

“don’t talk to me anymore. you’re a cheater. that’s what came over you”.

“so you’re just going to leave so quick like that?”.

“you think you deserve for me to stay? you’re so fucking self centered. don’t make me seem like the weak one for leaving someone who obviously doesn’t love me anymore. now move your damn hands. I’m leaving”.

and with that there was a slamming door. taehyun could feel his heart sink with every step you took down the hallway.

kai;

you were working when you got the notification. it was from your bank account, specifically the joint account you and kai shared. they were notifying you about a recent purchase from last night. one that you hadn’t remembered at all so you figured it had to be kai. he didn’t know that you opted to be notified about the spending on the account just to make sure the both of you were keeping your savings in order. but one thing that wasn’t in order was what the last purchase was on.

dinner for two and perfume shopping.

no. no way. you checked once again to make sure you weren’t seeing things. but the notification was loud and clear. you figured maybe someone had stolen your credit card and began using it. but even that wouldn’t make sense because it has a pin and only you and kai knew it. you felt your cheeks grow hot at the thought of kai with someone else. you knew he was acting a little distant these past couple of days but you couldn’t figure out why. the tears welled in your eyes but you refused to let them fall, in front of your colleagues at least. you took a step out into the bathroom to take a breath. but you couldn’t keep yourself from crying. you couldn’t understand why he’d be doing this. you loved him too much and too hard for him to even think of being with someone else.

you opened your phone deciding to call him. the phone ringed so many times you thought he wasn’t going to pick up until he finally picked up on the last ring. you didn’t even give him a chance to speak once he did.

“kai i’m only going to ask you this one time and please don’t lie to me”.

“what’s wrong baby?”.

“don’t call me that. who were you taking out on a date the other night? buying perfume for?”. you ask more calmly than you rehearsed in your head. kai’s heart dropped. he panicked. how did you know?

“no one. what are you talking about? you sound so upset. I don’t like when you’re like this baby”.

you exhale heavily. fury pooled in your chest. “you don’t like it? so why the hell were you cheating? you know what? you’re so pathetic. i can’t. I’m fucking leaving you”.

“baby for what? why are you leaving? don’t leave me I promise I wasn’t with anyone else”.

“you sound so innocent when you say that. is that what you like? huh? you like sounding innocent so you can further manipulate me?”.

“baby please”.

“don’t worry. I’ll be out the house by tonight”.

#choi soobin #choi yeonjun #choi beomgyu #kang taeyun #heuning kai #soobin angst #yeonjun angst #beomgyu angst #taehyun angst #heuning kai angst #txt reactions #yeonjun #soobin #beomgyu #taehyun #reactions

[everlarkficexchange]

On the Other Side of the Fence

Prompt 13: Katniss is “just one of the guys” and the only girl in school who’s never been asked for a date by any of these guys. One day she’s “discovered” by a modeling agency and whisked to the Capital. She returns 3-months later with a new look, new found confidence, and cash. How will Peeta deal with the new Katniss and all the attention she gets from everyone?  [submitted by @567inpanem​] 

Author:  @jhsgf82​ 

Rated:  T 

Word Count:  5,713 

Author Note: In-Panem AU, no games.  The class distinctions between Seam and Merchant are still there but aren’t quite as prominent, so Seam and Merchant sometimes hang out together; although, some folks do still have prejudices.  Also, Mr. Everdeen is alive!  So, this became more about the childhood love story between Katniss and Peeta than the modeling, at least this part, but I hope you still enjoy my take on this prompt.  This will be a Part 1 of 2, and it will be posted on A03 under my account as well as on the EFE A03 collection page.    Edit by @mrspeetamellark​.  Thank you, thank you!  I love the fan casts for older K and P!  

P.S. I’ve been listening to Ruelle’s “I Get to Love You” quite a bit while writing this, and it’s giving me major Everlark feels, particularly for this story, so let’s call it the theme song for this fic. 

Part I 

Peeta’s POV “Wait up, Katniss!”  Peeta chased after Katniss as fast as his skinny twelve-year-old legs could carry him.  

But Katniss Everdeen was like a bird, free-spirited and not to be caged, and when she set her mind to something, more than likely, she was going to do it. 

Peeta loved that about her. 

Today, Katniss had gotten it into her pretty head to climb to the top of the apple tree in his backyard.  When she’d found out his mother wouldn’t be home, she’d thought it’d be the best time.

They played in secret, for Peeta’s mother had clearly expressed her dislike and distrust of Seam kids, plenty of times.  Merchant Circle kids and Seam kids didn’t usually interact, but Peeta had no problem with those from the Seam, and he especially loved being around Katniss.  He didn’t see the big deal, honestly.  So what if they lived on the outskirts of town? So what if they didn’t have as much money‒Peeta was used to eating stale bread and leftovers, anyway.  Not to mention, Katniss and her father’s squirrels had made many a dinner for his family.  He wondered if his mother knew where they came from, for it was always his father or him who did the trading.  

Peeta didn’t get to see Katniss as often as he would like‒he was almost always stuck at the bakery, and rarely unsupervised‒but times with her were his favorite times.  Sometimes they were alone, which he preferred, but other times, they hung out with her small group, consisting of Thom, Gale, and occasionally, her sister, Primrose.  

As if his life (or hers) depended on it, Peeta raced to catch up to Katniss.  She was already three or four branches up when he made it to the tree.  Unfortunately, he was running so fast that he didn’t stop quick enough, and…Thwap!  He smacked his head against a low branch.  

“Peeta!” gasped Katniss from her perch.  “You okay?!”  

“Fine!” he called up.  He rubbed his forehead, feeling like a complete idiot.  It smarted a bit, but his pride was far more wounded.

As if preparing her, Peeta shouted, “I’m coming up!”  And then he reached out for the lowest, sturdiest-looking branch he could find.  He wasn’t quite sure how this would work.  He’d never climbed a tree before, and it looked tough.  Katniss was small and nimble, but he was bulkier.  He wasn’t completely uncoordinated, but he was much better at lifting things than doing anything requiring agility or balance.  Even so, he had to try.  And so, he found his footing and pushed himself up.       

Turned out, his upper body strength (from lifting sacks of flour) came in handy in getting him up the tree.  But there were two problems:  One, his footing.  And two, the relatively young apple tree wasn’t quite liking his size, and some of the thinner branches were bending under his weight.  

“You’re almost there, Peeta,” urged Katniss, and all he could see was her encouraging smile.  He reached out to take her hand for a boost but felt his shoe slipping against the bark.  And then, his body weight and that thing called gravity were pulling him downward…  

“Peeta!” shrieked Katniss as she reached out desperately for his hand.

But in those few seconds, Peeta knew he couldn’t grab hold.  Katniss may be strong for her size, but she was tiny, definitely not strong enough to hold him up.  If he did grasp her hand, he would surely drag her down with him, and he would never put her in danger.  

Peeta dropped to the ground, left foot first, a sharp, white-hot pain shooting up his leg on impact.  He groaned and fell flat on his back, his head smacking hard against the ground.  

Katniss was down the tree in a heartbeat, kneeling beside him.  A bright light silhouetted her; she looked like an angel.  Was he dead?  Or dying maybe?  If so, hers was the last face he wanted to see…   

“Peeta!  Peeta!  Peeta, are you okay?” cried Katniss.  She was touching his shoulder and chest only as if she was afraid to go near his leg. 

He murmured something and reached out to try and touch her, but his head was spinning and his vision was blurring.  

Amidst the excruciating pain and confusion, he heard her muttering, “Oh no, oh no, what do I do?!”  And then, she started to cry.  

No, no, no.  This was no good, at all.  He couldn’t deal with Katniss crying.  He probably had a broken leg; he didn’t need a broken heart, also.     

“Don’t…”  He attempted to reach for her again, and this time, he felt her take his hand in both of hers and rest it against her face, her tears wetting it.  There was a persistent ringing in his ears, and then he passed out.  

While he was unconscious, Peeta dreamed of Katniss‒of the first time they met.  They were five years old.    

Katniss’s father brought her by the bakery to trade, and while their dads were talking, he played with her.  At first, she was shy, only peering out at him from behind her father’s legs, but he managed to convince her to come out. 

She wore a red plaid dress, and her hair was in two braids.  He’d seen her earlier that day in school‒his father had pointed her out to him and told him how he’d wanted to marry her mother but she’d run off with a coal miner (this coal miner, with the singing voice that made bird’s stop to listen)‒and he’d heard her sing.  Her voice was every bit as lovely as they said her father’s was. 

Once he got her to come out, they talked a little and ended up chasing one another around the bakery.  Of course, his mother wasn’t home that day.  

In retrospect, Peeta had been a goner for Katniss from the start, completely mesmerized by her singing voice and her beautiful gray eyes, which he got a closer look at in the bakery.  Then there was her smile, which she didn’t give freely, but when she did, it was so worth the wait.  She didn’t talk much, but he’d been able to get her to laugh that day in the bakery, and the noise, much like her singing, was music to his ears.  Oh, and her braids‒he’d always been really fascinated by her braids.   

Before she left the bakery, Peeta couldn’t help leaning forward and smacking his lips against Katniss’s, just to see what it would be like.  He’d seen people kiss before, even his parents, though not often.  It was weird when his mom and dad did it, but he liked it better than when they yelled at each other.  

To his surprise, kissing Katniss wasn’t bad or weird.  He liked it.  And he wanted to try it again, someday.    

After the kiss, Katniss’s cheeks were reddened, and she turned away from him, dashing back behind her father.  He was so afraid he’d done the wrong thing and that she’d hate him forever, but when they went to leave, she smiled and waved at him.  

Peeta came to with a start, jerking around and whimpering as he clutched at his throbbing leg.  He realized he was in his bed, though he didn’t know how he’d gotten there.  Also, he wasn’t alone‒Mrs. Everdeen was at his side.  

“Peeta, honey, lie still.  I have to set your leg,” Katniss’s mother spoke in her soft, doctor-like voice.  She was a healer.  He assumed Katniss must have gotten a couple of boys or a man, maybe her dad or his, to carry him to his room after his fall. 

But where was Katniss?  And was his dad here?  

Before he could look around for them, Mrs. Everdeen told him she was going to give him some medicine to take away his pain.  She injected him with something, morphling, he heard her say, and instantly, he felt his entire body relaxing.  He looked over, then, to see Katniss entering his room and approaching his bedside, followed by her father.  Her arms were folded, and her forehead was all scrunched up like how it got when she was really worried.  Her eyes were puffy, too, and her cheeks were stained with tears; she’d definitely been crying.    

Peeta raised his head and tried to smile and say something reassuring. “Kat…it’s…o-”  But his words trailed off as a strange, dizzy feeling overtook him, and his head dropped back onto his pillow.  Katniss came over and took a seat next to him, slipping her small hand into his.   

This is nice, he thought. 

But the euphoric feeling was quickly broken by his mother’s loud voice as she barged into his room. Uh oh.  

His mother discovering the Everdeens in their home was bad news.  She basically hated all the rest of them as much or more than Katniss, especially Katniss’s mother.  Maybe it was because his dad used to love her?  

“What’s this?!  What have you done, you stupid creature?!” his mother screeched at Katniss.    

Peeta’s eyes shot to his best friend who immediately dropped his hand.  He saw the look on her face; her cheeks had gone reddish, and her eyes were filling with tears, which she was clearly fighting back.  She looked scared, upset, and angry.  

Just another reason for him to hate his mother.   

“Katni…” Peeta tried to say her name, to comfort her, but his words caught in his scratchy throat. 

He tried again, but he was cut off. 

“Listen here,” Mr. Everdeen’s voice boomed, loud and clear, “you will not speak of my daughter that way!  I won’t allow it.  My wife has been kind enough to help your son, so show some respect to my family.” 

That should shut his mother up, Peeta imagined.  Mr. Everdeen might be a friendly, quiet man most of the time, but he could be intimidating.  So, Peeta didn’t expect his mother would say another word.    

Mr. Everdeen placed a hand on his wife’s shoulder.  “Honey, fix up Peeta, then we’ll be on our way,” he said softly.   

Peeta’s mother was silent after that; in fact, he thought she might have left the room.  But he was in and out of consciousness, and next thing he knew, it was dark, and he was waking up in his bed with only his father beside him.   

Groggily, Peeta asked, “Where’s Katniss?” 

“She’s at her house, son,” his father replied, tucking his covers nearly up to his chin. “You should get some rest.”  And with that, he was left alone in the darkness. 

Peeta recalled his brothers stopping in briefly, and then his mother.  He imagined she only cared about him being injured because it might hinder his work at the bakery.  He was sure she’d still give him plenty to do, though.  What did she care if he was in pain doing it? 

His mother was mainly condescending, railing on him for being so stupid, which he expected and accepted, but what really made his blood boil was when she set in on Katniss.  

“That’s why you don’t play with Seam children,” she chided, casting him a dark look.  “They’re wild heathens with no regard for rules or safety.” 

They’re kids, Mother‒just like me.  They just want to play and have fun.  They don’t want anyone to get hurt. 

What his mother said next lanced his heart.  “I forbid you to see that girl anymore.” 

Peeta squeezed his fists beneath the covers.  She really cared nothing for him, did she?  Of course, if his mother didn’t care that he had a broken leg, why would she care if forbidding him from seeing Katniss ripped his heart out?  

But it didn’t matter.  There was no way he was going to stop seeing Katniss; nothing his mother, or anyone, could say or do would ever stop him.  

Katniss snuck into his room later that night.  She must have climbed the tree next to his window and crawled through.  She was next to his bed rousing him before he even realized what was happening.  

At her touch, Peeta woke.  “Katniss, what are you doing here?” he hissed, trying to sit up.   

She held out her hand as if to stop him.  “I brought these for you, from my mother,” said she, handing him a small package.  “Medicine for the pain and a salve for the inflammation.  Instructions are inside.” 

“Thanks.” 

It sounded like the delivery came from her mother, and he didn’t think Katniss would have taken the items on her own without permission‒mainly because she probably wouldn’t have known what to take or what to do‒but he doubted she had permission to be here this late.  He glanced at the clock.  It was nearly 11 PM.

“Are you okay?” she asked, fidgeting with her fingers.  

“Yes.” 

“Does it hurt?” 

“A little.”  

“I’m so sorry.”  He could see her eyes glistening in the moonlight.  Was she going to cry again?  

“It’s not your fault, and hey, it probably earned me some time off at the bakery.  So, thanks.” 

Most likely, he wouldn’t get any time off, though.  Or, if he did, it wouldn’t be much.  His mother would probably have him back to work as soon as he could move, but Katniss didn’t need to know that.  He tapped her playfully on the nose, and she laughed a little. 

“Katniss, thanks for bringing the medicine, but you better go. I don’t want you to get in trouble.” Peeta sighed.  He didn’t actually want to send her away; he wanted her to stay with him, forever. 

Rather than listening to him, though, she did the exact opposite‒she pulled back the covers and climbed into bed with him.

Wow.  Were wishes being fulfilled tonight?  

Okay, so, Peeta had just discovered the absolute best medicine for any of his ailments‒having Katniss Everdeen in his arms.  

“Am I hurting your leg?” she asked as she tentatively snuggled in closer.  

“Not a bit.”  He smiled.  “That’s my good leg.”  

“You sure?  I could move.” 

“Don’t you dare move,” he said, wrapping his arms completely around her and holding her in place.  He kissed the top of her head.  For a moment, he wondered if he shouldn’t have done that.  They had only shared that one kiss when they were 5, and it had never been brought up since.  She probably didn’t think anything about kissing him, anyway.  

“Okay, good,” she said, shutting her eyes and resting her head and a hand on his chest.

He looked down at her.  She looked so peaceful and seemed close to falling asleep, but he shouldn’t let that happen.  If his mother found Katniss here in the morning, in his bed, they were both toast!    

But it was too nice having her here, and he wanted to enjoy it for a little while longer.  He took the chance to play with her braid, like he’d always wanted to, and she let him.  It had just become his new favorite thing to do.  Katniss always wore her hair this way, except for a couple of times when she had it down, and Peeta loved her braid.  But he was also kind of curious to run his fingers through her hair while it was down.  He imagined it would be so soft and silky. 

“Peeta,” he heard her murmur just when he thought she was asleep.  

“Yeah?” 

“Your mother…she hates me.” 

“No.” 

“Don’t lie, Peeta.” 

“Okay, maybe she does.  But, remember, she’s not too fond of me, either.” 

Peeta felt Katniss shake her head against him, and he gave a small chuckle.  It was so sad, it was funny, in a way. 

He looked down into her face; she wore a sad expression.  “Heyy,” he soothed, stroking her back lightly.  “Hey, Katniss, listen.  I don’t care.  Don’t give another thought to what my mother said, because it’s not true.  Nothing she says means anything to me or matters, at all.  You’re wonderful and amazing, and it wasn’t your fault I got hurt, and nothing anyone says or does will ever change the way I fee-think about you.” 

How did he feel about her?  He didn’t quite know the exact word for it, but whatever it was, it was pretty strong.  Like right now, he could feel his heart beating wildly like it was trying to escape his chest.  She always made him feel this way, as if his heart might run away or explode into tiny pieces.  

Katniss softly sighed.  “Okay, Peeta.  If you don’t care, I don’t care, either.” 

“Good.”  He stroked her hair once, twice, three times.  

They remained curled up together until just before dawn, and then Katniss slipped away.  Right away, he felt the loss.  Despite the discomfort in his leg and the fact that he barely slept, for he was either watching Katniss or the clock (in fear they might sleep too long and be discovered), Peeta had never known such a peaceful, wonderful night.  

It took nearly two months for the leg to heal, and it did earn him some time off bakery duty, but as expected, his mother had him back to work soon, doing what he could while hobbling around on crutches.  

On the bright side, Katniss visited him almost every night, sneaking into his room and into his bed, saying she was checking to make sure he was okay.  Peeta got used to having her there, and he enjoyed it, yet he was surprised they were never caught.  

Once he was healed, much to Peeta’s disappointment, Katniss stopped coming by; although, it might have had something to do with him suggesting she should stop.  He hadn’t wanted her to stop, and he hoped it hadn’t hurt her feelings; he was simply worried they’d be caught and his mother would say more terrible things to her.  He didn’t care if she said terrible things to him, but he never wanted Katniss to be called a name again or be made to feel bad, by anyone.  

After that, Peeta had to be sneakier about seeing Katniss, and he did see her less.  Seemed like, after he healed, his mother gave him extra work at the bakery, in theory, to make up for the time he’d missed.  But no matter how much work she gave him or how often she warned him against having anything to do with the ‘little dirtbags’ (one of the kinder nicknames she attributed to the Seam children), nothing‒not even President Snow, himself‒could keep him from Katniss.

He did worry, though, about his mother trying to cause harm to Katniss and her family.  She was surely spreading the incident around, making it sound like it was Katniss’s fault‒as if she’d bullied him up that tree then pushed him out or something.  She was probably trying to gain sympathy from the townsfolk and hurt the Everdeens’ business, but Peeta assumed everyone would continue to buy Katniss and her father’s game.  It was too good.  And if not, they would be fine because her dad had his job in the mines. 

Even so, Peeta sometimes hated the way things were.  Sometimes, he even considered running away from home, off to the Seam or even beyond the fence and into the woods, with Katniss.  On the other side of the fence, they could be together everyday and live happily without anyone’s interference.  

It was a nice dream.     

—–

The next summer, Katniss announced to Peeta that she was going to teach him to swim, and she showed him her father’s lake for the very first time.  

“You ready?” she asked excitedly.  She was dressed in a t-shirt and shorts, he in just shorts.    

He stared deep into her eyes, then nodded.  “Yes.” 

They waded out further into the lake until it was up past his shoulders and came to her chin.  She went behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist, and forget drowning, Peeta thought he would die right then and there, over this. 

See, he’d been having…different sorts of feelings about Katniss lately, in the last couple of months…  He cared so much for her, as always, but he’d also been thinking more and more about things like:  kissing her, touching her, and feeling her pressed against him.  He wished she’d sneak into his bed again, but he was also kind of afraid he wouldn’t keep his hands to himself if she did.  He knew he would never hurt or mistreat Katniss, but sometimes, it was tough to think straight around her, and sometimes his body seemed to have a mind of its own.  

It was frustrating.

Right now, Katniss was hugging him, and it felt nice.  No, not hugging–supporting him in the water.  But it felt like a hug, and he didn’t get them often, his father being so busy, and his mother, well, not being the hugging type.  

Katniss’s hands briefly ran up his stomach, to his chest, and back down.  It made Peeta shiver, and his breath hitched.  And he had to wonder, did she get the kind of feelings he did, too? 

“You okay?” she asked.  He could feel her bangs brushing his bare back, tickling his skin a little, but in a way he really liked.  

He tried to answer coolly, but it came out as a choked “Y-yes.” 

“Okay.”  Katniss shifted a little, instructing him to dunk his head and practice holding his breath.  “I’ll hold onto you.” 

“You won’t let go?” he asked.  More so, he wanted the reassurance of having her there, because she emboldened him and made him feel safe, even if she was much smaller than him.  

“Never, Peeta,” she assured.  He smiled and rested his hands atop hers.  

“Okay, I’m ready.”  And with that, he dipped his head under the water. 

Katniss was a good teacher, even if he was kind of a bumbling idiot when it came to the water.  He’d never survive in D4.  Not like he’d ever have any reason to go there.  But they had fun, swimming around and splashing one another.  Peeta even picked her up and tossed her in a couple of times, and she came right back at him, latching onto his shoulders and dunking him or wrapping her legs around his waist and climbing his back.  

Peeta got better at staying underwater, and he took to swimming around her and tickling her beneath the waves‒in innocent places, of course, like her feet or her sides.  One time, though, the water caused her shirt to billow up and he accidentally slid his hand across the bare skin of her stomach.  It was so flat and smooth; it felt nice.  For a split second, his hand took over before his mind could have any say in the manner, and he squeezed her side a little.  Katniss sucked in a sharp breath and reared back.  And instantly, she was throwing out her arms and kicking her legs to put some distance between them.     

“Katniss, I’m sorry!  Di-did I hurt you?” 

She shook her head rapidly, but she could barely look at him.

Again, Peeta apologized while slowly moving toward her.  

“It’s okay.”  She swallowed.  “I’m just…ticklish there.” 

“Oh.  Okay.”  

Things were a little weird after that, and Katniss kind of kept her distance from him, despite Peeta apologizing quite a few more times.  She finally told him to just forget about it.  

But Peeta didn’t want to forget.  He wished he could touch her anytime he felt like it, and that she would want that, too. 

After their swimming lesson at the lake, Peeta started having dreams about Katniss, embarrassing ones.  More embarrassing, still, was the way his body reacted to the dreams, even in his sleep.  It was a bit upsetting, and she would be mortified if she knew.  But he couldn’t seem to help himself.  And it occurred almost every night.  Peeta considered talking to his father about it, but that would be weird, and talking to his older brothers would be even weirder.  But they were actually helpful in a way.  Hearing them talk, he came to understand that it was normal to feel what he was feeling.

Those feelings continued‒oh, did they continue!‒and Peeta started to notice other girls, too, but none of them left any kind of lasting impression on him as Katniss did.  

Was it normal for a boy to be so obsessed with a single girl his entire life?  

—–

Eventually, Peeta decided he needed a distraction from Katniss, and so, he joined the wrestling team at 15.  His older brother wrestled, and he’d always thought that was pretty neat.  

Turned out, he was really good at it, even came in second in the school, only to his brother.    

The wrestling built up Peeta’s body and his popularity.  Although he’d always been stronger than most boys his age, due to working in the bakery, he developed, growing broader and stronger but remaining lean in the waist.  He made more friends, and girls were starting to pay attention to him.  Save for one‒the girl he’d noticed all along.  Unfortunately, Katniss still treated him like her pal, and even worse, she was spending less time with him and more time with Gale Hawthorne…

Peeta didn’t like it.  

But he supposed he couldn’t blame her; between wrestling and the bakery, he’d had next to no time for her.

Or, maybe Katniss was finally figuring out that he didn’t belong in her world.  Not because she was a Seam girl and he was from town, but because, he didn’t seem to fit in with her and her friends.  For instance, he wasn’t good at the same kinds of things as they were.  It didn’t matter to Peeta, but maybe it mattered to her. 

Regardless, if she would allow it, he would remain by her side, for always.  Whether they were doing something he was good at or not, whether they were going someplace dangerous or unpleasant, no matter what, wherever she went, he wanted to go, too.  

But over the next year, things began to shift between them.  Peeta’s popularity in school only seemed to push Katniss away, and whenever he tried to remedy the situation, she either ignored him or flat-out made up an excuse.  It was a crushing blow each time she did.  

One day, a girl asked Peeta to go to the slag heap with her.  He knew what that meant, of course, and he actually considered it, if only to give himself the chance to feel something for someone other than Katniss.  But in the end, he just couldn’t go through with it, and he told her no.  She was pretty, but if her name wasn’t Katniss Everdeen, then Peeta Mellark simply wasn’t interested. 

That was the day it hit him‒he loved Katniss Everdeen.  No, not just loved her; he was in love with her.   

Maybe he should tell her how he felt.  

But how could he?  She would never reciprocate‒she didn’t think of him that way‒and he didn’t think he could take the rejection.  Best to leave things the way they were because having Katniss as his friend was much better than not having her at all…

—–

Katniss’s POV (Age 16) 

Several days later… 

“So, where’ve you been lately, Peeta?” asked Gale.  “Been wondering where the other half of Peetnip’s been.” 

“Actually, we prefer Everlark,” said Peeta with a grin.  

Katniss hugged her legs to her chest, blushing over the combining of hers and Peeta’s names, even though she knew it didn’t mean anything.  Gale was just fooling around, and Peeta was playing along.  

“Yeah, so what gives?” barked Gale.  “You too good to hang out with us all of a sudden?”  

“No, not at all, I-”  Peeta glanced over at her.  “I’ve just been really busy with wrestling.” 

And his new friends…

And that girl…

Katniss was sure she wasn’t coming close to hiding the disdain on her face.  Of course, she’d heard about that pretty girl asking Peeta to the slag heap.  And it had hurt way more than it should have; she’d actually felt like a part of her died inside that day.      

Katniss wasn’t sure why, but lately, she’d been thinking about Peeta a lot.  About old times.  When he fell out of the tree; when they slept in the same bed; that summer at the lake…

How had things changed so much between them, and somehow, not at all?  Part of Katniss wanted so badly for things to always stay the same, but another part of her kind of wished that things could be…different between Peeta and her.      

She shook off her thoughts and turned her attention back on Gale.  

He was looking as skeptical as her over Peeta’s excuse.  Not for the same reason, probably.  It was because Peeta was a merchant’s son.  And that meant Gale was always paranoid that Peeta was only pretending to be their friend for some ulterior motive not yet revealed, or that he’d ditch them all at the first opportunity.  Honestly, Katniss was surprised Gale had even accepted Peeta into their circle in the first place.  But, as with her (and everyone), it had taken him some time.   

“Seriously, man, it takes up almost all of my free time.  And then there’s my…”  Peeta stopped short.

“Your mother,” Gale finished for him.

“Yeah.”  Peeta looked to Katniss then, probably because he knew it was a sore subject for her.  Katniss glanced away.    

Peeta’s mother.  As much as Katniss disliked her, Peeta still seemed to care about what she thought, even if he said he didn’t. 

Not that she could blame him.  Angering his mother was dangerous, and she wanted him to be safe.  Simply associating with her, as Peeta was doing now, could earn him a beating.  And Katniss felt constant guilt over it.  He shouldn’t be here now; she should tell him to stop coming, once and for all.  But she just… 

“Katniss, who’s that man leering at you?” Gale’s voice broke Katniss’s train of thought.    

“Leering?”  She blinked several times in succession.  No guys ‘leered’ at her.  Guys barely even knew she existed, aside from her small group‒and they didn’t exactly think of her as a ‘girl.’  She was just one of the guys; she’d never even been asked on a date.  Not that she’d want to go on one…except maybe with…  

Shaking off the ridiculous notion, Katniss shielded her eyes from the sun and looked over.  Gale was right; the man was actually staring at her.  He was an older man, wearing dark, fancy clothing and gold eyeshadow.  He definitely wasn’t from around here.  

“I don’t know.”  Katniss shrugged.  “Never seen him before in my life.  And he’s not leering.” 

“Nah, I think he is,” Gale smirked.  “He’s looking pretty hard at you, Catnip.” 

Katniss’s cheeks flushed.  It felt so strange and uncomfortable having a man, any man, look at her that way as if he was evaluating her… 

“Well, all I know is, he can’t be from District 12,” remarked Gale.  “Look at those fancy clothes.” 

Her old hunting partner had read her mind, and instinctively, Katniss looked back at Peeta for his take on the matter.  Peeta didn’t even seem to notice her; he was focused on the man, and he seemed none too happy about the situation.  

The man with the gold eyeshadow came over then, and he introduced himself to Katniss.  His name was Cinna, and he was from the Capitol.  

The Capitol.  What could a man from the Capitol possibly want with her?  

“I’m sorry to stare, but let me explain,” said Cinna.  “I’m a stylist in the Capitol, and I’ve been searching for the perfect girl to model a new line of clothing I’m designing.”  

Yeah?  And what does that have to do with me?

He was going to have to spell this one out for her.  

“I think you’re it.”  At his words, Katniss’s eyes widened.  She glanced back at her group, the entire lot seeming as thunderstruck as her.  “Miss…?”  He extended his hand.   

“Katniss Everdeen.”  She accepted his hand and shook it.  

“Katniss, what a lovely name.  May I call you Katniss?” 

Numbly, she nodded.  

“Well, Katniss, you’re just what I’ve been looking for.  That skin, those eyes…I could do wonders with your unique look.” 

Katniss blinked several times, opening her mouth and closing it like a fish out of water.

“No offense,” she finally managed to say, “but I think you have the wrong girl.  As you can see,” she motioned in presentation of her dirty clothing and disheveled hair, “I’m no model.” 

Cinna grinned.  “Not yet, you aren’t, but that’s where I come in.”  

Katniss couldn’t understand it.  What was this man thinking?  People from the Capitol were known for their exotic tastes, but this was a bit much.  So what if he thought she had nice skin and eyes?  Couldn’t he find plenty of other girls with far better skin (that wasn’t caked in dirt and the faintest hint of coal dust) and with much more alluring eyes.  A unique look?  Well, the Capitol was full of people like that, wasn’t it? 

“There must be better choices than me in the Capitol,” she spoke her thoughts aloud.    

“Yes, well, I want a girl who’s real,” explained Cinna.  “An ordinary girl.  One of the people.  From the districts, not some fashion icon from the Capitol.  I’ve worked with plenty of those, and they’ve left me…wanting.”  

Katniss stared blankly at the man before her.  

“Just think about, Katniss,” he said, taking her hand and patting it gently.  “It would only be for about three months, and it would pay a lot of money.” 

Money?  Her eyes lit up at the magic word.  Now that the mine was temporarily shut down after that accident, her family could certainly use the money, but a model?!  She couldn’t be a model.  And the thought of leaving behind her family and Peeta…well, she didn’t like it one bit. 

Katniss glanced back at her blue-eyed boy with the bread, who seemed perturbed and maybe a little sad.  Their eyes met, and pleadingly, she stared into his, hoping for a silent answer.  What do I do?  

#jhsgf82 #567inpanem #prompt 13 #Springtime edition 2021 #submission