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#especially when there are quieter kids who you need to make sure you can focus on too???
tf2strategist · 2 years
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Could I perhaps get engineer, sniper and demoman with an autistic S/O who got really overstimulated and Is Not Okay? I need,,, for purposes.
Yes, yes you can!!!
Demo, Engineer, and Sniper with an overstimulated autistic S/O:
Demo:
Demo recognizes that his S/O is overstimulated pretty quickly. The base is always messy regardless of any attempts to clean it, there’s a lot of noise, especially chatter and gunfire during the day and even moreso at night during complaining or celebrating with the entire team.
“Ye alright? Ach, who am I kidding, ye look right terrible at the moment, love. No offense.”
He takes his S/O to somewhere quieter, probably his room as there’s at least some sense of familiarity and homeliness there for he and his S/O.
As someone who needs quiet to focus on tinkering without blowing something up, he’s got some ways of keeping the room from just being the equivalent of another hallway thanks to the paper thin walls.
If it still doesn’t help, he sticks by his S/O’s side and refuses to move away for the others until they’re able to process things more clearly again.
If they’re stimming to try and release the tension and overwhelming energy of the situation, he’ll literally just start mirroring them and stimming as well.
If they need something to focus on that isn’t their surroundings, he’s got a large amount of folklore and myths he can talk for hours about instead of whatever jabbering caused them to be overwhelmed in the first place.
Engineer:
Once he figures out what’s going on, he quickly tries to diffuse things and get his S/O to a place where they feel more comfortable.
Engineer commands a lot of respect, and most of the mercs know not to challenge him when he puts on a genuine serious face and asks for things to be done.
Quiet down, hush now fellas, can one of ya’ll get S/O a blanket? Hm? Yeah, they said somethin’ to hold would do.
Does his best to balance their current needs with social interaction; since he’s aware that taking them out of it entirely might cause them to break down further.
Instead, he lassos in the conversation and quiets things down as much as possible, then reduces the amount of stimuli by sending a glare to anyone making more noise than necessary.
As for sensations, he’ll hold his S/O’s hand if it helps, usually with his normal hand unless they prefer the feeling of metal, wiring, and electric circuitry to focus on. Warm or cold, his hand envelops theirs and acts as an anchor.
If anyone dares pipe up about it or anything else related to the situation, he’ll keep his cool. That is, until next time they need his help on the battlefield.
Sniper:
While he doesn’t necessarily understand a lot about it, Sniper is still very familiar with needing and wanting his space, where things are just how he wants them. Regardless of if he consciously realizes it or not, he might actually be the best person to go to about it when his S/O is having a rough time and is overstimulated.
At first, he’ll probably try things that help him calm down, but if a lukewarm cup of coffee and a polishing kit don’t assist—or taking a hike into the nearest area empty of people—then he’ll start quietly asking questions while internally panicking.
He doesn’t want to overwhelm his S/O further, but he also wants to fix or make the situation a bit better for them. Afraid that he’ll make it worse, he kind of ends up awkwardly throwing ideas at the wall to see what sticks.
Whatever ends up appearing to work first is what he doubles down on, before trying to branch out from there. If his S/O manages to calm down a little, he thinks, then they can help him help them a little more too.
It’s a very slow but sure process, and he gets there eventually. By the time he figures out what works, it’s probably far past when they were too overstimulated to function. After that point he’ll know what to do and is much quicker and more confident about lending a helping hand.
If they’re getting overstimulated and it’s just the two of them, he’ll do his weird too-long-legs thing and hug them to him in a way where they’re closed off and safe in his arms. He’ll end up a bit flustered about it later, but they calm down a lot more quickly that way since he’s able to just shut them off and ground their brain to the hug instead of what’s bothering them. It’s not foolproof, but it’s shocking how often it works.
This was a lot of fun to write! I hope I got this right and did well with the prompt, haha. Personally going with what would be nice when I’m overstimulated, though I don’t believe I’ve shut down fully because of it. That must suck a lot when it happens :(
The last one about Sniper is a personal tidbit I think would work really well on me, because I imagine what he does is like a really comfortable tight hug where noises are kinda shut out and the pressure would kinda keep you from moving y’know?
It’s like the ultimate “calm the FU—“ move and I love it but it also looks like it’d be really comfortable ;—;
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mohitsharma1 · 41 minutes
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Navigating the Admission Process: Tips for Parents Choosing the Right Schools in Gurugram
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nagipops · 3 years
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KONOHA ELEVEN IN A ZOOM CLASS!
FEATURING: naruto, sakura, shikamaru, ino, choji, hinata, kiba, shino, neji, rock lee, and tenten
WARNINGS: mentions of food
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NARUTO
definitely has forgotten that he was unmuted multiple times
or his camera was accidentally turned on
you could just see him sprawled on his bed with a bowl of instant ramen on his lap and a blanket wrapped around himself
EARRAPE SLURPS!! rip headphone users.
sometimes he notices that his camera’s turned on and you can see him freak out and scramble to turn it off
but he accidentally unmutes himself too and so you just hear panicked yelling
his device topples to the floor with a loud crash and he screams so loud istg
the next thing you see is naruto’s face hovering over the camera in fear just before his camera turns off and he’s muted again
the teacher is so confused?? naruto should i call an ambulance
but when he’s not eating in class, he’s sleeping in class
too busy sleeping to leave the zoom at the end of class so he’s always the last one left in the meeting besides the teacher
always asks sakura what happened during the zoom and she is FED UP
SAKURA
enters the waiting room 15 minutes before class is actually supposed to begin
spends the next 15 minutes rearranging her work area, making sure she’s prepared for the day
sits properly at her desk with her hair smoothed down and her face positioned perfectly in frame
if no one else has their camera on, she’s the only one with it on
seriously, she ALWAYS HAS IT ON
and she never leaves the screen somehow
diligently takes notes, uses the “raise hand” feature every two minutes to ask a question
sometimes it can get a bit annoying, even for the teacher
but she almost always gets perfect marks
acts like in angel in class, but after class... no promises, naruto!
SHIKAMARU
this man can barely stay awake during missions, so during a zoom? HECK NAH
shikamaru is literally me,, half asleep during lessons but somehow gets amazing grades
everyone’s either pissed at or envious of him (especially naruto)
obviously does not have his camera on
and rarely ever unmutes
uses the chat feature to answer the teacher’s questions but this man is basically asleep so its so incoherent
“shikamaru, what is a hyperbole?”
in chat: “a hyeprbole is a exsaggerayed phras,e”
teacher definitely thinks he’s cheating on tests
INO
either a) daydreaming about boys or b) checking herself out in the zoom camera OR c) secretly fuming at sakura’s know-it-all behavior
the two girls definitely compete to see who can raise their virtual hand first
"ahem, ahem- sensei? could i answer this question?"
her voice gets all sickly sweet and sakura HATES IT
the two of them totally got caught insulting each other in the private chat
100% the type of student to rewrite her notes after classes with various markers and colored pens and pretty fonts and patterns and whatnot
loves doodling flowers in her notebook during boring lessons!
CHOJI
another strong contender for the Loudest Student award!
not on purpose though, he just forgets that space bar = unmute, and plays some jumping game in another tab (like the no internet dino game!)
also,, rip headphone users
c r o n c h munch munch munch
are you kidding this man's chews are loud enough in person, but with a HEADSET?! hoo boy.
has conked out several times during class
just imagine the name Choji Akimichi with a profile picture of a bag of chips light up with the green box around it with a thunk
the teacher and class is so confused
but then you hear mumbles of "barbeque... chips... barbeque..."
and you realize that the man fell asleep onto his keyboard
he sleeps through the rest of class
HINATA
shy bb has never ONCE turned on her camera
the only time she's ever unmuted was to say "here" during attendance on the first day of school
if the teacher ever takes attendance again, she just uses the raise hand feature
what if naruto-kun thinks my voice is ugly? what if i accidentally turn on my camera? what if the teacher thinks i'm not paying attention? what if-
poor baby is too busy worrying about showing herself on zoom to actually pay attention
actually gets good grades though and her classmates wonder if she’s even there
her zoom pfp is definitely just a purple google “H”
KIBA
has the CUTEST zoom pfp hands down
it’s a selfie of him grinning cheerily with baby akamaru
100% has his camera on the whole time to show off his pup
he loves seeing everyone’s faces on screen melt and aww at the lil big doggo
sometimes akamaru just walks in front of the camera and blocks kiba from view and you just see a massive wall of white fur on screen LMAO
even though kiba’s muted, you can see him and akamaru bickering about who knows what
or even play fighting,, these two get into full on BRAWLS during class
just imagine akamaru shoves kiba into his desk and his camera crashes to the ground overturned so you see the ceiling and the occasional dog tail wagging in the corner
seriously, can the teacher ever catch a break with this class?
the answer is no.
SHINO
his zoom pfp is just a tick.
a singular tick
totally answers questions in chat with proper capitalization and punctuation
shikamaru’s improper answers tick him off
“A hyperbole is an expression that is greatly exaggerated. They are used in order to create emphasis.”
has never unmuted in his life either
he’s so unfazed by everything that goes down in class that it’s funny
if anything the slightest bit RELATED to bugs comes up during class, in 0.00238 seconds this man has an entire essay about them posted in chat, almost like he had it copied and READY to paste
everyone's definitely shocked that there’s actually a human listening behind a tick profile picture
NEJI
a very diligent note taker
seriously, this man writes like a printer; perfectly even handwriting that looks like a font, a million words per minute
everyone asks him for his notes after the zoom because they’re so neat (especially naruto, to neji’s dismay)
he gets excellent grades since he’s so organized and focused
just wishes the zoom would be over so he can work alone in peace
really hates unmuting so he often gives one-word answers in the chat
“Yes” “47” “Present” “Goodbye”
has used a zoom reaction ONCE in his life and he has never wanted to crawl into a hole and perish more
it was a complete accident,, mans was just trying to open the chat to type in his answer, but in a cruel twist of fate he clicked on the 😂 reaction
and he just sat there for ten excruciating seconds in complete and utter shock and shame for ten excruciating seconds as he prayed for it to disappear
tenten would never let him live that down
ROCK LEE
Zoom Reaction Enthusiast
😂😮👍🎉❤️ 24/7
naruto accidentally unmutes himself? 😮
choji falls asleep on his keyboard? 😂
neji answers something correctly? 👍
tenten received the highest score in class? 🎉
akamaru appears on screen? ❤️
unmutes whenever he needs to, but he thinks the little emoticons are so silly and cute
otherwise, he is EXTRA FOCUSED and EXTREMELY DETERMINED to learn all of the things
he’s the first to unmute whenever the teacher asks if the class can see the screen share, hear them correctly, etc.
never takes his eyes off the screen!! he could be missing out on important information
I FEEL LIKE,, i feel like he would totally keep his camera off when he’s muted but whenever he unmutes he would also turn his camera on
so when he says a quick “yes!” his camera turns on but before his camera can adjust properly to the light he mutes and turns his camera back off so his face is just super dark for a split second LMAOOO
tell me im wrong
TENTEN
exasperated by this entire class
thinks her and neji are the only sane ones in the class and it’s true
wants to tell sakura and ino to stop competing and just focus on learning, since they’re the only other girls in the class besides hinata
plus she’s just fed up with all the lazy boys
takes great pride in passing every assignment, test, or exam with flying colors
teachers pet, but the quieter type who stays after every zoom and sends lots of emails regarding assignments and grades and whatnot (unlike sakura and ino who rub it in the teacher’s face)
doesn’t like helping other people besides neji, girl’s got a soft spot for him since they have a mutual respect for each other
but if you’re a handsome prince, maybe she’ll help you out!
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if you enjoyed this post, likes and reblogs are much appreciated :) feel free to request here, and make sure to read the rules first! have a lovely day everyone <3
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chasingpj · 3 years
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𝐔𝐧𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐑𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐳𝐯𝐨𝐮𝐬
"I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."
pairing: percy jackson x child of hecate!reader
words: 4,931
warnings: none
timeline: post sea of monsters
if you want to be tagged every time I update this story, click here
a/n: hi hi! this is part one of a self-insert series I'm working on. in this story, y/n is a child of hecate, and this storyline follows the books. the current timeline here is post sea of monsters and will continue through the Heroes of Olympus books. though it follows the original plot, y/n has her own storyline and quests. i tried to make y/n gender-neutral but as I continued to work on the timeline for this project, i had decided that this fic is for a fem reader. guys, this is really just me projecting my fantasy into fanfiction lol. i feel like this is a slow start?? and there is a lot of info dumped in this so bear with me. it'll get better and I'll be working to improve my writing as the series continues. I was on a writing hiatus for a really long time and I'm out of practice so this is my way to get back and hopefully, exceed the skills I had when I was a consistent writer. anyways, if you have any feedback, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think. as i get deeper into the series, i might ask for some suggestions on what to do with the fic. anyways, i'll stop rambling and i hope you like it!
Part One Part Two
You ignore the aching in your neck as your focus is fixed on the herbology book in front of you. You’ve been seated at your desk for Zeus knows how long reading and taking notes in your Book of Shadows, determined to finish reading it as fast as possible. Your half-brother, Alabaster, insisted that you need to memorize all the herbs and their properties before he can properly teach you how to use them in potions. Even though you understand its importance, you hated introductory work. You are itching to get to the real stuff, resulting in you glued to your chair, studying through the night as your cabin mates were fast asleep in their beds. But as determined as you are, Ambrose, your familiar, wasn’t much help. Ambrose whines as he rubs his head against your legs like a needy kitten, making it difficult to ignore him.
“What is it, Ambrose?” You whisper, sitting back in your chair in defeat. You take a second to massage the back of your sore neck before turning to face the translucent hound sitting attentively at your side. His tail sweeps the floor as it wags excitedly, and a short huff leaves his snout as if he was proud to have finally gotten your attention.
Your eyes meet his, racking your mind to figure out what Ambrose needs to tell you. At first, you thought he wanted to play, but you didn’t have time for that, so you decided to ignore him. Usually, after being ignored for a while, Ambrose will give up, finding something else to occupy him. But tonight, he was particularly persistent, and he’s only like this when he needs to tell you something.
Before you can ask what he wanted again, Ambrose gets up from his seated position, running over to the small table that stands beside your bed. You furrow your eyebrows, the first thing you notice when you walk over are your crystals neatly placed in front of your spell books as usual. Seeing them made you suddenly remember what you had planned to do.
You had told Ambrose to remind you to charge your crystals and collect water from the lake since there is a full moon tonight and of course, Ambrose being your loyal companion, did exactly that. Before looking down at the hound, who now is breathing heavily, his tail somehow wagging faster than before, you smile to yourself.
“I told you to remind me earlier, didn’t I?” Ambrose snorts and runs around your feet enthusiastically. You couldn’t help but giggle at his excitement as you reached down to pat his head. “Good boy. What would I do without you?” You continue to praise him, grabbing a black pouch and carefully placing the crystals in it. You put your index finger to your lips, signaling Ambrose to be a little quieter despite his excitement. If he accidentally wakes anyone up, then you definitely weren’t going to be able to fulfill your plans.
You bite your bottom lip as you tiptoe out of the aisle between the bunks. You look around the notoriously cramped Hermes Cabin to make sure your assumption that everyone was asleep by now was correct. It wasn’t hard to make out the faces of your cabin mates since seeing clearly in the dark was one of your many gifts, so you carefully walked along the bunks, being as quiet as you could. You are especially cautious as you approach the front where your cabin leaders, the Stoll brothers, slept. You study them for a second, knowing for sure Travis was asleep since he was snoring and loudly at that. Before you can check if Connor is asleep, you hear him shifting in his bed. You stand frozen in your spot, hesitantly looking over and you were expecting to be met with the usual mischievous grin. Instead, his back was towards you now. You have a feeling in your gut that he wasn't asleep, the timing of his moving was much too convenient. You really didn't want to wait any longer though so you decide that you might as well leave before he could stop you.
You turn on your heels, walking over to the window before you push it open. You cringe softly as the hinges creak, and you look back at the cabin to double-check if anyone has woken up from the sound. You sigh in relief when you see no one has moved, and you turn back to the window, carefully crawling out of it. This wasn’t unusual for you. You’ve done this so many times that using windows as a mode of exiting and entering a room was as natural to you as walking in and out of a door, and soon you were hopping down onto the grass. Your back is pressed against the cabin as you walk the side of it. You look up at the trees and the sky, eyes scoping around for any harpies hanging around. After deeming that you were alone, you begin making your way to the lake, Ambrose walking by your side attentively and cautiously to make sure you are safe.
The night was clear; the stars and especially the moon shone brightly in the sky. You sigh softly, taking in the stillness of the night, admiring the glistening lake reflecting the full moon placed above it. You’ve always enjoyed how quiet and cool the nights were, preferring it more than the daytime.
Unfortunately, you couldn’t avoid it as much as you wish to. Most of your siblings can agree with you that they’d prefer to sleep in most days so that they can study and practice their magic at night. However, that wasn’t the schedule of the Hermes Cabin. It was pretty impossible to sleep in since the mornings were always hectic. In fact, the cabin was just hectic, period. There was always something going on, whether it was an elaborate prank or the guys arguing over who gets to shower first after coming back from training which usually resulted in an intense game of rock, paper, scissors. You can’t say that you didn’t like it; at least you were entertained.
You also always had someone to talk to, and because there were often new campers coming in and out of there, you have easily familiarized yourself with a lot of the kids at camp. However, like your mother, you did enjoy and yearn for the occasional periods of solitude. As fun as living with the Hermes kids was, you and your siblings did find yourselves getting a little irritable at their shenanigans. It was at those times, you did wish that your mother, Hecate, had a designated cabin.
You and your siblings had always said if they ever got a cabin of their own, they would make sure everyone had separate rooms and would have designated spaces to socialize and practice their magic so that it was quiet for the most part. Alabaster, especially, was really passionate about this topic. He complained how it didn’t make sense that your mother wasn't recognized since you and your siblings were a powerful little bunch. You all needed a space to practice your magic and practice preferably at night since you were the most powerful at that time of day; you were also less prone to making mistakes in your spell casting at night. You agreed with him and would get upset about it sometimes, but the Hermes Cabin was a place you considered to be a second home. The communal feel of the space was something you enjoyed, it was one of the few places where you felt fully accepted which was rare to find being a demi-god with abilities like yours. In return to the Hermes Cabin welcoming you with open arms, you accept the inconveniently loud environment as an admirable quirk and went on with your days.
Then to compensate for the lack of silence and solitude, you would often stay up late, taking advantage of the quiet to focus on your studies. Even if you had to sacrifice the amount of sleep you got, you felt like it was worth it.
It doesn’t take you long to arrive at the dock, sitting down close to the end with your legs folded under you. You first collect lake water in a jar before carefully taking out the pouch's crystals. Assuming you had only a few left in the pouch after laying most of them on the dock, you tilt it with your hand under it, only for the crystals to come out all at once. You fumble, hands trying to bring them to your chest, but with your luck, one of your crystals falls right into the water with a plop.
“Dammit!” You peer over the edge and groan, Ambrose whining at your misfortune as he stands beside you. You look down at the water, noticing Ambrose’s and your dim reflection in it. There was no way you could get that crystal now because you didn't know how to swim, and you consider that maybe tomorrow you can convince your twin brother, Atticus, to look for it or Alabaster if Atticus refused, which you were expecting him to.
Your breath hitches at the back of your throat, jumping back as a head of dark hair abruptly pops up from right where you were staring. Ambrose barks loudly next to you, equally as startled, and your eyes widen. You stand up hastily at the realization that Ambrose's loud barks in the dead of night will catch the attention of the harpies, and right now, that was more important to you than the mysterious person that just sprouted up in the water like a zombie coming out of a grave.
“Shush! Ambrose, quiet!” Your frantic command was enough to make him stop with a whine, and you sigh shakily, turning towards the camp to check if there were any harpies.
“I think you dropped something.” Ambrose moves in front of you protectively, a low growl coming from his chest as he cautiously studies the person. You look back where the voice came from and to your surprise and your relief, you find that the mysterious person in the lake was no other than Percy Jackson. You never had a conversation with him before, but you definitely knew about him. It was kind of hard not to know who he is since he’s been the talk of the camp since he’s arrived. Your thoughts about him weren’t any different from most of the camp. You’ve seen him fight and use his powers during capture the flag, and you were just as impressed as everyone else. You did have to admit that you found him to be pretty cute too. His eyes were gorgeous, clear, and bright like a shallow, cyanic sea. You also found it adorable how his hair always looked a little disheveled.
Your (e/c) eyes met Percy’s green ones before looking at your rose quartz in his hand. You smile sheepishly, noticing the amused look on his face.
“Ah, yeah, that’s mine.” You walk over to him, but as you get closer, so does Ambrose, and his growls get louder. "Ambrose, heel. It's okay," you say softly, and he stops in his place, but his stance is still at alert, his eyes watching Percy cautiously. You pat Ambrose's head before walking past him and over to Percy. "Thanks," you smile, taking your rose quartz from his hand.
"No problem… I don't think your ghost dog likes me," Percy jokes, moving to look past your legs at Ambrose, who’s standing tall on your left side.
"Yeah, well, you kinda scared the crap out of us," you point out, amused. You take in Percy's goofy smile as he pulls himself up from the water, and you notice that he’s completely dry as he settles on the edge before turning his body to look at you.
“It’s y/n, right?” He asks, and you nod, figuring he’s probably heard about you in passing from Connor and Travis since he was friends with them too. “What are you doing out here so late?"
"I could ask you the same thing," you retort playfully, making him smile. You move to sit down where you were standing. You spread the crystals neatly on the wood, making a mental note to get them before you go to bed.
"I couldn't sleep, so I came out here to hang out, but then a hippocampus swam up. One of its friends got stuck in a fisher's net not too far from here, so I went to help," he explains, and you nod. "I told you my excuse, so what's yours?"
You hum, "It's a full moon out tonight, so I thought I should take my crystals out. I also needed moon water for a potion, so I collected some for that," you point over at the big mason jar full of lake water. "It’s not as cool as your excuse,” you say playfully.
A short laugh comes from Percy, and when you look up from your crystals, you notice he was looking at Ambrose again, who was still in his tense stance. Ambrose was especially protective of you and Atticus, and it wasn’t unusual for him to be cautious of the new people you come across. You assumed that Ambrose was particularly tense with Percy since he had successfully caught you both by surprise.
"Ambrose, relax.” You pat the top of his head to soothe him. "Lay down." Ambrose whines, licking your hand affectionately for a little, and you can tell he was still uneasy about the other. He was hesitant, but he follows your command anyway, laying down with his head on your lap.
"You can touch him?" Percy asks, his eyes wide and curious as he watches you pet Ambrose.
"Yeah, I can touch ghosts in general. My mother is Hecate, goddess of necromancy, along with magic, the night and the moon," you tell him. "This is Ambrose. My mother gifted him to me to be my familiar, kinda like a guardian." You look down at the hound, smiling softly as you scratch behind his ear softly.
Ambrose is a burly Molossian Hound who lived in the time of Alexander The Great. From what your father told you, his breed was well valued in Ancient Greek and Roman times and was often used in war. It is easy to understand why the breed was used in war. Ambrose is huge and muscular, about 6 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs, and he weighs around 200 pounds. At first, Ambrose can come off as a little intimidating. You remember how your siblings had avoided him when you first arrived at camp before they realized that he was the clearest definition of a gentle giant. Even though he was trained to fight when he was alive, he was still as gentle as a well-trained house dog unless he was given a reason not to be.
"When did you get him?" Percy asks, his eyes focusing on Ambrose’s translucent body that looked like it is made up of this gray swirling vapor. He couldn’t exactly wrap his head around how Ambrose’s head was comfortably propped up on your thigh.
"We met on the night I was on my way to Camp so about 2 years ago. Without him, my brother and I probably would have never made it to the borders.” You look up at Percy, meeting his eyes again; you watch as his face softens as he shifts to lean back on his hand.
"Really?" You hum and nod, ready to drop the conversation there, thinking you shouldn’t bore him with the details. You didn’t really like talking about it much, but the way he was looking at you made you feel like he was inviting you to continue talking.
"We got separated from our father at the gas station a couple of miles away from here. He went inside the convenience store to get us snacks, and while he was in there, a cyclops had found us, tried to grab us out of his car. We jumped out and ran into the woods nearby," you explain as you look out at the dark horizon.
You remember the sound of your father yelling after you and Atticus and how it broke your heart hearing, for the first time, such despair in his voice. You knew your dad didn’t want to bring you guys to camp, but he knew it was in Atticus’s and your best interest to come here and be with other people like you guys.
When you and Atticus started developing your powers, your father had simply told you guys that you were special and to refrain from using your telekinesis anywhere else but home. He didn’t say anything more until one night, you and Atticus had gotten in a screaming match about a reason you don’t even remember. However, in your screaming match, the both of you were so angry that a green aura had formed around you both, and books, magazines, even cutlery were being flown across the room because of the sheer energy you were admitting as a unit. It was then your father had decided to take you and Atticus to the camp to control and learn about your powers before you guys destroyed the house over a dumb argument like who’s turn is it to have the TV remote.
"We were more concerned about the monster hurting our dad, so we decided on a whim to run in the forest. My brother and I have telekinesis powers, and I aimed well enough to send a rock right at the cyclops eye. We lost him a little after that, but we didn't know where we were. We made too many twists and turns; we had no idea what direction we came from. And then, this buddy appeared out of nowhere from a distance. I saw him glowing from far away and couldn’t make out what he was, but I felt that I had to follow him. So we did, and he got us to camp with no detours for any other monsters. He's been with me ever since," you say, and a low whine comes from Ambrose’s mouth as he nuzzles the side of his face on your thigh contentedly.
Percy nods, and he huffs softly, "You guys got lucky. How old were you and your brother when you got to camp?"
"12, we're twins. We actually got here a couple of weeks after you did,” you mention. You watch Percy’s mouth curve into a half-smirk.
“Wow," he says, amused, and shakes his head. “So you have a twin and a dead dog, no fair," he jokes. You giggle, rolling your eyes playfully,
"Oh please, and you have crazy water powers. You’re completely dry after swimming! I think that's pretty envy-worthy."
"Hey-,” he shrugs, taking a second as if to form a protest. “I guess you're right,” he admits and laughs. You laugh with him, opening your mouth to say something else but unfortunately, you were interrupted by a screech echoing in the distance.
Both you and Percy stand up quickly, trying to figure out which direction it came from. “The harpies,” you both mutter in unison. You bend down to grab your things, and you look at Ambrose.
"Go distract them, bud," you tell him, and Ambrose jumps up to his feet, and you watch as he runs away, barking to get their attention. Just then, you see the wings of the Harpies coming up from the trees of the forest. You turn to Percy, grabbing his hand quick,
“Incantare: Transpectus!" You exclaim confidently, closing your eyes to envision you and Percy becoming transparent on the dock. You've never tried doing this spell before, but you've gotten better at visualizing and setting intentions, so you had some hope in yourself. You open your eyes, not feeling any different, and you hoped that you just didn't make a fool of yourself in front of Percy. But when you look down at your hand hesitantly and notice it was hard to make out since you were see-through like glass, you sigh in relief. You smile to yourself, more than satisfied that you were able to pull that off.
"Woah, are we invisible?" You look over at Percy, able to see him just fine since he was under the spell with you. Percy looks down at himself, eyes widened as he processes he can’t see his body anymore. You observe him for a second, finding it cute how he looked surprised and obviously entertained at the fact that he was completely see-through. You feel yourself growing a little flustered, trying not to focus too much on the fact that you were holding hands with him.
"Something like that. C'mon, it won’t last too long," you whisper, and your grip around his hand tightens as you guys begin running to his cabin. You hear the harpies screeching in frustration as they swoop down to try and grab Ambrose, only for their claws to go right through him. While the harpies were growing more annoyed, Ambrose, on the other hand, was having way too much fun, running in circles and barking at them as if he’s teasing.
"Man, I wish I had a ghost dog," you hear Percy mutter behind you as you arrive at the steps of his cabin.
"Yeah, Ambrose is pretty great," you admit, watching him play with the harpies before shifting your gaze over to Percy. "Thanks for getting the crystal for me." As much as you wanted to stay talking to him, you knew you couldn't stay too long. You were still eager to finish studying, and Ambrose can only hold off the harpies for so long.
"It was no problem. It was on my way up anyways," he shrugs, and you smile, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in your stomach. You look down, the two of you still holding hands even though the spell wore off already. You awkwardly let go of his hand, shifting on your feet.
"Well, I'll see you around," you say sheepishly, fiddling with your fingers.
"Yeah, I'll see you.” His hand comes up in an awkward wave. You nod, returning the wave. Your eyes meet Percy’s green ones one more time before turning on your heels and walking down the steps of his cabin. You notice that Ambrose is now long gone into the forest, taking the harpies with him to give you time to rush to the other side where your cabin is.
As you hurry back to your cabin, you couldn’t help but smile to yourself as you replayed the interaction you just had with Percy, and you couldn't help but wonder when would be the next time you could talk to him.
You carefully hoist yourself up, climb back into the cabin through the window, sighing softly once you get in. You slowly close the window, your face scrunching at the creaking sound, but you successfully get it closed before turning around, only to be faced with Connor Stoll standing a few feet away with his arms crossed over his chest. You gasp loudly, almost dropping the mason jar in your hand, being startled for the second time tonight.
“Oh, look who’s back,” he says, his lips pulled in his usual mischievous smirk, his right eyebrow raised as if he's suspicious of you. You shift, giggling nervously under his graze,
"Hey, Con.” Shit. You knew he wasn’t asleep, and a part of you wasn’t surprised that he had caught you sneaking out again. You weren’t too worried since Connor wasn’t one to be strict or easily angered, neither was Travis, but you can understand if he did get a little upset with you since the cabin could also get in trouble, and he worried about you getting hurt.
"You leave so often, I'm starting to think you're seeing someone," he teases, and you furrow your eyebrows, not really sure what he was trying to get at.
"I'm not seeing anyone. You know what I do when I sneak out," you tell him, putting your hand out to show him the jar full of water. After being caught the first couple of times, you had explained to Connor why you occasionally needed to head out at night. He was understanding of your reasons, telling you to try and not sneak out as often. When he did catch you, he always kept your outings secret. It came with a price, though. You were sometimes stuck doing extra chores, especially anything that had to do with cleaning, since he hated doing anything that had to do with mopping or sweeping.
"So that wasn't you and Percy on the dock?" Your eyes widen, and you feel your face get hot again. You shake your head, stumbling over your words for a second.
"Uh… n- that was a coincidence!" You hear him snort, laughing quietly as if he didn't believe you. Even though he couldn't see your facial expression very well in this lighting, he can still tell how flustered you were at his sudden question.
"Yeah, sure," he says sarcastically, and he hums, "Anyways, what are you going to do for me so that I don't tell on you?" He asks, and your mouth drops open. Usually, he wasn't so forward, and he never threatened to tell on you. "I might spread a rumor about you and Percy rendezvousing at midnight. The Aphrodite cabin will have a hoot with that one."
You gasp, "Connor, are you blackmailing me right now?" You narrow your eyes at him, and he shrugs,
"I guess you can say I am." You shake your head, walking over to your desk to put down your moon water before turning toward him and crossing your arms in front of your chest.
"... what do you want?" You ask, expecting him to make you take up one of his chores. But from the way he was smiling at you, you can tell that there was something more he wanted, and you were beginning to worry.
"Help me turn the Ares Cabin into bunnies," he says, and you shake your head frantically,
"No way! Clarisse will kill me," you whisper. Connor smiles,
"No, she won't. She can't kill you if she's a bunny," he points out, and your face falls flat,
"They're not gonna stay bunnies forever," you say, and you fiddle with your fingers nervously at the idea of the outrage you'd get from the Ares Cabin after shifting back from being bunnies. "I don't know, Con. I don't even know if I can turn all of them into bunnies at once."
Connor waves his hand at you, dismissing your concern. "I don't care for the logistics now. We can work on that later, but you have to agree to at least help me," he says. "Or I'm telling everyone I saw you smooching Percy on the dock."
"What!? We didn't even kiss. We talked for like 5 minutes!" You whisper-yell, your reactions much too entertaining for him, and he was having a hard time holding in his laugh.
"Your decision, y/n."
You sigh, throwing your head back. You look at the ceiling for a second as you consider your two choices. And you decide that getting your head potentially put on a stick by Clarisse was better than the burning embarrassment of Percy thinking you're spreading rumors about kissing him. "Fine, whatever. I'll help you do the bunny thing," you mumble, your shoulders slouched.
Connor nods with a proud smile on his face for trapping you into helping him. "Good choice. I will be going back to sleep now. Good night… again," he announces, turning on his heels and walking over to his bed. You frown a little as you walk back to your desk to study. Plopping down onto your chair, you decide that you’ll worry about Connor’s little plan later so you can focus on your studying. After a while, Ambrose comes trotting in, joining you by the desk as usual. You smile at him, praising the other for distracting the harpies for you before he lays down, his head laying on your foot.
As you study, you find that you couldn’t help your mind drifting back to Percy once and a while. You deem that there was no way that you could have a crush on him since you guys have only spoken once. In the midst of your internal debate to decide what you felt for him, you suddenly remember the crystal that was retrieved for you. You remember how Percy presented it to you, holding it out for you with his fingertips. It was your rose quartz. What a coincidence. You smile, rolling your eyes as you tell yourself that you’re thinking too much into it. You look over, noticing the dim illuminating light of the beginning sunrise shining through the curtains. You sigh, deciding that you should probably get to sleep and take advantage of the maybe, four hours of sleep you’ll get tonight. You close your herbology book before making your way to your bed, and with a soft sigh, you retreat under the covers, and finally, you surrender to your drowsiness.
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watermelonlipstick · 3 years
Text
Septic
This was written as a request for anon, who asked:
I was wondering if I could request one with Dean. The reader's injury gets badly infected and she gets a high fever and they are stuck somewhere and can't go to the hospital (maybe a cabin during a snow storm or something else if you want?). Anyway her condition keeps getting worse and dean is doing everything he can to keep her alive? As for their relationship it's up to you, whether they're dating or hiding their feelings...?
I hope this is something along the lines of what you were thinking. I decided to go with a ‘hiding from Leviathans’ angle because that seemed the closest to canon compliant to me. Thanks in advance for reading; I would love any advice or critiques!!
Title: Septic
Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader
Word Count: 2124
Summary: Unable to go to a hospital for fear of getting trapped by Leviathans, Dean tries his best to manage the reader’s worsening infection and fever. 
Warnings: fever, illness, swearing, implied threat of death, hurt/comfort, angst, fluff (maybe? if you squint)
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           “Dude, I have a fever, I haven’t been decapitated. Can you stop pacing? Sam’ll be back in a couple days, I’ll take some Tylenol and sleep it off, we’ll be good as new in no time.”
           He glared down at you where you laid on Rufus’s couch with flared nostrils. “You’re shivering under every goddamn blanket in this place and it’s been 3 days already. We’re going to a hospital.”
           You rolled your eyes at him and tried to hide the way you snuggled deeper into the woolen bundle. “So dramatic. As if we wouldn’t get made walking in the door. And if you’re so worried about me, why don’t you make yourself useful and get me a hot water bottle and some tea?” You tried to give him your most casual smile in reassurance.
           Dean appraised you with a hard set to his jaw and a twinge of concern at his eyebrows for a moment before relenting. “Fuck, fine. One more day and if the fever hasn’t broken, then we’re going.” It was only a few steps to the kitchen, and you heard him putting a pot of water on to boil. “You sure I can’t just do coffee? I don’t know how you drink this stuff.”
           Like it always did, Dean’s aversion to tea made you laugh. “It’s literally just mint flavored water—you act like you haven’t drunk all kinds of potions and hangover cures.”
           “The fact that I have drunk all kinds of potions and hangover cures should show you how gross it is.” He tossed a hot water bottle covered in worn waxed canvas on top of your blankets and you shimmied it under your feet while he got the tea together. After a moment, he set the tea (and a plastic bear full of honey, which made you smile to yourself) on the coffee table next to you. “Can we at least watch something else? These chicks are driving me fucking nuts.”
           That made you laugh hard enough to shake loose the blanket corners tucked in under your chin. “You might be able to trick Bobby into thinking you don’t like the Real Housewives, but I’m not buying it for one second.”
           He shot you some side eye but didn’t protest, patting your feet in a signal to raise them so he could sit with your legs in his lap. You didn’t remember past the first few minutes of the next episode.
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           “Hey, come on, you gotta drink something.”
           You squinted up at Dean, feeling the sickly stickiness of dried and re-soaked sweat in Dean’s stolen sweatshirt where it bunched around your neck. “You want me to sleep, you want me to wake up, pick a lane, asshole,” you tried to joke, feeling each word like a stab in your, well, stab wound. It took more focus than it should’ve too hold onto Dean’s face where he perched on the coffee table right in front of you.
           “You’ve been asleep for 16 hours, Rip Van Winkle. And you’re sweating like a whore in church, gotta rehydrate.”
           “Thanks, Nurse Ratched,” you croaked, carefully keeping your face neutral around the throbbing ache in your side as you sat up and accepted the bowl of broth from Dean. When his hands were free, he put the back of his hand to your forehead in a very maternal way that might’ve made you giggle if you weren’t in so much pain.
           Dean’s lips pressed into a tight line and he breathed a hard “fuck,” as he sat back. “Lemme see it.”
           “If you wanted to get me naked, all you had to do was ask,” you tried to joke.
           “No slick shit, I’m serious. The fever’s getting worse.” There wasn’t even a touch of playfulness in his tone, tight chord of anxiety clipping his words.
           “It’s going to be pink and raw like every other set of infected stit—”
           “Cooperate or don’t, but my bet is there’s no way you can slip out of getting pinned right now.”
           “Who knew you were so kinky, Dean?”
           He didn’t rise to the teasing at all, the just-this-side-of-friendly banter you normally had, and it made the nervous bile rise a few degrees in your throat. You eased back and slowly flipped down the blankets, immediately started shivering as you pulled up your damp layers to show him your stomach.
           It was worse than you’d thought it would be even before he tenderly pulled back the tape to see the injury itself, the gauze a mottled tie-dye of blood and greenish pus. The stitches strained against swollen, angry tissue oozing at the corners, and you looked away to hold onto a little denial that you weren’t completely fucked. “Jesus Christ, kid,” Dean murmured. He reached behind him for a bottle of rubbing alcohol and you didn’t even try to argue, hissing and grabbing his wrist when he poured it over the wound. Dabbing off the worst of the external mess with the moisture, you watched as his mind raced.
           You decided to try to grab the reins of the situation before he locked you both into a crazy plan. “Help me up, I want to take a shower. I feel disgusting.”
           “Can you even stand?”
           You rolled your eyes at him exasperatedly.
           “Roll your fucking eyes at me all you want, you look like Marvin the Martian. Can’t believe I let your dumb ass talk me out of taking you to a hospital.”
           “I’ve got a much better chance of beating a little infection than I do the combined force of however many Leviathans are looking for us and the full force of the federal government. Now get out of my way if you’re not going to help me up, I need a shower.”
           He pushed back the coffee table and watched you stand up, grabbing your arm and waist when you immediately swayed. “Goddamn it, sit back down, I’m getting your shoes.”
           “Dean. I am not going to a hospital. Especially not before Sam gets back. Not a negotiation. I just—you’re freaked out, I get it. I just need you to please let me call the play for once.”
           His jaw muscles tightened into firm balls and you could see the flare of panic behind his gaze as he flicked between your eyes. Ultimately he didn’t say anything, just giving you a tight nod and offering a hand to guide you up and to the bathroom. When you’d gotten there, he hovered in the doorway as you started to peel off layers, hoping that your leaning on the sink didn’t look as obvious as it felt. “Think I can take it from here, chief,” you offered, hoping he’d take the hint.
           “Not adding a head injury to this bullshit stew, sorry.”
           “No way, psycho. You’re not watching me shower.”
           His face screwed up in a scowl. “I’m not going to watch you shower, I’m just staying in here while you do in case you get dizzy again.”
           “Dude—”
           “Not a negotiation,” he growled, spinning your words back on you. You held each other’s stubborn gazes for a long beat before you gave in, getting in the tub and yanking the curtain closed with the rest of your clothes on, shucking the rest of them off and dropping them outside the tub behind the plasticized shield and curtain. You turned the water on and held onto the dial for support, hearing Dean’s movement in the bathroom as he sat down on the lidded toilet next to the shower. Laborious as it was, it felt a lot better getting clean. You’d started washing your hair when he started to talk.
           “You know what you’re asking me to do, right?”
           “Let me take a shower in peace?” You didn’t want to acknowledge the elephant in the room—what was the point?
           “If you’re not septic yet you will be in a day or two.”
           “By which time Sam will be back and you guys can strong arm some vet into giving me antibiotics like the mafiosos you fancy yourselves to be.”
           “Don’t deflect.” It was quiet but firm, and you blinked away the way your vision was starting to fuzz out at the edges. Something about it finally got you to drop the joking, if only for a second.
           “I know what I’m asking you to do.” You hoped he could hear the resolution in your voice.
           Dean was silent for a long enough beat that you thought maybe he hadn’t heard you, but you heard the roughness in his voice when he finally replied. “Please don’t make me?”
           The shower washed away a hot, stupid tear when it shot out of your eye like a kamikaze at his vulnerability. “I can’t be the reason you guys get caught.” You were clean now, but something about the confession-style quality of the shower curtain and the way it was letting both of you say what you really meant held you in the stream of water anyway.
           “I’m not—it’s going to fuck me up forever, you know that, right?” It was almost a grunt, the way Dean’s voice strained as he pleaded with you.
           “Long as you guys are alive.”
           He didn’t respond.
           After a long minute you felt your legs start to turn to jello. “You have something out there I can put on?”
           You heard him clear his voice, sticky and coarse. “Gimme a second.”
           A callused hand shot behind the shower curtain with a towel before Dean’s footsteps got quieter, and you tried your best to dry yourself off without stumbling. Not 15 seconds later, a bundle of clothes came in the same way. You smiled to yourself at your underwear and yoga pants with Dean’s t-shirt; he would’ve had to deliberately go into 2 different bags to get the clothes, no way it was an accidental grab. When you were dressed, you tugged the shower curtain back and didn’t argue when Dean wrapped his arm around your waist to ease you out of the tub, let him guide you back to the couch and fussily rearrange your blankets and pillows before he got out his first aid supplies.
           You watched his face as he worked on cleaning the wound again, knowing he just needed to be doing something, that he couldn’t just sit still and hope it got better. You could give him that, sat stock still even when it stung like a bitch and didn’t even tease him when he made you swallow a handful of vitamins as though that would help. Another cup of soup eaten silently and two mugs of tea later, your eyelids were beginning to droop again.
           “Tired?” he murmured, messing with the cover of the hot water bottle before ultimately getting up to refill it.
           “A little, yeah. Will you, um, will you sit with me?”
           Dean mercifully didn’t acknowledge the shake in your voice, nodding gently and sliding himself beneath you on the couch, tucking you under his arm and onto his chest, burrowing you both into the cushions. You reached your hand out of the blankets to place your palm over his heart, feeling the vibrating thrum of his pulse under your fingertips and cheek. His hand shifted so that he was smoothing the drying hair back from your temple, and after a few beats he bent his neck to kiss the crown of your head. The tenderness of it, the giving in to your request, pulled another tear out of your eye that fell straight into the cotton of Dean’ t-shirt underneath you.
           He sounded like he’d just woken up, that sleepy-syrupy sandpaper of a long night on his vocal cords. “You know, right? If it was going to be anyone for me, it would’ve been you?”
           The weight of it turned the blankets on top of you into a hug. You were nodding into him before you could speak, the tears turning your voice creaky-soft. “Same to you, dummy.” He chuckled once nostalgically at the ribbing, and you felt the rumble of it under you. “Thank you, Dean.”
           You felt the tension of the hiccupped breath before Dean got it under control to answer. “I love you, kid.”
           “Love you too.” It was the only thing to say, and neither of you had to answer or explain this undercurrent that had never been acknowledged so plainly before, no matter how rock solid it might’ve been for years. You laid there together for a long time, beating of Dean’s heart underneath you something constant to hold onto, warmth off his body better than any hot water bottle. The last thing you remembered before passing out was hearing Sam walk through the front door.
-
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wannabe-fic-writer · 3 years
Text
Moment In Time
Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x Reader
Summary: Just when you've gotten out, you’re given a reason to come back.
Warnings: Mild Language
Chapter 8
* * * * * * *
There’s a small, skin toned bump under her eye. Another small, almost unnoticeable mark just above her lip. 
Her eyes crinkle in the corners when she laughs and her cheeks pull up into perfect plum shapes.
Though the skin on her hands is soft and smooth, her palms are calloused a little. It leaves you wondering if it’s from all the times she’s held the cold metal of a gun in her hand, or wielded a knife that’s handle was too rough against her skin. 
Still you notice, despite the initial roughness you pick up on when you see the scars on her skin or feel the callouses on her hands, that she’s utterly breathtaking.
Your favorite sight of her being when she smiles.
“Are you even paying attention to me?”
Refocusing on the words she’s saying instead of her looks, you raise your eyebrows.“ I’m sorry, I just-” you shake your head, glancing down at your cup of tea.“ I can’t get over how gorgeous you are.” You look back up, raising the cup to your lips and sipping.
Her mouth opens, ready for a reply, but closes immediately as she realizes she doesn’t have one. Unusually, she isn’t sure what to say.
Unlike every other person who’d complimented her, yours was truly genuine. You meant it when you said it and expected nothing from her in return. 
She reaches across the table and takes your hand, squeezing it gently as a blush rises on here cheeks.“ Thank you.” 
You smile sweetly at her, then lean forward a little, elbows and forearms pressing against the table.“ Okay I’m listening again, what’s up?” 
“I don’t want the team to know.” She quickly says, eyes dropping from yours, a worried look on her face.“ About, whatever we are. I’m not embarrassed or-”
The way her smile drops instantly makes you frown. She rambles on and on, trying to explain her words to you.
Shaking your head, you reach forward and lift her head to meet her eyes.“ Nat, I appreciate it but I don’t need an explanation. Really, I want you to be completely comfortable with whatever this is.” She smiles at your words, her shoulders visibly sagging afterwards. Only for her body to tense as you utter a low ‘but’.
Brows furrowing, the redhead leans forward, her hand gripping yours.“ But what?”
“Does keeping things under wraps mean I can’t take you out on a date?” This time you smile brightly at her.
Natasha rolls her eyes, shoulders once again dropping as the corner of her lips tug up. Slowly, those green eyes look up into yours, a growingly familiar look in her eyes.“ That has nothing to do with keeping things secret and everything to do with where and when.”
Chuckling softly, you run your thumb along the back of her hand, keeping your gaze on her eyes.“ I’d like to take you to dinner Romanoff. It’s nothing fancy but retired SHIELD agents don’t get paid all that well.” 
“Dinner sounds lovely.” She says, her smile maintained. Her lips part as she goes to say something else but her phone cuts her off. Glancing down at it for a moment then back up at you.“ A lot lovelier than training Pietro with Sam and Steve.”
“Oh Bird Boy got promoted to training people huh?” You joke, eliciting a laugh from her like you hoped it would.“ Well, I want to check in with Wanda anyway so I can take you to the compound.” 
She playfully smirks, standing up as you do,“ got a sweet ride you’re gonna let me in?”
Rolling your eyes, you drop the money for your drinks and muffins on the table along with a tip. You then walk with her out of the cafe. 
The two of you walk over to your car and you open the door for Natasha. She lowers herself into the passenger seat of the classic mustang you’d come here in, and you shut the door after her. Going around, you get into the driver's seat after the cars pass. 
You can’t help but find it adorable how Natasha waits for you to put your seatbelt on and pull off before she reaches across the console to grab your hand. 
She raises your hand and presses a soft kiss on the back of it, squeezing gently as she relaxes in her seat and looks out the window. A look of contentment washes over her face and you can’t help but be a little proud that you seem to be the cause of it, or have been for the last few days. 
Your first kiss had taken place around a week or two ago. Over that course of time you’d shared more kisses than you were able to keep track of. 
It seems as though that moment opened the floodgates to all the physical touch you and Natasha had been starving for. Along with every kiss came a number of touches. Nothing had gone beyond PG-13 and you were more than okay with that.
You were completely happy with the way Natasha would drape herself over your lap like it was nothing in the comfort of your apartment. The light ghosting of her fingers against your neck before they curl into the hairs at your nape. Or the shiver that runs down your body when her fingers brush across your leg. And of course, how her fingers would lace with yours when she nonchalantly grabs your hand. 
Her affection warms your heart in the purest and most perfect way possible. Especially having known how she felt, and partly still feels, about that. 
While she hadn’t gone into great detail about her past she told you enough plus what you already knew about the Black Widow and Red Room organization. You knew of the horrible things that happened to the young girls in the Red Room and had had more than one encounter with the women who trained there. 
Knowing that and what she told you, shined an even brighter light on Natasha in your eyes. She’s strong, there’s no way you could ever say otherwise, but you severely underestimated how strong. Everything she’s been through that you’re aware of required the utmost of endurance and strength. 
“Stop looking at me like that Y/ln. Your eyes need to stay on the road.” She says, voice slightly teasing. 
Yeah, you’d subconsciously been looking over at the woman but you can’t really blame yourself. She’s beautiful in every conceivable way. 
“Oh forgive me. My eyes are just attracted to a particularly beautiful redhead.” You say, a small smile thrown her way afterwards.
Her eyes roll, an action you notice she does a lot when receiving genuine compliments, and a snort falls from her lips as she chuckles. You aren’t sure how others would react to that but you kind of love it. Especially since it’s always followed by a blush. 
The drive upstate continues with you being slightly less distracted by Natasha and her clicking through the radio stations. Which you find amusing since her musical tastes vary greatly. 
Funnily enough, she can’t seem to find a station before you get to the compound. Right when she does though, you’re pulling up to the door. 
An adorable pout forms on her face and her sad eyes look from the compound, to the radio, then to you. The radio host gets quieter and the song gets louder, the intro playing through. You know what she wants.
Sighing softly, you shake your head and shift gears. A look over at Natasha reveals her pleased face, as well as the image of Steve at the compound windows. His brows furrow as you pull off.
Quickly looking away from him, your eyes focus on the road. You don’t stay gone long, the song only lasts four minutes, enough time for you to head a little ways down the road from the compound security gate before it goes off.
The next song that plays isn’t Nat’s cup of tea so you turn around and head back. The agent at the gate gives you a slightly annoyed and curious look when you come back for the second time but you can’t say you care, not when your little drive put that smile on Nat’s face. 
“You two here to stay this time?” Steve asks, arms crossing over his chest as blue eyes shift from you to Natasha. 
Locking your doors, you pocket your keys and smile at him.“ Not sure Stevie, might steal her away in the middle of your training session and go for another drive.” You tease, cocking your eyebrow at him.
“Y/ln-” His voice is a warning that makes you want to laugh. 
“Can’t say I’d be opposed to that.” Natasha says with a small smile, walking past Steve no doubt in route to one of the training rooms, she glances back at you with a small wink before she disappears around the corner. 
It takes a bit of effort to fight a smile, but you manage. Then averting your eyes to Steve’s blue ones.“ Don’t worry, I won’t steal your partner. I hear Speedy is a handful.” 
“Thank you.” His shoulders drop as he sighs softly. You can’t stop yourself from laughing at his response. 
You both turn to head down the hallway.“ He can’t be that bad.” You say, almost as if challenging his reaction.
Steve gives you a look.“ He’s a good kid but a pain in the ass. And stubborn.” Shaking his head, he looks over again to see Pietro’s blue blur shoot by and disappear through the doors.“ Doesn’t listen for the most part.” 
“I believe that.” You have to admit,“ Wanda was pretty stubborn when we started. Still is sometimes.” You shake your head and stop at the end of the hall.“ Her powers are incredible so she doesn’t believe she needs hand to hand combat.”
He nods along, sucking his teeth and sighing.“ They’re kids. We keep teaching them and eventually they’ll get it.”
“Yeah. They’ll get it. Gotta have patience.” With that said, you leave a final pat on Steve’s shoulder before you turn away and go in search of Wanda. 
Surprisingly it’s pretty quiet. You assume Tony is out or down in the lab tinkering. With everyone else in the training room, you head to Wanda’s room, knowing it’s likely that’s where she is.
Once you’re there you raise your hand and knock, calling out,“ room service.” When her door swings open, you smile at her, matching the one on her face.“ Good afternoon little witch. How are you?” 
“Hi,” she greets back, leaving the door open as she goes to pull a sweater on.“ I’m good, how're you?” 
“Just dandy,” she laughs a little and steps out.“ Figured I’d stop by and see how you're settling in. If my guidance is working or if you’re just keeping an old gal like me entertained.”
“Oh please. You act younger than me sometimes.” 
Your jaw drops, eyebrows pinching together.“ I do not. I’m a mature adult.” 
The two of you make it to the common room, detouring to the kitchen. Wanda quirks an eyebrow at you as you sit at the island, the younger woman moving around to fix a cup of tea. 
“Sure you are.” She drags the first word out sarcastically and you roll your eyes.“ You’ve got your childish moments Y/n.” 
A disagreement is on the tip of your tongue, until you realize she’s right. Natasha tells you quite often how childish you can be, usually after you’d just thrown a pillow at her or shot the wrapper of a straw at her from across the island. 
“Okay I’m a little childish sometimes.” You admit in defeat. 
Wanda chuckles and nods. 
The two of you chat as she finishes making her tea and once she’s done you move to the common room. Falling onto the couch, you flick through tv stations and continue to talk. 
You’re more than happy to hear that she was no longer on the “I hate Tony Stark” train. She admits that there’s still strong dislike, but both she and Pietro had been learning more about Tony, seeing him for the man he truly is and not what the media portray. 
With the young woman becoming a closer friend the more time goes on you feel better knowing she doesn’t hate the man who is family to you.
“Ooo I love this show.” She stops her statement to say, stopping on a sitcom about a family. 
You quirk a brow,“ Malcolm in the Middle?” You ask and she nods. 
That provokes the woman to explain why she loves the show. 
Starting off, you listened to every word, adding words of agreement and a show that you’re attentive. Until Natasha comes in. 
Attention instantly divided. 
Eyes drawn to the way her eyes land on you the second she steps in, then down to the purposeful swish of her hips. She smirks, cocky that she so easily grabbed your attention, then turns into the kitchen with Steve and Sam. 
Your heart, that started beating a little faster when she smirked, doesn’t calm down. Even after she’s no longer in sight. Instead it picks up a little more at the thought that pops up in your head, lingering front and center.
“Well if you love her so much you should tell her.” 
Eyes wide, your head snaps over to Wanda. She gives you a nonchalant expression in return, only to quickly realize that you didn’t say that out loud. 
“Oh. Oh! I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to,” the young woman sits up, eyes suddenly pleading.“ I wasn’t trying to but it was so loud I- I thought you actually said it.”
With a shake of your head, you chuckle. It’s a light, almost unbelieving sound.“ It’s fine Wan. Truly.” You gently pat her knee. A moment of silence passes.“ Was it really that loud?” You ask.
“Very.” Wanda says, laughing a little.“ Did you mean it in the way it sounded?” Her voice holds curiosity, making you look over at her. 
“I-” Words cut short by a loud melodic laugh. Your gaze once again finds Natasha as you follow the sound. She leaves the kitchen, smiling at something Sam said.“ Yeah. I meant it. In that way.”
Yes, you love Natasha. 
Admitting it makes it feel like it was obvious as hell. Everything you’d been feeling points to it. From the way her smile sent butterflies rumbling in your stomach to the way her touch seemed to light you on fire. 
You won’t lie and say you aren’t scared by that. The two of you have just started exploring this aspect of your relationship and you’ve already started falling for her. And you already love her. 
The surprise isn’t that you love her, with how strongly you’d felt about her already and the progression of things, you knew you were bound to fall for her. The surprise is that it happened so fast. 
Part of you is worried, fearing that this revelation so soon could mess things up for you. However the other part of you, the bigger part, is telling you to just relax. Whatever is supposed to happen will happen. Natasha likes you and that’s more than enough.
* * * * * * *
Taglist: @owloftheshadows @natasha-danvers @blackxwidowsxwife @yumusak-yastik @b-5by5 @fayhar @lostandsearching @iliketozoneout @ecruzsalaz
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blu-joons · 3 years
Text
DATING STRAY KIDS A⇴Z HEADCANON ⇴ Lee Minho
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A ⇴ AFFECTION
After a long day, Minho can be very affectionate with you. He tends to keep his affection private when no one else is looking just so the two of you can enjoy each other’s company. If you need affection, he’ll be more than willing to give it to you.
B ⇴ BEFORE DATING
The boys could tell he was into you straight away as he became incredibly shy. He was never the loudest in the room when it came to his members, but when his eyes fell on you for the first time at the studio, he was desperately trying to come up with a way that he could head over and approach you, without the members getting involved.
C ⇴ CONFESSION
The only person he spoke to before confessing to you was Chan, as he knew he’d be the most supportive. He relied on his smile more than anything else to try and impress you, he wanted everything to go perfectly. When he approached you, you could tell straight away how shy he was, happily listening to him ask you out on a date before accepting. His cheeks turned a light shade of red as soon as you accepted, looking around for Chan.
D ⇴ DATES
He was surprisingly meticulous when it came to your dates, something no one ever expected from him. When it came to his relationship, he wanted everything to be perfect, because nothing mattered more. He tended to choose active dates for the two of you, but when it came to a special date in your relationship, he’d make sure to take you to a nice dinner or plan a romantic evening for the two of you. Most nights he just liked to settle down with you in front of a film or something just so he could be around you.
E ⇴ EXPERIENCE
He’d never been in a relationship before he met you, he was far too shy to ever really be able to approach a girl. He definitely was cheeky, but around you especially he lost all of that behaviour with his blushed cheeks. Having focussed for so many years on his dance and Stray Kids, he struggled to begin with when it came to adapting to a relationship, but with your help he soon found the perfect way to make sure both parts of his life were fulfilled without a single problem.
F ⇴ FIGHTING
It takes a lot to wind Minho up to a point where a fight occurs, he’s surprisingly sensitive and hates to know he’s upset you. He might give off the impression that he can be quite cold, but don’t be deceived, his delicate heart hates confrontation. He’s been through enough upset in his life to let little things get to him, more so with you. If the two of you do argue, he never lets it escalate too far, he’ll sit down like an adult and talk with you rather than raise his voice, he’s a lot more logical than he’s given credit for.
G ⇴ GETTING TO KNOW HIS FAMILY
Being an only child, you knew his parents were bound to be protective of him which added the pressure onto your shoulders. Luckily for you, they were very trusting in Minho’s judgement, and if he liked you enough to introduce you to his family, then they’d like you too, so long as he was happy, so were they.
H ⇴ HOME
Most of the time the two of you tended to do your own thing at the dorm, but that didn’t stop him wanting to think about your own place too. He missed the privacy of having somewhere just for the two of you as he knew what his members were like, walking in uninvited most of the time, which he didn’t think was fair.
I ⇴ “I LOVE YOU”
He was the first one to say, ‘I love you,’ one night after the two of you had settled in front of a film. The room was silent, and the two of you were laid side by side as he leant forwards and whispered into your ear. As soon as he’d said his cheeks turned a dark shade of red, hiding himself away from you. You couldn’t help but smile at how coy he was, wrapping your arms tightly around him.
J ⇴ JEALOUSY
Minho was one of the quieter characters in the room most of the time, especially around members like Han, so he tended to not have your full attention. He hated to describe himself as jealous, but he didn’t like when your attention wasn’t fully on him. It was one of the other reasons why he tended to prefer that the two of you did your own thing at the dorm. As much as he liked to see how well you got on with those who were close to him, he knew there was a boundary that his feelings would push to, and he hated to see you pass it.
K ⇴ KIDS
The both of you were very aware that children were a long way off for you both, but that didn’t stop the two of you beginning to think about the future. For the first time his focus wasn’t entirely on the group, now he had someone else to take into consideration. He’d always had hopes about having a family in the future, but for the first time he really felt like he’d found someone he could share those aspirations with.
L ⇴ LAUGHTER
His cheekiness and sarcasm always brought a smile to your face, his off the cusp remarks always took you by surprise in the best possible way. He’d spend most of his day making sure that you had a smile on your face, and if you didn’t, he wouldn’t stop cracking jokes until you did. You loved sitting back and watching him wind his members up, especially Seungmin, which would only encourage him to do it more, at the expense of everyone else. Nothing could brighten up his day more than the sound of your laughter.
M ⇴ MISSING
Whilst he wasn’t entirely dependent on you, he definitely hated times when he was away from you. Tour was always the hardest part of your relationship, he’d never really had that person that he yearned for before when he was away, until he met you. The boys would often rally around him whenever he went quiet as they knew he was beginning to think about you. He’d rely a lot on talking to you every night to get him through the time away from you, but no matter how hard you both tried it was never the same as actually being able to see you.
N ⇴ NICKNAMES
He’s very private again with your nicknames as he is with your affection, Minho never really settled on anything for you, it varies always, ‘love,’ ‘jagi,’ ‘sweet,’ you can never predict what nickname he’s going to choose for you.
O ⇴ OBSESSION
Minho is obsessed with your smile, it’s his favourite part about you. He’s main job as a boyfriend is to make you happy in life, so if he succeeds there, then he knows he’s doing a good job. It’s all he wants from the world.
P ⇴ PDA
Again, he’s very private around people who know him, the most you’ll get out of him is maybe a quick hug or a hold of his hand. You knew PDA was something that he was uncertain about, so even just the smallest of gestures from him meant a lot to you, never would you pressure him into doing anything he didn’t want to do.
Q ⇴ QUESTIONS
You can always rely on Minho to ask if you’re alright. He’s very attentive and caring, whenever he meets your gaze or sees you for the first time in a while he’ll be sure to check up on your mood.
R ⇴ RANDOM FACT
When he had time to himself, Minho loved to dance, and when he did have those moments, he loved to come up for little routines to perform for you. No one else would ever get to see them they’d only be for you. He’d come home with a huge smile on his face and show you the little routines you’d come up with. You loved to watch him dance, so you’d never complain, especially when it was dedicated to you.
S ⇴ SEX
He’ll always do his best to look after you during intimate moments, he’s very careful and caring during every moment. He’s not the most dominate person, so the two of you tend to switch roles quite frequently depending on your moods. He’s very affectionate during those private moments, making up for all the times he often feels like he neglects you in public.
T ⇴ TEXTS
You can usually expect texts from Minho at random parts of the day, he’ll always want to just check up on you and see how your day is going. Or if he’s going to be late, he’ll always be sure to let you know with a text.
U ⇴ UNIVERSE
He was well known for being quite private a lot of things, but never around you. He’d never been open with anyone like he was with you, he knew he could talk to you about everything and anything and you’d always be there for him.
V ⇴ VACATION
The two of you going on holiday was a very rare occasion, but when you did, Minho would work hard to make it a special occasion. He’d pull out all of the stops to make sure that the two of you could relax and just enjoy being around each other. His favourite holidays were the ones where the two of you did absolutely nothing, and just relaxed.
W ⇴ WHINING
If he didn’t get his own way, he would be more than happy to let you know that he wasn’t impressed until you gave him what he wanted.
X ⇴ XXXXX
He was always very loving with the kisses he gave you, each one always meant something, he’d never kiss you without reason. First in the morning he’d always greet you with a kiss, and whenever the two of you got a few moments to yourself he’d do exactly the same. He’d always hold you close when he kisses you, he likes for there to be little distance between you both so that he can have you tucked into his chest where you belong.
Y ⇴ YOU
You were his favourite person in the whole wide world, no one else even came close.
Z ⇴ ZZZ
Minho tended to fall asleep with you close to him, pulling you tightly into his chest. He much preferred to be the bigger spoon, but if he’d had a bad day or craved some attention, he’d be known to curl into your side too.
---
Masterlist
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chocolatecakecas · 3 years
Text
Honesty: Season 13 Destiel Fic Part 8
Part 1   Part 2   Part 3   Part 4   Part 5   Part 6  Part 7 Part 9 Part 10
or read on ao3
There's a scream.
Dean bolts from his room, feet pounding as he goes. He sees another figure in the dim glow of the hall.
Their eyes meet, hesitating for a moment, before entering the room and stopping in front of the crib.
Dean' vision fills with a tiny body, writhing uncomfortably, as wails force their way from his throat.
Fear drops, hard, in the pit of Dean's stomach.
Without a moments hesitation, he's bouncing Jack in his arms, attempting to sooth him.
His eyes dart to the clock on the wall. 4:56am. That can't be right, Jack has only been having the one bottle at 2:30 am, now. He has been for weeks. And even, then he's never-
(read the rest under the cut)
Jack's wails echo off the walls.
Dean finds Cas' eyes in the dark.
He's staring at Jack in shock, and hurriedly glances up at Dean, eyes swimming with terror and uncertainty.
Right. Even though he's been back for months, Cas has never had to raise a baby before, and he's gotten used to the routine with no unexpected surprises. Dean's terrified, but he can't image what Cas is feeling.
So Dean moves. Check the obvious first.
He crosses to the changing table, quickly disposing of Jack's diaper. Cas follows.
Dean sighs when it does nothing to quiet the kid's screams.
It wasn't the diaper, he definitely isn't hungry.
Was it a nightmar-wait can babies even get nightmar-
Focus Winchester. What could it b-of course, why didn't he think of this first?
It's because you're shit at this, his mind easily supplies.
A cold feeling washes over him.
God, could he be more stu-
"Dean"? Cas calls desperately, ripping him from his thoughts.
Dean quickly recovers, and places his hand on Jack's forehead.
He's warm, but is he actually warmer than usual?
Dean tries to get his brain to recall how Jack's normal body temperature feels, but he's drawing a complete blank.
Fuck
Dean feels the fear twist again as it crawls its way up his throat.
It washes over him in waves, but he can't do anything to stop it.
He has no idea what to do.
He's standing with a child wailing against his chest, a child who's life depends on Dean's ability to know what to do. And Cas is looking at him, terrified, waiting on Dean for instruction.
Dean suddenly can't control his breathing.
He's powerless.
Tears threaten to spill from his eyes and h-
"-Dean? Was his forehead warm? Did he have a fever"? Cas asks anxiously as he braces a hand on Dean's shoulder, searching his face for answers.
The warmth of Cas' palm pulls him back to reality.
Cas always knows what he nee-no now's not the time.
Dean swallows.
"No-well I mean I don't think he feels warmer than normal-at least as far as I can tell? But there's a thermom-"
"-oh wait, there's no there's no need-here let me" Cas trails off, as if he surprised himself and carefully takes Jack from Dean's arms.
He watches as he softly places his hand on Jack's forehead.
Then it hits him
Angel. Duh
He can read Jack's actual temperature with his palm, or figure out what's wrong with the touch of his fingers.
And they're both standing here like idiots, paralyzed by fear, when Cas is a friggin angel.
But in his defense, the kid has got him out of his scared out of his mind.
Dean trails his gaze up to Cas' face, watching his eyes closed in concentration, waiting for his mojo to do it's thing.
Sometimes, Dean forgets what Cas really is. Of course he knows that he's an angel, but like-he's Cas.
Yes, he's a badass, who's millions of years old, and could kill someone with the tap of his finger, Dean's well aware.
But when he's standing in front of you in a rumpled, purple sweater, a pair of sweatpants and his dorky bee pun socks, of all things, it's kinda hard not to forget.
Cas is just so human now. This change has been slowly happening over the years, but ever since he got back it's like the Cas he first stabbed in that barn, doesn't exist anymore.
Which isn't a bad thing at all, it just makes everything a little more confusing.
Which is why he's kinda been avoiding him ever sin-
What the hell is he doing? He needs to focus on Jack, what if h-
"His temperature is 101.1 I've read that babies his age can have a resting temperature as high as 100.3, but since he's only half human?" Cas' voice startles him out of his thoughts.
Jack is still wailing in his arms, as Cas bounces him from side to side. He's looking at Dean expectantly, waiting for his input. Dean can still see the worry clear on his features.
Taking a deep breath, he regains some control of his breathing.
Just a little fever. This, Dean can handle.
"Yeah that's a little high. We should change him into something lighter, see if that cools him down a bit? Then if not we can give him some baby Motrin, and go from there?” Dean suggests.
Then they're both moving. Cas placing Jack on the changing table, while Dean grabs some lighter pjs from the dresser.
Dean hovers as Cas, expertly switches out Jack clothes. He murmurs to Jack in his signature low, rumbling tone, and manages to get to calm him a bit.
Cas is getting good at this. It's like it's second nature to him now. He really has become an amazing Dad. In fact, he's so damn good with Jack, it makes Dean's stomach flip every time Cas pulls a laugh from him or manages to sing him back to sleep.
He watches as Cas slowly rocks Jack in his arms, humming under his breath.
And Dean is sent spiraling as soon as he recognizes the tune.
Lullabye.
By Billy Joel.
And yeah of course he's heard Cas sing this to Jack hundreds of times before, he does this every night, but Dean hasn't been around to hear it since that morning. Before he listened.
The morning they haven't spoken about at all. Cas never asked, and Dean-well Dean didn't exactly bring it up.
But now he's singing Billy fucking Joel, right in front of him.
And if Dean thought he was freaking out before, it's nothing compared to the crisis he's currently having.
It's not like he's actively been avoiding the subject, he jus--
"Oh" Cas gasps, pausing Dean's spiral.
His eyes instantly find their way back to Cas.
Cas has stopped in his tracks, peering down at Jack's now sniffling face.
Then he presses a soft kiss to his forehead, smiling to himself as he pulls away.
Jack's sniffling stops as Cas looks back at Dean with a soft smile.
"I don't know why I didn't do it sooner. I could have just taken away his fever with my grace, but I guess fear got the better of me".
Mojo, of course. Why the hell didn't either of them think of healing Jack, especially since they already both had the "duh angel" moment 10 minutes ago.
God this kids really gonna be the death of them, turing them into complete idiots only 8 months in.
"You and me both pal" Dean manages to respond with a strained laugh.
As soon as they’re sure Jack is asleep, they stand for a moment, hovering over the crib.
Dean pretends not to notice the way his heart races when Cas' arm brushes against his.
"Well looks like we can write about the kid's first fever in the baby book now, and about how it turned us into a couple of morons" Dean whispers in an attempt at a joke.
Beside him Cas hums in agreement with a soft chuckle, and they both head out of Jack's room.
Dean needs some water, or better yet, some coffee. He's definitely not sleeping after the heart attack he just had.
As he makes his way to the kitchen, he notices Cas is following.
Something drops low in the pit of Dean's stomach.
Again, it's not like he has been completely avoiding Cas since that morning. They still hang out during the day, take care of Jack together, talk during the odd hours of the night, and they even have movie nights on Thursdays.
But it's different now. It's quieter, and there's an awkwardness to it that they both refuse to address.
It's like there's always something looming over them, just waiting to crush them.
And it's not like Dean doesn't want to talk about it, of course he does, but he just can't, he's not ready.
As he starts up the coffee maker, Cas drops into his usual seat, picking up his book where he left off. His head is resting in the palm of his hand, as he lazily flips through the pages, foot bouncing absentmindedly.
Looking just so completely human.
Which is the other issue.
Cas has always been a wildcard when it comes to emotions, and it's not like they ever sat down and had a conversation about what he does and doesn't feel.
So Dean always just assumed he experienced emotions, but like, subdued. Like Cas knew what he was feeling, he could name the feeling, but it didn't emotionally affect or sway him the way it did with humans.
And now Dean has no idea what to think, because he's sitting in the kitchen looking like he's been a functioning human being his entire life, and not a celestial warrior of God.
Which just makes everything harder, he just doesn't know what to do.
Dean pours his cup with a trembling hand, then with a heavy sigh, he grips the counter tightly, grounding himself.
Because Dean heard that mixtape.
He listened to it twice that morning, and he's lost count of how many times since.
He's memorized the songs, he's analyzed every lyric. It's all he's thought about every single day for two weeks.
And he knows what he heard.
His breathing quickens as anxiety washes over him, and he once again does nothing to stop it.
Which means that Cas understood the intention behind giving a mixtape.
Which means he understood the meaning behind the tape Dean had given him over a year ago.
He knows that Cas knows. He knows that's why Cas gave him one in return.
And logically, Dean knows he's right about all of this, but there's a part of him that still doesn't believe it's true.
Part of him still thinks he's just overthinking it. That Cas just gave it to him as a nice gesture and the songs had no deeper meaning behind them.
Because Dean can't let himself want Cas, and he can't hope that Cas might want him.
He knows he isn't worthy of him, that Cas deserves so much better. That he would just be a disappointment, and he'd screw everything up.
Because why would Cas ever want, a fuck up like hi-
"-Dean, are you alright" Cas' voice rips through his thoughts.
Dean swallows and dares a glance up.
He's met with wild hair, that stupid head tilt, and wide blue eyes, swimming with concern.
Cas
Dean's stomach flips and suddenly his mouth is moving before he can stop it.
"Cas I've gotta talk to you"
Cas tenses, hands clenching into fists, as the concern on his features is replaced with fear.
Great, one second in he's already fucked up.
Dean peers down as if his socked feet are the most interesting thing in the world, while trying to tame his increasing anxiety.
He takes a shuttering breath.
"I-I listened to the tape...." he trails off, mouth suddenly dry. He sneaks a glance up, to gage Cas' reaction.
And Cas goes white as a sheet, looking like a deer caught in headlights.
"Ye-yeah, I uh, liked it" Dean lamely tacks on, mentally cursing himself ("I liked it", seriously Winchester? That's what you went with?)
He watches as Cas' face goes through twelve different emotions, until landing on one Dean can't decipher.
"Oh.....well I'm glad you enjoyed it" Cas chokes out.
And in that moment, Dean doesn't know what comes over him. Maybe it's the way Cas looked at him, maybe it's the lingering adrenaline from Jack's fever scare, or maybe it's his complete lack of sleep.
But suddenly he's pacing around the kitchen, unable to shut up
"Yeah- I uh, well I actually listened to it a couple time-well more than a couple. I stopped keeping track after twenty"
He braves another glance at Cas who's frozen in fear at the table, so Dean continues before he loses his nerve. Hands flying, pointedly facing away from Cas.
"And I couldn't help but um, notice that a lot of the songs had a common theme? And I just never thou-"
"-Dean" Cas tries to interject, but Dean keeps going.
"-when I-when I gave you that mixtape last year, I never thought that you understo-and now you just gave me one, with all those songs and I can't help but think that you-that you might-that those songs might-I think you chose them for a reason-a specific reaso-"
"-Dean"
"-the same reason I di-and if I'm wrong then-fuck man, you can smite me right here, right now if I'm wrong-which I probably am. I'm probably just overthinking this whole thing and making myself look like an idiot. I'm probably just making a big deal out of nothing, like I alwa- "
"Dean, you're right"
"-always do, like I'm doing right now actually, acting like a dumba-"
Dean stalls, words catching in his throat.
Wait did Cas jus-no he must have heard him wr-
"Dean, you're right" Cas repeats behind him, voice trembling.
Dean's back is to him, as he grips the cool metal of the kitchen island again, refusing to turn around.
His heart races when he hears the scrape of a chair behind him.
"You're right, about wh-about why I made that tape, with those songs. I chos-I chose them for a reason" Cas continues, voice wavering.
Dean's thoughts are buzzing around his skull, he can't fully process what Cas' words.
Because Dean thinks he knows what he's trying to say.
But he can't possibly mean t-
"-I'm sorry, I-I have no idea what I was thinking. It was insane to give you that, when I know I can't-and now I've gone and ruined everything-"
Wait, he can't mean that. Dean just heard him wrong he can't hav-
But something, hope, he recognizes, pulls deep within him, and he grips the counter tighter. Maybe he did hear him right, may-.
No, Dean has to be sure first. He has to know for sure.
So Dean finds his voice.
"Cas, I-I think I know what you're trying to say bu-but I need you to say it. I need to be sure that I understand you, because I don't think I can handl-I just......." Dean trails off, voice breaking.
They stand in silence, and Dean's pretty sure Cas can hear his heart pounding against his chest.
His stomach drops, ice rushing through his veins.
Dean was wrong. 
God of course he was wrong, and now Cas hates him. He's managed to fuck up the only friendship he's ever had, all because he can't just store his crap.
But no he has to be selfish and want Cas, and fuck u-
"I love you"
Dean's brain short circuits.
No-he can't have. No Dean heard that wrong, he's just tired an-
"-I do and, again I'm sorry, I truly didn't mean to make you uncomfortable, but I love you Dean and I can't help it-"
Oh.
And without thinking, Dean moves.
"-And I know this ruins everything especially since I know you can't- that you don't-but I'm so-"
Dean grips Cas around the waist, as he smashes their lips together, effectively cutting Cas off.
Their teeth clank and their noses bump, but Dean doesn't care.
CasCasCasCasCasCasCasCas, is all his mind can supply.
Dean reluctantly pulls away, hands craddeling Cas's face, who's hands have somehow found their way around Dean's waist.
Dean stares down at him, unable to look away.
His hair is sticking up in every direction, blue eyes blown wide brimming with unspilled tears, lips parted in shock.
Cas.
"-Dean, what, why did yo..." Cas trails off, voice breaking.
And then it hits him.
Dean just kissed Cas. Dean just kissed his best friend because he said he loved him.
Cas said that he loved him. Cas loves Dean.
And Dean, loves him too.
God, he loves Cas.
"Because I do too- "Dean starts, voice breaking.
He looks into Cas' eyes, seeing the small sliver of hope behind them, and takes a shuttering breath.
"I love you. Damnit Cas, I've loved you for so long and I-"
"Me too Dean, I have for years, but I never dreamed that you- that you’d ever, return that feeling an-" Cas stops with a sob.
Dean shushes him, gently wiping some of Cas' tears away with his thumb.
He feels like he's floating. 
They’re really standing in the kitchen with Cas' hands tightly gripping the back of his shirt.
A watery laugh rips past Dean's throat.
"God what a couple of dumbasses, huh? Could have done this years ago, all that wasted time" Dean says in disbelief.
"Yes, we have been a pair of dumbasses, for years it would seem. But that's okay, because we can have it now, right?” Cas asks, uncertainty clear in his voice.
Cas still doesn’t believe this is really happening, and Dean can’t say he blames him. 
“Of course we can Cas” Dean responds with complete certainty, looking into his eyes. 
He needs Cas to know that this is what Dean wants, he needs him to understand that it’s all Dean has wanted, for years. He is not going to screw this up.
And it must have worked because Cas is practically glowing. There's tear tracks on his cheeks, but his eyes are bright and shining with pure joy, a gummy smile on his lips.
God, I love him, I really love him, Dean thinks to himself.
Of course there's a long conversation to be had, and even longer conversations to come, because nothing is ever really this simple.
But Dean can't bring himself to care, because all of his focus is on the man in front of him. The man he's loved in silence for years. The man who loves him back.
Because for the first time in his life, Dean is going to let himself want. And what he wants, is Cas.
"Well....we better get started then" Cas quips with a smile, all traces of uncertainty gone (which definitely doesn't make Dean's stomach flip).
And with that, Cas' hands make their way to his neck, as he pulls him into another kiss.
And by God, it's the best damn kiss of Dean's life.
Because it feels like home, like this is where Dean’s meant to be.
So he easily melts into Cas' touch letting the love and warmth wash over him, soaking in every bit of Cas he can get. 
And if in the morning, Sam finds them with their hands clasped across the kitchen table, as they take turns feeding Jack spoonfuls of applesauce.
Well, that's none of his business.
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maddiwrites · 3 years
Text
Secrets of the Shore (Chapter10)
Pairing: Pogues x OC, Eventually JJ x OC
Summary: This is just my rewrite of the show Outer Banks with my own twist by adding another main character which also happens to be John B’s twin sister.
Note: Happy Valentines Day y’all! Hope your day was filled with love (even if you’re not in a relationship) Thank you guys for reading! I’m sorry I’m torturing you with the tension between Marleigh and JJ but I gotta keep you on your toes somehow (; 
Word Count: 5.6 k 
Chapter 9
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When I drop my things off at Kie's house and invite myself to stay at her house for a few days, she bombards me with questions. Most of them revolve around John B. Where is he? How are we going to find him? How do we know he's okay? Of course I don't have the answers to any of these questions, which only makes the curly brunette more worried.
"Look, he's going to be fine," I tell her as we walk down her long driveway where Pope and JJ are waiting for us. "John B wouldn't let them take him without a fight. Plus, I oddly take the fact that I haven't even gotten one phone call from him as a good sign. If he was at the station, they would probably use him to bait me."
When we get closer to the boys, I bite my lip to hide my smile. The blonde smirks back at me and even throws in a wink. Every nerve in my body ignites with a fire-like spark when I look at his sparkling blue eyes. I can't believe I almost kissed my best friend. I don't know what it would do to our friendship if something were to happen.
The thought terrifies me enough to make my smile falter. I can't lose JJ. I can't fuck up the best thing I have in my life which is my friendship with Kie, Pope, and especially JJ.
JJ tilts his head to look at me questioningly so I plaster a fake grin on my face.
The movie is being projected in an open field on Figure Eight. They have a huge blow up screen and a projector in front of it. There's already about fifty people here and more on the way.
We set up our lawn chairs in the middle of the field. My chest tightens with anxiety when we're surrounded by Kooks and Tourons. Rafe and his friends could be hiding anywhere in the faces around us. I can tell Pope is thinking the same thing. His head is snapping back and froth, left and right, keeping an eye out for the people who want to kill us. JJ tries to calm him down, but nothing settles him.
"Back to OBX life," Kie says as she sits down next to me. She opens the cooler at her feet and hands me a bag of grapes she packed. "You know? Aren't you glad I made you come?"
"Ecstatic," I mutter. My eyes scan the crowd for dudes with slicked back hair and neon shorts.
"My couch was pretty comfy, I'll be honest," JJ says next to me. He reaches into the bag of grapes and steals a few. He throws them in the air, catching them in his mouth.
Kie stands up to grab a couple of sodas from the snack bar. The second she's out of ear shot, Pope whips his head in our direction. His eyes are big with fear as they study every face that walks through the field.
"We're out of the green zone, man," Pope whispers on the other side of JJ.
"Dude, tranqüilo, okay?" JJ says.
"We're in the middle of kooklandia," Pope says. "This is the last place I wanted to be."
"Shut up, Pope," I hiss when I see Kie making her way back to us with three Pepsis in her hand. She has a scowl on her face. That can't be good.
"Just saw Rafe, and he said, and I quote, 'Tell your boy that we know what he did.'" Kie looks between JJ and Pope with raised brows. She doesn't look happy. She looks suspicious and somewhat annoyed that she doesn't know what Rafe is talking about. "What is that?"
Pope snaps his head in the direction of the snack bar. JJ tries to act normal and purses his lips. He avoids Kie's glare by looking at me, immediately throwing me under the bus for knowing their secret too.
Kie turns to look at me with her mouth slightly open. "You know?" I open my mouth to respond but she cuts me off. "Why do you know and I don't? What did you guys do?"
"Where is he?" JJ asks, glancing over his shoulder.
"Right there." Kie points at the snack bar where Rafe, Topper, and Kelce are throwing popcorn at each other. They look up and smirk in our direction.
"Great, the whole death squad," Pope says.
JJ grabs the top of Pope's head and physically turns it back to the screen. "Don't stare, bro."
I feel my hands clench around the arms of my beach chair. I know for a fact that tonight's not going to be as easy as we thought it would be. And I hate that its because of Rafe of all people.
"Just warning you, bro. If they corner me, I'm coming out swinging, okay? Slice and dicin'. I'm on edge right now," JJ says, shaking out his shoulders.
"Yeah, yeah," Pope nods in agreement, which makes both Kie and I look at him incredulously. Pope's a lover, not a fighter.
"If that doesn't work, I got this right here," JJ smacks his backpack that I now know his gun is in.
"Yeah, yeah," Pope continues to nod. He's so deep in fear that he doesn't even realize that JJ just offered to whip a gun out in a sea of people and children.
"So, we just gotta stay in the group," JJ says, officially ignoring Kie's glares. "They can't get us in the group."
"Like a school of fish," Pope agrees. "Stay in the school. Can't leave the school."
I roll my eyes. "Oh my god. We're screwed."
"I'm sorry, JJ," Kie leans over me to get a better look at the blonde boy sitting next to me. "Please tell me that you did not bring a gun here." JJ just stares at her blankly. "JJ, there are kids!"
"No!" JJ snaps. "Kie, I didn't bring the gun. Okay? Everything's fine."
"Wow thank you. That's really convincing. I love that JJ," Kie says sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.
"Welcome to the summer movie series!" A man stands at the front of the field by the screen with a microphone in his hand, addressing the crowd.
"Founding principle you guys," Kie says with a quieter voice. "No secrets amongst Pogues." She looks at me and holds her stare. I swallow the bad memories that threaten to rise to the surface. I know she's implying the secret that she's been keeping for me. The one she wants me to tell the others. And now I'm hiding another secret. From her of all people.  "What is Rafe talking about?"
I open my mouth to try to calm her down, but JJ cuts me off, which only makes matters worse.
"Kie, it might go down tonight."
I groan and roll my eyes.
"What does that mean?" Kie asks. She even slaps me on my shoulder with the back of her hand. If looks could kill...
"Might go down tonight..." Pope says slowly.
"What did y'all do?"
JJ leans closer to Pope and says in his ear, "Deny, deny, deny."
I look at Kie with soft eyes. "Do you trust me?" Kie reluctantly nods and glances between me and the boys. I grab her wrist to make her look at me, my eyes pleading. "Then trust me when I tell you that the less you know, the better."
Kie finally drops the subject and sits back into her seat. She's not happy about not knowing and if I were her, I'd feel the same way. But its best if she doesn't know.
We watch the movie with tension in our shoulders and frowns on our lips. Our relaxing night took a turn for the worst. I can't even focus on the movie or JJ being so close to my side, our shoulders practically against each other. All I can feel is a pair of eyes on the back of my head, burning holes through my skull.
Halfway through the movie I hear Pope lean in closer to JJ. His voice is a whisper but I detach my focus from the movie to listen. "JJ?"
"What?" JJ whispers back.
"Gotta take a piss," Pope says.
I look over my shoulder towards the bathrooms. Like I suspect, the Kooks are gathered around it.
"Hold it," JJ hisses.
"I can't hold it. I drank too much soda."
"It's too exposed. They'll totally see us."
"I gotta go," Pope says more definitively.
JJ looks in the direction I was just looking at. "They're blocking the bathrooms." JJ sighs and looks ahead. "Come here. I know where."
JJ pulls Pope up by his arm and walks in the opposite direction of the bathroom, towards the movie screen.
"Hey, where y'all going?" Kie calls out in a hushed whisper.
"We gotta wring it out," JJ says.
"You gonna hold it for each other?" Kie responds which makes me laugh.
They don't reply. They walk around the screen to the other side. The second they're out of view, Kie turns to look at me with a face that says she wants answers and she wants them now.
"Please don't ask me to tell you."
"You're making me worried," Kie says honestly.
I sigh with guilt, completely understanding the feeling. If the three of them were hiding something from me, my mind would be racking through millions of different thoughts about what it was.
"Does it have to do with the day you got that?" Kie points to the bruise on my face.
I bite my lip and turn towards the movie, trying my best not to let her convince me to tell her. If the cops were to get involved, I want Kie to be as innocent as possible. They would probably never go after her because she lives on Figure Eight, but knowing Kie, she would do whatever she needed to help her best friends.
I look over my shoulder again, making sure the Kooks were still guarding the bathroom, but my heart stops when I don't see them.
"Shit," I stand up and step through the crowd of people, running to where Pope and JJ disappeared.
As I get closer to the screen I can hear the heavy grunts of guys fighting from behind it. Pope and JJ are fighting against Kelce, Rafe, and Topper. I shuffle on my two feet, not sure where to go, who to help first.
Kelce has his arms wrapped around JJ's, holding him against his chest and leaving him open for Rafe's punches . A couple feet away from them, Topper and Pope wrestle on the grass, throwing hands wherever will make contact with skin.
Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kie running towards Pope and Topper with JJ's backpack. I run towards Rafe and shove him back by his shoulders. I risk a glance at JJ. His face is red from the Kooks' punches and there's a split in his bottom lip. The sight of him being hurt is enough to make my vision blur to red.
I shove Rafe backwards by his shoulders again. The older boy just laughs at me humorlessly, only fueling the fire to my rage. I narrow my eyes into a glare and take another menacing step towards him.
"Mar, stop!" I hear JJ call behind me but I ignore him.
"Let go of him, Topper!" I hear Kie say a little further away. She's beating him with JJ's backpack and jumping on Topper's back to get him away from Pope.
"I told you I was going to find out who did it," Rafe says.
"And I told you we didn't do shit," I say, keeping my face steady with a scowl. I turn to send daggers in Kelce's direction. "Let him go."
Rafe whistles and keeps the cocky smirk spread across his face. "Would you look at this. I think someone has a little soft spot for the blonde Pogue over here. Don't you think Kelce? I mean princess over here didn't even acknowledge her other friend."
"You know what? I don't think you're worried about who sunk Topper's boat. That would have to mean you actually care about someone other than yourself. I think your problem is with me."
The older boy scoffs, "With you?"
"Yeah," I take another step closer to him. "It must be really frustrating when the guy who gets everything he wants without lifting a perfectly manicured finger can't even get laid by ...oh what was it that you called me? The Cut's biggest whore? Must be pretty pathetic that some whore won't even sleep with you."
The back of Rafe's hand slaps me across the face, snapping my head with the direction of his hand. I hear JJ cry after me but its muffled by my back slamming into the grass with a weight on top of me.
Rafe's hands encircle around my neck and they squeeze tighter than they did the other day when I was in this same position. But this time, I wanted this because it got his attention away from JJ.
"You know, they say Pogues are the one's with the short temper," I chuckle maliciously. My voice is raspy and my throat is on fire, but I'm loving how easy it is to get under Rafe's skin. "But a little taste of reality is all it takes to ignite your fuse."
"Marleigh!" JJ shouts. I hear the sound of fists connecting with skin, followed by grunts and groans. "Rafe I swear to god -"
"Go ahead," I wrap my fingers around Rafe's wrists to try and pull him off of me but he's too strong. "But killing me will only add to your dad's growing list of reasons why you're his biggest disappointment."
Rafe grips my neck tighter, completely cutting off my air supply. The pounding in my ear muffles the cries and shouts from all my friends. From the Kooks. I can barely breathe and my vision sparkles with white specks. I try fighting him, but his rage is now stronger than mine.
Heat flows through my body and sweat bubbles at my hairline. I see orange out of the corner of my eye, but I think that's just my vision blurring together. A second later, I feel the weight of Rafe's body lifted off of me. There's a thump from the ground next to me and more heavy grunts. When I look up, I watch the screen light up in flames. Literally.
I gasp for breath and turn on my side. I can feel the contents of my stomach rising up my throat, leaving my throat in even more burning anguish. I pant for air, inhaling sharply and ignoring the sharp pain from my lungs.
I feel warm hands wrap around my biceps, pulling me up to my feet. My legs and arms feel like rubber, but I muster up enough strength to walk out of here. I'd be damned if I let Rafe see me as some weak link again.
Topper, Kelce, and Pope try pulling JJ off of Rafe who jams his fist against Rafe's face relentlessly. JJ's face is red with anger, his scowl hardening with every hit.
"JJ!" I call out to him. I know this is only going to get him in more trouble. They're Kooks. They never get in trouble. Leaving any kind of mark on Rafe's skin will call for consequences. That's just how it goes around here and we can't be stupid to it. "JJ, stop!" I try breaking out of Kie's grip. "JJ! You're going to kill him!"
JJ's head snaps in my direction. His eyes scan wildly down my body, looking for any source of life threatening injuries. I try to grin assuringly at him, but it's hard to turn my lips upwards.
When JJ is distracted, Pope manages to pull him away. The Kooks grab Rafe by his shoulders and yank him in the opposite direction. If we don't want to be caught, we all have to leave right now. The fire department and probably the police will be here any second to put out the fire.
When we're finally separated, I pull myself away from Kie and run directly into JJ's arms. He wraps himself around my waist and lifts me off the ground to pull me even closer to his body. I snuggle my face into the crook of his neck and hold him tight.
He's okay. He's okay. He's okay. It's all I can manage to say in my head.
~ ~ ~
No one says a word the entire ride home from the movies. But even without it being discussed, we knew none of us wanted to spend the night alone. I can't go back to my house and Kie's parents wouldn't want all of us at her's, so she drives us to Pope's.
Pope didn't get too hurt in the scuffle. In fact he's the one that threw the first punch...well the first head. He head butted Topper before the Kook had a chance to swing. Kie's only injury was a small burn on her finger from when she flicked the lighter to burn down the screen. JJ and I however are bruised and sore.
Kie helps Pope set up his living room for all of us to sleep. Before I can offer to help, JJ tugs on my hand and brings me down the hall towards the bathroom. He locks the door behind me.
I tilt my head and my eyebrows scrunch together in confusion. "Are you okay?"
JJ steps closer to me, basically pinning my body against the door. My breath hitches in my throat as his hands come up to cup my jaw. He's so close I can feel his breath on my face. He pulls my head up and tilts it to the side. He looks down at my neck, looking for bruises and scratches that Rafe might have left me with. My neck is sore and it hurts to swallow, but that's it. Even his backhand didn't leave a mark on my cheek.
"Hey," I say softly. I pull his hands away from my face and intertwine our fingers together. "I'm okay."
"He could have killed you," JJ says through clenched teeth.
"But he didn't."
"But -"
"No buts," I tell him. Unwrapping one hand from his, I pull him further into the bathroom and tap on the sink counter top, motioning for him to hop up and sit so I can take a look at his face which looks worse the mine. "Come on."
JJ reluctantly hops on the counter. I go to the closet and pull out a small face towel and run it under cold water. Standing between his legs, I lightly dab the towel on his bottom lip that's split down the middle. I bite my lip nervously under the scrutiny of his stare. Neither of us say anything, relaxed in the comfort of the other one's presence. I feel safe when I'm with him. There's no Kooks versus Pogues. There's no abusive fathers or DCS. Its just me and him.
I drop the towel next to JJ and slowly touch the hem of his shirt. I look up at him, waiting for him to give me the go-ahead or to stop me. I need to see the damage that can be hidden with clothes.
JJ nods slowly and lets me pull his shirt up. His toned abs are the first thing I notice. I've seen him without a shirt hundreds of times, but something about this moment makes me stare. Maybe it's how close I'm standing next to him, or how I can feel the warmth radiating from his skin onto mine.
His body isn't marked with any discoloration and his ribs are still intact. When I pull his shirt back down and nod to say he's okay, I'm looking deep into his eyes - the eyes that never left mine.
"Are you okay?" He asks. His voice is soft and raspy, sexy even.
I nod my head, grinning, "Yes. I promise. Are you?"
"I swear to god, I'm going to kill him."
"J-"
"He hurt you, Mar!" JJ finally snaps. "He had his hands wrapped around your throat!"
"Shh," I shush him by pressing my index finger against his lips, afraid that he's going to wake up Pope's parents. "It's okay."
"It's not and you know it!" JJ sighs and lets his shoulders relax when I look at him pleadingly. He takes my hand and wraps it around his own. He brings it to his lips, gently kissing the tender skin around my knuckles. Blush creeps up my neck to my cheeks. I lean in closer to him, pressing my hips against the counter and glancing between my hand, his lips, and his eyes.
Every fiber in my being tells me to lean in further and finally press my lips against his. At this moment I don't care about the rules or what it might do to our friendship or what John B might say about it. I just want to feel him, every part of him, against me. I want to forget the rest of the world exists and just be with JJ.
But I don't. Because Kie quietly knocking on the door pulls me out of my thoughts.
"Hey, are you guys okay?" She asks.
The corner of JJ's lips tug upwards into a slanted grin, causing mine to do the same. I take a step backwards and help him down from the counter.
Kie looks between us confused. I grin at her and nod my head to show her that we're both okay. JJ grins to himself and follows me out to the living room where Pope is already passed out on the couch.
I bend down to lay on the makeshift bed on the floor made out of blankets and pillows. I was expecting Kie to lay down next to me, but JJ takes the spot to my left.
Kie trudges to the other couch, too tired to say anything about the fight or JJ and I. I know she'll wanna talk about it later with me. She always does when it involves Rafe.
I keep my eyes trained to the ceiling. My body is exhausted but I'm not tired. I finally feel like I defended myself against Rafe today, a personal accomplishment and a milestone. I don't think my feud with Rafe will ever go away. I think we'll always hate each other until one of us leaves the island for good. But at least he knows I won't put up with his crap anymore. With or without his dad's money.
I don't know how long I've been staring at a blank canvas of nothing. Not even Pope's snores can lullaby me to sleep. I turn my body towards JJ. I wonder if kissing him in the bathroom would have been a mistake or not. Maybe it would disrupt the peace in our friend group, but I can't deny my feelings for him anymore. I know what I want and that's JJ. I would do anything for the blonde lying next to me.
I watch his chest rise up and down slowly. His lips are slightly parted as he sleeps. My fingers delicately play with the shark tooth necklace around his neck. I've always loved this necklace on him, even thought about getting one myself. But I knew Kie would tease me endlessly if I did.
"You know, some people think it's rude to stare," JJ's raspy voice pulls me out of my head. His eyes are still closed and his lips are now turned up into a smirk from catching me in the act.
"Sorry. I didn't mean to wake you," I whisper.
"How come you're not sleeping?"
"My head won't let me," I reply. "Just thinking. Hey, where did you get this?"
JJ slowly opens his eyes and looks down at my thumb that glides over the smooth surface of the shark tooth. "Pretty sure this is from the country club's gift shop."
I shake my head with a grin, expecting nothing less from my klepto friend. "Of course it is."
"Can I ask you something?"
"Of course."
"When did Rafe call you a whore?"
I drop my hand from his necklace and lay it flat on his chest. JJ takes his arm and rests it behind his head, sitting up to look at me. I shrug like it's no big deal.
"It was a long time ago."
"Why would he call you that?"
"The Kook doesn't handle rejection very well. It's fine, JJ."
JJ sighs. "You would tell me if someone really hurt you, right?"
This time my eyes flicker back up to meet his. His gaze feels delicate, like if he looked at me any other way, I'd break. I think he knows something but he's not telling me. Maybe that's for the better. After tonight, I never want to tell him what Rafe almost did to me. I don't trust JJ to not run off to actually try to murder the Kook.
"I'm fine."
"You're not answering the question. Please, Mar. I know Pope's hiding something too. Something about you. About the other day."
I swallow thickly and nod my head. "Of course I'd tell you."
Guilt trickles through me at the lie. JJ trusted me enough to tell me about his dad, and I had the same reaction JJ would probably have if I told him about Rafe. Yet, I couldn't bring myself to do it.
JJ nods. I can't tell if he believes me or not but he drops the subject and opens his arms for me to cuddle into him. "Come here."
I snuggle into his side and wrap my arm around his waist. This feels good, this feels normal. For a second, I forget that Kie and Pope are even in the same room as us. JJ's warm. He smells like grass, cologne, and a hint of weed. I match my breathing to his and let my eyes close, finally falling into a deep dreamless slumber.
~ ~ ~
When the four of us wake up, we offer to help Heyward out at his shop as a thank you for letting us stay over. I'm waiting for Kie to say something to me about being wrapped around JJ when we all woke up, but she doesn't say anything. Instead she passes me looks of concern. I can tell she's itching to talk about last night.
Pope's in his head about last night too and he's not giving himself enough credit for fighting Topper back.
"Don't let it get in your head," JJ says. "Three of them and two of us. That's typical Kook shit right there."
"Hell yeah," Kie says, agreeing.
"What was your thought process, using your head?"
Pope shrugs. "I don't know, man. I just kind of acted off instinct. I was a cornered animal."
Heyward walks into the shop and approaches us. I can already tell by his face that he's not about to tell us we can take a souvenir to go. His eyes are trained on his son and he looks worried. "Hey, Pope, someone here to see you."
The three of us look at Pope for some kind of tell as to who might be here for him, but he looks just as confused as the rest of us.
We follow him outside where Officer Shoupe is waiting for him. My heart drops deep into the pit of my stomach. I glance between the officer and Pope, knowing exactly who was to blame for this.
"Morning, officer," Pope says nervously. He looks like he's about to puke.
Shoupe doesn't greet him. Instead he slowly approaches my friend with a paper in his hand. "I have an arrest warrant for felony of destruction of property."
Fucking Topper.
"What?" Heyward says loudly. He looks between Shoupe and Pope, then to us as if we could explain the misunderstanding.
Shoupe moves closer to Pope. "Hands where I can see them." Kie immediately steps in to block the officer's path, saying something about how he can't do this. "Young lady, out of my way. Look at the warrant."
"You're arresting him?" I say, moving next to Pope. I narrow my eyes at the stuck up officer. I know for a fact that the police don't have any evidence that can prove Pope did it. The only witnesses were me and JJ.
"You're just arresting my boy?" Heyward says defensively.
Shoupe ignores both of us and grabs Pope by the arm and forcefully takes him to the car.
"Be careful!" Kie yells at him.
I can't wrap my brain around what is happening. Pope is the last person who should ever go to jail. What happened to Topper's boat is fair game. Okay, yes, maybe illegal, but so is assault which the Kooks did first!
"Shoupe, are you listening?" Heyward yells.
Shoupe ignores us again and starts reading Pope his rights. Our friend looks back at us, specifically at JJ and I, the ones who knew the truth. JJ grips the routes of his hair stressfully as I try to come up with any kind of idea to get him out of it.
"How much did they pay you, man?" JJ says, taking a step closer to the car.
"Stop!" I yell. This time Shoupe turns to look at me. So does everyone else. I do the only thing I can think of. "It wasn't him. It was -"
"It was me!" JJ says quickly.
My head snaps in his direction with an open mouth and wide eyes. He refuses to look at me, keeping his eyes on Shoupe and Pope.
"JJ -"
JJ cuts me off, "He tried to talk me out of it, but I was mad because he'd just been beaten up." The blonde takes another step closer to Shoupe. "I was so sick of those assholes from Figure Eight that I lost my shit." He looks at Pope with a look that tells him to go along with it. A look that tells him why he's doing this. "I can't let you take the blame for something I did. You've got too much to lose."
"JJ, what are you doing?" Pope stares at him with big eyes.
My eyes narrow into a glare as I stare at the back of JJ's head. Fear rises up my chest and tightens around my heart. Why is he doing this? I was going to do it! They're already looking for me anyway to take me to DCS. JJ's bargaining a lot for his friend. The others think he's only going to be arrested, but I know his punishment isn't going to stop there. His dad is going to be pissed. And I know what happens when his dad is pissed.
"I'm telling the truth," JJ says. "For once in my goddamn life, I'm gonna tell the truth." He looks over his shoulder, glancing at me before looking at Heyward. "Stole his old man's boat too."
"What the hell?" Heyward says.
"JJ, come on," Pope pleads.
"Just shut up, Pope!" JJ snaps. "Just shut up." He looks back at Shoupe. "He's a good kid. You know where I'm from."
"Yeah," Shoupe says, agreeing that he wouldn't put this past JJ.
"This was all me."
Shoupe sighs and looks at Pope one more time. "That's the whole truth?"
"Whole truth, swear to god!" JJ says loudly.
"I know what you think, damn it, I'm asking Pope."
I look at Pope with clenched teeth, fighting my tears off with heavy breaths. I don't want Pope to agree, but I can't let him be taken away either. I can only watch as JJ does something so incredibly stupid, I don't know if he'll come back from it.
"Yeah," Pope says hesitantly. "That about covers it."
Shoupe nods and pulls out his handcuffs. Knowing the drill a little too well, JJ turns and lets Shoupe snap the handcuffs around his wrist.
"JJ!" I call out to him. I'm about to run over to him but Kie steps in my way, holding me back from making a mistake. "No, stop!"
JJ looks at me one last time before Shoupe shuts the back door with him inside. He nods once, trying to tell me he's going to be okay. But I know better. No one understands the risk he just took by taking the fall for Pope. For me.
"Ms. Routledge," Shoupe says before getting in the driver's seat. "Have you spoken to your brother?"
I pull away from Kie and glare at the old man, feeling nothing but hatred for him. "No. I haven't seen him."
"I suggest you go home and pack a bag. DCS is looking for the both of you. I'd take you in myself, but I can't without a social worker present."
I don't say anything. I just hold his stare.
When Shoupe drives away, I turn back to my best friend and pull at my hair. I start to hyperventilate, thinking about how JJ's dad is going to react when he hears JJ's been arrested. It doesn't take a lot to rile Luke Maybank up into a rage. I don't even want to think about what he's going to think about this.
Kie holds me to her, the both of us crying into each other's shoulders while Pope tries to come up with an explanation for his father. I let my best friend hold me. I don't care if bystanders are watching us. I don't care how pathetic I look. I can only think of JJ. I can only think about how I'm going to get JJ back.
Tag List: @notyourcupofteax​ @acvross-the-universe​ @realistic-breadstick​ @jjmaybankzz​ @jeeperky​ @urbinoutfiters​ @moniamaybank​ @brebear121​ @x-lulu​ @freddymaybank​ @jjpouggues​ @kkmikayla​ @folkloverr​ @alexa-playafricabytoto​ @lemur46​
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sierraraeck · 3 years
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Bad Liar
Moreid (Spencer x Derek)
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Summary: Ever since his first day at Quantico, Spencer has had only one thought on his mind: SSA Derek Morgan. He knows that any sort of relationship would be inappropriate, but that doesn’t stop the constant stream of fantasies from flooding his mind.
Category: Spicy fluff, smut alluded
Warnings: Non-graphic descriptions of sex, fantasizing, suggestive touching, kissing, very light cussing.
Word Count: 3.5k
A/N: This was inspired by the song “Bad Liar” by Selena Gomez. If you wanna give that a quick listen, go for it, if not, that’s chill too. I know that I haven’t been very active and haven’t posted anything in a while, but sometimes life just happens. Hopefully this was worth the wait…
Spencer had heard the phrase “I never stop thinking about you.” He’d heard it in reference to love and relationships when people were apparently so madly in love they couldn’t stop thinking about the other. He never really bought that. Love was just a bunch of feel-good chemicals that couldn’t affect the amount of time spent thinking about another person. Plus, how could anyone ever constantly think about a person? There were so many other things to think about like surviving high school, getting into college, graduating, of course his mom, and then getting into the FBI, and how he would surely not be able to make it all the way through Quantico training. No one could ever think about one person all the time. No, definitely not.
But Spencer wasn’t known for being a good liar.
His first day at Quantico he saw Derek Morgan, and he realized that he was wrong. He was so utterly and outrageously wrong.
Because after he saw him, heard his voice just once, his exceptional mind kept those interactions on constant repeat.
He was lucky he was so good at multitasking otherwise he would have definitely failed by now.
Not like he still wouldn’t.
He couldn’t sleep, not with someone like Derek Morgan intruding his every thought, every midnight desire. On top of that, they were about to go into the hardest week of physical training yet, and Spencer knew that this was the one challenge that his brain could not overcome.
The one redeemable thing about the humiliating experience he was sure would come during the following days was that he’d get to see SSA Morgan again. Sure, it'd be more embarrassing to fail in front of him, but at least he’d get to see him a few more times before they kicked him out for being the scrawny kid he’s always been.
The feelings of excitement and anxiety twisted his gut into a wonderful knot, keeping him from yet another night of sleep. Somehow that made it both harder and easier for him to get up when the clock hit 4:45.
Spencer looked between two blinds covering the window on the right, allowing him to see that the sun was still about an hour from rising. Slipping on his given shirt and pants, he hoped that there would be some source of caffeine at breakfast, preferably coffee.
He trudged into the bathroom to find his roommate already awake and dressed. “Big day. You excited?” Jeff, a man about a head shorter than Spencer but at least twice his width in pure muscle mass, asked.
Spencer just grunted in response.
“What? You’re not excited to get pitted against someone else so that you can flail around in an attempt to spar?”
“I’ll stick to teaching you the technique,” he quipped.
Jeff laughed. “It’d suit you better. Unfortunately your wizard brain and forbidden library won’t help you in this one. But dammit if you aren’t the smartest guy here.” Jeff shook his head as if it were a shame.
Once they were ready, along with the rest of the NATs, the group was directed to jog across campus to the building they’d be training in. The day was off to a bad start.
Spencer did his best to distract himself from the actual running bit, trying to analyze the people in his group and those they passed as they went.
Bored, hungry, important, invisible… Derek?!
He turned his head to follow the tall man with short black hair and dark eyes as the group passed him on the sidewalk.
No, that wasn’t him. Of course it wasn’t. Agent Morgan is waiting for us at the facility.
Spencer tried to hide the slight disappointment that came over him. He felt so stupid for looking for him everywhere, but he couldn’t help it. Even his own knowledge and logic was failing him when it came to this man he knew next to nothing about expect for his shining smile and intense eyes and toned biceps and amazing abs and powerful legs and delicious stamina and strong hands that could grip his neck and hold him down and his defined hips bones that Spencer knew would dig into his thighs and certainly leave bruises if he were to…
What was his issue? He couldn’t be thinking that way about one of his trainors.
Although it helped the jog pass by faster. Time flies when you’re having fun, right? Or at least imagining having fun.
When they arrived at the other facility, they were provided a quick breakfast, unfortunately no coffee today, and then led to the top floor with an entire wall traded out for floor to ceiling windows.
The room they entered was massive, large mats rolled out edge to edge, and the smell was musty. It felt humid, sticky sort of, and Spencer hated to think about why that was.
He quickly scanned the room and found his target immediately. Across the way, Derek had his opponent mid flip, landing harshly on his back with a thud. He helped the poor guy up, laughing a bit as he did so. His pearly whites were on full display when he looked up and caught Spencer’s eye. Spencer quickly diverted his gaze, opting instead to look down at his twisting hands.
“Today we will be focusing on hand to hand combat,” Derek announced once the group had wandered closer. “You never know when the perpetrator will decide not to run and instead to attack you, or when you will find yourself without any weapons other than yourself to protect you. The first thing we are going to practice are some basic jabs. Grab a partner and follow our demonstration.”
Derek and the man he’d thrown on the ground earlier, Grant, demonstrated the seemingly simple movements that Spencer and the rest of the NATs were supposed to replicate. Of course, everyone else made it look easy, but Spencer just couldn’t wrap his head around what his arm was supposed to be doing where and when. It was frustrating, even more so than he’d prepared himself for.
“Keep your shoulders here,” that velvety deep voice said, accompanied by his large hands on either of Spencer’s shoulders, adjusting them to more of an angle.
All Spencer could do was swallow hard and nod. He didn’t even dare to look back at him.
“And spread your legs,” Derek said. His breath seemed to get closer to Spencer’s neck with every word, and quieter as he went along. But surely that was all in his head? Right?
Spencer’s startled eyes turned to look at the older man. The edges of his mouth twitched before resuming that stern, professional demeanour. “It’ll help you balance.” With that, he nudged Spencer’s foot farther backwards with his own and walked away, leaving Spencer feeling unnecessarily exposed and confused.
The guy across from him, Harold, one of the only people who had been genuinely nice to Spencer from the start, was watching the whole interaction with suspicion.
The day trudged on with not much change. Spencer’s skin was still on fire from where Agent Morgan had touched him, but he tried to convince himself it was because he didn’t really like being touched. He knew that was a lie, especially in this instance, but it didn’t stop him from telling it.
After lunch, training continued. But at least it got more interesting.
“Grant just got called out on a case, so I’ll be needing someone to help me with this demonstration.” Derek waited just about three whole seconds before smirking, the mischief written all over his face. “Come on? No one wants to volunteer? It’ll be fun, I promise.” When he was met with more silence (even the guys like Jeff didn’t want to be thrown around by Derek), he was forced to choose someone. “How about… Reid.”
Spencer’s head shot up from the back of the group. No, no, this is not good.
Spencer had been dreaming about getting thrown around by Derek for a few months now, but this was definitely not what he’d had in mind.
The crowd slowly parted and Spencer had to face the music; he was going to be humiliated in front of everyone, like nothing had changed since high school.
Sighing, Spencer forced himself to the front of the group. “Lay down for me, knees bent, would you?”
I’d do anything you asked, was Spencer’s initial response in his head. What he really did was shrug and follow instructions.
“The reason we practice this move is because at some point or another, you will find yourself in either position.” Spencer wasn’t quite sure what he meant by that until Derek legitimately stood over him, a leg on either side, then proceeded to get down on his knees, essentially sitting on top of Spencer.
He couldn’t even focus on what Derek was explaining anymore. Breathing didn’t exist. There was no way this glorious man was sitting on top of him right now. All he could think about was how prominent Derek’s ab muscles were through his tight shirt and how he wanted nothing more than to lean forward and run his tongue over them. Spencer could almost imagine what they would feel like; the rise and fall of his muscles, the small hairs covering his body… Spread your legs, he had said to him.
“So then Reid would grab my wrist…” Derek’s use of his name brought him back to reality. If only he could live in his fantasies for longer.
Spencer looked up at Agent Morgan confused. Derek’s eyes got wider and looked at his right hand and then down at his own left wrist. Spencer somehow got the message and reached his hand over to grab a hold of Derek’s wrist. “Good,” he declared. “After that, he would hook his left foot on the outside of my ankle.”
Spencer quickly followed orders, trying to force his brain to supply him with the information he’d missed.
“Then, he’d use my weight against me to flip me over.” Spencer’s eyes got big when Derek said that, mentally panicking that he could never be strong enough for that. Derek nodded at him, so Spencer tried to roll over, and to his, and everyone else’s, surprise, he actually could.
Within seconds Spencer was sitting on top of a very pleased Derek. “It’ll work every time. Of course, if your unsub is skilled he’ll lock you in and flip you back over and potentially pull your arm out of your socket,” Derek explained while doing just that to Spencer, minus the arm-out-of-socket thing, “But we’ll take this one step at a time.”
Derek was back on top of Spencer with his legs wrapped around him in a vice-like grip, but quickly let go to help him up. Spencer gladly accepted the help.
Spencer doesn’t exactly have what one would consider a “big dick.” He always thought that was something to be ashamed of but standing there, getting hard in the middle of an FBI training academy, he couldn’t’ve be more grateful.
The NATs were sent back to work on the newly demonstrated move with their partners. Just as Spencer was about to flip Harold over for the third time, he looked over his head and rolled his eyes.
“What?” Spencer asked.
“What is it with you two?” Harold asked in return.
“What?” Spencer repeated. Harold nodded in the direction he was just looking, and Spencer followed his gaze. Derek was walking by, but nothing else seemed of import. “I don’t know what you mean.”
“Oh please,” Harold snorted. He was a lanky man like Spencer, but just a bit shorter and with glasses. Sometimes Spencer envied his glasses, as his contacts often got on his nerves. He continued, “The touching, the constant eye contact, the word choice that could be inherently sexual, and then literally sitting on top of you? When there were plenty of other men and women he could have picked for that demonstration? Tell me you don’t see it.”
Spencer mulled over these words for a few seconds before flipping Harold over. Looking down on him, he said, “I don’t think that means anything.”
“Then maybe you need to get a new prescription,” Harold said, pointing to his eyes.
Spencer shook his head. “What do my eyes have to do with this?”
Harold sighed. “God, your gaydar is so broken.” He flipped Spencer over, stood up, and walked away.
Shortly after, class was called and they were all let go for the remainder of the evening.
“Reid, can I speak to you for a moment?” Agent Morgan called out as the first of the NATs started to leave. A few caught Spencer’s eye with unanswered questions in them, but no more than the mound of questions Spencer had been asking himself.
Without answering, Spencer walked over to the corner of the room that Derek was standing in. He could tell that he was waiting for every single person to leave the room before speaking.
Spencer thought for sure he was getting kicked out because of how horribly he performed throughout the day.
To his surprise, that’s not at all what the outstandingly attractive man had to say. “I wanted to let you know that you did a good job today during the demo. Not many people handle that so well.”
Spencer waited for him to say more, but nothing more seemed to be coming. Derek actually seemed a bit nervous if Spencer could read him right. He replied cautiously, “Thanks.”
Derek cleared his voice and said, “Yeah. And if you ever want to stay late and work on some moves I’d be happy to help.”
Spencer just got more and more confused as his interactions with this god-like man increased. “Thanks,” he repeated. “Why are you offering to help me like that?”
Agent Morgan shrugged. “You’re one of the smartest people in FBI history to come through here, and definitely the youngest. There’s absolutely no reason you shouldn’t become an agent, and I want to see you succeed. That’s all.” He shrugged again, and if there was anything Spencer had learned from the profiling section of his training, someone being over-casual was usually a sign that they were stressed about something they viewed with extreme importance, and were trying to play it off. Why would he be stressed to talk to me?
“I guess I’ll take you up on that offer. Will you be here tomorrow?” Spencer asked, trying to mask the hope in his voice. Who was he kidding; Derek was already one of the top profilers in the Bureau.
“I will be. You can plan to stay after then.”
Spencer nodded and walked away, but not before glancing back one more time. Harold was right; they did make a lot of eye contact.
The next day couldn’t go by faster. Spencer had spent practically the entire night thinking about everything that had happened, trying to figure out if Harold was right or not. There was no way. Spencer was just Spencer, a NAT, and Derek Morgan was, well… Derek Morgan.
He probably just thought that Spencer was a hopeless case and needed extra help. Yeah, that was it. It had to be.
When the day was over, Spencer wasn’t just relieved like he usually was, but he was excited too. It no longer mattered to him what the reason was for him being there late, he just wanted to spend more time in the presence of SSA Morgan.
“I was thinking I’d help you with that second move we learned today, the cross-punch jab combo,” Derek announced. His voice echoed just a bit off the walls of the training center now that it was completely abandoned.
He walked over to one of the punching bags lined up just a few feet from the wall, and Spencer followed him in a manner that could only be described as a lost puppy. Spencer could keep track of all sorts of numbers, but the sheer amount of repeating memories morphing into new thoughts morphing into full blown fantasies was even too high for him to count. He’d never known of a drug so powerful.
“I’ll show you the move again, then I want you to try and copy it.” Derek stepped closer to the bag and executed a textbook one-two combo, the muscles in his arms and back contracting in perfect unison. God, Spencer wanted so badly to just reach out and run his hands all over this pristinely sculpted man, but he denied himself, letting his hands tremble in place instead.
Spencer stepped up to the bag next to Derek’s and attempted to do the same thing. Derek watched with a sharp eye.
After a few reps, the skilled agent took long strides that landed him only inches away from the younger man’s back. “Keep tension here.” His hands engulfed Spencer’s waist and twisted them to the side with the ease of swatting a fly.
The feeling was so overwhelming Spencer thought he might never be able to move again, and honestly, he didn’t want to. Standing there in the grip of that man was really all he’d been wanting for months now.
The only thing that pulled him out of his trance was the way Derek’s fingers lingered as he walked around to Spencer’s front, drifting down far enough to send a clear message, one that even Spencer couldn’t miss, but not far enough to be completely intrusive.
But Spencer wanted intrusive. He wanted nothing more than for Derek Morgan to invade his personal space to the point of no return.
He looked at the older man with shock and a burning question, but didn’t flinch or move back. Derek simply bit his lip and scanned Spencer up and down at what felt like a snail’s pace. He felt like a helpless deer being sized up by a lion for his next meal.
Spencer swallowed hard.
He’d been wanting nothing more than to be in this very same situation, or one of the multitudes of variations he’d created in his mind, but now that it was here could he really go through with it? Was it really the best idea? Did he really want this? No, he couldn’t.
But Spencer wasn’t known for being a good liar.
The only signal Derek needed was the simple nod of Spencer’s head.
And he got it.
Like a snake ready to strike, Derek brought his lips to Spencer’s in an instant. His questioning fingers had an answer, returning to their strong hold over Spencer’s hip bones.
Spencer knew what was happening was completely inappropriate, but couldn’t find the will to care. The man he’d been dreaming about, spending every waking and non-waking moment obsessing over, was actually interested in him too.
All his fantasies were flashing before his eyes, Derek’s muscles now completely exposed to him. He frantically pawed at him, trying to feel and memorize every millimeter of the beautiful body before him, like every inch was another drop of water in his achingly dry mouth.
“Hey, hey,” Derek whispered. “Patience. Not everything can happen at once, remember, one step at a time.”
Spencer took a moment to breathe and look into the warm eyes he’d been drowning in. Only for a moment, though, as he had a lot he wanted to do, starting with kissing his way down this man’s chest.
Derek laughed a little at Spencer’s impatience when he placed his hands on his broad shoulders and lips on his burning hot skin. He didn’t mind, though. Unexpectedly, the young man knew how to use his mouth. He couldn’t wait to explore that particular skill set some more.
Within the next few minutes, bodies were slammed into walls, forced to the ground, and pushed further down into the floor than was previously thought possible. The echo of the room only amplified the intoxicating sounds and the wall of windows overlooking the campus only increased the arousal.
Spencer would have a new appreciation for the musty smell and sweat induced humidity in the room from now on.
The tension for the remaining month before the NATs graduated was unbearable. Harold made sure to point out the nauseating amount of glances passed between the two men, but was respectful enough to not point it out to everyone. He tried to deny anything had happened, but Harold wasn’t having any of it and let Spencer know he was a lousy liar, something he definitely needed to work on.
Come graduation day when all NATs would be receiving their department assignments, Derek made sure to personally hand Spencer his.
He carefully opened the envelope and pulled out the sheet of paper with one bolded line reading: “Behavioral Analysis Unit.”
Spencer immediately looked up and locked eyes with Derek. He simply smirked in return.
Maybe his fantasy of having something more with the agent would become a reality after all.
-
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@90spumkin
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slow motion, double vision in rose blush (Renora College AU)
Summary: Ren doesn't need alcohol to know how gorgeous his best friend is or to admit to himself (kind of, sort of) that his feelings towards her aren't exactly platonic. Apparently, he just needs it if he wants to be unable to ignore those facts.
Warnings: Drinking alcohol, some suggestive thoughts
Fic under the read more or can be read on AO3 here
I wrote this for Flower Power Week, but I didn’t see that there was a rule to keep works PG-13 until I was almost finished with this fic, and I figure this fic is already inherently a bit more mature than that, so I don’t think I should use the tag or tag the blog.
Hope you enjoy!
Parties wouldn't really be considered Ren's "thing".
 He much prefers the slightly-hectic-but-relatively-calm get-togethers of his friends that they manage to schedule every week or so amongst all their university classes. But it was the end of some particularly grueling midterms and everyone in their little friend group (and apparently, everyone on campus) had wanted to let loose and let wild after being cooped up with only their textbooks and their stress for so long. So that, and not enough displeasure at the plan to do anything about it, is how Ren ended up in the corner of the front room of some frat house with a red Solo cup in his hand.
 He doesn't know where most of his friends have gone. Ren hasn't seen all of them in one place since basically when they first arrived and Yang had shoved shots of - Ren hasn't drunk enough alcohol in his life to know for sure, but he would assume it's whiskey - into each of their hands. He didn't have much desire to down it in one go like most of the group, would rather let its burn come in little bursts than have all of the pain all at once. By the time he had finished it, Yang had taken Blake somewhere promising to dance, Ruby heard a rumor of a ping pong table and had set off to find it with Weiss so they can challenge each other, and Jaune and Pyrrha went… somewhere. The only friend who hadn't wandered off was Nora, who immediately upon finishing her shot had started pouring ice, orange juice, and maybe a tad too much vodka into a Solo cup.
 She had immediately come back to his side, expressing how much this was needed for her after midterms. Nora then starts rambling about what lengths she had gone to in order to make the information stick and the stomach aches she got from the stress and how she was shaking during her last test partly from how little sleep she had gotten in the past month from projects. At least, that's what Ren was pretty sure she was talking about. The music was so loud that he had to lean in pretty close to hear what Nora was saying, and even then he couldn't pick up half the words said. Which was a shame, because as much as people seem to believe he just ignores her, Ren does listen to everything his best friend wants to say, and he likes listening to everything she says.
 Nora must've noticed how close Ren was leaning in, or his discomfort at the loud music, as she then grabs his hand and walks them somewhere else, still talking all the while. The farther they walk, the quieter the music gets, the more Ren can hear Nora. They arrive at some far-off corner and Ren is more than content to stay there and listen to Nora for the rest of the night. But then a girl dressed more like she was going to a full-out rave rather than a college party rushes up to Nora and begs her to be her partner at beer pong.
 "Kobalt and Ivori are ‘too cool’ for it, and Flynt's our DD, so obviously he can't drink, and you're fun enough and I bet you'd be super good at beer pong-"
 Ren can tell Nora wants to say yes, but she keeps looking at him from the corner of her eye like she doesn't want to leave him alone. If he really had heard her correctly, then she is certainly deserving of some fun right now, and it might be a little awkward standing here alone but it wouldn't be the worst thing.
 "You should go," he says.
 Nora turns her head fully to him. "Are you sure? You gonna be okay here all by your lonesome?"
 Ren gives her a little smile. "I think I can manage."
 "Great!" the girl says with a clap of her hands. "So it's settled". She grabs the cup that Nora was holding and hands it off to Ren. "Now be a good boyfriend and keep this safe for her."
 Nora's face flushes, and Ren can feel that he does too. "Oh no, Neon, we're not-" but before she can continue her denial, Neon yanks her away to the beer pong table.
 They're a little ways away, but they are perfectly within Ren's eyesight. He can see that they're playing against Sun and Neptune. He doesn't know them too well but he hasn't known them as anything other than friendly. Well, Jaune might disagree at least where Neptune's concerned, but it's been ages and he's since got over his crush on Weiss, so he's probably okay with him now. They start their game and on her first try, Nora lands the ball cleanly into one of the other team's cups. She jumps and pumps her fist in the air, showing off that usual bright beautiful smile in her joy that always seems to lighten up every room and flood Ren's insides with warmth.
 He looks away a little, not wanting to acknowledge what that feeling really meant, even if he had finally admitted to himself that what he had felt for his best friend wasn’t exactly platonic. The admission itself is a barely-there kind of thing because no matter how much Ren would prefer it, he couldn't be in complete denial over it for the rest of time so he'll just settle for being as close to that as possible. Nora's his best friend, what they've had since they were kids - it's good. For the most part, he's completely fine with the way things are and Nora seems to also so why potentially ruin or try to change something that's practically perfect already? Before he could uncomfortably spiral into that thought process anymore, mercifully, he is interrupted. But not so mercifully, that interruption is from Nora, laughing so loud and wonderfully that Ren just plummets even deeper.
 Something funny must have happened. Or maybe not. It doesn't seem to take much to send Nora into a fit of laughter. He likes that about her, that she can let joy or other emotions in so easily and that she doesn't really care about how it may look or what others might think. He's glad there isn't some insecurity that keeps Nora from laughing so often. She has such a nice laugh and Ren likes knowing she's happy and it's nice that she does it so much. And her lips are so pretty, especially when she smiles. He can't help but keep his focus on them. That is until she throws her head back, showing off the nice smooth skin of her neck. Ren then starts to wonder what it would be like to press his lips to the side of it and just how she'd react before he realizes the nature of just what exactly he's thinking.
 His mouth goes dry. Without thinking, he raises Nora's cup to his lips to make it go away but it isn't until he's already swallowed and surprised himself with the hefty burn it leaves in his throat that he remembers what was in that cup. Yeah, he definitely took a much bigger sip than he should've, and there is definitely too much vodka in that. But the orange juice masks the taste of it for the most part and the ice soothes away a good amount of the burn, so it's definitely not the worst alcoholic drink Ren's ever had and might actually be one of the more pleasant ones. He takes a smaller sip of it out of a measured curiosity.
 Ren's eyes drift back to Nora. If he had any sense left in him, he'd focus on anything else, keep trying to avoid feelings he doesn't want to feel and thoughts that might be inappropriate, or definitely inappropriate. But it's as if Ren's field of vision can only narrow down to just her. There are clouds of pink on the edges of what he can see, threatening to fill up the entire room, and it seems as if the only way it won't happen is if he keeps Nora right in the center, where all her movements seem to be in slow motion.
 She picked a green top tonight, a color more associated with Ren more than Nora. She bears a little more skin in this top too, the two spaghetti straps unable to hide the nice, toned muscles of Nora's arms and shoulders along with her delicate collarbone. Ren had already noticed this top when everyone was on the way to the party, trying to figure out if it was new as he's pretty sure he had never seen it before. He must've been more obvious than he should've, because Pyrrha had nudged his shoulder then, giving him a coy little smile. "Green's a good color on Nora, isn't it?" Pyrrha had said, as if he hadn't already known that. Nora doesn't have a lot of green in her own wardrobe, but Ren does, and the times when she has worn the color were usually because she was wearing his clothes. She's done it often enough - stolen his sweater to fight the cold in the café while they were studying, hung his jacket from her shoulders walking around town, switched into one of his tees and sweats when she needed to crash at his dorm for one reason or another. It always feels nice seeing Nora in green, especially when it's his green. Ren would let Nora borrow his clothes any time just to see it more often.
 Nora's skirt is still her signature pink, but without the usual volume or swish ability that she loves so much. No, this skirt is… tighter. It clings to the shape of her quite well, accentuating her curves very nicely. She's doing a little dance right now, and it looks like she's singing too. Nora's a really good singer when she wants to be but he can't imagine she's deciding to be that right now. She bumps her hip against Neon's and spins around, does some shimmying movement. Ren's mouth goes dry again. He's starting to feel really warm. He should look away. Nora's his best friend. He shouldn't be getting mesmerized by the movement of her hips or tracing his eyes over the muscles of her arms, or even noticing how her outfit and especially that skirt, while she’s dancing, makes certain areas of Nora more prominent and - okay Ren's taking another drink. He's taking another drink because he needs another drink, because he needs to stop ogling Nora and thinking these kinds of thoughts about her.
 The burn hurts. It's a deserved punishment.
 He's a little woozy right now but he still feels guilty. Nora is beautiful. She's always been beautiful. Ren has known that even before realizing he liked her in that way. But that doesn't give him or anybody else the right to objectify her like that. It's obviously not like her being gorgeous is the only thing to Nora, and neither that nor the idea of them being physical together are why Ren fell in love with her in the first place.
 Love.
 Well, that is… definitely true. It's definitely true but Ren doesn't think he's ever admitted that much to himself before. In fact, he knows he hasn't because emotions are uncomfortable and scary and often irrational and he doesn't like dealing with them especially when it could ruin probably the most important relationship he has. Why did he have to realize this now? Why did he have to realize this at all? This is uncomfortable. He might be panicking. He feels off balance. Ren takes another drink just so that he can distract himself from all of this but it doesn't quite work by the time he's finished off the rest of it.
 There's nothing of this too-much-vodka concoction left and it is immediately apparent to Ren that that was not his brightest idea. He doesn't really drink too much, even at social gatherings. Their friends usually appoint him the designated driver, and he doesn't mind. If he does drink, he'll usually stop by the time he feels a hint of a buzz. This was… more than a hint. He's more off-balance than before, the room sways a little more and he thinks it's grown even pinker. His head feels cloudy. And this is the longest a burn has stayed in his throat. And he is so warm. Ren leans his back against the wall for some stability.
 His eyes come back to Nora because if Ren couldn't stop it before, he can't stop it now. She's still there, being beautiful and charming and full of life, laughing with the people around her, and of course Ren is in love with her, how could he ever try to deny that fact. Neptune comes up to her, leans in kind of close to say something. Ren doesn't like that, or the way he's looking at Nora. Maybe Jaune was right about him. Maybe the problem with Neptune is that he's too friendly. Neptune points his thumb somewhere and - wait, is he pointing at him? He must have because Nora immediately turns her head and catches Ren's eye. There's some expression on her face and she immediately sets off in his direction.
 There's something in Ren that tells him to act casual and he raises the cup to his lips one more time but is immediately reminded of the fact that there's nothing left in it so he figures he just looks stupid.
 "Hey," Nora says as she stops in front of him. "You okay?"
 Ren looks up from his empty cup and pushes himself off the wall. He probably used a lot more force than he should've and stumbles a bit, which Nora remedies by putting her hands on his shoulders. She laughs a little, and he can't help but feel even warmer.
 "Guess that answers my question," Nora giggles some more.
 "I'm fine," Ren says. He is very aware of how her fingers are splayed out on his shoulders, the pressure she's putting that's just enough to still him. It keeps him calm, but also doesn't, and his heart is beating so hard she must feel it where her hands are.
 Her eyes scan over his face. "I've never seen your face so red." Ren's sure it only gets redder then. "How much have you had to drink?"
 He wordlessly brings his attention back to the empty cup in his hand, which Nora follows. "You drank all of it?" she points at the cup, her eyes widening. "Ren, I put a lot of vodka in that!"
 Ren blinks a couple times, having to more manually process what Nora said while he was trying not to stare at her mouth. "I can tell," he says, maybe a couple of seconds too late.
 Nora raises an eyebrow. It's another cute look on her. "You don't really drink that much. There a reason why now?"
 There's genuine concern in her voice when she asks that question, and it's so sweet and Ren's heart beats a little faster and he wants to take that concern away from her. But he doesn't think answering that question truthfully is going to help that. Ren's pretty sure the best-case scenario of saying 'you're pretty and I love you' to Nora is causing her confusion to the point of distortion.
 "I was… thirsty." And that's really about as close to the truth as he can get. Ren shakes his head, but not too hard because the room is moving too much already and… ouch. "I'm sure you've had more tonight," nodding towards the beer pong table. She must've, shouldn't she? Is it just his alcohol-addled mind or does Nora not seem any bit of drunk at all?
 She scoffs. "Maybe not. Sun really doesn't like putting too much beer in those cups. Besides, that's beer, not hard liquor. And I'm more experienced with it than you, so it takes a bit more to get me down. I've had more practice."
 Nora shoots him a cheeky grin, a little closer to his face than she was before. She leaned in a bit when she was talking, migrated her hands closer to the base of his neck. It's nothing new. Nora being so physically affectionate is one of her trademark qualities. And Ren's happy to let her do that to him at any time, but he knows he generally seems unresponsive to it. But what if he responds to it now? He's not going to, he's absolutely not going to, but it's easier to fall into that daydream than usual. Ren could wrap his hands around Nora's waist, lean into this little space between them to ultimately close it. He could press his lips to that grin on her face, and Nora would be a little surprised, but in no time at all, she'd be kissing him back. She'd wrap her arms a little easier around his neck and she could press herself a little more against him, the idea of having any distance left between them as unappealing to Nora as it is to Ren.
 "Uhh, Ren?"
 He falls out of the daydream. "Oh! Ah… umm… huh?" She hasn't been saying anything. Ren has been very focused on Nora's mouth for the past couple of minutes, so much that he had missed the blush on her face. He must've missed something happening. Did he say something? The thought of that mortifies him to no end.
 He might've been emoting his thought process on his face because Nora chuckles. "Yeah. That's definitely more alcohol than you're used to." She grabs his hand and leads him over to a couch nearby. Nora lightly pushes him down next to the armrest. "You stay right here," she says firmly, but full of fondness. "I'm gonna get you some water. And I probably need some too." Nora pats his cheek a little, brushes it with her thumb. Ren almost leans into it but she pulls away too soon.
 Nora turns around and goes in search of some water, and characteristically of him tonight, Ren can't help but keep her eyes on her, until he's forced to because there are too many people in that direction. He sighs, sinking into the cushions as he closes his eyes, feeling the warmth bloom in his chest. She's just so caring. Nora is just so caring and she loves people so much. And she's not afraid to give away all that love and care, to allow people to really see that that's what she feels for them, does it without a second thought. That's one of the big things, Ren thinks. That's got to be at least one of the big reasons why he fell in love with Nora.
 She comes back to him with two large water bottles in her hands. Nora tucks one under her arm in order to open the other, which she gives to him. Ren takes it and continues watching Nora as she settles right next to him, sitting down then kicking her legs up onto the couch. She leans back into the cushions and shifts herself more towards him, letting her head rest closer to his shoulder. Nora moves her head a bit to drink some water and then it actually touches his shoulder. Ren loves her so much. Moments like these are so small, and it's not like they don't happen between them very much. But maybe one day Ren will be brave enough to let them happen a lot more often, and those moments will have a slightly different meaning between the two of them than it does now.
 She looks so pretty in this light. Nora looks pretty in any light.
 Nora catches his eye again. She pushes her hand up beneath the water bottle Ren had forgotten that he was holding. "Drink up."
 And who is Ren to refuse her? He starts to sip his first non-alcoholic drink of the night and already his head is starting to feel less like it's filled with cotton. He drinks until the room feels still again, until everything stops looking like it's in slow motion, until there's no more pink clouds on the edges of his vision. Before he knows it, Ren's finished the whole bottle and his throat feels the best it's been all night.
 Despite the lack of pink clouds and an apparent increase in sobriety, Ren still keeps looking at Nora. She's giggling now. He doesn't know what exactly is so funny but that doesn't really matter.
 "Feel better now?" She asks. He nods because he doesn't know just what he'll admit to her right now if he allows himself to speak. "Great. I'm glad they set out those really big water bottles. That really saved me another trip. And you probably didn't drink enough that you'd need ibuprofen or something. I would've said to take some just in case, but I'm not sure what taking meds when something isn't really wrong with you could do to you. I think you should be fine now. Don't think you'll wake up in the morning with a hangover."
 Ren just keeps looking at Nora, without a word. He doesn't need them right now. He doesn't think he needs to do anything else besides look at Nora and hear her talk for the rest of time.
 But something must be wrong because Nora turns her head away a little, shrinking a bit into herself. "Are you mad at me?"
 That surprises him. "No," that is very much not what he was feeling towards Nora right now. "Why would you think that?"
 She heaves out a heavy sigh. "Neptune said you were staring at me the whole time we were playing." Ren's heart stops a little. Nora keeps shrinking down and her voice feels smaller.  "I don't know- I just figured you might be angry at me for leaving you alone at a place I know you'd rather not be."
 Ren straightens up, shifts fully towards her so she can more easily believe what he's about to say. "I told you to go," maybe he's leaning more forward than he usually would, makes more direct eye contact with Nora. "And being here isn't too bad. I just- uh- I uh-" He puts his head down a little, taking some time to find the right words. How does Ren explain the staring? That he just loves the way she exists and who she is and she deserves good times and it's nice when she gets them?
 "You were having fun," Ren brings himself to look back at her, says these words in all earnest. "I like when you have fun."
 That takes her back a little. Nora's eyes widen but her face softens. For one terrifying but almost hopeful moment, Ren thinks she might've understood what he really meant underneath those words. She smiles and brings her hand up to his face. She uses a couple fingers to sweep his bangs to the side. Ren's eyes almost close at the contact.
 "You're so sweet," Nora says, almost like she's in disbelief. "You wanna go back home? I can walk you back."
 "Are you sure?" That does sound like a good idea to Ren, but he doesn't want to take Nora away from something she enjoys just for him. "I'm honestly fine here. I know you were really stressed, I don't mind if you wanna unwind a little more."
 Nora smiles a little wider. "I think I've had a good amount of unwinding here already. If I stay here any longer and leave you unattended, who knows how many more screwdrivers you'll drink." She moves her hand from his forehead down to his cheek. "And you need to get home safe. For the most part, you seem all right now, but I just… I need to make sure."
 Ren leans into the hand Nora has on his cheek. It's a bit more than he'd usually do, but it feels right. "Alright then."
 "Can I crash at yours' too?" she asks. Ren chuckles a little at that, because when has Nora ever needed to ask that.
 "Of course." And then some daydream starts again. They get back to his single dorm and it'll be just like the other times Nora's slept over there. She'll switch tonight's outfit out for some of Ren's pajamas and she'll look just as good, if not better to Ren. They'll lay down and fall asleep in his bed, and that's all they'll do tonight. And then the morning comes and there's no trace of alcohol in their systems and everything's in the clear, and Ren will kiss her, soft and sweet. Nora will kiss him back because she has wanted this just as much as he has. He'll keep a hand on her cheek and maybe she'll tangle her fingers in his hair. Then maybe they end up never leaving the dorm that day, or even the bed. They'll talk, of course. They'll say what needs to be said, about their feelings and anything else. It's decided between them that Nora can sleep at his dorm a lot more often. And when she does, they don't need to struggle as much to fit together on this twin size XL bed, because Ren can wrap himself around her and they can let their legs get tangled together. He can wake up and bury his head into the hollow of Nora's shoulder and just breathe her in. The next time they see their friends, Ren and Nora won't act all that much different, but it won't take long before they realize something's up. They'll get it out of them, and they'll be happy, and then they'll be mercilessly teased because how did it take you two this long? Ren will get a bit embarrassed, but Nora will take it in stride. She'll kiss the blush on his face, and he'll just blush harder, and she'll laugh a little until he does too.
 But Nora in this reality grabs his hand and forces him to stand. He doesn't know if it's just how much he was in that daydream or if he's still a little buzzed from the alcohol, but it's a little disorienting as he makes movements.
 Before he knows it, they're out the front door and into the cold night air. It's a little windy out. Ren wishes he had a jacket to give to Nora.
 They walk at a leisurely pace in the direction of his dorm. Their hands are still intertwined, their arms swinging in between them. They don't speak, not uncommon at all for Ren but a little surprising from Nora. Ren might've wondered at this if we weren’t lost in his own thoughts.
 How close is that daydream to reality? How close could that daydream be to becoming reality? Is it just Ren or are there enough pieces in place for that to happen? All this time he's been worried about losing their friendship, what they already have. But what kind of future could they have? What could they gain? Is all that Ren really needs to do is get over himself?
 Maybe he's still not in his right mind. It certainly can't be that easy. But he can recall a few times when he's caught Nora looking at him. And maybe some of the comments she's passed off as jokes had more truth to them than she lets on.
 Everything about this still feels scary, but not as scary as it was before. He is at least very lucky to fall in love with such an incredible, amazing woman who's already his best friend. He doesn't know what will happen, but he does know what could. And yes, that may include losing the person closest to him. But as devastating as that is, there's another possibility that is at least that amount of wonderful.
 He peers at Nora from the corner of his eye. She's tucking some hair behind her ear to keep it from flapping in the breeze. Her hand is so warm in his.
 Ren's not going to do anything like confess to her tonight. Or the next morning. But looking at Nora, and holding her hand, and thinking about the good possibilities - he thinks he's starting to build up the courage.
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rudemaidenswrite · 4 years
Text
Don't Belong Here
Part 1
Fandom: Bright
OC Fogteeth Orc x Reader
By: @pusantheamazonian​
You're dragged to one of the monthly Fogteeth party's against your will. For once it doesn't end up a bad night for you.
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The music's too loud, there's too many people and now this. You’re staring up at the orc, and he’s standing in front of you mumbling something.
"Sorry but you're going to have to speak up. Bad hearing." Tapping your right ear, you scoot over on the couch. Allowing him to sit down.
"You don't belong here." Huffing he leans over before sitting.
Chuckling, you already knew that. A packed house party with strobe lights, mosh pit  and dubious activities is not your idea of a fun time. You'd rather be at home under a mound of blankets with all the food watching Gravity Falls.
Why not amuse him. It's not like you're going to come to another one of these ever again and he'll probably be with someone else by the end of the night.
"Flaming red asshole hair." Pointing at the bar. "My sister and her girlfriend. They are the ones who dragged me here."
"Yeah they've been here before." Nodding he takes a drink.
"Said I was a bad night shifter and needed to socialize. So this." Gesturing at yourself. You had purposely worn an oversized hoodie and sweatpants. Sat in the back corner away from everyone. So that people would avoid talking to you but not this guy. Apparently he didn't get the memo.
“Sitting in the corner is not socializing.” Teasing he gives you a lopsided grin.
“Eh, close enough.” Waving your hand you dismiss that accusation.
The more you look at him, he's kinda cute and not entirely threatening looking. You know orcs have quite a bit of range on them. From looking terrifying to absolutely adorable. He's chunky but it works for him, honestly it's doing it for you.
God this not what you are supposed to be doing. So what if he's your type. Stop oolging. The Fogteeth jersey he's wearing means he's bad news.
"Name's Ronnie."
"Y/N." You quickly scan the crowd to make sure you haven't lost your two hooligans. Cause those bitches would leave you for a dirty alley quickie. And you’ve lost them. "Is it always this loud?"
"The barbeque is a lot quieter."
"I would hope so." You don't know why but you find yourself smiling and laughing. The more you talk to him the less grumpy you are about being here. His humor is out there but he's very pleasant to talk to.
God. He doesn't know what's going on. You smell faintly of blackberries. He keeps getting a whiff every time you lean in to hear him. Most humans run away in disgust from him, especially women. But you're still here.
You don't know how long it's been, hours you imagine but you're ripped from peace very suddenly.
"Y/N! Y/N! Y/N!" Your sister is screaming at the top of her lungs.
"What Charlie?" Panicked, you immediately stand up.
"Come on! You're up next. You can't miss your turn!" She’s jumping excitedly.
"Turn for what?" Confused, you look at Ronnie hoping he might know. He shakes his head no. You haven't seen anyone playing games that would require turns.
"You'll see." Giving you a suspicious smile and pulling your arm.
As she starts to drag you away, you instantly grab a hold of Ronnie. Dragging him with you through the sea of people. You know her suspicious smiles never lead to anything good. It’s best to have another witness or at least someone on your side.
To his surprise he lets you drag him along. Your warm hand tightly interlocked with his. Whatever your sister has planned can't be that bad.
He was wrong.
"You got to be kidding me."  Horrified you let go of everybody and back away. Charlie has led you to a back room where it is fight club night.
"Nope!" Olivia is squealing, suddenly appearing on your left. Trying not to shake in excitement or else she'll spill the contents in her arms. "Three shots of Everclear and a can of Fat Orc."
"Are you serious? This the real reason you brought me?"  This is so uncalled for and obviously something that they have planned. They've been doing shit like this a lot lately.
"No we did want you to socialize but then we found this and everything else was thrown to the side." Olivia rambles on.
"I hate y'all so much." So offended you can't process what’s really happening.
"Awe come on you can do it." Charlie tries to pep talk you further into it.
"No I'm not! I'm not thunderdome-ing it so y'all can win some money. This-" In processing of telling them off you're interrupted by an asshole.
"Yes run on home girl. This is a man's room. Don't want you to hurt yourself." Sneering he leaves just as quickly as he appeared.
"That's your opponent." Olivia whispers.
"How much Charlie?" Glaring you watch him disappear back into the crowd. Fuck it. Eye twitching, inner alpha bitch activated.
"$100." She knows you're hooked now.
"Give it." Still staring off into the direction he went, you hold a waiting hand out. Grinning wickedly Charlie tosses the Fat Orc at you. Cracking it open, you chug the entire thing in one go. With the boiling rage inside of you, the can is crushed with one hand. Everything else can wait. This asshole needs to be taught a lesson.
The current fight ends and the orc ring leader is yelling out different things. The bookie next to him is frowning. Apparently he betted on the wrong guy.
"Give me your sweatshirt and finish the shots.” Olivia giggles.
"Hold your horses." Grumbling with a grimace you downed the last shot. Somehow your sweatshirt’s already off and Charlie's pushing into the ring. It's a stupid makeshift ring. Just a circle outlined in chalk.
"Place your bets!" The ringleader shouts.
"Oh you going to stay?" He smugly questions.
"To beat your sexist ass? I wouldn't miss it." Snapping back you're fueled with liquor and hatred. Dude looks like a unsanitary version of fuck boy. Which just further fuels the fire.
He can’t believe what he's seeing, you have transformed into a completely different person. The quiet girl who didn't even want to be here is now a feral animal.
A crowd is gathering. Often it's human men that enter the ring on these nights. Testing how long they can last against an orc or other humans. Rare is it that a woman enters, even rarer that they win. Causing this much uproar has reached the top of the command chain. Seeing Dorghu enter the room. Everything has escalated and Dorghu happens to stand next to him.
"With the house cut, she'll get over $900 if she wins." Craft informs.
“Who is she?” Dorghu demands, not many capture his interest.
“She came in with Ronnie.” Craft grins at him.
"Ronnie?" Dorghu turns in surprise.
"We were talking then her sister brought her back here.” Nodding at Charlie. “He made a sexist comment and she flipped. Did three shots, a can of Fat Orc and got in. She’s been drinking water all night."
“Interesting.” Dorghu turns back to the match to watch you counter a punch and punch him in the middle of the throat. With a kick to the stomach you knock him to the ground.
"The winner!" An orc yells to a sea of angry groans, briefly holding your arm up. Exhausted everything is spinning, ears are ringing and the liquor burps start.
"Give me my stuff." Slurring you almost lose your balance looking for Charlie and Olivia. Staggering a few steps you make it safely to them. You have forgotten everything about Ronnie and exactly where you are. It's too hot in this room and you need a nap. You are going to regret everything in the morning. Tugging your hoodie back on you doesn't bother zipping it.
The bookie appears as you're putting everything back into your pockets. Of course you have to be the one to collect the money.
"$936 all yours." Smiling he hands you the cash. You see his eyes dip for a second before leaving to collect money for the next round.
"Thanks." Great, he just got an eye full down your shirt. What a pervert. Spinning back to the hooligans, it is time for their punishment. "Ten for you and ten for you. Two four six eight for me."
"Come on-" Whining Charlie starts pouting.
"Zip it! It's whatcha get for signing me up without my permission." You whip around determined to give it back to the bookie.
You visibly pause when you make eye contact with Dorghu. You're not stupid you vaguely know what he looks like. Change of plans. Drunk you who is still pissed has decided on a new dumb plan. You march straight to Dorghu, maintaining eye contact. Everyone watching you is confused.
Out of sheer intoxicated boldness you grab his hand and put the winnings in it.
"Keep it. Fun party. It was nice talking to someone besides Ronnie's kinda cute. So do what you do."  
The room freezes. You can feel the tension but could care less about it. Clear as day you touched the leader like it was nothing then spoke perfect Bodzvokhan to him. Before toddling off complaining about getting fresh air and water.
~
Your sister said you were probably at the car cooling off. He checked the parking lot twice. No sign of you. That's until he gets a whiff of you.
After making it outside you disappeared down an alley by the car. Much quieter, no people and the breeze is nice. Sitting on the ground you can feel yourself nodding off.
"Ah!" Jumping from the sudden cold against your neck. It's Ronnie holding a water bottle. "Dang it Ronnie you scared the bejeezus out of me." You accept the water bottle.
At this position you can really see how tall and massive he is. Sort of reminds you of the Strongman Champion Brian Shaw. Your mind drifts, wondering how he would taste and feel in your hand. Your insides quiver from the thought. What the fuck? Trying your hardest you focus on the bottle.
"You shouldn't be trying to sleep in the alley then."
"Fair point. Thank you for the water." Struggling for a second you finally open the water.
"You speak Orc?" From this angle he can see straight down your shirt. He can see that you were hiding a great set under that hoodie.
"Learned it in high school trying to impress a boy. Some of my co-workers are orcs so it works out." Shrugging speaking Orc isn't a big deal, anyone can learn it.
"You didn't say you could fight."
"Honestly, it's like some drunken boxing Kung Fu shit but the more intoxicated I am. The more berserker I get when fighting." Taking a swig of water. "I don't usually drink or purposely get into fights."
"Damn baby." Taking the risk, you have been an enjoyable companion tonight. Why not see what the limit is.
"Don't call me baby." You aggressively glare at him to make a point.
"Whatever you say, Sprinkles." Putting his hands up in surrender, he needs to change the subject quickly.
"Sprinkles? That…that's different but okay." Weird name to choose but he seems to get the point.
"How's your hearing?" Lowering himself, he sits down beside you. He has no plans for tonight.
"Much better. I can clearly hear you and not have to be all up on you just to listen."
You see his ears twitch at that comment. Maybe he does like being close to you.
"Brave move you did. Handing the money directly to Dorghu."
"Yeah. But it's the only way I knew how. The money would make it back for the next party. Does that make sense?"
"I get your point."
"I don't need the money and it's payback for them setting the fight up in the first place." You give him a mischievous eyebrow wiggle.
"So you think I'm cute?" Blurting out the question was not the smoothest thing he had planned but it’s the easiest way.
"I don't know what you're talking about." Your face gets a little warmer and you stare at the opposite wall. Hard. You forgot he could speak orc.
"Don't worry I think you're cute too."
"What?" Surprised and suspicious. You can't help but to stare at him like he’s crazy as you feel your heart rate speed up. "Are you sure it's not because I just kicked someone's ass?"
"About 90% sure." Teasing he gives you a genuine smile.
"Y/N!" Charlie yells.
"Y/N! We're ready to go!" Olivia is screaming.
"Y/N! Where - oops sorry for interrupting." Charlie yells louder, now walking down the alley. Until she sees you two.
"You two could wake the neighborhood." Groaning, you're still annoyed with them. It's going to be a long car ride home.
"Rude! Not my fault you're deaf." Charlie scoffs.
"Wait by the car!" You fling a rock in their direction and they scamper away.
“Oh I'm going to end up snapping one day and killing them.” Groaning you heave yourself off the ground. Ronnie does the same while trying not to laugh.
"Sprinkles, you get more interesting by the second. How about I get your number so I can stay up-to-date?" In bold fashion he holds his phone out.
"Really?" Stunned, no one’s asked for your number before.
"Yes." Nodding in reassurance.
"I guess since you're so adamant." Pretending to be exasperated, you enter your number under the name Sprinkles. Turns out socializing for once wasn't that bad.
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crispyjenkins · 4 years
Note
A third part to the JangObi locked in a cell/ weapons courting if there isn’t one yet. Jango or Boba calling Obi Mandokar. At least I think that’s the word. A Mando’s wet dream basically.
(this one entirely got away from me and i didn't get to Boba actually using the word Mandokar, but both Obi-Wan and Satine know what he's getting at (ノ*゜▽゜*)
again, i do not hate Satine, but I also do not particularly like her! she's clearly got some stuff to work through here >.>
Thank you as always, Roxy!)
  When Jango had told Boba that he'd finally get to see the inside of the Senate Rotunda (legally, this time), Boba hadn't been particularly thrilled. Why should he care about the politics of a Republic neither he nor his buir are a part of?
  Well, Obi-Wan is a part of it, but he also clearly doesn't want to be.
  To put it shortly, Boba hadn't had high expectations for his afternoon, especially since it was preceded by Obi-Wan taking him to Dex's and letting Kote teach him how to use two vibroblades at once. Why couldn't they have just waited by the Slave I for Jango to finish his politicking? 
  He supposes Obi-Wan makes it bearable, taking him on a tour and telling him facts about the building itself, as well as stories from the Sacking of Coruscant, but Boba's good will ends rather abruptly when they run into Kryze and Padmé in one of the main corridors.
  Tense pleasantries are quickly exchanged, and Boba realises they haven't seen Kryze since Jango had helped Obi-Wan save her from Darth Maul; Boba still isn't sure of the details of what happened after, but his buir had been furious. 
  When it takes all of two minutes for Kryze to mockingly call Obi-Wan General Kenobi, Boba shares the kriffing sentiment. 
  Obi-Wan heaves a sigh, and Padmé looks wildly uncomfortable. "My lady, I do not know what you hope to achieve by reiterating your position on the Order’s involvement in the War; I am but one Jedi."
  "A Jedi on the High Council. You are just as implicit in its continuation as the rest," Kryze retorts, and Boba may be thirteen and a little out of his depth with the Politician Speak, but he knows this isn't about the Jedi, or the War. "Do not think you can absolve yourself from fault."
  Boba looks up at Obi-Wan, eager for his witty retort, but he just looks tired, and Boba has to remind himself that Obi-Wan had loved her, once. 
  Padmé smiles apologetically, trying to pull Kryze's focus. "The decisions of the High Council are not made by Obi-Wan alone," she says, even though they all know that isn't really the issue. 
  "You’re right," Kryze agrees, not sounding like she agrees at all, "individual Jedi have absolutely no control over their political participation in needless violence." Boba grinds his teeth as she gives up trying to hide her scowl.
  And Obi-Wan just stands there and takes it, like Boba hasn't seen him talk entire armies out of battle, or fight off both Savage and Maul at once. He hasn't seen Obi-Wan like this since Waxer's death on Cato Neimoidia.
  Obi-Wan sighs again, trying to offer Boba a little smile. "Individuals always have a choice," he says, more to Boba than Kryze. "But preventing the death of millions outweighs our personal beliefs, don't you think?"
  Boba nods firmly as Padmé shifts on her feet, but doesn't disagree; she's certainly seen more battle in this war than Kryze. 
  Kryze who scoffs to hide what must be genuine hurt. Anger is rarely about the thing you're angry with, Boba remembers Lama Su trying to teach him, and he reminds himself that Kryze had loved Obi-Wan once, too. That was the real problem, wasn't it?
  "Back then, you avoided conflict whenever you could," she says, flat and a little sad, "you would always rather go around than force your way through. It saddens me, Obi-Wan, to see what's left of your honor."
  "At least Obi-Wan hasn't murdered an entire half of his people!" Boba snarls, deciding he's quite done listening to this nonsense. 
  "Boba, it's alright," Obi-Wan says softly, but he's also keeping his left arm behind his back, keeping Jango's vambrace out of sight, and Boba is livid.
  "'Gar taldin ni jaonyc,'" he says, because he knows the "Duchess" still understands Mando'a, even if she pretends she doesn't.  Bloodline means nothing. "I don't care who your clan was, or what title you claim to have: until you are ready to die for your people, they are not yours."
  Kryze stares down at him, and Boba can feel Obi-Wan prodding at his mind in question, in an attempt to calm, but Boba shoves him back out. 
  "It's easy to call Obi-Wan a murderer when you're hiding in your glass palace, when you wouldn't know the first thing about defending it. Do not speak of honor until you even know what that is."
  There is a tense beat of silence before Kryze rounds a glare on Obi-Wan. "I would hope you could speak for yourself, if the Senate trusts a third of the Galactic Army in your hands."
  "Satine," Padmé murmurs, glancing at the passing senators who aren't even trying to hide their stares. 
  Obi-Wan’s eyes are colder than Boba has ever seen them, the hand behind him clenched into a fist, and Kryze had known him very well at one point, Boba knows she can read between the lines of Obi-Wan’s blank expression.
  "And I had hoped we had reached an understanding that there was nothing else for us to discuss, my lady. There are only so many times we can beat a dead bantha."
  Kryze sniffs. "You need not show me so much disdain, Obi-Wan: we are not sixteen and foolish anymore." Padmé tries to cut in, but Kryze waves for her silence. "But I agree, I do not think any new peace can be reached here, and you should be getting the child back to his progenitor, no?"
  "Jealous hag," Boba chirps, rocking on the balls of his feet and wondering if she had had dreams of having kids with Obi-Wan. "You didn't deserve Obi-Wan back then, and you certainly don't deserve him now. At the very least, he can separate his feelings from his politics."
  "Boba, please," Obi-Wan sighs, setting a gentle hand on the back of his neck, and Boba gets to watch with a vicious glee the exact moment Kryze sees Jango's vambrace, the only piece of armor Obi-Wan wears, and realises he is far past fraternising with her enemy.
  Padmé puts a hand on Kryze’s arm and gently starts to lead her away. "We should return to the committee, Duchess. And I'm sure Master Kenobi has his own business to attend to."
  "Of course," Kryze agrees icily, and actually returns Obi-Wan’s nod of farewell; she barely spares Boba a glance, though he smiles innocently up at her and mutters,
  "Demagulka," just loud enough for her to hear.
  Obi-Wan casts him a stern look, but luckily doesn't get the chance to scold him further, when Padmé quickly returns without Kryze and looks harried enough for all three of them. 
  "I'm sorry, Obi-Wan," she says, hushed in the still rather busy hall, "You did not deserve that."
  "That's quite alright, my dear," Obi-Wan is quick to say, and smiles at his friend. "I'm afraid I'm quite used to such treatment, though perhaps not so... publicly."
  "I don't know if I've ever seen you in the Rotunda without the council, and I highly doubt you came all this way just to butt heads with the Duchess. What are you doing here?"
  "Ah, that would be this one's fault," he says, Boba yelping as Obi-Wan sticks his hand into his curls and tousles them roughly. He only smiles down at him when Boba growls and grabs onto his arm, and though he knows Obi-Wan could easily lift him like this, the Jedi would never do so here.
  "It was Boba, yes?" Padmé asks kindly, folding her hands in front of her. "What brings you to the Rotunda?'
  "Buir said he was meeting someone," he scrunches up his face. "But we're leaving right after so Obi-Wan was watching me and brought me over to meet him."
  Padmé’s smile only slips a little, looking back to Obi-Wan. "Fett's meeting someone?" she asks, even quieter, "Here?"
  "It is perhaps not my place to speak of it, we are still in the very early stages," he says mysteriously, tugging Boba around to lean against his front, arms draped over Boba's shoulders as if trying to make up for Jango’s resistance to public displays of affection. Grumbling, Boba still lets himself be held there, and meets every stare from passing politicians with a glare. "When we get a little further along, I would very much like to speak with the Delegation of 2,000."
  Bemused but not particularly surprised, Padmé shakes her head. "Of course, Obi-Wan. Are we to see you on Coruscant more often, then?"
  Obi-Wan winces and holds Boba a little closer. "The 212th is coming off leave at the end of the tenday, I'm afraid. And of course Jango and Boba will be returning to Mandalorian space."
  Padmé looks over Obi-Wan’s shoulder, smile becoming strained but not quite unfriendly. "Speak the name of the Dianoga," she sighs.
  Boba wriggles to look behind them and immediately perks up. "Buir!"
  Jango pauses on his path for the elevators, turning instead towards Boba's voice; the lines of his face soften at the sight of them, joining them after an encouraging finger-flick from Obi-Wan. 
  "Senator Amidala," he greets with a nod, and Boba thinks his buir actually likes Padmé, but won't admit it because Obi-Wan would never let him hear the end of it.
  "Mr. Fett," she returns, shaking his hand firmly like any good Mando. "Although, if my suspicions about your presence here are correct, I will be adjusting my term of address in the near future?"
  Letting Boba latch onto his side like a Corellian limpet, Jango raises a brow at Obi-Wan. "Haat'ade do not change their clan names at marriage," he says, Boba rolling his eyes at his buir's failed attempt at humor, and Obi-Wan rubs his eyes with one hand. 
  "Jango," he sighs, Padmé looking like Lifeday came early. 
  "Obi-Wan, you hadn't told me the Council had approved your request," she plays along, "When can I expect an invitation?"
  "After I'm done with him, never."
  "Now, cyar’ika," Jango chides, "it's best not to publicly threaten your–" 
  "Finish that sentence, and I'll have Anakin steal the Slave I," Obi-Wan says it into his hand, but Boba can see the edges of a smile. "Padmé, please don't encourage him, he'll be insufferable after this."
  Padmé casts a quick wink down to Boba. "You best tell Anakin next, if he's the last to know, he'll be whining for weeks."
  Jango brushes his fingers over Obi-Wan’s back like a sap, and his smile is even worse. Maker, Boba loves the both of them, but no one should look as smitten as his buir does any time Obi-Wan threatens him. "I don't know how we're going to fit your entire family on Concord Dawn, or all the kids." 
  "You mean the vode? Buir, I think Obi has more people on the Negotiator than have ever even lived on Concord Dawn."
  "Why in Corellian Hells would I agree to have it on Concord Dawn?" Obi-Wan wants to know. "Maker, but this entire conversation is ridiculous."
  Padmé tilts her head with a small hum, expression entirely too innocent. "Didn't you agree to marry Anakin on Tatooine for the one mission with the three-lekku Twi'lek and their five footed goa–"
  "Yes, THANK YOU, my dear, that's quite enough of that."
  Jango looks put-out, just short of an actual pout, and Boba wriggles against him in embarrassment. "You didn't tell me about that mission," Jango says, feigning hurt.
  Obi-Wan side-eyes him, and only gets a smile for his trouble. "You know," Obi-Wan starts casually, but with a mischievous twinkle in his eye that has only ever meant great deals of fun for Boba, "by Stewjoni rites, we're already married."
 Jango chokes on nothing, and Boba wonders if he'd even known where Obi-Wan was from. He should probably tell his buir he's already met Obi-Wan's grandparents.
Mando’a: buir — “parent”, gender neutral Demagulka — (from mandoa.org) “someone who commits atrocties, a real-life monster, a war criminal - from the notorious Mandalorian scientist of the Old Republic, Demagol, known for his experiments on children, and a figure of hate and dread in the Mando psyche” Haat’ade — slang for Haat Mando’ade, lit. “true children of Mandalore”, True Mandalorians cyar’ika — “darling”, “sweetheart”
*“Gar taldin ni jaonyc” from the full phrase “Gar taldin ni jaonyc; gar sa buir, ori'wadaas'la,” lit. “Bloodline is not important, but you as a [parent] [is] the most valuable thing”,  used in the context of not judging someone by their lineage (blood or not) but by their own actions as a parent. I’ve used it here as Boba both calling Satine “dar’manda” and calling out her hypocrisy in criticising Obi-Wan/the Jedi from her ivory tower when she is a Kalevalen imperialist ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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dontwarnthetadpoles · 3 years
Text
Best Buffy & Willow platonic and romantic moments: Season 1
I changed the order of the words in the title because the scenes i’m commenting are more platonic than romantic. The romance is mostly an effect of my interpretation and writing at this point (it will be true until season 4). I also removed the end “ love at first sight” for the same reason. It seems more clear to present it this way.   
Never Kill a Boy on the First Date (Episode 5). 
Finally an episode with ambitious writing and a decent budget!  The stakes are upped with a new prophecy, a new enemy raising, and Buffy’s personal life starting to collide with her professional calling as a slayer.    
Let’s focus on Buffy and Willow:
Remember this during Welcome to the Hellmouth?: 
Willow: Oh, I could totally help you out! Uh, if you have sixth period free we could meet in the library? 
Buffy: Or not. Or we could meet someplace quieter. Louder. Uh, that place just kinda gives me the wiggins. 
Willow: Oh, it has that effect on most kids. I love it, though, it's a great collection, and the new librarian is really cool. 
Buffy: He's new? 
Willow: Yeah, he just started. He was a curator at some British museum, or The British Museum, I'm not sure. But he knows everything, and he brought all these historical volumes and biographies and am I the single dullest person alive?
That’s Willow in a nutshell: so very bookwormy and nerdy. I can totally relate.
Someone else who relates to Willow’s passion for books in this episode is Owen, Buffy’s new love interest. He’s obviously a book lover: he goes everywhere with his copy of Emily Dickinson’s complete poems that he enjoys so much that he doesn’t shy from calling it his security blanket in front of the girl he likes. Even Xander who tried to distract Buffy from her gloomy thoughts after she missed a date with Owen, picked up on this detail and said that a lot of guy can read and that he himself can read. 
To draw from this the conclusion that Buffy has a thing for avid readers and serious students and that sweet Willow fits the pattern, is something i won’t shy neither from doing. 
It’s  also worth to note that even Angel’s personality has been retconned later in the show to fit the type: he offered her a poetry book and was seen reading a french philosopher.   
More parallels that make me smile: seems that Buffy has also a seduction technique to approach her crushes. Like waiting for the lunchtime, to see if they are alone and to offer to keep them company. Owen Is just like Willow more than happy to share any time of the day with her.
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Meanwhile Willow is working very hard to win the award of the best friend of the year: she supports dutifully Buffy’s amazement at everything that Owen does or says, which (short off topic) made me reconsider the coldness/neutrality of her reaction toward Angel in the last episode. 
Contrary to Xander, she wasn’t much impressed by his looks and seemed more amused by Xander’s jealousy than curious to know more about the mysterious stranger. An important detail for me because i’m a little obsessed with the Angel/Buffy/Willow triangle - it exists mostly in the subtext and my obsession comes from littles clues i see in the script and directing - though the writers stayed very subtle about it.  
How cute did Buffy and Willow look when they were falsely arguing about Owen’s invitation to the Bronze being or not a big deal? On a scale of 1 to 10, they were at level 20. It’s almost a superpower.
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 I love especially this dialogue with Giles just after::
Buffy/Willow: What are you talking about?
Giles:What are you talking about?
Buffy/Willow: Boys.
Giles: I'm talking about trouble.     
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Boys are indeed trouble but girl friends are safe and loyal, and that’s why Buffy relies on Willow to help her pick an outfit for her 1st date with Owen.
Which leads us to their best scene of the episode: in Buffy’s bedroom. 
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This first Willow and Xander visit to Buffy’s house and how they felt immediately at home in her bedroom is the kind of scene written to make you fall in love with the show if it wasn’t already the case. It’s such a pure, wholesome and true moment.
It worked so well on  the young me who was discovering the show and for who invitations and sleepovers were something so hard to be allowed to do because of family rules. In the show, it means promise of intimacy, trust and shared secrets, and that Buffy’s home will be a place to feel protected for my favourite characters. 
And the show didn’t disappoint: the Summer’s house will become for all of them an integral a part of their life. Willow will live literally in it for two years. It was almost a character, just like the town before its destruction.
However beyond the nostalgia, the scene gives me also mixed feelings: 
I loved without hesitation everything about Buffy and Willow having already reviewed and picked her outfit, hair and make up way before Xander arrived. Sharing fashion tips (and shopping too) with your girl friends as a teenager is one of the most satisfying experience. It intensifies the relationship like nothing else. So they clearly have reached a new friendship level here. (Though i wasn’t aware that they were so close that they could change clothes in front of each other. Like how else did Buffy put on her golden/yellow dress!?).
There is in those moments a sense of normality that both Willow and Buffy are craving for different reasons (Willow because her solitude keeps her away from it, Buffy because of her mission). 
But i’m really against her decision to use Xander to test on him what Owen would think of her looks. 
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The less depressing interpretation is that Buffy might be trying to show to Willow that she got her message from the last episode (Teacher’s Pet) about her feelings for Xander: 
Willow: No, no, no! See? Xander's, I like his head! I-it's where you find his eyes, and his hair, and his adorable smile...
But Xander is doing the same thing to Willow, and the fact that Buffy who has so much influence on them, joins them in this attitude validates this way of thinking that people can be used if they have feelings for you.
It will complicate their relationship for the rest of the show to the point that 7  seasons later Willow will still think that people won’t stay with her or love her if they don’t need her.   
But back to this episode to conclude: sadly after this point our heroines are taken away from each other and dragged to the land of love triangles, located at the Bronze. While Buffy doesn’t know anymore to who give her attention between Owen and Angel, Willow fakes a date with Xander and meets Angel officially. 
The episode ends with Buffy making a choice to not keep Owen in her life  because of the danger, while she never had the same doubts about Willow (and Xander)...
And though she has very reasonable reasons to not want Owen around, who can blame her to dismiss him and keep Willow close when they both look like this together (their matching colors are making me melt)?
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rosesvioletshardy · 3 years
Text
i’m sorry - b.h
hi another imagine that was requested that took me forever to write and finish
not sure what this is but hopefully y’all like it because there were nights where i just stayed up staring at it hoping that i can think of something to write so yeah
masterlist
warnings: yelling?, angst
# of words: 2,916
--
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Dating someone who was almost 10 years older than you and famous felt like a weird experience. Y/N wasn’t really used to it after dating for two years already since the biggest age gap she had with someone was someone who was only a year older than her. She was quiet and reserved and was sometimes sensitive, especially when someone raised their voice at her, which was why her last relationship didn’t work out.
 There were times where she felt like there was something wrong in their relationship because of how sometimes he would avoid her and sometimes would cancel dates and blow her off. She understood that he wanted to hang out with his friends at some points since he doesn’t get to see them that often especially when he has to leave for another country for filming. They did go on dates every now and then and would make sure to let the other know beforehand if they were to cancel it so they could reschedule. 
Recently Ben has been home for a few months and this was the longest he has been home that didn’t involve filming, even if it was in London since most of the time he had to stay on set in his trailer. He missed pretty much everyone in his life currently but the one thing he missed a little bit more was hanging out with his friends. He knew that wasn’t the best thing to think about or ever miss when he has a girlfriend but he hasn’t gotten or had a proper guys night out in a while with them and he wanted to do something with them again and act like teenagers. 
It was still early in the morning which meant that he had enough time to fit in a workout and lounge around before he went off at night. When he woke up, he felt the bed empty next to him which  meant that Y/N had gone to work and wouldn’t see him until he left for the night. He really did love her and wouldn’t know what he would without her. Ben loved her kind nature, how she always put others first before herself which he hated sometimes because he felt that there were times where she needed to focus on herself but she didn’t know how to sometimes. He didn’t do much that afternoon since there wasn’t that much to do. He went for a run, made breakfast, talked to Y/N, cleaned up around a bit. Ben knew he shouldn’t have been working while on a break from filming but he couldn’t help but start writing a screenplay he just started thinking of.
Hours have passed and it was now the evening which meant he was finishing getting ready for the night as his girlfriend walked into their apartment carrying a few take out bags as she kicked off her heels by the door and walking to the kitchen to set everything down before going to their room and finding him sitting on their bed putting shoes on all dressed up.
“Hey babe” she told him giving him a kiss on the lips as he got up almost towering over her
“Hey baby, how was work?’’ ben asked her as he got up and looked at himself in the mirror one more time before he left
“How long do you think I would go to jail for murdering someone for constantly annoying me?”
“Work was that bad?”
“Yeah, I was hoping that a certain someone will help make my night better as we eat the takeout I brought and watch someone movies while drinking some nice wine. Why are you all dressed up?” she asked looking up at him when she wrapped her arms around him
“I was going to go out with some mates since I haven’t gotten a proper chance to hang out with them in a while”
“Oh-” Y/N said feeling a bit disappointed
“You alright?” he asked her when he hear the disappointment in her voice
“Yeah, yeah i was just hoping to spend some time with my boyfriend after a shitty day at work, but you want to go out. It’s fine” she said pulling away and starting to change out of her work clothes
“Are you mad that i want to spend some time out with mates after not seeing them for a long time?” ben questioned her as he pulled away from her
“No, you can hang out with them. I was just hoping that I got to spend the rest of the night with my boyfriend after a shitty day at work and do nothing.” she defensively told him 
“I haven’t seen my friends in who knows how long because I’m either always away and working or they have their own lives and work, and if I do it’s never for a long time too. I always spend all my fucking free time with you. I don’t even remember the last time I just got to relax and hang out with them and just be one of the fucking guys!” he told her raising his voice a bit
“You had three fucking weeks to hang out with them and you chose today! I know none of them were that busy and neither were you in those weeks!” she called out back at him
“GOD! ARE YOU REALLY DOING THIS NOW? ACTING LIKE I CAN’T HAVE A FUCKING LIFE OUTSIDE OF ACTING? OUTSIDE OF DOING MY FUCKING JOB? I’VE KNOWN THEM SINCE I WAS A KID! I’VE KNOWN YOU FOR ONLY 2 FUCKING YEARS” he yelled at her raising his voice causing her to take a step back and flinch as he raised his voice, turning red as the veins in his neck began to stand out and his jaw clenched while tears began to escape her eyes
“No. you’re right. I’m sorry, go and have fun.” she sneered at him
“You know what I will.” he pointed a finger at her, then grabbing his keys and storming out of the room leaving her alone. The slam of the front door caused her to flinch as she soon broke down, falling down to the floor, with her back against their bed crying.
Ben on the other hand couldn’t focus at all when he left. The entire time he was driving to the pub, his jaw was clenched as one hand gripped the steering wheel tightly thinking about the scene that happened before he left and the thought and pulled into the lot of the pub. When he entered, he quickly spotted his friends and walked over to them before greeting them. Once they got their drinks, they began to catch up with each other and chat about everything that’s recently happened in their lives. Ben was distracted and couldn’t focus on what they were talking about and would just mindlessly drink his beer, zoned out and not paying attention as to the conversation that was happening between him and his friends. They all noticed that he was quieter than usual and wasn’t partaking in their conversation
“Jonesy? You a’right mate?” josh asked him which made ben snap out of his thoughts 
“Yeah, yeah. Sorry. ‘M just thinking.” 
“Everything alright between you and Y/N?” sam asked him taking a swing of his beer
“Everything’s fine between us. Now what were you talking ‘bout?” Ben asked them wanting to avoid the question not wanting to bother them with his relationship problems. All his friends could do was just look at each other and know he was lying from the way he was avoiding the question. Just because he was a trained actor doesn’t mean he’s a good liar at all. 
“Bullshit. Tell us what’s really wrong. Is it Y/N?” they kept asking him before he snapped
“Fine! Yes it is about her.” he told them as they listened closely
“She came home from work late and told me she had one of the worst days because of something her boss and coworker did. Then she mentioned how she wanted to just spend the rest of the night with me just eating take out and watching movies but I had already made plans with you lot and then it got worse. She explained to me everything and how we had three weeks to hang out but we never did and how you weren’t all busy to do so. But um, um, I may or may not have ended up yelling, “I’ve known them since I was a kid” and “i’ve known you for 2 years” at that is what brings us here.” ben told them all as they just stared at him and all he could do was nod 
“Yeah so that’s how my night has been.” he finished off with drowning the pint of beer in front of him
“You’re so screwed mate.”
“Yeah she probably hates you by now.”
“You think I don't know that?!” ben said irritated and slightly raising his voice before taking a deep breath
“Look, what you need to do right now is you need to go to tesco, buy some flowers, some chocolates, her favorite bottle of wine, and go back to your flat and apologize. That’s pretty much all you can do because yelling, especially with what you said, is just a big yikes mate.” sam told him
“Yeah, yeah i know. I guess I should be going then, if it’s going to close soon.” ben told them laying down some money and getting out of his seat
“Alright, i’ll talk to you all later” he finished as he put his coat back on
“Right, see you” his friends told him as he walked out to the uber he called earlier 
The drive to Tesco was quiet, seeing that his thoughts consumed him as he thought about the past 2 years he and Y/N were together. Within those two years, he has never raised his voice at her and the only time they yelled at each other was if they were messing around and playing. Yeah they had fights but never this serious. He was soon knocked out of his thoughts when the driver called out his name. Ben thanked him and got out, and entered the store.
He already knew what he was going to be getting since he was used to getting them for Y/N whenever she was on her period and didn’t go to the store. The only problem he was having was that he was debating on whether what kind of bouquet of flowers he should get her. A simple bouquet or a huge one seeing about how bad he fucked up. Deciding to go with the big one, he quickly made his way over the wine aisle and grabbed the most expensive but good one he could find before going to get some candy.
When he got all he needed, he went to the register, the older woman can tell that he did something bad by looking at everything he bought for Y/N and wished him luck once she finished ringing everything up. He wished her a goodnight and left the store and headed back to their flat hoping that she would forgive him. 
“Alright ben. This is it. You can just go in there, find her, and apologize while giving her everything. You didn’t mean to yell at her and you regret it. If you can get naked in front of people for a play, you can confront your girlfriend and admit your mistakes.” he said to himself as he stood outside their front door trying to calm himself down. 
He took one more deep breath before opening the door to find it completely silent and dark. Frankie didn’t even come to greet him which meant she was probably with Y/N. He set his keys down, remembering that he needed to pick up his car the next day when he was sober, and walked to their shared room. When he got there, he softly knocked on the door and got no answer. Ben waited a few seconds before knocking again and tried to turn the handle to find it was locked. Letting out a sigh and sat down, his back against the door and began to talk. 
“Y/N? Love? I don’t know if you’re asleep by now or if you’re still awake but i wanted to say I’m sorry. I was being a terrible boyfriend and decided to go out rather than be with you. I didn’t mean to yell at you and if i’m being honest i don’t know why i did it. I completely regret it because I know how someone raising their voice makes you and it made me feel terrible afterwards.” ben started  
“What I’m trying to say is that I’m sorry, is that you have every right to be mad at me and can shut me off for as long as you want. Um, I got you some things I’d thought you’d enjoy and another way of saying “I’m Sorry” so, I’ll just leave them here. I’ll sleep on the couch tonight” he finished getting up and heading to the living room to lay down
Y/N was awake listening to everything he had said and she felt bad but not as bad as he did from when he yelled at her. She heard him set everything down and get up and listen as his footsteps grew quieter. Frankie laying beside her, Y/N scratched her ears and began to talk
“He feels really bad about it, huh franks?” she asked knowing that she wasn’t going to get an answer from a dog
“Same here. I should’ve just let him go without saying anything. Shouldn’t have said anything in general.”
“Don’t look at me like that, let’s just go see what he bought.”
Y/N got out of their bed and walked over to the door and opened it to find her favorite sweets, a bottle of really expensive wine, and some of her favorite flowers. She noticed the note inside the flowers that she noticed had his handwriting listing some of his favorite things about her. She couldn’t help but smile at the thought of him a little tipsy writing everything down, but she knew that whenever he’s even the tiniest drunk he becomes a little clingy with the people around him before he lets loose. Walking down the hallway, she walked past all of the photos of her and Ben throughout the years and couldn’t help but smile. Some people thought it was weird that the two of you had pictures hung up since you weren’t married and some of them were just the two of them being themselves and messing around. 
Y/N got to the living and saw his sleeping figure on the couch. She couldn’t tell if he was actually sleeping or if he just had his eyes closed. Walking into the kitchen, Y/N put the flowers in a vase with water and put the wine and chocolates onto the kitchen table before walking over to where Ben was. She admired him and everything he did for her. Ben felt someone staring at him and opened his eyes to find Y/N smiling at him.
“Hey.” she whispered
“Hey” he answered back. It was quiet between the two of them for a moment as he sat up 
“Listen, before you say anything I want to tell you that yelling at you, especially like that, was one of the worst things I could possibly do. Especially when I knew how you would react. You were right. I had weeks to hang out with them and you came home feeling the worst. I should’ve canceled or rescheduled and stayed home with you, especially when you had a bad day.” he said all in one breath
“Ben, no it’s my fault. You’ve known them since you were teens and it makes sense that because you weren’t filming that you would want to go out and just be a normal person and feel like a teenager again. I spent all those weeks with you and it made sense that you would want to go out.” Y/N told him as ben shook his head trying to justify his argument and blame himself 
“No. it’s entirely my fault. I yelled and it got out of hand. I don’t want to argue with you about it now or ever about these kinds of things ever. Please. Now i just want to spend the rest of this night with my girlfriend and let her talk about her shitty day at work and how much she hates her boss and coworkers. It’s what she deserves and I need to make up for what I did to her.”  he told her, pulling her into his arms as he buried his face into her neck as she went into his chest.
“Well then, there’s a really expensive bottle of wine this guy bought for me and some take out and I think we should open it and eat.” he said, staring into her eyes “I think the guy must be crazy in love for him to buy an expensive wine only for it to be paired with take out and chocolates” Y/N told him giving him a peck
“Yeah, he really is crazy in love and he doesn’t regret it one bit”
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spidersbane · 3 years
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Hello! Can I get MCU, The Hobbit, and The Man From U.N.C.L.E. ship? 💚
Appearance: She/her. 179,5cm tall, rectangle body shape. Fair skin complexion with quite a few birthmarks. Dyed brown with honey-red highlights, shoulder-length, straight hair with bangs. The left eye is a mix of two colors – a smaller portion of (darker) greyish-blue and a larger portion of hazel; while the right eye is just a (lighter) greyish-blue. Heptagon face shape with two dimples on the left cheek and one on the right cheek (only visible while smiling). A gap between the upper front teeth.
Personality (good and bad traits): Ever since I was a kid, I was always quite mature for my age – I identify myself as an old soul. I come off as polite and well-mannered to strangers, yet I tend to keep it to myself by being reserved. But, that’s because I have social anxiety and I’m nervous and shy when meeting/talking to people. The only people I’m comfortable with being with my inner circle – closest friends and family. I am usually more “open” with my friends than with my family. With my friends I can be my “truest-self” – I smile more, I laugh more, I feel more accepted and understood. I am the mom and the fashionista of the group. Don’t get me wrong, I am fiercely protective of my family, especially of my mother and younger sister. But, lately, I’ve been feeling like the “black sheep” of the family, Cinderella who’s been taken advantage of. I express my affection for the people I care about in little, but practical, ways. I can be a little stiff when it comes to open, gushy displays of affection. Others turn to me for help and advice. I’m kind-hearted and generous, always ready to help a person in need. Always have been motherly towards children. Very awkward at keeping small talk (usually with people that I’m not that close with). Absolutely, hate speaking in front of a public, and if I do, because of my nervousness, I tend to mess up my words and/or I practice whatever I’m about to say in my head at first. I appreciate the simplicity and am often most comfortable when I’m not getting too much attention from the world. I am sensitive – both to criticism and to others’ feelings (I sponge up the feelings and moods of people and the environment around me). Have a hard time saying no or expressing my true thoughts, feelings. I get influenced by other people’s opinions/thoughts quite hard (I take everything to the heart), that is why I tend to keep a lot to myself (may come off as a little bit tense, secretive, mysterious). I avoid the harsh reality by daydreaming (almost every day) – imagining myself in situations far from my current circumstances. Sort of like a self-escape. I worry a lot and overthink almost everything. I am easily distracted and my attention span can be quite short. I have an internal struggle between my needs and wants. I can lack focus and be indecisive as a result – when I decide on one route, I am pulled in another direction at the same time (“But what if…”, “on the other hand...”). That is why I’m having a bit of a struggle with deciding what I want to do in the future (career-wise). I am easily overwhelmed by pressure and stress. There is a self-destructive side to me (self-critical, lack of self-confidence) that I’m working on by confronting my fears (coming out of my shell). Don’t like taking pictures, or other people taking pictures of me. I feel most content when I’ve straightened out all the details of everyday life. I have a routine, that I follow by mostly every day, and if something small changes in that routine, I start to have a small internal anxiety attack. Also, I like to do things my own way, like, when it comes to cleaning the house or organizing stuff, etc. I get triggered even if people don’t do the laundry the way I do. I guess you could describe me as a perfectionist, clean/control freak. In triggering situations I can be impulsive, spontaneous, quick to act. Quick flare-ups of anger/annoyance when being provoked on my patience. Even when I’m feeling low, I manage to find humor in life and have fun with whatever I do have. Although I tend to bottle things up, I am an emotional person and my emotions are genuine – I love and care deeply and passionately and wish no ill will upon anyone, yet it hards for me to imagine someone falling in love with me or just liking me.
Hobbies, likes: My hobbies are cleaning, writing (re-writing song lyrics, making small notes, writing stories), listening to any type of music, catching up on my favorite films and TV shows, hanging out with friends, going to the cinema, or the club, being out in nature, reading, traveling. I like history, cooking, fashion magazines (or fashion in general), road trips, spirituality, mythology, books, orange juice, previous decades, cottage-core, dark academia.
Overall: Hufflepuff. INFP-T. Bi-sexual. Pisces-Aries cusp sign. “Looks like could kill you, but is actually a cinnamon roll.” A feminist, support LGBTQ+ community. That’s it, thank you!
hey @pataim ! thanks so much for sending in your request, and thank you so much for your honesty about yourself. like it takes a lot to air yourself out like that, and I admire your strength for it. but also fINALLY a 'Man from U.N.C.L.E' ship! I love that movie and attempt Illya's accent all the time, so this will be fun :)
For the MCU/Marvel - I ship you with Steve Rogers/Captain America ! 
no one can tell me that Steve doesn’t have a set routine honestly, so let me just get that out there 
he seems intimidating at first, esp as a public figure and Avenger, but Steve is nothing but passionate about what he does. so it may clash w your lack of direction, but I could honestly see him envying that a lil bit, like it’s not that you don’t have direction, it’s the fact that you still have a choice in the matter. 
your love of history put you in a museum, here you bumped into Steve in a horrible disguise. he struck up the conversation first, and once you got past the whole “holy crap that’s Captain America”, you could actually engage with him in the material and boi was he smitten 
he would love to join you when your rewatched your fave things, bc not only is he catching up on more media he missed out on, he’s also getting to know your interests in a way that’s comfortable with you. it avoids all the small talk, but leaves room for discussion after the film/show ! 
since you tend to sponge up a lot of what other people believe, it’s totally Steve who actually tries to question what you think and what you feel about things. he’s someone who encourages you to have your own opinions and to stay true to those thoughts. so while with him, you can rely on him to learn about yourself, you also gain skills for independence
overall, Steve is super patient, and despite his chaotic job as Cap, he takes comfort in his routine, and would find comfort incorporating a partner’s routine into his life. and as you grow in a relationship with him, he’s patient about teaching you how to be your own person, and helping you learn more about yourself. and while it’s uncomfortable, you grow stronger throughout being with him :) 
For The Hobbit - I ship you with Bilbo Baggins !
Bilbo is the definition of introvert, and you're right there with him
not that introversion is ever a bad thing, bc it isn't. but Bilbo is quite content to sit in his little hobbit hole and vibe. like Gandalf had to come find him, ya know. dude disappeared from his own bday.
but anyways. it's not that Bilbo lacks purpose, it's just that he's more content with a quieter life. and it seems like his quiet life would balance you out well! like the Shire is so so chill, and there doesn't really seem to be a lot of pressure on the hobbits to pick a profession. like they just genuinely do what needs to get done.
similarly, Bilbo is the type who seems a little bothered by mushy displays of affection. exhibit a: disappearing from his own bday. like he's much more the type to refill your tea when y'all are reading by the fireplace, which he would totally do w you
it will probs take you a little while to warm up to each, given just how introverted you both are. but when he explains that he has set ways of doing things, then if they're compatible w your ways of doing things, then it doesn't take you long to open up to him
like it'll be a little jarring, but he takes comfort in his routines too. and it'll be an event trying to incorporate both of your ways of life together, but he's willing to do it
overall, yours is a very quaint partnership, built on deep respect for one another. neither of you are going to push the other to do things you aren't into. and y'all just live your best lives together tbh :)
For The Man From U.N.C.L.E - I ship you with Illya Kuryakin !
I love my big Russian spy so much, so this is fun for me
so Illya is the epitome of reserved and generally quiet, so it might take a while to really break down his walls and talk to him. and he's not quite sure what to do with you once you join the team
but, he's playing his game of chess alone, and when you sit down and ask to play with him, he opens up a little more after that
if you're one who get sent out on mission with the team, get ready, bc sometimes those missions require a lot of improvising. but you'd probably be at whatever 'base' was, helping run operations from a more secure place. but Illya and Napoleon improvise a lot, leading to a lot of headaches for you and Waverly
Illya has small bursts of anger, but similar to Gaby, most times, you can intervene and he doesn't get violent. or when he does, he tries to make sure it isn't in front of you. but bc you care so deeply for him, you're there for him in the aftermath. and that's how you show your love for him.
by patching him up if he gets cut, by talking him down when he's angry. and just generally trying to take care of him. and he totally does the same for you, especially if you get sent out into the field
and much to Illya's dismay, Solo doesn't refrain form making jokes about you. but if you can take them in stride, then Solo welcomes you into the team just as well :)
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