Tumgik
#no leave me alone i dont want this
gascreates · 4 months
Text
Tumblr media
emotional support frog
who will absolutely eat your hand.
Tumblr media
1K notes · View notes
emmyrosee · 1 year
Text
Random thought #354 (13:45)
Tumblr media
Bakugou has to know your location at all times.
He‘s got your location on his phone, his watch, the alarm system lets him know when you enter the house, it’s an obsession of his to know where you are.
There’s even a little tracker in the ring he gave you- with your consent of course, he’s not that much of an asshole- and he’s pleased when he sees it out and about with you while you run your errands or go out with friends.
He hides it under the guise of “need to make sure your ass ain’t cheating on me.”
But that’s not true. You know that’s not true.
A little possessive, maybe, but it’s not like that.
Bakugou has to know your location at all times because he knows how dangerous it is out there, how something could happen in an instant and he needs to be right there when you need him most. He’d stop battles, abandon his job, blow himself and others up in any chance to get to you if you needed him.
He knows the addresses of all your friends, family, every hospital in the area. He knows the vin of your car by heart, he knows your schedule, he’s so crazy about doing his best to keep you safe that it’s almost cute.
Nuzzling your head against his chest while he confirms your location on his phone, you give him a chuckle, making him hum in acknowledgment.
“Think you’re growing soft on me, Katsu,” you mumble, a loving thumb stroking over his collarbone.
He scoffs and offers you a scowl, “what are you talking about?”
“You just wanna keep me safe always, don’t you?”
“I don’t give a shit what you do, ain’t my job to keep you safe.”
It kind of is, but you let that die on your tongue and replace it with a kiss against his jawline, chuckling when he angles his head for more of your sweet affection.
“You falling in love with me or something?” You purr, laying your head back down against him to let his cheeks flush in peace.
He laughs out a bark, but you hear his heart-rate pick up a bit under your ear.
“Can’t stand your bitchass. Idiot.”
7K notes · View notes
cemeterything · 4 months
Note
Why did you pay money for a tumblr badge?
i didn't i was gifted it. and how i spend my own money is none of your business.
431 notes · View notes
socialbunny · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media Tumblr media
 Skip has always found a way to work through his problems and turn them around with relative ease, but the sudden death of his wife, Brandi, has brought his mostly carefreeness towards his children  to a stand-still. With two freshly traumatized children and a newborn under his belt, can Skip juggle turning his shitty ass life around for his family, or will he crumble under the weight of his past mistakes?
Darleen hasn’t been the same since her husband, Darren, died, though she’d be quick to argue with you if you said anything of the sort. She’s FINE! She misses her husband, undoubtedly, but she’s not going to let that very, very, very tiny thing wreck her whole life, and she’s not going to let people give her grief about ANYTHING. Sure, she got fired from her job a few months back and hasn’t made any strides to find a new one, and she’s losing touch with her son as she goes and squanders all her responsibilities by partying and drinking on par with younger years, aaaaaaaaaaaaand the almost obsessive idealistic crush she’s developed on her neighbor is clouding the second half of her judgment, but she’s bounced back from worse and knows everything’s going to come up Darleen :) …………. hopefully
563 notes · View notes
Text
you know i adore you (3)
TEEN!gojo x FEM!reader (soulmate AU)
TW⚠️: gojo's being a little manipulative, angst, mentions of death and blood, mostly fluff tho
1: what you see, i see
2: where you go, i go
A/N: gojo is so 1989 coded
Tumblr media
Her phone had buzzed for the tenth time during her student council meeting, and for the tenth time, she ignored it. She didn't have to look at the caller ID to know who it was.
Who knew Gojo Satoru would be so clingy? And here she thought she would be the one hanging on his coat tails. Not that they were dating because they weren't. They were friends with emphasis on friends - she had decided that after the high of finally seeing each other face to face.
The morning after was very clarifying for her. She tried to remember her dream the night, only to realize that Satoru had not slept the entire night - he had been watching her sleep the entire night. It was especially clarifying when her mom knocked on her door, and she processed that not only did she have a strange boy in her room, but that he was also soaked in blood. A hectic morning of her hiding her soulmate in the bathroom. It didn't help that he was complaining the entire time - it was a miracle her mother didn't hear him.
Fact of the matter is it would be irresponsible for her to start seeing him romantically without actually getting to know him first and she was a responsible person. So responsible that for the time being, she had to put student council duties first over her friendship with him, especially with the festival coming up.
She would call him after the meeting was over, "Now, do we have everything prepared for the festival tomorrow?"
Everyone nodded as they checked classrooms, and fixed decoration, and they put up the banner outside of the school that would be welcoming everyone in. After this task was done, she would leave.
From atop a ladder, she tied the elastic ribbons into a bow and smoothed the banner over with her hand, "Everything alright on that side?"
Her peer smiled at her from the other ladder directly on the other side of the banner, "Yeah!"
She climbed down the ladder and looked at their handiwork. It was perfect. All that was left was to go get her things.
One of her classmates giggled besides her, "Your boyfriend's here again."
"Who's boyfriend?" She asked.
The girl pointed at the entrance of the school, "Yours." She smiled cheerfully at him, "Hi, Gojo!"
And there he was, walking over to them - pouting.
This was her fault she should've known he would show up if didn't at least answer one of his calls or texts.
"We've been over this." She said, "He is not my boyfriend."
"Does he know that?" The girl said.
Another classmate chimed in, "Why not? he's super cute."
She hoped Satoru hadn't heard that. His ego was big enough as it was.
A pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist as he nuzzled his head in her neck, he said, "Yeah, I am super cute. Why not?"
Of course, he heard them. He looked at her expectantly over his glasses. He really was adorable when he wanted to be, enough that all of her classmates (boys and girls alike) practically swoon for him when he does anything.
She ignored him, "Meetings over. Everyone, go home."
Satoru huffed in annoyance but didn't let go of her, "Why don't you answer your phone?" He tilted his head so she could see more of his vibrant blue eyes despite his glasses, "A text would've been enough."
She fought the urge to run her hands through his hair, "I told you I had a student council meeting today." She twisted in his arms to face him, "and I told you that I wasn't going to be able to call or text until after."
He buried his face in her neck again and groaned, "Yeah, yeah, yeah, you did."
This was a little more than friendly, she knew that, but she also learned at the beginning of their friendship that he also didn't know what personal space was. Besides, she would stop him before he got too far, but she would admit, she liked it when he daringly pressed his lips on her neck to test just how far he can push the boundaries she had set for them. But today, she would enforce them.
She tugged his head back from her neck, "I have to go get my school bag, Satoru."
She stilled as he leaned in and kissed her in the corner of her mouth. Another thing he did to see how far he could go.
She pursed her lips, "That's more than friendly."
He raised an eyebrow, "You mind today?" And let out a dramatic sigh, "it's cause people are watching, isn't it?" He shifted all of his weight on her, "I'm a dirty little secret!"
She finally hugged him back. Not to actually hug him but keep them from toppling over.
She heard footsteps and giggles as her classmates walked past her and Satoru, "Yeah, he's totally not your boyfriend."
She saw a glimpse of Satoru's cheeky smile before he stuck his lower lip out and rubbed his cheek against hers.
And like clockwork, "Aw~"
She glared at her peers, "Do not encourage his behaviour."
They all snickered as they left.
She rolled her eyes at them and grabbed Satoru's cheeks with one hand forcing his lips to pucker as they looked at each other, "Stop." She pushed him off of her and finally, went to go get her belongings.
She sighed when Satoru slipped his hand in hers. If she pulled away he would whine for the rest of the day, so she let their fingers intertwine.
His eyes wandered away from her from time to time. She closed her eyes for a second. Little spectres were staring at them, peeking their heads from their hiding spots, and whenever, Satoru directed his gaze at them they'd duck back into their hiding spots in fear.
Oh.
She opened her eyes and quickened her steps. Her soulmate kept up with her new pace with ease. She opened the door and quickly picked up her school bag, but Satoru took it from her hand before she could sling it around her shoulder and swung it over his instead.
"Those curses shouldn't scare you. You know, they're too scared to come out and hurt anyone," he said, "They're too weak."
She grabbed her phone from the table, "You know I can't see them the way you can."
He pressed a kiss on her temple, "I can handle them, no problem."
She rested her head on his arm. He was right if any curse dared to rear out their ugly heads against them he would excorcise it easily. She was safe. They were safe.
She flipped her phone open as they walked out of the school.
47 MISSED CALLS from Gojo Satoru
He was not serious.
83 TEXT MESSAGES from Gojo Satoru
Oh God.
2 TEXT MESSAGES from Geto Suguru
Geto.S: He's being insufferable
Geto.S: Answer so he'll stop whining to me and Shoko
She shoved her phone in his face, "For real?!"
"You weren't answering!"
She shook her head as she went through the text messages.
Gojo.S: Wanna go check out the new boba place <3
Gojo.S: Whatcha ya doing? :3
Gojo.S: Oh right student council
Gojo.S: How long is it gonna to take?
Gojo.S: it's been 30 minutes :(
Gojo.S: Pls answer the phone </3
Gojo.S: meeting boring
Gojo.S: Ditch :D
She skimmed the rest of texts until she got near the end.
Gojo.S: The decorations look great!! :b
Gojo.S: r ya seriously going to check every classroom?
Gojo.S: For real?????
Gojo.S: ______ <3
Gojo.S: Suguru punched me :(
Gojo.S: kiss it better pls
Gojo.S: How much longer?????
Gojo.S: A ladder for what???
Gojo.S: :'(((((((((
Gojo.S: <////////////3
Gojo.S: I'm heading over there
She flipped her phone close, "You are such a stalker, Satoru."
He gasped offendedly, "I am not."
"Yes, you are."
"Am not!"
"Really?" She said, "What about the time you were literally watching me sleep for hours?"
"I wasn't myself that day." He quickly added, "and you were sad all day! What kind of soulmate would I be if I didn't let you know I was okay?"
"How'd you know where I live?" She retorted.
"It's a cute little bakery!" He smiled, "how is anyone supposed to miss that."
"Uh huh," she hummed, "suuureee~"
She was right, Satoru had somewhat stalked her that day and with how empowered he felt - he tracked down the very little cursed energy she did have with his six eyes.
"You stalk me too!" He pushed back.
"Hardly."
She was lying, but there was a difference between his stalking and her stalking. She only wanted to make sure he was safe. After what happened a few months ago, she couldn't help it and she only stalked him when he goes on missions not for everyday things like he does.
"Liar," Satoru said, "I can tell. I have really good eyes and senses."
She blushed, "It is not the same." Stupid six eyes, "You stalk me for no reason."
"It's not for 'no reason' - I miss you." He readjusted the straps of her school bag on his shoulder, "Besides, you don't have to worry about me like that anymore. No one can get the jump on me like that again."
She knew what he meant: I'm stronger now. Don't worry, I'm not dying anytime soon, and he was right. Nothing could touch him anymore unless he wanted it to, even her. Still, he didn't know what it felt like to have him gone from her soul. It wasn't a fading feeling of him slipping away - No, it was violent and soul wrenching - he was viscerally ripped from her. She was left cold and alone with her heart being the only one left beating. She was with him the whole time when he was desperately trying to learn and understand reverse curse technique to heal his bloody and dying body. All Satoru knew was that she cried.
Soft lips pressed against her cheek and then to the other. It was so sweet, so wonderful she hadn't realized she was crying.
"Is that why we aren't dating yet?" He continued to kiss her tears away, "you scared?"
She hadn't cared for him then and she fell apart. Imagine the damage it would do to her if she was in love with him? Her lip quivered at the thought. With a shaky breath, she buried herself in his chest in a hug, and nodded.
Satoru soothingly ran his long, slender fingers through her hair, "My girl's a bit of a little cry baby, ain't she?"
Her heart fluttered, my girl.
"I have every right to cry," she mumbled stubbornly in his chest.
He kissed the top of her head, "Yeah, you do." He tilted her chin up so she would look at him, "Boyfriends give more kisses you know."
She smiled as she wiped her tears, "No fair, I'm emotionally vulnerable right now."
Satoru's lips pressed ever so softly on hers. It was barely even a kiss, but she melted in his arms all the same. It would be so easy to fall into him and he would catch her every time. Yet, he pulled away and rested his forehead against hers.
She was right. He shouldn't take advantage.
He sighed... if time was what she needed then he could wait a little longer.
Tumblr media
Part 4: i'm crazier for you
Gojo: y'all be scared to double text? Not me! Ding ding ding it's me again bitch!
Part 5: baby, you're the life of the party
Part 6: something's made your eyes go cold
Let me know if you wanna be tagged!
@phoenix666stuff @96jnie @mr-underhills-things @whatamidoing89
561 notes · View notes
makifishcake · 2 months
Text
Me: I'm gonna look up Zoro x Luffy cause it's cute and it makes sense and like a bunch of those posts
Tumblr Feed: Lol eat ZoSan
210 notes · View notes
loomingtwilight · 4 months
Text
i love neuvifuri’s dynamic and relationship. like. imo they are the epitome of “we are inseparable, we are in love in every way, we are soulmates not by birth or due to fate binding us inexplicably but because we spent those 500 years being the one constant in each others lives and weve come to know each other the best, but we are simultaneously strangers. we never truly knew each other during all that time.“
and neuvillette knew for so long furina was keeping a secret from him and it pained him to force that secret into the light, but he knew he had to in order to save fontaine, and despite that he still wanted to do it as gently as possible. to make the trial the last resort if the travelers conversation didnt work. after the final events of the archon quest, he let furina go wherever she wished, he (if im remembering correctly) gave her a nice house and enough funds to do as she pleased and live comfortably. he used his new authority over hydro to give her a vision made specifically for her, the very first vision he has given out. he has made it as clear as day that she is welcome to talk to him, to ask to have tea, to ask him for whatever or simply just to talk.
neuvillette using those actions to say “i hope you let me know who you truly are, and allow me to stay in your life for as long as you wish, but i love you so i will not force you.”
288 notes · View notes
thunderbottle · 1 month
Text
Tumblr media
hello boarkiller
113 notes · View notes
kokiwiouma · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media
saw this and thought about them
215 notes · View notes
satans-knitwear · 11 days
Text
.
83 notes · View notes
hanzajesthanza · 9 months
Text
“what does geralt get from that friendship…”
another post examining the weight of geralt and dandelion’s friendship… because i don’t think people recognize how painful and debilitating loneliness can become.
the witcher as a deconstruction of the genre takes fantasy tropes to their most logical ends—it asks us to consider what The Lone Swordsman feels, looks into the humanity in a Cold-Blooded Killer. and it turns out he’s not cold-blooded at all.
that despite some superhuman abilities, he laments and worries and curses himself, just like any other worker of any other profession. just as the farmer is scorched by the sun, the washerwoman’s back aches, and the scholar goes half-blind studying, a witcher deals with all of the pains and annoyances and dangers of his job in a mundanely human way.
but the farmer, the washerwoman, and the scholar have something the witcher does not have—they’ll always be seen as human and part of their society. at the end of the day after enduring all of their labor, they have their wife to caress, festivities to attend, and taverns to frequent. but for a witcher? after the killing is over, what does he have? no one and nothing. not even a thank you. he is met with fear and hatred everywhere he goes, baseless bigotry and dislike.
I did my job. I quickly learned how. I’d ride up to village enclosures or town pickets and wait. If they spat, cursed and threw stones, I rode away. If someone came out to give me a commission, I’d carry it out.
so he faces not just loneliness, but being deliberately ostracized and cast out from society. geralt can’t even find a polite word in most settlements, much less a friend.
‘(…) Tell me, where should I go? And for what? At least here some people have gathered with whom I have something to talk about. People who don’t break off their conversations when I approach. People who, though they may not like me, say it to my face, and don’t throw stones from behind a fence. (…)’
this kind of loneliness is not a mere inconvenience. it’s completely altering to your self-perception and ability to see the positive in the world.
each day is not lived, but endured.
day in, and day out—forced to the most difficult and lowest labor in order to survive, and knowing that were you to die, no one would search for your body, few would miss you, hell, they might even spit “good riddance”.
in this situation, to find a friend, is not only friendship, but a rescue.
without dandelion, geralt may have drowned—drowned in solitude, amidst a sea of strangeness.
‘(…) And I’m alone, completely alone, endlessly alone among the strange and hostile elements. Solitude amid a sea of strangeness. Don’t you dream of that?’
No, I don’t, he thought. I have it every day.
because dandelion is not only a bright soul, characteristic rippling laughter and the strum of a lute, but someone who will intently listen to geralt, someone who mutually enjoys his company.
‘(…) you almost jumped out of your pants with joy to have a companion. Until then, you only had your horse for company.’
someone who doesn’t see him as strange and at the fringes of society at all, but as an utterly normal man.
and doesn’t impose demeaning, sappy sympathy onto him, but sobering and realistic “quit your bullshit” which ridicules the very thought that he should internalize societal hatred.
Do you know what your problem is, Geralt? You think you’re different. (…) [You don’t understand that] for people who think clear-headedly you’re the most normal man under the sun, and they all wish that everybody was so normal. What of it that you have quicker reflexes than most and vertical pupils in sunlight? That you can see in the dark like a cat? That you know a few spells? Big deal.
dandelion isn’t “willing” to accept geralt for himself—he already has accepted him. and to him, it’s no difficulty, it’s nothing worth discussing, because he sees no abnormality and no strangeness in him.
while others “prefer the company of lepers to witchers,” dandelion has already offered geralt to share his room and board. not out of sympathetic pity, not out of fetishizing curiosity. because… they’re friends.
and what else does this friendship save him from?
not only from others, but from himself.
worse than enduring others’ apathy and hatred is one’s own thoughts—the darkness and negativity which builds from witnessing and experiencing such behavior.
dandelion’s ability to counter and dispel geralt’s pessimism and self-flagellating tendencies—again, not out of pity, but out of friendship—is undeniably invaluable. someone to rescue you from your darkest thoughts, when you begin to spiral.
and in this darkness, all you can do is cry. you cry, beg for someone to help you, please—
Help! Why doesn't anyone help me? Alone, weak, helpless – I can't move, can't force a sound from my constricted throat. Why does no one come to help me? I'm terrified!
to be alone, the saga reminds us, is worse than a death sentence. to be alone is to “perish; stabbed, beaten or kicked to death, defiled, like a toy passed from hand to hand.” to be alone is to suffer, and to be with someone is to save them from that suffering.
'(…) I wouldn't like anything bad to happen to you. I like you too much, owe you too much-'
'You've said that already. What do you owe me, Yennefer?'
The sorceress turned her head away, did not say anything for a while.
'You travelled with him,' she said finally. 'Thanks to you he was not alone. You were a friend to him. You were with him.'
it is true that geralt has saved dandelion countless times, helped him, gotten him out of some scrape… but to ask what did geralt get in return? are you kidding me?
did you ever consider that it is dandelion who saved geralt?
by being with him. by being by his side. by being his friend.
indeed, dandelion has rescued geralt, countless times, from the yawning jaws of endless loneliness. he’s helped him, chased away the danger of geralt’s own rumination. and he’s gotten him out of scrapes, his own insecurities and bitter helplessness.
so what does dandelion give geralt? what does geralt get from their friendship?
an amusing question. what one gets from friendship is the friendship itself. and that is more than enough.
272 notes · View notes
littled0lls · 1 month
Text
The next person who asks me why I don't sell my knitting / crocheting is gonna get shot
80 notes · View notes
chrissy-kaos · 7 months
Text
Tumblr media
We're just two wrong souls that met at the wrong time
So just go your way, and I'll go mine
You'll be alone with someone new until the day that you die
And I'll watch from afar to make sure you're alright..
219 notes · View notes
elysiuminfra · 2 months
Text
still reading house of leaves. i love seeing people’s interpretations of johnny but im very sad to say i don’t think he has long hair. or painted nails. he’s like. a weird misogynist tattoo guy. he’s got like a skull on his arm. when his hair gets too long he feels too feminine. i think he’s a little homophobic (even if he is bisexual. he’s still homophobic.) he thinks lesbians are hot but gets scared when men kiss eachother. like im sorry to say but i think he looks like charlie day in a white tank top and ear piercings. he looks like the guy at the bar that would try to buy you a drink and call you a bitch when you refuse because you don’t like his vibes. he looks like the record store cashier that mansplains industrial music to you. he looks like jesse pinkman, but worse. and unfortunately for some i think he is so cisgender.
86 notes · View notes
vigilskeep · 2 months
Text
it is law that in any dragon age game exactly one half of the available love interests will be one class. dao was for the rogues, da2 was for the mages, dai for the warriors. in dreadwolf we will be at rogue once again. and this is how me kissing miriam can still win
126 notes · View notes
Text
so. um. @mean-scarlet-deceiver's post about thomas and henry's relationship has been living in my brain rent free for the past month and i have been turning over a scene for just as long.
so. i tried to write it. i hope you don't mind, jobey. and also you're right. they are Hard to get right. if i had to put an era on this i'd call it BG (Before Gordon).
about 1.5k, full fic under the cut
--- --- ---
Thomas keeps shooting glances at the sheds as he bustles around the yard.
It… the hired help from the other railway, the engines who are slightly too full of themselves for Thomas’ liking (and he’s made sure to let them know as such) have been talking loudly all morning, as they were getting ready to take their trains, about… the new engine.
Henry. Even if he couldn’t have remembered Henry’s name, the other two have been saying it loudly enough to carry around the yard that Thomas certainly has the picture now. And… Thomas’ lip curls as he hears their newest comment as he goes past.
“Hey!” he calls, boiling over, and the two hired engines look at him. “It’s 9am already. Are you going to actually go take your trains, or are you just going to sit and preen all day?”
“What would you know, little Thomas?” one of them calls back, all smarmy and smug. Thomas’ lip curls even more into a full on frown. Eugh. Tender engines.
“About running a railway on time?” Thomas snaps back. “Clearly more than you! Are you waiting for Sir Topham Hatt to personally invite you, or?”
They huff and sneer and pout at him, but they do still steam off one by one. However, they each shoot Henry a knowing and cruel side-eye as they go that makes Thomas bristle, despite himself.
Henry is still in his berth in the sheds. Well, he’s half-in, half-out. He only seemed to have made it so far before he… stopped. And he’s been going all sorts of shades of red as the others’ gossip had gotten louder and louder as he waited for his driver to return with an engineer of some sort.
Henry isn’t looking at Thomas now, but his eyes had snapped to the tank engine when Thomas had spoken up. He’s instead closed his eyes, puffed out his cheeks, and seems to be trying – and trying hard – to… to what? To move?
Thomas tries not to stare, as he moves trucks into the siding they’re expected to be found in. Why is he trying so hard?
Eventually, Henry does actually move – but he… Thomas frowns again. Henry moves backwards, back into the shed. The wheesh Henry lets out as he comes to a halt is limp and weak.
Henry has been here, what, all of a month, maybe two at this point. Thomas hasn’t heard… many kind things, actually, so far, which is weird because look at him. Henry’s huge – Henry’s the biggest engine Thomas has ever seen, and he’s surely powerful to boot.
But Henry… Well, Edward said that Henry is sick, and sick often.
“Why?” Thomas had asked, as they had approached the shed. “What’s wrong with him?”
“Thomas,” Edward had reprimanded, and that’s when Thomas had realised Henry was in earshot, and clearly trying to pretend he wasn’t.
And that had been that.
Thomas had seen Sir Topham Hatt come out of his office at the station to watch Henry’s comings and goings, and more often than not with a stormy expression on his face. And Thomas didn’t get that either. Problems get the stormy expression. Troublemakers get the stormy expressions (Thomas would know). And Henry seems… too…
Thomas biffs his truck ahead of him as he turns his thoughts over.
Too… quiet? Too wallpaper? Too chameleon? Too…?
He snorts to himself. Whatever Henry is, he’s too much of it. And certainly too much of it to be a troublemaker, not like those mainline engines. It’s not like Thomas has gotten to know Henry yet, and it’s not like Henry has given him the opportunity to, either: but Thomas doesn’t get the impression Henry wants to be trouble. But he has to be… there has to be something wrong here, otherwise the Fat Controller wouldn’t be so upset.
Thomas hears a sniff from behind him as he backs down his stretch of track, and realises it’s come from the sheds.
And Thomas sighs quietly. …Then again, if nothing was wrong, Henry wouldn’t be so upset either.
“Those two,” Thomas says, before he can think, and Henry has gone absolutely silent, eyes flicking over to Thomas as Thomas pauses on a nearby siding for just a moment. “Bloody wankers, the pair of them.”
The silence holds for another second or two, before Thomas is rewarded with a shaky laugh.
“…I noticed,” says Henry.
“All those mainline tossers, really,” Thomas continues, and he keeps talking even as his work takes him all around the yard, speaking up so Henry can still hear him. “I almost wish the Fat Controller wouldn’t hire them. Sure, we need more wheels on rails, but they don’t seem to know a blazing thing about this railway.”
Henry – in the shadow of the shed – purses his lips, before he lets out another sigh, another limp wheesh of steam.
“I would hardly say I do, either,” he says miserably.
Thomas frowns, and comes to a halt a little too sharply with a big woosh of steam.
“Of course you do,” he replies, indignant. Henry’s a big engine, he should- why would he say that?  Sure, Henry hasn’t been here long, but he’s a big engine, he should know plenty. “More than them, anyway.”
Henry sighs. He doesn’t argue, but Thomas�� fire flickers in annoyance as he can read of Henry’s face that Henry doesn’t agree either.
“I mean, you wouldn’t have been bought if-”
“Don’t.”
Thomas’ mouth hangs open for a second, before he closes it, blinks, and glances at Henry.
Henry looks even more upset. Great job, Thomas.
“I’m just saying-”
“Well, don’t,” Henry cuts him off again, sounding grumpier. And he’s gone from miserable to grumpy – that’s a win in Thomas’ book. “I’m particularly not in the mood to hear how I’d be more useful as a tin can.”
“The only tin cans around here are those self-important mainland pricks,” Thomas shoots back, and Henry side-eyes him – suspicious. “I’m not convinced they know what a timetable is, let alone how to read one. What kind of engine hangs around in the sheds when there’s work to… be…?”
Thomas trails off, and Henry… actually laughs. It’s tired and it’s bitter, but it’s a real laugh and it’s better than miserable.
“…Well, I want to assume you’re going to go work. When you can.”
“Optimism,” Henry says dryly. “I admire that in an engine.”
Thomas scrunches up his face. “I don’t understand you,” he says bluntly, in a way he’s sure Edward would scold him for if he was with them. “You’re miserable in the sheds, you’re miserable out on the line, you’re miserable doing nothing and you’re miserable pulling trains.”
Henry stares at Thomas for a moment, before his eyes flick away.
“If I could get out of this yard and actually pull trains, I’d do it in a heartbeat,” Thomas says, far more dreamily than he’ meant to, and he cringes a little, chuffing out of where he can see Henry’s face, because he doesn’t need to hear an earful about it from another big engine.
“…You’re small,” Henry says, slowly, not accusatorily nor really condescendingly. He sounds more …confused than anything. “…And you’re useful, here.”
“And?” Thomas snaps back, defensive. “I could be useful anywhere.”
Henry’s silent for another moment, like he’s really chewing that statement over.
Then, eventually, he surprises Thomas by saying, “…I suppose you would be better than those two.”
And Thomas lets out a sharp bark of laughter, shooting Henry a grin as he goes by, and punctuating it with a hoot and a whistle – delighted. The enthusiasm makes Henry blink, before slowly, a smile of his own spreads across his face; one that sharpens to match Thomas’.
“You’re most certainly right! And besides. You let them get to you, you let them win,” Thomas agrees. “And they’re far too useless for that.”
Henry laughs again. Thomas lets out another peep-peep and a woosh of steam of his own, pleased to have earnt it. Footsteps crunch over the gravel of the yard, and Thomas spots Henry’s driver returning with a couple of engineers in tow before Henry does, and replies to their hellos as he bustles past.
“Hello, lad,” Henry’s driver says to Henry, patting his side. “We’ll have you right as rain in no-time, alright?"
Henry sighs again, but does actually smile back at his driver.
His driver blinks in fond surprise as the engineers get to work finding the newest problem. “You’re in good spirits, all of a sudden.” Then, he glances at Thomas as the tank engine goes past. “Making friends?”
“More so finding the only engine in this yard with a thought in his smokebox, it seems,” Henry says dryly, loud enough for Thomas to hear, and that makes Thomas snort in amusement.
He does call back, “Hey, now, be nice to Edward!”
And the engineers and Henry’s driver alike seem relieved when the two engines laugh together.
Thomas watches them work to get Henry’s steam up, and Henry’s finally pulling out of the sheds a good half-hour later. Thomas whistles goodbye as Henry chuffs away.
He smiles with the satisfaction of a job well done when Henry, completely of his own volition, whistles a goodbye in return as he disappears off down the line.
Then, Thomas returns to his trucks, and gives them a good biff once more, ignoring how this time, they really shriek. He – and Henry, he imagines – can’t wait for those mainlanders’ contracts to run out.
62 notes · View notes