#sorry this is soooo humiliating its just been on my mind so much lately

[olliecoded]

everyone is always like yesss dream big ❤️ but it's like. the bigger i dream the more fucking awful i feel. there are so many things that i want so, so, so unbelievably deeply and i KNOW that i'm never ever going to fucking have them. what am i even supposed to do with that. like how am i supposed to make that into something

#sorry this is soooo humiliating its just been on my mind so much lately #because like. the only thing i want to do is professional acting. it's all i want. acting is the ONLY THING i want to do my entire life. #the more shows i work on this year that push me and improve me as an actor the more i remember how this is the only thing for me #and i have a career plan thats not acting but i'll be fucking miserable i know i will #what am i supposed to do. like i KNOW i'm not going to make it as an actor. like i don't have any connections so i'm fucked. #u cannot do SHIT without having a million friends & family members in the film industry already #plus ive already gotten a fuck ton of rejections (<- 2) from local theatres this year so im also probably just a shit actor #so what do i do. literally what do i do!! #ive cried over this a lot lately. i don't know. i'm trying to get over it #it's kind of like trying to get over someone u've loved ur whole life and will always love and will never get to have #except worse #ok anyway. joke's on me i suppose. goodnight before i kill myself #hello world

[dammitadolfnomorecake]

Once Bitten, Twice Stupid prt 142

142

Keith was still drunk. Waking his boyfriend, Keith squinted at the world with a pained groan. Lance having taken the cannula out so Keith couldn’t hurt himself with it. Seeing their big blow up had been about 1pm, Matt had brought Keith back about 3pm, and they’d had dinner at 7:30pm, his boyfriend had had about 4 and a half hours sleep when Lance woke him up at 8:30pm after watching Keith sleep and staying close in case of nightmare. Lance wanted him to fall back to sleep while he went for his walk, but then Keith latched on, arms around his waist, face pushed up against Lance’s belly, and shook his head. Lance found he didn’t really mind if it was Keith joining him. His boyfriend wouldn’t push, even if he needed those little pushes to keep working on his mental health. Keith had been so hurt to learn Miriam passed suddenly, and he’d blown up. A walk along the beach sounded like what they needed, especially when Lance liked to be gone for hours at a time.

Bundling Keith up, Keith’s walk was more a stagger. Normally Lance would nap longer and go later, but with Keith around he had think of him first. Instead of holding hands, they had their arms around each other’s waists. Keith leaning into him, both carrying their shoes

“Babe, if you want to go back, it’s okay”

“Nah... Fresh air is supposed to be good”

“Mmm, but maybe when you’re not drunk”

“I only had... I think... 9 shots...”

“You should be black out passed out then”

“But then I’d miss seeing you... I love you”

“I know you do”

“I didn’t mean to get so drunk, but... Mami’s gone and I don’t know what to do without her”

Keith had such a soft heart

“She loved you. She was so proud of you. I can say that because she told me at least a dozen times and would always ask if I’d heard from you and how you were and what you were up to”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t talk much in Rome. It was fucking bullshit! All fucking day going over the same shit again and again and sitting there listening, over and over and over. I was going insane. It was like... if they could just meet you. None of their holier than pious bullshit about all vampires being human enemies. It was like, I wanted to hit them all. You were so brave and they were like “Your opinion doesn’t count! You knocked him up! You betrayed our holier than thou ancient institution. Fuck them. You’re like the best man out of all us”

Keith was drunk enough to let these things slide off his tongue, and sobering up enough to groan at his voice getting louder

“How... did you... convince them that...”

Keith shook his head at Lance’s hesitant question

“Allura. She got so super angry that they couldn’t do anything. She like laid out all the facts about you how you’d never drunk from a living person and how you worked helping people and how I’m the reason you turned and how if they took my soulmate away, VOLTRON would no longer cooperate and how they’d lose peace with the covens and packs and basically I was terrified of her”

She’d do that for him?

“No way...”

“Yes way. We love you, you idiot crumpet. Even Matt and Rieva came back. They gathered the others when we had to go rescue stupid Loturd”

Now they were getting closer to Keith finally telling him everything that happened, instead of him telling him in pieces

“How did that happen?”

“Well because Sendak was dead all these vampires started playing up in Zarkon’s territory. Like, he must have sent word about his return then didn’t come back and Lotor went ahead and promptly got himself in trouble. Then Matt and Rieva rallied their allies like Rieva’s mum and dad are hella connected. Like way too connected and we couldn’t just fly up there so we had make our way up all sneaky sneaky, and I kept wanting to go home, but I had to be a good person. My head hurts thinking about it. It was like total shit”

And there keith went. Walking straight for the goal, only to veer off at the last moment, literally. His boyfriend nearly falling over gesturing wildly with his free arm

“Okay. Okay, calm down. It sucked”

“It did! Mum had to do Blade stuff and she came late. And like, we had a whole bunch of us. James and the wolf pack like really like Matt”

“You’re saying “like” an awful lot”

“I like you...”

Lance could have facepalmed. Still, Keith being rude and angry was proving to remind him of all the things he loved about his little anger loaf

“I like you, too. What happened next?”

“That fucktard, hear that Lotor, you’re a fuck-knuckle! Well he got on the bad side of mum and dad evil. Allura went and introduced herself and us, you know how she is, no one can’t love Allura. She’s like the bomb. You should have Zarkon’s mansion. It was like... huge... So we had to find him and the others and like Ezor was pissed. Zethrid kept making jokes... she was disappointed you weren’t there... and she kept touching my hair. I don’t like it”

Lance sighed to himself. Maybe this was a conversation for him and “sober Keith” to have. Because right now, nothing made any sense. How did they get in if they had all these people? How did they get Lotor out? Where was Honerva? Was Lotor okay? Was he now ruling Zarkon’s territory? And what happened to Allura? Was her heart broken all over again. He sincerely hoped not. Allura was like a sister to him. Her happiness well and truly deserved ten times over. Keith gesturing wildly again had Lance pulling him up tighter

“Babe, you need to calm...”

Keith cut him off with a very frustrated groan

“Then when we do get out, that Zarkon decides he’s gonna kill Lotor, and Lotor’s like “ya’ll never loved my arsehole as it was”. Fucker threw me off the balcony like I was nothing when I tried to stab him. Fucking busted my ribs up and then I was saved by James! James! He was all like “you could take a lesson from your boyfriend”. Wanker. Managed to shoot Zarkon but he didn’t care”

Maybe he should have been recording this? No. It was probably safer not to. Keith would feel utterly humiliated, instead of lovingly teased, even if Lance was the only one to ever hear the recording. Keeping calm, he tried not to let his heart hurt as much as it did that Keith gotten himself hurt again

“Sounds like a lot happened”

His boyfriend groaned at him

“You have no idea... ugh, can we sit for a bit? I feel sick”

“You’re not going to throw up on me again, are you?”

Keith shook his head, with another groan

“I can’t even remember throwing up... I’m sorry... I shouldn’t have drunk so much...”

“You’ve got a lot going on”

“But so do you... I mean, I wasn’t here for three months! Who does that to the man they love?!”

“Babe, it’s okay. Here, calm down and we’ll sit up here away from the water”

“Three months isn’t okay”

Keith cooperated with him, Lance getting him seated a little way past the high tide mark. Sitting beside his boyfriend, Keith dropped his head to rest on Lance’s shoulder

“I feel so messed up”

“Tequila will do that”

“I was all ready to come home to you and you weren’t even there”

“I know, but babe, you know it wasn’t three months”

“Yes it was. Fucking December, January and now its February. That’s three”

Oh. His poor sweet boyfriend. Keith felt guilty for missing a month he’d only missed a day or two, an entirely different thing to missing the whole month. Gently, Lance tried to break it to him

“Babe, it was December and January. It was only in January and like a day in February that I didn’t hear from you”

“It’s three months”

“It’s two, babe. You didn’t leave on the first of December and even if you did, it wouldn’t be three months until next month. I promise”

“Then why’s there three?”

“Because you’re overthinking”

“Felt like three years...”

Three years without Keith... He barely made it two. His heart really would have broken repair of his boyfriend was gone that long

“I would have punched you in the dick if you left me alone for that long”

“I would have punched me in the dick too... Lance, I think I’m talking too much”

“Maybe a little, but that’s okay. You have a lot you want to tell me”

“I didn’t think you’d talk to me... it got all weird and shit last night”

“A little weird, but that’s okay now”

“Is it? Because... like I feel like I’m talking too much”

Lance ducked his head, stifling a laugh. His ego had really settled down since Keith came. It wasn’t trying to push its ugly head to the surface, well, it kind of was, but maybe because Keith as his calm that it settled

“You’re not. Do you like the beach?”

“I want to go swimming but I don’t want to get wet”

This time Lance let himself laugh. His boyfriend had a serious dilemma with that one. Huffing, Keith elbowed him lightly

“Stop laughing!”

“I’m laughing because you’re very cute”

“Shut up. I’m not cute. I’m manly”

“Very manly. But you’re not swimming tonight. Not with alcohol in your system and sharks in the water”

“I’ll fight them”

“That’s what I’m afraid of. Tell me more about Rome?”

Keith flopped back with a deep sigh

“It was soooo long. Court all day. You would have loved it. All the legal stuff. They were all like “He eliminated a serious threat!”, and I was like “damn right, that’s my man””

Keith shouldn’t sound so proud...

“I bet you didn’t say that out loud”

“Shiro told me I had to behave. Seriously. Like the first three weeks was all legal stuff and I didn’t understand half of it. Then they wanted to put you on probation again, but Coran sent you into hiding so they were like, he’s disappeared now. Then they were like “should we summon him?”. Curtis had to give the most evidence because he always tells the truth and I nearly hit him”

Why would Keith be hitting Curtis?

“Why?”

“He was telling them all the best bits about you and I missed you even more”

“Oh, babe. I’m sure not everything he said was good”

“No. He admitted he confirmed the pregnancy. He told them how Lotor tried to say it was his kid, then the beat him up until he told them it was me and that we were having twins. I could have hit him but, he couldn’t help it. He told them you worked your hardest to save him. And that you only flipped out because Sendak tried to kill me. There’s this whole complication when it’s a hunter involved, then there’s this other complication when witches are involved. They didn’t seem fussed that Sendak had Lotor. I think they’d have preferred he killed him. Just to make it all pretty against Zarkon. Zarkon sent two vampires down to give evidence that Sendak was a warrior, but honestly they didn’t seem to give two shits and I’m pretty sure they didn’t make it back to Zarkon. And I’m pretty sure Zarkon only sent them because he thought they’d die. Vampire culture is whack. No offence, babe, it really is”

Zarkon probably sent pets to feed his vampires... Lance didn’t want to know, but he did

“Did Honerva have pets?”

“Some. Some happy to be freed, some came back to Rome. Some... didn’t”

Meaning they’d prefer to die with her. A vampire fae was no joke. She’d probably been in their heads. Turning things in her favour. Coran and Allura could definitely change a mood with just a touch, if they wanted. They really were on another level. How they’d face Zarkon alone and survived scared him thinking of the fallout from taking down the guy who was probably the most powerful vampire alive. There’d be so much uproar. So many cover ups. But the Blades would probably be too busy pinning medals on each other’s chests to care about the long term death. It was like an ecosystem. Sometimes predators were the only thing that kept normal numbers from exploding and consuming too many resources. Zarkon would have the “loyalty” of the many, even if that loyalty came from fear. The domino of Sendak’s death had set off the chain reaction that now left gaping power vacuums. Had there been some kind of chance for him and Honerva to change their ways? Or had ego driven them both to insanity with only monsters inside human skin left

Okay. He wasn’t going to focus on what had been found in Honerva’s lab. His overactive imagination provided enough mental images of boxes of human remains left

“You said Curtis got hurt?”

“He and Shiro lead a team to Honerva’s lab, with Rieva and Mum... Honerva turned her magic against on Curtis, the demon in him stronger now. He’s still him, he just... has issues”

“Like my issues or Matt’s issues?”

“He’s thirsty for Shiro, but I guess yours because you care about people and don’t like your ego... He gets these moments where... he’s not seeing anything in our world. It’s kind of creepy”

“I’m sure Coran will know what to do”

“Yeah. Shiro thinks maybe now the demon is stronger that Coran might be able to rip it out”

That’d be awesome if he could. Lance wanted Shiro and Curtis to have the same kind of disgusting love as him and Keith

“I hope so... Curtis deserves more than having his mind under attack”

Keith reached up, pulling Lance down beside him in the sand. There was going to be sand everywhere now, and he didn’t want a third shower for the day... whelp, it sucked fo be hurt

“He’ll be fine. Hey, can we have Christmas when we get home? I got you a present”

Lance was caught of guard. He assumed they’d moved past Christmas and none of their friends would care for it

“It’s February”

“So? I want to see everyone again and eat lots of food then vege out with you”

“You do that anyway”

“Mmm, but we didn’t get to have Christmas... and you were sick”

“Morning sickness”

“You haven’t thrown up a lot today”

Cuddling into Keith, Lance kept himself propped up with his right arm. He’d thrown up, Keith had missed most of it. He’d thrown up after dinner, and while Rieva was closely pouring over his will

“I did, but it’s okay”

“It’s not. I wish you didn’t keep throwing up. It’s not fair”

“Making babies does that”

“But, you’re like, my boyfriend. And you’re so strong. You don’t complain about it. You don’t get mad at me and it’s weird”

Lance smiled, dropping a kiss on Keith’s pouting lips. Keith would take all the bad bits of pregnancy if he could, but Lance would never ask him too

“I’ll admit that the idea of baby scared me. Twins shook me completely. I wanted years with you first. You and me, working out our relationship and future, then kids maybe. I still feel like I don’t deserve happiness, being a vampire and all”

“I want to make you happy”

Happy was a hard word. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d smiled, let alone laughed, before Keith came for him

“You do. I know a lot changed while you were gone, but what can I do to support and make things easier for you?”

“Let me in. You’ve stopped doing that stupid smile, where smile through your pain, but now you clam up and I feel like one day you’ll shut me out for good. I want you to want to tell me”

“I do want to tell you. I’ve been told I can be very stubborn”

“Tell me about it! You wouldn’t believe someone out stubborned me, then you came along”

“Technically I was living my life the best I could, and then you came along”

“I blame Luis. He’s a dick. If he ever wants to talk to you again, he has to go through me first”

Keith might want the best for him, but never seeing his brother again filled him with sadness. All his siblings had been at the funeral service for their Mami. Rachel and Marco both stared up at him as he wasn’t seated down with the rest of the congregation. He felt like he deserved to be, yet for Mami’s sake he wanted to keep the peace one last time... that and he felt ill for the whole service. Death lingered in the church. His Mami was gone. He’d bled. Fighting was the last thing he’d wanted to do.

“I don’t think he’ll cause any trouble”

Luis wouldn’t want to come near him now, lest Lance sneeze and magic him into a vampire. Veronica might. Marco... would if he was being nosy... Rachel... nope, he didn’t know what Rachel would do. Mami was the glue that held them together and now that glue was gone they were like a broken book with pages going everywhere

“Still. I’ll smack him one”

Luis wouldn’t take a hit from Keith. His brother was hold. He’d probably end up with something broken and suing Keith

“It’s okay. It’s enough you want to protect me”

Keith’s tone turned unexpectedly serious, galaxy eyes locking with his, flicking away for a second, then back again as Keith nodded to himself before replying

“I might not be Mami, but I’m going to protect you. I will. I promise I will”

“You don’t have to be Mami. I like my Keith the way he is. A little angry. A little rude. A little pouty. You showing your emotions makes me happy...”

“I’m so lame. You sound all grown up and I’m lame!”

And there was intoxicated Keith again

“You’re not lame. Seriously, I want to support you. If you need anything, I want you to tell me”

Keith scrunched his face up as if he was thinking really hard. Lance gave him a few moments before nudging Keith, Keith opened his eyes, looking disappointed

“I think I need to pee”

Lance let his head drop. Defeated by intoxicated Keith, he had no words. No more attempts at serious conversation until they back in Platt. It’d be easier. Keith would be in a safe place where he knew he could talk freely, and there’d be no tequila in sight.

#once bitten twice stupid #oncebittentwicestupid #ashratherose

[joongie-teez]

A Crushed Crush </3 01

Pairing: Jimin x reader

Genre: fluff, angst, college!au 

Warnings: Jungkook is being a little dirty minded

Word count: 1,9k

Summary: Prepare yourself to be crushed because of a little innocent crush

Park Jimin.

The well known ‘angel’ of the school. Everyone knew him, everyone adored him. And most importantly of all, everyone had a crush on him, even most of the guys. You were no exception to that. He was popular, extroverted and had a huge fanbase for he could sing and dance. He always sat in the front of the class, always got A grades and everyone wanted him in their club. 

Then there was you, a shy little potato without any friends in your class. You always sat in de back of the classroom and nobody really knew you. You were a loner, an einzelgänger. So why, did you develop a crush for Park Jimin of all people? Was it because of his charming looks and his cute giggles? Or because he was always nice to everyone? You truly didn’t understand why, the only thing you knew for sure is that you wouldn’t stand a chance with him. 

So you decided to admire him from afar, never talked to him, never made eye contact. And most importantly of all, never crossed his way. Social interaction was already hard enough, but social interaction with Jimin seemed almost impossible.

After school, you would work in a cute little coffee shop with your two only friends, Yoongi and Jin. Jin was the owner of the shop and Yoongi was his old friend. The three of you immediately hit off. Jin being the loud and energetic mom-type, Yoongi the quiet but sassy type and you being the shy and awkward type. They are the only two people in the whole world who knew about your little crush on a guy from your school. You never even told your own parents about it And you were never planning on letting anyone else knew about your little secret.

<\3 <\3 <\3

Today was just a normal day. 

It started out with your English and math class with Jimin and his two friends Taehyung and Jungkook. These two are following Jimin around like little puppies. Everywhere Jimin goes, these two go, it’s cute honestly. Well, it was cute if those two didn’t look like two sex gods but instead two nerdy guys. It’s no wonder those also got their own fanbase, alongside Jimin. And let me tell you, these fans were crazy. Not the cute jealous girlfriend crazy, no, the straight-up Yandere crazy.

A year ago, there was a new girl in school who got shown around by Jimin. She got a little to close to him physically and, well, let’s just say that no one ever heard of her again.

After school you went to your work, excited to see Yoongi and Jin again. Because you weren’t good with socializing, and Jin knew this, but you were good at baking, Jin let you work at the back instead of behind the counter. 

Walking inside, you were immediately hit with the smell of fresh coffee and apple pie. The cute little coffee shop had a soft feeling, the walls being coated with a soft baby pink colour. Jin had made sure to get the most comfortable couches and chairs for his customers and honestly, you sometimes just wanted to take one home. 

“Oh (Y/N)! You’re finally here!”

Jin shouted as soon as he saw you walk in. He walked out of the back, holding a spatula in his hand. He was wearing his cute soft pink apron, which was now coated with flower and strawberry jam.

“Jinniee! I missed you!”

Lucky for you the café was pretty quiet at this time of the day and you didn’t have to feel self-conscious about anything you said. You went in for a hug but stopped at the last second, looking at the huge red spot of strawberry jam on his apron. 

“Aww why did you stop (Y/N)-ie?”

“I’m wearing my good clothes, I won’t let you ruin them.”

Jin looked at you with a faked hurt look on his face.

“You would choose your clothes above your friends? Yahhh that hurts.”

You looked at his face preparing a comeback, but bursted out laughing now you’ve gotten a better look at his face. Its seems like the flower didn’t only end up on his apron.

“HAHAHA, Jin you have a little something there.”

“What where?!”

<\3 <\3 <\3

In the back where you were planning to try out this new receipt you found online you were about to grab your own cute little apron when Jin called out once more.

“Ah Y/N! I need you to take the orders today, Yoongi is sick and I don’t have anyone else available.”

“B-but Jin, you know I don’t do well with talking!”

“I know and I’m sorry, but please (Y/N)?”

He asked you with his big puppy eyes, silently begging you to agree to his request. You were a sucker for cute puppy eyes and Jin knew it. You stared intimately at each other for a hot minute. You are not going to give, you not giving in. Goddammit it’s too cute.

“Alright, but just this once!” You said while pouting. Inside your head, a mental breakdown started forming. You used to have panic attacks in situations like this, but luckily for you, you’ve gotten help with that. That didn’t mean you were happy about this, though. 

“Thank you so much, I own you one!”

And just like that this normal day, turned into a disaster. You messed up orders, said ‘good morning’ when you should have said ‘thank you’ and sometimes forgot how to speak altogether.

But you knew you should’ve never left the house this morning the moment that Jimin and his friends walked into the store and towards the counter. 

The door of the little café opened at the little bell rang through the store, signaling that someone has come inside. You looked up from the coffee machine to look at the new customer. Walking towards the counter you were behind, was Park Jimin with his two friends, Jeon Jungkook and Kim Taehyung. 

You almost dropped the cup you were holding.

Jimin looked like an absolute god, wearing his ripped jeans, white shirt and with his black beanie on top of his black hair. His stylish sunglasses covering his eyes he scanned the counter, noticing someone was standing there and began his stride towards you. You looked around, hoping to find one of your colleagues to take over, but sadly luck wasn’t on your side today. You slowly made your way over to the counter, wondering if your clothes looked presentable and if your hair wasn’t too messy after a long day. By the time you finally arrived there, Jimin was already waiting for you. 

“Uhm..hi...what would you…uhm….like?” You whispered in a small voice, not daring to make eye contact with anything else than your hands.

“Hi, I guess. Anyways, I would like the Americano. Kook, Tae what would you guys like?”

“I would like a taste of that girl.” Jungkook said while bursting out in laughter. 

What did he just say?

While the three guys in front of you were laughing about the little joke Jungkook made, you stood there in shock, not knowing what to reply or if you were to even reply at all.

“Ahhh, Kookie I think you broke the little girl.”

“Guys, don’t be mean. Just add a green tea and a cappuccino with my order, thank you.”

You slightly nodded, while still looking at Jimin with wide eyes open in shock. Snapping out of your trance after Jimin raised an eyebrow you wrote down the rest of the order and let them pay. They walked away to the corner of the store while talking excitedly about their day. You looked after them with longing eyes, only to be shocked out of your trance when Jin called you to help out with an order.

The rest of the day went pretty smoothly after that absolute humiliation interaction. At least you didn’t mess up any orders anymore. By the end of the day, you and Jin locked the store and began your walk home. 

“Soooo…. Jimin is the mysterious guy, huh?”

“I don’t understand what you’re getting at.”

“Aw, come on (Y/N), it was pretty obvious that you’re into him.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

.

.

.

.

“Was it really that obvious?”

“HAHAHA, I knew it!”

“Ugh shut up.”

“Awh, is little (Y/N) embarrassed? (Y/N) and Jimin sitting in a tree-“

“I SAID SHUT UP!”

<\3 <\3 <\3

The next day you woke up with really big bags under your eyes because you’ve been up till 2 am having fun with friends. Well, read about people who were having fun with their friends. You slowly got out of bed, so you wouldn't get dizzy, and walked towards the bathroom to start your morning routine. Looking in the mirror, you let out a big sigh. 

“Allright yesterday was horrible, but today is another day! It’s going to be a beautiful day and everything is going to be just fine. It’ll be a normal day where no one will notice me, just how I like it!”

You spoke to yourself in the mirror. After a bad day, it always helped to encourage yourself to take a step outside the house the next morning. 

It was going to get really cold today so you decided to put on one of the thickest and comfiest sweaters you got and some high waisted pants. After brushing your hair you decided to just wear it down, being too lazy to even try to get it to look good. You walked towards your closet to look at your beanie collection. Eventually, you decide to go with a beanie with cat ears and a cute little cat face on the front. 

Walking downstairs, your little kitty greeted you at the bottom, probably in need of new food and water. After taking care of your baby, you decide to just grab a cracker and head towards school, already being a little late.

<\3 <\3 <\3

Forget all that talk about today being a good day.

You’ve gotten halfway through the day, without having any trouble. But of course, the universe decided to play you. History was the last class of the day, and of course the class that’s all about the group projects. You hated group work, especially in pairs cause then you would have to say things to each other. Nobody wanted group works with you anyways, all they’ll say is ‘are you new here’ and ‘why are you so quiet’.  They never were quiet tho, you could always hear them talking badly of you afterward to their friends. But what you hated even more, was the next sentence the teacher spoke.

“The next pair will be….. (L/N) (Y/N) and Park Jimin.”

Oh fuck.

#jimin x reader #bangtan x reader #networkbangtan #bangtanarmynet #park jimin x reader #park jimin #jimin #taehyung #kim taehyung #jungkook #jeon jungkook #bts fanfic #bts member x reader #bts fluff #fluff #bts college au #college bts #story: A Crushed Crush

[halinski]

Feb 15. The Day After

My... Post-valentine's day fic! I'm super late and I'm super sorry but honestly I didn't think I would be finishing this at all so... Success!!! It's not my best work but this is for a few wonderful people who prompted me, aka

@vibranivmheart

@princecharmingwinks

@c0tt0nstar

@my-son-is-dating-a-werewolf

@sherwhoharryhungerfan

Thank you so much for this, it got me writing and made me feel good about writing!

And also this is for my darling @lokiofasgcrd bc it's her birthday today in her time zone!!!! ❤️ (And I have nothing else for her yet, I feel awfulllll but pssst go wish her a happy birthday!)

It's still the 15th here soooo still the day after so this totally works. Enjoy!

It was a tattoo. That was what Derek had always told everyone. A tattoo to remember his family with - and what he'd done to them. Truth be told, while it still served that purpose - weighing on his shoulder blades like the end of the world - the rest was a lie. The triskele just so happened to be his family's emblem but also, it was his soulmate mark. Appearing in his 18th year of life like an itch, Laura had been the first to notice it, touching his back with trembling fingers and a soft sob. They'd both had the same thought - or at least Derek was convinced - that it was a confirmation of his damnation. He wasn't meant to have a soulmate. His family was his love and he'd killed them.

He'd convinced himself of it. Derek Hale had no soulmate. When he said that people wouldn't believe him at first - everyone had a soulmate - but when they saw his bare chest, arms and back (beside the curved black lines) the disbelieving looks would turn into ones of pity. Birthmarks weren't usually so bold and dark and defined. Oh, poor Derek Hale, fated to be all alone in this world. Yeah, he was. So what? Derek made sure to come off as rough on the edges as he felt so they would think he deserved it and left him alone.

Of course, there was one person who never seemed to get the message. A certain someone who always loved crawling back under Derek's skin no matter how many times he pushed him away. He practically never left.

Derek fully expected Stiles to be behind the door when he opened it, but he'd been so focused on his sugary vanilla scent that he hadn't even noticed Lydia's. Hers was the first face he saw when he opened the door. Then behind her, Stiles.

Stiles and his gorgeous honeydew eyes that pulled him in for eternity and the trails of stardust on his skin.

Stiles.

Stiles, whose gaze dropped down to Derek's bare torso and quickly was averted but not before those cheeks bloomed up in pink oh so deliciously.

Stiles.

Derek had to tear his eyes away from the male at his doorstep and back to the redheaded banshee who was less gentle on Derek, looking him up and down with a smirk. He crossed his arms over his chest defensively. When she had asked when he would he back from his run, he hadn't expected her to come over right away.

"What are you doing here?" Derek pressed out, sounding more hostile than he had intended, even to his own ears. He saw Stiles flinch, and a bitter coating, like blood, settling on his tongue.

"Hot and sweaty. Just how we like our men, huh?" Lydia said, nudging Stiles with a chuckle and completely ignoring Derek as she slipped past him.

"I um... ," Stiles let out a cough and hesitated on following her, eyes flitting around, only meeting Derek's for a fraction of a second - almost as if he was scared. Derek could smell the anxiety wafting off him. The bitter taste weighed heavier.

Derek turned away.

"What do you want?" He asked, trying to focus on Lydia who was making herself at home in his kitchen, rooting the cupboards. But Stiles' heartbeat was the only thing that rang through his ears, every small jump in it alerting Derek to danger - even if the only dangerous thing in proximity was Derek. It drove him crazy sometimes. All the bouncing off the walls, the back and forth, the rise and fall of his emotions. Stiles was… a whirlwind. An endless source of energy, of life. Strong enough to reignite Derek's will to live. And that was saying something.

Anyway- Lydia.

“Oh, you know," the girl closed the cupboard and turned around again, her hair cascading over her shoulder. Not that she had actually done anything with the cupboards, or whatever was in them. Pacing forward dramatically, Lydia placed her palms on the granite counter of the island. And smiled. "I had an idea."

Stiles let out a heavy breath from behind Derek and Derek could only agree with his quiet murmur of, "oh boy."

"You know what day it is today, right?" Lydia asked.

“...Thursday."

“Lydia rolled her eyes. "Not the day of the week, idiot."

Derek frowned. Idiot was his word to use. Usually with Stiles, whose heart beat right now sped up. Derek refused to turn around to check on him.

"It's the 14th," Derek stated, crossing his arms.

“Exactly!" Lydia beamed successfully. "February 14th, aka, Cupid's day." Derek didn't need the reminder. The hearts and pink and red and chocolates had been all over the place for weeks. It's why Derek had been spending more time indoors.

“See, we're all busy today-”

"Lydia," came Stiles soft protest.

“But Stiles here was yapping my ear off about being lonely and all alone on this special day-"

"I never said that!" Stiles burst out somewhere in the background but Lydia carried on undeterred.

"So, of course, I'm calling the gang together to organize a little something. We're going to whip up something quick and sweet for the both of you," Lydia said matter-of-factly.

Derek raised an eyebrow. He was almost afraid to ask. "What does this have to do with me?"

“You deserve something special?, too. Plus, you're free today, so you can keep poor lonely Stiles' company."

“I have things to do," Derek protested, giving her a pointed look. "It's just another day. I don't believe in a commercialized holiday geared towards heteronormativity and capitalism."

“Yeah! What he said!" Stiles followed up. "Derek, I swear, I didn't-"

"See, this is why you two should spend the day together. You're perfect for each other," Lydia said. "You're going to have a lot to talk about." She folded her hands and smiled like she had already won.

Derek kept his face schooled and shook his head. "I don't know what you're up to and I don't care either," he told her. "I'm going to go shower."

Without sparing a glance at the bewildered Stiles, Derek turned and left the room, immediately heading into the bathroom. He went to the shower knob immediately and turned the water on. That didn't drown the voices from the kitchen out though.

“Lydia, what the fuck!"

"I'm just helping you out, what's the big deal?"

“The big deal? The big deal! You're putting both Derek and me in a really awkward position here. We both already know we're like the 7th and 8th wheel in the pack and that we're the only ones left. I don't need you pushing him into any uncomfortable situations. Who knows what Valentine's Day reminds him of..."

“Well, then, it's time to make new memories."

“Lyds, this is stupid. Me and him? That'll absolutely never happen."

“It absolutely could!"

“He doesn't like me like that. And if you can't see that maybe you don't deserve the fields medal in the near future because- because it's obvious. Derek... barely tolerates me."

And Derek doesn't. He can't like Stiles like that. He absolutely does not. Derek Hale isn't made for love, he reminds himself as he leans his forehead against the cold tile, wishing it could numb his brain.

*********

When Derek left the bathroom, Stiles was still there. Sitting on the kitchen counter on his own. He choked on the smoothie he was drinking when Derek walked by.

"I uh... H-hi," Stiles sputtered. Derek appreciated that Stiles averted his gaze from Derek's half-nude form. There was only a towel around his hips shielding him from complete humiliation. Not that Derek technically minded being naked, even in front of people. He just didn't appreciate the sexualization, the objectification.

Whatever Stiles thought he felt for Derek it was probably just that; hormones and physical attraction. It made Derek's facial expression hardened, pulling up the walls around him and challenging the situation.

Stiles' heartbeat clearly sped up as Derek walked over, grabbing a cup and filling it with tap water to drink. Stiles didn't turn to follow Derek's movements but the little droplets sliding from Derek's hair still struck his skin icily.

"Lydia... Made us these, I guess," Stiles said, passing his smoothies from one hand to the next, rolling it between his palms. Derek was ready to watch it slip and fall and shatter. Maybe he was ready to jump over and catch it. He didn't want to think about it. But he did look over to the second serving of the smoothie. Banana and strawberry. His favorite.

"She also, um, took my car keys, so... I'm kind of stuck... Here," Stiles added, clearing his voice. He finally looked up when Derek walked over to grab the second smoothie. But he also kept his gaze on Derek's face, as if calculating, trying to read the silent werewolf's thoughts.

"I didn't plan this," he continued.

It wasn't a lie.

"I mean, Valentine's Day is bullshit, like you said. Why should I feel any different than any other day?" Stiles looked away as he said this. looked down into the pink smoothie that had a strawberry cut out of a heart on top of it. it was... not totally a lie. Stiles was too good at words sometimes for Derek to be able to tell what it meant.

Obviously, the silence from Derek was awkward, because Stiles twitched and shifted on the counter, one leg rhythmically tapping against its side. But Derek didn't know what to say. Couldn't talk, tongue tied.

It was any other day.

“Did you know that Valentine's day-"

"Stiles, you can stay. I don't care," Derek told him as he turned to go to him room so he could get dressed. The words felt wrong in his mouth but it didn't hit Derek until he saw Stiles' shoulders slump just before he left his sight.

"Yeah... Okay," came the quiet reply from behind him. ****

Stiles was acting considerably more normal now that Derek had a shirt back on. Derek wished he could say the same about himself but he really couldn't tell anymore what his own normal was. His perception of himself was kind of skewed. It happened sometimes when your first girlfriend died in your arms, then you get abused by an older woman who kills almost your whole family as a teen, and then your uncle goes crazy and kills your sister so you have to kill your uncle, while taking care of a bunch of teenagers, some of who are freshly bitten. Sometimes Derek wasn't sure he knew left from right anymore.

But right now, Stiles was in his living room, sitting on the couch with Derek's laptop and telling by his soft chuckles listening to something funny and that was calming enough. Though- considering it was Stiles he could also be laughing at something that was not actually average person funny.

Unfortunately, this moment of normalcy, where Derek could revel in the soft content didn't last very long. Stiles looked up only a moment after Derek stopped in his tracks, crossing his arms and training his eyes on the door. He could hear a car pull up downstairs

“It’s the pizza,” Derek guessed uncomfortably, immediately reintroducing the tension into the room. Stiles quickly put up a hopeful grin.

“I mean, can you really say no to free pizza?” he asked, giving Derek a pointed look.

Derek sighed. There was no way he could argue about just how ridiculous this was without bringing up what he didn’t want to talk about, aka the pack’s painfully obvious attempts to try and get the two of them together. Shortly after Lydia had left, Erica and Boyd had appeared, bringing a bunch of chocolates and some rom-com with them, ordered pizza and then pretended a reservation they had been waiting for cleared up all of a sudden. Derek had been able to hear there was no one on the other end of that phone call. He wasn’t an idiot. The one thing he had missed was that one of them had stolen the keys to the camaro as well, so that Stiles actually was stuck here. With Derek. With free pizza and chocolates and a movie. It was turning out to be a date if they wanted it to be or not.

When Derek returned back upstairs with the giant pizza box, Stiles had put the laptop away and was standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room.

“You know, I can leave if you really want me to. I can walk home, it’s not that far. And the pizza, well, it’s not like I can’t order some for myself. You said you have things to do but now you’re just hanging out around here with me but we’re still both doing our own thing and I-” Stiles started but Derek wasn’t going to have him ranting his way out into the cool evening to walk all the way home. He walked past him to set the pizza down.

“I told you, I don’t mind,” Derek said.

“That doesn’t mean you actually want me here,” Stiles pointed out. “I’m totally invading your free time and private space-”

“You’re not walking home.” And before Stiles could open his mouth again, Derek shook his head. “I didn’t actually have anything to do today, I just…”

“You didn’t want anyone bothering you,” Stiles guessed, another wave of unhappiness, discomfort or something, running through him, strong enough for Derek to feel.

“It’s not-” Derek started to argue, but what was he going to say? Was he going to blurt out all his feelings about how he couldn’t have Stiles even if he wanted to? How he might actually yearn for some closeness and warmth and comfort from another person? How he wondered if Stiles had a mark - he had to have it. Everyone had a soulmark and Stiles was 19 by this point. Just, Derek hadn’t seen anything. No one had said anything. Stiles usually wore long sleeves. There was still no way. Stiles had a soulmark and a soulmate that wasn’t Derek. Because Derek didn’t have a soulmate.

And even without that, would it even make sense? He was the Alpha, Stiles was the emissary… that’s just not what their relationship was supposed to be. It was strictly business- well, pack too but. His mother didn’t date Deaton, did she? That would just be weird.

No soulmates.

“It’s not you,” Derek then said, trying to convince himself of it. Stiles wasn’t his soulmate.

“Derek, you really don’t have to-”

“I just… it’s the whole soulmates crap, you know?” he said, without looking over at Stiles, running off to the kitchen to get them plates, napkins and drinks. He continued when he came back, settling down on the couch. “It’s all everyone talks about ever, and then today… literally nothing else in the universe exists. It just gets kinda old when you don’t have a soulmate yourself.”

Derek busied himself with opening the pizza, stopping short when he was faced with a semi-heart shaped blob of grease. He glanced over at the other male, only to find Stiles staring off into the distance with a frown.

“Yeah, no, I get that,” Stiles muttered, a hand rubbing over his chest. A chest, within which a heartbeat made a few extra skips. “I mean, soulmates? Can the universe decide for you who you’re supposed to be with? Unconditional love with random people. That doesn’t happen. Only with family is that a thing. Like my dad. I could kill someone and he’d probably love me.”

Derek refrained from pointing out that new families would start out with couples. He tore his gaze away from Stiles’ red shirt.

“That’s because you wouldn’t kill without reason,” Derek said simply, handing over a plate with a piece of the pizza. Stiles stared at him curiously and Derek didn’t try to figure out what for.

“It’s meat lover’s,” he pointed out about the heart shaped atrocity before him. And Stiles snorted at the irony- because yeah, it was just fucking hilarious-  but he didn’t address what was supposed to be going on here.

The bitter taste in Derek’s mouth returned.

****

It happened when Stiles was changing for bed, Derek having given him some spare clothes to sleep in. No need to organize to get back home at this point, Derek had said. And he could just sleep on the couch, Stiles had added with a shrug. It had gotten late anyway. They had ended up watching the movie as they sat on opposite sides of the couch awkwardly, a ghostly cool vacancy occupying the third seat between them.

But now, Derek was the one with the wild beating heart, rooted to the ground like he had been struck by lightning, his breath catching in his throat.

By the time Stiles had lowered the shirt down over his head and could see Derek again, Derek was gone.

In his room, Derek stood unsure at the side of his bed, trying to stop his thoughts from racing.

It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t. He’d seen wrong, he was dreaming. He… The press of claws into his palm pricked and stung and Derek exhaled.

He knew what he had seen, the soft brown moles, splattered over Stiles’ breastbone, grouped together closely to form a swirling mark. A clear mark. Three swirls. A triskele to match the charred coal one on Derek’s back.

**********

Naturally, Derek couldn’t sleep. Here Valentine’s Day had come and passed, he’d found out Stiles had a mark that looked just like his own and yet he had done nothing. He lay in bed, limbs heavy with panic and fear, but mind racing with the need to act.

Because Stiles.

Maybe Stiles could actually be his. And just that possibility made it feel impossible to be here without him. It wasn’t right. It was…

He had to do something.

Stiles himself had been tossing and turning on the couch. It wasn’t a comfortable couch, Derek had told him that right away.

Derek stood.

“Stiles,” he said, popping up at the doorway. “Take the bed.”

Stiles turned to him. “I’m not going to steal your bed from you.”

“We can both fit.”

“But- it’s your bed… and my scent-”

“You’re keeping me up.” Derek was glad that Stiles’ didn’t share the same powers of playing lie detector.

“Oh.”

After a minute or so, Stiles rose, and lifted the blanket with him at first, than stopped- before deciding to take it with him after all. He sheepishly walked past Derek into the bedroom. He halted before getting on the bed.

“Are you-”

“Get in the bed, Stiles.”

“You know I never thought I would be hearing that from you, concerning your bed,” Stiles said as he obeyed, shuffling under the covers.

Derek couldn’t tell what he was actually smelling and what was just wishful thinking.

“Shut up, Stiles. Or there won’t be any cuddling.”

Stiles coughed. There was definitely a flourish of emotion drifting over from Stiles as Derek settled between the sheets again. A scent that was exciting and comforting at the same time. Like an adventure leading home. Derek fought himself not to lie on his side and face Stiles. He turned the other way and closed his eyes. It was comforting to find that he was unbothered by the fact that Stiles could stab him in the back while Derek was unprotected, but he trusted him not to.

“Asshole,” Stiles said softly. His voice was fond.

Derek smiled.

*******

He felt the pull first, before he woke. Then the warmth, vibrating through him, from the middle of his back, along his shoulders, around his waist. And… Stiles. It was his scent, his body pressed against his, a grounding arm holding him close.

Derek let his eyes drift open into the early morning haze. He could feel Stiles' soft skin beneath his fingertips and he looked down at the arm that kept him safe. It had been half an eternity since he'd felt so whole, so unbroken.

It took him a while to understand the warm, fulfilling feeling but the revelation soon sank into his bones with a guest of happiness. He was anchored. Through Stiles' heartbeat, through his triskele-adorned chest, through to Derek's marked back and enstrengthened spine, all the way through to his heart.

And Derek knew this was where he meant to be, safe and protected by Stiles, his trusted and loyal emissary, his mate.

****

Derek was still in the kitchen when Stiles started to stir. His heartbeat tripped over itself as he tried to hurry to but the cinnamon toast together, nicely presented on Derek's finest plate (though in an amateur way).

"Come on, come on," he urged the coffee machine, as if he would succumb to his pleading, while he shifted on his feet and glanced toward the bedroom. Fresh cinnamon toast, two mugs of coffee, and the chocolates that Derek grabbed from the bag Erica had brought soon adorned a tray Derek had surprisingly found in his kitchen. And he reminded himself to walk slowly and calmly as to not spill anything. Despite what Stiles believed werewolves were not exempt from clumsiness. Derek had broken glasses and a vase or two, plus a window once, in his time.

To say he was nervous about confronting Stiles after their impromptu unconscious nightly cuddle session was an understatement. Probably because what he was getting at was that they might be mates- were mates.

Oh boy, this was going to be a ride. But life was always a rollercoaster of surprises with Stiles. Good thing Derek liked rollercoasters.

He took a breath and entered the room, drawing Stiles' attention from the phone he was checking on the bedside table. Stiles sat up in surprise.

"Is that… you made me… breakfast in bed?" He asked, mouth hanging open.

Derek shrugged as best as he could and smiled sheepishly. Stiles' mouth fell open wider.

"Happy Valentine's day?" He tried, miming the writing on the heart-shaped box of chocolates, setting down the try on Stiles' lap and anxiously clasping his hands together behind his back.

"It's not Valentine's day," Stiles pointed out, gaping at the display in front of him before turning his stare at Derek again.

Derek could feel not only his ears but also his cheeks starting to burn.

"Well, I fucked up that opportunity yesterday so I'm hoping to make up for it today… Happy day after Valentine's day?"

"Wha… why?" Derek could see Stiles' Adam's apple work, could see the hope in his eyes, sense his fear. He sat down on the bed at Stiles' side.

"Because I've been an idiot," Derek sighed. He grabbed the hem of his shirt to pull it off, showing Stiles the black spiraled design he knew so well. "It's not a tattoo."

Derek was too afraid to look at Stiles but could hear the soft exhale that came from the other male when he understood. A second later, there was a soft touch, triggering an exploding warmth from the center of Derek's back, a tingling shudder running through him.

"It's your soulmark," Stiles whispered and Derek looked up to meet his eyes in confirmation, feeling the connection spreading as Stiles' palm settled against his skin.

"I have… it's," he started, then pulled away as he struggled to dispose of his own shirt.

"I know," Derek said softly, gaze falling onto the soft dotted triskele on Stiles' chest. He followed the rising blush up to Stiles' face. "I saw it last night."

Stiles' lips quirked up.

"That's why the whole bed and breakfast in bed thing," he said cheekily. "You're wooing me."

Derek really should have expected for Stiles to find amusement in this. No matter that they were mates and Derek just wanted to treat him nice.

"It's working," he countered with his own smirk. "You took your shirt off for me." Stiles huffed and crossed his arms as if to shield himself from Derek's gaze.

"You took your shirt off first."

"Yeah, but you've never taken your shirt off in front of anyone else." Derek could only hope Stiles could hear the appreciation in his voice, because he knew his emissary despite all his cuteness - and tremendous power - was horribly self-conscious. No matter the mask he put up.

The food and coffee hadn't been touched yet, both of their interests elsewhere, so Derek moved the tray to the side and scooted closer. Stiles watched him, shifting forward  as he did so, hands falling into  his lap. Derek reached over to take one of them lightly, cradling it in both of his, and it was almost like he could feel Stiles' happiness flutter through to him.

Stiles' scent spiked with nervousness as Derek's gaze fell to the soft curve of his lips.

"I'm going to kiss you now," Derek declared, "but only if you want me to." Stiles was nodding before Derek had even finished his sentence. "Yes. Yes, I want you to."

It wasn't fireworks and lightning when their lips met but all pieces fell into place and life's puzzle was solved and solidified. Derek could have stayed there forever, gazing into Stiles' eyes, feeling his soft breath against his lips, that still tingled. Talk about post-kiss bliss.

But of course, the pack always had to find a way to get involved. A knock rang out a few seconds before the loft door rolled open with a squeak and Isaac's voice rang out.

"Hello? We uh- we haven't heard from either of you so the pack made me check in and see if… if, uh.."

"We're busy, Isaac," Derek said with an unhappy grunt.

"Don't kill me, I drew the short straw! And you know how scary Erica can be!"

"Isaac," Stiles interjected loudly. "I'm about to lay down that wood. And I don't care if you're here to hear it or not so…"

Derek covered his face and groaned, while Isaac squawked and tripped out the door again. Stiles just laughed. Derek waited till Isaac's quiet cursing was out of ear shot before he looked up again.

"I'll have you know that you're not getting in my pants on the first date," he told Stiles, who continued chuckling.

"Bummer," he replied offhandedly, but his eyes spoke only of happiness. "How about another kiss."

"Mh, that's still pretty demanding." Derek pulled a face and Stiles rolled his eyes.

"I don't know how wooed I am just yet, you know," Stiles warned Derek.

"Give me a day and then let's talk."

Stiles hummed appreciatively. "One day. Then there'll be evaluations. You've got one chance, Sourwolf. Pass or Fail. This is the test."

"You're so ridiculous," Derek complained, while a smile tugged at his lips.

"Hm. I'm not sure I like the sound of that. That'll be ten minus points on the record. You don't woo people by insulting them. Now that's just science."

"Shut up so I can woo you."

"Minus 20 points! This is not a good development. Not at all. You know you were doing good with offering the bed and then presenting br-"

Derek saw no other choice but to occupy Stiles' mouth with another kiss, this one longer, still gentle, but with more feeling. Stiles looked dazed when he pulled back.back.

"50 plus points," Stiles said quietly, cheeks blooming.

"Aaaand open up," Derek said, guiding a piece of cinnamon toast to Stiles' lips, who gladly took a bite of the bread.

He chewed and swallowed, beaming, like the sun to Derek's moon that he was.

"I should call you cheesewolf," Stiles teased. "You're so cheesy."

Derek let him take another bite before he retaliated. "Just looking for ways to shut you up," he said innocently.

Stiles nudged him with a playful glare. "Asshole," he muttered, mouth full.

"Idiot," Derek said fondly.

"You're a total romantic at heart. You're a secret cuddler. Cuddled with me all of last night even though you said you wouldn't."

Derek snorted. "That's just because you were being clingy." That was a total lie and he couldn't look Stiles in the eyes for it.

"Nah," Stiles said offhandedly, a thoughtful look forming on his face as he grabbed Derek's hand to intertwine their fingers. "It's because you belong in my arms."

And yeah, Derek had finally found home again.

#eternalsterek #sterek #fanfic #i wrote this #post-valentine's day #valentine's day

[askbloomtale]

Chapter 19 is finally up!!! So sorry about making you guys wait for so long... I have no excuse! But this is finally finished~ so go read it, and see how Athela meets two special brothers~

For those who can’t access AO3 or just don’t want to do it, the chapter is pasted under this sexy cut!!!

Bloomtale Chapter 19 – The suspect

Softness... warmth...

Athela opened her eyes slowly, hoping to see some light, a ray of sunshine, the trees of her home's forest... but she only got to see that familiar darkness she was already so used to.

That meant she was still underground. Well, of course... there was no way out, was there?

The young monster sighed, her mind still quite foggy form waking up, and moved her arm upwards, ready to take impulse and stand up; she had probably passed out in the snow again.

...

Her hand, however, found some resistance.

What... what was that? It felt like a blanket...

...

Wait a second.

She froze in place, confused and rattled. Not daring to make another movement; she had yet to analyze the situation. What was happening? Where was she? Did... did she die? But if that was the case, where was she now?? That wasn't snow, the air wasn't cold...

Cautiously, the skeleton moved her shoulders and neck, only to find out that her head was resting on something really soft. The surface she was lying on creaked softly as it slightly sunk, fluffiness and warmth filling her now cozy bones.

"Wha...?" Athela's voice felt rusty; her throat sore. She coughed, trying to get rid of the soreness, but it only got worse. Ugh. Well, whatever.

After making a few more movements, she arrived to some important conclusions. First of all: she wasn't dead. She wasn't back at the last save point and the usual headache didn't greet her, so she had probably survived the cold. She knew little more but one other thing: she was on a bed.

Where exactly? She didn't know.

How did she get there? She didn't know either, nope.

The last thing she had managed to recall so far... was that Flowey disappeared. And that she fainted... so, was she dead? Was this limbo? If that was the case, she would like to speak to God or whoever was in charge, because she was still unable to see a thing and it was very annoying.

...

No, wait.

She remembered now. Someone picked her up and ran. Did... did that person bring her to safety? Who was that person? Oh, if that was true she would have to thank them immensely.

So she was alive and safe. That... she almost couldn't believe it. It was too good to be true, in fact! Not like she didn't trust anyone nor anything anymore, but... why? It was not the first time she arrived to that spot, so why did someone appear? Did Flowey do something?

...

Unlikely. Highly unlikely.

Well, her glee would have to keep its cool until she actually found someone. Clearly there was no one there with her, so she would have to go look for the person who brought her there. Or... wait until they appeared. But Athela didn't want to wait, she felt too anxious.

She felt awful in general, to be honest. Her head was pounding, her bones were aching... but she felt good enough to stand up, so she got to the edge of the bed, thinking about the person who saved her. All her clothes were still on her, minus her shoes. She would find them eventually... maybe they were next to the bed. Just kneel down and... no... not there either...

...

...

Ah, there. Those felt like her boots. She carefully put them on and stood up, cautious. She still didn't know a thing about the place she was at, so she oughta be careful. She also needed to see if there was someone around to guide her, or at least to greet her.

"Hello...?" Oh no, there it was again. It was painful to speak... why? Was it the flower's fault? Was it... what was it? She coughed again, unvoluntarily, and felt even more like she had just fallen flat form the bed instead of just normally getting off it.

Shaking her head softly, she took one step forward. The floor was hard, probably wood, like the one on her own house. Athela moved her arms erratically, looking for any obstacle that she could crash onto. Eventually she found... a wall. Well, that was something, she could follow it to the door. Then, she would probably find someone... hopefully, at least.

Slowly, she got to the so desired door.

Hello, door. Are you closed?

No, you're not.

With a creak, the wooden piece opened, and now Athela was even more lost than before. Was she in a hallway, did she get outside....? Wait, no, not outside, it was too warm for it to be outside.

If she was still in Snowdin, that is. Maybe she was in another area... knowing how different the Ruins were from the forest, she wouldn't find strange another sudden change in temperature. The underground was a mysterious place...

The skelly called for help, again.

But nobody came.

Sighing, and clasping her neck with one hand, she tried to find a way out. Following the wall would be easy enough. Just how big was that place...? Ah, there you go, Athela, one step at a time. Good. Maybe find another door and...

Wait.

The floor suddenly disappeared...??

Oh no.

"Oh my GOD, I can't believe you died! What happened??" Flowey's laugh and the bitter cold greeted Athela after some minutes of darkness and headache.

She just wanted to curl up in a ball and cry, cry and cry a lot.

Why did this happen to her? Now that she was safe and warm, why...? Why?? Oh, the rage was building up so fast, she might just yell so loud even her mother would be able to hear her from outside that hellish place.

Or... well, she could've done it, if not for the sudden feeling of her head being about to explode.

"Gah!" With a weak cry, the skelly held her head and closed her eyes with force, trying to resist the pain.

"Hey, hey, tell me what happened!" Flowey poked Athela insistently. That, plus the enormous headache that suddenly assaulted her made the poor skeleton curl up in a ball and whine, both from pain and disgust.

Flowey just sighed upon this and retreated his vine. He wanted to know everything, since he hadn't been there to watch first-hand, but... yeah, her annoying headaches –those now were also annoying for Flowey too because; come on! leave already and let him know what he wants to know!– were in the way. Better just wait it out.

Flowey could wait.

"..." Athela could finally think clearly again. It had been just a moment, but for her it had felt like a whole hour. Was the pain getting worse? If that was the case... she was done for. Or she would be, if the resets kept coming.

Anywho, now she could be a decent person, not curse mentally and talk properly. She patted her hair, cleaning it from snow and other things that might've gotten stuck there during her little floor struggle, and then faced the direction she thought Flowey was. There was no way to know if it was the right direction though.

"Soooo?" The little weed sounded impatient. Like he couldn't wait to know the end of the last horror show. "Come on, tell me. How did you die now? Was the cold too much and you ended up passing out? Did someone try to hurt you?"

Flowey was making up so many theories in his mind. He even thought, for a second, that a small white dog might've showed up and stole one of her limbs and then she died. That would've been funny.

But nothing prepared him for what she would say next.

"I... think I fell down some stairs..." Athela managed to mutter. It was... embarrassing enough. She would've preferred to keep it to herself, jeeze. But who knows what the flower would do if she didn't satisfy his curiosity.

"Wha... the... the stairs?" Oh. Oh no, he was about to explode in laughter. Too late, he already did. "Ahahaha!! I can't... Are you serious?? I can't believe it ahahah..."

Athela frowned, humiliated and sad. Ok, so it had been her fault for not remembering that houses could indeed have stairs, but... on the other hand, she wasn't to blame at all! Because last time Athela had been living in a house with stairs, she had only six years old! Maybe less. She wasn't used to houses with stairs... so she thought...

Oh, what was the point in trying to excuse herself. Flowey wouldn't care, and in fact he was still laughing. The poor skeleton felt her face heatening up, and she would've cried if it weren't for the flowers that were deeply buried inside her eyesockets. That would not stop her from feeling awful, anyway.

She kept silent, waiting for Flowey to finish laughing.

...

Well, technically, she wasn't silent just because of that.

What was she supposed to do now? Should she just... try again and hope that person would appear again? Should she wait for that person to get to her and rescue her? Would it be necessary to move at all from that spot? Or maybe she needed to fullfill some requirements in order for that person to appear, but... which?

Perhaps Flowey knew...

"Flowey," Athela was also curious about another thing. Her brain was working so fast, she had around a million questions. Of course, she knew he wasn't going to answer most of them, but at least she had to try.

"Oh, golly. I have to thank you for the best laugh I had in... I don't know, a lot of time," Flowey still sounded gleeful. Well, good for him. She would still ask her questions. First of all...

"Do you know where that person took me? And how much time I spent there before I..."

"Before you fell down the stairs like the blind klutz you are? Hee hee hee..." He was still chuckling. Maybe the fact that he was in such a good mood would prove useful for her.

"Yes. I just noticed... when I woke up, I felt awful," she made some unconscious hand gestures around her throat as she spoke. "And it was difficult for me to speak, but... now I feel fine."

A few seconds of silence.

"Well, it's not like your voice isn't rusty right now, you know?" Flowey giggled.

"I... It is?" What a surprise. But she felt fine... as... as fine as she could feel at the moment, that is.

"You spent there half a day, more or less." Finally, an answer. "Well, maybe you're just constipated. Would explain the throat ache."

"Consti... pated?" Athela rose an eyebrow to herself, trying to understand what the flower was saying. And even though he knew she couldn't see him, Flowey rose an eyebrow and gave her a look that said 'really?'

Maybe she could feel it if he stared hard enough.

"Yes. Constipated. Ill. You know what that means, right? You're sick, maybe you have the flu," there were many ways to say the same thing. At that last sentence, Athela seemed to recognize some of the words.

"Ah! Mom fell sick once. She told me she had the flu," Athela smiled proudly and started explaining how one day her mom had spent all day out and it had been raining and then she came back home completely drenched and the next day she spent all day in bed, red like a tomato because she felt sick. "And then I got her some wet towels because she said..."

"Aaaarrrgggghhhh I don't care what she said, shut up!!" Flowey's annoyed voice made the poor skeleton freeze up and shut it. "Okay, so you know what that is, but apparently you never fell sick yourself."

"But... I'm a skeleton. I can't fall sick, right?"

Athela heard a soft slapping sound, and then a deep, deep sigh.

What?

But could she fall sick or not??

"Whatever," another sigh from the flower, who just chose not to answer her at all. "I'll just guess that your parents did a good job protecting you from germs."

"What? But my dad..."

"I don't care!" Flowey almost yelled again as he tried to keep Athela from saying unnecessary things. "I don't care. Just... stop talking and just... er..."

Silence.

Athela wondered if something was up again, or...

"Actually, I don't know if you should just wait out again. It worked last time..." Ah, no, he had just been thinking. It seems he had problems tying up his new wicked plan. Because it surely was wicked, Athela had experience already and could tell.

"Who saved me, Flowey? Do you know?" If Athela had any other question for this wicked flower, she had forgotten by now. She was interested on other things.

"I do know," short, grumpy answer, and then some whispering that Athela managed to hear. "He almost saw me last time, would be problematic if... no, but maybe I should just make her wait and then.... but that would be boring, argh..."

"... Flowey?" Athela muttered, not really wanting to interrupt. But her thirst for knowledge was stronger than her fear. "Who was that...?"

"Shush." One short hiss was all that Flowey had to do to make the poor skeleton shut up. He sounded really angry and focused. "Gosh, you're just like a child, so inquisitive and all. Stay quiet for a second, you idiot."

Jeeze, she just wanted to know...

But... anyway, if she managed to reunite with that person again, then it would be no problem asking. Maybe she should get going and, with some luck, she would encounter them again.

...

But she still didn't know what the condition for meeting them was. Did she need to do something, or did they just appear at random? Before she had any time to double think, she had already stood up. Apparently, that confused Flowey.

"What are you doing now?" He inquired, voice still sounding annoyed. Oops?

"Er... I'm going to... the place where..." Athela didn't know how to answer in an appropriate way. Was there a way he would get less angry?

"Oh my God. You'll just die again if you do that.... ..... but be my guest, come on." Apparently not. Athela's lack of knowledge was throwing him off edge. What was she missing??

"Wait, no, but... what should I do then?" She pleaded.

"Not telling you."

"Pleaseee?" Pleading would've been completely humiliating if this wasn't really important for Athela. It was the chance to meet another friendly monster! A monster that cared enough to actually save her. There was something... that made her want to know this above anything. So she played the part. "If you tell me I will keep quiet!"

...

That seemed to convince him alright. Was Athela THAT annoying? The skelly seemed a bit hurt over this, but... Flowey was just downright mean, nothing she could do about it.

"Well, it has to do with TIME, duh," Flowey started explaining with a slow tone, as if she were stupid. Which was annoying. "The timeline in which you encountered him, you stood here for a lot of time, whining like the baby you are. Then he had time to get there to save you."

"Oooh...." That made sense. She was not a baby, but that was... obvious. How didn't she think of that too? ... Maybe because she wasn't really focused at the moment.

"So your best friend Flowey recommends that you wait here for at least twenty minutes. Then you can go and probably meet your doom!" Athela knew Flowey so well by then that she was already imagining how he was moving. He was probably sticking his tongue out at her again while he winked like a... like a ... creepy weed with... eyes and mouth.

Yes.

She needed to get better at this insult game.

Athela didn't say anything. And Flowey didn't say anything, either. They were just there, silently waiting. Oh, the wait was so hard... for both of them. Both of them were stubborn and impatient. One more so than the other.

Because she had promised to keep quiet, there was nothing Athela could say; not like she wanted to speak with her killer, but... still, silent was difficult to bear with if you knew you had company.

Tick, tock.

How tedious.

...

Athela had started counting the seconds, when a sneeze interrupted her train of thought. It was quiet and weak, but it was hers. Weird. She felt colder all of a sudden...

"Huh. Standing still must've been getting you sicker," Flowey didn't sound worried, only thoughtful. His comments were appreciated in that frozen lake of silence, though.

Anyway, Athela would've preferred her mother. She missed her so much...

"I'm moving. It's been a while already..." She indeed felt worse than before... better get moving before the cold manage to sink through her bones.

"..."

There was no answer.

That made Athela nervous. Was he still there, or did he leave? N-not like she needed Flowey to go on, she already knew the way and honestly that weed creeped her out with his every word. So it was better if he wasn't around.

But if he wasn't around she could not know where he was, if he was plotting something in the shadows... uh, that was unsettling too. It seems like no matter where or what was Flowey doing, he always managed to make her feel bad.

Well, as Athela was saying, she didn't need him. He probably just resumed his stalker schedule to see how she played his game. His game... Flowey's game...

Flowey game.

Floweystep.

Super Flowey Bros.

Athela was thinking names for this "game" as she walked. She brushed a pinetree with her left arm, and so she knew she had to change directions. It was impressive how she was able to move swiftly while being blind... she almost felt proud of herself. Not like she could feel really proud; being blind was mostly her fault for being so clumsy anyway.

Oh, but the game thing. A name for it.

It needed to have Flowey's name in it, because Flowey was narcissistic like that. Or at least, he looked like he was. So maybe... Flowey's adventure? Too long.

Floweyventure. Uh, no.

Flowey...

Floweytale!

...

"I don't have any taste at naming games..." The skeleton sighed, saddened by her poor naming skills. Well, the time to think about that was over. Now she needed to concentrate at the puzzles that were coming next.

She kinda missed the times Flowey would solve them for her to make it all go quicker.

But that was bad. She couldn't become dependent of him. Not him, of all people. She would nail those puzzles, and then she would meet the person who saved her again. Just you wait and see. She could do this.

Athela opened her eyes, waking up from her slumber. The usual blackness met her, and this time she smiled. She could feel the softness of a bed, the warmth of a blanket.

She did it.

Well, she did die once before managing to do it for real. But now she was there, safe and sound, protected inside a house away from all that snow and cold death. She sighed, relaxing at last. There was nothing to fear now. Only stairs. But that was fine, she would just stay there, waiting.

...

She... wasn't good at waiting.

Both the expectation and eagerness of meeting someone new were rushing through her head, she was literally restless. At least now she knew more or less where she was and could process everything better, but... ugh. Where was her savior?

Athela sighed, trying to calm down. Be patient, Athela. Just pretend it's like when you were back home, waiting for mom to come back from work. Sometimes she took almost an entire day, but she would always come back. This was the same, that person couldn't just go away forever, right? They had to return to check on her. Maybe they just went to... get something. Or... well, it was no use worrying about that now. She just had to wait.

...

She couldn't just wait there on that bed. She... she didn't feel really good, physically speaking, but her mind was eager. So she stood up, caressing her neck softly.

It was sore.

She coughed, and that was painful.

...

So... skeletons COULD get sick, huh.

"I'll be fine..." Athela muttered to herself as she stood up from the bed. She put on her boots again, and she started walking across the room. Of course, she wasn't going to get out of it; dangerous stairs were out to get her. Begone, foul beasts!

No, she was just going to check the room.

Patting her surroundings, the skelly made her way to a table. It had small things resting on top... something that felt like figurines. Articulate dolls? They were small... maybe the room belonged to someone who really liked playing with action figures. She liked them, too. It was fun to play and pretend they were out on a mission to save the dragon from the mean knight who only wanted the princess' money and status.

She smiled, remembering her silly games. It had been a while... maybe she should play again sometime, when she got back home.

She would do that, definitely.

Not wanting to mess with someone else's belongings for long, she moved on. Next thing she found was... a bookshelf. Yeah, she easily recognized that, she had like four at her house. Filled to the brim with books, comics, and other cool things that could be read.

This one also seemed to have a wide variety of books... thin, thick, big, small, soft, hard. Wow. She wanted to know so bad what all those books were about... too bad she couldn't read anymore.

....

Sighing sadly, she left the bookcase alone and kept going through the room. Better forget she couldn't do one of the things she loved anymore because of her blindness... by.. touching a doorknob.

Wow, what. Another door? But the door was in the opposite direction, wasn't it? Weird... was this one open?

"there are no skeletons inside that closet, ya know? except my bro, sometimes," Athela went stiff when a deep voice interrupted her train of thought and her actions. What a scare...

"I... I'm sorry, I just... wanted to check, and..." Not daring to move, the skeleton started to feel her bonecheeks heating up because of the embarrassment. Oops, she had been caught snooping around.

But the newcomer didn't seem to mind her nosiness, or at least it looked like he didn't, because he let out a short laugh.

"hey, no sweat, gal. not my closet anyway," he sounded nice. Athela liked that. And... judging by what he just said, she had been about to enter a closet. And not his closet. So this was someone else's room... which meant he wasn't the one who saved her, right? Or at least, that was what she could deduce. Her brain was working so fast due to sheer nervousness and anticipation to meet her hero. But, if he didn't save her, who did? She turned around to ask, while the other guy kept talking to her. "so anyway, i came to check up on you because holy shit your eyes."

....

Oh. Oh, no, a swear. Bad word, bad.

"Er..." Athela felt uneasy. He sounded uncomfortable. Was he uncomfortable? So far, no one had said a word about her eyes... so why did he? No, but he sounded like he was really uncomfortable. She could hear him muttering something... what? she wasn't sure. But... whatever it was, she wasn't sure she wanted to know.

Was she just... gross to look at, with all those flowers covering her eyes? Oh no, surely she was. Oh no, she was starting to feel anxious. No words came out of her mouth... what could she even say in a situation like this?

That moment of silence was slowly turning into a deep, awkward one. Seems like the other guy didn't know what to say either.

...

...

Uh...

"BROTHER, YOU BETTER BE HERE AS I ASKED!!" Thankfully, another person came through the door and broke the suffocating silence with his high pitched voice. Was it really high pitched or was he just really excited? Whatever it was, Athela could feel a deep relief and a sigh coming up.

"hey bro," yes, that other guy also sounded relieved. "guess what."

"WHAT? DID UNYNE SHOW UP? I'VE BEEN CALLING HER!" The newcomer... didn't notice Athela was there. Probably he was busy talking to his brother.

Wait... his voice... sounded so familiar.

"nah, not yet. it's something else."

"WHAT? WHAT IS IT?" Oh, he was anxious to know. What his brother probably wanted to say is that she had woken up, but...

"well. you could ask her," ah, there it is.

"SANS, I CAN'T DO THAT, SHE'S STILL UNCONSCIOUS!! RIGHT, GIRL I DON'T KNOW YET?"

"........." Oh, oh no. He probably saw her and he didn't realize yet. That was so... funny?? She tried hard not to break into laughter. Best thing was that the other guy... Sans? was also silent, as if he were waiting for his brother to realize. Oh no.

"..."

"..."

Oh no. She was starting to break.

"OH MY GOD!" After a few moments, he seemed to realize. "YOU'RE AWAKE!!"

"Y-yes," She managed to say. It would be really rude to start laughing now. But gosh that was adorable.

"OH MY GOD!" He repeated, gleefully. However, his tone quickly changed to a scolding one. "SANS! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME? I SENT YOU HERE TO CHECK UP ON HER!"

"she just woke up, that's why."

"EXCUSES, EXCUSES." Athela was enjoying this conversation.

"hey bro. she just woke up. aren't you gonna ask... flower she doing?"

...

Well, any joy she could've felt was gone now.

What was that? Was he... making fun of her? First, he sounded kinda grossed out about her flowers, and now he did this... oh... oh no, what if the other guy was also grossed out but was too polite to say anything about it? She wanted to hide in that closet forever.

"SANS!" There, he sounded displeased. With... his brother. Not her? "I WAS ABOUT TO DO THAT RIGHT NOW!"

She heard him approach, his steps creaking on the floor. His hands grabbed hers and shook them in an excited manner.

"HELLO! ARE YOU OKAY? I SAW YOU SLEEPING ON THE SNOW AND I THOUGHT YOU WERE FEELING SICK, SO I SAVED YOU! DON'T THANK ME!" He was still shaking her hands. What an enthusiastic guy.

Wait...

HE saved her!! Oh gosh he saved her.

"yeah, don't thank him. that's just his daisy routine. helping people and all." Sans said something else. Athela didn't get it at first... daisy? A daisy was a flowe... oh. Oh.

Well, he was definitely mocking her now. Why else would he mix up words with flowers after seeing her eyes? That... that was rude. She didn't like him anymore.

"UGH... SANS!!" Even her saviour seemed annoyed at his word choices. "DON'T MIND MY BOTHER, PLEASE. OH, I LIKE YOUR FLOWERS! THEY'RE GOLDEN, AND PRETTY!"

"What...?" Athela was confused.

"I'VE NEVER SEEN ANOTHER SKELETON THAT HAD FLOWERS IN THEIR EYES! THEY LOOK REALLY COOL." He seemed blatantly honest... she couldn't help but blush slightly at the compliment. It wasn't really a compliment, because the flowers weren't really part of her body, but... he probably thought they were. Which made what he said, a compliment.

"Uh... t-thanks..."

"MY NAME IS PAPYRUS, BY THE WAY!" He just continued talking, excitedly. She felt like she would barely had time to talk, he was talking so fast... but she would manage to say her name, at least.

"I'm Athela... thanks for saving me, Papyrus," they just told her there was no need to thank him, but she would do it anyway, for she was really grateful. Also, his voice sounded REALLY familiar... when had she heard it before...? Think, girl, think...

"ATHELA! THAT'S A NICE NAME! IT SUITS YOU!" Papyrus seemed excited still. What a nice, cool guy. She was about to blush again... two compliments in a row! She felt better about being a gross flowery mess now.

"yeah, very appropriate," The other dude, Sans, seemed like he was giggling.

"UGH. SANS, I DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'RE LAUGHING NOW, BUT STOP IT. WE HAVE GUESTS!!"

"well that's because her name is a... er... ya know what, never mind," Athela got what he wanted to say. She had a flower's name. What. Was it so funny to him? Jeeze... great, she was salty again. Why did she feel like this...?

Anyway, it didn't matter. Maybe it was because she felt like a rug, her head hurt and her throat were aching... ugh. She coughed, covering her mouth because she was polite, unlike that Jerry dude from before.

This seemed to alarm Papyrus.

"OH, OH NO. SANS, SHE'S SICK!"

"just as you suspected, paps," Sans didn't seem surprised, though. "but we have medicine, so that's snow problem, right?"

"UGH. WAIT HERE, I'LL GO GET YOU SOMETHING!" And with that, Athela heard a door closing. He har probably left... leaving her alone with Sans. She was pretty sure she didn't fancy the guy that much by now.

...

Silence was uncomfortable. She decided to go back to bed, because she felt pretty dizzy. She felt like she was abusing their hospitality, but... maybe just five more minutes...

"the bed is the other way," Sans' voice made her jolt and change directions immediately.

"... Thanks."

...

There it was. The bed. She sat down and then... then what? Should she lie down? The other dude was right there, she didn't really feel like sleeping while someone else was watching. Uh...

...

This was... an uncomfortable situation, to say the least.

"so, you're not from around here, huh," Sans sounded closer now. Weird... she never heard him take a step.

"Not really, no..."

"uh... good. i guess," yep, he still sounded uncomfortable. "look, sorry about earlier. i just... i wasn't expecting to see..."

"It's okay. I get it," Athela cut him off, not really wanting to hear what he wanted to say.

Athela wanted Papyrus back.

But at least having Sans was better than having Flowey, right? She could bear this.

"welp, i think paps has it covered for now. i should get back to work," oh, he was leaving, good. Well, not 'good', but... at least the uncomfortable situation would be over...

"Fine," she answered, trying her best to not keep silent and made it all more violent.

"just a question before i leave, missy."

"... Yes?" She didn't know what to expect, to be honest. And... his voice, all of a sudden, sounded more serious.

"did you always have those flowers on you?"

...

What... was that question for?

Should... should she answer honestly? But... but she didn't feel like explaining her situation to him, and... it would be weird. Maybe he would not believe her... no, he would definitely not believe her.

And if she said no, and he started asking even more questions... it would probably become messy and...

...

"Yes," She lied. Her lie, a short and simple word, sounded heavy on her throat.

But she thought it was for the best.

". . .   i   s e e ."

Athela didn't hear another sound. The silence grew deeper... until the door opened.

"I'M BACK! I THOUGHT WE COULD SHOW YOU AROUND AND... WHERE DID SANS GO?"

"... What?" Apparently, Papyrus was back, but... Sans left?

When did he even do that?

...

Okay, Athela was creeped out alright.

"I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!" Papyrus didn't even care that much, because he immediately changed topic. "ARE YOU STILL TIRED? I WOULD LIKE TO SHOW YOU AROUND!!"

"Er... sure..." Still confounded, Athela stood up from the comfy bed, and walked her way to where she thought the door was. Still unnerved.

Something was off, but she didn't know what.

Athela - LV 1 ?????? Nº Resets: 55

#Bloomtale #Bloomtale AU #Chapter 19 #main story #The suspect #skelebros! #finally #sorry for the hiatus #Athela #OC #Papyrus #Sans #Your best friend #Flowey #you idiot #Snowdin #????