#i messed ot up the first time wait

[darkficsyouneveraskedfor]

Carpe Noctem 23

Warnings: dark elements, noncon, age gap, gaslighting, manipulation, violence, blood, other dark elements. Proceed with caution. (short!reader)

Note: Please let me know what you think as it helps me a lot with ideas and I love interacting with you all.

Part of The Club AU

You set out your ingredients, trying to strategize what to do first. You have ideas, lots of ideas, and that sort of anxious motivation that keeps you from sitting still. Maybe it’s a need for distraction from the sudden swerve your life has taken, or your incessant urge to do everything for everyone, or maybe it’s just easier to lie when you look busy.

You don’t owe Lloyd the truth. The more you think about it, you barely really know him. And he said it himself, it’s just sex. Good sex. The best sex you’ve had, not that you have much to compare it to. So fuck your feelings, as he’d so eloquently proclaim.

Scones first. You’ve settled on a white chocolate and cranberry, but think that might be better kept until the festive season. You’re still in the throes of fall so the pumpkin walnut squares will like be the bigger hit. Oh, and the maple croissants. If you have time, you might experiment with some apple caramel creation too.

You prop your phone against the wall at the back of the counter. You put your music on a low din, keeping a base recipe open as you begin your first bowl of batter. The flour puffs out of the bake and dusts your shirt. Too late to remember the apron.

You add the rest of the dry ingredients and carefully stir. You bought a whole set of mixing bowls after you noticed Lloyd’s lack of essentials. You’ll see if you can expense that out with the ingredients. Your surprise might not go over well for your wallet.

You add the butter and carefully mix it in until crumbly. You put that in the fridge and start on the wet ingredients, humming as you focus on the little tasks. It’s easier than thinking of anything else.

Your fatigue nips at your eyelids. It’s been a long day and with all this ahead of you, it’ll be a longer night. You yawn and flick your wrist, whisking the cream and eggs diligently. You feel something tickle up your back before two hands settle on your hips. 

You lurch in fright and still the whisk as Lloyd leans into you, peeking over your head. He drones and rubs his crotch against your ass. He clicks his tongue as he brings his hands up to fondle your chest.

“You’re making another mess,” he says as he flicks the bag of sugar, “Really living up to the whole sugar tits thing.”

“Oh, I’ll clean it up,” you try to ignore how he kneads your tits.

“Hope this isn’t all for me,” he growls.

“Actually, no,” your pulse piques as you summon your preconceived lie, “it’s for the kids. At the daycare. Just doing something nice.”

“Mmm, you’re so nice, Mimi,” he lilts his tone mockingly, “you wanna be nice to me, mommy?”

“Lloyd,” you push your elbow back into his side, “please. Later.”

He exhales, ot breath fanning over your scalp. He bends to nuzzle your head, gritting in his throat. “I’m not asking.”

You stiffen and grip the whisk, putting it back into motion.

“I’ll be done in a bit, I really can’t let this rest–”

“Something’s up. You’re not telling me something…” he brings his hand back to your waist.

“I’m baking. What would I lie about?”

“Come on,” he grinds into you, “you know our deal.”

“It can’t wait?” You clang the whisk off the side of the bowl.

“No,” he says firmly. “I’m tired of waiting and lately, you’ve been making me do a lot of that.”

He pulls you back and you let go of the whisk as it clinks against the metal. He leads you back as you latch onto his wrists, trying not to lose your balance. He spins you to face the island and crushes you against it.

“Lloyd,” you squeeze his forearms, “you’re being… pushy. Please, let me at least put everything away–”

“No,” he snarls and twists free of your grasp.

He grabs your wrists and brings your hands up to the marble countertop. He presses your palms flat under his large and leans his weight on you, a warning. Suddenly, you’re all too aware of his strength and size.

He nuzzles behind your ear as he growls again, “don’t move, mimi.”

“Lloyd,” you push your fingertips into the marble and try to shove yourself back. 

He keeps you penned in as he trails a hand up your arm. You reach up to follow his touch, brushing your fingers along his bicep as he curls it around your neck. You raise your chin to keep from being strangled. What the hell is he doing?

“Please, give me some space,” you feel the panic surge in your veins, so hot it beads over your brow, “I’m a bit claustro–”

He hushes you as he flexes his bicep against your neck. You gulp as your eyes round and you stare at the pristine walls. You shudder in horror as your powerlessness sets in. Not only in that moment. This man holds your life in his closed fist.

“I won’t be long, sugar tits,” his other hand creeps back and he feels along your side and hip. He curls his fingers beneath the back of your pants and tugs, yanking harshly until the button pops loose. “Something about the whole mother hen shit gets me going.”

“Lloyd,” you eke out, eyes wetting as you quiver, “please, I don’t want this right now.”

“That’s too fucking bad. That’s not our deal.”

“Wha– No–”

“Shhh,” he forces your pants down roughly as he kicks your feet apart, “if you’re not screaming my name, keep your mouth shut.”

Your body locks up in terror. You can’t make a noise, you can’t move as he peels down your panties. You’re trapped in the heat of his body and the crush of his weight. This can’t be happening.

You close your eyes, blocking out the kitchen, trying to tune out your reality. Your ears zero in on the low drone of music still buzzing from your phone.

Go on and be a big girl You asked for this now Go on and be a big girl Well, everybody's gonna drown you out

#lloyd hansen #dark lloyd hansen #dark!lloyd hansen #lloyd hansen x reader #drabble #au #series #the club #carpe noctem #the gray man

[rosehxnt]

i’ll scream when no one’s around

character: cater diamond summary: he's having a bad day but won't let anyone know he's struggling warnings: angst, heavily implied depression and anxiety issues, slight body dysmorphia

 As he snapped what felt like the thousandth picture, he zoomed in to inspect his expression.  Not perfect enough.  He tried well into the morning to capture a happy enough expression to show the world, but something was always off. He wouldn't settle on any photo, always finding something off with his appearance.  Was one ear always slightly higher than the other? Did his nose always look like that? Were others embarrassed to be around him?  Finally he was able to find just the right angle and lighting after making himself late for the day's activities. Rushing through his dorm, he felt himself grateful it was a weekend and this wouldn't make him late for class.

 He could feel their eyes though. He could feel their stares as he arrived late for breakfast. He could feel their judgement as he sat down, their annoyance, their hatred.  He was dizzy and he felt like his uniform was filled with his own sweat, drowning him. Was his hair a mess? Has he done irreparable damage to his image within the dorm? Was the picture earlier that morning the problem? Did he mess it up somehow?  "Cater!" A hand waving in front of his face broke him out of his trance. He looked up to see his best friend looking at him. "Did you make sure to brush your teeth well?"  He laughed off Trey's antics and reassured him that his teeth were a-okay. He didn't mention how the rest of him was doing. He never did, he wouldn't.  His best friend knew something was wrong, but likewise didn't say anything. He had someone else to care about, Cater knew that. Still, he made sure to show a bright smile.  He made small talk with his fellow third years sitting around him, showing them his favorite Magicam posts from that morning, scrolling faster once he knew his was coming up. He didn't need any more judgement from the others.  Cater continued his day as normal. As normal as he could at least. It felt like the weight of the world was on his shoulders as he left hearts and replies on whatever his latest favorite celebrity was posting. Although there weren't any classes, he'd agreed to meet with the pop music club that afternoon.  He threw his snacks down on the table and plopped in his seat, waiting for Lilia and Kalim to show up. Cater allowed himself to slouch for the first time that day, letting out a deep sigh. He found himself staring at the ceiling, blinking away incoming tears. He couldn't cry here. What if someone saw? What if he was caught vulnerable around someone? Would everyone grow tired of him after that? Would they see beyond the image he had so carefully curated?  Cater straightened his posture when he heard movement by the classroom door. He quickly checked his face in the camera on his phone.  Good enough for now.  As his clubmates entered the room he greeted them happily, offering some baked goods from Heartslabyul. Kalim had brought some snacks his vice housewarden had made for them. Lilia had brought some of his own creation, which the others narrowly avoided by letting him eat all of them first.  Throughout the meeting they did what they usually did. That being nothing to do with playing music. They told anecdotes from the days they had been apart. Cater felt himself talking less than before, though. Paying more attention to his phone than the situation around him.  Soon he wasn't even paying attention to his phone and his breathing was becoming faster, which he also wasn't paying attention to. Unbeknownst to him, Lilia and Kalim had noticed and were looking at him with concern.  "Cater! Hi! What's going on?"  Shit.  "I'm fine, no need to worry about Cay-Cay. I gotta go, though. It was, uh, nice meeting with you! See you next week, yeah?" Cater stumbled over his words as he stumbled over his chair, rushing out of the room. The others stood up to follow him but stopped once they saw his expression.  He didn't want to be seen like this, that's why he darted out so quickly. His hands were stuffed in his pockets, balled into fists. He slipped up. The façade was over.  He passed Trey in the Heartslabyul hallways, who noticed the small tears in Cater's eyes. Once again, the vice housewarden said nothing.  He was glad he was able to have his own room as a third year, as solitude was something he needed right now. He'd tried his best to keep it together, to keep up his perfect act. He'd failed.  He was a failure.  Cater screamed into his pillow and finally let go the waterfall of tears he'd been holding back for weeks.

a/n: i, um, yeah there's a lot of emotions i put into this and definitely a lot of words i’ve said to myself oof. i hope you liked it! m.list & rules

© rosehxnt

#ediewrite #twisted wonderland #cater diamond #twst #twst imagines #twst angst #twisted wonderland angst #cater diamond angst #cater diamond imagines

[forestshadow-wolf]

Thinking about your post about soapghost settling their arguments by fighting it out: one day they have an argument about something serious, some sort of major life decision (retirement, marriage, kids, something like that and really the only reason its an argument is because one of them is scared shitless by the idea) and it ends up on the mats with them yelling arguments about why it is/isn't a good idea until one of them just stares at their partner who is yelling passionately about the life they could have together and just... let's himself get pinned.

👀 did I do good?

thankyou for this ask !!!! this actually rots my frickin' brain and I needed an excuse to write more for this using this ask to force the arguments post into my girl-dad au, but doesn't have to be read that way.

P.s. this is a long one. Imma put ot under the cut

I imagine, way way before they retired, they had married and long-since agreed to retire together.

they'd fought about retiring. Ghost didn't mind the idea of it, was waiting for it to happen actually. but soap, he had quite a few hang-ups about it. see, he'd joined the army at an early age, as soon as he was legal, which means he doesn't really have any civilian life experience. what if he's not ready, what is it doesn't work for him, what if he can't do it, what if, what if, what if...

they argued, it was one of the first BIG arguments they'd ever had. but it's fine, they had a system. they get one day to resolve it with words, if they can't solve it, they take it to the mats. the logic is if you really believe in your argument, then you'll fight defend it adequately.

it was evident when they ended up on the mats on the second day that they hadn't resolved it. There was a mutual apoken agreement that they don'ttake the argumentoff the mats once it entered. they traded blows just as frequently as they traded arguments.

hours later they were panting and exhausted, and still hadn't come to an agreement, and nor had either of them won. so for the first time ever, they had to put the argument on pause. the put it aside for the night, cleaned up, had dinner, and fell asleep in each other's arms. the next morning they were back on the mats.

there was some point, when they were locked shoulder to shoulder, sweat making their skin stick together, and they were too out of breath to hiss arguments at each other. there was a moment where soap could hear Ghost's breath come out shaky with exertion, but still he pushed harder. soap realized that this, Simon retiring with his Johnny, was really truly important to Ghost.

it's not like he didn't know that, but still, the revelation almost makes him falter. suddenly it's like every argument he made against it, became irrelevant. he breaks away from Ghost's hold, panting. in a brash decision he dives for Ghost's legs, he knows what follows will be a grab around his waist just before his back slams into the mat. the sound that reverberates through the heated, sweaty air is, however, surprisingly loud. he lays there, gasping for the breath that got knocked out of him, and lets Ghost pin him down.

After soap finally agreed to retire with Ghost one day, he starts thinking about it. Really thinking. About how he grew up in a large family, and even in the military his life has been revolving around moving parts and people. He thinks maybe he might want a kid or two, not as many as his parents, but one or two.

Ghost says no immediately after soap brings it up.

He's afraid he'll do a bad job, that he'll mess it up. Or even worse; become his father. I mean, how is he supposed to be a good dad of he doesn't even know what that means! Christ! He's just gonna mess them up! He's not cut out to be a father. All he's know is death and hurt. How is that supposed to translate into something good.

This one. This argument lasted even longer than the one about them retiring. This one lasted almost an entire week.

And again like last time they got one day, before they hit the mats. That one day, was the single most tense day on base. Neither soap nor ghost could speak to eachother without circling back to the argument at hand. And of course nobody was willing to break up the fight, lest they get pulled into it.

For the six days after that, they shed their responsibilities, and hit the mats. And it was viscous. Neither held back. They were evenly matched. One fueled by fear, and the other; hope or love, choose your pick.

Even still there was an understanding that once the argument entered the mats, it stayed there when they left, to be picked back up when they came back.

They were sent on one mission during that time, on the sixth day after they hit the mats. It was supposed to last to be easy, would take them less than a day. Of course something went wrong, because something always goes wrong. They both almost died, but through some ruck of luck they got out barely scathed.

The put their gear away, ate, and hit the mats again; despite how tired they were. And Ghost, the moment that ge stepped back onto the mat again, he knew. He knew that he'd do anything for soap. They'd almost died today. But they didn't. Infact, they barely even had any scratches on them.

But still he couldn't fight that instinct to fight, to push back. And still soap was smiling that damned smile. He was so sure of himself, so sure of that he could get ghost to say yes.

And rightfully so. Because one moment he was lifting soap to throw him over his shoulder, and the next he was the one on the ground, soap having used his own momentum to pull his legs out from under him.

And he could have fought it, his mind screamed at him to. But soap was still grinning, and he knew that there was no way he'd be winning.

Perhaps... perhaps it wouldn't be so bad. Perhaps he could learn to be not like his father. Perhaps he could learn to be a dad. Perhaps there was a chance, with soap by his side, showing him how, that he would ruin the child or children that they got. Perhaps soap could show him how to not be like his father.

#this got longer than I meant it to #but it's good #lovely ask #anon ask #girl dad au #this wasn't even supposed to be a thing but now I can't stop thinking about them fighting #they're in love okay #they have healthy communication #they make me completely insane #send more asks (demanding) #el rambles #john soap mactavish #simon ghost riley #ghostsoap #soapghost #call of duty #cod #cod mw2 #fighting #sparring

[astro-b-o-y-d]

Triangulum - Prologue - The Shelduck's Game

— — — — — — —

All was still.

It had been still in that particular neck of the Gravity Falls woods for almost a full year.

The residents of the nearby town knew better than to venture too close, and their sentiments were shared by the beings—animal and supernatural alike—who had formerly occupied that part of the forest. Even the Manotaurs had long since abandoned their nearby man cave—and if even the self-proclaimed representations of manliness themselves wouldn’t dare approach the area, then the rest of the population was in no hurry to do the same.

Such stillness made every step from a pair of unknown feet more prominent, twigs and foliage snapping beneath them as their hooded owner moved swiftly through the underbrush. And despite the darkness of the night sky above—with only a few stray moonbeams through the leaves of the canopy layer acting as a light source—their pace was quick and undisturbed as they ventured deeper into the woods, only broken once they finally arrived at their destination.

A destination in the form of a triangle-shaped statue, half-embedded in the soft earth.

The forest had clearly made several attempts to claim it. Twisting vines had curled themselves around the limbs like the ribbons on a present, and the patches of stone that were usually exposed to the sun's rays during the day were now illuminated with a soft glow from the moon’s gentle gaze.

But despite nature’s best efforts, it still remained.

Remained with an open hand on a permanently-outstretched arm. 

Waiting for the day someone finally came along to make a deal.

The mysterious figure stood still for a few minutes, their gaze locked on the singular eye that made up most of the triangle’s face. And after another minute of staring, their footsteps—those still-shattering footsteps—began again, this time to close the gap between them and the statue.

And once that gap was properly closed, the figure’s own arm extended towards the statue—

—and an orange, feathered hand clasped around its stone one.

There was a faint spark in the triangle’s single eye—the first sign of life it had shown in months—before the figure vanished in a flash of light, that little bit of life fading back to nothing with their departure.

And much like the statue itself, all fell still again.

— — — — — — —

“You’re a real wise guy, but you made one fatal mistake! You messed with my family!”

“YOU’RE making a mistake! I’ll give you anything: money, fame, riches, infinite power, your own galaxy! PLEASE! NO! What’s HAPPENING to me?!”

“!NRUTER YAM I TAHT REWOP TNEICNA EHT EKOVNI I !NRUB OT EMOC SAH EMIT YM, L-T-O-L-O-X-A-”

“STAN-LEEEEEEY—”

The first thing Bill was able to process was the fact that he was still screaming.

The second was that he was able to scream at all.

Despite the lack of a mouth (or lungs, if some nerd wanted to get annoyingly technical with the anatomy of a triangle), Bill’s chest rose and fell at a hyperventilating pace, his singular pupil rapidly darting back and forth as he took in his surroundings.

He was lying flat on his back with his face pointed upwards, although a closer examination revealed that any attempt to label directions would be entirely pointless. 

Kinda hard to have an ‘up’ or ‘down’ when all that surrounded you was an endless, white void.

He rose up from what could be considered the ground, and hovered in place for a moment. It was the mindscape, that much he could deduce at a glance alone. And a grateful lack of the Mystery Shack living room—or a furious, elderly man about to shatter him like glass—implied it was highly unlikely that he was still inside the mind (or whatever was left of the mind) of Stanley Pines.

But if not his mindscape, then where—

“Oh, hey, you’re here!”

The sound of an unknown voice behind him spun Bill around in midair, with far less dignity than he would’ve preferred. “Hey pal, who d’you—think…”

Any potential anger that might’ve been building vanished in an instant as Bill got a good look at the peculiar being before him. 

First obvious thing of note was that they were clearly not human. Rather, they looked to be some sort of anthropomorphic duck or duck-like creature—similar to the ones from the dimensions with that annoying rat who liked to get a bit too pushy with how he ran things. Quantum Destabilizer to his head regarding the specific breed of duck, however—they were probably some kinda shelduck? He was pretty sure those had orange feathers.

They were also about five-feet tall by mortal measurements, and the garish color of their feathers was only outshined by their eccentric clothing choices. 

The first thing to draw Bill’s eye was their jacket; an extremely tacky windbreaker composed of a multitude of colors in light pastel shades. Paired alongside with a radically-patterned shirt, sporty red shades, and a necklace with a charm in the shape of an orange, they looked to be the poster child of the word ‘hideously tacky’. 

Either that, or ‘retro’. 

…Eh, he’d settle for ‘hideously retro.’ 

“Glad to see you’re up and about,” the duck continued as they took a few steps closer to him. “Honestly, I had no idea if shaking your hand was actually going to work, after everything that happened to you. I mean, getting set on fire? Shattered into pieces? Erased from existence?!”

They stopped and tapped their bill thoughtfully. “Plus there’s the fact that your actual resting place was somewhere completely different—” Their hand moved to the side of their mouth with a cheeky grin. “—and whew, buddy, as much as I wouldn’t mind waiting around for a man like ~that~ to get back to town, I have a million things I need to do today and don’t need to make it a million-and-one!”

Smiling wider, they reached up to nudge at him with their elbow. “Eh, eh, know what I mean?” they asked with a wink, before letting their arm fall again. “Nah, I guess you wouldn’t. The point is, it worked! Because here you are, back and better than ever!”

Before Bill could get even a word in, they raised a finger. “Okay, so I know you probably have a looooot of questions to ask,” they said, and began to tick off the remaining fingers on their hand. “Who am I? How I do know so much about you? Why did I bring you here in the first place?” 

The ticked off fingers morphed into a roll of the wrist. “Yadda, yadda, yadda, point is, you probably have a ton of questions that need answers. Well, lucky for you, that’s exactly what I’m here to do!”

A pause. “Well, not here here, we’ll have to wait until we’re actually in my office before I explain the situation more clearly,” they clarified. “Accidentally left all my flashcards and presentation material in there, and if I try to cover all the basics without ‘em, I know I’m going to forget something important. And that'd just be really inconvenient for everyone involved!”

Their smile widened. “But once we’re there, I promise I’ll tell you everything you need to know!”

They folded their hands together and stared at him, likely an indication that they were finished talking. And if that wasn’t enough, they quickly clarified with: “Sorry, I know that was probably a lot to take in, but I’m done for now if you have anything you wanna add.”

It took a lot to surprise Bill Cipher.

With his vast collection of knowledge, near-perfect omniscience, and countless other abilities that could bring whole dimensions to their knees, it was a rarity for him to come across anyone or anything that might actually catch him off guard.

All that aside—

—heh?

Credit where it was due, Birdbrain wasn’t wrong about the amount of questions currently bubbling around in his brain. Accuracy of their questions was also pretty spot on, although it didn’t take a genius to guess the answer of that last one.

There was only one reason anyone ever sought him out, and it wasn’t to trade fashion tips (although it was hardly necessary in this case; the guy looked like a sentient arcade carpet straight outta the Dimension That’s Perpetually Stuck In A Heavily Romanticized Version of the Mid-Eighties-Slash-Early-Nineties).

They were looking to make a deal.

If Bill had a mouth, he’d be smirking at the thought. Boy, back less than two minutes and he already had some chump lining up to make a deal with him, huh?

Had he suddenly transformed into a stupid human child leaving a medical checkup, one being rewarded for the state of their unimpressive and fragile immune system with a piece of cheap candy?

Because it sounded an awful lot like he was being handed a free sucker.

And while normally he’d snatch up a chance like that without a second thought—

"You made one fatal mistake..."

He tensed as Stan’s words forced themselves back to the front of his mind, along with the vivid memory that accompanied them. The sinking feeling of realization as he came face to face with the wrong twin. The panic blossoming in tandem with the flames engulfing Stan's mind, ones eager to swallow both of them in their destruction.

The agonizing pain as his entire being violently shifted between forms in a desperate attempt to escape, before a single punch from Stanley’s fist shattered him like glass—

“You’re a lot quieter than I was lead to believe.”

And suddenly the duck was uncomfortably close to his floating form, a studious expression on their face as they stared him up and down. “Did I do something wrong?” they asked. “Pretty sure I just needed to shake your hand to make a deal, right? Unless someone happened to change the rules while I wasn’t looking.” 

With a huff, they placed their hands on their hips and stared off in one direction of the white void. “I will say that if they did, it was a real jerk move!” they called out in a mildly-scolding tone. “I spent months doing as much research on you I could, and if I did all that prep work only for something new to come out just as we start talking, then I’m gonna be pretty annoyed!”

While the duck rambled on, Bill floated backwards with an indignant glare. Only time he was fine with people getting that close to him was when he was the one invading their personal space.

Although they raised a good point; he was being far too quiet. 

Even the deadest silence spoke volumes and the last thing he needed was for them to potentially backtrack on the idea of making a deal at all.  Unpacking everything else could come later, he couldn’t afford to pass up a chance to make a deal with some obviously-willing sucker.

In the meantime, he had to throw them at least one bone. Or, them being a duck and all, at least one breadcrumb. 

Ha. Hilarious.

Another shift of his pupil as he looked them up and down. Well, if they really wanted him to add to the conversation, there was nowhere better to start than with the obvious.

“Sorry, Birdbrain, guess I kinda short-circuited just from staring at the war crime in fifty-seven dimensions you call an outfit,” he said aloud, raising a hand to shield his eye. “Yeesh! Forget an eyesore, I’m getting a full-body ache just by looking at you!”

Yeah, that’d work.

In all honesty, their fashion sense was actually right up Bill’s alley. Bright, tacky colors that made it difficult to stare at the person wearing them for too long? Hideous, brilliant, absolutely something he could see himself wearing if the situation called for it.

But it wasn’t like they needed to know that, and hey; they called it low-hanging fruit for a reason.

Surprisingly enough, the duck actually smiled with amusement at his little quip. “Oh, well, the shirt was a gift from a friend,” they explained, and gently gripped the edge of their windbreaker. “But I got the jacket in the Dimension That’s Perpetually Stuck In A Heavily Romanticized Version of the Mid-Eighties-Slash-Early-Nineties. It’s my favorite place to shop for clothes~!”

It was almost scary how well he could read people sometimes. “Yeah, no kidding,” he said with a cackle. “Didja wake me up so I could point you in the direction of somewhere to buy clothes from this decade?”

“No, no, my fashion sense is a choice,” they said, holding up a finger. “But that’s not what we’re here to discuss! As I said before, I’ll be able to explain everything once we’re in my office. So we—oh, wait, hold on a sec.”

The duck clapped their hands together, and as they did (and as Bill watched), something began to rise up from the ‘ground’. It continued to expand upwards—the shape slowly resembling that of an upside-down horseshoe—and before long, a tall, curved archway towered above them. 

The archway’s appearance was fairly unordinary, with the only exception being a small sign at the very top center, labeled with nothing but a clear picture of an orange (or was it a tangerine? Eh, details; a fruit was a fruit). And at a glance, nothing lay beyond the other side aside from the continuation of the endless void. 

At least nothing that could be seen by the naked eye.

…Which meant there was a ninety-percent chance that there was plenty to see with an experienced eye.

“There we go,” the duck said. “This will lead us to the main part of my mind, aka my office. There, we can go over all the terms and conditions of the deal I wanna make with you!”

They flashed him a bright grin. “Like I said, forgot all my flashcards and stuff in there, and I’d rather not go over everything without them.”

Without waiting for a response from him, they hurried forward through the archway. As Bill had initially suspected, they seemed to vanish into thin air as they passed beneath it; a confirmation that the archway was really some kind of door to the deeper parts of their mind.

Rather than immediately follow after them, Bill instead turned his attention back to the endless void while he gathered his thoughts.

Okay, a quick assessment of his current situation; Punched in face. Exploded. Died. Woke up to a badly-dressed duck—one who clearly had more than a couple of screws loose in a way that teetered the line between hilarious and annoying —looking to make a deal.

The latter was hardly the weirdest thing to ever happen to him. Probably didn’t crack the top hundred, or even the top thousand. A talking duck in tacky clothing? Just another Sñeaturday night for him.

The former, however—

One fatal mistake.

His eye flashed red with abhorrence as Stan’s words once again hammered against the inside of his skull. In his desperation to shatter the barrier around the town, to put a stop to anything that would keep him from being finally, truly free—

—he’d foolishly miscounted the number of fingers on a hand.

His own hands balled into fists as the implications behind Stan’s oh-so-clever little plan finally started to take hold. No—not just Stan’s plan. Even if the old man hadn’t outright admitted to disguising himself as Ford, it didn’t take a genius to guess that he hadn’t pulled the stunt by himself. It took two to tango, and it also took two twins to swap places with each other.

And if one twin had been in charge of lulling him into their trap, that left the other free to pull the trigger on the gun.

One fatal mistake. One fatal mistake—

Ford had never planned on giving him the equation at all! He’d been deceived, tricked, played for a fool—

—and the worst part is that it had worked.

After all the knowledge he had provided to Ford over the years, after everything he had promised him in their success, he had thrown it all the way for the sake of his…his stupid family!

What a fool he was, and what a fool Bill had been for ever considering him a valuable and trustworthy ally in his plans.

And thanks to Ford’s betrayal, it was almost certain that things had settled back to normal in the mortal realm, with every trace of the Nightmare Realm being forcibly pulled back into the decaying dimension they called home. 

Which meant Bill certainly wouldn’t be getting a hero’s welcome once he returned. He’d promised his buddies a party that stretched on until the end of time, not some half-baked event that only last a few, measly human days. 

Even if everything was the fault of that ungrateful jerk and his stupid family, Bill would still be the one dunked headfirst into a bowl of multidimensional salsa the second he stepped foot back into the realm.

Thanks to Ford and his stupid family, he had no more backup attempts, no more portals, no Henchmaniacs, no more suckers he could puppet around or trick into doing his dirty work—

Thanks to Ford, he had nothing.

“By the way, I should probably let you know—”

“ACK!”

Bill was once again flung backwards out of sheer surprise as the duck’s head poked back out of the portal. A motion that earned an apologetic laugh from them, their hand also appearing out of the archway as they pressed it to their bill. “Sorry! Sorry, I forgot to tell you something important!” 

Bill narrowed his eye at them. “You know, you’ve got a real knack for sneaking up on people, Birdbrain,” he said, muffling his annoyance with a laugh. “Can’t pretend I’m not impressed, though. If you were some slithering, poisonous snake in the grass and I a pathetic, unsuspecting human full of vulnerable red blood cells and no immunity to venom, I’d probably be dead by now!”

“I’ll take that as a compliment,” the duck said proudly. “But what I wanted to tell you was that even if you aren’t interested in making a deal, you’ll need to come in and let me know.”

Both hands were now outside the archway, raised in a shrug. “You know, just so I can pop you back, no harm, no foul?”

Their arms fell along with their expression as they peered closer at him. “Hey, is everything okay?” they asked. “I realize I’m probably moving a little too fast, especially after what happened in the last mind you were in. So I can understand any hesitance on your part…”

They cast him a look of sympathy, hands clasped together as they stepped all the way back out into the white void. “And if you need some time to think it over, I’ll understand. I know I said earlier I had other things I needed to be doing today, but that was all talk! We can take as long as you need to decide.”

Bill’s eyebrow narrowed at their concern. Hey, just because they were right about his hesitance didn’t mean he had to actually admit to that being the case. Especially not now that they’d caught onto that hesitation twice.

Once was easy to pass off as their mind playing tricks on them. Twice was a bit more difficult, though not impossible. Especially not when you were a master at twisting a conversation to your favor.

Another joke at their expense would probably do the trick. Clothing was out, he’d already poked fun at their hideous style and stretching a bit too thin always came with the risk of the tormented building an immunity through overexposure. Not that Birdbrain had exactly been bothered by—

Hmm. 

That could work.

With a chuckle, he raised a hand in the air to summon his cane. “Hehe, I don’t know what all that research told you, Birdbrain, but if you’re really standing there and trying to imply that I might be nervous about making a deal—” 

After giving it a little twirl, he jabbed the end of the cane against their arm. Not so hard that it would hurt, but with just enough force to make them wonder if harm had been the intent. “—you must not know me as well as you think you do~!”

He paused, and reached up to tap one of his sides thoughtfully. “Speakin’ of knowing people, though, I know you’re all eager to get to your big fancy-schmancy brain office to tell me what’s what,” he said. “But normally when I go dumpster-diving into someone’s mind, I at least like to catch their name first.”

He delivered another poke to their arm with his cane and batted his eyelashes at them. “Unless Birdbrain is your actual name and I’m just the Multiverse’s best guesser~?" he asked. "…I mean, I’ll probably still call you Birdbrain after I get a name, but it’s always nice to have options, y’know?”

There, a nice excuse that also doubled as a half-truth; not once in the entire conversation had Birdbrain actually given him a name.

And while he and the concept of truthfulness weren’t exactly on speaking terms, half-truths were the redheaded stepchildren he was happy to associate with whenever their presence was needed.

If the duck had actually been bothered by either jab from his cane, or if they hadn’t been fooled by his attempt to shift the conversation, they showed no indication of such in their expression. 

If anything, their smile only widened further at his request. “Oh, that’s actually a good point!” they agreed, and pressed a hand to their forehead. “Got so caught up in the details that I almost forgot to introduce myself! And knowing me, I would’ve gone through my whole presentation and not even thought about it!”

They paused for a moment to think. “Plus my research indicates that you aren’t a member of the fae so I see no risk in getting my name stolen if I give it to you,” they pointed out, with a glare to their side. “Unless that was something else that someone forgot to tell me ahead of time?”

Bill’s eye shifted thoughtfully towards the same direction, as if he expected to see someone else with them in the mindscape. Unsurprisingly, there was nothing more than the white void he had already grown used to seeing around them.

Once again, that wasn’t an indication that there was nothing to see, but that was something to worry about later. “Tempting, but I’ll set the idea aside for a rainy day.” He gave them a wink, or as best of a wink as one could give with one eye. “Or maybe for when I just get bored and feel like experimenting with something new~! Haven’t done that in a while, might be fun!”

The duck tapped their chin thoughtfully. “Hmm, let’s see. Which name I prefer depends on the person, but I think…”

They held up a finger, eyes bright with inspiration. “Yeah, I think you can call me Tangy!”

“Tangy, huh?”

Bill’s gaze shifted knowingly between their feathers, necklace, and finally moved back to the sign on the archway. Guess he’d thought that low-hanging fruit joke way too soon.

“Yeah, yeah, go ahead and tease if you want,” Tangy said amusedly. “I never claimed to be subtle when it comes to the way I present myself.”

They held up a hand and wiggled their fingers at him. “Plus my feathers already smelled like tangerines before I took on the name, so it was even more perfect~!”

After giving their hand a sniff, they let their arm fall back to their side. “Well, I’ve given you my name. Guess all that’s left is for us to get this show on the road!” they said, tilting their head at him. “Unless you really do need more time to think it over? I promise I’m not here to judge if you do!”

Boy, they weren’t letting up on that, were they? “Sounds to me like you need more time to think it over than I do,” he pointed out, and cutely pressed a hand to his cheek. “What, are you scared to make a deal with wittle ol’ Bill~?”

“Not particularly,” Tangy assured him with a laugh. “Although I would’ve appreciated the extra time to gather my presentation materials together.”

They held up a finger. “But, if you’re so sure that you’re ready, then let’s go!”

They ducked back through the archway, once again leaving Bill with nothing but his own thoughts. He cast another look towards the void again, unsurprised by the fact that there was still nothing (or no one) to see.

He stared for a moment more, before a devilish laugh began to bubble inside him. Boy, that old geezer must’ve punched him harder than he’d realized if he’d actually been shaken enough to worry, even for a brief moment. What was he thinking, getting so worked up about his situation when some tacky bird was practically throwing themselves at him for a deal? A deal that would probably be child’s play for him to complete, leaving him with a whole favor on their end. 

Plus, what was an anthropomorphic duck in tacky clothing but a human with feathers, and tacky clothing? If he played his cards right, he could easily end up with a sparkling new vessel to parade around in while he cleaned his wounds and regained his footing.

Heck, if he really played his cards right, there was always a chance for him to try his hand at another Weirdmageddon. One that would actually succeed this time around.

His features twisted into a wicked, metaphorical grin. And maybe with the right persuasion, he could convince Birdbrain to include a lovely reunion with Stanford and the rest of the Pines family in their deal.

Maybe even a reunion that involved peeling each of them apart like human bananas. Layer by layer, skin from muscle from vein from bones. Until they were all nothing but writhing blobs of flesh, unable to do anything but scream in endless, agonizing pain. What's wrong, Fordsy, you can't erase someone out of existence because your arm's a pile of fleshy goop? Too bad!

A delightful fantasy to imagine, but nothing more than that for the time being. Oh well, something to pocket for later.

With a satisfied expression, he adjusted his bowtie and hovered forward through the archway—

—only to be greeted hard and fast by the unforgiving ground he splattered against on the other side.

There was a gasp nearby, followed by the sound of webbed feet slapping against a tiled floor. “Oops! Probably should’ve warned you about that!”

With a groan, Bill lifted the front of his body up from the floor and cast a nasty look to Tangy. Their hand was extended forward for him to take, and their beak curled into an apologetic smile. “Sorry,” they said with a chuckle. “Completely forgot to mention the faint shift in your natural abilities as you step into this part of my mind. It’s a little jarring, but otherwise harmless and the effects should wear off pretty quickly.”

Their offered hand was ignored as Bill floated fully back up into the air. “That’s a real cute trick, Birdbrain,” he said, and dusted off his front. “Although a bit rude on your guest’s behalf, don’t you think?”

He moved close to their face, features once again stretched into the mouthless-equivalent of a smile. “I mean, I don’t call you over to my place and make you trip on your way through the front door, do I?”

Despite the sudden intrusion of their personal space, Tangy’s expression didn’t change. “No, I’d imagine you’d do something much worse,” they pointed out. “Like make the door lead to the Unnaturally-Moist Dimension, or something equally as cursed.”

Bill folded his arms with a thoughtful look. “Unnaturally-Moist Dimension, huh? Creative, I’ll give you that one.”

“I thought you’d like it,” Tangy said with a laugh. “Browsing your records for months straight gave me a pretty good feel of the kind of guy you are. I swear, sometimes I even see triangles when I close my eyes!”

To emphasize their point, they closed their eyes for a few seconds and pointed a finger to their temple. “Yep! They’re there!”

They opened their eyes again. “Anyway, did we want to get started on the deal, then?”

“Gotta be honest, Birdbrain, I can’t exactly accept or deny a deal if I don’t even know what the terms and conditions are,” Bill pointed out. “So how’s about we discuss all that first?”

Tangy smiled wide at his suggestion. “A very fair point! I can’t expect you to accept my deal if you don’t even know what I want!” they said, and spun on their heels to face the other direction. “Tell you what, you go ahead and make yourself at home at my desk area while I get your file, and then we can start our discussion. I knew I forgot something from upstairs, I swear, I’m just a mess today!”

As they hurried away from him with a visible spring in their step, Bill took the opportunity to examine his new, new surroundings. 

The endless white void had been replaced with some sort of observatory combined with a records office. The room was wide and cylindrical with tan walls on all sides, and there were two distinct levels between the floor and the cornice connected to the domed roof above their heads.

The lower level was open and empty, save for a simple workspace at the far left side of the room comprised of a desk, wastebasket and office chair. The area were a mess compared to the rest of the room—the surface was littered with papers and folders, a mug of some unknown liquid, and a closed laptop adorned in bright and cutesy stickers, while the wastebasket on the floor was overflowing with several pieces of crumpled paper.

The upper layer—on the other hand—was a full observation deck. One that circled around the room’s entirety, with both halves coming together at a spiral staircase on the opposite end of the room, and one that Tangy had bounded towards after putting a pause on their conversation. The walls along the platform were lined with tall filing cabinets that stretched from the ground to the diameter line of the domed ceiling.

And rather than any sort of sky beyond the glass, the view looked to be shimmering sea water. As if the entire ‘office’ was situated at the bottom of the ocean, with only a few schools of colorful fish adding some contrast to the endless blue.

“Let me know if you have any requests for the mood lighting,” Tangy called from the spiral staircase. “Normally I keep it neutral in case the boss wants to pay me an unscheduled visit, but if you want, I can just—”

They clapped their hands together, and the ocean view above immediately shifted to a bright, retro scene of shifting shapes and colors, one that could rival their outfit in terms of tackiness. “Or if you want something a little more personal, I can change it to—”

Another clap, and the retro shapes melted into a mess of raging hellfire and bloody hail that thundered hard against the glass. “Again, taking any and all requests, so just let me know if you got ‘em!”

Bill had remained silent as Tangy prattled on—eye fixed on the ever-changing scenery outside the dome—before his pupil shifted down to the workspace area. He hovered towards it, while the sound of filing cabinet drawers being opened and closed from the second level echoed throughout the room. “Just give me a moment, I know it’s around here somewh—a-HA!”

There was a loud BANG of a drawer being slammed shut, before a sudden blur of orange came barreling down from the upper level towards the ground below. At first, Bill expected-slashed-hoped that Tangy would splatter against the floor at Mach speed, if for no other reason than the visual comedy aspect.

A duck splattering against the floor? Why, that was straight out of a vintage cartoon, one where talking animals were allowed to inflict horrific acts of violence on each other. Such a fun period of time in animation history, one of his personal favorites if he really had to pick.

Unfortunately for him (and luckily for Tangy), their body came to an instant stop in midair, less than half an inch from the floor. With an exhale of relief, they stretched a webbed foot down to give the tiles below a gentle tap, and the rest of their body finished the fall at a more manageable speed.

An expected outcome, given the mindscape setting. But Bill couldn’t help but be disappointed at the lack of a splattered duck on the floor.

“Sorry for making you wait,” Tangy said, giving the file in their hand a light shake. “This should’ve been under ‘C’ for ‘Cipher’, I have no idea how it ended up in the T section! Guess someone must’ve slipped it into the wrong drawer or something.”

They let out a small chuckle as they seated themselves in the chair behind the desk. “Well, no matter. Let’s go ahead and get this started—”

They paused, and looked to him again. “Oh, wait, you’d probably want a proper seat for this, wouldn’t you?”

With a gesture of their hand, a empty chair appeared on the other side of the desk for Bill. “Once again; just let me know if you’d prefer anything different,” they said. “Throne, bean bag chair—”

They made little squirming motions with their fingers. “—recliner stuffed with bugs so you always feel something wiggling whenever you sit down?”

This got a laugh out of Bill as he sank into the offered chair. “Once again, very creative,” he said, folding his hands atop his cane. “You really know how to treat a shape in this place, huh?”

“Well, I do like my clients to be as comfortable as possible,” Tangy explained. “It makes them so much more agreeable when it comes to dealmaking.”

Bill raised his eyebrow. Clients with an S, huh? Interesting, and worth questioning. “Oh, so I’m not the first interdimensional, all-powerful being you’ve brought here?” He pressed his hand to his forehead with a dramatic flair. “Aww, well, now my feelings are hurt, Birdbrain. And here I thought I was special~!”

“Don’t worry, you are!” Tangy assured him, with a tilt of their head. “You’re the first interdimensional, all-powerful being I’ve brought here. The other interdimensional beings I’ve brought here were far less powerful than you are.”

They clapped their hands together. “Which is why I’m especially excited to have you visiting me today! I’ve never had the chance to make a deal with someone like you before!”

Wow, they were laying it on pretty thick, weren’t they? To the point that there was a decent chance they were just trying to butter him up.

Still, Bill wasn’t one to turn down a free compliment. “Sheesh, kid, you’re gonna make me blush,” he said with feigned modesty. “I mean, by all means, keep up the flattery. But normally I only get this red if someone catches me in the process of peeling off my exoskeleton.” 

He waggled a finger in their direction. “Heyyy, his little deal of yours wouldn’t happen to involve you trying to get me outta my skin, would it~?” he asked with a wink, then let out a small chuckle. “...That was a wink, by the way. In case you couldn’t tell.”

“Don’t worry, I understood the intent,” Tangy assured him. “Although to answer your question honestly: No, that is not what my deal entails. Besides, I’m much older than you are.”

Oh, they were, were they? Another interesting tidbit to tuck away in the old brain vault for later. “Fair enough, I wouldn’t be interested anyway,” Bill said, leaning back in his chair. “So what kind of deal are you looking to make, Birdbrain? Wanna be rich? All-powerful?”

A beat. “…Taller?”

Hey, just because they were keen on dishing out the compliments didn’t mean he had to reciprocate.

“As tempting as that last one is, I’ll pass this time,” Tangy said. “But to be honest, I didn’t just bring you here so you could make a deal with me. I mean, I guess I technically did, but—”

They moved a hand to Bill’s file on the desk and flipped it open. “Point is, this deal is less about what I want, and mostly about what you want.”

Well, if that didn’t shoot Bill’s eyebrow so far up his face that it was a miracle it didn’t fly away of its own accord. So they were just jumping straight to that point on their own without him having to guide them there himself, huh?

It wasn’t enough to lower Bill’s guard completely, but he couldn’t help but give them an intrigued look. “Oh? And what is it that I want exactly?”

Tangy turned their gaze to the file. “Well, according to this; lots of things!” they said, tracing their finger beneath the words on one page. “A physical form that will allow you to escape your dimension and rule the mortal realm with an iron—and three-dimensional—fist. Some form of revenge on the people who stopped you from doing that the last time you tried—”

They let their eyes travel across the page for a moment, before confusion painted their features. “—the world’s silliest silly straw?”

Bill let out a hearty laugh. “That’s right, I’d almost forgotten about that one! One of the few things I gotta give humans credit for; they sure can silly a straw!”

He folded his arms. “But in all seriousness, it’s pretty low on the list of things I’d make a deal over,” he said. “You’re on the right track with those first two options, though. So if we really wanna get this show on the road—”

“Ah, ah, not so fast!” 

Tangy held up a finger. “I might know what you want, but you haven’t even heard my terms of the deal yet!”

Despite his best efforts, Bill's nonexistent smile fell in an instant as he raised his eyebrow at them. “Pretty sure you just said this whole deal was about what I wanted?”

“I said it was mostly about what you wanted,” Tangy reminded him. “But there are a few things I’d like to gain out of our exchange for myself.”

They cradled their chin in their hands. “I mean, it wouldn’t exactly be a deal if only one side got what they wanted, would it?” they asked. “It’d be more like—I don’t know—me just giving you a gift without expecting anything in return?”

A shrug. “A nice gesture, but not something that requires all this extra effort,” they pointed out. “In that case, I could’ve simply left a present next to your statue and been done with it!”

Bill rolled his eye. An annoying point, but a fair one. Even if he would’ve absolutely preferred a free offering without being expected to give anything in return. “Well, what do you want out of the deal, then?”

Tangy’s beak widened into an excited smile and clapped their hands twice. Immediately the scenery around them changed; the lights in the room were snuffed out in an instant and the grotesque, hellish scenery beyond the glass above transformed into a calm, starry night.

Another series of claps, and a large projection screen appear behind them in midair, followed shortly by a film projector at the other end of the room. With a pleased expression, Tangy rolled their chair around the desk and moved towards the empty space beside Bill. “I have a short promotional film prepared,” they explained. “After the dozenth-or-so client, it gets exhausting repeating myself over and over.”

They leaned closer to him and gave him a knowing wink. “Plus this way I can offer my guests refreshments while they watch! I heard someone was a fan of Time-Punch? I might have a few bottles on hand, if you’re interested?”

Bill's eye had once again been fixed on the changing scenery above their heads, but his expression fell into something more pleased at the mention of Time Punch. “Well, now, if you’re going to go and offer me something like that, then how can a guy say no?” he asked, tucking one hand behind his head while making a gesture with the other to proceed.

There was a snap of Tangy’s fingers and a small, floating martini glass appeared in the air near Bill, one immediately followed by a bottle of sparkling liquid. “I think a glass of Late 2020 would be to your liking,” they said. “It’s supposed to be a very weird year.”

Bill’s eye lit up. “Ooh, that’s the year the plague makes a comeback, isn’t it?”

“Indeed it is,” Tangy said, while the bottle poured its contents into Bill’s glass. “I opted for the back half of the year, after things really began to kick into overdrive.”

Once the glass was full, Bill took it in his hand and gave the contents an expert swirl, before raising it to his eye for a sip. “Oh yeah, that’s the kind of savoriness you only get from media fatigue, toilet paper hoarding, and…”

There was a pause, followed by a smacking sound as he determined the taste. “Huh, almost forgot about the murder hornets.”

“Yeah, kind of a wild thing to throw out there while everything else was going on,” Tangy agreed.

While Bill took another sip, Tangy gestured to the projector and the screen before them lit up with the image of a vintage countdown timer. Once it ticked down to zero, the screen fell dark again for a moment before the first scene appeared.

A random, humanoid man raced into view from the right side of the screen. His appearance was disheveled and worn—as if he’d been previously fighting some difficult battle—and his features twisted with defeat and fury.

He slowed his run to a gradual stop, ducking behind a wall and sinking down to the ground in an exhausted, sitting position. As he pressed a hand to his head, a booming voice (one that echoed throughout the domed room around them) began to speak offscreen. “Greetings! Have you ever found yourself in a situation like this gentleman right here?”

The camera zoomed in on the man’s face, as he glared at the person behind the camera with a look of pure malice. “Hey now, there’s no need to look at me like that, pal,” the voice continued cheerfully. “The state you’re in right now is all your doing! You ticked off the wrong people, maybe you burned all the bridges with your family and friends. You’re a loser—”

On the screen beside the man flashed the word ‘LOSER’ in a wacky font. “—a CHUMP—” Another word in wacky font appeared on the opposite side of him. “—an absolute SUCKER—”

Before the third word could appear above his head, the man waved the text away in a blur of colors. “Can we get to the point?” he asked with a scowl.

“You’ve hit rock bottom with no way to climb back out,” the voice continued. “Or so you think~!”

The camera panned out, and suddenly Tangy appeared onscreen with an excited flourish. “Lucky for you, there’s a way to get your life back on track!” they said eagerly. “Introducing—”

With a wave of their hands, the title of the short film appeared over the two of them in big, orange—(Bill side-eyed the actual Tangy at this, who merely shrugged. “Listen, I like what I like.”)—letters of the same font as before:

“The Shelduck’s Game.”

Bill’s eyebrow rose with curiosity. The first thing to catch his eye was the word ‘shelduck’ (so Birdbrain was a shelduck, huh? Called that one.), but what really piqued his interest was the specific use of the word ‘game’.

Though a deal of a different name, a game possessed enough unique characteristics to justify the use of a separate word. A game implied challenges, rules…

More enticingly, a game implied a prize to be won.

The Tangy on the screen continued to speak as the text faded: “That’s right; The Shelduck’s Game! A fun-filled game for beings of all types across the Multiverse, and a chance for you to pull yourself out of the doldrums and get your life back on track!”

The scene transitioned with a screen wipe to a simple, crudely-drawn animation of Tangy and the unnamed man. “The Shelduck’s Game is so simple and easy to play, a child could do it!” the overlaid voice from before continued. “Not that we get a lot of children playing this game, but they could if they really wanted to!”

The actual Tangy leaned closer to Bill. “Yeah, not a lot of kids end up hitting rock bottom in the way most of my clients do,” they explained in a whisper. “And on the off chance that they do, they’re usually pulled out of it by the power of friendship or whatever by the time I’m able to arrive on the scene.”

A shrug. “Still, I am here if they ever need my help.”

Bill rolled his eye and turned his attention back to the film. “How does this game work, you may be asking yourself?” the voice asked, while the animated stand-in of the man shrugged with cartoonish uncertainty. “Well, as we said before, it’s so simple that even a child could figure it out! And that’s because—”

The crudely drawn Tangy gestured widely, and the scene transitioned to the two of them playing a random board game. “—the Shelduck’s Game is always suited to fit the specific player’s needs and personality!”

The board game shifted to a chessboard. “Are you a fan of chess?” Then a checkerboard. “Or perhaps checkers is more your speed?” The board disappeared completely. “Or maybe you’re not a fan of board games at all! We’ve got plenty of other options!”

Another scene transition, and the man was now hiding behind a tree while Tangy could be seen searching for him in the background. “There are countless games to be played in the Shelduck’s Game,” the voice continued. “But in the end, all you have to do is win one in order to obtain—”

More text written in that wacky font appeared onscreen, covering it in its entirety as the voice read them out: “—The Grand Prize!”

Bill hid a laugh behind another sip of his drink. Once again, his guessing skills were impeccable.

“The Grand Prizes offered by the Shelduck’s Game are just as diverse as the games themselves,” the voice continued. “And just as catered specifically to the needs-slash-wants of the player!”

The scene changed to the man’s animated head surrounded by brightly wrapped presents, and one opened to reveal a pile of money.  “Looking for cash?” Another revealed an unlabeled award. “Fame?”

And the last present opened to reveal an elegantly-decorated crown. “Looking to climb back to the top after your nasty and undignified fall from grace?” 

A wipe of the scene revealed the man from before, his disheveled and beaten appearance now replaced with a triumphant pose as he stood tall before a pile of his hard-earned rewards. “All of this and more can be yours if you play and win The Shelduck’s Game!”

With a proud smile, the man gave a thumbs-up to the camera. “Thanks to the Shelduck’s Game, I’m finally back on top!”

“Look at this guy!” the voice continued. “Don’t you wanna be just like him? I’ll bet you do! So play the Shelduck’s Game today!”

The guy gave a thumbs up as the title flashed again: “The Shelduck’s Game! Outta luck? Talk to the duck!” A pause, before the voice spoke again in a much more casual tone: “We’re still working on the catchphrase, cut us some slack.”

A series of warnings in smaller text quickly scrolled up from the bottom of the screen, read along by the voice at a pace to match the speed:

“Warning; please do not play any of the more intense games in the Shelduck’s Game if you are prone to illness, vertigo, motion sickness, or are with offspring in any way, shape, or form. The Shelduck’s Game is not responsible for any death (temporary or otherwise), dismemberment, or injury that may occur during the events of the game. Rules and regulations for each game may vary, as will your satisfaction with the end results. The Shelduck’s Game is not associate with Globnar, Time Baby or any associated organizations.”

The screen faded to black, and Tangy once again clapped their hands together. Immediately, the screen and projector vanished and the room’s lighting was restored. “Still a work in progress,” they admitted, while they moved their chair back to the other side of the desk. “But I think it gets the point across!”

They tilted their head. “Unless you have any other questions you still need to ask before we continue?”

Oh, Bill’s mind was whirling with questions, his gaze fixed hard on his empty martini glass in an attempt to mask the glee building inside him.

Birdbrain was in charge of running some sort of multidimensional game and wanted him as their latest player, with the aforementioned prize to be won acting as a lull to draw him in. Play a game, win a prize. A deal older than time itself, and one that often sounded too good to be true.

And as someone who had plenty of experience in the field of dealmaking; whenever a deal sounded too good to be true, there was always a catch. And lucky for Bill, he was quite the expert in spotting the catches in a deal. A master at spotting a watery loophole in even the most empty and barren of word deserts.

First thing of note was the lack of any specific game for him to play. The video had provided examples, but they’d been exactly that; examples. The video had made it very clear that the games were catered specifically to the player’s needs and personality.

And although he had a feeling Tangy was going to discuss the specifics of the game next, there was still the issue of the prize itself. They had already brought up a list of a few things he desired, but nothing that was worth diving headfirst into an unknown game of chance.

…Well, nothing that was worth diving into an unknown game of chance without more information, at least. 

He had to keep them talking, at least long enough to get that information out of them and anything else they were willing to divulge. Something he was sure wouldn’t be difficult; with how happy Birdbrain seemed to keep chatting up a storm, it was a wonder that they hadn’t been born a parrot instead of a shelduck.

Man, the bird jokes were almost too easy.

“I know what you’re probably thinking,” Tangy said aloud, interrupting his thoughts. “You’re probably thinking ‘this sounds amazing, and way too good to be true.’, along with some kind of derogatory remark about my appearance.”

Smarter than they looked, apparently.

Bill gingerly traced a finger around the rim of his glass. “Let me just see if I’m picking up what you’re putting down,” he said aloud, while his gaze followed the movement. “If I play one of your silly games and win, I get the prize of my dreams? That’s the deal you wanna make with me?”

“As expected, you catch on quick,” Tangy said proudly. “Yep, games are how we do things over here in my neck of the woods. I’ve got enough power to grant people their fondest desires, but it only becomes a reality if they play and win.”

They folded their hands on the desk. “And lucky for you, Bill Cipher, you happen to be the one I’m extending that lucky offer to today!”

Bill reached his glass to his eye again, downing the last little bit of Time Punch. “Can’t lie to you, Birdbrain, that does sound like a pretty sweet deal. But I’ve gotta reiterate my point from before; I can’t exactly agree to a deal if I don’t know the specifics behind it.”

He gestured widely with both arms and the few remaining drops in his empty glass splattered onto the papers on Tangy’s desk, a shimmery mess of color against their usual shade of white. “And not once in that little video of yours did you ever state the actual name of the game."

He held up the glass to his eye for a casual inspection. “I’m just saying, it ain’t smart to sign up for a game before you even know what you’re playing~!”

Tangy didn’t look the least bit perturbed by the mess, and instead gave a wave of their hand. The few spilled drops rose up from the paper into the air, leaving no trace that they had ever spilled, and a wave of their hand in another direction brought Bill’s empty glass up to join them before both dissolved in a quick burst of light.

The light faded as quickly as it had appeared, the cup and droplets now a floating mass of energy as Tangy shifted both hands to bring that energy into their embrace. They snapped with one hand, then the other—

—and then slapped both hands around the energy, flattening it into something that Bill could not see. After keeping their hands pressed together for a moment, they rereleased their grip and held the mass before them as it rematerialized into something entirely new.

At first, it appeared to be nothing more than a bunch of small, golden shapes, each about the size of an eraser. Once all the shapes had properly formed, however, they started to combine into a larger, singular shape—

“A triangle?”

How original.

The triangle—well, actually it was more of a square pyramid than anything else—fell into Tangy’s cupped hands, and a pair of thin, golden chainlinks began to materialize from the topmost point. They continued to form upwards for several inches, before slowly rounding off into a closed circle chain. “I had a few ideas for the game I’d offer you,” they said. “But I think at the end of the day, a scavenger hunt is the perfect choice!”

They looped a finger into the chain and twirled the charm in the air, the triangle gently drifting back and forth with their movements. “Combined with a little bit of Capture The Flag~!”

Bill raised his eyebrow. Alright, not what he was expecting but his curiosity was certainly piqued. “Elaborate.”

“Basically, I take this little guy and I—”

A snap, and the charm suddenly reverted back to a mess of golden bricks. “—scatter the pieces all across Gravity Falls,” they continued. “I then plop you down in the town, and leave you to find all of the pieces and put the entire thing back together.”

They tapped their beak with their finger. “I’d want to give you a decent amount of searching time, so let’s set the time limit from the beginning of June to sunrise on August thirty-first,” they said. “Both within the year twenty-thirteen, of course, so no trying to pull a ‘Well technically, I could still keep playing because you never specified which August thirty-first.’”

Their hand moved from their beak to their chin as they thought for a moment. “Although I guess there has been some debate on whether the current year is actually twenty-thirteen or twenty-fourteen,” they mused. “Time Baby’s literal-untimely death made things go all wonky for a bit and there’s still some lingering side effects. I’m pretty sure it’s only twenty-thirteen, but you know how it goes—”

They shrugged. “Whatever, from the beginning of June to August thirty-first all within the same Gregorian year. Three months, no more and no less.”

Bill was silent as he contemplated all of this, gaze shifting between Tangy and the scattered pieces of triangle. “Where does the Capture the Flag part come in?”

“Good question!” Tangy said. “So basically, once you get the pieces together, you’ve gotta find a way to keep hold of the charm by the time the game’s deadline hits!”

They flashed him a smile. “Which I doubt would be an issue for someone like you, but what’s a game without a few extra challenges thrown into the mix?”

Extra challenges, huh? That seemed vague enough to be sneaky. “And what does that mean, exactly?” he inquired. “Gonna pop down a couple of extra players to act as an opposing team to me or something?”

“Oh no, nothing like that,” Tangy assured him. “I just figured you’d be surrounded by a lot of people who don’t like you, and would probably do anything to stop you from achieving your goals.”

Their smile widened. “I mean, if someone showed up and tried to turn my dimension inside out, I doubt I’d be willing to just let them walk around freely after that,” they elaborated further. “And if I found out they were collecting the pieces of a puzzle that would let them do that again, I’d probably do everything in my power to take those pieces away from them.”

A shrug. "That's just my own personal feelings, though. For all I know, the people down there could welcome you with open arms and do everything they can to help you find the pieces. Either way, though, you have to be the one holding them by the end of the game to count as the winner."

…Alright, so maybe it wasn’t as sneaky as he’d initially thought. 

Still, Bill had yet to find any sort of real catch in their offer, and Birdbrain had yet to circle back around to talking about the prize he’d receive if he won the game. “So, just so we’re all clear: you want me to waste three months hunting down some building blocks in a town I can’t stand, full of people I can’t stand?” he asked. “That’s your big, exciting game?”

He folded his arms behind his head. “Gotta say, Birdbrain, I’m not seeing much of an appeal to playing your little game. From where I’m standing, you put far more effort into your silly video than actually making your game interesting.”

A laugh. “Don’t get me wrong; I’m sure it’d be fun to go back to tormenting the suckers there for a bit. But I’ve been doing that for several decades now, and the novelty’s worn itself pretty thin.”

“Hey, it’s not like I could send you anywhere else,” Tangy pointed out. “What with the weirdness barrier around the town and everything, I’m kind of limited on options.”

They reached up to gently tap one of the scattered bricks with their finger, before the charm reformed itself into a full pyramid. “Which reminds me, I don’t believe we decided on your prize, did we?”

It took every ounce of willpower on Bill’s end to keep his expression neutral as the conversation shifted back to the topic of his prize, despite the initial glee from before bubbling up once again inside him. It really was too easy to get what he wanted out of people, wasn’t it? “We discussed it, but I don’t think we settled on an answer.”

Tangy let both the charm and their gaze fall back to the desk, and they reached over to turn the current page of his file to the next one. “Well, we’ve covered a few of the things you currently desire,” they said studiously, pupils shifting back and forth as they read. “Revenge, a chance to take over the multiverse again…a silly straw—”

“I believe we already established that I can make due without that last one for now,” Bill interrupted quickly.

“Sans the straw, there’s a number of options to select as your prize,” Tangy continued, and flipped to another page. “But so many of them wouldn’t even be worth all the effort of playing, what with that aforementioned barrier still around the town—”

They slapped the folder shut with one hand. “So, why not make that your prize instead?”

Bill blinked. “Wait, make what my prize?”

“The barrier, you goofball!” Tangy said with a delighted laugh. “You play my game and win, and I’ll shatter the barrier for you!”

…Heh? “Heh?”

“I don’t know how much clearer I can phrase it for you,” Tangy said. “Since all of my other options would still leave you stuck within the town limits, why not just get rid of the reason you were stuck in the first place?”

They pressed their hands together in a squishing motion, adding a raspberry for comedic effect. “So yep, that’s my offer! Find all the pieces of the charm, put ‘em back together, and keep hold of the entire thing before the sun rises on the final day of summer, and I’ll shatter that pesky barrier like glass for you!”

“...You’re bluffing.”

It was said far too unprofessionally, far too needy for his liking. But for the first time since he’d arrived, any common sense was momentarily ignored as Bill stared at them in utter shock. 

Out of all the things they could have suggested as a prize, out of all the things he could have suggested, not once did the thought of destroying the barrier cross his mind. Why would it? The only one who had any knowledge of how to collapse the barrier was—

Bill’s hand gripped the chair’s armrest, and he let out a grounding exhale of breath in an attempt to relax. He had to remain calm. Neither he nor his Nightmare Realm buddies had been able to break past the barrier, and he had a feeling that ol’ Sixer had no interest in spilling that information to his beloved family. 

And if Bill hadn’t been able to get the equation out of him, there was no way that Birdbrain would just know it off the top of—

“‘Gravity Falls Natural Law of Weirdness Magnetism and the Equation To Reverse It.’”

Tangy’s attention was now on the laptop, their fingers dancing across the keys for a moment before they pointed to the screen. “Huh, look at that!” they said delightedly. “There’s actually results!”

Bill’s grip on the armrest tightened, cotton fluff billowing out of the rips as his pupil bounced to the laptop for a millisecond. “...And how do I know you’re not just staring at an empty screen right now?”

“I don’t blame you for being suspicious,” Tangy said, and turned back to face him. “But I can promise you that I wouldn’t have offered the idea if I didn’t intend to follow through on it if you win the game—”

“So what do you get out of all of this?”

It was a question that had been lingering at the back of Bill’s mind, just barely out of reach. But upon hearing Birdbrain’s offer to shatter the barrier, something had finally clicked.

They had not once elaborated on why they wanted him to play their little game. 

The prize they were offering; it had to be the catch in their deal. Something so personally enticing to him that he wouldn’t think to question why they were offering it to him in the first place. 

Why would they be promising to give him so much, if they weren’t going to get anything out of it themselves?

Tangy tilted their head at his question. “What do you mean?”

“What are you getting out of this deal?” Bill repeated, and floated up out of his chair. “Out with it, Birdbrain; you wouldn’t be offering this deal if you weren’t getting something out of it in return.”

He hovered forward and placed his hands on the edge of the desk. “You said yourself that a deal wasn’t a deal if only one side was getting something out of the exchange,” he pointed out. “If I play and win, I get a prize.”

He leaned forward further, eye narrowing with suspicion. “So I ask again; what are you getting out of this deal?”

Much like the other times Bill had invaded their personal space, Tangy showed no sense of discomfort or annoyance at the action. Rather, they simply moved a hand back to the laptop and pressed it closed. “What do I get out of this?”

The hand moved to the charm on the desk, their fingers teasing the chain for a moment. “That’s an easy answer! I get the joy that comes from helping someone in need.”

Bill raised his eyebrow, unconvinced.

“I’m serious,” Tangy said, and rose up from their chair again. “The entire motivation behind giving people a chance to play my games is because I adhere to the idea that everyone out there deserves a chance to get their lives back on track. To get a second chance that many others might not be willing to give them.”

Their cheery demeanor grew unusually serious for a moment as their eyes fell to the desk before them. “Even if they squander that chance, at least that helping hand was extended to them in the first place…”

They were quiet for a moment, before their bright expression returned in full. “Also I’d like to point out that while you don’t have to trust my motives, I did go through all the trouble of bringing you here to make this deal in the first place,” they pointed out. “Why would I go through all this effort to bring you back, only to deceive you about what I have to offer?”

Bill could think of at least a dozen answers to their question off the top of his head, but he simply folded his arms across his chest. In their defense, it was a good point; why bother going through all that trouble if they had no plans to actually hold up their end of the bargain?

Sure, there was always a chance that they were lying about possessing the ability to destroy the barrier, but what benefit would it give them to do so? How would lying here further Birdbrain’s needs?

…Again, Bill could spend an eternity listing off potential guesses, but at the end of the day, they would just be guesses. Not actual answers behind their motives.

“I’m happy to give you as much time as you need to think the offer over,” Tangy said, and waved their hand over the desk. “But if it might help speed up the process—”

They pulled their hand back, and a blank piece of paper flew up from their desk and hovered between them. As Bill watched, the words ‘The Shelduck’s Game Contract’ began to magically form in big, orange (again with the orange) letters at the top of the paper. 

Letters that were quickly followed by a series of paragraphs in the same font, finishing off with two blank signature lines near the bottom of the page.

“I know you’re a man of handshakes,” Tangy said. “And we can absolutely do that as well. But my game requires a binding signature to take effect.”

Another wave of their hand and their signature appeared on the first blank line. “There we go, now I’m legally bound to uphold my end of the deal,” they said. “And if I don’t, you’re well within your legal rights to hit me with whatever punishment you see fit~! I do believe we mentioned the Unnaturally-Moist Dimension already? Or perhaps you’d want to do something worse to me?” 

A shrug before they folded their hands together. “Either way, my fate would be in your rightfully-unforgiving hands!”

Bill stared at them before his gaze moved back to the contract, slitted pupil darting back and forth as he absorbed every word, letter—even every punctuation mark—several times over. It was nothing they hadn’t previously discussed; an explanation of the game, the decided terms, and—

‘As agreed upon, the being known as Bill Cipher will receive the following upon winning the decided game; the complete and immediate destruction of the weirdness barrier that surrounds the town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Scenic Dimension 46'\.’

His gaze lingered on those words for a moment while he pondered over everything that Tangy had told him. There had to be something he’d missed, the catch he’d yet to find in their words.

But, on the other hand—

His shoulders tensed. They had countered his questions with legitimate answers. They were practically throwing themselves at him to make a deal, even going to far as to offer themselves as a punching bag if they tried to back out. They were promising to give him the very information that he had died trying to pry out of Ford’s mind—

One fatal mistake.

He didn’t even bother to hide the flash of red in his eye, as he snapped his pupil back to Tangy. “You’re serious about breaking the barrier if I follow all your rules and win your dumb little game?”

Tangy held up a hand. “As serious as the odes of plague in that 2020 punch you drank.”

“And all I have to do to win your game is put that little charm of yours back together and keep hold of it by the end of the summer?” Bill asked. “That’s it?”

Tangy snapped their fingers and the charm flew from the desk to their hand. “That’s all you’ve got to do.”

Bill looked from the charm to their laptop. “...And there’s absolutely zero chance of you just giving me the equation right now, even if I do everything in my power to torture it outta you?”

Another snap of their fingers and the laptop vanished in a flash of light. “You could certainly try,” Tangy said with a smile. “But I’m also aware of your vulnerability in the mindscape, and I feel like that probably puts you at a disadvantage in a fight—”

“Yeah, yeah, alright, point taken.”

Bill crossed his arms, eyelid narrowed in thoughtful silence for a moment, then another—

Aw, heck with it. Since when did he overthink this hard about anything?

“Gimme a pen.”

Tangy’s face lit up with excitement as they made a pen float up from the desk and into Bill’s hand. And within seconds, the blank signature line was occupied by a boldly written ‘BILL CIPHER’ in jagged capitals.

Their smile widening further, Tangy gestured the signed contract back towards them and rolled it up with a wave of their hand. “Looks like the game’s on~!”

“Ah, ah, ah, before that—” Bill held out a hand. “—now it’s my turn.”

Tangy gave a nod. “But of course! I’m nothing if not a duck of my word.”

They reached for Bill’s hand with their own, their palms barely making contact before both were enveloped in blue flames. Heatless flames, but the power behind the action could still be felt as the imaginary bonds of the deal travelled up through their arms and throughout their entire bodies.

Bill’s hand lingered in theirs as the flames died down, his grip tightening against their feathers. “If I win your stupid game, and you don’t shatter that barrier for me, I get free reign to torment your lying, feathered butt in the most horrific ways possible until the end of time.”

“Once again, duck of my word,” Tangy assured him. “But I would like to remind you that I only have to uphold my end of the deal if you win. If you lose, you can’t hold me accountable for your failures.”

Despite the eye roll that followed in response, Bill could feel the familiar rush of endorphins that always came with making a deal surge through him. A rush now paired with a swelling passion, as the realization that he had succeeded in playing his cards right.

He had a chance to destroy the barrier. To start again.

To finally be free.

His features twisted into a metaphorical grin. And this time, he would not be making any ‘fatal mistakes’. Take that, Stanford! Take that, Stanley! Take that, anyone who would not be getting in his way again!

“So, are you ready to begin?”

Once again, Birdbrain was just a master at interrupting his thoughts. But once again in their defense, they were also good at following those interruptions with a good point. “So, how’s this gonna work, then?” he asked aloud, gaze moving to their still-locked hands. “I possess you, then we pop on down to Hick Town, or—?”

Tangy tilted their head curiously. “Possess me?”

“Yeah, you know, so I can play your game?” Bill pointed out. “Can’t exactly go without a vessel to possess.”

He batted his eyelashes at them. “Unless you’re planning on just dropping me down there in my pure, unaltered form~?” he guessed. “Couldn’t blame you if you did, I’m a delight!”

Tangy chuckled. “Well, you are a delight, but I don’t plan on doing that,” they said. “Knowing you, you’d probably use it to your advantage and just turn the town upside down looking for the charm pieces.”

They raised their free hand in a shrug. “And while that’s not against the rules or anything, it would make the game a little too easy.”

“Had a feeling you’d lean that way," Bill said with a roll of his eye. "So then, when am I possessing you?”

Tangy chuckled, their smile widening just the faintest amount. “You’re still misunderstanding, Bill,” they said. “When did I ever say you were going to possess me in this game?”

“...What do you—”

There was a flash of light as Tangy broke their handshake, and Bill vanished. Their arm remained outstretched for a moment, gaze locked on the spot where Bill had been previously, before they let it fall with a giddy laugh that echoed throughout the domed room. “Wow, I can’t believe it!” they said, flapping their hands in excitement. “I actually managed to convince him to play one of my games! This is going to be so much fun!”

“Sounds like things are going well.”

Tangy’s gaze snapped to the archway at the sound of a new voice, grin widening as a tall woman stepped through. Unlike Bill’s entrance into the room, she walked with control and grace, her countless eyes shifting about as she took in the scenery. “I saw he had taken his leave, so I thought it safe to make my presence known.”

“Oh, hi, Jhessie~!” Tangy said delightedly, waving at her with their whole arm. “And you’d be right on that fact!”

They gave the woman a double thumbs-up as she approached the desk. “I convinced Bill to play a game!” they explained. “Not only that, you were right about him being suspicious about almost everything in the deal, while also being too darn stubborn to accept any chances to back out.”

Smiling wider, they reached for the triangle charm on the desk and held it up. “Also, it’s a good thing he was so focused on all of that, he didn’t even think about taking a closer look at this bad boy,” they said, and pressed a finger to their bill. “He also didn’t notice how I never actually ended up using my flashcards, despite them being one of the excuses I used to get him in here. Odd oversight on his part, I think.”

“The important part is that he accepted the deal,” she said, tilting her head upwards towards the glass dome. “I’m sure He’ll be pleased about that, as well.”

Tangy also turned their gaze upwards, as the hellfire and blood rain they had previously set for Bill melted back into the underwater view from before. They continued to stare for a moment, before Tangy dropped their gaze back to her. “Hey, Jheselbraum, can I ask you something?”

“You’re going to ask if my initial vision of Bill will come to pass,” Jheselbraum said, also letting the gaze of her multiple eyes fall to Tangy’s face.

Tangy playfully wagged a finger at her. “Nothing gets by you, huh, Miss Oracle?”

“Truth be told, I’m not entirely sure myself,” she admitted. “Or perhaps I struggle to believe it, despite witnessing the events of the premonition with my own eyes.”

She held her hands behind her back. “Regardless, while my visions usually come to pass in one way or another, the events of the future are not set in stone. Whatever happens will inevitably be up to him and the choices he makes during your game.”

“Well, either way, Bill’s on his way back to Gravity Falls for the summer so whatever happens will reveal itself in time,” Tangy said. “Oh, I should probably—”

With a snap, the charm vanished into the air. “There we go! Now his scavenger hunt can properly begin.”

“So, where did you end up hiding the pieces?” Jheselbraum asked.

Tangy tilted their head curiously. “You don’t know?”

“Just because I possess the ability to see into the future does not mean I choose to use it for everything,” she said. “It would make for a rather unsurprising, and therefore dull, lifestyle.”

“Fair enough,” Tangy said. “Well in that case, I won’t tell you! Let’s continue keeping it a surprise for everyone!”

With that, they clasped their hands together. “Well, I’ve probably got some time before he needs my help,” they said. “Care to share a glass of Time Punch with me while I wait? I’ve still got a mostly-full bottle of 2020.”

“I’m more partial to 3030 myself if you possess a bottle,” Jheselbraum said, before taking a seat in the chair previously occupied by Bill. “It’s currently unknown to most, aside from those of us blessed with the ability to see that far ahead.”

With a laugh, Tangy summoned a bottle and two empty glasses. Both of which—along with the rest of the room—were swiftly engulfed in shadow as a massive being passed overhead, beyond the glass of the domed roof.

Once again, both beings turned their heads upwards and watched in silence as a giant, pink axolotl floated lazily through the crystal blue waters, its magnificent body twisting to and fro for a few minutes before it eventually swam out of sight.

“Hmm, it appears I was right when I said He’d be pleased,” Jheselbraum observed thoughtfully. “Although He might be less so when he hears that you offered Bill some of your Time Punch.”

Tangy returned to pouring their glasses with a nervous chuckle. “Hey, come on, he was so suspicious of me when I first showed up,” they pointed out. “What better way to help him relax than to show him I’m a cool duck who’s willing to break a few rules with him?”

They cast her a concerned look. “...I’m not actually going to get in trouble, am I? The big guy would understand, right?”

Jheselbraum hummed with amusement. “Worry not, it was a joke.”

Tangy let out a laugh. “Heyyy, since when were you a jokey-jokerson?”

“Since I was able to predict every punchline while others could not predict my own,” she replied matter-of-factly. “But I’m serious when I say you needn’t worry. I can promise you that He’s pleased with the way things are unfolding, and is as eager to see how it’ll play out as we are.”

Their smile widened, before they waved the first poured glass in her direction. “Well, I certainly hope He remains pleased as time goes on,” they said, before getting to work on their own glass. “After all, the game has only just begun.”

“...That was incredibly cliché—”

“I know, but it sounded so cool and ominous that I just couldn't resist!”

They gestured for the bottle to lower itself to their desk as the two of them gave a toast (one immediately interrupted by an outcry of “Wait, I forgot to tell him the rules!” from Tangy), the base coming to a wobbly rest atop a stack of folders on the desk.

Specifically atop a thick, unopened folder, one that contained a decent number of papers regarding the subject within. On the outside of the folder itself however, there was nothing more than a simple picture to act as a label, stuck to the folder by a cutesy little sticker of the full moon. A picture that was thankfully unobscured by the bottle of punch. 

A picture of the Cetus constellation.

#Hayley Writes Triangulum #Gravity Falls #Triangulum The Fic #Bill Cipher #My Writing #Long Post #(Maybe I'll add more tags as needed later) #(That's fine for now)

[chocotonez]

skz reacting to their s/o using their head as a drum

a/n: love it when you guys get creative because literally how would I have ever thought of this

warnings/genre: fluff, banter, uhhh using a head as a drum?? lmk if anything else should be tagged!

chan

-the awkward “haha babe ur so silly”

-slightly worried but slightly into the beat ur making tbh

-offers a worried :] smile, and thinks you’re adorable but also what even prompted this response??

-sorta overthinks it and is like “is everything okay?? are you bored? do you need my attention?”

-honestly doesn’t mind it very much unless he’s working hehe

-“ohhh wait, do that again it sounded good” “will you credit me in your next album??” **sigh**

lee know

-looks back up at you with a disgruntled expression as if you just insulted him

-“wtf are you doing” “why do you hate my music career” “because it sucks, get off my head”

-mostly joking, doesn’t care but he’d prefer you go explore your musical interests somewhere else

-tries so hard not to giggle if you hum along to a beat your making, will never admit how much it amuses him

-just lets you at it, maybe if he’s in a bad mood he would just gently swat your hand away but most of the time he just rolls his eyes and lets you…drum on his head

changbin

-turns it around and reaches up to drum on your head while laughing

-“haha how does it feel?? >:)”

-most of the time just takes it as a prompt to mess with you and pat your head to a beat

-first time he was definitely more ???, but if it becomes a habit he’ll just laugh it off

-genuinely doesn’t mind it compared to others, he thinks it’s kinda cute especially when you stand over him to just drum on his head or mess around

-looks up at you with a dumb smile and is sJWNDOWSJJS sorry anyways yeah he just loves you

hyunjin

-the one to grab your wrist, and then hold your hand to get you to stop

-he reaches up to hold your hand and he just gives you a squeeze to let you know he’s not like…mad, you’re just being silly

-“what? is my baby bored?” and he always laughs at your response, whether it be in agreement or a roll of your eyes

-doesn’t care as much if he’s tired, because he doesn’t have the energy to care and he’s also kinda lulling off because of the rhythmic tapping

-he doesn’t hate it, because it’s always a good excuse to hold your hand <3

han

-the more confused one, but doesn’t go out of his way to stop you LMAO

-every time he just looks at you like ??? because do you want something?? is this a torture method?? are you trying to mind control him or smth??

-spends his time just contemplating your possible hierarchy of needs while you’re dropping the sickest beat of 2023 on his head

-poor boy just doesn’t know what to do and just lets you go at it

-thinks it’s kinda cute anyways, if not strange, but still cute

felix

-gives a :> and just lets you have fun

-“what? trying to take my job?” “you know how much people would pay for a single that’s just someone using your head as a drum??” and he’s just giggling and he’s so cute I’m sobbing

-likes to randomly move his head so you miss and laughs because you stumble a bit and he thinks he’s so funny

-leans back so you can hold his face in your hands

-it’s not that he dislikes it, but he doesn’t like it either. there’s way better ways to entertain yourself, including just spooning him or giving him a kiss </3

seungmin

-another ??? wtf are you doing type

-probably starts knocking on his own head to see what the appeal is all about

-“shhh minnie i’m making music!!” “let me knock on your head to make sure it’s not hollow, because what in the world are you doing??”

-gives you a fake look of disgust but immediately bursts out laughing when he holds your gaze for too long, and just lets you at it

ot the biggest fan but when he looks up to see your smile, he has to fight the need to run laps and giggle n squeal about how cute u are

jeongin

-“wtf stop you’re gonna mess up my hair” “so you just hate my aspirations or being a musician??” “y/n.”

-leans on disliking it, another one who just reaches up to hold your hand to get you to stop

-“if you’re that bored do you wanna help me clean the dorm?” and you’re immediately o-O

-laughs when you drum his head because it’s just so?? stupid?? but it’s so funny and you’re also so cute?? it’s the most conflicting thing ever

-like how is he supposed to dislike this when you laugh all prettily and you’re smiling down on him like that :((

-unfair tbh

#how obvious is it that this wasn’t proofread #this was cute tho #stray kids imagines #stray kids reactions #stray kids scenarios #stray kids x reader #stray kids blurbs #stray kids headcanons #I have to get up in four hours not living my best life rn

[gloryhrs]

˖  . ⁺ ˳ ⟡ 𝐓𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐆𝐔𝐘𝐒 𝐋𝐔𝐕 𝐊𝐈𝐒𝐒𝐄𝐒 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐂𝐔𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐒!

「 𝐅𝐓 — kensei muguruma | ikkaku madarame | & renji abarai! 」

male reader. ʚɞ req — @ota04-blog (˘ᴗ˘ ◍)

KENSEI MUGURUMA! ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐀𝐓 first sight, anyone could tell Kensei Muguruma wasn’t the one you should mess with, the man is a serious and assertive individual, not to mention the captain gets annoyed easily till the point of his other subordinates needing to hold him back.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘, one small mistake can work the captain’s nerve and make him walk away to restrain himself from ripping the other person’s head off.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐁𝐔𝐓 once he closes his room/office door his angry and short temper persona disappears, the reason why was because of his husband, ( Y / n ) ( L / n ).

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐆𝐎𝐃 even the thought of you makes him melt, but how could you blame him? Everything about you is so . . . dreamlike. If he could he would bow down to the people who created you and thank them for eternity for making such a beautiful creation.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄 adores the way you hold him, take care of his wounds, and kiss him. If he could write about how much he loves you then the paper would be 10+ pages long.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄𝐋𝐋, there would be times throughout the day when he thinks about you waiting for him which makes his frown would turn upside down and his cheeks turn red.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐎𝐎𝐇𝐇𝐇~ are you thinking about your little wittle husband again?" Mashiro began to poke at the captain’s cheek with a sly grin on her face. "Shut the hell up, you damn woman!" Kensei slapped her hand away from his face, the girl could’ve sworn she saw steam coming out of his ears.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 man was also extremely protective over you, so once he hears about you sustaining an injury he’ll be gone quicker than his lieutenant can call his name.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐓𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐄 were often times when Mashiro would tease the captain about his lovesick behavior, but the man just ignores it knowing that if he’d put his hands on her then his husband will be upset with him.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐊𝐄𝐍𝐒𝐄𝐈, Kensei, Kensei!" The loud voice that belonged to Mashiro Kuna rang throughout the man’s ears as he tried his best to ignore her annoying taunts while walking back to his room. The white-haired male tried his hardest to not drop down on his knees and rip his hair out from the annoying girl who was poking fun at him just for the hell of it, as he finally made it back to his room he quickly opened the door and shut it in Mashiro’s face. 'Troublesome woman' He sighed in relief as he lifted himself off the door. "Kenji? You’re back early." The angelic voice of his husband made his eyes soften. The sight of you made all of his worries melt away in seconds, you gently smiled before making your way up to him and wrapping your arms around his neck.

"From the looks of it, it seems that Mashiro gave you a hard time today." You chucked at his annoyed expression when you mentioned his comrade’s name, he scoffed under his breath and buried his face into your neck whilst giving you feather-like kisses. "I made us dinner and tea, once you’re done then we can cuddle." You ran your hands through his white hair as a hum escaped from his lips, "I would love that." He kissed your cheek in return.

IKKAKU MADARAME! ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐈𝐊𝐊𝐀𝐊𝐔 was far from a nice guy, this guy would pick a fight with a rock if he tripped over it because he wasn’t looking where he was going (•᷄- •᷅ ;).

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐖𝐇𝐈𝐂𝐇 surprised everyone around him when they saw him swinging hands with one of the nicest (and laziest) guys in soul society, Y/n L/n.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐘𝐔𝐌𝐈𝐂𝐇𝐈𝐊𝐀, Rangiku, and Yachiru could’ve sworn they felt their jaws drop to their feet at the unbelievable sight in front of them.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐖𝐇𝐀𝐓 the fuck is happening right now." Yumichika gawked at the two males who’s hands were intertwined with each other, he never thought Ikkaku, out of all people would be able to snatch a cute guy like you up.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐌𝐎𝐒𝐓 people couldn’t help but notice how Ikkaku’s rough behavior would immediately be put to the side when you spent time with him.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄 loves taking naps with you, it was as if he was cuddling a kitten because of your soft hair and the way you’d nestle your face into his cheek.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄’𝐋𝐋 do anything for you, if you wanted him to carry you around the entire day because you’re tired then best believe he well! He doesn’t have the heart to say no to you.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄 would be lying if he said he didn’t love the cheesy pet names you give him, even if it means he would have to deal with the nonstop teasing from his squad mates for a while.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐇𝐄 calls you pumpkin and you call him honey?! Oh man this is hilarious!"

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐃𝐀𝐌𝐍 it! Will you two stop asking me these dumbass questions!" A vein appeared on Ikkaku’s head as he stopped dead in his tracks to glare at Yumichika and Rangiku who couldn’t stop asking him about his lover. Rangiku pouted and crossed her arms at his reaction, "We just wanna know more about him! You guys are so cute!" She whined as Yumichika joined her. Ikkaku felt like he was going to explode at any moment from their constant whining and begging, "No means no! Now leave me alone!" He grumbled and stomped away from the pair.

"Darling? I’ve been looking for you." He turned his head to see you walking out of the shadows whilst yawning loudly, the way you rubbed your eyes and pinched your nose suggested that you’d been looking for him for quite some time. Instead of questioning you the male just crouched down one knee, signaling he wanted you to get on his back. "I’m so sorry honey, I’ve just been busy all day." He felt your weight on his back before picking himself back up with ease and grabbing your thighs so you wouldn’t fall.

"There’s no need to apologize, I love you." You pecked his lips before cuddling your face against his cheek, hearing your soft snores made the male grip on your thighs tighten with a proud grin spreading across his features. "I love you too, babe."

RENJI ABARAI! ☆ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐈 Abarai wasn’t the type to get riled up easily, but when he did it was hard as hell to calm him down. Not to mention his smug and cocky behavior was hell to deal with as well.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐁𝐔𝐓 for the past few months, Rukia and Ichigo started to notice a 360 in Renji’s behavior, instead of going to pick a fight with Ichigo the male simply told him good evening (⊙_⊙)?!

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐇𝐄𝐘 Renji. . .are you okay?" Rukia put her hand on her best friend’s shoulder as he raised an eyebrow at her worried expression. "Eh?? What are you talking about?" He scratched his head in pure confusion, for the past couple of weeks everyone has been asking him if he was okay. Hell yeah, he was okay!

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐓𝐇𝐄 duo came up with many useless theories to solve what was happening to the redhead. The first theory being a parasite took over the poor guy’s body.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐁𝐔𝐓 after spying on him for an entire day they finally got the answer to all their questions once they saw him eating lunch with another male, which was you.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐑𝐔𝐊𝐈𝐀 and Ichigo thought their eyes popped out their sockets when they saw your lips against his for a brief moment with his hand extended out for you to take.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐉𝐈? Renji has a boyfriend?!" The two whispered to ear other with the same shocked expression on their face, the two peaked their head over the corner one final time only to see you now being on his lap, the smile never leaving your face. "So that’s why he’s been acting funny for the past few months." Rukia sweat dropped whilst scratching her chin. "And it seems like he’s head over heals for him too."

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐀𝐍𝐃 Rukia was completely correct, Renji is extremely smitten with you. He would often follow you around, carry you, and even cook for you! Not to mention he’ll travel to the world of living to go shopping for the things you like.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄 may not be the strongest but he is willing to give up his life in a hurry just to make sure you aren’t hurt.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐇𝐄 hates being careless and getting injured during battles because he knows your gonna be upset with him.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ 𝐁𝐔𝐓 no matter how many times you scolded him for being so reckless you just couldn’t find it in your heart to be mad at him for a certain period of him. Plus he knows you’re gonna be the one taking care of him whilst he’s healing.

˚୨୧⋆｡˚ "𝐏-𝐏𝐋𝐄𝐀𝐒𝐄 stop hurting yourself, I’m begging you Renji." You pleaded to the red-haired man as he continued to hold you in his grasp, this was the third time this week that the man decided to be reckless during battle and get himself extremely hurt. "I’m sorry my love, I promise it won’t happen again." He used his thumb to wipe off the crystal clear tears that streamed from your glassy eyes down to your face, even when crying, you still managed to be the most beautiful person he had ever seen. But the way you looked and begged for him to stop made his heart feel heavy, and his grip on your waist tighten slightly when you proceed to cry into his chest.

"You always say that, but you never keep your promise." You clutched his uniform tightly with a small pout on your face. "I know, but I mean it this time." He finished wiping the tears off your face before leaning in to press his lips against yours, tasting the vanilla favor on your plump lips. Once he pulled away he pressed his forehead against yours with a small and genuine smile on his face, "I will be more careful next time, just please forgive me." He proceeded to kiss your cheek in order to remove your sadness.

"Fine. You better be lucky I love you, big dork."

© gloryhrs, 031323. — notes and reblogs are appreciated! (≧∇≦) /

#𝐠𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐡𝐫𝐬 ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ #anime #manga #animanga #bleach #bleach tybw #male reader #kensei muguruma #kensei x reader #kensei muguruma x male reader #ikkaku madarame #ikkaku x reader #ikkaku madarame x male reader #renji abarai #renji abarai x reader #renji abarai x male reader #bleach x male reader #bleach scenarios #bleach imagines

[snkbld]

ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤ"All you can think about is anger, hatred and even revenge. ㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤㅤAnd no one can save you."

𝐍𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐒. maru, frustrated from battle, comes home after a long day and takes out his pent up anger on you. // drabble

i.・✦. *. ⋆

╰﹕ maru's exasperation

﹕ The heavy door to Orochimaru's hideout swung open with a violent creak, revealing a darkened chamber illuminated only by dim torchlight.

As the door slammed against the stone wall, Maru emerges, his normally composed countenance contorted with rage. The flickering torchlight cast eerie shadows on his face, emphasizing the intensity of his wrath.

His sharp eyes narrowed into menacing slits, and his lips curled into a snarl as he glared at you.

The air crackled with tension, and the serpent-themed motifs in the hideout seemed to writhe with a vicious energy, echoing his fury. “Get up.” He spoke through gritted teeth, his tongue dripping with saliva.

"Yes sir." you mumble under your breath as you follow his command. Maru's breath hitched, and his eyes narrowed at your submissiveness. But he makes no further response, just turning and striding to the opposite side of the chamber, where he stands brooding by one of the torches.

You can hear him taking deep, measured breaths as he tries to contain his anger. After a few moments, he finally speaks again, his voice low and dangerous. "Do you know what pisses me off the most?" You tilt your head questioningly.

He took a deep breath to settle his rage as he watched you approach. "Being underestimated." Orochimaru replies sharply, glaring at you from under his brow.

"People think they can do whatever they want with me, and get away with it. They think they can mess with my plans, try to control me, or push me around, and that I'll just sit there and take it. But they're wrong. I'm the one in charge here. I'm the one who makes the decisions." Maru's hand clenches into a fist as he says this, and you can feel the barely contained rage radiating from him.

As he stood before you, his height and imposing frame made you feel small. He regarded you with a mixture of coldness and intensity as his gaze travelled over your body.

There was something else beneath the surface, a deep sense of desire, a primal instinct to possess and dominate. Without notice, a slap stings your cheek, marking it with a sudden crimson welt. A wave of shock rips through you, and your heart races in surprise and confusion.

Orochimaru's gaze is cold and uncaring, devoid of guilt or remorse as he stares at you sternly, waiting for your reaction.

"Look at me." He orders you, voice sharp with anger as he grabs your face and turns it to face him. His fingers leave bruises on your cheeks where he grabs firmly, squeezing your face and leaving red streaks where his nails dig in.

Another slap comes, this one even harder than before, and you can feel the sharp sting of pain as your skin is marked once again. Tears fill your eyes, and your head spins as you struggle not to break down from the pain and humiliation. After a moment, Orochimaru lets go of your face, and you wince and turn away, face glowing pink from the swelling and mark.

Though the sting is still fresh on your face, a thrill runs through you as rage and fear mix with excitement at the thought of what will come next. This isn't the first time Orochimaru has treated you this way, and the intensity of his touch, the suddenness of his anger... it all makes you weak. Your heart is pounding, and your breath comes in ragged gasps. Your mind is on fire, and your body is tingling with anticipation.

His breath quickens, and you can tell with each passing minute, his anger is only growing stronger as he watches you quiver and wait for more. The urge to feel him touch you again grows more and more intense, and the thought of him using your body for his pleasure sends an electric jolt through you.

His hand slides down to your shoulder, slowly working its way down your neck and arms, then further along your waist. His other hand is working with equal deliberation, unbuttoning and undoing your clothes with care and methodical efficiency.

His hands move quickly and surely, stripping you of your clothes until you're completely naked without a moment wasted. Once your clothes are off, he steps back, taking in your slender body with a look of satisfaction, pleasure and delight.

You stand there, naked and exposed before him, unable to move, unable to even speak as your breath catches in your throat and your cheeks burn red from the heat of his gaze.

You feel vulnerable and foolish, but at the same time, a surge of adrenaline floods through you, heightening every sensation. There's a strange mixture of pleasure and fear, and your entire body seems to tremble with anticipation. You're torn between wanting to run and to stand there, completely at his mercy.

Maru seems to appreciate your reaction, and a cruel smile spreads over his lips as he takes in every inch of you, running his eyes over every curve, every inch of bare skin.

He takes a step closer to you once more, his breath hot and heavy on your neck, and you can feel the tension build and his desire grow as he draws near.

"You're mine," he growls, his voice low and hungry. As his hands roam over your body, you can feel the heat of his desire building and building, until it seems like it must explode.

As his body is pressed up against yours, you slightly grind yourself against his bulge. This act of slight defiance it only riles Maru up more.

He wraps his rigid hands around your throat, his nails piercing the back of your neck. He squeezes, forcing you to grasp for air as your hips buck. “Stupid mutt. What do you think you’re doing.”

Your lips curl into a bratty grin. “Use.. me..” you plead in between gasps.

His eyes flicker at your words. Almost immediately, he moves his other hand down to your cunt and teases you. “Is this what you want?” Inserting a finger, and then another, curling his fingers to feel your g-spot. “You’re filthy.” he scoffed.

Your moans filled the chamber as he takes advantage of your body. Pathetically enough, Maru merely fingering your cunnie is overwhelming for you. Watching you react to his harsh movements really gets him off.

He thrusts his fingers into you roughly. You moan as your back arches at his movements, hitting the wall of the cave.

Maru’s eyes narrow, his brows furrowing in concentration. He inserts a third finger, thrusting harder this time, stretching you wider. Your back arches, a mixture of pleasure and pain washes over you as you near your edge.

Noticing this, he pulls out of you quickly. “Not yet.” He hisses.

⤏ table of contents

#⌒ #kimaru #fem!reader #smut #orochimaru #orochimaru smut #orochimaru x reader

[centralperkchenford]

Chenford + redo of the valentines day necklace: it has his initial on it.

Like it call it what you want!!! I notice you’re a swiftie cause you use her lyrics as titles all the time

Hi anon! I have no idea how this simple prompt turned into this. But I hope you like it!

Chenford + redo of the valentines day necklace: it has his initial on it.

I want to wear his initial on a chain 'round my neck, chain 'round my neck Not because he owns me

(But 'cause he really knows me)

Lucy studies the necklace that Tim had handed to her. It’s absolutely beautiful, it’s gold and it’s T. She smiles up at Tim, who gives her a soft smile as he helps her put it on.

“Do you wanna skip dinner?” She whispers. She feels his hands on her hips, strong and steady.

“No.” He whispers. “I’m hungry. And you are going to need that fuel for later.” He squeezes her hips and then walks out the door. Lucy grins and shakes her head before following him out the door.

Their dinner is lovely and while Lucy can’t wait to use that fuel for later. It’s nice being here with Tim especially after a day like today.

“Hey.” She grabs his hands and plays with his fingers and her other hand goes to her necklace. His eyes follow her movements, he grins slightly when he sees her playing with it. “This is really nice.” He leans forward to kiss her, the first time he’s kissed her all day.

“Yeah? Do you like your necklace?” He asks shyly. She keeps him where he is and nods.

“It’s beautiful Tim.” She says.

“You are beautiful.” Tim says. Lucy feels herself flush and her hand immediately goes to the necklace.

Tim smiles at her softly. “Happy Valentine’s Day Lucy.” He says.

“Happy Valentine’s Day Tim.” She says back.

And it’s perfect.

***

She wears the necklace all the time, and when she misses Tim when he has to work late she presses her hand to the letter and runs it through her fingers. She always wears it on date nights, it sits between her breasts and she knows Tim is staring at it with a soft gleam in his eyes.

When she goes undercover and she has to take it off, she tucks it into her duffel bag and takes ot out when she’s alone in her cover apartment. She clutched it tightly in her hands, wishing Tim was beside her to wrap himself around her.

When they get into their second fight, something about them never seeing each other because of their hours Lucy still wears it.

Angela asks about it, and Lucy runs her fingers over it when she does. She traces the T with her finger.

“He knows me.” She says. “It’s not a possessive thing. Although I don’t think you want to mess with him if another guy does flirt with me.” Angela snorts and raises her eyebrows.

“It’s pretty.” Angela tells her. “He did good.” Lucy grins at Angela and nods in agreement. He did very good.

***

Someone does flirt with Lucy and even though she’s clearly with Tim. The bartender doesn’t seem to care. He leans over the counter and reaches for Lucy’s hand. She jerks it away and Tim glares at the bartender. His hands on Lucy’s hips, he pulls her to him, and she goes willing dozing up to him.

“You are so pretty.” The bartender says his voice rough as if he had been drinking. Tim growls and Lucy ignoring the bartender turns in his arms. They immediately latch around her and Lucy looks up at him tapping the necklace. “I’m yours baby.” She says softly. “All yours.”

“It wasn’t suppose to be a possessive thing.” Tim grumbles. Lucy laughs and leans up to kiss his cheek.

“I know. That doesn’t mean I’m not yours.” Lucy says. Tim worries his bottom lip, and nods at her his face serious.

“You have my heart Lucy Chen.” Tim says and plays with her necklace, fixing it so he lays it straight.

“And you have mine.” She says tapping his fingers on his chest. “Do I need to get you a necklace so some woman doesn’t flirt with you.”

Tim shakes his head a little, the music in the bar suddenly seems quieter to him. It’s like they are the only ones in the bar. “I will proudly say I have a girlfriend.” Tim says. “Besides I don’t like go anywhere without you.”

Lucy snorts and Tim kisses her tipping her backwards. She squeals in surprise but then kisses him back. She clutches his jacket muttering mine.

Tim hums in agreement. “And you are mine.” He mutters in her ear. Lucy sighs happily and that is the best thing she has ever heard.

***

“I love you.” Tim whispers into the night one night. Lucy turns over to face him, and his fingers go to the T on her necklace. His long fingers play with it. She sucks in a breath and leans over to kiss him. Her heart is beating so hard, she feels like it’s going to burst out of her chest.

“I love you too.” She whispers. He smiles softly at her and brings her in closer so there is no space in between them. He rolls over so he’s hovering above her his eyes sparkling in the moonlight streaming in. He plays with her necklace again and Lucy grins up at him.

“How about you show me how much you love me.” She says teasingly. Tim sucks in a breath and then let’s it out before he’s surging down to kiss her.

***

She wears the necklace on their first anniversary and she wears a dress that has Tim drooling so much he almost ravishes her in the restaurant but she stops him. So he instead taps her necklace and kisses down her neck. She pulls him up so she can look at him.

“A whole year together.” She says. He kisses her again and pulls back grabbing her hand and massaging it.

“Are you happy?” He asks his eyes down and not on her. Lucy laughs and cradles his face.

“The happiest Tim.” She says breathlessly. “I love you.” He responds in kind and then kisses her. He pulls back and grabs her hand leading her out of the restaurant with her tucked at his side.

***

The necklace is on when she gets shot and she falls to the ground. She can’t do much except clutch the necklace. There’s voices around her and she’s vaguely aware of someone on the radio trying to get to Tim but then everything goes black.

She wakes up in an uncomfortable bed and her hands immediately go to her neck but there’s nothing there.

No no no.

She looks over to see Tim slumped uncomfortably in a chair clutching her hands. His eyes are closed and he’s breathing deeply.

She moves a little bit and it must jerk him awake because he opens his eyes and his eyes meet hers and then he’s all over her.

“Lucy.” He says hoarsely his lips on her forehead. “I thought I lost you.” Lucy’s heart sinks just thinking about how worried he must of been.

“I’m fine.” She whispers. “Where’s my necklace?” Tim looks at weirdly and then his eyes dart to her bare neck.

“You had surgery babe. They had to take it off.” He bends down and pulls a plastic bag out from under the bed and Lucy sees it. The gold chain she treasures so deeply sitting in the bag. She takes it from him and pulls it out. She traces the T with her fingers before she looks up at Tim.

“It’s the only I could grab onto after I was shot.” She tells Tim. Tim makes a soft noise and kisses her fingers one by one.

“I love you Lucy.” He whispers. “I wouldn’t survive if you had—”

“I love you too Tim.” She says back. He buries his face into her neck as if he can’t believe she’s actually here. She runs her fingers through his hair, humming softly.

I love you. I love you.

***

She wears the necklace when Tim proposes to her, three months after she’s shot. She always has the necklace on. But tonight she has dressed it up a little with another necklace, just a simple white one.

They are eating their dinner and talking when Tim suddenly freezes and reaches into his jacket pocket and pulls something out. Lucy tries to see what it is but he shakes his head at her sternly.

“Lucy.” He starts and she tilts her head at him but let’s him continue. “I love you. You have been the greatest thing to ever happen to me. And I almost lost you three months ago but I actually had this planned for awhile. I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.” He pulls the item out of his lap and he opens it in front of her. “Will you marry me Lucy?” Lucy’s eyes are immediately full of tears as she looks at Tim and then at the ring.

“Yes.” She whispers through her tears. “Yes of course I will.” Tim grins at her and then slides the ring on her finger. He studies it a second and then kisses it gently. She stands up and comes around the table so she can be next to him. She still has tears pouring out of her eyes as she looks at him.

Her fiancé.

“Do you like the ring?” Tim asks later when they are all wrapped up in each other. She turns to face him and places her hands on his chest so she can see her engagement ring.

“Yes I love it.” She says. “It’s perfect.” Tim smiles and kisses her cheek softly and she grins as she flips over so she’s hovering over Tim.

“Let me show you how much I love it.” She says and then adds. “And you.”

***

She wears her necklace when she marries Tim. It’s a small wedding with just the people they know love and support them. But she’s not even paying attention to anyone but her husband. Angela had asked if she wanted to take off her necklace to put on the diamond one her aunt had given her before the ceremony. But she shook her head, “No. I can wear that one too. But this one.” She had clutched the T in her hand. “It never comes off.” Angela smiled at her as she snapped the diamond necklace in place.

“You look beautiful Lucy.” Angela says. “I don’t think Tim will know what to do with himself.” Lucy had just shaken her head and squeezed Angela’s hands as they had made their way towards the front.

And now she watches Tim as he dances with Angela’s daughter. She’s perched on his feet as he spins around. The song ends and Tim ruffles her hair, and then he catches her eyes and she lifts her dress up and makes her ways towards him.

“Hi.” She says and he kisses the top of her head. “Having fun?” Tim grabs her hand and leads her to the dance floor.

“I am now.” He says putting his hand on her back and she can feel the metal of his wedding band against her back. She shivers just thinking about how he’s her husband now. They dance much like they did earlier when it was their first dance.

Tim’s eyes go to her neck and his eyes light up when he sees her T necklace. “I didn’t even notice that you wore it.” He says softly.

“Of course I did.” She says her fingers going to it. She sees the reflection of her wedding ring and she grins as he spins her around.

“You really love it huh?” Tim asks into her neck.

“I really love you. But it’s always there like a reminder that you will always be there with me. That you have my heart and I have yours.”

Tim turns her around again and once again it feels like they are the only people in the room. “Always Lucy. Always.”

***

Tim gets her an A necklace when Ava is born. She wears it all the time too. It sits just above the T. When their other kids are born, he finds a necklace where she can have all their initials on one chain.

So now she has her T necklace that always sits on her neck. A reminder of how much they love each other. And for their greatest blessings, another necklace. It has an A, D, L and J. All strung around her neck. The initials of her favorite people.

She is in the twins room holding June closely as the little girl sniffles. She has a cold and wants nothing more than to be close to Lucy even if it’s at 2 in the morning and her brother is fast asleep in the bed next to her. She reaches up and plays with the T necklace, and then traces her fingers down the letter.

“When did daddy give you this?” June asks softly. Lucy smiles as she rocks her youngest daughter.

“It was our first Valentine’s Day.” She says. “I have worn it ever since.”

“Because you love daddy?” June asks her big honey colored eyes wide. Lucy nods and kisses her forehead.

“Yes. I love daddy very much.” She tells June. June lays her head on Lucy’s chest.

“I love daddy too.” June whispers. “Where is he?” Lucy laughs and stands up placing June on her hip.

“He’s in bed. Why don’t we go find him?” Lucy asks June who nods eagerly. They make their way to the master bedroom and Lucy slips through the door quietly. She sets June on the bed and she crawls up and nuzzles into Tim.

“Daddy.” June whispers. Tim opens his eyes blearily. He sees June and his hands instantly wrap around her waist.

“Hi baby. Do you feel better?” Tim asks her his voice rough with sleep. June shrugs and cuddles into Tim.

“I love you daddy.” She tells Tim. Lucy crawls into bed next to June and wraps herself around June’s back. Tim eyes meet hers and then they go back to June who is barely keeping her eyes open.

“I love you too Junebug.” He whispers. He kisses her hair again and June’s eyes flutter close. They hear the door creak up and Lucy sees Levi standing in the doorway.

“Mommy.” He whimpers and Lucy holds out her arms immediately as the little boy stumbles into their room.

“Come here bubba.” She says. Levi crawls into bed with them and Lucy puts him beside her. She kisses his blonde hair as he falls asleep too. The door opens again and Ava and Daisy stand there.

Tim looks over at Lucy who shrugs and then Tim is motioning the girls over. Daisy climbs in next to Lucy and Ava next to Tim.

Their kids are all fast asleep, as Tim reaches over to squeeze her hand.

Lucy grins at him and her fingers go once again for her T necklace.

If they hadn’t taken a chance, they would not be in bed together with all four of their babies sleeping.

She thinks back to their first Valentine’s Day and grins. They had come so far from that day, they had made a beautiful, wonderful life together and Lucy couldn’t imagine anything better. Because this was once only in her dreams and now it was everything she had hoped for.

“Hey.” She whispers to Tim. He looks over at her, his fingers running through June’s hair.

“Happy Valentine’s Day.”

“Happy Valentine’s Day baby. I love you.” He whispers back and Lucy sighs happily as she closes her eyes to go to sleep.

#chenford #the rookie #chenford fanfic #tim bradford #tim x lucy #lucy chen #chenford fic #anon answered

[zeglythofficial]

Tarot 2.0 - Today’s Reading Drama

Tarot 2.0: what the fuck happened? Did all hell broke loose?

Me: yes!

Tarot 2.0: sounds like a personal problem to me

Me: T liked R’s sexy pic then unliked it hours later.

Tarot 2.0: he saw her nipples and masturbated like any horny man then realized how it looks and unliked it. Still not my problem.

Me: he’s done this before! Liking then unliking pics of R allegedly and of other women too.

Tarot 2.0: An Aquarius man never misses their chance to be flirts.

Me: Speaking of women, he’s liking IG models pics *blah blah*

Tarot 2.0: all this happened today?

Me: YUP!

*Tarot 2.0 runs to grab her cards*

What does Francis think of Zeglyth?

Tarot 2.0: who the hell is Francis? This is turning into a mess already

Me: the director of THG! Did you forget already?

Tarot 2.0: oh, if they’re not important I forget quickly. can’t keep up with these people. Who’s asking about him? And why?

Pulled: Five of Wands (reversed)

Clarification: Ace of Swords

Tarot 2.0: oop! I knew he had the tea.

Me: you didn’t even remember him!

Tarot 2.0: I remember now so doesn’t matter! He witnessed an awkward moment between R and T. And he refuses to have drama on his set. Maybe R and T couldn’t get the kiss right or was having issues filming the scene and Francis was like “hell no! Clear the air because I have a movie to do!” That’s right, King!

I’m sensing they needed multiple kiss rehearsals but something felt off and Francis calmly addressed it. T froze up and R didn’t want to speak up so he kind of knew something went down. Oh this is good! Francis is so sweet, aw! He helped them through the awkward kiss and asked them what felt right, sort of giving them the freedom to direct how Lucy Gray and Coryo would kiss. He’s a very smart man. In his mind he was like “oh they kissed off camera so let me step back and let me do their thing.”

Francis is happy he got the chemistry right hahaha. Like he can’t believe he struck gold with those two. Doesn’t really care about their off screen issues though. He got the chemistry and love scenes he wanted so he was like “not my problem anymore, hope they work out their feelings.”

Also he’s not a fan of J.

My King!

Me: how does HS feel about zeglyth? You mentioned H knew the tea too

Tarot 2.0: shut up!

Me: You love me

Tarot 2.0: love is subjective

Pulled: Page of Swords

Tarot 2.0: NOW this is juicy omg. HS is my Queen. Sparks were flying on set. Whew. T and R overwhelmed her when she arrived. She was like what the fuck is going on here? She witnessed some flirty banter between them and thought they was fucking. Only for J to declare himself as R’s man. HS was shook. She was like us, she didn’t understand how R and T weren’t together. HS came very late too, right? Like the last few months of filming so everyone was already used to Zeglyth shenanigans. Wait a moment, hold the phone. All the cast and crew were in silent agreement not to mention Zeglyth’s chemistry and flirting. They had everyone confused. Why is everyone so confused while J is on set? He’s so forgettable that even some of the cast forgot he was dating R.

Who would be the first to make a move? R or T?

Pulled: Six of Cups

Tarot 2.0: T needs to make the first move but technically it would be R. She needs to give him a signal or sign to step up because he won’t just ask her out randomly. He’s very nervous around her and his feelings. It’s probably the first time in his life he’s scared of being rejected or losing a friendship over romantic feelings. He would rather wait until she’s ready then he can confidently make his move. So I guess both make the first move in their own way!

What would zeglyth be like as a couple?

Pulled: Ten of cups

Tarot 2.0: a couple of fools! Marriage and kids stay in their readings doesn’t it? I’m sick of them. They will have some communication issues and if they work past the initial conflicts in their relationship then it will lead to marriage and kids. If not, they will struggle and resent each other. Communication is a must here. He needs to provide stability and she needs to provide space. So if he’s not consistent, she will leave. Good luck, R! Aquarius are known for their indecisiveness  and independence. If she’s too clingy, he will leave. Good luck, T! Tauruses are super possessive and passionate. They need to compromise, especially him. R is not BB! BB is chill but R will get on his ass about certain stuff.

What would R be like as a gf to T?

Pulled: The Magician

Tarot 2.0: oh I rarely get this card. R is working her magic! She’s very intense, deep, and strongly committed. She’s amazing gf tbh! And to be blunt, the sex between them is a bomb. Like damn. T will be throwing her back OUT. Wow. He’s serious about her and is treating her right so in return, she’s putting in max effort!

What would T be like as a bf to R?

Pulled: Ace of Cups

Tarot 2.0: He brings a lot of positivity and adventure to R’s life. However, he overwhelms her and needs to slow down. She’s not used to a lot of excitement and energy. She needs to be open to new experiences though because T will not be sitting at home all day. He has things to do and a life unlike J. T’s very active which she can exhausting to her sometimes. But he’s a great bf! He’s very happy with R and thinks they can grow together.

What’s T's current mood? Why did he unlike her pic?

Pulled: The Fool (reversed)

Clarification: King of Cups (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: he’s a deviant! An Aquarius in his prime, dick hard and perked up! He’s attracted to her obviously and he’s thinking about her often.

One thing about tables, they sure turn! Whew! Every time I asked T about his thoughts on R’s online activity, I pulled this card and now I’m pulling the fool card on him! HAHA. Okay so he’s being very risky about his relationship right now. Extremely dangerous and this will cause problems with BB. It is causing problems actually. He’s being very immature right now and is not treating BB right, he’s emotionally distant. An Aquarius acting a fool before Valentine’s Day? What else is new!!!

How does R feel about T unliking her pic?

Pulled: Three of Wands (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: she’s disappointed and she doesn’t know why he did that. She feels like it’s 2 steps forward and 5 steps back with T. Like every time they make progress, he disappoints her somehow. Then she feels guilty that she’s disappointed about her friend not showing romantic interest or giving mixed signals. She doesn’t like how hot and cold he is. This causes her to put him in the friendship box because she’s having doubts about him as a romantic partner.

In general, what’s going on today? With R and T?

Pulled: The Hangman (reversed)

Tarot 2.0: R’s kitty has him losing his mind.

Me: excuse me?

Tarot 2.0: You're excused! T is being very impulsive right now. Just bad decisions after bad decisions. He’s afraid of starting over in his relationship and making the wrong decisions. So instead of thinking things through, he’s jumping to conclusions and acting rash. It’s very out of character. Did something happen over the weekend? I don’t know but his energy is different from Saturday. He’s giving me very toxic vibes rn.

Is T jealous of J and other men (about R)?

Pulled: Seven of cups

Tarot 2.0: this guy is so fucking funny. He thinks she has too many options and doesn’t like that but he has options himself so what’s his fucking problem? He’s used to being the only one who wants someone but he’s never really dealt with competition before. R is making him lose his mind. He doesn’t know what to do. He’s questioning his current relationship because of her. He’s fantasizing about a life with R but doesn’t want the smoke! She has MANY offers. More dick is being thrown at her than a hot dog eating contest. J is so clueless.

Lord have mercy. He doesn’t get butterflies with BB anymore and is trying to force them to return. You can’t fake feelings, Buffon! He loves her but he’s like, could I love R more? Yes, dummy! But you’re not ready for her clearly.

How does T feel when R says she loves him?

Pulled: Judgment

Clarification: Page of Swords

Tarot 2.0: He needs to be patient with her. To him, declaring love isn’t something people should say freely. Like sure you can love your friends but it’s painful for him to hear her say that in certain situations. Like even calling him a friend makes him sad sometimes. They’re obviously friends but there’s a lingering romance there. At the same time, he’s grateful for her attention and love but wishes she would stop. He can’t move on or think clearly with her doing that. She keeps reopening a wound he is trying to close.

They’re both so dramatic.

#written in the stars #zeglyth #tarot 2.0

[ssuperficialspacecadett]

One Condition

Chapter Eighteen of The One Condition Series

Rating: Mature

Word Count: 8k

Summary: Pretty thing, Din, and the child are all heading back to Navarro. Will the clan of two have room for one more?

Notes: Welcome to the last chapter of this series ! Typing this is so bitter sweet. Thank you to everyone who has liked, commented, reblogged, or even just read it. I have loved doing this and knowing that people love it to makes it all worth it. I hope everyone enjoys and I will be back to write more in the future (; Happy reading <3

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

With The Crest’s nav set to Navarro, all three of you were off. You weren’t sure how long it would take to get there from Daiyu, but you didn’t dare ask. You wanted to live out the remainder of your time, in this untouchable bubble created by hyperspace, in ignorant bliss. You didn’t want to wake up every morning with a number looming over your head dictating how many days you had left. Your plans allow you to live each of your days to the fullest. Well, as full as you can live your days in the small confines of a ship. 

You had tried giving Din the bag of credits a couple more times since leaving Daiyu, but he refused to take them. Each time he would come up with a different excuse. 

“Why don’t you hold onto them? You’re better at keeping track of things than me.”

His job is quite literally to track people down. You don’t think that there is a person in the whole galaxy that is better at keeping track of things.

“I don’t have anywhere to keep them right now.”

He has plenty of drawers in his room. While you haven’t opened them all, you know for a fact that one of them only houses the silver bell you gifted him. The bag of credits wouldn’t even take up half of the free space in there. 

“Wait until we reach Navarro.”

What’s the difference between you giving him the credits now versus when you get to Navarro? Whatever. Fine. You’ll wait if that's what he wants to do. 

While Din was actively pushing the credits away, he was doing quite the opposite to you. You found him more touchy feely than usual. Not that you minded in the least, but it was something you took note of. The first time you noticed it was after you had just put the child down for a nap. You busied yourself by cleaning up the remains of his lunch. You were surprised that he was even full after eating since he managed to spill half of his bowls contents on the ground. You hummed to yourself while you mopped up his mess and then moved on to reorganizing the pantry. It wasn’t until you felt strong hands wrap around your waist that your humming ceased. You broke into a smile and rested the back of your head on his chest plate. When humming started emanating from above you, your heart seemed to skip a beat. That warm, chocolatey, baritone voice came out unobstructed. He wasn’t wearing his helmet. Your whole body felt like it was made of fractured glass and if you moved, you would finally shatter. Shaky breaths came from you as the unmasked man continued your lost tune. 

He had never done that before. He had never just walked around, without telling you, helmetless. You were filled with a whirlwind of emotions as his arms held you close and he started to sway behind you. You wanted him to feel comfortable on his own ship obviously, but there were risks. If he had just told you that he wanted to do that, you would have gladly taken a nap alongside the child or even taken an extra long shower. You didn’t want to accidentally see him and cause irreparable damage to his creed. As much as you truly wanted to see him, his creed came first. The longer you sway lightly with him, the longer your mind spends concocting a forbidden scenario. A scenario in which he wanted to be helmetless with you around. Your eyes drifted closed and you wrapped your arms around his. You felt a puff of air blow through your hair as he relaxed into your touch. 

You don’t know how long the two of you held each other before you felt him place those coveted lips on your neck. He whispered that he’ll be back and not to turn around. You did as you were told, but stayed in an almost comatose like state until he returned to you. When he did, he helped you with the last of your cleaning. Conversation was easy and natural, but neither one of you mentioned his helmetless escapades. 

The next time you noticed the change in his behavior was when the two of you were in bed together. He seemed to caress your skin with a different kind of softness, he moved inside you tenderly, and he never seemed satisfied with how many times he praised you. The word ‘safe’ couldn’t even properly convey how secure you felt in his arms. The two of you have had sex countless times, but why did this time feel so different? Calling it sex didn’t even feel right to you because it felt like so much more. 

Maybe he was thinking the same way you were. Maybe he didn’t want to be alone in the cockpit just watching The Crest drift closer to its destination. 

The one thing you know for sure: ignorance with Din is bliss.

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Your stomach hasn’t hurt this much from laughing in years. You haven’t been able to catch your breath in what feels like five minutes and your burning lungs are evidence to the contrary.

“So you-you want me to say what?” You manage to choke out between fits of laughter. 

You and Din had been talking over breakfast about shopping in Navarro for supplies when he remembered Karga. Or more specifically what Karga had called you.

“I want you to tell him that if he wants to call you those fucking names, he can say it to the end of your blaster.” He says matter-of-factly. 

“Din,” you put your hand up to signal that you’re catching your breath. “There are two issues with that. Number one: I don’t have a blaster.”

You see him roll his head back in realization as you continue. 

“Number two: even if I had a blaster…isn’t he like your boss or something? I don’t think I should go around holding up people that give you your jobs.”

“I don’t care about that,” he groans. “I just hate that he calls you those names. Those are for me.” He trails off at the end of his sentence. 

You sit up straight and wipe the tears from your eyes. The baby squeaks as your body's adjustment jostles him in your lap. 

“While you’re correct and those names are just for you, I can’t go around holding people at gunpoint. It would look weird and unnatural. You can get away with it because you look really good.” 

“I look really good…when I hold people at gunpoint?”

You flick your wrist in the air at him. “Yeah. It’s one of the things you do that's not inherently sexual, but it,” you cover the kids ears. “Turns me on.”

Din leans back on his hands as he takes in what you just told him. 

“Oh come on. Don’t you have a little list like that? Random things that just do it for you, but you can’t explain it?” 

“Actually I do.”

“Now you have to share. At least one. It’s only fair.”

“Alright…when you tie your hair up before you do something.”

“Really?”

“You have a sort of soft expression on your face when you do it. As if you’re thinking about something and I always find myself wondering what that is. Tell me another one of yours.” 

“Whenever you fix something on The Crest. I could watch you work for hours.” 

“That explains why you’re always daydreaming when you’re helping me.” 

“Guilty. Now you.” 

“Whenever you’re taking care of the kid.”

“Din…I take care of him all the time.”

“I know!” He throws his hands up in exasperation. “You’re just so good with him.”

You cock your head to the side and give him a toothy grin. “Maybe I’ll use him to stop Karga. I’ll tell him to use his little baby magic.”

“I would like to see that.”

“I’m kidding! I’ll just talk to him like an adult.”

“Now who’s no fun.”

You roll your eyes at him playfully, situate the child on your hip and stand up. “Well, we don’t have to worry about that interaction for a while.” 

“Actually, we arrive tomorrow.” He sounds somber as he says this. 

When you turn back around to look down at him, his body language shows the exact same emotion that his voice carries. His shoulders seem deflated and his helmet is looking down into his lap. 

“Maker, this ship travels fast.” you say almost breathlessly. 

“Only when I don’t want it to.”

“Hey, hey.” You kneel down next to him, child still at your side. “I still haven’t paid you.”

“Not for lack of trying.” He says looking up at you.

You can’t help but feel a twinge of sadness at his comment. “As I was saying: I still haven’t paid you. So technically, we still aren’t done. Would you care to hang out with me a little longer?”

“If that’s what my employer wants I think I can allow it.” His voice sounds a bit happier behind his beskar.

“Smart man.”

He wants to hang out with you for a lot longer. As soon as he told you when all three of you would arrive on Navarro he immediately regretted it. He noticed you never asked which was strange because you always did. Everytime Navarro came up in the conversation he would come close to telling you how far out you all were. He always stopped himself because right when he was about to do it, you would switch the topic. It was a bit freaky if he's being honest. It was as if you could sense what was coming and preemptively took action.

Now that it was out in the open he felt sick. He watched your shoulders tense up when his words registered in your head. He was selfishly grateful that he couldn’t see your face. He didn’t want to watch the smile that was just on it drop. He didn’t want to know he was the reason it happened. As your body turned back around, he dropped his gaze into his lap. He knew it was cowardly. Then he heard your sweet voice coming closer to comfort him. He should have been the one comforting you after torpedoing your happiness. Yet here you are in all your beauty and goodness.�� 

You place a kiss on his pauldron. The beskar quickly cools your lips as they make contact. A sigh of contentment quietly seeps out from behind the modulator. 

“How are you always so good to me?” He says earnestly.

“It’s easy to be good to someone you like and I just so happen to like you.”

“What did I do to deserve that?”

“You saved me when I thought I wasn’t salvageable.”

“Oh, Cyar’ika. I think it was the other way around.”

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

As you hop out of the shower and wrap your dripping body in a towel, you go over your mental checklist. Baby fed and asleep? Check. You fed and showered? Check. Grocery list for The Crest? Check. Grocery list for Din’s special dinner? Double check. 

Shopping for the ingredients you need for Tiingilar is the sole reason you have any excitement regarding arriving on Navarro. You have never been so excited to cook something in your entire life. With all of the food stalls that help make up the market, you were confident that you would find everything you need. Or at least things close enough to what you need. Maker, you hope you don’t mess it up. You remember how excited Din got while he talked about the dish. You want to make it correctly for him.

You dry your body off while you continue down the rabbit hole that is your mind. You didn’t want to look for another place to live. The Razor Crest and all of the inhabitants that come with it are your home. You had to figure out a way to let Din know that. To let him know that you wanted to stay. To stay with him. But when would you do it? It couldn’t just be something you causally brought up. You wanted it to be special just like he was. 

“Dank Ferrik! The stew!” 

You heard a muffled voice ask if you were alright through the fresher door. 

“All good! I’ll be out in a second.”

You would tell him what you wanted when you gave him the stew. It was perfect. You would tell him that you wanted both him and his son. They were a package deal after all. Your clan of two.

With your towel wrapped tightly around your body, you exit the fresher. The cool air of the hull causes bumps to form on your slightly damp skin. 

“Well, don’t you look cozy.” 

You approach Din’s bed with the intention of stealing one of his shirts, but your mind goes blank when you see him lounging on his bed with one of his hands behind his helmet. The rest of his body is hugged deliciously tight by his black pants and shirt. 

“It would be better if you joined me.” 

“All good things to those who wait.” 

You keep eye contact with his visor as you kneel down to reach his clothing drawer. You pull it open and locate a shirt by touch alone. As you go to stand, you release your grip on your towel. A sense of deja vu runs through your veins as the cloth falls to the ground below you. Din’s chest has started to rise and fall more quickly now. You have yet to get rid of the bumps covering your skin. The black, long-sleeve shirt in your hand is the only thing shielding your body from his eyes. 

“I would wait for you for a million years.” He says quietly. 

Your cheeks burn under his words and you slip his shirt over your body. With the break in eye contact, you feel as if you’re able to breathe correctly again. The dark fabric that used to feel coarse on your skin has now become its source of comfort. You walk to the edge of his bed and smile softly at him.

“You always did look better in my clothes than I did.” 

“Hey Din, do you think that…” You trail off. 

“What is it, Mesh’la?” He props himself up on the bed.

“Do you think that you could just hold me tonight?” 

“You don’t even have to ask. I’ll do anything you want.”

He pulls the covers down beside him and motions for you to climb in. You feel silly for asking, but right now you just need to be held by him. When he cradles you, it's as if no person or thing alive can harm you. The feeling of being wrapped in his arms is one that you will never tire of. It’s a feeling of safety that was stolen from you in childhood. A feeling that has finally returned to you and you have no intention of letting it go. As amazing as him fucking you is, sometimes you just need innocent intimacy. You feel the butterflies in your stomach flutter when he so readily gives it to you. How sad that the bare minimum does so much for your fragile heart. 

He truly knew you inside and out. You didn’t know it, but he wanted you so desperately he would do anything. If you could see his eyes under the visor, the pure need in them would have blinded you. He wanted you in the morning, in the afternoon, and in the evening. He wanted you when you were angry, sad, and happy. He wanted you even if you told him you never wanted to have sex again. He wanted you breath, body, and soul. You lit up his worlds. If holding you was what you wanted, then he would do that until the universe burned out. 

You shimmy your body down under the covers and are immediately pulled into his embrace. His smell circles you just as much as his arms do. Your sigh of relief is cut short by the bottom of his helmet brushing against the top of your head. 

“I think I left my band on the sink in the fresher. Let me go grab it so you can take this off.”

When you make a move to get up, you feel his arms snake around you tighter. You let out a small laugh as he pokes at your side. 

“But I like you here.” 

“And I like being here with you too, but you need to get some fresh air. Let me just go get my band. I promise I’ll be quick.”

“Are you afraid you’ll turn to stone if you look at me?”

You are pretending to struggle against his arms when he says this. As soon as his words settle, your body goes slack. He pokes at your side again, but you don't move. 

“It’s not me that I’m afraid for.” 

“If I’m not worried about me, then you shouldn’t be.”

“I could wake up in the night and accidently open my eyes or I could get up before you in the morning or I-”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

“Then trust yourself. I wouldn’t do this if I didn’t trust you. The lights will still be off so everything will be dark like normal. The only difference is that I’ll be … unrestricted.” 

“Unrestricted, huh? That’s what you’re gonna call it?” 

“If that takes away some of the anxiety you feel, then yes. We practiced in the shower a little bit ago, remember?” 

Now it’s your turn to poke him in the side. “I don’t think I could forget.” 

“I like that I have that effect on you.”

The two of you sit in silence for a few more seconds before Din makes a move to sit up. You mirror him and hug your knees into your body. You watch him reach for the light switch. He turns to look at you and then everything goes dark. You swear you can still see the outline of him etched into the blackness, but then it fades away. 

“Can I take it off you?”

He doesn’t say anything, but you feel rough hands connect with the tops of your knees. They slide their way down until they reach your own hands. You allow him to pull them upward until you get your answer. He has brought you to his helmet. 

You shift your body forward so you are now resting on your knees instead of your ass. You never once let go of him in the process. As if he would melt into the darkness if you did. The two of you feel roughly the same height; you on your knees and him sitting on the bed. You breathe out slowly before you start to lift the beskar. You hear him take a modulated breath in, you lift, then an unmodulated breath out. The exhale tickles your wrists.

“There’s that fresh air you were talking about.” He whispers.

The gravel in his voice makes your stomach flip.

You continue moving the helmet up until you feel his hair brush against the insides of your arms. As you are bringing it down in between the two of you, he takes it from your hands. The cot creeks as he leans over and sets it down outside the room haphazardly. When you feel him return to his original position, you reach out into the inky blackness. You connect with his chest, hard and muscular, first. His heartbeat is strong as you travel back up to his face. You smile when your thumb glides across his plump lips. Using that as your guide, you bring your own lips to meet his. You tilt your head to the side as you deepen the kiss. His hand comes up to rest on your left thigh.

“That was for taking a chance on a girl you didn’t know.”

You move your lips higher and place them on the curve of his nose. 

“What was that one for?”

“That was for showing me that family isn’t always blood.”

Again you climb higher and your lips come to rest in the center of his forehead.

“And that one?”

“It’s a secret…for now.”

You fall asleep before him. He notices that you always pass out quicker when your head is tucked into his chest. His heartbeat acts as your perfect white noise machine. While it is tempting to drift off with you, he loves moments like this. When time stops and the only thing that exists is you in his arms. He likes to count how many times you breathe each minute. It's repetitive, it’s methodical, it’s you. Your scent also changes at night. Your natural smell becomes deeper and richer. Din smiles because he knows that evidence of your slumber will be left in the morning in ways only he can decipher. 

He pulls you closer and offers up desperate prayers to The Maker that tonight isn’t the last night he gets to hold you like you’re his. 

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“Baby, where are you? Please come out.”

Din just told you that the ship would be dropping out of hyperspace soon and to collect the kid. Coincidentally, the child chose this exact moment to play hide and seek without informing you. 

“Your dad is gonna kill us if we aren’t in our seats and strapped in.” 

You growl under your breath as you check under all of your bed’s covers, in the fresher, and Din’s bedroom. There are only so many places on this ship. Where the fuck could he be? Just as you are walking to the back of the hull to inspect it, you hear a small noise. You stop in your tracks and hold your breath. It only takes a few seconds for the sweet sound to faintly ring out again. You had only heard it a couple of times months ago, but you had committed it to memory. 

“Gotcha, you gremlin.”

You make a beeline back to Din’s bedroom. You hadn’t checked the drawers on his bedroom wall because you never imagined that the baby would get in there. You push the button to make the door slide open and crawl onto the bed. Words laced with discipline formulate on your tongue as you pull open the drawer. However, as soon as you lay your eyes on him, all that is forgotten. He is lying comfortably on his back with the bell you made for Din in his hand. He beams up at you and waves which causes the bell to jingle in his tight grip. Hard as you try, you can’t keep your composure. Any and all annoyance at him for avoiding you has melted away.

“I’m not sure how the hell you got in there, but I know how you’re going to get out.”

You scoop up the babe and make your way out of the bedroom. Each step you take is narrated by the bells candied twinkling. 

“There you two are. I thought I was going to have to send a search party.”

You give Din a dry laugh as you make your way through the cockpit doors and take your seat.

“Hey! I was ready when you said to be! It was your son that decided to dick around.” 

“Blaming a child on your tardiness?” you hear him sarcastically click his tongue. “How irresponsible.”

“Fine,” you bounce the baby in your lap so the bell's tune can be heard throughout the small room. “I was going to reprimand him for taking your things, but that would be something a responsible person would do. And that’s not me according to you, is it?”

He had his chair facing you as soon as the sound rang out. A wicked smile crept its way across your face when you got his undivided attention. You could feel him trying not to laugh from behind his helmet. 

“What? I thought you wanted to teach him how to share. This is a great way to start.” Your words are soaked in fake innocence. 

“He can learn to share with something else.”

“What’s wrong with the bell?”

“You gave it to me.” He leans forward in his chair. 

“I remember.”

“So think of it as an extension of yourself. I don’t want to share any part of you with anyone else.” 

For the second time today you lose your composure. Try as you might, your smile turns from one of playfulness to one of sincerity. The only two individuals in the universe that could break you this quickly were on this ship.

“You can’t say things like that. It’s not fair.”

“How is anything that I just said ‘not fair’?” You can hear him finally cave in and laugh as he leans back in his seat.

“It gets me all flustered and then I lose my train of thought.”

“Well then, mission accomplished.”

You go to roll your eyes at him, but they catch on a lever on the control panel. You motion with your chin to the silver ball that's screwed onto the top of it. Din looks where you gestured and nods in agreement. He twists off the ball and clears his throat. The child looks up at his father and coos sweetly. 

“You want this? You want the ball?”

The creature in your lap holds both of his hands up and screeches happily at the sight of his favorite toy. With the hand that isn’t occupied by the bell, he reaches for what his dad is holding. 

“Ah ah ah,” you chide. “You have to give up your dad’s bell.”

The child looks up at you with pleading eyes, but you shake your head at him and repeat what you already said. He conveys his emotions by shaking the bell angrily. 

“Come on.” Din offers. “It would make me really happy to have that back.”

Unable to withstand his fathers gentle words, he holds out what you gifted Din so long ago. You kiss his green head while Din praises him and hands him the toy. Din holds the bell in his hand and rolls it around. 

“It’s still the best gift I’ve ever gotten.”

“I thought you said no one had ever gotten you a gift before?”

“I wasn’t lying, but that doesn’t mean that anything else could ever top this.” 

Everyone is strapped in and all items have been returned to their rightful owners. You don’t even get nauseous anymore when The Crest drops out of hyperspace. You sit snugly in your seat as Din pilots the ship down towards the planet's surface. His biceps flex underneath his black shirt as he maneuvers the steering. A much more amusing sight to see than the barren lands that Nararro has to offer. He chose to land the ship in its usual spot: right outside the city’s arch. 

Everyone makes their descent into the hull to get ready to depart for the meeting in the cantina. While you are making sure the child is snug in his crib, a hand palms your ass. You turn around with a smirk to see the perpetrator heading to the armory. 

“I’ll get you back for that, Tin Man.”

“That’s a sweet thought,” He says nonchalantly as he opens the double doors. “Too bad nothing gets past me.” 

“We’ll see about that.” 

The confidence in your voice must have made him think twice about his last statement because he pokes his helmet out from behind the doors. You hold back a laugh and throw him a wink before walking away to grab your tote. 

You quietly count your separate stash of spending credits while you wait for Din to be ready to leave. You didn’t want to ask him to borrow money for food since this was going to be something special for him. You would do the rest of the food shopping for The Crest tomorrow. There seems to be enough credits to get all of your ingredients, but now to think of a ruse. You will need to slip out of the cantina while Din was talking business with Karga. Unfortunately, there is some truth to what he had said earlier. Nothing really gets past him. Looks like you are going to have to recruit some help from a little green creature. After tucking the money away, you head back over to the youngling that's patiently playing with his silver ball in his pram. 

“I need your help.” You whisper to him.

His ears perk up and his eyes lock on you. “I need you to cry in the cantina so I can take you outside and we can go shopping for a special dinner for your dad. I’ll make sure I sit out on the outside of the booth and tap on my thigh. That will be your signal to start crying, okay? Do you think you can do that, little one?”

Your accomplice nods firmly and waves his toy around. Maker, you hope the two of you can pull this off. 

“Ready, Mesh'la?”

Oh the way that name still made you feel. 

“Yes.” You hum as you watch him close the armory and make his way to the ramp. 

The baby coos out as if to say he was ready too. You swing your tote over your arm and walk over to him. He tilts his head at you when he sees that you have your bag, but doesn’t say anything. Instead he hits a button on his arm plate and ushers the child towards the two of you. You take it upon yourself to open the ramp. Before it has a chance to reach the ground you stand on your tip toes and kiss the cheek of Din’s helmet. 

“Are you going to tell me what that third kiss was for now?”

You almost cave and tell him when he turns to look down at you. “I think I’ll keep it a secret for a little while longer.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“Ahh! Long time no see, friends!” 

You couldn’t help but feel appreciated at Kargas' boisterous welcome. You gave him an enthusiastic wave which juxtaposed the nothingness that Din awarded him with. As you approach the table, a hand finds its home on your lower back. 

“I do hope you don’t have a headache this time, my dear. I still haven’t forgotten about that drink you owe me.” 

“I wouldn’t expect you to.” The sarcasm in your voice goes undetected by the man already sitting down. 

“Join me, please.” Karga waves his hand to the seats opposite of him.

This time you motion to Din to sit down first. For the second time today, he gives you a slight head tilt, but doesn’t say a word. He just slips off his rifle and props it up next to him inside the booth. You wink at the baby as you sit next to Din; your plan is falling into place. 

“I’ll take a drink with you, but you have to do something for me.”

“Anything for you, sweet.” Karga has already started pouring you a shot. 

“I don’t mean any disrespect, but I would love it if you called me by my name.”

He places the drink in front of you and sets the bottle down revealing his already full shot glass. 

“You? Disrespectful? Never.”

“I’m glad you think so. So do we have a deal?”

“A deal?” He holds the shot in his hand, but raises his eyebrow.

You follow his lead and grab your glass. “Yes. I will take a drink with you if you will call me by my name from now on.”

“Your companion has gotten quite good at negotiations, Mando.”

Out of the corner of your eye you see Din nod at Karga and then turn his gaze to you. You know he would have much rather you use a blaster to make your point, but he trusts you to handle the situation in the way you deem fit. 

“I learned from the best.” You nod at Karga. “So…do we have a deal?”

“You drive a hard bargain. I accept, my dear- I mean…” He corrects himself and uses your name this time. “Don’t you love when a woman knows what she wants, Mando?”

The two of you clink your glasses on the table and down your drinks. Thankfully Din had the sense to place his hand on your thigh after you swallowed your beverage. If he hadn’t…poor Karga would have been drenched in blue liquor. Maybe it's the leather wrapped hand on you or the alcohol blazing its path down your throat, but your body feels warm. If you didn’t have something to do, you would have allowed yourself to slip into this feeling and just bask. Before the urge to stay gets too strong, you pat on the thigh that's unoccupied by Din’s hand. 

The baby, thank The Maker, cries right on cue. Karga and Din just started to discuss the matter of pucks, but stop when they hear the wails. Since you are sitting on the edge of the booth, you quickly hop up and whisk him into your arms. 

“Oh sweetie,” you croon. “What’s the matter?” 

True to his part, the child keeps on sobbing. 

“Are you hungry?” 

He shakes his small head while you continue to cradle him in your arms.

You lift your head up when Din calls your name. “I can hold him for you. Maybe he just feels left out?” 

“It’s alright, really. You’re talking business. Why don’t I just take him for a walk around the city? He’s probably just tired from being cooped up.”

“I don’t think I want the two of you out alone-”

“Nonsense, Mando! This city has never been safer! You should know that since you were one of the ones that helped me start the clean up process.” You can feel the pride that Karga has radiating off him. 

“See? We’ll be fine. I promise that we’ll walk for a little while and then head back to The Crest to wait for you. Does that make you feel better?” 

“A little.”

You can sense the uneasiness in him from where you are standing. Without thinking you lean over and place your hand on his shoulder. It’s a small act of affection, but you know it will be enough to help calm him. 

“I think everyone around here knows that that kid and I are with you. Nobody in their right mind would mess with us unless they want a blaster hole through their head.” 

“Promise you will go back to the ship after you are done walking?” 

“We promise.” 

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

“We have the bone broth, the spices, the vegetables, the grains, and now the meat!” You tell the baby as you tuck the wrapped cold cut into your tote. “I’m actually surprised we found nerf meat here. I guess that's for the best since I know for a fact I can cook this stuff.” 

On one hand you felt kinda shitty leaving Din to fend for himself against Karga, but he did that before you came along right? What’s one more time? On the other hand, one on one time with the child outside the setting of the ship has been refreshing. Not that he was fussy to begin with, but all the sights and sounds of the market kept him content. A few people had actually come up to you while you were shopping to compliment him.

“He is just adorable!”

“My, my he is such a well mannered young thing!”

“Your son has such beautiful eyes.”

You took each complement with a grain of salt, but that last one did you in. Your son. You didn’t have the heart to correct the old woman that gave the compliment. The strange part was that it didn’t feel wrong either. He truly felt like your son. You woke him up in the mornings, you clothed him, fed him, played with him, bathed him, put him to bed, and most of all you loved him. You didn’t think there was a maternal bone in your body until you met him. But when you did…everything just clicked. 

“Let’s head back to The Crest.” you say looking down at the kid in his floating pram. “I’m so excited to get started on this for him!”

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

You don’t think you have prepared for a meal so fast in your life. The market took a bit longer than you expected, so you knew that you were on borrowed time. All you could do was pray that Karga was in a chatty mood and that Din was in the mood to put up with him. 

“Maker, Din.” You sigh in exasperation. “Why the fuck do you have to be such a damn minimalist?” 

You have every bowl, cup, plate, and utensil laid out in front of you. In total you had three bowls, three cups, three plates, three forks, and two spoons. You suspect that the child got a hold of the last spoon a while ago. In each of the three bowls you separated the cut up vegetables, the grains, and the broth. On the first plate went your deadly blend of spices. On the second plate held the chopped up Nerf meat. You figured that you could use it as a makeshift frying pan when you placed it on the hotplate. The third plate would be where you would set the meat once it finished cooking. Your body felt tired, but there was no time for caf. Your only thought was him. 

The baby plays next to you happily while you flip the chunks of steak. Every so often you sprinkle a bit of your spice blend onto it. You really were in the dark with the exact measurements and ratios, but you definitely remember him saying that it should be hot enough to singe some nose hair off. So, you hold your breath and dump the rest of the seasoning onto the meat. In an instant the hull is filled with the smell of the concoction. Your eyes are watering and your lungs burn from inhalation. Through tears you can see the little one beside you trying to rub his own eyes. 

“F-fuck,” you cough. “I should have left the ramp down!”

You grab the child, both of you coughing, and head to the ramp. When it opens the two of you stumble out into the clean air. You kneel on the lava rock ground and set him down in front of you. You ache to alleviate the stinging in your own eyes, but tend to the youngling first. Taking the hem of your shirt, you reach out and rub those big, round eyes of his. 

“I’m so sorry, my love. I didn’t realize that was going to happen. Are you alright?”

He nods his head, but scratches at his nose with his little claw. 

“I think I got everything out of your eyes, but let's stay out here for just a few more seconds.” 

You close your own to help with the pain. As you do this, you can hear the kid laugh. It soothes the worried feeling that once had its grip on you. 

“What are you two doing out here? Wait. What happened?!”

Din must have seen the kids' bloodshot eyes over your shoulder. You can hear him quicken his pace to reach where you landed after your little cooking accident. 

“We’re fine, Din.” You look up at him. “We just got something in our eyes and came outside for some fresh air.”

“You are not fine. Your eyes are red and watering. What happened?” 

You can hear compassion and concern behind his stern tone. As you open your mouth to reassure him again, he kneels beside you and takes your face in his hands. The soft leather of his glove wipes away the wetness on your face. 

“Now, please. Tell me what happened, Mesh'la.”

“How can you call me that when I look like this, huh?”

“You’re still the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. Even when you look like this.”

You feel your face get hot and this time it wasn’t because of the spices.

“Fine. I was cooking and I- Oh Maker! I was cooking! The food!”

You bolt from his grip and duck back inside The Crest. Thankfully the open ramp allowed for the contaminated air to be swept out. The meat is still cooking on your homemade skillet. It looks a little charred, but fortunately nothing you can’t scrape off. You quickly move it to the other plate so it can cool. 

“I leave the two of you alone for an hour and the ship almost blows up because of what you’re cooking?”

“Wait, Din!” You can hear him coming up the ramp so you position your body in between him and the food. “Please. I know this is going to be annoying, but can you wait outside for a little while?”

He stops before he steps inside the hull. You can feel the curiosity radiating off of him. The child holds one of his fathers fingers as he gets swaddled in his arms. 

“How long?” He tilts his head to the side in an attempt to see what you’re trying to conceal. 

“I’ll go as fast as I can. Would you be more patient if I told you that I’m working on something for you?” 

“For me?”

There it is again. His voice is airy with disbelief. 

“Yes,” you never want him to have doubts. Especially about you and your intentions with him. “It’s something for you. Now will you please wait outside?” 

He finally caves and heads back outside still carrying the child. You breathe a sigh of relief and turn to face your barely made meal. 

“Okay, no biggie. I just have to warm the broth, cook the grains, boil the veggies in the broth, and add the meat.” Fuck.

 — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

The sun has begun to set on Navarro and with the loss of its warmth, the air becomes crisp and cool. He prepared for that. The child sits in between his legs as he pokes at the growing fire he erected. When he finishes with the stick, he tosses it in the flames to be consumed like its brothers and sisters. Embers float up and around and the baby coos in excitement as he watches them dance. Din peers down at the little creature nestled so closely to him. One of his claws rests on the top of his boot. He wiggles his foot a little making the babe laugh and hold on tighter. A quiet laugh escapes his modulator into the night air. 

“So, were you in on the little stunt she's pulling in there?”

Brown eyes look up and peer into his visor. Din thinks he can see the slightest grin on his kids face. 

“That’s what I thought.”

Din turns his gaze to the multicolored sky. It reminds him of you. At first you were as foreign to him as sun sets were. He wasn’t comfortable with the pinks, oranges, and purples that they created. They only served to remind him that he wasn't in space tracking a quarry. You were just a stranger living on his ship that was fueled by the anger her past brought her. But then as time went on, and the sun finally set, you transformed into a shimmering display of stars. A display that he knew very well. You became something he knew better than himself at times. You were a woman living on his ship that was stronger than the anger and the pain her past brought her. 

Your humming floats out from the open ramp to his ears. You were definitely working hard on something in there. He just had no idea what it could be. If you served him a bowl of mud he would eat it with a genuine smile plastered on his face. 

“Hey! That’s a really nice fire guys!” You walk up and place your hands on Din’s shoulders. “The surprise is ready. I hope the two of you are hungry!”

You stand back as Din picks up the child and rises up himself. Try as you might, you can’t fight the butterflies in your stomach when he turns to face you. He seems to linger on your hair or more accurately what you did to your hair. The chaos of cooking caused you to pull your hair into a ponytail because once again it can never seem to stay behind your ears. 

“Ready?” You ask excitedly.

“Ready.” 

You take his free hand and guide him up the ramp. Your body is buzzing with anticipation. You had already set out cups of water and spoons, but you opted to hide the tiingilar until everyone was seated. 

“Okay, Din you sit on the floor here,” you point to the ground. “A you, the greatest little helper a woman could ask for, sit here.” 

The two of them obey your seating chart and you scurry to go collect the bowls of freshly made tiingilar. You realized that the baby definitely wouldn't be able to handle the level of spice in the stew, so you made sure to set a bowl aside before you added the spice coated meat. Balancing three bowls in your hands, you slowly walk back. 

“Alright so I want you to know that I tried my best to make it as accurate as possible. I didn’t have very much information to go on so…”

You kneel down in front of them and set the food down. You give the child his bowl first and then give Din his. As soon as he sees what it is, the air inside his lungs evaporates. 

“Y-you made…”

“Tiingilar.” you quietly offer. “Or at least I tried too.” 

“Cyar’ika, I can’t believe you did this.” 

He hasn’t stopped staring at his food since you placed it down in front of him. 

“I wanted to do something special for you. You have done me a service that I know I can never truly repay, but I wanted to find a way to say thank you. I heard the way your voice lit up when you were telling me about it and I just…I just wanted to give you some of your home back.” 

Your name falls from his mouth in a whisper. You reach out and place your hand on his knee and rub your thumb softly. You glance over at the child who is too wrapped up in eating his meal to pay either of you any mind. When a gloved hand finds its way on top of yours, you turn your attention back to Din. 

“My home became wherever you were the moment you walked onto my ship whether I knew it or not.” 

Your eyes well with tears at his statement. His grip tightens around your hand and he pulls you onto him. He must not have known his own strength because the force with which he pulled you had him flat on his back and you on his chest. His arms lock around your body and pull you flush with his. Beskar or no beskar, you would take a hug from him like this anyday. The pure, unbridled happiness you feel in this moment causes a sob to rip through you. 

“What’s wrong, pretty thing? Did I hurt you?”

“N-no,” you wipe your slick face. “I’m a lot tougher than I look.” 

“That’s my girl.”

The smile you are wearing could put the brightest sun in the galaxy to shame.

“I want to stay, Din. I want to stay here with you. I want to stay here with the child. I want to stay here on this blasted ship even if that means I have to learn how to rewire the whole damn thing myself.” You prop yourself up on his chest. “You’re my home.” 

You lean down and kiss the forehead of his helmet. Before he even speaks you hold your right hand up to stop him.

“Yes. Now I will tell you what that third kiss was for. It was for teaching me that it was safe to let someone in again. That it was safe to…love someone.” 

Your confession makes him sit up and causes you to slide into a straddling position.

“Are you saying you love me?”

“Until the universe burns out.” 

“Breath, body, and soul.”

You throw your arms around his neck and bury your head in the fabric of his cape. You did it. You told him how you feel and he not only accepted it, but said it back in his own little way. Only The Maker knew the depth of your bliss in this moment.

“I have something I need to tell you.” 

“Hmm.”

“Let me look at you. I want to see your face, Mesh'la.”

You pull back and take his helmet in your hands. You nod to let him know you are ready and listening. 

“I got four new pucks from Karga.”

“Okay.”

“I need to take care of them, but…”

“But what, Din?” You laugh.

“One condition: you go with me.”

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

and thats all she wrote...for now <3

#the mandalorian #the mandalorian fanfiction #the mandalorian x you #the mandalorian x reader #this is the way #mando #mando x reader #mando x you #din djarin #din djarin x reader #din dijarin fanfiction #din djarin x you #one condition

[yoongisleftshoulder]

BTS Reacts: You Ask to Share a Bed With Them For the First Time

Seokjin:

Jin would act normal for the most part after you suggested sharing a bed and would genuinely feel okay for the day leading up to the night you two would be doing so. This all changed when he actually began to get ready for bed. He would brush his teeth before you, then wait in bed, awkwardly sitting straight up against the headboard. When you were done, you quickly ran under the covers to escape the cold. His eyes widened at your boldness, studying your face as you smiled sweetly up at him, holding the blanket open for him to get under. He was suddenly aware that he hadn't even gotten inside of the actual bed, he had been sitting on top of the blankets. The feeling of awkwardness slowly drifted away as he got used to the feeling of having you facing him on your side, head tucked in against his chest. The experience of waking up still holding you was something Jin wouldn't trade for the world.

Yoongi:

Believe it or not, I think Yoongi would have this situation handled the best. He of course wanted to feel closer with you but he didn't want to be too forward and waited for you to make the first suggestion. Your comfort and happiness was at the forefront of his mind, he would hate to pull something on you too soon for your liking. When you first brought it up, he would act calm and collected, not making a huge deal out of it. If you didn't know him better or see the tiny smile showing on his face, he would almost have seemed bored. When nighttime came, he was nervous but could tell that you were as well. He pushed his own nerves aside and even asked if you were still okay with doing this. Yoongi was going about this in the most mature way that he could manage. As his eyes opened in the morning and saw the soft rays of sun peeking through the curtain grazing your skin, a ot of the formality disappeared, feeling completely safe with you next to him.

Hoseok:

While traveling with the boys around the tour, you had asked Hoseok as casually as you possibly could if you guys could try getting a room with one bed, instead of the usual two. For a moment, he was too stunned to speak. Once he fully processed that you really asked, he would flash you the widest grin before agreeing to it. His stomach was filled with butterflies at the thought of holding you through the night before waking up next to you and being the first thing he sees. A smile would never leave his face, even keeping himself up most of the night out of excitement.

Namjoon:

Despite the feelings between you two being strong enough to get to this point, he was still afraid of accidentally making you uncomfortable. He would go out of his way to gather up items and prepare for the night to make you as comfy as possible, physically and mentally. If you were at his house, he would offer to help bring things over from your place, or even let you know that he would be perfectly okay with going to yours for the night instead. Once the two of you made it into bed, Namjoon would desperately trying to keep his cool and hide the fact that he was a red-eared, blushing mess. He would be unsure of how to lay or even move at first but the more tired he got, the more the anxiety was fading. To his delight, he awoke the next morning and the first thing he felt was you sleeping soundly with your head on his chest, your warm breath falling onto his skin.

Jimin:

Smiles all around!!! Jimin would manage to pull himself together and act cool and collected when you suggested sleeping in the same bed for the first time. However, once bedtime became closer and closer, his smiles became increasingly nervous looking. The last thing he wanted to do was unintentionally drive you away from the idea and make you change your mind so he did his best to hide his worried emotions. When the time came and you both climbed into the bed, you immediately snuggled up to him, your arm draped across his abdomen. It took him longer than usual to fall asleep, thoughts running wild and hoping you wouldn't be woken up by the sound of his racing heart beat.

Taehyung:

Wouldn't even try to hide how excited he was for this. He couldn't get enough of hugging you, holding you, or cuddling with you any other time, so why wouldn't he be intoxicated with the idea that he could hold you all night? In fact, he frequently thought about it every time the two of you parted ways for the night; what it would be like to place his arm around your waist as you huddled under the blankets together. Taehyung was so in love with the idea that for the rest of the day after you asked, he was trying to come up with excuses and reasons why you two should go to bed early.

Jungkook:

*Cue the Jungshook meme* Oh man. Absolute internal chaos. Yes, he is a grown man now but.....it's you! Jungkook looks at you like you're the most beautiful creature to ever walk the Earth and now you're asking to sleep with him in the same bed?? Whack. Can't believe it's real and can't understand how and what he did to deserve such an amazing person to love. All of this would be storming through his brain as he realized he had been staring at you blankly for a solid minute after you asked. He would agree, saying yes a little too fast and eager. For the rest of the day he would be panicking over the little details. What pajamas do I wear? Should I buy candles?? Do I need more blankets??? Do I....what if they get grossed out by my morning breath???? The time for you to sleep came and he swore he physically felt all of his worries slipping away once he felt your head rest down on his chest and fall away into a deep sleep. His stiff as a board body would slowly relax underneath the weight of you, his own state of sleep taking over.

#bts #bts reaction #kpop reaction #jin #kim seokjin #suga #min yoongi #jhope #jung hoseok #rm #kim namjoon #jimin #park jimin #v #kim taehyung #jungkook #jeon jungkook

[justscrolling765]

Had this for a WHILE now wanted your thoughts:

Random marine: I love you vice admiral Ann

Ann: Lets out the most strained sound of a laughed that turns into a crazy cackle

Random marine: V-vice Admiral?

Ann: *continues laughing*

Random marine: F-Fine! What would I expect from a demon! *tearfully runs away*

Ann finally stops...unaware of Cora approaching

Ann: That was hilarious...I think I broke a rib

Cora: what is wrong with you?

Ann: Gonna need to be more specific Rosi

Cora: Everytime someone tries to confess to you about something you laugh! It's cruel what is wrong with someone trying to tell you they love you?

Ann: May have to do with the fact that the last person who told me they lived me died right before my eyes!

Cora: O...oh...

Ann goes back to laughing...unaware of the frozen marine in the back

Oh this is a good one feel like I need to share this with my buds: @shina-moon-art and @anime-lover-forever-1127

Okay so...this is accurate and I mean very accurate in terms of Ann and well...being close to people. You could be some random marine and say your grandma died she will most likely laugh or snicker she doesn’t mean to she just doesn’t really know how to respond.  To me since Ann is Roger’s daughter I could see her sort of using laughter as a response to sad news, for example when Ann was told of Roger’s illness, I think she laughed.

She didn’t mean to but I think it became a coping mechanism or a defense mechanism for her. Sometimes people laugh in uncomfortable or distressing situations as a way to relieve tension or to distance themselves emotionally from the situation which is what I think Ann does.

 In Ann’s head those who confess to her don’t really know her so she laughs cause she’s both uncomfortable and has no clue how to handle such a confession what with her position and her most likely not knowing the guy’s name. Ann screams the sort to know those she thinks are worth her time the rest she honestly sees as extras.

It's one of the reasons people call her demon the way she responds to things isn’t exactly seen as normal. Cora was the first to see this and with his emotional intellect, I think he tacked on to Ann’s defense mechanism and didn’t really know how he could help his friend since he doesn’t have context. But knowing him he’d probably think it was something gruesome for her to end up like that. I could see him say he’ll shed tears for her as she would simply laugh.

Bell wouldn’t bat an eye to it maybe scold her now and again with the whack at the back of the head like Nami does to Luffy. But yeah she doesn’t really mind it. Garp, I don’t think would care maybe he would a little but won’t do anything about it, that’s how she copes and he gets it. Everyone is different after all.

Shanks and Buggy…well I think Shanks and Buggy both know she does it so they don’t bat an eye to it. Simply sighing exasperated at their little sister. Maybe Buggy would tease her ot tell her how to act like a small scold but she’d continue smiling. I could see him getting defensive if someone asked why she was acting like that, Shanks too.

Mihawk…I could see not even batting an eye to it maybe being a bit annoyed and exasperated. I could see him trying to be real with her but she just can’t. To get past that barrier I feel like was something Mihawk never could.

Aokiji now he’s interesting…I think at first he thought her to be weird but overtime when it came to getting to know her, he’d realise it was a coping mechanism and wouldn’t say anything about it. It wasn’t his business how she dealt with stuff. He wouldn’t even question it. Though that doesn’t make it any easier for him if he tried to compliment her or tell her something sad she’d still laugh maybe he would sigh, exasperated? I could see him maybe sitting down and waiting for her to stop as the two would then talk about it, Kuzan seems rather patient so maybe he’d be neutral to it?

Although I could see Kizaru messing with her to the point of which it would be too much for Ann as Kuzan would catch on to what Kizaru was doing and telling him to knock it off. Kizaru would tease Kuzan about being all protective, but Kuzan wouldn’t even bat an eye to it firmly focusing on getting Ann out of there, with her jaw aching and ribs just hurting. He could probably see how much of an anxious wreck she was and its in those quiet moments I could see him calming her down, hugging her maybe or having a nap together, it’s in those moments that the barrier between the two would break, Ann apologising for her inappropriate reaction while he would simply hold her and say to rest.

Heck, if Akainu saw it he’d probably yell at her only making her laugh even more making him even more mad. That’s when I could see Kuzan getting between the two and taking Ann out of there before Akainu did something.  Ann at that point would probably try to make jokes about Akainu but stop when seeing Kuzan’s unimpressed expression, a still silence would be between the two until Ann would apologise ashamed of her reaction. She knew it wasn’t normal but didn’t know how to stop it as Kuzan would simply hug her assuring her it was fine.

That’s my idea anyway…sorry if it’s too long.

#kuzan one piece #kuzan x oc #kuzan x reader #aokiji x oc #aokiji #aokiji kuzan #borsalino #aokiji one piece #akainu sakazuki #one piece akainu #monkey d garp #hawkeye mihawk #shanks one piece #red haired shanks #buggy the clown #one piece oc

[khaleesiofalicante]

dani can you make a list of the main takeaways from this chapter? so much happened that I think my mind missed a couple of details...

also,the chapter was amazing.i fucking loved it. petition for chapter to be from other magnus pov. also we need the diary of other max

Not y'all making me write a 25k chapter AND Sparks Note lmao. Okay. But let's see.

What do we know about the Other Timeline:

Max and David (with their kids) lived a very different life in the Other Timeline. They went into the mundane world (not Australia hehe, Staten Island) and lived as mundanes, hoping it would keep them safe.

This means in the other timeline A LOT of the things that happened in LBAF 5 and 6 did not happen - including Arcaid, Blackbane, Arthur getting arrested, Other Max drama etc. It was just...It was a very quiet and peaceful life.

Mavid family knew about Arthur's power. He tells them as we saw. They also know Lucifer killed him.

They had a very quiet life until the day of Winter Solstice when Arthur dies, Lance gets triggered and destroys Idris and all the nephilim in the world.

His power kills Lance and the door between the demon world and mundane world breaks, turning the real world into a demonic one where demons just live freely (because nephilim aren't there to kill them anymore)

All the nephilim died except for David (who switched to his demon blood). But 11 days after his boys' deaths, he takes his own life by changing back into his angel blood and drawing an agony rune on his chest. He dies before the demons find him.

Warlocks can't use magic in OT because demons sense it and kill them. So, they all wear Arcane binders (which takes their magic away).

A lot of warlocks in the other timeline are dead too - including Ragnor and Catarina.

The Warlock Academy in London is where baby warlocks are brought in (Magnus teleports them there) and trained not to use their magic (this makes me very sad btw). Tessa runs the place. Tessa does not wear arcane binders because she needs to put it on everyone else.

The Specials (Eldest Curses) who can use their 'special' powers learned to expand on them. Tessa can turn into demons too (she once turned into an angel in TID), Magnus can teleport through dreams (dream walking), Max can time travel because he used lightning/light to create portals that break through the fabric of time.

The Other Timeline is a fucking mess. People die every day. It's not hospitable and it's dangerous and it's literally dying. I'd give it another 300-400 years before everyone (mundanes) dies.

That's when Time Travel idea is brought up. There is a lot of research to figure out what to do. There is an ENTIRE team of people working together to fix the timeline - under Max's leadership.

The first attempt is to bring Arthur back (because it was the obvious trigger) but then Max finds out about canon events and how they cannot be changed.

That's when Kincaid comes up. Everyone knows a little bit about him even though he doesn't exist in their timeline. They see him in the mural. Hermes knows the Knightstorms (because of Mikkel). Max knows him because Arthur used to mumble his name in his sleep.

Hermes sacrifices himself (because Michael's blood is guarded by his own at Nico's orders) for Kincaid to be created.

Max creates Kincaid and then they all wait patiently.

ENTER THE CURRENT TIMELINE.

What happened at the end:

Other Max says he won't change a canon event

David forces him (by threatening to take his own life) to open a time portal

But they don't let Other Max change the canon event because they fear he will go through the portal to his own timeline

So Max puts him to sleep

When Other Max wakes up, he finds out that Arthur is alive and Winter Solstice is over. Meaning someone changed the canon event and prevented Arthur's death.

#THAT IS ALL YOUR HONOR #lbaf

[seishirology]

thinking about dating itoshi sae as a regular high school student. this is an american high school bc i attend an american high school which means WE attend an american school

no warnings just a normal school day between you and sae <3

he enjoys walking to school with you, even though his annoying little brother has to follow him to school sae’s day starts off on a good note. he listens as you tell him about your dream from the night before, every now and then dropping a comment about how messy the plot line was.

he waits for you at your locker before he drops you off at your first hour. he shares a little small talk with shidou whose locker happens to be right next to yours. but sae isn’t worried, he trusted you to know that he was the only man in your heart. he carries your books to class for you, and as cringe as it is he tells you that he loves you before leaving for his locker.

after your first hour he comes to pick you up, the frown on his face is immediately replaced by a smile when he spots you standing near the door. his hair is a little messy and his cheeks are pink, he tells you about how much he hates the stairs but if he took his time you would be late for your next class.

the walk to your second hour is a little quicker than the first. but lucky for the two of you your classes are right across the hall from each other. he waves wistfully in your direction as he exits the door to your class.

his leg bounces in anticipation as the last few minutes of second hour near. he’s the first one out the door, shoving his new homework into his textbook and rushing towards the door to your class. you tell him your cheeks hurt from laughing in second hour, and he asks if you think your class is funnier than he is. you jokingly say yes and watch as his lip juts out but the rest of his face returns to a neutral expression. but it only lasts for so long as you both approach your third hour. he follows you in, taking his seat right behind you. whoever made your schedules had sae’s best interest in mind because it was a miracle he was in your home room class.

you pass notes during class, careful to not get caught by the teacher. but he never noticed, but even if he did the sight of two young teens falling in love was more than enough for him to not involve himself. third hour passes by in a flash and it’s time for lunch. you stop by your locker while sae takes a quick detour to the boys bathroom.

together you guys run towards the cafeteria in hopes that your seats wouldn’t be taken by other students. you arrive just in time with him, taking a seat next to the window sae unpacks the lunch he prepared for the both of you that morning. your bentos are matching, his was red while yours was pink. the rice balls he made with love were heart shaped and the sides he packed were all stars and hearts that made your stomach do flips.

lunch passes by quickly. after all, the good things never last. but the rest of the day passes by in a flash. he drops you off upstairs for your fourth hour, and hurries down the same flight to try and make it to class in time.

the walk to fifth hour is a quiet one, it’s nearing the end of the day and it’s been about an hour since you had lunch. he knows that you want a snack around this time and hands you a bag of chips as well as a bottle of flavored water. he kisses you on the forehead and wishes you luck before hurrying away to his class all the way on the other side of the school.

he doesn’t make it on time to pick you up to go to sixth hour, but he always does his best to try and meet you halfway at least. today he succeeds in arriving a little earlier than usual, he pants heavily telling you that you were a slow walker. but you know he’s just messing around because of the way he looks at you when you offer him the water. words of gratitude are exchanged.

your sixth hour teacher greets the two of you cheerfully. she always enjoyed interacting with you two as the feelings the two of you had for each other was something straight out of a romantic movie. she lets the two of you sit next to each other as long as sae doesn’t let his attention wander away from the board and takes notes for once in class instead of staring at you the whole hour.

once the school day ends he walks you to your locker and carries your bag and his to the gymnasium where he kisses you goodbye and gives you your bag back. he mutters words underneath his breath about how he should walk home with you instead of going to practice because no amount of practice could help the shitty school soccer team improve. but you just give him words of encouragement and facetime him on the way home which he says isn’t the same but appreciates your efforts anyway.

#seiz.thoughts #itoshi sae x reader #itoshi sae #i would totally spend the hour looking at him instead of taking notes #he makes me feel so mushy inside it takes away all the embarrassment of kissing at school #he wants me so bad

[overobsessedfanboy23]

Galaxy Cup is actually really good overall

I said back when the arc first finished that it was just as bad as the previous arc up until Kuaidul's introduction.

...yeah, no I don't think that's accurate to my feelings anymore. I didn't really remember the arc much differently, most of it felt very familiar rewatching it, I think I was honestly just in a bad fucking mood during nearly every episode of this arc before episode 74.

I was so burnt out by the amount of bad writing choices and overabundance of Sevens fanservice hijacking the plot in the previous arc that even though the darkness cards plot was inherently cool, I couldn't get invested in it because I just assumed the mastermind was going to be Otes and as a result, didn't care.

Rewatching this arc and KNOWING that the mastermind is actually this amazing new character pulling the strings enhanced the arc tenfold, especially the duels involving the darkness cards.

Kuaidul, and the foreshadowing and build up to him, is undeniably the best part of the arc. The final three episodes of this arc pop off so hard and are just peak Yugioh. As stated previously,

KUAIDUL VELGEAR

Plus, I absolutely adore the setup of the other characters having to defeat the protagonist who is playing right into the villain's hands without the villain even having to do anything. That is so cool and unique and amazing and HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I LOVE KUAIUDL?! HE'S A SASSY PUPPETMASTER WITH A HAND IN EVERYTHING AND AH HE'S SO DAMN COOL! :D

Um... So anyways, the rest of the arc is uh... it's pretty good. I kind of like Zaion now. He's funny. But let's be real for a moment: he was just a filler villain to tide us over before Kuaidul. Zaion was a tiny lil mozzarella stick tossed to us to make us shut up while we wait for our Kuaidul pizza. And while Zaion was a nice little enjoyable mozzarella stick, he did still feel like a distraction that... honestly still hasn't amounted to much, at least in the grand scheme of things. I dunno, the current upcoming episode at the time of writing this (A Clockwork Zaion) could change that but at the current moment, his presence in Galaxy Cup felt like a distraction and... messed with the pacing and focus of the arc a bit.

The big problem with this arc in general is that it was pretty aimless and all over the place before Kuaidul graced us with his presence. Before that... only one character gets properly taken over by a darkness card (Yuamu), which is supposed to the A plot, because the plot has to balance screentime with Zaion's furniture excursion, Yudias training Epoch, Manabu having my most hated episode in the show (again, not bothering to go into detail, we all know why it's bad) and then the fallout, Epoch learning that cheating is bad- oh wait, she never actually learned that because the arc was balancing too many plots at once and Epoch went right back to cheating in Spacetime. Ha ha oops. I don't dislike Epoch for this like I used to. She is just a kid and has other qualities that do make her a likeable character despite this but... the cheating thing really needs to be addressed.

This arc spent so much time introducing more and more subplots before the finals that to this day, it's left a lot of things unaddressed for way too long. Tremolo and co. are currently STILL FURNITURE and this arc ended in SEPTEMBER. There's just... too much going on this arc and it makes the episodes feel disjointed. That being said, the stuff that's going on is all good (except the Manabu thing). Yudias mentoring Epoch is really cute and Zaion is a funny ridiculous mozzarella stick of a villain. Most of the parts are good. They just don't completely mesh at times and makes the pacing a bit of a mess.

Seriously, Yudias getting into Galaxy Cup (something that's crucial for the finale of the arc to happen) felt so rushed and out of nowhere, as though the creators ran out of episodes to have him naturally get into the tournament with. However, I can ultimately forgive that as what it lead to was good. This arc is disjointed but apart from two episodes (the Manabu and Mitsuko ones), it's overall enjoyable and the payoff is well worth it. It definitely put Go Rush back on the right track, even if some of the problems from the last arc unfortunately carried over into this arc.

#yugioh go rush #ygo go rush #go rush #yugioh go rush spoilers #go rush spoilers #kuaidul velgear #zaion #zaion (go rush) #arc reviews

[laskyy]

P1harmony as your boyfriend - Keeho version

Genre: fluff

Tw: mention of arguements, kissing and lmk if I missed something

×××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

How you met:

You were in the park just getting some fresh air as you had just finished a hard work day

The sun was almost setting but as it was summer it was still hot

You were just walking around until you found an ice cream parlor

So you just thought it would be a nicw reward for the day you just had right?

You got some vanilla ice cream because why not lmao

"That'll be 2.45$ please"

"Oh sure let me get my wal-"

Your wallet wasn't in your pocket :D

YOUR WALLET WASN'T IN YOUR POCKET?!?!?!?!

"Oh my god I have to look for it I swear ot was with me when I left the house"

The poor cashier was looking at you with a very dull expression because how fun! A random person screaming about a wallet!!

That is until...

"Ayo guys come look at this ugly ass wallet!"

As you turned around you saw a boy around your age holding YOUR WALLET!!

First you were like: OH THANK GOD

But then you were like: Hold on whose wallet are you calling ugly?!?

So as you really wanted to leave the place you ran up to the boy to get your wallet

"This is your wallet? Damn, ugly wallet pretty owner, didn't see that one coming"

You: 🧍

The guy: 🙂

Anyways

You still wanted your wallet so you asked for it

"Let me just do something" he says

And you're like boy if you steal something I swear

But he just laughs and picks up a napkin to write something and then he puts it in the wallet

He winks and leaves along a couple of guys

"AM I GETTING PAID?"

"Oh I forgot about the Ice cream hehe"

As you waited for your change you picked the napkin up

"Hey I'm Keeho, no I didn't write my number but if you're interested come meet me at the park at 3 pm :)"

----------------------------------------------------

How he asked you out:

After your meeting in the park the day after he found your wallet you got to know each other so much better

And you really hit it off in a platonic way

You guys realy hadn't thought about taking a step further until the members mentioned it

"Hey what are you guys doing fof valentines day?"

"Why would we do anything Intak we're just friends"

"Well you guys look like a cute couple so I just thought uhm nevermind"

Cue an emotional crisis!!!

Since that day you couldn't stop thinking about the possibility of you and Keeho being a couple but you were sure he didn't feel the same way

Well how oblivious could you be :)

The boy's head was a mess since Intak said that and now the more he thought of it the more he wanted something else with your relationship

So to take the next step he asked for Intak's help on what he should do for valentines

"I'm sure they like you too! So just give them flowers, chocolate and a heartfelt confession and It'll work!"

It can't be that hard right?

Just tell your crush how you feel!

What's hard about that?

EVERYTHING!!

BUT

Keeho is a very determined person and he's going to shoot his shot and see where everything goes

He texted you saying to meet up in front of the ice cream parlor where you two met at around 8pm

He came in 30 minutes earlier to rehearse everything he had planned

But as you appeared his lines disappeared :)

"Hey kee!"

"These are for you or whatever"

MY BOY KEEHO GOT GAME 😍

You were like: "Uhm thanks?"

And suddenly he was like

"You know what? Sorry I'm just really nervous because I had this whole speech to confess to you but everything just got thrown out of the window as soon as I saw you"

And you laugh

"Boy I've liked you for some time and I thought I was pretty obvious!"

And he's like "Well then you'll go out with me right?"

And when you agree he pulls you in the buggest hug and you only break apart when you hear someone yelling

"CONGRATS I ALWAYS KNEW TOU WOULD GET TOGETHER!"

It was the cashier at the Ice cream parlor your number 1 fan apparently

----------------------------------------------------

How he is as a partner:

So since you started dating, Keeho cannot keep his hands to himself as he is always hugging and kissing you at every single chance he gets

But you love it because you feel loved!!

He is always trying to make you interested in music if you aren't already!

"Babe come here lets record something!"

"But I can't sing Kee"

"COME HERE IT WASN'T A QUESTION!"

But don't worry you'll have fun regardless of your singing abilities

That's honestly a way to describe almost everything in your relationship: fun!

Of course you guys argue sometimes but you guys solve it almost as soon as you start it!

Shota is most likely included in about 55% of your cuddles

But you can't complain he is basically your son at this point

The members are constantly teasing you guys because you're both so affectionate with each other

And cue Keeho saying

"Y'all are jealous."

Well that's partially true but they still love the both of you very much

But not as much as Keeho loves you!

One thing that he'll never admit is that your forehead kisses make him feel some type of way

*you kiss him on the forehead*

Keeho404notfound

"Aww are you blushing?"

"Uhm uh it's because Jiung slapped me"

"I DIDN'T DO SHIT"

He is always like ALWAYS kissing you like you see him after a week he'll kiss you like he hasn't seen you in a month, he'll see you after you got out of the bathroom and he'll also kiss you like he hasn't seen you in a month

But you're not complaining

You love him very much and he loves you too!!

The first I love you was said by you when he was rapping along to 'Super bass' by Nicki Minaj

"THIS ONE IS FOR THE BOYS WITH THE BOOMING SYSTEM TOP DOWN AC WITH THE COOLING SYSTEM WHEN HE COME UP IN THE CLUB HE BE BLAZIN' UP HE GOT-" "i love you" "STACKS ON THE DECK WAIT WHAT?!? I LOCE YOU TOOOOO!!!"

And then he pulls you into a hug smiles at you and kisses you slowly and as things begin to heat up

"WHY ARE YOU MAKING OUT TO NICKI MINAJ?"

Poor Theo always walking in on what he shouldn't but oh well

You guys are very united and always pick each other and hype each other up

All in all Keeho is the most loving and fun boyfriend on the planet and we all want a Keeho :')

××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××××

P1harmony as your boyfriend masterlist

#p1harmony #p1harmony fluff #p1h scenarios #p1h imagines #yoon keeho #keeho fluff #keeho boyfriend