#if it flops i might jump off my roof

[megalony]

Breathe

Okay, as promised, this is my first Tommy Kinard imagine, requested by a lovely anon. I hope you will all like it, feedback is always appreciated I love to know what you all think.

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Eddie Diaz Masterlist

Evan Buckley Masterlist

Summary: After becoming good friends with Eddie, Tommy also gets to know his sister, (Y/n). And when she is in an accident, Tommy does everything he can to look after her.

Enjoy.

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"You okay?"

(Y/n) opened her eyes and looked to her left when she felt a hand on her knee and a shoulder bump into hers. She smiled across at Chimney and nodded, but he could see the wince she was hiding and the pain behind her eyes.

"Someone else can go up the ladder tomorrow." (Y/n) moved her hand to touch the left side of her chest. She knew her ribs weren't broken, but they were going to be banged up and bruised by the morning. In all the hustle and bustle trying to get people out of the top floor of an apartment building and onto the ladder, (Y/n) had taken a fall.

It had been a good job she was hooked on a wire connecting to the top of the truck, but it didn't make her landing on the edge of the ladder any easier. All the wind had been knocked out of her and she stumbled down the ladder whilst helping a woman down. And (Y/n) didn't breathe at all until she was almost passing out on the roof of the truck.

She felt Chimney pat her knee with a grin before he shook his head and turned to look out the window. They were almost back at the station now.

At least her shift was over.

(Y/n) could go get a shower, get changed from her uniform that needed a good wash, and then she could head home.

With a sigh, (Y/n) flopped her head back on the headrest and messed with the headphones that made her ears feel fuzzy. She continued to graze her fingers up and down her side, keeping her touch light to see if a small massage might make her chest loosen up and take away the ache in her chest.

It felt strange to be sat in the truck with Bobby, Chimney and Evan but without Hen and Eddie. The pair of them were on their way to the hospital with a patient. The young boy had become so attached to Eddie that he wouldn't let anyone else treat him. So he and Chimney had switched places.

"Alright, who needs a coffee?" A few grumbles came through the headset as Bobby backed up the truck into the station.

(Y/n) whipped off her headset and slumped them on the spare seat on her right while she undid her belt.

Her hands moved to rub up and down her knees and she plastered a smile on her face as she waited patiently for the boys to climb out first. They would be quicker than her and she needed a minute to click her spine into place and make sure her chest wouldn't tighten when she got up.

Her eyes followed Evan as he practically jumped out the truck, and once Chimney followed suit, (Y/n) sighed and stood up. She tilted her head down and clicked her back into place, leaning from left to right to loosen herself up.

The pain in her chest wasn't too bad now she was up and able to stretch her chest and take a deep breath.

"Alright," She murmured to herself. Maybe getting a coffee with the team would be a good idea to loosen up before she went home. And Eddie had given her a lift in this morning. She needed to wait for her brother to get back to the station so she could catch a ride home with him.

Dragging a hand across the scruff of his neck, Tommy clicked his neck from side to side as he walked past the truck that had just reversed into the station. Eddie said his shift ended around this time and they were supposed to be heading out tonight for a quiz night at a local bar.

He knew he was welcome to hang around the station and wait for Eddie and he had just seen Chimney jog towards the stairs to the kitchen. He could always go and have a chat with Chimney while he waited.

A shiver rolled down Tommy's spine and he jumped when a scream broke out from inside the truck.

He barely managed to twist his body to the right towards the open door before a loud thud echoed through the station and a body tumbled towards him.

On instinct, Tommy lurched his arms forward and he braced himself when a body propelled down towards him. A head bashed into his shoulder, hands grappled with his biceps and a small chest smashed into his. He had to deadlock his knees and brace his back as he leaned backwards to steady them both before whoever it was took him down to the floor.

His arms deadlocked around a slimmer waist than his own and his hands pressed flat against the back of their chest.

"Oh," (Y/n) pushed her forehead up off a very hard chest and her chin tilted into the man's sternum as she tried to stare up at him.

Her eyes went wide when she was met with a pair of dark, blown pupils that were locked on her. She could feel herself shaking and her fingers dug into his biceps like tallons refusing to let him go.

The feel of (Y/n)'s chest smushed up against a very hard chest felt like (Y/n) was slumped against a brick wall. She didn't recognise whoever it was that had graceously caught her from her fall. He wasn't in the station uniform. He wasn't in a uniform that read a different station house either. He was wearing a plain white sleeveless shirt and a pair of dark black jeans that looked a little too tight when (Y/n) dared to glance down at him.

"I- um-"

"You look a little stuck."

His words took her by surprise and (Y/n) blinked, parting her lips but she didn't say anything. She could see his eyes finally tear away from hers so he could look behind her and (Y/n) dared to twist her head round to the right.

She had caught her boot in Evan's seatbelt.

He must have flung the belt off and it didn't reel back up into the holder. (Y/n) had stood in the loop and got herself tangled up like a fish being reeled up on a hook. Her chest was leaning heavily on the stranger in front of her, she had her right leg bent and her foot wrapped up in the seatbelt. And her left leg was hanging on one of the steps leading down from the truck.

If this rather handsome stranger hadn't caught her, (Y/n) would either have fallen to the floor or headbutted the steps on the truck. He had saved her from a big dilemma.

"Okay, just hang tight a minute." Tommy inched his right arm a little tighter around her waist and took two steps closer. He braced his chest up against hers and held her weight easily for her while he reached his left hand out to grab her ankle.

He tried to be careful but his eyes kept drifting back to those big doe eyes that were staring up at him like she had never seen anyone like him before. He could feel her fingers grabbing his arms tightly and she was taking short, shallow breaths that panted against his chest.

Tommy lifted her right ankle up and wrangled with the seatbelt which he flung back into the truck once it was uncurled from her leg.

(Y/n) sucked in a deep breath and moved her hands up from his biceps to grip his shoulders when his arm swooped around the back of her thighs. She held her breath as deeply as she could and tried to stay floppy when he stepped back and pulled her along with him.

He lifted her up as if she weighed nothing. His arms stayed tight around her and he suddenly grinned down at her, making (Y/n)'s stomach flutter with adrenaline.

Once she felt him lean forward and her boots suddenly touched the floor, she could have fainted. Her head went light and bubbled up with air and her breaths came out quick and panting, but she couldn't find it in herself to let go of him. Not yet.

"There you go," He spoke so quietly and softly that (Y/n) almost didn't hear him.

All she could focus on was the feeling of his arm bound tight around her waist and his hand flat out against her back. She could feel his fingertips spread out against her skin and each finger began to tap against her like he was creating a rhythm.

"Are you okay?"

(Y/n) felt the way both his hands moved to her hips, but he didn't let go of her. Even though both her feet were now firmly on the floor instead of tangled in the back of the truck. And (Y/n) somehow couldn't bring herself to let go of him, either.

"Hm, thank you." She dipped her head down and glanced at her boots as she felt heat rising on her neck and swarming along her skin.

She gave his tough shoulders a squeeze before she found the courage to let go of him and hold her own weight on her trembling legs. Her hands moved to run up and down her hips and thighs out of anxious habit. (Y/n) had to tilt her head back to get a good look at the man in front of her. He was tall. He was built very sturdy.

Broad shoulders. Thick, tense arms. A chest as hard as rocks and hands that finally left her hips and clenched into tight fists at his sides.

His quirked smile was something to stare at too. He dragged his tongue across his lower lip and danced his eyes up and down her frame while he moved his hands to hold his hips.

"Do you make it a habit, falling onto people?" His tone was light in jest and his voice was quiet but rough and rugged around the edges.

"Not usually," (Y/n) clasped her hands together behind her back and took another glance down at her boots that hadn't even scuffed on her fall. She was a bit of a clutz at times, but (Y/n) had never fallen onto someone like that before. It wasn't one of her better moments, she would admit. And it was a good job he had been walking past, whoever he was.

Turning to the right, (Y/n) gave the truck door a nudge and leaned against it once it was closed.

"Thank you, and I'm sorry I uh, landed on you. I'm (Y/n)," She held her hand out in front of her but her breath caught in her throat when his burly hand locked in hers.

He had such a firm grip (Y/n)'s arm shuddered and she gave his hand a squeeze.

"Don't worry about it, I'm glad I caught you." The way he let go of her hand to drag his hand across his chin made (Y/n) intrigued. "(Y/n)… you're not Eddie's little sister, are you?"

Her smile gave Tommy his answer. He had just bumped into his new friend's sister. The girl Tommy had been rather intrigued and eager to meet. Eddie didn't tell him (Y/n) worked with him at the fire house, Tommy wasn't expecting to walk around the station and bump into her on his way.

"I'm Tommy."

(Y/n) smiled as she sucked in a deep breath and gave him another once over. So this was her brother's new friend. The guy everyone else at the station had bumped into at one point or another. The guy that used to work here before (Y/n), Eddie or Evan ever tranferred here.

Despite what she had heard about Tommy, (Y/n) didn't expect him to be like the person stood in front of her. So tough and tense and outwardly cold yet soft and approachable on the inside.

"Eddie talks about you a lot, it's lovely to meet you. Are you here to see him?"

"Uh yeah, we're heading out to a quiz night when he finishes." Tommy stuffed his hands into his back pockets but he tilted his head to one side when (Y/n) pursed her lips and dropped his gaze. "Something wrong?"

"No, no… he was supposed to be my ride home. I'll see if I can catch a lift with Buck."

She stole a glance to the right but she couldn't see up into the annex from down here. Once she'd seen Eddie when he got back, she would see if Evan would be graceous enough to give her a lift home. They were all used to doing car shares when they were on the same shifts, it was easier than everyone driving in and driving home after long or particularly hard shifts.

Her eyes snapped back up to Tommy when he took a step closer. She felt her chest tighten and her stomach pool with adrenaline when he leaned his arm on the truck. He stood so close (Y/n) could almost feel each breath he took and his quirky smile made her shiver right down to her toes.

"Why don't you come with us?"

"Really?" It was a tempting idea, and not just because being so close to Tommy was making her stomach flutter. She hadn't been out in a while and it would be good to spend some time with Eddie too without being on shift and having to go into burning buildings or drag people out of crumpled cars.

Being around Tommy was a very tempting idea, as long as (Y/n) wasn't going to feel like a third wheel or like she was the little kid tagging along behind her brother.

"Course. And it's free drinks if we win." The way Tommy drummed his fingers on his hip caught (Y/n)'s attention. And she noticed that even though he was leaning against the truck and was stooped over, he still managed to tower above her.

"Well, you did just save me from a broken ankle, so I think I owe you a few drinks."

His smile made her heart flutter. Tommy had just saved her from a harsh landing, the least (Y/n) could do was buy him a drink to say thank you. And she wanted to spend a bit more time with him, even if they would be in the company of her big brother.

***

"What have we got?" Tommy placed his hands on his hips and took a look around the scene.

There wasn't very much to look at when the road was barely lit by the street lights and the sky was as black as midnight oil. All Tommy knew was that they needed more units. At least four cars were piled up here and Tommy's unit was the first one to get here. They had one ambulance. That wasn't going to be enough to help them. It wasn't going to get everyone out of here.

"I need you all to spread out, check for casualties and direct anyone who can walk over to the side of the road for the EMTs to arrive."

Tommy did his best to refrain from rolling his eyes when a medic bag was thrust into his chest. He slid it on his shoulder and set off into a fast jog.

He wasn't a medic.

He wasn't trained to be a paramedic, he rarely helped out on the medical side of things except for transporting patients to and from the hospital. Even way back when he had been with the 118 and had been friends with Chimney, he didn't take that much notice of the procedures.

He rounded the back of a dark blue Ford only to have one of his team wave him over to the next car along that had yet to be checked out.

Tommy was suppposed to be on the rota for the helicopter ride tonight. He had been switched last minute because they had no available units to a major pile up on the motorway and they needed all the help they could get down here.

"Okay, LAFD, can I-" His words tapered off into the brisk midnight air and the bag on his shoulder slumped to the tarmac when he wrangled the passenger door open.

Oh God.

It felt like all the air sucked out of Tommy's chest and he crashed his knees against the bottom of the car, crouching beside the driver's seat.

It was (Y/n).

Tommy had only seen her two days ago when he went round to Eddie's house for an indoor games night with most of the 118.

When I said I wanted to be alone with (Y/n), this is NOT what I meant!

Tommy wanted a moment, an hour, a day alone with (Y/n). He wanted to be at the quiz night with her or go out for a drink or just sit and have a chat with her without anyone else on the team around. But this isn't what he had in mind. He didn't mean he wanted to have to treat her in an accident on his own. He wasn't a medic. This wasn't his field of expertise.

"(Y/n), hey, are you with me?" He reahed a tender hand out to cup the side of her head while he pushed up on his knees to be level with her.

"Tommy…" The surprise was evident in (Y/n)'s voice, but it was the way her eyes locked on him that had him shivering in his boots.

Her trembling hand reached out and curled around his wrist, holding him with such a grip he almost lost the feeing in his fingertips. He could see the tears in her eyes and the track marks down her face and each breath she took seemed to hitch higher and higher until she was barely breathing at all.

"Yeah, it's me. I thought you told me you didn't do this kind of thing often, hm?"

Her lips quirked into a baiting smile and (Y/n) managed a deeper breath. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes for a few seconds, but she didn't let go of Tommy's wrist. Not until he slowly pulled out of her grip so he could assess her.

"Can I take a look at you?"

"Please, g-get me out."

"I will, don't worry. Just hang in there, I need to check you over first before I try moving you, okay?"

(Y/n) stayed briskly pushed back in the chair and moved her hands to grip the seat to keep herself still. She winced when Tommy trailed his fingertips down her sides and she tried not to let the rush of adrenaline overwhelm her when the heel of his hands pushed into her abdomen. It had been a while since he'd had his training, but Tommy couldn't feel anything abnormal, at least he didn't think he could.

When his hands trailed down to her legs, he winced. That didn't look good.

"Jackson! I need a medic over here."

"Kinda got my hands full with cardiac arrest, Kinard. Give me ten."

That wasn't the response Tommy was hoping for. He needed any medic over here that he could get. He didn't know what he was meant to do. His medical training was rusty. (Y/n) had a major wound in her leg that was bleeding out and Tommy couldn't just wait for her to bleed out on the seat.

"Ah fuck… okay, I'm gonna get some advice-"

"Don't go!" (Y/n) latched her fingers so tightly around Tommy's wrist that she could feel his skin splitting beneath her nails. He couldn't leave her. She had been crying for help since the moment she came back around. Tommy couldn't leave her now when no one else was around or coming to her aid.

His left hand moved to clamp around hers and it was a strange yet thrilling feeling to have his hand engulf hers. His fingers squeezed around hers and his palm was warm yet slightly calloused as he dragged his thumb across the side of her hand.

"Look at me." His hand moved up until his fingers were beneath her chin and she had no choice but to look down at him. "I'm not going anywhere, I promise. But I need to call someone so I know how best to help you. And Eddie is the best medic I know."

He wasn't about to walk away from her, Tommy would never do that. (Y/n) needed him and she needed help, he was going to make sure he helped her. But Tommy needed someone to walk him through this and tell him what to do, and Eddie was one of the best medics in the field.

"Don't tell h-him it's me."

"I won't."

He already knew if he rang Eddie and said (Y/n) had been in an accident Eddie would go into a flustered panic. He would make his way down here and risk a crash himself. He couldn't walk Tommy through this if he knew (Y/n) was the one who was injured and needed treatment.

Tommy let (Y/n) keep a tight grip on his right hand while he fumbled around in his pocket for his phone.

"Eddie. Eddie, I've got a situation. We're on a call but I've got no medics around and I need to get my patient ready to transport. Can you walk me through it?"

"Fuck, I… I suppose so. What's the injuries?"

He muttered a quiet 'Brilliant' to himself and set his phone on speaker in the footwell. When his eyes dragged up to lock on (Y/n), she tried to smile down at him and let go of his hand so he could help her.

"Okay, patient is trapped in her car, the bonnet's crushed down on her right leg and she's bleeding out… she's got a cut just below her knee." His eyes darted back up to (Y/n) just as his hands reached out to hold her knee.

Her fingers latched around his broad shoulder and she pushed back straighter in her seat. He didn't say anything. If (Y/n) needed to hold onto something, Tommy was more than happy for her to hold him for a while.

"Is the blood spurting out or is it slow?"

"I'd say slow, that's good?"

"That's a vein so yeah that's good. You need a turniquet, tie it two inches above the cut and do it tight to stop the bloodloss. If there's any metal or anything in the leg, leave it for the doctors to remove."

"Give me a minute."

Tommy rattled through the medic bag on the floor until he found a blue, plastic strap. He reached across and put the phone on mute so he could look up at (Y/n). "Try and stay still for me." His touch was light as he slid the strap beneath (Y/n)'s thigh and pulled it tight. He could feel her trying hard to stay still but her fingers tightened on his shoulder when Tommy popped the pin through the band.

The blue plastic sank deeply into (Y/n)'s thigh like an elastic band and he worried for a moment that it was going to cut her leg in two. But when he looked down and realised the trickling blood flow had started to taper off, he sighed in relief.

"Alright, that's done."

"How's their heartbeat and blood pressure? If BP is rising the turniquet hasn't worked." This was the first time Eddie had had to help someone over the phone like this. It was strange, but it was a new thing to add to his resume and he was glad to help out a friend when he could.

(Y/n) flopped her head to the right to look at Tommy and she let go of his shoulder so he could slide the blood pressure cuff up her arm so it was settled just below her shoulder. The tightening band made her eyes roll to the back of her head and she could feel her head filling up with air.

But her lips parted and a jolt of electricity ran through her nerves when a finger pressed beneath her jaw and she felt Tommy's thumb digging into her chin. He turned her head from side to side and when she managed to focus her eyes on him, (Y/n) had to take a deep breath.

He had moved closer.

He was no longer crouching beside the bed. He was stood up with his knees bent forward and his body hovering over hers.

Tommy's frame looked a little too tall to fit into the car and the back of his shoulders were slammed up against the roof of his car. But it was his face hovering mere inches away from hers that made (Y/n) gasp and feel like she was going to faint.

"Eyes on me."

His words and that tone of voice were so stern that (Y/n) accidentally mumbled "Yes sir," and she wasn't sure if Tommy knew she was joking or not.

The quirk of his brow and the slight smirk on his lips sent her heart racing.

He clicked the mute button off the phone again and slid the cuff down (Y/n)'s arm. "No, BP's starting to reduce now, it's working."

"Good. Heartbeat?"

Tommy swiped his thumb across (Y/n)'s chin so delicately it clearly made her shiver before he pulled away so he could put the stethoscope in his ears. He leaned down a little closer and slid the metal beneath her shirt near her sternum.

He couldn't help but arch a brow when he looked down at (Y/n). Her heart was racing.

Their eyes locked for a few seconds and (Y/n) could see the panic swirling in Tommy's eyes. Surely this wasn't normal. Her heart was worse than a drummer crashing out a beat. If it went any faster Tommy wouldn't be able to differentiate between the beats.

"Nerves." (Y/n) whispered but she realised she was so close that Tommy could probably taste her words in the air.

"What's making you nervous, your injuries… or me?" He couldn't refrain from asking. It wasn't strictly professional but he needed to know whether he had to unmute the phone and ask Eddie what injury could be causing her heart to skyrocket like this. Unless he was the reason (Y/n) was nervous, that meant it wasn't an injury and therefore Tommy didn't have to panic.

Her eyes darted down to his lips that were flushed and parted enough for (Y/n) to see the way his tongue was pushing up against his teeth. While he waited patiently for an answer.

"You."

He didn't seem to have an answer for that. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say or what he should do. He couldn't walk away and leave her and everyone else was busy so he couldn't swap. Tommy doubted (Y/n) would let him walk away from her now. He wouldn't allow himself to, either.

(Y/n) watched the way he tilted his head down to clear his throat and she held her breath to stay silent when she watched him unmute his phone.

"Heartbeat is a little high, but nothing worrying." His lips curled into something soft which was a mixture of a smile and a smirk.

"Good. You'll just need to check for any spinal or nerve damage to find the best way to get the patient out."

Upon hearing her brother's words, (Y/n) clicked her head from side to side and shimmied in her seat. She could move. She could feel and move her hands, she had already proven that. She had control over her chest and torso and she could wiggle one of her feet; although she couldn't feel her right foot from the constricted blood flow. But that was expected.

It felt strange and somehow thrilling to feel Tommy's hands glide down her shoulders, along her arms and press down on her chest.

He felt her push back in her seat when he touched the left side of her chest and he bit his lip, silently apologising with his eyes.

He tried to be careful and keep his touch light as he moved his fingertips down. She had broken one or two ribs, but she had no damage to her pelvis which was a big relief. He could get her out of here easily. He didn't have to wait for help and struggle to ease (Y/n) onto a backboard for any spinal injuries.

When Tommy's hands moved down to check her legs and try to carefully ease them out the car, (Y/n) braced her hands on the bottom of her chair.

Her chest didn't feel right.

She tried to suck in a deep breath and hold it for as long as she could, but a tightening, pinching pain in the left side of her chest made her wince. Deep breaths weren't an option.

She switched to shallow pants that she hoped Tommy wouldn't notice. She was probably feeling a broken rib moving out of place or had a torn muscle that was causing her some discomfort. Her lips pulled into a thin line and she moved her right hand to cradle the left side of her chest while her other hand gripped Tommy's arm when he reached out for her.

(Y/n) tried to focus on the feeling of Tommy's hands on her hips and the way he spun her carefully on the chair so her legs were now hanging out the car and she was facing him.

"Okay?" His voice was nothing more than a murmur in (Y/n)'s ear while his hands held her thighs and he leaned over her. He didn't want to speak too loudly and grab Eddie's attention. He only had Eddie on the line still because he wanted to move (Y/n) and make sure she was truly okay before he thanked Eddie and let him get back to his evening.

His head tilted to one side and (Y/n) knew if she lifted her head at just the right angle, their noses would brush and she would most certainly be touching his lips.

But she couldn't lift her head. All she could do was deadlock her fingers around Tommy's wrist and shake her head.

She couldn't breathe.

"What's wrong?"

Tommy pushed his hands to gently part (Y/n)'s knees to the sides so he could crouch between them. He felt her knees touching his chest and he tried to stay balanced on the heel of his boots. His head tilted back at an angle and his eyes focused solely on (Y/n)'s eyes which were beginning to water.

The tender look on Tommy's face washed away like footprints on the sand when he realised (Y/n) wasn't breathing properly.

He watched her lips part into a look of panic but she was barely pulling in any air and she wasn't exactly breathing out, either. She was wheezing. Her right hand pressed harder into her chest but it only made her cringe and she gave a sharp tug on Tommy's wrist to move his hand near her chest.

Tears began to roll down her cheeks and her wide eyes followed Tommy's movements as he pushed up on his toes so they were level.

"Eddie, she's not breathing!" Tommy tilted his head to the right and rose his voice so Eddie could hear him clearly through the phone.

"At all?"

"She's wheezing and holding the left side of her chest… she was breathing fine a minute ago." Well, Tommy wasn't actually sure whether (Y/n) had been breathing 'fine' but she had certainly had no problems a couple of minutes ago. He thought she was taking quick, shallow breaths because she was panicking. Not because something else was wrong.

(Y/n) snapped her eyes closed as a strangled, hoarse sound tore past her lips. She couldn't breathe. She felt like she was drowning. Why was it so hard to take in a proper breath? What had she done?

"Check her airways for any obstructions." Eddie's response somehow made a shiver crawl down Tommy's spine.

His hands moved to cup (Y/n)'s chin and he tilted her head back while he pressed over her throat and looked in her mouth. Nothing was blocking her airways. They were clear but she was gasping like she was being smothered.

"Eddie, it- it's like she's drowning."

Unease rattled through Tommy's veins as he spoke. (Y/n) was gasping like he was holding her underwater and she was starting to drown. If Eddie didn't tell Tommy what to do soon, she wasn't going to be breathing at all. He couldn't do nothing and watch her starve of oxygen.

He could hear a crackling sound through the phone but Tommy couldn't take his eyes off (Y/n). His hand stayed on the side of her neck while his other hand moved down to try and touch her chest to see what was going on. But he couldn't feel her chest deflating properly; it was like she was a balloon, but Tommy couldn't tell whether she had too much air in her chest or not enough.

"Get the stethoscope and listen to her lungs. If she's got fluid in them it will sound like water sloshing around. If you don't hear anything like that and no static, then she's breathing into her chest cavity."

(Y/n) closed her eyes and tucked her chin into her chest when Tommy let go of her neck. She moved both hands to grip his shoulders and held tight, waiting for him to make the next move.

It was almost a relief that she couldn't breathe when he pressed his chest up near hers and leaned over her shoulder so he could look at her back. She could feel the stethoscope against her back and she could smell Tommy's cologne wafting through her nose, distracting her from her current torment.

"No sloshing or static noises. Eddie I've never treated someone for this before-"

"If you don't move fast she'll pass out and be starved of oxygen. Get her laid flat, find a scalpel and an open-ended needle, the needle should be green."

It felt as if Eddie was stood right over his shoulder, looking through the medical bag. He had a picture in his mind of what he needed Tommy to do and look for and it was comforting.

"Hang on."

(Y/n) wasn't sure who Tommy was talking to but she made herself go limp like jelly when Tommy pressed their chests together and bound his arms around her waist. She tried not to focus on the hand that was cupping the back of her thigh and instead felt the hand that was near the base of her neck.

He lifted her from the car with ease and (Y/n) was shocked with how swift yet tenderly Tommy moved her. It felt like he was laying her down on a soft mattress rather than the hard concrete road.

She batted her hand out until she clenched her fingers around his thigh and she was too panicked to feel embarrassed. (Y/n) needed something to focus on, to ground her and control her panic. And Tommy didn't seem to mind.

He snapped on a pair of gloves, found the scalpel and what he guessed was the right needle. It was a needle for letting air and fluids escape the body, not one with a syringe for injecting anything. And Tommy already knew what he was going to have to do, no matter how hard this was going to be or how badly it was going to make him cringe.

He didn't have time to overthink.

"Walk me through this, Eddie."

He placed the phone next to his leg so he could have Eddie's voice right in his ear. And he sank back on his heels while (Y/n)'s fingers started shaking and tapping against his upper thigh like she was letting him know she was still conscious and believed in him.

"You wanna be doing this on the side of her chest level with her arms, not the top." Eddie wanted to rush through this and reel all the information off but he knew he had to go slow. He had to wait for Tommy to follow his instructions one by one, he had to walk him through this not throw everything at him and wait.

A very quiet "Excuse me," passed Tommy's lips and he saw the way (Y/n)'s arms tensed and stiffened at her sides when he rolled up her shirt. He tucked it beneath her armpits which exposed her bra and cleavage to his eyes, but his focus was clearly elsewhere.

"Alright…"

"Find the fifth and sixth ribs and press down on them, the needle needs to go right between the ribs into the chest cavity. As soon as it's in, open the cap and let the air out."

If this were any other situation, (Y/n) would have jumped or felt ticklish when Tommy started pressing the pad of his finger down on her chest, counting the ribs until he found the right ones. He pressed his fingers down until they touched the bone and a bump of flesh pressed out between his fingers.

"Just push it straight in?"

"Yep, about two inches."

Tommy winced and sank his teeth down on his lower lip when (Y/n)'s nails cut through his trousers and sank into his flesh. She clawed desperately at him to try and stay still and tears streamed down her face as she dug her head back into the floor. If she could, she would of arched her back off the floor and screamed. But all she could manage was the gasping sound of her throat muscles rubbing together.

As soon as he got the needle in, Tommy unclipped the green cap and listened to the fizzling sound of air disippating from the needle.

Eddie was right. That had been the problem.

He could see the weight lifting from (Y/n)'s shoulders and her throat tensed as she sucked in a deep breath which made her eyes roll to the back of her head. When he was sure her chest was clear, Tommy clipped the needle again and sank back on his heels with a huff.

He studied her chest, the way it sank down like a weight pressing on her before rising with such deep breaths he was surprised her lungs didn't pop. But she was breathing. She wasn't gasping, she wasn't wheezing or drowning. She was back to taking in proper air.

Before he could stop himself, Tommy brushed his thumb over her chin until he was touching her lips.

"Breathe." His voice was so quiet, so gritty yet soothing and lulling that (Y/n) found herself taking more even, deep breaths without realising. Her chest stopped panting and heaving and aching like her ribs were about to snap. Her breaths became softer and her eyes focused on Tommy's own lips that he darted his tongue across. It was as if he was coaxing himself to breathe deeper as well, not just her.

"Have you done it?"

Eddie's voice cut through the air and as quick as anything, Tommy dropped his hand and turned his head towards the phone at his side.

"Yeah, yeah… she's breathing. Thank you, Eddie." Tommy wiped his sleeve against his temple before he reached down for his phone and clicked it off speaker.

This was the part he had been dreading. This was where he was going to have to tell Eddie that it was in fact his sister who he had just helped save. And that he needed to meet them down at the hospital. Tommy knew Eddie wouldn't be pleased. He would be infuriated he hadn't been told earlier, but Tommy had to have Eddie help him with a clear head instead of one clouded with panic.

"Well, that was a first for me,"

"Eddie, listen… you're gonna want to meet me down at the emergency room. The girl I just got out the car, it's (Y/n)."

(Y/n) wasn't sure what curse words flew past her brother's lips, but she recognised the odd Spanish cursive. And she could see from the way Tommy winced that Eddie wasn't happy. But when she watched Tommy hum, mutter a quiet goodbye and hang up, she was relieved when he smiled down at her. That hadn't gone as badly as she thought it would.

She realised she was still gripping his leg and quickly let go but before she could stop herself, she clamped her trembling hand around Tommy's wrist. She squeezed as much as she could while she tried to get her lungs to keep working and find her voice.

"T-thank you. That's twice, y-you've saved me."

A tender smile formed on his lips and (Y/n) noticed the way his nose scrunched up when he properly smiled like that. She liked it.

She liked it even more when he curled his free hand over her wrist and brought her hand up to his chest. She could feel his erratic heartbeat through his chest, it was almost at the same frantic rhythm as hers. When Tommy leaned his head down and kissed the back of her hand, (Y/n) felt like she was floating.

"How about, instead of me saving you again, you let me take you on a date instead?"

***

"It's for you."

A grin spread across (Y/n)'s lips and she nodded over at Carla who was stood with raised brows, practically jumping up and down behind the front door she was holding open.

"Be good, wish me luck." She pressed a kiss to the top of Chris's head and gave him a hug before she hobbled across to the door.

With her being signed off work for a few weeks, it made (Y/n) the ideal person to look after Chris after school while Eddie was on shift. She had mostly been staying over with Eddie and Chris for the last week since her accident. It was better because (Y/n) didn't have to climb any stairs here like she did in her apartment building. And it meant Eddie could keep an eye on her.

She looked over her outfit one more time until Carla gave her a thumbs up and squeezed her shoulder.

She made sure to shut the front door behind her just so Carla and Chris couldn't try and be nosy before she let her eyes drag up and down her date.

Tommy was stood on the path just below the doorstep, hands casually tucked into the pockets of his slate grey jeans. His shoulders were slightly hunched up making his biceps tense and it made his frame look even bigger if that were possible, casting a large shadow across the path behind him.

He wore a jet back button up shirt with the collar and the first few buttons undone, exposing his chest and the top of his collarbone to (Y/n)'s prying eyes. But it was his smile that enamoured her. The way his lips quirked up to the right in a slanted grin and the tip of his nose scrunched up and caused his eyes to crease.

"Hi,"

"Hey, you look lovely."

Tommy let his gaze fall down to do another once-over when (Y/n) looked down with a bashful smile.

Her dress was a dark shade of strawberry, with a sweetheart neckline and a band of dark rouge ribbon around the waist. It fanned out around her thighs and stopped an inch short of her knees.

He let his eyes fall on her legs for a second, then another, then another. She wasn't wearing tights. It allowed Tommy a perfect view of the row of stitches that slanted along her right leg and disappeared behind the support she was wearing over her knee.

It was a familiar sight. Tommy had seen Evan wearing a similar brace when they went to play basketball each week. He knew from what Eddie had told him that (Y/n)'s knee had taken a bashing in the car, it hadn't been bruised or dislocated but it caused some pain. And with her vein needing to be joined back up, (Y/n) couldn't even her weight out, she was limping and using her left leg rather than her right.

And when Tommy glanced down, his smile widened. She was wearing black and white Converse. Not the typical footwear expected to match her outfit, but again, he could understand why. She could hardly walk properly as it was, heels or flats weren't exactly helpful right now.

Unless (Y/n) wore her Converse in case of a quick getaway tonight.

"I'm a little mismatched tonight." (Y/n) kept her voice soft and quiet as she brushed a stray lock of hair behind her ear and took a step closer to Tommy.

"I like it."

His eyes followed her as she leaned around him and realised he had driven here. That meant he wasn't drinking tonight. (Y/n) didn't want him to think he couldn't drink just because she couldn't at the moment.

"No chopper?" Her words surprised him but the laugh he let out made (Y/n)'s heart flutter and she couldn't help but grin.

"And risk you throwing a blood clot, no thank you. I'll save the flying lessons for our next date."

When Tommy held out his left elbow towards her, (Y/n) hooked her hand through his elbow and she couldn't refrain from leaning her head on his arm. She tried to even her weight out between her legs and ignore the pins and needles that felt like sharp scratches cutting up the back of her knee. She had refused crutches from the hospital and made a point of walking up and down the hospital stairs so they wouldn't have cause for keeping her under observation.

She was determined to get back to work as soon as possible, and to make an effort on this date tonight. (Y/n) didn't want to catch her foot in the seatbelt or trip on the curb or lose her balance and crash into something.

The only fall she wanted to make was her heart falling for man on her arm.

But she could tell Tommy was more than happy for her to lean on him. He would take her weight for her if she needed to, all she had to do was slump against him or lean on his arm and he would help her. She wouldn't have to ask.

Her lips curved into a softer smile when he leaned in front of her to open the car door. She was suddenly glad he drove a car and not a jeep like Eddie and Evan. (Y/n) was sick of clambering up into the jeep and sliding down with how high up they were. God only knows what she would be like with the fire truck once she went back to work.

She watched Tommy motion his free hand towards the car, clearly waiting for her to unhook herself from his arm and climb in. But she didn't.

Instead, (Y/n) turned so she was standing in front of Tommy, her heels teetering dangerously on the edge of the curb.

She could see the confusion in Tommy's eyes as he tilted his head to one side, wondering why she was now stood in front of him instead of getting in the car. He didn't move or make a sound, he just watched her with intrigue pooling in his eyes as (Y/n) danced her hands up his chest until she was holding onto his shoulders.

He wasn't quite sure what she was up to but he rolled along with it, curving his left arm around her waist so their chests were pinned together. He wasn't about to let her stumble off the curb and fall into the car.

She took him by surprise. (Y/n) pushed up on her tiptoes, using Tommy's shoulders as leverage so she could take a leap and kiss him. She could taste coffee on his lips and the familiar smell of his cologne flooded her nose and made her feel lightheaded.

But it was the feeling of his palm pressing firmer against her back between her hips that made her breathing hitch. And how he pressed down on her to pin her tighter into his hard chest that froze beneath her touch. She felt his tongue swipe across her lip and when his free hand grazed along her chin and up her jaw, (Y/n)'s knees almost gave way.

Spots danced in front of her eyes when they finally parted, but she watched him intently. Focusing on how his nose brushed against hers and how his lips parted into a breathless grin and his chest puffed out against hers.

And she waited, feeling his hand glide across her jaw until he was gently cupping her chin and his thumb swiped across her lower lip.

"Breathe."

#911 imagine #imagine #tommy kinard #tommy x reader #tommy kinard imagine #tommy kinard x reader #tommy kinard 911 #eddie diaz

[kieiswrite]

Yet another ficlet for the possession au by @elven-kisses, @tibby-art and me. Rendog has joined the party! The previous parts: Scar and Cub start the agency, Cleo and Joe help with a possession gone wrong - Ren and the King

Thunder rumbles. Ren is drenched and his hiking shoes get stuck in mud as he drudges up the hillside. Squelch. A flash of lightning gives the ruin on top a menacing look; the dilapidated historic landmark transforms to a setting straight out of a horror movie, a place of decay and darkness, wet glistening stone and broken walls and jagged towers black against the stormy sky.

“This is a bad idea, folks,” Ren mutters, to no one. Camera is off; filming in a weather like this, as cool as it might seem, is not feasible. He learned that the hard way (again) five minutes ago at the foot of the hill. “Your dog should not be putting a paw in there. This is madness! Madness, I say! But—” Another roll of thunder cuts him off, and another flash follows right after. He does need to find shelter.

He climbs over a pile of rubble and slips under the rope hanging loose in front of the gate. The massive doors are ajar. The big padlock has been broken. This defacement of property has been conducted either by the local teens or drifters, if Ren has to guess; unlawful behavior—despicable!—but he does not hesitate to take advantage of it. Needs must. It’s pouring.

The walls and roof of the castle keep are intact for the most part. There’s puddles of water and remains of campfires the previous intruders have lit on the floor. Some trash, beer cans and shards of glass. Cigarette butts. Ren explores the place with his phone’s flashlight. There’s dark corners the light doesn’t quite reach. Broken ornaments and stubs of stone high up. Shadows jump on the walls.

Ren breathes in slowly through his nose, then lets all the air out in a huff, drops his backpack on the floor and shakes his upper body like a wet canine. No other unlucky hikers in the house, so—Ren the Dog owns the place now! Your castle is his casa. It’s time to get naked, baby!

Or half naked, at least. Give the ghosts something to ogle at. Ren takes off his shirt and, shivering, wrings out the water. It’s still uncomfortably damp when he puts it back on. Wet in the places a man’s not supposed to be wet, but that can’t be helped. Ren flops on the cold stone floor, fishes out his actual flashlight from the backpack, attaches his phone to a handheld rig and begins recording.

“Ladies, gentlemen and everybody in between! Ren Diggidy Dog coming at you from an undisclosed location, my dudes! Yes, as you can see, I got caught up in a storm and I’m now holed up in a haunted castle! This is some—” The screen flickers. “What? What’s going on? Work, you piece of junk. As I was saying, some serious professional—what do you call urban exploration in the countryside? Rural exploration? That’s what we’re doing here, friends. Let me rejuvenate my body by chomping on some delicious snackage and I’ll tell you all about what’s been happening.”

Ren rummages through his bag for an energy bar, finds one and takes a bite. Chews. “Like I said, we’re in a castle right now. The lore of this place is, it was built by a warlord in medieval times—or I guess he didn’t build it himself, got some peasant folk to do it for him, I suppose, like any self-respecting warlord would—and he fashioned himself a king, but right at the eve of the battle he was betrayed and killed by his advisor who was also said to be his friend. Some historical interpretage say a very close friend, if you get what I’m saying. What the heck! Murdered by his lover. That’s freaking nuts, man. He—”

There’s a sound, like a clang of metal. Ren twists abruptly to look towards the far end of the hall. It’s dark. Nothing moves there.

The wind, he decides. “I’m getting jitters in my chest, my dudes,” he says to the camera. The crack of lightning makes him jump again; the storm is right on top of him. He laughs, nervously, and takes another bite of the energy bar. Chews, swallows it down. “My heart can’t take this! It’s ghastly in here, I’m telling you. Where was I? Right, the history lesson. So sometime in the eighties, they were going to renovate this place, believe it or not, take it back to the glory days. But there were so many workplace accidents and whatnot the county gave up. They just gave up on it! And ever since then, it’s been—”

His head snaps to the side again. Another clang. This time, he’s sure it’s coming from the inside of the hall. Did the storm break off a piece of the ceiling? Or—

“Is somebody there?” Ren asks. His voice shakes a little. “Hey!” He stands up. He’s still holding the phone, but his face is not fully on shot, and he has kicked the flashlight rolling to the floor so that the picture gets dark. There’s a shadow behind him.

Ren does not actually believe in ghosts. He has his superstitions, his little everyday rituals, but even though cold crawls up his spine and his skin prickles, he repeats over and over that it’s just his mind playing tricks on him. The darkness seems to get thicker. He imagines he hears—

He hears breathing. Almost but not quite in the rhythm of his own heavy, increasingly unsteady breath. 

“Listen,” he says. Too loud. Startled by his own voice! He stuffs the wrappings of the energy bar to his pocket and turns around slowly, gaze flickering from the dark around him to the screen of his phone and back. His heart races. Every hair on his body is standing up. “Listen, you got me, you scared the bejeebers out of me, I don’t need any more ghost action—”

The phone records a swirling mass of darkness and Ren’s mouth opening wide, a piercing scream, and then it falls to the floor.

Seconds tick by. There’s movement that is difficult to make sense of. Then, very slowly, Ren gets up. A thin rivulet of blood is running down his forehead. And—the recording shows it clearly. It shows Ren’s face as he bows down to look at his own picture on the screen.

Blood dripping down. And his eyes are red.

—

A few days later, the phone rings on the other side of the ocean.

Music cuts off. Hand with multiple colorful wristbands around it picks up the phone. A relaxed and somewhat slurred voice answers. “Flower Garage, Renbob speaking. What can I do you for?”

Silence.

“Hello, hello! Is anybody there? You’ve called Flower Garage, affordable service solutions for cars from any walk of life. It’s Renbob—”

“I—Renobob, thank goodness you picked up. It’s me. I need help!” Ren sounds breathless, frantic. “Something very strange is happening with me. In my head. I need you to help me!”

“Sure, sure. Chill out, man, alright? Renbob’s always here to help. What do you need?”

“Listen. Do you know anyone who knows anything about ghosts?”

Renbob makes a long humming sound. “I’m running a garage, cousin. What kind of ghosts are we talking about? Poltergeists or shades or vampires or—”

“Vampires aren’t ghosts, Renbob. Geeze!”

“They are in some parts of the world.” By the sounds of it, Renbob is finding a more comfortable position on his chair—or on a sofa. He’s got this obnoxious floral print monstrosity he recovered from trash in his office. Ren imagines him reclining on it.

“Okay, okay. Fine. I’m talking about the kind of ghosts that possess people! Do you hear me? I think I’m being possessed!”

Renbob is silent for a moment. Ren knows—accepts with despondent certainty—that the pause doesn’t mean shock, or any kind of normal reaction to news of that kind. Renbob just likes to take his time. “That’s wild, man,” he eventually says, with a tone that doesn’t much sound like he considers it wild at all. “Possession, huh? Never worry. I know just the people. You have to come to the States though.”

Now there is silence at Ren’s end. It stretches and stretches. And when Ren finally speaks, it’s not his own voice.

It’s deeper. It’s unearthly. It comes from beyond the veil.

“Thou shalt help thine Red King. Thou wilst assist me to recover mine crown.”  

A pause.

“Sure thing, man,” says Renbob. “I’ll help you out alright. I’ll contact the people and send you tickets. Renbob will take care of it! All you need to do is step on the plane.”

“The plane of the dead?”

“Nah, man, just a regular old plane. A flying machine. Ren knows what it is.”

The owner of the sinister voice thinks for a moment. Then: “Dare thee not spew lies to thine king. I will put mine faith in you! If thou provest a traitor, I swear on the altar of the black heart that a curse shall befall thou and thines brethren.”

“What? No, no, you got wrong information, man, I don’t have children! Not that I know of at least. Don’t worry about it. It will all go nice and smooth. Joe’s friends will come and meet you at the airport. You can trust me. They will know how to help you out.

They’re professionals.”

#the possession au #rendog #renbob #the red king #hermitcraft fanfic #kiescribbles #cw possession #very mild creepy/horror vibes but really it's just humor

[fetusgooseandjuice]

Little Hawk

Pairing(s): Kate Bishop x Fem!Reader

Summary: When a wounded Kate shows up at your bedroom window, you patch her up.

Word Count: 1,439

Warnings: Mentions of blood & injury

Author’s Note: This is inspired by the scene from The Amazing Spider-Man!

You sat propped up against your headboard with your new favorite book in hand. Your eyes scanned along the pages when you heard multiple knocks against your bedroom window.

Your attention immediately shifted to the curtains covering the window, eyebrows furrowing at the thought of someone knocking on your window this late at night, let alone your bedroom window which is on the second story of your house.

You closed your book and set it on the nightstand, swinging your legs over your bed to stand up and walk towards the window. Pulling back the curtains, your heart nearly jumped out of your chest when you saw Kate crouched down on the roof of the first floor.

She wore a small smile on her face as she gazed at you through the glass. You quickly unlocked the window and opened it to let her inside.

"Katie, it's almost ten o'clock. What're you doing here?" you asked.

She set her bow and arrows down and leaned against the wall, "What? Am I not allowed to come see my princess?" Kate joked, clutching her side with a wince when she chucked.

"That's not what I meant. It's just late, I thought that you were out on a mission with Clint." you said as you closed the window and shut the curtains.

"Yeah, I was. Until he sent me home." she mumbled the last part.

You giggled, "What did you do this time that made him go all dad mode on you?"

When you turned around your eyes momentarily widened. Now that Kate was in light of your dimly lit room instead of the darkness outside, you could see the cuts and bruises along her face.

Your eyes dropped to her hand that was holding her side where you could see a blood stain before looking back up at her, "Jesus, Kate. What happened?" you questioned with a worried tone, rushing over to her.

You moved her hand away from her side so you could see the rip in her purple suit, and the wound that laid there.

"I'm fine, it's just a scratch. You should see the other guy." Kate weakly responded in a miserably failed attempt at reassuring you.

"Just a scratch?" you repeated in disbelief, "Scratches don't look this bad and leave you out of breath, Katie."

Your hands moved up to cup her cheeks, eyes scanning the cuts and bruises that littered her face. Her hands gripped at your waist as support to keep herself standing, "It's okay, I'm okay, I just need to sit down." she said.

You helped her over to your bed and she flopped down onto it, "You stay here. I don't think my parents would approve of you showing up here this late, especially in this condition. I'm going to go get some stuff to clean you up." you told her before making your way to your door.

"Don't be gone too long or else I'll miss you!" she called out and you sent her a grin just as you walked out of the room.

When you returned your hands were full with a bottle of hydrogen peroxide, a couple of towels, and a first aid kit. You set the stuff down on the bed before sitting on the edge of it next to Kate.

"You might wanna..." your gaze flickered from her eyes to her suit as you went through the contents of the first aid kit.

"Ah I see what you're doing." Kate smirked, looking you up and down before peeling off her suit just enough for you to see the wound on her side, leaving her top half in just a sports bra.

You playfully rolled your eyes, "Get your mind out of the gutter and sit up." you said, making both of you lightly laugh.

Kate sat up against the headboard while you poured some hydrogen peroxide onto one of the towels.

You adjusted yourself so you could examine her wound before looking up at her, "Do you want something to bite down on? This is gonna hurt." you asked with concerned eyes.

She shook her head, "I'll be fine. I can deal with it." Kate responded.

You could tell she was just trying to impress you by the tone of her voice and the way she was visibly flexing her muscles, making her biceps and toned stomach more prominent.

"Okay, then shhh because I don't need my parents coming in here. My dad already thinks you need psychiatric help." you said and she slightly frowned.

You giggled as she started defending herself, but you interrupted her before she could go any further, "On one, okay?" you spoke, referring to the hydrogen peroxide damp towel in your hand.

Kate nodded her head, "M'kay." she said with a deep breath.

"Three...two..." you skipped one and pressed the towel against her wound. She winced and squeezed her eyes shut while biting her lip at the painful sting, "Fuck." she quietly cursed.

"Sorry," you meekly apologized.

"You skipped one." Kate spoke in a strained tone.

You slowly wiped the towel against her wound, "I had too. It was gonna hurt more if you were expecting it, and you don't want this thing to get infected. " you explained.

"Yeah, yeah." she said, somewhat relaxing as she got used to the stinging sensation.

Kate admired your concentrated face while you focused on cleaning her wound. The warm light from the dimly lit lamp on the nightstand highlighted your face, a few strands of hair came loose from your claw clip and fell in front of it, framing it.

She started to smile at the sight until she read your expression more, noticing that something had captured your thoughts, "What's wrong?" she asked.

You hummed, looking up at her with furrowed eyebrows to try and play it off.

"Don't do that, baby, I can practically read you like a book. What's going on in that pretty little mind if yours?" she spoke gently.

You thought for a few more moments, keeping yourself occupied with continuing your motions while you contemplated telling her what's been haunting you. But when you sniffled and just shook your head, Kate became more concerned.

"Hey, hey," she spoke, moving closer to you to cup your cheeks so she could look at you, "What's got you so upset, princess? Why are you crying?" she said gently, her eyes gazing into your own.

Your irises glazed over as you whispered, "Everyday for as long as I can remember my father has left every morning and he's put a badge on his chest, and strapped a gun to his hip..."

You stopped for a few long seconds to look between both of her eyes, "...and everyday for as long as I can remember I haven't known if he was gonna make it home." your voice wavered as you spoke the last word.

Kate brushed her thumbs along your cheekbones and tucked a few strands of hair behind your ears, "I've got you." she softly repeated that phrase to you multiple times, "I've got you."

You dropped your forehead onto her shoulder as she cupped the back of your head with her hand.

"Whenever you leave for a mission the whole time I'm worried about how badly injured you'll be when you finally come back to me... if you come back to me." you murmured.

She quickly lifted your head to gaze into your sad eyes, "Hey, don't think like that, baby"

"I'm sorry, I can't help it."

Kate dropped her forehead onto yours, "I'll always come back to you. I don't care how tired I am, or how late it is, or what your dad may think about me being here, I will always come back to you. I give you my word on that."

"You promise?"

She nodded her head, "And I'll never break it. The day that I do I'll have Clint bring me to you and you can unleash all the anger you may have—"

Kate cut herself off as she started to laugh when you giggled at her words.

"You might not wanna do that. I won't just be mad, I'll be pissed." you said as you laughed with her.

As you calmed down Kate slowly leaned in and put her lips on yours, kissing you ever-so passionately. There was no rush to it, she just wanted you to feel how much she loved you.

"Easy, little hawk." you whispered against her lips.

Kate chucked, "What did you just call me?" she said before putting her lips back on yours and pulling you onto her lap.

#kate bishop fanfiction #kate bishop x fem!reader #kate bishop x reader #kate bishop fic #kate bishop fluff #kate bishop mcu #kate bishop x female reader #kate bishop x y/n #kate bishop #kate x reader

[cloveroctobers]

TOMMY MILLER — spring prompts 🦋

A/N: originally this was supposed to be for Joel — and I jumped on the Pedro train a little late my apologies but I can’t lie and say I’m not a bigger whore/softie for Tommy / Gabriel (this goes for the game version too!) so :) here goes nothing and if we flop, this never existed lmao! Only trying my best to write fluff for the upcoming spring season so let’s cheers to that! Happy first day of spring people!

WARNINGS: age adjustments for this piece + age-gap. Mostly following the live action ages according to their wiki except for Ellie! I aged her up some as this takes place before the events of part ii 😥 Joel is still 56, Tommy is 50, Ellie is 17, and “she” is 35…and would be a year older than Sarah. I know some might find that weird and usually I don’t write storylines around a age-gap but here we are! Tommy and “she” met during the time of the virus. So don’t drag me too much if you’re on the offense, thanks.

GIF SEARCH DONE BY GOOGLE & RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO: @loregifs

Using prompts from this list and numbers: 2.) listening to the birds when they wake up + 6.) new beginnings + 12.) rolling down the window of the car. + 28.) adopting puppy/kitten.

⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆

He’s still asleep while she’s on the balcony, hunched over the banister watching the town gradually come to life to start their daily routines. Being part of the main committee had its benefits, meaning one would start the day whenever they wished, which allowed her more time to just enjoy the little moments.

The air is touching spring, allowing livelihood to begin sprouting again. She breathes in the brisk air, pacing herself as the air still clings to the biting of its bitter sister while whipping by, reminding her that her asthma would not be leaving for the season just yet. The tree to the right of the house has lost one of its branches, which now lays on the roof of the house, due to the last winter storm which pushed its way through Wyoming with a foot of snow two weeks ago.

She’s not going to ask Tommy again to remove it, she’ll take it upon herself to get it down with some others later. She’s aware that he’s got a lot on his plate with Joel and Ellie back in town…along with this weighing secret Joel’s keeping from Ellie.

A sigh escapes her lips, eyes closing as she feels the brightness of the sun starting to rise behind the foggy skies. She knows if she keeps them closed a little longer, she’ll receive a morning song with the sunrise. The sun is a nice contrast against the cool but dry air in Jackson but it always brings a sense of peace.

The chirping is just enough for a small smile to split onto the corners of her lips and she listens, enjoying the sweet song the birds sing. She was never much of a bird person due to her grandmother having all sorts back in her hometown in Connecticut. She was raised mostly by her grandmother in a town that lacked diversity, since her parents prioritized work rather than spend time with her and her little brother. Sure she understood this now in her adulthood that her parents faced many challenges in their work field but as a child, of course you just wanted your parents around.

To care.

And whenever they were around, she gave them hell about it until her younger brother quickly became upset. He was on the spectrum and sensitive but just wanted everyone to get along. He loved talking about clouds and had dreams of venturing off to Iceland one day. She was thankful he got to experience it before the world officially went to shit.

Now here she stood listening to birds sing, despite being pecked, chased, and shit on by birds for what felt like her whole life and the sun was shining beneath the gray. Perhaps that was symbolism for new journeys along the way—if she bothered to look deeper at this but now was not the time for overthinking.

She did that enough on a daily basis.

“Hey, you didn’t wake me for the sunrise?” A Texas drawl called out from behind.

She turns slightly, facing the screen door to see Tommy with his head poking out beneath the door, dark hair frizzy, and slits in his eyes. He’s not much of a morning person out of the two of them and will usually need five to twenty minutes more before getting up.

He needed the sleep.

She steps to him then, wrapped in her blanket and getting a better view of the freckles that always appear sprinkled on his face whenever the light hits his skin.

“It’s okay,” she softly says, “there’s always tomorrow.”

He hums as his brown eyes peeks over her head and sniffs at the air, “c’mon in, baby. Who knows how long you’ve been out here and I don’t want anything to start acting up on you and I’m not nearby.”

“I’m fine,” she argues, making a show as she deeply inhales and puffs out a breath as she exhales, fighting back a cough, “airs not too bad.”

Tommy gives her a look, alerting her that he doesn’t believe any of the words she’s saying to him. He knows she can get lost in nature for hours, making him think it reminds her of her old home.

He suggests, “Let’s go for a morning drive for a bit before we really start the day, huh?”

“I’d like that.” She smiles at the man who mirrors it back, “we haven’t done that in awhile.”

The pair lived in the most active part of Jackson, right in the heart of the western town where most of the houses were almost on top of each other. There wasn’t much that got pass this part of Jackson and it only made sense since she and Tommy helped keep this town running. Surely she preferred the more secluded parts, which is what she was grew up with but to be married to someone so extroverted changed that.

“Yeah, we sure haven’t. Let me get dressed.” Tommy says with a nudge of his head, inviting her back into their home.

She nods at him, glancing over her shoulder in the doorway as he exits, sending another smile to the birds before closing the door.

Tommy’s driving in the pale yellow Camaro he picked up from his last scouting trip, it’s his new toy that she teases him about since he’s kicked her Chevy SUV to the curb. She’s laying with her arm resting against the door, cheek pressed into her balled up arm, with her black faux fur blanket still wrapped around her and Tommy’s got one hand resting on her thigh.

He’s shuffling between keeping his hands on the steering wheel, steering with his knees and twisting his arm all kinds of ways to get a cassette into the radio slot. The dirt road is empty and full of green hills along with loops that remind her of the path that leads to Ellie and Dina’s home. This part of Jackson feels familiar and like what she’s used to but she knows she doesn’t have to feel alone.

A soft beat begins to play through the car just as she’s rolling down the window. Tommy lightly shakes his head at his wife, who welcomes some of the air through the crack and receives that there seems to be something on her mind. Lately it seems like he’s been so busy with not only the community but rebuilding his relationship with Joel and his additional niece Ellie—although they’ve been back for about two years now, it did not go unnoticed that there’s been something on his wife’s mind.

Surely he was going to get to the bottom of it on this drive.

“What do you know about this?” Tommy quizzed, taking his hand off her thigh briefly to twist the volume knob, before placing his warmth back on her sweats.

She snorts as she listens to the lyrics of the 80s jam, a little shocked it wasn’t Pixies or some rock song this time. However she believed Tommy always picked songs that fit the mood.

…In time you will see

That love won't let you down

You said that you loved me

Said hurt only came to pass me

It sounded so convincing

That I gave it half a chance

And learned the ways of love, my baby

There is so much love inside me

And all that I have

I give my all to you

All, all my love, baby.

She joked, “Did this one play at your prom, old man?”

Tommy scoffed, “i was nine when this came out in 1982 so nice try but even then, I knew good music when I daggone hear it.”

There was a fifteen year age gap between her and Tommy but that’s never been a issue given the circumstances of life now and probably wouldn’t be much of a issue if things were different. However she couldn’t be certain if the infection didn’t cross the globe if their paths would even align. She had southern roots thanks to her maternal and paternal grandparents yet she’s only ever visited Georgia to see her paternal grandparents, cousins, and friends she’s made out there.

Georgia was a long way from Texas.

“Look at you listening to love songs at just a little baby…I’m starting to not believe the whole never been in love until I met you line.” She sat up then, head resting against the headrest while playfully peeking at Tommy, ready to get him riled up.

Tommy shook his head, “I told you before, pre-Tommy was a whole ‘nother person, all about fun moments and keeping those memories strictly as that…temporary. I didn’t like to be attached although I knew I was very capable of loving someone.”

His past relationships did not matter to her. It never did because a new life was happening now, with her and their relationship most likely wouldn’t exist because they lived on different sides of the map. She trusted him to be a good partner and she equally wanted to be the same. The love or lust before was not a factor on both ends because Jackson was about redemption and growing forward.

If they couldn’t see that with each other then there was no need to continue on with this commitment. However she liked sparking this compassion from Tommy just for a sense of not only laughs but perhaps a bit of reassurance?

“I love you.” She slipped a hand around the back of his neck, lightly caressing the warm skin beneath his jacket.

Tommy glanced over at her then, pure light in his dark eyes as a smile quirked up beneath his facial hair, “I love you too…with all of this love.”

“Oh gosh, the corny is killing me. Make it stop!” She gagged at Tommy’s singing while he laughed at her, putting the car in park.

It was his turn to face her, gripping her jaw to place a kiss on her temple. Soon she unbuckled herself from the seat so she could sit in Tommy’s lap who welcomed her with open arms. Together they sat, his arms locked around her waist and her head tucked in between his neck and shoulder.

To be held by the one you love, what more could she ask for?

She could fall back to sleep in the comfort of Tommy’s arms just then. The prickle of his beard against her brow bone, the firmness of his hands secured around her frame, his steady breathing, her light grip from underneath his bicep, and his scent of white musk and eucalyptus was enough for her this morning.

Sometimes people just need to be held by the right person.

Tommy was ready for her to fall asleep. It’s not like it was uncommon for her to rest against him and as much as she claimed he needed rest, he wanted her to take care of herself just like she took care of him. The flutter of her eyelashes fought against the closing of her lids that it made Tommy grin, silently encouraging her to just let go but one thing about his baby, she was a fighter which provided a nice contrast against her dainty appearance.

Her glossy grayish-brown eyes popped back open, eyes gazing out at the scenery while Tommy quickly shifted his eyes elsewhere so he wouldn’t get called out for staring. He followed her line of sight and immediately wanted to reach for what was in the backseat.

“What’s that?” She asked, sitting up as she put more strain on one eye than the other.

It was confirmed by one of the new nurses that she was losing her sight in one eye quite quickly. It was mostly caused by a injury with a clicker that sent her through a glass window face-first but blindness was also hereditary on her mother’s side. Who truly knows what life continues to throw at you? In whatever way, it was not something she dwelled on.

Tommy nodded as he pulled his shotgun up and over the console, “uh huh, I see it.”

She was out the door before he could get the safety off and that sent his heart rate spiking.

Her feet stomped over the rising grass, ignoring Tommy’s hushed calls as she slowly approached the animal. It had height to it, straggly mixture of grey and black hair with a heavy bone structure.

“Honey, I don’t know what’re you’re thinkin’ but you can’t just run up on dogs like that! We don’t even know if it’s infected.” Tommy stated as he took stealthy steps behind the braided woman.

She slipped a hand into her pocket, holding the  thermometer up in the air to silently answer the man’s question who couldn’t help but to deeply scowl.

Squatting down she kept some distance between her and the dog who put it’s head down, sniffing in her direction. Her hand slipped into another pocket, reaching for something green before she lightly tossed it in the dog’s direction. Carefully the dog stepped forward to bite into the green bean, allowing her to slowly get closer to aim the thermometer and get a temperature reading.

“He’s clear.”

Tommy still circled around, gun slightly lowered but not completely as he watched her smile at the dog.

“It’s still a ugly lookin’ thing.”

She scolded Tommy, “don’t talk about him like that! He actually might think you’re the ugly one here.”

‘That’s not possible.’ Tommy thought to himself.

Rubbing his back, she cooed at the animal, “he didn’t mean it boy, he’s just being mean because I didn’t signal that I was coming to introduce myself to you.”

Tommy couldn’t help but to shake his head in disapproval, taking a moment to survey the area to make sure the unattractive animal didn’t lead any unwanted attention. When he turned back, she was still petting him, this time the dog was licking at her hands and seemed to be enjoying his pets as he sat.

“…this isn’t your first time meeting?” Tommy guessed.

She sighed, “no. Joel’s grumpy ass scared him off last time with the horses when we patrolled. You have no idea how bad I wanted to kick his ass…at least you’re being better about this…besides the whole verbal bullying you just afflicted on him.”

“I wasn’t bullyin’,” Tommy started, “I just wanted you to be careful.”

“Yeah and you took it out on someone who didn’t deserve it.”

Tommy sighed, “I—I never took you as a dog person anyway. I would have thought cats.”

“Are you gonna get me a cat for my birthday?”

“Probably not, honey. They’re kinda creepy.”

‘Creepier than people turning into walking funguses? I think the fuck not!’ She thought.

“Then we’re taking him home!” She beamed as she rubbed behind his ears, “hear that?! We’re gonna get you home, bathe you, feed you, and you’ll fit in with the rest back at home, I’m sure of it. And if you don’t, you’ll stay with us.”

“The hell he will.”

The sharp look she sent the curly haired man was enough to get him to clear his throat and almost straighten up. It’s not like Tommy didn’t care for dogs, hell, he was thinking of getting one before Sarah came into the picture—not that he was comparing his niece to a got damn dog! Fuck, he knew she was probably sending him a mean mug from up above right now. It’s just that the loneliness he faced at his own townhome in Austin was erased when life granted him with a niece.

Sarah was his just as she was his brother’s.

Now his wife wanted to bring a dog (as if they didn’t have enough in the community) into their life and it seemed like she already had a connection with it, that Joel didn’t tell him about at all! He could also argue that his own wife didn’t tell him she was forming a bond elsewhere.

The laughter that sounded from her as she got to her feet, facing him with a smile that reached her shining eyes made his heart swell.

Happiness was all he wanted her to have. He was happy if she was happy and he felt himself breaking.

“What if it’s got fleas?”

“Hello…veterinarian school?”

Which was true, she knew what to do and since the community was well-off to take care of everyone and everything, She had what she needed if any of the animals got sick.

“Right…Dr. Dolittle here.”

“Was that a jab, Tommy?” She pointed at the man who immediately shook his head in defense.

“Not really.” He shrugged his shoulders innocently before continuing, “I’m not afraid to say I was in the theaters when that one came out for Sarah…although I love a good comedy family film.”

That’s funny, that’s when she knew she wanted to work with animals after seeing that film. Unfortunately she couldn’t hear the actual voices of the animals she worked with but she still knew how to communicate with them. She can only imagine tommy taking the time to spend with his niece and that brought a smile to her lips.

“So you’ll love him?”

“…I can try?”

She patted the dog’s back, “see it only took some convincing. We just have to find you a name and it’ll have to flow nicely with your sibling.”

A frown dug in between Tommy’s brows at the end of her sentence. It slipped so easily from her lips that Tommy was unsure if he heard her right. She was getting ready to turn and head back to the car with the dog in at her side but Tommy steps towards them.

“What was that?”

“Hm?” She took her attention away from the dog who began wagging it’s tail.

“That last part of the sentence. About the dog having the same sound as it’s..sibling? Meaning what? the other dogs?” Tommy pried.

She tapped on her chin then, pretending to think about it, “I’m thinking Silas for him and Milo, Tyrus, or Linus for this one.”

Tommy watched with wide eyes as a hand rested against her clothed belly.

“A-Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

“Maybe…what’re you thinking?”

“You’re pregnant, honey?”

“Uh huh. You’ve got two extra babies now.”

Tommy wanted to curl into a ball of happiness hearing this news. He never thought he would be a dad way back then and he certainly didn’t think now…especially with the way things were and she hasn’t had much of a cycle in years. Of course there were discussions of what ifs but it’s not like they were deliberately trying.

His put the safety on and slung the gun around to his back. He exhaled, his hands raised in air before gripping at his hair in astonishment.

“We’re gonna be somebody’s mommy and daddy?”

“Damn straight.”

“Hell yeah we are!” Tommy grinned as he reached forward to lift her up by the waist, gently spinning her in the air before he quickly put her back on her feet, “shit, are you having any nausea? did I just cause it?”

“No love, we’re okay. Just fatigue sometimes. I’m about thirteen weeks according to Rosita’s ultrasound.” She breathed with a smile, flicking her hair back.

“Thirteen weeks?! Holy shit! He’s gonna be here in no time…wait Linus? There’s no way we’re naming our kid Linus—that’s out.”

“Okay let’s talk about it,” she laughed, “walk with me.”

“It’s clear we have a lot to talk about!” Tommy slipped an arm around her waist, peeking down at her baggy clothing as they made their way back to the car.

He halted as she started to give him the details and glanced back at the dog who had its head down but stayed put. He whistled at the animal with a nudge of head, “c’mon, dog! You’re comin’ with us.”

“Silas.” She whispered up at Tommy.

Tommy corrected himself, “Silas! Let’s go home.”

Silas perked up and trotted after the couple, hopping into the backseat as Tommy intently focused on her, their hands clasped together as he held them to his lips, ready for their new beginning.

⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆｡˚ ꕥ ༘⋆ ⋆

Continue along with my spring anthology prompts here.

#tlou #tlou hbo #the last of us #the last of us hbo #tommy miller #Tommy miller x reader #Tommy miller x black! reader #joel miller #ellie williams #Ellie miller #ellie x dina #spring prompts #spring prompt #spring prompts 2023 #queued

[toyafreethoughts]

Hazbin Hotel Crew with a Kylar! Reader

A/N: this is the first time I actually wrote something on my own HELP. and I guess this is a good start for ppl to send in requests !! I started playing this game and kylars character was just too funny 😭 this better not flop.

Characters Involved: Charlie, Vaggie, Angel Dust, Husk, Alastor, Nifty, Lucifer.

WARNINGS: Reader is GN, This is all platonic too and the reader is a fucking dumbass :// also here’s the link if anyone wants to know Kylar’s character better :)

When the reader first arrived at the hotel let me tell you… they were fucking scared

Well… not really, they honestly don’t know why the reader really ended up in hell, all they know is that the reader just has no brain. Vaggie was very suspicious of you, she had to stop you from doing some dumb shit like jumping off the roof to leave the hotel (charlie wouldn’t let you and there were police cars surrounding the hotel)

“I’ll fucking jump off this roof if I don’t leave the hotel NOW!!!!”.

Pretty much everyone is so sick at this point LMAO. But it’s even more worse if you and nifty get involved.

And poor husker he had too put up with so much stuff from you, but usually you, angel and him get into some mischief and that ends up with you recording a video with you and angel destroying an entire room together.

“Filmmaking is for pussies fuck yeah!”

And then you decided to show the entire crew the video, just one word… they were in shock.

But really, everyone thought you were (kind of) funny in the end. You were cool hanging out with but some jokes went too far at some point and either charlie, vaggie or husk would have to get you out of those situations.

I feel like charlie might have ran out of hope at this point, how the fuck do you even end up in hell? Did Heaven really not wanna deal with you? I mean I kinda know why, they use you as an example!

Lucifer has also used you as a reason why all sinners are destroyers. When he met you he was also terrified when he saw a video of you destroying an entire room.

Lucifer definitely doesn’t wanna see or even deal with you. It’s probably another way why other overlords will probably never make deals with you… hopefully…

You also talk shit about a lot of people with angel dust a lot, which charlie may have had to talk with you about but it’s hopeless since you would keep doing it.

Also they made sure you have tried to not break your legs, since I decided that’s how you would die. Charlie felt really bad for you since you like lacrosse (or any kind of sport yall wanna think of that you like) a lot and you were scared you wouldn’t be able to play it anymore and how you told her that was your entire life basically, the only thing making you happy.

“Aw shit!!! My legs are in pieces”

If any of the men from the hotel were to try and date you I know you would (jokingly…) say “I’m not into that gay shit… yeah hell no”. But I’m reality I think they would be too terrified to try and date you, they’ll think it’ll turn into a disaster.

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A/N: Well I tried. My writings starting to get better so if anyone has any requests feel free to send some in!!!

#[❁] albert / jaxrel posts ! #hazbin hotel #hazbin hotel x reader #hazbin hotel x you #hazbin hotel x y/n

[mala-sadas]

Sandals

Steven receives a surprise visit from Zinnia. She won't tell him why she came, but he suspects there's more to it than just wanting to chat...

Length: 1,612 words

If you’d prefer: [Read on AO3]

Steven yawned as he walked up the steps of his front porch. It had been a long day, and he was ready to just throw himself on his bed and conk out. He reached into his pocket, pulled out his key, and–

“Finally! I was beginning to think you’d never show up.”

He startled, dropping his key on the ground. A familiar laugh echoed from above him, and he glanced up to see Zinnia sitting on the edge of his roof. As soon as he made eye contact with her, she jumped down, landing beside him, and snatched the key off the ground.

“Why’d you have to get one of these?” she said, spinning the keyring around on a finger. “If you just kept your front door unlocked like everyone else, I could’ve made myself at home inside while I was waiting. A plush velvet couch is way more comfortable than a roof.”

Steven bit back the urge to tell her that he kept his house locked specifically to keep out people like her. They might have been on friendlier terms as of late, but he still didn’t trust Zinnia near his rock collection unsupervised. Knowing her, she’d try to use a rare geode as a massage ball.

“Sorry to inconvenience an unexpected guest,” he said dryly, taking the key away from her. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Aw, Stevie, I know it always brightens your day to get a visit from me,” she said, shooting him a saccharine smile.

Steven rolled his eyes and unlocked the door. He wouldn’t put it like that, but Zinnia’s spontaneous visits to his house had been happening more and more frequently, and he had found that he didn’t mind it at all. After spending all day forcing courtesy to Devon Corp employees and the Pokémon League board, it was kind of refreshing to get some sarcastic banter with Zinnia.

She followed him inside and glanced around the room. “Hey, did you redecorate recently?”

“No,” Steven said, slipping his shoes off by the front door.

“Thought so. It looks as drab and impersonal as always,” Zinnia said, starting to step out of the entryway. Steven snapped his fingers, and with a sigh, she slipped her sandals off beside his shoes before stepping onto the mats that covered the floor in the rest of the house. “You really need to do something to brighten up the place. It looks like a museum in here,” she said, glancing at the display cases on the opposite side of the room.

“I’m not putting away my rocks,” he said sternly.

“I know, I know!” she said, holding up her hands in a “stop” gesture. “I’m just saying, a little bit of decoration would really do wonders to spruce up the place. Repaint the walls and the cabinets, swap out the curtains for something colorful or patterned…ooh, and add a beanbag chair! That’d be fun!” she exclaimed, clapping her hands together.

“Those sound like wonderful ideas…for your own house,” Steven said, dropping his bag on a chair in the living room.

Zinnia pouted and flopped down on the couch, throwing a hand dramatically across her forehead. “I can’t afford a house.”

“You don’t want a house.”

“Details, schmetails,” she said. “I don’t have to live there to decorate it.”

“Well, I do own a villa in Sinnoh,” he said, tapping his chin thoughtfully. “If you’re that eager to decorate a house, I could let you decorate that.”

“Too far away,” she said, waving a hand vaguely. “And you don’t–”

She cut herself off, and Steven tilted his head. “I don’t what?”

“Never mind,” she mumbled, rolling onto her side to face the back of the couch.

What was she going to say?

Pushing his curiosity aside, Steven turned away from her and headed to his bedroom to change into something more comfortable. But as he closed the door behind him, the thought occurred to him that Zinnia might have done that whole performance just to get him to let his guard down. He quickly reopened the door, but to his surprise, Zinnia was still lying on the couch exactly where he left her, not taking advantage of the opportunity to steal his food or mess with his rock collection.

How curious.

He took off his suit and put on a casual shirt and shorts instead. Then he headed back to the living room. Zinnia was still lying exactly where he left her, uncharacteristically quiet. He cleared his throat to make sure she knew he had come back. “Would you like some water? Or a snack?”

She let out a long sigh, so he knew she had heard him. After a few more moments of silence, she finally said, “Nah, I’m good.”

“Suit yourself,” he said with a shrug.

He headed over to the kitchen and poured himself a glass of water. As he took a sip, he turned back towards the living room and saw that she had rolled onto her back and was watching him. As soon as she realized he’d seen her, though, she turned her head back to look at the ceiling.

“Have you ever dated anyone?”

The sudden question startled him and almost made him choke on his water. “I…a couple, when I was a teenager,” he said. “Since I became Champion, I haven’t really had time for it. Why do you ask?”

“Just wondering,” she said quickly.

Steven picked up his glass and walked back into the living room. As he sat down in an armchair, Zinnia finally sat up and looked at him, then cast her gaze to the coffee table.

“Did you ask them out, or did they ask you?”

Steven blinked, blanking for a moment on what she was talking about. “Oh – they asked me,” he said. “We went on a couple of dates, and I decided I wasn’t really feeling anything, so I broke up with them.”

“Ah.” Zinnia let out a heavy sigh and stood up. “Never mind, then.”

She darted towards the door.

“Wait!” Steven called, dropping his glass of water on the side table to chase after her. He grabbed her hand just before she could grab the doorknob, and she glanced up at him. “Were you…hoping you could get some advice on how to ask someone out?”

Zinnia stared at his hand around hers, and he quickly dropped it, afraid he was making her feel uncomfortable. She lowered her hand, but still avoided looking at him. “Maybe.”

Steven chuckled, shaking his head. “You could’ve just said that from the start,” he said.

“Whatever,” she mumbled, glancing to the side. “Look, if you – if someone was going to ask you out, how would you want them to do it? I don’t… I’m not…”

“You’re not used to this sort of thing,” Steven guessed.

“I want to do it right,” she said. “This guy… I think he’d appreciate that.”

Steven nodded appreciatively. “That’s a good attitude to have,” he said. “Beyond that…I don’t think there’s one right way to ask someone out. I can tell you a couple of things not to do, though.”

“Which are…?”

“Don’t be sarcastic or insult him,” Steven said. “If you do, he’s not going to take you seriously.”

She grimaced. “I’m no good at that.”

“You’re doing it right now, aren’t you?” he said with a smile.

She looked flustered at that, turning away and opening the door. “I-I should get going,” she said. “Thanks.”

“Wait, one more thing,” Steven said. “Who is this guy that you wanna ask out, anyways?”

“None of your business,” she retorted.

“It’s just…you’re not a very social person,” he said. “How many guys do you even know besides me?”

“Oh, I know loads of guys,” she scoffed. “There’s Brendan…”

“A child.”

“Wallace…”

“He doesn’t swing that way.”

“Uh, there were a bunch of guys in that team I joined…”

“And you don’t even remember any of their names,” Steven chuckled, shaking his head.

“Who’s to say I remember yours, Rockman?”

“You just said it when you arrived.” he said smugly. “Face it, there’s no other guy you know well enough…”

He trailed off as the pieces finally clicked into place. He’d gotten so caught up in the urge to prove Zinnia wrong that he hadn’t fully considered the implications of him being right.

Zinnia chuckled, dipping her head. “I should’ve known you’d be sharp enough to figure it out,” she said. “It’s one of the things I like about you, after all.”

Before he could finish processing the implications of that statement, Zinnia spun on her heel and darted out the door. She was long gone before he could do anything more than call out her name.

Zinnia…likes me? Enough that she wants to ask me out?

Maybe it was for the best that she had given him time to think about it. If she’d asked right then and there, Steven didn’t know what he would have said. He’d grown fond of Zinnia, sure, but was that enough to want to date her? For as many attractive qualities as she had, she had just as many flaws. And, like he said at first, he didn’t know if he would have the time to commit to a relationship with all the other responsibilities he had.

And yet… Dating Zinnia…

Steven smiled to himself and headed back inside, closing the door behind him. He didn’t lock it this time, though. When Zinnia came back, he would have an answer for her, and he suspected that that’d happen sooner rather than later.

She’d left her sandals right next to his, after all.

#pokemon #oras #champion steven #trainer steven #trainer zinnia #lorekeeper zinnia #metaldragonshipping #it was a dark and stormy write #going back to my classic fic-naming scheme #of naming fics after an object that's only really relevant at the end of the fic

[godlizzza]

Reverse: this time Herbert is the one getting hit on and Dan has to step in, preferably middleaged danbert please :)

"Wow, Dr. West, you removed that bullet in no time," Grant gawked.

Herbert peeled off his blood-soaked gloves and tossed them down on the tool bench. "Work as long as I did in Chicago and you'll be picking out bullets like watermelon seeds."

Grant, the nurse, had been assisting him with the same shooting patient, an armed robbery victim, most of the day. They'd finally gotten the man stable enough to attempt to remove the bullet lodged dangerously close to his spine. The bullet was long and thin, so that plucking it out with the forceps had been easily done, though Grant was acting as though he'd performed some kind of miracle.

"You've worked at a lot of hospitals then?" Grant asked, pushing the cart of tools along as he walked beside Herbert.

Herbert cast a surreptitious glance at him but didn't break his stride. "Not so many," he lied.

Grant didn't seem to notice his sly tone. His eyes remained wide and sparkling. He had to be at least ten years Herbert's junior, and relatively new to the field. He still had that sunny optimism that Herbert had seen quickly snuffed out of many nurses. He supposed you could only get vomited on and abused for so long before becoming somewhat embittered to it all. That was why Herbert preferred bodies over people. Less back-chat.

"Um, you know, Dr. West," Grant began, pulling up short and forcing Herbert to stop in his tracks. "I-"

"What is it?" Herbert asked briskly, aware that they were supposed to be heading back to their floor.

Grant coughed into his fist and glanced to the side. He fidgeted with his cuffs, which just irritated Herbert more. Standing around, doing nothing, had never been a favoured pastime of his.

"I was just thinking how, um, incredible you are."

"What?"

He hadn't been expecting that. Mostly, the rest of the hospital staff went out of their way to interact with him only when strictly necessary, which suited him just fine. They certainly didn't walk around dishing out compliments to him.

"Yeah," Grant went on, a grin pulling at his mouth. "I know some other people mind find your style a little, uh, brusque, but I like how direct you are. No beating around the bush. That's my kinda style too. Also, this might sound a little weird, but I wish I had your hands."

Herbert inspected his fingers. "Is that right?"

Grant nodded, a curl of hair flopping over his glittering eyes. "I always watch your surgeries when I can. You never shake."

"He's unshakable," Dan agreed, materialising at Herbert's side. "Nerves of steel, this one."

Herbert didn't jump, but cast a wild look at Dan, who placed a hand on the small of his back and smiled. Herbert had known Dan's smiling face for twenty years, and could see that, though he looked perfectly genial on the outside, there was a stiffness to his jaw that suggested otherwise.

"Oh, Dr. Cain. Hi," Grant said and took a step back. His eyes dimmed as he and Dan stared at each other, some unspoken conversation passing between their gazes alone.

"Did I hear something about hands?" Dan asked, faux politeness dripping from his voice. "Herbert does have nice hands. So nice, I just had to decorate one." And, taking Herbert's hand in his, turned them so that their matching wedding rings glinted under the fluorescent lights.

Grant gave a short huff of a laugh and nodded stiffly. He looked at Herbert as he said, "I'll see you back at bay eight?"

"Yes," Herbert replied, trailing off as Grant walked off, pushing his cart towards the elevator.

Only once he was round the corner did Dan pull his hand away.

"What was that?" Herbert asked, arching an eyebrow at Dan, who put on a big sigh and placed his hands on his hips.

Dan looked up at the roof as he mused, "I knew it was bound to happen eventually."

"What're you talking about?" Herbert pressed, but Dan had turned around and was walking down the hall.

"One day the world would catch up with me and realised I lucked out," Dan said wistfully as he strolled away.

Herbert could see his cheeks rising with a grin and pursued him with half a mind to grasp the nearest newspaper and whack him upside the head with it.

"Stop talking nonsense," Herbert barked. "And stop walking so fast."

Dan laughed as Herbert caught up with him and they continued on together.

#returning the favour #jealous dan is also a favourite trope #just. jealousy in general lol #danbert #dan cain #herbert west #re-aniamtor #my fics #the couple down the street #asks #writing prompt

[childofsolace-write-ups]

Here's a little sneak peek to the fic I'm working on right now...

This is when Jamie comes into my Httyd AU series. I'm not posting in on Ao3 until the whole thing is done, and this is the only time I'm posting a sneak peek of it. The next time this would be seen, hopefully, it would be in Ao3 and completed. Still waiting for the poll results that will help me decide if I'll make it a one chapter thing or if it will be a multichap.

Either way, it will be completed.

If you want to wait for the complete version to read it, then there's no need to click 'keep reading' at the undercut.

It was another regular day. The Vikings of Berk were still stubborn yet resilient at the varying weather condition of dry cold to freezing cold, the young of these folks can be angels and devils depending on their moods, and the dragons still raise havoc. However, instead of anger and fear, the people react in fond exasperation.

"Brass!"

"Copper!"

"There's hardly a freaking difference!" Jack exasperated, putting down a newly crafted pick axe that Gobber had him make. Honestly, these days, he thought watching the younger children of Berk was a lot less aggravating. "Don't you two have anything better to do than argue and having me caught up in the middle?"

Aster and Gobber looked at him, opening their mouths to answer.

"No, don't answer, I don't really care; It's my break." Overhead, Jack saw the familiar sight of a dark mass with a boy on top of it. "Just in time," he grinned, grabbing his weapon staff before jumping on some nearby barrels and crates. "Over here, Hic!"

Aster held out a hand towards him, "Wait Jack," he scowled, "We're not done here!"

"I am!" Jack gave him a salute, his arm stretched up just in time for Toothless to fly by to grab it. As soon as his barefeet left the roof's surface, he used the curved part of his staff as leverage to flip over and take space on the saddle right behind Hiccup. "Thanks Hic, you saved me from another tug-of-war match with those two."

Hiccup chuckled, "Anything for you, snowflake." he smiled and blushed when Jack kissed him on the cheek for that response.

Jack laughed as a response to the thrilling belly flops he felt as Hiccup continued to soar higher to the sky, and further from the island and the village. He noted that there were some ships heading for the island, but he could see there were mostly people in civilian clothes so he didn't have to worry about it being an attack.

Even if it were, they'd be pretty foolish to attack Berk. After a few encounters with the Outcasts and Berserker alike, (plus kidnap attempts that annoyed Jack to no end, Hiccup more so since it's his boyfriend that got taken more often) Jack's pretty sure word's spread that they were working together with dragons, so the dragons were under their protection and vice versa. Stoick's still hoping they can come to a peaceful resolution with the Berserkers, since the previous chief was an old friend, but that still remained to be seen.

In any case, Jack figured that whoever these people were, they just might be some sort of business partners of Aster. It wouldn't be the first time the man didn't need to leave since the restock of supplies would be coming to him. Although usually, the island would make a day out of it where they would put up stalls or tents and there would be a bazaar for about a week.

Hiccup started to undo the security lock from the prosthetic pedal. "All right bud, you ready?"

Toothless made a  growl in affirmation.

"Wait, wait," Jack balked, "Can't we just enjoy flying without you doing..." he wasn't able to finish as Hiccup leaned more to the side before willingly falling off the dragon. "that..." He groaned, before crouching low to hang on for dear life... Literally.

As Toothless allowed himself to be taken by gravity, unable to continue his flight path without Hiccup's assistance, Jack grimaced and clenched his teeth. Much as he liked to scream, as would be the natural response, the last time Hiccup did this, a flock of birds were nearby and one of them pooped, nearly into his mouth. That said, it landed at his lower cheek and missed his mouth by only a few inches.

Just before they hit the water below, Hiccup angled himself just so and easily got his prosthetic re-attached to its pedal lock of Toothless' saddle and they glided through the surface, water splashing in the process, before taking back to the sky.

"Yeah!" Hiccup laughed as they were high enough to be amongst the clouds again, "I'd say that went about smoothly this time around, too."

Jack huffed, repositioning his staff that went an awkward angle during the crouch, before wrapping his arms around Hiccup's torso. "Maybe from where you're sitting," he shook his head, "And must you do that so frequently?"

"C'mon, it's exciting." Hiccup smirked, nudging Jack the best he could from where he sat. "some part of you has got to admit that it was awesome."

"Yeah, sure." Jack deadpanned, "Only about the thirteenth time, this week alone, you jumped off of Toothless for a thrilling free fall, that almost stopped my heart, without warning."

"If you give it a try..."

"I may now be less terrified of the sea, or bodies of water in general, but that doesn't mean it's going to hurt less when I hit the surface from this height."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, "You're not going to hit it." he said, "I'll catch you."

"Raincheck," Jack said with a smirk, "now I think we're going a little too slow for a Night fury, don't you think Toothless?"

Toothless what might be his version of a laugh, before zooming quickly through the skies.

Back at Berk, Aster and Stoick went to welcome some people docking in port.

A couple of months before, Aster left Berk to barter more items that could be traded. Ever since the island started caring for dragons, he had more business. To that end, the trader needed to restock his wares more often. In one of the island he frequented, a village there was ransacked by wild dragons that didn't seem to know about Berk being a safe haven for them. Not that the island could house every single dragon in the world, of course.

Aster had some good friends in that village though, and he requested Stoick to give some of them temporary refuge while they rebuild their village.

Though, there was one particular family wanted to live in Berk at the request of their one and only son. The boy was adopted because the couple couldn't have children, and rarely asked them for anything. So, when he actually did, it's usually given to him. Stoick was a bit on the fence, but Aster did tell him it was only one family who wanted to move in permanently. Plus, the one that would could open a tavern in Berk so there would be more options for good meals and drinks.

"Does Jack know I'm arriving today?" A young boy about Jack's age, only a year younger, came on port and walked on the gangplank towards Aster. He was visibly excited and nervous at the same time. "Is he here, too?" he looked past the tall man's shoulder, as if Jack would be behind him for a surprise greeting.

Aster chuckled at his amusement, "I haven't told him about it, Jamie. Wanted it to be a surprise," he smirked, "Serves the boy right for pulling a big one on me two months ago."

#Htty AU #Hiccup Haddock #Jackson Overland #HiJack #Jamie Bennette #E. Aster Bunnymund

[uncaaj]

Fanfic - The Brekkie After (Bluey)

READ ON AO3 NOW!

The morning light crept into Bandit’s vision and seared his eyeballs. All at once he became painfully aware of how bad he felt. Time for his own version of the “Checklist.”

Dry mouth? Check.

Throbbing headache? Check.

Back aching from sleeping on Stripe’s floor and not his comfy bed? Double check.

Time to lay back. The show’s not going on today. 

“Ugh…babe?” he croaked. “I did it again.”

His wife Chilli didn’t move from where she lay next to him. “Me too,” she sighed.

“Me three,” groaned Stripe from the couch.

Bandit shrugged. “Well, that’s not too bad, I suppose.”

At that moment, a chorus of moans erupted from all the adults splayed out in all corners of Stripe’s living room, the casualties of the kid-free get-together they had last night that went a little too long and a little too crazy.

“Biscuits,” Bandit hissed. “Spoke too soon.” They were all irresponsible and were paying for it now. If he didn’t interact with any kids today, it would be a blessing.

+++

BANDIT: *yawwwwwnnnn* This episode of Bandit is called “The Brekkie After."

+++

Bandit massaged his forehead with his fingertips as he eased himself upright. Bright light assaulted his eyes as if the sun was right in his face. “Why did we think this was a good idea?”

“Can someone get the shade?” said Stripe, his strong bark barely a grunt today.

“Got it,” said Bandit. He dragged his lead paws behind the couch to the patio door. Pulling the shade across the glass felt like heaving a heavy rock across a swamp. He sighed with the relief of a dimmer living room.

“My towel is still wet,” said Wendy, rolling off the other couch and flopping onto the floor.

Pat scrubbed board game pieces off his chest and held up a bank note to show everyone. “Still have the bet I won when I dared you to jump in the pool.” He then let his arm go limp on the side table, accidentally knocking an empty beer can onto the floor. “Oops.”

“Only because Bandit dared to get cheeky with me,” Wendy grumbled.

“Seems to happen a lot at Heeler get-togethers, eh? The pool, I mean,” said Bandit, before feeling the roof of his mouth and making a yucky face. “Feels like there’s slime in my mouth.”

“Nah, that’s from when you ate a whole jar of peanut butter faster than Pat,” said Chilli.

“Blegh!” said Pat. “That stuff’s only good in small amounts and on crackers.”

Bandit leaned back and felt his back crack satisfyingly. He saw Josh Border Collie shiver and wince, which meant he was awake too. “I suppose since I’m the only one up, I’ll go put the kettle on and get brekkie goin’.” He shot a smug look over his shoulder as he stepped gingerly out of the living room. “You lot just lay there and have a think about what you did.”

“You as well,” said Chilli, sending that look back at him. “I recall this party being your idea.”

Bandit gulped. “Yes, babe,” he said as he trudged to Stripe’s kitchen.

“Well, I might have a shower then,” said Josh, sitting up rapidly, and collapsing back down just as fast. “Ugh, room’s spinnin’. Never mind.”

“Get in line, Josh,” said Wendy, shooting him a death glare with all the energy she had left.

The sink water filling up Stripe’s electric kettle sounded like a churning waterfall to Bandit’s sensitive ears. His headache rumbled inside him with the ferocity of a rolling timpani as he shut off the tap and placed the kettle on its perch to come to a boil. He then carefully placed the stray wine glasses on the bar into the sink before peering back through the entryway to the goo-like adults who had barely moved. “Stripe, what should I make for brekkie?”

“Could you make hangover eggs?” Stripe asked. “Those always do the trick.”

“What? No!” Pat protested, scrunching his snout. “That’s disgusting.”

“This isn’t like college, Pat,” Stripe rebutted, “I got more in my fridge now than just tomato sauce and day-old dim sims.”

“Don’t matter. Bandit’ll still put anything he wants in there, even stuff that doesn’t go together. Remember when he put instant noodles and anchovies in it after the ‘99 Winter Social? Blegh!”

“Never stopped you from lickin’ your plate clean every time, did it?” Bandit quipped.

Pat stuttered and the whole room mustered as much laughter as they could in their hungover state.

Bandit’s headache lightened slightly and his tail twitched with pride. “I’ve ‘improved’ the recipe through the years so just lay back and let the chef make some magic, alright?”

“Righto,” Pat chuckled, not willing to argue anymore.

Bandit nodded and went to grab some ibuprofen from a cabinet he knew was far out of reach for Muffin and Socks. The kettle clicked, signaling the water was ready. Just in time, thought Bandit. “And take some ibuprofen,” he told Pat. “It’ll take your crank away.”

Pat rolled his eyes and looked at Chilli. “Bandit sure is somethin’, eh?”

Chilli smiled. “Yeah. The best.”

After tea and ibuprofen were dispersed around the room, everyone seemed to come out of zombie mode. Of course, Bandit knew this was merely a chisel to the hangover when they needed a jackhammer. The kids were coming back from his big brother Rad’s pad later, so onto that brekkie.

The Faceytime jingle played on the tablet on the counter. Speak of the devil, and he shall ring, especially when you’re preoccupied with searching through Stripe’s refrigerator. He ducked away from the fridge to tap the green call button then returned to rummaging his paws through the vegetable drawer.

“How goes it, little brother?” greeted Rad in his usual sunny manner.

Cradling a green pepper, spinach, mushrooms, and bacon in his arm, he shut the fridge and turned to the tablet. He nodded to his brother on screen and tried to smile as he set the stuff on the counter. He silently wished that he didn’t look like he hadn’t slept in days, but perhaps the blue and red heeler mix wouldn’t notice. He was a little absent-minded at times.

“Whoa, you look like you haven’t slept in days,” Rad laughed. 

Well, throw that out the window. “Perceptive this morning, are we?” said Bandit, rubbing his eyes.

“Did you and your mates do it again?”

“Yeah, we did. Hope the kids ran you ragged as well,” said Bandit with a playful sneer.

“Yeah, I bet. Nah, it’s all good. We gave ‘em enough games to ensure they slept through the night. In fact, Bluey’s the only one up right now. She went on a run with me.”

Bluey scampered into the frame and waved. “Sure did!”

Bandit gave a thumbs up. “Good on ya, kiddo!” Didn’t matter if he was hungover or not, a grin from his oldest pup made feel light as a feather every time.

“Are you alright, dad?” Bluey asked, moving in closer.

Bandit rubbed the back of his neck. “Yeah, we just got to bed late last night.”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah, everyone.”

Bluey raised an eyebrow. “That happens a lot at Heeler parties, doesn’t it?”

A cold sweat formed on Bandit’s back. He had forgotten he used that excuse once before. He’d better hop off before any more questions were asked.

Luckily, Rad was on top of it as he pet Bluey on the head. “Alright, I’ll take care of brekkie for the kids. You just make sure everyone else is right as rain, you hear?”

Bandit nodded. “Will do.”

“Bye, dad!”

“See ya, Bluey!” With that, they disappeared from the tablet.

“Was that Rad?” asked Stripe from the living room.

“Sure was,” said Bandit. “Bluey’s up so I better make this quick.” He got to work chopping the bacon into lardons and the pepper into a fine dice.

“Hey, mate,” said Pat, wandering in, mug in hand. “Top us off, could ya? Everything still tastes like peanut butter.”

Bandit smiled. “No worries.”

After his mug was refilled, Pat took a seat at the bar and sipped the warm liquid, swishing it around his mouth to rid every last speck of peanut butter. “If my kids ever find out what we grown-ups do when they’re not around, I couldn’t look ‘em in the eye again.”

“Bluey nearly did, I think,” Bandit gulped.

“Ha! Insightful nose, that one.”

“Did I ever tell you about what happened after Chilli and I were here for New Year’s?” Bandit asked. Pat shook his head and took another sip. “So in walks Bluey and Bingo, looking to play Whale Watching with us-”

“Hang on,” Chilli called, making her entrance. “You cook, I wanna tell him this story.”

Bandit winked at her. “Fine by me, babe. You tell it better anyhow.”

Josh tapped his foot as he sipped his tea, the warm drink putting him in better spirits. “Will we ever, doo doo-doo doo, be that funky again?” he hummed to himself.

“You’re going to get that silly song stuck in my head again,” Wendy barked playfully.

Josh shrugged. “You kiddin’? That was the best part of the night right there.”

“I didn’t sound too bad, did I?” asked Stripe.

“‘Course not!” came Bandit’s voice. “I’m just glad you sang with me at all!”

“Just like old times,” Stripe called back.

A content silence settled around the room, broken only by the distant sizzling of bacon and the release of its sweet, smoky aroma into the air. The quiet was welcome among them all, not only because of their still sensitive heads but because it was such a rarity in their households since they had kids. All those old times when they had not a care in the world were now left behind, having made way for the new times and the joy and responsibility they now shared.

Wendy piped up. “Yes, I suppose it was a good song…do you think we will ever be that funky again?”

Stripe stretched his neck, feeling it pop. “Nah.”

Josh shook his fluffy head. “Nope.”

“Not a chance!” Pat exclaimed.

Everyone laughed, wistful nostalgia echoing between them until they all settled again into their tired, hungover selves.

“That’s okay, though,” said Stripe. “I like how funky we are now.”

Wendy nodded and sat back. “Yes, I agree.”

“It’s certainly easier on me head, I’ll tell ya that for free,” said Josh.

“Brekkie’s on!” shouted Bandit.

Soon they were all congregated at the dining table, each adult provided with a generous egg scramble on a piece of toast. Tea was refilled and they all proceeded to tuck in.

Pat didn’t know what he was in for, but it was hot, it was here, and any brekkie he’d wait for back home would just be dry cereal. He picked up the toast and hesitantly took a bite. 

“What do ya reckon, Pat?” Bandit asked.

Pat swallowed and couldn’t help but wag his tail slightly. “I forgot you made ham and pineapple pizza a religious experience,” he said, licking his chops. “I will never doubt your abilities again.”

“Uss!” Bandit cheered, pumping his fist. “Still got it!”

“Good job, babe,” said Chilli, squeezing his hand.

“As long as I wake up to this,” said Josh through a mouthful, “Good friends and good food, I wouldn’t mind doing this again. Just not too funky next time, eh?”

Everyone nodded. “Agreed.”

#bluey #fanfiction #aj tries to write #bandit heeler #chilli heeler #pat bluey #lucky's dad #wendy bluey #judo's mum #stripe heeler #joshua border collie #mackenzie's dad #ao3 #hangover #fluff #humor

[sithlich]

@barkonthedancefloor Lily has an interesting life story and I know so many fun facts and quirks about her I'm going to write about it here because she is my friend and she makes me happy.

The youngest Lily could be is 19 years old. I'm 30, her owner (my bff) is 32. We met when we were in high school (not Lily she did not go to high school) so about 2008-2009. She is bff's cat who he met on his then gf's family's farm. gf's family inherited her from their grandparents who swore she has papers and a registered breed but never saw the papers (might be BS). Lily jumped off the shed roof to tackle and kill a squirrel and bff watched a few yards away and fell in love. His gf's brother kicked Lily out of the house for peeing. This extremely young, previously kittypet was now a barncat. Bff got to pet her a couple times but Lily was distant and not really friendly with people.

(Lily 2020)

Bff and gfs family watched Lily deliver some barnkittens, who were missing and never found. Gfs family SWEARS Lily ate them. Few months go by. Icy cold weather hits the upper Peninsula. Way below freezing. Gfs family don't really do anything with their barncats apparently. Bff thinks of Lily and goes to his gfs house that evening and catches this downtrodden former kittypet-now rowdy independent barncat, gets a ride home (16 year old passenger princess lol) and begs his dad to let him keep Lily there. Dad relents and says yes.

Bffs dad already has 3 cats though. Very sweet things mostly but very strong personalities, no respect for a Lady's personal space. It's like Greta Garbo living with the 3 Stooges. Lily spends all of her time under bffs bed or glued to him. Lily quickly becomes very affectionate with bff. This is very easy to anthropomorphise into "gratefulness" or "love" but he certainly loved her from the start. Even though he didn't really have control over everything in the house as one teenager in a house of 3+ people bff did everything he could to baby and bond with this cat. Bff shortly got to decide where he lived fulltime, being that bff's parents were divorced. Bff had not planned for this. Bff went to live with his mom, and she said "no cat, my boyfriends allergic." Bff experiences deep woe but needs the stability of his mom.

(Squirrel the dog and Lily synchronized, 2022)

Bff's mom breaks up with the guy and bff gets a job at burger king! When bff is seventeen he is allowed to bring Lily to his mom's house! Joyful reunion. Lily realizes that sometimes I come over and sleep in Bffs bed. Lily's response to this was initial coldness, and a piss on the blanket to wake us up that night. 😑 But we became fast friends once we spent more time together. I had never been friends with a cat since my family's childhood cat Bob. He was a fat siamese which left us when I was the age of 3. Every other cat I attempted to befriend seemed like an alien intent on scratching the shit out of my arms legs and face. (I was a child and probably mostly interacting with cats who didn't like strangers.) Lily mostly enjoyed sitting near you, accepting gentle neck scratches, and squeaking sweetly. Lily has a scratchy 'cre-e-ek!' as a senior kitty, when she was younger her voice was more resonant, even lilting and melodic. "Bmraa-eh?" The platonic ideal of a meow. She would ingratiate herself by stretching up to sniff your mouth in an amusing imitation of a kiss. Lily would wrap her tail around one's leg and blink up at you. Once she decided you were safe, Lily was a very affectionate friend.

(Lily climbs into bffs lap after he has fallen asleep in a kitchen chair. He is exhausted as he has worked late, but Lily MUST sit on him and sponge affection from him. She misses him desperately when they must be apart. 2016)

Lily has come with us through 7 moves. Lily comforted both of us when bff and I broke up and became just-friends-but-still-roommates. (Bff's nickname in my phone is "😗EXIE🤓.") Lily watched us flop at opening a small business. Lily has helped BFF write every song he's ever written, purring on his lap or shoulder, on top of his desk knocking all the stuff off it. She loves nighttime-only car-rides. Lily relaxes, flops down and purrs when BFF plays his guitar softly and sings for her. Lily is VERY interested in human food right now. Lily Loves her new Senior Girl Catfood. Lily wakes bff up by biting his big toe with her incisors AS HARD AS SHE CAN. Lily still enjoys knocking her water bowl over so she can watch the water move (ambivalent about fancy cat fountains).

(Myself and lily 2022)

I am writing this partly because I have reflected with my friends about her mortality recently. Making plans for "what if," yknow. I am high and I love my cat very very much. Lily is the kind of creature you meet once every lifetime, I know I'll never meet another like her. I cherished our time together and feel lucky that my life intersected with hers. Lily has brought so much comfort, companionship, consolement, wisdom, amusement, inspiration, charity and serendipity to my own, and countless others lives.

#lily the cat #dates on photos are approximate #i am high

[wolfverse-stories]

Falling in Reverse

(Reverse robins)

Chapter 8

     "And what are you doing here?" Damian demanded.

     "Chasing the Red Hood, same as you" Jason answered. Both of them were standing on the roof of an empty warehouse in their costumes.

     "This is no place for Kids Robin" Damian scolded the younger boy.

     "I'm not a kid!" Jason snapped standing on his toes to look taller.

     "I don't trust you to go home by yourself and I don't have time to take you home" Damian sighed 'ugh I swear he acts just like Tim' "Fine stay close to me"

    "Okay grumpy bird" Jason nodded. Damian mentally cursed Wally for the stupid nickname.

     "Let's go" he leaped through the window. A couple of thugs were lying on the ground dead. "He's definitely been here"

     "Way to go Nightwing" Red Hood stepped out of the shadows "Figure that one out all by yourself?"

     "You might as well surrender" he matched Damian blow for blow. It was like he knew exactly what Damian was going to do before he even did it 'Why isn't he using his gun'

     "Getting a little slow aren't you Wayne?" Damian's eyes widened behind his mask 'Who is this guy?' "You have no idea who you're messing with"

     "You think you're some kind of genius?" Damian growled.

     "Actually yes" he smirked. Even with the helmet on Damian could tell he was smirking. Suddenly lights started flashing outside "That's my cue" Red Hood knocked Damian down and climbed up to the roof. "A little higher than I thought" he looked down below.

     "Give up, you have nowhere to go" Damian smirked as he backed the Red Hood to the edge of the roof.

     "How about no" He leaped onto a poorly built platform 'This should be strong enough to hold my weight, hopefully, they'll be too worried about this falling to climb on it'

     "Robin!" Damian called after Jason as he jumped on the wobbly platform. A sudden shake caused Jason to slip barely holding on to the edge of the platform.

     "Come here you little brat" Red Hood reached for Jason pulling the kid up and tossing him onto the roof of the next build.

     "Hold on Robin I'm coming" Red Hood looked over to see Damian leaping onto the platform 'you got to be kidding me'

     "You idiot!" The platform became shaky. Red started to jump to the next building until Damian's cape caught his eye 'This dummy is going to fall down with the platform' Instead of leaping to the next building he turned to push Damian onto the second platform.

      "You-" Whatever Damian was about to say was drowned out by the crash.

     "Ugh," Red Hood tried to push himself up off the ground until he realized he was pinned under a heavy wooden beam 'Way to go red, always got to be the hero don't you' he mentally cursed himself as Damian ran over to him. Red Hood tried to hit him but Damian grabbed his hand.

      "I'm trying to help you!" Damian snapped pulling the beam off of him 'What am I doing he's a killer' As soon as he was free Red Hood darted off.

     "You let him get away" Jason complained. Damian stared at the door 'Who was that guy and why would he save me?'

Extended Ending

     "I should have shot him in the leg, to begin with," Red Hood groaned pulling off his helmet.

     "Hey, Timmy" Tim turned to see Roy standing in the doorway "I thought that was you" he smirked.

     "I'm not even sure who I am I'm anymore" Tim flopped down in his chair.

     "You've changed a lot" Roy smiled "I can't imagine the old Tim carrying around guns"

     "That Tim died long ago" Tim sighed fixing the crack in his helmet.

     "Got to say the new you is pretty cool" Roy smiled "I'm kinda into the anti-hero game myself, want to join forces?" Roy reached out his hand.

     "Sure why not" Tim smiled shaking his hand"A couple of outlaws working together"

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#fanfic #tim drake #batfam #damian wayne #jason todd #reverse robins #reverse batfam #ao3 #ao3 crossposting

[circumstellars]

THE TERROR ACADEMY

↪ Happy Halloween 2021 || {TUA} {cast+}

#i can't beginn to describe how long and hard i worked on these #whatever i was planning wasn't this but #if it flops i might jump off my roof #i hope everyone likes them #tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #halloween #happy halloween #halloween 2021 #gifs #giffing #motion graphics #fandom #five hargreeves #allison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #ccnet #compression is a little off on mobile try and see on desktop at least once #flashing #just in case #myworks #mygifs #my nonsense

[luvdsc]

august.

Bad habits are hard to break, and you’ve made a terrible one of loving him.

pairing :: liu yangyang x reader genre :: fluff, angst ⋮ best friend + college au word count :: 10,500 words warnings :: none. playlist :: time lapse (taeyeon) ⋆ 2 kids (taemin) ⋆ daydreams (exes) ⋆ sharing you (lany) ⋆ august (taylor swift) ⋆ too close to love (will hyde) ⋆ sad stripped (lany) ⋆ strangers (taemin) ⋆ the 1 (taylor swift) author’s note :: can you believe that i literally wrote this entire 10k fic in one day aka today ??? whew this gave me the same rush that i got when i wrote my research paper in the class it was due for the day of, printed it out during break, and handed it in at the end of class :’) ↳ part of the almost collaboration series.

Liu Yangyang is jumping fences to escape late night parties, shared laughter over childhood favorite cartoons on February mornings, midnight dancing in the refrigerator light, and November kisses stolen in between the shelves of the nearby 7-Eleven. He is obscure doodles in the margins of your physics notes, good intentions laced in December’s mistakes, strawberry lemonade and broken truths wrapped in summer bliss, and September endings with honest lies.

He is your August, he is your everything, but he isn’t yours.

AUGUST 2018.

August has barely begun to fade away.

You’re eighteen years old, and you’re drunk off of your first taste of freedom, one toe already dipping into the shiny pleasures of adulthood. Your new roommate, Karina, has excitedly told you about the famous beach night themed frat party that kick starts every school year at your university. Everybody who’s anybody would be there, and your heart already races at the thought of going to your very first college party.

“Coral or blue?” Karina holds up a solid colored neon blue bikini and a striped, bright pink one for you to choose between.

“Blue.” You nod towards the first option, and she discards the other one back into the open drawer. You pull out a marigold yellow one and a black one lined with white strings, wordlessly gesturing towards them, and she immediately points to the latter.

“That one is gonna look so cute on you. Well, both would, but I love that one.”

You grin at her, silently thanking whoever decided to pair the two of you together for the random dorming. “Perfect, thanks. Do you know any of the guys hosting the party?”

“Yeah, Dejun? He’s really sweet and a year above us. I met him in the music elective I’m taking.” She turns to take off her shirt and tosses it to the side, pulling on her bikini and wriggling into a pair of ripped jean shorts. “You?”

“Kind of? Jaemin is in my project group in Intro to Engineering. He’s rushing for that frat.” You quickly change out of your outfit and into your chosen swim top and daisy dukes. You make sure to grab a pair of black flip flops from your closet. The bundle of nerves in your stomach grows as you step out of your dorm with your new friend, a bit anxious but also excited to attend your very first party.

Thank goodness for summer weather. It’s still a nice, warm 75 degrees Fahrenheit according to your weather app when you and Karina finally make your way to the frat house. The sun barely begins to set, but the party slash dayger had started earlier and is in full swing. There’s a DJ set up out front, blasting some sort of EDM music, and the lawn is absolutely covered in foam. You see the source of it shakily set up on the roof of the patio along with a couple of boys sitting up there, Hawaiian shirts barely covering their figures. You catch the eye of Jaemin, who happily waves at you from his vantage point, and you wave back at him.

“Oh my god, I love college,” Karina says, grabbing your arm excitedly as the two of you step into the foam. You reach down to pick up some of it before flicking it towards your roommate, who squeals before scooping some up and throwing it in your direction as well.

“Ready for our first shitty college drink?” You pull her through the mass of other students and towards the horribly decorated tiki bar stationed in the corner of the patio.

“Hell yeah, let’s do it.”

The two of you stumble over, still throwing handfuls of foam at each other amidst giggles before making a full stop in front of the bar. The older boy behind the makeshift counter lazily grins at you both, a shell necklace hanging loosely around his neck, and his unbuttoned orange Hawaiian shirt gives you a nice flash of his toned abs.

“Hey, I’m Johnny. What can I get for you two?”

“Two vodka shots, please.”

“Alright, ID?”

You freeze, and Karina’s grip on your arm tightens, and then Johnny laughs, eyes crinkling in the corners. “Relax, I’m just messing with you, freshie. Two vodka shots coming right up.”

He pulls out two small plastic cups and pours out the drinks for you. “How many do you want?”

“This is good for now, thanks.” You and Karina pick up the drinks, smiling a little nervously at him. He flashes another amused smile at you. “Alright, come back anytime if you want another.”

You move away from the patio, and Karina follows close behind. The two of you throw back the drinks and dispose of the empty cups quickly. The burning sensation in your throat disappears after a few seconds, and you turn to your roommate. “Should we find our friends?”

“I think I see Dejun back there! Let’s go say hi, I can introduce you to him.” Karina drags you through the rising foam, the bubbles clinging to your skin, and when you go past the DJ stand, you feel the pounding bass reverberating in your chest harder than ever. You trek past the gate and into the backyard where the foam has risen to your waist, thanks to the enclosed fences. She taps on the shoulder of a boy with the prettiest almond eyes you have ever seen, and you shyly smile at him when he greets you.

“Hey, I’m Dejun.”

Oh my god, even his voice sounds pretty. Older college boys are definitely better and hotter than high school boys. Heck, they’re better than freshman boys. Nobody wants to date a freshman dude, not even the freshman girls.

“Hi, I’m Y/N.” You extend your hand, but then realize how stupid that must be. You hastily start to retract your hand, but he laughs and warmly grasps your hand. Smiling at you, he shakes it firmly, squeezing your hand gently before letting go.

“It’s nice to meet you, Y/N.”

The butterflies in your stomach grow in volume as the conversation goes on, and you’re positively enamored by the end of the night. Karina had given you a look earlier before walking off with Dejun’s friend and joining the dancing crowd. With the addition of his phone number in your pocket and a promise to show you a new song he’s working on with his guitar next Friday, you’re walking on cloud nine.

“Do you want something to drink? I need a refill, and I can go grab you one,” he asks, and you’re about to offer to go with him, but then you remember the teasing upperclassman and simply agree, asking for another shot of vodka.

After he disappears, you look around, eyeing the crowd and wondering if you can spot your roommate anywhere. You bump into someone lightly and turn around to apologize. Your eyes meet a pair of curiously bright ones.

“Sorry about that, I’m looking for my roomie.”

The boy gives you a Cheshire Cat grin. He’s wearing one of those dumb Hawaiian shirts, too, and it’s unbuttoned, but he has a white T-shirt layered underneath it. “No biggie, it’s a massive party and it’s crowded. Who are you looking for?”

“Ah, I don’t know if you know her, but Karina? She went off with this dude, Kunhang, I think?”

His eyes light up at that name. “Oh, I know him! I saw him earlier by the keg stands inside. Your friend might be there, too. I can—”

“THE COPS ARE COMING!” A loud voice bellows, and you freeze up. Suddenly, the music is shut off as everyone starts running away. You start to panic, the terror rising in your chest, and the boy in front of you grabs your hand and pulls you with him. “What are you doing?! Don’t just stand there! We gotta go!”

“Wait, but Kar—” You start to object, but cut yourself off when you bump into his back as he abruptly stops. He scans the backyard, quickly assessing the situation before turning to you.

“There’s way too many people trapped in here, we’re not gonna make it to the gate. We need to climb over the fence. I’ll hoist you up, and you can help me up from there.”

“I don’t even know you,” you protest, and he throws you a look.

“Hi, I’m Yangyang, nice to meet you, I don’t want to get my ass hauled out by the police and continue the icebreakers in jail, so let’s move now. We good?”

“Yeah, okay, we’re good,” you say faintly, mind still whirling around as you try to grasp the situation. “I’m Y/N.”

“Great, now up you go.”

He immediately picks you up without any warning, and you almost fall backwards, arms flailing before you grasp the top of the fence and pull yourself up. Balancing precariously on top of it, you grab his arm, tugging him up until he’s sitting right next to you, too. The both of you swing your legs over the fence and jump down to the other side. You let out a sigh of relief, squatting down as you clutch your heart.

“Oh my god, we made it. I didn’t get arrested at my first party.”

“What an amazing accomplishment.” Yangyang brushes off the back of his shorts. “We aren’t going to jail. Freshman year is gonna be a breeze if your bar is set this low.”

“Hey!” You frown at him, standing up and crossing your arms over your chest. “How do you know I’m a freshman?”

“It’s written all over your face.” You give him a look, and he relents. “Only a freshman would be this scared of getting caught.”

“So are you an upperclassman?”

“Nah, this is my first party, too. I’m rushing for Nu Chi. Hold on, wait here.” He sneaks around the edge of the fence, peering around for a few seconds before jogging back towards you. “Okay, the police are over there. I’m gonna have to wait a while before going back in.”

“You have to go back?”

“Part of tonight’s rush process,” he sighs before turning to you. “Do you live on campus?”

“Yeah, I’m gonna walk back now,” you answer, shifting your weight from one foot to the other. “It’s late, and I’m not in a partying mood anymore.”

“I can walk you back,” he offers, and you shoot him a grateful smile.

“That’d be great, thanks.”

The two of you start the trek back, an awkward lull in the conversation making itself known. You wrap your arms around yourself, shivering slightly when a soft breeze picks up. There’s a light rustling noise, and you pay no mind to it until a soft cloth is draped over your shoulders. Eyes widening, you notice the colorful, palm tree-printed button down shirt wrapped around you and the boy next to you, looking straight ahead with his hands shoved into his pockets. Smiling to yourself, you slip on the shirt, loosely buttoning the front of it.

“So, Yangyang,” you casually begin, testing his name on your tongue for the first time. You decide you like it. It’s cute. He turns to you, raising an eyebrow, and you continue, “Since our lives are no longer in jeopardy, we can continue the icebreakers, right?”

His lips curve into a smile. “Alright, shoot. What’s your first question?”

“Captain America or Iron Man?”

“Oh, Iron Man, hands down. He’s so…”

You meet him in August.

FEBRUARY 2019.

“Hey, where’s your cereal? The Reese’s one?”

February marks six months of your relationship with Dejun. It also marks six months of your friendship with Yangyang. It is time for your weekly Sunday rituals of watching old cartoons and eating breakfast, and you could’ve sworn that box was still half full last week. You rummage through the top drawer Yangyang had designated for snacks and other foods in his dorm as he takes out the milk from his mini fridge and carries it over to his desk.

“I ran out a few days ago. There’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch somewhere in there though.”

With a victorious cry, you manage to pull out the slightly crushed box of the aforementioned cereal from underneath the packages of flamin’ hot Cheetos and spicy nacho Doritos and triumphantly bring it over to your best friend. He already pulls out two bowls (which were stolen from the dining hall) and hands over the plastic spoons in his grasp (which was also taken from the dining hall).

“Thanks.” After dropping a spoon into each bowl, you shake out the sugary cereal squares before pouring the milk because you’re not an absolute heathen who puts milk in first, like Sicheng. Yangyang clambers up to his top bunk bed, and you carefully pass over the two bowls of cereal, milk sloshing precariously near the edges. You climb up afterwards, and he gives you your bowl once you settle down.

“So, Scooby Doo or Pokémon?”

“Mm, we watched Pokémon last Sunday already, so let’s do Scooby Doo this time.” He nods in agreement, pulling up the cartoon from the queue in Netflix, and the two of you lean back against the ginormous mound of pillows and stuffed animals of his that occupy nearly half of his bed.

You’re shoveling a spoonful of cereal into your mouth when he casually asks, “So how’re you and Dejun doing?”

Choking slightly, you quickly swallow. “We’re doing good. I think he booked a table at the Italian restaurant down the street for Valentine’s Day. Are you doing anything for Valentine’s?”

“I’m forcing Renjun to come watch that “‘Happy Death Day’ movie with me.” The faint sounds of the Scooby Doo theme song plays in the background as you hum in acknowledgement, mouth twisting into a mischievous smirk.

“That’s so sweet. So who confessed to who? Not gonna lie, I thought you had a crush on Hyuck, not Jun.”

“... I would shove you right now, but I just did my laundry, and rewashing my comforter is expensive and I’m out of quarters.”

You stick your tongue out at him, and he rolls his eyes before lifting his bowl up to sip the best part of having Cinnamon Toast Crunch: the milk infused with all the cinnamony, sugary goodness. You let your spoon fall back into your bowl with a soft clink, a sudden worrying thought popping into your head.

“I bought him some customized guitar picks and a pretty composition book. Do you think he’ll like it?”

“That’s a pretty basic gift, isn’t it? It feels like something Kun would get him,” he teases, but his heart falls when he notices you chewing on your bottom lip, spoon held limply in your hand.

“Hey, I’m just joking, of course he would like it. He’s completely whipped. He’ll love anything from you.” Yangyang’s voice grows softer, and he fiddles with a stray thread on his comforter, avoiding eye contact with you. “I know I would.”

He looks up slightly and sees you smiling gratefully at him, eyes shining bright. He quickly ducks his head, turning away slightly to hide the hues of pink blooming on his cheeks. He feels you leaning over to rest your head on his shoulder with a quiet sigh, and his breath hitches in his throat.

“Thanks, Yang.”

Replaying the sight of your smile in his mind makes his stomach flip flop, and he resists the overwhelming urge to tell you you’re pretty, pushing it back into the farthest crevice of his mind.  Your head on his shoulder makes him feel like he’s carrying the entire world, and he doesn’t know what to do. He paints on a tight smile of his own, silently hoping you can’t hear the way his heart nearly pounds out of his chest.

Yangyang knows that having feelings for his best friend, specifically one of his good friends’ girlfriends, is something he absolutely should not be doing, but he can’t help it. His stupid heart refuses to listen to his brain. For now, all he can do is desperately hope that this dumb crush of his goes away soon because while 99% of his friends are oblivious (including you), Ten and Donghyuck are not. They’ll be able to spot his feelings from a mile away, like how Kun always knows when there’s a good sale going on at the Asian supermarket downtown (This week, it was the 50% off bean sprouts and chili paste).

Letting out an inaudible sigh, Yangyang carefully rests his head on top of yours. Clutching the empty bowl with one hand, he shoves his other one under his thigh to stop himself from reaching over and tangling his fingers with yours. He stares at the screen, watching until the bright colors blur together.

“Anytime.”

He likes you in February.

AUGUST 2019.

The earth spins around the sun for another time, and August makes its presence known once again. It’s Thursday night, and you’re sitting on the countertop in Nu Chi Theta’s kitchen, swinging your legs back and forth as Yangyang struggles to make some scrambled eggs because the half filled carton of eggs the two of you managed to find is the only thing that isn’t expired (besides Jeno’s protein shakes, but neither of you are gonna touch that cardboard tasting monstrosity).

“Maybe I should make it.” You peer over at the frying pan, wincing when you see the full damage of your future meal. “Did you use oil?”

“Of course I did!” he exclaims indignantly before pitifully pushing around the nearly charred mess of yolk and whites around with his spatula. “I’m not Mark.”

“Could’ve fooled me,” you mutter, waving your hand around to dissipate the acrid burning smell, and Yangyang throws you a dirty look. He grabs a fork and stabs a small chunk of the eggs. Picking it up, he brings it closer to his mouth before hesitating. His eyes dart to you, and you raise your eyebrows at him, a silent challenge in your gaze. The sad piece of egg hovers in the air for a few more seconds before he defeatedly drops it back into the pan.

“Okay, what if we just Uber Eats some McDonald’s?” Turning off the stove, he then tosses the remnants of his cooking into the trash and drops the pan into the sink.

“Stellar plan. Best idea you’ve had all night.” You hop off the counter to stand next to him, propping your chin on his shoulder to see him pull up the app. He immediately puts in your usual order along with his before holding it up for you to see it better.

“Looks good?”

“Looks perfect.”

He clicks the confirmation button, and the delivery is set to come in 30 minutes. You’re suddenly hyper aware of how close you are with your chest pressed against his back and hastily move away, warmth spreading across your cheeks.

Glancing over at your best friend, you don't miss the way Yangyang smiles down at something on his phone before his fingers fly across the screen. When he looks up, you immediately turn away, focusing your eyes on anything but him.

“Hey, you’re going to the Alpha Sig formal, right?” Yangyang calls out, and you throw on a teasing grin.

“You mean Alpha Sigma Psi, also known as the sorority I’m in?”

“Ah, right, yeah.” He flushes, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “But you’re going, right?”

You nod, the sudden realization creeping up on you. “Oh yeah, I am, thanks for reminding me. I completely forgot to ask, but do you want t—”

“Ningning just asked me to go with her,” Yangyang blurts out, and you freeze, failing to hide your shock for a split second before you regain your composure.

“Oh wow, that’s great, Yang! I’ll see you there then.” You try to give him a convincing smile. He wrings his hands, biting his bottom lip. Something is on his mind. You can tell. He’s not someone to hold back with his words, but this time, he is.

“I… I don’t know if I’m gonna go,” he says at last. Your heart picks up a little at that. Does that mean he doesn’t want to go to the dance at all? Or does he not want to go with Ningning? If you asked him now, would it make a difference?

“I’ve never slow danced,” he confesses, leaning against the opposite counter, and your heart drops. So that was it. Of course, he wouldn’t reject Ningning. She’s an absolute goddess, heck, you wouldn’t say no if she asked you either. You stamp out that last flicker of hope.

“What if I suck at it?” he continues, absentmindedly carding his fingers through his hair. “Oh god, I bet Yukhei and Kunhang are never gonna let me live it down. I can do choreographed dances, but I’m gonna mess up over a stupid slow dance. But where am I supposed to put my hands?! Like on her shoulders? Her waist? Do I hold her hand?”

Your eyes follow the way his hair ruffles slightly, and you wonder if it’s as soft as it looks. You swallow hard before saying quietly, “I can teach you?”

His hand pauses mid-movement, and your eyes fly down to meet his. His eyes widen, and he contemplates your offer for a split second before nodding excitedly. “Yeah, that’d be great! Can you teach me right now? While we wait for our food to come!”

“S-sure,” you stammer, flustered at the sudden acceptance and his eagerness. “Um, here? In the kitchen?”

“Yeah, why not?” He shrugs before straightening up. “The lights should be dimmed, right? We can kind of mimic that here to set the mood or whatever.”

He goes over and fiddles with the light switch, flicking it on and off, and you laugh, walking over and placing your hand over his. “What are you doing? Some kind of Kevin Nguyen mating call to look for a rave bae?”

“First off, I’m offended that you think I’d be one of them,” Yangyang narrows his eyes at you. “Secondly, I’m trying to make this feel more formal dance-y. Oh, wait!”

He turns off the lights for the last time and reaches over to pull open the refrigerator doors, the artificial fluorescent light pouring out and mixing with the faint beams coming in through the window from the street lamps outside. He grins at you, satisfied. “Romantic, huh?”

You roll your eyes, but the amused smile on your face gives away your true feelings. “Wow, Romeo, you swept me off my feet. The food is gonna go bad, and Kun is gonna kill you for the high electricity bill.”

“What food? Jeno’s protein shakes probably never expire.” He snorts before standing closer to you, his hands resting on either side of you on the counter. You can see the pretty gold flecks in his irises, and your breath gets caught in your throat. “And I guess this means you gotta teach me fast before we waste more electricity, right?”

You place your hands on his chest and lightly push him away, and he laughs, stepping back. You let out a shaky breath, remembering that your lungs need oxygen in order to, you know, continue living.

“Okay,” you clear your throat before pulling out your phone and putting on a slow song. “Ready?”

“You chose Ed Sheeran? Thinking Out Loud? Really?”

You raise your hands up defensively. “Hey, he’s the king of sappy slow songs that all girls want to be played at their weddings for their first dance.”

When your legs don't work like they used to before,

And I can't sweep you off of your feet,

Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love?

Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?

“Is this the song you want played at your wedding?” He raises an eyebrow at you, and your face grows warm. You ignore the question, and this time, you’re the one taking a bold step forward, a few centimeters now separating you and your best friend. You see his Adam’s apple bob as he gulps lightly before meeting your eyes.

And darling, I will be loving you 'til we're seventy,

And baby, my heart could still fall as hard at twenty-three,

And I'm thinking 'bout how people fall in love in mysterious ways.

“So, your hands go here.” You take his hands and place them on either side of your waist. His arms freeze up. “Relax, Yang. Precious cargo here.”

He lets out a chuckle, loosening his grip as he starts to relax. You reach up and slide your arms around his neck, interlocking your fingers. You gaze back at him, saying softly, “Now pull me closer.”

He does so.

Maybe just the touch of a hand,

Oh me I fall in love with you every single day,

And I just wanna tell you I am.

“And now follow my lead. We’re going to take one step. And then another. We’re just slowly turning in a circle.”

After a few spins and steps, you stop leading and let yourself be led. Yangyang continues to hold onto you carefully, and you can hear him muttering a 1, 2, 3, 4 count under his breath until he finally gets the hang of it. He grows a little braver, pulling you even closer.

So honey now,

Take me into your loving arms,

Kiss me under the light of a thousand stars.

“Are you going with Dejun?” he asks quietly, and you stiffen at the mention at him before shaking your head.

“No, we broke up in July.”

Yangyang falters in his step before recovering. “Oh. You never told me.”

“Yeah.” You struggle to keep your voice level. “I just… he’s your friend, and I didn’t want to make it weird.”

“You’re my best friend though,” he says firmly, looking you directly in the eyes. His grip on your waist tightens. “It’s his loss. That dumbass just lost the best person who’ll ever come into his life.”

You give him a tired half smile, one that doesn’t quite meet your eyes. He hugs you closer to him, wrapping his arms around your waist and securing you against his chest. You rest your head in the crook of his neck and hope that he doesn’t feel how quickly your heart beats in your chest.

Place your head on my beating heart,

I'm thinking out loud,

Maybe we found love right where we are.

“Thanks, Yang,” you whisper, your breath tickling his skin. He envelops you tightly, and the two of you continue to spin in slow circles, quietly dancing in the refrigerator light as the remaining verses of the song warble in the background.

You think you finally understand what Dejun meant when he said he’s breaking up with you because your heart was already occupied by someone else.

You fall in love with him in August.

NOVEMBER 2019.

[ 12:54 a.m. ] yang 🐏🤪: hey you up?

[ 12:54 a.m. ] yang 🐏🤪: 7/11 in ten mins?

Tiredly rubbing your eyes, you stumble out of your dorm building, one of Jeno’s sweaters draped over your figure. November nights are cold, but this one seems chillier than usual. Yangyang stands near the front steps, and he stiffens up when he notices whose hoodie you’re wearing. He makes no mention of it though when you join him.

“Sorry, did I wake you?” He glances over to you as the two of you walk side by side to the small convenience store just on the edge of campus. You shake your head, shoving your hands into the front pocket of your sweater.

“I was up cramming for midterms. I could use a break anyway,” you shrug. A wisp of your hair falls in your face, and Yangyang starts to reach out to fix it, but forces himself to keep his hand by his side. You reach out to carelessly brush it away, tucking it behind your ear.

“What about you?” You look over at him, noting the bags under his eyes. “Rough night?”

He smiles tiredly at you, shoving his hands into his pockets as he kicks a stray pebble along the sidewalk. “More like rough week. Two more midterms left, and they’re for electromagnetic theory and linear systems.”

“Oh god, good luck. I took linear systems today, and it was absolutely brutal.” You wince, brightening up when you see the familiar neon orange, red, and green lights up ahead.

“Maybe I should just withdraw and take it again next quarter,” your best friend grumbles, kicking the stone as far as he possibly can.

“You really want another quarter with Hwang?”

“You’re right,” he sighs, “I just need to get a C+ to maintain my GPA. C if I’m pushing it.”

The two of you hurry over to the 7-Eleven, quickening your pace, until you reach the store doors, and you pull them open. Entering quickly, you push the door open slightly wider, and Yangyang slips in behind you. The cashier doesn’t even look up, texting away on his phone. You make a beeline towards the chips aisle, grabbing a bag of flamin’ hot Cheetos and a pack of sour gummy worms.

“What are you getting, Yang?” You call out over your shoulder, eyes zeroing in on the Red Bull stand at the end of the aisle. When you hear no response, you halt in your steps, turning around. Yangyang stands in the middle of the aisle, looking dazed under the fluorescent lights.

Putting your items back on the shelf, you approach him, reaching out and touching his arm gently. “Yangyang, what’s wrong?”

He jerks back before silently holding up his phone for you to see. There’s a slew of text messages from Ningning a few hours ago, and a quick scan tells you all you need to know. Your heart weighs heavily in your chest when you look back at him, a forlorn expression on his face.

“She dumped me,” he says quietly, shoving the phone back into his pocket. “She said our relationship was like a friendship. She didn’t feel anything. She said we could still be friends if I wanted to be though.”

He jabs a large bag of Lays potato chips angrily as his voice raises slightly higher. “But I don’t get it. Do friends take each other on dates? Do friends spend the night? Do friends hug each other and hold hands walking to class? Do friends spend three hundred dollars to do a surprise weekend trip for their birthday?”

He whirls around to face you, and he’s so close that you can see those pretty golden sparkles in his eyes again. Suddenly, his hands are cupping your face, and the next thing you know, he’s kissing you. Your eyes widen for a fraction of a second before they flutter shut, and you press your lips against his. The 90s pop station music playing overhead seems to fade away, and all you can focus on is that your best friend tastes like spearmint gum and grape soju. He pulls away abruptly, the realization of what he’s done finally hitting him as his chest heaves up and down.

“Do friends kiss like this?”

His voice is barely a whisper, but it cuts through the silence. You feel like you’re spinning out of control, a split second from careening and crashing.

“No, we—they don’t,” you mumble, and Yangyang sees the starstruck look in your eyes, and he wants to apologize: to say sorry for kissing you. But he doesn’t. Because for some reason, he doesn’t feel sorry. He closes his eyes, curling his hands into fists before exhaling slowly. He sees you looking back at him this time, and he wonders if you feel as equally lost as he does.

Because you’re right. Friends don’t kiss each other like that. Friends don’t feel like this about each other.

He kisses you in November.

AUGUST 2020.

The sun still shines bright late into the day, and August greets you like an old friend. You’re absentmindedly doodling in the margins of your notebook designated for Quantum Mechanics. Yangyang sits next to you in the lecture hall, making a bunch of origami cranes before tossing them at Renjun’s head right in front of him. When the bird reaches its target for the sixth time in a row, the annoyed boy whirls around in his seat, glaring at your best friend.

“Stop that,” he hisses, and Yangyang innocently raises his hands in the air. Renjun angrily frowns at him before turning back around in his seat. After a few minutes, Yangyang flicks another crane towards his friend. If this was a cartoon, you would see steam blowing out of your friend’s ears. You silently watch as he wordlessly picks up his phone, seething as he presses on a particular number.

Suddenly, Travis Scott’s SICKO MODE starts blasting, amplified by the large auditorium-like room. The professor goes silent, and everyone turns to see Yangyang scrambling to pick up his phone. He fumbles around for a few seconds with it before finally shutting it off and putting it on vibrate mode. Cheeks burning red, he meekly puts his phone back in his bag and squeaks out a “sorry” before sinking down in his chair (You can see the culprit grinning like the cat ate the canary right in front of him. Karma’s a bitch who also goes by the name of Renjun).

You pat his arm consolingly as he sulks next to you for a few minutes, mouth jutting out into a pout. You decide to take pity on him and lean closer to him, whispering quietly, “Would it make you feel better if I bought you boba after class?”

Immediately, he brightens up. “One oolong milk tea, half sugar with white pearls and coconut jelly?”

“Yes, I’ll pay for your overpriced drink,” you huff, thinking about how his one seven dollar drink could buy you a whole rotisserie chicken that’ll last you a week. At least the fluffy dog at Cloudy with a Chance of Boba is cute and fun to play with. “I’ll even get the honey waffle fries.”

“Heck yeah!” he whisper-yells, fist pumping quietly before he suddenly deflates. “Wait, I can’t. I promised Lia I’d get lunch with her.”

Ah, right, there’s Lia now. Yangyang’s new girlfriend: the only other student who went to Düsseldorf, Germany to study abroad over the summer, and inevitably, the two of them became close. All you really know about her is that she’s pretty, she’s in Iota Theta Zeta, and she followed you on Instagram a few weeks ago (of course, you followed her back because of the unspoken best friend and girlfriend policy).

Her page looks carefully curated, and there’s a common pink tinted theme going on throughout her feed. She has over a thousand followers, and it seems like Yangyang fits perfectly in her magazine curated life, judging by how he occupies nearly every picture taken in the summer with her or how he’s tagged as the photographer. You can’t deny that they look good together, pointedly shoving the green eyed monster back under the bed.

You take a peek at your messy Instagram page where you only post pictures when you’re half drunk, so there’s no semblance of uniformity anywhere. You shrug at him, pocketing your phone.

“No biggie. I’ll see if Karina is up for some boba. She’s been holed up in the dance studio already, and it’s only week two of classes, can you believe it?”

“I remember Ten was the same way,” Yangyang hums, eyes fixated on his phone and fingers tapping away. He laughs quietly, lips curling into a pretty smile, and you glance over curiously.

“What’s so funny?”

“Hmm?” Yangyang finally tears his eyes away from his screen for a split second to look at you before another buzz takes his attention away. He’s distracted, lovestruck, and you wistfully smile before turning back to your notes.

“Sorry, what’d you say earlier?” he loudly whispers a few minutes later, and you barely glance up from the large bulbasaur doodle you’re in the progress of completing right next to the chart marking the wave functions for a bouncing ball that you had copied down from the blackboard.

“Oh, I just asked what was so funny,” you murmur, coloring in the flowers you drew around the Pokémon with your blue ballpoint pen.

He looks confused for a moment before lighting up. “Oh! It was just a German joke. It’s not really funny if I translate it though.”

“Got it, no worries.” You notice the professor starting a new example problem, and you abandon your drawing, focusing on the formulas rapidly filling up the chalkboards in front of you. A quiet chuckle echoes in your ears, and you pause in your note taking to look over and see your best friend still typing on his phone. You make a mental reminder to create a copy of your notes for him later on when you pass the library on the way to the dining hall.

“Hey, Y/N.” Yangyang nudges you gently. “Rain check on the boba?”

You offer him a soft smile. “Of course. Anytime.”

He gives you a quick grin in return before his attention returns to the device in his hand—or rather, the pretty girl behind those texts. Your best friend is sitting right next to you, but you’ve never felt so far away. You know distance makes the heart grow fonder, but you don’t think it’s possible to be even fonder of him than you are now. Bad habits are hard to break, and you’ve made a terrible one of loving him. No wonder it’s beginning to hurt so much.

You lose him in August.

DECEMBER 2020.

December is the coldest month of the year, yet it is also simultaneously the warmest with all the holiday festivities it brings. If Yangyang were to choose a month to describe you, it’d be this one. You are a walking paradox, a conundrum he might never solve, an oxymoron come to life. He doesn’t understand how you can be his best friend, yet feel like a stranger; a friend who he wants as a lover; someone who has created such an impact in his life, but disappears seamlessly here and there.

He wonders when you’ve gotten so distant. He wonders why he never noticed the way you seemed to slip away through the cracks until it’s now nearing the end of the year, and the last time he’s seen you in person was before the November autumn break.

But you’re here.

You’re standing right next to the punch bowl filled with spiked eggnog, wearing a garish knitted button down jumper with brightly colored Christmas lights decorating it. It’s perfectly in theme with the Ugly Christmas Sweater party Nu Chi is holding, and Yangyang is beyond ecstatic to know that you’re attending. He had texted you an invite two weeks ago, and you merely reacted with a thumbs up.

Yangyang swears he was going to follow up with you on that, but he got so caught up with midterms, then meeting Lia’s family for Thanksgiving, then studying for finals, and then finally, preparing for this party. Buying enough beer for twenty-three keg stands is a lot more difficult than it seems (Donghyuck’s car broke down halfway during one trip, and they all had to carry back the packs of beers to the house in 40 degree weather in their Sperry boat shoes and Patagonia long sleeves that definitely weren’t cut out for this kind of weather).

His girlfriend is somewhere in the room, wearing the other half of the reindeer sweater she forced him to put on, but all he can focus on is you. He hurriedly makes his way over, skidding to a stop in front of you, and you’re startled before a smile spreads across your face.

“Hey, you, I haven’t seen you in a while.” You grin at him, reaching out to poke the reindeer tail sticking out from the front of his itchy sweater (Lia got to wear the head half of the reindeer, while he was stuck with the behind).

“Yeah, how have you been?” He reaches around you to pick up a cup and pour himself some eggnog. He offers you one, but you decline with a small shake of your head.

“I’ve been doing good, a bit tired with finals coming up, but what’s new?” You joke, grabbing one of the sugar cookies from the table. You’re secretly surprised that they actually have real food (No, Hyuck, Jell-O shots do not count as real food). You suspect Jaemin has something to do with it. He always contributes to the annual Greek row bake sale.

“Are you here with someone? Did Karina come?” he asks, curiosity coating every word. He looks around for your roommate, but she’s nowhere to be found.

You shake your head. “No, I actually came with—”

“Me!”

Yukhei bounds over, slipping an arm over your shoulder. He hands you a new cup of apple cider, which you accept gratefully. He grins happily at Yangyang, who freezes up at the sight of his tall friend. “I asked her to be my date for the party, and she agreed. She also made our sweaters! Aren’t they so cool? There’s even lights that spell my name and play Christmas songs. She did a bunch of cool programming tricks to make them work.”

Yangyang realizes with a start that the two of you are indeed wearing matching sweaters, and that leaves a rather sour taste in his mouth (and it definitely wasn’t because of expired eggnog). The corners of his lips tilt downward as he presses his lips together tightly.

“So… you two are together?” He gestures between you and Yukhei with a forced laugh. Jealousy never did look good on anybody, and unfortunately, he’s not an exception.

“We’re just seeing each other and seeing how it goes for now,” you answer quietly, noting the way your best friend reacts. You have always been good at reading him, and you tread carefully now, not wanting to make a scene. Drunk Yangyang never holds anything back, and he’s had quite a few pre-game shots already (It definitely doesn’t help that he’s a lightweight, too).

“I see. How did you guys meet? Or I guess, start talking?” He attempts to look intimidating, staring down at Yukhei, but it’s a difficult feat to accomplish, especially when he’s trying to stare down a six foot guy who’s more like an overgrown puppy and his friend.

“Oh, she came by for one of your boba runs, but you were still out with Lia. So I asked if I could go with her.” Yukhei flashes his pearly whites at you, and you chuckle, leaning your head against his shoulder.

“I said yes, and we hit it off, I guess.”

“You guess? And you took him on our boba runs?”

“You were out with Lia,” you say defensively, and he blanches when he hears his girlfriend’s name come out of your mouth.

“You could’ve waited,” he mutters, but you still hear it, and you give him a scathing look, finally too tired of this push and pull game that’s been going on behind the scenes for nearly three years now.

“I did. I waited over an hour here for you, but you didn’t show up or even text me that you were gonna be late. Yukhei was nice enough to offer to go with me.”

He stays silent, and you gnaw on your bottom lip, unsure of what to say next. Yukhei looks at you in concern, but you reach up and squeeze his hand reassuringly, which your best friend doesn’t fail to notice, his lips pressing into an even thinner line.

“I don’t understand what the deal is,” you finally burst out, startling both boys. “What’s the big deal about me and Yukhei going out?”

Something inside of him finally snaps. “The big deal is that you’re basically sleeping through my list of friends and then breaking up with them! First Dejun, then Jeno, now Yukhei? Who’s next? Should I give Renjun a heads up? Pencil you into his planner? Or Sicheng?  Sungchan? You have a class with him, so you’re bound to flirt with him, too, right? When are you gonna stop fucking around with my frien—”

He gasps, stopping mid-outburst as he stares at you in disbelief. Apple cider slides down from his hair, dripping onto his face and soaking into his sweater, the sticky juice clinging to his skin uncomfortably. You’re absolutely seething, the empty cup crackling in your clenched fist. Shocked, Yukhei carefully tugs the plastic away from you and places it on the table before replacing it with his own hand, his thumb caressing circles on the back of your hand soothingly. Yangyang doesn’t dare to meet his furious gaze, lifting his chin to look at you instead. The entire room has hushed down by now, all eyes staring directly at the three of you in a mixture of surprise and slight terror.

“Screw you, Yangyang,” you say lowly, voice shaking with anger. Tears form on the edge of your waterline, but you blink them away before hastily brushing a stray droplet from your cheek. “They asked me out. I said yes. We went out. It didn’t work out. We move on. Just like how you’ve gone out with my  friends. And they didn’t work out, so you moved on. So what’s so wrong about that? What’s so wrong about trying again to find love?”

He can’t answer you, curling his hands into fists until his fingernails indent miniature crescents in his palms—until the pain overtakes the feelings that are threatening to spill from his heart. Yangyang may not be yours, but he doesn’t like the fact that he can’t call you his either.

Love. That’s what you want, that’s what you crave, but not if it’s from him. So what is he supposed to do with love that’s unwanted? It’s bursting at the seams, and he has nowhere to hide it anymore.

He loves you in December.

AUGUST 2021.

August sneaks up on you this time around, and you find yourself in Kunhang’s apartment. All of your close friends are here, starting the last year of youth with one final first day party. You think back to that day three years ago: when your eyes met a pair of equally bright ones for the first time.

Curled up next to Yukhei on the couch, you look across the room and meet those very same eyes, although they seem hazier this time around. Lia is wrapped around his arm, and you think it’s quite ironic how both your and his relationships remain the same after all this time. Perhaps you both were bad luck for each other, leading to the other’s demise with short lived relationships. He looks away from you.

The rules of truth or dare are simple. You cannot ask the same person again until three other people have been asked first, and no one can be asked more than three times in each round. And, for reasons you can’t understand, everyone seems to take the code of truth seriously.

“I’ll start,” Kunhang announces, leaning back in one of the several beanbags he has in his place. “Goeun, truth or dare?”

Goeun sighs, leaning back on the palms of her hands. “Dare.”

“You and Mark, seven minutes in heaven.” Hendery points towards the coat closet, and the immediate reaction of hoots and wolf whistles has the girl rolling her eyes. With an exasperated huff, she stands up and pulls a red faced Mark along with her.

“Wait, you gotta pick the next person!” Donghyuck calls out, and she stops in her tracks, throwing open the closet door and shrugging. “You can choose for me.”

With that, she and Mark disappear behind the door, and Donghyuck turns toward the rest of the group, eyes glimmering mischievously. You pay no attention to him, absentmindedly playing with Yukhei’s fingers. You tug one of his rings off his finger, and he smiles, plucking it from your grasp carefully before holding your hand. He carefully slides it onto your right ring finger, but it falls off. Grinning, he pretends to try it on every single one of your fingers until finally settling on your thumb. The ring fits snugly there, and you admire it, wriggling your thumb around.

“Well, look at that. It fits you. I think that means we’re meant to be,” Yukhei says, smiling broadly, and you laugh, interlocking your fingers with his again before glancing down at the silver engraved band resting on your finger. The weight of the metal feels heavy resting against your knuckle.

“Yangyang, truth or dare.”

Donghyuck’s voice cuts through your thoughts, and you instinctively perk up in your seat at the sound of his name before freezing up in your spot. Yukhei squeezes your hand softly, and you tighten your grip around his fingers.

“Truth.”

“You’re no fun,” Donghyuck sighs, slouching back against the armrest. Yukhei leans over and whispers something in his ear before settling back next to you, shifting slightly to wrap his arm around you. Donghyuck lifts an eyebrow at your boyfriend before shrugging. “Okay, here’s an easy one. Are you in love…”

“Yes.”  is his immediate response, and you notice how Lia absolutely preens next to him.

“… with Y/N?”

Your breath hitches in your throat, and you immediately turn your head to look at Yukhei, your eyes growing wide in horror. He looks apologetic, shoulders drooping. “I’m sorry, but just the way he looks at you, it’s so obvious, and I had to know.”

You whip around to face the boy in question. With bated breath, you look at him, but Yangyang stares at the center of the floor, struggling internally. Everyone is quiet, and it reminds you of the calm before a storm. At last, he looks up, gazing right at you, and you can almost swear that you see those pretty little gold flecks in his irises from here.

“Yes,” Yangyang confesses quietly.

There’s almost a collective gasp rippling through the room, and Yukhei lets out an inaudible swear under his breath. Your grip on his hand grows slack as you fumble to get a grasp on the entire situation.

He loves you. He loves you. He loves you.

The words echo in your mind like a mantra until it grows so loud that you can’t hear any of your own thoughts anymore. Lia is in absolute hysterics, demanding an explanation from him, but he merely shrugs her off. Standing up, he quickly moves to leave the room, glancing at you one more time before disappearing out the front door.

It’s like your body is on auto-pilot after this. You drop Yukhei’s hand, immediately standing up and rushing after your best friend, paying no mind to the hushed whispers that only seem to increase in volume once you leave. You step out onto the porch, and there he is, sitting on the steps.

You quietly stand behind him, contemplating what to say and carefully choosing your next words. But there’s only one question on your mind.

“Why did you say that?”

He stays silent for a moment, staring out at the moon shining brightly ahead. “Because I meant it.”

Your heart wrenches in your chest. “You shouldn’t.”

He finally turns to look at you, an indescribable look in his eyes. It reminds you of heartbreak. “But I do. And I tried not to for the past three fucking years, but I can’t anymore.”

“Since freshman year?” You feel the tears well up in your eyes, and this time, you let them go. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

Yangyang grips onto the edge of the stairs tightly, frustration ringing with every word that falls from his mouth. “Because I was scared. And I thought you never felt the same way. You’re my best friend, and I didn’t want to lose you.”

“Yang…” You whisper, hand reaching out as you let it hover over his shoulder for a few seconds. Then, you pull back, curling your fingers into fists, pressing crescent indentations into the palms of your hands.

He stands up, whirling around to look at you, desperate. “Tell me I’m not too late. Please, Y/N.”

Something inside of you breaks. You open your mouth and start to say something when the door opens behind you. Turning around, you see Yukhei. His eyes widen when he sees the two of you standing there.

You know this is it. This is the moment. This is where you have to decide.

“I, I was just looking for you. I wanted to make sure you’re okay.” Yukhei awkwardly rubs the back of his neck, taking a step back. “I’m sorry, I’m gonna go back in and—”

“No, wait, it’s okay,” you gently interrupt him. You reach out and slip your hand into his, and he relaxes, giving you a relieved smile. You smile softly back at your boyfriend before turning to face him, eyes apologetic.

“I’m sorry, Yangyang.”

He and you are asymptotes: two lines curving towards each other, but never touching; two hands reaching towards each other, but never interlocking; two people tangling their red strings of fate, but never tying.

You give him one last glance before going back inside with Yukhei.

You break his heart in August.

SEPTEMBER 2021.

September is supposed to be a new beginning: the transition from summer to autumn. Yangyang doesn’t think he can let go of you as easily as the trees shed their green for gold and red. Wherever he goes, wherever he looks, little reminders of you bloom in every crevice. You’re absolutely everywhere and nowhere, and it drives him crazy.

He thinks he’s gone completely insane when he hears your laugh while he’s walking to the laundromat one day. He shoves his airpods in and continues on his way until he sees you. Walking across the street, there you are. You’re on the phone with someone, and he contemplates going over to say hello. But suddenly, you’re hanging up the phone and waving eagerly at someone. When he turns his head to look, his heart drops and gets buried six feet under. He hurriedly ducks into a nearby bookstore and watches as you run up to Yukhei, slipping your hand into his like it’s second nature to you now. The two of you walk off together, and Yangyang is left standing at the window of the store until the shop owner politely asks if there’s anything he needs.

He doubts a time machine is something they have in stock, so he silently shakes his head and steps out onto the street once again. It is now silent and empty.

He loses you in September.

AUGUST 2022.

A lot can change in eleven months.

You’re twenty two years old, but you feel like you’re eighteen again. You know you’re going to see him for the first time since September at Kun’s housewarming. You had repeatedly assured Yukhei that you’d be fine. After all, life goes on; the world doesn’t stop just because you had a falling out with your best friend, even if it may have been a little more than that. Nevertheless, a year has nearly passed. Time is known to be the best healer, and perhaps your heart has shed its old skin and habits.

Your hand is safely enveloped in Yukhei’s, and the two of you walk towards your older friend’s new apartment. He playfully swings your interlocked hands back and forth, and you giggle, tightening your grip around his fingers. You stop in front of the door, the muffled sounds of a party slipping through the cracks. You suck in a breath, shoulders tensed. He’s in there.

“Are you okay?”

Yukhei squeezes your hand gently, voice laced with concern. You remember to breathe, exhaling slowly and relaxing before nodding. You smile up at him. “I’m okay.”

“If you want, we can go back home now, have another NCIS marathon, and drink this by ourselves.” Yukhei waves around the nice bottle of wine the two of you had brought for Kun. “We can even stop by the convenience store and get some ramen.”

You laugh quietly, the corners of your lips upturning with mirth. “It’s okay, I’m fine, Yukhei, I promise. Plus, I have you, right?”

He brightens up at that, practically beaming at you, and your heart skips a beat. “Right!”

You reach out and knock on the door. Kun greets the two of you, and you enter his apartment. Yukhei still doesn’t let go of your hand, and you follow behind him as you weave your way through the living room, greeting some of your friends. You hear Kunhang calling out to your boyfriend from the kitchen and feel him hesitate next to you. You squeeze his hand gently before letting go and nudging him in the direction of his friend. Yukhei gives you one last look, but you wave him off, smiling goodnaturedly and silently assuring that you’re okay. He swoops down and leaves behind a soft kiss for you before going.

You walk over to the alcohol table, pouring yourself something to drink. Leaning against the wall, you take a sip of your drink, your eyes flitting over the rim of your cup and slowly scanning the room. It feels like forever, like everything is moving in slow motion, like the world is submerged underwater, but it couldn’t have been more than a few seconds.

You find him easily. After all, it’s hard to forget someone whose features you’ve memorized over the past four years. Your eyes map the delicate outline of his face once more, and for a moment, you wonder if red is still his favorite color, or who he shares a carton of Ben and Jerry’s with nowadays. You wonder if he thinks of you sometimes, too.

But then, you wonder where Yukhei is. You search around until you see your boyfriend still standing in the kitchen, laughing at something your mutual friend said. Your eyes soften when you see him grab your favorite snack. You turn back around, your heart swelling in your chest tenfold, and your lips curl upwards, an endeared expression on your face.

That’s when you notice that he’s looking at you.

You brace yourself, waiting for the tidal wave of emotions to wash over you and the quickening of your heart rate to greet you like an old friend. Because that’s what always happens when you’re around him. After all, he is the biggest what-if in your life. He is someone you almost loved forever, someone you almost stayed for.

And yet, nothing happens. You wait a little longer. The world still goes round, and you’re still breathing. There’s no shortness of breath, no erratic heart palpitations, no sweaty palms, absolutely nothing. Liu Yangyang is a stranger in a familiar body, and your heart remains still.

You give Yangyang a faint smile, nodding towards him, and it feels like a sudden jolt in his heart. Time stops, and all he can see is you. You look beautiful. You have always been beautiful. This is his chance. Whatever higher entity out there has taken pity on him and given him a second try to make it right. He finally takes a step towards you, and the tender, encouraging expression in your eyes gives him the strength to take another one. After all, the eyes are the windows to the soul. Clutching his drink in hand, he pushes his way through the crowd. He’s only eight, seven, six, five steps away from you now. A smile grows on his face as relief curls around his heart like a bandage. You’re standing there, waiting for him, smiling at him.

And suddenly, you’re no longer looking at him.

You stopped looking at him.

Yukhei makes his presence known next to you, excitedly chattering about something and gesturing towards the kitchen as he hands you something to eat. It’s a snickerdoodle cookie. Your favorite. Your eyes are fixated on the tall boy, positively sparkling as you beam at him.

Yangyang feels like he can’t breathe. The bandage is ripped off, and all he can feel is excruciating pain like a thousand pinpricks into his heart before the numbness hits. He freezes, rooting himself in that spot on the scratched hardwood floor as his colleagues and friends continue to jostle around him. As his world crumbles around him, he can’t tear his eyes away from you. They stay on you, the barest traces of nostalgia lingering in the dimmed golden flecks of his irises that you had still admired all those months ago. It’s like he’s trapped in a silent film, stuck in a fish bowl and swimming in circles, and he watches in horror as you outstretch your hand and intertwine your fingers around Yukhei’s, leaning up to press your lips against his tenderly. Your boyfriend looks at you like you hung the stars in the night sky yourself (He would believe it if you said you did).

You don’t look at him like that anymore.

Yangyang remembers when you used to. When you used to love him. When you were almost his. He feels something inside of him break for a second time.

The world continues to spin, and yet, he’s still not moving. He’s stuck in quicksand, sinking deeper and deeper as everyone around him moves on—as you move on. He desperately tries to keep you in his view, and his feet finally pick up as he lurches forward. He’s not fast enough. You’re slipping away, walking away from him, hand in hand with Yukhei, disappearing around the corner of the hallway, and he can’t do anything about it. It’s too late. He’s too late. The sticky remnants of cheap beer run down his wrist, and it finally registers in his mind that he had crushed the flimsy plastic cup in his hand sometime in between now and then. In a crowded room full of people, he’s left standing there, alone and lonely.

Almost is the worst way to love someone, Yangyang bitterly realizes. It hurts to lose someone you almost love. No, it was never an ‘almost’. He most certainly loved—loves—you. And it should be impossible to lose someone who was never his to begin with, yet he has. All this time, he thought he had you, but it had always been the other way around.

He was your August, he was your everything, and he is yours.

But you will never be his.

You let go of him in August.

#yangyang imagines #yangyang scenarios #nct imagines #wayv imagines #nct scenarios #wayv scenarios #yangyang fluff #yangyang angst #nct fic #nct fluff #nct angst #wayv fluff #wayv angst #nct fanfic #nct scenario #yangyang x reader #liu yangyang #yangyang #nct #wayv

[spxllcxstxr]

Four’s a Party • The Marauders

(Gif not mine)

Request: Hello ❤️! Can I have an imagine of poly! Maurauders x gryffindor!reader where you are also a maurauder and you guys are just in a cuddle puddle platonically at first but then they look like they are holding something back so you ask them what wrong and they bring up about wanting to be in a relationship together and you just ask them how long have they been thinking this and they answer since 4th year and you agree to be in a relationship with all of them and you are all just happy together? Thank you! —anon

Summary: Building a blanket fort with your boys leads to a confession

Warnings: title makes it sound suggestive, it’s only fluff I promise, Poly!marauders

Word Count: 884

A.N: Um, sorry this is so short. The last time I confessed to my crush it was the summer before eighth grade and over text and she dumped me like a week later...so this is kinda bad. I’m so sorry. I do, however, like how I wrote Sirius. So that’s a plus. Love you all ❤️

****

There are plenty of advantages of having your three best friends share a dorm room.

One of which includes the reason why three sets of blankets, pillows, and sheets are sprawled out on the floor in the center of the room. Blanket forts were much easier to build when all the material was in one spot already.

Remus and James, the taller of the four of you, attempt to hang up the white sheets for the roof. James’ glasses are askew and practically sliding off of his nose while the tip of Remus’ tongue sticks out from the side in concentration.

You try to fluff the pillows for the inside, but since James always brings so many pillows from his own bed back home, your arms quickly begin to tire.

Sticking your head out from the lopsided makeshift threshold, you glance around for Sirius. You find him lounging on his stripped down bed, casually twirling his wand between his fingers.

“Oi! You going to help us anytime soon, Sirius?” You call out, eyes narrowing at his relaxed figure.

He perks up from his position to look at you. “I’m manning the music, (Y/n).”

“The record player isn’t even on, dumbarse.” You scoff, raising an eyebrow at him.

“Yeah, well—“

“Y’know, if you aren’t gonna help, I’m not going to let you into our fort.” You tease smugly.

This grabs his attention as he jumps up from his bed, the wand between his fingers ceasing it’s twirl.

“C’mon, that’s unfair! I’m no architect!” He juts his bottom lip out in a pout, grey eyes widening in an attempt to guilt trip you.

“‘I’m no architect!” You mock, rolling your eyes in the process.

“Moony...” Sirius whines childishly, stomping over to Remus, breaking his concentration. “(Y/n)’s being mean...”

You shuffle out from the fort enough to see Sirius hanging off of the lanky boy, cheek pressed into his shoulder. Remus brings up a hand, running his fingers through Sirius’ long curls.

“She’s got a point, Pads. If you don’t start fluffin’ pillows we might ban you from the fort.” Remus shrugs, adjusting one of the corners with James.

“Fine...” Sirius groans. “But only because I love you.”

He drags his body into the fort, practically beating up the pillows next to you.

“I’m James Potter.” He mimics in a high pitched voice under his breath. “And I need eight fucking pillows for my twin sized mattress.”

You bury your head into one of the pillows to stifle your giggle. Sirius’ smile grows wider at the sound.

“Rich boy Potter—“

“Done!” James calls out, clapping his hands in the process. “So you two better scooch over and make room for us.”

The floorboards had been covered with the soft burgundy and blankets, making it actually bearable to sit on the floor.

James and Remus crouch, crawling into the small space. The pillows are clustered near the center so you flop down onto them, curling around a strong arm.

“Comfortable, love?”

Your eyes slide up to see Sirius’ shit eating grin.

“Very.” You snuggle closer to him, James’ shoulder pressing into your shoulder blades. You hear Remus hum contently from the other side of Sirius.

It’s certainly quiet. The only thing you can hear is the four of you breathing and the sound of fabric rubbing together. It’s odd.

Usually the four of you would be laughing your asses off and gossiping about classes, so this awkward silence is killing you.

“Are you guys alright?” You ask into the void.

It’s quiet for a few seconds before you hear Remus sigh. “Well...”

You detach yourself from Sirius, picking yourself up to get the three of them in view.

Their shoulders are pressed closer together, almost avoiding your gaze entirely.

“We’ve been friends for quite some time and the three of us were wondering...” James starts, playing with his glasses. It’s a habit of him, that’s for sure. Trying to straighten out his glasses though they always end up tilting to the left each time.

You watch them closely, biting your lip in anticipation. You have an idea where this is heading, but you don’t want to get your hopes up.

“What Jamesie here is trying to say is that we were wondering if you would like to join our little...relationship.” Sirius interjects bluntly. He shrugs at the end like he isn’t practically ripping feathers out of one of James’ expensive pillows.

Your mouth hangs open a bit in surprise. “Are you guys for real?”

“We’ve been talking about this for a while.” Remus slides his palm over to your knee, warmth blooming underneath. “You’ve always been more than just a friend to us, (Y/n).”

“How long have you guys felt like this?” You ask, dropping a hand on top of Remus’. You watch the tips of his ears turn pink.

“Since we got together.” James admits. “But we were trying to figure out a relationship with just three people that we just weren’t ready for a fourth.”

“But we’re ready now!” Sirius exclaims. “If you want to, of course.” He continues plucking brown feathers from the pillow. James takes his hand away, trying to calm his nerves. Fingers interlace in a way Sirius is able to tap the back of hand instead.

“Merlin, I’ve fancied you guys since like fourth year! Of course I want to!” You chuckle, cheeks hurting from your constant smile.

The three of them light up as you tackle them back into the pillows, laughter loud in the confined space.

You cuddle up to them, somehow able to have each of them within your grasp at all times.

•

All Character Taglist: @aspiringsloth20 @amourtentiaa @cherie-draco

#the marauders #the marauders x reader #james potter x reader #sirius black x reader #remus lupin x reader #the Marauders fluff #the marauders imagine #the Marauders blurb

[storytellerofuntoldlegends]

an icarus and his sun: chapter 4

A/N: what's this? jimmy may be finally leaving denial station? and gray-aroace jimmy because i said so? hell yeah. also more seablings pog!! i do also have the next chapter written already bc it has one of the scenes that was basically the whole reason i wrote this fic, but i'm gonna wait until tomorrow to post it (mostly bc i wanna make sure i have the chapter after that one written bc of... reasons >:) the next chapter is a tad cliffhanger-y and i just don't want y'all to have to wait too long)

Warnings: teasing/banter, flirting, realization of feelings

AO3 Link - Tumblr Masterpost

-

The invitation for the House Blossom Ball arrived, with a separate handwritten note along with it from Katherine that very pointedly reminded Jimmy to dress up and maybe lose the cod head. Something about how it wasn’t “fancy enough” or whatever. Jimmy felt the cod head was acceptable for any occasion, not to mention he felt weird with his whole head being in view- but maybe he could compromise for Katherine. He’d have to figure out some sort of other headpiece… but the ball wasn’t for a few days anyway. Jimmy had plenty of time to figure out an outfit. In the meantime, he had some work to do on his slime farm. And of course, who else should be there but Scott when Jimmy came up from his farm. He was sitting on the roof of the slime farm entrance, legs swinging idly.

“What are you doing here,” Jimmy asked with a tired sigh, really hoping that he wouldn’t have to deal with another fight with Scott. Scott hopped down from the roof, gliding a bit before landing in front of Jimmy.

“Oh same as always, I was bored and you’re fun to bother,” Scott said with a shrug and a playful grin. Jimmy glowered at him, putting his hands on his hips.

“Oh no, not today! I’m not letting you get under my skin anymore!” Jimmy said, determination in his tone. Scott raised an eyebrow as his grin morphed into a smirk, and there was that squirming, fluttery feeling from their fight again.

“Are you sure about that?” Scott crooned, a clear challenge in his voice. Jimmy shut his eyes, taking a deep breath before shifting his expression into something more neutral.

“Absolutely,” he said firmly, walking past Scott towards his base. Scott seemed surprised for a moment, before getting his bearings and following after Jimmy.

"Not even over this?" Scott asked, walking beside Jimmy and tossing something green up in the air before catching it again. Jimmy stopped walking, brows furrowed in confusion. Scott stopped too, looking him in the eyes as he tossed the object again- a slimeball.

"How- where- when did you- where did you get that from?!" Jimmy demanded. The only way people got slime was from his empire.

“Got it from one of your chests- thought you wouldn’t mind,” Scott replied with a shrug, that smirk still irritatingly present on his face.

“I very much do mind! Give that back!” Jimmy demanded, lunging forward to try and grab the slimeball from his hand. Scott darted back, flapping his wings and sending a gush of wind to push Jimmy back.

“You’re gonna have to catch me, fish boy,” Scott teased, before taking off into the sky. Jimmy grit his teeth in frustration.

“I’m the Codfather!” he protested, equipping his elytra and taking off after Scott. Scott laughed, dipping and twirling in the sky while Jimmy struggled to keep up. Going after someone who had actual wings while Jimmy only had an elytra was a definite disadvantage, but Jimmy was a little too stubborn to care. Scott climbed higher into the sky with ease, Jimmy following close after- and then the sun hit Scott’s wings and Jimmy just about fell out of the sky. The sun’s rays caught the gold tips of his wings, making them shimmer. But it wasn’t just the sunshine reflecting off his wings- it was the way Scott’s whole face seemed to shine like the sun with his smile and how the wind ruffled his usually neat hair. It was how his laugh sounded as if the shimmering of gold made a sound. It was how those icy blue eyes sparkled with mirth as he held the slimeball victoriously above his head. It was how Scott’s expression suddenly melted from that of a mischievous trickster to something almost fond. All of those things caused that pleasant flip-flopping feeling in his stomach to return, and Jimmy suddenly pitched down because of it. He quickly righted himself, flushing in embarrassment and glaring at Scott’s resulting smirk.

“Guess you aren’t one of those flying fish, huh,” he teased.

“Just give me the slimeball back!” Jimmy demanded. Scott laughed, and it felt like flowers blooming in Jimmy’s chest.

“You get so fussed over the littlest of things,” he said, still laughing. Jimmy got the feeling that he should have been angry at Scott’s teasing, he was making fun of him, after all! But instead, Jimmy couldn’t help but smile back. To Jimmy’s surprise, Scott seemed startled by that, eyes going wide and a half gasp, half laugh escaping his lips.

“Sometimes you gotta appreciate the little things in life! You miss those things when you fly above everything and live up and away from the world in the mountains,” Jimmy pointed out with a laugh. Scott pondered this, slowly floating back to the ground as he did so. Jimmy tilted his head to the side in confusion, coming to a landing beside him. Scott was staring at the slimeball in his hands with a mix of wonder and bafflement. Shaking his head, Scott reached out for Jimmy’s hand and pressed the slimeball into it, both hands clasping over Jimmy’s hand for a moment. Jimmy’s hand felt fever-warm at Scott’s touch, and his heart hammered in his chest.

“You can have this back. Sorry,” Scott said, quickly withdrawing his hands. Jimmy felt horrible instantly, he clearly struck a nerve with what he said. Before Scott got a chance to leave, Jimmy quickly grabbed his hands, giving the slimeball back.

“Keep it, I’ve got plenty. You- you should enjoy the little things in life too,” Jimmy said softly. Scott’s face tinged pink, all the way up to the tips of his ears.

“I- whatever,” Scott scoffed, trying to bring it back to their teasing back and forth from before, but failing miserably. Before Jimmy had a chance to reply, Scott drew his hands back, holding the slimeball close to his chest and taking off into the sky. This time around, Jimmy didn’t bother chasing after him. He was a little too busy wondering what on earth had just happened. One moment Jimmy was irritated by Scott’s presence, and the next his heart felt all fluttery and he willingly gave him a commodity from his empire. What was happening to him?! Jimmy had a sneaking suspicion… but he had to talk to Lizzie or Joel first. He just had to be sure.

-

Jimmy flew to Lizzie’s empire, spotting her and Joel sitting together on one of her giant lilypads. They both looked at him with concern when he landed in front of them, out of breath. Lizzie was the first to jump to her feet, hands reaching out towards him and searching for any injuries. Joel followed after her and hovered at her side, looking unsure of what to do.

“What happened?! Are you hurt, were you attacked?!” Lizzie demanded, and Joel’s eyes shot to the skies as he put a hand on the hilt of his sword. Jimmy laughed, shaking his head.

“Guys, I’m fine! See, look! I’m all good. Just had to see you,” Jimmy said, holding his arms out to show that he was, in fact, uninjured. Lizzie and Joel breathed out a simultaneous sigh of relief.

“Oh thank goodness. Usually when you fly to one of us in a panic, you’re hurt or being chased, or something’s seriously wrong,” Joel said, the tension draining from his shoulders and hand dropping from the hilt of his sword. Jimmy’s smile turned sheepish.

“Well… something… might be wrong. But there’s something I’ve gotta ask you guys first,” Jimmy replied nervously. Lizzie and Joel exchanged confused glances. Lizzie stepped closer, putting a comforting hand on Jimmy’s shoulder.

“Of course, you can ask us anything,” she said softly. Jimmy took a deep breath, working up the nerve to say it.

“How did you know you were in love?” he asked timidly. Lizzie blinked in surprise, and Joel raised an eyebrow.

“Is this about Scott?” Joel asked. Jimmy’s face flushed in embarrassment.

“Please just answer the question,” he muttered. Thankfully, Joel didn’t seem to be in a teasing mood, and neither did Lizzie.

“For me it was her smile. Gave me butterflies the first time I saw it,” Joel said, unabashedly gazing at Lizzie. She giggled, and Joel’s fond expression increased tenfold.

“Butterflies?” Jimmy asked, a bit confused by the turn of phrase.

“You know, when your stomach gets all squirmy, but not in a bad way? Like a bunch of butterfly wings flapping inside you,” Joel explained, and Jimmy was hit with a sudden burst of clarity. Something in his expression must have shown it, because Lizzie gave his shoulder a comforting squeeze.

“You’re telling me that’s what love feels like? It’s that just… all the time?” Jimmy asked, his voice a little hollow with disbelief. At himself mostly, for not realizing it sooner. To be fair, he didn’t feel those sorts of feelings often. In fact, he felt it almost exclusively with Scott. So to realize this whole time what he had really been feeling wasn’t just hatred or irritation… he felt a little silly.

“Well, it’s not always like that, sometimes being around someone you love just makes you feel warm and cozy,” Lizzie added.

“Well… but I feel warm and cozy all the time with you guys!” Jimmy protested, still trying to deny that feeling just a little bit longer. Lizzie smiled, patient and understanding.

“Yes, but with this… hypothetical someone, it’s different, isn’t it,” she gently prodded. Jimmy finally gave in. It was different with Scott, and that honestly terrified him. He’d never felt this way about anyone, ever.

“Oh my god, I like him,” Jimmy breathed.

“About time you figured it out,” Joel muttered. Lizzie moved her hand from Jimmy’s shoulder to swat Joel’s arm. Jimmy was too busy having a bit of an existential crisis to really care.

“Oh my god I really like him. This whole time- but Scott hates me, what on earth am I supposed to- but he seemed kind of nice today…” Jimmy trailed off, beginning to pace back and forth. Lizzie gasped in excitement, rushing over to stand in front of Jimmy and grabbing his shoulders.

“You saw him today?! Tell. Me. Everything!” she demanded. Jimmy let out a sheepish laugh.

“Nothing really happened! He stole a slimeball from me, I chased him a bit in the sky- and oh god he was gorgeous in the sunlight- and then I said something to make him sad and let him keep the slimeball anyway. I- wow I really didn’t like seeing him sad,” Jimmy rambled, a disbelieving smile growing across his face. Joel made a mock-disgusted face.

“I think I liked it better when Jimmy was in denial, he’s getting all mushy now,” he teased. Lizzie rolled her eyes.

“Don’t listen to him, being mushy is a good look on you,” she insisted, getting a laugh out of Jimmy.

“I’m glad you think so, but maybe Joel is right. Cause now all I can think about is how Scott definitely doesn’t feel the same way,” Jimmy said with a sigh. A determined look came across Lizzie’s face, and distantly Jimmy was a little terrified.

“Oh no, you’ve activated her plotting look,” Joel said with the same distant terror that Jimmy was feeling.

“The ball is the perfect time to change Scott’s mind and show him that you are a catch, you’ve said so yourself,” Lizzie explained with a grin.

“Oh no, that is not happening, I just want the ball to be something fun, I don’t wanna make a scene,” Jimmy protested, but it came out a little weak.

“Us? Make a scene? Never. I was just thinking that we make sure to get you a snazzy outfit!” Lizzie said, and while Jimmy didn’t trust her for a second, he could concede that Lizzie had a better sense of style than he did.

“Oh, alright. As long as it’s just that,” Jimmy said firmly.

“Of course!” Lizzie said, far too innocently. Jimmy just chuckled and shook his head.

“And we should probably do something fancier than the cod head,” Joel added. Jimmy sighed, putting a hand over the cod head.

“Yeah, yeah, Katherine mentioned that too,” Jimmy said with a pout.

“Don’t worry, you’re in good hands!” Lizzie chirped, releasing Jimmy’s shoulders to instead grab his arm and pull him to where she and Joel had been sitting, rambling about outfit ideas all the while. Jimmy couldn’t help but smile and be a tiny bit hopeful. Maybe wearing something nice would catch Scott’s eye… but then what? Happily ever after? Was that how love even worked? Whatever the case, he was sure Lizzie would have a plan for that too. And maybe the ball could be the start of something beautiful.

-

Taglists below! Ask me to be added/removed!

MCYT General Fic Taglist: @corazon10000 @damiensaidno @franticfandomfanatic @gattonero17 @hetapeep41 @space-ace123

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#empires smp #jimmy solidarity #scott smajor #ldshadowlady #smallishbeans #flower husbands #seablings #empires smp fic #mcyt #aiahs #sage writes

[king-star]

When the Party’s Over

Warning: Homophobia, transphobia, death, bile, guts, broken limb, crying, pet neglection, driving while slightly tipsy, fire (lmk if i need to add more. This is all around pretty dark and sad, proceed with caution)

Match: Yelena Belova x enby!Reader; Wanda Maximoff x reader

Genre: Angst, Angst, and more Angst

A/N: This is the first chapter in a series. Idk how long it’ll be. the plan is bi weekly updates. im reallyyyyy proud of this one so let’s hope it doesn’t flop. ENJOY!

Word Count: ~3,000

Summary: You have a horrible nightmare, leaving you with anxiety for Yelena. Yelena assures you that everything is fine and leaves on a mission.

Your tongue rubs the roof of your mouth in an attempt to rid itself of the sickly sweet drink you’d been sipping. A hundred intoxicated humans swirl around you. Fabric, skin, and feathers blend together, the orchestra the only thing holding off the headache behind your eyes.

You didn’t want to be here. Sure ballroom charity balls could be fun. If you had your best friends there, you could chat only with them, and dance to your heart's content. Unfortunately for you, everyone you could stand to be around was busy. Leaving you human-shieldless from your mothers many socialite friends.

The “oh my goodness Y/N I haven’t seen you since you were in highschool. How are you?” got old quick. Retelling your life story over and over was a pain especially with your mother gripping your hand making sure you didn’t slip up. Share any information that didn’t quite fit the Y/L/N dynasty image. Mostly she didn’t want you sharing about the love of your life, your girlfriend, your Yelena.

When the two of you first got together you waited nearly 5 months before telling your mother. The first time you dated a girl she had hated it. She tried to act like she was supportive, claiming “I will always love you no matter what.” But in the end she always shielded this fact from the public eye. She was supportive of all the LGBT+ movements from a political standpoint. Never her own child.

You never told Yelena about this. You claimed the reason you didn’t want to share her with your mother was because you wanted your relationship to not have paparazzi after you two. She bought it for a while but you could only keep the love of your life away from the woman who gave you life for so long. It didn’t take a master spy to understand the emotions behind the look your mother gave you when you brought Yelena to dinner. Yelena never brought it up but it was an unspoken understanding. Your mother didn’t accept you no matter how hard she tried to fake it.

Now you just wanted the event to be over so you could go home to Yelena. You flipped your wrist, checking the ridiculously expensive watch you had on.

11:31

She was definitely asleep by now. Yelena never stayed up past 10:30. Frowning, you set down your glass and turned to your mother, waiting for her conversation to end. When she finally stopped speaking she turned to you and cocked an eyebrow,

“Y/N. Are you leaving? so soon?” she pouted but enough years in her home taught you her looks. This was faked sadness.

“Unfortunately yes mother. Lena is probably asleep by now and I have work early. She probably forgot to feed our dog,” you enunciated the words that might clue in your mothers friend on how you and this woman were related. A last “fuck you mother” before you left. She smiled warningly and nodded.

“Well… you must get home to your friend. I will see you soon daughter,” she kissed your hand and you stood there frozen. Of course, she would invalidate your gender and your relationship in one comment. Your nostrils flared and you turned quickly, letting your hand smack your unfinished drink into her lap and treading off quickly.

“Fuck you mother. How someone could be so hateful to their own child I will never understand,” you muttered to yourself. You handed your ticket to the valet and stood with your arms crossed, waiting. You made sure to tip the valet an absurd amount, and drove off quickly. The only thing that would keep you from doing something stupid in retaliation was Yelena’s arms around you.

~

Nearly thirty minutes later you pulled the car into the garage. It shouldn’t have taken you that long to get home but you couldn’t help but drive with the top down for a bit. Anger and maybe a bit of fear had bubbles underneath your skin and you didn’t want to bother Yelena. You stepped out of the car and held your head in your hands. You hadn’t drank that much, but a headache would be inevitable.

Fanny met you at the door. She was obviously excited, tail wagging as she raced back to her food bowl

“ok ok girl. I’ve got you,” you rubbed her head and dumped a scoop of food into her bowl. Loosening your tie you dragged yourself to the bedroom. You smiled as the light poured in and illuminated the silhouette of a sleeping Yelena.

“Deep asleep. I’ll join you in a second,” you pulled the rest of your suit off. Picking up a discarded shirt you put it on, and leaned your head against the mirror.

“That was misery. And mother’s comment. I shouldn’t care about what that bitch thinks or says. But I can't help it,” you let out a sigh and picked up your toothbrush. Maybe someday she will accept you. But at that point would she ever be able to make up for how she treated you?

Ready for bed you slid in beside Yelena, careful not to wake her. Fanny, finished with her food, jumped into bed with you and snuggled up with a lick to your face. You smiled and kissed her head then kissed Yelena.

“night my love. See you in the morning,” your heavy lids drooped and you relaxed, setting a hand on Yelena and falling into dreamland.

~

Your thighs hurt. Fire and smoke burn your throat and eyes. You search for something. What exactly you aren’t sure. Tears stream down your face as anxiety floods your chest. If you don’t find the thing soon your world will be crushed.

A broken door, barely on its hinges, is at your right and you know that’s it. A hard turn and you smack your arm into the frame. You grasp at your wrist as more tears prick your eyes.

“Fuck!” A familiar level of pain flares and you know it’s broken. Your eyes dart around the room, still looking for that unknown thing. A pile of smoking wood sits in front of you and your feet carry you to it. This was it.

You try hard to pull through the heavy, hot wood with your one arm. A cry comes from below, an anxiety flaring familiar cry. You pull harder and uncover and dirty and bloody Yelena.

“LENA!” you shout and help her out. Her hands held her stomach. She smiles sickly and then curls in pain.

“Y/N. You found me. I hoped you would. Quick kiss me. I don’t have long,” Your eyes widen and you move her hands. The sight of her stomach makes you sick. Turning to the side you retch and vile spills from your mouth. You wipe your mouth and shake your head, tears fall hard now.

“Lena no no. You’re fine. We can fix you. Please,” you slide your arm under her and try to pick her up but she screams and goes limp in your arms.

“FUCK Y/N! stop. There's no hope. Please just kiss me. I don’t want to die without that.” you shake your head more and set her down. You refused to accept her death.

“No Yelena you are not going to die here. You can’t die. You are too well trained. a-and… I can't live without you. it’ll be fine,” She tries to raise her head but then it falls and she spasms. Your eyes widen and you do your best to hold her still but your broken wrist shoots in pain.

“No no no NO!” you kiss her over and over. Fear pulses through you and when she relaxes completely you sob. Your head aches from the pressure of your sobs and your broken wrist protests. Maybe hours pass and you sit there with her dead body pressed to your chest, her blood and guts smearing all over you.

Then guilt overtakes the sadness. She asked you for one thing. One single kiss before she died and you didn’t fulfill that. You couldn’t give her everything she deserved in life or even in her final moments.

You wake up shaking and screaming. Yelena is awake next to you, crying and shaking your shoulder violently.

“Please Y/N,” she sobs, snot and tears mix and fall forgotten. You sit up barely able to hold yourself up. She is alive.

“Fuck Yelena what’s wrong?” Your dream haunts you. You search her stomach and her whole body for major wounds. She is obviously unsure what you are doing and grabs your face forcing you to look at her.

“Y-you were shaking and screaming and crying and I didn’t know what was wrong. If you were having a seizure or what.” You shake your head and take deep breaths.

“No, I'm good. Not seizure. R-Really…” your words falter and you stare off, caught up in the memory of the dream. Yelena snaps in front of you and hugs your arm. “Ah sorry. Bad dream. really, really bad dream.” you stare at her head unsure if this was the dream or if Yelena really was alive.

“D-do you want to tell me about it?” Her arms slide under yours and she holds you from the side. You shake your head and lay it on her shoulder. “Ok but if you do tell me. I’ll hold you until you fall asleep again.”

The thought of being asleep again makes you tense up. Yelena feels it and rubs your side softly. She kisses you in every way she knows you like and pets your head.

“I’m not going to sleep. I can’t live through that again. It made me think I was going to be alone. Please don’t leave me Lena. please. I don’t wanna die alone.” She frowns and hugs you tight.

“I’m never going to leave you. I’m here baby. I’m here.” She kisses your jaw softly and you nod. Relaxing again, you wrap your arms around her waist and kiss her shoulders.

“Y-you died. There was a fire and I broke my wrist and it was smokey and you got impaled and you died. You asked me to kiss you and I couldn’t accept the fact you were dying so I didn’t kiss you. I couldn’t give you what you deserve.” She frowns and kisses you.

“No Y/N. Don’t you dare. It was just a nightmare, that’s all. I’m NEVER leaving you. ok?” She holds your face and kisses you softly. The kiss lasts a while and you melt into your touch. Fears still paralyse you every couple hours but she holds you until the sun comes up. She knows exactly what you love and how to make you feel safe. She really wasn’t ever going to leave.

~

Weeks pass. You are sure you have gotten past the nightmare. You go to work everyday and Yelena stays home going through paperwork. When you come home the two of you snuggle and bliss fills you. Your mother doesn’t ask you to come to any more charity events and you think maybe, just maybe things are good.

Then Yelena gets called on the mission. When she tells you she will be gone for a week your mind reels. You can barely see straight as the dream vividly flashes through your brain. Yelena gets worried, grabbing your hand and you back away searching her body for any sign of blood.

“No. Lena please. What if you get hurt? I-I can’t. You promised you’d never leave.” Her eyes look at you apologetically.

“Don’t worry. I’m a professional. It’s just a small info gathering job. Absolutely no danger,” she smiles at you and sets a hand on your shoulder. You back away from her hand and lean your head back to force the tears back.

“Yelena… ok. Please. Don’t get hurt,” She nods and kisses your cheek grabbing her bag.

You spend the entire week at home. Anxiety grips you so hard that you can’t stand to go to work. A fever strikes and you throw up every evening at almost exactly 10:30. Work tells you to stay at home and probably go to the doctor. Honestly you’d rather go to work so you have less time to think about her.

Most of Yelena's missions don’t allow for her to contact you and the stress of it all has your brain thinking of her the entire time she’s gone. By the time Yelena is on her way back you have dropped 12 pounds. You hadn’t eaten, only bothering to get up to feed Fanny. A cold sweat coats your skin and you hold your arms to you. Blankets were too hot, but it was too cold without them.

The alarm on your phone signalling it’s time to feed Fanny goes off. You throw the blankets off and wipe dried tears. The tv screen flashes a “keep watching screen.” You aren’t really sure when it came up but your mind hadn’t registered the tv in a couple days.

When the door clicks unlocked you scream. Silence had filled the apartment for so long and the sound was louder than anything you’d ever heard. Fanny starts barking, running to the door, then coming back and sitting at your feet.

You fall to the ground clasping the food scoop. Fanny licks your face as tears fall. Every fear that had plagued you came to the forefront of your mind. What if it wasn’t Yelena? What if it was Hill telling you to come in? No, they would call you for that. But if Yelena was dead…

Arms wrap around and pick you up, setting you on the couch. You whip your head back and forth trying to catch a glance of who it is. In the back of your mind you know it's her, but for some reason you’d been convinced over the past week that she’s dead.

A warm towel wipes away dried tears and snot, and a soft hand holds yours. Tears blur your vision but you steady your breaths. The anxiety in your chest dissipates. You lean your head back forcing the tears in and look back to catch a look at the woman you love. But, instead of long blonde hair and soft round face,  you see long red hair, falling in waves.

“Lena? Did you have to dye your hair for the mission?” She frowns and shakes her head, setting down the towel.

“Fuck Y/N. I know you can’t remember but I hate having to keep telling you this,” The voice is not Yelena’s. It’s your friends. Wanda’s. Your eyes look her all over and you tense up confused.

“Tell me what Wanda? What’s wrong with Lena?” She grabs both your hands and looks at you with the softest expression she can muster.

“The fire Y/N. Do you remember? The fire where Lena…. She bled out,” The anxiety of the dream. No memory. The smoke, your raw throat, and the hours of sobbing.

You shake your head and quick breaths fill your lungs. Wanda tries to get you to calm down. Your vision spots while your brain searches for oxygen your hyperventilating can’t provide.

“Y/N please calm down. Please. FUCK! I promised to never use it without permission but between the two of you…” Red magic flows from her hands and wraps around your head. Your breathing slows down and your vision comes back. Wanda cradles your head and hums.

You reach up and see the tear streaks on her face. Her eyes look bloodshot and dark circles are prominent under her eyes. You pout and try to hug her back. All the fears that had consumed you for weeks were now gone. Even if it was only by Wanda’s magic. You curled into her side and fell asleep. Finally able to find some peace.

~

It was the night of the charity gala. You drove home but had taken the long way around to cool off from your mothers subtle aggression. Plans on how to ignore her future advances build in your mind as you pull into the parking garage. You stepped out of the car and held your head in your hands. You hadn’t drank that much, but a headache would be inevitable.

Sirens sound from the road in front of your complex and you growl. The loud noise and lights make your head pound. You shake your keys and walk towards the stairwell. Coughing into your arm and you open the door to your floor. You throw your hand back with a scream at the hot door handle.

“the fuck…? NO!” forgetting your pain you throw open the door and run into the building. Smoke flows from under doors and fire licks at the walls. The sound of the siren gets louder from some open window. You run through the halls trying your best to not breathe in smoke. Yelena would be asleep. She wouldn’t know what’s happening.

Your apartment door is on the right and you stand back and kick the handle. Your foot hurts as it contacts the rough wooden door but it cracks. You kick again and the door falls in. Running through the door you smack your arm into the frame and cry out in pain.

Fanny barks from one of the rooms and you follow the noise letting her run free into the hallway. You hope dearly that the dog finds her way out.

The entirety of your home is consumed in flames. Beams that held up the apartment above you are on the floor. The poor old couple who was always so nice. Hopefully they had gotten out before it collapsed. Running to your bedroom you try to open the door. It gives quickly but before you can get to Yelena a strong arm grabs at your back.

“What the? HEY!” you squirm trying to slip out of the grip. You have no luck and result to punching. Nothing makes the arms let you go as they pull you from the building. Along the way down you consider it may be a firefighter saving your life.

“Please. My girlfriend, she’s still in there. Please, she was asleep. Save her. I can get out,” you plead with your “saviour”. The person doesn’t acknowledge any words or attempts of movement. They just carry you out of the building back into the parking garage. At some point you began crying, fearing for your girlfriends and your neighbours lives.

You are carried to a car and roughly thrown in. Your broken wrist, now remembered, aches and you curl into a ball. The driver doesn’t speak to you and the person who carried you doesn’t get into the car with you. You didn’t register the person in the back seat with you until they cough. Or rather She coughs.

“Oh Y/N I’m glad we got you out ok. I was so scared we wouldn’t be able to get you out before the fire got you too,” Your eyes widen at the familiar voice and you sit up looking into her eyes. The pieces fall into place in your mind. No you’d never thought she’d be this cruel. Yet here you were, Yelena and Fanny. They were in there.

“You didn’t. no no you didn’t. You are cruel and hateful but not murderous,” you pull away as a hand strokes your cheek. Hate flashes behind your eyes.

“Oh honey. You will forgive me when you realise it was for the sake of the family. Like they always say; ‘Mother knows best.’”

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