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hearts-hunger · 3 years

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suum ca’nara (rest and peace) || din djarin x reader

Read on AO3 || Masterlist

Summary: You and Din take your baby on a picnic, and rest and peace come more easily with the sun on your face and your husband by your side. || Standalone fic in the Jate’kara (Lucky Stars) series

Pairings: Din Djarin x Wife!Reader

Genre: Fluff | Word Count: 4.6k | Warnings: None!

A/N: So this is quite possibly the fluffiest, sweetest thing I’ve ever written. I’m proud of how it turned out, and I hope y’all like it! (Also, this gif is what I imagine Din looking like in this fic - *swoon*, am I right?) (Also also, if you’re interested, the poem I use in this isn’t mine - god, I wish - but it’s called “Do you still remember: falling stars” by Rainer Maria Rilke) ♡

“Ad’ika, I think mama is going to be madder than a razor cat once she sees the mess we’ve made of her kitchen.”

You smiled to yourself at the tone of your husband’s voice, amusement and exasperation coloring it in equal measure. You hadn’t seen the state of the kitchen yet; you were supposed to be sleeping in, but the sounds of laughter and happy baby coos had drawn you from the bunk to see what your husband and toddler were getting up to so early. You guessed they were making breakfast, if Din’s steady, one-sided dialogue was any indication.

“I can never remember how much honey to put in,” he said. “Your ba’buir used to make uj’alayi when I was little, and he never measured anything. Just threw it in the bowl.”

You pictured little Din in the kitchen with his father, hands sticky-sweet as he learned how to make the traditional Mandalorian cake. You imagined your little one was watching Din with the same reverent attention Din had watched his father with, and felt your heart swell with love for your little family.

“That’s probably good enough,” Din said. “Now we need the nuts.”

Your heard your baby give a questioning coo.

“Yeah, those,” Din said. “Hold on, the bag might be a little too - ”

Thunk. The unmistakable sound of Koja nuts rolling across the floor had you bringing your hand up to stifle a laugh. Poor Din.

“That’s ok, buddy,” he said, his voice sweet and patient as he spoke to your most likely distraught baby. Your little one loved to try and help Din whenever he could - whether Din was polishing his armor, tinkering with the Crest’s control panel, or clearing his weapons, your baby could be counted on to be there to “help”. Most of the time, his help consisted of a steady stream of chatter and attempts to do whatever Din was doing, and Din tried to find little ways for him to contribute. That your baby had been trying to help his dad make breakfast and had spilled the nuts everywhere was sure to be upsetting for him.

His little coo of apology was absolutely heartbreaking, and you knew Din would be gentle with him.

“You didn’t mean to,” Din said kindly. “It’s ok. Do you want to help me get these up so we can finish the cake?”

You backed up from the kitchen door while they cleaned up, wanting to stay hidden a little longer. Din loved being a dad, and it came to him so naturally; you cherished the moments you got to enjoy watching or listening to him interact with your son when it was just the two of them.

Your baby started babbling animatedly about something, and Din responded with “oh” and “hmm” at appropriate times, encouraging him to speak and letting him know he was listened to. They finished up the batter and put the cake on to cook, the nanowave oven crackling slightly as it heated up. It was an old model, like everything else on the Crest, and you’d become so accustomed to its finicky nature that it was more familiar than frustrating.

“Osi'kyr,” Din said, dismal. “Your mama needs a new nanowave, huh?”

Your baby chirped his agreement.

“Yeah, we’ll have to see about getting her one,” Din said. “Maybe Peli knows somebody we can ask. But for right now, we have to get this place cleaned up before mama sees.”

“Before mama sees what?”

You came out of your hiding place around the corner and were met with two guilty smiles, both Din and your baby looking like you’d caught them with their hands in the cookie jar. Your little one was sitting up on the counter, an uncracked Koja nut in hand, his ears perking up at the sight of you. Din was covered in flour - little baby-sized handprints covered his black shirt and trousers, and streaks of white appeared in his sleep-mussed curls. The kitchen was a mess, like he’d said, but it was worth it to see the two of them so happy.

“Hi, cyare,” Din said, his smile a little sheepish.

Your baby added his own coo of greeting, and you couldn’t help but smile back.

“Good morning to you too,” you said. You gave your son a kiss on the top of his head. “What are you and daddy making?”

He waved the Koja nut in his claws for you to see.

“Uj’alayi,” Din clarified.

You smiled. “Cake for breakfast, huh?”

He grinned. “Yeah, well, it’s got fruit in it. It’s healthy.”

He leaned close and kissed you, sweet with the taste of honey and ginger from the batter he’d tested before it went in the oven. He held his flour-dusted hands to the side of you so as not to get you messy too.

“Good morning, Mrs. Djarin,” he said sweetly, bumping your noses together.

You beamed. “Good morning, Mr. Djarin.” You gave him another quick kiss. “Do you want some help getting the kitchen cleaned back up?”

He looked a little distressed as he pulled back. “No, I mean - you don’t have to help. You didn’t make the mess.”

You gave an affectionate shake of your head. “Din. I don’t mind.”

He softened. “Well, if you’re offering. It’s very sweet of you, cyare. Sorry it’s such a disaster.”

“It’s not that bad,” you said, waving him off. “Most of the flour ended up on you and not on the counters, anyway.”

He chuckled. “Yeah, we had a hard time getting it in the bowl.” He took a cloth and began wiping down the counters, scooping your baby up while he did.

“But we’re ramikadyc mandos,” he continued. “Determined, tenacious. Not to be bested by cake batter.”

Your baby chimed in to agree with his dad. You laughed as you filled the sink with hot water.

“How did I get the two bravest Mandalorians in the galaxy on my ship?” you teased.

Din considered that. “I think you’ve just got good jate’kara, my love.”

You gave a pleased hum as he kissed you. “My stars are pretty lucky, aren’t they?”

He smiled. “Not as lucky as mine, cyare.”

When the kitchen was back in order, Din excused himself to take a shower while the cake finished baking. You got your little one dressed for the day in a soft, hand-stitched blue tunic Omera had made for him and tidied the bunk before heading back to the kitchen as the timer went off.

“Quiet a view, cyar’ika.”

You blushed at the teasing warmth of your husband’s voice as you took the pan from the oven and straightened, setting it to cool out of your baby’s reach. You turned and saw Din had changed into a soft white shirt and brown pants, his suspenders resting against his hips, his hair dark and curly from his shower.

“I’ve got quite a view, too,” you said, a little bashful as he smiled and crossed to you. You only had a moment to admire the endearing crinkles by his eyes before he kissed you, all tenderness and affection.

Your little one cooed and you both looked down to see him standing on the top of Din’s boot, tugging on his pants leg and giving uppy arms. Din chuckled and scooped him up, cradling him with one arm and drawing you close with the other.

“Let’s go somewhere fun today,” he said. “This system has some beautiful planets. We can have a picnic or something.”

You smiled. “Okay,” you agreed. You were a little surprised, as Din wasn’t usually very spontaneous, but the idea of a day spent just spending time with him and your baby sounded lovely. “Where should we go?”

He kissed your forehead. “I’ll go look and see what we’re closest to.”

He took the baby up to the cockpit with him to scan the nearby planets, giving you a few minutes for your own shower. You took two slices of uj’alayi when you went to join them; you gave one to Din, and he broke off little pieces to share with the baby.

“I think we decided on a planet,” Din said, indicating the display on the instrument panel.

“Baraan-Fa,” you read. “It’s forested, low population... is it safe?”

He shrugged. “Should be, with the place we’re landing. Most of the population density is around the town and the old Rebel base, so we shouldn’t run into anybody.”

You took your seat, happily taking your baby when Din handed him over to you so he could set your course. You were amused to see that your little one had succeeded in charming Din into giving him the silver handle off the gear shift, and he held it up for you to see.

“Your daddy must love you,” you cooed to him.

Din glanced back at you, his expression bemused before he saw what you were talking about. His smile was a little exasperated.

“Maybe we should get him some actual toys.”

You laughed. “He wouldn’t play with them even if we did, honey. He wants to be like you.”

“Yeah.” Din’s expression was soft with affection, and you knew he didn’t really mind that his son had chosen a part of the ship for his plaything. He turned back to focus on bringing the Crest into Baraan-Fa’s atmosphere, and you and your baby looked out the windows in pleasantly surprised wonder at the beauty of the planet. Every inch of it was green, hilly grasslands with blue rivers snaking through the forests. Din expertly landed in a small clearing in the middle of a wooded area, settling the Crest into a glade dappled with sunlight.

No sooner had the ship landed than you were out of your seat and downstairs, impatiently waiting for the ramp to lower as the welcoming breeze flooded into the Crest’s hull. You set your baby down on the soft grass and let him explore a little, tilting your head back to feel the sun on your face, breathing deeply of the clean air.

“You like it?” Din asked. You opened your eyes to see him leaned against the door frame, watching you with a gentle smile. You would have beamed back at him and told him how much you loved it had it not been for the sudden concern you felt at his appearance.

“You’re not wearing your armor,” you said. Checking briefly to make sure the baby hadn’t wandered too far, you stepped up the ramp towards your husband and made to steer him back inside the Crest’s relative privacy.

“Din - ” you protested when he gave a soft laugh and captured your wrists in a gentle grip, just as you had put your hands on his chest to push him back inside. “What if someone sees?”

He held both of your hands close to his heart. “There’s nobody here, cyare. I checked. It’s sweet of you to worry, but you don’t have to.”

You gave him a doubtful look. “You’re going to be out here without a helmet?” That sounded awfully reckless to you.

“I want to be able to kiss you,” he said, giving you a chaste kiss to illustrate his point. “And I want to swim in the river and feel the sun on my face. Can’t do all that with beskar on, now can I?”

You sighed. “No, but...” You met his eyes. “It doesn’t frighten you?”

He softened. “Sure it does,” he admitted. “A little. I don’t know how long it’s been since I’ve been out of the Crest without armor on. But that’s exactly why I want to. And if there’s no danger of anyone seeing me... I think it’ll be alright.”

He tapped the bracelet on your wrist, a modified version of his vambrace with the same remote controls of the Crest programmed in. “Besides, I told the Crest to alert us if there’s anyone nearby. It’ll be alright.”

You reached up to brush your fingers through his hair. “Well, it would be nice to see your face,” you said. “If you’re sure about it.”

He smiled and kissed you again. “I’m sure, cyar’ika. Come on, let’s go get our son before he wanders right into the river.”

You looped your arm through his, feeling like one of the promenading couples you always saw growing up on Naboo. He was a bit scruffier and dressed more casually than any young man on Naboo would be, but you liked him that way.

As he led you on a leisurely stroll towards the river, minding your little one closely, you took the opportunity to enjoy being outside with him and being able to see his every expression. Din was nothing if not expressive, especially in his brow, and his face was alight with a happiness and peace that made his handsome features all the more alluring.

“Is there a word in Mando’a for ‘very handsome’?” you asked.

He looked over at you with a touch of confusion, either playing coy or just being genuinely oblivious. You suspected the latter, and it was endearing to you.

“No,” he said. “But there’s ‘very beautiful’ - ori mesh’la - and it means the same thing.”

You smiled. “Well then, Din, I think you’re ori mesh’la.”

His cheeks pinked. “Well, thank you, cyare,” he said, endearingly bashful. He smiled. “I think you’re ori mesh’la, too.”

You could have watched his face forever, charmed by his blush and the way his curls looked in the sun, but your baby gave an excited babble and drew you attention. Just in time, too, as he was barrelling full-speed towards the river without a care in the world.

“Oh, ad’ika,” you chided, unwinding yourself from Din and scooping your baby up before he reached the water. His ears drooped as you held him.

“I know you want to go in, my love,” you cooed. “But you have to be careful.”

You saw why he’d been so eager to get in the water - the riverbed was covered in bright, colorful stones, glinting where they caught the sun through the water. You knelt on the bank and held your baby in your lap, reaching into the pleasantly cool water to scoop up a handful of the stones.

“Look how pretty,” you said, drawing them close so he could take a few. He grabbed the biggest one and turned it over in his claws, mesmerized by the opalescent shimmer.

“Batu,” he said, holding it up for you to see. You smiled. You and Din hadn’t quite figured out what “batu” meant, but it seemed to signal his approval, and you were always pleased to hear it.

“I see,” you said, charmed by his enthusiasm. “Show daddy.”

You stood and turned to face Din, who was watching the two of you with a gentle smile on his face. His brow quirked in excitement when he saw his baby holding the stone out to him.

“Look at that, ad’ika,” he said, coming close to examine it.

“Batu,” your baby said again. Din grinned.

“Yeah, ‘batu’,” he repeated. “You want to go find some more?”

At your little one’s happy coo, you and Din kicked off your shoes to wade into the shallow river. Din rolled the hem of his trousers as well as yours, since your hands were full with the baby, and pressed a kiss to your thigh before he rose.

The water lapped just above your ankles with the gentle current, and you spent a few minutes looking through the clear water to find the stones you thought were prettiest. Your baby wriggled to be put down, but the water was a little too deep for him, and you settled on drawing up handfuls of rocks for him to sort through.

“Hey, cyare, look at this one.”

You turned to see the stone your husband had found and were met with a splash of water.

“Din!” you squeaked, a smile crossing your face. Your baby giggled with delight at having been splashed, and the sound mixed with Din’s warm laughter.

“Sorry, love,” he chuckled. “Couldn’t resist.”

“Oh yeah?” you challenged. You bent down and splashed him back, getting him more thoroughly than he’d gotten you; he laughed and sputtered as he wiped his face on the shoulder of his shirt.

“That was so much worse than mine,” he said. “You’re awful.”

“Good thing you like me so much,” you said cooly.

He grinned. “Yeah, lucky you.” He kissed you and brushed the water from your face. You’d grown accustomed to the feel of his leather gloves, but you’d always prefer the gentleness of his hands, rough from years of hard work but always touching you in love.

Pressed between the two of you and impatient to get in the water, your baby patted Din’s chest and babbled up at him.

“Come on, buddy,” Din said, taking him from your arms. “You want to swim a little bit?”

“You’re swimming in your clothes?” you asked.

He gave you a wry smile. “Why not? I’m already half-soaked.”

Your smile was slightly guilty. “I'm sorry about that, actually,” you said. “I didn’t mean to splash you so much.”

He chuckled. “I know. I’m not upset. Besides, it’s warm enough that it won’t take very long to dry off.” He nodded towards the bank where a flat rock jutted out over the water. “I was just going to sit over there and let him play where it’s shallow.”

“Oh,” you said. “Well, in that case, I’ll sit with you.”

You played with them for a long while, sitting shoulder to shoulder with Din while he held your baby’s hands and let him splash around in the shallow water. Despite his excitement, your baby was a little hesitant once he was actually in the water, and held tightly to Din’s fingers. As his fear eased and his confidence grew, he was happy to stay within his dad’s reach and only occasionally grabbed onto Din’s trouser leg when he lost his balance. His outfit was thoroughly soaked within minutes of his delighted splashing, but he didn’t seem to mind; he played happily and kept handing rocks to you, and you cooed over every one.

You might have stayed with them and watched your little one play for hours on end if it hadn’t been for Din’s stomach starting to growl; you realized you were hungry too and playfully nudged your shoulder against his.

“Should I go get us some lunch?” you asked.

His smile was a little sheepish. “If you wouldn't mind,” he said. “I can get it, if you don’t want to.”

You ran a hand over his back. “I don’t mind,” you assured him. “What do you want to eat?”

“Whatever,” he said. “You know me.”

“So, just a whole ori'skraan, then?” you teased. Mandalorians always had big elaborate feasts at their celebrations to make up for the fact that they ate rations more often than not, since they were easier while on a hunt; you’d had the pleasure of attending a few during your marriage, including the one at your wedding.

Your husband grinned. “That’ll be just fine, cyare.”

You kissed his cheek before you stood, waving goodbye to your baby. You heard Din console your little one as you left towards the ship, explaining that you’d be right back.

You found the length of fabric you used for a baby sling and tied it around you like Din had shown you; Mandalorians carried their babies in a birikaad, to keep their hands free for fighting, and this was nearly identical to that style. You filled the sling with food from your pantry, wrapping up a few slices of the uj’alayi cake for dessert, and folded up one of the spare blankets to picnic on.

You heard Din singing as you walked back to the river. You almost didn’t realize it was him, at first - he was usually so shy about his singing voice, and he reserved it for lullabies when your baby was very fussy or drinking songs when he was deep in his cups with friends. He sang to you, occasionally, when you asked him to, and he was always endearingly bashful.

His voice carried over the clearing, mixing with the sound of the river and your baby’s happy laughter, and you drank it in the closer you got to him. It was a beautiful song, full of longing; Din’s warm baritone made it rich and lovely. The lyrics were in Mando’a, and you were too caught up in the sound of your husband’s voice to translate; you let his voice wash over you, warming you from head to toe.

You didn’t know how long he would have kept singing if your baby hadn’t caught sight of you, giving a happy coo of welcome. Din’s voice cut short as he turned, perhaps fearing you were someone else, but his expression softened into a smile as soon as he saw you.

“Hi,” he said.

You smiled. “Hi.” You rested a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t stop singing on my account.”

He blushed. “No, I’d been singing that one over and over. I’m sure ad’ika’s tired of hearing it.”

You knew that wasn’t true; your little one calmed faster to Din’s voice than he did to anything else. You didn’t want to embarrass him, though, and carded a hand through your husband’s sun-warmed curls.

“You two hungry?” you asked.

You baby gave an affirmative babble and gave his dad uppy arms; Din obliged him and dried him off a little as you spread out the picnic blanket. Your little one came and sat in your lap as Din helped you set out the food.

“You missed your mama, didn’t you?” Din said sweetly. You brushed an affectionate hand over your baby’s ears and swapped the bright purple stone he held for a piece of fruit. He watched your hand carefully to make sure you hadn’t really taken his prize away for good; satisfied when you set it next to you on the blanket, he happily ate the bite-sized food you and Din took turns giving to him.

Din took your baby back to the river as you tidied up after lunch, and you were happy to watch and listen to them play as you stretched out on the blanket and read the book you’d taken from the shelf in the bunk. It was a collection of poems that Din had gotten you for your birthday, and even though you’d been excited to read it, you hadn’t had much spare time lately. You were quickly absorbed in the poetry as you read; the sun was warm on your back, and the sounds of your husband and baby playing created a comforting backdrop.

They came back from the river after a while, their hands full of brightly colored stones, their clothes half-soaked, and their expressions as tired as they were happy. Din set your baby down and let him toddle over to you; your little one added his stones to the collection you’d made, his ears perking up as he sorted through them.

“All done?” you asked, giving Din a gentle smile as he dropped his handful of stones into the pile.

He hummed in agreement. “For now, anyways. He probably needs a rest.”

Your husband gave a soft groan as he lay beside you, tired and comfortable in the warm sun. “Your baby is a pretty good swimmer, mama.”

You closed your book and looked over at your little one; his smile was wide at his dad’s praise, and you couldn’t help but smile back.

“I saw,” you said, tapping his nose and earning a giggle in response. “Did you like swimming with daddy?”

Your little one gave an affirmative coo as he abandoned the rocks and climbed up onto Din; with a great big yawn for such a little thing, he lay on Din’s chest and snuggled close when Din laid a hand over his back.

“Tired you out, didn’t it, ad’ika?” you said gently, brushing a finger over his ear. You looked to Din’s face and saw he was already dozing too.

You smiled. “Wore your daddy out too, I see.” His hair was light in the sun, almost golden in some places; his cheeks were rosy and sunkissed under his scruff, his expression peaceful and soft.

You kissed his cheek. “Did you know I love you?”

He gave a soft smile. “Yeah, I know. I love you too.” He turned his face towards you, your noses bumping together, his kisses tender and drowsy. You brushed your fingers through his hair.

“You’re gonna take a nap?” you asked, keeping your voice soft for your baby’s sake. He was already asleep, curled snugly under his dad’s hand, rocked by the gentle rise and fall of Din’s chest.

Din gave a content sigh. “Maybe. Lay here with me, cyare.”

You gave a soft laugh. “I’m not going anywhere, honey.” You kissed the bridge of his nose. “You want me to read to you?”

He nodded, moving his free hand to rest on the curve of your lower back. “What book is it?”

“The one you gave me for my birthday,” you said, flipping through the pages until you found where you’d left off. “Ancient Keltrian Poets, remember?”

He hummed in agreement. “You like it?”

“I love it,” you said sincerely. “Here - I was in the middle of this one, but I’ll start it from the beginning.”

You read to him for a while, pausing to underline or make notes when you found a line you really liked; his fingers drew circles on your lower back as he listened and made a few comments here and there.

“For stars, innumerable, leapt everywhere,” you read. “Almost every gaze upwards became welded to the swift hazard of their play, and our heart felt like a single thing beneath that vast disintegration of their brilliance.”

You traced your fingers over that stanza. “That’s kind of like our vows, don’t you think? ‘We are one when together, we are one when parted.’ Our heart feels like a single thing.”

When you didn’t get an answer, you looked over at your husband. “Din?”

He shifted a little, and you realized he’d fallen asleep.

“Alright, cyare?” he mumbled.

“Sorry,” you said softly. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

He ran his hand over your back. “That’s ok, love.” Even mostly asleep, he still comforted you with intentional gentleness. “What did you say?”

You smiled. “Nothing. Just that I love you.”

He tilted his chin up just a little, asking for a kiss; you obliged him, gently pressing your mouth to his.

“Keep reading,” he said. “I love the sound of your voice.”

You softened. “I love the sound of your voice, too.” You brushed a wayward curl from his forehead. “What was that song you were singing earlier?”

A flicker of a smile crossed his face. “Naasad'guur mhi,” he said. “It’s a drinking song.”

“It’s pretty,” you said.

He hummed in agreement.

“What’s it about?” you asked.

“It says, ‘nobody likes us, we don’t care, we are the elite Mando boys from Mandalore.’”

You laughed. “That’s really what it says?”

He smiled. “Yeah. It sounds really nice when you have a bunch of people singing it all together.”

You gently ran your knuckles over his scruff. “Will you sing it for me later?”

“Sure, cyare. If you want me to.”

You settled closer to him and flipped the page to the next poem, reading it aloud a bit more quietly than you would have usually. Din’s breathing evened out until he was snoring softly; you smiled when you saw the way your baby had a fistful of Din’s shirt held tightly in his hand. The sound of the river kept you company as you read about stars and rainstorms and fields of aura blossoms; Din’s warmth beside you was comforting and steady. Days of rest and peace were few and far between for your little family, but they were sweeter for it; you held tightly to them when they came, and always thanked the jate’kara for days like these.

series taglist: @kyjoraven, @sarahjkl82-blog, @remmysbounty, @bitchin-beskar, @cosmicbreathe, @prettyboyskywalker, @happyxdayxbitch, @radiowallet, @marvelous-glims ♡

pedro pascal character taglist: @punkgeekcryptid, @tv-saved-the-teenage-girl, @stardust-galaxies, @theorganasolo, @qhbr2013, @willowtheewisp, @lori-tovar, @sarybennett ♡

please send me an ask if you’d like to be added to either taglist! ♡

#ahhhh i actually think this is so cute #i hope y'all like it!#din djarin x reader #din djarin fluff #the mandalorian x reader #the mandalorian fanfiction #din djarin fafiction #jate'kara series #maddie writes stuff!

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writing-in-april · 3 years

Text

Made to Match

Frankie Morales x Gender Neutral Reader

Summary: Reader can’t stop stealing Frankie’s hat.

A/N: Hey everyone- this is my sixteenth fic for my 30 fics in 30 days for April!!!! This is just a very fluffy sweet little fic I wrote for Frankie 😌 Side note- I wanted to thank everyone for being so kind after my last post ranting about my emotional breakdown today, thank you- so much it means a lot. Feel free to leave me an anon about anything here- I love hearing from people about anything (I promise I don’t bite lol) Thanks for reading and hope y’all enjoy!

Warnings: Frankie gets a little frisky by gettinbf close to grabbing Reader’s ass & one or two swear words

Main Masterlist Word Count: 1.5k

“You can’t keep stealing my hat!” Frankie shouted at you as you ran away from him with his hat perched on your head. All you did was giggle and scurry away faster.

You ran into your shared bedroom, looking around frantically for a quick place to hide. Realistically you knew Frankie would find you in a heartbeat, he had been trained to track stealthier people throughout his career. You were definitely no challenge considering you couldn’t even keep your mouth shut and stop laughing.

It was funny to see him pretend to get mad each time you’d pluck it off of his head, even though the look in his eyes showed how much he liked it.

The quickest place to hide was in the closet you both shared, choosing to hide in between both of your racks of hanging clothes. You posited that he might not check here, both of you preferred wearing the more casual clothes folded neatly in the dresser. The only thing Frankie regularly wore that was in here was a few of his nice flannels that he didn’t want getting creases in. He was never in here, so he wouldn’t think to check here

It was quiet, definitely too quiet. You bit your lip while holding your breath, afraid that he might somehow hear you. The silence was tense, your mind over analyzing every small noise you heard.

A small creak from the floorboards made you tense up even more, you were sure Frankie was close. That was soon after confirmed to you by a loud shout to scare you out of your hiding place, “Boo!”

Even though you had known he was close you still couldn’t help but let out a short scream, adrenaline now coursing through your veins as a result of being startled. Your shout dissolved back into laughter that infected the room once your mind fully processed that it was only Frankie. He pulled you out from the rack with a gentle grip on your wrist, starting to tickle your sides as soon as you emerged. The sounds of each other's laughter were addicting to both you and Frankie. You did have to eventually beg when tears came to your eyes, “I yield! You can have your hat back!”

He popped it off your head, plopping it back down where it belonged on his head. You draw your lips into the biggest pout you could manage, though you weren’t actually upset of course. It was fun to pull Frankie’s leg even if he knew you were pretending right off the bat.

“But- I look the best in it.” Frankie’s look on his face told you that your fake pout and dramatic words weren't swaying him at all.

“I don’t disagree with you. But, it’s still mine,” He teased, “Besides, mine is too big on you, you need one that fits better.”

—-

Frankie’s passing comment about getting you a baseball cap for yourself hadn’t stuck with you for very long, certainly not 2 months after. You had stolen his hat many times since then, it was too fun not too.

It was the furthest thing from your mind as you filled out some meaningless paperwork at your kitchen table. You were getting bored to tears, filling in blanks that basically just repeated the same information over and over again until you reached the end. You audibly sighed in relief when Frankie came in through the front door, back from work for the evening.

He set down his truck keys on the kitchen table, carefully avoiding revealing something he obviously was holding behind his back. He hadn’t said anything to you yet besides a simple greeting and telling you he missed you. Instead, deciding to stand, patiently waiting for you to finish what you were doing.

“What are you doing?” You questioned not bothering to finish the paperwork for now, standing up as he rocked back on his heels .

“I- Umm have something for you…” He pushed a package in your hand that he had been hiding behind his back after his admission. When he handed you his pocket knife to open the package you tore into it, carefully of course, in case it was something fragile. In the box held a hat, one that looked suspiciously similar to the one sat on his head. You pulled it out of the box, inspecting it in your hands, realizing it was an exact match for his.

“You got this for me?” You squeaked and he nodded in return, while you flipped it over in your hands, looking at every inch. It had a similar patch on the front that had the same ‘Standard Heating & Oil’ on the front. At first looking at it you thought he might have gotten it custom made for you, until you realized it was well loved just as his was. Well, maybe not as much considering Frankie’s hat had fallen apart at the seams until you had fixed it with some new stitching. It must have taken a while to track down a real one with the exact same logo as his. Your curiosity was peaked so you asked, “Where did you get this?”

He shifted his eyes back and forth, getting a little nervous that you might not like it. He did eventually find the words to tell you, “I was looking on um- EBay for one and then I happened to find one at a thrift store while looking for new flannels.”

“I- I love it, thank you so much baby.” You gasped in excitement and leaned forward to press a kiss to his burning cheeks. Something about it being made at a similar time as his made it all the more special, glad that Frankie was blessed with serendipity.

Frankie then shyly asked, “Can I put it on you?”

Almost immediately you answered, “Yes!” Frankie still looked rather bashful at your response, tugging his own cap down before grabbing your new one. Something about you being excited for his little gifts always seemed to make him extremely bashful, like he felt he didn’t deserve your praise. You made it your mission to change that each time he added to the list of little things that made you love him even more.

“This one will fit better on you than mine.” Your eyes went soft, the gesture so sweet that you suddenly wanted to cry for some reason. Frankie was always a very sweet man, each time he did something like this your heart melted into a puddle on the floor no matter how many times he’s done it.

He takes the bill of your new hat and places it on your head, swatting your hands away when you move to push it down so he could do it himself. The hat fits perfectly on your head, almost so perfect that you wouldn’t be surprised if Frankie had measured your head while you were sleeping and adjusted it accordingly. He tapped the top of the bill once while looking down at you with his own hat snug on his head making you giggle.

Moving his hands again to now smooth over the tops of your shoulders he inspected the fit of it with a smile. “It looks perfect- you look perfect.”

Bringing your lips to Frankie’s you then gave him a soft kiss while cupping his scratchy cheeks. It was slightly awkward to maneuver the bills of your caps to be able to have your lips meet properly, the corners of Frankie’s eyes crinkling in amusement as you huffed trying to adjust your mouth on his. You did eventually find the perfect angle to tilt both of your heads without bonking the curved bills together.

Sighing into the kiss, Frankie reciprocated, deepening it a little bit more. His hands were always wandering, trailing down from your shoulders to the small of your back, low enough that he was almost grabbing your ass. You couldn’t seem to stop giggling, something that Frankie loved, even while kissing.

“What are you doing?” You repeated your question from earlier, much more teasingly this time while his hand travelled down further.

“Nothing…” The way the pitch in his voice rose you could tell that was a lie. You quirked your eyebrow up at him in question, silently calling him a liar. He withered underneath your gaze and admitted, “Alright- maybe it’s something but, you just look so good in your hat.”

Teasing him was almost too easy sometimes, you could get him to be flustered with just a few simple words or even none at all, “Mmmm alright I’ll let it go, I do like this hat on me too. Thanks again for getting it for me baby.”

You both kept standing in your embrace like time had stopped ticking by, just enjoying the presence of the other. The hat was an amazing present from Frankie, matching perfectly with him. But, you weren’t going to lie, you'd miss stealing his hat so he would chase you around the house. You brought your head out from where it was tucked in his shoulder to ask, “Can I still steal yours sometimes?”

“Of course, but only if you let me steal yours.” You nodded your head, with a smile of course because there was almost never a time when you didn’t smile when you were around Frankie. Now you and Frankie would always match, like two peas in a pod.

Ask Me Anything

——

Tag lists (fill out this form to join): Strike through means tumblr won’t let me tag you (check your tumblr settings to see if you are unsearchable)

All works: @shotarosleftpinky @oreogutz @90spumkin @kyra-morningstar @s1utformgg @boxofsparklingmuses @multixfandomwriter @takeyourleap-of-faith

All Pedro Pascal Characters: (no ones on this one yet 😊 & I’ll create a tag list only for Frankie if anybody wants it)

#frankie morales #frankie morales x reader #triple frontier #triple frontier fanfic #pedro pascal x reader #frankie catfish morales #frankie catfish morales x reader #frankie ‘catfish’ morales #30 fics in 30 days #pedro pascal

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lala-ladybug · 3 years

Text

Healing Hands: Chapter 1

Hello hello! First fic here, it’s a Maribat AU with a side of Sword Art Online. Or what I remember from having watched the show once about five years ago. We’ve got Marinette and minimal class salt, Young Justice but only the good parts, and primarily Jasonette. Please spread the word (I am a tiny sideblog) and let me know what you think <3

Read here on AO3

Chapter 1: You have no idea how many baddies I’m going to blow up because of you

Friday, at long last. Marinette could not have exhaled a bigger sigh of relief. It was mid-way through the school term, her commissions were ramping up, and Hawkmoth had become frustratingly active. Her duties as class president had only increased as she and her friends neared the end of lycée, not to mention all the studying she was doing for the baccalauréat on top of her regular school work. Commissions were booming now that her popularity as the anonymous designer MDC was soaring worldwide. She wouldn’t give any of it up for the world, but she might enjoy getting more than three or four hours of sleep for once.

There was only part of her life that had gotten easier since that day three years ago when she was entrusted with a pair of spotted earrings and an old god to match. Ladybug started out with one partner, but she now had a whole team to share the responsibilities of keeping their city safe. Ryuko and Viperion became permanent fixtures of the Parisian rooftops, and Bourdonne replaced Queen Bee after the infamous (albeit self-inflicted) unmasking of Chloe Bourgeois. The people of Paris looked to these heroes with pride and trust.

And Marinette Dupain-Cheng, now the Guardian of the Miraculous, looked to her partners with trust as well. She had decided that with her in charge, she could no longer keep secrets from her friends, from her new Order of the Guardians. She discussed it with Chat Noir, and he had smiled and agreed that it was time. And one day, when Ladybug gathered her teammates on a remote rooftop in the dead of night, she said only “I trust you,” before allowing her transformation to fall.

She wasn’t nervous, not really. She knew Kagami and Luka had good hearts, and she had seen firsthand how much Chloe had grown. Those three accepted her civilian self, her true self, without half a thought, and followed their leader in dropping their transformations as well. Chloe got her quips in while Ladybug looked to Chat Noir.

He passed his gaze over the faces of their friends and smirked like he was holding in a laugh. As he said “Claws in,” Marinette could hear the laugh in his voice, an intonation that sounded so very familiar, and oh. Of course.

Adrien Agreste beamed at his friends, both in the mask and out, and said fondly, “I’m so glad it’s you.”

The rest, of course, was history. For the year and a half since then, the five heroes of Paris had kept the city safe from threats magical and mundane alike. Hawkmoth had, of course, gotten craftier and more vicious with his attacks, sometimes choosing to send bursts of weaker akumas over the span of a week, sometimes waiting a month before sending an especially brutal villain their way.

But it was nothing that the Order of the Guardians couldn’t handle. Even though it could get exhausting after a while, which is why the incoming weekend was a welcome reprieve. There was another reason why this particular weekend was so exciting, which was that a new video game, Mindscape, was debuting. It would be released at midnight EST, which was 6:00 in the morning for Paris.

“Today’s the day, girl!” Alya squealed as she flagged Marinette down on their way to the classroom. “We are so lucky that our class won that raffle to get these exclusive passes. I bet I’ll be the first blog to get the scoop on this new tech they’re using!”

Marinette giggled and started to reply, “Super lucky, right? I’m excited too, I heard--”

“You know,” Lila cut her off as she sidled up to Alya. “I’m not saying that I didn’t enter us to get those downloads, but I was a big help with beta testing.”

How she managed to time that comment just as the three girls crossed the threshold of the classroom, and how she managed to know that nearly the whole class would already be there to hear it, Marinette would never understand. She only had to wait a moment before the rest of their friends rushed to the door to thank Lila.

“This opportunity is amazing, we are incredibly grateful!” Max was first in line, ever the technology-enthusiast.

Kim pushed his shorter friend out of the way and vigorously shook Lila’s hand. “You have no idea how many baddies I’m going to blow up because of you.” Lila looked a little overwhelmed as he continued to shake her hand all the while, and she gave him a nervous smile.

He was soon pushed out of the way as Alix muscled her way to the front next. “I definitely owe you for giving me the chance to kick his ass in a brand new way!” She jerked her head to where Kim had landed on the floor, pouting at her.

As the rest of the class who would be joining them in the game’s premiere expressed their thanks, Alya looked on with an affectionate smile. She was so very happy that she now had two kind, selfless best friends. Her smile fell a little as she noticed Marinette stoically edging her way around the crowd and up to her seat, not having said a word to Lila. Alya just wished that her two besties would get along.

Alya put a hand on Lila’s shoulder and smiled her thanks before following Marinette to what was once their shared desk. “You really should thank her, you know,” Alya implored hopefully.

Without turning around to face Alya, Marinette paused and shared an incredulous look with Adrien, who was already seated at his shared desk with Nino. She then shrugged and replied, “Lila never actually said that she got us the passes,” before continuing up the steps to her seat at the back of the class. Alya shook her head and sat down. It was always like this, a cool indifference from Marinette whenever Lila came up. They were both such incredible people, Alya couldn’t understand why they didn’t get along.

As for Marinette, she was semi-content to let Lila be as long as her lies didn’t hurt anybody. Her unrealistic promise to take away all of Marinette’s friends was never fulfilled, and honestly the amount of emotional energy it used to sap from her just wasn’t worth it anymore. Marinette had no idea how Lila was going to get her hands on a copy of the game when Mari was, of course, the one who had won the raffle. She distributed the special access passes herself, and Lila certainly hadn’t gotten one. If this was the way that she wanted to make friends, she would eventually have to face the consequences.

But for now, Lila was basking in her praise. That is, until she glanced at her phone and gave a small gasp of dismay.

“What’s wrong?” Rose asked, concern already etched on her face.

Lila covered her mouth with one hand and started rapidly blinking back tears. “It’s my VIP copy of the game. There was a mixup in the mail and it won’t get here in time for tomorrow morning! I’m so sorry everyone, it looks like you’ll have to do it without me....” She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders trembled with barely restrained sobs.

The class shared a worried look, and Sabrina piped up, “It’s okay Lila, you can borrow my copy.” Lila immediately looked up and surged forward to clasp the hands of her friend.

“Really? But won’t it have the same problem?” Sabrina smiled and shook her head. “Nope, it’s a digital download! I don’t mind, you can always trade it back when your VIP pass arrives later.”

Lila gave her a brilliant smile, any tears long-since dried. “Oh, thank you so much Sabrina! I’ll see what I can do about getting you a VIP pass too once mine gets here.”

At that moment, Chloe walked in, and one look at the scene displayed in front of her had her rolling her eyes at her former best friend. She gracefully swept up the steps to join Marinette at the back of the classroom and whispered to her, “Aren’t they all digital downloads?”

Marinette, who had started unpacking her bag to prepare for class, inclined her head and gave the blonde a meaningful look that indicated yes, they were indeed all digital downloads. Chloe snickered and started preparing her own side of the desk.

After the fiasco of outing herself as Queen Bee, Chloe had lost the minimal support and tolerances she had been allowed before. It gave her time to truly reflect on how she acted and treated other people. She had since been quietly making amends with those she’d wronged, and the person on the top of that list was Marinette Dupain-Cheng. It took time and a lot of effort on Chloe’s part, but she mellowed out and did a lot of growing up. She still spoke her mind, though.

“Huh that’s strange, I got the VIP package too, but mine was a digital pass,” Chloe loudly proclaimed, studying her nails nonchalantly as the rest of the class turned to look up at her.

Lila grit her teeth into a forced smile and replied sweetly, “Well that’s because mine was an original beta testing copy that they had to update for the full game.” She turned her attention to Marinette and a note of false concern crept into her voice. “Oh Marinette, I hope you’ll still have time to come too! I know you’ll be busy this weekend with planning the spring class field trip. It would be such a shame if it didn’t happen because you were too busy playing a video game.”

Marinette suddenly felt very warm under the gazes of the entire class. She stammered out, “Oh-of course we’ll get to go! Don’t worry, I have a meeting with the school board on Monday.” Trust Lila to sniff out the one thing that had slipped below her radar.

Lila’s eyes lit up with an opportunistic gleam. “That’s great! Where will it be?”

“Well, uh, the school board has to review the location, so I don’t want to get your hopes up, but I can tell you that it will be in, um,” her eyes flicked around wildly and landed on the posterboard of different flags from the prior week’s lessons. “America!”

The class burst into excited chatter moments before Madame Bustier arrived and the late bell rang. Marinette released a breath and sagged in her seat. Saved by the bell.

Chloe gave her a sidelong glance and murmured, “America, huh?”

“Shut up,” Marinette shot back.

* * *

Madame Bustier tried to get the class to pay attention, she really did. They struggled through their lessons before lunch, the volume of side conversations between deskmates swelling all the while. The moment the bell for lunch dismissal rang, the students exploded into conversation as they left the classroom.

Marinette waved as Chloe and Adrien walked off to go meet Kagami and Luka at a nearby cafe. She breezed into the patisserie across the street from Francois Dupont and gave her surprised Maman a kiss on the cheek.

“I thought you were going out with your friends for lunch?” Sabine asked, balancing a tray of eclairs on her hip. “I forgot I have to plan our class trip!” Marinette replied cheerfully as she hurried into the kitchen to quickly fix herself a croque-monsieur. She gave her Papa a hug as she finished preparing her meal. He shouted up at her to not make a mess as she retreated into her room to eat at her desk.

She gave a small snort at that. It was nearly impossible for her to make a mess of food when she had over a dozen Kwami there to clean up after her, but he didn’t know that. She greeted said Kwami with a delighted grin and a wave as she set her plate down by her desktop computer.

“Marinette, why are you back so early?” Tikki asked, “is everything okay?” The other Kwami swarmed around her as she woke her computer up and logged in.

The girl waved one hand nonchalantly and opened up a web browser with the other. “Everything’s fine, I just forgot about planning the class trip!” She took a huge bite of the sandwich and started typing furiously. Several Kwami dove after the crumbs that sprayed everywhere.

“Ohhh, I see! Do you have an idea of where to start?” Tikki zoomed around Marinette’s shoulder to hover next to the monitor screen.

Marinette had the same determined gleam in her eye as when she finally found the perfect fabric for a design. She said confidently around a mouth full of ham, “America.”

* * *

By the time the lunch break had finished, Marinette had a preliminary list of cities on the East Coast of the United States. She had researched Gotham first, but it looked far too dangerous and gloomy. Next was New York City, which she determined was too big. Philadelphia was historic, but in a way that would definitely bore her classmates. Boston was too cold despite its excitement. Which left Metropolis as the perfect candidate. It was also protected by the perfect superheroes, Superman and his family, so she was absolutely confident the school board would approve of the city.

Of course, the meeting on Monday would need more specifics than just the city, but she was pleased with her progress so far. Marinette shut down her monitor, grabbed her backpack and plate from lunch, and went downstairs to the kitchen. She quickly scrubbed and dried her plate in the sink before waving to her parents as they bustled around, accommodating the tail end of the mid-day rush.

Marinette walked across the street with a spring in her step and, spotting a tall flash of blue hair, half-jogged up to her group of friends.

“Hey guys, sorry I couldn’t make it to lunch!” She grinned apologetically at Kagami and Luka.

“That’s alright Melody,” Luka gave her a side hug, “Chloe told us you were busy planning your class trip.”

Adrien slung an arm around Kagami’s shoulder and pulled his girlfriend closer to whisper conspiratorially to her, “I hear we’re going to America.” She laughed softly at his antics and at Marinette who stuck her tongue out at him. Kagami then said to Marinette, “That sounds delightful, Marihime. I trust you will still be joining us tomorrow morning?”

Marinette’s eyes lit up with excitement at the prospect of playing the game with her friends all weekend long. “Definitely! I’m going to finish preparing for the school board meeting tonight so that we can play the second it comes out.”

“If you can wake up on time,” Chloe teased.

Marinette crossed her arms defensively and stated with pride, “I already set three alarms, thank you very much!”

Adrien burst out laughing at that. “Leave it to our everyday Ladybug,” he winked. Her face flushed as she pouted. He chuckled again and kissed Kagami on the top of her head. “See you later, mon coeur.”

She and Luka waved to the rest of the group as they left to return to their own schools. The three Francois Dupont students watched them go for a moment before returning inside.

“So, you and Kagami have plans?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah! Our parents gave special permission for a sleepover at my place tonight so we can play the game right when it comes out tomorrow.” Adrien rubbed the back of his neck, a nervous habit he had never quite abandoned. “But I’m not sure how often we’ll be able to be online with you guys after this weekend. You know how busy our schedules are....”

Marinette elbowed him lightly as they walked. “It’s a blessing you both managed to convince your dad and her mom to let you come to the launch at all! We’ll play together when we can, it’s no big deal.”

Adrien smiled gratefully at her and held the door open for both Marinette and Chloe as they entered the classroom. Alya was already there, and once she spotted her best friend (well, one of them), she skidded down the steps with a huge grin and held an invisible microphone up to Marinette.

“Thank you Nadja, and good afternoon Paris! This is Alya Cesaire, and today I am joined by young fashion designer Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Mlle. Dupain-Cheng, can you give us an exclusive scoop on the trip you’re planning for your class?”

“Good afternoon Mlle. Cesaire,” Marinette giggled, “Unfortunately, the trip has yet to be approved by the school board so no details just yet. But I can tell you with certainty that we will be visiting the resident city of some popular American superheroes.” She winked as she finished in her best interview voice.

Alya gasped and dropped her pretend microphone as she hugged her best friend. “Really!? Oh my gosh girl, you are the best!”

Marinette laughed and hugged her back as Alya jumped and spun them around. Once they pulled apart, she told the brunette, “As soon as the school board gives me the green light, you’ll be the first to know.”

The late bell rang and the girls practically skipped to their respective seats as Madame Bustier called the class to attention. Well, “attention” in the loosest sense of the word. They struggled once more through the majority of their lessons, but Madame Bustier seemed to sense defeat and she let them chatter excitedly for the last twenty minutes before dismissal.

Kim and Alix were boasting about how they were going to stay up all night, while Max encouraged them to maximize the time they would be able to play the next day by getting a full night’s sleep in before the launch time.

Lila bragged about her role in the creation of the game from its conception to even having suggested the highly anticipated date of release. Adrien pointedly ignored Lila in the row behind his and discussed the music they had recorded and mixed for the game with a very enthusiastic Nino.

Sabrina looked on a little sadly until Mylene, Ivan, Rose, and Juleka invited her to join their Disney movie marathon double-date instead. Mylene was too nervous to play the game so Ivan chose to sit out to support her, and video games weren’t really Rose and Juleka’s style. Sabrina’s face softened as she gratefully accepted their invitation.

Nathaniel turned around in his seat to talk to Marinette about the art rendering and the programs they used while Chloe scrolled aimlessly on her phone.

By the time the bell finally rang, the class was beyond excited to go prepare for the launch the next morning.

Marinette, to her credit, swallowed her enthusiasm and sat down to fully plan out their trip to Metropolis. It was grueling work, researching the safest hotel that was still in a central location. It had to be affordable but not shabby, too, because they had a limited budget. She eventually settled on the reputable Wayne Hotel, apparently part of an enormous corporation called Wayne Enterprises, and then began to build an itinerary with different events from there.

She worked nonstop the rest of the night, with the exception of a brief dinner break, and it was nearly 11:00 at night by the time she finished. Marinette sat up from her desk chair and stretched, then double-checked that her alarms were set before finally heading to bed.

#marinette dupain cheng #jasonette #sword art online au #virtual reality #miraculous ladybug #miraculous ladybug fic #maribat #maribat fic #healing hands

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vs-redemption · 3 years

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From Cindy: Okay so... this is actually an excerpt from a multi chapter fic I was writing before with an OC I created *is embarrassed* But I was thinking that it might be fun to share it since it was just collecting dust on my laptop. I changed the POV so that it’s a reader insert. I hope you enjoy it!

Some background info: this story was meant to take place just after the fall of Wall Maria. So, Eren and the rest of the 104th aren’t even in the cadet corps training yet. My O/C (aka y/n) left the garrison to join the scouts to help with the recapture of Wall Maria. I hope that’s not confusing.

Levi’s Advice (Levi Ackerman x Reader) Part Two : Part Three

“Can’t sleep?” You nearly jump out of your skin at the words. You hadn’t expected anybody else to be awake this late, not after the rigorous training that had occurred that day. You’d only snuck out of your room and gone to the canteen to try and work the kinks out of your muscles and maybe get a glass of water. Your squad leader had made you and another soldier perform a new titan killing routine several dozen times that the higher ups had recently devised to make sure you could pull it off flawlessly before finally dismissing you. They wanted you to start practicing another maneuver on top of that starting tomorrow too. Just the thought of putting your body through all that made you want to groan. Your bones weren’t used to being whipped and flipped and shot through the air yet. You’d only been transferred to the scouts a little over a week ago, but you felt like you’d done a couple months’ worth of training in that time.

“Captain Levi,” you salute the tired looking man whose slender form was slumped into one of the wooden cafeteria chairs and cradling a hot cup of tea in one of his hands. He didn’t look like the rest of the soldiers with their broad chests and muscular limbs. It was hard to believe he might be as deadly as the rumors suggested. “I didn’t mean to disturb you, sir.”

“The only thing disturbing me is your incessant formality,” the Captain grumbles. “Just sit down and relax for once.”

You furrow your eyebrows and slowly drop your fist from your chest. You approach the table and lower yourself into a seat across from the man. You hadn’t interacted with him at all yet during your time in the Scouts, so you weren’t sure how to act around him. Even though you’d spent time with the soldiers in his Squad during training, there had been no time for gossip. All you had gathered so far was that Captain Levi was a difficult face to read. He loses patience with your cautious stare quickly and clicks his tongue in annoyance.

“So, why aren’t you in bed?” He asks while raising a single thin eyebrow.

“Couldn’t get comfortable,” you admit. “My whole body aches. The Garrison hardly ever uses the ODM gear in the North. The hooks do too much damage around the city, so the royal government doesn’t like us using it.” Levi’s face morphs even further into a scowl. You roll your eyes in agreement. “I know it’s stupid,” You defend yourself. “Anyway, I’m sure I’ll get used to the gear eventually.”

“Your landings are way too fast,” The captain’s face goes neutral again and he sips his tea. “You need to use your arms and legs to control your speed when coming out of a spin.” You were surprised to suddenly be getting feedback, especially from this guy. He wasn’t even in charge of you, but apparently he’d been watching today.

“Oh?” You prompt him to continue.

“Spread your body out as soon as possible to create wind resistance.”

“That seems really obvious now that you say it,” You admit sheepishly.

“Well, it also makes you a bigger target,” was the reply. “So you’d better be damn sure your blades hit their mark. Be aware of your surroundings too, or you might get grabbed from behind.”

“Easier said than done, I’m sure.” You give a weak smile. “Especially when you’ve got your squad to look after too. In the Garrison, my biggest concern was keeping the cadets from getting too rowdy while playing grab-ass and taking a tumble off the wall. Thankfully none of mine were ever that stupid, but I never had to worry about turning my head and having them eaten alive either.”

“You aren’t a babysitter,” Levi states. “Your job is to lead them, not protect them. If you do your job right, they’ll be able to work together and protect themselves.” You let the words sink in for a minute and recall the way you’d seen Squad Levi move during their training. The man obviously knew what he was talking about, even if it did sound a little emotionally detached. You’d have to keep his words in mind once your own team was assembled. Still, it made you nervous that Erwin had brought you in and put you into such an important role so blindly. He knew nothing about your capabilities as a leader or a soldier, so it wasn’t as if you could trust that he’d seen something in you that you didn’t see yourself. It meant that you’d have to work extra hard to make sure you didn’t disappoint anyone. You had kind of already known that though. Levi finishes off his tea and stands up, pulling you from your thoughts.

“It’s late,” he says in a bored tone. “Go to bed.” You stand up, finally noticing the height difference between you both while nodding your head obediently.

“Yes, sir.” Your hand twitches up to salute but you stop yourself halfway as soon as you see the Captain narrow his eyes.

“Try to get that Garrison sized stick out of your ass while you’re at it,” he deadpans. “I’d imagine that’s causing a lot more discomfort than the ODM gear.” You clench your teeth to hold back from laughing.

“I’ll do my best, sir.” He lifts an eyebrow impatiently. “Uh,” You hesitate. “I’ll do my best… Levi?” Dear god, that man’s glare alone could probably stop a titan in its tracks. Instead of “humanities strongest,” they should call him “humanities scariest.” You swallow hard and wait for the backlash. Addressing a superior so casually could have severe consequence in the Capital if you weren’t careful. Levi doesn’t even blink an eye though. He just lets out a sigh before letting his features return to their normal unreadable expression.

“Good night.” He says, nodding once before slipping quietly out of the room. You stare after him for a moment before responding to yourself.

“Good night.”

#Levi Ackerman x Reader #Levi x REader #aot x reader #snk x reader #Levi Ackerman #snk #aot #Cindy's Writing

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iamtrebleclefstories · 3 years

Text

best thing that’s ever been mine

DAY 2: SPEAK NOW - MINE

(is this fic two days late? yes. and what about it?)

Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water?

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

hi everyone! I’ve been working on this fic for months and it has a very special place in my heart. it is a complete AU and I hope you enjoy it!!

Shoutout to @doc-pickles for being my sounding board for this fic (and many others). This ones for you!

@thejolexgroupchat

You were in college, working part-time, waiting tables

Left a small town, never looked back

I was a flight risk, with a fear of fallin'

Wondering why we bother with love, if it never lasts

+ + +

She walked into the diner soaked to the bone from the downpour that seemed to come out of nowhere. Shivering, Jo made her way over to her typical booth near the windows (and the space heater) and attempted to warm up. She'd been staring out the window at the busy street when she noticed a young man standing in front of her.

"You're new around here," Jo's eyebrows raised. She observed the man for a second, taking in his appearance. He had brown hair and brown eyes that seemed to be rimmed in green. He was handsome and that crooked half-smile on his face signaled to her that he knew it. "Marion and Hector hired someone new? They hardly ever do that."

The man let out an awkward chuckle, "I just moved here from a small town in lowa for school. Trying to pay my way through medical school. Guess they must've liked me."

"I guess so," Jo nodded. "Sorry, I'm here all the time so I know pretty much everyone that works here. I was surprised to see someone new."

"Well, I’m Alex," his smile grew slightly. "Since you're a regular, I guess you already know what you're having. So what can I get you?"

"Surprise me," Jo's eyes shined expectantly.

The waiter - Alex - let out a laugh, "Give me a few minutes."

About fifteen minutes later, Alex came back with a plate and drink. He placed it in front of Jo, "Here you go. A bacon double cheeseburger, no pickles, no onions, extra cheese with a large side of seasoned fries and a medium coke. You're tiny, but I have the feeling that you can eat. And as much as you may try to eat healthy, you're not a salad girl and would prefer to work out than eat grass. Am I right?"

Jo raised her eyebrows in amusement, "Surprisingly, yes. Except for the drink. I would've ordered a large coke and gotten up to pee three times because I’ve got a bladder the size of a walnut."

"I will remember that for next time," Alex smirked. "So, regular… you got a name?"

"Jo Wilson."

"Nice. I like chicks with boy's names."

+ + +

I say, "Can you believe it?"

As we're lyin' on the couch

The moment, I can see it

Yes, yes, I can see it now

+ + +

The last thing Jo would've expected was that she'd become friends with Alex, the cute waiter from Marion and Hector's diner. But after many conversations shared in the diner during all hours of the day and upon discovering that they would both be attending Harvard Medical School in the fall, Jo and Alex bonded rather quickly. It helped that they each had plenty of shared life experience as a result of growing up in the system.

Jo had never really met anyone with her kind of background that was also looking towards a future in medicine. It was encouraging and validating knowing that she wouldn’t be alone in her struggle. Once the school year began and things got real, Jo and Alex found themselves spending increasing amounts of time together, studying and stressing over the copious amounts of material they'd need to memorize and understand.

"This sucks," Alex huffed in annoyance, tossing his notecards onto the coffee table. "I hate pharmacology."

"I know, me too. But we need to learn this if we want to make sure we don't prescribe the wrong medication to a patient," Jo took a seat on the couch beside him and handed Alex the bowl of popcorn in her hands. "Can you believe our first year is almost over?"

Alex stuffed his face with some popcorn, “It feels like just yesterday I met you at the diner.”

“I know,” Jo chuckled. "I'm happy we're friends."

"Me too," Alex smiled, content to just sit near Jo.

Both of them wanted more, but neither one of them was quite ready to admit that yet. There had been something brewing between the two of them since their first meeting.

"When we're hotshot doctors one day, we'll still be in each other’s lives, right?" Jo asked quietly.

"Of course we are," Alex grinned. "We can apply to the same hospitals and in the same cities for residency and fellowship. And even after, when we are badass attendings, we can open a practice together. I won't leave your side unless you ask me to. You're stuck with me, Wilson."

+ + +

Do you remember, we were sittin', there by the water?

You put your arm around me for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

+ + +

"Come on, we're gonna miss it!" Jo shouted as she neared the dock. Her silhouette was illuminated by the moonlight as she deposited the blanket onto the ground and Iied down to stare at the night sky. "This should be the perfect spot to watch the meteor shower. It's far away enough from the city to see the sky but close enough that an ambulance can get to us quickly enough if anything were to happen."

"I'm coming," Alex grumbled as he carried the cooler over to where Jo was lying on the ground. "Jeez, what did you put in this thing?"

"Just the essentials," Jo reached over and opened the cooler, pulling out a beer and revealing the contents of the cooler.

"Are those stolen medical supplies?" Alex looked inside.

"Maybe?" Jo shrugged and opened the bottle. "We're gonna be out here all night so I wanted to be prepared."

"You're insane," Alex chuckled and opened his own drink.

"It's part of my charm," Jo winked at him and lifted her drink. "Look, I know all of this might seem pretty crazy, but I just wanted to do something special. This has probably been the best summer of my life.” She grew quiet for a moment. “I’ve never had a friend like you. A person. My person. Most summers I was struggling to make ends meet or find somewhere to live while everyone else went home and visited their families and went on these lavish vacations. I never really had anybody and now I have you. It’s nice. Having someone… Anyway, I just want to say thank you. For making last year and this summer a little less lonely. That’s why we’re here tonight, waiting for a meteor shower on our last Friday off before second year starts. So, cheers to a great year.”

“To a great year,” Alex lifted his beer and clinked it against hers. He stared at her for a moment, silently taking in the words she’d said. He knew expressing her feelings was no easy feat. Jo had always had a complicated relationship with feelings—both of them had. But she’d made an effort to express her emotions and that was more than enough to blow his mind. Alex was brought out of his thoughts when he heard Jo’s voice again.

“Look! It’s starting,” Jo gasped and pointed up and the night sky.

Maybe it was the meteor shower. Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was the speech. Maybe it was Jo’s bright smile. But Alex couldn’t help himself this time. He reached out for Jo’s hand and pulled her close to his body, wrapping his arm around her. Jo looked up at him with shining eyes and relaxed, resting her head on his chest.

They laid like that for what seemed like hours, observing the night sky and reveling in the warm summer air. After some time, Jo lifted her head to look Alex in the eye. She opened her mouth to speak but only a squeak came out, causing Alex to laugh.

“Sorry—I… I didn’t mean to laugh,” Alex cleared his throat as Jo looked at him unamused. “What did you want to say?”

“Nothing. It was stupid,” Jo shook her head.

“No it’s okay, just say it,” Alex rubbed his hand on her back comfortingly. He watched as Jo shook her head again, attempting to hide her face from his view. “Hey, look at me. Jo it’s me. You can say anything.”

“I can’t say this thing,” Jo bit her lip nervously.

Alex sighed, “Okay. How about I say it? Because I'm pretty sure I know what you’re thinking right now.”

“I highly doubt that but be my guest,” Jo scoffed.

And with his arms holding her tightly he finally said the words, “I love you.”

+ + +

Flash forward, and we're takin' on the world together

And there's a drawer of my things at your place

You learn my secrets and you figure out why I'm guarded

You say we'll never make my parents' mistakes

+ + +

“Have you seen my light blue sneakers?” Jo shouted from the other side of the apartment. “I can’t remember if I left them here or not last time I spent the night.”

“I haven’t seen them. Maybe you left them in your car?” Alex walked over to Jo and gave her a kiss of the cheek. “You look hot in scrubs.”

“So do you, Mr. third year med student,” Jo allowed her eyes to run up and down Alex’s frame. “Today’s our first day of clerkships and I’m going to have to keep my eyes glued to you as soon as we get to the hospital because I don’t need any cute nurses trying to steal you away.”

“You act as if you have competition,” Alex leaned forward to steal a kiss. “I don’t want anyone else, especially after last night.”

“There’s so much more where that came from,” Jo wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “I know we’ve been together for a year but I still can’t get enough of you.”

“The feeling is mutual,” Alex chuckled. “You know I got you something. Call it an anniversary present. I was gonna show it to you last night, but we were a bit busy… celebrating.”

“You didn’t have to get me anything,” Jo cupped his cheek on her hand. “I just need you.”

“Hey, a one year anniversary is a big deal. Besides, this is something I’ve been thinking about for a while now,” Alex’s face relaxed and loving. “Come on, it’s in the bedroom.”

They walked into the bedroom and Alex stood in front of the closed closet doors, prompting Jo’s forehead to wrinkle in confusion. Alex cleared his throat, “Okay. What you see here might freak you out a bit, but it’s something I’ve been wanting to do for a long time. So, I’m just gonna show you.”

Alex opened the closet doors to reveal that it was half empty. The left side was free of clothing except for one shirt hanging up that Jo recognized as one that she thought she’d misplaced a few weeks ago.

Jo looked at Alex in question, “You found my shirt and cleaned out your closet? That’s the surprise? What happened to your other clothes?”

“No that’s not—you’re not understanding,” Alex let out a chuckle. “It’s okay, though. You’re new to all this. So am I, if I’m being honest.”

“Alex, you aren’t making any sense.”

“I'm making space for you,” Alex stated. “I’m making space for you in my home, in my life. I got rid of a bunch of crap that I don’t need or never used and I made space. Because I don’t want you to just have a drawer full of random things at my place. I want this to be our place. So I guess what I’m asking is, move in with me. Please. I wanna go to sleep next to you and wake up next to you every day. I love you, Jo. I want to do everything with you.”

Jo stood in front of Alex, stunned. She’d be lying if she said she hadn’t thought about what it would be like to live with Alex. All her life, she’d just found a place to live. She never had a home. As long as there was a roof over her head and a somewhat comfortable space to sleep in, she would make due. It was all she needed. After Alex, she found the home she’d been searching for all along.

“Jo?”

“Yes,” Jo breathed without hesitation. A couple tears collected in her eyes. “Yes.”

Alex’s face broke out into a huge grin, “Really? You’ll move in?”

“Yeah,” Jo laughed happily. “I’d love to live with you.”

“Okay,” Alex nodded his head and motioned to the room. “I’ve still got to move some stuff around but we can have it done by the end of this week.”

“I don’t have much. I don’t need a lot of space,” Jo shrugged.

“I’m gonna change that,” Alex took both his hands in her own. “No more having only the bare minimum necessary to survive. And I mean that for both of us. I wanna build a life with you.”

“I love you,” Jo leaned up to kiss him briefly. “So much.”

“Me too,” Alex’s face was content. “As much as I’d like to just stand here with you, we’ve got to go or we’ll be late.”

“Let’s go,” Jo smiled. “I can’t wait to rub it into all the girls’ faces that I’m moving in with my super hot boyfriend and they should be jealous.”

+ + +

And we got bills to pay

We got nothin' figured out

When it was hard to take

Yes, yes

This is what I thought about

+ + +

“Dammit Alex, why can you just listen to me for once?” Jo yelled across the kitchen counter. “If you would’ve listened to me in the first place none of this would be happening.”

“Will you just stop it already?” Alex shouted back angrily. “Just shut up! I’m sick and tired of hearing you go on and on about the same damn thing. Yes, I know I let the ball drop on this one. You don’t have to bring it up every two seconds! Stop talking!”

Jo grew quiet at the tone of his voice. She swallowed back a response and took a cautious step back. She looked almost afraid to push him further.

Alex noticed her behavior and immediately felt regret over his words, “Jo. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that. I’m just… I’m frustrated.”

“Mmhm,” Jo pursed her lips, but didn’t move from her stop.

Alex took a step forward to close the distance only to have Jo take another step back. That’s when it hit him. Paul. He just yelled at her like Paul used to.

Alex learned about Paul Stadler’s existence not too long after Jo moved in with him. They’d gotten home from a day in the ER where a young woman came in with domestic violence injuries. Jo had been incredibly affected by the woman’s case and Alex couldn’t figure out why. That night on the couch, Jo opened up about quite possibly the most difficult experience of her life. She talked about her ex.

Paul Stadler was an old boyfriend of Jo’s who spent the first few years of their friendship grooming her to be his victim. He was a professor during her undergrad years at Princeton and especially liked to prey on isolated, young women with emotional trauma. He fixated his attention on Jo and reeled her in, making her the subject of his abuse for the last seven months of her senior year at Princeton. As soon as graduation was over, Jo—formally known as Brooke Howard—ran away, changed her name, and fled to a small town outside of Boston where she hid for a few weeks before deeming it safe to find a place in the city. It was in that year that she remade herself and applied to various medical schools under her new name before finally getting into Harvard against all odds.

Alex hadn’t always known about her history. It was something she shared with him when he found the paperwork from her name change in the process of moving her into his—now their—apartment. That’s when she sat down and told him all the missing pieces of her story. She told him about how Paul would beat her and scream at her when she failed to meet his expectations. She told him about her pregnancy and the abortion she had after Paul confiscated her birth control and coerced her into his bed. She told him about how she had been terrified but hopeful that a baby would change things for the better, only to have those expectations ripped violently away once Paul threw her against the wall for showing up at his office uninvited.

“Jo. Baby, look at me. I’m sorry. I’m not going to hurt you. I swear,” Alex looked at Jo and waited for her eyes to meet his. He reached his hand out as an invitation for her to hold it. “I love you. I’m sorry I yelled like that. I didn’t mean to frighten you or trigger you in any way.”

Jo's visibly relaxed and took Alex’s hand in her own, “I know. I’m sorry I… reacted like that, too. It’s just… I finally have something that I’m scared to lose.”

“No, you’re right,” Alex shook his head. “I told you I was going to handle this month’s rent while you figured things out with your job at the library and I didn’t do it. I left it till the last minute and I’m short $200. That's not your fault. You warned me multiple times to set aside the money for rent before paying everything else and buying those basketball tickets. I’m gonna figure it out. Don’t worry.”

Alex left the apartment in a rush, leaving Jo standing in the entryway confused. Alex was halfway to his destination when he realized that he probably should have explained to Jo what his thought process was. He had half a mind to turn back around, but then again he wasn’t all that keen on admitting what he was on his way to do. It was a major hit to his pride to even walk to the one person he knew could help them. But it wasn’t about him or his pride. It was about his life with Jo and about fixing this.

Alex knocked on the door and waited for the person inside to respond.

“Hey man, come on in.”

“Thanks,” Alex walked inside and looked around.

He had been to Jackson Avery’s apartment before. Jackson was actually one of Alex’s best friends since he started medical school. They got paired together for anatomy lab the first week of classes and had been inseparable ever since. To top it all off, Jackson was an Avery. He was from one of the most prestigious families in medicine and was sitting on a lump sum of cash. In the three years that they had been friends, Jackson had always made it clear that if Alex ever needed anything at all, to not hesitate to ask.

“What’s up?” Jackson asked as he handed Alex a beer and sat across from him on the couch.

“You know I wouldn’t do this if I weren’t desperate. I hate asking for favors and you’re my friend so don’t feel obligated to say yes, but I need help,” Alex started.

“Whatever you need, man. You know that,” Jackson leaned forward to wait for Alex to make his request.

“I messed up this month with the rent. Jo’s hours at the library got switched and they don’t work with our clerkship schedules, so I had to take over all the bills this time around. I told her not to worry, that I’d handle it, but I’m $200 short,” Alex put his head in his hands. “Do you think you could lend me the money? I swear I’ll pay you back as soon as my next paycheck from the diner comes in.”

“Whoa, Karev. Slow down,” Jackson reached into his wallet and pulled out two crisp hundred dollar bills. “Here. It’s no big deal. And I’m not lending you $200. I’m giving it to you.”

“I can’t… I can’t accept that,” Alex shook his head. “I don’t like owing people.”

“You won’t be owing me anything,” Jackson held the money out. “We’re friends, Alex. You’ve got my back, I’ve got yours. You and Jo helped me when I was struggling in that class last year. You took time out of your own studying and time that the two of you could’ve been spending together to help me. You’re the reason I passed. Take the cash. Just think of it as a favor.”

“Thank you,” Alex sighed and took the money in his hands. “I just… I feel so pathetic. What guy can’t provide for his girlfriend for one month while she’s struggling to figure things out financially? Thank God we each got a full ride in college so we don’t have to worry about student loans until we graduate med school. I just feel useless.”

“You’re anything but useless,” Jackson took a swig of his beer. “You underestimated how much money you’d need to save. So what? It’s okay. It happens. Even to me. You learned from it and now you can move on. You’re gonna pay the rent on time and everything's gonna be fine. Don’t let this become a thing. Don’t let it come between you and Jo.”

“I just feel like I’m letting her down,” Alex admitted quietly.

“Jo didn’t grow up with much. Yeah, stuff is nice, but I know at the end of the day all she really wants or needs is you,” Jackson smiled. “Besides, even if you somehow got so behind that they evicted you, I’ve got a guest bedroom that I’d be happy to let you and Jo stay in for however long you needed to. Maybe I'll finally get a chance to steal her flashcards that she refuses to share.”

Alex smirked, “Good luck with that. She won’t even let me see them.”

“Eh it’s worth a shot,” Jackson chuckled. “Okay, finish your beer and then go pay your bills.”

+ + +

Do you remember all the city lights on the water?

You saw me start to believe, for the first time

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

+ + +

“Come on, follow me. I wanna show you something,” Alex smiled as he led Jo up the dock.

“Where are we going?” Jo asked for what seemed to be the hundredth time. “We start our first day of internship tomorrow. I don’t want to be late.”

“We won’t be late,” Alex continued pulling her in the direction he was headed to. “I want to do something special before we get busy and don’t have time to be us.”

Jo’s eyes softened, “Okay. Lead the way.”

Alex grinned as they neared a ferry boat, “I got us tickets for a ferry boat tour of the city. I thought it would be a nice way of celebrating that tomorrow we finally become the doctors we always dreamed we’d be as kids. It’s been hard getting here, but we made it. We made it, Jo and I know that I can make it through this year and the rest of my life as long as I’ve got you by my side.”

Jo looked at Alex with love in her eyes, “You’re incredible.”

“That’s all you, princess,” Alex put his arm around her shoulder as they boarded the ferry and took a seat.

The majority of the ride was done in silence. They marveled at the city lights bouncing off the water as the sky grew dimmer as the night went on. Jo snuggled up against Alex, thinking about how the time had flown by. She first met Alex about four years ago in a diner and now here she was in Seattle sitting next to the love of her life on a ferry the night before their first day of internship. It was a surreal moment and yet, Jo found herself actually believing that she had found a love that would last for the first time in her life.

“I love you,” Jo snuggled into Alex’s side.

“I love you more.”

“I can’t believe this is real,” Jo said later that night as they were climbing into bed. “I keep expecting someone to pinch me and wake me up from this dream I’m having.”

“It’s real,” Alex pressed a kiss to her forehead.

“I hope we get assigned the same resident. I want to be near you so that none of the female doctors or nurses trying anything stupid,” Jo snuggled in close to Alex.

“Is this jealousy I hear?” Alex’s face turned up into a smirk.

“Pfft, me, jealous?” Jo scoffed. “Please. I’m not jealous. I'm just… protective over what’s mine.”

“Oh so I’m yours now?” Alex grinned, amused.

“Yup,” Jo leaned up to kiss him deeply, allowing her hands to travel down his chest and stomach to the waistband of his boxers. “You are all mine.”

Alex groaned, “I’m fine with that.”

+ + +

And I remember that fight, two-thirty am

'Cause everything was slipping right out of our hands

I ran out, crying, and you followed me out into the street

Braced myself for the goodbye,

'Cause that's all I've ever known

Then, you took me by surprise

You said, "I'll never leave you alone"

+ + +

Their intern year went by rather quickly, considering all of the insanity they’d lived through. From train crashes, bombs in the hospital, cutting L-VAD wires, proms, Meredith almost drowning, ferry boat crashes, and various break ups and make ups, it was safe to say that Alex and Jo had the most interesting intern class ever. When Jo thought back to everything they had lived through in the past year, she found herself increasingly grateful that she had someone that she could come home to every night. Being a doctor had reminded her just how short life could be and that things could change at any moment.

Their second year of residency was getting off to a similarly interesting start with the arrival of a new class of interns that would be under their supervision. Jo found herself increasingly frustrated with the young doctors under her care. She was so consumed by her work that Jo realized that it had been weeks since she and Alex spent time together that wasn’t as they got ready for bed at night. Even those moments were few and far between.

Alex had been spending a lot of his free time with the people in their class, specifically, Meredith and Izzie. Jo didn’t have a problem with them. On the contrary, Jo loved both women dearly. Meredith was a loyal friend that mirrored Jo in many ways, and Izzie was an unexpected, bubbly best friend that reminded Jo of her only friend in college more and more every day. She didn’t have a problem with either of those women. Not at all. She wasn’t the jealous type either. She trusted Alex implicitly. She never had a reason to suspect that he would do something behind her back. That was, until he started to make excuses and lie to her about his whereabouts.

Maybe she should’ve been a bit more understanding. After all, Meredith and Izzie had both been through a lot last year. Jo had spent countless hours by their sides comforting and supporting them. But in the process of trying to be a good friend, she felt like she was losing her boyfriend.

The last straw was when Alex left her alone at the hospital after having driven there together that morning. It had been a long day and Jo was looking forward to getting home, taking a shower, and lazing around on the couch with Alex. After she’d finished changing out of her scrubs, she walked down to the bench out by the parking lot where she and Alex normally waited for each other. Jo waited for about twenty minutes when she finally walked back inside to the nurse’s station to find him.

“Hey, could you page Dr. Karev for me? I’ve been waiting for him to leave but he hasn’t come down yet. Is he still in surgery?” Jo asked nurse Vicky.

“I saw Dr. Karev leave over an hour ago?” Vicky replied.

“What? Are you sure? We came in one car today,” Jo’s brow furrowed.

“Yeah. I saw him walk out with Grey and Stevens. It seemed like they were in a rush to get somewhere,” Vicky nodded. “Is there someone you want me to call for you?”

“No, it’s fine,” Jo shook her head. “I’ll figure something out.”

Jo ended up getting a ride back to the loft she and Alex shared from one of her interns, of all people. She thanked him bashfully as she got out of the car and walked up the steps, seeing Alex’s car in front of the building. Jo took a deep breath as she reached the door. On the way there, she’d thought long and hard about how this conversation was going to go. How could she talk about ending this? Alex was her best friend, the love of her life. He was the person who said he’d always be there for her. And yet, here she was outside their home because he left her without a word.

Finally mustering up enough courage, Jo slid the door open and stepped inside.

“I need to talk to you,” Jo put her things down in front of the bed.

“I need to talk to you,” Alex walked towards her with a glass of champagne in his hands.

“No, no, no. Listen…” Jo paused as she got choked up. “This isn’t working. I need someone in my corner, and the more I look at it, the only person I have is me.”

“Jo—”

“And I don’t want to make you choose between me and your friends, our friends. But I can’t keep feeling like everyone’s second choice. Especially not yours. Not when I love you with everything I have. Not when I put you before everything,” Jo’s eyes watered. “But right now, all I can see is how you choose everyone else over me. I mean, you left me at the hospital today. We came in one car and you didn’t even let me know that you were leaving. I sat there waiting for you like an idiot for a long time, but you never showed. And you didn’t even have the decency to let me know that you left. I had to find out from Vicky when I went to ask her to page you. I found out that instead of waiting for me, you left with Mer and Izzie. So… I’m going to go stay with Cristina for a while.”

“Jo, stop!” Alex put down the glasses as Jo made her way to the drawer to collect her things.

She turned around to see Alex on one knee with a ring in his hand, “Oh my God. Alex.”

“Yeah?” his lips twitched in a little smile.

“What are you doing?” Jo looked at him with wide eyes.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Alex took a deep breath. “I’m sorry I left you, but I’ve been planning this night for weeks and was so caught up in trying to get everything perfect that I forgot we drove together today.” He took her hand in one of his. “Mer has been holding onto this thing for months now so that you wouldn’t see it in my underwear drawer and Izzie helped me make dinner since I don’t really know how to cook. I’m not replacing you with them or putting them first. I swear. I just couldn’t have you figure out what I was doing.” He paused and looked up at her. “I had a whole speech planned out, but I honestly don’t remember most of it right now.”

Jo let out a little laugh, “It’s okay.”

“But here’s the gist of it; I love you and I want to love you for the rest of my life,” Alex felt his eyes fill with tears. “I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find you and now that I have, I never want to be without you. I don’t know how some stranger in a diner could end up becoming my best friend, but I’m grateful that it happened because you changed my life. Jo, I love you and I love our life together, but I don’t want this to be it. I want so much more with you. So I guess what I’m asking is, will you do me the honor of becoming my life?”

“Yes,” Jo beamed brightly.

“Yes?” Alex’s jaw dropped.

“Of course it’s a yes,” Jo laughed. “Don’t look so surprised.”

“I’m just—I can’t believe you’re going to be my wife,” Alex’s grin grew. He took the ring from the box and slipped it on her finger. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

+ + +

You said, "I remember how we felt, sitting by the water

And every time I look at you, it's like the first time

I fell in love with a careless man's careful daughter

She is the best thing that's ever been mine"

You made a rebel of a careless man's careful daughter

You are the best thing, that's ever been mine

+ + +

When talking about their wedding, Jo and Alex both agreed that they wanted it near the water at sunset. They had first gotten together on a secluded dock in Boston so it was only fitting that they get married near something meaningful. One day while talking about locations at Meredith’s, Shepherd suggested they try renting a ferry boat and the pair knew immediately that it was right for them.

The day couldn’t have been more perfect. The sun was setting on the water, casting pink and purple hues to paint the sky. The colors reflected beautifully against the water and gave everything a soft glow. Their guests were sitting comfortably on the deck of the boat awaiting the start of the ceremony.

Alex stood in front of the crowd of guests with Jackson and Meredith at his side, smiling brightly at their friend’s nervous fidgeting.

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet now,” Meredith leaned over and whispered in his ear. “Because it’s kind of two late for that. It would look really bad if I had to run out of here to start up the getaway car.”

“Shut up,” Alex chuckled. “I’m not having cold feet. I’m just… I can’t believe it. I’m getting married and I don’t know… Jo is going to look beautiful when she walks out here in her dress and I guess, I want to make sure I look nice for her.”

“Wow, you really are whipped, man,” Jackson teased. “It’s okay, though. I’ll give you a free pass since it’s your wedding day and all.”

“Whatever, Avery. You just wait until you find someone who-”

Alex was cut off by Bailey’s nudge, “Hush Karev. It’s about to start.”

Alex closed his mouth and nodded as Bailey smoothed out her dress for the hundredth time. He was grateful she’d said yes to officiating his and Jo’s wedding. Bailey had become one of the most important and influential people in their lives and she was honored when they asked her if she would marry them.

The music began and Izzie and Cristina made their way down the aisle as Lexie tossed yellow flower petals in the air from her spot off to the side. Jo took a couple deep breaths and she waited around the corner, making sure to steady herself before going out there.

“You ready Wilson?” Dr. Webber stood beside her with a soft smile on his face.

“I’ve never been more ready for anything in my life,” Jo’s face brightened in excitement. “And after today, it won’t be Wilson anymore.”

“Really now?” Webber’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “I wouldn't have thought you’d change it.”

“I never had a family name growing up. Wilson is something I made up along the way. Karev means something, though. It belongs to Alex, but now it’s mine, and it’s all I’ve ever wanted.”

“I’m happy for you,” Webber smiled. He held his arm out for her to hold on to. “I think it’s our turn.”

The moment was surreal. It was like in those movies when all time stops as the bride and groom get their first looks at each other and everything else fades away. But there’s no better way to describe the feeling of all your love for a person seeming to pour out of your chest. It was overwhelming, tear-inducing, and so incredibly wonderful.

So much of the following minutes were a blur until Bailey signaled that it was time to recite their vows, “Both Alex and Jo have prepared their own vows that they wish to share in front of us today. Alex, you will go first.”

“Huh?” Alex—who had been too busy admiring the woman in front of him—cleared his throat. “Oh, sorry. I got distracted.”

Their guests laughed at his honesty. He took a deep breath and began, “Jo. For the past six years, you have been my rock, my constant, my best friend. Every moment spent with you has been better than I could’ve ever hoped for. I knew from the minute you sat down at my table at the diner in Boston that you would be in my life forever. Maybe it was your smile or your laugh or something entirely out of my control, but that day I changed for the better, and it’s because of you. Now, we were idiots and didn’t say anything for over a year, but I’m happy that we didn’t. It gave me a chance to grow in love with you.”

“I still remember how I felt that day when we were sitting there by the water. I looked at you and I knew that you were it for me. I knew that I would love you for the rest of my life. And every time I look at you, it’s like the first time. So today, I stand here in front of our friends, our family, and promise to love you every day like it’s the last. I promise to be your anchor, your friend, anything you need me to be. All that I am and all that I ever will be is yours. I know it’s cheesy and I'm gonna get a lot of heat from our friends for saying it, but you hold my heart in your hands. I want to be with you, for better or worse, in sickness and in health… You made me a better man. You make me a better man every single day. So, I vow to be that man for you until death do us part.”

Alex’s declaration had everyone’s eyes misting. It wasn’t often that they heard him speak so openly, so it was impacting when they witnessed the love he had for Jo.

Meanwhile, Jo was wiping away a couple tears that had escaped and struggling to compose herself. She let out a soft laugh, “Gosh, how do you follow that?” Their guests chuckled in response.

“Okay, here goes nothing,” Jo exhaled. “Alex. I love you. When I was a little girl I never dreamed that I’d be able to say that to someone so freely, much less have someone say it back. You entered my life in the most unexpected way, but I can’t imagine it without you. I never expected that the guy I met the summer before medical school would end up becoming my husband, but here we are, six years later, more in love than I ever thought possible.”

“When I think about our life together, I think of all the things we’ve had to overcome and the work it took to get here. I am by no means a perfect person, so today I vow to honor the journey that brought us here. I vow to love you even when I might not like you. I vow to be your partner. I vow to fight for us come hell or high water. I vow to be faithful, patient and supportive for the rest of my life. Because I used to have nothing, and then I met you. You gave me a place to belong, a family, love, and you remind me that I’m worthy of it every single day. Alex Karev, you are my soulmate, my heart, my home, and my very best friend. But most of all, you are the best thing that’s ever been mine, and I cannot wait to be your wife.”

“Can we have the rings?” Bailey asked, Meredith handing them to her. “Today, we use these rings to symbolize the unbreakable unity in this relationship and the never-ending love and commitment they have for each other.”

Bailey placed Jo’s ring in Alex’s hand and spoke, “Alex Karev. Do you take Jo Wilson to be your wife.”

“I do,” Alex smiled and slid the wedding band on Jo’s finger.

“And do you, Jo Wilson, take Alex Karev to be your husband?” Bailey repeated the motion and gave Jo, Alex’s ring.

“I super do,” Jo beamed and slid the ring on Alex’s finger.

“Well. Then by the power vested in me, I now pronounce you, husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

And for the first time, Jo and Alex knew without a shadow of a doubt that they’d make it.

+ + +

Do you believe it?

We're gonna make it now

Yes, yes, I can see it now

17 notes · View notes

barbex · 3 years

Note

“Can you stay?” maybe for a continuation of that dorianders fic? 👀👀

Thank you for the @dadrunkwriting ask! I love writing more of dorianders!

---

It’s a well-known fact around Skyhold that Josephine has the best coffee. She gets special deliveries from her family, small packages that smell divine. Dorian has an assortment of cookies to give to her in exchange for a cup of her coffee. Not that he’s baking the cookies himself, but he actually remembered a recipe his favorite cook used to bake and Skyhold’s baker, a man who is susceptible to a dazzling smile, is kind enough to make them.

Today, Dorian carries two cups towards Josephine’s office. Taking a deep breath as he opens the door, the coffee scent fills him with deep calmness.

“Lady Josephine, a delightful morning to you.”

“Dorian,” Josephine says, looking up from pouring hot water over coffee grounds. “A good morning to you as well. I see you want to ask for two cups today. Who else am I giving my coffee to today?”

Dorian hesitates and places the plate with still warm cookies on her desk.

Raising an eyebrow, Josephine looks from the cookies to Dorian. “Is this a peace offering?”

“The cookies are still warm.”

“That bad, hm?”

“It’s for our guest in the dungeon,” Dorian finally admits.

“Anders? I’m sharing my coffee with the rebel?”

“Inquisitor Lavellan has not decided his fate yet and I don’t think she will.” Dorian watches Josephine shove a few papers aside to look at a ghastly decorated letter.

“I have the nobility of Orlais sending me angry letters already to hand over the Kirkwall murderer.” Josephine holds the letter between her fingertips, as if the paper itself is poisoned. With a grin at Dorian, she opens her fingers and lets the paper tumble to the ground. “Please give my regards to Anders, I hope the Inquisitor will decide his fate soon.” She takes the coffee can and fills the two cups.

Dorian thanks her and carries the cups down to the dungeon. Once again he almost slips on the stairs but only spills a little coffee. The guard gives him a nod and Dorian walks over to the cell that holds Anders. Magic shimmers around the bars, a spell that’s supposed to hold an unrestrained mage inside, but Dorian isn’t sure if it is able to really hold the mage. He has been stronger than the magic suppressing collar and that had been tried-and-true tevinter magic, applied by Dorian himself.

He mumbles the spell to deactivate the magic and steps up to the cell. The man in the cell lies on his back on a simple straw-mat, his arm over his eyes. Before Dorian can draw his attention, Anders moves, sitting up without opening his eyes.

“Is that coffee?”

Dorian smiles. “Yes, fresh antivan coffee, the best you’ll ever have.”

Anders gets up in one fluid motion, rising to his full height. The mage is freshly washed and someone has given him a white shirt and loose trousers. His hair swings around his head, falling over his shoulders in reddish-blonde strands, and his brown eyes seem to sparkle as he smiles at Dorian.

Dorian is struck again by how beautiful the man looks.

Anders takes the cup from Dorian’s hands, and his fingers linger against Dorian’s hand. Slowly, he lifts the cup to his nose and takes a deep breath.

“Oh, this smells divine, like the Maker’s bosom.” He takes a sip and closes his eyes in bliss. “You are right, this is the best coffee I ever had.”

Dorian drinks his coffee too, closing his eyes, just like Anders. “Truly. Worth all the cookies.”

“You bake cookies?”

“Never. But I have my ways.”

Anders leans against the bars and takes another sip of his coffee. “So, how is my pretty jailor today?”

“I’m fine.” Dorian looks Anders up and down. “You look better today.”

“Someone brought me a washbasin and new clothes last night. I even got a piece of soap.” He smiles at Dorian. “It smelled interesting, is it yours?”

Dorian feels his face heat, which is entirely unnecessary. He isn’t a blushing little boy with his first crush anymore, for the love of all ancestors. He turns away and looks at the water dripping from the wall. “I’ve cut off a piece of mine, yes.”

“Thank you, that was very kind of you.” Anders tips the cup back and drains the last bit of coffee from it. He leans forward again and looks sadly into the empty cup before he hands it back to Dorian. “Thank you for the coffee, that was the nicest thing anybody has done for me in...” he huffs out a laugh that sounds suspiciously like a sob, “Maker, I don’t remember.”

“Can I do anything else for you?”

“Can you stay?” Anders looks at him with wide eyes. “I don’t like being alone here.”

Dorian needs all his strength to look away from Anders’ gaze. He looks around and grabs a stool from an empty cell, sitting down in front of the bars of Anders’ prison cell. “Sure, I can stay.”

“Thank you.” Anders pulls his stool forward and sits down right next to Dorian, his arm almost touching him. “So, what’s a tevinter like you doing here, down in the South?”

Dorian shakes his head and smiles. “It’s a long story.”

Anders smiles, wiping his hair behind his ear. “I have time, I have nowhere I need to be.”

#dadrunkwriting #dorianders #dragon age #Dorian Pavus #Anders #my writing #midnightprelude #dorianders fic

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ineffable-endearments · 3 years

Text

Okay. Now I'm going to submit some theories about how I think Crowley and Aziraphale specifically are going to go in the future of Good Omens.

Again, this post is not really...specific theorizing about plot events. It's big-picture stuff.

With that said, this post will get a bit heavy at times, in the sense that it will contain opinions that not everyone will like. It drifted into rambling about queerbaiting and all that stuff. I'm not going to spam anyone's dashboard with drama over it, but it's very possible someone else might try. It's also not really a negative post, depending on what you want to hear, I suppose. But if you're only in the mood to read fluff today, you'll probably want to pass it up.

Oh! Also it's very long, and sexuality is discussed in a vague way that doesn't involve any story elements or body parts.

For starters, I don't think Good Omens 2 - or even 3, if that comes about - is going to have anything explicitly sexual or romantic between the two of them, where "explicit" is things like the characters giving outright definitions of their relationship or outright discussing exactly what goes on between them, either on or off-screen. I also don't think there's going to be kissing or "hooking up" (come on...that person on Twitter shouldn't have even asked). Those actions are too blatant for what Neil has already said about the series. While they technically leave some room for interpretation, they probably don't leave enough.

I DO think it's quite possible other characters will continue to define the relationship FOR them and Crowley and Aziraphale will continue to not deny it.

As far as the queerbaiting debate, "is Good Omens queerbaiting"...it's gonna depend how you define it. I always learned that queerbaiting was basically where the creators intentionally make it look like a character is gay or otherwise queer but then swap that character development out for a cis identity and hetero relationship at the end. The point is that the "bait" leads to queer audiences being actively hurt. That's the behavior that seems awful to me, and I don't see Neil and company doing that.

However, I think it's far and away the most likely option that it will be left up to interpretation whether Crowley and Aziraphale are, you know, a buddy duo or a romantic couple or some sort of ineffable queerness all their own off-screen. So if your definition of queerbaiting is "the characters seem gay to us, but homophobes can tell themselves they're not," then yes, I think that debate will follow us to our graves if we let it.

I am a cisgender, possibly straight (?? demi/bi? I might never find out) woman. There is absolutely no way I could ever tell anybody, ESPECIALLY not gay guys and nonbinary people - the people Crowley and Aziraphale tend to resemble the most - how to feel about their treatment in the story. All I can offer is that I'm one flawed individual and there are things I have the emotional capacity to handle and things I don't. Crowley and Aziraphale as both a canon construct and a fandom pairing mean an absurd amount to me, and I can't hang around in spaces where people are constantly talking about how my own interpretations of them are not enough, or how the story is written with ill intentions. I don't want to stop anybody from venting about it, but I am going to be removing myself from those situations.

I like to imagine 1990 NeilandTerry, or TerryandNeil, as a sort of two-headed God who came up with Crowley and Aziraphale, set them loose on Creation, and now are watching them get up to way more ridiculous stuff in the brains of their fans than they'd ever imagined in the first place. I like to imagine them watching, amused and bemused, as their creations fall in love in thousands of universes, and saying, "Well, we didn't specifically Plan for this, but we did promise free will."

This is psychoanalytical toward a public figure and is therefore a bit dangerous, so please take it with an entire mountain of salt, but I sometimes think perhaps Neil sees some of his and Terry's friendship in Crowley and Aziraphale, and suspect that he wants to reserve the possibility that they could be platonic because he and Terry were platonic, while at the same time leaving room for the fans to have their own interpretations, too. Because if there's one thing that comes up really frequently with Neil, it's his belief in imagination and how much stories matter to people. He can have his little corner of the universe where A and C reflect himself and Terry, and we can have...literally anything we want, as long as we're willing to extrapolate just a little bit from canon. It's not even that much extrapolation! It's just "Yes, they love each other, so what exactly does love mean to you?" and if love means kissing, well then, if we can think it, we can have it.

Given that Neil has written LGBT+ characters before, I think he has non-bigoted reasons for wanting Aziraphale and Crowley to remain undefined, and given even the small chance that those reasons may involve the grieving process for a dead friend, I believe it is unkind to argue with him about it or hold his reputation hostage over it.

With that said, do I want canon kissing/hooking up/all that stuff we put in fics? Listen, I can't deny that I do! Personally, I'd be over the moon. I'd probably be so happy I'd have to go to the hospital to get sorted out. Even the thought of it makes me giddy and light-headed, because that physicality is a part of my own experience of love.

However, there are a lot of people who would feel left behind if that happened. Ace and aro people in the fandom whose love for their friends and partners is just as strong as mine, but who are sex-repulsed or just don't want to see kissing on-screen. The loss of Crowley and Aziraphale as a pairing who are extremely easy to interpret as queerplatonic would be hurtful to them, and I do not want to see them hurt like that. I don't think Neil does, either.

So, once again, the "best for everyone" option becomes a really strong canon relationship based in both narrative function and profound affection, which has genuinely thoughtful queer undertones and leaves open the logical possibility for romantic or sexual encounters but does not insist that they must happen. People, especially fans who are super invested, tend to have an easier time imagining scenarios that take place off-screen (e.g. kissing, sex) than they have erasing scenarios that they've already seen in canon (e.g., if someone wished they could continue viewing it as an ace relationship but they were shown "hooking up"). Also, while relationships are super emotional and extremely subjective, I'd argue that in a long-term adult partnership, the non-sexual connection is more important than the sexual one. As a fan, I'd prefer to extrapolate "they love each other so maybe they'd have sex" rather than "they're sexually attracted to each other so maybe they'll intertwine their whole existences together."

It probably isn't necessary to add, but I will anyway: I'm aware that Good Omens is sort of sacrificing social leverage - the ability to whack homophobes over the head with canon if they try to deny the show's queerness - and is thus not really contributing to making specifically gay relationships more widely seen and accepted. However, I don't think all stories have to invest heavily in every social issue they touch on for them to still be meaningful. I also do think Good Omens is an excellent example of a relationship that is extremely profound without being heteronormative.

I don't think the next season is going to be a rom-com. It will likely not even be a "love story," where the definition of "love story" is "a story that follows the development of a relationship and employs certain plot beats to make its point." Remember that conflicts and breakups are key to love stories, so if it IS a love story, then we're going to have to watch the relationship get challenged in ways some of us might have thought were already resolved in season 1! And while that could be thrilling and ultimately very good, it would also be likely to undercut some of the careful headcanoning and analysis we've already done. Any sequel is going to do that to some degree, but a second love story would probably do it a lot, with interpretations that people are even more protective of.

I'm sort of thinking the next season is likely to be a fantasy-heavy mystery, only because those are the two concepts Neil's introduction led with - an angel with amnesia who presents Crowley and Aziraphale with a mystery. Crowley and Aziraphale's connection to each other can still absolutely be a major theme! It can still be the thread stitching the plot together! It just probably, in my opinion, won't escalate and escalate and escalate like it did in season 1. And it will probably be woven in there among a lot of other plot threads that are, in many moments, louder. Still, I'd love to be left with the impression of these two existences, the light and the dark, subtly becoming more intimate, subtly growing more comfortable in this shared place they've chosen in the universe, gradually starting to behave like they know they aren't alone in the world anymore, all while other things happen to and around them.

Nonsexual physical intimacy - a really great hug, or leaning together on the sofa, or a forehead touch, or something like those, something that could happen in a lot of different kinds of relationships but is undoubtedly based in deep trust and affection and a desire to be close...that's the dream, for me. Oh, how lovely it would be.

Of course, I could be just absolutely, embarrassingly wrong about all this. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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fluffy-lee · 4 years

Text

Lake Day

Part 3 of the series “Vacation.”

This is a TICKLE fic. If you’re not into that, you don’t have to read.

PLATONIC Avengers x reader

Warnings: Some drama.

Summary: It’s the first full day of vacation and the Avengers go to the lake. Y/n enjoys playful antics with those closest to her, but what happens when someone takes it a little too far? Lots of funny and fluffy things happen in this fic, but not everything is always perfect.

It was the first night of vacation. Tony had just put you to bed and was walking down the hall, when he heard laughter coming from Peter and Thor’s room. He knocked on the door.

“Enter!” Thor called.

Tony opened the door to see Thor sitting on his bed criss-cross, eating a giant bowl of chocolate ice cream and Peter was hanging upside down from the ceiling, holding a spoon… another bowl of ice cream hanging next to him by a single thread of web. Step Brothers was blasting on the TV.

“What is this? A fraternity?” Tony asked, with his usual sarcasm.

“Yes!” Thor exclaimed.

“Hey Mr. Stark! You want to watch this movie with us?” Peter asked, taking a scoop out of the swinging bowl of ice cream.

“I was actually about to head to bed, you know, because… IT’S MIDNIGHT.” Tony exclaimed.

“Oh okay!” Peter said with his mouth full, going for another scoop.

“Parker, if that ice cream ends up on this carpet, I’m gonna shove your face in it.”

Thor boomed in laughter at the TV.

“It won’t Tony I promise!” Peter said with a smile. Just then, the bowl nearly tipped, but Peter snatched it in his hands. “S-See, it’s fine!”

Tony rolled his eyes. “Try to go to sleep soon. We’ve got a big day tomorrow.” He began to walk out of the room.

“WAIT!” Peter shouted.

Tony jumped and turned around. “Geez. What is it kid?”

"You're going to leave without giving me a hug goodnight?"

Tony sighed, pretending it didn’t warm his heart. “Oh alright. But you gotta come down from there.”

Peter flipped down and gave Tony a big hug, making Tony smile.

They said their good nights and Tony went to bed.

You jolted awake in a cold sweat, breathing harshly. You were trembling. Moonlight shone through the window. Nat was fast asleep. The clock read 3:11 A.M. You didn’t want to wake Nat, even though deep down you knew she’d be okay with it. You also just wanted to get out of the room. You slipped out of bed and walked down the dark hall, hoping to run into someone, but who would be awake at this time of night? You went to Peter and Thor’s door. An obnoxious chorus of snores erupted from the room. You snickered to yourself. Even when Peter was asleep he could cheer you up. Still, he was asleep, along with Thor and you were scared to wake them. You continued down the hall. You could go to your dad, but he was sharing a room with Steve and Sam. You’d risk waking up two more people. You were too scared to wake anybody. Your heart started to pound and you felt so alone and the nightmare kept playing over and over in your head. You slid down the wall and started to cry. Nightmares weren’t uncommon for you. HYDRA had a lot to do with it.

Suddenly you heard a voice.

“Y/n?” Sam asked, kneeling in front of you.

You launched into his arms, hugging his neck as he gently rubbed your back.

“Sweetheart, why are you crying?” He asked, wiping your tears.

You relaxed and steadied your breathing. “N-nightmare.”

“I see. It’s okay now. You’re okay.” He said, comforting you.

You immediately felt safe with Sam. You and him were close. He was the one who spotted you in the snow and assisted in saving you. You trusted him with your life. He was a great friend, mentor, and protector. Plus, he never failed to make you laugh.

“Did I wake you?” You asked worriedly.

“No, I went down to fill this water bottle.” He answered, showing you the blue water bottle. “Here, have a drink.” He urged.

You drank some water and felt better.

“Come here.” Sam said, pulling you into another hug.

You smiled and cuddled him for a minute. Then, he walked with you back to your room.

“Do you think you’ll be able to go back to sleep?” Sam asked.

“I do. Thank you. You really made me feel better.” You said, before yawning.

“Alright, good. Listen to me, Y/n. I know what it’s like to struggle with nightmares… If you have anymore, you can come to me. I wouldn’t mind at all. Even if I’m asleep, you can wake me up.” Sam assured you.

You nodded.

“Promise me.” He smirked, giving your side a few pokes.

You giggled quietly. “I promise, Sammy.”

He opened your door for you and kissed your forehead.

“See you in the morning, Y/n.” And with that he went to his room.

You smiled to yourself, your heart warm, and crawled back into bed. Nat was still sound asleep, just like you wanted her to be. You fell back asleep, this time having good dreams.

The next morning came around and Natasha sat on your bed and gently shook you awake.

“Y/n! Wake up!” She said sweetly.

You opened your eyes and stretched, feeling pretty well rested. You got ready for the day, and headed downstairs. You could smell breakfast being made and you could hear laughter.

When you entered the kitchen, you saw Pepper, Tony, Nat, Wanda, Vis, and Steve. Everyone else was still sleeping.

“Morning sunshine!” Tony said cheerfully as he poured a cup of coffee.

Everyone looked over at you and smiled.

“Good morning.” You replied with a sheepish grin. When you saw Steve, the events of last night replayed in your head and you blushed. Steve tickled the heck out of you and you were too flustered to even look at him. You went and hugged Tony, hiding your face in his chest. He asked you if you slept well and you just nodded, not talking much. You weren’t particularly loud in the morning.

“Where’s my good morning hug, Y/n?” Steve asked, a teasing tone ringing in his voice.

You peaked at him and blushed, causing him to chuckle. “What did I do?” He asked innocently, though he knew.

Tony leaned on the counter, sipping his coffee, with you glued to him, hiding your face. “I think you broke her, Cap! She’s all shy again.”

Steve sighed. “Guess I have to fix it.” You could hear it in his voice. He was going to do something.

You heard the sound of the chair he was sitting in scoot and the footsteps approaching you. You gripped tighter onto Tony. You couldn’t help the nervous giggles escaping your lips.You squeaked when you felt the sudden grip on your sides as you were snatched up by Steve. You could only think to cover your face with your hands, still too flustered to look at him. Steve cackled.

“Stahahp thahat!” He said, prying your hands from your face. He watched the blush tint your cheeks. “What? Are you all shy cause I tickled you?”

“Nohoho!” You lied.

“Oh you are a bad liar.” He growled, flipping you and hanging you upside down, while you continued to giggle uncontrollably. He flung you on the couch and you threw a small pillow at him, which he caught as he approached you, mischief apparent on his face. He pounced, tackling you into the cushions.

“Steve!” You squealed. You couldn’t stop smiling. You loved when Steve was playful like this.

“Y/n/n!” He mocked, pinning your arms up. He began to dig into your tummy and your belly laugh echoed throughout the room.

“Nope. I was wrong. Your tummy is definitely your most ticklish spot. Don’t you agree, Y/n?” Steve teased, raising an eyebrow at you.

You nodded at him bashfully as he gently tickled your belly button through your shirt.

Steve cooed at your response and scooped you in his arms. You were still laughing from the phantom tickles on your tummy.

“Are you okay?” Steve asked sweetly.

“Yeahaha.”

“Good!” Steve exclaimed before blowing tons of raspberries on your tummy while you squealed with laughter.

“Aww nice! I didn’t know we were having raspberries for breakfast!” said a familiar voice.

“Yeah! Here, have some, Buck!” Steve said, passing you to your dad.

“Oh nooohohoho!” You groaned, pretending to be annoyed.

Bucky held you in his arms and went straight to giving you raspberries, and you fell back into laughter.

“Whose raspberries tickle more? Mine, or Steve’s?” Bucky asked you.

You looked at him and Steve. Great. Now this is going to be some kind of competition between them, and if you say one, the other will punish you.

“Um.. well.. Both the same!” You decided.

Steve and Bucky both raised their eyebrows at you.

“Oh let her come eat her breakfast and quit torturing her!” Wanda said with a smirk.

You slipped out of Bucky’s arms, grateful to be rescued by Wanda.

After breakfast, you, Nat, Steve, and Thor were sitting on the back deck, talking and enjoying the gorgeous view of the mountains. You were sitting as Natasha stood behind you, braiding your hair for the day. You could never do french, dutch, or any of those fancy braids. Just regular ones. Natasha could, and you always felt so pretty when she did your hair.

Today, the first full day of vacation, was going to be a lake day. You all were going to take the boat out, swim, water ski, and more. Everyone was so excited.

“We need sunscreen, groceries, and other stuff, so I’m going to drive down to town. Anyone want to come with?” Tony announced, stepping out onto the porch.

“I’ll go.” Steve said.

“Me too!” You said, as Nat finished your hair.

You followed Steve and Tony out to the car. Tony drove, Steve sat in the passenger's seat, and you were in the back. You loved when you got to spend time with just the two of them. It was a rare occurrence these days with the hectic lives they lived. You looked at the windows, enjoying the beautiful view of the mountain you were driving down. The drive wasn’t a short one. You didn’t realise how long it was until you noticed how badly you had to pee. You held it for a while until it started to become unbearable.

“TONY I HAVE TO PEE LIKE SO BAD!” You cried.

“Uh-oh.” Steve said.

“How long do I have?” Tony asked, speeding up a bit.

“I don’t know!” You answered.

“Next place I can stop, I will… but I think that’s going to be the store.” Tony concluded.

“HOW LONG?” You asked desperately. You had a weak bladder.

“Five minutes.”

“I CAN’T!”

“You can hold it, Y/n!” Steve said with a chuckle. “You better not pee your pants!”

“I MIGHT!”

“Do I have to call my suit? Are you going to have to pee in my suit?” Tony asked, panic in his voice.

“MAYBE.”

“It has a filtration system. You can drink that water!” Tony said.

“I’D RATHER GO TO A BATHROOM.” You whined, holding it in as hard as you could.

“We’re almost there. You can do it!” Steve encouraged you.

You really thought you weren’t going to make it and were going to have to pee in Tony’s suit. He even called it and it climbed in the window and sat next to you in the car.

“I DON’T WANNA PEE IN THAT THING.”

“Well you’re NOT going to pee on my leather seats!” Tony declared.

The Iron Man suit looked at you and shrugged.

Luckily, you held it all the way to the store, and sprinted to the bathroom.

“Well, that was close.” Steve said, when you came out.

“Yep.”

You and Steve caught up to Tony. It was a nice grocery store. You didn’t take the time to notice how cute the town was because, well, you were distracted.

“Pick out what cereal you and Peter want.” Tony told you, while the three of you entered the aisle.

You took an obnoxiously long time, trying to decide what cereal both you and Peter would like, while Tony and Steve stood around sighing.

“Tick-tock, granny.” Tony urged.

You finally settled on “Cap’n Ameri-Crunch.”

“Oh.. I see how it is.” Tony grumbled.

“Iron Bran isn’t that good though.” You admitted.

Tony clenched his jaw and formed a “claw” with his hand, slowly approaching you.

“Sorry sorry sorry!” You rambled, putting your hands up in defense.

Tony chuckled and you all continued on shopping.

The shopping lasted quite a while to stock up the cabin for the week. Steve was now giving you a piggyback ride effortlessly through the store while Tony checked off the list filled with everyone’s requests. You got quite a few stares from people. Steve and Tony took a few selfies with people.

The three of you returned to the cabin around 10:30 A.M. Everyone then got ready to go to the lake. You waited on the back deck, talking with Thor about his latest adventures when you heard a loud scream from inside, startling you both. It sounded like bloody murder. Both you and Thor leapt to your feet. Thor pushed you behind him and stuck his arm out. VVVWWRAAAUUUMM! Thor wielded Mjolnir in his right hand. It took you a second to realize the scream belonged to Peter. You were scared. You knew this vacation was too good to be true. Some kind of trouble would follow you all here and it would be ruined.

“YOU BURN!” Tony yelled from inside the house. You’d never heard him yell like that. You gripped Thor’s shirt tighter.

“Th-Thor..” You whispered, shaking.

“Shh baby, I’ve got this.” assured Thor as he made his way toward the door.

Suddenly, a sprinting Peter pushed past him. “NOOOOOO!”

Tony followed after him… with a can of sunscreen. You felt as if you just caught your breath. Thor snatched Peter up by the back of his shirt.

“What is this madness?” Thor asked angrily.

“HE’S TRYING TO PUT SUNSCREEN ON ME!” Peter screeched.

“YOU BURN TOO EASILY. I hate to break it to ya Pete, but you’re not stronger than the sun!” Tony shouted, pointing directly at the sun.

You clutched your chest from the fear you had previously endured, but couldn’t help but start giggling.

“You too, giggles!” Tony said, pointing at you.

Peter grumpily gave in to being sprayed down with sunscreen by Tony.

“It’s cohohohld!” Peter whined.

“Stop being such a baby.” Tony scolded, spraying Peter’s back.

“That tickles!” Peter squeaked.

“Oh give me a break.” Tony scoffed with a smile as he held Peter’s face, applying stick sunscreen to his ears.

“How are your ears ticklish?” You asked with a giggle.

“Oh? I bet yours are too!” Peter said, as he began reaching for you, but was held back by Tony.

“Stay still! I’m not done!” Tony ordered.

You backed away with a smile, waiting your turn for the sunscreen.

“Finished!” Tony announced.

Peter rushed toward you, grabbing your wrists with one hand, and began fluttering his fingers on your left ear with the other. You immediately began giggling and your knees buckled.

“It tickles, doesn’t it?” Peter teased, now tickling your other ear, occasionally spidering around your neck.

“YEHEEHES! I’m sohohorry!” You laughed.

Peter let up, smiling at you. Tony pulled you over and began coating you in sunscreen.

“You’re such a dad. You know that, Tony?” You asked him.

Tony scoffed. “Me? Please!”

You rolled your eyes. Tony squished your cheeks with one hand while he applied the sunscreen to your ears. You giggled a little like Peter.

“Aww do you have ticklish ears like Peter?” Tony cooed in a babyish tone.

“...Maybe!” You replied bashfully.

He then applied it to your face and you were surely burn resistant. You thought it was sweet how much Tony cared. He knew that you hated sunburns.

You all finally made it out to the lake on the boat and were having a blast. You and Bucky were currently on the tube together, ready to be thrown off by Sam. He had just sent Peter and Steve flying. You looked at your dad with a nervous smile. He smiled back at you, humor gracing his lips. The boat started to pull you both and it sped faster and faster. You gripped the handles as tight as you could. Both you and Bucky screamed like on a roller coaster and couldn’t stop laughing. It was so much fun. Later, everyone moved onto paddle boarding. You were currently standing on yours across from Peter’s. You were good at paddle boarding. You enjoyed it and had good core strength from your training. Peter took his paddle and playfully nudged you with it. You only stumbled back a little and gave him a shocked look. He raised his eyebrows above his sunglasses with a smile.

“Are you CHALLENGING me?” You asked, mimicking the famous scene from Scooby-Doo that you and Peter constantly reference. He laughed and nudged you again. You nearly fell this time, and were in a ready stance, prepared to block him and push him off his board. You pushed him with your paddle and he nearly fell, but caught himself. You and Peter began battling. He pushed you off and you got right back on your board, laughing. You tried and tried again but were no match for him, but you were still having fun. The last time he knocked you into the water, you kicked his board and caused him to fall into the water with you. You began splashing each other, and had been throwing playful insults.

“You can never beat me, TINY!” Peter spat, playfully.

“I just knocked you off the board, STICKY!” You spat back.

“Being sticky made me a superhero, and you’re not one!” Peter bragged.

“You might be a superhero, but you’re not an Avenger!” You shouted back.

All of this was in good fun, but that last remark struck the wrong nerve in Peter, and he went a bit pale, but he still tried to get back at you.

“Well, at least I’m not weak… and excessively clingy.” Peter fumed quietly, raising an eyebrow.

“HEY! That’s enough, you two!” Steve snapped, having heard your conversation as he was nearby on a board.

You floated quietly in the water, looking down. You faked a small laugh, not wanting Peter to know he hurt your feelings. What he said was a secret insecurity of yours. One that Steve had been trying to work on with you. You were clingy to the Avengers. They were your family. You never wanted to annoy them, but you were now afraid that you did, but they were too nice to tell you. Peter had gotten on his board, and you started to get back on yours when Tony called everyone back to the boat to go eat.

You were quiet and now tried not to sit too close to anyone. You sat distantly between Nat and Bucky. Tony drove the boat up to this restaurant. It was a really nice place, and normally you’d be really excited, but you were just sad.

You all filled up two tables outside on the patio next to the shimmering water. A friendly waitress took your orders. You ordered your meal, and that was about all you had said since you’d gotten off the boat. You were sat next to Bucky and Nat again, and across from Steve. Steve was sitting next to Tony who was on his left. Peter was on the left of Tony. You wouldn’t look over at Peter. Peter seemed to be fine. You could hear him talking and laughing. You kept replaying his words in your head, and what hurt the most is the fact that they were his words. You always believed him and looked up to him.

“Tired?” Bucky asked you, giving your back a little tickle. It made you flinch a little, but you didn’t smile.

“Yeah, I am.” You answered quietly.

When you didn’t smile, Bucky knew something was wrong. Steve saw it too. Steve had been observing your quiet behavior.

“Hey Y/n.” Steve said with a small smile. “I ordered watermelon lemonade. You wanna try it?” He asked, trying to make conversation with you and get your mind off what had you upset.

You thought about it for a second, and nodded, accepting his offer.

He passed you the lemonade and you sipped from the straw. It was delicious, but it wasn’t enough to cheer you up. You forced a smile at Steve.

“It’s really good.” You said.

Steve gave you a loving smile. He then noticed your mood go back to where it was. You stared down at your napkin and quietly played with it. Steve gave Bucky a look. Bucky frowned back at him. You peered up to see Steve lean in to Tony and was talking pretty seriously, while Tony listened, nodding. The flood gates opened, and you couldn’t hold it in anymore. Tears started to drip down your face and you tried to wipe them away so no one would see, but the swelling in your chest got stronger. You glanced up at Tony but quickly looked away when you made eye contact with him. You got up from your seat and went inside to the restroom.

…

“They were playing around in the lake and I heard Peter say something. I think he took it too far.” Steve whispered to Tony.

“She’s been upset for a while?” Tony whispered back, glancing up at Y/n, who he noticed was wiping tears from her face.

“Yeah. He said something about her “clinginess” and as you know, she-” Steve began, but Tony cut him off.

“Mhm. Yeah. That’ll do it for her.” Tony said. He quickly understood that that definitely hurt her feelings.

Tony saw Y/n’s red eyes meet his, and watched her get up and leave. He turned his attention to Peter who was being goofy and playing around with the rest of the table.

“Hey Pete-” Tony began, but Peter was too distracted. “Kid. KID.” He was still laughing with everyone. “PETER.” Tony boomed, finally catching the wide-eyed boy’s attention.

“Sorry sir. Yes?” Peter asked.

“Having a good time?” Tony asked bluntly.

“Of course.” Peter answered, a bit confused.

“Yeah? Well Y/n is crying.”

“Wait what?” Peter asked, looking around for Y/n.

“Yep! Have any idea why that may be?” Tony asked again.

Peter’s face fell. He picked up on what was going on.

“Oh… Where is she?”

“Restroom.”

“I’m gonna go wait for her.. to come out.. and uh-” Peter stammered.

“Mhm. Yep. Go.” Tony said firmly.

“Yeah.” Peter said, getting up from the table. He made eye contact with Bucky, who was giving him a death glare. That scared him a bit. He made his way into the noisy restaurant in pursuit of Y/n. He waited outside the restroom hall.

…

You walked out of the restroom, having dried your tears and were fighting the ones that were threatening to fall. You were walking straight ahead, when a hand landed on your shoulder, startling you a bit. It was Peter. You felt embarrassed that you even got upset. You felt like you really were weak.

“Hey. May I talk to you?” Peter asked kindly.

You nodded.

Peter put his hand on your back and led you through the crowded restaurant outside to the front. You both sat on a bench, facing the parking lot.

“Y/n, I’m so sorry for what I said. I took it too far.” Peter apologized.

“It’s okay.. I took it too far too. You are an Avenger, and I didn’t mean to make you feel like you’re not included. We’re all a family.” You said.

“No, I know you were just kidding. I just took it too personally. Before I got bit, I uh… well I could be pretty mean to people. To keep them away from me. It was a defense mechanism and that kind of came out today. I really didn’t mean what I said.” Peter said, taking your hand in his, sorrow filling his eyes.

“It’s okay. I know that it’s true and I can be annoying.” You said, quietly looking at the ground. “But I can work on it and I can be better.”

Peter furrowed his eyebrows. “What? What are you talking about? You’re not annoying!”

“No, it’s okay. It’s just, you know, with HYDRA, I never… had anyone to cling to, so I do it too much now.” You explained.

“Y/n, you don’t annoy anyone! Affection from you is not annoying. It’s precious.” Peter said with a small blush.

You looked up at him and smiled.

“Everyone loves it… Everyone loves you.” Peter reassured.

“Thank you, Peter. I’m sorry I got upset. It’s just one of my insecuri-”

Peter cut you off, shaking his head. He looked you in the eyes, and from the look he gave you, you knew to stop apologizing.

“I’m sorry I made you cry...” Peter said softly, looking into your eyes.

You both sat a moment.

“I love you, Peter.” You whispered, tackling him in a hug. He laughed and hugged you back.

“Are you still my best friend?” He asked.

“Always.”

You and Peter went back to the back patio of the restaurant and your food had arrived. You were both smiling, walking side by side. Steve, Bucky, and Tony were happy to see you both had clearly made up.

“Well look who’s smiling again.” Bucky said with a smirk, squishing your face.

“Daaaaddy stoooop! You said bashfully.

Bucky chuckled. You looked up at Steve who was smiling as well.

“Well Bucky, she’s smiling again. Do you think she’ll giggle?” Steve squinted.

“I wonder.” Bucky pondered, beginning to tickle all over your back.

You tried to hold in your giggles out of embarrassment, but the tickles were so unbearable that you knew you wouldn’t last long. All it took was for you to look at Steve, who wiggled his eyebrows at you, for you to just lose it.

“There it is!” Bucky cheered, lightly scribbling the middle of your back.

You arched your back, swatting at your dad’s hand as you giggled. He let up and he and Steve laughed at your reaction while you blushed.

It was night time and everyone had made it back to the cabin, all sitting around the fire, talking and laughing. You felt relaxed and happy. Everyone did. You were currently putting your s’more together, while you watched Peter frantically blow on his flaming marshmallow. You laughed hysterically, pointing at him.

“What are you laughing at, Y/n? That was you about two minutes ago!” Wanda teased, poking your right side as she sat in her chair, causing you to flinch away and giggle.

“It was!” Natasha, who was sitting on the other side of where you were standing, said with the same tone, double poking your left. You giggled more.

“Yeeeah it was!” Peter joined, wiggling his fingers into your tummy, before slipping past you to the back table to make his s’more. He really tickled you and you nearly dropped your plate as you cackled.

Everyone smirked at you. You started eating your s’more a little nervously and were making your way back to your chair.

“Oh, is this what we’re doing?” Sam asked playfully, giving your neck a tickle as you walked by. You squeaked and ran to your seat before anyone else tried to get you.

“Ticklish Y/n. Never gets old!” Tony mused as everyone nodded, agreeing.

“So embarrassing!” You whined. You finished your s’more with an embarrassed smile plastered on your face.

There were chuckles all around.

“It’s the cutest thing when you squeeze her sides and she has that fantastic belly laugh!” Steve described.

“That’s the BEST!” Bucky said.

You hid your face in your hands.

“Oh! I know what you’re speaking of!” Thor chimed in. “It has been a while since I’ve tickled Y/n.” Thor raised his eyebrow at you and a giant swarm of butterflies flooded your stomach.

“Go for it! She loves it!” Steve smirked.

“NO I DON’T!” You defended.

Steve gave you that look and you gave him a shut up shut up shut up look.

“Yes! Get her, Thor!” Tony encouraged.

Thor smirked and slowly stood up. You started giggling nervously, and took off running toward the house. You ran so fast through the grass that your flip flops flew off. You could hear him coming toward you, and right when you reached the steps, he caught you. You let out a scream and he just laughed evilly. He carried you like a baby back to his seat while you pathetically tried to get away.

“What’s the matter, princess?” Thor asked as he walked across the grass.

“Ihihihi aham scahahared!”

“Don’t be scared! I’m just spending time with my Y/n is all! I might make her laugh a bit!” Thor said in a terribly teasing tone.

“Ohohoho noooo.” You whined, super nervous and flustered.

He plopped down with you in his seat and held you while you braced yourself.

“This is a very nice fire, isn’t it.” Thor asked everyone casually, still holding you like a baby.

You looked up at him confused. Did he change his mind? He had a small smirk on his godly face and his blue eyes twinkled with mischief. Thor looked down at you and pretended to be shocked.

“Oh! Y/n! Haha I almost forgot! I was going to give you tickles!” He exclaimed and dug his wiggling fingers right into the middle of your tummy. Okay, THAT tickles.

You began howling with laughter and a huge smile spread across Thor’s face.

“Y/n loves tickles!” He exclaimed, still tickling your tummy as you were stuck in his arms.

You didn’t want to get away anyway, but you also did because of how much it tickled.

After a while of tummy tickling, he stopped and you caught your breath, a big smile on your face.

“On Asgard, we have different ways to tickle!” Thor began while you waited anxiously. “Do you know what it feels like to be pecked by a raven? Here, let me show you!” He teased as he began poking and wiggling each one of your ribs, while you squealed with laughter. He chuckled at you.

He continued tickling your ribs for a while until he stopped again.

“Oh and do you know what it’s like when a dragon breathes fire?” He asked.

You shook your head with a nervous smile.

“It’s like this!” He shouted before lifting you up, blowing multiple raspberries on your tummy. His raspberries were the most ticklish ones you’ve ever felt, and his beard added to it. Your laughter fell silent and he stopped again.

“Buck.. Steve… Thor wins.” You said catching your breath, referring to the question they asked you this morning. They both just laughed.

“I win what?” Thor asked.

“Your raspberries tickle the most!” You said bashfully.

“They do?” Thor asked with a grin. “What about my knee tickles?” He began squeezing and scribbling on your knees and you when straight back to squealing with adorable laughter in Thor’s arms, failing to escape the tickling on your sensitive knees. He then began to squeeze your thighs and you laughed like crazy. It tickled so much you thought you might die.

“Tickle tickle tickle!” Thor taunted as he now began to dig into your underarms. You fell in and out of silent laughter.

“THOHOHOR! STAHAHAP! THAT TIHIHICKLES!” You shouted through your laughter. This was unbearable.

“It’s supposed to tickle, Y/n/n! I’m tickling you!” Thor said.

“I CAHAHAN’T!” You wheezed.

Thor chuckled and had mercy on you while you caught your breath.

“Would you like for me to stop?” He asked, still laughing along with you.

You didn’t want to say “yes” and you didn’t have the courage to say “no,” so you just kept giggling.

“I’ll take that as a “no!”’ Thor grinned, before reaching down to scribble the bottom of your feet.

You laughed so hard that you had to get him to stop, so you reached up and tickled his neck. He laughed his low, handsome laugh.

“Hey! I’m the one tickling you!” He teased sweetly, before scribbling all over your neck and collarbones. He had tickled you so much that your laughter had become hoarse and he knew you had enough.

“Did that tickle?” He asked with a big smile, while gently tickling your belly button.

“Yehehes!” You giggled.

“Good!” He said, ceasing his tickling and giving you a kiss on the cheek.

You were worn out after a long day and all the tickles from Thor. You stayed in his arms and fell asleep, listening to his soft voice, as well as the voices of everyone else you loved.

194 notes · View notes

actuallylorelaigilmore · 3 years

Text

12 DAYS OF FICLETS, FIC 6

Rory x Paris, Gilmore Girls. Also on AO3.

Prompted by @prodigalleverage, #83 - “Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”

****

The sudden need to go swimming wasn’t what Rory would have called a plan, when she mentioned it. It was really more of a desperate attempt to avoid her own thoughts after four days alone with Paris.

They’d agreed to share the room for a week, because the cabins belonged to a friend of the Gellers and Rory wanted a little quiet before she and her mom headed off on their whirlwind tour of Europe. What she hadn’t thought about--but definitely should have--was that a week shut in a room with Paris was going to drive her completely insane.

She liked talking to Paris, Rory tried to remind herself when she started to feel overwhelmed. Conversations with Paris tended to turn into debates, but that was fun most of the time--it kept things interesting. Paris challenged her.

Being the recipient of Paris Geller’s undivided attention was more intense, though, once no one else was around.

All day long, Paris was full of opinions on the books she saw Rory reading, commentary on Rory’s snack choices, rants about politics even when Rory didn’t bring up the state of the world...and since Paris talked in her sleep, the nights were no less peaceful.

It didn’t help that some of the things Paris said while she was dreaming were really confusing. There was no casual way to ask Paris if she dreamed about her, but Rory was officially wondering. Sometimes, Paris said nicer things in her dreams than she ever said to Rory’s face.

Some nights, Rory dreamed about Paris too.

On day five, she couldn’t take it anymore, and she shut her book harder than was necessary, setting it aside as though she could push her distracting thoughts away along with it.

“Want to go swimming?”

“Swimming?”

Paris looked at her like Rory was inviting her along on a spacewalk.

“Yeah, you know, swimming? In the water? Winter Harbor Bay is right out there, or so the map tells me.”

The bay had to be big enough for them both to find a patch of quiet water to swim in, Rory thought. A chance for her brain to settle down, without Paris noticing how frayed her nerves had become. “I don’t know about you, but the sunlight could do me good.”

“The sunlight will give you cancer.” Paris let go of her pen and frowned. “Do you even have a swimsuit?”

“No, I’m going to swim naked.” Rory rolled her eyes. “Yes, I packed one. I haven’t worn it in ages, but as far as I know, it still fits. Come on, Paris, live a little. We’re ninety percent water--think of it as a homecoming.”

“That’s not even true,” Paris argued. “I hate when people say that. Our blood is ninety percent water, but our bodies are more like sixty percent water--and that’s an average.”

All that mattered to Rory was Paris’s grudging walk to her suitcase, where she began digging for her own bathing suit, proving that Rory had convinced her to come along.

“I don’t know,” she mused with a straight face. “Some days I definitely feel like there’s more water sloshing around in here than that supposed average.”

“Because you drink coffee by the gallon.”

“Speaking of which.” Rory grinned at her. “I’m going to finish mine while you change into your suit.”

“Hey, I never said I was coming,” Paris shot back.

“You’re holding your swimsuit.”

“That could be because I’m ready to offer it to you, if yours doesn’t fit.”

“It’s not, though.”

Paris and her crossed arms were no match for Rory’s hopeful grin. She sighed. “No, it’s not. But I’m telling you now, Gilmore, if the bay is full of people or it has a smell...you’re on your own.”

“Noted.”

The spot Rory found for them was, in fact, deserted, though she was too breathless from the drive there to offer Paris an ‘I told you so.’ Watching her life flash before her eyes was an interesting experience when she only had eighteen years of life to remember. She would not be letting Paris drive them back.

“It smells normal to me,” she did say as they set their towels down on the sand.

“Yeah, yeah.”

It’d been years since Rory swam for fun, and her lack of athletic coordination remained consistent when it came to water sports, but at least the bay started out shallow and she barely needed to do more than kick and paddle.

“I’ll be over here,” she told Paris as she drifted away, rolling over to her back and letting herself float.

Paris watched her go, baffled by the entire situation.

Was she supposed to do that too, just float? Lie there in silence, doing nothing, staring up at the sky? Why would anybody choose that over a good book in a climate-controlled environment?

It was one of things that had always made Rory so fascinating to her: how different they were. She seemed content, just taking it easy, and that was true for Rory in a lot of situations that gave Paris hives.

Though her fascination with Rory had evolved over the years, into something less academic, and something harder to ignore, it hadn’t gone away. She knew now that it wouldn’t--she was never going to meet anybody quite like Rory Gilmore.

Rory glanced her way every minute or so, both to keep an eye on Paris and to gauge her own location, since the sky above was not helpful in making sure she didn’t float too far out towards the sea.

“Hey, Paris, you should try relaxing,” she suggested, grinning when Paris responded in sharp Portuguese.

Though Paris never shifted to floating on her back like Rory had, she did claim her own part of the water and stuck to swimming there, subdued laps that gave Rory the quiet she was looking for.

It lasted long enough that Rory almost forgot she’d been freaking out so much about Paris’s proximity, and what it meant, and how things felt different now that they weren’t high school rivals anymore.

“Oh, god. Oh god, there’s something wrapped around my ankle.”

From Rory's location yards away, she thought maybe she misheard, at first. “What?”

“I don’t know what it is, but it’s cold, and it’s slimy, and it’s moving around my ankle--are there eels here?”

Though Rory wasn’t relaxed and floating anymore, a panicking Paris wasn’t the safest to approach. She settled for treading water, watching her across the distance. “How would I know if there are eels?”

“It was your idea to go swimming today while not a single other soul was setting foot in the water!” Paris called back. “Maybe there was a reason for that. Maybe that should have told us something.”

“I didn’t drag you out here, you know. You accepted my invitation. And I don’t think there are eels. Even if there are, it’s not like eels are poisonous.”

“Oh, now you’re an eel expert?” Paris moved sideways, freezing after she started to head towards Rory’s side of the water.

“Paris?”

“I’m stuck.”

“That’s not funny.”

“Am I known for my hilarious comedic timing? I’m stuck!” Paris’s frantic splashing, combined with the fear on her face, nudged Rory into action.

“Stay there. I’m coming to get you.”

“Stay there,” she could hear Paris muttering as she swam to her side. “Where am I going to go?”

“Calm down, okay?” Rory tried to grab hold of her hands, not surprised when Paris pulled them away, out of her reach.

“I am calm! I don’t even need your help, I’m fine--it’s not like I’m drowning. I know how to swim.”

“Of course you do. I’m just going to dive down and see what’s got you caught, it’ll only take a second.”

Rory didn’t bother phrasing that part as a question; it was quicker to jump right to the solution than give Paris another opening to argue with her.

She needed less than a minute underwater to detangle Paris from the culprit, which Rory was secretly grateful was not an eel of any kind. Sure, they weren’t poisonous, but she wasn’t eager to meet one, either.

“Gotcha,” she declared when she reemerged, blinking at Paris through the water streaming down her face.

Paris wiggled her toes, relieved to feel herself bob up and down. Their part of the bay was just deep enough that the water would go over her head if she relaxed.

“It was seaweed,” Rory told her, shoving her hair back behind her ears. “It’s okay.”

For a second, Paris had gotten distracted thinking about how much darker the water made Rory’s hair look. Which led to thinking about how starkly it stood out against her pale skin...which meant she was thinking about Rory’s skin again. It was becoming a problem.

So maybe she overreacted a little when she tuned back in to what Rory had said.

“Obviously it’s okay, Rory. It was just seaweed, not a shark or something. God.”

“I never said it was a--”

“You know, I’m not some damsel in distress screaming my lungs out for a lifeguard, whatever you might have been thinking.”

“Damsel in distress?”

Paris was ramping up to full rant mode, Rory could tell, and it was exactly the opposite of what she’d come out to the bay to find. For a second, she considered just turning around and swimming off, leaving Paris to talk to the water.

“And I definitely wasn’t panicking, for god sake, so just get that idea out of your head right now. If you tell anybody I was, I’ll deny it.”

Rory was out of patience with the paranoia, the ridiculous idea that she was eager to tell people about a day when some seaweed scared Paris Geller. She was sick of Paris’s complete inability to let anybody else get a word in, ever.

And most of all, she was frustrated by how things like that used to seriously annoy her, how Paris used to seriously annoy her...how she used to live inside a box in Rory’s brain labeled ‘rude and impossible and vexing’ where Rory could keep her at a comfortable distance.

Well, she wasn’t at a distance now. Paris was a foot away with water dripping off the tip of her nose and she was taking a deep breath in preparation for her next round of argument, and nothing about that should have been cute but it was, which was probably how impulse overcame any common sense that had been ruling Rory’s brain.

She glided forward and kissed her.

Paris jolted backwards as soon as their lips brushed, stunned, almost dipping under the surface of the bay before she steadied herself.

Sure, in the moment, that felt like a good solution, Rory thought, backing off in response.

It was only then, while Paris was staring at her with wide, blank eyes, that Rory remembered how often her impulsive decisions were her worst ones.

“I’m sorry,” she offered up. Deep down, she both was and she wasn’t--so she had to hope a half-apology still counted.

“I--I don’t...” Paris trailed off, her eyes still huge as she shook her head.

Rory liked her? Rory liked her, like that? Little birds braiding her hair in the morning seemed more possible than Rory liking her back. Paris had been holding on to her feelings so tightly, for years. For good reason. It didn’t make sense.

Paris was too quiet. Paris was almost never quiet. She must have really screwed up, Rory realized. Maybe in a way she couldn’t fix.

“Paris, listen. That was...I didn’t mean to--”

She stopped trying to think of a good explanation as Paris moved towards her, reaching for her hands. She was still looking down at them, at their fingers interlocking, when Paris’s mouth found hers.

This time, it wasn’t Rory acting on impulse. It was an exploration, both of them taking their time. Paris freed her hands to touch Rory’s hair, shifting her lips to the corner of Rory’s mouth when she smiled.

Paris kissed exactly like Rory had imagined--now that she could admit she had spent time imagining it.

She didn’t soften her angles, she was intense and her fingers were firm when they stroked up Rory’s spine. But there were flashes of brightness there, too, in the grin that Paris pressed into her collarbone, the way her thumbs brushed Rory’s ribs so lightly she shivered.

Rory tasted sweet, like she was wearing lip gloss instead of seawater. When she curled her hands around Paris’s waist and pulled her close, they sank so deep into kisses that for a second they forgot to float.

In the past, all of Paris’s kisses had been with boys she found disappointing, and part of her had assumed that was because they were boys. As the two of them moved back towards the shore by wordless agreement, their hands joined under the water, Paris wondered if all along, it was because they hadn’t been Rory.

#this could've gone in so many other directions with the prompt--probably better ones? i've never written them before #but an evermore lyric hit me hard and demanded i write this #anyway i love commas and i accept this story's imperfections happy christmas #rory x paris #gilmore girls #rory x paris fic #gilmore girls fic #12 days of ficlets #my fic

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stanakin96 · 3 years

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Whumptober Prompt One ! - On The Nature of Daylight (QuiObi)

Hi guys! here's ch one of my Quiobi fic for this Whumptober fic :) I've never done this before so if it's not great I'm sorry :,)

Here's the desc of the fic and some tags :) ty for reading!:

Obi-Wan was sure that Qui-Gon hated him. Even though he wished, more than anything, that Qui-Gon loved him. Perhaps a capture, communication, and the mysteries of the force will bring their secrets to light.

chapter one under the cut:

ao3 link here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/34214047/chapters/85127554

tags: “You have to let go” | barbed wire | bound

Obi-Wan was sure that Qui-Gon hated him.

There was no doubt about it, after all, Obi-Wan had been far from anybody’s first choice. Nonetheless a jedi as skilled and sensitive to the force as his Master. They disagreed on most things, often miscommunicated in the most important situations, and most obviously: it didn’t seem that Qui-Gon wished to spend that much time with him. He’d rather be meditating, rather be discussing doctrine with Grandmaster Yoda. That much was apparent to Obi-Wan.

He loudly groaned, feeling the pinching of the barbed wire curl tighter around his arms and hands. If he didn’t figure out a way out of this situation, Qui-Gon would give him that look . Where he tilted his large head and raised his eyebrow as though to say: I am disappointed, Padawan Mine. Obi-Wan was eighteen, and yet that nickname still had the power to send him straight back to twelve.

“Kriffing Hell,” Obi-Wan muttered, feeling drops of blood start to exit from where the wire was getting tighter. He awkwardly shifted up and down to try and release himself from the trap, but found the more he struggled, the tighter the shards entered his skin.

He had chosen to participate in this all-day meditation training with the other padawans, after all. Qui-Gon seemed to value the act above all else, even above lightsaber dueling. It was the final practice of the training, and the hardest. Obi-Wan had been doing mental gymnastics in the liminal space of the force all day, manifesting what he could of visions and doing his best to connect to them. However, this exercise was different. He could feel the barbed wire pulling at his skin, cutting and ripping and pulling. It was up to him to return to his body through the act of centering himself in the force, but no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn’t .

Obi-Wan hissed loudly as another apparition of wire curled around his leg, underneath his pants and straight for his leg. He curled his fingers into a tight fist as he did his best to focus on the body he knew was back at Coruscant, but could only think about the overwhelming pain that he felt. It pulled his skin raw and bloody, and was as real as any pain he’d ever felt in his human body. He held out his hand and reached for the force, but was met with a quite different feeling.

“You have to let go,” said a voice. Low, commanding. Qui-Gon.

“How do you expect me to do that?” Obi-Wan shot back, his voice cracking in pain. Though, truly, he knew that if anybody could get him out of such a mental trap, it was his Master.

“Let go, Padawan, ground yourself to the temple,” said Qui-Gon, as though Obi-Wan could understand what sort of subliminal messaging he was sending.

Obi-Wan sighed, thinking about how he could possibly interpret what Qui-Gon had said to him. He didn’t have much time, the barbed wire had started to crawl up from his arm to his shoulder. It wouldn’t be long before it inched up his neck and he’d fail the task. Obi-Wan flinched in pain as it dug into his collarbone.

His training bond with his master wasn’t significant, but because Qui-Gon was so strong in the strange nature of the force, it was enough that Obi-Wan could reach out and feel him most of the time. Obi-Wan took a deep, quiet breath in as he felt for Qui-Gon’s force signature. The wire curled tighter the closer he got, but he had to keep going.

Dark green, beating pulse on the inside of his wrist, singing kettles, they were all things that reminded Obi-Wan of his Master, all things that brought him back to the Jedi Temple. Qui-Gon’s intensely strong presence in the force started to become more apparent than the barbed wire the more Obi-Wan thought about it. Soon, his signature was beating and swirling around Obi-Wan to the point of a shared meditation - he almost felt nauseous by his sheer power.

Suddenly, Obi-Wan was jerked out of the meditative space of the barbed wire trap. He could feel every sharp point ripping out of his skin, every drop of blood running down his body. Obi-Wan thought for sure he’d slam into the hard ground of the training arena he’d entered into this morning. However, instead, found himself falling straight into a pair of strong, warm arms.

“Well done,” said Qui-Gon Jinn, still holding onto Obi-Wan. He quickly jerked out of his grasp, careful not to look at him or let his face go pink. Obi-Wan didn’t know if he’d ever been that physical with his master, well, ever .

Obi-Wan stumbled in front of him, “thank you for your help.”

He couldn’t help but feel embarrassed that even after training in meditation all day, Qui-Gon still had to assist him.

“If you like, we could go over the practices you learned today, I’d like to hear about them,” Qui-Gon said.

“If it’s all the same, I’d like to be dismissed,” Obi-Wan replied, he didn’t feel like another lesson, another reminder that what he was doing was wrong .

“Of course, I’m sure you’ve had a long day,” Qui-Gon replied, Obi-Wan nodded and then did a half bow out of respect to him. He was grateful for Qui-Gon’s help, and for his courtesy in letting him leave without an interrogation.

Obi-Wan turned around quickly as he exited the training chambers, not taking a moment to look back, Qui-Gon sighed quietly in relief. For if his Padawan had, he would’ve seen his Master watching his every move as he walked away.

#whumptober2021 #no.1 #barbed wire #"you have to let go'#star wars #fanfic #quiobi fanfic #blood #quiobi #IM SO EXCITED!!!!#my writing #:)

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acedhigh · 3 years

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SIEGEMAS 2020 @dualrainbow starring: Marius Streicher, Dominic Brunsmeier, Monika Weiss, Elias Kötz. main blog: @elitejager note: hey to anyone who reads this, I haven’t written anything in forever and the only time I’ve ever written a fic was a request, so this is a first for me. as an Autistic person I wanted to touch on the topic a little (i.e how the world views us versus how we view others and express ourselves) and incorporate it into my prompt for this piece. Marius inspires me a lot, I know he’s a popular part of Team Rainbow so I hope you all like it & happy holidays ✌

07 December.

As an icy chill snaked its way down his nape, Marius was reminded of the changed season. Days, weeks even, inside the workroom (his 'safehaven' as he called it to himself), made time and weather and all things mundane merge together in one big negligible blur. The transition between October into November now early December had seemed so...rapid. "Getting lost in one's work" was nothing short of apropos for this revelation; Unfazed by the cold however, he merely rolled down his sleeves and resumed gazing intently at his go-to site for ordering parts - Hated the white background (far too garish) but it offered the best of the best, and a quicker delivery schedule. He'd need it. It wasn't unusual for him to spend great bouts of time in one place. Even less unusual to be knee-deep in a project or two. But it was when morning frost and Christmas music became part of everyday life to crudely round off the year, that Monika and Elias were particularly attentive to Marius and his propensity to isolate. He'd been like that as long as they could recall. It could be almost jarring at first - His quips that'd rub less-familiar colleagues the wrong way, the speed at which his social battery would fizzle out like an ember, and a subtle arrogance which stepped on many toes. In contrast to Marius' heated and bull-headed nature, even his enthusiasm and eagerness to share or contribute somehow seemed misplaced or perhaps just poorly timed; Boundaries were a struggle and frequently crossed line despite how many walls he put between himself and others. He was unpredictable to most. "Hard to decipher", as Monika once put it. She was the first out of the four to recognize he was on the spectrum, and it tugged at her heartstrings to watch him endure contempt in place of a little understanding - But she vowed to hold her tongue. She did not want to patronise or belittle someone as bold as Marius. After all, in many ways she considered him to rival herself academically, and that garnered much of her respect. He was capable, he didn't need her or anybody else to coddle him or worry. Monika did not worry about him at all in fact, until this time of year.

16 December.

Elias had a similar view. Never had he met someone so rigid in his performance, so disciplined, yet so antsy. Must be the whole chaos of creativity, he thought. He recounted several incidences where he tried his hand at entertaining Marius, to no avail. Like things just didn't connect with him or tickle him the way Elias could achieve with others. But that didn't mean they lacked a connection at all - They were close, but where other people stood Marius was always one step further away, by his own accord. It was clear from the get go that the engineer liked to do things his way and per his agenda. Elias would grant him the favour of “breathing room” because he knew that although Marius held people at arms' length, beneath that eccentric exterior there was a shining heart of gold that cared deeply about the people he would shoo out of his workroom. Today was no exception, apparently.

"Hey, Marius--" There he was, ensconced in something technical of course, and drenched in fluorescent white light.

"No!"

"Huh--"

"Don't-- You can't look. Just...I'm busy. And I'm discussing this prototype of mine with the head of BMVg, whatever it is, it can wait."

Oops, Elias. "This isn't for prying eyes, it's commission work. I'll humour you later."

"Ah, err, got it. No peeking. Just don't work yourself to death and I'll check back in tonight. See ya!"

Yeah, this wasn't uncommon he muses, as he's met with a cold hand gesture towards the door. Though Elias couldn't help but wonder if maybe Marius was pushing himself even harder as to not think about the holidays. Dominic's relationship with him was different. Not as warm to the touch. And certainly more volatile, when tension arose. A clash of unorthodox personalities. They were polar opposites in one way, but fiercely empathetic in others, because pariahs stick together even when grating on each others' nerves - It was their non-conformity that made them a good team no matter how unconventional (and potentially troublesome) the dynamics. He knew how it was to be alone like the back of his hand. Maybe that too is the reason for their kinship, once all strain dissipated. Even he occasionally considered how his comrade handled the isolation; Dominic relished it to a degree, a darker mind who co-existed with his demons. But he knew Marius and he frequently observed his drive to form relationships only for them to fall flat or worse because of that same old disconnect Elias talked about on occasion. Never brought it up verbally but nothing could ghost Dominic's perusal. "Damn. Rejected again," Elias jests as he spots Dominic taking a break from playing grease monkey on his bike - Cigarette routinely positioned in mouth and garage wide open so that snow had begun collecting on the entrance floor. This wing was probably his safehaven, too.

"You should leave him to it." Dominic takes a long drag before expelling two plumes from his nose.

"Yeah I know, I know. Just seems wrong to not try. I don't think he's going home for Christmas. Hasn't heard from his Uncle for a couple of years...Not sure why. Marius tells me that's nothing out of the ordinary. Still, doesn't hurt to remind him we're around."

"He knows we're around. If you and Monika make a fuss it'll probably backfire."

"You could be right. But hey, buzzing in somebody’s ear is better than letting them feel ignored. I wouldn't be half as fun if I wasn't annoying."

"...Are you sure 'fun' is the right word?" Dominic concealed his smirk behind another toke.

"Whaaatever. Have a good night Brunsmeier. And don't get too cold old man! I don't know how you have the place all opened up on days like this. I don't want to come back tomorrow morning and find you in cryostasis."

"Uhuh. Well, snow chains. Fitting new ones on the tires and have to put 'em to the test somehow. See you, Smartass."

23 December.

The air was cold and dry and it permeated indoors but the serenity of snow blanketing everything for miles upon miles outweighed the chill in his lungs. Even the sun couldn’t thaw the ice nor interfere with celebrants having their white Christmas. From the moment he'd woken up that morning he rushed to get stuck back into his work without so much as cranking up the radiators. No matter the climate, it wouldn't deter him from his endeavours, much like Winter itself. As he fine-tuned his latest creation Marius felt overcome with accomplishment and relief knowing he had the rest of the day to spare after hours of trial and error. Fingers weaved and arms raised he stretched up high, taking a moment to admire the fully customised apparatus begging to be used. Fishing his phone out of a denim pocket he checked the time and grabbed one of the gift boxes wrapped neatly with a lavender bow. Monika would always make a point of going home to celebrate with her family - he'd heard many stories about her mother's Sauerbraten - and was always the first to leave to ensure she'd catch her flight. Ergo, her turn came first. His soles crunched against the virgin snow as Marius made his way to the dormitories. He could've forgotten the clean scent of fresh air or the sheer brightness the day can bring after spending a majority of his time hunkered down at the workroom. Cutting it close, he was fortunate enough to cross paths with Monika, luggage in her wake while punching in a numberpass for the electronic gate. "Monika!" He called out, waving her down.

"Hm?" Immediately she turned on her heel - Perhaps he startled her, or it was the (pleasant) surprise of hearing that familiar voice in another place other than his station or dorm.

"Monika, I'm glad I could catch you. Here--" Offering the palm sized box it was clear to the both of them that neither knew exactly how to handle the situation without underlying befuddlement. "--Frohe Weihnachten." (Merry Christmas). Ah yes, he'd forgotten that part. He wasn't well-versed in the act of gift giving - not face to face, at least...

"Really? For me?"

"Of course it is. It's purple. I don't know anybody else's favourite colour."

"I'm a little speechless...! Thank you Marius, and Frohe Weihnachten. I got something for you too, so did Elias. You were too busy we didn't think to disturb you and thought we'd leave them on your desk. You're welcome to pick them up yourself beneath the tree Emmanuelle and Yumiko set up in the foyer." Something akin to a glorified 'Secret Santa' Harry suggested for Team Rainbow to build on their camaraderie but appealed little to Dominic.

"Oh, that was unnecessary, but I'm grateful. Then I'm obliged to thank you as well. I didn't expect anything - I just wanted to see what I could come up with. I hope you like it."

"No act of benevolence is unnecessary. I'm tempted to open this up right here and now, I'm very curious. I'm going to show restraint however and open it tomorrow. I'll shoot you a message afterwards, OK?" She unzipped her case and placed it delicately atop folded clothes. Whatever it was, it seemed fragile, and would need the padding. "You take care of yourself Marius. Tschüss!" She passed through the gate and left with a smile.

24 December.

With more confidence after yesterday's exchange next in line was either Elias or Dominic, whoever he bumped into first. Today was bitterly cold and much darker, grey clouds hanging overhead almost as thick as the snow. Still, it was welcomed by those who enjoyed the seasonal comforts of lounging around; Vastly preferable to these scorching Summers in recent years, to Marius' admittance. He could spy from beyond his work station window that Dominic had the garage locked up early and was now dumping fodder to feed one of his burn barrel fires. To Marius, this had grown synonymous with Winter, and was a good way to gauge the severity of the weather - Dominic explained to him that it became habit from his undercover days, and was a quick & easy disposal method of...well, anything that could burn. Which sounded vaguely ominous with the way he put it, and there was no doubt in his mind that it absolutely was ominous. But that was then. He would ponder though, what his fellow operative saw in those flames. If he thought of an array of things and memories like a haunting myriad or maybe he just saw nothing more than a warming fire and burning magazines. It was hardly worth asking either, because he was scarcely linear, and seemed to quietly take pleasure in keeping people on their toes. An enigma for sure. They both were. Joining Dominic's side he could feel heat from the fire and the barrel itself as it raged on between them.

"You've been out here a while?" "An hour, maybe less." "Can't be too good for you. It's cold & flu season. If you're going to see your nephews and nieces, that's not wise." "I've dealt with worse." "Yes, that's true, I'm sure your lungs appreciate your pack-a-day fitness ritual." "If I smoked a pack a day, BPOL would give me the chop faster than any bad habits could on my life expectancy. Besides, I can still outrun you. Did you come here to give me health advice or was there something else?" "I know you well enough to know that giving you advice often goes unheeded." Much to my dismay. "So no, however--" He presents the red giftbox to Dominic, which he'd yet to acknowledge. Or he didn't care enough to ask. There's a visible confusion that reads in his otherwise stark expression - Like Monika's the day prior. Was it really so foreign for Marius to present his generosity this way? "Oh...?" "Open it, Dummkopf." Rather than muster some spur of the moment retort Dominic does as instructed. He settled the box in snow and crouched down to examine what awaited inside. "Pure silver electromagnetic rods. In a similar vein to an EMP device, rather, a preemptive attack on them and on your target. Think of them as an extension to your CEDs. Place them around in any formation you like to create an electromagnetic field; They will go live the moment your CEDs do. I've included a remote for functionality and to check that they're all within range of each other. The frequencies will be dizzying for enemy weaponry and at the touch of a button, shock anybody standing within the field's radius." Astounded, Dominic can only look down in disbelief at the device in his hands. It's one thing to fix up an old motorcycle, or even a car, but something of this calibre was truly belonging to a prodigious acumen. And that prodigy is Marius Streicher. "Oh, there's also armbands and a 'plate' you fit to the bottom of your footwear to absorb static and safeguard you from being on the receiving end of the electrogrid. That part should be a familiar concept." "..." "Well?" "I don't know how the hell you come up with this shit, but it's incredible." "Mmhmm. Of course it is, I made it. Brave of you to finally admit that." "Don't make me regret showing some gratitude. I mean it. Is this what you've been busying yourself with the whole month?" "Yeah, calculating pulse waveforms took more work than Monika's and Elias' upgrades, I readily accepted the challenge though." "You went to the trouble of making something for them too huh. Crazy." "I did yes. Monika's was no sweat. I pulled up the files on her RED Mk III and tweaked a few things. Utilising the same technology I fitted a lens-like screen to a headpiece, so the intel she needs is always in view, and her handling of weapons isn't compromised. I think she'll appreciate the purple tint I used for the lens. That, and it can also be used for her spelunking - The new and improved Spectre can see beyond solid walls several metres thick, and it can detect hollow spaces like tunnels. If she removes the chip and slots it into the drone I made for her - I'll reveal that part to her once she's back - she can apply the Spectre to airborne recon in the same way as the lens itself." "Now, you're showing off. She's going to use and abuse that thing every chance she gets." "Good. Then I won't have made it for nothing." "What about Elias, what did you give him?" "I haven't given him his yet which works out nicely." "I'm all ears, Brainiac." "Interesting moniker. Elias gets a conal radius motion & thermal detector that bolsters his ballistic shield. This will give him an increase in tactical advantage, by alerting him to whoever is in his vicinity. If there's an obstruction or he loses sight of the enemy he can find them with ease and make his move. Like Monika's, his can mimic the technology he's accustomed to and can also be detached and used with the specialised drone made for him. He'll be able to temporarily blind at range, or cause distraction, meaning if he keeps his wits about him he'll manage to play a part from long distances." Dominic spied something else in the box as Marius gave his run down on each of the devices. Brow furrowed he picks it up and examines it closely, unable to crack what purpose it served. "Hm. And this?" "That, is a personal touch. Call it whimsical but I think you'll like it. His drone is also yours." Shooting the engineer a bewildered glance Dominic held the second remote in hand, waiting expectantly to understand its significance and what exactly made it so 'whimsical'. "I had trouble coming up with a unique quality for each of you. You're both irreverent in your sense of humour, so I decided to play on that. Elias' drone also has a compartment where something, such as a flashbang for example, can be stored and dropped at command. I'll tell him about that. What I won't tell him however is that you have full access to the drone with that control you're holding. I'll leave it to your imagination to invent shenanigans of your own design. It ought to appease your prankster inclinations," Marius smiled knowingly, but only just - A sliver of the pride gathering in his center. Dominic's was blatant and devilish; Cogs turning in his mind already. But moreso this was a gift with meaning, and understanding to a level that excelled clinical intelligence. He had captured all three of them as operatives and as people, as friends, in the best way he knew how. Each gadget was far from mere machinery. Like polaroids immortalising their merits on the field and in life. "Don't expect to hear this out of me again anytime soon but you've outdone yourself." "Hah! It's worth the effort just to wring sincerity out of you, you ornery bastard." "Yeah, yeah, pot calling the kettle black. I know you're not a drinker but come on, show me how to use this thing over a pint - and bring the drone. I want to get Elias back for all his gaudy Christmas music in the dorms. I considered smothering him with his pillow, but this will suffice." He sneered, amused by his own facetiousness. "I know you don't have anything else planned so I'm not giving you much of a choice." After placing everything back in its box Dominic stood up to give his friend a gracious pat on the back. Marius noticed a glint in his eye he hadn't been privy to before - one unlike the dispassion that most would consider default to 'Bandit' - perhaps they were both seeing each other in a different light. An aspect they kept tucked away, save for rare junctures such as these. "Fine. I'll agree, considering the occasion. Might as well get into the spirit of things a little. Frohe Weihnachten, Dominic." "Frohe Weihnachten."

#siegemas #marius streicher #dominic brunsmeier #monika weiss #elias kötz #man do I get wordy #I enjoyed writing this and I think siegemas is a great idea #thanks for allowing me to be a part of it

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saikonohero · 3 years

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Self indulgent Souyo fic

This fic was inspired by @erskye old post of Shadow Yosuke singing “Do you wanna ride” by BMC. I really am no writer and what I write I mostly keep to myself, but the souyo tag isnt a very active one, so yeah. I hope you like it.

-In Shadow World-

Yu and Yosuke go alone for training, trying to prepare for anything that is to come later on their path. The others were simply too busy to join in with them.

"It's been a while, hasn't it? I haven’t seen the actual thing in a while." He smirked and walked around menacingly.

Yosuke: There really aren’t many shadows around this part, huh? I guess we wiped them all off, haha.

Yu: Yeah, I suppose. Maybe if we move further we might find some more.

Yosuke: Yeah!

The boys continue to move along. Yu catches something moving in the corner of his eye.

Yu: I think I saw something there.

Yosuke: Alright.

They move towards the way the shadow went, into an empty building.

"Oh my, it’s been a while, hasn't it?"

Yu and Yosuke look behind them.

"-my other self?"

Yu is shocked and Yosuke looks at the shadow terrified only to see the other version of himself again after so long.

Yosuke: What? This can't...I thought you were gone! What do you want again?!

Shadow Yosuke: Seems like little Yosuke there didn't learn his lesson the first time~

He approaches Yosuke and he grabs his cheeks with one hand. He then releases his face and walks towards Yu. Yu holds his sword up to Shadow Yosuke. Shadow Yosuke keeps walking towards him with the sword slicing through him. Though he doesn't seem to care at all and continues walking till he reaches the base of the sword. Yu looks surprised.

Shadow Yosuke: Oh, I know this face. This tough man look is what got me into you in the first place. However, I’m simply just a reminder at this point and no danger to you anymore. You see, I was wiped off my power by the time my other self “supposedly” accepted me. I’m just a ghost at this point.~

Yosuke: Do you really think we are going to trust you this easily?

Shadow Yosuke leans onto Yu. His elbows are resting on Yu, while he supports his head with his hand. He looks at Yosuke.

Shadow Yosuke: Hmm, that would be the stupid thing to do, honestly. Just cause you accepted me, doesn’t mean I wont have a new reason to appear again.~

He stares at Yu in a flirty way. Yosuke looks at him quite embarrassed and confused. Yu looks at him in the eyes. Shadow Yosuke grabs Yu's arms and puts them on his waist. Yu appears confused but he doesn’t hold back. Yosuke stares at Yu confusedly, questioning his partner’s reaction, when suddenly another figure appears.

Shadow Yosuke: I gotta go, my partner arrived~

Shadow Yosuke pulls back from Yu, pulling the sword out of him at the same time. He then turns his back to face the other figure. Yu slowly becomes afraid, his expression changing by the minute. Yosuke looks at the figure.

Yu: What the…?

Yosuke: Partner…?

Shadow Yu: Long time no see.

He darkly looks at Yu in the eye, while smirking. Yu's heart starts to race and his breathing becomes faster. Shadow Yosuke approaches Shadow Yu, while looking at him in a flirtatious way. He grabs his hand and Shadow Yu pulls him closer to him, leaning his face closer to his as well. Yu grabs Yosuke's arm immediately and runs out, before they get to see what happens next.

Yosuke: Hey! Partner!

Yu kept running, his grip on Yosuke's hand becoming stronger. They both go into another building. Yu releases Yosuke's arm and he immediately falls down to his knees.

Yosuke: Hey! Are you ok?

Yosuke checks on Yu.

Yosuke: What the hell, man...

Yu slowly turns his head and looks at Yosuke in a serious expression.

Yu: Why is your shadow here..?

Yu gets up and pins Yosuke on the wall.

Yu: Is there anything you aren’t telling me?!

Yosuke looks shocked and immediately pushes Yu off him.

Yosuke: What the hell is wrong with you, dude?! Are you seriously putting the blame on me?! In case your head was too deep in your ass, YOUR shadow ALSO appeared! So maybe YOU'RE the one who's hiding something!

Yu: Whatever it is it's gonna be a problem. We won’t have to let the others know about this.

Yosuke’s eye is twitching from anger and appears annoyed.

Yosuke: Yeah, ok ignore me. But...*sighs* I agree. We have to settle this right now.

Yosuke prepares to leave the building, when Yu grabs his arm to stop him.

Yu: No. I don’t think this will be this simple this time. Fighting them off won’t do.

Yosuke: What are you implying?

Yu releases his arm.

Yu: I believe that there is something between us that needs to be resolved. Your shadow was acting really weird on me, earlier.

Yosuke: W-well, your shadow was being weird on mine, as well! Whatever, I'm going to see what this really is about.

Yu: No.

Yosuke: Huh?

Yu: I don’t want to learn the truth from them.

Yosuke: So you prefer to not know anything at all? *sighs* Whatever, I really don’t want to learn it from them either. Let's just go home, I’m beat.

Yu: Right.

-In Real World-

The boys have been silent the whole way home. They both saw what happened there and they were too uncomfortable to talk about the situation earlier.

Yosuke: I'll catch with you later.

Yu: Yeah. See ya

Yu heads home tired and angry.

Yu: Hey Nanako. I’m sorry I’m late.

Nanako: Big bro! Where have you been?

Nanako runs all excited to hug him. Yu suddenly feels a little bit more relaxed. He would never be mad at his baby cousin.

Yu: The school club finished late and I stayed for clean up. I was hanging out with Yosuke afterwards. I didn't notice how fast the time passed. Have you eaten?

Nanako: No, I was waiting for you. I did make some rice though.

Yu leaves his stuff on the couch and runs to the kitchen.

Yu: Hmm, what could we cook? Right, I had left some beef in the fridge for today.

Yu cooks for him and Nanako. They both have dinner and Yu leaves a spare dish for Dojima. After that, Yu goes to his room, changes clothes and prepares for bed.

He recalls the events that happened earlier today and he can’t get off his mind the way Shadow Yosuke would stare and touch him. He gets kind of flustered and his thought wanders off, what it would be like to have the actual Yosuke being like that to him. He had a thing for Yosuke for a while now, but he never came to terms with those feelings, in fear that would push Yosuke away.

His head is spinning into a tornado of thoughts, that he can’t get out of his head. Like the way Shadow Yosuke looked at him and his behavior towards him, Yosuke becoming very embarrassed by the scene, Shadow Yosuke being intimate with Shadow Yu. It only meant one thing. That Yosuke most likely has feelings for him. Or maybe this was a way for the shadows to mess with them. Regardless, they both noticed that, but what they missed was Shadow Yu's response to that of Shadow Yosuke's. Yu ran off after all, before they were able to see the full outcome. Did Yosuke notice Shadow Yu’s behavior? Probably not. After all, Yosuke said that Yu's shadow acted weird in a failed attempt to defend himself, right? Or perhaps he really noticed too?

Yu decided to go to sleep.

The thought would persist stubbornly in his mind and he would be anxious, about whether Yosuke actually felt like that or the shadows were playing tricks on them. For the rest of the days that we would see Yosuke and the rest of the Investigation Team, Yu tried his hard to pretend like nothing ever happened to the point that Yosuke would get confused and even mad at him for not facing the situation, but instead brushing it off like that. Yosuke, on the other hand would be distant from Yu, but not in a way that he would notice. His thoughts would circle around the past events and would try to control them, by distracting himself. However, he was mad at Yu for not reaching out to him. He is his best friend, they shared everything with each other. But by the time they saw their shadows, they have been distant and closed to themselves.

Yu returns home from an ordinary day. He cooks and takes care of Nanako until it’s time to head to bed. However, it was another restless night for Yu. He would finish texting whoever had sent him a message at the moment and he would close his phone, leaving it beside him. He closed his eyes, but the thoughts wouldn't leave him be. After some hours, at last, his body gave in.

After almost 2 hours, his phone started ringing. The number was named “Yosuke”. He picks it up.

Yu: Its 3:00 AM.

Yosuke: I know, but I can't sleep. Sorry for waking you up, but do you wanna go out for a bit? Yes at this hour.

Yu: Yeah, I'll meet you outside your house.

Yosuke: Alright. See ya.

Yosuke hangs up. Immediately, Yu gets up and dresses up. He puts the first easiest clothes he could wear. He grabs a jacket and heads out, trying not to wake anybody up. He walks to Yosuke's house and sees Yosuke in the distance. Yosuke approaches him. Yu looks at him a bit surprised.

Yu: It's unusual to see you in such jacket.

Yosuke: Dude, its 3:00 am, I don’t care. I grabbed whatever I found.

Yu: What's the matter?

Yosuke: We really need to talk. The next fog is gonna come soon and we still haven’t solved the shadow situation.

Yosuke starts walking and Yu follows him.

Yu: Right.

Yosuke: Don't "right" me! You have been ignoring this whole thing, since the time we left from there! I really wanted to just go there and find answers for myself, but I didn’t think that was fair.

Yu: I thought you didn’t want to learn the truth from the shadows. But I see. I'm sorry for leaving you hanging there. I just don't think I’m ready to come to terms with this yet.

Yosuke looks at him embarrassed and angrily.

Yosuke: I didn’t but what else was I supposed to think, you liar!

Yu: Huh?

Yosuke: I know you, Narukami! You were trying to find an explanation on my shadow's behavior. You just wanted to embarrass me!

Yu: Yosuke, what are you talking about?

Yosuke: You mean...that you don’t know my secret?

Yu: I’ve only made speculations about the situation. But I cannot be sure, unless you reveal it to me.

Yosuke: Don’t mess with me.

Yu stops walking and goes in front of Yosuke.

Yu: Yosuke, you told me to meet you, only for you to just be mad at me? You're the one having sleepless nights, being paranoid about this.

Yosuke: Listen here, I don't care, if you're my best friend. I know what you did.

Yu: What do you mean?

Yosuke: Why did you hide the truth from me? If we have stayed a little longer, we would have understood why our shadows appeared again. I stood there taking all the embarrassment, while you had the chance to just run away. You protected yourself from me, but why didn’t I have the chance to do the same? Huh, “leader”?

Yu: Yosuke, I wasn't trying to-

Yosuke: You're just awful, you know that?

Yu stood there silently for a while.

Yu: ...I guess it's only fair to reveal my secret right?

Yosuke: Since you know mine.

Yu: But, do I?

Yosuke: You're terrible.

Yu: No, seriously, I never said I know, just that I made speculations. I might be terribly wrong.

Yosuke: Whatever. I don’t wanna explain what happened there. You saw it too.

Yosuke is blustered. Yu proceeds to walk and Yosuke follows him.

Yosuke: Where are you going?

Yu doesn’t answer and stops after a while. Yosuke stands in front of him.

Yu: My secret is-

Yu pushes Yosuke off the sidewalk, him rolling down a small hill. Yu runs down to him. Yosuke gets up and runs up to him.

Yosuke: I HATE YOU. IM BEING SERIOUS AND YOU'RE ACTING LIKE THIS. THIS ISNT YOU AT ALL.

Yu: Being this serious isn’t your thing, honestly.

Yosuke makes Yu trip, Yu holds Yosuke and they both trip down the remaining hill. Yu holds Yosuke's arms and stands on top of Yosuke. Yosuke stares him back and they both become flustered. Immediately, Yu gets off him and sits beside him. Yosuke slightly turns his back at him.

Yosuke: I guess that was fun. But maybe for another time.

Yu: Haha, yeah. I guess so.

Yosuke: It sucks that you had to learn this this way. It's really embarrassing and if you feel grossed out, honestly I wouldn’t blame you...

Yu: I don't find it gross at all. It is actually heartwarming.

Yosuke: Huh? What do you mean?

Yu: For you to almost coming to terms with those feelings. It gives me the courage to do too.

Yosuke: Whatever, man. Stop being sappy.

Yu: I still can’t find the proper courage to say this. But I can show it to you.

Yosuke: Show it to me?

Yu: Can you look at me?

Yosuke: Ok-

Yu leaned in for a kiss. He holds to it for a bit and then he lets go. Yosuke turns bright red and immediately turns away.

Yu: I like you too, Yosuke.

Yosuke: Pervert...

Yu: You didn’t push me back.

Yosuke: I know. I didn’t want to.

Yu: Perhaps, it was because you always liked that about me? Being tough?

Yu looked at Yosuke in a flirty way. Yosuke pushed Yu's face away and turned his back at him, once again.

Yosuke: Don’t say stuff like that...

Yu: Heh. Hey Yosuke.

Yosuke: What?

Yu: Admit it to yourself at least, if not to me.

Yosuke: No.

Yu: I guess the Investigation Team will pay a visit to Shadow Yosuke this time.

Yosuke turns to Yu aggressively and looks at him, looking angry.

Yosuke: Since when did you become such a dick, "partner"?!

Yu: Can you just for once leave your guard down? It's only you and me.

Yosuke: *sighs* Whatever. I uhh...I don't know how to say this.

Yu waits for him patiently. He holds his hand and smiles softly. Yosuke sees his gestures and he doesn’t hold back or flinches. He feels quite uncomfortable though.

Yosuke: I... Damn it, I like you.

Yu: Was it that hard?

Yosuke: Yes. Yes it was.

Yu lays down smiling, having his arm covering his eyes. Yosuke looks at him confused. Suddenly Yu’s smile fades and his body becomes relaxed.

Yosuke: Yu?

Yu appears to have fallen asleep.

Yosuke: J-just how many days haven’t you slept properly?! Hey, Yu!

Yu doesn’t respond, he is fast asleep. Some minutes pass in utter silence. Yosuke looks at him sleeping and then continues to look at the grass, the night sky with some stars being visible even at this hour. Suddenly, Yosuke looks back at Yu and takes a deep breath.

Yosuke: *sighs* You know, I really liked you for a long time. I hate how you had to learn this this way. At least now you know...It seems very weird for you to be feeling the same way. It was always the other way around for me.

Yosuke leans down to him and kisses him softly. He then starts shaking him.

Yosuke: Hey, Yu, wake up! I can’t carry you to bed.

Yu: Mm...Hm?

Yosuke: Wake up, partner.

Yu slowly gets up and rubs his eye.

Yu: What happened?

Yosuke: You fell asleep on the grass, dude.

Yu: Oh, I’m sorry, I must be really tired.

Yosuke gets up on his feet and stretches his arm to Yu.

Yosuke: Let's go partner.

Yu grabs his hand and smiles.

Yu: Yeah.

Yosuke keeps holding Yu's hand and they walk to Yosuke's home.

Yu: I will keep going now. See-

Yosuke: Hey, Yu wait.

Yu: Hm?

Yosuke: I have a spare futon up my room, you could stay at my place for tonight.

Yu: Alright.

Both go inside and up to Yosuke's room, quietly. Yosuke grabs the spare futon, but Yu stops him and grabs his hands. He closes the closet where the futon is.

Yosuke: Huh?

Yu leads him to his bed.

Yosuke: H-hey...That's way too soon, you idiot.

Yu: I won’t do anything weird. I promise.

Yosuke: Alright…

Both lay down in the same bed. Yosuke is a bit uncomfortable, so his back is turned to Yu. Yu hugs him from behind and immediately falls asleep. Yosuke is feeling embarrassment, but he feels warm inside at the same time, he doesn’t hate it. This is all new to him, after all, especially with a guy. Day arrives and Yosuke is turned to Yu, while he slowly opens his eyes. He sees Yu still sleeping. He slowly puts his hand on Yu's cheek and rubs it softly. He closes his eyes and leans closer to his face.

Yu: Good morning, partner.

Yosuke: Agh!

He pulled himself back surprised.

Yosuke: I thought you were sleeping.

Yu: I just woke up.

Yu nuzzles against Yosuke.

Yu: What time is it?

Yosuke: I uh, I don’t know. Lemme check.

Yosuke turns around to grab his phone. He opens it and sees the time. It’s around 1:00 pm.

Yosuke: It’s almost 1:00 pm. I never heard my alarm going off.

Yu: We must have been really tired, huh?

Yosuke: I mean, you fell asleep on the ground yesterday.

Yu: I did, huh?

Yosuke: Yeah.

Yu: What were you trying to do earlier?

Yosuke: Nothing, don’t worry about it.

Yu leans in and kisses him softly.

Yu: Let’s get up.

#this is messy #and a little ooc #souyo #persona 4 #persona 4 golden

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stevesnailbat · 4 years

Text

waiting for (another) girl like you | steve harrington x wheeler!reader

summary: Steve didn’t plan on falling in love with his ex-girlfriend’s little sister, but shit happens.

warnings: angst, past trauma, self-doubt, mentions of death

word count: 2.3K

a/n: this fic was inspired by the ST1 scene where Steve and Nancy were in his bedroom bc waiting for a girl like you by foreigner is one of my favorite songs at the moment and it played during that scene. it might be a little dumb but i enjoyed writing it so enjoy! also the gif used isn’t mine, it’s from google :)

It wasn’t unusual for the Wheeler household to have family dinner on Sunday with the whole family and the kid’s boyfriends and girlfriends. Most of the time, the dining room was filled with happy chatter amongst everyone at the table. The table was still happy for the most part, but it was different for Steve and Y/N this time.

Steve wasn’t sure what was wrong, but Y/N had been dead silent since they started dinner. He felt like he had done something, but he wasn’t sure what it was. She could feel him glancing over to her every few minutes as she stared at her half-eaten food that she lost interest in. She knew he was confused but so was she.

“Y/N, are you alright? Aren’t you hungry, sweetie?” Karen asked from across the table, making everyone look in her direction.

“I’m—I’m fine! I’m really not hungry, that’s all.” she replied quickly, giving her mom a small smile even though she knew she could see right through it.

Her mom gave her a knowing look before turning back to Holly, who was tapping her shoulder frantically. Y/N couldn’t bring herself to look up at Steve, but she knew he was still looking down at her. She nearly winced when his hand reached for her thigh, giving her a comforting squeeze as he finally looked away. It was killing him that he didn’t know what was wrong, but he didn’t want to start something in the middle of a family dinner that could potentially end poorly.

The only thing on Y/N’s mind during dinner was Steve and Nancy, and the fact that she felt like a second pick to her sister in anything and everything. It was enough to make her appetite go away. She couldn’t look at him or her sister without feeling sick, her stomach tying itself into a tighter knot with every minute.

The rest of dinner felt like it took an eternity, and she only stared at her plate for the rest of the time. Steve tried to carry on a conversation with Jonathan while dinner finished up, but Y/N’s sad demeanor was distracting. She was the first to leave the dinner table, excusing herself without letting anyone know. She rushed up the stairs and into the bathroom she shared with Nancy, sliding her back down the wall to sit on the floor next to the toilet.

For the first time all night, she let out a quiet sob. Her thoughts made her dizzy and she felt like she couldn’t see straight, purely out of anger and spite. She knew she didn’t have much of a reason to be so upset, but the thoughts of Steve settling for her had been eating away at her mind for days.

A small knock on the door made her jump as she choked on another sob, her full attention going in that direction.

“Y—Yes?” she said, trying to make herself sound as put together as she could in the situation.

“Y/N, it’s me.” Steve said from the other side of the door, his ear on the door to hear her. “Can I come in?”

“No! Don’t!” she yelled, blocking the door handle quickly as she heard him sigh in frustration. “I—I think you should just go home, Steve. I don’t feel good right now.”

“You felt fine earlier, seriously, Y/N. What’s wrong?” he insisted, but got radio silence in reply. “Well, if you don’t want to tell me, I’ll just wait out here until you decide to let me in.”

“S—Steve, just go home, please.” she whimpered, leaning against the door as she spoke through it.

“I told you, I’m not going home! I’m not leaving you when you’re upset, even if you won’t tell me what I did wrong.” he said, settling down on the floor outside of the bathroom. “I’ll wait for you, even if it means I’m out here all night.”

In that moment, she hated how good of a boyfriend Steve actually was. She felt like she was punched in the gut when he suggested that he did something wrong but couldn’t figure out what it was because she knew he was eating himself alive about. She didn’t really know why she was even mad at him, but she couldn’t help it. Steve truly was wracking his brain for any small details of what he could’ve done wrong in the last day, but couldn’t think of anything. On one side of the door, Steve listened to his girlfriend struggling to hold back sniffles and small sobs. On the other side of the door, Y/N was listening to the words for Waiting for a Girl Like You replay in her mind.

Minutes turned into an hour as they sat on the floor, neither of them daring to acknowledge the person on the other side of the door. Jonathan and El were gone by this point and Mike was in the basement while Karen was trying to get Holly to bed finally. Nancy walked up the stairs to see Steve leaned against the bathroom door, a feeling of guilt running through them both.

“She won’t come out.” Steve sighed when Nancy gave him a sympathetic smile.

Nancy only shrugged when he looked in her direction, not wanting to upset the girl on the other side of the door who was listening intently. Steve ran his hand through his hair and leaned his head against the door as Nancy walked into her bedroom, listening for any sign of Y/N wanting to come out.

“Y/N, please. I just want to talk! We can talk, right?” he pleaded.

“We can talk right here.” she said bluntly as she stared at the wall in front of her, not wanting him to see her tear-stained cheeks and red eyes.

“No, please, baby.” he begged, reaching up for the door handle but stopping himself from trying to open it. “I want to see you, I can’t understand what’s going on unless I can talk to you face-to-face.”

The other side of the door was silent for a moment while Y/N thought about what to do next. She knew how stubborn Steve was, and she knew he wasn’t giving up any time soon. It was useless for her to tell him to leave again, even though she was afraid to tell him how she really was feeling. But, she pushed past her doubts and opened the door, curling up into herself as she did to hide her face.

“I can talk to you face-to-face if you won’t look at me.” Steve joked, nudging her arm softly. “Please look at me. What’s going on?”

“It’s stupid.” she mumbled. “It’s just a bunch of bullshit.”

“W—What?” Steve stammered, taken aback by the word bullshit being muttered to him by another Wheeler sibling.

“This! It’s stupid! Pretending like I don’t think about you dating Nancy? Pretending like I believe that you love me? Pretending like everything’s okay?” she said, finally looking up at him as she threw her arms in defeat. “Do I look like everything’s okay?”

“No—No, you don’t. But I—“

“Are you over Nancy?” she asked abruptly, watching him cautiously.

“Of course I am!” he said immediately, making her sigh in relief that he didn’t take a second thought.

“Do you still love her?” she questioned, the words harder to force from her throat this time.

“No. No. I don’t.” Steve said desperately while staring at her as she stared blankly at the wall in front of her, emotionless. “I love you.”

“Today when we were on the way to my house for dinner, that—that Foreigner song that I love was playing, Waiting for a Girl Like You. I was trying to remember who showed me the song, but I just—I just couldn’t remember for the life of me. But then, you turned the radio station and I saw the look on your face. You looked sad, like someone had just killed a puppy in front of you.” she began, not daring to look at him as she spoke. “That’s when it clicked, Nance showed me that song two years ago. She played it every damn day after things were good again.”

“Y/N, I don’t—“ Steve started, but she held her hand up to cut him off.

“I want to finish, Steve.” she sighed and he nodded quickly, recoiling against the wall. “That was the song you played for her when you guys—you know—did whatever on that night she snuck over with Barb. She was so in love with that song because it was so special for you guys, she told me that she’d never stop listening to it. But—But she did stop. And when she did was when she realized she fell out of love with you. But you—you never fell out of love like she did. You loved her until the end and—and you hate that song because you think that maybe there’s a possibility that you still love her, not me. I was just the closest thing you could get to her.”

Steve couldn’t help but laugh under his breath as he shook his head. As much as he wanted to deny it, she wasn’t completely wrong. He didn’t realize that he had continued laughing until he looked up to see the broken expression on his girlfriend’s face.

“Why are you even laughing right now?” she asked, shaking her head as she watched the small smile fall from his face.

“Because—I don’t know, honestly. Maybe because you’re halfway right?” he said, not knowing the answer to his own question. “But, not about still being in love with Nancy, of course. I don’t love her and I haven’t for a while now. I do hate that song, though. But it’s because it reminds me of the last time that my life was good.”

The words bit into her heart like a goddamn demogorgon, hungry to hurt her in any way possible. Steve didn’t mean it in the way that she took it, though. She could tell he didn’t by the look on his face, so she stayed quiet while he paused to take a hitched breath.

“It was that night that I thought my life was on the up and up, but it really wasn’t. It went to shit after that day. We—we killed Barb—“

“You didn’t kill her—“

“Yeah, we didn’t kill her. But we let that thing, that monster, take her because I was stupid and didn’t think of anybody but myself because I was an asshole. Then everything went downhill and my girlfriend fell out of love with me, I didn’t even notice but you know why?” he asked bitterly and she shook her head. “Because I was still holding onto what I thought I had with her. But I was really just holding onto that god-forsaken night, the last night when everything my life alright. And I’d listen to that song too, even after the end I did. When I stopped listening to it was when I realized I had found better things, when I found you.”

“You’re just saying that to make me feel better.” she seethed, clenching her jaw to hold herself together.

“But I’m not! Once Nancy broke things off, I—I believed that nothing would ever go right for me. Everyone thought everything was fine, right? Because I had to put on a show for the sake of my family.” he confessed.

His voice finally showing signs of pain as he spoke this time, but he didn’t want to hold back. He was rambling at this point, but it was comforting for both of them in some odd way. His sanity was hanging on by a thread that unraveled just a little more with every tear she let slip, but they were slowing down now.

“I acted like things were okay and held onto that damn night like my life depended on it. Because after that night, I became the best damn actor, I became the best stupid, happy teen boy that Hawkins had ever seen; I even believed the act I was putting on.” he sighed, leaning his head against the wall to stare at the ceiling.

“You were looking for a distraction from your acting and I was convenient.” she replied quietly. “The naïve little sister of your ex who wouldn’t take a second glance at the bigger picture of how stupid it all was, right?”

“No—No. You weren’t convenient at all, really.” he laughed, reaching to graze his fingertips across her knuckles. “It wasn’t easy when everyone was telling me it wasn’t worth it, that it’d be too weird to try to even talk to you, that you probably didn’t want me like I wanted you. But I didn’t listen because I saw that look in your eyes when you smiled at me, you looked happy and—and like you wanted to be with me; I ignored everyone because I knew it was worth it. So no, you weren’t convenient. You were far from it, you kinda still are. I think you’re worth it.”

She still stared at the wall in front of her as she let his words process in her mind, the feeling of his fingers against her knuckles soothing her. He watched as she tore herself apart inside, trying to find her own answers.

“You know you’re not my second choice, right?” he interjected, making her eyes flicker in his direction as he squeezed her hand. “If Nancy wanted me back, I wouldn’t care. I know she came first, but that doesn’t mean shit. I didn’t realize that you were right in front of me and that you’d bring so much happiness to my life.”

“You’re so cheesy.” she scoffed as her heart fluttered when he smiled in her direction.

“It’s true! I swear, it really is, Y/N. I love you.” he said as he moved towards her, taking her head in his hands to look into her eyes.

“I love you too, Steve.” she said softly, smiling at him for the first time all night as she leaned over to kiss him softly.

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macbetha · 3 years

Text

So very excited to share this! It’s a playlist for my upcoming Free! fic, This Heart of Mine, the rewritten sequel to Eyes Wide Open All the Time. You can listen to the playlist on YouTube; this list simply helps define who or what a song represents to me. This list also includes some lyrics that you may want to pay special attention to. I recommend reading the lyrics by themselves before listening to the playlist. Mind you - some of these lyrics only act as symbolism. Some mean more. Some songs have connections. Some don’t. ;) *go girl give us nothing* List below!

THIS HEART OF MINE: PLAYLIST GUIDE

Theme: Bring Me The Horizon feat. Halsey - In The Dark (MTLT / amo version) Oh so tall, it broke the fourth wall Guess our fairytale had a few plot holes Don’t you know you’ve lost control ↳ Honorable Mentions: ✧ grandson - Bury Me Facedown When I go into the ground I won’t go quietly I’m bringing my crown I won’t get tired Set the town on fire Thinking that they’ve won It’s only just begun ✧ Lorde - Everybody Wants to Rule the World ✧ Ry X - YaYaYa ✧ Rihanna - Goodnight Gotham

CHARACTERS

✦ Haruka ✧ WDL - Monster vs Angel Got my own monster Nobody but me Got my own angel I would never call him enemy He’s the good god I need But both of the sides Fight for me ✧ Mumford and Sons - Broken Crown I’ll never be your chosen one In this twilight How dare you speak of grace But in this twilight Our choices seal our fate I’ll crawl on my belly till the sun goes down I’ll never wear your broken crown ✧ Lia Marie Johnson - DNA Dark as midnight 6 Pack Coors Light You don’t look the same Past my bedtime Blue and red lights come take you away I won’t be like you Fighting back, I’m fighting back the truth Eyes like yours Can’t look away But you can’t stop DNA

✧ Cat Power - Sea of Love Come with me, my love To the sea, the sea of love ✧ Al Green - Love and Happiness (side note: this if my favorite song of all time) Love and happiness Something that can make you do wrong And make you do right

✦ Makoto ✧ The Oh Hellos - Soldier, Poet, King There will come a soldier Who carries a mighty sword He will tear your city down Oh ley, oh lei, oh lord ✧ Labrynth - Still Don’t Know My Name I took your heart I did things to you only lovers would only do in the dark I made you a god Priests, popes and preachers would tell me I did wrong ✧ The Civil Wars - Devil’s Backbone Don’t care if he’s guilty Don’t care if he’s not He’s good and he’s bad and he’s all that I got Oh lord, I’m begging you, please Don’t take that sinner from me ✧ Sleeping At Last - Make You Feel My Love (Cover) I could make you happy Make your dreams come true There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do Go to ends of the earth for you To make you feel my love ✦ Sousuke ✧ Angel Haze - Detox You dance in a cage with some rats in it I’m about chemistry, you just react to me God might turn us to ash, baby I might just taste your last stars tonight We were gods in a world that did nothing but doubt us But fuck it, I got us, from the dirt with the flowers Put in work in the shower ✧ Kaleo - No Good You better start runnin’ When you hear the man coming It won’t do you no good Kiss your baby goodbye Come on love, it’s all right Heaven knows they wanna break you apart ✧ The Oh Hellos - The Lament of Eustice Scrubb Brother, forgive me We both know I’m the one to blame When I touched the water They told me I could be set free ✦ Rin ✧ Halsey - Young God (Lullaby / Music Box Intro, Live from Webster Hall) Running, running, running And we’ll be running, running, running again ✧ SZA - Good Days Tell me I’m not my fears, my limitations I’ll disappear I gotta keep from losing the rest of me Chasing a fountain of youth that’s in the present I’ll await my armored fate with a smile Still wanna try, I still believe in good days ✧ Lola Blanc - Angry Too Does it get your blood boiling? Does it make you see red? Cause it gets my blood boiling It would eat you like poison if you knew what I knew I don’t wanna drink the venom they made me I don’t wanna be controlled by the past But boy, if you were me Could you really blame me? ✧ Kendrick Lamar - u And if this bottle could talk: I cry myself to sleep, everything is your fault Because you shook as you knew confinement was needed I know your secrets Don’t let me tell them to world About the shit you thinking And the time that you - I’m ‘bout to hurl I’m fucked up But I ain’t as fucked up as you ✧ Halsey - More Wooden floors, little feet Flower bud, concrete A little screen, a photograph Mine to take I still believe it won’t be like before I’ve loved you for all of my life ✦ Nao ✧ Johnny Hollow - Worse Things Anger grew like ecstasy And Leda threw the swan on me There are worse things, perverse things You should answer when the phone rings There are worse things I could do ✧ Young Heretics - Bones of a Rabbit You play with wolves But you sleep with the bones of the rabbit You have conquered cities And torched the mighty sea You may keep yourself afloat But you cannot outswim me ✧ Phantogram - Black Out Days (Future Islands Remix) Hide the sun I will keep your face out of my mind I’m hearing voices all the time And they’re not mine Haunting my mind ✦ Natsuya ✧ Gang of Youths - Achilles, Come Down Remember your virtue Redemption lies plainly in the truth Where you go, I’m going When you jump, I’m jumping There is no me without you Today of all days See how the most dangerous thing is love ✧ Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love The stars, the moon They have all been blown out You left me in the dark ✦ Ikuya ✧ Penelope Scott - Cigarette Ahegao So like, I guess I call it the sophomore slump Always crying and always drunk A few dead, more gone, the rest well on their way Thanks! I hate it Everyone that I love is stuck Because this, that, the other, and the state fucked up We covered it in a class that I’m about to fail ✧ 100 gecs, Laura Les, Dylan Brady - Money Machine Tell me what's the deal, I've been trying to go to bed I've been up for days, I've been trying to get ahead Said it all before, and I'll say it once again I'm better off alone ✧ Halsey - Clementine Through a breakdown or a blackout Would you make out with me Cause I don’t need anyone I just need everyone and then some ✦ Hiyori ✧ Florence + The Machine - Seven Devils Holy water cannot help you now A thousand armies couldn’t keep me out I don’t want your money I don’t want your crown See I’ve come to burn your kingdom down ✧ Michael Buble - Feeling Good (Cover) It’s a new life for me This old world is a new world And a bold world for me Freedom is mine And I know how I feel I’m feeling good ✦ Asahi ✧ Sam Henshaw - Broke If I wasn’t broke Would you spend more time with me Like you said you’d do Tell me what I’m supposed to do Cause the only thing I need Is to be loved by you ✧ Mikky Ekko - Smile Smile, the worst is yet to come We’ll be lucky if we ever see the sun ✦ Aki ✧ Aly & AJ - Church I did bad things, can’t you see it on my face? I get caught in every lie I need redemption for sins I can’t mention For all the things I can’t reverse For all the places where it hurts ✧ ZZ Ward - Ghost Here the devil call out my name I’ve broken promises, burning flame God knows, darling God knows I gave Now the truth cuts like a knife ✦ Nii ✧ Of Mice and Men - My Understandings Keep in mind that I’m a sore eye With blurry vision ✧ Neoni - Outlaw They say that I’m wanted Hear the whispers in the street You better start running Cause nothing scares me Faster, faster You’re the one I’m after You built a fortress But I’ll never kiss the ring I’m my own king

✦ Gou ✧ Melanie Martinez - Lunchbox Friends We can be friends if you wanna be But only till the clock hits three I don’t want no lunchbox friends, no I want someone that binds the ends, no Come to my house, let’s die together Friendship that will last forever ✧ Maroon 5 - Come to the Water Come away little light Come away to the darkness Away from the life that you always knew Come away little lamb Come away to the water To the arms that are waiting only for you ✦ Isuzu ✧ Jessie Reyez - NO ONE’S IN THE ROOM Spent my whole life being graded, being told I’m not enough Being told go find the one and sit and wait for death to come I don’t want to I need to talk to God There’s things I just don’t understand Like who am I when no one’s in the room EMI - Bad Friends Yeah, I got some bad friends No you cannot have them If you wanna talk to them You talk to me, yeah We don’t fuck around with just anybody, yeah

✦ Takuya ✧ Imagine Dragons - Ready, Aim, Fire Off in the distance, there is resistance Bubbling up and festering Here in the casing Shaking and pacing This is the tunnel’s light Blood in the writing, stuck in the fighting Look through the rifle’s sight ✧ Billie Eilish - you should see me in a crown (acapella) Bite my tongue Bide my time Wait till the world is mine, ocean eyes Count my cards Watch them fall Blood on a marble wall You should see me in a crown I’m gonna run this nothing town Watch me make ‘em bow One by one ✦ Kinjou ✧ Urban Country - Knife and Stone Tell me, have you ever seen a mirror Mirror in the middle of the forest Just waiting for the rain or the crown I’ve been up for thirty days Someone point to lost and found Ain’t no blood in the temple Just a knife and stone

✦ Mikhail ✧ Elsie Lovelock - Friends on the Other Side (Cover) The cards, the cards The cards will tell The past, the present, and the future as well I got voodoo, I got hoodoo I got things I ain’t even tried And I got friends on the other side I hope you’re satisfied, but if you ain’t Don’t blame me You can blame my friends on the other side ✦ Ryuuji ✧ elbow - Grounds for Divorce I’ve been working on a cocktail Called Grounds for Divorce Down comes him on sticks but then he kicks like a horse There's a hole in my neighborhood Down which of late I cannot help but fall ✧ Mumford and Sons - The Enemy I am not the enemy It isn’t me, the enemy I came and I was nothing So why did you choose to lean on A man you knew was falling? ✦ Nadia ✧ Halsey - Castle (Orchestral Version) They wanna make me their queen There’s an old man Sitting on the throne Saying I should probably keep my pretty mouth shut I’m headed straight for the castle

THEMES: GROUPS

✦ FREEBIRD ✧ Kaleo - Way Down We Go Oh father, tell me Do we get what we deserve They will run you down Down till you fall They will run you down Down till you crawl Till you can’t crawl no more And way down we go ✦ ROUGH RABBIT ✧ Imagine Dragons - Who We Are Up on the mountain Down in the king's den It's who we are Doesn't matter if we've gone too far Doesn't matter if it's not okay Doesn't matter if it's not our day ✦ DIAMONDBACK ✧ Florence + The Machine - Bedroom Hymns This is good a place to fall as any We’ll build our alter here In the wine, the women, the bedroom hymns Such selfish prayers, I can’t get enough I’m not here looking for absolution Because I’ve found myself an old solution

✦ HONEYBLADE ✧ Megan Thee Stallion and Normani - Diamonds I love me this much My pear-shape all dripped up He want me to be a little more lady-like? Come through with my girls and beat your ass on ladies night ✦ BLOODHOUNDS ✧ Angel Haze - The Wolves Nothing left out there for me I left my fucking heart out at the sea This shit sounds like the danger zone I’m the big bad wolf Gonna take the throne

THEMES: PAIRINGS

✦ Makoto + Haruka ✧ Phoebe Bridgers - Smoke Signals One of your eyes is always half shut Something happened when you were a kid I didn’t know you then and I’ll never understand why It feels like I did ✧ Radical Face - Welcome Home Peel the scars from off my back I don’t need them anymore I’ve come home ✧ The Track Team - Heart Chakra ✧ Blackmill - Redemption ✦ Sousuke + Rin ✧ Kaleo - Bang Bang (Cover) Seasons came and changed the times I grew up, I called him mine He would always laugh and say: “Remember how we used to play? Bang, bang.” ✧ Zayn - Good Guy I’m not a good guy But I know you’re mine (bang) I know you’re mine (bang, bang) ✧ L'Orchestra Cinématique - Crazy In Love (Instrumental Cover)

✦ Natsuya + Nao ✧ Cosmo Sheldrake - The Moss But have you heard the story Of the rabbit in the moon? Halsey - Colors Your little brother never tells you But he loves you so I hope you make it to the day you’re 28 years old

✦ Hiyori + Ikuya ✧ Elvis Drew - Where Are You I been trying to figure out where you from Is it the moon? Is it earth? Is it this place, where nothing is worse? Nothing can compare to the life we had My dear just grab my hand and let me take you To my wonderland ✧ Swae Lee - Sunflower Some things you just can’t refuse I’m not tryna lose

✦ Isuzu + Gou ✧ Snow Patrol - The Golden Floor I’m a peasant in your princess arms Penniless with only charm

#thomfic #free! fic #thomplaylist #thom

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