#then blacking out because seriously what was I thinking with cartwheels

[winter-literature]

Le Chat Et Le Serpent - Chapter 52

Please note that the entirety of this story is a ****TRIGGER WARNING***** - mentions of child abuse, graphic violence, alcohol use, mental health, suicide, suicidal ideation, self-harm - basically a constant blow of pain towards the characters - as well as some "steamier" moments.

Chapter Summary:

A battle occurs leaving the team with bittersweet sentiments.

Chapter Song (included in body below) - Look What You've Done by Jet

“What’s the word, M’Lady?” Chat asked over their communication system. 

“Seems pretty cut and dry, Chaton. Looks like we have an elementary kid mad he didn’t win the basketball game. I think the Akuma is in the participation medal.” Ladybug scoffed at the irony. 

The Akumatized Citizen noted Ladybug and Chat Noir’s presence. Turning towards them, the villain shot basketballs towards them. A ball narrowly avoided Chat’s fingers, rebounding off the satellite dish behind him. The satellite dish disappeared with a whoosh.

“Uh, I’m going to guess they’re replicating Barkk’s power.” His claw extended to where the satellite dish had been. 

“For crying out loud, it didn’t work out for them last time, why did they think it would make a difference now?” Ladybug complained.

Freezing, Chat realised why. Felix had been playing dirty ever since he refused to turn on Ladybug. This Akuma had two goals: to get their Miraculous’ and a form of a psychological attack. Felix had chosen Belle for Adrien; and if he couldn’t find another Belle, he would at least make him relive the guilt. If Chat wasn’t going to join him, he was going to break him. Chat’s claws dug into his palm, I’m not going to let him win. 

Another slew of balls were pitched towards the team. As everyone leaped to hide, Ladybug screamed, “Everyone, be on high alert, don’t let the balls touch you!”

*Lucky Charm!*

She held her arms out from her crouched position behind a chimney to catch a red ball with black spots that fell from the sky.

Chat kept bouncing from roof to roof, nowhere seeming safe. On one of his airborne cartwheels he caught sight of a pensive Ladybug holding her Charm. 

“Seriously? Like there aren’t enough balls!” 

“Okay, I think I’ve got a plan!” Ladybug pulled the necklace out of her Yo-Yo, enacting her plan inspired by the Lucky Charm. “Two can play at this game. Barkk and Tikki, unite!” 

Within moments, a feline themed Ladybug stood on the roof. 

“Looking fluff-tastic Bugaboo!” Chat grinned at Ladybug’s union of the Miraculous, bouncing her own ball in her palm. 

Ignoring his comment, she started relaying orders. “All right split into the standard teams, one on citizen protection, the others as backup!” 

As the team started to split, Chat tilted his head at the citizen. Not only were they replicating the power, but they had a necklace that looked nearly identical. Had Felix put it there to throw them off? Or did the kid already wear one before? It certainly added a twist to their previous assumption of the Akuma’s location. 

“M’Lady, am I barking mad, or is she wearing the identical necklace?” Chat rested his baton over his shoulder. 

Blinking, she turned over. She was in fact wearing the same necklace. “Do you think that, that’s -,”

They simultaneously finished the sentence together, “where the Akuma actually is.” 

“Should we still go for the medal just in case?” Carapace asked over the communicators. 

Even after all these years of joining the team, no one could quite reach the level of unspoken understanding of Chat and Ladybug, except for Viperion of course. Neither of them bothered answering because it made more sense to go after the necklace first. The metal was built into the boy’s costume, so it would be more difficult to get to; if they used Barkk’s power on it they might accidentally bring the whole boy over. The best solution was to try the necklace first, then they’d go after the medal. 

Carapace had barely finished his question’s breath by the time Ladybug had fetched the necklace. Chat intercepted its path with an open palm, inkling black from his classic cataclysm. The piece crumbled in his hand, releasing a purple butterfly. 

“So glad we were here to help with that super intensive mission.” Purple Tigress muttered to Pigella. The fact that they were barely needed anymore was easier to palate when Viperion was there, without him, it was just watching a show of Ladybug and Chat Noir. 

“Man - it’s starting to feel just like old times!” Carapace beamed towards Rena, who bit her lip in silent thought.

It did seem like the old days, but she knew something was awry. The man behind the curtain, if you will. Chat and Ladybug were starting to get along again, but she knew that was not going to last. 

The lead duo shook their heads as purple ink started to bubble off the child. He was terrified. 

“I can’t believe anyone would go after kids.” Chat spat before bounding down to the trembling child. 

The child did not seem to acknowledge his presence, so he sat on the cement before the boy. 

“Hey, my name’s Chat Noir.” Chat tilted his head as he lowered it, hoping to see the face that was so caught in terror. 

The boy slightly lifted his face. He didn’t understand what had happened to him; he was just with his mother and now he was in a crowd of people staring at him and taking pictures. “I want my Mommy!” 

Chat’s heart broke as he saw the youth emanate from the child, he couldn’t have been any older than six. “What’s your Mom’s name? We will do everything we can to help you find her.” 

The soothing tone helped the boy to further break his balled up pose. “He-her name is-is-is Marie,” hazel eyes met Chat’s. 

Chat went to stretch out his hand, but the boy recoiled from his touch. Changing his approach, Chat simply sat beside him on the ground. “I understand, I also don’t like people coming too close before I know them very well.”

The boy nodded his head, his long chestnut ponytail running up and down against the back of his shirt as he did. Through his peripherals, Chat watched as Carapace relayed the information about the missing boy. 

“What’s your name?” Chat warmly smiled towards him. 

“Marc.” Marc replied before closing back up into a ball. 

“I have a friend named Marc!” Chat exclaimed. “He is a very strong and smart person, I didn’t know that all Marc’s were smart and strong.” Chat shifted his shoulder towards Marc to indicate he was referring to him, while still ensuring he would not get close enough to break the bubble of safety around the boy. 

“Sometimes… I don’t really like the name Marc.” The boy was still speaking from his shelter, but was clearly starting to remove his armour. 

“I don’t like my name sometimes and I got to pick it out myself!” He held his paw against his chest. “What makes you not like your name?”

“I think it makes my Mommy sad.” Marc’s elbows started to shake from how hard he held his legs together. 

The reason for the Akumatization was starting to become clear. There was a deeper sorrow within this child. He wanted to make his pain disappear and, Chat assumed, Wish Maker promised he would be given the ability to take the sorrow away from his mother’s heart. 

Chat’s ears partially drooped as he replied. “Why do you think that?” 

“Because my Daddy had the same name and now - now -,” Marc burst into tears of bereavement. 

“You know what Marc?” Chat lowered to a hushed tone so that the other holders would not be able to hear him. “I think it’s okay to be sad sometimes. I lost my Mom and I miss her lots. She always loved to play the piano. And whenever I hear a piano melody, or play one myself, it always makes me a little sad.” 

As he continued his thoughts he returned to a normal volume, half lost in thought, half because the threat of exposing himself had lessened. “But, that sadness means a lot to me. I’m sad because she’s gone, but I love that I have something so special to me that reminds me of her. I think… Maybe it’s like that with your Mom? She misses your Dad and you might remind her of him. Anytime that it makes her sad, I know she’s a hundred times more grateful that you’re there. That not only is she so lucky to have a kind boy like yourself, but that she has someone who can help remind her of how amazing your Dad was.”

“You… You think so?” Marc lowered his legs. 

“Absolutely. You have far too big of a heart for anyone to look at you and just feel sad.’’ Chat nodded to prove his point. 

“Do… do you promise?” Marc held out a quivering pinky. 

Eagerly, Chat wrapped his claw around the boy’s pinky. “Pinky Promise.”

“I miss him a lot, too.” Marc shifted his weight to lean against Chat. 

“What did the two of you do for fun?” The edge’s of Chat’s lips were pulled up by the boy’s increased level of comfort. 

“We used to draw, like - A LOT!” Marc started to grin. “He loved chalk-pastels. He said the messier the better.” 

A woman lowered herself to sit beside Marc. She gave Chat a squeeze on the shoulder to thank him. Through her sniffles she spoke to Marc, “Do you remember when your Dad drew a picture of the neighbour's dog?” 

Marc burst out laughing, “He - he looked like a dragon!” 

“He really did, didn’t he? Your new friend here is right.” The woman pointed her nose towards Chat. “You do remind me of your Dad, in the best, most amazing ways. You will always be your own person, but I also love it when that little bit of your Dad shines through.” 

“Do you two need a lift home?” Chat spoke towards both of them. 

“We’re okay, I have my car just around the corner.” The woman wrapped her arm tight around Marc. 

“Okay - just - wait two minutes! I’ll be right back!” Chat pounced to his feet and bolted down the street. 

“Oh, isn’t he so sweet?” Ladybug pouted at how cute Chat was talking to Marc.

Purple Tigress nodded with a sigh. Adrien Agreste may be many things, but he always had to be a pain in her ass by proving he had an undeniable bleeding heart. 

“I can’t believe Felix would do that to a kid!” Ladybug’s face nearly turned the same shade of her suit. With a sudden burst of rage, Ladybug jumped to the top of a roof. If Chat was going to come in as the final hero, she was at least going to have her moment. 

“FELIX!” She screamed with her hands behind her. “FELIX, YOU BASTARD! WHY DON’T YOU COME FACE US YOURSELF INSTEAD OF ATTACKING KIDS? GET OUT HERE AND ACT LIKE A MAN!”

Sprinting back down the street, Chat tried to ignore the clamour that started around him. It was normal for there to be an aftershock of excitement after an Akuma battle. When he got to the street, people were crowded around the base of a house. Marc’s mother had picked him up and held the koala’ed boy close to her. 

“FUCK YOU AND YOUR STUPID SPOTS!” Felix’s voice caught Chat’s attention. 

Chat’s jaw dropped as Felix continued his thrashing swearing against Ladybug. He had only ran down the block - how did the team manage to get him so quickly? In his shocked state, he nearly fumbled the art supplies he held in his hands. Without taking his focus off the commotion, he set down the art supplies by Marc and his mother. 

Slamming his baton against the street, the other holders parted so Chat could easily walk through. They were scared to stand up to Lady-bug, but they all knew she was taking it too far. 

Ladybug had her Yo-Yo string tied around his wrists as he writhed against the harsh texture of the roof. “Where’s the Miraculous? WHERE IS IT?” Ladybug screamed in his face. 

Felix kept laughing as she slammed his face against the roof. The moment he felt that tug, the Miraculous was in Lila’s hands. 

“Ladybug! Enough! Look around you.” Chat motioned to the circle that the other holders had created. “We have him. You don’t need to berate him like that!” 

“Go back down to the street, Chat.” Ladybug snarled back to him.

Against his better judgement, Chat descended from the roof, helplessly observing from afar. 

“Chat’s right! The police van is just below, let’s get him in there.” Rena stood in front of Ladybug, who was wringing her foot into Felix’s back. 

“It’s a trick! Why would he come here so easily?” Ladybug pushed harder on Felix, causing him to wheeze. 

A trail of ruby dripped from Felix’s mouth as his laughter became maniacal. “Guess I was just feeling really bad about the things I did. What do you say Ladybug? Kiss and make-up?” 

Felix thought it was hilarious. She’d had the rings for so long and still knew next to nothing about them. 

Frustrated, Ladybug started pushing harder into him. Euphoria, dopamine, adrenaline, and rage coursed through her veins. She wanted to snap his neck right there. She could imagine how it would feel cracking under her control. 

Rena tapped Carapace, who nodded without being told what to do. A bright green Shell-Ter separated Ladybug from Felix. “He deserves the same judicial process as anyone. The moment you take his life, no one will trust any of us.”

Helicopters were circling the scene, cameras pointing directly at her face. Rage pounded through her face, how could no one else want this? He deserved it! She picked up the bleeding man and threw him at Carapace. 

In unison, the team descended from the roof, except for Ladybug. The cameras continued to point at her. The entire team was disappointed in her. Not wanting to endure any of the backlash, she fled from the roof. If they were so confident they could handle it themselves.

Chat stood by the police van waiting for Felix. He didn’t want to risk any last-minute escape. To his surprise, Felix raised his eyebrows towards him and shot him a blood stained grin.  “Good Kitty, always listening to Mommy.”

The officer shoved him into the police van. Carapace pointed to the van before he got in, to which Chat nodded in approval. If anything was going to happen within that van, Carapace was the best holder for the job. 

Pressing the button for his communicator, he spoke to everyone. “It is the choice of any holder who would like to escort Felix to prison or not. Please understand that we would only be there as additional security in the event that he does still hold his Miraculous.” 

The least surprising moment of the day was the fact that every holder there was already tailing the vehicle. 

“That was too easy.” Ryuko shook her head as Felix was booked. 

“I mean, take the wins where we can get them, right?” Carapace shrugged, even though he agreed. They’d fought this man relentlessly for three years and all Ladybug did was shout at him. 

“Do you think Ladybug’s power evolved again, finally?” Pigella tried to justify the win. 

Rena shook her head, “That’s not the power of creation.” 

#lukadrien #luka couffaine #adrien agreste #everyone needs a hug #post cannon #aged up characters #bad dad gabriel agreste #mental illness #suicide #anxiety #ptsd #panic attacks #secret relationship #everyone is insane #fan fiction #miraculous ladybug #mlb #miraculous ladybug fanfiction #miraculous ladybug fandom #chat noir #viperion #angst and comfort #hurt and comfort #angst #chat noir needs a hug #viperion needs a hug #everyone needs a therapist #graphic violence #mature #Spotify

[celestial-kit]

Everything Has Changed

I’m not sure what this is, I was just thinking about what Bakugo might be like when he first feels an attraction for someone... and then this happened. 

Pairing: Bakugo x reader 

Warnings: Fluff, brief mention of penetration, slight NSFW themes, Minors DNI

______________________________________________________________

I headcanon that Bakugo doesn’t start exploring his romantic and sexual attraction to others until after he’s graduated high school. He’s always been observant, so he could recognize when someone was attractive, but he was never actually attracted to anyone because he was so focused on everything else. Winning sports festivals, doing work studies, training to stay on top of his rivals and teammates. It just never occurred to him that he could be a hero and be in love. 

He starts to recognize that he is a romantic and sexual being when he meets you. It wasn’t love at first sight, but rather a series of events that sparked a heat inside him that he had never felt before. 

You meet because you both start working as sidekicks at the same agency right out of high school. He didn’t pay much attention to you at first because you were quiet, focused on doing your work and getting experience in the field. Your boss often paired the two of you together for patrols, your quiet nature making it so that you don’t rile Bakugo up like some of the other sidekicks. It was on your 5th patrol together that Bakugo first recognized your skill as a hero. 

It was a rather quiet day, not much happening as the two of you strolled the streets. You didn’t talk much outside of the occasional comment about where you should patrol next. As you were about to turn a corner onto a new street, a man dressed in black pushed past the two of you, running at full speed. Behind you, you both hear a woman cry, “My purse!” Bakugo briefly looks back over his shoulder to try to determine where the cry came from, while you automatically pushed forward to chase the bandit, sprinting after the man that was admittedly twice your size. When you caught up, you took your bo staff and swept his feet, making him fall forward on his face. You quickly clambered onto the man’s back, using your body weight to pin him, kicking the purse out of his reach, and zip tying his wrists together. The whole interaction took maybe 15 seconds, but it took Bakugo by surprise. He didn’t expect you to have the courage to jump into action so quickly, and he hadn’t realized that you were so strong. He knew then that he had been underestimating you, and it made him take you more seriously, and pay more attention to you.

The first time he realized he was attracted to you was the first time you sparred together. After that day on patrol, you started talking more, you learned about each other's training habits and quirks. He learned that you focused a lot of your training in martial arts. Since you were smaller, you knew you needed to know how to counter opponents that were bigger than you, and martial arts gave you the skills you needed to do that. One evening after work, you asked Bakugo if he wanted to train with you, and he said yes, expecting to pin you quickly and go home. You both agreed not to use your quirks and the winner would be the person that could pin the other for 5 seconds. 

Bakugo was much larger than you, his biceps the size of your head, bulging when he reached out to try to pin you. You skillfully dodged each of his advances, using his momentum to land your own attacks and keep him off balance. Frustrated, Bakugo finally let loose a growl and lunged at you, attempting to use the sheer size of his body to force you down. You placed a hand on his shoulder when he neared you, kicking your legs over the both of your heads into a semi-cartwheel and forcefully brought one knee down into the middle of his back, the pressure making Bakugo’s legs go numb and his body to topple to the ground. He found himself in a similar position as the bandit that you had taken down on patrol, with you sitting on his back, his arms pinned behind him and his cheek against the ground. He looked up at you from the corner of his eye, a frustrated frown painted on his face. You can’t help but to let out a quiet giggle and a simple “I win” as you give him a small smile. 

Your hair had mostly fallen out of the ponytail you had put it in before your match, pieces of it sticking to your forehead with sweat. Your eyes glowed with pride as you sat on top of him, and Bakugo could feel a faint blush creep onto his cheeks and blood rush south as he imagined you in this position above him, sinking onto his full cock with that same look in your eyes. When he got the feeling back in his legs, he pushed up on his arms, bucking you off his back and stalking towards the locker room, keeping his back to you to hide his semi-hard length. 

 After that moment, Bakugo couldn’t stay away from you. He never admitted his feelings to you, of course, but that didn’t stop him spending time with you, taking in the way you always greeted him with a gentle smile, how you never flinched when he yelled at the other sidekicks, your lightweight touch on his back as you tried to get around him in the copy room. You started getting dinner together, too. It wasn’t a date, despite what Kirishima said, Bakugo just wanted to eat dinner with a friend who he was incredibly attracted to.

You took turns recommending places to eat, trying new things, and rating them at the end of dinner. This week it was your turn and you had been craving Pho, so you recommended a restaurant near the agency that served it. You laughed at Bakugo as he piled his Pho with jalapenos and sriracha, trying to make it spicier. You enjoyed every bit of your meal, even bringing the bowl to your lips to drink the remaining broth of your soup. After you were both finished, Bakugo paid the bill and you started walking home.

“I rate it a 10,�� you say, satisfied, rubbing your full belly. “What do you rate it?” You look at Bakugo expectantly.

“Tch,” he scoffs, keeping his pace slow as he walks you to your apartment. He wants to take his time, he doesn’t want to say goodbye yet. “It wasn’t that good. 5,” he shrugs.

“What? You’re too picky, that was a good meal,” You say with a pout.

“I’m not picky, I just have high standards,” Bakugo says as he feels a water droplet land on his cheek. He pulls a hand from where he had it shoved in his pocket, reaching out to feel more droplets hit his palms. He looks up to see gray storm clouds over your heads, so he reaches out to grab your hand and starts pulling you quickly to your apartment building. Just before you’re about to make it to the safety of an awning, the rain starts to pour and you both get soaked. 

After pushing inside your building, you ask Bakugo if he wants to dry off in your apartment. He nods, letting go of your hand and following you up the stairs. Inside your apartment, he finds himself lingering in your living room while you change into dry clothes and search for a towel for him. When you return, you’re dressed in sweats and a white t-shirt that does nothing to hide your hardened nipples from Bakugo’s gaze. You bring him a fluffy towel, pulling him down to your level and plopping it on his head, drying his hair yourself. 

He grunts at the action, unsure how to process the affection. When he looks at you from under the towel, he can see a smile on your face, but your eyes are dark and it’s like there is something else plaguing your mind. He watches as your eyes wander down his torso, taking in the way his dark, wet shirt clings to his muscles, and then finally lands on the space between his legs where he can feel himself hardening. You release a small gasp, but don’t pull away, instead simply bringing your eyes up to meet his for a few seconds before you lean in and place a short kiss on his lips.

Bakugo’s eyes widen when you press your lips to his, confused at first, and then closing them after he finally processes it all. You like him. You want him. And he wants you. When you pull away from him, he stands to his full height, dragging the towel off his head till it hits the floor, and then he’s grabbing you by the waist to pull you into a searing kiss. You gasp again and Bakugo takes the opportunity to slip his tongue into your mouth, doing his best to make it clear how he feels, that he wants you, he needs you, and he doesn’t want to waste another moment without you. 

When you part from the kiss, Bakugo looks into your eyes, trying to gauge your reaction, and he finds you smiling with glossy eyes and bruised lips. He gives you a small smirk and you giggle at him, aware that he’s not the type to lay his heart on his sleeve, confess his love and tell you how he feels. But you know how he feels, he tells you in the way his grip tightens around your waist, in how he pulls you into his chest and tucks his head into your neck, in the way he breathes in your scent and hums against your skin. Bakugo has feelings for you, and now that he has you, he won’t let you go.

#bakugo x reader #bakugou x reader #bakugo fluff #bakugou fluff #bakugo smut #bakugou smut #bakugo katsuki

[lovely-seren1ty]

Unexpectedly Gooey

You expect it to be like any other crime fighting day, but it turns out to be far from and what you find is very unexpected.

This is linked to ‘The New Spider’ and is also just a short drabble too.

Previously

2 years later…

The air whips past me as my feet carry me across the rooftop, the lights of New York reflecting off my mask, and a small smirk glinting just behind it. This has always been my favourite part of being spidey, nothing can compare to the thrill of speeding across the highest rooftop with the cool night air whipping by you. As the edge of the building gets closer and closer, the more the feel of the thrill excites me causing a shrill of excitement to leave my lips. My right foot hits the edge just before I’m leaping off of it into a back flip. I let my body free fall until the very last second and when Im about to hit the ground, I shoot out a web to swing by a little girl and her dad.

“Daddy look!” She shouts in amazement while pointing at me.

I give her a little wave before shooting out another web to head off to where the sirens are going wild. Once I web up to perch on the edge of of a building, my eyes zero in on the 5 police cars at a stand still outside of an alleyway on Grenfell. My ears focus in on the alley to try to pick up what was going on, and at first I don’t hear anything, but then the sound of… goo? Is that goo? It sounds so, ugh, slimy. My eyes twitch alerting me of the thing making its move and so I shoot my head in its direction catching a glimpse of something big and shiny black. I quickly shoot a web out to follow the thing and as I pass the police officers I offer them a salute, “I got this one boys!”

They all groan up at me in annoyance causing a chuckle to leave me, on more than one occasion they’ve shown me their aggravation for me doing their jobs and I find it quite funny. It’s been a game we’ve had going on for the past year now, see who gets the bad guy first and whoever does, owes them a coffee in the morning. More than enough times it’s been me, and seeing how this is going, it’ll be me once again.

I hop from roof to roof right on its tail, it is huge and alien like, and I was definitely right about the goo. The thing looks like if you were to touch its, skin?, it would stick to your fingers and never want to leave.

“Where are you going?!” A muffled mans voice shouts in panic from up ahead.

“We are being followed!” A deeper, more animalistic, voice shouts back. Then it’s head is looking back at me, but I don’t get a good look because I’m shooting a web at it so that I can fling over it’s head. I land in front of the thing in a typical hero pose, I tut at the thing while shaking my finger and slowly standing up. “I don’t think so gooey.” The things big white eyes bore into me making me shiver a little, it almost feels like it can see into my soul. It makes a deep sound while sticking out its long salivating tongue, my eyes squint in disgusted, “ugh ew, put that thing away man!” I shout at it while shivering at the thought of having to touch it.

Then before I know it, my eye twitches just before it’s gooey limb shoots out towards me. I step to the side easily, “really?” It does it again and I do the same which seems to frustrate it. “Now come on, is that really necessary?” It doesn’t reply and instead this time it tries to go for my legs, but I just do a cartwheel out of the way and jokingly look at my covered hand in boredom. It’s sometimes fun to toy with the enemy, I chuckle as I hear him have a fit.

“Venom, stop it! Leave it be, she is one of the good ones!” The muffled man shouts once again causing me to look around questioningly. Where is he? I think to myself.

“No! She looks delicious!” Venom shouts back.

“I don’t care you big idiot! We don’t eat good people!” That man shouts again. Okay seriously, what the fuck?

“Okay, one; I’m flattered you think that of me, and two; where the hell is that mans voice coming from?” I ask in bewilderment. He or it doesn’t say anything and instead the goo on the left side of its face slowly peels back to reveal a man. The eyes on my suit widen in amazement, “wow that’s so cool!”

“Sorry about him,” he grumbles out, “the parasite has a mind of its own.”

“Parasite?!” Venom shouts before folding in on the guy and all I can do is watch in amazement. I’ve only ever come across human burglaries, so seeing what I assume to be an alien just a few feet away from me, is pretty awesome. It’s head pops out of the guys back to face him, “you, Eddie, are a loser!” It says before knocking heads with him. He shouts in pain before they’re both going at each other with me standing there awkwardly.

“Uh, guys?” No answer.

“Hello…” they still continue to argue and I roll my eyes.

“Okay, that’s it!” I quickly shoot two webs at their mouths to shut them up. I look at them expectantly while they glare at each other, and then Eddie tries ripping off the webbing, but struggles. Sighing, I walk over to him to help take it off, but once I do he’s all of a sudden transforming into venom and looming over me. His large hand encircles me before I can react and I gasp, “hey buddy, wow!” I continuously try to peel his fingers off me as he raises me up close to his face, but I can’t. I can hear Eddie cursing at him to put me down, but he doesn’t listen and instead brings me close to his face. For a second I think he’s going to try to take a chomp on my head as his mouth widens, but instead his slimy tongue licks the side of my face.

“Ugh! Ew, put me down this instant! That was so uncalled for, put me down. Put me down! Put me down!” I say repeatedly while smacking at his chest. Venom lets out a deep chuckle, “you taste delicious niblit.”

He sets me down on the ground gently and I let out a huff. Today is definitely not going the way I expected and I’m not sure if it’s a good thing or a bad thing as I stand here staring at the two. My tingle doesn’t warn me of danger and so that could only mean they aren’t necessarily bad. Though, why would the cops be after them?

Just as I’m about to ask them of the reasoning, my spider senses go off causing me to turn my head in the direction. “Whelp, sorry boys, duty calls. It was… lovely meeting you, but I have to go. Stay outta trouble or I’ll have to come for you again.”

I give them a wink, which makes venom lick his teeth, before webbing off towards the screams of a woman. The last thing I hear from them is, “I like this one,” before I’m out of range.

I have a feeling I’ll be seeing those two more often than not. I just hope I’m doing as good of a job as Peter did… what if I just let a world level threat leave my grasps? What if it destroys New York? What if it harms innocent people?

I shake my head, I need to just trust my instincts.

#venom x reader #venom #venom symbiote #eddie brock #spider woman #x reader #spiderman #spiderman x reader #alternate universe #drabble #spiderman oneshot

[listentothelittlebird]

So I wrote Waterbender Jason Todd and that was a blast (the series is Gotham’s White Lotus!) but I went through a ton of drafts for how Jason got reintegrated into the Batfam - and here’s one of the drafts!

Word Count: 2760 words

I like this one because it’s dramatic :) Enjoy!

(This draft essentially diverges directly after Burning Iceberg - some of the diversions can be seen in the tags!)

An explosion, Oracle’s words quickly filtering into their comms.

“I have eyes on the combustion bender. Looks like he’s still looking to complete his contract.”

Batman’s voice came next, barking an order for Robin to return to the Batcave.

“But-”

“Little bird, you should probably listen to the B-man,” Red Hood jumped in, “Seriously. Lay off this one for all of us, alright?”

Robin huffed, but obeyed.

The explosions followed Robin’s movements until Batman was able to intercept the bender. Red Hood dropped down soon after. Batgirl had taken to accompanying Robin back to the Batcave. Nightwing informed them that he was on his way to Gotham, likely to check up on Robin for his own assurance.

The blasts caused Red Hood to dart to one side, Batman to the other. Before the smoke filling the empty warehouse could clear, a blade was pressed to Jason’s neck.

“Where is my son?” the voice hissed. The Pit was long gone, but that did nothing to quell the snarl that answered the question.

“Nice to see you too, Talia,” Jason spat out. He could guess why Talia had come to Gotham - investigating the new mask that held his build, as well as the absence of one eight-year-old after his most recent mission.

“Where-” the sword dug deeper, “-is. My. Son.”

“Where do you think?” Jason snarked, “C’mon, Tals, you can’t be that much of an idiot. Detective it out yourself.”

Talia growled. “You poisoned my child’s thoughts,” Talia murmured darkly, “If not for you, Damian would have completed his mission successfully, and been ever closer to becoming a satisfactory Heir. I should have recognised your meddling from the start.”

Jason chuckled. The smoke was clearing, now, and from the comms, it seemed that Batman was apprehending the combustion bender. He hoped Oracle could hear him and had alerted the others.

“You kept Damian from his father,” Jason stated evenly, “The least I could do was tell the kid about his Dad and his brothers. You know, the brothers you never told him about? Not to mention his sister, too.”

“He is the blood-son.”

“He is the youngest son, and you’re gonna have to get through me and the rest of us if you so much as think of hiding him away again.”

Batman dropped down in front of them. Talia’s sword was still dangerously close to his neck, digging in slightly, nearly drawing blood.

“Back away from the Hood, Talia,” Batman growled, “This is between you and me.”

Talia stilled.

“You haven’t told him,” Talia realised.

Shit.

The sword was humming, growing warmer. Jason could feel the heat on his skin.

“You told me you wanted revenge. You told me you wanted your replacement gone,” Talia was on a roll, now, grasping greedily for control, “You told me you wanted him to pay. For not avenging you. For leaving The Joker walking.”

Jason shuddered at the mention of the Rogue. He could feel Talia’s shark-like grin at his neck.

“A shame,” she tutted, “You realised, didn’t you? That he never cared for you. No wonder you have yet to tell him the truth.”

Batman took a stuttering step forward. Jason tried to control his breathing, the blade heating up enough to burn. She was trying to get under his skin. Trying to…

Jason made sure to inject rage and malice into his next words, “You’re not the only one with tricks up your sleeve, Talia.”

Underneath his jacket was a flask of water for emergencies.

“Oh?” Talia hummed menacingly, “And what may that be?”

Jason moved, breaking out of the hold. The sword flared into flames.

The jet of water knocked Talia back several paces, but not before she could take a slash at his helmet. The material melted into his lenses, and Jason cursed, ripping off the helmet just in time to block her blade with an ice-coated arm.

“The spirits. That was you.”

“Bingo. Looks like the Pit didn’t melt out your brains.”

Jason met the flurry of attacks steadily, bending the broken ice into water blasts and back to ice once more, dodging the flames and ignoring the singed marks on his clothes.

Another explosion. Jason’s gaze darted just enough to see that the combustion bender had returned, hands bound but still conscious.

“I should have never helped you,” Talia stated, a tone of finality, “It’s only right I bury you again.”

A bout of flames aimed for his face, forcing Jason to roll backwards, just out of reach. By the time he got back to his feet, Talia was standing beside the combustion bender, who was already in stance. Another explosion sounded, right above him.

Jason only had time to curl up and erect a crystal of ice around him before the warehouse roof fell.

He could taste the smoke on his lips, the dust of wood and cement. He waited one, two seconds, straining against the weight of the building against the ice, before digging into his jacket, pulling out a small comms unit and stuffing it into his ear.

“-you hear me? Hood!” Oracle was yelling.

“I’m under the warehouse,” Jason gasped out, coughing up the smoke and dirt and dust, “I’m- I’m underneath. I- please. Please get me out. Fuck.”

He was trembling. The ice creaked, painfully loud in the silence. 

“I can’t-” his lips moved without his permission, “-can’t do this again. Shit. I- don’t make me do this again.”

Distantly, he registered that his voice was no longer modulated, like it was in his helmet.

“I found him,” came Batman’s grunt, and if Jason had enough space within the ice, he would have keeled over in relief. The soil beneath him rumbled, but Jason had long come to associate this specific tremble with earthbending. The earth opened, and Jason gasped as he dropped into the ditch, which closed and engulfed him in darkness.

“B?” Jason whispered, the sound echoing. He was vaguely aware of someone approaching him as his breath quickened.

“It’s me, Hood,” Batman’s voice sounded, and Jason sobbed.

“I- shit. Shit.”

“It’s alright,” Batman soothed, “It’s-”

Batman cut himself off, coming to a stop just in front of where Jason was on his hands and knees, desperately trying to quell his panicked breathing.

A hand on his shoulder pulled him into an upright position on his knees. Jason flinched as a flashlight was shined on his face, then gulped audibly as Batman visibly jolted back in shock. The light stayed trained on his face, even as Batman reached out slowly, as if scared he would disappear. His hand first found Jason’s arm, then his neck, pressing to his pulse, and then reached to his face, peeling off the red domino mask with a fragile touch.

A beat passed, where Jason stared into Batman’s cowl, desperately waiting for a reaction.

“Batman, what’s Hood’s status?” came through the comms.

“Jason?” he whispered. He tugged off his cowl, and Bruce’s eyes shone with flickering hope and brokenness. 

Jason sucked in gulps of air in between his hitched breaths, enough for him to rasp out one word, “Dad.”

The light moved away from his face, a black gauntlet grasping tightly onto his arm, nearly bruising in its grip, pulling him roughly forward. Jason lost his balance, tipping straight into a tight hug that knocked the breath out of him, just as it knocked the first tears loose.

“Dad,” he whispered again, the grip around him tightening somehow, “Dad.”

“Jason,” Bruce returned just as reverently, “Oh, son, why didn’t you say anything? Why didn’t you tell us?”

“I’m-” Jason sobbed, gasping, “I’m sorry. I-I didn’t know… how… how to tell you. Didn’t know what to say. I-”

Bruce shushed him quietly, and Jason dissolved into tears in his father’s arms.

-

“Jason?” Bruce had whispered, and then the words through the comms were too muffled to make out.

“Batman? Batman, are you there?” Dick tried again, sharing another concerned look with Tim. Bruce had gone silent, save for words that were too hard for them to make out. Cass placed a steadying hand on Dick’s shoulder, a silent sign of support.

“Tune into Red Hood’s comms,” Oracle chimed abruptly. Dick frowned, but did as told. 

“-Dad,” the voice, unmodulated for the first time, cracked with emotion, and the two brothers froze. The voice bordered on familiarity, despite the lower tones and faint rasp. 

Damian, who had been inattentive to the audio up until that point, straightened abruptly from where he had been scrutinising a batarang. He was by their side in moments, focused intently on the blank screen of the Batcomputer as if it could provide him the answers of the universe. Cass looked on with narrowed eyes, picking up the tension in their stances, tension for different reasons.

“I’m sorry,” was heard, dissolving into incoherent phrases that were shushed by another voice. Bruce, Dick’s brain supplied. That was Bruce comforting Red Hood- comforting-

“I’m not hearing things, am I?” Dick’s voice trembled, humour falling flat. Tim’s face was pinched beside him, vaguely pale, likely mirroring his own. 

Beside them, Damian breathed deeply, in and out, and turned to them with a determined tilt to his frown.

“The brother I mentioned before,” Damian started, snapping Dick’s attention towards him, “The one who told me about the zoo, about hugs. He told me about you as well, Grayson.”

Damian met his eye with only a flicker of hesitation. “He told me you loved hugs, and other forms of physical affection. He told me you once ate a box of cereal and started doing cartwheels down the hallway. He said you taught him how to fly, and how to fall.”

“Prepare the medbay for smoke inhalation,” Batman’s voice intoned. Alfred had appeared on the steps to the Manor, already making his way towards the medical supplies. Tim and Cass shared a look, and followed.

“Jason Todd,” Dick blurted, Tim’s steps faltering, Cass freezing. Something clattered out of Alfred’s always-steady hands. “The brother you’re talking about. Is his name Jason Todd?”

Damian’s gaze, still wary and too-old from his childhood training, nodded with conviction.

-

Alfred paused at the bedside, taking a moment to stare at the absolute miracle in front of him, sleeping peacefully with the same expression he had once seen on a small malnourished boy. He had just managed to convince Master Bruce to wash up before staying vigil by Master Jason’s side, and Alfred was quietly glad for the moment to allow himself the time to take in Master Jason’s aged appearance.

Alfred rested a hand on Jason’s head, and allowed himself an indulgent brush through the young man’s hair, the tuft of white hair tangled into his raven hair. 

“My dear boy,” Alfred whispered, “Words cannot describe how glad I am, to see you alive.”

Master Jason twitched slightly, eyes flitting open just enough to take in Alfred’s face. A small smirk made its way to his lips, a greeting as much as it was a sign of his relief. Master Jason hummed out something intelligible, but Alfred shushed the boy, and his eyes easily slid shut once more.

-

Jason jolted awake with a gasp.

“Jay,” came a soft rumble, “Jaylad. You’re okay. It’s okay.”

Jason flitted his gaze over the room, cataloguing everything he could see in the dim lighting, before familiarity met him with sudden certainty. His gaze drifted over to the speaker.

“It’s okay,” Bruce repeated softly, guiding Jason back to lying against the pillow.

“B-” Jason grimaced at his dry throat, “Bruce?”

Bruce offered him a cup of water. Jason squinted at it and lifted his hand, but Bruce’s hand lowered it before the water could so much as ripple. “No bending in the Manor,” Bruce huffed, his lips twitching into a small smile, “Alfred would have your head in no time.” Jason huffed a laugh as the cup was pressed into his hand.

When the cup had been emptied, Jason cast another glance over the room. It was Bruce’s bedroom, Bruce on a chair beside the bed, Jason in the bed, now propped up against the headboard.

“The bender,” Jason started, turning to eye Bruce, subconsciously checking for injuries. He had a nasty-looking bruise on his arm, but otherwise looked alright. 

“He got away,” Bruce stated, “With Talia.” Bruce paused, visibly reigning himself in, settling for, “Jason… I have many questions.”

“I’m sure you do,” Jason agreed with a cringe, “There’s… a lot to cover.”

He blinked then, perking up once more, “Damian. Can I see Damian?”

“Talia let you meet him,” Bruce guessed. Jason nodded distractedly, shuffling himself out of the covers and inching towards the edge of the bed. He paused to sniff the baggy shirt he was wearing, and blinked at Bruce. “Am I wearing your clothes?”

“You are,” Bruce confirmed, lip ticked up in amusement. There was a concerned glint in his eyes as Jason stood up, swaying through a head-rush. Bruce’s hands stuttered towards him, but hesitated. Jason took the initiative and wrapped his arms tightly around Bruce, and Bruce hugged him back just as firmly.

“Damian’s having breakfast with the others,” Bruce spoke softly, “Are you… ready to see them? Or would you rather me bring Damian up alone?”

Jason hesitated. 

“I kind of owe them all answers, don’t I? Let’s just get it over and done with. Rip it off like a band-aid.”

Bruce hummed, lingering in the hug for a long moment before finally letting his arms go loose. Jason pulled away with a small smile, Bruce brushing a hand over his face with an overly tender expression.

There was vague scuffling coming from the kitchen.

“Quick, grab the coffee, Dami!” Dick hollered with a laugh, easily swiping Tim into the air and holding him over his shoulder. Tim twisted with a feral kick at Dick’s face, which he easily dodged by maneuvering until Tim’s arms were pinned and his legs stuck out too far to hit anything substantial. 

“Be careful, Masters,” Alfred called from where he was dealing with their pancakes, not once looking up to acknowledge the play-fighting.

Cassandra was watching from the side, the only one to acknowledge Bruce and Jason as they walked in, giving them a smile and a wave. She stepped towards Bruce first, pulling him into a short hug, and did the same for Jason. Jason froze unsurely, but Cassandra smiled into his collar and giggled. “Cass,” she murmured, pulling away to beam, “Hello, brother.”

Jason returned the smile tentatively. “Hello, sister,” he offered, Cass’ smile stretching wider. Bruce looked ready to burst with emotion.

Tim whined and slumped over in Dick’s grip as Damian, on Dick’s encouraging nod, poured away the coffee into the sink, “This is unfair! Absolutely unfair! It’s only been a week and I’m already suffering from middle-child syndrome. Unfair.”

Jason snuck up on Dick and pounced, tipping them both to the ground and grabbing Tim out of Dick’s hold. “Middle children have to stick together,” Jason nodded sagely, grinning widely as Tim stared down at him dazedly, from where he had ended up sprawled on top of him.

“Jay!” Dick chirped brightly, and Jason grunted as the older boy flopped on top of them both, “You’re awake!”

“Get off, Dickhead!” Jason managed to roll out from under him. One thing led to another, and suddenly Jason had himself wrapped in a Dick Grayson Hug that was definitely not stopping anytime soon. That was about the time he met Damian’s eye, and he gave the boy a warm smile.

“What did I tell you, Baby Bat?” he drawled, rolling his eyes and gesturing to Dick’s arms, “Dickie loves hugs. Can’t get away from him even if you tried.”

“Damn right,” Dick hummed happily, squeezing briefly, “You run now and I’ll hunt you down and hug you for even longer.”

Jason gave an answering pat to Dick’s shoulder in acknowledgement. To Damian, he shook his head in mock-annoyance. Damian stepped forward, then, and folded himself against Jason’s other side. Jason curled his arm around the boy, and Damian shoved himself more firmly against his side.

“Your eyes aren’t green,” Damian whispered. 

“No, they’re not,” Jason agreed, “I… it’s a long story, but I managed to get rid of the Pit rage, and got my bending back, while I was at it.”

“We have time,” Tim pointed out, settling himself on the ground in front of the small pile of pressed-together bodies, “I don’t think you’ll be extracting yourself from Dick anytime soon, either.”

Jason huffed, smiling softly. “I’ll start from the beginning, then.”

#AU of an AU #Gotham's White Lotus #straight from the trash doc #batfam #Jason Todd #in this au Damian was sent to Titans tower and they both got blindsided by the combustion bender Talia sent right behind Damian #Damian was meant to take down Tim #but instead Damian Noped out of there with Tim's help #Jason was procrastinating getting back to Gotham by doing spiritbending as a White Lotus member #dark spirits were invading Gotham so he started being Red Hood on the streets while quietly spiritbending the dark spirits #I might share the other parts of the drafts eventually but this one's the main j u i c e #cw cursing #Jason gets buried under rubble #Talia al Ghul #bruce wayne #tim drake #damian wayne #Dick Grayson #Cassandra Cain #Alfred Pennyworth #honestly really happy with this part in particular but the previous parts leading up to it just didn't flow right for me #fanfic

[brandstifter-sys]

Trash Bat

@dukexietyweek Day 7 - Music         (Ao3)

Word Count: 1581

Characters: Roman, Janus, Remus, Virgil

Rating: T

Warnings: innuendo, fire, spiders 

Virgil is goaded into going to one of Roman’s boring galas, because Remus wants him there to help cause problems just like old times. 

(Song fic. “Trash Bat” by AFI, also inspired by this and this)

---

Virgil had never been one to go to one of these events and take it seriously, even when Roman pleaded with him. He hated dressing up in fancy costumes and slow dancing with figments from the Imagination. But he was here, all because Janus called him out for always rudely refusing, and he was not about to make Janus look honest. 

He hated the stupid purple jacket with silver embellishments and the black dress pants. He wanted his hoodie and his headphones but he couldn't have those for a while. So he watched the people dancing around on the golden floor, avoiding the Grecian columns and the gaudy double staircase. The prince was not one of them. 

"You know," Janus said as he wandered up to the window ledge where he was hiding behind a long red curtain, "Roman doesn't have any qualms about you not attending." Virgil glared at him and clenched his fists. 

"Then why the fuck did you guilt me into showing up?" he hissed. Janus shrugged and brushed any dust from his jacket. 

"Roman isn't the one who wants to see you here. It's not often Remus gets dressed up. Like a pulp tabloid magazine with a slick-print cover." 

"You couldn't bother telling me that to get me here in the first place?" 

"I was under the impression that the others don't know about your rendezvous and you wanted to keep that a secret," he hummed and scanned the crowd. And then he smiled. 

"I am going to kill you until you're so dead the Dragon Witch can't reanimate your corpse," Virgil spat. Janus had the gaul to laugh and meander onto the dancefloor to find a woo-able partner. Virgil glared at him until he was out of sight. 

"You look tense, Scare Bear," Remus giggled and grabbed his hand suddenly, "Tense and princely, in a satanic way!" 

Virgil glanced at the duke and his heart skipped a beat. Remus was clean and groomed impeccably, with his usual makeup toned down and human teeth that were straight and blinding, rather than his fangs. He looked good in his more refined jacket with silver shoulder pads and a clean sash. He also looked like he was wearing cardboard.

"And you look like you want to start a fight and destroy this place," Virgil scoffed as Remus kissed the back of his hand, "So why don't we get out of here? I'll make sure you get your fill of carnage." 

"Now there's an idea! So you don't want to woo the Gerard Way figment? He'd show you how he disappears in your—" 

"Puppy, you know I only have one person I want to bring to my bed," Virgil cut him off, "And he smiles no matter how rough I get with him." 

"Are you going to be my angel after we destroy this boring shindig?" 

"You should know by now that I put you through hell, and I don't play nice." 

"You're a devil in the sheets and on the streets, but you're so sweet in the dark, it makes all the agony worth it." 

"You really want help ruining this, don't you?" Virgil snorted. He knew how the duke pleaded all too well.

"I do! Even Roman is bored! It's the perfect opportunity! It'll be just like old times!" 

"We always pissed Princey off and then he threatened to maim us." 

"And we can apologize for it with a video!" 

"Only if you keep it clean for the camera." 

"We're talking about my brother here!—But does that mean when the camera's off—?" 

"You can be my filthy little trash bat. Yeah," Virgil shrugged and got up, "So, once more with a smile, let's start with the music and then the spiders and fires." 

Remus beamed and led him to the dancefloor with all the false poise and grace of a man with a snake face. For the first time that night, a genuine grin crossed Virgil's lips, a wicked one but still a genuine grin, and Remus' heart melted. 

They fell into a simple waltz, taking broad steps to clear a piece of floor. No one, not even the prince they pushed aside, suspected what was to come. No, the way those two were gazing into each other's eyes gave off a different impression.

And then they were in the middle of the floor, frozen in place when the song faded. Remus briefly lifted his hand from Virgil's shoulder and snapped his fingers as he relaxed his other arm. He winked and reached behind his back, grabbing the hand Virgil pressed to his lower back, not letting go of Virgil's shoulder. 

The music picked up again, suddenly. The loud drums caused the crowd to panic momentarily, but they were almost immediately distracted when Virgil snapped his arm out and spun Remus, quickly reeling him back in, and pulling him to his chest, holding his waist. 

Remus wasted no time twisting and kicking his legs up and over his head, flipping out of Virgil's grasp. He grabbed Virgil's hand and spun him out, letting him take an extra spin and fall to a knee. It was time for the real fun to begin.

Ρulp in the slick

Αnd you're all I take tο bed

Το read with me

Remus was thrilled to show off his footwork kicking and jumping, crossing his feet and spinning. He was fast, looming closer to Virgil. 

Ρulp in the slick

Αnd you're all I take tο bed

With me tο

In a flash, Virgil swung his leg around, getting Remus to jump over it and take a knee. Virgil planted his hands and used the momentum to backflip to his feet. He made a show of swinging his leg over Remus and flipping over him in a sort of cartwheel, landing low to grab Remus' hands and pull him to his feet. 

Οnce mοre with a smile

Brοken teeth and bloody eyes

They swung around each other once, then Remus pulled Virgil in, letting him swing between his legs and back. Virgil regained his footing and hunched down so he could flip Remus behind him so they were back to back. 

Ιn my mean light

Μy my my Trash Βat

Roman was in awe. He thought this level of insanity was over, and hated that this was the beginning. The two of them were still incredible to witness as their sharp bold moves shifted into a sort of rapid tango. Virgil seemed to be leading, if only because Remus was showing off, but Roman knew they could switch in an instant and stay in sync. 

Once more with a smile

Broken teeth and empty eyes

As they seemed to finish another round of "don't step on my feet" in style, Virgil grabbed Remus' waist and dipped him. Remus tumbled out of his grasp. He faced his emo and goaded him with his hands.

In my mean light

My my my Trash Bat

Virgil ran at him and dropped to the floor, sliding under Remus as he jumped into the air. Virgil rolled onto his front and crawled toward Remus with his legs trailing behind him. He swiftly took a knee and nodded to the duke, holding his hands out and open.

Flies οr the flames

Wear nο halo 'rοund my head

Οh blessed be

Remus ran at him, ready to make some waves! He pressed a foot on Virgil's hands and jumped as the emo flung him to the ceiling. He grabbed onto the largest chandelier and swung on it, giggling and kicking his feet. 

Virgil snickered at how happy Remus looked and snapped his fingers. Remus only got more giddy as thousands of spiders flooded in through the windows. Patton was the first one out of there, followed swiftly by the majority of the crowd. And then Remus set the curtains on fire. 

Κeep it clean

Κeep it clean fοr the camera

When no one else was in the building, except for Roman, Virgil banished the spiders and stood under the chandelier with open arms. 

"What the hell was that!?" Roman huffed and marched up to Virgil, "I thought you were done wreaking havoc!" Virgil shrugged and winced as Remus fell into his arms.

"He wasn't planning on causing problems til I seduced him!" Remus laughed, "But it was worth it! And we livened up this shindig so you're welcome!" He stuck out his tongue at his brother before kissing Virgil's cheek and getting to the ground. 

"Are you—? He's my brother and you and he—?" Roman gawked when it hit him. 

"Don't sound so surprised!" Remus laughed and leaned against Virgil, "I'm the hot twin! And I get off on mean compliments! You just aren't the right fit for Scare Bear!" 

"If you think that I'm jealous, you're wrong. I just can't believe that you and he would even consider each other that way!—especially you, Virgil." 

"I'm madly in love with Remus," Virgil admitted shyly, "He's my trash bat." Remus cooed and moved to kiss his cheek, but Virgil had other plans. 

He turned his head at just the right moment to capture his lips in a chaste kiss. Roman was gawking like a fish. 

"You sneaky sonofabitch!" Remus giggled and clung to him. 

"We're gonna go ahead and leave. Thanks for the invite," Virgil mumbled and sank out with Remus, leaving Roman to wrap his head around it all. They earned the following round of cuddles and then some!

#dukexietyweek2021 #sanders sides #virgil sanders #remus sanders #roman sanders #janus sanders #dukexiety #fire mention tw #sex menton tw #spider mention tw #song fic #sandyscribed

[sokkascroptop]

traitor. (sokka x f!reader) pt 6

part 1 | part 5 | part 7

A/N: I can’t tell you how much it means to me that so many people like this fic. Y’all are seriously so sweet ❤️here’s part 6

“No!” He drew his dao blades and slashed. They danced around each other like old times. Though both of them had a longer reach and more strength behind each blow, it felt exhilaratingly like back when they were children. Y/N missed the challenge of fighting against two blades. 

“What do you think this is?” Ty Lee held up something with two fingers to show Y/N and Mai. Something that was sopping wet and disgusting.

They had stopped along the river to stretch their legs and get some fresh air while Azula conferred with Lo and Li. Ty Lee was currently wading back to the bank from the river where Mai and Y/N were basking in the sun, still clutching–whatever it was. 

“Always rule number one: don’t pick up dead things, Ty Lee.” Mai waved her away when she got near. 

“Ew, get it away from me!” Y/N shrieked and giggled when Ty Lee tossed it in her lap. 

“It’s not dead, it’s fur or something,” Ty Lee said defensively. She sat between them and crossed her arms. 

Y/N poked it with one finger. She was right, it wasn’t anything dead, just a clump of white fur. She could tell that it was soft, even though it was wet. Y/N looked around them. There were more clumps in the water floating away with the slow pace of the river, there was even some blowing in the wind on the bank. Y/N threw the wet patch of fur away and ran to grab a dry piece. She rubbed it between her fingers as she walked back to the other two girls. 

“What are you thinking?” Mai asked. 

“I think that this is a way to find the Avatar,” Y/N said absentmindedly. 

“How is that patch of fur going to help us find the Avatar?” Ty Lee asked. 

“I think it will help us track them. Look around–” Y/N gestured to the clumps of white all over. There was more than she had seen before, “–it’s everywhere, even in the tops of the trees. I think that maybe it’s fur from their sky bison.” 

Ty Lee gasped. “Let’s go tell Azula!” She shot to her feet and did a celebratory cartwheel in the direction of the machine. 

“Does anyone know why we’re even going after the Avatar?” Mai asked. She hadn’t moved from her spot in a patch of sunlight. She raised one sharp eyebrow waiting for their answer. 

“Because Azula–”

“No, Ty Lee, not why we are searching for him. But why does he need to be captured at all? Why was Zuko sent after him when he was banished?” Mai shrugged like the answer didn’t really matter. 

Y/N looked around nervously. They were alone, but it didn’t mean they were able to talk freely. “We shouldn’t concern ourselves with the why. The only thing we need to worry about is doing what we’re told.” It was the answer that Y/N was expected to give. And any other time it would be the answer that satisfied her. But this time it didn’t. What Mai said stuck with her, she wondered the same thing: why were they doing this?

That question continued to swirl in her head as Y/N pretended sleep that night during her allotted shift while the other girls kept watch. She just laid there listening to the metal contraption roll and creak over the ground. It wasn’t her place to question orders, and most of the time she didn’t; she listened and did what was asked of her. So why was she so worried about it now? 

Y/N had learned in school about the Avatar and what their mission in the world was. Peace and prosperity sounded nice, but something had happened long ago, when the war had started. Y/N could never be sure, stories were different, but she thought she remembered hearing that the airbenders had amassed an army and had to be eliminated because the Fire Nation feared their destruction. Now it was the job of the Fire Nation to spread that peace and prosperity between the nations. But, the other nations were resistant to it. It had been one hundred years, why were they all still fighting? Y/N had to admit, the way they were going after the Avatar and his Water Tribe friends wasn’t sitting right with her. It felt vaguely like a hunting party…

These were all questions she wasn’t supposed to think about, much less ask outloud. Azula had the answers but that didn’t mean she was going to give them up if Y/N opened her mouth. She turned over on her other side and tried to push everything out of her mind; to ignore all those nagging thoughts about how this feels wrong! and just get some sleep. Morning and daylight would bring clarity. And surely once they actually caught up to the Avatar all would be revealed. 

It felt like she had just closed her eyes when someone shook Y/N’s shoulder. She gasped and sat up quickly. “What’s happened?” 

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.” Mai yawned.

“Is it your turn?”

“No, we spotted their camp. Come on.” 

----

“These things terrify me.” Y/N patted the hide of her lizard-hound and watched the skin shiver over layers of hard muscle. 

Azula rolled her eyes and huffed. “Just get on.”

Y/N wrinkled her nose as she slid her foot in the stirrup and kicked her other leg over the saddle. She could feel the lizard hound already tugging at the reins, only held back by her two hands, lucky that she would get the one who desperately wanted to escape. 

The wall of the car that they were in lowered and the four of them led their lizard hounds down the ramp. It was still pitch black out, save for the moon which lit their way. They were in the mountains now. A thin road ahead of them led to three–wait, four kids standing on the edge of a cliff looking over them. Y/N kicked the lizard hound and together they all started running. 

Each of the four kids got into fighting stances and suddenly large rocks erupted in front of them. Their respective lizard hounds scaled the rocks easily without direction and continued running. Apparently, the Avatar had found an earthbender to travel with. 

Three of them ran back to the sky bison, while the last one, a girl in green raised a large rock wall meant to cut Y/N and her friends off. So, a really good earthbender. 

Next to her, Azula dropped her reins and shot a bolt of lightning at it, crumbling a section for them to climb through. Mai threw four knives at the earthbender that were deflected by another rock that launched the girl into the sky bison’s saddle. Azula’s streak of blue fire she opened up on them just missed as they flew away. 

The four girls sat and watched as the Avatar and his friends flew out their grasp once again. The white speck of their bison got smaller and smaller until he disappeared on the horizon. 

Azula let out a frustrated scream and turned her lizard hound back around and ran back to the machine. Mai sighed loudly and the three of them shared a look and headed back themselves. 

“Too bad we don’t have a flying bison,” Ty Lee said, dejectedly. 

“They’ll get tired flying all night.” Y/N looked to the east and saw the pinky hues of an incoming sunrise. 

----

“More wads of wet fur,” Mai mused. “How delightful.” The girls had pulled off at the banks of the same river that they had found the wet fur in first, just much farther upstream. Azula bent down to pick them up and wandered off to look around. 

“They’re not wads, more like bundles or–” Ty Lee screwed up her face as she searched for a word. 

“Clumps?” Y/N supplied. 

Ty Lee jumped into her arms and hugged her tight. “Yes! Clumps!”

Y/N laughed at her as she hugged back and watched Azula study the trees over Ty Lee’s shoulder. 

“The trail goes this way.” Mai pointed off to the right. 

Azula looked to the trail of fur and then back to the trees. “The Avatar is trying to give us the slip. Mai, Ty Lee, you head in this direction.” Azula pointed to the trees she was looking at seconds before. “Y/N and I will follow this trail.” 

Before parting ways, Y/N pulled Ty Lee aside. “You two be careful.” she tugged softly on the other girl’s braid. 

“You too,” She said brightly. Y/N looked back at Azula who was already mounting her lizard hound and getting ready to leave Y/N behind if she didn’t hurry up. 

Y/N sighed. “Yeah, let’s hope.”

----

They traveled through the forest, into the mountains and into the desert before they saw it. A little derelict town on the edge of civilization. The buildings were worn and falling apart; and sitting right in the middle of it was the Avatar. His staff lay across his lap and he looked exhausted. Good, Y/N thought. It’ll be easier to convince him to come back to the Fire Nation if he can’t think too hard.

“All right you’ve caught up with me. Now who are you and what do you want?” He asked. His voice was high, he was young. Just a kid. Azula and her both slid off their lizard-hounds and walked closer, dust raised with every step. 

“You mean you haven’t guessed? You don’t see the family resemblance? Here’s a hint–” Azula covered her left eye and deepened her voice. “–I must find the Avatar to restore my honor.” 

When that didn’t get a rise out of the Avatar, she smiled. “It’s okay. You can laugh. It’s funny.” 

Y/N didn’t think it was.

“So what now?” the Avatar asked.

“It’s over.” Y/N said. “You’re tired and you have no place to go–”

“–You can run, but we’ll catch you.” Azula added. 

“I’m not running.” he stood up with his staff.

“Do you really want to fight me?” Azula taunted.

“Yes, I really do,” A husky voice said from the shadows of a worn building. 

Y/N gasped. “Zuko..”

He jumped down from his ostrich-horse and threw his wide-brimmed hat to the side. His ponytail was gone, his hair was close cropped to his head. The significance of it didn’t evade her. Zuko had cut off his topknot. He’d cut off the Fire Nation. 

“I was wondering when you’d show up Zu-zu,” Azula used his childhood nickname to cut him a little deeper. Y/N could hear the Avatar giggle from where he stood. 

“Back off Azula, he’s mine.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” 

Y/N slowly started sliding away from Azula. She didn’t need to be part of this sibling rivalry. If she could just edge to the side and get to the Avatar…

“Don’t act like I can’t see you moving, Y/N.” 

She drew her sword slowly. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Using his distraction to her advantage, Azula launched a blue fire ball at Zuko. He blocked it with his own fire but was still thrown backwards, tumbling through a pole. 

The Avatar opened his glider up and tried to fly away but Azula threw a whip of fire on top of him forcing him back to the ground and to use his staff to blow the flames away. Azula then climbed onto the roof and ran along the edge to drop down closer to the Avatar. 

Y/N focused on Zuko. He readied himself to throw fire at Azula’s back when she knocked his arm away with the flat of her blade. The fire flew left and caught one of the buildings on fire instead. “Just let us have him!” She yelled.

“No!” He drew his dao blades and slashed. They danced around each other like old times. Though both of them had a longer reach and more strength behind each blow it felt exhilaratingly like back when they were children. Y/N missed the challenge of fighting against two blades. 

She blocked, stabbed and twisted her wrist just right to disarm him of his right-handed blade. He punched with a fist of fire and she was too slow to dodge. She ducked and tried to block most of it with her sword but she still felt flames lick her arm. She yelped as she felt her sleeve sear into her flesh. 

Zuko froze. 

Y/N knocked his other sword from his hand and punched him in the face. He fell to his back and she ran, following Azula and the Avatar inside of one of the buildings. 

Her arm was numb. That was expected

What she didn’t expect was to fall through the floor. She twisted midair to grab the ledge. She made to pull herself up but ducked as she saw Zuko come barreling in. He fell right to the first floor with a yell. 

She dropped down next to him and Azula was knocked down by a blast of air. The Avatar ran out of the building and Y/N followed. “Avatar! Stop!” She ordered. 

He didn’t. But they both turned when they heard an explosion behind them. Zuko lay in the street unconscious and Azula walked towards them unharmed. Blue flames danced on her fingertips. 

But he still wasn’t giving up. The Avatar jumped between two buildings to avoid the fire Azula threw at him. Until she cut away the building he was climbing with her fire and he fell in. 

Y/N followed behind Azula as they entered the building. Azula lit two fires along the walls of the room, surrounding the Avatar in fire. He was trapped more ways than one. There was also a beam that had fallen and was keeping him from bending. 

Y/N tugged on Azula’s arm. “Let‘s get him and go. This has been more trouble than it’s worth.” 

“Just wait,” she commanded. She held up two fingers and stalked towards the airbender.

Just then, a rope of water shot out of the doorway pulling her arm back. 

“Again?” Y/N groaned. She cut the rope of water, and ran after the waterbender with Azula hot on her heels. 

The waterbender took a quick turn to the right and Y/N was surprised by the waterbender’s brother who came out swinging. She blocked one blow which made her arm shake with effort. She caught the hook of his club with her sword on his upstroke and pulled it straight out of his hands. She grabbed his club mid-air and threw it far enough away that he couldn’t run and get it. 

“Really?” she asked, exasperated.

“Really,” he echoed, pulling his boomerang out from behind his back. Y/N began to back away. 

Azula stepped in front of Y/N blocking the airbending and waterbending assault coming at them. Y/N worked to find a way out. 

That is before the ground was pulled out from beneath them like a rug and they fell into one another. That earthbender was back.

Azula and Y/N rolled off of one another and ran, Azula threw balls of fire behind her to keep the others a bay. And Y/N thought they were home free until she ran into someone large enough to knock her down. Iroh and Zuko stood over her. Azula grabbed her arm and pulled her up. They were cornered, literally. 

Iroh, Zuko, the three benders and the water tribe boy stood in a half circle trapping them. 

“Well, look at this, Y/N. Enemies and traitors teaming up against us. I’m done. I know when I’m beaten.”

Y/N gaped at her friend standing there with her hands up in surrender. “Um, I’m not done?” She looked out to the people surrounding them. She raised her sword. If this was a last stand it was going to be a hell of a fight. She remembered words her father had all but burned in her mind. You never, ever surrender. You die before kneeling in front of the enemy. Promise me you’ll do as I say, Y/N…

Y/N blinked and she almost missed it. 

She just caught the tail end of a fireball hitting Iroh in the chest. He fell into a heap on the ground. 

The next thing she knew, Y/N was raising her sword to block the boomerang aimed for her head and she was engulfed in flames. 

Azula’s blue flames. 

They surrounded both of them like a shield from the other benders who released everything they had against the two of them. 

There was an explosion as the four elements bombarded their shield. And then black smoke filled the town. Azula grabbed Y/N’s hand and they ran, using the smoke to cover their escape. 

Y/N wasn’t sure how her legs were still working. They mounted their lizard-hounds that had run out of the town from the fight and were waiting nearby and they galloped through the desert back in the direction they came from. 

Y/N’s mind raced. She kept turning over what she thought about this morning. All would be revealed. All would be revealed. Azula had just tried to kill her Uncle, hell Iroh could be dead for all she knew. And it wasn’t an accident. And Azula had used her as a distraction to do it. 

She knew the response Y/N would have to surrendering. She knew what Y/N would say if she was asked to stand down. Y/N had just fought side by side with someone she didn’t recognize anymore. 

Tears blurred her vision as they rode their lizard-hounds through the mountains. It was dark, the sun had set hours before, but she still hid her face. Azula couldn’t see her cry. 

She didn’t even know what she was crying for. Her arm that burned like it was still on fire? Iroh whom, she barely knew? Zuko, who for the first time ever, had looked at her like she was the enemy? Or was it because she was confused? Because Y/N had never been so conflicted in her life. Fighting was easy, but feelings and emotions and ideas were getting in the way. 

The same fear that had burned in her when Azula lit the net on fire underneath Ty Lee built up in her chest again. It made it so hard to breathe. 

A/N: so what did you guys think? Definitely more animosity on Y/N’s part. The end of this was loaded with feelings. If you can’t tell, things are breaking down fast. I also added in some of the things that Y/N was taught when she was younger; some propaganda from the Fire Nation school, some things she learned from her father. 

Taglist: @myexgirlfriendisthemoon , @reclusive-chicken-nugget , @astroninaaa , @bubblebars , @beifongsss @crownofcryptids , @welovediaaxx @littlefluu , @lozzybowe , @thebluelcdy ,  @ohjustlookalive​ ,  @sugarmoongey 

#sokka #atla sokka #sokka x reader #sokka x you #sokka x y/n #atla #atla fic #avatar the last airbender #avatar: the last airbender #avatar #avatar resurgence #avatar fic #a:tla #aang #katara #toph beifong #zuko #azula #uncle iroh #suki

[heartbreakgrill]

Anyone Else; Calum Hood

You leaned down over Calum’s shoulder, blocking out the bright sunset behind the two of you. He inhaled, reveling in the coconut scent of your shampoo, fused with sunscreen and chlorine-d pool water. He shook his head lightly, reminding himself to open his eyes and focus on the phone in his hand. You lifted your free hand, that wasn’t cradling a White Claw, and pointed at a profile.

“She’s super cute! I feel like she’s your type,” you commented at the picture of a taller girl, sporting fishnets and a Led Zeppelin.

“You think I’m only into girls who like rock?” Calum chuckled a little.

You shrugged, moving away to tug over a free camping chair. You leaned back in, giving Calum the view of your neck as your hair fell away from it. He licked his lips as you spoke again, “I mean, I think you look good next to someone like that based on how you dress and shit. If you’re not into that, dont let me pressure you.”

You giggled and twisted around to look at him. His eyes focused in on yours, “Uh, yeah. Or, no, youre good. Youre not pressuring me. Just helping, right?”

“Right,” you scrunched your eyes in a beat, to show you were somewhat confused by his confusion. “Anyways, swipe right or left and lets move along.”

“Okay.” Cal did as you said, allowing the screen to switch to another girl.

“Oh, no, no, she looks too much like Crystal,” you giggled lightly. “Love Crystal, but that’d be creepy.”

“So I can’t like anyone who looks like anybody in our friend group?” Calum remarked, his heart hoping you wouldn’t break it by what you would reply with.

You wriggled in your seat, “I dont know. I feel like its weird. If they look like Luke, Ill allow it.”

His lips fumbled before his brain could reach out and grasp the words and shuffle them back into a drawer, “What if they look like you?”

“Yeah, right,” you looked back at him, “I’m unique. One of a kind, baby.”

Calum flushed as you spoke. He fumbled again, about to spill again, when Sierra called your name from the pool. “Show me that boy from last weekend?”

You quickly got up, excusing yourself from Calum, and pranced across the concrete patio to the fire pit, where Luke and Sierra were cuddled up, talking to another one of your friends. Calum tried not to break his neck and watch you animatedly talk about your Tinder date last Saturday. Yet he knew it was noticeable he was trying to pry.

He felt a hand slap down on his shoulder and Calum jumped in his seat. Michael took your seat, Crystal trailing along behind and slinking into his lap. “You got it bad, mate.”

Crystal grinned at him, “You really do.”

Calum shook his head, “Dont know what youre talking about.”

“Oh, my God,” Michael pressed his fingers to his forehead, eyes cartwheeling in their sockets. “Seriously, I never understand situations like this. I dont think it’d ruin your friendship if you asked to kiss her and she rejected you.”

“It wouldn’t,” Calum remarked, speaking the honest truth. He shifted in his seat, glancing at you before meeting Michael’s eyes. “But it would ruin me. And I dont really want a broken heart right now.”

Crystal’s eyes widened and she leaned forward. “Cal, is it worse than we thought?”

“Worse?” Michael furrowed his brows, looking between the two before realization hit him like chance. “Oh, shit. Dude?”

Calum stood suddenly, tossing his empty beer can in the garbage. “I’m going home. See ya later.”

He didn’t give them the chance to say anything else as he gathered his damp towel, shoes, and bag from around him. He passed through the kitchen, waving lazily to Ashton and Kay, who were preparing the food for s’mores.

“Not staying?” Ashton called after him.

He heard Kay mutter something else to him and Ashton shocked a small, “Oh.”

You finished telling the story of Matt, who you had gone on a date with last week as Calum was pulling out of the driveway. “Yeah, but I don’t know if I’m going see him again.”

“Why?” Luke asked, puzzled by the fact that you sounded like you were really interested in him for the past five minutes, but didn’t wanna go on another date.

“I dont know,” you crossed your arms. “He’s just not my type. He’s kinda, like, stern. He’s funny, but funny in an unconventional way. He doesnt seem like he’d, I dont know, be playful in a relationship. Does that make sense? i want a guy who can be playful, but who’s mature.”

Sierra grinned to herself, nudging Luke with her elbow. “Yeah, that makes sense. Hey, ya know, Y/N?”

“Hm?” You looked to her.

Luke took over, “We know someone who’s like that.”

“Oh!” You smiled wider, “Who?”

You felt Michael slink an arm over your shoulder, whisper in your ear, “Calum.”

You moved from under him, his weight overbearing to you. “Yeah, okay.”

“What’s wrong with him?” Crystal sat on the couch across from Sierra.

“Nothings wrong. Hes just super out of my league. Plus, I’m not his type. I’m all, strawberries and picnics and, like, Hozier. He listens to Nickelback and he’d rather go to a club than kayak. I dont know, I feel like he wouldn’t like me because of my interests.”

“Cal’s a softer, you know that, right?” Luke replied. “Hes a big rockstar, yeah, but he loves hiking and nature, too.“

“He loves y- ow!” Michael groaned out, Crystal interrupting him with a shove to the ribs.

You gave him a strange look before looking back to Luke, “I know, but still. He’s still out of my league.”

-

The weeks passed, more pool parties and barbecues filling your lengthened free summer days that you weren’t working or going on sporadic Tinder dates. You’d been on five total, with four different guys. Each party brought more stories, more tall tales of Derek, the free lance artist who wore a scarf and ordered you red wine, Gideon, the police officer who hadn’t put his career in his bio, and got slightly upset when you talked about your advocacy for human rights. Spencer was just weird, with piles of facts, criticizing your jokes for being politically incorrect or scientifically impossible. However, Aaron was nearly perfect. He was super sweet, dressed like a normal person, and laughed at your jokes, agreed passionately with your advocacy.

Each time you retold a story, Calum would slide down in his seat, frown at the world around him, excuse himself from the party too soon. You were catching on slightly, smelling the jealousy seeping from his pores, though it was masked by chlorine. You figured he was just jealous because he couldn’t manage to match with a good enough woman on Tinder. So, tonight- though you had to leave early for a date with Aaron- you would most definitely find him a match.

Calum had arrived early to Luke’s house to get the meat started on the grill. He was flipping a few burgers, sipping at his first beer with absentminded concentration. His mind wandered as Luke rambled off his ear about something he saw on Twitter. Luke laughed at a joke he made, while Calum’s eyes lost focus and went blurry. His thoughts swirled with you- your shampoo, and its coconut scent that reminded him of his first crush in middle school. Your eyes were seen in so many, so similar, yet freckled with so much heartbreak and kindness that emitted from your soft spoken lips and light hands that had contact with the stars.

He didn’t care if he would look better next to a girl with jet black hair and a perfect body. He didn’t care if they played bass, too, or if they were famous and loved The Rolling Stones. He didn’t care if she was hard headed and loud. He liked that you were soft and quiet- he was, too. He loved that you dressed so different; your floral patterns went well with his dark jeans t-shirt combos. He didnt care about things looked, just how they felt. And things with you...Hell, you felt good.

Calum jumped as Luke shouted, “Youre burning the burger- Cal!”

Calum dropped his beer can, spilling the liquid all over his bare feet as he grasped for the spatula. He tossed a burnt burger into the trash with a huff, scooping the others onto a tray. “Sorry.”

Luke shook his head, sitting down beside Calum, who was dipping his feet into the water to clean them off. “What’s your problem, mate? You’ve gotten so quiet lately. Especially when Y/N’s around.”

“Part of me is hoping I’ll be able to fight the urge to kiss her if I just stop talking to her. But, then she comes around and i cant stop talking to her. We get on so well,” Calum murmured, though Luke could hear.

“Yeah?” Luke urged him, feeling proud he could get Cal to say so much. He was a quiet person, a loud jokester in social situations, but so soft and enclosed about himself.

Calum shook his head, huffed, “I cant settle for somebody else. I know that sounds selfish and stupid, but she’s all I want. She’s all I’ve wanted since i met her. She’s so perfect and good and...she makes me feel good. I dont know. Its not impossible for her to like me back, but she’s so obsessed with the idea of someone being her type. Its like she’s afraid to just take a chance and love someone who she doesnt have figured out. She wants it all to be certain and specific and exactly the way she expects it to be.”

Luke sighed, creating small ripples with his feet in the pool, “Cal, Y/N is like a literal angel. She’s gentle and quiet and contained and confirmed. She’s perfect, like you said. But, Sierra knows her so well. She keeps herself like that because she’s been heartbroken before. So many times before. She’s scared, yes. But I think shed be willing to give you a chance if you just tell her...tell her exactly what it is.”

“What do you mean?” Calum already knew everything about Y/N. But, he didnt want Luke to think he was obsessive even though she knew everything about Cal, too.

Luke shrugged, both of their head’s turning to the patio door as it opened. “I dont know. But, you do. Just tell her.”

“How will I know if I’m saying the right things?”

“You just will.”

Sierra led you over to a lounge chair, sitting beside you as you slipped out of your sandals and tugged off your shirt. You were left in your bikini top and shorts, a combination that made Calum’s heart palpitate. He took the courage from Luke’s words and stood, walking over to you.

“Yeah, so if he ever wants to...” Sierra trailed off as Calum’s shadow fell over the two of you.

He gave you a shy smile as Sierra grinned and excused herself.

“Hey, Cal,” your lips lifted, eyes following him as he sat next to you. “How’ve ya been?”

“Good, you?” He was shy. He knew you could tell, too. His eyes kept switching between yours and his hands, your lips and...

“I’m okay. A little burnt out. Work has been busy because its summertime. High fashion and stuff, ya know?” You laughed, jabbing at a joke. Your eyes glinted when Calum tossed his head back and laughed.

“Yeah, I know, dont you see my high-end swim shorts?” He made a motion to show off his pants, and you admired him.

“Cute,” you replied. A beat of silence passed before your phone made a noise. You didnt touch it, knowing it was rude to do so, but your brows flicked up. “Oh! Have you matched with any other girls on Tinder? If you haven’t, I’m making it my mission to find you someone else.”

“How am I supposed to think about anyone else?” He blurted out suddenly.

You stopped smiling, blood freezing and your body turning stiffly. “What?”

“Uh,” Calum thought, wondering how he should go about this. “Theres a million little things I haven’t told you. I cant go on keeping them to myself. And pretending I want anyone else.”

You met his eyes and Calum felt the world melt away. Like a focused lens on a camera, he only saw you, your golden little halo. Your shocked expression.

“Cal,” you hesitated, “Aaron.”

“Is he the guy you want to hold you?” Calum whispered.

You visibly shivered, your heart beating out of your chest.

“It kills me thinking of you with him,” he paused, “you and i could have it good. I dont know him, but I know myself, and I know that I can love you so much better than he could.”

You shook your head, sweat pooling on your hands and the back of your neck. “No, Cal. Please. Dont make it hard.”

“It’s not hard unless you make it hard,” Calum spoke as soon as you began to stand.

“No, its not supposed to be hard. I want it to be easy for once,” you said.

Calum grabbed your hand, turning you back around, “It is. I know were so different, and I’m on the road all the time, and I’m fucked up because of people from my past. I know I smoke, and you help clean up cigarette butts in the park and I’m silent when I shouldn’t speak, but if you jump, Ill jump, too. C’mon, please?”

You finally met his eyes, feeling the rhythm of your heart steady. “I know its dramatic, but I’m just so afraid. So many guys have hurt me and made me feel ugly. I carry myself in a way that allows protection and routine. I hate the idea of some disturbance because disturbance has always meant hurt. Cal...i could love you. I think I’m very close to loving you, but i dont know if i can let myself.”

“I do love you, and I’m letting myself,” Calum stepped closer, tugging you to close the distance more. “Just let go.”

With silent permission, his hands slipped around your waist and your clutched his t-shirt. Your fists were tight, your lips stoic. Until you felt a lock pick inside your soul and you relaxed.

TAG LIST: @mantlereid @boxofteenageideas

, @dinosaursandsocks , @ashhdaniellee95 @zhangyixingxing1

#5sos fanfic #5sos fluff #calum hood #calum hood imagine #calum hood x reader #calum hood x y/n #calum hood x you #calum hood fanfiction #5 seconds of summer #calum blurb #calum hood fluff #calum x reader

[fancifulwhump]

so, the bad news is, i’ve fallen completely in love with a show about a band full of ghost boys??  julie and the phantoms is such a fun show  ---  the characters are incredible, the music is brilliant, and it has some unexpected whumpy gem moments, too!!   

this idea has been a worm in my brain since the first episode   ;   basically, the band has a habit of eating questionable food from alleys and out of the back of trucks, which comes back to bite them big time.    i figured, there’s no way that’s the first time they’ve ever gotten food poisoning... so, this fic was born.   i really had to get it out of my system, y’all.

if anyone wants more j.atp whump content in the future, i’ll happily provide!

a case of food poisoning  :  reggie, alex, luke, and bobby  /  j.atp   ;    6000+ words     ( nausea, vomiting, emeto )

Things don’t start feeling weird — for Reggie, at least — until they’re all piled into Bobby’s beat-up van, on their way back from a gig.

Those tacos aren’t sitting right. That’s all he can think, because they really haven’t settled since they went down. It’s been an hour since the four of them crowded around that alleyway food truck, shelling out a fraction of their latest pay for the nearest thing that could be called dinner. No one’s accusing street food of being gourmet... but for four kids living on band wages, plus what little Bobby and Alex made from their part-time jobs, it’s a godsend. Cheap, tasty, and usually not poisonous. Who could ask for anything more?

Tacos have always been Reggie’s favorite... but as the van rattles down the road, jostling its occupants with every pothole, he’s starting to regret going in for that second helping. Or the third.

Or, let’s be honest, the fourth. The fourth might’ve done him in.

Still, he shouldn’t be feeling like this. His friends tease him all the time — for such a skinny guy, Reggie can finish a whole pizza by himself, and put away a steak in under five minutes. It’s a talent, really. He’s always been able to eat without having to worry about the consequences — eating itself is its own pleasure, when dinners at home consist of “whatever’s left over” way too frequently. He doesn’t really... get full.

The longer the tacos sit inside of him, though, the heavier he feels. His stomach is tight against his belt, swelling out slightly beneath his dark t-shirt. If unbuttoning his pants were an option, he’d probably do it, just to have some room to breathe. Doing it here isn’t an option, though — not with Luke pressed up next to him, and Bobby and Alex in the front seats. He’d elbow his best friend in the face if he tried, and probably be noticed before then.

Reggie’s just got to grin and bear it... at least, until they get back to the studio.

“Great work tonight, boys,” Luke declares, leaning towards the front of the van. An arm suddenly loops around Reggie’s shoulders. The impact jars him, sending his stomach into a split-second free fall. If Luke notices the uncharacteristic tension in Reggie’s shoulders, he doesn’t let on, doesn’t even look at him. “I can hear record agents knocking on our door already!”

“You mean, the door to Bobby’s garage, where we all basically live?” Alex replies. “Wow, yeah. They’re going to be impressed.”

“Who gave them our address?” Bobby adds from behind the wheel. “They better not show up on Tuesday, my mom hosts crochet club.”

Luke’s shoulders shake; his smile is so bright, it’s practically luminescent in the dark. Reggie gets sucked into it for a moment before catching himself staring. With a thick swallow, he turns his head away. How can Luke have so much energy, when Reggie feels like he’s been hung out to dry? (Maybe off the back of a pick-up truck, and run over a few times for good measure.)

But silence isn’t like him, and of course Luke notices. He sends an elbow into his ribs — not enough to hurt, but an unpleasant gurgle ripples through his full stomach anyways. Reggie can’t help the arm that comes up to cradle his gut, or the way he hunches over, despite that only making the pressure worse. Anyone looking at him could tell something’s off — and with that realization, can’t worry them, can’t be a downer — he turns with a bright, forced grin.

“Just thinking about how on fire we were! Did you see those babes at the front table? They were checking me out the entire show, I’m telling you.”

Luke chuckles. That’s more like him, and it pushes any suspicion firmly off his shoulders. Able to breathe a sigh of relief, Reggie slowly eases himself back. It does feel a little better to be sitting — and looks less weird, too, even when a hand comes up to massage his stomach.

Yeah, he’s definitely bloated. His gut gurgles uncomfortably beneath his palm, loud enough to fill the rest of the car — but with the radio blasting, it’s mostly drowned out.  The longer he sits back, the more the pressure in his stomach increases. He’s gone from feeling full to swollen. Even as he tries to massage the discomfort out, the heavy feeling only gets worse.

They hit another pothole, jostling the car. Reggie lurches forwards. Unwillingly, a loud burp slips past his lips.

“Dude,” Luke exclaims, smacking him on the back.

“Really, Reggie? In my car?” says Bobby from the front.

Blindsided, Reggie shrinks back in his seat, pressing a fist to his lips. His face feels hot. Actually, every part of him feels hot; suddenly, his trademark leather jacket is heavy, oppressive instead of familiar. His t-shirt clings to his skin — when did he start sweating? — and all the added sensation does absolutely nothing to soothe his swollen stomach. There’s no reason to be embarrassed with his friends, his band, but…

Talk about not sitting right. That burp came out of nowhere, taking him from full to queasy.

“Sorry,” Reggie mutters, too low for anyone else to hear. One hand comes up to cup his stomach again — gently this time, just in case. His stomach flips, and he can’t help wincing. It’s useless to put up any mask, no more pretense that he’s feeling fine… anyone who looks his way could definitely tell something’s up.

Thankfully, his friends aren’t looking. Bobby’s focused on the road, while Luke’s busy chattering to the front seats. Alex’s eyes are closed, forehead pressed against the glass window; no matter how the van rattles, it doesn’t jar him. Reggie admires his fortitude, because every time they hit a pothole, his stomach leaps into his throat.

Maybe… maybe something was wrong with those tacos. The thought occurs to him like a revelation — one of those awful ones you don’t really want to consider, so you put off ‘til the last minute, like we have a pop quiz in calculus today, or that mole probably isn’t normal. There’s just no way all this churning in his gut is just from indigestion, though. Unease nags at him, the heady flavor of the tacos still lingering in his mouth. They haven’t ever tasted like that before.

To be fair, it’s street food. What do you expect? Of course it’s going to taste a little gnarly.

But the tacos — just thinking of them makes his stomach lurch. A low gurgle ripples through his core, and Reggie hunches in on himself, both arms around his stomach. By turning towards the window, he’s able to create a barrier between himself and the rest of the car. No one needs to see the way he’s sweating, or clutching his belly like it’s on fire. No one needs to worry about him.

Another burp forces its way up his throat. Reggie swallows it back, leaning his head against the cool glass window, and just tries to rest.

It’s no use. The longer he puts it off, the more the nausea grows. His stomach does cartwheels with every bump in the road. There are a few scary moments where he’s sure he’ll have to shout for Bobby to pull over… but they pass, and Reggie is left a little paler than before, breathing a little heavier.

By the time they pull into Bobby’s driveway, he could almost cry with relief.

Luke is the first one out, smacking Reggie’s shoulder again on the way out the door. Alex follows at a more sedate pace; his energy always lags late at night, but something about the way he’s moving seems weird. Off somehow… careful. Reggie’s so focused on watching Alex’s stiff descent from the car, that he doesn’t even realize he hasn’t moved at all… until a sudden rap on the window startled him.

Bobby’s peering in at him through the dirty glass. Sheepish, Reggie opens the door, and slides out of the van.

As soon as he’s standing, his stomach protests. A wave of nausea rolls through him, serenaded by another angry gurgle. There’s no missing this one, and no distraction from it. Reggie slumps against the van door with a breathless huff; immediately, Bobby’s at his side, gripping his forearm to keep him upright.

“Whoa, dude — you look awful.”

“Thanks, Bobby,” Reggie grits out. “You’re gorgeous as ever.”

Actually, Bobby looks… serious. Dead serious, even more than usual. His eyes are pitch black, taking in Reggie from head to toe; when his brows furrow, he looks worried, but not surprised.

“Don’t tell me,” he says. “It’s your stomach?”

If Reggie opens his mouth, he seriously might hurl; his only reply is a stiff nod.

“Shit.” Bobby drags a hand through his hair, then slams it against the driver’s window. Reggie watches, with a distant sort of fascination, as he walks a full circle around the side of the car, shaking his head. “I knew something was up. Those tacos tasted weird from the start.”

“Maybe we should’ve listened to Luke and gone with street dogs.” Reggie lurches, a sudden hiccup surprising him: hastily, he presses a hand over his mouth, avoiding Bobby’s gaze.

“Alex’s stomach was grumbling like crazy in the car — I could hear it over the music. Over Luke.” When Bobby looks back, his lips are pressed in a grim line. “And I’m not feeling so hot either, man.”

“Great,” mutters Reggie, shaking his head. “Just fantastic.”

Figures, they’d all get hit with something gnarly at the same time — Sunset Curve is a brotherhood, after all. Even if that means puking their guts out in the same tiny garage bathroom —

Well, okay, Bobby lives here. He’s got a whole house, and a bathroom all to himself. Lucky dude.

Reggie doesn’t realize he’s started swaying until Bobby’s suddenly right beside him, instead of a few feet away. This close, Reggie can tell his friend’s a shade paler than normal… but it would be easy to write off, with how concerned Bobby looks. Concerned over what? Over him? Reggie tries to straighten up, but a sudden cramp of his stomach convinces him that’s not a good idea.

“Come on, man,” Bobby says quietly. “Let’s get inside. You need to lie down or something.”

“I need to —“ Reggie cuts himself off with a deep, queasy belch. A fist flies to his mouth automatically; he can’t help moaning. “Shit. Sorry, that’s — gross. I feel really gross. Really weird, Bobby.”

“I know, man.” Bobby tucks an arm around his shoulders; Reggie’s grateful, because suddenly, he’s not sure he could walk on his own. As he slumps into his bandmate, Bobby takes on most of his weight without even a murmur. “I’ve got you. Come on.”

They make it into the garage without incident. It’s no surprise to find Luke and Alex already settled in — as settled as Luke can get after a show, anyways. He rides the adrenaline of a great show until the very end, and can never rest until it’s all burnt out. Usually this means finding him passed out somewhere that isn’t the air mattress, and waking up with a crick in his back the next morning… but Luke is Luke, and he never changes.

Alex is curled up on the couch, hugging a pillow; his head lolls, distant gaze focused on a crack in the wall. Luke, on the other hand, is a ball of energy. He hops around the studio on the balls of his feet, deftly avoiding stray wires and lumps in the carpet. He’s got his songbook in one hand, and a guitar pick in the other. 

“That riff in the middle of Get Lost — where’d you even come up with that, Bobby, it was genius! And, and Alex, when the rhythm picked up —“

“I thought I was a little off in the first number.” Even Alex’s voice sounds listless.

“No, man, you were great.” Luke pauses just long enough to rub a hand over his face, bouncing on his heels like a boxer in the ring. When he drags his hand back through his hair, Reggie notices a sheen of sweat on his brow. The garage is actually pretty chilly in mid-January; there’s no good excuse.

Bobby leads him over to the couch, and Reggie practically collapses onto it. When Alex turns, his dull eyes spark to life with alarm. “God, Reg,” he hisses, immediately pressing a hand to his clammy forehead. “You look like a wreck!”

“We’ve got a problem,” Bobby tells him. 

Alex meets his gaze, and understanding dawns. His face falls, eyes going wide.

Reggie can only contribute a hiccup. 

“Oh, come on,” Alex mutters, pulling his pillow tighter against his stomach. “We had to get food out of a shady cart, couldn’t just stop at a diner or something…”

“The cart was, like, right there.”

“Yeah, sitting there suspiciously!”

A loud, long gurgle emanates from Alex’s side of the couch — yeah, okay, Reggie definitely heard that one. He hunches forward, grimacing; whatever color the revelation leant to his face, it just as quickly drains away.

“Boys,” says Luke, suddenly sounding uneasy. “Hey, what’s wrong?”

“There’s no point blaming anyone,” Reggie insists, looking between Alex and Bobby. “Except the guy who sold us the tacos, right?”

“I don’t think we can sue, Reg,” says Bobby.

“He shouldn’t be in business selling stuff that’s literally poisoning people,” insists Alex, burying his face in both hands. “We can definitely report him. That’s got to be an option, right?”

“Oh, sure. If we all make it through the night.”

“You guys…” Luke cuts in again, and there’s a tremor to his voice. 

Finally, Reggie looks up — just in time to see the last bit of color drain from Luke’s cheeks. He’s left chalk-white, a stricken look on his face, caught somewhere between uncertainty and fear. Slowly, a hand drifts to his stomach. “Um,” he says, and sways a little. “You guys don’t —“

He doesn’t get the chance to finish. An indescribable sound bursts out of him  —  less a gag, more like choking on his own stomach. Luke lurches forward, a hand clamped to his mouth.

“Shit,” Bobby exclaims, springing to his feet. “Oh, shit!”

Luke stumbles back, waving Bobby off with one hand. The other remains clasped against his lips, holding whatever it can back; for a moment, Luke just sways, eyes squeezing shut as his stomach continues to moan and roil. Each breath comes heavy through his nose; each exhale is perilous. When he finally straightens back up, he’s gone completely colorless, a sheen of sweat on his brow.

“Ah, man,” he mutters, trembling.

Alex is on his feet now too, and takes a cautious step forward. “Luke,” he says softly. “You okay?”

“I was… a minute ago, I was —“ Luke cuts himself off, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth again. He swallows something back, then shakes his head. “I’m okay. Gonna be okay.”

Somehow, this isn’t convincing. Alex hesitates, arm still outstretched. “Are you sure?”

Luke opens his mouth to reply; instead, he lurches forward with a strangled noise, and a rush of vomit spills down his shirt.

“Shit!” Bobby exclaims again, emphasizing each syllable.

Luke’s last wave of energy hits him all at once. Suddenly, he’s sprinting; he clears the coffee table like a track-and-fielder in the Olympics, leaps clean over stacks of boxes and duffle bags, before vanishing into the bathroom. The door slams shut being him.

This doesn’t matter; the walls are like paper here. They can still hear the gagging, the cursing, the whimpers — even without the privilege of seeing it.

“Well,” Alex says, glancing between his remaining bandmates with a grim smile. “Looks like we’re in for a fun night.”

From inside the bathroom, a long moan agrees with him.

----------

It’s around midnight by the time Reggie finally loses his dinner. By then, Bobby has retreated to the privacy of his house. Luke is firmly camped out in the bathroom, with no signs of dragging himself out any time soon. Reggie ends up stumbling outside, on his hands and knees in the patch of dirt behind the old garage building; it’s hardly the classiest place to do it, but he can’t just march up to Bobby’s front door, push past his parents, and hurl all over their new porcelain flooring.

Alex lingers nearby, shivering in the chilly night air. He rubs Reggie’s back through the worst of it, muttering the same soothing platitudes all moms like to whip out when their kids are sick; Reggie murmurs something along those lines around a mouthful of acid, and isn’t surprised when Alex cuffs him in the head.

“If I’m your mom, you were an accident.”

Reggie snorts, scrubbing tear-stained cheeks with his flannel’s sleeve. “Pretty sure I actually was.”

Probably too dark, but Alex doesn’t say so; he just helps Reggie stand, a reassuringly steady presence when Reggie can barely find his own feet. Together, they make their way back inside the garage. From the bathroom, Luke’s suffering is still ringing out in vivid technicolor — Reggie’s learned curses tonight his dad doesn’t even know. Alex’s worried gaze flickers across the studio as another moan rings out; he lowers Reggie onto the couch, giving his shoulder a reassuring squeeze, before pulling away.

“I gotta go check on Luke.”

Reggie tracks his friend’s movements across the garage, not missing the way Alex stumbles across his own feet. Now that he’s not supporting anyone else’s weight, it’s obvious what a task it is to carry his own. He’s ghost pale, still shivering despite having come in from the cold, half-shrunken into his baggy hoodie. His brows are drawn tight together, the way they tend to when he’s fighting off a wave of worry… but it’s clearly more than that, given the shadow of queasiness haunting his face. He looks like he’s about to fall over… and if he does, he’s screwed, because Reggie doesn’t have the strength to go over there and pick him up.

“You need to rest, Alex,” he says, uncharacteristically solemn.

Alex glances back at him; there’s no life in his dull eyes, no gleam of fondness or frustration. He only looks exhausted.

“I don’t think any of us are getting much rest tonight,” he replies. When his lips twist, it can barely be called a smile. “Try to get some yourself, Reg. It’ll help.”

To his credit, Reggie tries. He leans back against the couch, letting his eyes drift shut. A low knock rings out, followed by Luke’s answering moan; Alex cracks the door open and mutters something too low for Reggie to hear. There’s quiet for a moment, then the sound of another gag. The bathroom door clicks shut; Reggie doesn’t have the energy to look up to see whether Alex is in or out.

His own stomach, at the very least, doesn’t care. It gives a sudden twist, and a low snarling noise rings out; Reggie can feel it, like his stomach’s tying itself in knots inside of him, just expecting him to deal with it. The pain is another thing — probably the worst thing, if the nausea wasn’t so overwhelming. It comes in waves, but when it comes — well —

He’s left doubled in on himself, breath coming in short gasps as he clutches his stomach with both hands. It’s all he can do to breathe; each cramp spasms through him, making his body distort and gut groan with fury. Reggie groans too, from the agony of it all — and the realization that, even having just ditched the remains of the tacos outside, they're not finished with him yet.

What could he have left to throw up? Jesus, it felt like he was coughing up his soul out there.

“I’m okay, I can walk on my own — geez, Alex, really. Don’t…”

“You think I want to get close to you? You smell like something died.”

Luke’s voice is hoarser than the time he blew it out practicing for the school talent show, but he manages a chuckle anyway. “So you wouldn’t kiss me if I asked?”

Alex snorts too. “Not even if you paid me.”

Reggie can’t see them, but he can imagine Luke’s careful, wobbling steps — the way he holds himself up by stubbornness alone, one arm still looped around his stomach. Alex lingers at his side the way he always does, ready to help the second it’s needed… only when the chair springs creak, and Luke lets out a low sigh, does Alex finally let himself sit down as well.

“That took everything outta me,” Luke mutters, voice muffled by the hands pressed to his face, “Literally. I feel dizzy, man.”

“Drink some water.” 

“No way, my stomach…”

“Luke, you need to. You just hurled up all the water in your body.”

“It’s not gonna stay down.”

“Then it comes up. At least it’s something.”

There’s a long moment of silence before a water bottle crackles in Luke’s unsteady grip. He takes a few shallow gulps before setting it aside; leaning his head back, he brings one hand to his stomach, where it hovers uncertainly for a moment. “Okay,” he finally says, and gives a weak hiccup. “I think — I think we’re good.”

“Okay.” Alex heaves a heavy sigh, and settles back, finally. 

For a little while, there’s only silence. Luke’s allowed his eyes to shut, while Alex has slumped against the side of the chair, head pillowed on his arm. They’re all drifting. Every few minutes, the quiet will be broken by someone’s stomach gurgling, or an uncomfortable huff, but for the most part… no one dares break the tenuous peace that’s settled over the garage.

At least, not until his stomach seizes up with another cramp, and Reggie can’t help whimpering.

Alex stirs. His eyes are glassy, face colorless. “Reg?” he mutters. “What’s — what’s wrong?”

Except it’s far beyond Reggie’s ability to answer at this point; the pain is too great to even try. He just curls in on himself, clawing at his stomach with both hands as if that alone can stop the pain. It convulses once, and he sees red; his entire body is on fire, burning him up from the inside out, and he can’t take it anymore, he really can’t…

“Hurts,” he gasps, and a moan follows when another cramp rips through him. “Hurts so bad…”

Alex stares at him for a long moment, as if he can’t comprehend what he’s seeing. At what point it sets in, it's impossible to say… but suddenly he’s pushing himself up on unsteady legs, gripping the side of the chair for balance.

Reggie’s eyes widen at the way he sways. For half a second, his own pain is forgotten. “Alex, you —“

Alex just waves him off. Instead of stumbling towards Reggie, he turns on his heel — making his way back, instead, to the mini-fridge plugged in at the back of the room. Another cramp momentarily blinds Reggie, forcing him to curl back in on himself. He can’t follow Alex’s journey, or even worry whether he’ll make it there in one piece. By the time the pain grows dull again, Alex is shuffling back towards him, a fresh water bottle in hand.

“Dude,” Reggie groans. “I can’t. I’ll die.”

“You have to, Reg.” Alex’s voice is small, between labored breaths. “There’s nothing — nothing in your stomach. It’ll help the pain.”

“You don’t know that, it could make it worse —“

“Reggie.” Alex is right by his side now, bent low to look at him… and his eyes are gentle. Soft in that classic Alex way, the trust me way, the it’s going to be okay, I promise way. He’s always the same — always means so well — and he’d do anything for anybody else, if it just meant they didn’t have to suffer. 

Forget mom; sometimes, Reggie looks at Alex and thinks, “Yeah, this is what a big brother’s supposed to be.” Of course, Alex would know. He has a little sister he’s not even allowed to see anymore, not since his parents kicked him out. That’s got to kill him every day... Reggie can’t even imagine.

One thing’s for sure: he trusts Alex more than anyone else in the world (except the rest of the band).

He’d trust him with his life.

And, as Reggie takes the water bottle with shaking hands, he feels like he’s doing exactly that.

One sip goes down, then another — and he’s so thirsty that Alex has to gently guide the bottle away from his lips after the fourth gulp, reminding him not to overdo it. Reggie answers with a sick burp, pressing the back of his hand to his mouth. For a moment they wait, anticipation heavy as a curtain over them both… but nothing happens. The water stays down, and by some miracle, Reggie’s stomach doesn’t cramp up again.

He’s too caught up in his own relief. Reggie doesn’t even notice Alex making his way back across the room — until a sudden noise, a wet gurgle, jars his attention up. 

Alex is braced against the ladder leading up to the loft; he’s stopped there, because he can’t take another step. Head bent, his entire body shudders with a suppressed gag; as he chokes on it, the muscles in his arm strain with the force of holding him up. Something gurgles in his throat again, and he lurches forward, nearly hitting his knees on the concrete floor.

“Oh, man,” Reggie mutters, right before Alex loses it.

All over the floor.

Bobby’s gonna kill them, if the food poisoning doesn’t first.

--------------------

They’re all sick, and they’re tired, and then they’re sick again… the cycle becomes predictable after a while. Reggie can’t say how many hours pass, or exactly how many times he has to sprint for the bathroom — only that he’s exhausted by the time dawn begins to break through the garage windows. 

Maybe Reggie dozes for a while... it’s hard to tell. Getting any rest is its own fever dream, when his stomach’s in knots, sending bolts of pain shooting through him every few minutes. Distantly, he hears himself groaning, feels his arms wrap around his own stomach tighter, but he’s too exhausted to care.

He does feel it when another body settles in beside him — feels it clear as day, when a pressure against his spine forces him to ease back, and a set of hands pawing at his middle breaks his vice grip.

“Easy, Reg,” a very familiar voice murmurs, just over his shoulder. “Try to relax a bit.”

“Hurts...” Reggie manages, before another brutal cramp ricochets through his core, sending him curling in on himself all over again. His companion won’t have it, though. They force him to settle, easing him back against their shoulder... and the next thing Reggie knows, there’s a hand on his stomach, pressing into the worst of the pain.

At first, he groans; then, he sighs. It feels good, better than he dared hope for — finally, pressure against the worst cramps, easing them out before they can ripple through him completely. His stomach gives a wet, angry growl, and he can’t help whimpering as it turns over on itself... but the person at his back hushes him. A hand runs through his sweat-damp hair, trimmed fingernails grazing his scalp, and Reggie’s brain almost whites out at how good the tiny bit of comfort feels.

“You need your strength, okay? So you’ve gotta rest.” A pause, and then, from a distance, “He’s really getting hit hard, guys. I think he might have a fever, too.”

“He ate more than us,” someone else says.

“Man, he looks rough...” That sympathetic tone is definitely Luke.

When he forces his eyes open, after what seems like ages, Reggie finds himself surrounded by familiar faces. Their assessment isn’t really fair — none of the boys are looking great tonight. Luke, curled up on the floor, has slumped against the beanbag chair rather than sitting in it. Wisely, he’s lost his ruined shirt; now he sits hunched forward, both arms around his churning stomach. Every now and then, he’ll wince, and breathe out slowly; when his shoulders jolt with a spare hiccup, he presses his lips together until they turn white. Alex, having commandeered the other chair, looks completely washed out. There’s no color in his face, gone gray like sour milk; he’s got a bucket in his lap, wrapped tightly around it, and though he hiccups every so often, doesn’t seem like he’s had to use it. It takes Reggie a moment to realize that whoever’s got his head cradled in their lap smells like cheap mall cologne, and that the hands are calloused in the exact same places Bobby’s are. A low gurgle emanates from close to his ear, drawing his gaze up. Bobby wears a grimace of discomfort, his face nearly as pale as Alex’s... but when he notices Reggie coherent, he looks down, and smiles.

“Hey, man. How you feeling?”

“N- never better.” Reggie tries to return the gesture, but a curdle of his stomach eagerly contradicts him. 

“You’re gonna be fine, okay?” Bobby’s hand runs through his hair again; Reggie’s eyes flutter without his consent. “We've just got to get through the worst of it.”

“Everybody’s sick…” As his brows slowly draw together, Reggie’s attention flickers around the rest of the group. “How’re you guys doing? Alex…”

Alex shakes his head, muffling a hiccup into his fist. “I’m fine, Reg. Don’t even worry.”

“Yeah, we’re breezing through this.” Luke tried to offer him an “ok” gesture — but another cramp sends him leaning back against the chair, one hand pressing hard against his stomach. His face contorts in pain, and Reggie has to turn away, burying his face against Bobby’s leg.

It takes him a moment to find any kind of humor in this situation at all… but, being Reggie, that’s just his way. His shoulders shake with a weak chuckle. “Guess this is… the last time we go for street tacos, huh?”

Alex groans. “Not likely. I’m pretty sure we’re gonna keep eating street food until we make it big, or they literally kill us.”

Reggie scoffs. “Food poisoning’s not gonna take us out.”

“Really? Cause I feel like I’m dying.”

“If we were dying, trust me —“ Luke’s stomach gurgles, tensing his entire body up. “We’d know.”

Even something as simple as talking drains him. Reggie lets his eyes drift shut again, relishing the warmth of Bobby’s lap, and the solidness of his presence. It’s great to have Bobby back. Out of all of them, he’s clearly been hit the lightest… thank god someone’s still standing, otherwise they all might really be down for the count.

When his stomach gurgles again, Reggie tenses up. He jolts with a hiccup, then a tiny moan. As his hands curl into fists, ragged fingernails dig into his palms; he relishes the small amount of pain as a distraction from the overwhelming lion’s share.

“My stomach hurts so bad,” he murmurs. Bobby continues to stroke his head, even as Reggie goes progressively more tense. With his next exhale, a splash of something acidic rushes up his throat. He lurches, and tries to swallow it — but it’s in his nose, he can’t breathe, and the next shudder only brings more of it up. A hand clamps over his mouth as he scrambles into a sitting position, but he only makes it halfway. Utterly drained, he collapses sideways once again, falling in Bobby’s lap as his mouth floods with sick.

There’s only time for Bobby to direct him forward. Reggie lurches over his knees, vomit already spilling past his lips. Rather than hit the floor — or worse, Bobby’s shoes — the bucket is there waiting for him. 

As soon as Reggie gets a hold on the bucket, he doubles forward, practically wrapping himself around it. It rips through every muscle, every nerve. Mouthfuls of acid and bile are forced up with every heave, from the deepest part of his stomach. Reggie shudders. He belches up a splash of something nasty, enduring a spare gag as it ripples through him. When he’s finally able to catch his breath, he knows, just knows, every eye is on him.

“I hate this,” he pants, slowly lifting his head. “This is literally — huUurp — the worst.”

“That sure was,” Luke mutters; based on his offended yelp a second later, someone probably threw a water bottle at him.

“You’re gonna be fine,” Bobby says again, massaging gentle circles into his back. Alex’s calloused band sweeps across his forehead, brushing back Reggie’s unruly hair. Sweat plasters raven strands to his forehead, but with the gentle pressure of his friend’s hand, a bit of the pain goes with it.

“Yeah,” Alex says after a moment. “He’s definitely got a fever. Should we… be concerned?”

“I don’t know.” Bobby’s voice is hoarse, though that could be from worry or a night spent hurling his guts up — hard to say. “He was keeping water down for a little while, but… if he gets any worse, we might have to take him to the —“

“No hospital!”

It’s the most energy Reggie has had all night, and just about scares the hell out of his friends. His hand suddenly lashes up to grip Bobby’s shoulder in a vice grip; when he lifts his head, his eyes are very wide, very earnest. “Hospital isn’t gonna help. It… costs too much money.”

His parents are already fighting over the bills 24/7 — fighting over everything, fighting over him. The last thing Reggie needs it to give them a reason. He won’t do that, he won’t —

“No hospital,” he says again, and Alex hastily nods.

“Okay, Reg. You got it. No hospitals.”

He’s not sure whether to believe them, when he catches the wary glance Bobby and Alex exchange over his head… but Reggie is eager to chase away the horrible, anxious feeling, in exchange for the warm comfort of moments before. If he could just wrap himself up in that, instead of the thought of his parents screaming at each other over his hospital bed…

Yeah.

He’d like that a lot.

Just… safety, warmth, and quiet.

And maybe some water to wash this taste out of his mouth.

Alex scrambles to oblige him as soon as he asks. Reggie takes a swig, swishes it around in his mouth, and tentatively swallows it. The water settles — for now — which is the best he can ask for.

“I don’t want to be sick again,” he admits quietly, after a long moment of simply… laying there, staring back and forth.

Luke chuckles, dragging a hand through his hair. “Join the club.”

“I haven’t puked for a few hours now,” says Bobby. “I think… I might be done?”

Alex’s stomach lets out a loud gurgle, and he groans. “Ooh, I’m not.”

It wasn’t the worst night of his life, and that’s really saying something… but as the morning grows brighter, flooding the garage with sunlight, Reggie sighs and curls into his friend’s lap. Things could be worse. They could be a lot worse.

At least they’re walking through hell holding hands. Whatever Sunset Curve does, they do together… and that includes food poisoning, apparently.

Reggie can live with that, if it means his friends are with him through it all.

(His fever doesn’t break until that afternoon, and Reggie can still taste rancid taco meat a week later. The band takes days to recover completely. If they could say the experience turned them off street food for life, they’d be better off for it.

A few months later, Reggie finishes the last of his hot dog, and has just enough time to think, that definitely tasted funny, before his stomach twists.

Some people really never learn.)

#emeto #emetophilia #whump #sickfic #vomiting #nausea #food poisoning #fics: julieatp

[river-bottom-nightmare]

Mothman And BUTT-erboy: A Comprehensive Guide

On that fateful day where Bruce Wayne sat thinking of exactly what name would strike fear into the hearts of his enemies, a bat flew into the open window of the study, hence creating the vengeful, dark, mysterious Batman. But, ignoring the fact that Gotham City is every horror cliche put together, what if a moth had flown into the manor that night, attracted to the light (as moths often are)? 

I give you: the mighty mysterious MOTHMAN!

(treat this crack seriously, okay? because i will)

So you’ve got a guy dressed as a moth going around beating up criminals. But then, you ask, what ever shall his little Robin be? Who is Dick Grayson, if not the human reincarnation of a cartwheel dressed like a stoplight?

Well, logic dictates that if one guy is a moth, the other is a butterfly. I present to you: BUTTERBOY!

I’m wonderful at MS paint shut up

But does he keep this up when he and bruce have their little falling out and he goes out on his own? Um, have you met Dick Grayson?

Our little butterboy has become a BUTTERMAN. We have all the classic nightwing arcs but with butterman instead. Think of the headlines. 

“BLUDHAVEN VIGILANTE BUTTERMAN KILLS THE JOKER”

side note: Joker would absolutely love being killed by someone called Butterman Joker, actively dying of internal bleeding: I was gonna have to go some way and it doesn’t get much butter than this

Everyone spells it butt-erman. Dick’s torn between loving it and hating it. Also Dick constantly smells like popcorn. For reasons.

(And yes, I am well aware that “butterman” sounds like a weird sex thing with vague relations to food and bdsm. But if we’re being honest, Nightwing sounds like a stripper name. So it’s not like this is anything new.)

Now Jason. Jason has a modicum of common sense. But he’s also dumb as shit. So he looks at the costume and goes “yea this isn’t happening.” He gets his hand on the costume plans and that’s how we end up with THE FLY.

Yeah I don’t know how flies work. That’s just how it is now.

(another side note: Jason actually looks super badass and hot in this picture i’m sorry for ruining it but like jesus chIST look at the siZe of his aRMS)

Fact: Jason is fully aware of how dumb it looks and sounds. Fact: Jason is a little shit Conclusion: Jason does not care and people are honestly terrified of the Fly because he will beat you up wearing what looks like those fairy wings with the elastic straps that you could put on you and pretend you were a fairy when you were a kid.

Tim would either go back to Butterboy or Fly. Either he’d be Butterboy because he has trash taste in costumes and doesn’t want to replace the Fly. Or he would take on the Fly because he has the creativity of marmalade. Or even worse, he would combine them. I present to you: FLYBOY

Tim genuinely does not realize how stupid it is. This is the guy whose costume includes that stupid cowl. I don’t think he has any fashion sense. Like at all. The only good fashion choice he makes is wearing Kon’s oversized shirts in the morning

Damain would reject both. Damian doesn’t even come to Gotham because he’s so embarrased about the titles that being with the League forever sounds like a better alternative.

Stephanie would think “Butterboy” is the single dumbest thing she’s ever heard.

Kate’s still batwoman. She has better taste and thinks bats are cool.

Babs? She looks at Dick and goes “this has potential.” Which honestly describes their entire relationship. She’s the Butterfly.

Cass is Spider. Like, very Black-Widow esque. Super badass. We Stan.

Duke wants to stick with the yellow but also he has a brain cell. But he’s got massive insecurity issues and wants to be part of the insect theme that the fam’s got going on. So now we have the Wasp.

Anyway, @magneticwoag​ , @yesboopityboop​ , and I came up with this thing and I am honestly quite proud. DC you should definitely hire us we will improve your work by leaps and bounds.

#CRACK #UTTER CRACK I TELL YOU #all the same please enjoy #this took me all morning #And i do not regret it #batman #mothman #bruce wayne #dick grayson #nightwing #robin #butterboy #butterman #jason todd #red hood #the fly #tim drake #red robin #timkon #damian wayne #stephanie brown #spoiler #batgirl #barbara gordon #kate kane #batwoman #batfam #no they're the MOTHFAM #batfam crack #dc

[sonderthroughthestreets]

Moon Jellies

For anon, a sobbe aquarium first date fic (I’m so sorry this is late!)

Also I’ve never been to an aquarium, much less on a date in one, so sorry if this sucks. Also sorry for any mistakes. 

Any more prompts are welcome!

Robbe was a nervous wreck. His palms were sweaty, his head was racing, and his heart was beating a million miles per minute as he stared at himself in the mirror. He smelled his wrists to check the cologne and then shook them out to relieve a bit of the nerves. He blew out a breath as he ran his fingers through his hair one last time, trying to get all the curls and spikes just right. This is ridiculous, he thought. It’s just a date. No. It was actually more than that. It was his first date with Sander. Something he couldn’t have ever dreamed of actually happening a week ago.

Just last week, they had been laying on Robbe’s bed, ankles and heads at opposite ends of each other, talking about school, assignments, friends, places and somehow they’d ended up on the topic of sea creatures and aquariums.

“Do you know that jellyfish don’t have a brain?” Sander asked. There was a twinkle in his eye and a mischievous smile forming across his mouth. Robbe looked at him.

“You don’t have a brain,” he playfully and lightly kicked his shoulder, a smile playing on his lips too.

“Ok, but seriously, they don’t have a nervous system, like people don’t even know how they move!” he continued.

Robbe shrugged. “They are beautiful though,” he said, looking up at the ceiling.

Sander sat up, now fully engaged in the conversation, his thoughts running.

“They have four feeding tentacles, they can sting you so bad, they have five stomachs and they’re 97% water. Is that not impressive?” he asked.

“I guess,” Robbe smiled at his enthusiasm.

“You guess?” Sander scoffed, tilting his head. “So what impresses you, Ijzermans?”

Robbe tried to ignore how his tone made his heart flip in dizzying cartwheels. Tried to not let the sound of his last name coming from him drown him. Tried not to say, you.

“Not much. Right now they sound like the kind of thing I’d be reading about in my biology textbook,” he shifted his legs and slumped further into the bed.

“But you like reading your biology textbook,” Sander smirked.

“I don’t know, they sound kind of scary. Whimsical little things at the bottom of the ocean that we don’t know much about. Like you said, we don’t even know how they move.”

He could feel Sander’s eyes on him, wholly green, sparkling with intent. Robbe couldn’t take it anymore and finally looked at him questioningly as if to say, what?

“They drift through the current” he finally said. “That doesn’t mean they know where they’re going but...” he kept his eyes on him. “Do you wanna go see them?”

“What?”

“There’s an exhibit at the aquarium that I really wanted to see and they’ve got- well you- I mean - we don’t have to-“

“We?”

Robbe couldn’t believe what he was hearing.

“Yes we. If you want to that is” Sander smiled. He was suddenly kind of sheepish, but his eyes never left Robbe’s. And Robbe in his abrupt state of confusion could never have imagined Sander like this, all nervous and anxious. He and Sander had been spending a lot of time together over the past few months and he could never tell when his energy changed if it was because he was Sander or if it was because of an effect Robbe had on him. He couldn’t even imagine that he could ever have any sort of effect on him at all. He realized it had been a while and he needed to respond.

“Yeah,” he grinned, nodding his head. “Yeah, I want to.”

“It’s a date, then,” he reached over for his phone, scrolling through his calendar. “We could go Wednesday after school. Half day, right?”

As Sander tapped to go to the aquarium’s website to buy tickets, Robbe stared at him. His eyes shifted over his bleached hair, his endearing eyes, his black Bowie shirt, and the way he looked so nonchalant now, seconds after being anything but calm. And Robbe didn’t know where his courage came from but he wanted to take advantage of his last sentence to say,

“When you say date, do you mean like a date date?” he asked.

Sander froze. He slowly looked up from his phone, licked his lips and asked, “Do you want it to be a date date?”

Robbe breathed in. There was no turning back now.

“Yeah. Do you?”

“Yeah,” Sander’s lips curved upwards.

And now Robbe was standing in front of the mirror feeling very self-conscious and not at all like the Robbe that asked him out. Or was it Sander that asked him? He couldn’t tell but he’d be here very soon and all he could think about was what do you even wear to an aquarium? He opted to wear his dark green hoodie and jeans. This was casual anyways and he didn’t really feel like a dress shirt would be appropriate for the occasion and just when he felt like maybe he could change, he heard the doorbell ring. Shaking his hair one last time and grabbing his phone off the counter he went to greet Sander.

“Hey,” said a smiling Sander.

“Hi,” said a smiling Robbe.

“You look good,” Sander’s eyes drifted down. It vanished Robbe’s doubts and he looked at Sander too, in his white shirt and black leather jacket.

“So do you.”

“Ready?”

“Yeah.”

They started with the sea turtles and then would make their way to the stingrays. Sander had said they’d go through the whole aquarium and he was saving the best one, the jellyfish of course, for last.

He was so excited, he was practically vibrating at the front doors. There weren’t as many people inside since it was a weekday and Robbe figured that probably made Sander beam even more whenever he looked at him.

As they walked around each exhibit, Robbe felt like he’d never seen such beauty and iridescence. Seeing how the lights made all the creatures glimmer in the water and how the curves of the glass above them engulfed them into the sea made Robbe feel the strangest sense of calm. He watched in their respective exhibits as stingrays and sea turtles and beluga whales swam by, their slow movements synchronizing with his heartbeat. It felt as if time stopped and when Sander grabbed his hand, he looked to see him staring at him with such sincerity, the crinkles in his eyes prominent from his smile. Robbe sighed.

“I can see you like it,” he felt Sander’s breath on his cheek.

“Yeah, it’s really great.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“The jellyfish?”

“Mmmmhh,” Sander hummed in agreement. “But first, lets check out that one,” he nodded to another area in the corner, a more hands-on and interactive exhibit.

Robbe and Sander stood near the tank in front of them inspecting the oddly shaped starfish. Sander nudged Robbe.

“Touch it.”

“No.”

“Touch it.”

“No.”

“Touch it.”

“No! You touch it!” Robbe giggled and shoved him lightly. Sander reached out and ran his fingers over one of its arms.

“It’s soft,” he said. Then suddenly, “Ahh!” as he pulled his hand out of the water. His finger had bumped a sharp rock and he shook the water off his hand as he inspected it. “Can you kiss it better?” he asked Robbe.

Robbe shook his head, chuckling as he lifted his hand to his lips and kissed it lightly.

“Actually my lips hurt, can you kiss them better too?” Sander smirked.

“I don’t kiss on the first date,” Robbe wrapped his arms around him.

“Mmmmh, maybe on the next one then.”

And then finally, finally, they made it to the jellyfish exhibit. Sander’s pace picked up faster than Robbe’s as he let go of his fingers to run up to the glass. Robbe followed, watching. He looked up to the bioluminescent creatures, neon colours of pinks, purples, blues and yellows, and stared in awe. Seeing them in his textbook was one thing, but seeing them in person, right in front of you, floating around like some strange, other-worldly thing? It wasn’t scary, it was...breathtaking.

“Aurelia aurita,” Sander broke his trance. “Or more commonly known as moon jellyfish or the common jellyfish, moon jellies if you will,” he made a face, laughing. “They’re found in most oceans but mostly the Atlantic. No nervous system, no muscles, they feed on plankton. They live a simple life” he finished. It sounded exactly like what Robbe had read in his textbook. He thought he was the science nerd here and he wasn’t expecting Sander to be so knowledgeable in all this.

“So,” his lips etched up. “Why jellyfish?” Robbe asked. Sander took a moment to watch the creatures slowly float by.

“My mom said I used to draw them all the time when I was a kid. Then I got obsessed with them and as I learned more about them, I think I got really interested in the fact that they don’t have brains. At least not in a complicated way like some animals and humans do.”

He looked lost in the water, eyes in a daze and Robbe almost regretted asking the question. Sander took a seat on the empty bench placed for viewing the fish. Robbe followed.

“Do you remember how I told you about my thoughts? And how they don’t stop sometimes?”

Robbe nodded. They’d gotten quite close the last few months.

“Well, I think I like jellyfish bc they don’t have brains to have any thoughts. They can just drift wherever the current takes them,” he said. “But sometimes they can sting you and I- I don’t want to do that.”

Robbe thought back to their conversation a week ago and how he had called jellyfish scary. He had no idea Sander felt like that. He didn’t know if Sander even meant it like this when they were talking then. He thought it was just about the sea creatures. And maybe it had been in the beginning.

“Sander,” Robbe immediately took his hands in his, rubbing his thumb over his knuckles. “You’re not a jellyfish. You’re you.” He shifted closer, touching his knees to his. “And I really like you.”

“I really like you, too,” Sander touched his forehead to Robbe’s. After a long moment of just sitting still like that, Robbe whispered,

“Can I kiss you?”

“I thought you didn’t kiss on first dates,” Sander chuckled softly. “Yes.”

Robbe softly pressed his lips to his. Though the exhibit was practically empty, he was thankful to keep it short and sweet, still basking in the taste, lightheaded from the fact that he was here with Sander. And as their date came to an end, Robbe left feeling content and grateful that he agreed to come to the aquarium with him. And the best part was Sander holding his hand throughout it all, excited and giddy to look at all the sea animals. Once they walked back to Robbe’s door, Sander felt reluctant to let go of his hand.

“I had a great time today,” Robbe said.

“Me too.”

And before Sander knew it, Robbe was pulling him in for another longer kiss, kissing him in ways he couldn’t at the aquarium.

“See you tomorrow.”

“See you,” Sander lingered a bit longer until he let go and headed out.

“Remember!” Robbe shouted as Sander turned back. “You’re not a jellyfish!”

“I could be! Am I not pretty enough?”

“Beautiful!”

Sander gave him one last smile before he disappeared around the corner. Robbe finally closed the door and his cheeks hurt from grinning so widely. Today didn’t feel real but he was so glad Sander let him into his world. One thing that he knew for sure was that this was the best first date ever and that he couldn’t wait until the next one.

#wtfock #wtfam #also the bio major in me wanted to cite my references for this fic so bad haha #fic #my fic

[calorieworkouts]

Success Story: Aileen Lost 79 lbs!

Aileen S. Age: 45 Starting Weight: 234 Weight now: 155

What was the transforming point that encouraged your way of living change?

In 2008, I lost about 70 pounds, yet I never really reached my target weight. Over the following few years, I continuously returned on even more than fifty percent of that weight. I was miserable with myself and my capacity to do things with my youngsters and good friends, like jump on a trampoline or go clothes shopping. In the summertime of 2012, we went on vacation as well as I despised seeing myself in images. I had a now-or-never minute and determined that if I wished to be delighted, I required to start doing points for myself as well as develop my own joy.

People wish to know just how I did it, as well as the response is I believed. I believed in me. If I was mosting likely to more than happy in my life and also with my body, I needed to do it myself. Between August 16, 2012 and January 16, 2013, I shed 44 extra pounds and also strike my target weight. I had shed 79 extra pounds from my all-time, non-pregnant high. Why? Because I started to believe and insist that I could reach my goal.

How did MyFoodDiary help in your weight reduction journey?

Writing down what I eat is a crucial and non-negotiable part of achieving as well as maintaining a healthy weight for me. I recognize some professionals say not to compose it down because "calories are not all developed equally." There might be some reality because, yet I understand that for me, meaningless psychological eating is probably my number one source of weight gain. I also think that at the end of the day, it is the straightforward math of "calories in vs. calories out" that regulations my body. I do not constantly have a "journal" with me, neither my computer. To have an online journal that is always available as well as upgraded with every one of the information I require, that is doing the math for me and also tracking exercise, dietary values, and also water consumption, is just crucial.

Now that I have been at my objective weight for over 2 years, I often avoid daily journaling. Yet as quickly as I start to feel myself creeping away from my target weight, the initial point I go back to is MyFoodDiary as well as day-to-day journaling. It's not almost being liable. I like to check out patterns as well as recognize things like, what typical day-to-day calorie intake assists me maintain my weight? Lose weight? And also what does my ordinary nutritional account REALLY resemble? MyFoodDiary is my facilities for a healthy and balanced way of life and also my safety blanket.

Describe your new, healthy lifestyle?

Even though I have actually kept my goal weight for over 2 years, I still require to verify to myself daily that I can do this, that this is real. This is my thought cycle: I think that I am a solid as well as healthy and balanced individual, as a result I act in this way. It has actually become my fact. I consume alcohol water rather than other beverages. I try to include vegetables right into my diet regimen wherever I can, particularly right into healthy smoothies. Generally, I attempt to decrease refined carbohydrates and processed foods as well as chemicals. I'm additionally aware that attacks, licks as well as preferences have calories and also build up quick! I sometimes avoid daily journaling but MyFoodDiary is constantly the very first point I return to if I really feel like I have actually not been focusing on my nourishment and also daily calories. There is no suggesting with the numbers before me in black and white.

I include some form of movement into every day. Some days I do cardio, stamina, and also extending workout at the health club. Some days I'm exercising on a post, hammock or hoop in the airborne studio where I teach and also train. Some days I simply do cartwheels or yoga exercise obstacles, or park at the far end of the great deal. Every single day I assume regarding moving my body. It is not a duty, it is a privilege.

What has actually been your largest difficulty in the process, and also exactly how have you conquer it?

There are two challenges that I have always allowed to dictate my level of activity as well as capability to be healthy: my five children as well as my poor joints.

It is very easy to allow my youngsters's needs and hectic timetables come before my own, and for years I did just that. I was showing them that my requirements come last, including my health and also joy. Currently they see a mom that relocates as well as enjoys it. I have determined, regardless of exactly how busy my day is, I FIT exercise into it. A critical part of raising my kids is revealing them that I matter too, as they will when they come to be adults and parents.

Also, I do not have excellent joints, most significantly my back as well as knees. I've had numerous knee as well as back surgeries because I was 12 years of ages. My last orthopedist, seeing my x-rays for the first time, looked at me warily as well as stated, "You do understand that you have seriously progressed osteoarthritis, right?" I ensured him I knew that. He described that there was absolutely nothing left to be provided for my knee except to await points to weaken to the factor of replacement. What triggers me one of the most joint discomfort are poor diet, lack of activity, and bring additional weight, so I am simply made with those things. I value the limitations of my joints, as well as train carefully. I continue to educate, relocate, and also dance. Because when I quit moving, I'm done. As well as I'm not done.

What is one brand-new healthy and balanced food, behavior, or task you really did not expect to like, once you attempted it, you were hooked?

In February of 2013, having actually simply reached my objective weight, I mosted likely to a post physical fitness course at Upright Addiction in Stamford CT, assuming I would certainly rotate around looking elegant. Rather, it was hard, as in beyond-my-abilities hard.

Most of my childhood years I was an affordable gymnast, and also many of my life I have actually been a professional dancer. What I saw because class inspired me: women of every age, body form and history, who looked solid as well as graceful. I felt totally awkward and also incapable, however the other women appeared truly certain that I might do it also. I returned to attempt once again. Today, I am a qualified pole health and fitness as well as FlyGym trainer and I show 3 to 6 classes each week. I additionally complete in local competitions as well as have actually obtained bronze, silver, and also gold medals in my age in levels 1 and also 2. Pole and airborne arts are my trifecta of fitness: a challenging full-body workout of toughness and also cardio, lovely and stylish and also never the same, and remarkable ladies of every age as well as capacity coming together to support and also support for each other.

What has actually been the biggest benefit of your weight-loss success?

It is so much enjoyable to shop, put on enjoyable garments, as well as also use bikinis with confidence. It feels good daily to relocate my body as well as feel strong as well as healthy. But by much my biggest incentive is getting in touch with other ladies and assisting to show them that they can attain their health and wellness objectives also.

For years I informed myself "I can not" and I thought it. I saw various other females experience success and also I had a list of reasons she could do it - no children, under 40, had much less to shed, full time athlete or star - and I can not. I am done with that mentality, and with justifications. Females attract inspiration from me due to the fact that I don't have any type of magic bullet or simple excuses. I made a decision to do the job, and also so can various other females. Hearing that I helped motivate another person's success, despite exactly how small, is by far my favorite part of this journey.

What's next? Any type of upcoming plans that were influenced by your weight loss?

My big strategies are to keep going! I will continue contending, sharing, and training pole health and fitness as well as dance, and also aerial arts. I look forward to summer and spending quality time in the water and also sun with my family and friends. I hope to obtain hectic on my blog and also making even more entrances that will certainly share my trials and also successes. I want to get individuals speaking about attaching their wellness and also joy and accomplishing their objectives. I have one boy leaving for university and also 4 kids still in the house, so the most significant part of my life is elevating them and also helping them produce delighted, healthy and balanced lives that include discovering workout that they love.

What is your finest recommendations for others attempting to lose weight?

I state begin NOW. Do a minimum of one point today that you will certainly take pride in tonight. Exactly how often do we go to sleep stating our failures and also negative selections? I recognize there is a long listing of great, also impressive, things you do daily as well as never ever think around. Undoubtedly there are additionally practices as well as actions that make you feel severely, however you never ever truly believe about them, you simply engage in them. So undergo the day looking for possibilities to choose you will certainly boast of!

It does not matter if these opportunities are little. Due to the fact that if you are anything like me, it is the build-up of these little, mindless habits that are making you really feel beat. If rather you go to bed reminding yourself how you actively made one much better choice for yourself, after that you are going to bed with a positive thought. That will change whatever, because things you inform on your own are one of the most powerful things you listen to. Really feeling terribly regarding on your own is difficult work. Making favorable modifications daily is effort. Select your difficult work.

#body workout #exercise #fitness #get fit #health #health and fitness #health and wellness #health club #physical fitness #pilates exercises #weight #wellness #workout

[baeklination]

bartender love    pt.1

Pics: random from web, Kyungsoo don’t know

Date:200711

Warnings:au (non famous Kyungsoo), crude language (cursing), alcohol, light pre-smut 

Pairing: Kyungsoo x Reader (Y/N)

WC: 3k

NOTE: 1. I couldn’t let go of bad boy Soo just like that, I had to write something. 2. I am acutely aware of how cringey, horrible, simply NO the title is, but please believe that I couldn’t not do it..! 

pt.2   pt.3                                       ¤¤

“This one? Doesn’t look too shabby or too chic”, Iseul said shrugging her shoulders.

“The Shamrock…” you read out loud and demonstratively tapped your finger on your chin. “Could this be an Irish pub?”

You both cracked up, thinking about the numerous conversations you’d had about Irish and British pubs and their oftentimes generic names. 

“Okay, it’s a bit...But would you rather spend your time trying to find another place to have a beer, or actually having one?”

You and Iseul had a habit of going out for a few beers on the weekends, but when you had showed at your usual haunt you were met by a sign informing you it was closed for renovation. Hence the hunt.

“Point taken. We’ll give it at least one beer’s time to impress”, you agreed.

  The interior looked much like any other Irish bar: dark wooden flooring as well as walls, matched with the same dark furniture; a couple of booths with red cushioning along the walls, tables and chairs in the middle and a long counter at the back. It was only around 7pm so there weren’t a lot of patrons in yet, a few dinner guests and a couple sitting at the bar.

“It doesn’t smell like pee or vomit, that’s a plus right there”, Iseul joked. You burst out a short loud laugh, making the bartender turn around with raised brows. You pretended to scratch your nose but it was just a trick to cover your mouth when you mumbled:

“Oh my god...”

You and Iseul had been friends for so long she understood every mumble and code in your speech - and she agreed. Hauling up her phone she said:

“Excuse me while I call my boyfriend of four years to break up with him.”

You tried to choke your laugh but failed miserably and the two of you must have looked like a pair of giggling teenagers when you reached the bar counter. Thankfully the bartender didn’t show any sign of overhearing your conversation, he just smiled jovially.

“Hi. A draft beer and my friend here will probably want something you don’t stock”, Iseul told him.

“Yeah? What you want?” he said as he picked up a glass and started pouring Iseul’s beer.

“You in the bathroom stall in two seconds”, you thought to yourself when you heard his voice. It was so deep you swore it could erode the friggin’ glaciers on Greenland..! 

“Eh...I’ll have a…” you lingered as you scanned the shelves to see what they offered. 

“Told you so”, Iseul mumbled as she received her glass. 

“Kilkenny. I’ll have a Kilkenny, please and thank you.” You emphasized the sentence to make a point of disagreeing with Iseul’s characterization of you as picky.

“A girl with taste...Let me just see your ID’s real quick.”

The way he looked at yours and then said “Y/N...pretty” gave you a tingle in your stomach and almost like a rush of electricity through your head as you smiled and thanked him. 

“Ooh, someone’s got an admirer…”, Iseul cooed as you sat down.

“Yeah, he does”, you said pointing at her.

“Haha..! If I was single I’d tap that quicker than-”

“Je-sus..!”

“Yeah, quicker than Jesus. Except I wouldn’t, since he clearly has his eye on you, girl. Plan of action?”

“None. I just sat down.”

“Y/N, come on..!”, Iseul whined. She made a gesture of grabbing something. “Carpe diem. Carpe bartender..! He’s even looking at you now..!”

You were seated with your back against the bar, so you couldn’t see him but you could guess Iseul was just making a point.

“No he’s not.”

She widened her eyes.

“If you look over there now…”

There wasn’t any way to do it without being obvious so you just turned your head. He was looking at you. It caught you by surprise; you quickly turned back, not even offering him a smile. Immediately you realized how it must’ve looked. You put your hand in your face.

“Fuck…”

“Smooth…”, she said slurping her beer demonstratively.  

You had to laugh at yourself, couldn’t help it really.

“Aeh, I’m not trying to act cool anyway, Is. Topic: tell me about your trip. You’re leaving wednesday, right?”

“Yeah, wednesday…”

And so you naturally changed the subject and talked about this and that until Iseul started tapping her empty glass.

“Okay”, you sighed, “it’s time. Carpe bartender. Still no plan.”

“Organic? I like it. But smile when you look at him this time.”

 And boy was he something to look at. From the piercing in his eyebrow and the one in his nose to the ring he had in his lip - those luscious lips..! The tattoo on his neck, partly covered up by his buttoned up black suede shirt, and his thick black hair; shaved at the sides but cascading down in front of his eyes when he moved. The way he ran his ring clad fingers through his hair to keep it out of his face was the near deadly icing on the cake. “Let the carping begin”, you laughed to yourself as you approached the bar.

“My tasty girl...”, he said with a crooked smile.

“My creepy bartender…” you countered, making him laugh, deep and rumbling. “One more draft, and since you have so many options I think I’ll try something new. What’s good?”

He thought about it while he drafted Iseul’s beer:

“Ah..! I think you’ll like this one.” He turned to the counter behind him for a moment and when he came back he had the cheekiest smile on and he put a note in front of you. “Here’s something new.”

Perplexed you looked down; it was a phone number - presumably his. You rolled your eyes and sucked in your cheeks, pretending to be bemused, even though you were clearly amused.

“Really..?”

“What, you don’t like it..?” He knew it was cheesy as hell so he couldn’t keep a straight face either.

“Of course I fucking like it..!” You said and slammed your hand on the note. “Oh, wait. Is there a name attached to this number?”

“Kyungsoo.”

“Kyung..?”

“...Soo.”

“Kyungsoo. Well, nice to meet you, Kyungsoo”, you said holding out your hand.

“Nice to meet you too, Y/N”, he responded and took your hand.

“I was actually trying to get that beer you said you had for me, but okay…”

When you got nervous you had a tendency of making jokes (if one could call them that), but Kyungsoo didn’t seem to mind. He knitted his brows and nodded:

“Okay, it’s gonna be like that…Maybe I should take my number back then..?”

“There are no takesies backsies, mister”, you scoffed.

“Takes…” he smiled in disbelief. “Did you just say takesies backsies?”

“No…”

“Let me grab you that beer so you can drown the embarrassment of these last five seconds.”

“Thanks. Well, I better get back to my table with her beer.”

“What are you guys doing later?”

It was at this point puppies started doing cartwheels in your head.

“I dunno. We’re gonna get some burgers and then try to find another bar. Our usual place is closed for renovation. We’re kinda drifting around...”

“...like two plastic bags in the wind”, he filled in with a dramatic gesture. “There’s a place up the road, Henki. I usually go there when my shift ends. You should come.” Kyungsoo looked you square in the eyes with seriousness that made you tremble (in the good way). “You should definitely come.”

                                         ¤¤

  So here you were, sitting in a booth in a half dingy rock bar because a pretty boy said you should. 

“But seriously, how can someone look like that! Even I’m nervous..!” Iseul exclaimed. “And he seemed cool too, no?”

“ Yeah, really cool. Like chill. Like…”

“...like someone’s in lo-ooove..!”

“Oh, get outta here with that love shit!” you swatted your hand in the air. “It’s gonna be at least two more hours.” You took a sip of your beer and continued “Thanks for being the best and chillest wing-man. But you’ve gotta tell me if I shade you too much, alright.”

“Who am I to stand in the way of young love..? Ah, I remember it like it was yesterday..!”

“Because it was yesterday - you live with the guy!”

“That’s what I said, like yesterday” she laughed.

Iseul gasped:

“He’s here! No, don’t look! Be cool!”

“Shh, stop it - you be cool, Iseul..!” 

  Kyungsoo scanned the room almost immediately when he came in. You didn’t care if he saw how excited you were; he was obviously feeling the same way. When his eyes landed on you he broke into a smile which made you smile all the wider, and making his way to your table he chuckled and ran his hand through his hair. He squatted, resting his arms on the table:

“You came.”

You started saying something but Iseul beat you to it:

“She couldn’t get here fast enough.” 

“Yeah?” He raised his eyebrows. “Me neither. Oh, sorry”, he said turning to Iseul “I’m Kyungsoo.”

“Iseul. Aren’t you gonna sit down?”

“My friends are here so I have to say hi to them first, have one drink at least. You know bros before…”

“Before what now?” you said, crossing your arms.

“Eh...non-bros. Don’t worry, Y/N, I’ll be back.”

“I’m not”, you smiled “I know you will.”

  On one hand you thought that drink took an awfully long time to finish, but on the other you didn’t mind since you were having fun. Even though you and Iseul practically saw each other more than her and her boyfriend did there was always something to talk about; whether it be your annoying manager, her annoying manager, politics or long rants about food. You didn’t have to wait long for new fuel to be added to the conversation as Tony soon joined you.

“I knew you’d feel like you were dissing me, so I asked him to come.”

“Yep, I’m the wingman’s entertainment.”

“You’re self-sacrifice has been noted, and bounty will be stored upon you when we get home, good sir.”

“See...”, he said, putting his arm around Iseul and giving her a kiss “...my chick is the best.”  

“Ain’t dat the truth”, you agreed.

“Hi…” 

You looked up to see Kyungsoo by your side.

“Great timing, bro”, Tony said, shaking Kyungsoo’s hand. “I was just about to steal my girl away for some alone time.”

“Subtle, Tony. Real subtle…” you rolled your eyes.

“The way you say that makes it sound sarcastic. But it can’t be.” Kyungsoo had a puzzled look on his face. “It couldn’t be that they’re making up an excuse because I came over and they think we might want some alone time... Nah, it’s too devious”, he shook his head.

“They’re bad seeds, Kyungsoo. Better stay away.” You grabbed his wrist, and got that electric feeling again, but no one noticed through the laughter.

“Just don’t leave without me.”

“Of course not”, Iseul assured you before they changed seats.

“Now...”, he sighed “can I finally buy you a drink?”

  He was so unlike most guys you’d dated, or even had a short chat with for that matter. His energy was like a huge magnet sucking you in, enveloping you with brightness and warmth that felt so natural. It could’ve been Iseul you were talking to right then. Both of you were open and all smiles; that “once in a blue moon”-connection you instantly feel but can’t pinpoint the reason for. What the heck did you even talk about to make the time go so fast? Music, friends, tattoos, life… You wouldn’t be able to retell half of it, but it was constant and comfortable. After some time you joined his friends at their table and the conversation flowed as easily there. One of his friends, Loey, had the most amazing red hair which you couldn’t help but gush over.

“I really like your hair, Loey. It’s so...red!”

“Thanks. Then you should’ve met this one a couple of months earlier”, he said pointing to Kyungsoo.

“It was nothing, just a phase”, he swatted his hand in the air.

“Nothing? The girls went fucking crazy over it..!”, Loey exclaimed.

“Is that so? Tell me everything, Loey.”

You weren’t the jealous type at all, you just found it funny to see guys stumble and mumble trying to convince you you were the first, best and prettiest woman they’d ever seen - as if. 

“Aeh, don’t listen to him”, he said and put his arm around your shoulders (“finally!”). “Women don’t throw themselves at me. Except for you, of course”, he ended with that cheeky smile.

“Excuse me..! I have half a mind to un-throw myself right about now.”

He laughed and leaned in next to your ear.

“Don’t.”

One word. One word with that deep, vibrating voice in your ear was all it took for your brain wires to fly out of their sockets and whip around like it was Woodstock. You made an excuse about having to go to the ladies room and waved at Iseul to join you.

“Holy mother of GOD, if I don’t chill out - if he doesn’t chill out...”

Iseul folded over laughing. 

“Stop laughing, Iseul, this is serious stuff!” you implored. But you weren’t leading by example, the way you yourself had to lean on your knees for support. “I need...spiritual guidance over here..!”

Iseul wiped her tears and stuttered:

“Just...do whatever you want to do. You’re a grown ass woman, Y/N.”

“I said spi-ri-tual, not se-xu-al…”

“I can only help you so much. And I can only leave my boy alone for so long. Leggo!”

  When you saw him walking towards you you knew exactly what was about to happen, so you stopped, leaning on the wall with a hint of a smile.

“Come here, already.” He pulled you to the side so not everyone would see you.

 You’d been looking at those lips all fucking night but never found an excuse good enough to be alone with him. Excited was an understatement.

“I’m gonna be a gentleman and ask if I can kiss you, but I’m not gonna wait for your answer. Can I?”

He put his hand on the nape of you neck and leaned in. The way his lips were slightly parted at first; the way he pushed his tongue in to your mouth, slowly but with dominance; his hot breath... 

“Fuck…”

“You wanna..?” he breathed into your mouth and pressed his lips harder against yours. You felt the smile on him which made it - him - even worse. The way he kept his tongue in your mouth, slowly feeling and tasting every bit of yours… This boy knew how to kiss. You instinctively arched your back and he slid his hand under your top, gently pressing on the small of your back.

“You wanna get outta here?”

He placed wet kisses along the side of your neck down to your collarbone and began moving the strap of your top off your shoulder. You felt a rush of fire - blazing - and that’s when you got a hold of yourself.

“Whow..!” you jerked back and held your hands in front of you.  

Kyungsoo looked perplexed.

“I’m trying to not…”, you said, raising your eyebrows in a meaning way “...you know…”

He laughed.

“Aah. You’re trying to not throw yourself at me.”

“Exactly.”

“Well, how about I throw myself at you then?” He put his arms up on either side of your head and continued kissing your neck.

“Yes, plea-no! No. No one throws anything, alright?”

He put his head against the wall and you could feel his scent. You hadn’t thought about until now but he wasn’t wearing any perfume; it was natural. And natural Kyungsoo did your head in. You were just about to grab his waist when he straightened up.

“Okay, you’re right. And I kinda like you more for it. But I also kinda…”

“Hate me for it..?”, you smiled.

“Mm-hmm..”, he cupped your face and started kissing you again. “...also kinda hate you for it.”

After a few moments he pulled away, took a deep breath, held it, and exhaled harshly.

“Okay, that was the last one. I’m a guy, Y/N, I can’t keep on kissing you like this or I’ll go nuts.”

It made you giggle. It gave you butterflies in your stomach. It made you feel special.

“Fuck it, just one more”, he said and leaned in.

“Whoa, mwoya!”  

Startled, you turned to see Loey standing at the end of the hall. His eyes were wide and round one second, and the next he was hitting the wall laughing.

“Ya..!”

Kyungsoo tried to sound serious, but seeing Loey laughing made you laugh which in turn made Kyungsoo laugh. He shook his head.

“Let’s just go back.”

  It was already last call when you got back so you ordered a final round and continued chatting like before. Iseul and Tony joined you and before long your tables were the rowdiest one in the place; laughing, singing, having conversations with people seated the farthest away… It was an awesome hot mess. And in the midst of it all there was him. They way his eyes twinkled when you were telling a story; the way he brushed your hair behind your ear; the way he didn’t mind that all of his friends saw it.

But of course it was inevitable that the lights turned on, and everybody started putting on their jackets, standing in small clusters outside waiting for their people to come out. You and Kyungsoo stood a little off to the side.

“So…” he started.

“Why is it so weird to say goodbye? Like, it was normal five minutes ago..!”

“I know!” Kyungsoo exclaimed. “And it’s not like we’re not gonna see each other again.”

“Yeah, I already have your number.”

“About that...Can I have yours..?”

“What, you think you’re not gonna hear from me? Come on, Soo…”

“No, no. I just think I’m not gonna hear from you as soon as I want to.”

“When’s that, in an hour?”

He laughed and hugged you.

“Yes. Now, are you gonna kiss me goodbye?”

“I’ll never kiss you again if there’s a chance Loey might see...”

“Hey, Loey! Close your eyes.”

“Huh? Why?”

“Just do it, Lo. Two seconds.”

tbc

#kyungsoo #kyungsoo fluff #kyungsoo scenarios

[antheiagoddessofnarnia]

TFATWS SPOILERS

GO AWAY

————————————

This is gonna be out of order because i can’t remember the exact order of events so sorry..

So... yeah that fight was... yeah. If i remember correctly isn’t that the same music that played when Steve and Bucky were fighting in catws? Or is it the music from when Stucky were fighting tony? Idk. John is ridiculously aggressive and brutal it isn’t even funny. It’s like he only fights to kill. I mean come on, the amount of times he threw them against things and tried to kill them the exact same way he killed that one guy (I forgot his name, sorry) in the last episode was insane. I’m glad he isn’t officially Captain America but he should be put in a federal prison. Ok, Val, I’m gonna call you Val, because you seem like a bitch, and I want to annoy you. Go away. Just leave now please. He did not do the right thing at all. But yes, his wife is super awesome. Anyways. What was next? Sam going to Isaiah right? Idk, but I’ll talk about that now. Jeez so yeah. That was... really sad. That was just terrible. It was important, I’m glad they had that talk but like. Jesus Christ. I don’t have much to say about it, mostly because I don’t really know what to say. The only thing I really can say is that a black man needs to take the shield. Sam needs to take the shield. It’s the most important thing that could happen. But, i think his talk will probably be one of, if not the, most important conversation Sam will have. And, i just really hope things get better for Isaiah. Maybe he could go to wakanda? They would treat him the way he deserves! This is unrelated but, why was Isaiah watering his plants at night? Anyways... that encounter with Zemo was bittersweet if I’m being honest. I’m glad Bucky didn’t kill him, but I didn’t really think he was going to. “I took the liberty of crossing my name out of your book. I hold no grudges with what you did” that made me sad. Like, he needed to hear that. I’m kinda upset that Ayo isn’t taking him to a Wakandan prison, but their prison system is probably much better than Zemo deserves so. I think that might be the first time we’ve seen Karli have an outburst, and it hurt. I feel like so many people know how she feels and that sucks. Nobody should have to feel like that. What else? Oh yeah! Sam calling in favors was nice, I love how caring their community is! Bucky x Sarah is amazing, I want more of that. They are adorable. It’s like two second graders in love. I love it. Sam and Bucky fixing the boat was a smoke show. Thank you Marvel. Bucky on the couch was just 🥵 and then that smile 🥺 adorable. Sam counseling Bucky was amazing to see. I love that we get to dive into the headspace of both of these characters. It was nice to see Sam embrace what he was doing before the superhero shit. What is wrong with Sharon? Like seriously. Is she the power broker? Do we really need to rope Batroc into this? I mean come on. This is stupid Sharon! Be a nice person! Don’t be salty that your 100 year old uncle doesn’t like you back anymore. Ugh. John and Lamar’s parents was heartbreaking. That’s that on that. ... “We are a couple of guys” you could’ve stopped at couple Buck. It’s ok. We all know you’re in love. Ok I think that’s it! That’s not it!!!!! That case better be a super cool looking suit and wings! Also... a hitman? Batroc is your hitman? Why? He’s so inefficient! He thinks cartwheels can kill. Also. John, that tin foil shield is gonna fall apart

#TFATWS #TFATWS Spoilers

[clericbyers]

I just feel that the fandom really needs someone to rewrite the movie date byler scene except when they're looking at each other's lips they actually do something about it

then i hope the fandom may be pleased

————————————————

Mike biked under the pink and blue neon lights that spelled Starcourt up above on the entrance to the new mall. He was panting from the ride, the summer night’s warm breeze not enough to cool his body from the exertion he put into the ride. He skidded to a stop and hopped off the bike seat as Lucas approached him, Max and Will flanking either side of him.

“You’re late. Again.” Lucas announced as if Mike didn’t know that already. Mike turned to him, noting his irritated posture and Max’s equally irritated raised eyebrows. Will was a bit more patient, he always was when Mike was concerned, but he knew the brunette was just as irritated as Lucas and Max, he just wasn’t prone to showing it.

“Sorry,” started Mike with a heavy huff. He slid his bike between the metal bars next to Lucas’ bike and turned to face his friends.

Will stepped forward with a small frown and Mike’s gaze moved to him without a second thought. The lights tinted his face blue and made the shadows in his gaze darker. Mike felt a bit guilty about his lateness just looking at Will but he stuffed that emotion down and refused to let it cross his face when Will spoke up. “We’re gonna miss the opening.”

“Yeah,” snorted Mike, “if you guys keep whining about it. Let’s go.”

“If you guys keep whining about it,” Lucas mimicked as Mike approached by him. The immature urge to stick his tongue out at the other boy struck Mike but he shoved it aside as he patted Will’s arm in a motion for him to follow his lead.

Mike shoved a little at Lucas when he wouldn’t move and kept making faces during his Mike mimicry. “Just please stop talking about it, dude.”

Will laughed. It was a light chuckle that mostly went unnoticed in the bustling crowd but Mike could always hear Will’s voice no matter what other noises surrounded them. He turned on his heels and walked backwards for a few steps to send Will a returning small smile, only turning back when Lucas shoved him a bit and grumbled under his breath for him to keep moving.

“Let me guess though,” Lucas began after clearing his throat, “you were too busy fawning over El to remember to check the time?”

“Oh yeah, real mature, Lucas,” snarled Mike. “How many times do I have to tell you we’re just friends now?”

Lucas kept making kissing sounds and Mike really wanted to punch him. “Mwah, mwah, mwah; Oh El, I want you back so we can kiss forever and ever like we used to and never hang out with any of our friends.”

Mike turned on Lucas with a glare. “I do hang out with you guys even when we were together; what do you think this is? Me and my imaginary friends?”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if we’re imaginary to you now.”

That stung a lot. Mike grit his teeth and increased his stride as he turned back toward the crowds. His eyes followed the messy lines and jumbled colors of typical modern fashion and it was an easy distraction from Lucas’ words even if it spiked his anxiety. He could hear Max reprimanding Lucas but he didn’t bother to comment on anything and simply forged the path ahead through the crowds for his friends to follow. Will came up beside him and his simple presence managed to calm Mike down for reasons he didn’t understand and didn’t really want to understand. It was completely normal that Will helped Mike’s negative emotions dissipate, right? They’d been friends forever and Will knew what to do to help Mike as much as Mike knew how to help Will. They knew each other like no one else—hell, he was the only one in the Party who knew exactly why Mike and El broke up two weeks ago.

I don’t think you like me enough for this, Mike.

Distracted by his thoughts, Mike stumbled off the escalator and bumped into a teenage girl, who glared at him as he apologized and regathered his balance. Embarrassment coursed through his veins but he trudged on, keeping his head down as Lucas bickered with his younger sister. Will’s hand brushed against Mike’s when he nervously brought a hand up to play with his bottom lip and he turned to face the shorter brunette, eyebrows raised even though Will wasn’t looking up at him. The distraction was enough though and Mike felt not an ounce of anxiety as the quartet turned into Scoops Ahoy.

Mike quickly strode to the countertop bell and tapped it 7 times as Robin rolled her eyes. She never seemed to like them when they arrived; her mood almost constantly dropped once she spotted them enter the ice cream parlor. Mike was never quite sure why but she seemed to always target her irritation toward him in particular. Secretly, he wondered if Robin had some unresolved girl business with Nancy and he found himself caught in the middle of it by being Nancy’s brother. “Hey dingus, your children are here!”

The back window slid open and Steve Harrington appeared looking displeased as always. He obviously hated working here, looking dorky in his white sailor hat that had Ahoy blazed across the fabric in a cheerful manner that contrasted the annoyance on his face. “Again? Seriously?”

Mike pursed his lips and gave Steve an unamused look, ringing the bell one last time.

Steve let them through the back of the shop with the usual reminder. “I swear if anybody hears about this, you’re dead.” Mike smirked to himself though; they knew how to be sneaky, more than anyone in this town probably knew. Some of the largest government secrets were secrets held by them, nightmares that followed them in shadows in the months since the Mind Flayer possessed Will and El closed the gate. The Party knew how to keep quiet so Steve had nothing to worry about, yet it still humored Mike that he felt a need to constantly give them a reminder.

The group rushed down the halls to the theater’s side exit and Mike opened the door to check and see if anyone was coming. When the coast was clear, he motioned for his friends to follow him into the theater playing Day of the Dead. They arrived just as the final preview was ending on screen, Mike making his way toward a pair of empty seats as Max and Lucas did the same two rows ahead of them. It was always like this; Mike and Will, Max and Lucas. No one had to say a thing about how they arranged themselves from even day one. Even when Dustin had joined them the week before he went to camp, he sat with Lucas and Max on Lucas’ other side and kept bickering with him about the snacks he had snuck inside. Now though, without Dustin there to be a buffer to Lucas and Max’s movie date, that changed the way Mike and Will ended up pairing themselves. Or at least it did in Mike’s mind. He couldn’t speak for Will. Did Will even realize how they were paired up like this, like couples? Even if he and Will weren’t a couple—which Mike still didn’t know how to feel about, which was even more confusing because shouldn’t his answer be that he’s completely fine with not being with Will that way?—they still never bothered to sit separately or even sit in the same row as Lucas and Max.

When the boys settled in, Mike called out to Lucas to bite back about how they made it on time. Lucas made some side comment back that Mike couldn’t really hear, but it had Max giggling so he wasn’t too unnerved by what he could have said. Will shifted beside him so Mike turned his attention on him, ooh-ing when he noticed Will was the one who had brought snacks this time around. He reached into the bag to grab a soda can and a bag of Skittles, raising an eyebrow at Will’s D&D character binder inside the backpack. He tapped at it, curious as to why Will was carrying it around, but Will merely gave him a look before grabbing the rest of his goods to distribute to Lucas and Max. Mike settled into his seat and cleared his mind of the day’s grievances, letting the hours he had spent at Hopper’s cabin helping teach El a little bit more about the basics of the world wash over him as the theater dipped into darkness and the feature film projected onto the screen. His concentration was ensnared by the movie and when the film suddenly flickered to a stop and the screen blanked, he was snapped out of the slight hypnotism and felt exasperation fill his chest with a displeasured moan.

The theater was filled with people protesting the sudden black out. Mike hated the noise and he rather wished everyone would silence and simply wait for the theater staff to fix the problem. A shiver went up his spine at the thought of this darkness lasting for the rest of the night and he fought against his eye’s natural inability to see in darkness to spot Lucas and Max talking between themselves as everyone waited. It didn’t take long for the projector to start back up and the film wound itself where it had stopped. The theater broke out into cheers and excitement and Mike smiled to himself, chancing Will a glance to spot the other boy smiling softly yet not as enthusiastic as everyone else. He watched Will for a moment longer, unsure if everything was really as fine as the crowd seemed to think it was. Will brought a hand up to his neck, rubbing slowly as if feeling for something and Mike leaned in.

“Hey,” he started softly, kindly, gently, lovingly, like he spoke toward no one else.

Mike was worried; Will’s face had gone slack with something akin to horror but the darkness of the theater left Mike unable to know for sure. Will gasped at Mike’s voice though and started to pull his hand away as he turned to face Mike. He seemed discombobulated, yanked from his thoughts violently enough that his face was left vulnerable to any and all emotion. When he looked at Mike, his eyes began to soften and Mike felt his heart repeatedly cartwheel in his chest from the intensity of his gaze. Will’s lips softened into a gentle smile and Mike couldn’t help but look down at the curvature of his lips, his thoughts racing at the proximity between them as the crowd continued their noise.

A beat passed. Will parted his lips, tongue peaking out to wet the pink flesh, and Mike’s heart jumped off a cliff. Will suddenly shook his head and grabbed his backpack. He stuffed his things inside as Mike watched him wordlessly with a crease in his brow. “Will?” he whispered, hesitant to get up yet his legs did so without conscious action of it. “You okay?”

“I, uh, yeah,” he panted, which was odd given his breathing had been fine just a few seconds ago. Will pointed toward the exit. “I just need a breather.”

Mike heard someone in the row behind him whisper at him to sit his tall ass down but he sent the owner of the voice a glare before reaching out toward Will. “You sure? You can leave your bag with me you know.”

Panic returned to Will’s face like he had something in his bag that he didn’t want Mike to see. He clutched the backpack closer to himself and stood up. “Of course; I just need…I need air.” Mike frowned. Will was rarely this flustered so it would be hard for him to convince Mike he was truly okay. “I’ll be back.”

Mike followed him anyway, pretty sure the people behind him hated his guts for standing up for so long. And with Will gone, Mike wouldn’t be to concentrate on the movie anyway. His mind would be too worried about what exactly was troubling Will. Mike clambered over people’s laps and apologized as his legs knocked their knees but he had to quickly make his way after Will. He called out for the boy once he reached the theater lobby, brown eyes searching through the night crowds for the familiar face of his best friend. He turned on his heel to rush toward the bathrooms, figuring Will might had hid in there to avoid people and find some solitude. Mike felt a bit guilty about possibly breaking Will’s solitude but he knew Will wouldn’t really mind. He was comforted by Mike’s presence too and that similarity between them would always ensure that Mike would be there for his friend as much as Will was there for him.

“Will?” he asked once the bathroom door closed behind him. It was surprisingly empty—he expected more people inside but was grateful that he hadn’t simply stumbled into another crowd. One of the stall doors was closed so he went to the plastic door and knocked three times. “Will, are you there?”

“I thought you were gonna stay and watch,” came Will’s weak response. He didn’t sound like he had been crying—Will was a very strong-hearted boy and tears only came in the most emotionally draining of times—but he sounded very exhausted and defeated.

Mike leaned against the door. “Maybe if you hadn’t bolted from the theater like you did, I would.”

“I’m sorry.”

Guilt punched Mike’s stomach. “No, no, it’s not your fault. It’s not your fault.” He turned to face the door and pressed a palm against it. “I didn’t mean it like that. I’m just worried about you. Are you sure you’re okay?”

Will shuffled on the other side. “I’m fine, Mike. You don’t need to harp.”

“Can I come in then? I know you’re not taking a dump.”

Laughter. Sweet, refreshing laughter even if it was tainted with a bit of hysteria from emotional distress. A click came next. “The door is unlocked.”

Mike opened it and clambered inside. He somewhat regretted the decision when he turned to lock the door and found they really didn’t have much room between them like this. Will was seated on the commode, knees pulled up to his chest as he rested his chin on his knees. Mike felt his heart squeeze in sympathy at the sight. His eyes caught Will’s backpack on the cold, tile floor beneath them and he pointed to it. “What’s in the bag you don’t want me to know about?”

“What?” Will looked over at it and his cheeks went pink. “Oh. Nothing important.”

“Your D&D binder is in there.”

Will shrugged. “That’s nothing to write home about.”

“So you wouldn’t mind if I just,” and Mike knelt down to grab the backpack, only stopping when Will cried out and untangled himself to reach down and grab it before Mike could.

Will’s hand fell on top of Mike’s and Mike could feel his cheeks burning with heat at the feeling. He was often the one always reaching out, always touchy and comforting in the way he knew worked best with Will, but Will rarely took his hand first, rarely nudged him first, rarely touched first in general, but then Mike was reminded of Will’s fingers brushing against his hand when he was anxious in the mall’s crowds earlier that night. He tried to think back on all the little things Will did to comfort him as he stared at Will’s unmoving hand, and when he looked up, Will was staring right back at him. His eyes were large, green-hazel irises vibrant under the fluorescent bathroom lights. Pink dusted his cheeks in a flush that alluded more toward blush than any physical exertion. His nostrils flared once, flashes fluttering when his eyes darted down to Mike’s lips and—oh, they were so close like this. If Mike really thought about it, he could faintly feel Will’s breath on his lips, more of a ghost feeling than anything, and he…he liked it.

“Mike,” croaked Will. His voice was filled with fear and uncertainty. Mike wanted to wash it away and fill the boy’s soul with comfort and nurtured protection.

Mike slowly turned his hand so his palm was up against Will’s and he didn’t break eye contact with Will as he arranged his hand so he could slip his fingers between Will’s own. He squeezed once, watched the pink in Will’s cheeks turn red, and he knew exactly why he was bothered by the fact that he and Will weren’t together that way. “Whenever you get that view-master feeling,” he started, watching Will’s eyes comically widen, “and you feel stuck between the slides—,”

“—remember you’re not alone.” Will whispered along, his voice shaking at the edges. “Crazy together.”

Mike squeezed Will again, letting his thumb rub the back of the other boy’s hand. “Never forget it’s crazy together. Not just you, not just me. Both of us.”

And then Will kissed him.

Mike’s eyes widened and he released Will’s hand out of shock. Before he could even physically react—mentally, he was jumping between absolute elation and pure fright—Will pulled away and started climbing off the toilet seat. His face was vibrant red and he refused to make eye contact with Mike as he grabbed his bag and stood up, making his way around Mike toward the door. When he heard the click of the door unlock, Mike quickly stood up, gangly limbs flailing as he reached up to grab the top of the door and keep it shut. This pinned Will between the door and Mike’s chest, which had the brunette panicked when he spun around to protest Mike’s sudden actions. Mike reached down to lock the door and then grabbed Will’s face before leaning in to kiss him. He probably looked stupid, eyes squeezed shut and lips puckered like an idiot even though he knew he should let his lips relax and melt against Will’s own. He knew how to kiss and how to let someone kiss him, but nervousness had him acting like he was 12 again.

Maybe it was apropos that he was kissing like a 12-year-old: sloppy, miscalculated, too firm with pressing their lips together and pressing his nose into Will’s cheek. It made Mike feel like he was having his very first kiss all over again; a rebirth of sorts if he really thought about it. Eventually he relaxed and loosened his lips until he had Will’s top lip between his own. He sighed as he pressed in gently, gasping when Will squirmed against him and deepened the kiss as his fists clung to the lapels of Mike’s jean vest. He kissed Will again and again, each kiss belaying a promise to be together, and Will kissed him again and again, repeating the promise and making his own in turn. It was slow; each boy caught in the overwhelming feeling of their lips pressed together and tasting each other and the sizzling emotions that buzzed through them from the constant yet morphing contact.

Mike never wanted this to end. He never wanted to stop tasting Will on his lips but the bang of the bathroom door opening combined with hearty, loud laughter had them splitting apart with a quickness. Will paled so fast Mike thought he would go dizzy from the blood loss but Mike motioned for him to sit on the toilet and pull his feet up so people could only see one pair of legs under the stall as they walked by. Only the sounds of the intruders filled the air. Mike and Will weirdly avoided eye contact with each other until the bathroom emptied out and Will let out a held breath. Mike wasn’t sure if the kissing mood was back—kissing in a bathroom stall was a bit gross anyway—but he really wanted to kiss Will again and ensure that what happened between them wasn’t a dumb vision in his head. He couldn’t find the words to ask though and Will was already climbing off his seat and silently squeezing past Mike to open the door.

They didn’t speak anymore as they left the bathroom stall. Will stood beside him as they both examined themselves in the mirror, fixing their hair and washing their faces so the fish looked more natural in case anyone started asking questions. Mike could feel Will’s body heat like a heater and he wanted to tuck himself next to it for the rest of his days. They walked out the bathroom together too, still silent as they made their way back to their theater and returned to their still empty seats. Lucas and Max watched them with worried gazes but Mike waved them off and they turned back to the movie with shared shrugs.

Mike had practically convinced himself that making out with Will in the bathroom had been a trippy hallucination by the time the movie reached its final scenes. He felt weird, disappointed almost, that he finally realized what he wanted and figured out why El was right when she said he didn’t like her enough to be her boyfriend. But then a calm warmth covered his hand on his thigh and Mike quickly turned to Will, who was blushing but still watching the movie. Will’s fingers started tapping against Mike and it took him a moment to realize it was Morse code.

Is being together okay?

Mike nodded and used his other hand to tap Will in return. More than okay. A pause. What was in your backpack though?

Will sent him a shy smile. I’ll tell you later.

And later, when Lucas and Max left Starcourt before they did, Will opened up his backpack and pulled out a sheet of paper from his D&D binder that he quickly folded and pressed it into Mike’s hand. “Don’t be grossed out or whatever when you see it.”

Mike watched blue and pink dance on Will’s skin, giving him an enchanting glow that added to the surreality of the situation. He tucked the paper into his jeans’ pocket with a shrug. “I had your tongue in my mouth earlier so I don’t think a love letter is gonna phase me.”

Will swatted Mike and grabbed his bike. “It’s not like that! Just a stupid doodle.”

The ride back into the resident part of town was spent with Mike teasing Will and trying to guess what exactly was on the paper. Will wouldn’t budge with the details but he did whisper a small thank you when Mike wordlessly passed by the Wheeler’s house and followed Will all the way home. On the Byers’ porch, Mike teased Will with one more joke before kissing his cheek and wishing him a goodnight. Will’s eyes were glowing so bright he could probably outshine the stars and Mike felt cozy inside knowing he had a part in making Will this happy.

At home, Mike unfolded the sheet of paper in the privacy of his room and laughed. It wasn’t much—just their initials in some fancy calligraphy with a heart drawn around it—but it certainly would have been embarrassing for Mike to see without Will’s explicit permission. He traced the letters with a steady finger, thinking about how Will had spent his time drawing this out with the idea that it would be something he could never confess yet kept it close to himself in his backpack for who knew how long. Mike wondered if Will ever planned to show him but figured that was a question that didn’t need an answer. He refolded the sheet and tucked it in the back of his dresser before climbing into his bed to sleep on the exciting and life-changing fact that he, Mike Wheeler, was together with Will Byers.

(The next morning, when Jonathan was stopped by Joyce and she smeared Nancy’s lipstick from his cheek, Will called it gross because, well it kinda was. Joyce claimed that he wouldn’t find things like that gross once he fell in love. Will paused as he grabbed the maple syrup bottle, acted as if he was deeply contemplating something, and then shook his head as he began to pour. “It’s still gross,” he replied, smiling when Joyce’s eyes widened and she opened her mouth to ask who Will had fallen in love with, only to be distracted by the fallen magnets on the floor near the fridge.

She never did get to ask but it wasn’t necessary when she reunited with the kids at Starcourt and watched how Will and Mike gravitated toward each other. They weren’t subtle even when they were trying to be, just as kids usually are about their romantic entanglements, and Joyce could do nothing but smile despite the seriousness of the situation as the two boys tried their best to hide the affectionate gazes they couldn’t help but exchange.)

#byler #byeler #yams writes #been sittin on this for a hot minute so!! #here u are anon #if u know how i feel about d&d being code for byler then you know will keeping his semi-confession in his d&d binder had to be done #it just had to #anon #yams answers

[regolithheart]

Love In The Time of Coronavirus: Chapter Six

Summary: One pandemic, one lake house, and two people who loathe one another. Will they be able to survive the outbreak...and each other?

MASTER LIST

Read on AO3.

---------------

CHAPTER SIX:

It was the end of the week and despite their rocky beginning, both Nesta and Cassian had made it through without causing any physical harm to one another. Much to Nesta’s surprise, they had even fallen into a daily routine with shared breakfasts, cocktails at five on the dot, and even cooking dinner together.

She had enjoyed that part of her days the most—almost looking forward to 6pm when she’d wander into the kitchen to see what they were having for dinner. It was easy to talk to Cassian when most of his attention was elsewhere and with her own small tasks to be done, she could easily ignore him if he was being too…Cassian.

Too Cassian.

Before the quarantine she would have labeled him as irritating—too full of himself and stubborn. Things came easy to Cassian: his smile, his jokes, flirting. He was at ease in every situation because he took nothing seriously whereas Nesta took everything seriously. She didn’t understand how he did it, moved through life without analyzing every minuscule detail of it. 

Before the quarantine she would have labeled him as a beautiful idiot, because yes, she couldn’t deny the fact that he was good-looking. Try as she might, even alone in her bedroom with no one else to judge her. She still couldn’t say those words, that looking at Cassian sometimes made her weak in the knees.

But that had been before the quarantine. After spending almost a whole week with him, Nesta had begun to discover other parts of Cassian. That he was an attentive listener and generous with his time. That he smiled at everything, even when it wasn’t funny. That he stuck the tip of his tongue out when he was trying to be flirty, but also subconsciously, when he was concentrating on something.

And in the span of six days, she had caught herself wondering what Cassian looked like shirtless, at least twice. Once, when she saw him lounging outside on one of the deck chairs. The rising sun had painted his face with a golden glow and she had wondered what it would have looked like, spilling across his broad shoulders. And a second time, when he had off-handedly pulled back the collar of his shirt to reveal that yes, he did in fact know what real pain was as marked by the whorls of black ink on his flesh.

Nesta had allowed herself a two second glance that had her stomach doing cartwheels. She had bit her lip hard enough to hurt and avoided his eyes for the rest of the dinner. 

Yes, Nesta still thought Cassian was brash and too loud. He didn’t know how to respect personal boundaries and made everything his business. And how on Earth he wasn’t able to sit still or in silence for ten minutes straight would always grate on Nesta’s nerves. But he was also all the other small things that she had began discovering as well, the things that made her reconsider how much she actually despised him. 

Which made her flustered for completely other reasons. 

Looking around for something to distract her, her eyes fell onto her phone. 

Perhaps she should finally give Feyre a call. She was beginning to feel guilty for not reaching out, especially because she hadn’t spoken to her baby sister since before their quarantining began. 

Glancing at her watch, she figured now was as good a time as any. 

Feyre picked up on the second ring.

“Nesta, hi. How are you?” Her voice was soft, happy.

“I wanted to check up on you. Is this a good time?”

“Yes, of course. I’m glad you called.”

Nesta could hear people talking in the background, but it had quieted down when Feyre spoke again. “How are things going with Cas—“ She cleared her throat. “How are you doing?”

Nesta scrunched her nose. She wasn’t sure why, but she had suddenly became annoyed. “Fine.”

Feyre was quiet, but when Nesta didn’t provide any further detail, she spoke again. “That’s good… all of my classes are online now… how’s work?”

Nesta shrugged even though she knew Feyre couldn’t see her. “Business as usual. Some people can’t do their jobs when they’re at work or at home.”

Feyre gave her a small chuckle. “Not everyone is as brilliant as you.” She paused a moment. “What about Cassian? Are you guys getting along?”

There it was again, that lick of irritation. “He’s fine. We’re fine. I can actually be civil, you know.”

“I know that! I was just asking. Making sure he wasn’t giving you a hard time or anything.” 

“No.” Nesta felt just a smidge bit guilty. “I mean, he’s not being any more of a pain in my ass than he usually is.” She didn’t know why she was compelled to add, “We’ve been… making dinner together. We’re also taking turns making breakfast.”

“You’re making breakfast?”

“I know how to scoop yogurt into a bowl!”

Feyre laughed. “Can’t argue with you there. You’re the best at it!” 

“Damn right, I am.”

“Do you fan out the bananas and dot the granola with raspberries for Cassian, too?”

“No. He has not proven himself worthy of banana-fanning yet.”

Feyre laughed again. “Good. Only Archerons get fanned bananas.” After a few seconds, she let out a soft sigh and her voice was gentle. “But you’re doing okay?” 

Nesta bit the inside of her cheek. It was always like Feyre to try and take care of them. Sweet, gentle, Elain, she understood, but sometimes Nesta hated the implication that she couldn’t take care of herself. 

“Yes, yes. I’m fine, Feyre.”

“Good. And Elain? Have you talked to her? I try to call but we keep missing each other.”

“I talked to her last night. She sounds bored out of her mind, but I don’t know what she expected locking herself up in an apartment with Graysen.”

“Nesta.” There was that motherly tone again.

“Tell me you disagree.”

“She loves him.”

Nesta’s only response was a derisive snort. 

When Feyre spoke again, the austerity was gone and was replaced with a hint of mischievousness that Nesta had learned to detect years ago. “I’m glad you don’t sound like you’re bored out of your mind.”

“I’ve been busy with work.”

“In a beautiful house with the best scenery?”

“It’s… tolerable.”

Feyre cackled at that. “I’ll make sure to let Rhys know that you think his house is tolerable.”

“Please, don’t. It’ll just make his head bigger. I mean come on, Feyre. Who installs a full-sized sauna in their home?”

Her sister’s giggles were starting to become contagious and Nesta smiled. “I thought that, too, but just give in to the sauna, Nesta. You won’t regret it.”

“Fine, but two Pelotons?” 

“Okay. I’ll agree with you on that one, but it’s so much nicer when we don’t have to readjust the seat every time we want to ride.” 

“Unbelievable. You know, Elain and I had to share one bike until I was ten.” 

“Yes, and I got all your hand-me-downs.” 

Nesta smirked to herself. 

“Listen, I gotta go. We’re just about to eat dinner.”

The photo of Feyre looking so happy with her new found family flashed in Nesta’s mind, making her chest feel oddly tight. “Okay. Have a good night.”

“You, too. Love ya.”

“Same.”

“Bye bye.” Feyre hung up, leaving Nesta’s room feeling even more quiet than it had before.

Wondering what to do with the rest of her day, she gave the book on her nightstand a dejected glance. 

Normally, she would have jumped at the opportunity to spend the whole day reading, but she felt restless and decided that perhaps she should make use of the Peloton and sauna downstairs. It wasn’t as though she had any other plans and it would give her a chance to work out some of her sudden listlessness. 

Silently thanking Elain for making her pack gym clothes, she changed into a matching set of stormy blue high-waisted tights and sports bra and gave herself a once over in the full-length mirror as she pulled her hair into a high pony-tail. Out of habit, she swiped her lips with her favorite mint balm before leaving the room.

The house was quiet and for a brief second, Nesta wondered were Cassian was. Again, his bedroom door was ajar and the room empty and she hadn’t heard him in the kitchen either. 

She wondered if he was stretched out on the lawn as she’d seen him before, during her work days—no doubt spying on her or more likely, trying to get on her nerves and distract her from important emails and conference calls. It couldn’t have been a coincidence that he had chosen to reposition the outdoor furniture to sit perfectly framed in the view from the office window. 

Nesta was debating whether or not she should call him out on it the next time she saw him when she entered the gym and stopped dead in her tracks. 

Standing in the middle of the room, toweling off his brow was Cassian. His t-shirt was loose and the V of the collar hung low, revealing the sculpted hardness of his chest. Muscles defined and taut in a deep bronze, glistened with sweat. The dark curling ends of his tattoo rippled as he moved—like ink gliding over water—and Nesta’s fingertips tingled.

Looking up, his finally saw her standing in the doorway. Their eyes locked for what felt like an eternity and then he spoke, breaking the spell.

“Morning, sweetheart.” He grinned, slinging his towel over his shoulder.

Nesta crossed her arms, narrowing her eyes. “Don’t call me that.”

Cassian chuckled, making it sound like she’d just told a joke instead of sending a death glare his way. 

“I’d ask if you were lost, but judging from your outfit, it doesn’t look like you’re on your way to the ball.”

Nesta watched as Cassian’s eyes dragged from her sneakers up her legs, then torso, and then… 

She turned, walking over to the stationary bikes, hoping he hadn’t caught the flush that was beginning to bloom across her chest. 

Looking at the Peloton, Nesta began to question her decision. Thinking she should switch over to the treadmill, she felt Cassian’s breath against the shell of her ear. 

“Here, let me help.”

How he had managed to sneak up behind her without her noticing was a surprise, but not as big of one as how close he had gotten. She could feel the heat radiating off of him and if she took a half-step back, there was a strong chance she wouldn’t have been able to stop herself from melting into him. 

Instead, she straightened her back and at the sudden lost of heat, knew that Cassian had widened the distance between them. Chancing a glance behind her, she saw him leaning against the treadmill. His hand gently—casually—rubbing the back of his neck.

“You need special shoes for that,” he said, jutting his chin towards the pedals. “Feyre’s are in the cabinet. You wear the same size, right?”

Nesta took her time retrieving the shoes and putting them on, anything to give her a moment to even out her breathing and collect herself. It was only the surprise of running into him that had thrown her off. 

Focus, Nesta. You’ve seen a muscled man before. 

When she got back to the bikes, Cassian was already tinkering with the levers and bolts. 

“You’re taller than Feyre. We’ll have to adjust the seat.” He held out his hand. 

Nesta swallowed, but did not let her hand slip into his. Instead, she nudged him away with her elbow to give herself some space.

Cassian chuckled. He remained standing where Nesta had pushed him, but he was still close enough for her to feel the rumble of his laughter on her skin—close enough for her to smell the salt and sweat on him.

She scowled. 

Cassian moved behind her to tug at the seat, adjusting it to align with her hip before leaning over to tighten the screw, fixing it into place. She watched as his arms flexed, the tight chords of his muscles shifting easily beneath that deep copper skin. 

She realized she had never stood this close to him before, so close that she could see a bead of sweat glide down the chiseled stone column of his neck and she hated the tightness she was feeling in the pit of her stomach, but she also couldn’t look away. 

When Cassian straightened, Nesta bristled. 

“I need you to hold your arm out so I can adjust the seat distance. Elbow at the seat front.” 

This time, Nesta did finally allow Cassian to guide her and the gentle brush of his hand at her elbow, her arm, felt oddly intimate. His palm was calloused and the scrape of it against her skin made her spine tingle. 

His hands were so big.

Nesta was reminded of where she was when Cassian told her she could get onto the bike. Eager for the distraction, she locked her shoe into the pedal and swung her leg around to the other side. Again, she felt the heat of Cassian’s body close to her skin, this time from the hand hovering just above the small of her back.

“I can handle it from here,” she said, dismissing him.

Clearing her throat, she began scrolling through the classes on the screen, not chancing a look at him.

She had already felt too vulnerable in the five minutes standing next to him and now that she was sitting on a bike, her feet locked into place, she couldn’t allow herself the possibility of toppling over, or worse, not being able to escape if he fixed her with one of his looks. 

Cassian didn’t say anything until he got to the door. Not turning back, he said, “Have fun,” before leaving.

It wasn’t until Nesta heard the door click shut that she let her shoulders sag. Expelling a deep breath, she shook out the tension in her arms, her neck. 

Scrolling through the classes, she decided a ninety minute power ride was exactly what she needed to shake the unfamiliar jitteriness that had suddenly seized her entire body. 

---------------

Cassian let his forehead rest against the wall as he released a shuttering breath. He had made it to the end of the hallway before having to stop to collect himself. Slinging his towel across the back of his neck, he grabbed both ends and tugged firmly. 

God.

He had barely made it out of there. Had surprised himself when he was able to say something that wasn’t a declaration of how much he wanted to kiss her, touch her. 

He hadn’t been expecting it, her showing up at the gym like that and in those clothes…

He had always thought she was gorgeous. She had taken his breath away the first time he had laid eyes on her and in their subsequent meetings, she’d only proven herself more and more beautiful. But today… with that thin material matching the exact color of her eyes and clinging to each and every one of her curves, he couldn’t help himself. He just had to be near her.

And so he moved—stalked in three long strides—close enough to touch her, but not daring to. 

He had half-expected her to turn around and snap at him. To claw at him with her nails and her words. And when she didn’t, and he saw the blush against the shell of her ear, exactly where his breath had been, he thought that maybe…

But her back had stiffened and so he backed away, tried to plaster on that cool exterior he could easily hide behind, not wanting to make her more uncomfortable than she had been. Of course, he was only human and when she walked off to find Feyre’s shoes, Cassian’s eyes had followed her. Followed those long legs, the curve of her backside, and the swell of her hips as they swayed. 

He had had to muster every bit of strength in his body to remain calm. And for a moment, he had considered leaving the room to escape the torture. 

But as soon as she’d come back within arm’s reach of him, he couldn’t walk away. And she had let him touch her arm. 

It had been the most chaste of touches. A past Cassian would have laughed at himself for being so modest, but it had set his hand on fire. Her skin was so soft, and for a heartbeat, he had let himself wonder if she’d let him touch her anywhere else. Her shoulder? Her neck? Those pouty lips? 

If she’d let him, he’d trace his fingertips across that delicate skin to mark her—let her know where his mouth would follow. 

Cassian groaned.

He felt foolish, like a giddy teenager touching a girl for the first time, instead of the grown man he was. One who had taken many lovers, all of whom had let him do much more than touch their elbow. 

And that was the problem, wasn’t it?

They had let him—wanted him to, begged him, in fact. But Nesta… all she did was push him away and brush him off. She had glared at him and bristled at his closeness. And when he was done being useful, she had dismissed him wholly. 

Cassian had thought that she was finally beginning to thaw against him. Their interactions had become cordial, almost friendly at times. But again, she had managed to prove him wrong. 

He raked a hand through his hair, tugging hard. Then pushed himself off the wall, and headed upstairs, looking to take a very, very cold shower. 

#acotar #nessian #nessian fanfic #nesta archeron #cassian #cassian archeron

[xuzhouu]

Love song

Shawn Mendes x black!female! reader

A/N: In which Shawn writes a song for his girly she black btw

Just lots of fluff k bye

When Shawn told you that he was writing a song for you your heart almost leaped out of your chest, never did you think that he much less any guy for that matter would have even considered such a thing. “Babe you don’t have to do that.” You two were currently in bed about to doze off when he explained that he had an idea for a song and wanted you to be the inspiration. 

“I know I don’t have to but I want to, you mean so much to me and it’s been in my head lately to write a song about my favorite person in the whole world.” You were touched by his words, you knew that his songwriting skills were spectacular so you had no doubt in your mind about if the song would come out good or not.

You kissed him then genuinely excited about the next couple weeks he would take to finish it, knowing Shawn, he wouldn’t stop until he got it done, he loved his fans and music so much that he would risk getting a full 8 hours in order to make them happy. “So what are you going to call it?” 

He shrugged, “I don’t really know yet but I think when I start writing it I’ll get a feel for it, by then it should come to me.” 

2 weeks later

Shawn was working his ass off in the studio, he even slept there sometimes just so he could start writing first thing in the morning, he had explained to you that he got the melody and the sound down pat but he was still trying to figure out the lyrics, you helped as much as you could but Shawn was determined to not let you hear it before it was finished. 

“Babe, I still don’t know why you just won’t let me help.” “It’ll ruin the surprise, that's why and I want you to be blown away when you first hear it.” you groaned at him knowing that he was just that stubborn, the only information he had disclosed was that it was a slower song and that it had a lot of guitar and piano. 

He also knew that it would definitely be on the album and said that it was one of his favorites and obviously most personal. 

4 weeks later

After a very long month of hard work and dedication the song was complete, he was thankful that you were with him every step of the way because he didn't think he would have been able to finish it without you. You were practically bouncing out of your chair with excitement when he called you into the living room saying he wanted you to listen. 

His phone was ready to go as you reluctantly sat down not knowing what to expect. You put the headphones on and silently waited for him to press play. As the song started you immediately knew you were gonna like it, it was all soft guitars and piano with a little bit of bass, the production was everything you had thought it was gonna be.

When he had started to sing you fell even more in love, it was talking about your relationship, basically setting the stage of what it was like the past year and a half, how you both supported one another, his anxiety and your loads of baggage, how you celebrated each other's flaws instead of hiding them, now that you thought about it, it had been the best year and 6 months of your life, through all the ups and downs and all the successes and fails both at a career and life standpoint. 

You caught a line in the song that you initially didn’t really catch but when you went back you realized what it said: ‘And I’m gonna marry you someday, wanna be yours forever.” Everything seemed to stop then, your words got caught in your throat making it hard to form coherent sentences. “You wanna marry me?” oh, too late the tears were already making a clear path down your face.

“Of course, you don’t think I made a song about you for nothing did you?” You shrugged not knowing what to say, “I think this is the nicest thing someone has ever done for me, like seriously all jokes aside.” You chuckled dryly at him trying to lighten the mood but you truely were serious, You didn’t deserve him to be honest. 

“I love you, you know that?” 

“Of course I do, but I think I love you the slightest, tiniest bit more.” 

That was Shawn for you, always trying to one-up you in declarations of love. “You're such a dork, but a loveable dork.” You kissed him trying to distract him from the way your stomach was doing cartwheels at the thought of him actually proposing to you. 

“So what did you decide to call it?” He giggled seeming to be thinking about something, “What just tell me.” 

“um, well don’t be mad at me okay.” 

You rolled your eyes at him becoming annoyed at the fact he didn’t want to just spit it out. “Alright, Alright I named it after you, it’s actually your middle name.” 

Your eyes widened a the thought of a song literally having your name stamped on it, this was a big deal after all. “Shawn are you sure? What if something happens?”

He squeezed your hand in an effort to calm your rising heartbeat, “I thought about it a lot actually, and you don’t know this but the name was one of the first things that I decided, I knew that it had to be something connected to you but I didn’t want to use your name so I used your middle name instead.” 

“You know what, It actually kind of fits really well.” You kissed his nose to which he cutely scrunched up his face. “Wow, so I have an official song.” “Yup, and you can’t say I’ve never gotten you anything. You're welcome, sweetheart.”   

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes fluff #black!reader #black and white #shawn x reader #cute #ughhh #i