#fetching flowers is the name of their flower shop

[honestsycrets]

enfócate | tutor!miguel o'hara x reader

❛ pairing | tutor!miguel x student!reader, fake boyfriend!peter x reader

❛ type | explicit

❛ summary | jess is clear: miguel o'hara is a terrible boyfriend. he'll inevitably hurt you-- but peter has other ideas. or, you blow miguel in a library.

❛ tags | spanish tutor!miguel, bratty reader, a kiss with Peter, Miguel's jealousy, bjs, fake boyfriend!peter, slight obsessive qualities, fuck buddies, undefined relationships, fuck boy Miguel.

❛ reqs fulfilled | see here.

❛ sy's notes | the pov on this piece bothers me, it jumps between reader and Miguel. however, i did write two separate pieces for this request (a combined 25 pages vs my usual 11/12). so, i decided to meld them together to create this piece. anywho, if it bothers you, i understand! ❤️ I yoinked a lot of the Spanish from my Spanish learners textbook, hopefully, it's acceptable.

He knew he wanted you from the first day he saw you in the tea cafe. 

Jess and he rarely visited the tea shop. It was settled on the edge of campus. Close to the social sciences and arts, but far from the work he did in the Genetics department. As a Ph.D. student, however, not all the work was done in the lab. Jess liked to see the different types of people that came to this tea cafe, where the chair cushions were fluffy emerald pillows and plants hovered overhead.

“Miguel? What's---” 

You stood apart from the other students with their sloppy, half-cropped, or frumpy appearances, there was a particular care you took to dressing. It was the embroidered bow in your hair that drew his attention. When you left to fetch a refill of chai, he noticed the soft, frilled socks in tiny ankle boots. He just knew you would taste sweet, leering as he watched you at the drink bar. Jess glanced in your direction, the way you adorably bowed your head after the tea artist gave you your drink, and just knew. Jess looked over her shoulder. 

“Not her.”

Jess’s voice was a drawn-out sigh of your name, punctuated by her fist beating the table. Miguel perked at the mention of your name. Oh, so she knew you. She was probably sick of his shit. Good, he was also sick of being used as a vibe check for the lesbians she wanted to pick up.

“Don’t you have enough side pieces?” 

Miguel didn’t respond. 

“She probably has a boyfriend. Or a girlfriend. Look who she's with.” 

That finally got a response. 

“You don’t know that,” he kept his eyes straight ahead. You caught him staring, wiggling your little fingers in a hello as you sat at a table. "I want her."

You sat with an incredibly frumpy, annoying photography student who once took his picture for the lab website. Could he be… his attention wavered when you pulled out a book: Español para el siglo. His lips quivered into a wildly sardonic grin. Oh no, no no. It was too easy. 

“You’ll ruin her. She’s too innocent.” 

He leaned in. 

“Are you going to help me or not?” 

“Buenas tardes,” 

Two chairs and a thin desk. The small study room was more of a glorified broom closet for its students. You were lucky that there was a large window that looked out over the student union, flowers blooming up its brick siding. Bits of lush dark green ivy poked into the window’s view from the library’s tall wall. As the sun set on campus, rich orange and pink settled over the sunset on that warm Friday afternoon. At least the sight was pretty for how overwhelmingly small the space was.

It wasn’t the space that bothered you. It was your tutor.

He was big-- big big. Not just a little big, but really big. The kind of big that was on bodybuilding competitions. It made his long, blue-grey muscle shirt and grey sweats look tiny, sucked to his well-pumped muscle. The room felt a lot smaller as you looked at him, his long brown hair whipped back over his neck. His eyebrows raised on his dark forehead, arms turning one over another, a bundle of muscle.

“Ah... you're him? The man from the tea shop.” 

He pulled free his sunglasses and set them down. His warm chocolate eyes glanced from the edge of your now too-short skirt to the glint of a dagger necklace that beat between your breasts. He’s staring. Why is he staring-- you finger the dagger between your thumb and index fingers, soothing yourself with the manipulation.

“Miguel.” He warmed, pulling the seat out beside him. His voice was buttery and smooth, almost like rich caramel. The lilt in his voice lightened, inviting you to take a seat by him. You should. You thought. Sit down. “Siéntate." 

You stared.

"I said sit down.” 

That was a bad idea. You paused, slipping the bag down from under your shoulder and onto the beige tile by the door. Miguel watched every slight movement. That’s fine. It’s natural to do that. You tugged the bottom of your skirt and took a seat beside him. Miguel pushed the chair back in, pushing your chest to the edge of the desk space. Oh-- oh boy, he was strong. Of course, he was, he was built like a-- 

“Bueno. Now you're settled. How can I help you?” 

Do that again.

“Me? Oh! I... Jess said you could help me need to pass a test,” you murmured. The four semesters of Spanish seemed relatively easy compared to being stuffed next to this Adonis in this tiny study room. Your legs settled over your skirt, hands working over one another to will down the pulse of your wily excitement. What was wrong with you? “To pass my language requirement.” 

You should have been able to do that alone but-- let’s say you weren’t the most applied to the language in your childhood. A tutor was a great alternative to embarrassment and thousands of dollars in classes. If only he didn’t look like… this. His large hand left the pasty back of your chair.

“Hm,” he paused. “¿Puedes hablar español?” 

“Sí,” you murmured. “My mami was-- well, I should have listened to her.” 

Hm. 

You want to know what Hm means. Your leg tremored on its own accord. He swept a leather bag by his side up and pulled out a thick folder, running across several tabs. Lab notes, diet plans, pruebas. 

“It happens,” he notes, sliding a page free. “Let’s see how much you know, princesa.” 

You’d be lying if you said you didn’t want to know more, to hear the hum of Spanish bouncing off his lips. It was a world apart from your mother’s shrill screams on Saturday mornings to clean an already clean house. It held its own beauty and mystery when he spoke it. You took the page from him, setting it down on the bland tablespace by your phone, lighting up with a notification.

Jess When you meet Miguel, don’t do it.

"¿Princesa?" you asked.

"You dress like one. Don’t worry if you fail,” you plucked out a pink mechanical pencil, complete with little animated characters tightened around the wrapping. You perked at his words, choking a small smile. “I expect you to.” 

Why was he like this? You took another unfortunate look at him, his large forearm plastered over the desk, making the book he had to look like peanuts in comparison. God, he was hot-- you felt comparatively hideous, drooling over a man that was out of your league. Maybe he could be your piece of eye candy this year. Your phone buzzed along the table again. Miguel’s eyes shot to it, a frown pulling at his lips. 

Jess Don’t fuck him. He can’t keep his dick to himself.

He reaches over, flipping your phone down with an overworked smile sundering his expression. It’s almost fake. 

“Are you…” you turned your eyes to the questions on the page. “A student?” 

“Grad student,” Miguel answered. So, older than you then. “I graduated with a BA in Spanish and a BS in Genetics.” 

“Oh! A dual degree?” The man couldn’t be normal. He had to do both. “Did it… take a while?”

“No, it was accelerated.” 

He was unreal. There was no way this man was ordinary. It was physically impossible for the man to be that hot and successful. You scribbled across the page, nipping the back of your pencil at particularly hard questions.

“So you just do this for… a living?” you asked him. 

“I teach and train clients, yes.”

“Train?” 

“Gym,” Miguel set his cheek on his fist.

“I do cardio with Jess. No strength training for me.” Jess-- who suggested Miguel to you. You had some shit to bitch at her about the next time you saw her. Namely, why she didn’t warn you about Miguel. He was a boon for chaos in your life.

“I’d waste your time. I’m all marshmallow,” you pat your soft belly. “All pan dulce and burros.” 

He chuckled. 

“You have a beautiful body.” 

And that was that. You set the pencil down on a page half full of answers, glancing toward his full lips. They were quirked into an arrogant smirk. He knew the effect he had on women. He glanced to the page, then to you, his lips growing into a smile laden with arrogance. 

“Your hips--” he glanced down, “My girls couldn’t pay to get them.” 

He noticed. You supposed that the miniskirt wasn’t the best choice for meeting a new man.

“Do you talk to everyone like this?”

“No. Only the ones that look at me like you did." 

Oh. 

 If it were a game of whom ate whom up first, you had to be honest-- it may have been you. You couldn’t shoot anything back at that, angling your head down at the page guiltily. A sigh fell from his chest. His large hand came to the back of your head, cupping the thick bow on the back of your head. His fingers ran across the silk, teasing it between his fingers.

“Calm down, you’re not the first one to do it. You won't be the last,” he turned your head to look at him, large fingers combing through the strands of your hair. He chased the panic in your wide eyes, doe eyes blown wide. Your heartbeat soared into your chest, choking you there, looking for an outlet from your shame. 

“Breathe for me,” he leaned in, his warm breath tingling your ear. His cologne was clean, like the lapse of the waves on the shore back home where the tropical heat was a second skin. You listened, taking a weary, deep breath in, then out again. Again. 

“Go on.” His knuckles rapped on the sheet. Miguel’s hand fell away. You found yourself longing for it again. 

“He’s gorgeous.” 

“I told you not to fuck him," your superior, Jess said, her feet bouncing off the stairstepper effortlessly.

“I didn't-- I just, he called me beautiful.” 

“He would call anyone beautiful if it meant fucking them. Don’t fall for it.” 

You knew Jess wouldn’t say it unless she were serious. She always knew what you needed help with, where to locate a good solution, and had the right words to calm you down.

“How?” you said, louder than you intended. You were suddenly thankful for the pounding music that beat down on your ears in your school’s gym and the rush of people that came and went. “Jess, you’re a lesbian. You don’t understand-- he’s thick. Like, he’s luchador status big. Big, big.” 

“I’ve dated some thick women.” 

“And he likes me,” you said pointedly, rushing to the topmost step, remembering his words. The way he calmed you down from your embarrassment, seeming without concern for his own body. It was… sweet. “Men usually don’t like me, Jess. I’m too… soft.” 

“Okay, girl, whatever,” you were pretty sure she rolled her eyes. “Unless you’re going to be another one of his fuck toys, just ignore him.”  

“How?”

Her stare trained on the floors lapsed. Thirty and she was still going. “If you don’t want him, just fire him. What’s going to do? Come find you?” 

You stopped for the entirety of five… or ten seconds. Enough to consider her words. Enough to quite literally get plop off the stair stepper and onto the cold floor. Jess exhaled a stale breath, reaching over to jam the STOP button on your machine. Ow.

“Good job.” 

Miguel likes to tutor you. Not because you’re good at Spanish, no, for a girl that grew up with a Spanish mother, your skills are quite poor. But he likes the opportunity to have you in a room all by yourself, late at night. Wednesdays are great days for that. 

Your soft buttercup yellow dress is short today, exposing your thick thighs that take up so much of the chair. He pretends that he’s listening as you go over a list of irregular verbs, your lip pouting in response to the irregular verbs. Some were simple in their familiarity like poder with endings such as pudiste; but the plurals and other irregular verbs, you pouted at. It was cute. 

“Miggy, it’s not funny, ” Oh, nicknames now. Miguel throws a glance at your glossy lips, undoubtedly sticky but oh so soft looking. 

“I never said it was.” 

“You’re smirking.” 

“Then don’t whine,” he said. “It’s cute.” 

“Oh--” As to be expected, you shifted your hands between your legs, drawing your skirt in between your legs. He faltered and took a glance, coasting his eye over its edges and memorizing the way it fell over your skin. You’ll ruin her, he remembers Jess saying. She wasn’t wrong, he sensed the bit of it now, how close you sat-- 

“Take a break, princesa. Vocabulary-- ascendencia.” 

Rather than take a break, you turned and caught the corner of his lips in what was a terrible, cherry-red kiss that would stain his skin. But the connection of your lips, puckered in a pouting kiss on his skin, caught him off guard. 

“Descent,” you took his red pen out of his loose grip, scribbling descent by the word. Fuck. Miguel took a sip of now cold coffee. A smile kept pulling at his cheeks, looking out of the window and catching the slight reflection of your lipstick smeared across his lip and cheek, he bobs his head into a nod.

“Correcto.” 

You’re with Peter the first time you see Miguel with another woman. 

It’s at lunch. Tuesdays and Thursdays are regularly spent running to the College of Arts, waiting for Peter to get out, and a picnic. Today, you forgot to bring lunch, running off to the union hand wrapped around his elbow as he talked to you about a bright new camera lens filter.

“These new pictures are going to come out perfect! Thanks for lending me the money,” he beamed. You loved the way he talked about his art-- stopping to show you his newest pictures of the camera that hung around his neck. Peter was always good with a camera, catching you in all the prettiest angles in your trade of photos for… sponsoring a lens or whatever. Or, at least, bringing down the cost. “Look at this one. Look how pretty you look in that dress, kinda like a pin-up! We should do some’a those next.” 

Feet thumping over the pavement, you failed to sense Miguel's presence until you smelled his peppery cologne carried on the air. There, on a bench, he sat next to a girl. She was pretty, with long dark hair and soft skin. Her hand was on his thigh and his arm around her shoulder, eating the last bit of a flaky empanada-- your eyes burned, the closeness of her head on his shoulder, clearly done and finished, waiting for whatever next plan he had. You don’t want to know what that could be.

“Huh? Oh. hi Miguel!” Peter waved to your dismay. You held onto him a little tighter, wringing circles around his sleeve. Miguel spares you two a glance, his eyebrows pushing together. But he waves, lazy and short. You stifle the hot prick of tears at the corner of your eyes and yank Peter away. “Wha-- I’m coming, I’m coming!"

Days later, Peter has a plan.

“I’ve got it-- the solution to your tea guy problem! You should have told me sooner that it was Miguel.” 

Peter was very excited. Why, you weren’t sure. He liked to feel helpful. That’s why he was a photographer. Photography lets others feel beautiful and seen. He picked at your lunch, his head flopped on your thigh as he worked through his camera. 

“I’ll be your boyfriend!”

“You want to be my boyfriend?” you offered him a grape. He opened his mouth with an adorable ‘ah’ of his his lips. You slipped the grape between his lips. He chewed appreciatively. “I don’t know, Peter. Isn’t it lying?” 

“C’mon, I know Miguel. He’s macho. The kind of guy you have to make jealous. And I can do it! I’m boyfriend material. Aren’t I?”

“Sí. But I don’t think I can make him jealous.” 

It was a sunshiney day, sprawled out at lunch on a cool picnic blanket, tracing the clouds when you heard his voice. Soft, smooth, inviting. Your head spun around, this time with a lean blonde-haired girl-- her legs were long, tummy nice and flat, blue eyes shining like little sapphires set in her pale face. She swooned on his arm. The perfect sorority princess. What if he called her princesa, too?

“--close lab with me--” 

“I can do it myself.” 

Miguel’s eyes caught yours, raising his hand lazily to greet you as he walked down the sidewalk, undoubtedly back to his genetics lab on the other side of campus. Over where brilliant boys and girls and theys were, rushing through accelerated scientific programs while you figured out how to fix broken artifacts. He lived in another impossible world. A realm far away from Peter and you: photography and the maintenance of culture and art.

“Hey, hey, hey,” Peter's eyes were glossy with concern. “It’s okay. We don’t have to-- did I say something wrong?” 

You shook your head. Peter sat up, his eyes bounced up-- from Miguel over his shoulder to your sudden sad eyes. Peter set his hand on your cheek, the fibers of his soft pink cardigan tickling your jaw. Your eyes tore from Miguel, whose pace became sluggish as if steps along took immense effort. Peter’s nose bumped against yours, clumsy and oh so Peterish-- his hand on the middle of your back, his warm but cracked lips swallowing the gasp that tumbled from your lips. He tasted of sweet fruit, the sloppy lunch you shared, and a silly comfort. 

He watching? Peter murmured against your lips. 

You nearly forgot to return the kiss, captured in the way Miguel stared-- something in his warm brown eyes was almost wounded. Peter shoved you onto the picnic blanket, a soft sorry murmured under his breath as his thin frame fell between your legs. Miguel stomped away, his bumbling blonde rushing to keep up. 

“Oh yeah,” Peter rolled over onto his back, crossing his legs one over another. You watched Miguel stomp past the tall hedges, out of your line of sight. “He’s gonna be mad at you.” 

“Peter!” 

Miguel was still in a bad mood hours later. 

“¡Qué surpresa!” he murmured, offering you your paper blotted with red circles. “You did remarkably shit on this test. Do you focus on anything? Or just Peter?” 

“Perdona me.” Your focus was shot with his consistent presence in your life. Not that he could appreciate that. 

“How long are you going to keep wasting my time?” 

“Are you talking about the Spanish or--”

Miguel set the red pen down, a sharp slam snapping the pen under his force. The fragile plastic snapped into shards of plastic. He flicked it away, paper and pen both, his large hand flexing in and out of a closed fist. You traced the tracks of his veins along his forearm.

“Are you mad that I kissed you?” 

“Stop.”

“Or are you angry that Peter did?” 

 “Don’t touch me.” 

Though he said that, you didn’t listen. You slid out of the chair and in between his spread legs, your hands trailing his handsome jawline. He jerked back when your lips caught his, the legs of his chair hitting the wall. Though he said no, his mouth opened to your kiss, and his palms flushed against your soft cheeks. You pinned him between your body and the wall-- and though you were sure he’d quickly whirl you off if he really wanted to, he didn’t. His tongue pushed into your mouth, owning yours. His hands skimmed your back, trailing lower and lower down your deep red dress until he connected with your ass. 

“You need to stop.” Miguel broke from his kiss. Though he said that, he brought you onto his lap. You felt little in his large arms, his hands guiding your hips over his crotch. “Before I do something you’ll regret.”

You listened to the sounds of the library’s floor. The scrunch of take out into the trash, the sing of a door opening and closing. It was dinner time. Most everyone had gone to get their snacks— and here you were, looking down at Miguel with rapt eyes. 

“Peter is just a friend.” 

“A friend who happens to jam his tongue down your throat,” he turned the word over on his tongue and found offense in it. “Now why do I doubt that?” 

“He only wanted to help.”

“By kissing you?” 

Your fingers trailed his jaw, dipping back down for another kiss if only to say you could. That Miguel couldn’t tell you what to do. A sound of frustration ripped up his throat. You felt him, his dick twitching to life behind those sweatpants. He felt big. You bit your lower lip— a movement that didn’t escape his attentive eyes. 

“By making you as jealous,” You slid off his lap and onto the dirty floor. But as you lifted a hand, cupping his dick through the heavy fabric, he couldn’t bear to stop you. 

His lips pulled in a wicked grin, your soft palm stroking along his length. He hooked his thumbs into his sweats, yanking them down over his knees and onto the floor. His cock kissed his belly, straining with droplets of moisture at the tip. Miguel set his hand on your shoulder and forced you to heel on the floor. His temperament evened out. “You were jealous.” 

“Yes--” you murmured. “Are.. those girls, are they special?” 

“Special? No, none of them are.” 

“I want to be.” 

“That so?” Your soft hands trailed along the dark hair on his calves, up his thighs, settling your nose where his muscular hand tightened around the root. He wrenched his swarthy hand along his length, drawing along his veiny cock shamelessly. "Let's see how much you do, princesa."

“Please.”

“Aquí se habla español.” Miguel teased. Your fingers dipped down, small tickles of your fingertips as his heavy balls. He watched you massage them with half-lidded eyes, his lips pursing in a pleased hum. 

“Por favor.” 

“Abre,” you did, sliding your soft mouth open, a well of saliva on your tongue. Miguel slid himself into your warm mouth, a ruptured groan fizzing in his chest. You didn’t want to be too loud— someone might look into the small window on the door, and see you on your knees between Miguel’s thick legs, sucking his cock down when you should be going over that test you just failed. 

You caught the salty beads at Miguel’s top on your tongue, sliding sloppily around his thick head, and lapping at his slit for more. Your soft hands stroked along his length, clumsy and shy. He hummed in approval, a sound you were more than thankful to elicit. Miguel took a fist full of your hair and drove himself into your mouth, your tongue stroking the underside of his length. 

“Pero mira esto,” Miguel wrenched his head in your hair, grabbing handfuls of it in his palm. “You can focus on something. Sucking my dick.”

Even if you wanted to look up, Miguel drove your head down onto his dick, the dark, trimmed tuft of his pubic hair tickling your nose. He drew his hips back. You nearly pulled off him, if not for his hand assuring that you wouldn’t move off of it. Drool coursed down from your lips, soaking your chin and neck, connecting to his cock as if it were a spiderweb. Your cheeks flushed with blood— you must have looked a mess. 

“Coño," Miguel tutted with his tongue, grasping his phone. Your lips pursed around his tip, eyes flickering up to catch the lens of his phone camera on your ruined face. A picture or a video, you weren’t entirely sure. Only that it sent thumps of pleasure down your core to know he wanted to record it, keep it close. You suckled along his sensitive head, working his moans free. He set his phone aside. 

Miguel stood and dragged your head along with him to pin you between the ledge of the desk space and his wonderful hips. His hands slipped behind your head, keeping you still and steady, driving himself deep into your mouth. Past your tongue, down your throat, it felt like he hit parts of you that you could only dream of. You struggled with his size, choking the urge to swallow him when he forced you to hold him there. As if your throat was just a hole for his pleasure. Your sad attempt to suckle him down was tempered by the rocking of his hips, his needy face fucking. Your eyes screwed shut, bits of color dancing behind your eyes, the easiest way to deal with this was to focus— on the way he tasted, the scent of his fresh body wash, the light judder of his hips as he came close. 

"Hah-- ay, qué rico," his nails scraped the back of your neck, sloppy and undefined thrusts filling your throat. He spurts thick ropes of his cum down your throat and mouth, withdrawing to jerk the last bursts of his cum over your lips. Miguel’s breath fell from his lips in heavy gulps, meeting yours down on your aching knees. Strings of coughed-up cum connected your sodden lips to his cock, globs of his seed slipping between your breasts. You ached. 

“Tate quieta.” 

You don’t know where you’d go, your palms catching yourself on the floor. He snapped another photo, humming appreciatively. Miguel reached into his gym bag, pulling a sweaty shirt free. Your fingers dipped into his warm cum that spattered across your warm chest, drawing it to your lips. He tasted salty, tangy, and just right.

"You look so-- so beautiful, princesa, just perfect," Miguel bent down, wiping the rest of his mess from your chest and face, gently stroking away all evidence of your face fucking before cleaning his cock and tucking himself away into his sweatpants. He chucked the t-shirt back into his bag, glazing his eyes over your hazy, exhausted eyes. He crouched down. 

“Rule one, I never share my women,” he settled his knuckle under your chin, urging you to look him in the eyes. Something told him you wouldn't be as easy as the others, but for some reason, he shrugged the thought aside. “As long as I'm fucking you, you date no one but me. If I find out you are, we're done. Am I clear?”

He was a walking red flag. But for once, in your good girl life, you wanted that. You wanted to fuck in the library-- against the genetics building late at night-- to kiss him during a sunny picnic. More than you wanted a lot of things. His eyes went soft with your answer. 

“Claro que sí, Miggy.”

He loves it when he gets what he wants.

#miguel o'hara x you #miguel ohara x reader #miguel o'hara oneshot #miguel x reader #miguel o'hara x reader #miguel o'hara/reader #atsv imagines #atsv imagine #atsv miguel imagine #atsv x reader #atsv x you #miguel o'hara smut #spiderman smut #spider 2099 x reader #spiderman imagine #spiderman imagines

[bbyseok]

meadow afterglow

pairing: bakugou katsuki x reader

cw: fluff everyone !! pro hero bakugou, gender neutral reader, reader is a florist and owns a flower shop, reader loves flowers/plants/nature, swearing ofc, brief violence (attempted assault on reader from some strangers), awkward katsuki hours incoming- he’s super whipped but helpless, i switch povs from bakugou to reader often, tiny bit of angst.. some misunderstanding—both bakugou and reader are idiots that can’t communicate

wc: 5.2k words

analysis: bakugou fucking hates flowers—they’re too fragrant, too cliché, too romantic. and yet, he finds himself always coming back to the same flower shop once his shift ends.

———

bakugou katsuki doesn’t like flowers. hates them, despises them—loathes them even! flowers just aren’t his thing.

when they came along with prizes (where he won first place of course), he’d always snort and throw them away in some trashcan once he could.

when kids back in his middle and high school days were brave enough to make a move on him, he’d send a spark from his palm and ultimately burn their flowers (and hopes) away.

he does the exact same thing to this day with his fans if they were perhaps lucky enough to encounter him during his patrols. (it looks bad when the press covers it obviously and that’s only one problem his pr team deals with.)

so yeah, in conclusion: bakugou isn’t particularly fond of flowers. it’s one of his many supposedly unpleasant traits—not that he really cares. now, he’s changed in these past years, truly, but he’s still maintained some of the roughness of his personality.

‘cause when you think of pro hero dynamight, number two on the hero charts (interchangeably with number one pro hero deku), you don’t think of flowers.

but… here he is. it’s just around thirty minutes past six in the evening, the ropes of dusk in the sky evident as the city prepares for nightlife. his shift had ended a while ago, but everyday, on the way home, he makes sure to stop by a small shop. a flower shop of all places. and bakugou katsuki hates flo- yeah, you get the point.

he doesn’t even know why he hesitates going entering the shop—he’s pretty damn sure you can spot him from outside. his visits are expected. the sound of the dainty bell ringing reaches his ears as he walks in.

“back so soon, dynamight?”

he grunts and turns his head away, sharply avoiding your gaze so you miss the squinting of his red eyes. you’re behind the counter as usual, fixing the arrangement of some daisies in their pots.

his cheeks burn but he’s lingering by the entrance, feigning his attention on the shelves decked with plants so you don’t see any blush. “yeah, yeah.. jus’ give me some damn flowers already,” he demands gruffly.

the sound of you briefly laughing has his head whipping back to you almost instantly. he catches the sight of you lightly shaking your head in amusement.

“anything like usual then, dynamight?”

fuck, he can’t help but wonder what his actual name would sound like off your tongue. it’s always been dynamight this, dynamight that—and while he certainly doesn’t mind, he just can’t help but wonder. when you tilt your head at him, he realizes he had been staring. he clears his throat. “yeah, whatever.”

finally, he walks toward the counter, moving around the small display tables topped with a pretty arrangement of succulents as you beam at him.

“alrighty then!” you clasp your head together, nodding for a bit. “i hope you don’t mind tulips then. we got a fresh new batch so they should just do fine!”

he nods in acknowledgement. “yeah, that’s fine f’me,” he huffs. and as you send him another smile and you dismiss yourself to the back to fetch said tulips, he can’t help but think about your first meeting.

it had been a week or two ago. a usual day of kicking ass was over and he was just on the way home until longtime friend kirishima eijiro called in a favor—he had practically begged bakugou to grab him some flowers for his date with mina since he was running late.

begrudgingly, katsuki had agreed, insisting only because the redhead was being so damn annoying. and so he pulled in to the first flower shop he saw—yours. he had stormed in and just demanded for a bouquet and the rest was history.

he found himself coming back even though he didn’t even need fucking flowers. (at first, he tells himself it’s because he’s got nothing better to do. and then he convinces himself it’s just to ensure the safety of another civilian, since you close nearing nighttime and walk home. and then he can’t lie to himself anymore that he finds you a tad bit.. cute.)

when you return, he breaks out of his reminiscing and looks back to you, blinking expectantly. “here you go!” you chirp, presenting the tucked tulips in some wrapper.

he’s grabbing his wallet from his pocket with a huff. “right.” he can feel your gaze on him patiently and he almost fumbles with his hands. (how embarrassing—he’s done this so many times too.)

and when you exchange the amount of money for the flowers, the briefest of touches from your hands makes him stutter in his movements just subtly. once the flowers are with him, he can smell its scent and he wants to sneeze.

he brushes it off and raises a brow at you. he wants to say something, maybe tell you how endearing it is to see how your name tag is lopsided on your shirt or how your wrinkled work apron has some clear stains of dirt from the flower pots on it. but instead, he says- “go home, dumbass.”

he knows you’re used to his rather blunt comments and words, but he swears he can feel the tips of his ears burn with a scorch as you snort and giggle in amusement. “i could tell you the same thing, dynamight,” you say back.

the flowers shift in his hold and he eyes the counter for two seconds to regain himself as he clears his throat and scoffs. “i meant- it gets dark faster nowadays, ‘kay? go home.”

you salute him playfully. “of course. you know i don’t close up the shop until you leave. you’re my last customer, dynamight.” (he knows.) “drive safe!”

“mhm.” he grunts and decides to take his leave before he makes a fool of himself. you wave him goodbye enthusiastically as he exits your shop and gets back into his car.

and when he returns to his apartment, he places his tulips with the rest of the flowers safely.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

the morning is just creeping into the starting hours of noon—it gets a bit busier around this time with people in the city. peak business hour because sometimes, there’s always that one person who’s looking for some flowers or the perfect plant.

but right now, your shop is empty. the wafting scent of roses newly perched on the side counter fills the air but you don’t mind it as you sweep some fallen leaves from the floor.

you had turned on the small tv hooked up in the corner of the ceiling for some background noise, humming to yourself to pass time, but its current broadcast catches your attention.

“pro hero dynamight is on the scene of the ongoing shionosu bank robbery with the help of some sidekicks and-”

you abandon your sweeping to watch the small, short-lived clips of the robbery the news station has to offer, but seeing the familiar red-eyed blonde on screen has you feeling all fluttery.

you fingers tighten around the broomstick and you shake your head to yourself. you had somewhat gotten attached to the explosive hero throughout his daily visits—his honest and brash presentation may be off putting to others but you don’t mind. he’s like a literal explosion in your little life. you like to think that your plants enjoy his company.

besides, it’s sort of cute knowing that such an aggressive man had the time to stop by your shop nearly every single day to buy some flowers. and then you shake your head again—he was buying flowers, most likely for someone he was seeing.

you can still remember your first meeting with him like it was yesterday. man had strutted into your shop like he owned it and ordered you to give him some flowers. something along the lines of “oi! you still open? get me some shit for a date or something!” and that’s how it happened.

you wouldn’t change whatever this.. relationship you had with the pro hero for the world but it did hurt a little, knowing he was coming to your shop for your flowers only to give them to someone else. why else did he buy them?

the sound of his voice from the tv has you perking up and you’re quite embarrassed of yourself by the the effect he has on you, even on a damn screen.

“hah? just some fuckin’ d-list criminals who chose the wrong day to rob a bank,” he barks at the reporter, “you really think i couldn’t handle those shits?” of course, his words are poorly censored and you can’t help but laugh.

yeah, you’re okay with what you have. you’re happy that you can somewhat see another side of dynamight through your little exchanges.

the bell ringing then diverts your attention away from the tv and you politely greet an elderly lady walking in. you place aside the broom and head back behind the counter, content with knowing that you’ll see him later today.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

bakugou comes in during his usual time, casual clothes only slightly rumpled since he had been in a hurry to make sure to make it before you closed up the shop.

and there you are as always, behind the counter with a sweet smile. “good evening, dynamight!”

he sighs quietly, taking in the calm and scenery of your shop. it’s a welcomed contrast after the hectic events of today—annoying criminals thinking they could take him down and even more annoying reporters with nosy questions.

“hey.” he grunts, then asks curiously, “how was your day?” he decides to ignore how pleasant surprise flicks over your face by roaming through the shelves on the side.

“it was pretty good,” you hum in reply. there’s a pause and then you add, “i saw you on tv today. a robbery, huh?”

the realization that you saw him in action on screen makes his cheeks heat up for some reason but he plays it cool, peering at you from behind one of the shelves. “oh, yeah,” he chuffs, “impressed?”

you giggle to yourself, crossing your arms as you observe him. “impressed by how they somehow managed to censor you, that’s for sure.”

katsuki winces only subtly and rolls his eyes as he comes out from behind the shelving to approach the counter. “yeah, yeah. pretty sure my pr team is gonna try ‘n whoop my ass again for that.” he barks out a rough laugh. “as if they could.”

you tilt your head back as you laugh with him, and fuck, he thinks he can watch you laugh all day. it’s music to his ears. “right,” you snort, “they can try, huh?”

he straightens his shirt somewhat, noticing the obvious wrinkles on them. “oh, yeah. you watch me the whole time?” he’s teasing.

“you wish,” you banter back, now uncrossing your arms to drum your fingers on the table absentmindedly. “this woman came in for some flowers. she was so kind- i gave her some delphiniums!”

he tilts his head, brows furrowing. “delphi-what now?” he huffs, leaning against the counter as he watches you brighten up. (damn, are you cute. but he’s not gonna say that out loud.)

“delphiniums are pretty.” you sigh and then start to ramble, “i gave her some royal larkspurs. pretty easy to take care of at the start! they usually symbolize dignity and grace, amongst some other things like sincerity, dedication- oh, i’m talking too much, aren’t i?” you rub the back of your neck sheepishly. “you’re just here for some flowers, sorry. uh, just anything like usual?”

bakugou blinks and chuckles softly. “nah, don’ worry. like hearing you talk.” shit, did he really say that? he straightens his posture and clears his throat, trying to act all nonchalant. “and uh, actually- i’ll take the larkspurs or whatever.”

you gaze is wide before you nod with a bright smile. “larkspurs it is.”

later that night, he adds those beautiful arching flowers of blue with his growing collection, another reminder of you.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

god, how bakugou hates commission meetings with a passion. what he hates even more is waiting for them to actually start. ‘cause that means he actually has to socialize with his fellow colleagues.

like fucking deku here.

most of the heroes are lingering around the long table, and here’s his childhood friend, rambling on with the familiar faces of half ‘n half bastard and round cheeks, and they’re entirely invested with his current dilemma. “i just don’t know what to get her! i’m overthinking this, right? just a simple gift or some flowers could do, right?”

ochako pats midoriya’s shoulder reassuringly, saying, “you shouldn’t worry about it too much, deku. i’m sure your mom would love anything you get her!”

deku shakes his head as he continues mumbling in thought. even after all these years, the nerd never lost some of his annoying traits, much to bakugou’s irritation. old habits die hard, he supposes. (however, when you ramble, he finds that he doesn’t want you to stop.)

some of the others are joining in on the conversation to pass time—there’s fucking both dunce face and soy sauce face and he’s pretty sure he’s one second away from blowing the shit out of all of ‘em. how the hell did he tolerate them in high school?

before icyhot can open his mouth and surely say something idiotic, bakugou groans and turns in his chair to face them, dragging a hand over his face. “oh, for the love of- can you shut your trap already? jus’ get her some larkspurs or some shit.”

fuckin’ nerd looks at him all curious and interested, and he’s got the attention of the others now as well. “larkspurs, kacchan?” deku questions.

“yeah,” he huffs, turning his gaze away. he recites their meaning he had learned from you instinctively, crossing his arms and kicking his feet up onto the table.

denki then speaks up, “woah, kacchan. since when were you a flower expert?” the electric hero grins and leans forward and the others are obviously interested too.

“fuck off!” katsuki snaps roughly, “i ain’t no expert on some damn flowers. hate those fuckin’ things.”

he grumbles when the others laugh and continue to tease him whilst deku thanks him profusely. yeah—he’s still a damn nerd.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

it’s another day of business. still midday, with the sun taking its place in the high in the sky. the afternoons aren’t as hot anymore, and you know you should start to move some of the display plants outside back inside but you’ll get to that later.

a lovely couple had left earlier with their desired flowers for their upcoming wedding and you had happily aided them. once they had left, you decided to take a small break, slouching on the counter.

you can’t help but let your thoughts drift back to a certain blonde. judging how he really didn’t care what flowers he got—other than the time he had asked for the larkspurs—you guessed his partner really didn’t mind the type of flowers they received either.

and as if your thoughts had summoned him, the bell rings and the door opens to reveal the man plaguing your mind, fully decked out in his hero costume.

“d-dynamight?” you yelp in surprise, immediately fixing your posture as you stare at him. he only comes at the end of the day, after his work is over and yours is nearly done—what the hell is he doing here? in the afternoon?

“ya busy?” bakugou grunts, making his way in without any further words.

he looks so out of place here—brandished armor and combat duty boots sounding heavy on the floor. you’re pretty sure he almost knocked over the shelves with how big his gauntlets are. he looks made for battle but here he is, standing expectantly, surrounded by dainty flowers and plants.

“um- um, no?” you then shake your head. “what’re you doing here? not that i mind! it’s just.. you’ve never come in the middle of the day before! what if someone sees you?”

he makes sure his grenadier bracers don’t actually knock down your hard work of arrangements, looking to you. “s’why i’m gonna be quick, idiot. can’t come later tonight so ‘m here now.”

“o-oh! of course.” you rush around the counter to pick something simple to offer to him, since he doesn’t seem to care again on what he’ll receive. you’re aware of his eyes following you as you grab some false indigos for a bundle.

“stay safe out there, dynamight,” you bid him, holding out the flowers for him to take. “i’ll see you some other time then?” you hate how hopeful you sound.

his red irises linger on you for a couple of seconds before he nods and pays up. “yeah, you will. you stay safe, idiot.“

his words make you feel warm—with the false indigos now with him, you simply smile. you won’t tell him that they symbolize protection; maybe he can learn that another day.

(later on, you see a media outlet that reads PRO HERO DYNAMIGHT SEEN WITH FLOWERS… HAS HE FOUND A PARTNER? and you hate how the title makes your stomach churn with jealousy—but seeing your flowers tucked delicately in his arms is worth it.)

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

bakugou actually doesn’t get to see you for a couple of days. there had been a change in his schedule and he had been assigned for some overnight shifts along with some other heroes in another district due to the rise of criminal activity there.

but he’s back now, thankfully, and he’s antsy to see you after all this time. (mind you, it’s only been three or four days. smitten, he is, for the attractive florist that supplies him with flowers even though he claims he hates them. on a side note, he hopes his assistant had taken good care of the false indigos he had placed in his office.)

so as he drives down the familiar street, katsuki can’t help but wonder if you still wait for him so you can close the shop. it has been a while since his last appearance that one early afternoon, so even though he wouldn’t be surprised that you don’t, he couldn’t lie and say that he wouldn’t be a bit disappointed.

but as he pulls in into the parking lot, he’s furious.

you had just closed the shop, not even a few feet away from the door as a gang of looming strangers crowd in towards you, all hunched and shady as you match their stares warily.

katsuki isn’t sure he’s moved faster than he has in his life—he’s scrambling out of the car to help you when you manage to land a sucker punch square into one of the asshole’s jaws. with your flank exposed, another one lunges for you and you scream.

“you fucker!” he snarls and he reaches you in record time, the one you had already knocked to the side being met with an accurately aimed kick to the gut from his boot before he sends an explosion that has the remaining three flying.

when bakugou sees that none of them are making an effort to get up, he slips out of his offensive stance and immediately turns to you in concern, eyes roaming for any injuries. “are you hurt? did they touch you?” he demands, brows furrowed. “i’m-”

he falters when you simply stare at him in awe. the silence between you two is deafening and he doesn’t know how to interpret it. he starts, worried, “hey, are you-”

you arms wrapping him around has him inhaling sharply. his arms linger, unsure of what to do but he accepts your embrace delicately. “thank you, dynamight,” you murmur after a moment, still holding him.

he breathes softly, and he’s all quiet when he speaks again. “..it’s bakugou to you,” he tells you gruffly, “got it?”

his words have caught you by surprise—he knows it by the way your eyes widen when you pull back to look at him. he meets your stare readily.

“thank you, bakugou,” you say gently, and his gaze softens. (hearing his name roll off your tongue is something he can get used to, he decides.)

he then chuckles, all fond. “remind me not to get you mad. that punch looked nasty.”

you laugh genuinely, and katsuki can’t help but think about how much he missed hearing it.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

bakugou drives you home every night from then on.

you had no problem before, as your apartment building isn’t that far off, perhaps a fifteen minute walk, pushing ten if you jogged a little, and that was something you could manage. until the incident a couple weeks ago.

you definitely feel safer with him escorting you, even when you did protest that he didn’t have to waste his time driving to your shop, waiting for you to close and then dropping you off at your apartment—but he insisted. like, almost put you in a headlock if your dumbass didn’t listen insisted. (he still buys flowers every time too.)

and as giddy as it made you to spend more time with the pro hero, the reminder that he was supposedly taken was enough for you to know your limits. he’s simply doing his job—protecting people, s’all.

but in moments like this, you think you can selfishly enjoy yourself.

he’s blasting his music—some sort of punk rock that you can’t deny is pretty catchy—with his newly acquired lilacs resting on the center console for him to take home. it’s a bit silly, hearing such vulgar lyrics in the background as the petals of the magenta flowers shake slightly.

“you’ll enjoy your new home with bakugou, won’t you?” you coo at the plant, brushing your fingers over it tenderly. “he’ll take good care of you, i’m sure.”

bakugou’s got one hand on the wheel and he casts you an amused glance. as the car approaches a red light, he turns down the music and snorts. “are you seriously talking to the fuckin’ flowers?”

you lightly glare at him, a smile quirking up on the corners of your lips. “it helps them grow when you talk to ‘em nicely!”

“oh, yeah?” he raises a brow, snorting again—but he’s got an amused smirk on his face now as he focuses back on driving. “i’ll keep that in mind then, idiot.”

you sneak subtle side glances at him the rest of the ride, admiring his beauty—so close yet so far.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

this is so fucking stupid, bakugou thinks. he should be buying flowers for you, not from you—or whatever couples do nowadays to please their partners. but here he is, back again. even if he is your drive home, this weird tradition of buying your flowers he had gotten accustomed is getting old. he just hopes you’re getting the hint that he’s not exactly here for the flowers.

katsuki doesn’t even bother announcing himself when he doesn’t see you behind the counter—you’re probably somewhere in the back tidying up some final things so you can leave, so he starts looking for something to buy already.

“hey, got anything new f’me to buy?” he calls out then, and he hears some rustling from the back room. he figures he might help you out so without much thought, he saunters around the counter, following the noise of your muffled movements.

your voice rings out, “yeah, i do! just lemme-” way closer than before and just as he enters the doorway of the backroom, you appear—walking right into him.

now, obviously he’s a wall. lean and fine muscle make up his body—and you crash into him, yelping when you stumble back in surprise.

bakugou’s reflexes are quick and he manages to catch you in time—his arm dips low and braces the small of your back before you can fall over. “fuckin’ idiot,” he huffs out, “be careful.”

“hey!” you cry out in protest, “you’re the one who was standing there! for someone so loud, you sure are stealthy.”

“ah? i can be plenty fucking stealthy!” he argues, voice booming against the walls and proving your point.

you giggle at that—and that’s when katsuki realizes you’re both so fucking close. he can see the shape of your lips and the way your eyes gleam in the lighting from above. he freezes.

you seem to realize it too, falling silent for a couple of heartbeats. bakugou clears his throat and lets you go. “alright, brat. gonna give me my flowers so we can fuckin’ leave already?”

he thinks he sees your shoulders relax and fall down before you nod and brush past him. “yeah, of course.”

he scoffs and follows you, wondering what it’d be like to kiss you.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

you twiddle with some ribbons laced around some pottery, trying to redo some decorations on them since you can spare some time.

bakugou had come in a little early for you to close up, so he’s waiting for you to finish, casually leaning on the counter as he observes the store. okay, well- you’re not exactly sure what he’s doing, since he’s probably memorized the entire layout of your small area of the building by now because of how many times he’s been here.

you’re humming idly to yourself, the tv flicked on to some music ambience channel to full in the quiet air anytime bakugou isn’t striking up a conversation. he’s been silent for a while now.

“what’s a person’s ideal date?”

you nearly drop a vase. obviously, the question surprises you. it should, you think, since this is a pro hero who’s been coming to your flower shop for over a month or two now, supposedly getting flowers for his significant other—even if he does linger around longer than he should and drives you home—and he’s asking you on what someone’s ideal date is? this.. doesn’t make any sense.

“well...” you begin reluctantly, unsure of where this is leading, and even more unsure on how to actually answer. “it depends on the person, bakugou.”

the blonde simply clicks his tongue and his eyes meet yours.

“okay then. what’s your ideal date?”

just when you think he can’t surprise you any further, he does. you’re pretty sure your eyes nearly bug out of their sockets as you set the vase aside so you don’t actually drop it. “huh?”

“you heard me, dumbass,” katsuki scoffs with a roll of his eyes and you want to disappear into the floor. “what’s your ideal date?”

your throat suddenly feels dry. “i’m, uh, not the best person to ask for romantic advice, bakugou,” you warn, trying to be all teasing as you laugh anxiously. you do not want to help him plan out a date—you’d rather throw yourself into the sun.

“‘m serious, brat,” bakugou grumbles, crossing his arms and glaring at you. you can’t read him, usually you can’t, but his eyes are warm. “tell me.”

you continue fiddling with some ribbons as you glance away to contemplate. “well.. a- a picnic date would be nice. with some of my favorite foods, maybe. it’d probably be out in some meadow. just.. a nice, open meadow where you can see flowers for miles.” you sigh dreamily.

it’s quiet again and then you glance back to him, stammering, “but- but that’s just my preference! i dunno if the person you’re seeing would like that ‘n stuff. everyone’s different, y’know?”

suddenly he’s got this confused scowl on his face, brows furrowed and eyes narrowed. oh god, did you offend him in some way? say something awful? what if you-

“hah?” bakugou snaps, voice colored in disbelief, “who the hell said i was seeing someone?”

what? now it’s your turn to be utterly confused, and you stare at him with wide eyes. “you’re not- you’re not seeing someone? dating someone?” you inquire, puzzled.

“no, dumbass!” he barks out, “i’m not- where the fuck did you get that idea from?”

you blink once, twice. “you!” you cry out, saying, “when you came in here for the very first time, you asked me to get you flowers for a date!”

bakugou’s eyes widen and then he’s taking steps towards you. “not a date for me, dumbass! my friend asked me to get him flowers for his date!”

your mind spins with the new information but you’re still so confused, still in denial—you shake your head. “but- but.. why else would you come in for flowers every single day?”

“because i wanted to see you!”

oh. the confession has your cheeks heating up. so… the blonde you’ve been harboring a massive crush on is, in fact, not seeing anyone, and is coming in every day to your flower shop to buy your flowers because he wants to see you?

bakugou stares at you, eyes all wide as if he can’t believe what he had just said aloud. his words are echoing in your head and you laugh a little. “you.. aren’t here for the flowers?” you say softly.

his gaze is all warm as he relaxes, and you can see the faint pink tingeing his cheeks. “no,” he confesses in a grumble, “..‘m here for you and your stupid dumbass.”

you laugh again, and he finally reaches you. his fingers twitch and slowly, you take his hands in yours. they feel a little warm, clumsy like he doesn’t know what to do with his fingers before they tighten around yours. “we really are idiots, huh?” when he glares at you softly, you add, “i like you too. just so you know.”

his blush is visible and oh so pretty now, and he lets out a sigh of relief at your words. and then he snorts, “good, ‘cus i’m gonna need some help takin’ care of all the stupid fuckin’ flowers at my apartment. it’s practically a shop now too.”

as he pulls you into a crushing hug, you burst into a fit of giggles.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

“you forgot to water this one, you idiot!” katsuki calls from the corner of your shop, grumbling at some of the drooping crotons you brought in recently. “where the fuck did you put the watering can?”

you point to the counter, too occupied with fixing the succulents. “should be somewhere on the floor over there, suki,” you tell him. and as you watch him snatch the watering can and storm back over to the plants in need, you grin to yourself.

“thanks, katsuki,” you hum as you stand back up, “you’re a big help, y’know?”

he scoffs. “yeah, yeah.” as he tilts the watering can to spray the plants, he continues in a hushed voice. “what you would ‘lil fuckers do without me, ah?”

your heart does a flip. a month or so ago, you wouldn’t believe it if someone had told you that the pro hero dynamight would be in your shop taking care of your plants as he talks to them. but you know, you also wouldn’t have believed it if they had told you he’d be your boyfriend.

•───────•°•❀•°•───────•

and katsuki eventually does take you out on that ideal date once it gets warmer. a dainty picnic lunch with your favorite foods that he made from scratch in his very own kitchen in a heavenly meadow surrounded by flowers all around.

and it’s there, when he kisses you, that bakugou katsuki realizes that he doesn’t hate flowers. especially since he has the most gorgeous flower of them all—you.

#bnha bakugo katsuki #bakugou katsuki #katsuki bakugou #bakugou katuski x reader #katsuki bakugou x reader #bakugou x reader #katsuki x reader #bakugou katsuki x you #katsuki bakugou x you #bakugou katsuki fluff #katsuki bakugou fluff #bakugou fluff #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #bnha fluff #mha fluff #rain’s writing #my writing

[sparkleofpizza]

Emails I can’t send - Spencer Reid x reader

Summary: There's no us in us when I'm lacking trust. Inspired by the song Emails I can't Send by Sabrina Carpenter.

Word count: 2.2k

Paring: Spencer Reid x  fem!Reader

Warnings: slightly AU, no happy ending, cursing, angst

You stared as Spencer smiled upon looking at his ringing phone, but averted your eyes before anyone could catch you looking. It had been like this for a while now and you knew he was talking to a woman because you overheard him the other day whispering her name as he answered the phone.

Maeve.

It was a pretty name, and she probably had a pretty face too.

It made you wonder if the last time you asked him to go on a date and he said he was tired and had a headache was true. If you could  go back in time and I find out what he was doing on October 13th, if he was lying to you or not.

The situation was making it hard to focus on usual tasks at work because you kept wondering if your boyfriend is cheating on you. But you knew you were being foolish, a part of you knew the truth and the other part didn’t want to accept it because it didn’t seem right that someone like him would do something like this to you.

You opened a new e-mail on your computer.

To: [email protected]

Spencer,

I know what you're doing. I don't know for how long it has been going on or what I did wrong for you to seek someone else. I wish you at least had the guts to call it ends with me before getting together with someone else. I thought you were better than this, but maybe it is my own fault for putting you too high on a pedestal, instead of seeing the truth. Maybe what they say is truth, love does blind people.

You stared at what you've written, but you knew you couldn't send it.

It was killing you on the inside, as the days went by and you still couldn't bring yourself to say something to him. Everytime Spencer would look at you and smile, hold your hand while walking, put his arms around you and kissed you, you knew he was thinking about someone else.

You wanted to cuss him out. Yell at him and tell him to never speak to you again. But you were holding onto the crumbs he was feeding you. And it was honestly tiring.

But you knew a conversation was coming and that it was long overdue. So it wasn't really a surprise when he showed up at your apartment in the middle of the night, holding out a bouquet of flowers and a sheepish smile upon his handsome face.

"Spence, did something happen?" You managed to say in between yaws. It was three am, after all.

"I-I couldn't sleep, and I kept thinking about you. So I thought I should come and see you."

You nodded, rubbing your eyes and letting him inside your apartment. You closed the door behind him.

"These are for you." He handed you the flowers.

A fresh bouquet of daisy, your favorite flowers.

"Thank you." You smiled, going to the kitchen to fetch a vase.

He trailed behind you, watching you as you filled the vase with water and placed the flowers inside.

"Where did you find a flower shop open at three in the morning?" You asked, turning around to look at him as you decided where to place the flowers.

"I, uh, went wandering around."

You nodded, walking past him to place them on top of the dinner table.

"Did I forget about some important milestone in our relationship or…?"

"What? No."

You looked at him over your shoulder "Then why the flowers?"

"Can't I just bring flowers to my girlfriend out of love and no other reason?"

You forced a smile, coming up to wrap your arms around him.

"Of course you can. Thank you, I loved them."

Spencer kissed the top of your head, caressing your hair.

You opened your mouth, ready to say something, but he was holding you so tight and he did bring you flowers. You didn't want to ruin the moment, you didn't know how many more you had left. So you closed your mouth and closed your eyes, enjoining his warmth.

You'd have to talk to him eventually, but now wasn't the right time.

That night you spent in his arms, watching as he slept peacefully, but you couldn’t bring yourself to close your eyes, because everytime you did, you kept picturing him with the faceless woman.

When you finally managed to fall asleep, you woke up in what felt like minutes later. Spencer’s side of the bed dipped and you instantly missed his warmth. You pretended to still be asleep as he rummaged through the room and left the bedroom.

You stayed quiet for a while until you hear him whisper hello. You furrowed your brows, is he really talking to her while at your place after spending the night tangled in your body?

You quietly left the bed and crept behind the hallway wall, where you could listen to him talking on the phone while brewing coffee.

“I just wanted to hear your voice before I fully start my day.” He said, and you could tell there was a smile on his face. “And to wish a good morning and an amazing day.”

There was a pause, she was probably talking. You heard him giggle. Giggle. Like a school girl with a crush, he giggled because of someone else. You felt your heart squeeze in your chest.

Deciding enough is enough, you decided to make your presence known by loudly wishing him good morning.

He had his back turned to you when you rounded the corner and place his phone in a hurry inside his sweatpants pocket.

“Good morning, sweetheart.” There was a smile on his face and you wondered how he could lie to you so well. “I just started to brew us coffee.”

“Were you talking to someone?” You asked absently, opening the fridge to get some eggs.

“No.” He lied. “There are only us here.”

There’s no us in us when I’m lacking trust.

“It must have been the neighbors then.”

“They sure know how to make noise.” He laughed.

Spencer started rumbling about the things you two could get done on your day off next wednesday. He was telling you about this new coffee shop that just opened up downtown and how he was excited to take you there. But all you could hear was: She will be there and I want to see her, but since I can’t I am going to take you to see her with me and you won’t know I’m seeing her, but I’m only there because of her.

He kept talking and talking and talking, but all you could think was that he would rather make these plans with her. How he liked her more. How she was better than you.

“I know you’re cheating on me.” You blurted out.

There was a moment of silence. Your back was turned to him while you plated your omelets, so couldn’t see his reaction.

“W-What?” He asked after way too many minutes of silence.

You turned around. Spencer was sitting on your kitchen counter, he used to belong there, but now it didn’t feel like it. His ears were red, which meant his is flustered.

“I know about Maeve.” You simply said.

“I. There is nothing going on between me and Maeve.”

“If there’s nothing going on between you two then why are you hiding her from me?” You questioned. “You know about all fo my friends and I thought I knew about all of yours too.”

He pursed his lips. “You know I don’t have friends aside from you and our coworkers.”

“Well, you’ve got to make up your mind, Spence. If she’s not your friend then what is she? Why do you need to call her to hear her voice first thing in the morning?”

You watched as he visibly gulped.

“She’s just a girl I’ve been talking to.”

“You don’t talk to other people while in a relationship.”

“It’s different. She understands me.”

“And I don’t?” You fired back.

“It’s… different. It’s just different.” He repeated

There was another moment of silence. The fact that he wasn’t trying to explain it further or tell you that you were crazy… He was just looking at you with pure sad eyes. That’s when you knew it was already over.  

“I think we’re done here.” You said, hoping your voice didn’t sound as small as you felt “You should go.”

He stood up.

“What do you mean we’re done?” He asked in an ever smaller voice.

You choked up a laugh.

“It means you and I are done. I hope she makes you happy.”

You started to walk away, but you heard him call out your name. You paused in the hallway, not daring to look at him.

“Close the door on your way out.” Was the last thing you said before retreating to the bedroom.

The days that followed were dull and full of ache. Seeing him everyday was pure torture.

You’d watch as Spencer opened his mouth every time you were close to each other, but on better look at you and he’d look away. You wondered if you were looking as bad as you felt. You were trying your best to not let your emotions cloud your judgment and show off how you were really feeling. You’d already deflected all of the attempted conversation from your coworkers, but you knew they weren’t dumb and had already caught up on what happened. You knew it was only a matter of time before they finally corner you and get you to talk.

“Hotch, good morning, sir.” You knocked on your boss’ office door. He looked up from the computer and motioned for you to come in. “I was wondering if I could take a few days off to visit my family in New York.”

He nodded.

“This doesn’t have anything to do with agent Reid, does it?”

You internally cringed at being called out by your boss.

“No sir.” You cleared your throat. “My uh sister just gave birth and I would like to meet my niece.”

“Of course. Take a few days off, I’ll call you if you're needed.”  

“Thank you.”

To: [email protected]

We were supposed to be aunt and uncle together, yet here I am being an aunt all alone because you decided to throw our relationship away. You suck.

Spending a week in New York was actually what you really needed to try and not focus on your heartbreak. Helping your sister with her newborn was the perfect distraction.

The moment you arrived home without Spencer by your side, your family instantly knew there was something wrong. You’ve been together for a very long time and he was practically part of the family already, every time you visited your parents he would go with you. His presence is known and his absence felt weird.

You told them superficially what happened. Weirdly you didn’t want to ruin his relationship with your family. You simply told them you two broke up because you wanted different things in life at the moment, that wasn’t a complete lie, you wanted him and he wanted someone else - different things.

That week you were at your parent's house, you met a guy. He was nice, one of the nicest people you've ever met. You two were talking all the time, texting and texting, and you kind of felt like a teenager with a crush. But you thought Spencer was a nice guy too.

You kept imagining that he had a wife hidden away somewhere, a family too. He was just lying to you, and you'd be part of a love affair you weren't aware of.

I get nice guys and villainize them

When you returned home after a week away, you were in shock standing in the hallway. Your doorstep was covered in all kinds of flowers, chocolates and literally anything you have ever mentioned to taking a liking to.

You knew who they were from, there was only ever one person who could've ever done something like this. For a moment you let yourself imagine that there was still hope. Maybe you've gotten it all wrong, he did say it was just different with her. You could get over emotional cheating, couldn't you? Well, for him you'd do just about anything.

Tears gathered into your eyes. Spencer could still be yours. Maybe you should give him a chance to explain it all to him.

Your phone rang inside your purse. You answered with a smile on your face.

"Hey, Spencer."

He said your name so heartbrokenly, he was suffering just like you. He missed you as well.

"I need your help. It's Maeve, she's in danger. I… I can't lose her."

And just like that your little bubble of hope was shattered into a million pieces, just like your heart.

To: [email protected]

Spencer, I love you but you’re such a dipshit.

#spencer reid #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid x fem!reader smut #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid angst #criminal minds

[loveroftoomanyfandoms]

Sweet on You, Chapter 3

Pairing: Matt Murdock x F!Reader

Story Summary: HERE

Warnings/Tags: Sugar Daddy!Matt Murdock, Idiots to Lovers, No Age Gap, Alternating PoV, No Use of Y/N

Word Count: ~1850

A/N: I had entirely too much fun writing the terms of Matt and Reader's contract, lol.

As always, if you'd like to be tagged in this or any of my other stories, please let me know!

Divider by @theradioactivespidergwen

Tag List (struck-through blogs could not be tagged): @danzer8705 @capylore @shouldbestudying41 @atemydadforbreakfast @peachy-flxwr @sleepysleepymom @fishinsuits @milkbummm @lazyxsquirrel @beezusvreeland @caughtthefever @bohemianrhapsody86

Thank God it's almost time to go, you thought to yourself as you began to get ready to leave work on Monday afternoon. Wish they'd hurry up and replace Roxy and Tabitha soon.

You had been one of three admin assistants until two months ago when Roxy, the junior admin who had told you about Sugar and Spice, had moved across the country for a job that would actually utilize her college degree, and Tabitha, a glorified intern with no administrative skills who you suspected had only been hired because one or more of the partners had thought she was hot, had gotten fired for showing up to work still wasted after a night of partying. Now you were on your own and doing the work of three people with no relief in sight.

From the moment you arrived at the office at 8 AM that morning until right then when it was time to leave you had been going non-stop. You had fielded phone calls, made appointments, arranged travel, greeted clients, fetched water and coffee, filed for permits, picked up lunch for all three partners from three different restaurants, ordered flowers for your actual boss's girlfriend's birthday, made copies, and printed and mailed invoices -- all with a smile on your face and without a word of thanks from anyone. 

Needless to say, you were looking forward to a drink and a nice, pleasant dinner that you didn't have to prepare yourself and could actually sit down and eat rather than have to quickly inhale like you had had to do with the sandwich you had procured from the deli down the street for lunch.

At 5 PM on the dot you shut down your computer and unlocked your desk drawer to grab your purse.

You went to the bathroom to freshen up before poking your head into your boss's office. “Hi, Mr. DiStefano, I just wanted to let you know that I'm leaving for the day.”

“Okay,” Mr. DiStefano replied without looking up from the floor plans he was studying.

You waited for a moment to see if he was going to say ‘thank you, have a great evening ’ -- or anything else for that matter -- but he didn't. “Okay then, see you tomorrow.”

You stopped by the other two partners’ offices to let them know that you were leaving, receiving very much the same non-response from both.

You sighed as you left your office and headed towards Nelson, Murdock, and Page. You were feeling extremely unappreciated and underpaid, especially since you were now having to fill the admin assistant role for all 3 partners at once. Maybe it's time to start looking for another job…

You shook your head. You weren't going to even think about trying to find another job until after you got your mother's medical debt paid off. One thing at a time.

“--Yo, Matty, we hitting up Josie's tonight?”

Matt looked up and shook his head as Foggy stopped by his office. “Actually, I can't. I have plans after work.”

Foggy gasped. “Do you have a date ?”

He poked his head out of Matt's office. “ HEY KAREN, MATT HAS A DATE TONIGHT! ” he yelled down the hall.

Matt sighed. Here we go. He was glad that you and he had already come up with a cover story on how you had met so he wouldn't have to think of one on the spot.

“So, what's her name and how'd you meet her?” Foggy asked.

Matt said your name. “We met at The Brew Towers on Saturday.”

“Ooh, coffee shop meet-cute,” Karen gently teased as she joined him and Foggy in his office. “How romantic.”

“Yeah, tell us more,” Foggy added. “Did you spill your coffee on her? Accidentally grab each other's order? Brush hands across the condiment station?”

Matt chuckled. “Actually, we struck up a conversation while we both were waiting in line to order and since it was busy and tables were scarce we decided to sit together. We hit it off, so I asked her to have dinner with me tonight.”

“So where are you taking her?” 

“Okinawa.”

Foggy huffed out a laugh. “Ooh, fancy.” 

Matt shrugged. “It was close to the office.”

“What time are you meeting her there?” Karen asked.

Matt shook his head. “Actually, she's meeting me here in about 10 minutes and we're going to walk over together.” 

“Well, I'm really happy for you and I hope everything works out with her.”

“Yeah, same,” Foggy added. “It's good to see you putting yourself out there again, buddy.”

Matt inwardly cringed. After everything he, Foggy, and Karen had been through he hated lying to them, especially when they seemed so genuinely happy for him. “Thanks.”

“Guess it's just us at Josie's then, Kare. Let's go before she gets here -- I’m sure Matt doesn't want to scare her away by introducing her to us too soon.” Foggy rapped his knuckles on Matt's desk. “I expect a full report on your date tomorrow morning, Matthew.”

Matt chuckled with a nod. “Will do. ‘Night, guys.”

He waited until Foggy and Karen had left before pulling up his and your contract and printing copies in both standard and Braille print.

A few minutes later he heard your footsteps approaching the office, so he walked out into the lobby to greet you. 

“Hi, Matt,” you said as you entered.

“Hi,” Matt replied. “How are you?”

“I'm good, and you?”

“I'm good too, thanks.” Matt gestured towards his office. “Let's go to my office.”

He led you down the hall to his private office. “Have a seat. Would you like something to drink? We have water, soda, tea, juice…”

“No, I'm okay,” you said as you sat. “Thank you though.”

Matt sat across from you. “Alright…”

He picked up the print copy of your contract and handed it to you. “Here’s the contract. I'll read through it, just let me know if you have any questions.”

“Okay.”

Matt cleared his throat and began to read. “Memorandum of Agreement. This memorandum of Agreement is made by and between Matthew M. Murdock and…”

He could hear your quiet, steady breathing as you followed along. He had tried to make the contract as simple and straightforward as possible in order to protect both himself and you.

“...Shall provide the following obligations,”  he continued. “Accompany Matthew to lunch and/or dinner at minimum twice weekly. Accompany Matthew to business-related events as requested with minimum 72 hours prior notice. Accompany Matthew to non-business events as requested, dependent on availability.”

“Wait, what does that last part mean?” you asked.

“Just that every once in a while I might ask you to do something with me that doesn't involve a sit-down meal,” Matt replied. “But also that I'm not going to make you drop everything just to have a cup of coffee or take a walk with me.”

“Oh, okay, that's fair.” You paused. “Sorry, go ahead.”

Matt nodded. “In exchange, Matthew shall provide the following obligations: Monthly stipend of $1,500 --”

“Wait, wait,” you interrupted again. “We only agreed on a thousand a month.”

Matt shrugged. “Yeah, but I thought about it and decided that fifteen hundred was a more fair amount for your time.” Especially since you're using it to help your mother.

You sucked in a soft breath. “Oh.”

Matt could tell you were torn between arguing with him and just accepting the higher amount and waited until you decided which path to take. 

Finally, you sighed. “Okay.”

“Okay. ‘Payment for all outings and events, including but not limited to meals, beverages, gratuities, tickets, souvenirs, and gifts. In the event of a professional obligation, arrangement and payment for appropriate garments for said obligation. Accompaniment to requested events with minimum 72 hours prior notice, dependent on availability.” Matt paused. “I figure it's only fair in case you have a work event or something else you'd need a plus-one for.”

You huffed out a mirthless laugh. “Even though I have to plan and set them up I never get invited to actually attend any of DiStefano, Williams, and Abbott’s events, but that's good in case I ever do.”

Matt's brow furrowed at your slightly bitter tone. He'd have to find out more about your job. “Anyway, ‘Confidentiality: Each party shall treat as strictly confidential the nature of said Agreement as a result of entering into or performing duties outlined in this Agreement’. ”

“Snitches get stitches,” you quipped. “Or in this case, sued.”

Matt chuckled. “Relation of the Parties: The relationship between both parties is that of a platonic nature and of partners in a business transaction. No other nature of relationship is obligatory herewith.”

He continued on with the rest of the contract -- termination of the agreement (that either he or you could terminate the contract for any reason at any time with 30 days prior notice), remedies on default (that if one or both of you failed to perform your duties or otherwise broke a clause in the contract, the contract as a whole would be rendered null and void) and finally, amendments (that the contract could be amended at any time with the express written agreement of both you and Matt.)

“Governance: This contract shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York,” Matt concluded. “Signed by both parties stated here within and effective as of date first written above.”

He tilted his head back up towards you. “Everything sound fair to you?”

You were silent for a moment. “Yeah. Yeah, I think it's fair.”

“Okay then.” Matt handed you a pen and the second printed copy of the contract. “Just so we both have signed print copies.”

“Okay, yeah, no problem.” You signed your name on both copies of the contract. “Am I signing the Braille one too then?”

Matt nodded and handed you the Braille copy, quickly feeling the text below where your signature would go. “Sign right above here.”

“Okay.” You quickly signed your name. “All done.”

Matt signed his name on all three copies of the contract and set both his Braille and print copies into his desk drawer before locking it, then he folded your copy and put it into an envelope. “Here you go. Now that business is settled, how about we celebrate our new arrangement with some dinner?”

He heard you tuck your copy of the contract into your purse. “That sounds wonderful,” you replied.

Matt stood. “Shall we, then?”

He retrieved his coat from the coat rack and took his cane out of the inside pocket, then you both headed back towards the lobby.

Matt turned the lights off and opened the door for you. “After you.”

You stepped outside. “Thank you.”

Matt followed you outside then locked the door behind the two of you. “This way.”

You headed down the sidewalk to what Matt hoped was the first of many get-togethers, a comfortable silence between you.

#lotmf writes #matt murdock x reader #matt murdock x fem!reader #matt murdock x female reader #matt murdock x you #Sweet on You Masterlist

[ohdudedhesflirting]

Matthew boyfriend headcanon

Synopsis : Just my thoughts about boyfriend!Matthew

Tag : My dear @seok02 this is for you <3 I hope you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it.

....Under the cut ....

Matthew is the most sweet and understanding human and boyfriend you could have ever wished for.

Attentive, kind, patient. He always made sure everything you might need was ready for you. Oh you need a tissue ? Let me fetch you a pack. Need a hand to carry your bag ? Already on his shoulder and you didnt even had the time to let your thought out loud.

Matthew is the type of boyfriend that your whole family loves and knows.

You swear you didn't even know how it happened, it just happened ..? One day you take him home in a very casual way, you know, just for him to get acquainted with your parents and the next thing you know is that him and your dad are cutting wood together ? You are getting to a family gathering to see your cousins and somehow he is already here "Hi Babe !!" smile flashing his lips. You don't really understand how it happened but on thing was sure : they loved Matthew as much as they loved you.

He is the type of boyfriend that just lives to feel you.

Its nothing that makes you uncomofrtable or suffocated. Its just that Matthew likes feeling you. Wether its just walking hand in hand, having his hand on your back, or just casually resting his hands on your hips and his head in the crook of your neck.

He is a waist holder. Helping you to reach something, walking on the street together, just doing grocery shopping. His hands always naturally come to rest on your hips. Not his fault if they always feel especially well.

He loves to give you piggyback rides. Its just something he likes. Feeling your legs around his torso, arms around him, face inthe crook of his neck. Hearing your heart beating against his back.

A part of his love language is matching items, no matther if its a big sweatshirt, or a little ring. He just loves to match with you.

Pyjama party ? Give him two minutes and he has some matching pyjamas, because what is better than cuddle in the same outftit ? Nothing. Winter is very cold and you need a new beanie ? Say no more boyfie Matthew got you a matching one with him.

Both of you are really into jewelry, and he already has a couple of matching rings with his members so naturally, there is one day a ring that finds its way on your finger, a discreet ring with both of your favorite flower interwined.

Matthew loves being babied by you when his members aren't around. He just really likes when you are soft with him, just pulling him into a warm embrace, playing with his hands or with his hair (careful he will fall asleep after five solid minutes)

Have I mentionned tattoos ? Because Matthew definitely wants to get at least one with you.

You already had a few of your own, and Matthew as well so when the relationship get very serious I can totally imagine Matthew just asking you if you wanna get a matching one.

"Not a cringy one like a forever symbol babe, just something chill like references of our favorite movie"

And when the relationship is hella serious, I totally can see him getting a very intimate tattoo with your initial on top of his heart on his rib "this way you are always close to my heart, even when you are not by my side"

And the nicknames, petnames ? He is a sucker for it. There is no governement names okay ? Its only babe, love, honey, sunshine (for him). Does he likes matching nicknames ? Hell yes he does, if you call him sunshine than you can be sure you could be nicknamed moonie.

And his Seok Woohyun oppa agenda ? Its real. That part of his personnality comes out whenever he is jealous.

Matthew is a jealous person okay ? Just seeing you too close with another member is enough for him to raise his blood pressure and just death stare his member "Matthew hyung I promise, Jiwoong is not gonna kidnapp them". And when you finally get back by his side the only way to calm him down is to shower him with love and calling him oppa (doesnt matter if you are older, he just likes the way it sounds like coming from your lips).

His seok Woohyun oppa energy is also present whenever things get heated between the two of you.

He is the type to send you thirst trap. Working out at the gym, you deserve a picture. Worked on his biceps, a little picture. A new outfit that he knows you will like ? Photo.

He just likes to show off and see that he has effects on you.

He likes it when you shower him with compliments.

His love can totally be of the quiet one, taking care of you in your shadow even if you dont even notices it. But sometimes it can be loud too, when he always protects your from men when walking in town, holding your hand proudly when he is with his members.

You are his person and he just loves to show off.

On a point of view of dates, Matthew like everything that you can bond over or just for you guys to be close. A cooking class ? He is ready. A day at the theme park ? Already in the car.

But he also likes the quiet type of date, just staying at his dorm or at your place. Cuddled up one against each other, hand on your bottom or on your hips. Or just putting himself behind you to rest his head on your neck and his hand on your stomach. Just enjoying each other's presence and watching movies, animes and dramas together.

Have I mentionned the gossips ? He is always ready to hear all your gossips.

Just picture it, you are coming back from a night out with your friend, and he his just waiting for you to come home, he helps you take off your make-up and putting yourself in comfortable clothes. And you finally go together under the covers where its your turn to rest your head on his torso, he just brushes your hair and tells you to tell him everything. And you just gossip until the both of you falls asleep. And he just loves it. For him its a way to see that you truly trust him and for you, its the sign that he cares about you. Even if you tell him during thirty minutes why its so important that the person you despised in your class got the same top as one of your friend.

Matthew genuiely cares for you, and in every one of his actions he shows it.

#i hope i fed all of your delulu self #because i fed my own delulu ass #i tried to keep it minors friendly so there is nothing innapropriate for kiddos (i hope) #im actually proud of that one #seok matthew #seok matthew type of boyfriend #seok matthew imagine #seok matthew imagines #seok matthew headcanon #seok matthew boyfriend #zb1 imagine #zerobaseone imagine #seok matthew x reader #zb1 #zerobaseone

[littlebluentebook]

Alastor x Reader pt.6

A/N Oh my goodness! I didn't expect the story to get this much attention! Im going to do some sort of second story where Alastor and the reader are in hell. If theres no objections I'll also feature some helluva boss characters (just to advance the plot!)

I am very sorry for not updating! I went out of town, nearly broke my hip, got sick, and started a new job all in the last 2 weeks. I should be able to post once every three days now :)

Thank you to everyone reading the story! I love sharing my ideas and feel free to reach out if there are any stories you want to see!

TW-Animal Blood(?)

Chapter 7

You woke up in Alastor's arms. It wasn't on purpose! You both had agreed to split the bed, pride getting in the others way. Apparently, somewhere in the night you each reached for the other. Not minding the extra warmth, you fell back asleep. There was no point in moving away; you liked him, he was comfy, and kept you warm. The second time you woke up, the sun was bright and the bed was empty. Worried you checked the clock to make sure you hadn't overslept to open the shop. You had forty five minutes to get the store open. Not as much time as you would have liked, but also not anything too out of your range.

"Ah! My sleeping beauty, glad you're now awake!" a voice said from the doorway. Alastor? You thought he had left. "Come now! I have made us breakfast."

Alastor could cook. Breakfast tasted like it was picked up from a five star restaurant on the more expensive side of town. Over breakfast he told you that he was unable to leave such a beautiful person alone and you needed the rest from the previous night. He actually didn't leave you at all that day.

He sat talking with you in your shop keeping well mannered company. Alastor would never admit it, but he absolutely loved listening to you talk. He spent so much time talking on the radio it was nice to finally be listening to others. He never really cared for sewing but asked you questions about how you did certain things and complimenting your stitch work. He also would assist you while you worked; measuring, flipping things right side outing grabbing fabric as needed. He liked feeling useful to you and watching you work on something you were passionate about.

:Thank you so much for your help today Allie."

"Allie?" He tilted his head like a puppy hearing 'no' for the first time.

"Yeah! Like a nickname," you beamed at him. Alastor mulled the name over in his head before deciding it was okay when it rolled off your tongue and into his ears. No one else could ever be allowed to call him Allie aside from you.

"Hmmmm. Alright" He was at a loss for a nickname truly just wanting to call you his. "Why don't we go and fetch ourselves dinner. I know the most exquisite place!"

"that would be lovely!" Your demeanor was much calmer than your racing thoughts. First, Alastor had stayed the night and made breakfast. Secondly he spent the entire day with you. And now he wanted to take you to dinner! You felt like a romance character from the books you had read and heard stories of.

He had helped you close the shop, took your arm in his (it was the only way you two ever walked together) and he led the way to the restaurant.

It was a nice place with candles and flowers on the table. There was a live band playing softly to entertain guests as they dined.

Alastor was sweet and kind with you, he made excellent recommendations about what drinks to try and meals to order. You both split a cake together for dessert. The night was wonderful, absolutely perfect! The only thing that there you off was the way in which Alastor ordered his steak.

"Alastor!" you had whisper-yelled "that cow is so undercooked I can still hear it moo-ing in the fields. Do we need to have the waiter take it back for just a moment longer?"

"Haha oh no darling! I just enjoy my cut of meat like this. It holds so much more flavor!" You gave him a quizzical look swearing you had just seen blood dark as your wine pool on the plate.

When your night had come to an end, Alastor had walked you home and kissed your cheek. It had left you red and blushing thinking about it as you slept.

The next morning you had awoken ready to start your chores. You folded the blanket and pajamas that Alastor had borrowed and cleared a drawer for the items to reside in. Today you had a new activity you hadn't done in years.

You walked down the stairs leading to your shop and to the circular display table at the center of your shop. Grabbing the wilted flowers and vase you got to work and put them in your oven to dry them out. You loved keeping gifts, flowers were beautiful but difficult to keep but you made it work.

The entire day you were all that was on Alastor mind. He simply could not get enough of you despite spending the entire day together before. He was talking to his mother about the feeling and how he had never experienced it, unsure of what to do he was searching for advice. His mother was not helping the situation, she merely laughed at him. "Oh Al, why don't'cha go onna date together and court the poor thing!" What if you didn't like him back? What if he made a total fool of himself. His mother could sense his worries, "well whoever can put up with ya for a full day definelty doesn't not like you." She pinched his cheeks and went back to cooking for the both of them

#alastor x reader #alastor x y/n #hazbin alastor #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel 2024 #alastor x you #hazbin hotel fanfiction #hazbinhotel #alastor #x reader

[irelandking]

avenger bucky x regular reader fic recs

bucky barnes x reader

❤️ = fluff 😔 = angst 🔥 = smut

one shots:

hold my girl - @pellucid-constellations

Bucky comes home from a mission and needs time to hold his girl. ❤️

test drive - @cherrypickertheory

Bucky has a breeding kink. 🔥

disney princesses and dog tags - @buckyalpine

single reader mom reader starts dating Bucky doesn't tell him off the bat about kid and he starts getting a little antsy ❤️🔥

princess cut - @viollettes

Bucky sustains an injury because of a punk-ass kid, and you swoop in to do something about it. ❤️

every night - @ijustreallylovezebras

Bucky sneaks out of the compound every night, the team want to know why ❤️

counting - @pellucid-constellations

Time heals all wounds. Bucky’d been holding onto that proverb ever since blip. But time had never been particularly kind to him, so he opted to keep track of the sweet girl’s in his apartment building instead, the one that made him banana bread and took him to diners at two in the morning. Sometimes, you didn’t keep the same schedule. That made Bucky panic. ❤️😔

flowers in the compound - @pellucid-constellations

That girl from the flower shop seems to be taking up a lot of Bucky’s time. ❤️

name - @ijustreallylovezebras

The reader works in the local Starbucks and Bucky comes in almost every day but always orders with a different name ❤️

the safest place in new york - @wkemeup

A stranger comes to your rescue when you find yourself held at knifepoint, alone in an alleyway, by a man demanding your money ❤️

the sound of music - @delicatelyherdreams

Bucky never heard music the way everyone said he should. He never got a song stuck in his head. He never had a soulmate. Until he did. (Soulmate AU) ❤️

perfect for me - @prettyyoungtragedy

When your friends set you up on a blind date, you have no idea what you’re walking into. Is it a total fail or true love? ❤️

story time - @delicatelyherdreams

Bucky is coerced into joining a local library’s story time for veterans. He’s not sure what to expect. ❤️

something tells me - @ugh-supersoldiers

Soulmates are supposed to be a beautiful gift, created so that no one every goes through life without love. Born with an invisible matching marking, a tattoo to signify their bond, that only reveals itself after the two souls touch for the first time. After escaping Hydra, Bucky hopes more than anything that his soulmate died a long time ago, but little does he know you’re right around the corner. ❤️😔

in the name of love - @moonbeambucky

Bucky meets a nurse he thinks is playing hard to get and he’s more than willing to throw himself in the game.❤️😔

sing me to sleep - @invisibleanonymousmonsters

Bucky meets a lovely stranger on a commercial flight.❤️

rose - @softlyspector

In a world where soulmates share each other’s scars, oddly enough it’s a tattoo that brings Bucky and the reader together. Soulmate AU ❤️

love in four acts - @buckybarnesowl

You’re a nurse living in Brooklyn. You’ve got a crush on your next door neighbour who doesn’t seem to know you exist. One day his cat finds its way into your apartment, forcing you both to finally meet. That’s when you learn that he’s James Buchanan Barnes, ex-Winter Soldier. Well, there goes your chances. Or maybe getting close to a superhero isn’t as far-fetched as it sounds ❤️😔

three times - @softlyspector

Some people say things differently. Bucky learns how to say I love you. Y/N learns how to hear him say it ❤️

who's she? - @itsapeterthing

 when sam gets injured during a mission and isn’t able to go to a hospital, bucky brings him and natasha to his own home to get cared for by his girlfriend, y/n, who he’s been keeping a secret. ❤️

a little old fashioned - @gogolucky13

 Bucky is a bit subtle in telling you he likes you ❤️

serious questions - @espinosaurusrexex

Bucky agrees to go on a date to make his colleagues shut up. Now, he just feels sorry for the poor woman that has to spend an entire evening with him. He really tries to make it work, though, because he actually enjoys her company. ❤️

a little longer - @buckyalpine

you're bucky's neighbor and he brings you to a cookout with sam as his fake girlfriend ❤️

search history - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

you look at each other's search histories ❤️

new year's day - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

you and bucky kiss at midnight on new years eve ❤️

history's mysteries - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

you listen to a podcast that covers the winter soldier and ask bucky about his past ❤️

good old fashioned lover boy - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

you introduce bucky to things he's missed ❤️

earthly possessions - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

bucky moves into readers place and has very few possessions ❤️

dress code - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

you have an ex that used to slut shame you for your outfits, but bucky loves them ❤️

chain round my neck - @bucky-bucky-bucky-bucky

bucky gives you a special necklace ❤️

life before you - @world-of-aus

The reader has some form of abandonment issues (she doesn't want to be clingy) and thinks Bucky will leave her or something and he comforts her and there is a kinda fluffy-ness.   Or the reader always says thank you and sorry for everything even things that aren’t her fault and it’s because she had a rough past or dodgy ex or cause she thinks she’s a burden X   Basically I crave fluff X  Thanks in advance x  Lots of love  Xxxxx XXX X  ❤️

gentle - @softlyspector

Bucky and the reader are sharing an intimate moment when he accidentally reveals something to her. Or, Bucky Barnes wants a normal life. ❤️🔥

two pages - @softlyspector

Bucky laughs and curls a finger under her chin, tilting her head up and back. “Lemme take care of you,” he says, blue eyes clear and sparkling, like salt on the sea. 🔥

hint dropped - @rocketrhap3000

while looking at rings online, you accidentally click a “send a hint” feature addressed to Bucky’s email, despite never having that conversation with him and not even knowing whether or not that’s something he wants, but his reaction surprises you :) ❤️

valentine - @softlyspector

You’re Bucky’s neighbor, Bucky is your secret admirer. Valentine’s day and a potential date forces him to act ❤️

teddy bear - @softlyspector

soulmate!au in which when one soulmate loses something, their other half finds it. When Bucky begins finding things that don’t belong to him, he realizes he has a soulmate in the modern world after all. Even though they should be perfectly matched, he struggles to find a reason why he should meet her, and be a part of her life, convincing himself she’s better off without him. ❤️😔

secret relationship and bucky - @invisibleanonymousmonsters

bucky is always disappearing from the compound and everyone figures that it’s bucky being bucky.. but he’s visiting his civilian girlfriend and knows that she’ll be in danger the moment they go public so he doesn’t even tell the team about her.. and their circumstances of meeting could be in the aftermath of some Avengers thing? ❤️😔

nutella - @teamatsumu

Late at night, you turn on the kitchen light to find a stranger bleeding on your floor and eating your Nutella. ❤️

possession - @teamatsumu

On your 25th birthday, for twenty four hours, you are allowed to possess your soulmate; a process called The Possession. As you look at the world from their eyes, you find out everything you can about your soulmate so you can locate them when The Possession is over. But you have a slight problem: you wake up in a cryo freezer. ❤️😔

sounds of heaven - @moonbeambucky

Tired of another night without sleep, Bucky finds an unlikely source for help ❤️

baby - @ugh-supersoldiers

After you spend the night at Bucky’s for the first time, you drop a nickname that turns the ex Winter Soldier into a blushing and stuttering mess. ❤️

saturdays - @sunmoonandeddie

bucky barnes has a new routine ❤️😔

bookmark - @buckyalpine

reader is a romance writer and the other avengers discover her books ❤️🔥

pucker up, buttercup - @witchywithwhiskey

it's been a long day of working at your lemonade stall during the town's busy summer festival and making the day worse is all the unwanted attention and come-ons you've gotten from customers. by the time bucky barnes tries his own tired pickup line, you've had enough—but then he goes and spills a fresh pitcher of lemonade and offers to make a new one. you're reluctant to admit bucky might not be like all those other guys. in fact, he might be someone you could see yourself spending the rest of your life with. sunshine!bucky barnes x grumpy!fem!reader ❤️

gentle - @invisibleanonymousmonsters

Y/N has never seen Bucky be anything but gentle and loving. It’s hard for her to believe her boyfriend was ever the world’s deadliest and most lethal assassin. ❤️😔

bad day - @invisibleanonymousmonsters

Y/N has an absolute shit day at work and Bucky tries to make his girl feel better. ❤️

#bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes smut #bucky barnes fluff

[serenity-songbird]

You were always there in the background.

Since you were little you wished you weren't alive.

No one had treated you right.

You were just a girl with parents who didn't care about you.

When you were 12, you escaped to Republic City. You wanted to get away.

Far, far away.

Start a new life where maybe, just maybe...you could be in the spotlight.

You were sick of being a wall flower.

You got a job at a bakery called, Cake My Day.

Cute name, isn't it?

The owner, Ms. Sherry, was so nice.

She taught you how to bake delicious treats. She had a spare room in her house. She said you could stay there. She was lonely and didn't mind having another person around.

How lucky could you get?

Maybe, finally, your life was turning around.

4 years passed by.

You and Ms. Sherry were the faces of the shop. With your help in advertising, the shop became more popular than before and you needed to hire 4 other people to help.

You grew older, more beautiful. You were now a manger in Sherry's bakery.

Despite you taking care of most of the work, she was still a busy boss, but you were there to help take the load off. (And force her to take time off so she'd stop over exerting herself).

She even let you start creating recipes of your own! (The first 12 were a bust though. But you learned plenty from the 12 failures! 13th times the charm!!!)

With more money coming in, she was able to reconstruct the shop to make it bigger and better. There was a To-Go Line, a large array of desserts behind the glass fridge, a coffee corner, and an outside patio complete with flowers and atmosphere. And that was just the 1st floor! The 2nd floor was mostly just a relaxing spot to study or just enjoy the comfort it offered with its couches, mini stage where someone would always play relaxing music, a little yoga spot, and the restrooms that were always clean and well-maintained.

This place felt like home. It was home.

And Ms. Sherry...Well, she become like a mother to you. A real mother. A kind mother.

You were happy.

You were walking through the neighborhood one night. You had to fetch some decorations for the shop. Ms. Sherry's birthday was in a week and you wanted to make it special. So you went out when she was asleep to get the supplies you ordered.

Suddenly, someone ran into you.

You fell to the ground.

"Aw man! I'm so sorry!"

When you looked up, you saw the most beautiful green eyes you've ever seen. You're heart began to race.

He stopped to help you up. He was huffing and puffing like he just ran a marathon. And you quickly found out he practically was when you spotted the men in green jumpsuits, red scarves, and weird looking masks come and attack him.

You swore something about their attire was hauntingly familiar. But everything was happening so fast you couldn't process it immediately.

He was earthbending to save him self and protect you from the crossfire, but the men were skilled and had these weird weapons.

You went into panic mode.

Should you help?

But then you saw one of the men pull out a scarier looking weapon than the other crimimals had and you reacted on instinct.

It could be dangerous.

You never told a lot of people this.

But when you were young, you had been born with air bending.

Both your parents were non benders so it didn't make sense.

You grew up learning to hate your air bending because it was the reason your parents hated you.

You only learned to control it so you wouldn't lose control and hurt somone by accident again.

But right now, someone needs your help. That was more important than your fear.

You twirled around and blew all of the men into the building.

The boy's mouth dropped.

"Y-you're an airbender?!"

"Ssshhh!!! Just run!!!" You grabbed his hand and just ran.

"Who are you?" He wheezed out. You can tell he had gotten hurt and this was probably hard on him. But this was the best you can do.

"Who am I? Who are you?! Why are those guys chasing after you?! Please. Please tell me you're not a criminal and I just got caught in the middle of a gang war!!!"

"Uh, weeell. I wooouldn't say gang war..."

"Then what would you call it?!?!?!" You wheezed out in frustration.

"Uuuhhhmmm...Weeell..." He trailed off.

"Nevermind! We'll take about it later!" You scoffed in frustration.

This was most likely a gang war and he didn't want to tell you...Great.

You cursed to yourself. Still, you keep running with him. You already got yourself involved, might as well keep going.

Plus...there was this feeling you couldn't quite shake. Something deep in your heart wanted you to help him.

Why would you want to help a possible gang member? Who knows?

Using your knowledge of the area you lead him to a place you'd be able to escape.

"It's a dead end!"

Turning around, you blasted a large gust of air to knock your oppressors down. While they were getting their bearings, you pushed the stranger into a dead end alleyway.

"No. It's not!" You pushed a trashcan to reveal an opening in the brick wall. "Come on! Hurry!" Without needing further instruction, he crawled through the space and you followed suit. You continued running, but not before moving the trash can back where it was.

When the gang of men looked into the alleyway there was no one in sight. So they continued further and further from you.

The only sound that could be heard were the harsh breathes you and the stranger were making. You both lay on the floor of Cake My Day's kitchen.

The noise of hurried footsteps, clattering of silverware, and the door shutting caused Ms. Sherry to come in aggressively and ready to whack the intruder with her trusty frying pan. When she saw you laying on the floor with some man, she was ready to pounce.

"(Y/N)! Dear, are you alright?! Did this man hurt you?! Quickly! Call the police! I'll hold him off..." She narrowed her eyes ready to strike.

You quickly waved her off.

"It's okay Ms. Sherry. He is with me."

"Y-yeah. I'd never hurt the pretty lady who just saved my life!" He helped you up shaking your hand similar to the excitement of a tiger seal. "(Y/N) was it!? You are awesome! Thank you so much for saving my rear back there! My name is Bolin!"

You blushed when he said "Pretty lady," but shook your head.

"Y-yeah. Sure. Speaking of that...Who were those people chasing you?! Are you really part of a gang?! Did I get myself into trouble?!" You were shaking his shoulders, terrifed.

"Ack! No no no! I'm not part of a gang...anymore that is..." He trailed off quietly.

"What was that last part?" You inquired.

"N-Nothing! Um, actually the guys that were chasing me where the Equalists. They infiltrated the Pro-Bending Tournament and attacked us! Luckily Korra, (she's the Avatar and my fellow team mate), Mako, (That's my older brother), the police force, and myself fought bravely!" He paused for a moment. "...Aaand we lost, aaand they took away the Wolfbat's bending...and the Stadium was completely destoryed... sooo yeah that didn't turn out great. But I spotted one the equalists escaping so I followed him!" He leaned against the counter trying to be cool. "I mean, not to brag, buuut I'm a pretty great Earth Bender. Anyway, I was going to help the police arrest him so we could get more info on what their planning. Yeah I know, it's a decent plan...Except when his friends came to assist him...I fought as best I could, but they are strong. When I couldn't fight anymore they began to chase me. I thought I was a goner. But then you came and saved me! And you used your awesome Air bending powers to knock them down! Are you related to Tenzin? You must be since their family are the only ones that can use Airbending. He didn't mention having another daughter though? Oh! Also-"

"I'm sorry. Let me stop you right there!" You had to stop him from getting off track. Both you and Ms. Sherry were still processing his explanation. Luckily, you and Ms. Sherry didn't have a problem keeping up with his speech. He was rambling quite fast. Honestly, did he even breath between sentences? Still, your coworker Derrick had a habit of rambling all the time so you both had practice understanding fast speech.

You sighed and pinched the bridge of your nose.

"Let me get this straight. The people that were chasing you were not part of a gang. But some cult who wants to get rid of bending. And it's not just any run of the mill cult...It's the Equalists, correct?"

"Yup!"

"...What have I just gotten myself into..." You then started to freak out. "Oh my gosh!!! The freaking Equlaists!!! This-This is awful! what if they followed us home!?" You started hyperventilating. "What if they attack the bakery! What if-"

"Now now Dear. Let's not jump to what ifs. You know how you get. Let's just breath and calm down." Ms. Sherry knew you were an Airbender and why you hated it, so the thought of you being in trouble scared her. However, she had a feeling that this young man would protect you and teach you to love your bending. She just had a hunch and they were never wrong.

"Yeah! There is no need to worry! We lost them long before we got here! Thanks to your secret passageway, they didn't follow. Plus with your scarf covering your face and hair and your long jacket, they probably didn't see much to distinguish you!"

You had forgotten you were wearing this. It was a bit chilly out, but the main reason you wore these is so Ms. Sherry wouldn't recognize you and to hide the party supplies in your jacket. You were determined to suprise her.

"A-ah Yeah. That's true...Although, I should definitely trash these. That way they won't know who I am." You proceeded to do just that.

"Why are you wearing such clothes anyway darling? It is not that cold outside." Ms. Sherry questioned.

"A-ah!!! I-It's because I'm not feeling so well. Yeah! I went out to get some medicine. I didn't want to disturb your sleep." You hoped she'd buy it.

"Well why didn't you say so! I will get you some medicine to have you feeling better in no time. And Bolin why don't you try some sweets! I don't want you going back out tonight. It's dangerous if the Equalists are out there." Ms. Sherry was in her normal cheery mood. She was glad you both were safe.

"Oh, I don't want to impose! I can go back home and-"

"It's not a request. You ARE staying here. If you need to borrow the phone to call someone, it's right there." She pointed to the phone on the wall, staring Bolin dead in the eyes daring him to challenge her.

"Yes Ma'am." He scrambled to the phone to let his brother and Korra know he was fine.

You shook your head smiling. Honestly, once Ms. Sherry has her mind set on something there is no changing her mind.

While Ms. Sherry went to get medicine for your "illness," you went to heat up some leftover brownies you had made earlier that day.

"Wow that smells delicious! What is it!" Bolin peeked over your shoulder. He liked how friendly you and Ms. Sherry were. He'd feel really bad if something were to happen to either of you because of him. So he vowed to protect you.

"Thanks. It's my own recipe. I used to be such an awful Baker. But thanks to Ms. Sherry's skills, I'm better than ever!"

"Terrible baker and a terrible cook. I helped with that too." She winked at Bolin in a teasing manner after walking into the room.

"Unnecessary comment, Ms. Sherry." You pouted. She giggled. She gave you a small shot of disgusting medicine. You had to choke it down. You didn't want Ms. Sherry to know about your suprise. It'll all be worth it next week.

"By the way, were you able to contact someone to let then know you were okay?"

"Yup! My brother was relived to hear I'm okay. Thank you for taking me in for the night."

"Nonsense, Darling. I would never let such a sweetie like you get hurt or kidnapped or worse!" Everyone in the room knew how dangerous the Equalists were. They didn't want to find out what they would do to him.

The rest of the night passed by with no incidents. Bolin wanted to know more about you and you both stayed up late getting to know each other. The more you spoke, the more you realized how kind, brave, and funny Bolin was. You were glad you saved him.

Maybe he and his friends could bring down Amon...

"So since you're an Airbender, how are you related to Tenzin? I feel like if you were his daughter, we would've already met you. So you must be his niece, right?"

"Well...No. I'm not related to, er, Tenzin at all..." You looked away and fiddled with your hair.

"You're not? But I thought the only Airbenders were descendants of Avatar Aang?" Bolin tilted his head in confusion.

"Apparently not. Both my parents were non-benders...so I don't really know why I got my airbending...Not that it's really done anything for me. I wish I could get rid of it." You pulled your knees to your chest and hugged your legs, forlorn.

"What?! But you're an awesome airbender! Why wouldn't you want to use your bending?!"

You looked up at him and his concerned face. He is now the fourth person to know about your bending. Your parents rejected you because of it.

The only reason Ms. Sherry knew was because you had accidentally used your bending during a panic attack. She had to calm you down, but got hurt in the process. She had a permanent scar on her arm where you slashed her by accident. You had felt awful and cried while apologizing profusely. She cooed to you saying it was alright. When she held you, you ended up telling her everything.

Ms. Sherry hated your parents because of this. She began to raise you as her own after she found out you were living in a dumpster. She was the mom you never had.

Now here you were with a boy you just met. He knew about your bending. And he thought it was awesome. That's the first time anyone has told you that.

You couldn't stop the tears. You didn't want to cry and furiously began to wipe them. You tried to stop, but the more you held it in, the more you cried. This happens everytime you think about your bending or using it.

"H-hey! What's wrong?!" Bolin scrambled to you and rubbed your back. "Why...Why are you crying. Did I do something?"

"I don't understand...Why are you not running away? Why are you being so nice to me? I'm an airbender...Doesn't that freak you out?"

"Freak me out? Of course not! I happen to know 4 other Airbenders who are my friends. Why would that be freaky? I think its cool."

You stared at him with teary eyes and just began to bawl. You told him everything. You didn't know why, but something inside you just wanted to get it out.

You told him about your parents. You told them how they abused you and cursed you for your bending. They called you names and told you no one would ever be friends with you. You grew up to hate your bending. You had to teach yourself to control it, but even now you didn't have total control. You told him how you lived on the streets before Ms. Sherry took you in. How you ran away at such a young age and had to learn to fend for yourself.

You hated yourself.

You didn't realize that Bolin had wrapped his arms around you and held you tight. You were suprised when you felt tears on your back. When you pulled your hands from your face, you noticed that he was crying too.

"W-Why a-are y-you c-crying?" You could barely get the words out.

"B-Because you are! And because your parents treated you totally unfair! I-I think your bending is awesome and you shouldn't hate it! It makes you who you are! And you're, like, the coolest girl I've met!"

Mako had come to pick Bolin up the next morning. After last night, it felt like a huge weight had been lifted from your shoulders. You were grateful for Bolin and he had become a quick friend.

That made both of you cry more.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thanks again for letting me stay here Ms. Sherry. (Y/N)."

"Of course! You're welcome anytime, Dear."

"I hope he didn't cause you any trouble. Thanks for looking out for him. (Y/N), was it?" Mako shook your hand.

"Yes that's me. I'm glad I helped him. Thank you for keeping me company, Bolin. Oh! I packed some sweets for you and your friends." You gave him a pink box full of assorted sweets.

"Wow!!! Thanks!!! These look amazing!!!" He happily wolfed down a chocolate donut.

As Bolin was getting into his brother's car, he paused and ran up to you.

"You should come with us to Air Temple Island! There you can meet other Airbenders and they can teach you more about your heritage! What do you say!"

"M-Meet the other Airbenders. I-I don't want to impose. Besides what if they don't like me?!"

"They'll looove you. I'm sure they'd be stocked to meet another airbender!" He gave you puppy eyes and a wide smile.

"It wouldn't hurt, (Y/N). It might be good for you." Ms. Sherry put a hand on your shoulder. You opened your mouth to say something, but she didn't let you start. "And don't worry about the bakery. Derick and Lillian will be here to help. Go have a day off." She gently pushed you into Bolin's chest, making you blush 50 shades of red.

"I-I s-suppose I could go. I have wondered what the island looks like..."

"Great!!! Come on!!!" Bolin pulled you into the car in glee. You had to admit, you were both Nervous and a little bit excited.

You couldn't explain it, but you had a feeling that things would get better. You looked at yours and Bolin's intertwined hands and your heart drummed in your chest.

Unbeknownst to you, Bolina's heart was also thumbing as well.

You felt as if you didn't need to be afraid. So you put your trust in this, not so stranger anymore, and walked foward. You knew that everything would be okay if he was by your side.

Maybe airbending wasn't so bad after all.

#legend of korra x reader #legend of korra #bolin x reader #lok bolin #mako and bolin #korra #asami

[starlight-ascension]

collection of all stars christmas headcanons (these have all been featured on my blog before, from multiple different users, thought i'd compile them in one post)

if you have any ideas feel free to comment 'em

hinata starts hyping in september. everyone tells her not until november. yeah, november, because so many of them start going into christmas mode in early november that everyone's caved in before that month ends

the girls taking Ako, Aguri, and Emiru to the mall to see Santa

Team KiraKira spends three days straight in the kitchen, making enough Christmas cookies to feed an entire village. Seriously, we’ve got over six dozen girls and over three dozen fairies, and some of them eat half their weight in junk food on a regular basis. KiraKira’s gonna be up all night for days, taking shifts for who sleeps and who makes Christmas cookies. They do every recipe in the book and by the time they’re done, they’ve spent tons of money on ingredients which whats-his-name ghost guy fetches (thank goodness Aoi has money to spare, eh?) They also appoint Pikario and Bibury to guard the cookies, so that no one steals from the cooling racks. The fairies and Cures take that as a challenge, and come up with increasingly crazy ways to steal some cookies, which the cookie guards respond with increased security measures to protect the cookies from both other Cures and each other; gotta appoint 2 guards because just one will have no one to stop them from taking all the cookies! it gets to Looney Tunes Heist Movie levels

there's many Christmas movie nights and sometimes on weekends, the girls will watch two or three movies in one night and wind up all falling asleep on top of each other mid-movie. There’s always popcorn with pieces of gingerbread or candy cane in it

Decorating the different teams’ Christmas trees involves every team pitching in, tons of sparkly garlands, bows, glittery ornaments, bells, rainbow lights everywhere because lmao imagine only using one colour for your christmas tree, the tree decked in the team’s motif (i.e. butterflies for team yes!5, clovers for team fresh, flowers for team heartcatch, musical notes for team suite, card suits for team dokidoki, stars for team star twinkle, etc), and flying mascots putting the massive glittery golden star on top

everyone 13 and under puts on a Christmas play for the older ones. Starring Kirara, of course, and complete with musical numbers and precure magic used for special effects/cool costumes. Everyone goes wild at the end

there is a LOT of gay kissing under the mistletoe

Team Suite 100% goes caroling around the city. In costume.

on Christmas Eve, Reika uses her powers to make it snow. she does so while flying above them in Ultra form. people who spot her go "omg i saw a christmas angel" because, well. girl in the sky with white wings and a white feathery dress, a glowing golden halo, and a golden crown. bringing snow.

team heartcatch decorate coppe like a christmas tree

-Inori knows all the secret extra verses to every Christmas carol. The cures who only know the first verse of each song are impressed. 

-speaking of caroling, the girls totally gather around the tree to sing carols. Several fairies who don’t want to sing instead choose to send Mana on a scavenger hunt throughout a dimension of their choice. This is treated like a spy mission that will decide the fate of the world, in the same way sneaking cookies from the cooling rack is treated as a major heist. There’s secret codes involved. 

from just-someone-online, the king/queen/idk what term they prefer of precure headcanons:

Miyuki pulls out all the stops with the Christmas movies. Rudolph, Frosty, everything. Her love of Christmas classics rivals her love for storybooks.

-Setsuna and Yuko teleport the other cures around their respective towns so they can get their shopping done as quickly as possible.

-Mana and Madoka arrange a Secret Santa party for everyone. It turns out to be way more work than either of them expected since there are so figgin many of them.

-Erika, Nozomi, and Hime keep trying to sneak a peek at their gifts. Their respective teams are having a hell of a time keeping them hidden.

-The weather takes a turn for the worse a few days before Christmas so the ice and fire cures work together to keep the roads clear so people can get home safely.

-Yayoi, Mai, and Yui design invitations to the Christmas party. (I know Yui’s not a cure but I feel like they’d invite everyone who knew they were Precure)

-On the day of the party, everyone’s freaking out because they all got a cure that they aren’t overly familiar with (Hikaru got Hikari, Aguri got Nagisa, etc.). Some the gifts end up being right on the money. Others…not so much. Let’s just say Nao didn’t like the ladybug plush as much as Komachi thought she would.

-The MahoPre use their magic to make it snow indoors once they finish with the gift exchange.

-Hugtan and Ai are in little Santa outfits and toddle around giving candy canes to everyone. Everybody gushes about how cute they look.

-On Christmas day, some of the cures track down some of the villains who weren’t reformed and wish them a Merry Christmas. None of them will admit it, but it brightened their day.

from kennycantdecide

- Team Star Twinkle has to take off early to help deliver presents

- Most teams try to join them, but end up getting motion sickness from the ship

- After too many present mishaps, they decide to make it so you get someone from the same color group

- Leads to arguments on color schemes (where does Black and Sunny fit?)

- They all try to have a sleep over at Alice’s manor near Christmas

- Many cures end up sneaking out because they can’t stand watching Christmas movies anymore

- Couples who aren’t officially together yet are always tricked into getting under a mistletoe, and the reactions are varied

- Mai and Yayoi are asked to help design the party decorations

- Erika tries to design Christmas outfits for everyone, but fails because there are so many of them

- The fairies dress like elves, some love it, others despise it

from kiramaipink

-Yuko totally helps KiraKira with the holiday treats!!

-Hana gets so caught up in cheering everyone on with the decorating & baking that Saaya & Homare have to remind her to do her gift shopping

-Ruru & Emiru perform a lil christmas song they wrote together

-Aside from the secret Santa exchange, Mirai, Riko, and Ha-Chan each made little handmade gifts for Mofurun <3

-Hime & Kirara working on styling cute holiday outfits for everyone

-At some point Yukari & Akira sneak away to have a quiet little gift exchange <3

from sunnypokegrapher22

- the ice cures would make a ice palace theme amusment park for the other cures to play in. it aways has a team motif included in the designs. the team motif i decided in a ruffle 

#long ass post

[deus-lapidis]

Modern boyfriend hcs: Valentine’s day edition (writing trade)

Characters: Kaeya, Childe x fem!reader

Genre: fluff

A/N: this was my writing trade for @/rulaineyu 's birthday and Valentine’s day!!

This is a repost! Here's a short explanation why

Childe:

He goes all out for Valentine’s day and when it’s your birthday as well, how can he not go those great lengths to show you his love?

His malewife levels are quite high, so you can expect a home cooked breakfast in bed early in the morning. Maybe heart shaped pancakes with fruit and chocolate sauce? Or waffles with hand whipped cream? Maybe fried eggs with homemade condiments and fresh bread, if you were to prefer something hearty. Whatever you wish for he will grant you on your sweet day!

So he wiggles back into the blankets with you after peeling of his apron to share some nice breakfast in bed. He put so much effort into it trying to make small animals out of various foods and shaping hearts.

He’d totally feed you tbh

So when you finish up, he decided to let you relish in his warmth for about whole ten minutes before he ultimately just pulled you out of bed to “make the most out of your special day!”

Will absolutely pamper you, definitely forced you  beforehand to take a break for the whole day and just spend it with him.

He also bought you new clothes for today’s date, but it’s really up to you whether you’re gonna wear them or wear something of your preference!!

So he’ll go to a theme park with you and if you wanna go on rides, he’ll definitely accompany you(has a blast on big rollercoasters). Will buy fun snacks for you two to share and totally did not choke on a churro no no no—

He won you a cute plush and some plastic roses and peacocked so much that you eventually just stuffed the left over churro into his face <3

He will pout a little, but the longer you two hold eye contact the less serious you can stay, so you just end up bursting into a giggle fit, grinning goofily at each other.

Lastly you two got home again to rest up together and he’ll definitely indulge in some affections as soon as you hit the mattress. You can feel his chest rumbling when he pulled you on top of him to snuggle you to sleep.

Kaeya:

This man is poetic in a very strange way, he will absolutely go the sappy cliché romance route, but he’ll be ten thousand times more extra. When I tell you extra, I mean extra. Especially when it’s your birthday as well!!

So while you were sleeping, he’d stumbled out of bed to fetch you some fancy strawberry cake to greet you when you get up and he prepares the pretty bouquet he bought the previous day.

Banned you from trying to work for your social medias for the day and just wants you to celebrate yourself and the day of love. He knows you enjoy it all, but he really really wants you to have a break from writing, filming and wushu for the day.

Would also feed you (with a spork) while still not wearing a proper shirt mind you (yes i had to include that bc it’s very Kaeya), his nose scrunching up at how cute you look.

He kinda planned a fancy outing for the day, taking you to a beautiful botanical garden to take some nice pictures with beautiful flowers of his beautiful flower :)

He holds your hand the whole time, swinging them back and forth slightly while you two visit the different greenhouses.

You both just look like such a charismatic couple because you just absolutely look adorable and he looks like bitchy pretty boy with sunglasses of a toddler while also making it all look good.

Hands down would flirt with you through cheesy flower names(refuses to call them puns because he’s too sleek)

You two got a bee plush in the souvenir shop as well for it to live on your shared bed hehe

bUT ADDITIONALLY, he made you change once more, because he made reservations at some very high end, glamorous restaurant, ‘cause he just want to treat you to some really nice food and a lovely experience!!

So in the end you’re both too full to really do anything other than laze around at home in bed again. Cuddles becoming the primary activity for the rest of the night, lazy kisses exchanged while you joke about how good the food was and how snooty the people were.

#kaeya fluff #childe fluff #kaeya x reader #childe x reader #genshin fluff #genshin impact x reader #illunis’ scribbles

[evereinefaust]

. . . ⇢ ˗ˏˋ 𝐒𝐩𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 ࿐ྂ

Pairing: Leo (Loke) X afab!Reader

Synopsis: It's springtime. And what better to enjoy it than to have a date with a lover like Loke.

Word Count: 1,337

It's springtime, and your boyfriend, Loke, invited you to have some fun outside Magnolia. You kinda hate the guy, since he's a flirtatious playboy, after all. You also got into trouble because of him, because of his other girlfriends. But you are Loke's first-ever girlfriend that he truly loves, and you love him back with all your heart. He promised himself that he would change, that he would never have a girlfriend other than you. And of course, he kept his promise. You are so happy that you changed the male. And now, the two of you will be having fun on this day.

You woke up by the sound of your alarm clock, stretching in your bed, you turned the alarm off. You sat up on your bed, looking around your room. "Today's the day Loke had invited me to enjoy Spring..." You mumbled to yourself, getting out of bed with a smile gracing your lips. You took a quick shower, slipped into your [f/c] dress, then tied your hair into [f/h].

"[Name]-chan~!" There goes your boyfriend. He is already in front of your house, fetching you for another grand date. "Coming!" You yelled back as you raced down the stairs and then put on your shoes. "Good morning Loke!" You greeted him when you opened the door. There he stood with a bouquet of flowers for you, he was wearing a black tuxedo in his spirit form. "For my lovely girlfriend," He gave you the bouquet which you accepted.

"Thanks, Loke!" You gave him a kiss on the cheeks. "Shall we go then?" He held his arm out, motioning you to take it. "Gladly" You entwined your hand in his arm. Loke decided to take you to a cafe shop since you hadn't eaten for breakfast yet.

The two of you sat outside the cafe, and a waiter went to your table to take your orders. "What do you want, [Name]-chan? It's my treat" Loke smiled at you. "I will have [f/drink] and [f/snack]" You told the waiter while reading the menu. The waiter wrote your order, bowed then left.

"What do you think about Spring, [Name]-chan?" The orange-haired asked you. "Well, it's kinda okay. I got to watch the cherry blossoms, look for a four-leaf clover, and feed the ducks at the pond" You replied, leaning on the table. "I see" Loke smiled again. "How about you?" You turned to him.

"Me?" Loke chuckled, and you nodded. "Every day is perfect for me when I get to see you" He stated, another one of his cheesy lines. "Oh, really?" You laughed. "Don't be like that, [Name]-chan. You're literally my life, after all" He lifted your chin to lock eyes with him, and you can't help but blush.

"Yeah right. Well, you are a celestial spirit and I am a human. You can't die while a human can" You retorted, looking away from his gaze. "If you die, I will come with you" He removed his hand as he said that. You looked at him in confusion, "You will what?"

"Just like I said, I will come with you" He repeated, adjusting his blue glasses. "Why would you do that?" You asked again. "Just like I told you earlier, you are literally my life. If you die, I die" He explained, lips forming into a smile. You just huffed, "If spirits can actually die"

Before Loke can argue back with you, your orders came that prevented him from saying anything. You enjoyed the first part of your spring break with Loke, just sitting outside the cafe while eating, chatting with your boyfriend, and watching the flowers bloom.

After your breakfast, the two of you went to the pond. "Why are we here again?" You asked him, walking your way towards a pond filled with ducks. "We're here to feed the ducks!" He beamed at you, eyes brimming with excitement and enthusiasm.

"Okay..." You sweat-dropped but smiled. The orange-haired gave you some corn and peas for the duck, then motioned you to kneel near the pond. You obeyed his orders and then started feeding the ducks. The two of you enjoyed the time, chatting and laughing while feeding the ducks.

After all the food was gone, Loke decided to take you to the park next. "And what are we going to do here?" You asked him, a smile on your face as you curiously wanted to know what was in his mind. "We're going to find a four-leaf clover" He snaked an arm on your waist, pulling you close. You blushed at his sudden actions, "W-what are you doing?! We're in public, don't do things like this!"

"Oh, come on [Name]-chan~ The park is a perfect place for couples like us~" He flirtatiously whispered in your ear, you could feel shivers running down your spine. "And the best part, the loser has to obey the winner's every command" He added. Now you're sweating.

"S-shut up! And just remove your arm from me and start whatever you just declared!" You flushed red while struggling to get out of his grip. He chuckled before releasing you, you sighed in relief and started to search for a four-leaf clover.

At the park, four-leaf clovers are hard to find, especially when there are a lot of people hanging around the place. And unluckily, Loke is the one who first found the lucky green leaf. "Damn that Lion" You hissed under your breath as you stood up from the ground, glaring at his happy face.

"Don't glare, [Name]-chan~ You're going to enjoy the remaining time you will have with me, after all" He walked to you with the small green leaf between his fingers. "Whatever" You rolled your eyes, arms crossed and face flushed red because of what he meant, and you understood what he meant.

"Let's go and watch the cherry blossoms next, shall we?" He suggested, extending his hand to you. "Well... I guess it doesn't seem so bad" You replied while placing your hand on top of his. He gave your hand a squeeze before leading you toward the center of Magnolia, where the large rainbow sakura trees are planted.

It's almost evening and the sakura leaves will become rainbow in color. Loke knew that you both love rainbow and sakura trees and since you hadn't seen those beautiful trees, he planned to take you to watch them glow. "There are a lot of people here" You commented while the two of you were making your way towards the front. "There will be a special event here soon, that's why there are plenty of people" Loke explained.

"I see. I don't usually go out of my house, so that's why I don't know what's happening in Magnolia that much" You looked down, flustered. "Don't worry about it, [Name]-chan. I will take you outside often so you enjoy here in Magnolia" Loke flashed you a smile, and you smiled back.

Once you and Loke were in front, you saw many large sakura. "Wow!" Your eyes widened in awe, Loke just smiled. "Let's wait and there is still a surprise coming right up," Loke told you, you nodded. After a while, when the skies darkened, the sakura's leaves slowly glowing rainbow.

"Amazing!" You breathed, awestruck at the scene before you. "I know, that's why I took you here" Loke snaked his arm around your waist, pulling you closer. At first, you flinched at the sudden contact, but then you relaxed then placed your head on his shoulder.

"Loke...?" You called, still watching the Sakura light up. "Hm...?" He hummed. "Thank you for this day," You said. "No problem. I'm happy to give everything to my girlfriend, after all," He replied. You gave him a quick peck on the lips before resuming your watch.

#fanfiction #fanfic #alternate universe #oneshot #one shot #reader insert #x reader #fluff #drabble #female reader #fairy tail #leo #loke

[maybeimamuppet]

matildamas day 8: making christmas cookies

helloooooo welcome to day eight!! tasty lil chappy for y’all today!! i hope you enjoy!!

—————

“Mummy! Mummy!” Matilda yells, barreling full speed down the stairs.

“Heavens, Matilda, what is it?” Jenny replies, resting a hand over her racing heart and checking to make sure Matilda hasn’t fallen down the stairs running so quickly.

“Look! Look what I found in the attic!” Matilda says eagerly, holding out a small box.

“Matilda, I’ve told you not to go up there on your own. It could be dangerous,” Jenny chides.

“I’m careful!” Matilda retaliates.

“Careful doesn’t prevent tetanus,” Jenny says.

“I’m careful and I’ve had all my pokes,” Matilda huffs. Jenny rolls her eyes lovingly, knowing she won’t get anywhere, and takes the proffered box.

It’s absolutely covered in dust, so Jenny turns away from Matilda’s face and blows as much as she can off. The box is made of sturdy cardboard, and covered with a flower-patterned paper, yellowed by age. It’s stained in a few places, but her mother’s name is etched on the top in a dark ink.

Jenny opens the lid with a small creak, and has to bite her lip to hold back tears at what she finds inside.

Note card upon note card. Beautiful parchment cards, with pressed flowers adorning the corners and her mother’s neat cursive in tidy little rows.

“These… these are my mother’s recipes,” Jenny says softly, gently flipping through them. The recipes range from things like waffle batter to Sunday roasts, handy casseroles to muffins, pasta dishes to delicious cakes and everything in between.

“Can we make some?” Matilda asks eagerly. “Please?”

Jenny smiles down at her own daughter, and she nods. “Pick one.”

Matilda takes the box like she’s just been handed the Ark of the Covenant and carefully flips through the aged paper recipes. She pulls out one towards the back and holds it out.

Jenny takes it to see what she’s picked and smiles. Christmas Pudding, with small crocus blossoms pressed into each corner. Jenny reads over it, and her brow furrows ever so slightly.

“Oh dear, this is quite involved,” she says.

“Can we do it?” Matilda asks softly. Jenny peeks over the card at her saddened little face, and feels a swell of determination.

“Go get some paper, please, we’ll need to make a shopping list,” she says. Matilda smiles widely and tackles her in a hug before running off to fetch one of her school notebooks and pens. Jenny has her rush about the kitchen to see what they have enough of already and adds the rest to their shopping list.

They button up their coats and head off towards the nearest grocery shop.

—-

“Christmas pudding, eh?” the cashier asks when they rest their purchases on the counter to be rung up.

“Yes,” Matilda says, for once eagerly speaking to the person behind the counter. “It’s my grandmother’s recipe. We’ve never made it before and we’re trying it for the first time ever.”

“How lovely,” the cashier responds as he scans their items. “No nuts in your recipe, then?”

Jenny chuckles as she remembers the small Absolutely no nuts!!! that had been scrawled just beneath the title in her father’s blocky writing. “I don’t think so, no.”

“Everyone’s got something different. Me nan always used walnuts, but my mum never used anything of the sort,” the cashier says. He bags up all their items and hands them over once Jenny has paid for everything. “You lot have a Merry Christmas. Good luck with the pudding.”

“Thank you,” Jenny says appreciatively. She and Matilda wave and wish him a Merry Christmas as they head back out into the brisk winter air and start their walk back home.

—————

Matilda eagerly puts everything away in the kitchen and washes her hands. Jenny doesn’t even have time to stop her before she’s tying on her apron and looking at her excitedly. “What’s first?”

Jenny reads from the recipe card as she ties on her own apron. “Soaking the currants, raisins, and sultanas in the brandy, lemon juice, and orange juice.”

Matilda checks for the proper quantities of everything and happily adds it to a large bowl. She looks at it curiously. “For how long?”

“Overnight,” Jenny replies.

“Oh.” “And the pudding also has to be steamed for eight hours and then sit for two to three weeks.”

“Oh.”

“Sounds like we’ll have some tasty New Year’s pudding instead,” Jenny says with a chuckle, covering the bowl with some plastic wrap and resting it on a shelf for everything to soak in peace.

Matilda looks dejectedly up at it from her spot on the ground. Jenny smiles sadly.

“Should we make some cookies instead?”

Matilda beams at her and nods eagerly. Jenny keeps everything they need for that on hand anyway, so they waste no time whipping up a batch of snickerdoodles and getting absolutely covered in flour and sugar.

Matilda is delighted by rolling the dough into balls and rolling them in cinnamon sugar, and making sure they’re exactly the right distance apart on the tray before they go into the oven. Jenny is delighted just watching her.

The pudding will taste delicious once it’s ready, but for now, they’re perfectly content to cuddle by a cozy fire, read a long book, and snack on their delicious cookies.

—————

thanks for reading!!

i’m not entirely sure but i’m almost positive this is the first one i wrote back in october when i was still trying to figure this whole thing out so sorry it’s a bit short!! the rest should be a little more sustaining lol.

i hope you enjoyed anyway and i’ll see you tomorrow!!

#matilda #matilda roald dahl #matilda 1996 #matilda the musical #matilda 2022 #matildamas #matildamas day 8

[themerrypanda]

For the Grapefruit Sky server’s Luau gift exchange, I received this gorgeous art of Elliott and my farmer lighthouse keeper OC Nicole from @lizardfootman!! (Thanks a million!!)

Under the break I've also published the entirety of the fic this art is inspired by. It’s also on AO3; its link in the title.

Title: That Summer, That Night

Word Count: 6,998 (4 chapters)

Summary: How the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies became one of Elliott’s favorite festivals.

Chapter 1: The Aspiring Writer

Summer 28, Year 0:

“There’s no need to stay in so late, Elliott. You can always come back tomorrow.”

“I know, Gunther. However, I’d like to finish this shelf.”

Elliott returned one book to the bookshelf, and finally picked up the very last one in the row. He carried the book over to the computer, slid out the check-out card from inside the cover, and began to type in the names of people who checked out the book before and the date they took out the book. Usually these lists weren’t very long. With the exception of a handful of recent publications, most of the books in Pelican Town Public Library were at least fifty years old.

For a small town library, it still had an impressive number of books. Elliott figured he’d have work for at least a year before he’d run out of books to put in the computer archives. After that point, he’d have no more work in Pelican Town, but hopefully this work would sustain him either until he finds another job opportunity or he publishes his first book and sees profits from it. Now if he could just figure out how to progress the story of Mr. Lu.

He pondered over ideas as he typed into the computer. He got the last and most recent name when he heard urgent knocking at the door.

Despite the place being closed, Gunther opened the door for Leah.

“Can I talk to Elliott?” she asked.

Gunther showed no qualms in letting her do so. Quickly she raced to him.

“I forgot to tell you the other day. Elliott, tonight’s the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies!”

“Another dance?”

“No, not like the Flower Festival. You’ve got to see this! It’s one of my favorite festivals, and it’s exclusive to here in Pelican Town.”

Elliott saved the last piece of information about the book, and closed the program before shutting the computer down. “And why is it so late?” he asked as he returned the book to its place on the bookshelf.

“The jellies won’t appear until sundown.”

“Jellies?”

“Jellyfish.” Leah corrected herself. “Let’s go!”

Leah paused when she looked again at Gunther. “Are you coming, Gunther?”

“Don’t mind me, you two. I’ll catch up.”

Leah smiled and thanked him, then seized Elliott by his wrist. “Come on!”

Elliott saw a couple people on the way to the beach. That was how you knew a bigger event was going on. Leah led him past his cabin, over the stream to the tide pools, then walked down the wooden pier over the water. From there, he could see many people already gathered at the more popular, larger dock where Willy’s Fish Shop stood.

“They all claim you get the best views over there.” Leah said, gesturing at Mayor Lewis, Willy, and the others standing in front of the fish shop. “I prefer a more from-a-distance view. It allows for better scenes for paintings… oh no, I forgot my sketchbook!”

“Would you like to race over to your cabin and fetch it?”

“No; it’ll be too late by then. Look! The mayor’s already releasing the candle boat.”

Sure enough, Elliott watched as Mayor Lewis released the shorter rope tying the boat to the dock. The boat drifted out to open sea, only to be stopped by a second, longer rope. He figured that the others would pull on it to return the boat to shore.

Elliott listened as the sound of the town’s chatter suddenly vanished, with the exception of an occasional whisper. A minute passed, and the world remained still. Another minute, then…

“I found one!” One of the town’s children shouted. Everyone turned to where the child pointed, and muted murmurs of excited agreement filled the air. A single, blue jellyfish lit the water, and began floating towards the shore.

“There’s more!” Another shouted excitedly.

Sure enough, a few minutes passed by, and now dozens of deep blue jellyfish swam up towards the shores of the beach, drawn to the dim lights. Elliott was entranced. How did he never realize that they could glow so brilliantly at night?

It was as if he was hypnotized; even as the jellyfish returned to the open sea, he couldn’t help but to stare. Thousands of words couldn’t describe the beauty that nature so willingly bestowed this fine night.

Even after the last jellyfish left, he did not move. He finally awoke from his trance when Leah nudged him with her elbow.

“I told you you had to see this.” Leah said breathlessly.

Elliott nodded. “It is incredible. Thank you for bringing me here.”

“No problem, friend!” Leah sighed deeply. “I’ve got to remember my sketchbook next year.”

Elliott glanced over to the main dock and realized that the bench beside Willy’s shop remained unoccupied for the duration of the night. Perhaps next year he can situate himself there.

“And perhaps then I’ll use the opportunity to see if the view on the main dock is worth competing for.”

Leah got up and began her walk into town and back to her cottage, and Elliott barely remembered how he walked to his own cabin. He lay down on top of the blankets on his twin-sized bed.

Next year. A gust of wind blew, chilling him. Autumn was practically here. And with the autumn, another passing of his birthday. In just five days he would turn 28. His early 27-year-old self would not have predicted him finding his way here in Pelican Town less than a year later.

Was it too late for him to make a name for himself? He hoped not.

Chapter 2: The Lighthouse Keeper

Summer 28, Year 1:

Knowing she likely would be near Willy’s Fish Shop this evening, Elliott positioned himself on the pier, past the shop, lamppost, and bench, and at the edge of the dock. He waved across the water to Leah, who had already crossed the footbridge and past the tide pools to sit at the edge of that pier. Her bare feet dangled over the sea, and her sketchbook rested in her lap with some colored pencils. If it was anything like he bet she would’ve liked to do last year, Leah would simply sketch tonight, and use the sketches and color references from the pencils to create a beautiful painting before winter.

In some ways, Elliott was jealous. It’s faster to enjoy artwork in the form of pictures than in words. And quite possibly easier to create as well. But Elliott knew that that seemed a little much. He was simply discouraged by his own progress in writing a novel. Two more novel ideas came to him over the past year, and now the question was which one to focus on. One week he would read through a Jane Austen novel and a modern writer to find which aspects of romance novels stood the test of time, another week he’d reread one of Timothy Zahn’s science-fiction stories and read in awe of the thorough lore of entire worlds and universes.

He reached his hand in his pocket and pulled out what he concluded served as either a checklist or an unusual shopping list as well as a bookmark. He wasn’t sure if Nicole would still need the checklist function, but he decided he would give it to her just in case.

Elliott found the note towards the end of an Agatha Christie novel, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. He had decided to reread the detective Hercule Poirot story when he was contemplating his mystery novel idea, as the resolution of Roger Ackroyd’s murder pleasantly surprised him the first time he read it. And thankfully, it was available to him on the shelves of Pelican Town Public Library.

The dock shifted beneath him, and Elliott could detect that people began to line up on the docks in anticipation of the arrival of the Moonlight Jellyfish. The local festival was called the Dance of the Moonlight Jellies, and to this day Elliott was grateful that Leah pulled him out of the library to watch it last year, his first summer in Pelican Town. The sight was magnificent!

For the most part, everyone took the same places as they had last year. Already they knew where they preferred to watch the event. For the sake of returning a simple note, Elliott moved from the dock beside Leah to over here by Willy’s shop. In just a few hours, Elliott would know which pier offered the better sights.

Finally, the whole town was out on the beach, waiting for the arrival of the bioluminescent jellyfish. He heard one person step behind him, then sit on the bench. No one had sat on the bench last year…

Elliott turned around, and sure enough, the lighthouse keeper Nicole sat there. A book sat open in her lap. The shy girl had short brown hair, light like sand, cropped no longer than her chin and framing her oval face. Her wide eyes through the lenses of her round glasses matched her hair in color. Her arms were gently crossed, with her hands cupping under her elbows, elbows appearing out of the sleeves of a pearl white blouse. She wore it with sandals and a calf-length skirt that reminded him of a long Juliet tutu, blue like the evening sky.

They had met just once before. Sometime during her first week living here, he had walked on the docks some spring morning to look over the Gem Sea, and she was on her way off the dock. Instantly she blushed, and managed a brief introduction before quickly walking past him and returning to the Lonely Rock Lighthouse. Elliott hadn’t dared speak to her again since. Was she simply caught by surprise, or was it his own confident and eager introduction that frightened her away?

Whatever the error was, hopefully he won’t repeat it tonight.

Elliott gulped, then cleared his throat, just loud enough for her to hear. She picked her head up, instinctively clutching her book.

“Nicole, is it?” he asked.

Nicole nodded slowly.

Elliott pulled the note out of his pocket. “I found it in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd a few days ago. I wasn’t sure if you still needed it, but just in case…”

Nicole skimmed over the note, and recognized it immediately. “How did you know it was mine?”

“I’ve been helping Gunther computerize the library’s books and records for the past year and a half.” Elliott was grateful Gunther hired him to help him with the daunting project. Very few employment options were available to him that would pay the wages necessary to continue living in Pelican Town. “I also noticed that if there’s a book I want to read that isn’t available right away, it will appear a week or two later with your name on the check-out card inside the book cover.”

Nicole blushed, and for a moment, Elliott worried that he was going to frighten her off again.

“Thanks. I guess I should compliment you on your taste in reading material.” She smiled shyly. “It’s Elliott, is it?”

Elliott nodded.

“You’ve made it quite difficult to stay in my mystery novel phase the last few weeks.” She closed her book, the old checklist marking her place yet again, and she flipped to the check-out card. His own name was signed just above hers. Then she closed the book. It was another Agatha Christie mystery novel: Murder on the Orient Express.

“I’m going to start on the Sherlock Holmes books after this one. And I’d like to read them in chronological order, if you please.”

She said this with a wry smile on her face, and Elliott found himself chuckling. “I’ll certainly try not to interfere.”

Nicole huffed her own little laugh. “Thank you.”

As they waited for Mayor Lewis to prepare and launch the candle boat, they talked with each other about other books they have read, and a little about each other. Growing up, she used to live next to a library and would often visit and spend hours each day reading. She made that part of her life sound magical. He mentioned that he writes on his own time, and how he’ll frequently read and reread books for ideas. And she seemed genuinely curious about his work.

Where was she when he was trying to gain support back at his hometown?

Finally, the chatter on the beach disappeared. All was quiet. The mayor let the boat drift out to sea, a signal that would entice the jellyfish to follow its light to the shore. And just minutes later, they did.

The children in the town pointed and shouted. “Over there!”

Nicole glanced out, and softly, she gasped at the sight. Soon, dozens of ethereal blue jellyfish appeared, some even floating under the dock. She was among the few who looked under her feet between the slabs of wood at the glowing jellyfish.

“It’s even better than I dreamed.” She whispered to herself.

“You weren’t able to see this before?” Elliott asked. He had known from whispers among the other villagers that as a little girl she had visited her grandmother’s lighthouse during summers.

Nicole shook her head. “Dad and I always had to use the last day of summer to get back home before school starts. I’m so glad I don’t have to anymore. I can’t believe I’ve been missing this all this time.”

“I didn’t even know that they came here until last summer. I moved here only a year before you.”

“Oh.” Nicole shivered.

“Oh?”

“That explains why I haven’t seen you here as a kid.” She answered shyly.

“Oh.”

They resumed silence once more as they watched the jellyfish swim around them as if they floated. It was not dissimilar to how fireflies looked like fallen stars in the darkest hours of night. As more time passed, he watched her continue to shiver as the wind picked up. Without a word, he shed his favorite crimson suit jacket and hung it from his hands, offering it to her.

To his surprise, she gently pushed it back towards him.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You have a longer walk home.”

“The walk will warm me up.”

“And the jellyfish will still be here for a little while.”

Reluctantly, she accepted the coat, draping it over her shoulders and hugging the fabric close to her. Slowly, the shivering ceased.

Fifteen minutes later, the jellyfish finally floated out to sea to continue their migration south. In small groups at a time, people began to move off the docks and make their way home. Nicole remained seated until almost everyone left.

When the docks were finally clear, Nicole stood up. She and Elliott walked slightly staggered on their back to the beach. When their feet met the sand, she began to take off his jacket.

“You can bring it back to me tomorrow morning.” He quickly assured her.

“But I have to run some maintenance on the lighthouse in the morning.”

“Come when you’re finished. I live in the cabin just over there.” He gestured across the water towards the shabby shack he called home.

Nicole stared at it for a few seconds before she nodded. She hung his jacket back over her shoulders and held her book closer. “Okay. I’ll see you tomorrow then.”

“I look forward to it.”

Her cheeks colored pink again, but he only caught a glimpse of it before she turned away, starting her journey to the blue lighthouse that towered near the edge of a cliff along the Cindersap Forest. “Good night, Elliott.”

“Good night.” He watched her take a few steps, then whispered to himself. “Nicole.”

Chapter 3: The Thawing Heart

Summer 28, Year 2:

Elliott returned to his viewing place on the dock. He thought happily of his last interaction with a publisher in Zuzu City. He had just finished a complete draft of his first novel, Blue Tower, and even transcribed it from pen and paper to typewriter for the meeting (with some edits, of course). The publishers seemed intrigued by its premise. Within the week, he should hear of the company’s decision on whether to make a publishing deal with him. Since then, he began typing its next draft, keeping in mind the suggestions the editors made.

Tonight, though, he will rest, at least long enough to enjoy this festival.

He heard light footsteps tread his way, and instinctively Elliott stood up straighter. He sensed the arrival of Nicole the lighthouse keeper. His nerves tended to be more acutely aware of her presence recently, and Elliott prepared to talk with her about his recent visit to Gem Sea Publishing.

He enjoyed talking with Nicole about stories they liked. And ever since he told her last year he is a writer that first morning of fall, she gave her quiet but very present support and encouragement. Elliott would tell her of his progress, and she would congratulate him when it was good, or console him if it wasn’t. Through the novel’s thick and thin, she stood, like a beacon on a cloudy night.

Elliott smiled at the very suitable analogy. And when he saw her step onto the docks and smile in his direction, he couldn’t help but to smile just a little wider.

“Hello, Elliott.” Nicole said merrily.

“Good evening.” He replied. “I trust that your lighthouse is in good order?”

“It is, thank you. And Jiji’s keeping his eye out over the fishes, of course.”

Elliott chuckled at the mention of her mischievous black kitten. The kitten liked to paw at the crustaceans Nicole kept in her fish ponds, and even one time swatted Elliott’s own crab friend Ferdinand. Jiji was lucky not to have been pinched by Ferdie in that incident.

Nicole sat down, this year at the edge of the dock rather than on the bench. Elliott sat down beside her.

“So how did your trip to Zuzu City go? What did that publication group think of your novel?”

“They thought it was promising.” Elliott responded happily. “I’ll hear officially from them in a week if they will publish.”

“That’s great! I hope they’ll green light it.”

“Me too.”

“I have an idea. Your 30th birthday is about a week from now, yes?”

Elliott nodded. She remembered his birthday? The thought warmed his heart.

“You should hear back from them on the day. If they’re publishing, we can celebrate with dinner and wine at the saloon. And if not, well, we can just go anyway and commiserate instead. I bet it’ll be the former.”

The beach suddenly fell quiet when Mayor Lewis let the candle boat drift out to sea. Nicole, having spoken one extra syllable into the quiet, blushed. She seemed to hate accidentally drawing attention to herself. But Elliott liked the occasions when it happened; her cheeks would color in a light shade of pink that still looked prominent against her freckled face. Not that he’d tell her this; she might blush again then try to avoid being seen like she had when they were first getting to know each other.

They listened to the waves crashing below them, and waited for any sign for a glowing jellyfish. Finally, Elliott glanced up and saw Leah’s eyes widen. He looked at the direction she was staring, and spotted a single blue jellyfish. He smiled then turned to Nicole, who also quickly turned to him to point out the jellyfish. He could feel his face flush as they quickly turned their heads away from each other, then out towards the now dozens of jellyfish coming their way.

The others in the town began seeing the jellyfish too, and a low hum of chatter stirred as the jellyfish swam up towards them.

“Well, however this week turns out, Nicole, I’m grateful for your optimism and support.”

She smiled. A sweet little smile that showed no teeth, yet still seemed as if she glowed. Then she peered back to the jellyfish.

“I still can’t believe you won’t let me read your draft, though.” Nicole finally said. “I’ve done editing work before. I’d like to help you out in some other way than just cheering you on.”

“With time, my friend. Trust me.”

But in truth, he didn’t want to have her spoil the story for herself before she could read the final draft of the entire work. Of all the people to disappoint with his stories, she was the one he hated the most to consider the possibility of her disliking them. Somehow her, above the people at Gem Sea Publishing, and even above his own family who had discouraged him from trying to write. It would crush him to see someone so optimistic and curious about his work to be disappointed because of a string of words he had yet to perfect.

It seemed as if no time had passed when it was time for the Moonlight Jellyfish to depart once more. He watched Nicole as she stared intently at the school of jellyfish, and when the last one disappeared at the edge of the horizon, she sighed deeply, disappointed.

“I was hoping to see a green lunaloo.” She confessed. “They’re quite rare, and I’ve read interesting research papers about them when I was in college.”

“Interesting?” Research papers? “How so?”

“They’re mysterious.” She answered simply. “One of my professors suggested that it’s possible that they may be evidence of magic. Not that I could take it away from its herd to study it, but perhaps upon observing one for myself I might be able to understand.”

Elliott nodded. It was true that the jellyfish seemed to carry an air of mystery and perhaps magic like she suggested.

Again, time seemed to run away with him. They became the only two people left on the dock, besides Willy who he presumed already retired to his bed in his Fish Shop.

Nicole rubbed her arms, as if to warm them. She remembered a warmer jacket this year, but the autumn chill filled the void the Moonlight Jellies left, and it looked as if it pierced through to her skin. Elliott began taking off his own suit coat.

“There’s no need, Elliott.” Nicole said as she stood up. “I’m just on my way home anyway.”

“Then please accept my company as I escort you home?” He found himself saying as he stood up to follow her. “I would hate to hear that you succumbed to the cold before you could make it back.”

Nicole’s cheeks turned to pink, and she tried very hard not to seem flustered by his offer. “I suppose you may. I don’t want to impose…”

“Nonsense. It would be my pleasure!”

Elliott pretended that he didn’t see her entire face down to her neck flush more deeply red. Yet he smiled to himself at the thought as they walked the path into town. He always found it amusing how the customs and proper etiquette he learned from where he grew up came across as romantic, and sometimes, flirtatious, to others that did not grow up in that type of environment. He considered how flustered his companions would become as an indicator of how well he retained the behavior, and Nicole had been wonderful for his ego. Not that he could ever tell her; that would interfere with future results.

After the two crossed the cobblestone bridge into town, Elliott noticed that although Nicole no longer was blushing or flustered, her ears were bright red, and her face pale like fine sand. Without a word, he shed his suit coat and placed it over her shoulders. He kept his hands on her shoulders even when she tried to shrug it off.

“Elliott…” she protested.

“Not to worry. I’ll take it home with me next time.”

“That’s not the point. I don’t want you freezing because I was inadequately prepared.”

“I won’t freeze.”

Nicole sighed deeply, but made no further attempt to remove his suit jacket. In silence they walked west towards the Cindersap Forest and over a wooden covered bridge just before the ranch to the Lonely Rock Lighthouse. They listened to the chorus of crickets and frogs in the still night as they walked quietly past Nicole’s fish hatcheries and to the lighthouse. Elliott may have heard one insect immerse itself into the water and lose itself to a fish in the pond below.

The lighthouse was never an eyesore. It towered from the side of a little blue house like a chimney would, except instead of classic red bricks, the lighthouse itself was white. The better to see on dark and stormy nights. Inside a window just upstairs, Nicole’s black cat Jiji slept, curled up against the glass. Elliott nearly missed the cat, he blended with the darkness so well.

And like that, the two found themselves at the front door to the house. Nicole reached for a key in her pocket, and held it in her hand.

Unexpectedly, Nicole turned away from the door to face him, and nearly bumped into his chest. Her cheeks revealed a slight hint of color when she looked up to him, up because they were so close, and his chin nearly bumped her forehead. Her glasses may have even slid, her head craned up so much.

“Sorry.” Nicole muttered. She took half a step back, and her hand lingered on the door handle. She then remembered she was wearing his suit coat and quickly shed it off and draped it over her forearm before handing it back to him.

“Thanks. Good night.”

She waited for him to bid good night as well before shutting the door.

Elliott felt as if he were in a daze. The last minute passed quickly, for one. And second, he realized for the first time that he just might be falling in love with the girl who became one of his closest friends.

As he turned back to make his way to the beach and to his own cabin, he noticed a light was on in Leah’s cottage, and what’s worse, she was peering out the window at him with a smirk on her face. He turned away, pretending he didn’t notice her cheeky grin.

She would never let him hear the end of it, would she?

Chapter 4: The Rising Moon

Summer 28, Year 3:

Penny walked with her mother to the beach. She looked forward to seeing the moonlight jellies again, as she always did. She couldn’t help but to admire their beauty and long wistfully to be like them: able to drift with life’s current and visit places she has only read about.

But today, her usual spot was occupied by another.

“Leah?” she asked.

Leah turned to see her. “Hi, Penny.” She smiled. “Would you let me sit here tonight?”

Penny blinked, stunned.

“Let’s just say I have a very particular feeling that I should draw from here tonight.” Leah explained with what she thought of as some secret smile. “You can either sit by me and stay as well, or you can go over to the dock by the tide pools. Please? I’ll even make you a sculpture, painting, whatever you like.”

“Um… sure. Okay.”

“Great! Thank you!”

Slowly, Penny sat at the edge of the dock beside Leah, wondering just what happened. What art would she even ask for? Some art inspired by a scene in one of her favorite books? A gift for someone come Feast of the Winter Star? Maybe something that Jas and Vincent would enjoy to put over their new classroom in the restored Community Center.

Penny peered over Leah’s shoulder, and watched her sketch. As the minutes passed, she could see the outline of the sea beside the Cindersap Forest and the Lonely Rock Lighthouse, towing over the cliffs. It was a lovely sight, and just when Penny thought Leah would finish drawing it, Leah would add more shading to the drawing, making it look more and more realistic with each scrape of her pen.

Finally, Leah paused her drawing, and she clipped her pen onto her suspenders and exhaled deeply. She kept her sketchbook open.

“That looks amazing, Leah.” Penny breathed.

“Thank you!” Leah smiled at her. “For the last couple summers I’ve been drawing this night with the moonlight jellies, and for the next week or so after I’ll use my sketch and make a painting from it.”

“Could I… have a painting?” Penny asked shyly. “It’s okay if not. I wouldn’t want to give you too much of a challenge.”

“Nonsense!” Leah smiled. “I’d be happy to make you a painting. When’s your birthday?”

“Two days.”

“Drat. Too soon.” Leah muttered. “Could I make it a late birthday present? Maybe an early Winter Star gift? I have an urgent commission I’d like to finish first.”

“Of course. Take all the time you need.”

“Thanks.”

A minute passed, then suddenly Leah snatched her pen once more and poised it over her drawing. She looked out, as if waiting for something.

Penny stared out in the direction Leah was looking, hoping to see what Leah saw. Then she did. In the distance near the base of the cliff, a small rowboat floated out into the water. She could barely see the silhouettes of two people. One rowed the boat into the open water, while the other held a dimly lit lantern.

Penny sighed. Wouldn’t that be such a romantic way to see the jellies? But who could they be? Penny twisted her back to see behind her for anyone missing from the docks, but a good number of people were hidden by Willy’s boat house and Fish Shop. Whoever was missing was missing from that particular part of the dock which she couldn’t see. She leaned, straining to see who could be missing. Past Sam’s parents, she spotted Haley’s older sister, and she had to scooch over more to see the blacksmith.

The blacksmith was the last other person on that stretch of the docks.

Penny turned back around and sat up, and strained her eyes at the rowboat. Upon realization, she gasped softly.

“Is that–”

“Shush!” Leah hissed. She quieted her at the same time the rest of the docks fell quiet. Mayor Lewis had released the candle boat.

Not another word was spoken until others began to whisper. Then, under her breath, so quiet Penny could barely hear it.

“Don’t let everyone else in town know. It’ll ruin their moment.”

Penny nodded, understanding. She and Leah stared out south toward the sea, each trying not to be obvious as they stole glances at the rowboat. Please, don’t let the first jellyfish appear this way, she begged to Yoba. She held her breath as she stared out toward the sea, until…

“Over there!” Jas squealed. Penny looked over to her, and she pointed out and away from her. Everyone else began shuffling their feet, inching closer to see the first of the moonlight jellies swimming towards the shore.

And more importantly, away from the rowboat.

Penny sighed in relief. Leah began to draw the boat, and would draw the jellyfish around it before finally, the two people in the boat.

Vincent, who had been standing by Sam further down the dock, walked over to her. “Miss Penny, they’re this way. Wanna come?”

“In a minute, Vincent. Make sure Sam and his friends can see them.”

“Okey-dokie!”

Vincent ran back down the dock, and Penny resumed watching the two shadows on the boat. The jellyfish were always pleasant, but this…

This was a once in a lifetime opportunity.

~

Elliott sighed in relief when Nicole accepted his offer to join him on the rowboat’s first voyage since its repair. But he knew it only meant more nerves to face.

Elliott extended his hand, and Nicole took it as she climbed into the boat and sat at the bow, setting the lantern on her seat. Elliott followed into the rowboat, sat at the stern, and untied the boat from the post. He then picked up the oars, set them in place against the oarlocks, and began to row.

“Won’t I obstruct your view?” Nicole asked cautiously.

He shook his head. “Not enough to be a problem.”

Nicole tried to relax. She turned to face forward from the bow and inhaled the salty scent of the sea. She looked toward the quarter moon in the sky, and Elliott could feel his heart skip a beat as she turned and he could see her gentle smile.

“This was a great idea.” She whispered. “Just imagine, watching the lunaloos swim around us. We just might have the best view of it from here. Maybe we’ll see a rare green one. With the water becoming cleaner… oh, I hope we see one!”

Elliott hoped they would too.

When he finally rowed out a good distance, he slowed the boat with the oars. He pulled up the anchor from the floor of the boat, and let it drop into the water. He didn’t know how to thank Willy for helping him come up with the right length of rope for the water’s depth here, except catch him one of his favorite fishes and cook it, perhaps.

Elliott felt the jerk of the anchor as it reached the bottom of the sea floor, and kept the boat floating in place. Then he set the oars back down in the boat; tonight would be an awful time to find himself without them. As discreetly as possible, he tried to steady his breathing. He was both assured and more nervous when he felt for the poems tucked away in his coat pocket.

Nicole rested her hands at either side of her, loosely holding the seat under her while keeping the lantern in place. Her eyes wandered around her, and when she finally looked at him, it seemed a challenge to look him in the eye.

“I finished reading that draft of Camellia Station you gave me.” She finally said.

“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow.

Camellia Station was their accidental thought experiment after Blue Tower was finally published. He knew she enjoyed many book genres, but she flushed so red when she finally confessed her enjoyment of the romance genre. But only the specific sub-genre that does not involve smut, she had said. And Yoba forbid anyone misunderstands what she means when she enjoys romance. The embarrassment that may come from a severe misunderstanding would cause her to hide away in her lighthouse and rarely, if ever, come out.

Since the confession, he started asking her what tropes she liked or disliked in a romance story. With each trope mentioned, they started coming up with a hypothetical romance, one that hit many enjoyable tropes (enclosed spaces and accidental embraces, easily set up on a moving train) and mocked less enjoyable ones (setting up what looks like a loathsome love triangle, but it turns out the second love interest had no romantic interest in the heroine and the heroine never saw the second “love interest” as such after all). And thus Camellia Station was formed.

“I couldn’t stop rereading it.” Nicole blushed. “Clara and Horatio are just too sweet together. I love how they tease each other and add to each other’s happiness.”

How obvious was it that Elliott based the two characters off of his own interactions with Nicole? He didn’t dare ask. Not yet.

“I know you meant it as a satire, but if you finish it, Camellia Station just might unironically beat out Blue Tower as my favorite book.” Absentmindedly, Nicole used two fingers to push the bridge of her glasses up between her eyes, her face still a flushed pink shade. “Speaking of your book, how has it been doing? Top of the Ferngill Times book list yet?”

Elliott shook his head with a smile. His book has been out for a while now, a little more than half a year. “It’s not a best-seller or anything, but it’s been getting some good reviews from the critics.” He was still grateful that Gem Sea Publishing reached out and accepted the publishing deal. On his 30th birthday, no less. The income from book sales were just enough to comfortably sustain him another year in Pelican Town. “And I really couldn’t have finished it without your moral support.”

He looked at Nicole, who simply raised an eyebrow at him as she smiled wryly. You sure about that? She seemed to ask.

He couldn’t help but to chuckle, and she laughed as well. “Actually, that’s not true at all. I would’ve finished it either way.” But her presence in his life seemed to have sped up the process. “But I am grateful that you believed in me… in my vision.”

Nicole blushed again, but made an effort to stare at him more directly regardless. “Of course, Elliott.”

They fell quiet for a long few seconds. Elliott’s thoughts raced as he thought both of the pleasantness of his name on her lips and how to say what he wanted to next.

For better or worse, this was when the Moonlight Jellies began making their way towards them. Nicole smiled at their sight and turned so she could see them better.

She was right; watching them swim from out in the water was absolutely stunning. He thought back to a couple years ago when the jellies swimming around him reminded him of fireflies blending in with the stars in the sky. This must be what it looked like to literally sail through the galaxy: they were surrounded by beautiful hues of blue.

Soon, the jellies held steady around them. Nicole looked at them with such reverence. Elliott did not wish to interrupt, but this seemed like the best opportunity to tell her. If he didn’t speak now, he may never.

“Um, Nicole?”

She turned to him, her smile unchanged. “Yes?”

Suddenly, everything he planned to say vanished. He tried to speak, but only short sounds came out. “Ah… well… How do I say this?” He took a deep breath, trying not to panic. “Well, we’ve been friends for a while… but I’m… I’m not sure if I feel that way about you anymore.”

“What?”

Elliott knew he already messed up when Nicole looked crestfallen.

She took a breath. “Well, I wish you would’ve said so back at the docks before bringing me out here.” She gently set the lantern on the boat’s deck near her feet, which confused him. “I’m sorry.”

Nicole began to stand up, and he realized just what she was about to do: jump out of the boat and swim back to shore. He had to act fast.

“No!” Elliott stood up just long enough to grab her hands, and the force of sudden movement rocked the boat strong enough to force both of them to sit down once more. “I’m not saying I want to cut all ties with you!”

Nicole seemed relieved to hear it. “But–”

“In fact, quite the opposite.”

Now she was confused. Realizing he was still holding her hands, he quickly let them go, feeling awkward as he did so. Then he combed his hand through his hair. Already he screwed up so horribly. But still, he had to try. He couldn’t leave Nicole in confusion forever. “…Let’s see, how do I put this? For once, I’m at a loss for words…”

Elliott didn’t know how long he was lost in his thoughts, trying desperately to find the right words so she wouldn’t misunderstand. But his thoughts were interrupted when he felt something warm rested on top of his hand that rested on his knee. A smaller hand.

He had never known Nicole to be so forward. And she seemed nervous to have made it this far.

“If you can’t say it, maybe you could show me instead?” she whispered, her voice quivering slightly.

There was one way to show her. Once more, Elliott took a deep breath. He turned his hand over to hold hers in his, then with his other hand, he reached for hers. Finally, her hands on top of his, he leaned slowly towards her. Nicole held her position. He yearned to kiss her lips, but instead kissed her cheek. He dared to hold his position there, his lips twitching slightly when they brushed against the corner of her mouth. He feared he may have already overstepped, but hoped that the kiss correctly conveyed his message: innocent enough to be considered friendly and respectful, yet intimate enough to express his love and romantic interest.

Nicole shuddered in his hold, but Elliott finally pulled back when he tasted a salty tear drip down her cheek.

“Nicole? You’re trembling…” Was she angry? Cold? Elliott, who would have begun taking off his suit jacket, stayed still. He just didn’t know how to proceed.

“I…” Nicole used her hand to wipe her cheek. “I never thought… you’d feel that way about me.” Still more tears fell. “Do you mean it?”

“With all my heart.” Elliott began to smile, relieved that she didn’t seem adverse to his advances. “I love you, Nicole. More than I can say.”

“Then take all the time you need to figure out how to say it.” She giggled. Though tears remained on her glistening face, she put both her hands in his once more. Her smile was more radiant than he had ever seen it before. “I… I’m happy, Elliott.”

“So am I.” His heart felt as if it could soar. He lifted his hand to rest it on her cheek, the one he had kissed, and gently he wiped away a tear that rested on her cheekbone with his thumb. Once more he leaned towards her, this time stopping when their noses touched. Her lips tickled his when he spoke. “May I…?”

She closed the gap between them and answered his question by kissing him.

Elliott closed his eyes and slowly kissed back, focusing on nothing else. Both would miss the mint green lunaloo that swam by them.

#i've stared at this for hours now #stardew valley #stardew valley elliott #stardew elliott #sdv elliott #Elliott SDV #elliott stardew valley #stardew valley gunther #sdv gunther #stardew valley leah #sdv leah #stardew leah #leah stardew valley #leah sdv #stardew valley penny #stardew penny #sdv penny #penny stardew valley #penny sdv #stardew valley oc

[undescribed1mage]

QUICK

tell me about ur ideal production of rtc if you had complete control over EVERYTHING

OOOOOOHHHHH OKAY

Ideally Ricky would be played by a disabled transfem actor.

Costume wise it'd be as close as possible to the original 2016 costumes. Jane would have a ribbon tied around her kneck, Mischa would be wearing a wedding wring(a makeshift one), both Ocean and Jane would be wearing lockets, and Constance & Ocean would have friendship bracelets. Ricky's mobility aid would be decorated with stickers.

Songs:

Uranium Suite — they'd all be slightly off from each other. Mischa would be a few beats late, Noel would push Ocean out of the way, Ocean would attempt to take Mischa's phone from him.

During the boys line(The smart ones all packed up and went why stay if you can't pay the rent?) Ocean & Constance would dance together

During the girls line (Empty Streets and Empty Shops,Shuttered rows of mom and pops) Noel & Mischa would dance together

What The World Needs:

The Choir members mocking the actions Ocean is detailing(someone fetching her a coffee, someone shining her shoes, etc).Mischa would just casually pick her up everytime she says she gets up.

Would switch the Ricky lyric to 'We're bringing back the girl who plays the tambourine?' and everything that correlates w that.

Yk the movement Tiffany does during the 'teen sex kills!' line?That when the Ocean says 'he's never gonna breed!'.

Super epic Taylor Swift based outfit change for Ocean!!

Noel's Lament:

Outfit is HEAVILY inspired by Lola Lola. Long Haired Noel if possible.Entire song sang VERY aggressively.Beret's for the girls!!Bowler for Mischa!!!

Nischa dance before the kiss, which is less making out and more just a VERY passionate kiss(think Ohio production). Mischa mouthing 'I think I am in love with you.'

Home theatre type vid for the background of the 'my child,' scene.

Ocean, Jane, Ricky & Constance busily walking around Noel during a few parts(specifically during the 'eight months later!i catch typhoid flu!' bit, to emphasize that no one really cared.)

Every Story Has A Lesson:

TAP DANCING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This Song Is Awesome:

Super Cool Sunglasses.

Switch Noel & Ocean during the 'Here comes the hotties, here comes the valet.' line.

Not much to say for the rest of this, but epic mic drop at the end(Ocean catches it)

Talia:

All the girls get flowy dresses & projections I keep going in between Noel in a wedding dress as Talia(not in like a 'Noel is Talia typa way') and there isn't anyone playing Talia.

If Noel is Talia:

Spacedolls & Blackrose dance together on the side.

If Noel isn't Talia:

Everyone switches dancing partners every now and then.

All the girls would have pretty flowers in their hair :)

Noel & Ocean gossiping when they dance during Talia.

Space Age Bachelor Man:

Title and lyrics would probably be changed.She would get a very pretty space themed outfit and I'd give her spacebuns.

We are KEEPING IN the space babies line!!!!

The cats would have furry tails.I would aim to make the meowing as comfortable as possible.

Either Karnak or Virgil as Count Dog-U-Lous!

Ocean being the only one to say 'Ricky, should we pull the switch?'

Only the cats saying 'That son of a bitch!'

Ricky sounding panicked during 'Why are they asking me?I'm a lover not a fighter!'

The Ballad Of Jane Doe:

She'd start out on the ground, looking around at all the choir members(who are imitating what would be her funeral).

As she's raised up she continues reaching out for each choir member, obviously unable to grab them.

She clutches her uniform at every religious reference(her only sense of identity being that she went to a Catholic school).

The tone of 'Just John and Me!' being hopeful.

The tone of the song slowly getting darker and slower until they reach the end.

The New Birthday Song:

It would imply Jane eating the cupcake AND the candle.She would also try to touch the fire.

Jane would hug Ricky after she's given the name Savannah, and then a scene of her pulling the lever(like in mccarter) would happen.

Mischa would ruffle Noel's hair while saying that Noel is tragic.Then Noel would hug Mischa.

During the Blackrose scene everyone else would be visible in the background.

Both Constance & Ocean would get progressively more upset but for VERY different reasons, until Constance finally punches Ocean.

Sugar Cloud:

Purposefully rocky vocals at the beginning before Constance eventually gets more comfortable with her voice.

Ocean nodding during the 'There is nothing wrong with the nicest girl in town!' line.

Noel & Ocean dancing together at some point!!!(THEY'RE FRIENDS TRUST).

Ocean holding up the microphone for Constance, Noel & Mischa dance together, Ricky & Jane dance together!!

It's Not A Game//It's Just A Ride:

Ocean singing the majority of it during Penny's life montage, everyone else joins in near the end.

Mischa shielding the rest of the choir as Karnak breaks.

Everyone copying the movements from their songs during the second half of the song!!!

The Order they stand next to each other is:

(Left to right):

Ricky,Constance,Noel,Ocean,Mischa.

DIALOGUE TIME:

Everyone jumping together as Karnak begins to speak.

'No, I mean me moving against my will.' would be kept in.

Somehow I would merge the improv scene & the porno is magical scene.

Mischa & Ocean both laughing at Noel's Taco Bell photo.

Ocean would be shoved out of the way for Noel's introduction.

Jane would be more life-like(Little Miss No Name based as well).

Ocean speech would include the 'every single one of you is a fricken rockstar!' line and she'd point to the audience as well.

Mischa would attempt to run away from Ocean when she says 'Mischa...I love you!'

This is all i have for now.

#tommy talks!! #ride the cyclone #rtc #rtc musical #what the world needs #noels lament #this song is awesome #talia #space age bachelor man #the ballad of jane doe #sugar cloud #its not a game//it's just a ride #ocean oconnell rosenberg #noel Gruber #mischa bachinski #ricky potts #jane doe rtc #constance blackwood #my writing

[renee-writer]

All's Fair Chapter 6

AO3

She is an early riser. Waking up before Jamie, she carefully makes her way downstairs. It is easier then it once was but still painful. The cane supports her careful gait as she makes her way to the breakfast table.

 

As her eggs and toast arrive at the table, Jamie joins her. He is smiling.

 

“You’re an early riser.” Commented as he takes a seat across from her and pours a cup of coffee from the pot.

 

“Yes, it takes a bit longer to get started now,” she nods to the cane, resting against her chair, “much better then it was but…” A shrug says the rest.

 

“I understand. Your bag, it is still upstairs?”

 

She nods before swallowing and answering, “Yes. I couldn’t quite manage it.”

 

“No worries. I will fetch both of ours after breakfast.”

 

Jamie left his car at the train station, he explains as he escorts her there. “We can drive straight to Glasgow.” He says as he places their luggage in the boot.

 

The countryside is brilliant with deep and light greens. They drive into the Highlands, farther then she expected. They pass a village named Broch Tuarach before pulling up to a large croft house with a greenhouse right beside it.

 

“The flower shop in the village is yours to run, if you wish.” He says before stepping out and opening her door. She takes his hand and he lifts her up before handing her the cane. They approach the one level house with it’s wrap around porch, “My own family home isn’t far from here. They own most of the surrounding land and the village but this land is yours.” They walk up on the porch. “You are now in the horse business with my da, if you wish to be.” There are ways to get her out of that, if she wishes. He prays she doesn’t .

 

He opens the door and leads her in. Then, he waits for her reaction.

 

She walks slowly through, touching objects she never thought she would see again. Artifacts that her uncle brought back from Egypt, pictures that bring a bittersweet lump to her throat.  He is here, still alive through what he left her. It makes her miss him more while, at the same time, bringing comfort.

 

He sees her teary eyes. “I am sorry lass.”

 

She shakes her head and relaxes into his hand, rubbing soothingly over her back.

 

“It is just a bit much. I feel him here so strongly and it makes me miss him more.” She confesses as she turns into his embrace. It is just resting her head against his chest as he hugs her with one arm. Enough to bring a steading comfort to her. As does his words.

 

“Aye, I understand. Shall we go and meet my parents? I can show you where I grew up. Give you a break from the memories for a time.”

 

“I would really like that.” She stands fully up, breaking their embrace.

 

After he brings her bags in, he drives them a few kilometers down the road to his home. Her eyes get big at seeing it.

 

“It is a castle.” She states, wide eyed with wonder at it. He grins.

 

“Nae, just an old croft house that has been in our family for three hundred years.”

 

“Just?” she rolls her eyes as he comes around to help her out.

 

The front door opens and a red haired woman runs down the front stoop. Jamie laughs as he sweeps her into his arms.

 

“Ma, I have brought Miss Claire Beauchamp by to meet you.”

 

She turns to her with a smile and hug. Noticing her cane, she says, “Come on inside Claire. We shall have a tea. Jamie run and fetch your da. Tell him that Lamb’s lamb is here. Finally “

#my writing #outlander fanfic #all's fair #chapter 6 #ladymerauds and i's #jamie and claire #cannon divergence #outlander fandom

[lighthouseborn]

@penddraig || liked for a starter (carryover).

  Trying to find this shop again had proved nearly identical to chasing a silk scarf caught up in the wind. Unable to name the town himself (entirely lost, the first time he found it) he asked and asked again for the wizard's shop with various details for aid. The shape of the building, the color in the windows, the strange little assistant who had answered the door, and -most notably- the air of the wizard himself. Every answer he got back snapped this way and that, leading him in directions that doubled back over themselves more than they went anywhere.

  Until his luck caught up. And of course it was a seaside town, the place where his luck caught up - even though Henry was sure he'd been nowhere near the sea at all. (If he was near the sea, he would not have been lost.) He was twice as certain of this, though. It was the same wizard. Boldly suited and smelling of all manner of fanciful garden flower at least a dozen paces in advance and wake of his person.

  “Howl,” he called ahead, foregoing the formal title for no other reason than addressing someone as their occupation felt almost like some form of insult, to him. Or, at least, a formality he didn't care for. Further greeting came when he drew closer, arriving in the form a gesture almost like a bow: hello, where he came from. “I don't know that you'll remember, but some months ago you helped my friend and I evade a great deal of trouble. I couldn't return any favor then, or even pay you properly, but I hoped this might do one or the other, now.” He fetched a stone from the depths of the bag slung across his torso. It was no precious jewel or sparkling marvel, strictly speaking, though it had been thoroughly and expertly polished until its deep blue faces were handsomely shaped and mirror-bright. “It brings luck,” he explained. Strange thing that, as it was not exactly spelled, but neither entirely mundane, conspicuously imbued with good fortune and good will. Henry shrugged, like there were questions he could hear in the brief pause. “Or makes fine jewelry, if you cannot convince a buyer of the charm.”

  Either way, a turn for a turn.

#penddraig #i want to leave no one behind — to keep & be kept ( ic. ) #au — chase the sky into the ocean ( high fantasy. ) #(throws him like a skipping stone into ingary) what could go wrong #((by the sound of this starter. several things already.)) #hi this is what i like to call ''wall spaghetti'' where i just throw things and either they will stick (to the wall) or they do not and #either is fine!! and you can go 'hey this wasn't what i was expecting' or 'it's not vibing' and i will do smth else (!) #sd;fkljg;sdlkjfg anyway hi hello here is this #(i have read the book have i told you that? i read the book i know the man. he's the worst i love him)