#woke up from sleeping too early and stress and i see i get roped into bs i DO NOT care about.

[cozymochi]

Yeah, you know what, i’m done. Officially. Consider today the start of my slow but sure Invader Zim purge on this blog.

I was trying to be patient, really I was. I even had a brief moment where I changed my mind and decided to do a courtesy, but after what I just had thrown my way I’m going to take MORE overt steps to get out.

I draw the line at being associated with even tangentially with discourse™️ that I never ever was involved with in the first place, nor do I want to be. While it IS true I never made shit for a certain thing nor have I ever cared about it, the fact I’m even still being roped into and having my discourse™️ stance assumed as a result is enough to make me pull the plug. What kind of freaking logic is that? Oh, congrats to you I don’t make things about [redacted], but I’m also not up for being associated with anyone involved in celebrating chronically online only problems and “wins” or whatever tf that is. Some folk have been inactive for YEARS. And y’all KEEP TRACK of that?? I just. HUH? I haven’t done anything related to IZ in a year myself, and yet—-!!

Literally don’t speak for me, don’t mention me (too late), do NOT involve me your kid bs I literally never cared about in the first place!! And the one thing I ask for has been violated. Again. Yet, this time given how sour I’ve become, that thin ice folk were walking on has finally cracked.

I just. Fuck. Y’all literally the only fandom who do this (or at least the only one i’ve seen who care SO MUCH about that stupid junk), and I want out. Purge starts now. As for how long that process will take, who knows.

Last warning about that. I know people are all up in having “warnings” or whatever. So consider this wall of text no one will read it.

#cozy texts #Personal/ #its 3 fucking AM. #woke up from sleeping too early and stress and i see i get roped into bs i DO NOT care about. #oh i dont do something wheee i must be engaged in the crusades /s. im fucking— #i ranked the experience 4/10 consider it a 2/10 now. #I’m too old for this. Just stop. #If you kids won’t then I guess it’s time to show how serious I am. #I have regrets. If i had never entered i would have been happily blind to this junk.

[pbandjesse]

I am sitting at a baseball game with James. I forgot that they said we were doing this today. I'm having a nice time but also I am really sleepy. Today was a pretty good day but I didn't sleep great and I just really wanted to be home.

I woke up and tried stretching and it helped a little. I got dressed and James would drive me to camp. They had a bagel for me. And it was a pretty nice drive in. We listened to a podcast and had big laughs about a game where you had to guess the host of a podcast based on the guests and we were having a great time.

We got to camp at 9 and James helped me get stuff out of the car. And then they left me at the office. Heather was just getting there but we both still had to wait because she left her office key at home. Opps.

So we talked about her trip to Zion national park last week. I got sure would love to go see that. Seems so unreal. And we also talked about pewter casting at camp. I would send her some stuff about it later.

Once Elizabeth got there she told me what needed to be done but also told me don't try to do everything because we had so much staff today. She was correct I would have just tried to do it alone and exhausted myself.

When I got outside Celia was pulling up so I asked if she just wanted to drive up to the low ropes course. And that was perfect. She was like yes but also my car is full of baby mice?? I did not care but I was like. Slightly concerned she is driving a mouse van.

We got up the low ropes and worked together to get that set out. She worked on the ladder and I untangled the ropes.

While we were finishing that up Sarah and Dachelle pulled up in the gator to get ground elements stuff to take over to the tipi feild. And then we headed over there to help untangle all of that.

It was kind of a slow wait. The bus was late. But it was fine. Once it did come I met it outside and helped direct traffic a bit until Elizabeth came over and we figured out what was up.

This was a sleepover group so they unloaded and went up to the cabins. I helped direct there too. And got to meet a few teachers that hadn't been there last week. Because this was the same school, just the highschool and not the middle school. And I recognized some of them from last year. And that was nice.

We got them all on the feild and they decided to do free choice to make their groups. Which would have been fine but then they did that again after lunch? So then the groups were all mismatched and there was no reason for that. It was so stupid and stressed everyone out.

But thankfully the programs all went super well. Me and Celia started with ground elements and would have low ropes the rest of the day. And it was lot of fun honestly. Having the larger groups allowed us to really do the programs more thoroughly. And when they didn't want to do it anymore I read a few of their fortunes. I had a big long chat with Celia about how neither of us believe in cards or magic or anything but card reading is so much for like. Story telling reasons. Interpreting and basically improve on the fly. It's just fun.

Lunch was quiet. Me and Celia ate on the porch. I paid some bills and did some accounting. It's half way through the head and I wanted to make some projections about the rest of it. And if things go the way I hope we should be in a pretty good place.

Like I said though they wanted to do free choice again in the afternoon. Which of course was super confusing and then we were all sort of thrown off. But it was fine in the end and we figured it out. I was a little stressed about it though and felt a little annoyed with the person who organized it but it would work out.

In the last group we did have one student who had already done low ropes. He requested we do the team wall though so we made that happen for him. And then got into low ropes. And while two people did fall, overall it was fun and everyone did great.

I checked in with the group about finishing early so they would have time to change for the pool. And that worked out great. Celia ran the swing while I watched the part of the group that was finished the program and Sarah worked on taking the ropes down.

We were very efficient.

Once the group left I headed to the field to put away ground elements for tomorrow. And then to the office to get the Gator key to go collect water coolers. Celia would come with me and we drove all around to find them. Finding Tony had dumped one out, which was only annoying because we were supposed to combine them to take to the pool. But whatever, with the others we made one full one. Dropped it off at the pool and then drove to the lodge to drop off the empty ones.

We got back to the office and of course then Elizabeth asked us to take the trash out at the lodge. Thankfully James was just pulling up to come get me so they drove us over there but it was already done so we were able to bust drop Celia off at her car and then me and James went home.

When we got back we ran into Nick in the hall. He just bought a house on 4 acres and is slowly moving and I'm so happy for him. It was also just really nice to see him.

I was happy to get out of my work clothes. I took a shower. I was coated in dust and it really made me feel better but I was still pretty tired. We laid in bed for a while. But at 530 we got ready to get out of there to go to the baseball game.

We walked to the lightrail station. Someone yelled out the window to ask if James was Justin Tucker, a sports person, and we got round trip tickets so we could get back easy later.

Taking the lightrail was nice. And we got here and got tickets no problem. James got us fries and they got themselves chicken tenders. Eventually we would also get cotton candy. And I've been having fun. The other team has 1 run and we have 7, which is very embarrassing for them. I've been enjoying people watching. And I'm tired and my earrings are hurting but I am happy.

Tomorrow I have an early day but we will have a short day as well. Ending after noon. So I'll come home and hopefully get some cleaning done. I hope tomorrow is fun. I hope we win. But even if we dont I am still glad we came!!!

Goodnight everyone!!

[sunbleachedflyy]

june 28 - bunny

rules for horror movies:

must be 1hr and a half

if they’re british, prepare to watch the movie twice because you fell asleep the first time (not boring, just calming…)

don’t watch the trailers, they spoil everything

June 29 - 4 years with, 6 without

last night, i dreamt about highschool. i was with all my past friends and teachers. it’s weird how we’ve been away from each other longer than we knew one another. the same amount of time it took to recognize their laughs and quirks, their troubles and hopes, has passed with each new friend and firsts. but in my dream, all the sleepovers and practices, all the fights and reconciliations, wrapped around me like a childhood blanket - familiar and warm. in my sleep, i was back there. i felt the fog, heavy and starless, in those early mornings of december, running late for tutoring sessions; he’d greet me at the door. i heard the crickets’ song as we finished up late night drills, cheering us on. i witnessed the look of a teacher who genuinely cared and relished the feeling of walking to class with my best friend, giggling, heads huddled. and, in my dream, when she asked if i missed her, i laughed. what a silly question. i was there with her, after all.

then, i woke up and i wasn’t.

july 1 - an inquiry

a new month - what will that mean for me?

do i mean it now? i think so.

european summer - one aperol spritz, please

firstly, i can’t believe it’s actually happening. this trip has been months in the making and now it’s right around the corner. it probably won't feel real until i’m on the plane honestly, but i’m just so happy for this opportunity to explore another country.

that being said, i’ve never felt so completely overwhelmed…

i do cherish the lessons i’ve learned while planning for europe. i’ve had to make these big, scary decisions which isn’t something i’m used to. it’s taken some real research to figure out trains and flights, housing and budgeting. i’ve had to decide on the places i felt were worth exploring and how to make it happen. i’ve never had that kind of freedom when traveling.

it’s kind of funny. in the depths of my stress, somewhere between aggressively comparing traveling cards and wanting to cancel the whole thing, i remembered how not too long ago, this situation is what i asked for. i wanted a trip that felt like mine. i felt like the only reason i did any traveling was for others.

weddings, family vacations, concerts, bachelorette parties.

don’t get me wrong, i absolutely love it and have had so much fun celebrating with my loved ones. i just felt like what i needed now was the chance to do my own exploring.

this trip has been so much work but it���s mine.

july 2 - we are just teenage girls

my mother is human too

she wants to yell and be heard

sometimes throw blame and careless words

she is learning the ropes

when it comes to rage

i see myself there

i see all of us there

[astaroth1357]

Brothers Accidentally Make the MC Cry

Hello, this is the obligatory italics blurb that I have to put under my titles or else things look weird and it bothers me. Don’t mind the blurb. The blurb is a friend. (Though I could start writing pieces of a little story up here just to see if anyone even reads them… Hm…. Ideas, ideas...)

Warning: Angsty

Lucifer 

If he were being honest, he’d say that a part of him had always feared this would happen...

Lucifer likes to tell himself that he’s invincible, but everyday stresses can get to him just like anybody else. And like other people, he may not always act his best when he’s dealing with a full plate…

The MC hadn’t meant to make his day harder when they told him that they accidentally broke a lamp. It was a genuine accident! But Lucifer was still dealing with the fallout from another one of Mammon’s failed schemes, Satan had cursed all of his ties again, and Beel had eaten every scrap of food in the House… for the second time that week...

In comparison to everything else, a broken lamp was quite minor, but for Lucifer it was just the last straw and, for just a moment, he lost control…

His palm slamming against his desk hard enough to snap its legs and send it crashing to the ground. He scarcely knew what kind of look he had on his face, but whatever it was, he had made his human jump back in shock...

Really, it was silly for them to assume that he had gotten that upset over a lamp, but he saw tears starting to gather in their eyes all the same as they stammered out a quiet apology… 

It felt like an ice spike to the heart. Damn his temper… He really ought to have been more careful with them after… well, everything he’d done before…

He was quick to go over to them, catching their face with his hand and giving them the most sincere apology he could muster while wiping away their tears… Overreactions aren’t becoming of him and he hated to cause them pain… 

He, of course, took care of the lamp himself as penance and on the surface that seemed to be it (but to anyone paying attention, he had softened up on the MC considerably for at least a week. They probably could have sworn in front of Diavolo and he’d let it slide, he felt that bad about it...)

“I’m sorry, MC, I shouldn't have reacted like that… You haven’t done anything wrong, I promise… Please, there’s no need to cry…”

Mammon

Oh? What's that? His heart is now in a million pieces now...? Well, that seems fair…

He and the MC were out on one of his gambling nights and he was actually on a killer winning streak for once! Jackpots around every corner, he was rolling in it!

The MC had tried to convince him to just throw in the towel early, take his winnings while he had them and bail, but he wasn’t hearing any of it.

In hindsight, their insistence must have really shown how much the MC cared about him and wanted him to keep his earnings... but in the heat of the moment all he saw was someone trying to spoil his one night of fun.

To be fair to Mammon, it’s rather rare for him to lose control of his anger like he did. But when they tried to pull him away from the roulette table, he genuinely snarled at them and told them to get lost...!

Fortunately, he regretted his actions immediately after he saw the hurt in their eyes…

If their goal had been to get him to step away from the table, they achieved it. But only because he got up to pull them into a hug while stammering out apologies… Watching them actually shed tears hurt worse than any rope Lucifer had ever tied around him...

He spent the rest of the night away from the casino and trying to cheer up his human like his life depended on it... Seeing them in pain just tore him up that much.

"Ah, come on MC… I'm sorry, honest…! Please don't look at me like that, I'll do whatever ya want okay...? Just no more cryin…"

Leviathan 

Now thinks he's the worst, literally the worst. Lower than lesser demon spit. Lower than Cerberus' shit. Lower than… well, you get the idea…

Levi can get very… intense when things involving his passions are brought up. This can be a fairly endearing quality… but it also means he gets disproportionately impassioned about seemingly minor things.

Levi ended up snapping at the MC when they let him over-sleep one day. This wasn’t unusual for them to do as Levi’s sleep schedule was notoriously shitty, but they shouldn't have done it that particular day…

An item he wanted on Akuzon was going to go live that morning and he had to be awake to participate in the bidding. He had mentioned it to the MC the day before, but he blew past it so quickly they didn’t actually remember…

He found out that he missed the bidding after he woke up and he was pissed. Genuinely enraged that they didn’t remember to wake him up to the point that he was shouting and baring his fangs! 

… Really it was not a good look and he should have known better.

The look of fear and the tears gathering in the MC’s eyes snapped him out of it like a hard slap to the face, and somehow, it stung even more than that would’ve... It wasn’t long before he was crying along with them, practically begging for forgiveness...

He made it up to them by having a private showing of their favorite movie using a projector in the Planetarium, cuddling with them under a blanket while still, occasionally, muttering apologies under his breath.

“M-MC…? MC don’t cry…!! Please don’t cry, I- I’m sorry!! I… MC… I’m so sorry…”

Satan

Like Lucifer, he always worried this would happen and he hated when it finally came to pass…

He’d spent all his life learning how to restrain his temper, but it’s not a perfect science. There are the occasional times where the heat of the moment gets the better of him and he does something he regrets…

The MC had walked in on him one morning while he was fuming about Beel leaving the fridge empty again. It hadn’t been the first time they’d seen him like this, but this time he was absolutely furious.

He had told Beel again and again and again to get his snacking under control or to, you know, get up early and get more food so the whole family wouldn’t spend the morning starving but noooo! Mr. I’m Hungry never thinks about anything but his own stomach and then leaves whoever’s on kitchen duty to pick up the slack like some dimwitted muscle-bound meathead and THEN-!!

When the MC tried to take his arm to calm him down, he jerked their hand away from him and roared right in their face. He may not be a lion, but the full sound of a pissed off demon could make humans have breakdowns all on its own…

Which was more or less what the MC began to do as he gripped their wrist, panicking while taking shallow, stuttered breaths…

Satan's anger left him swiftly and he let them go, only reaching out to touch them again when he tried to wipe the tears from their cheeks… He had to coo and beg for them to calm down, which was only so successful because he was fighting back tears himself… 

On a scale of 1-10 of the worse things his temper has ever done, he'd rank this a firm 200... He refused to touch them for about a week afterwards and it took a long time for him to trust himself again… He just didn't want to hurt them...

"MC?? MC…? M… Oh no… MC, I'm so sorry, I would never hurt you! I… I wouldn't dare… please believe me..."

Asmodeus 

Oh baby! Sweetheart! Love of his life!! No, please no… don't subject him to this…

MC and Asmo were out dancing and some witch came by to try and flatter him.

Now, Asmo is a flirt normally, but get a few drinks in him and well… Let's just say his love of attention overrides his better judgment far more often than it should and friends don't let friends go home with creepy witches.

When the MC told the witch to scram, Asmo was confused and, frankly, quite irritated. That lovely lady had been stroking his ego in all the right ways and his human just scared her off so rudely!

Under most situations, Asmo would have kept his cool better but the haze of Demonus made his tongue loose... which let the venom fly…

He couldn’t quite remember what he said. The words left his mouth so quickly that they slurred together on his clumsy tongue, but it must have been enough because the MC flinched away from him.

That hurt all on its own, but as he started to process the pain in their eyes… he had never sobered up so fast...

He had their cheeks cupped in his hands and were kissing away their tears within the instant. Though the loud music at the club should have drowned out his apologies, the MC could see it written all over his equally tearful face…

He pulled them into his arms and then out of the club shortly after, the fog of Demonus that plagued him just moments before had long left him and all he knew was that the MC needed to be brought home and cuddled… stat.

“M-MC…? I��m sorry was it something… did I…? I’m so sorry… Please don’t cry…!”

Beelzebub 

He really didn't mean to shout so loud… honest... 

Beel becomes a completely different person when he’s hungry. He’s not entirely to blame, as his hunger can get so intense, but he still can snap from time to time when he really doesn’t mean to…

It was right after one of his practices and Beel hadn’t gotten a chance to eat in a few hours by the time the MC came to grab him from RAD. That already had him in a bad mood, but practice hadn’t gone too well for him either… 

He honestly didn’t realize how sharply he snapped at the MC when they asked him how he was. The irritation and frustration of the day all hit him at once and he became much harsher towards them than he ever intended…

It must have been the shock of seeing ever-sweet Beel suddenly get so aggressive with them that startled them so. He saw a couple tears gathering in their eyes before they could hide them and his heart just sank…

The MC was picked up in a crushing bear hug before they even let out their first sniffle. Beel didn’t even have to say how sorry he was, they could feel it in every squeeze he gave them. All while he completely ignored the growling of his stomach...

Beel wouldn’t let them go until he was certain they’d forgiven him which, honestly, took a while. Mammon was the one to ask why he had carried them all the way back to the House like a baby but… well, he didn’t need to know, now did he?

“MC, I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have shouted… Are you alright...?”

Belphegor 

Stubborn boi is stubborn and trying really, really hard not to crack right now...

That's not going to last long.

Belphie can be a bit of a brat and since he's the baby of the family so he's used to getting his way. He and the MC don't argue a ton, but when they do, he always digs his heels in and refuses to budge an inch on anything.

So what started out as a simple disagreement on how often Belphie would flake out on his chores turned into a kick-the-door-down argument over how much his laziness left the MC to pick up the slack...

It ended as all their barn burning arguments do, with demon-form Belphie sitting cross-legged on his bed refusing to look at them and the MC angrily pacing about the room until he cools off…

And then he heard it.

First a sniffle… and then a hiccup. Another sniffle then muffled whine…

Oh no… not this… Why are they crying…? They don't normally cry…

To his credit (or perhaps discredit), he managed to hold out for about two minutes before he finally glanced back at them. Seeing the MC wiping their tears all alone on the floor crumbled his resolve real quick.

The MC found themselves enveloped by Belphie's arms before they even noticed he got up. Naturally, he was pouting and trying to make it seem like "not a big deal or anything" but they could tell by the nervous twitch of his tail that he was hurting too…

Needless to say. Belphie started remembering his chores a lot more after that.

"Humans are so fragile… I didn't mean to make you cry, you know? I'll get things done just… Don't cry… please…"

#obey me #obey me shall we date #shall-we-date-obey-me #obey me lucifer #obey me mammon #obey me leviathan #obey me satan #obey me asmodeus #obey me beelzebub #obey me belphegor #obey me headcanons #obey me scenarios #obey me imagines

[dreamescapeswriting]

Enjoying Your Company~ JHS [Request]

WORD COUNT: 2.1K

PAIRING: Non Idol!Hoseok x Billionaire!Fem!Reader

GENRE: Billionaire AU, angst with a fluffy ending, billionaire reader,

A/N: I hope that this is okay for you sweetie!! I’m sorry I lost the screenshot of your request but I had it written down 

Ever since you began dating Hoseok there had always been controversy surrounding your relationship because it seemed as though everyone wanted to have their opinions on your love life. Everyone seemed to be more concerned about your life than their own, giving you every thought they had about your relationship. He was just using you for your money, he didn't really love you it was all about the fame and the business that you owned. It was always the same story that you heard, even the media reported that Hoseok was using you for your money and it pissed you off. Yourself and Hoseok had met long before you came into your money and businesses as nothing more than friends. The two of you began dating three years ago and he never asked for anything, he never wanted money, he worked his own job and had even lived on his own for a while until you asked him to move in with you but none of that seemed to matter to everyone else. 

"We're just saying it might be worth getting him to sign a prenup," Your father mentioned as you sat in a conference room speaking about your upcoming marriage. Sitting at the head of the table you kept your eyes on the TV that was on the wall at the opposite end, watching the same photos glide across the screen while your parents and advisors sat around talking about what was good for your marriage. As if they had any clue of their own what was good for YOU. 

"All we're saying is that you need to think this through clearly," Your eyes slowly glanced over at your accountant who then looked down at the file in front of him. This had to be one of the longest days in recording history, you felt as though it was dragging so slowly you could have gone to sleep by now. 

"I just want to go home, to my fiance...Who's waiting for me," You groaned as you looked at all of them, each of them married with their own lives but they were more fascinated with staying there and talking about yours.

"Y/n-"

"I'm leaving," You said as you cut off your assistant, taking your coat from the coat hook in the back of the room and began walking out of the room. Your heels clicking against the tiled floor as you headed over to the elevators.

Being the CEO of a massive holding company wasn't all it was cracked out to be, it was board meetings, endless meetings with potential companies and people that wanted you to invest in them. Spending time with Hoseok at home was your only "real" break from everything that happened at work. Hoseok was never one to bother you about things that happened at work, he never tried to get you to buy the company that he worked for or invest in ideas he had, he was just Hoseok. Your Hoseok.

"Hey babe, I didn't have time to make dinner so I ordered your favourite," He called out when he heard you walking through the front door, the smell of your favourite take-away hit your senses and made your mouth water, 

"That's perfect, it's been a long day." You whined as you kicked off the heels you were wearing, slipping your bra off from under your shirt and throwing it into the washing basket as you passed it. 

"Really?" Hoseok asked in an annoyed tone as he watched you sit at the table after leaving your shoes off the shoe rack, coat on the back of the sofa and your bra on a pile of clean washing that he had done for you.

"It's been a long day, I didn't notice it was clean. No big deal," You shrugged it off but Hoseok wasn't letting this one go, he'd had a long day just like you and still came home to do the laundry and clean around the house before you came home, the least you could do was respect that.

"I had a long day too, but I still managed to clean up." He realised it was probably that seemed silly to everyone else but he was mad about it, it was always the same thing. You would come home and mess the house up expecting everyone else to clean up after you, 

"What is that supposed to mean?" You asked as you stood up from the chair, raising your eyebrow as you looked at him.  

"It means I'm sick of you acting as though this is just a place you can trash and mess up and expect it to be cleaned up after you," The whole world seemed to shift under your feet as you heard him speaking this way to you, never in your whole relationship had there been a moment like this between the two of you. 

"You act as though you're the only one that cleans, I clean-"

"No. You hire people to clean for you, that's not the same." He shot back as he cut you off midsentence, finally reaching the end of his rope where everything was concerned with the house.

"Why are we even fighting about this, it means nothing." You sighed sitting back down and running your hands over your face, trying not to stress out over the fact that he was picking a fight over something so pathetic and small. 

"Because this is serious, do you think you can do this when we're married? Expect me to run around after you while you work and spend money all of the time?" You scoffed getting up so quickly that the chair knocked back and fell onto the floor. Hoseok stared at you as you folded your arms over your chest, 

"Is that what it boils down to? My money!? I'm not spending it on you so it's a problem?" He shook his head as you said that, that had nothing to do with it. He would never want you to spend money on him, 

"That’s not what I meant and you know it! Why would I have-"

"Well, you said that I'll work and spend money all of the time. Well, it's mine to do with whatever I please," You snapped cutting him off before he could even get a sentence out to you, 

"I never said that it wasn't..."

"It seems like it, it seems as though you have a problem but I'll fix it...What is it that you want? A car? Your own house? Name it and I'll buy it for you...You're just like everyone else." You stormed past him as you made your way over to the porch, wanting to go upstairs and shower but his cry of your name stopped you, 

"Just like everyone else?" He questioned with an arched eyebrow, 

"Maybe they're right, that's all anyone wants from me all of the time. Money." The door to the porch slammed as you stormed off upstairs away from him, he was left staring at the door in a daze trying to think of something he could say to you. 

"Do you really think I'm with you just for your money?" He questioned calmly as he walked into the bedroom, you were laying at the end of the bed fully dressed with a pillow over your face, trying to drown everything out. 

"Because you're a billionaire, that's the only reason I should love you?" You said nothing as he continued on his small rant, 

"Of course, you're the one that makes the most money so I'm clearly a gold-digger or someone that just wants money from you," He snapped, his voice sounding more and more strained the angrier he got at you. 

"I've never, ever! Asked you for anything, even when I was behind on rent, I made it work, not you, me!" He stared at you as you continued to lay there not looking at him, 

"I made it work because I didn't want to have this fight, I didn't want you to believe what everyone else says," He finished yelling but you still laid there, saying and doing nothing until he walked out of the room. Slowly you pulled the pillow away from your face and sat up, staring at the space where he had been standing and biting down on your lip. All you'd ever known was being used for your money, it was hard to figure out the truth.

The next morning when you woke up the bed was cold, normally it was warmed up because Hoseok was like a human radiator beside you all night but the sheets were freezing. They were made perfectly and you were asleep, fully clothed on top of the bed meaning he hadn't come back into the room all night. 

Downstairs there was no sign of him either, everything was still in its place from the night before, including the chair that had been knocked over, panic began to set in as you thought about him leaving you. You never wanted to fight like that with him, you were just stressed from the day you had. 

"Hobi...It's me, call me when you get this...I'm sorry about yesterday I don't have a real excuse just-" Your voice cracked as tears began to rush down your cheeks, 

"Just come home." You ended the voicemail before turning to look at the kitchen deciding that you were going to do what the fight had been about. Clean. Clean everything that needed cleaning as well as anything you thought might need doing. 

Hoseok came home later that night to a cold house, the lights were off and he was expecting to find everything from the night before as it was but he was surprised to see it clean. 

"Hired another service," He mumbled to himself as he hung up his coat, taking off his shoes and putting them away as he thought about how you clearly didn’t care about the fight from the night before.

"Hobi? Is that you?" He froze in place when he heard your voice calling him from upstairs, 

"Yeah...You're home early," He called back as he looked over at the clock on the porch wall, it was barely even 5:05 pm, you were never home before 9 pm if he was lucky. 

"I didn't go to work," You weren't yelling from upstairs this time, you were standing on the stairs smiling weakly at him. That was when he noticed you were dressed in one of his shirts, some shorts and had a pink apron wrapped around you, 

"Babe?" He questioned as he walked up the stairs but you ignored him, going into the bathroom as he questioned you. 

"What are you wearing-" He stopped speaking when he walked into the large bathroom to find a bath drawn, bubbles covering the water. Candles were lit up around the bathroom as well as some soft classical music playing in the background.

"I spent the day cleaning and then getting this ready...We have dinner in the oven staying warm for when we're ready to eat." You walked up to him and began rubbing his shoulders, leaving a small kiss on his chest as you stared up into his eyes, 

"I wanted to say sorry for yesterday...I never should have accused you of using me-"

"I never should have yelled at you as I did," He sighed, cupping your face in his hands and running his thumb along your cheek smiling as he held you. It was the first time in a long time that either of you had just spent time together like this, enjoying one another's company without work getting in the way. 

"I took a week off next week...I'm going to spend time at home, distance myself from work until I find someone with who I can share the workload..." He frowned as he heard you say that,

"I want to start our life...Spend more time together, plan our wedding...Our future." You twirled the diamond ring around your finger and smiled up at him, 

"You're everything I need...The business will work fine with or without me." You told him as you leant up to kiss his lips. 

"But you love working," He reminded you as if you needed reminding but you shook your head. 

"I do...But I love you more. I can take time off, I can work less if it means I get to keep you," He pulled you closer to him, kissing your lips once again. 

"You could keep me even if you worked more...I love you," He reminded you as he kissed you deeply, wrapping his arms around your waist as you wrapped yours around the back of his neck, 

"N-Now strip, we have a bath waiting for us," You ordered him as he chuckled, pulling at the apron strings behind your back. 

"Gladly," He mumbled kissing down your neck as he continued to take off your apron, along with the rest of your clothes.

Tagline: @lyoongx​ @mitzwinchester​ @rjsmochii​ @taestannie​ @sw33tnight​ @innersooya​ @sweeneyblue1​ @jin-from-the-block​ @acciocriativity​ @justbangtanthingz​ @anxiousbobatea​ 

#bts #bts x reader #bts x you #bts x y/n #bts imagine #bts imagines #hoseok #hoseok x reader #hoseok imagine #hoseok imagines #jhope #jhope x reader #jhope imagine #jhope imagines #jung hoseok #jung hoseok x reader #jung hoseok imagine #jung hoseok imagines

[drabbles-mc]

Protective Detail (2/?)

Nestor Oceteva x Reader

Warnings: language, mentions of bruising

Word Count: 2.8k

A/N: Y’all I’ve gotten really into writing this fic. I know for chapter one I said semi-slow burn but upon further consideration I’m upgrading this to just straight-up slow burn. I’m not sorry. Enjoy some Nestor banter xo

Chapter Index

Protective Detail Taglist: @masterlistforimagines​ @sillygoose6969​ @mydaiilyescape​ @lovebennycolon​ (As always if you wanna be updated on future chapters of this, or notified about any of my other writing, let me know!)

(Threw together my own little fic header because why not?)

You woke up the next morning to the smell of coffee. You smiled to yourself as you sat up and stretched in your bed, taking a few moments to collect yourself before you left your room to see what Nestor had gotten into. You padded down the hall and peeked into the kitchen to see a full pot of coffee sitting on the counter. You smiled as you walked over and poured yourself a cup before scooping an unhealthy amount of sugar and pouring creamer into it.

You heard Nestor from the living room, “You gonna have any coffee with all that cream and sugar?”

You looked over to him with a small smile, “I only drink it for the caffeine. Let me guess, you don’t put anything in yours.”

“That’s right,” he lifted his mug slightly.

You rolled your eyes, “You one of those guys who tries to protect the integrity of the coffee?”

He smirked, shaking his head, “No, I just hate creamer,” there was a pause before he asked, “So what’re you doing today?”

“Nothing until this afternoon. I work at the bar today,” you saw surprise cross his face for a brief moment and you laughed, “Some of us have to have regular day jobs, Nestor.”

He shook his head, “I know your father, I believe there is very little you have to do.”

“I have to have a personal security detail,” you shot back before taking another sip of your coffee.

He chuckled, “Well. That’s an upgrade from calling me your babysitter.”

“Well, I guess I should have asked first, am I still allowed to go to work?” you asked, sarcasm dripping from your voice.

He sighed, “I told you, I don’t make the rules. Your father didn’t say that you can’t. So, yes, until further notice.”

“How kind of him,” you shook your head slightly. You looked over at Nestor, wondering how he had the energy so early in the morning to put himself together so nicely, “You might as well sleep in your dress clothes.”

He shook his head, fighting back a smile, “No, they’d get wrinkled.”

For most of the morning, Nestor stayed quietly out of your way. He was on his laptop for a little while, and you were trying not to stare as you milled about your house cleaning and getting ready for work. Every now and then you could catch him glancing at you as you strolled around and you tried to ignore it.

Once it was time to leave, you snatched your keys off of the table and looked over at Nestor, who was pulling on his jacket. He looked at you, saw the keys dangling from your fingers, and let out a small sigh. He didn’t say anything as he headed towards the front door, holding it open for you.

“If you’re really that petrified after this drive, I won’t make you suffer through it anymore,” you laughed as you walked out the front door.

When the two of you pulled into the parking lot of the bar, Nestor wordlessly held out his hand for you to give him the keys. You laughed, shaking your head, “I was not that bad. Don’t be such a baby,” you opened your door, keeping the keys to yourself, “How am I supposed to trust you to protect me if you can’t even handle a little speeding?”

He didn’t say anything, just shook his head as he also got out of the car. You locked it and started walking towards the entrance, Nestor close behind you. Before you got to the door, though, you stopped and turned to him, “So, are you just going to lurk around for my entire shift?”

“I have to stay with you.”

You huffed, “That’s going to look so creepy though.”

He simply shrugged and gestured for you to walk inside. With a heavy sigh you complied. You walked to the back to get ready for your shift, leaving Nestor to his own devices. He took a seat at the bar and looked around, trying to get a decent grasp on his surroundings. He wasn’t quite sure what kind of bar you worked at, but he wasn’t expecting what he had walked into. It wasn’t a rough bar by any means, but it also wasn’t as upscale as he was probably used to after working with the Galindo family for so long. You were interested to see how he handled everything.

You came back out and set a glass of beer in front of him. He looked at you, confused, and you rolled your eyes with a small smile, “It’ll look less creepy if you’re sitting there and at least pretending that you’re here to drink.”

He didn’t say anything, just gave you a slight nod as he slid the glass closer to himself and taking a small sip out of it. You chuckled to yourself and shook your head as you walked away. The afternoon was starting off slow, as it usually did. That was fine by you, but it definitely made Nestor’s permanent presence a little more noticeable.

A couple hours into your shift, the owner of the bar pulled you into the back to talk to you, slight concern showing on her face, “You know that guy at the bar?”

You nodded, not sure how you were going to navigate the conversation, “Yea, he’s with me.”

“Do I get to know why he’s camping out in my bar?”

You sighed—the only upside being that your boss knew your father. She didn’t know a whole lot, but she knew enough to know that he was a powerful ally to have. “Family stuff,” you finally said, “My dad wants him around to keep me outta trouble.”

“Should I be worried?” she looked at the bruise on your cheek.

You shook your head, “No, I’m good. He’s overreacting. And to be fair, I told Nestor people were going to think he’s a creep if he just sits there all night,” you chuckled.

You saw some of the tension disappear from your boss’s face as she let out a laugh, “Least you tried to warn him,” she nudged your shoulder, “He’s cute. There are worse faces to get stuck looking at all the time, you know.”

You rolled your eyes, “He was hired to protect me, I’m not going to spend all of my time gawking at him.”

“Sure, he’s there to protect you, but who will protect you from falling in love with him?” she batted her eyelashes dramatically with a laugh, “You’re basically the star in a really niche romance movie.”

“Alright, I’m done with this conversation,” you laughed, but you could feel your face started to heat up, “Can I go back to doing my job?”

She smiled, “Sure. But if he starts scaring away customers, you’ll have to tell him to go and sit in the car or something.”

You raised one eyebrow, “You can be the one to have that conversation with him.”

“You think I won’t?”

You laughed, shaking your head, “I know you will, and I need to be there to see it when it happens.”

She gave you a gentle nudge back out onto the main floor of the bar and you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing at the mental image that you were conjuring up in your head of how it would look to see her get in Nestor’s face. Jade wasn’t a large woman, in fact she was a little shorter than you, but she carried herself with the confidence of a woman who had spent most of her adult life making sure drunk and belligerent men didn’t too out of hand. There weren’t many situations that scared her. She was older than you, but no one would’ve been able to tell at first glance—not letting little shit stress her out had definitely slowed her aging process. Between that and her long, wavy hair that cascaded down her back, she was the picture of youth. You had always admired the way that she carried herself, and you were almost hoping that she was going to have the opportunity to tell Nestor to hit the bricks.

As the night got busier, it was easier for Nestor to blend in. He mixed in well with the after-work crowd—it was a lot of men and women in their business attire. The later the night got, the more you could see him start to get antsy. A couple times you had walked over to him to tell him that he could wait outside if he was sick of being there, but he would just shake his head and wave you off. A couple times you reminded him that a little bit of a smile would go a long way in toning down the scary and creepy vibes he was giving off. He’d force one for you for a few moments before he went back to his usual passive expression, and you’d laugh every time the fake grin would fall from his face.

Jade had also gotten less annoyed with his presence as the night went on. You were fairly convinced it was only because she thought that he was attractive, not that you could blame her. You were still holding onto the hope that one of these nights she would tell him to get out. The amusement of that mental image made you smile every time it crossed your mind.

Once everyone had left except for Nestor, Jade told you both to head home. You reassured her that you could stay and help clean up, not wanting to leave her to close all by herself. She waved you off, reassuring you that her husband was already on his way to pick her up and she was definitely going to rope him into helping.

“I’ll help at least until he gets here,” you told her, not feeling comfortable leaving her alone.

“I’m letting you go early for your friend, not so much for you,” she laughed.

You smiled, shaking your head, “Listen, the man is being paid to spend time with me. He’s got it made—he can keep his spot at the bar for a little while longer.”

It only took her husband about twenty minutes to get there, and once he walked in, she all but pushed both you and Nestor out the door, “Bring a book, or sudoku or something next time,” she called after him. He didn’t say anything but he did smile and wave goodnight to her.

The two of you reached the car and Nestor looked at you, trying to figure out if you were going to let him drive home. You shook your head slightly before unlocking the doors and sliding into the driver’s seat. You could see it on his face that he wanted to argue with you, but he kept his thoughts to himself as he dropped into the passenger seat beside you.

“We can take turns,” you said as you reversed out of your parking spot.

“Hm?”

You smiled as you pulled out onto the road, “Driving. I’ll drive my car and you can drive yours. We can take turns.”

He didn’t say anything as he rested his head back against the seat, keeping his eyes on the road. You had to assume, though, that the fact that he didn’t argue with you meant that he was fine with the new plan. At least it meant that he’d be able to drive some of the time.

“So,” you started as you unlocked the front door of your house, “How long do I have to go without an attempt on my life before you can be released back into Galindo Land?”

He chuckled as he walked in before you, wanting to check the house first, “It’s only been two days. My company really that bad?”

You hung by the door, allowing him to do his search, “Let’s be real, Nestor, this isn’t what either of us would really call company.”

He returned to the doorway and gestured for you to walk inside, satisfied with the safety level of your home. You walked over to the kitchen and opened the freezer, contemplating which pint of ice cream you were going to dig into. You grabbed a spoon and popped the top off your container of rocky road.

“Oh, that reminds me,” you pointed your spoon at him, “you don’t need to be doing chores around here, you know,” you gestured to the clean dishes.

He shrugged, “I was up…no point in not doing them.”

“I appreciate it, but still. You don’t have to,” you tilted the ice cream towards him, “Want a bite?”

He laughed and shook his head as he sat down on the couch, “I’m alright, thank you.”

You shrugged as you plopped down next to him, “Suit yourself.”

You could feel him staring at you, wondering why you felt the need to sit right next to him. You purposely ignored him as you scrolled, trying to find a TV show you felt like watching. He sighed, leaning away from you slightly and onto the arm rest of the couch. You smiled to yourself, spoon sticking out of your mouth. 

It was starting to get late when he looked over at you and asked, “Mind if I use your shower?”

For a moment you thought about making a smart remark about forcing him to live with you and not granting him access to the shower, but instead you settled on, “Had you pegged as more of a bubble bath guy,” you made yourself laugh, “But yea sure, go for it. Just don’t use the shampoo in the blue bottle, that’s just mine.”

He stood up and made his way down the hall, “I’ll be sure to avoid that.”

You peaked over the top of the couch and watched him disappear into the guest room, only to walk back out a few moments later with a change of clothes and a towel draped over his arm. He saw you looking at him and gave you a look that asked why you were staring.

“Water gets super hot super fast, so be careful,” you said without bothering to look away.

“Got it,” he slowly walked into the bathroom, waiting for you to look away but it didn’t happen. Once the door shut behind him you let out a laugh and returned your attention to the television.

When he came back out into the living room, he was back in the same set of clothes that you had seen him in the previous night. Maybe it was because you were so used to seeing him in dress shirts and slacks, but you definitely preferred the more comfortable aesthetic on Nestor. You bit back a laugh as he made a point to sit in the recliner instead of on the couch where he could get smothered by you again. He took his laptop out of his bag and began working on something, not that you would ever be able to figure out what.

“Can I ask you something?”

He didn’t look up from his laptop, “You can ask. Won’t promise I’ll answer.”

You smiled to yourself, “So do you, like, live with Miguel and Emily when you’re not being loaned out to me?”

He looked over at you, shaking his head slightly, “No. I only stay there if things are getting tense and he thinks he needs to have the extra support around the clock.”

You nod, “So you have your own place?”

He paused, searching your face for a moment before giving a simple, “Yes,” and going back to whatever he had been typing.

“Like a house? Or an apartment?”

He didn’t meet your gaze, instead keeping his eyes trained on his computer screen, “Why does that matter?”

You shrug despite the fact that he’s not looking at you, “I’m just nosey. Indulge me!” you laugh.

He shook his head but you can see it in his eyes that he’s trying not to smile, “That’s not information you need to know.”

“Oh come on,” you flopped onto the other end of the couch so you were closer to the chair that he was sitting in, “You get to know everything about my life. I can’t even know if you live in a house?”

He finally looked up at you, “I know everything about you because I have to. What need could you have for knowing that about me?”

“I’ll add it to my pile of Nestor Notes. It’ll go right on top of won’t listen to music in the car and doesn’t like not being the driver.”

He shook his head and went back to his work without another word. You sat there looking at him for a few moments before finally giving in and refocusing on your show. Every now and then you swore you could feel his eyes on you but you weren’t going to risk looking to see if you were right.

#mayans mc #mayansmc #mayans fx #mayans mc imagine #nestor oceteva #nestor oceteva x reader #nestor oceteva x you #nestor oceteva imagine #my writing #protective detail #chapter 2 #multichapter #drabblesmc

[feeling-uncomfy]

I've decided I'm gonna start naming these because it just occurred to me that I don't usually, so-

Code Orange

In which the league work around one of their members sleeping issues.

Warnings:

- only slight injury is mentioned

Hope you enjoy! :D

There were things Kurogiri noticed, working with the league. It was in his nature to take care of people, so bad habits often caught his eye. For instance, Shigaraki's inability to eat a full three meals, or Spinner's energy drink addiction that Kurogiri was sure was going to catch up on his heart soon. Or Dabi's pure apathy towards everything to do with pain. There's also Twice, but he's a whole list on his own, unfortunately.

Slowly but surely, Kurogiri has made an impact on the group's health. Shigaraki now eats three full meals (only if Toga does too, but it's a win) and Spinner now drinks a bottle of water every day, and if pushed, two. Dabi hasn't been very cooperative, and try as Kurogiri and Compress might, he refuses to let anyone try help him. He just walks around half dead at this point. Kurogiri decides it's a battle for another day, as Toga pointed out another bad habit among his colleagues.

Sako Atsuhiro.

For some odd reason, Kurogiri has a hard time getting mad or finding flaw in him, but now that he's aware it's there, Kurogiri can't help but focus a little more on the man's lack of a sleeping pattern. Compress stays up with Kurogiri until he's done cleaning the bar, and more often than not will stay up after Kurogiri returns to his room. Though technically Kurogiri doesn't need sleep, it's nice to lay down to de-stress.

However, when Kurogiri bids Compress goodnight at one am every night, he also finds himself up after him. They enjoy the silence they have at six am, knowing they're about to be dragged on another life threatening adventure by twelve pm at the latest. Kurogiri had never thought to question the magician, but now he had to, with Twice and Toga on his case.

In fact, as Kurogiri looked up from the glass he was cleaning, it seemed they had roped Spinner into this too, judging from the conversation they were having. "I'm just saying, you're the last one alseep and first one awake," Spinner said, leaning back as he diverted his attention from the game he was playing to the conversation. "I'm like- ninety nine percent sure you shut down like a computer."

At that, Compress laughed, a lovely and rich sound that had Kurogiri paying more attention than he was before. "I wish it were that easy, but alas," Compress shuffled his cards as he spoke. "I can't do that." Twice leaned over, watching the cards move and Compress's mask as if looking for a change in its expression. "Then when do you sleep?! I don't care, deal me in." Kurogiri caught Toga's eye, and was surprised by the thoughtful look she had. After a second, she addressed Shigaraki, who was sat next to Spinner. "Tomura, how long does it take you to fall asleep?"

Shigaraki looked over, and with a scoff, he answered. "It wouldn't take half as long if I didn't hear someone pacing around at five o'clock in the morning." For a brief moment, Kurogiri saw Compress's shoulders stiffen. The movement was miniscule, but it was a confirmation. Toga noticed as well, apparently, because she leaned over to Compress. "What's wrong, Mr.? You look a little tense." Kurogiri knew as well as Toga did that Compress couldn't exactly talk his way out of this one, especially when he didn't have the time to come up with a lie.

With a forced laugh, Compress handed Twice his cards. "Oh nothing, just remembered something important is all." Toga rolled her eyes, but didn't push as Compress stood up and made his way past Kurogiri, towards the front door. "Where're you going at this hour Mr.?" Spinner didn't bother pausing his game as he glanced over. Compress didn't answer, just bowed slightly with another forced out laugh, a little dramatically, to Kurogiri, and left.

Toga and Kurogiri met eyes again as Shigaraki looked up at the door. With a grumbled "He better be back tomorrow." He stood up and went upstairs, no doubt to plan their next move. Toga sat up on the stool closest to Kurogiri, and played with the knife she had. Kurogiri didn't pay much attention until her question had him scrambling to not drop the glass he was holding. "So, you care for Mr, right? You gonna try seduce him to sleep or something?" Twice's dry wheeze mixed with Spinner's groan of second-hand embarrassment was lost to Kurogiri's loud yell.

"I'm not going to seduce Atsuhiro into sleeping! What do you take me for-?!" Kurogiri knew that if he felt warmth at all, he'd be a blushing mess. Toga giggled and leaned forward. "So you're not going to deny you care for him? That's adorable!" Spinner ended up dying, screen flashing as he spat his drink out, Twice falling into laughter to the side of him. Kurogiri spluttered, caught off guard from the question, because no, he wasn't going to deny it. But the thought of admitting that created a sick feeling Kurogiri was unused to in his gut.

"I care for all of you equally, that includes Atsuhiro." Kurogiri said instead, finding avoidance easier than defense. Toga nodded a little. "Nice save, mist man." Twice gave a thumbs up and the middle finger from the table. Kurogiri sighed a little as he nodded his thanks. "So, we're all in agreement?" Spinner finally recovered, and looked up. "Agreement on..?" Toga pointed at the cards. "That we're gonna make Mr. sleep like we helped you with your addiction to Monster, or Tomura and his food issues!" Spinner nodded, a faint "Ohhhh-" following from Twice. Kurogiri just nodded, having suffered enough embarrassment for one evening. Toga clapped her hands together, cheering. So that's how Kurogiri ended up getting roped into helping the league's resident magician into sleeping a full eight hours.

The task, however, was easier said than done.

Atsuhiro didn't end up returning until just before Kurogiri "woke up" for the day, and Kurogiri found him donning just his balaclava, scrubbing the already spotless countertop at half six in the morning. He seemed more tired than usual, movements sluggish and his reaction was delayed when Kurogiri entered the room. "Atsuhiro?" Kurogiri called, and got no answer the first time, so he walked up to the man. "Atsuhiro." Kurogiri was caught off guard by the full body flinch he received as an answer. "Yes-?" Compress looked up at Kurogiri, eyes drooped more so than last night, Kurogiri was sure.

"Are you alright? You look rather tired." Kurogiri wasn't sure why he spoke like he was addressing an angry Shigaraki, but it felt natural. Compress let out a soft laugh, though it sounded more like an exhale than anything else. "I'm well, I had a little run-in on the way back, nothing serious." Kurogiri didn't like how that sounded, nor did he like how Compress avoided his second comment. Compress made his way towards the bar, and Kurogiri spoke up again, keeping his voice low. "The other's are worried, you know."

Compress paused, but kept walking after a moment. "Worried about what exactly? Are they not aware I can take a punch?" Kurogiri barely suppressed an eye roll. "You know what I mean, Atsuhiro. They don't like watching friends suffer." Compress looked down at the drink he was pouring. "I'm not suffering," he started, only to have his coffee taken away from him. "Hey-" Kurogiri held up the cup. "Go a day without this, then we'll discuss how you're "not suffering". Alright?" Compress snorted dryly. "Very funny, can I have my drink back?"

Kurogiri didn't answer, walking back to the kitchen, Compress hot on his heels. "I mean it, go a day without a single drop of coffee, or anything made to keep people awake." Kurogiri poured the coffee down the sink, watching it with a sick sort of satisfaction. Compress glared up at the back of Kurogiri's head. "I'm not a child, Giri, don't treat me like one." Kurogiri turned to see Compress and crossed his arms. "Take care of yourself, as an adult would, Atsuhiro."

Compress sighed. "I do take care of myself," he snapped, and Kurogiri raised a brow. "And the one time I don't I'm getting heckled?" Kurogiri actually laughed at that, surprising Compress. "This "one time"? Atsuhiro, I've seen you mix Spinner's Monster into your coffee." Compress didn't have an argument to that, and spluttered for a few seconds before throwing his hands up. "That was only once!"

Kurogiri didn't hesitate. "It was not, I've seen you mix plenty of things together, you put salt in water one time to wake yourself up." Compress paused. "How did you-?" Kurogiri gestured to himself. "I see everything, Atsuhiro." Compress didn't know whether to laugh or ask what else he'd seen. "That's irrelevant, that doesn't mean I don't take care of myself." Compress argued, and Kurogiri caught himself before he snapped. "Atsuhiro, sleeping is included in the act of taking care of yourself." Compress shrugged. "And? It's not affecting my performance, is it?"

Kurogiri shook his head. "Maybe not, but that's not the point. You can't neglect yourself like this." Compress rubbed his eyes, trying to make it seem like he was more irritated than tired. Before he could speak, Twice walked in. For a second, Compress thought he was seeing things again, because Twice slept like a log, and it took forever to wake him up. "Jin? It's almost seven am, what are you-" Twice yawned loudly, obviously faking it, but Kurogiri was the only one who noticed. "I couldn't sleep, so I thought I'd come down here." Twice mumbles, putting on a sleepy voice. Compress was at his side before Kurogiri could blink. "Well it's too early for you to be awake, come on," Compress walked Twice upstairs and completely missed the thumbs up Kurogiri received from Twice.

Half an hour later, Twice came down again, and Spinner looked up from his cereal. "Did it work?" Kurogiri sighed in relief at Twice's enthusiastic nod and shake of his head. "It worked like a charm! He's sleeping like a dead man up there." Kurogiri relaxed as Spinner gave Twice a high-five. Toga sauntered down another hour later, and showed the group a photo she snapped of Compress to prove he was still asleep. It was adorable, according to Toga and Twice, Spinner thought it was unusually sweet, and Kurogiri had the photo saved on his phone, simply because it was nice.

Now unfortunately, once Compress woke up, he was pissed. He refused to speak to Twice for the rest of the day, and Spinner joined Twice in the silent treatment swiftly after he showed Compress the photo. However, Compress was well rested, and that was all Kurogiri cared for. "You don't look as tired, Atsuhiro." Kurogiri said offhandedly. Compress glared slightly. "Don't give me that now. I said I didn't need sleep." Kurogiri sighed, a little too fondly to be friendly, but he didn't care in that moment. He didn't feel the need to answer that.

The league's only issue was getting Compress to follow a sleeping pattern. Compress often avoided sitting on the couch for too long, or sitting in a car, he often shifted restlessly. Kurogiri had tried again and again to get Compress to agree with a normal sleep schedule, but he simply refused. Spinner so far had been the most successful forcing him to sleep, because the car rides with him were to often end up long and Compress fell victim to his tiredness.

Then one day, by some miracle, they made progress.

Kurogiri was cleaning the bar, the others out on a mission. Or, mostly everyone. Shigaraki got pissed at Compress for not sleeping, having also become invested over the last few weeks, and made him stay at home. Compress was on the couch, writing something down as Kurogiri worked. At first, Kurogiri wasn't aware of what Compress was doing. He looked over to check on him, having not heard anything from the man in a while, only to find him out cold, laying down. Kurogiri froze when he saw it. Compress willingly fell asleep on the couch. Kurogiri couldn't help the feeling of pride burst through at the sight of progress.

Oh so gently, Kurogiri brushed his hand over Compress's cheek, relishing in the warmth that seeped into him before disappearing. Compress stayed asleep, his only reaction being him burying his face further into the couch. The feeling of wanting to keep Compress asleep, hold him close and never let anyone near was almost vocalised, and Kurogiri found he didn't mind the feeling so much, and wrapped Compress up in a blanket. Leaving some water on the table in front of him, Kurogiri got back to work and let Compress sleep.

Soon, though, Kurogiri found they had a slight problem.

Compress was sleeping irregularly still, but now he conked out anywhere and everywhere. This wouldn't be an issue if it stayed exclusively in the base. Kurogiri had his own version of a heart attack when Big Sis Magne burst through the door, carrying an unconscious Compress. "The hell happened?!" Shigaraki demanded, dropping his controller. Toga walked over. "Who do I need to cut?" Magne shook her head, setting Compress down next to Twice, who moved to let Spinner check for injuries.

"I just found him out back," Magne explained. "I wasn't sure whether he was dead or asleep, so I brought him in." Kurogiri came back into the room, medical kit in hand. Spinner looked up from the couch. "There's no broken bones, or any new injuries." Magne sighed in relief, sinking onto the bar stool closest. "Just some scratches and bruises," Spinner continued, moving Compress so he could lay down. "They're kind of old, but still." Spinner said. Kurogiri frowned under the mist and came over. Spinner got to work, just as Dabi came down the stairs. "What's all the murder plotting about?" He asked, grabbing a beer from the bar.

"Someone hurt Mr. so we're planning revenge, wanna roast them with us?" Toga span the knife she held, a different one with patterns, Kurogiri noted. Dabi scoffed a little, but he didn't say no. "I got nothing better to do." Was all he said in response to Twice's stare. Kurogiri chose not to question Dabi, nodding to him in a small thanks, to which Dabi didn't respond. "We going or what? I could use an outlet." Twice jumped up to follow Toga out the door, Dabi following the pair after he'd finished downing the beer. "Be careful darlings!" Magne called as the door swung shut.

Spinner sat back, satisfied with his work. Kurogiri scooped Compress up wordlessly, and made his way to Compress's room. Kurogiri kicked the door open, stopping it before it hit the wall, and set Compress down on the bed in the far corner. Compress shifted, mumbling incoherently and rubbing his eyes. "Atsuhiro," Kurogiri muttered, and Compress looked up at him with half opened eyes. Compress hummed as Kurogiri brought the blankets up around him. Kurogiri heard Compress's half aware questions, and chose to not answer them and to make him comfortable.

"Kurogiri?" Compress tried again to get the bartenders attention, and only when he moved to sit up was he given said attention. "Atsuhiro, don't do that, lay back down." Kurogiri spoke quietly, and Compress huffed before complying, more tired than usual. Kurogiri finished his dotting and walked over to the door, moving to close it. He took one final look at Compress, who was already falling asleep. "Goodnight, Atsuhiro." Kurogiri didn't expect a response, and left before he could be proven wrong.

After that, the term "Code Orange" came to light. Whenever anyone stumbled upon a sleeping Compress, they'd message the league "Code Orange" and their location if they weren't in the base. It was the easiest solution to their dilemma. Kurogiri has often gotten pinged in the league's group chat he swears he regrets making, by Twice, Toga, or anyone who found Compress asleep. It's become a sort of competition, who can find Compress, and who can find him in the weirdest place. Kurogiri has gotten some weird photos the past few weeks, but it's worth it if Atsuhiro is sleeping.

Even their newest member, Hawks, has been informed of their shenanigans. Though he doesn't volunteer outright, he helps the nearest person find Compress for the fun of it. Though conversations of sleeping have been banned between the two by Dabi of all people, who once dragged Compress away from Hawks after burning him. When Kurogiri asked, Dabi explained what he'd walked in on.

Dabi simply wanted a beer, that was it. He didn't expect Hawks to be chatting up to Compress of all people, fake smiles and cracking jokes. Dabi didn't care until he heard Hawks. "So, from what I've gathered, you don't sleep a lot do you Mr.?" Compress scoffed, refusing to show the newer member a sliver of vulnerability. "Who did you hear that one from?" He said instead, closing to ignore Hawks's snickering. "Just everyone I've asked." Hawks answer smoothly. Compress sighed, putting his glass down. "Well I'm not in the mood to be lectured, so let's not." Compress said simply, and Dabi just knew that one made Hawks's feathers bristle.

"On the contrary, I think it's a good thing you get shit done instead of sleeping, Mr." Dabi stopped, refusing to give himself away just yet, but he was close. Compress didn't answer for a minute, caught off guard. "Yeah!" Hawks continued, uncaring of the lack of response. "If we remove the eight or more hours you spend sleeping, that makes up so much more room for productivity, right?" Compress nodded. "However, human bodies have their limits." Compress countered, remembering what Kurogiri had told him after one nap he took after not sleeping for a while. (Four days, but you didn't hear that from him)

Hawks shrugged. "Who cares about limits if you're making progress?" Compress tapped his fingers against the bar. While that was true, he'd hate to make the others worry more for him by going back to square one. "Mr.?" Compress snapped his head up, not realising he had spaced out. Hawks was standing, leaning over the bar, over Compress. He looked taller, or was that just the wings? "I asked if you wanted to pull an all-nighter with me to get some work done." Hawks repeated, and before Compress could even think about it, Dabi was there.

His hand met Hawks's wing and he was jumping away, yelling. Compress glanced between the two and made a mental note to stop spacing out as Dabi grabbed his arm and started moving. "Wait-" Compress started, only to have Dabi pull him over to Kurogiri. "Hawks isn't allowed talk about sleep with Mr. anymore." Kurogiri looked between the two. "Alright, why..?" Dabi pointed back at Hawks, who was still nursing his wing. "I have a point!" Compress shrugged when asked about what Hawks asked.

Compress took up on that offer, only because Hawks quite literally broke into his room.

A few weeks later, Hawks was at his agency, checking up on the league's chat and trying to handle an injury Tokoyami had received. He'd been knocked out of the air, landing with a solid crash into a car. As Hawks took the glass out, Toga called him. "Who's that, sir?" Tokoyami asked, leaning over. Hawks laughed, a little forced. "Just a random number." He hung up on Toga with a quick apology text. A few minutes later, there was a dim in the lights as the projector turned on. Tokoyami jumped up, arm half stitched, and Hawks sighed. "A heroes job is never done, huh?" The two looked up at the image projecting on the screen. "Is that—?" Tokoyami asked, and Hawks nodded.

Toga was on the screen, laughing as she went on about random things. "I hope you can see this," she said. Twice burst into the room, making Toga jump. "Oh! Jin, you have to say hi." She jumped up excitedly, only to be interrupted. "We've got a Code Orange, do you know where Dabi is? Cause Kurogiri is freaking out." Toga frowned. Hawks snorted loudly, recognising the term. Tokoyami looked over with a tilt of his head. "Nothing, it's nothing." Hawks waved his intern off.

"I haven't seen Dabi, but Spinner might've? And why's Kurogiri freaking out?" Toga stood up and started walking out the hallway, camera on Twice's back. "Just look! It's really stupid." Toga walked into the bar, and gasped. "That's adorable!" Kurogiri groaned from somewhere off camera. "Wonderful, what did I say about recording?" Toga didn't answer, and pointed the camera at the source of the problem. Tokoyami stared, utterly confused. Hawks barely suppressed a laugh.

Kurogiri was standing at an awkward angle, and Compress was sleeping against him, snoring quietly. Twice was wearing his hat as Toga snickered. "Kurogiri, scariest member of the league, also a pillow." Twice gestured as Compress would, making Toga fall into laughter. Kurogiri grumbled angrily, but didn't dare move. Hawks looked over at Tokoyami. "Guess we don't have to worry much, huh?" Tokoyami nodded after a second, sitting back down and letting Hawks continue to stitch his arm.

Kurogiri gave in, wrapping his arms around Compress as Twice and Toga snapped photos. Kurogiri gingerly picked Compress up, taking care not to disturb him. Other than an exhale, the magician stayed asleep. Kurogiri brought him to the couch, and before he could set him down, Compress's hands clasped at Kurogiri's waistcoat. "Come on, Atsuhiro." Kurogiri said quietly, trying again to put the man down. He didn't seem to want to, though. Kurogiri decided with a huff to just sit down and let himself be used as a pillow, just this once. Compress curled up, blissfully unaware of the embarrassment he was causing as he slept. Kurogiri indulged a little, holding the man close and leaning back.

Twice plopped next to them, deciding that it was nap time for him as well, and promptly fell asleep, head dropping onto Kurogiri's shoulder. "Twice?" Kurogiri was now effectively trapped, and Toga fell on his other side, so now there really was no getting out of this. Kurogiri sighed loudly, and ran a hand through Compress's hair. "You're going to be the death of me," he spoke softly, admiring how relaxed Compress was against his hand. "I think I'm alright with that, though." Compress didn't answer, nor did he hear anything Kurogiri had said, but he didn't need to. Not when eventually, everyone in the league was laying down napping, Kurogiri keeping watch. Kurogiri was just fine, as long as he got to hold those he called a family close.

[Listen, I'm in love with BlackMagic at the moment- it's just so soft-]

[I'm definitely gonna write a mini spin-off about Hawks and Compress staying up all night to do work- (and most likely get off topic-)]

[maybe even include Kurogiri finding their dumbasses-]

[Anyways- hope you enjoyed! Stay safe! :D]

#boku no hero academia #bnha league of villains #bnha mr compress #bnha kurogiri #bnha dabi #bnha toga #bnha twice #bnha shigaraki #bnha spinner #bnha hawks #tokoyami #blackmagic #some parts of this were vERY SELF INDULGENT- #totally worth it tho

[nurseofren]

Keeping Your Promise - Chapter 27 (NSFW)

Read on AO3 | Read on Wattpad

Read Chapter twenty-six

Title: There is No Redemption

Words: 7.4K

Summary: Happy trail worship? Happy trail worship. 

ST Rambles: Hello readers, I hope you enjoy this part. I am in my final semester for my ADN and cannot promise even monthly updates at this time. Please, please, please comment your thoughts because I don't want to produce content that is not enjoyable. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

[MASTERLIST] || BANNER / @elmidol

Stress enveloped your skull in throbbing pain, Karmen’s six-hour rundown stinging your senses and drawing you inward.  Halfway through, you had already begun to feel the excess of information take its toll; Zag’s voice – unpleasant in small doses – grated into you, each word coming too fast and leaving too soon.  Thankfully, no doubt to cover herself, she had left you with a thumb drive; it summarized everything she’d mentioned.

After the ordeal, when she left by the sharp click of her heels, you understood why it was recommended to arrive two days prior to the initial hearing: you were utterly and dreadfully exhausted.  After unpacking – ensuring easy access to your favorite socks and keeping Snoke’s letter tucked into the back drawer of a desk – you had sat in bed for an hour trying to refresh with the thumb drive’s contents; you’d were determined to be prepared for tomorrow’s shift at Canto Bight’s recovery wing.  If nothing else, you would not make a fool of yourself during your practice here.  This you swore to yourself.

At some point you had drifted to sleep, waking to find your cheek stuck to the datapad that’d been propped up before you.  The sunset woke you with a searing ray of light, screaming fuchsias and hazy purples warming your outstretched arm as they cast through open curtains.  The breeze rolled off of the bay and tickled loose hair over your nape, a deep breath stretching your lungs awake before you unfurled from yourself. 

The radar at your wrist indicated Kylo Ren was near but not in his quarters, probably not inside the building.  It was a confusing feeling – the unsteadiness you felt when revisiting your earlier interaction, the vagueness of his words contradicted by the certainty in which they’d been delivered, but simultaneously this calm in your chest since you had left him.  Although you had no idea what he’d gone on about, or what in time meant, his mere presence – the fact that he was near and would continue to be – allowed you these glimmers of peace.

Not since Starkiller.  Not since Snoke.  Not Mason and his baseless confidence, no matter how much you wished to latch onto it; not Talia, who had helped you back from your darkest moment.  The only things that stilled you were the known proximity of your master, and the nature of the words he’d earlier spoken.  You’d felt it that recent night on the Finalizer, how it lingered in your muscles just before you’d dozed off, how it seemed his presence had scared your nightmares away.

However ridiculous and backwards, Kylo Ren – the one whose pain is printed on your skin, who led a slaughter just strides away from you – had become a constant.  It was never what you had expected, but when you thought of the trial now, what eased your nerves was nothing less than the raven-haired warrior whose face was slashed with midnight hues of pain. 

Much like you, you’d come to realize, he had survived Starkiller, and the event changed him.  Though you could not know for sure, you began to wonder if what had gone on had not only left him with the wounds that’d wet your skin, but perhaps ones that were deeper – ones that were not so visible.  Something happened before that explosion, something more than whatever fight had earned him that scar.

You shook your head; this was too much to think on right now.  With a throw draped over your back, you trudged through the room and out into the chill of your side-balcony.  This sky held more beauty than any you’d ever seen; you watched the sun descend, spying a domed, octagonal pavilion at the far left of the side gardens.  It dripped with violet-petaled ropes and emerald ivies, was supported by scalloped columns entwined with twinkling blooms welded from gold, the whole stage centered around a sunken fire pit. 

Considering for a moment, you saw it would have a better view of the sunset, and you’d been cooped up since arriving.  It was a quick decision, catching view of a spiral of stairs that led to the grounds, but only after noting the pair of doors a few paces left of your room’s.  They were closed, and the inner curtains seemed to be shut, the room behind them dark.  Empty.

No, Kylo Ren was not here, but – a thumb over your radar – he was not far.  Somewhere off on his own business.  Training, maybe.  At least, that’s what you supposed kept you from traveling with him, the thought frustrating.  Maybe – no, undoubtedly – he would never admit to it, never show it, but he was still recovering. 

Ten days ago he was in a medically induced coma talking about someone named Ben and how he’s dead.  Bacta works wonders, but it means nothing if a patient is noncompliant with post-operative restrictions, like swinging around a plasma sword for hours on end, or doing trial runs with the Force – which, although you knew little about, one could easily assume it put strain on the body. 

Maybe you were wrong and your master was completely fine, maybe the Force aided in healing.  No matter, you worried; for him, mostly, never forgetting how he appeared in that medbay, but also for yourself.  It was clear that you cared for him – for fuck’s sake, when you thought you’d never see him again you wanted to tell him you loved him – and you knew his pursuits could very likely be the death of him.  Stubborn as you might be to acknowledge it, so long as he was okay and not recklessly shredding through healed wounds, so long as he returned to you, you could rest somewhat soundly.

Hugging your blanket, tighter when the wind blew, you wandered down to the courtyard’s trim lawn, along the overflowing flowerbeds that brimmed with brilliant colors, until you met the few steps that led to the pavilion’s stage.  Flames shocked you when you stepped onto the eight-sided base, your presence triggering a hidden system.  The rectangular pit exploded into a rainbow of fire, thin veils of flames ascending elegantly into an ordered myriad.  The pit was massive, consuming the base but for a few paces from each support.

Much like everything else, the pavilion was grand in size and decoration; the hearth’s hues danced along the draped flora, at least ten paces separating each gold-threaded pillar.  Everything here was explicitly luxurious, so big and gorgeous.  You wanted to settle into it, but it was temporary, and you would not know how fatal that fact was until it was too late.

Farther out, flames rippled over the bay; the sinking heat of the sun endeared your skin, the warmth at your back growing in distance as you gave in to the silent call of the scorching sky.  First tracing the tip of one of the gold leaves woven to a pillar, admiring the detailed stems and ridges, you curled up against the column’s wide base.  Head caressed by the smooth, cool stone, knees curled close to your chest, you were glamored by the water’s rhythmic sway, wondering if you would ever have the chance to feel it on your skin.

It took little effort to keep Karmen’s lecture from your thoughts, too lost to the burgundy of dusk that bloomed as the sun wilted toward the bay.  A stillness surrounded you, and then you tuned into the chirping whispers of bugs that remained hidden with the fall of night.  It did not bother you in the slightest, their distant songs a reminder of your life before the academy.  A passing thought, fond amusement lazily humming in your chest – there are no crickets in space. 

You remained folded against the pillar for some time, watching night creep over the city, more grateful for the heat on your back as warmth waned, the moon climbing higher with each lulling minute.  The stone iced into your cheek.  You went to leave, but your commlink buzzed at your waist, and you knew it would be wiser to keep this particular conversation outside. 

Elbows to your knees, you ruffled a hand through your hair, closed your eyes, and answered Mason’s call.  “How’s your day, McCarty?” There was no use in starting an argument if he had moved on from earlier.

“Probably better than yours, if I had to guess.” He sounded chipper.  It was a relief.

“Well, what went on? Where’d you go? Who’d you see? What’d you eat?”

“I’ve really just been hanging out at the house since getting here.  Caught a nap, which was nice.  Soto sent me a transmission detailing updates on a few patients.”

He wasn’t hostile at all.  Hopefully it meant he was done being weird.  “I also got a nap.  Which, agreed, is definitely nice.  Especially after being kept in a room with Zag for six hours and trying to keep my head from exploding.”

“Six hours? With Zag? Are they trying to get you convicted of murder?”

You shared a laugh, scooting along the stone floor and peering up to the ceiling.  It was tiled with mosaics, the fire’s vibrant colors reflecting off of it and shifting along the intricate designs.  The view of the city was wider from this position, distant lights shimmering in windows that peered into whatever parties were undoubtedly happening. 

“She isn’t that bad.  It’s just her voice.  And I barely have a handle on anything other than the fact that I have my first shift tomorrow, and then two days after that is the initial hearing.  And I don’t even want to think about that to begin with, so…”

“Well,” he sighed your name, “I’ll be there.  Bright and early, just like you.  Wearing my second-best attire, saving the very best for the official trial, of course.”

“Jeez, that’s another thing, right? They fly us out here, put me up in some military-grade villa, but they give me nothing to wear, are aware that my residence just exploded on Starkiller, and then still say I can’t wear my uniform.  I just find that a bit unfair.  But that’s what I think, which we both know has not mattered since the very beginning of all this.  I don’t even know why I expected anything different.  I’ll just have to request transport to the shops or something.  And then make credits appear out of thin air to pay for it.”

With notably increased enthusiasm Mason said, “Actually, I, uh, I was going through the house earlier and there’s actually a lot left over from my family’s recent trip.  You’re free to come over and take some stuff back to your embassy if you want.”

“Alright, first – not my embassy, and if we’re calling it anything, I vote palace.  Seriously—” you stared at a trellis that overflowed with wild blooms of every shade of red, the dead, fallen petals mocking you in the familiar way they pooled beneath.  “—this place is too beautiful for any of the old businessmen who stay here.  It’s actually ridiculous.”

“So it’s not homey, after all?”

A bellowing laugh came from the center of your chest, echoing up to the domed roof and into the growing dark.  “No.  No.  Not homey.  Not quaint.  None of that.  Just giant and spectacular.”

“Well, whatever it is, do you want to come over and grab some clothes?”

“Oh! Oh, yeah.  That’s a lot better than spending credits I don’t have.  Although maybe I’m worrying for nothing? Don’t they forgive your debt when you die, anyway?”

Mason did not laugh, did not even speak, and your amusement fell into alarm.  An edge menaced along each pointed word when he spoke; “Maybe they’ll forgive your debt, but I won’t forgive you for dying.” He grunted in rejection.  “You’re not dying, so I don’t know why we’re discussing this.”

Silence swallowed you both, and for a moment you could hear him trembling, hear the shakiness of his breath.  A sharp exhale startled your hand from your ear.  And then it was quiet again.  He cleared his throat, and you noticed how thick it had become.  Was he crying?

“Mason, you need to tell me what’s going on.  And don’t say-,”

“Nothing is going on.  It’s fine.  We’re fine.”

“Funny, because when you say that, when you tell me we’re fine when I didn’t ask, it makes me think the exact opposite.”

He sighed, but at this point there was a good chance it was more exasperation or fuming than anything else.  “I’m not having this conversation when I can’t see you.”

“Well, I’ll just turn my transmission on and we can-,”

“No.” Clipped, barked.  Final.

It concaved your chest.  Mason had never spoken to you like this.  Your teeth scraped at your bottom lip.  “Should I be worried?”

He paused.  “No,” as it gritted through his teeth, your name was contoured with wisps of ire.  An ounce less of restraint and whatever he was holding back would crack this hardened, taut façade.

The worst came to mind.  All you could manage was a terrified whisper, “Are you revoking your seat to testify? Is that what this is about? Am I about – fuck – am I about to- I can’t lose you.  I can’t-,”

“I told you.  I told you I will be there.” Frosted fury swept through his following pause.  His flat tone was laced with quiet hurt when he next said, “Do you really think I could do that to you? Leave you in the dust like that?”

“No.  I guess not.”

“You guess not,” he thought aloud, a long drag of breath crackling into your ear.  “I’m glad that you’re settled in, and… good luck during your shift tomorrow.  You don’t need it, I know, but nonetheless.”

He was dismissing you.  You hated it.  “I’m not hanging up until I know we’re okay.”

“We’re okay,” he said simply, too fast.  Mason cleared his throat.  “Request transport for the morning after your shift.  You can shop around the closets and after, we can order lunch and… and we can talk.  About things.  Everything.”

It was apparent he would not give anything more away, but you knew from his flat tone that whatever it was, was detrimental to him.  Or you.  Or both.

“Yeah.  I’ll put in the request after shift tomorrow.”

Another long, aching silence.  You listened to his breath, trying and failing at ignoring the knives in it.  The line remained silent, the hanging static a backdrop to the hidden, harmless creatures humming in the night. 

“I love you, Mason,” you prompted, teeth catching your trembling lips, time choking you with every halved second that trudged along.

It killed you, every inhale adding to the weight in your chest, every empty, wordless moment he spent cutting into you with a silent blade.

Another second and you turned back to the heightening tide of the bay, the clear night sky dying it a deep navy.  Even as you tried to focus on the waves that foamed along the distant shore, there was no sound louder than Mason’s nonresponse.

“Goodnight,” Mason said, small, far enough away that it splintered through your heart like ice wedged through rock.

“Good-,” the line went dead, the static dying, a night-kissed wave crashing in your periphery, “-night.”

The iridescent veils of hearth rippled before you now, turning away from the seemingly infinite expanse of water.  Even so, you shivered, and you were sure it had nothing to do with the weather.  Tucking your commlink into your waist pocket, loosing a long-kept breath, you stood from the stone and clasped your blanket over your shoulders.  With a final glance, chin to your shoulder, you appreciated the beauty of your first night here. 

Whatever awaited you tomorrow, the next day, and in the weeks to come? It would remain.  For now, just this one moment alone, you could pretend that everything was okay.  Just for a moment.

A soft touch brushed your shoulder, but when you turned to meet whoever it belonged to, you found there was no one around.  But a light caught your eye, one that had not been there before.  Maybe that interruption to the dark captured your attention, but not at all was it what kept your gaze above the gardens.

Through the clear night, a breeze danced through the flora, glittering scarlet petals into the shadows.  Above those dwindling rubies, leaning over the balcony’s curve, was Kylo Ren.  Behind him, the golden light of his quarters caressed his back, small fragments draping over the sharp, toned muscles of his shoulders.  He was staring down to you, his gaze laving along your figure, eyes those of a predator aware their prey was no match for them.  The ever-heightening moon was all that lit his front, but it was enough.  No, so much more than enough.  Entrancing.  Captivating.  Beguiling.

Light cascaded along the taut strength of Kylo’s abdomen, his broad, thick chest emanating with the smooth white of the dusk’s sun.  Once more, like it always did, the scar skating through his features kept your attention.  From a distance it was less intrusive, but its presence sank your heart like the sun had wandered into the sea.

A whip of night air pushed his hair back to tease his ears, his head slightly cocking to the side when you found his eyes again.  There was no color to them, none that you could see so far away, but you felt their heat slink along your lips, then your neck, over your chest, and lower still.  When they claimed yours once more, they were sculpted with steadfast steel, strong and slithering, ordering your compliance to the smoking promises beyond.

Without noticing, that chill from earlier had left you, and you gathered the blanket so it hung from your forearm.  Kylo held you with his eyes, the fire’s warmth falling away when you stepped off the platform and wandered, in leisure, down the steps and into the plush lawn.  A dew was readying to form on the grass beneath your bare feet, the coolness welcome under his blazing attention.  One step, two, another, and a final; small, shuffling, like you were hypnotized – truthfully, you could have been, but there was none but your own intent in the steps that carried you closer to him.

Only when he straightened to his full height, standing away from the balcony’s edge, did you halt your advance.  He paused there, watching you, so gracefully still you were unsure of his breathing.  From his new position you could no longer see his hands, but – you could feel them.  A pressure along your cheek, your heart stammering at how its span so completely matched his own, and then around your throat, dizzying when it teased your carotids.  Breath shivered from your slack mouth, catching when that – his – ghosted touch skimmed down your sternum and pushed into your rib cage. 

Kylo made no sound, but when the night’s quiet scattered around your faint, gasped moan – feeling the whispered hands smooth over your hips, around the front of your thighs – you saw his jaw flutter, darkness and moonlight tangling when he gave you one final glance.  The phantom touch left, a feline smirk flickered along his lips, and when his brows descended and veiled those deep, deep eyes, Kylo turned and sauntered out of sight.

But you understood his message, the silent one that only his body spoke, and you knew that his leaving was not goodnight, but an invitation.  One you fully intended on accepting. 

The trees swayed above you, the beds of perfectly spaced flowers blowing with the gentle breeze and combining with the sea behind to fill your head with the salty, fresh aroma of a Canto Bight night.  Each step you took along the patterned grass shimmered anticipation through your veins, heady, wanton thoughts brimming in your mind.

The cold stone that marked the ground level’s patio shocked through you, wet crimson petals that had pooled below the trellis now clinging to the soles of your feet.  You did not have time, or at least were desperate to not waste any, to pluck them off, allowing them to travel with you as you led them up the curved staircase.  As you climbed the steps, you stole a fleeting glimpse of the bay; from this height the city’s nightlife sheened along the shore, a few private ships zooming above the skyline and carrying their passengers to events unknown to you. 

Events that you could not have cared less about, not when you arrived to the second-level balcony, not when you saw the swaying curtain beyond Kylo Ren’s open, waiting door.  No, those events meant nil, exceedingly so when you found the beginnings of a trail leading into his room, the first crumb that of pooled, discarded athletic pants. 

Instant, overwhelming chills clamored about your skull, the blanket draped over your arm joining the black bottoms when your limbs went wobbly.  Through the wind-swept gossamer you spied the second addition – one long, impossibly large, black sock – and when you came closer, the cool of night waning as you met the threshold, your heart thrummed louder at the nearing shaft of light that fled the refresher’s entrance. 

Heated tiles warmed your first steps into Kylo’s room, the coquettish curtain kissing the tip of your nose before the door at your back locked shut in near silence.  You brushed past the veil of fabric and took in your surroundings, quite different from what they were earlier.  The golden rays of morning had since been overridden by soft panes of night, only the moon reflecting onto the light tile, not a single star to join it.  The bed’s canopy remained shut, its thin sheets cascading around the bed so there was ample space to walk within its soft confines.  And from that canopy, from the circular track above, bloomed delicate, mild light; it melted midway down the canopy, fading to nothing before it breeched the polished ivory below.

Another step and you noticed the trail of scarlet, dew-drop-covered petals you were leaving in your wake.  On the step up from the bed’s level lay a second sock, so you padded to it, and tuned into the sound of heavy, rushing water that became louder as you delved further into the dimly lit room.  This level was dark save for the glow of the open refresher; you followed that light like a lost vessel in space, hands trembling as you passed through the sitting area with soundless strides.  Finally, as you’d calculated at the earlier bareness of his chest, you found the piece of clothing that signaled your final destination lying at your feet.

Atop the refresher’s threshold lay a pair of black boxer-briefs – unfolded, just as they’d appear fresh off the heated, muscled body from which they’d come.  A smile played at your lips, remembering how the pair he’d so generously provided you the morning after you’d first slept next to him had hugged your hips with subtle compression.  Those, unfortunately, were undoubtedly obliterated with everything else that had exploded with Starkiller. 

Kylo Ren was nowhere within view, but running water tucked behind a corner to your left, and when steam swirled around an inlet that bordered a sleek, unbroken wall of ash-grey tile, your lungs lit with need, with want, your thoughts only focused on the body and man that waited for you just beyond view, just out of reach.  Suddenly you became aware of how overdressed you were, so you turned to your right and found a mirror that ruled its own wall and plucked open the top button of your uniform.

The fogged silver expanse provided a blurred, softened outline of your near-bare body, scalding goosebumps scraping up your neck at the thought of Kylo’s slicked, dripping body.  Hands hooked behind your back, you loosed your bra and smoothed the straps down the sides of your arms.  And then all that covered you were the lack-luster panties the Finalizer had provided all those months ago, but they soon joined the small pile at your feet, leaving you naked and anticipatory and adamant.

Plopping your watch onto your clothes, you squared your shoulders, fixed your posture, and approached the heat of the hidden shower.  Its warm embrace evoked such a calm through you, first loosening your shoulders, then steadying your breath.

Beyond the smoke hued barrier was a chamber of luxury, the water cascading from above like it came from an invisible storm cloud; its volume suggested a harsh pressure, but, stepping beneath the jets that seemed to span the entire stall, your skin was graced with the pleasant fall of a spring shower.  Looking up, blinking through the misted warmth, you found the navy night sky peering down at you through the clear glass ceiling.

All light but that of the moon left the stall, and when your attention shifted down, you saw him through the sheets of water that kept you apart.  The air was thick with fog and mist and night, but he remained the most devastatingly gorgeous person you’d ever seen, ever known.  You needed him to be closer, you needed to be closer to him.  No matter if you’d been with him those few nights ago, and though you’d spoken just hours ago, there was a tautness that tightened as your steps brought you to him. 

Arms at his sides, stance strong and confident, Kylo Ren was a stride away from you, and you stopped.  Inky black hair dripped down his neck, and his mouth was set in a flat, unreadable line, but all you could think of was how it felt you were seeing him for the first time all over again.  He was different now, body scarred and worn from the passing of time.  You did not stare at the red and black that had only been there for such a short time now.  You appreciated it.

Kylo observed you, and a measure after your gaze followed the ebony ribbon rested in his countenance, you lifted a hand to it.  He tensed and you caught his eyes, giving him a small nod before the very tip of your fourth finger kissed the start of his scar.  You watched him, vaguely aware of your hand slipping along the marked path through his brow and down his cheek.  Breath pushed from him in eased waves, his eyes danced between yours, and when you reached the line of his jaw and tapped your finger to the raised, pinking skin there, you closed your eyes and leaned up on your toes so you could press an aching kiss to it. 

That tenseness that’d clanged into him at your touch was instantly gone, the heated streams above not a match to the stifling relief that fogged from his nares.  So near to him, a second hand pushing through wetted, onyx locks, you remembered how he’d stared up at you on the Command Shuttle, how unreadable his expression was when his new scars had still been fresh wounds.

Your touch found the tail end of his healing flesh, and you swallowed down a thick, betraying sob.  “Why did you believe me?” you whispered, not looking up to him.  “When I told you I hated you and I wanted to quit.  When I said,” you winced, “when I called you a bastard and said I wished I could forget you.  Why didn’t you fight it longer?”

Kylo was quiet for a moment, body still but not reluctant to the steady meandering of your fingers.  Something haunted him when he said, “Irredeemable bastard, if you’ve forgotten.”

“No,” your throat bobbed, “I haven’t.  I don’t think I’ll ever forget that day.  Any, any part of it.” Looking up at him, you smoothed your hand over the scar settled into his shoulder.  “After that morning, after everything, why did you believe me?”

“You were saying goodbye,” he murmured, like he’d mulled over that day time and time again and never considered the possibility.  “Before Takodana.  You knew.  He’d gotten to you by then.” A note of betrayal sharpened his tongue, a snarl lighting when he referred to Snoke.

The hand that wasn’t tracing circles along his scarred muscles now toyed with his ear, the tip of your index finger molding to the curved pinnae.  “Kylo,” just a breath, nearly drowned by the water ricocheting at your feet, “answer me.  Please.”

Smooth, low, he began, “Because who could-,” he swallowed, considering you before starting over, “Because I’ve never known anyone who didn’t hate me.  And I’ve always been a bastard.  So when you said those things, after that morning, after you’d ran through Starkiller to tell me and kept saying them…”

Memories fluttered behind his eyes, and as their burning brown centered glittered against the navy night, you lifted your hand so you could hold his face, hold it like a parent would caress their child’s tear-sodden cheek.  Kylo blinked back to you and you comforted the purpled skin beneath his eye. 

He did not want to voice the answers you sought, but you watched as, piece by piece, you dented one of those walls he’d erected in that time-stained interrogation room.  Perhaps it was a hopeful thought, but you swore you felt him ease into your hand.

“I stopped fighting because only a fool counters the truth of his life.” Kylo’s throat bobbed, his deep, shadowed gaze swallowing you whole.  He caught your hand and led it flat along his broad chest, and then to the panes of his abdomen, placing it over the bruised, raised flesh of the scar you’d yet to explore.  “I believed you because there was no reason to doubt you.”

The showering heat from above shielded that which was blurring your vision.  He believed you because he believed those things of himself.  After seeing him wear so many masks, physical or phantom, you saw it in his eyes that he still thought those things and had for his entire life.

And then it made sense, and the realization dragged jagged, thorn-wrapped talons through your heart.  You whispered through the water, wondering if you were speaking only for yourself when you said, “That’s why you didn’t look inside my head.  You didn’t think it would show you anything different.  You didn’t think I could ever feel differently.”

You ran your thumb along the uneven ridge of the scar forming over his side and tucked your other arm around his waist.  With the force that kept moons anchored to their planets, you pulled him in and nestled into the notch of his breastbone.

Through your teeth, “You are not a bastard.  Or irredeemable,” your fingers dipped to the center of the healing tissue, “I’ve learned that we make the choices we think are best, and if that’s true, if I believe it? What do either of us have to be redeemed for?”

Kylo said your name, clear as the night that loomed overhead, and a patient finger tipped your chin up.  “Nothing.  Because there is no redemption for those who do not want it.”

Intensity hardened his face, and once more you felt that sense of equality between him and you.  Long fingers smoothed into your drenched hair, and you found a prompt in his brow.  Sighing, lungs stuttering, you asked, “What, then, if not redemption?”

The hand that he’d set over yours shifted to your hip, thick fingers prodding at your flesh.  Kylo’s touch left your chin and the pad of his thumb rolled over the faint scar that cut into your hairline, a twinge of pain lighting at the memory of its origin; it had healed days ago, but you would never forget the sound of it cracking open when Robbie knocked your skull against the durasteel door. 

Kylo stopped musing when he heard you wince, his eyes meeting yours in a stark, unwavering gaze.  He smoothed over the blight a final time and proceeded to skate his fingers along your jaw, his thumb coming to rest over your bottom lip.  Similar to this morning, yet colder and with a quiet fury breathing beyond his eyes, he looked at you with solidarity.

Calm, sure, adamant, Kylo said, “Retribution.”

A moment to process was spent in his gaze, studying how unbreakable it was, swimming in the shadowed hazel that poured into you.  Kylo’s eyes flicked to your lips, and before he could look away, you leaned up so you could reach his own.  The swirled hair at his nape slithered through your fingers when you swept you hand from his abdomen and up his torso.  Massive, enveloping hands trailed praise along your body until they were mirrored under your breasts.

Exploring his skin, your fingers took residence over the small of his back, digging red trails along the slick surface.  You moaned into Kylo’s mouth when a capable hand claimed your supple chest and kneaded into you.  He growled in response, a predatory sound that rippled through your nerves and tightened deep, deep in your belly.  The pliant pads of his thumbs circled your nipples, the very tips of his nails flicking upward before he added his forefingers and pinched the sensitive peaks to his will. 

Kylo mouthed the hinge of your jaw, the bridge of his nose slipping along the bone until you surrendered your neck to him.  He hummed against your artery, sucking away the beaded moisture that’d collected for the past few minutes – or had it been hours? Time evaded you further when the schemes of his tongue at your throat delved deeper, revealed themselves further when he laved at your clavicle, shifting between kissing and biting and marking as he made his way to your breastbone. 

His muscled back flexed as your fingers routed to his front, dipping low until you found the haze of soft, wet hair that grew from his pelvis.  Kylo continued his endeavors and pulled you in by the curve of your back so he could bare your chest to him and run his nose under the base of your breast.  His need for your body was evident in the way he bent you to his will, cradling your back so he could have you, but also permitting a sense of safety in the relentless strength that flowed from his forearms through to your marrow. 

Near limp in his hold, you tread your fingers down his pelvis and savored the feel of that patch of hair, feeling his pulse beat beneath it, reveling how water collected and fled in such a slow, teasing manner.  His chest was to yours, so you felt, rather than heard, the pleasure vibrate from him, deepening when you grazed the very foundations of his hardening shaft.  He breathed into your skin, mouthing at your breast and sucking painful paths as he went.  The heat of his mouth melded around your nipple, and he bit, and even when you winced and writhed with satisfied hurt, Kylo kept on; not until you were sure he’d drawn blood did his teeth – their unique ridges now throbbing into your breast – leave you, replaced by the salve of his plush, scorching lips.  The body of his tongue was structured with adamant, laving over your pebbled peak until poems of pleasure groaned from the depths of your chest. 

He leaned you back up and shifted his attention to the remaining half of your body, but you needed him just as much, and you wanted to litter his body with the same pleasure he’d given yours.  So, snaking your hands to his jaw, you kissed the hinge opposite to his scar and pecked harder and longer, sucking at his skin like the blood that bruised would grant you eternal life.  Falling to your knees in a steady, unrushed descent, you kissed every inch of his abdomen, every bump and ripple of skin that was present around the mending injury.  With eyes peering up, hands cherishing the fronts of his thighs, you tongued the scarred tissue and watched him shutter with ecstasy, eyes half-lolling, mouth slackening for a second before he swallowed down whatever satisfaction would have left him.

You teethed at the soft, raised skin, watching him, content when a guiding hand pet down your slick hair.  Shifting to his middle, you hummed from one hip bone to the next, feeling the tickle of hair that fled from his naval and dispersed in an even, thick layer of black atop his pubis.  Hunger ravaged your throat and you nuzzled into the soft bed of obsidian hair.  A kiss to it, then a nip, and then the tip of your nose swirled around the dark patch, his cock twitching at the side of your face.

Anchoring your eyes to his yet again, you dragged the flat of your tongue through the maintained, drenched hair and pushed both your hands along his inner thighs.  The muscles beneath your touch sang, streamed just as fluidly as the droplets that were trickling down your spine.  Pulling away from him, you faced his cock and observed how it bobbed with your eyes on it, watched it strain for friction when your hands teased both sides of his base, sifting through the dark curls beneath. 

The moonlight painted his shaft with subtle, breathtaking contours – a shadow cast under the spongey ridge of his head, light glinting off the misted moisture that’d caught on his flushed shaft.  Each prominent vein cast a winding whisper of darkness just a measure from the next.  It hypnotized you, the way they overlapped and crossed at points, bulging out from his cock and shifting with each throbbing pulse of blood that clamored through him. 

Curious fingers flitted along the heavy, hot column of flesh, tapping it and listening to the thickening breath from the man watching you through ravenous eyes.  A smirk curved your mouth, and you peppered a light, whispered kiss to his slit, pushing his cockhead just so it met your teeth, and leading your lips away so the teasing burned through him.  You pulled a hand away from his leg and sat back on your calves, taking a breast into it and kneading as he had before, plucking your nipple through each space between your fingers. 

“A teasing little whore tonight,” he purred, voice thick.

You hummed, pleased you were getting to him.  “I’m your little nurse, remember?” The tip of your tongue teased circles into his frenulum.  “And you are my master.  Isn’t that right? Master Ren?” Fuck, the title even got to you, cunt fluttering with the hope to be overflowing with him.

“Good girl, teasing whore, nasty slut? Little nurse? You have so many names now.”

“And all of them belong to you.”

You teased his tip and finally laved a flat tongue on the underside of his shaft, flicking it side to side and gripping into his structured, rippling thighs.  Something animal, completely primal, roared in his throat, and sooner than you knew, Kylo Ren had joined you on your knees, the weight of his cock slicking down your middle and slapping up to your slit when inertia bounced through it. 

A masterful tongue slipped into your mouth and licked your hard pallet, next dropping down and pushing against the side of your own tongue.  A muffled moan – one that you were unsure was his or yours or both – clouded through the shower’s downfall.  But then a throat-thick huff, aggressive and impatient, gnarled through the air and you were spun on your knees so your back was flush with his chest.

“Yes,” he rumbled, “they do all belong to me.” A possessive hand pushed you into him with might, taking residence in the valley of your breasts.  “Your names, your body.  Everything.” His hips canted, and the tip of his cock knocked against your clit, fire billowing in your belly, quicker and deeper now. 

“Everything,” you echoed, finding his free hand and guiding it so it lay over the permanence etched into your thigh.  “I’m- everything.  It’s yours.  I am yours.”

Unrelenting digits bruised more marks around the one he’d made prior, and when you felt his cock fall in line with your entrance, you thrust into him as he did the same, and you took all of him, at once, in one, fluid, aching motion.  An unabashed cry echoed euphoria throughout the moonlit stall.  Before you could fully recover from the first thrust, his hand – the free hand that didn’t remain under your own, clutched to your thigh – dipped into your folds and that blooming fire from earlier mushroomed at the graze of his thick digits against the buzzing nerves. 

Thrust after thrust after thrust, fucking into you and filling you to the brim and then some each time, knocking the air from your lungs and burgeoning those sweet spots within with each paced, violent pass.  All of that pressure combined with the winding circles and strokes he racked your clit with, you felt the breath of climax rise first in your chest, and then upward into your throat. 

Kylo was panting by your ear, sucking the skin behind, clutching you to him so it became uncertain where his body ended and yours began.  You hooked your arm above your head and clutched at his drenched tresses, flailing for a better grip and settling on clasping your hand onto the back of his neck.

“I feel you,” he groaned.

“Feel me,” you huffed.

“I know you.”

“know me.”

“You’re mine,” your name was laden with yearning claim, lilting from his tongue so it caressed your mind, body, and soul all in one fell swoop. 

“Yours,” you heaved, “all, yours.”

You came.  Simple.  Body swimming in the schemes his fingers and cock and tongue and voice forced into you until it became too much.  A few thrusts more and his pace faltered, cum spurting against your walls and dripping out of you as more and more left him.  Full lips pressed fleeting, lulling praise into your nape, your shoulder, until he angled your head to his and branded his lips to yours. 

Spent, emotionally and physically, you fell into him and enjoyed the image of his legs framing your own.  But then your eyes lolled shut and you simply breathed, settling into this moment as best you could, and tried to memorize the tide of his chest slicking against your back.

Barely aware in the vague, misty stall, you only realized that Kylo had begun cleaning you when he guided you back to your feet to rinse you free of soap.  Even then you just leaned into his chest and let the jets spray silken streams down your skin.  And then you were wrapped in a heated towel and cradled in his arms, leaving the steamy refresher and coming into the gentle atmosphere within the golden gossamer canopy.

With less than a word, maybe a breath, the light from above waned to nothingness, and the room was black save for the glinting eyes that studied your own.  The towel discarded to the floor, you now lay beneath the thick comforter and linen sheets of Kylo Ren’s bed.  Both naked, you huddled together in the center of the expansive mattress, legs wrapped together in an impossible knot, each breathing in the other’s warmth. 

Ease trickled into your muscles, and you shifted so your forehead could rest in the heat of his chest.  

“What changed? From the other night?” you yawned.  “What convinced you? About Snoke.”

He was tired, too, you knew, the hand tucking you into him tracing lazy, distracting circles into your back to keep him from sleep.  “Perspective, really.  Seeing things clearly for the first time in… Seeing things clearly.”

For now, fatigue caressing you, that was an answer you could accept.  He’d given you more of his mind tonight than ever before, and you did not care to mar that fact with a half-wit interrogation.  Perhaps you would listen to him this time, given how little you potentially had left, and do as he’d said this morning.

Trust me first.

It was sound advice, and not worth questioning on the eve of your first shift on Canto Bight.  So you nuzzled into him and giggled when the tip of your nose nudged that black healing ribbon over his collar bone.

“I like your scars,” you hummed.

You could not be certain, sleep plunging you into its riptide, but just before it pulled you under, you swore you heard the fatigued rumble of Kylo Ren’s voice whisper, “I like yours too.”

#keeping your promise #st kyp #kylo ren #kylo ren fanfic #kylo ren imagine #kylo ren x reader #kylo ren x you #kylo ren smut #angst #fluff #ao3 #wattpad

[bnhabadass]

Pairing: Bakugou x Reader Genre: Fluff Word Count: 1342 Synopsis: You’re bored during fall break and your plan to sneak out for an early morning coffee run goes south in a split second.

You knew that sneaking out was a bad idea and that you would never be able to live it down if you were caught. But my god were you so bored during fall break. You hadn’t realized how ingrained your friends at Yuuei had become in your daily life. Now that you were home, you missed waking up to the smell of Sato cooking breakfast each morning or of Yaomomo surprising you with a soothing cup of tea after a stressful studying session.

Most of all, you miss spending nights in your boyfriend’s dorm, curled up in his arms and feeling the rise and fall of his chest as he slept. You miss sneaking out of his room at four in the morning and tiptoeing back to your room so no one would know what you’ve been up to.

Now, as you sat in your room at home, all you wanted was to be engulfed in those strong arms once again. It was 4:30 in the morning. Your parents were asleep and probably thought you were as well. But you just couldn’t! You stayed up playing video games and reading and watching Netflix, anything to pass the time.

You checked your phone for the thousandth time, just to see if any of your friends had texted you or if the class group chat was active. It was not. Kaminari was awake, as you could tell from the video he posted to his Snapchat story of him seeing how many sticks of pocky he could fit in his mouth. While it gave you a good laugh, he’s not the person you want to see right now.

Katsuki valued his sleep, and you knew that more than anyone. The first night you spent in his room, you woke him up by weaving your fingers in his hair and caressing his brow bone with your thumb, planting light kisses on his neck. He almost blasted you into the wall for waking him up before he had gotten his eight hours.

“Dumbass,” he said. “Wait until I’m at least somewhat awake before you go putting your mouth all over me.”

There was a very low chance he’d be awake right now and you knew he’d kill you for calling him and waking him up. But one text couldn’t hurt, right?

(Y/n): pssssst katsuki. wanna go for a coffee run tomorrow???

You threw your phone to the side and continued watching your show, already feeling better from just texting him. Not even ten minutes went by before you heard the buzz of your phone and you jumped out of your seat to grab it.

Katsuki: What the hell are you doing up this late?

(Y/n): i should ask you the same thing??? you’re never up this late!

Katsuki: Couldn’t sleep

(Y/n): were you thinking of me??

Katsuki: Don’t give yourself too much credit, Baka.

You laughed at his last message, getting comfy in your nest of blankets, pillows and stuffed animals.

(Y/n): what are you doing?

Katsuki: Well I was weight training but then you texted me…

(Y/n): awww i’m sorry. do you want to go back to your training?

Katsuki: Nah. Now I kind of want to go for a late night coffee run with the idiot who stays up til 5 am waiting to text their boyfriend.

You squished your face in one of your pillows and let out a muffled squeal. It amazes you how head-over-heels you are for the person you’ve been dating for nearly a year now.

(Y/n): oh yeah?? wanna pick me up in ten???

Katsuki: Be there in ten, baby.

You stood up and did a little victory jig around your room. You slipped out of your sweat pants and put on a pair of jeans and threw a hoodie over the oversized sleep shirt you were wearing. Katsuki would have been about seven minutes away when it occurred to you just how paper thin the walls in your parents’ apartment were. If you went down stairs and out the front door they’d hear you for sure.

“Shit,” you muttered. Your boyfriend would pick you up any minute and you had no way of leaving.

Glaring at the pile of dirty laundry in the corner of your room, an idea struck. You began tying the sleeves of your shirts and sweaters and the legs of pants together using knots you learned during survival training for your internship. You’re sure this isn’t what Kamui Woods meant for you to use these for when he taught you, but duty calls and if there is anything you love more than training to be a hero, it’s your stuck up, poll up the ass boyfriend.

With a rope made of smelly laundry and a new found confidence you could only assume was from sleep deprivation, you were ready. You opened your bedroom window, making sure to be as quiet as possible, and tossed one end of the rope out your window. The other you had tied to your bed frame.

You didn’t have that much experience with rope climbing, but you did know the basics. You stepped out of the window, planting your feet on the side of the building. Your apartment was on the second floor, so you were able to scrounge up enough clothing to make the rope pretty long. You had wrapped it around your torso once, creating some form of bellet.

It’s safe to say that Katsuki was horrified when he pulled up in front of your building. Balancing off the side of the building was you, his precious, delicate and somewhat idiotic significant other who looked terrified as you climbed down the building.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing,” he shouted up at you. He hadn’t even bothered parking his car, just put the break down and ran out as fast as he could.

“Don’t worry babe, I got this,” you shouted down at him. As if the universe hated you in that moment, your hand slipped and you fell about a foot down before your homemade rope caught you. You let out a small whimper as fear set in. “What are the chances that you’d catch me if I fall.”

“Not a goddamn chance.” His terrified face turned into one of amusement as he crossed his arms and rested against the side of the building.

“Asshole,” you yelled down at him. You didn’t bother listening to his response. You swung your legs back and forth to get closer to the building. You inched your way down its scratchy surface until you were about half way there. “I’m close, babe!”

Katsuki scoffed. “I can’t believe you’re actually pulling this off, baka.”

You smiled and continued sliding down the rope. The smile on your face faltered, however when you noticed the rope becoming a bit longer. You looked up, eyes widening and pupils dilating as you saw one of the knots hanging out of your bedroom window was unraveling. You took a deep breath in as it came undone and squeezed your eyes shut, preparing for impact.

But the feeling of the concrete below never came. Instead, you fell somewhat gracefully into Katsuki’s arms. “Don’t worry,” he said, smoothing the pad of his thumb over your brow. “I got you.”

“Katsuki,” you looked up at him with pleading eyes. “You saved me.”

He scoffed. “I could have seen that coming from a mile away. That has to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen you do.”

“Dumber than the time Kaminari and I mixed sriracha in with our milkshakes?”

“A thousand times dumber.” He set you down and dusted you off even though there wasn’t any dirt on you. “Come on, you’re buying me a coffee after giving me a heart attack like that.”

“Fine fine, you deserve it.” You patted your pants pocket and realization struck. “Babe, I left my wallet upstairs.”

“Seriously?” Katsuki looked at you with disbelief but quickly shrugged it off. “You’re lucky I love you, baka.”

#katsuki bakugou #bnha bakugo #mha bakugou #bakugou x reader #bakugo katsuki x reader #bnha x reader #my hero academia x reader #fluffvember #fluffvember 2020 #bnha fluffvember #bnhabadass does fluffvember

[schrijverr]

'Till Death Do Us Part

Part 9 out of 13

When Alex has to bring Philip to work, he and Thomas discover that they both have something in common: they lost their love. They form an unexpected bond and connection about this that grows into something more.

A medium burn with parental feelings about Philip and flowers.

On AO3.

Ships: Jamilton

Warnings: very brief death mention

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Chapter 9: Ambrosia Means ‘Love Returned’

Alex woke up to Philip shaking him, he mumbled something and turned over in an attempt to get away from the waking hands. He hid against the warmth at his other side, faintly aware that the heat in question was Thomas.

“Papa,” a little voice called out.

“Wha?” he groaned groggily.

From the other side came a chuckle, then Thomas rich early morning voice came: “Hey, Pip, maybe let your Papa sleep a bit more. What do you need?”

“I’m hungry,” there was a pout in Phillips voice and Alex knew he would have to get up to feed his kid. He couldn't just ignore him if he was hungry, bored was another story, but hungry…

“Then I’ll make you some pancakes, kiddo,” Thomas voice was a savior.

“Really?” Philip asked, Alex usually didn’t make pancakes and they were a treat that Philip treasured.

“Yeah, really, I’ll be there in a sec,” Thomas promised and Alex heard Philip leave the room. He shifted and an arm came to drape over him then a kiss on his forehead. He snuggled closer to Thomas, who chuckled: “I have to go, you just sleep a bit more, okay?”

“Y’re a h’ro,” Alex mumbled, faintly hearing more laughter as he drifted away again along with the sounds of someone getting dressed.

When he awoke again, it was to Thomas gently shaking him and soft saying: “Hey, darlin’, I’m heading to Jemmy now, if you wanna get to Herc’s in time, you might need to consider getting up now.”

He blinked heavily, but opened his eyes, seeing Thomas’s crinkled eyes. He smiled back and sleepily said: “I’m up, I’m up.”

“I can see that,” Thomas grinned, pecking his nose then his lips, before getting up, “Have a good weekend and brush your teeth.”

Alex gave him a lazy thumbs up, before sitting up and rubbing his eyes. Slowly he made his way through his morning routine, happy to see Philip already dressed and well fed with a few left over pancakes for himself.

As he drank his second cup of coffee he spotted the flowers. A warmth flood through his body and he fished his phone out of is pocket to look up their meaning.

‘Declaration of love’

The world paused, but the words stayed unchanged. No matter how much he checked again, they remained bold and true.

Had Thomas not realized the relevance of the flowers? He’d said he’d seen them on his way back home, but he would have checked, just to be sure.

Right?

Neither of them had spoken those word out loud. Alex certainly felt them, but God, he was so scared of messing up on this first good thing since John’s death. He didn’t want to be the one to drive Thomas away by saying it first, but-

But what if Thomas felt the same?

What if this was his confession?

Thomas of all people understood why they were both so scared to say that they hadn’t, evenafter practically moving in together and caring for Philip together. Thomashad done that with only love and care.

Zero complaints.

Alex knew there was love in those actions. Love they both had allowed to be left unsaid, because saying it meant that it could be ripped away.

Maybe Thomas was ready to tell him, but didn’t want to give him that moment of pressure or face it if Alex wasn’t at that point. Maybe this was a tentative push to take a step both were ready for, while also being woefully unprepared.

God, what was he going to do?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by Philip who tugged on his sleeve and said: “Papa, you said we were leaving when the clock was at 11:15, it’s 11:10 now.”

“Ah, yeah, yeah,” he blinked and chugged his coffee, deciding that he would just ask Herc later today or in the evening when Philip was asleep.

When they got to Herc’s apartment he gathered Philip up in his arms and threw him in the air, catching him again and giving Alex a minor heart attack even though he had seen this go right many times before.

“How is my favorite nephew doing?” Herc asked Philip with a grin, “You doing okay at school, little man?”

“Uncle Herc!” Philip cheered, hugging Hercules tightly, before telling him that he was being very smart in his class and how he had very elaborated stories with his friends.

“That’s great, dude,” Herc smiled as he put him down, then he pulled Alex into a hug and asked: “And how have you been, man? Life treating you right? Thomas too?”

“Yeah he has, Herc,” Alex smiled into the other’s shoulder, relaxation washing over him in familiar and comforting arms. God, Herc gave the best hugs.

“Good to hear, good to hear,” Hercules nodded as he let them into the apartment.

Philip was delighted to visit his Uncle Herc again after he hadn’t been able to pick him up from school for a while due to the busy days. He spend most of his time breathlessly recalling everything his Uncle had missed, before pulling him into playing a story of his own making, which Herc in turn roped Alex in too.

It was a good day and Alex’s cheeks hurt from smiling by the time Herc was making them burgers for dinner.

“Really, what have you been up these past few days?” Alex asked, beer in hand and leaning against the counter while Philip busied himself with Lego's Herc had at his house for him.

“Been great, man,” Herc replied, “Taking advantage of the bit of freedom to play some games, you know. I’ve been helping out at the youth center too.”

“That’s so cool,” Alex nodded, “You seem happy.”

“I am, ‘Lexi, I am,” Herc agreed, “Never thought I’d make it this far, but look at me now.”

“I’m proud of you, Herc,” Alex told him, “You deserve all of this so much.”

“Come on, dude, no need to make me cry in my burgers,” Herc said in teasingly, but Alex felt the hint of truth in there, so he dropped it.

It was only after Herc – special request from Philip, who bluntly informed Alex that Herc had the coolest stories – had tucked Philip into the mattress on Herc’s floor that Alex brought up the flowers to him.

“So, what do you think?” he finished recounting his analysis of the flowers.

“I think that you’re overthinking it and you just need to go with your gut,” Herc told him.

“Yeah, but what if my gut is wrong?” Alex argued, “What if he really just saw them and thought it would be nice and now I’m making a mistake by telling him how I feel.”

“You can’t really go wrong by telling him how you feel, ‘Lex.”

“Yes, it can,” Alex protested, “Maybe he doesn’t feel the same or it’s too soon and everything will fall apart around me, I can’t have that. I’m not the one ruining it.”

“And maybe you ruin it by not engaging in it, Alexander. You can’t predict every outcome, but honesty is the best road. If he isn’t in this long haul, you better find out now, rather than later when both you and Pip are in too deep.”

Alex rubbed his forehead and groaned: “This is too fucking hard. I’m not made for this. Me and John worked. With him it was easy, I can’t do this. I can’t. I need to go.”

“No, you don’t.”

“But-”

“Alexander, listen to me and listen close, okay?”

Herc look at him intently and Alex nodded.

“Every since this between you and Thomas started you’ve been happier again. We all see it, okay. Even Burr commented on it when I was last picking up Pip after he played with Theo. If even Burr is willing to admit there is something, then there is something, okay?”

“I mean, I guess,” Alex knew he was right.

“You’re not giving this up just because you’re having a hard time with your emotions. And you don’t get to say that between you and John everything was always sunshine and rainbows, okay. I know you love him and that you remember the good stuff the most – and I want you too – but I had both of you on my couch plenty of times.”

“I know that, Herc, but with John I know how it ended. It had a happy ending – well, as happy as someone dying can be – with Thomas it’s just unknown. I don’t like not knowing things.”

“And that I know, ‘Lex,” Herc agreed, “But it’s pretty clear you both love each other, so saying it can only make you stronger. I promise you, it will be fine.”

“But what if it doesn’t?”

Herc took a deep breath and fought the urge to slap Alex and call him stupid. He knew what this all meant to him, but by God, was this just the height of dumbassery.

“You said it yourself that Thomas wouldn’t just buy the flowers without checking their meaning, he knows what he gave you,” Herc said, “You also know he knows you, he’ll know you will check too. If you don’t engage, he will think you don’t love him. And you do love him, right?”

“Yeah, I do, but-”

“Alex, my man, my dude, I am not sitting here and watching you get into some soap opera, romcom miscommunication plot line. I’m just not. I love you with my whole heart, but I am not watching that plot unfold,” and with that Herc had reached his stupid limit.

At Hercules’ outburst Alex paused and thought it over without mentally wantingto refute all of Herc’s points so that he wouldn’t have to face this.

“I’m stupid, you’re right,” he groaned, “Fuck, you’re right.”

“Thank you.”

“How will I tell him though?” Alex immediately found a new problem to stress about, making Herc roll his eyes fondly.

“Maybe just say: ‘Hey, love you’, like a normal person,” Herc shrugged, knowing Alex wouldn’t take his suggestion.

“No, I need to tell him he was a dick about telling me with flowers, because it made me stress about it all,” Alex shook his head, then his eyes lit up, “I’m gonna give him flowers too, put the ball back in his court. Ha, he should know who he’s playing against.”

“Drama queen, it’s not a game, you idiot.”

“Potey-to, potah-to,” Alex shrugged, waving his hand vaguely, “I’ll acknowledge the flowers he gave me, not say it outright, but imply it and based off his reaction words may or may not be spoken.”

“God, you’re an idiot,” Herc face palmed.

“But I am a genius idiot and you will put respect to that, Herc,” Alex grinned, with a plan in mind he could allow himself to relax again.

“Whatever, man,” Herc just told him, before pulling out a deck of cards, “Let’s just play some cards, alright? I still need you to tell me how you think frat boy khaki cargo shorts were okay.”

“They have pockets!”

“Not a good excuse,” he handed Alex the cars, “You deal.”

Alex shuffled and dealt the cards, letting Thomas drift out of his mind and focused on spending time with Herc.

The next day passed in quite a similar fashion and before Alex knew it he was driving to work on Monday morning with his own bouquet in the passenger seat.

He was feeling a bit jittery, but mostly excited to see Thomas again, it was crazy how quickly he’d gotten used to seeing him every day and how much he missed him in the past weekend. He quickly parked his car and walked into the building, happily noting that Thomas was already there.

Since he had to bring Philip to school from Herc’s house– the boy had pleaded and he hadn’t been able to say no – he was slightly later than normal, but this worked in his favor.

Walking down the hall, he took a deep breath in front of Thomas’s office, before throwing the door open and stating: “You cannot confess that to me in flower language and expect me to handle that in any way shape or form.”

Thomas startled loudly and clutched his chest as he processed the words and sight in front of him. Alex was holding out a bouquet of flowersthat Thomas recognized all too well, since he had studied flowers relating to love to form his own confession: ambrosia and moss rosebud.

He relaxed at the sight.

“I never pegged you to be the type to use someone’s own tricks against them, darling,” he smirked, leaning back in his chair.

He watched as Alex relaxed too and grinned: “Well, then you’ve underestimated how much of a petty bitch I can be, Jefferson.”

At that Thomas snorted and sighed: “Sometimes I wonder why I love you.”

It was the first time the words had been spoken out loud and both smiled instantly at them, even if they were meant to be a tease.

The atmosphere shifted and Alex put down the flowers before pulling Thomas in a hug and pecking his lips as he whispered against them: “Love you too.”

After a moment of quiet Alex whispered: “I missed you this weekend.”

“Missed you too.”

“Wanna come over tonight? Me and Pip are gonna make pasta.”

“I’d love that,” Thomas told the top of Alex’s head, which he was cradling gently. He just held Alex against him, not yet willing to let him go.

They just stood there for a long moment, until there was a knock on the door and both jumped apart, while Thomas called out: “Come in.”

“There you are,” the door opened to reveal Washington, who somehow managed to look both not amused at all, while at the same time very amused at their position.

“Sir,” Alex greeted, attempting casual. They weren’t doing anything improper, but he still felt like he should be guilty.

“You two were late for the meeting,” Washington informed them with a grin, “I think I can vouch for you, but I do need to be sure that we don’t have to have a conversation about office romance protocol.”

“Sir,” Alex squeaked.

While Thomas protested, mortified: “We weren’t-”

“I joke, I joke,” Washington assured them, “Come on, I have some documents you can pretend to carry, no one will ask. I know you two well enough to feel safe leaving you by yourself in a room at work,” there was a slight warning there and both nodded quickly.

As they walked behind Washington, Thomas hissed: “That was the most awkward thing ever and I’m blaming you.”

“Me? Why me? You were the one doing the hugging.”

“And you were the one with the flowers.”

“You started it.”

“I didn’t do it at work.”

“Oh please, you would have shit your pants if I hadn’t said anything all day.”

“True. Love you.”

There was a pause, then a sigh: “Love you too.”

They entered the meeting with happy matching grins and a lot of paperwork. It was crazy how they had confessed their love moments before and they were now yelling at each other about whether or not they should start a branch in France.

Alex grinned and looked Thomas straight in the eyes as he refuted his best argument with a bit of company policy he had dug up from God knows where. He saw Thomas scowl, before rolling his eyes and smirking back.

As Thomas walked by on his way out, he stopped by to say: “You’re a fucking scoundrel and I will refute you next time, dick.”

“Love to see you try, Tommy,” Alex replied, “Wanna get lunch?”

“Hell yeah, I do.”

They ate lunch together, but after that the day moved pretty quickly and when Thomas got home to Alex and Philip in the kitchen with Alex attempting to teach Philip to make pasta, he hadn’t seen him all day.

Thomas stopped in the doorway and watched the two for a while. Alex was standing behind Philip at the counter, guiding his hand with a knife as they cut a few tomatoes.

After a few moments of watching, Alex looked up and spotted him. He raised a brow: “How long have you been lurking there, creeper?”

“Long enough to fully appreciate the view,” he smiled back.

“Uncle Thomas!” Philip called out, “Papa is teaching me how to cook!”

“I can see that, kiddo. Next time I have to cook, I know who to call to do it for me,” Thomas told him.

Philip looked incredibly proud of himself as he nodded: “I will be the best cook.”

“Well, Mr. Master Chef, don’t you think you need to watch where you put the knife?” Alex intercepted the little hand that was about to start waving the big knife around.

“Ah, yes, Papa,” Philip said apologetically.

“No problem, buddy, just be careful around the sharp objects,” Alex ruffled his hair.

In that time, Thomas had walked over and kissed both on their forehead. He told Alex: “Hey, your afternoon okay?”

“Yeah, it’s been, you know, emails and stuff.”

“God, do I know,” Thomas grimaced in sympathy, “How ‘bout you, Pip?”

“It was good, we did crafts today,” Philip informed him.

“Really?”

“Yeah, we had lots of glitter. Me and Theo made a glitter-man together,” Philip said excitedly, “We named him George and he came to life and started to chase us and I got shot, but it was okay because Theo brought me back to life with a paper confetti spell.”

“Oh wow,” Thomas said, feeling bad for Ms. Dolley, who likely had been the one to clean that up.

After dinner Philip played a bit more until bed time, not that Philip really wanted to go to bed when Alex announced it. “But Papa, I still need to charge the castle,” he pouted.

“The castle will still be there in the morning, Pip,” Alex told him, “Besides, castle sieges are best done in the morning, when then troops are well rested and the guards tired.”

Philip looked between his toys and his Papa, then protested: “But all the troops are already in place, calling it off would give away their position.”

Alex sighed and rubbed his brow. He hated having to be stern to Pip, but he had already been so lenient the weekend at Herc’s, so he really couldn't let him get away with it if he wanted to have a bit of credibility later.

“That sucks, buddy. I know you wanna keep playing, but you need to go to sleep,” he squatted next to Pip, “You have school tomorrow and it’s already late. There are a few rules and I made them with your well being in mind, so I’m sorry, but it’s bedtime now.”

It looked as if Philip was on the fence and just needed a small push, so Thomas interjected: “We can read another chapter of the Ranger Apprentice.”

At that Philip lit up and he started to put his toys away, while Alex mouthed to Thomas: “Thank you.”

Thomas got off the couch and asked: “Do you want me to tuck him in?”

“Would you do that?” Alex asked, “Sorry, the whole weekend was busy, fun but busy, and today Adams came by my office and I’m just tired.”

“Hey, no problem, love you.”

“Love you too.”

Both were so excited about saying it and Thomas couldn't help but kiss Alex, before turning to Philip and clapping his hands: “Okay, let’s get this show on the road, wanna race to the bathroom?” and with that they were off while Alex collapsed on the couch.

After an hour Thomas came back and plopped down next to Alex and said: “Your child is just as manipulative as you.”

“What did he get you to do?” Alex asked with an amused look.

“We read two chapter, because it ended on a cliffhanger and he knows I’m invested too and he has pleading eyes and I feel like he’s aware of it,” Thomas pouted.

Alex laughed and draped himself over Thomas, saying: “I will claim no responsibility for that, he has Johns eyes.” “God, then I get why you got with him,” Thomas informed him, making Alex giggle, then Thomas added, “But he definitely has your people reading skills and he knows when to use them.”

“Yeah probably,” Alex agreed, sounding proud.

“He’s also going to use that against you, you realize that, right?” Thomas asked him, when he heard the tone.

“Oh, he already does,” Alex grinned, “I just have to learn to tell him no or hope he will listen to reason and agree with me.”

“Oh my God,” Thomas snorted.

“You know you love me,” Alex singsonged.

“Sadly.”

“Rude.”

They fell quiet for a moment, then Thomas asked: “Wanna talk about Adams coming by your office, you didn’t say before, but you sounded stressed.”

“Nah, he was just being a dick, the usual,” Alex shrugged.

“I’m gonna punch him.”

“Please don’t, I’ve had enough awkward conversations with Washington about you for the rest of my life.”

“Enough?” Thomas sounded curious, “Was one enough?”

Alex blushed: “I’ve had two more.”

“Really?” there was an unnecessary amount of glee in Thomas’s voice in Alex’s opinion.

“Yeah, when I came over to you the first time, he was like ‘You and Thomas!?!?’ with a lot of suggestiveness and I had to be ‘oh, no sir, not like that,’ but then a while later it was like that and he did the eyebrow thing and said ‘I thought it wasn’t like that?’ and then I had to come back on my word. So yeah, awkward. I think he even gave me a shovel talk, but for both of us.”

Thomas laughed at him and Alex pouted: “You’re being a meanie.”

“Sorry, darlin’, still love you.”

“Yeah, love you too,” Alex said, it was quiet for a beat, then Alex asked: “What made you decide on now?”

“What?”

“I mean, why did you get the flowers now? Was there a reason?”

Thomas paused and thought about it, then said: “Uhm, picking up Philip from school, actually. The- the teacher referred to me as his parent and-”

“Oh, God, I’m sorry, I didn’t tell her that, if you’re uncomf-”

“Alex, how many times do I have to say that I don’t mind taking care of Pip. I enjoy hanging out with him, he’s a good kid and I don’t mind,” Thomas assured him.

“But-”

“No, buts,” he said sternly, “As I was going to say, after that I realized how much you two had made yourself at home in my heart and I didn’t really wanna loose that because I was too scared to tell you how much I love you.”

It was quiet for a moment and Thomas waited anxiously for Alex’s reply to his confession. Then softly Alex said: “Well, I’m glad you did.”

Relief washed over Thomas and he smiled, pulling Alex against his chest to that he could kiss him on the forehead. He replied: “Yeah, me too,” then he was reminded of his mostrecent call with his mother, which had increased after his birthday, and he added: “I did have another motivethough.”

Alex quirked a brow: “Really? Do enlighten me.”

“Well, my Ma has been nagging me a bit, she does it lovingly and embarrassingly,” Thomas said, “Since she has issued an invitation to you and Philip to come to Monticello with me over the summer and I promised her I’d ask you, but I didn’t.”

“So, telling me you loved me was your response?” Alex asked, curiously while also amused.

“I mean, based on your reaction to said declaration, it would be less scary to ask you to come,” Thomas shrugged.

“You- you want us to come?” Alex sounded insecure.

“Of course I’d want that, I just didn’t know if you would and I didn’t want to force you to come if you didn’t. My family can themselvesand there’s a fat chance at least one of my sisters, probably Mary,will be there and you’ll be interrogated by Ma, which is not only scary, but also embarrassing. Well, mostly for me, the embarrassment that is,” Thomas rambled.

“I’d love to go and I’m sure Pip would too,” Alex cut him off.

“You- you’re sure?” Thomas double checked.

“Yeah, I want to see baby pictures of you and hear embarrassing stories, that sounds great,” Alex grinned.

Thomas pushed him lightly: “Shut up. Ma is going to give you way too much food, I hope your know that.”

Alex’s eyes shone and he said: “Actually, I don’t mind, so ha, suck it.”

“Idiot,” Thomas told him fondly.

“It’s your idiot, idiot,” Alex grinned back.

After a beat Thomas said: “If you don’t wanna go or back you’ll tell me, right?”

“I will, promise,” Alex promised, “Don’t stress about it, I’ve heard you wax too much poetry about the Virginian countryside not to be curious.”

“Only if you’re sue.”

“I’ll ask Pip tomorrow, if he’s in, you can tell your mom.”

“Your not nervous at all?”

“If you want me to say no, you can.”

“No, no, no, I want you to come, but usually people find meeting parents a big deal and you are being very chill about it.”

“Ah, well, I guess it can never be as bad as when I met John’s parents, which was subsequently also the last time I eversaw them, and from what you told me about your mom, she sounds like a lovely lady and I think we can get along.”

“What happened when you met John’s parents? It sounds like there’s a story there.”

“Oef, that is a story and a half. Remember why they’re not in Pip’s life anymore?”

“Homophobic, transphobic assholes,” Thomas recalled, before going: “Ahh, I see.”

“Yeah, let’s just say that they didn’t appreciate me being the Alex John had told them about,” Alex said, “They hadn’t picked up on the gender neutral language and had decided that Alex could be a girl’s name, so that was a jikes.”

“I can’t even imagine.”

“Oh, no you can’t, my meeting them lasted twenty minutes, then me and John got a hotel,” Alex recounted, “We stayed in town just long enough for me to meet a few of his cool siblings before we left. Haven’t seen them since. It had been the last straw for John, so I respect that. I don’t even know if they’re aware of Philip’s existence.”

“Wow, that- that sure is something.”

Alex laughed at Thomas’s response: “Yeah, it is. Not really my go to party story, I gotta say,” Thomas snorted and Alex send him a pleading smile andsaid, “So, Designated Survivor? I wanna know what happens.”

Thomas looked and said: “And you say he got it all from John. But sure, I’m curious too.”

“Fuck yeah,” Alex went to set it up, “And don’t bash tested methods.”

“Dork.”

“Love you too.”

The next morning Alex was sipping coffee still in his pajamas while Philip ate his breakfast. Thomas came in, clothed for the day and freshly showered. He kissed Alex and said: “Love you, sleep well?”

“Hmm, yeah, love you too,” Alex hummed back, “You?”

“Yeah, good,” Thomas was a bit more awake, but not overly so, “How ‘bout you, kiddo? Have a good night?”

Philip studied the two of them, before he nodded: “I fought a dinosaur, but then he was nice and we were friends and explored, before we turned into eagles and became kings of a floating castle.”

“How nice.”

With Thomas there, Alex left Philip to shower and dress himself. It was relaxing how he could now do that after waking Philip up instead of having to do it way too early in the morning every day. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust Philip on his own, but just to be sure.

When he came back it was rushing out the door. Thomas off to work while Alex drove Philip to school.

While they were in the car, Philip asked: “You said you love each other yesterday and this morning.”

“Astute observation,” Alex nodded, then glanced at Pip in the rear view mirror, “Means, well spotted,” he clarified, “Me and Thomas do love each other, we just started saying it now.”

“Why now?”

“Because it was all very new and now we both felt comfortable with it.”

“Didn’t you love each other before that?”

“We did, but sometimes we don’t say it yet,” Alex tried to think of an example, “Uhm, you know when you and Theo became friends, did you immediately say you were best friends?”

Philip thought about that, then shook his head: “No.”

“And why was that?”

“Because I didn’t know her long enough to be her best friend, but one day I felt I was and she was too and now were bestest friends.”

“Well, this was kind of like that for me and Thomas with saying ‘I love you,’” Alex explained.

“So you and Uncle Thomas are best friends?”

“A bit more than that buddy, think more like Auntie Eliza and Auntie Maria, but then a bit newer.” Alex said and Philip hummed thoughtfully then nodded in understanding.

They drove in silence for a bit more, then Alex said: “There was actually something I wanted to ask you, is that okay?”

“Yes, what is it, Papa?” Philip looked at him curiously.

“Well, Thomas invited us to come to Monticello in the summer break, would you like that?”

“What’s Mothello?”

“Monticello,” Alex corrected, “And it’s where he grew up, so we’ll be staying with his mother and maybe a few of his siblings. It might be more people you don’t know than you’re used to, so if you think it’s too scary we don’t have to go, alright. Just be honest with me.”

“Is his mom kind of like my grandma? Like Grandma Martha?” Philip asked.

Alex really hoped he wasn’t overstepping too much, when he answered: “In a way, I guess so, buddy,” it wasn’t as if the Schuyler parents hadn’t taken a liking to him as well. If it got too far he could fall back on that example, not pushing Thomas to be a dad.

Though, fuck ifwouldn’t thatbe amazing.

Philip seemed satisfied with his answer, because he said: “I wanna go.”

“Alright, buddy,” Alex replied, “If you’re sure, but if you want to think about it more, now is the time to say so, because otherwise I’ll tell Thomas okay and then it’ll be harder to say no later.”

“I’m sure,” Philip said with conviction, so Alex believed him.

“Then that’s a plan,” Alex smiled, before parking in front of the school and getting out to unbuckle Pip and let him go.

Once Philip was ready to go, Alex asked: “Am I getting a kiss?”

Philip gave him a kiss and Alex gave one back, before wishing Philip a good day and waving him off, making sure to keep watching until he had reached the doors of the school safely. On his way to them he saw him meet up with Theodosia and he smiled as the two kids greeted each other.

A quick scan and he saw Burr himself, he waved and the other nodded back politely, before both got in their cars and drove to work.

Burr was more an acquaintance than a friend, but it was funny how they kept running into each other. First in the army, then at college, before seeing each other at work (Burr worked in Public Relations) and finally running into each other at their kid’s school.

At work they rode the lift together, Burr getting off first, with surprisingly little fighting between them, though that was mostly due to Burr’s stoic politeness than Alex’s lack of trying.

He walked into the office and to the break room where Thomas handed him a cup of coffee as he said: “You need to stop drinking that much coffee.”

“And I love you too,” Alex loved this new way of ending a discussion, “Philip is in, by the way. He seemed excited about it.”

“That’s good to hear, I’ll call Ma tonight.”

“Cool, what are you doing today?”

“Probably not much, why?”

“Oh, just wondered if you were up for dinner at my place?” Alex asked nonchalantly.

He had been doing this more and more, Thomas noticed. At first he hadn’t paid it much mind, because Alex usually had a good reason and it wasn’t until he had spend a full week there once that he had noticed it.

Thomas was more at Alex’s place than his own.

Not that he minded, he thought it was sweet and if Alex was willing to take the lead there, he would gladly take it. He smiled: “Sure, we ended on a cliffhanger.”

“Which we?” Alex teased, “You and Pip with Ranger’s Apprenticeor us with Designated Survivor?”

“Would both be an acceptable answer?”

“Dork,” Alex said, before walking away to his office.

“That’s your dork, Mister,” Thomas called after him.

As he turned into the hall, he made a pirouette type movement, in which he blew Thomas a kiss and replied: “I know, don’t forget to call your mom.”

From the chair Angelica broke her silence: “God, you two are sickeningly sweet.”

“Jealousy isn’t a good look, Angie,” Thomas stuck out his tongue.

Angie stuck hers out in retaliation, before saying: “We need to catch up soon, okay? I’m thinking lunch and I want details, but now I have work to do. And so do you, don’t think I’ve forgotten that you still need to send me those files.”

“Yes, Ma’am,” Thomas saluted and quickly sped off, not wanting to face Angelica’s wrath.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N:

I am incapable of writing a miscommunication plot lines, just because I get too much second hand embarrassment from it. So, I shall acknowledge what could have happened and not do it, bc I will hurt my own feelings, lmao

Btw: “pirouette type movement” → think ‘water tribe’ from ATLA

The bouquet was ambrosia and moss rosebud, because ambrosia alone is boring, since it doesn’t have flowers. Moss rosebud means confession of love.

#RR writing #Hamilton #Hamilton AU #tw: death mention #Alexander Hamilton #Thomas Jefferson #Philip Hamilton #hercules mulligan #george washington #Jamilton #'Till Death Do Us Part #'Till Death Do Us Part Part 9 #'Till Death Do Us Part AU

[damedamedame]

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TERU MINAMOTO X READER - REQUEST

“STRONGK >:D”

NOTES: this was all a wild fever dream but uh— hope i don’t disappoint—

MORE NOTES: I WAS SUPPOSED TO POST THIS YESTERDAY THEN TUMBLR HAD A MINOR HICCUP AND I LOST ALL OF MY EDITING :DD

In the wee hours of the early morning, Teru entered the empty Student Council Room. Being the President and ‘Prodigy Exorcist of the Minamoto clan’, his hands are always filled with an endless amount of paperwork and supernatural-hunting. He didn’t even have the time to sleep soundly in his room yesterday night, having to exorcise the annoying ghost who kept bugging his peaceful evening.

Sitting down on the chair, he lets out a loud yawn and stretches his arms in a futile attempt to relieve himself from the exhaustion he was feeling. ‘Time to start the day, Teru..’ He picks up one of the papers on the stack, reading the request of the teacher from Class 3-B. Yet he found himself rereading the same paragraph over and over again, words barely registering in his mind. His eyelids droop, eyes hardly staying open.

And before he knew it, he was fast asleep in his chair. Knocked out due to the constant stress and tiredness he’s been feeling an awful lot these past few days catching up with his body.

Little did Teru know, a pair of eyes were watching him from behind his back.

Mokke.

‘Take over the pretty boy! Then take over the school!’ The Mokke chanted, a surprising number of the tinily terrifying creatures determined to ambush the vulnerable boy, who was sleeping with his head buried in his arms on the desk. They expertly tied his arms and legs together with rope... then rushed him outside, rolling the poor and tired Teru out the door and into their headquarters in the old building.

But they stop rolling him once they accidentally stumble upon the (H/C)-haired girl whose eyes squint at the sight before her this early morning.

“...Mokke...?” You eye the suspicious supernaturals who tried to hide the deep-in-his-slumber Teru behind a bulk of them. Alas, you could still see the body, no matter how much they tried to cover him up. The far too curious part of you mind wants to let them go, follow them and watch the consequences of what would happen if they successfully captured the dear President. Who would triumph? The evil Mokke or the loyal followers of the dear President?

But you wave the chaotic thought off. Knowing that if you did nothing to stop this catastrophe in the making, it would break the trust Teru gave to you after entrusting you with the sight to see the supernaturals that lurked in every corner of the school.

So, being the only logical solution of this moment, you steal Teru from the wretched cletches of the Mokke.

‘I should run.’ You think, seeing the dark glares from the Mokke that swore vengeance at you. Your hands are on his back and legs, carrying him like the traditional groom carrying his newlywed bride. Although.. the roles might be a bit reversed in this one. ‘Teru’s gonna be real startled out of his mind once he sees me carrying him...’ Nevertheless, you starts booking it, outrunning the raging Mokke.

‘GET HER >:00’

‘HOW IS HE NOT AWAKE!??’ You grit your teeth, running through the deserted hallways. Maneuvering through the many stairs and halls, you’ve yet to lose the vengeful Mokke who’s right at your back. Gulping, you finds you way up on the rooftop, stumbling backwards once you realize that you can’t run anywhere anymore. Your eyes look over to his sleeping face, his furrowed brows saying that he was having a rather bad dream. Pursing your lips, you puts him down on the ground and... shake him violently, hoping that he’d somehow hear your cries of help.

“Teru..!”

“Teru, wake up..!”

There’s a voice coming from the blue sky above, telling him to wake the fuck up. Teru feels the hairs on his arms stand up, but he’s yet to find his way out from inside this maze of a forest. Your voice makes his heart thump hard against his chest, bringing him a new source of motivation to get out and finally wake up from this dreadful dream.

The luscious green leaves fall in front of him, the beauty of nature presenting itself right in front of his eyes. He trudges on, leaves crunching underneath his shoes as he tries to find the exit. Your pleasant voice beckons him, calls and pleas of help making him dead set on leaving this place. But all he can see is green, gentle and calming, lulling him to surrender and stay. Vines wrap around his limbs, making it harder to set his sight on freedom.

Just as his eyes drooped once again, they shot open.

‘No.’

‘(Y/N)..’

‘She still needs my help..!’

Teru’s eyes shot open in reality. He had expected you to be kneeling beside him, shocked when he finally woke up from the sweet release of slumber. ‘...Never mind...’

Instead.. he finds you on the ground, surrounded by probably ALL of those pesky Mokke. For a second, he thinks you’re dead but thankfully, he can hear a chorus of snorts and giggles escape your mouth.

“S-Ha!-Stop t-THAT!” You try to grab one of the Mokke, who’s still tickling your arm. They must have thought that they were torturing you, considering how gleefully sadistic their faces were. But.. the punishment only feels like a bunch of bunnies bouncing and blocking her movement. “T-Teru—!”

“I’m awake.” He says, nonchalant, as if he didn’t just sleep through an unfortunate series of events. Well, for you, anyway.

“WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG!?”

It only takes a matter of minutes for him to get the Mokke to get off of you, giving them the scariest glares they could every get in the remaining span of their lives in Kamome Gakuen. Once they all scurry away, he offers his hand to you, who still laid in the ground with a flushed look. You grab it, pulling yourself up and patting your dusty uniform. ‘Sensei’s gonna be asking about this, ugh.’

“What kind of dream were you having?” You ask, overly curious from how one deep dream could pull him into such a devastating sleep that could have resulted in hours upon hours of not waking up. And, if you remember correctly, Teru wasn’t exactly the deepest of sleepers.

“Hm... it was neither good nor bad. I couldn’t wake up.”

“Oh? What woke you up then?”

Teru looks at you, a warm blush enveloping his cheeks.

“I’m.. not very sure..”

-

NOTES: this was written at 12 AM i really need to sleep and i’m sorry if the bridal-carry scene was so short— i really tried to make it entertaining tho—

@sayunaraa

#minamoto teru #teru minamoto #teru minamoto x reader #tired teru #tbhk x reader #reader #planning to write about tired teru so stay tuned #fluff #scenario #oneshot #tbhk imagine #tbhk #toilet bound hanako kun #jshk mokke #tbhk mokke

[pbandjesse]

I am sitting at a baseball game with James. I forgot that they said we were doing this today. I'm having a nice time but also I am really sleepy. Today was a pretty good day but I didn't sleep great and I just really wanted to be home.

I woke up and tried stretching and it helped a little. I got dressed and James would drive me to camp. They had a bagel for me. And it was a pretty nice drive in. We listened to a podcast and had big laughs about a game where you had to guess the host of a podcast based on the guests and we were having a great time.

We got to camp at 9 and James helped me get stuff out of the car. And then they left me at the office. Heather was just getting there but we both still had to wait because she left her office key at home. Opps.

So we talked about her trip to Zion national park last week. I got sure would love to go see that. Seems so unreal. And we also talked about pewter casting at camp. I would send her some stuff about it later.

Once Elizabeth got there she told me what needed to be done but also told me don't try to do everything because we had so much staff today. She was correct I would have just tried to do it alone and exhausted myself.

When I got outside Celia was pulling up so I asked if she just wanted to drive up to the low ropes course. And that was perfect. She was like yes but also my car is full of baby mice?? I did not care but I was like. Slightly concerned she is driving a mouse van.

We got up the low ropes and worked together to get that set out. She worked on the ladder and I untangled the ropes.

While we were finishing that up Sarah and Dachelle pulled up in the gator to get ground elements stuff to take over to the tipi feild. And then we headed over there to help untangle all of that.

It was kind of a slow wait. The bus was late. But it was fine. Once it did come I met it outside and helped direct traffic a bit until Elizabeth came over and we figured out what was up.

This was a sleepover group so they unloaded and went up to the cabins. I helped direct there too. And got to meet a few teachers that hadn't been there last week. Because this was the same school, just the highschool and not the middle school. And I recognized some of them from last year. And that was nice.

We got them all on the feild and they decided to do free choice to make their groups. Which would have been fine but then they did that again after lunch? So then the groups were all mismatched and there was no reason for that. It was so stupid and stressed everyone out.

But thankfully the programs all went super well. Me and Celia started with ground elements and would have low ropes the rest of the day. And it was lot of fun honestly. Having the larger groups allowed us to really do the programs more thoroughly. And when they didn't want to do it anymore I read a few of their fortunes. I had a big long chat with Celia about how neither of us believe in cards or magic or anything but card reading is so much for like. Story telling reasons. Interpreting and basically improve on the fly. It's just fun.

Lunch was quiet. Me and Celia ate on the porch. I paid some bills and did some accounting. It's half way through the head and I wanted to make some projections about the rest of it. And if things go the way I hope we should be in a pretty good place.

Like I said though they wanted to do free choice again in the afternoon. Which of course was super confusing and then we were all sort of thrown off. But it was fine in the end and we figured it out. I was a little stressed about it though and felt a little annoyed with the person who organized it but it would work out.

In the last group we did have one student who had already done low ropes. He requested we do the team wall though so we made that happen for him. And then got into low ropes. And while two people did fall, overall it was fun and everyone did great.

I checked in with the group about finishing early so they would have time to change for the pool. And that worked out great. Celia ran the swing while I watched the part of the group that was finished the program and Sarah worked on taking the ropes down.

We were very efficient.

Once the group left I headed to the field to put away ground elements for tomorrow. And then to the office to get the Gator key to go collect water coolers. Celia would come with me and we drove all around to find them. Finding Tony had dumped one out, which was only annoying because we were supposed to combine them to take to the pool. But whatever, with the others we made one full one. Dropped it off at the pool and then drove to the lodge to drop off the empty ones.

We got back to the office and of course then Elizabeth asked us to take the trash out at the lodge. Thankfully James was just pulling up to come get me so they drove us over there but it was already done so we were able to bust drop Celia off at her car and then me and James went home.

When we got back we ran into Nick in the hall. He just bought a house on 4 acres and is slowly moving and I'm so happy for him. It was also just really nice to see him.

I was happy to get out of my work clothes. I took a shower. I was coated in dust and it really made me feel better but I was still pretty tired. We laid in bed for a while. But at 530 we got ready to get out of there to go to the baseball game.

We walked to the lightrail station. Someone yelled out the window to ask if James was Justin Tucker, a sports person, and we got round trip tickets so we could get back easy later.

Taking the lightrail was nice. And we got here and got tickets no problem. James got us fries and they got themselves chicken tenders. Eventually we would also get cotton candy. And I've been having fun. The other team has 1 run and we have 7, which is very embarrassing for them. I've been enjoying people watching. And I'm tired and my earrings are hurting but I am happy.

Tomorrow I have an early day but we will have a short day as well. Ending after noon. So I'll come home and hopefully get some cleaning done. I hope tomorrow is fun. I hope we win. But even if we dont I am still glad we came!!!

Goodnight everyone!!

[tired-college-student-writing]

Here we go Loopty Loo pt 2

Summary: Graduation was supposed to signal the final time they all spent time together at UA, to show they have all grown into the Heros they dreamed of being.

It was supposed to be, but when has anything ever been easy for class 1-A?

pt1

pt2 (HERE)

pt3

___________________________________________

Loop #7

___________________________________________

The Rules had begun in Loop #7 when the class realized that things weren’t always identical to the original timeline.

They realized this by waking up in class on the first day before the Quirk assessment like they had the last six times only to find each and every one of them was the opposite gender.

Aizawa was not proud to say he lost all cool in front of his students as he jabbed the frankly too large globs on his chest swearing obscenely as they jiggled. It did not help that instead of a jumpsuit he was wearing a skintight long-sleeved crop top and fucking tights with high heeled boots.

On the other hand, the students were not doing much better, each looking at each other and screaming, as they seemed to forget common courtesy and smacking each other’s chests.  

Some, like Midoriya, Jiro, Backugo, Ashido, and Todoroki looked similar to their usual appearances, while others like Sato, Iida, and Uraraka looked drastically different to the point that the only reason Aizawa could tell who they were were the mannerisms he was overly familiar with from them.

After a few minutes, he wrapped his head around it enough to slam his hands down on the closest desk and order them to calm down.

“Okay, I get we’re all having an existential crisis,” He snapped, “I get it, this wasn’t what I was expecting either. Clearly, we aren’t just returning to the start of our own timeline unless I’ve always had fucking D cups and no one deemed it important to share with me.”

The first order was to get everyone to their seats so Aizawa could go through the class list, going through the new names he… she knew the students would mess up more than once.

Aoyama Aki

Ashido Mareo

Asui Susumu

Iida Sumiko

Uraraka Kaito

Ojiro Megumi

Kaminari Emiko

Kirishima Etsu

Koda Kaya

Sato Riko

Shoji Miki

Jiro Kazuo

Sero Hiroko

Tokoyami Jakushitsu

Todoroki Suzu

Hagakure Taku

Bakugo Kasumi

Midoriya Kumiko

Shinso Toshiko

Yaoyorozu Kado

Great, she had to learn all their names again too, which reminded her, “My name is Aizawa Saki. My hero name has remained the same. Your other teachers are Yamada Himari, aka Presentation Mica, Ishiyama Kamin, aka Cemetoss, Kayama Naoki, aka Midnight, and Ectoplasm still demands we don’t tell the students her name, so deal with that.”

“All Might is Yagi Yoshiko,” Modriya piped up, “But she still coughs up blood when I call her anything other than All Might so let’s let her relax for a bit.”

Mo- Yaouarozu raised his hand, “Si- Sensei would creating a list of rules and changes that happen from each timeline so that we don’t trip up as much? I imagine this loop will be particularly difficult for obvious reasons.”

“You’re not wrong,” She agreed, rubbing a hand over her eyes, “Would it be possible for you to create a rolling whiteboard? It’ll be easier to hide and keep up for the next three years.”

The creation quirk user seemed more at ease now that he didn’t have to worry about flashing the entire class to create such a large object. It didn’t take long for it to be set up and Aizawa took the offered blue marker.

“Alright,” She breathed, drawing a seven at the top of the board before splitting it down the middle, “Rules to take through loops if we keep going and rules and changes to keep us from getting in trouble in this loop, how does that sound?”

The agreeal rang out as she started listing off things she’s used as rules of thumb since she had been sure they had been looping.

#1 - Only talk to the others that are looping about looping and previous timelines.

#2 - Do your best to make the changes between your consciousness from the original version of yourselves from this timeline seem as natural as possible, we do not need people thinking we’re Toga.

#3 - Reveal all relevant information on the changes to the timeline that you know at the first awakening, or when we’re all together after the first awakening.

#4 - If the stress gets too much talk to us, we’re all going through it together.

She paused from writing, tucking her still long hair from her face with a soft sigh before turning back to the students.

“Can anyone else come up with any other rules right now?”

The silence was all she needed, “Great, we can edit it down the line as things change, but I want you all to remember these rules. They might be the only thing keeping us sane depending on how long we’re stuck in these loops.”

___________________________________________

Loop #10

___________________________________________

He was going to bash their heads in, he swears to god these children were sending him to an early grave. Midoriya, Todoroki, Iida, and Uraraka had managed to track down the Hero Killer to try and get him to change his ways wasn’t a huge shocker, what had been a surprise had been that Mina, Tsu, Denki, and Jiro had joined forces with Stain to try and destroy quite a few heroes that were abusing their positions in society to harm others as they had discovered in previous timelines.

The result had been a huge nightmare and a media shit show. How the next two years were going to go now that these eight had to pretend to hate each other was going to make him go grey.

No one commented as their irritated teacher scrawled down a new rule. It seemed fair enough.

#5 - Any major timeline changing decisions are required to be discussed with the entire group present.

___________________________________________

Loop #21

___________________________________________

“Shit,” Mina cried the moment they woke up, “I’m the mole!”

“Oh I get a break then,” Aoyama hummed, “Oh exciting, the League was getting tiresome”

While it was nice to know ahead of time who to keep an eye on, Mina played the double-double agent a bit too well, informing them of everything they could possibly want for the timeline to go seamlessly, all the students could feel the

Aizawa didn’t even bother to get out of his sleeping bag when Iida stood up unprompted in the middle of the test he had given them, mostly for appearances since he knew they could ace it easy at this point, and stomped to the closet where they stashed the whiteboard.

#6 - If you have information that could make the timeline interesting if kept secret (such as being the mole) keep it secret.  

He stood next to the board, as if daring anyone to counter him, but Aizawa nodded.

“As much as peace is nice if I have to go through another timeline that’s this easy I might actually expel all you brats.”

“Does that mean we can be vigilantes?”

“No, I refuse to deal with you during the night if I decided not to see you during the day.”

___________________________________________

Loop #24

___________________________________________

The class just blinked in confusion as the villains fell to their knees in apparent pain. The USJ attack was old hat to them at this point, but the fights had barely started.

Dabi tried to stagger to his feet, hand held out as if to call forth his flames, only for nothing to happen. Around the different zones, the heroes were having similar dilemmas as they faced the seemingly depowered villains.

“WHAT THE FUCK?” Midoriya screeched, once the time travelers had made it back to the classroom. They had rounded up all of the villains, confusion evident between the villains, pro heroes, and students on why the villains had suddenly lost access to their powers.

All Might suggested that perhaps All for One had something to do with it since it had appeared to be his quirk but couldn’t come up with a reason his enemy, who he knew from the large scar on his side was that he was, in fact, a villain this time, and not just a kindly father like had happened before.

He received an answer from an unexpected place.

Sero gave a small laugh, “So… fun fact, my great grandfather may or may not be All for One this time, and I may have All for One as a ‘second’ quirk…”

“Fucking hell,” Yagi groaned, face planting on the desk as the class stared at Sero with a combination of awe and fear.

However, the intrigue of their classmate having All for One was short-lived as they realized that the villain mastermind was not going to attack anytime in their next three years as he now had to recruit new henchmen to fight them, and well that took time to cultivate villainous intent that stood a chance against them.

It wasn’t even the end of year 1 and they were already so tired on just… being normal heroes in training. Even Yagi was at the end of his rope, deciding to retire early even if he hadn’t had to use up the last of One for All.

Bakugo glared at Sero as he amended rule six, the rest of the class staring down the sheepish boy.

#6 - If you have information that could make the timeline interesting for an extended period of time if kept secret (such as being the mole) keep it secret.

___________________________________________

Loop #63

___________________________________________

Aizawa coughed harshly trying to clear the dust from his lungs as the rumble shifted around him.

An ambush, it had to be, but… the class had been acting the same as ever. Aoyama had let slip that he wasn’t the mole this timeline, so the hunt for the mole as the attacks changed kept them all on their toes.

Yagi had assured Aizawa he would keep an ear out, telling them he was sure All for One was still out there, even if his wounds weren’t quite as grievous as they had been in the first timeline, causing him to look more like a sleek runner then skeleton true form they were used to seeing him in, though he could still transform into his buff form, holding it for almost the entire school day even after passing on One for All to Izuku.

It was a nice change overall, even if it was nearing the end of the class’s second year without a sighting of the evil bastard. The students had filled the space they usually spent in the longer battles tormenting Endeavor, with Aizawa giving convenient alibis for the students each time as long as they made sure to keep the dorm kitchen stocked with his favorite coffee brand.

But now, on a solo patrol, they struck.

He should have predicted this, but after almost 200 years of doing the same thing with only minor changes over and over again, he was growing sloppy, too comfortable with the norm to remember what it felt like to have pure adrenaline and fear running through his veins.

“Oh darn, you’re still breathing, I thought that would end you for sure,” A familiar voice groaned, causing Aizawa to try and spring to his feet only to find his leg pinned some of the fallen building.

A familiar lithe form sitting on top of the pile, staring into his soul with clear mirth in the oh so wrong looking purple depths.

“Toshinori?”

“Hello, Shouta-kun,” The man hummed, a smile pulling at his lips, a cruel imitation at the normally blinding grin, “Suprised?”

His eyes bulged as his heart lept to his throat. There was no way… All Might…

“What?” The symbol of Peace asked, “You were oh so busy looking for the mole with among the children, the other staff, even growing suspect of your closest friends, but you didn’t even bother letting me be a possibility did you?”

“But you’re All for One’s nemesis,”

The man laughed hopping down to stand over his fallen, “Oh I was, but the man you’re referring to is dead, Shouta-kun. He’s been dead since I fought him six years ago. ”

“You said he was still out there,”

“No, I said All for One was still out there,” Purple eyes blazed as he tapped the rubble, watching it explode, disassembled to the very base level.

“Overhaul…” Aizawa didn’t even try to get up, feeling ice going through his veins, “How…”

“When I faced All for One he became desperate,” Yagi explained with a sigh, as if reminiscing about a pleasant date, “He tried to shove as many quirks into as he could, hoping I’d explode from so much power in my system, but that’s the great thing about One for All, it stockpiles power. He didn’t realize until it was too late that by opening the connection between us, I was able to take his quirk from him. He crumbled into dust once the last of the quirks were left him. The powers, however, refused to join.”

“And you just what?” Aizawa demanded, “Decided to become the villain? What about giving Midoriya One for All?”

The man just laughed, “What’s a villain without a hero trying desperately to stop him? I spent so much time trying to save a society that doesn’t want saving, perhaps Young Midoriya can finally get through to them.”

“Kuruigiri,” He called before Aizawa can answer, and suddenly the pair were pulled through a portal and into a dimly lit cell, the other members of the League of Villians jeering around them. Aizawa felt overwhelmed, heart beating harder then it had in a long time, real fear churning in his gut.

“Nori?”

He felt the other time traveler pause at the name, understanding the silent demand.

They had made a system years ago, Aizawa couldn’t even remember which loop now. If the students ever needed one of their teachers to talk about the Loops, they would call them Shouta-sensei and Toshi-sensei, if they needed to call on each other, they became Nori and Sho.  

“Leave us,” Toshinori barked, and slowly watched the villains dissipate into the dark misty portals.

“Wh-”

Toshinori held up a hand and an ear-piercing ringing passed over them before fading.

“What was that?”

“Siren,” Toshinori hummed, “Until I release it they can’t hear what we say but they can still see us, so keep up that grumpy look of yours.”

His scowl deepened but the panic that had started clawing up his throat began to retreat, “What is going on?”

Toshinori chuckled, “I was under the impression that rule #6 was still in effect.”

“You’ve…” Aizawa couldn’t stop the laughter from bubbling passed his lips, “You sly old man… you played us all like a fiddle this time didn’t you?”

“Fiddle?” Toshinori hummed, strutting across the room to a chest just outside the cell, “No, fiddles actually take effort, this was shockingly easy. After all who would ever believe the Symbol of Peace would be the big bad evil~”

Aizawa hummed in agreement, as the hero… villain turned back to him.

“So no, Shouta-kun,” Toshinori continued as he entered the cell, “I didn’t play you like a fiddle, I played you like the cheap kazoo you are,”

“I’m going to kill Denki for teaching you memes,”

“If they find you,” Toshinori chuckled, grabbing his wrists and handcuffing them to the bed.

“Oh, kinky,” Aizawa mumbled, “Haven’t seen those in a few loops.”

“Maybe next time we’ll be hit by a sex pollen quirk again,” Toshinori suggested with an eye roll, “Now hold still while I treat your leg.”

“Isn’t this counterproductive to your whole shtick?”

“Rule #6. What fun would it be if I let you die or stole your quirk?”

“Your buddies won’t question it?” Aizawa hissed as his wound was cleaned out.

“No,” Toshinori hummed but didn’t elaborate, sealing the bandage over the wound, “No stitches needed.”

“Good, your stitching is shit.”

Toshinori just huffed before rising, “I better return to the students, they’ll be oh so devastated to hear you’ve been taken.”

“ ¥ 10,000 Todoroki puts it together first,”

“ ¥10,000 says Young Shinsou catches me,” Yagi counters, not turning around.

“No giving him hints,”

Yagi just smiled as the ringing reappeared, “Wouldn’t dream of it, Shouta-kun.”

______________________________

Taglist:   

#bnha #boku no academia #aizawa shoto #yagi toshinori #all of class 1-a #midoriya izuku #mina ashido #aoyama yuuga #sero hanta #league of villains #all for one #time travel #time loop #gender bent #villain au #Chaos #crackish

[strongerwiththepack]

Sensory Sunday: See

A new challenge you say? I am in. Believe it or not I have a half written fic on my laptop for IRRelief but I never got round to finishing it - whoops! Anyways, I work better with a deadline so managed to bash this one out today. It felt really good to be writing again, thanks so much for organising another challenge for us @gumnut-logic!

Gordon groaned into his pillow at the sound of the claxon but jumped out of bed nonetheless. Glancing at the clock he calculated that he’s barely gotten 3 hours of sleep and rubs his eyes tiredly. When he gets to the lounge Scott’s already there with John. Virgil and Alan are still out on their own rescue. Gordon was usually Virgil’s primary co-pilot but he’d been out on a solo rescue at an underwater research centre when the call had come in so Alan had taken his place.

Scott seemed to be arguing with John when he walked in. “-didn’t have to wake him, I can handle it.”

John glared. “You won’t be able to use the autopilot on One in those winds Scott, this is a two man job.”

John seemed to notice him then. “Sorry Gordon, I know you didn’t get much sleep. You feel up to it?”

Gordon stretched his arms above his head and grinned. “Totally. I am well rested and raring to go.”

He reckoned the statement was kind of ruined by the fact he was still in his pjs with bed-head but he tried his best.

Scott rolled his eyes at the statement as he made his way over to his chute. “Fine, suit-up Gordon but you are off duty for 12 hours minimum when we get back.”

“Aye-aye captain” he said with a salute while running towards his elevator.

…

Scott briefed him on the situation while they flew. A climber had gotten his ropes tangled on the side of a cliff in the French Alps. He was caught on the rocks and had broken his leg when he’d been slammed into the side of the side of the cliff. Mountain Rescue couldn’t get to him due to the growing wind in the area.

Gordon wondered how idiotic you had to be to scale a mountain at this time of year by yourself. That was like rule number one of rock climbing - always have a buddy. Hell, he wasn’t even allowed to go rock climbing on Tracy Island without one of his brothers. It was just common sense.

Gordon rarely flew in Thunderbird One and it was crazy how quickly they got there. Don’t get him wrong he loved Thunderbird Two but he had to admit he was impressed. Even if he had been pushed back into his seat by the G-forces the whole way.

Scott slowed as they reached their destination and John came on the line to direct them to the climbers location. With the reduced speed Gordon was able to stand up and prep for the rescue. He pulled on his helmet and strapped into a harness at the hatch of his brothers bird.

Scott voice sounded through his comm. “Okay Gordon I have sights on the climber, we’re about as close as we’re gonna get.”

Gordon gave confirmation that he was ready and Scott opened the hatch. The wind was harsh as it roared through the opening. Thunderbird One was even swaying slightly as his brother fought to keep her still.

Gordon hooked Thunderbird One’s grappling cable to his belt before taking out his own grappling gun. Scott could have shot One’s grappling cable out on his own but in these winds there was too big a risk of hitting the climber. It was safer for Gordon to grapple across first and attach the bulkier line by hand.

He shot his grapple gun towards the top edge of the cliff, well above the climber, and grinned when it attached straight away.

“Oh yeah, got it in one.” He boasted over the comms. “Heading out now.”

He could practically hear Scott’s eye roll over the comm. “FAB Gordon.”

Gordon braced himself and pulled the cord taunt before jumping down out of the hatch. He sailed across in a smooth arc through the piercing winds and bent his knees as he collided with the rock. He quickly found some hand-holds to steady himself and started making his way over to the climber who was a couple of metres to his right.

He knew John had been in contact with the climber but he called out anyway. “Hey there, heard you got yourself in a bit of trouble here.”

The guy was pretty much flattened against the cliff, one leg hanging loosely while the other was bent up onto a foothold, trying to take some of his weight off of his ropes. His teeth were chattering and his cheeks were red and starting to blister.

Hypothermia. Gordon thought grimly. The guy had been exposed to extreme icy winds for over an hour now. With the broken leg Gordon knew he could be dealing with shock as well

The guy did manage to give him a small smile that turned more into a grimace. “International Rescue.” He said with a relived tone. “Boy am I glad to see you.”

The guy was older than Gordon had expected but he could tell the man must have been a seasoned climber. He had all the right gear and looked to be in pretty good shape for his age. Kind of reminded Gordon of his dad.

Gordon smiled. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.” Gordon scanned the ropes and decided there was no use trying to salvage them. With the cold and the mans broken leg it would be better just to get the man secure and cut the ropes.

“We’ll get that leg set as soon as we’re inside Thunderbird One okay? Any other injuries?” Gordon asked as he attached another carabiner to the man harness, attaching the man to himself.

He looked up as the man shook his head. His heart stopped as he caught sight of something over the mans shoulder. Hardly 10 meters away was one of the chaos crews bombs. There was a blinking light that was steadily getting faster. Dammit.

No time for taking it slow now. He quickly attached the man to one of the ziplines hanging from the line coming from Thunderbird One. His own line was already attached so he gave a quick yank of the line, making sure it was secure before all but pushing the man off the cliff yelling “GO!”

The man yelped as he was suddenly airborne and Gordon followed close behind. He winced as the mans broken leg slammed against Thunderbird One’s interior as they made it inside but he didn’t have time to do anything. He turned back and pressed the manual release of the grapple line to detach them from the mountain.

“What the hell Gordon!?” Scott’s angry voice sounded over the comm. He’d basically broken every single safety procedure they had.

“Go Scott! Get away from the mountain! We’re in.” He yelled. There would be time for explanations when they were out of range of the blast zone. Gordon knew the damage one of Fuse’s bombs could cause.

He knew Scott wanted to shout at him some more but he couldn’t fault his brothers trust in him when they quickly flew away from the cliffside. The hatch started closing as Gordon helped get the man strapped into a seat. He didn’t want to cause the guy any more damage if this thing exploded and rocked their ship.

Gordon realised if there was a bomb on the mountain, the chaos crew couldn’t be far away. He didn’t want to admit that thought made his heart beat a bit faster. The memories of his last encounter weren’t going away anytime soon.

“Scott be careful, I think the chaos crew are in the area.” He warned across the comm link.

“Dammit.” Scott swore, his voice tinted with a growl. “John, can you see anything on the scanners.”

“Nothing Scott.” John was quick to reply. “They could have upgraded their cloaking technology though. EOS is running a more thorough scan.”

“FAB, John. Why do you think they’re here Gordon?”

“I saw one of their bombs on the mountain. It was about to blow.”

John hummed across the line. “There haven’t been any explosions in the area as far as I can see.”

“Maybe it was one of those proximity bombs or something.” Gordon theorised.

Johns answer was crisp. “I’ll look into it.”

Gordon couldn’t help the unease he was feeling as he got himself back into the mindset of a rescuer and returned to helping the climber.

“Sorry about the rough landing.” He tried to keep his voice light. “Let’s take a look at that leg.”

The man just nodded clearly still a bit shaken.

…

Gordon made his way back to the cockpit once they’d unloaded the climber to the local hospital. He gave the man a few choice words about not climbing alone in the future but from the pat on the shoulder and the alright sonny he’d received, he was pretty sure it hadn’t gone in.

He sat down heavily in the cockpit and once they were airborne Scott switched to autopilot and swivelled in his chair to face the younger man.

“Are you okay?” Scott eyed him wearily.

Gordon could understand the concern. That was his first encounter with anything hood-related since his accident.

“I’m fine, Scott.”

At the pointed look he received he sighed. “Honestly, Scott, I am.”

“Okay.” Scott conceded. “Talk me through what happened.”

When Gordon was done Scott gave him a confused look. “Why would the hood go to the trouble of placing a bomb and then not show up? Or even detonate it for that matter.”

Gordon just shrugged. He’d been wondering the same thing. In fact, he was still wired up waiting for a surprise attack. Anywhere they found chaos crew tech, the chaos crew were never far away. And they always showed up.

“Did the climber say anything?”

Gordon shook his head. “Said he didn’t even see the bomb. Don’t know how he missed it, it must’ve been right next to him for the whole hour he was there.”

Scott frowned at that. Something just wasn’t right here. “John notified the GDF, they’re going to scout out the area in a few hours once the storm has passed.”

Gordon just nodded at the statement. “Good.”

…

Gordon woke up that afternoon feeling a lot better after a good 8 hours of sleep. Despite it being the early hours of the morning when they’d gotten back last night he’d had to do a pretty thorough debrief with Scott and he was practically falling asleep standing up by the time they’d finished.

He wandered through to the lounge with a towel hung over his shoulder. With all the stress yesterday, he really needed to get in some laps of the pool.

He found Scott at their fathers desk later in the day. “Hey Scott, any word from the GDF?”

“Yes and no.” His brother replied cryptically with a sigh. Gordon caught the bags under his brothers eyes and knew Scott hadn’t slept as well as he had. He had a worried afterthought that maybe Scott hadn’t slept at all but John was usually on top of that.

Gordon rolled his eyes when his brother didn’t continue. “Are you going to elaborate or..?”

Scott seemed to have forgotten he was there as he looked up from the computer again. He must be working on something. “Uh yeah sorry Gordo.”

“The GDF combed the area but they couldn’t find anything. Not a trace that someone had even been there let alone any tech from the chaos crew.”

Gordon frowned and Scott eyed him wearily. “John’s been monitoring the area as well and he hasn’t found anything, not even a blip in the data…listen Gordon, are you 100% sure you saw something?”

Gordon could hear the reluctance in his brothers voice as he asked the question but it still stung a little. He became defensive. “Yes! It was there Scott.”

Scott held up his hands in a placating manor, but Gordon felt it gave off more of a patronising feel. “Just a question Gords. The visibility wasn’t great and it was a high stress situation, I’m just asking if you’re sure.”

Gordon frowned and actually took a second to think back. The visibility hadn’t been great but he’d seen it! He couldn’t have missed it with the red blinking lights counting down to his doom.

“I’m sure Scott.” He said decisively.

Scott nodded at his statement. “We’ll keep looking into it, if the hood has a new cloaking technology we need to know about it.”

When Scott went back to typing away on his computer Gordon couldn’t help but notice the slither of doubt present on his eldest brothers face. The pain he felt at the slight loss of trust was hard.

…

There was another call a few hours later. A cave-in, multiple groups of climbers scattered throughout the complex mining system. This was an all hands on deck sort of job, luckily Gordon had just passed the 12 hour mark since their last rescue.

He and Alan were burrowing into the East mining site on foot while Scott and Virgil took the West and Central sites respectively. There was only a short tiff from Alan about having to be babysat. If Gordon was honest, he was pretty sure it was himself who was being ‘babysat’ but he didn’t let Alan know that.

Honestly, he quite enjoyed rescues with his baby brother. Alan was much easier to wind up than Virgil and much less dangerous to wind up than Scott. Don’t even get started on the complex task that is winding up John. This was just some fun banter with his little brother who could definitely fire back as good as he got it.

“Y’know every time I look at you in your uniform it just reminds me of when you used to dress up as a power ranger.” Gordon hummed as they walked. Alan’s face turned thunderous and he knew he hit a good one.

“Maybe it’s the shoulder pads” he continued musing as he placed a hand on his chin in mock contemplation. “Oooor” he drawled out. “It’s just the fact that you’re still a little sprout with a babyface.”

Alan glared at him.

“Grandma says I’m going to grow taller than you.” His little brother huffed, sticking out his tongue at the end just to add to Gordon’s enjoyment of the childish statement.

“Oh definitely.” He nodded back. “Going to go from a baby sprout to a bean sprout just like Johnny. Maybe you’ll get the bad coordination to go with it.”

“I can hear you, you know Gordon.” John lectured through his watch.

Gordon at least had the grace to give a sheepish look at his space-bound brother.

“Sorry Johnny.” He grinned with basically no conviction behind the words.

“Mmm-hmm” John shot back.

Alan turned around, giving him a sickly-sweet smile. “You know, we all know you’re just overcompensating for your own height. Too bad you can’t grow out of that one.”

With the cheesy grin on his brothers face Gordon knew he thought he’d got him with that one. Gordon couldn’t give him the satisfaction.

“I’ll have you know I am very comfortable with- ALAN MOVE!”

All Alan had time to do was widen his eyes in panic and start to turn to glance over his shoulder before Gordon grabbed his brother and forcibly shove him behind him. Alan wasn’t ready for that though and lost his footing, taking Gordon down with him.

Alan cried out as they landed hard on the ground and Gordon panicked, thinking it had got him. He looked around wildly but saw nothing. The needed to move.

“What the hell Gordon!?” He heard Alan grunt out.

He practically full-on lifted his brother off the ground in his hurry to get out of there and he didn’t miss his Alans hiss of pain as he cradled his wrist to his chest. He mentally stored that information away for later and gave his brother a light push back towards the way they’d come.

“Run.”

“What’s going on Gordon?” John questioned with a hint of stress behind his words.

They were still running as Gordon answered, keeping Alan in front of him and glancing back frantically to make sure nothing was following them.

“A mecha tried to attacked Alan!”

“A mecha? The Mechanic is in custody Gordon, it couldn’t have been a mecha.”

“Well considering one almost just electrocuted Alan, I think you might want to double check that Johnny.” He huffed out.

“FAB Gordon, I’ll inform Scott and Virgil.”

Gordon didn’t let them stop running until the broke out into the sunlight again. Both him and Alan took a second to pant as they regained their breath. Gordon focused on his little brothers’ wrist immediately which he still held cradled to his chest.

“You okay?” he asked.

Alan grimaced. “Think I sprained my wrist.”

You mean you think I sprained your wrist. Gordon thought darkly as he recalled pushing his brother to the floor.

“Let get it wrapped in Two.” He sighed.

Virgil came running up to them then.

“What the hell happened?” Virgil exclaimed, seemingly trying to assess both his brothers simultaneously as his head pinballed between them almost comically.

“There are mechas in the tunnels!” Gordon told his brother worriedly. “Where’s Scott?”

“He’s on his way out with a group of miners.” Vigil hyper-focused onto Alan’s wrist as Gordon internally winced at the fact that him and Alan had abandoned the miners they were supposed to rescue.

“The mecha did this?” Virgil questioned Alan as he turned his brother’s wrist over gently.

“Uh, well not exactly.” Alan said sheepishly, looking at Gordon apologetically. “Gordon push me out of the way, and I fell on it.”

“Sorry Al.” Gordon said sincerely.

Alan waved him off, but Gordon still felt bad.

…

Scott joined them while they were in Two’s medbay. Alan sat on one of the pull-out beds, wrist wrapped tightly and had taken a couple of mild painkillers to chase away the ache.

Gordon startled as Scott came storming into the room.

“Mechas!? I thought we were done with those! What’s going on?”

John popped up then, like he always did when answers were needed. “I’ve spoken to the GDF, they’ve confirmed The Mechanic is still in custody.”

“So, the hood is using mechas now? Or the chaos crew?” Scott questioned, running a hand through his hair stiffly. Gordon could practically see them turning grey on the spot.

“It doesn’t make any sense, but I don’t have any answers right now.” John said with a frown. It wasn’t often John couldn’t provide the answers and Gordon knew it made him uncomfortable.

“There’s something else.” John said wearily. “I’m still not picking up any signs of any hostiles in the area.”

“What are you saying John?” Scott prodded.

“I should be picking up something on my scanners Scott. Even if the chaos crew aren’t here I should be able to pick up the mechas, I’ve always been able to in the past. There’s just nothing.”

Scott sighed. “FAB John, just keep looking.”

John pursed his lips as if he wanted to say something else but signed off nonetheless.

“We need to go back in to get the last group of climbers.” Scott said wearily.

Gordon started. “The GDF-“

“-won’t get here before this whole tunnelling system collapses” Scott countered quickly.

“How many mechas did you see?” Virgil queried from the side.

“Just the one.” Gordon answered.

“Alan?”

Alan looked like a deer caught in headlights as he looked between Virgil and Gordon. “Well to be honest, I didn’t see any.”

Scott’s brow furrowed at that one.

“Wait what? You didn’t see anything Alan?” Scott questioned.

“Uh no. Gordon pushed me down before I could look.”

Scott and Virgil shared a look and Gordon felt anger bubble up from within him, they’d clearly talked about this.

“Don’t act like I’m not here, I know what you’re thinking Scott.” Gordon growled. “I know what I saw.”

“I’m not saying anything.” Scott tried to diffuse.

There was a beat of tense silence before Scott frowned and headed over to the supply cupboards, taking out some clips to reload his grapple. The silence as he did so was deafening.

Scott put his field commander persona back in place as he continued. “Okay. Virgil, you come with me to get the last group of miners.”

“I can come too.” Gordon tried. “Safety in numbers and all that.”  

“I want you to stay with Alan” Scott said firmly in his Commander voice. Gordon knew that meant there was no room for argument.”

“Fine.” He said in a huffy voice, sitting back down in a chair.

Scott and Virgil made to leave.

“Just- “ Gordon started, stopping them. “-be careful okay?”

“FAB” Scott replied grimly as he and Virgil went back out towards the caves.

…

Scott and Virgil had retrieved the miners with no problems. Gordon had kind of been hoping they’d come across some trace of the Hood. He realised guiltily that he’d subconsciously been hoping his brothers would find trouble. He was glad they were safe but it would’ve been nice to have someone to backup his claims.

The trip back to the island had been pretty quiet but now was time for debrief. Gordon headed to the lounge once he’d showered and changed. He hovered in the doorway when he heard hushed angry voices in the lounge.

“What if it’s PTSD or something?” Scott whispered not-so-quietly.

“He’s not shown any other signs, you’re jumping to conclusions Scott.” That was Virgil.

“He hurt Alan! If he’s seeing things it could be dangerous.”

“No need to whisper fellas.” Gordon decided to announce his presence. “The whole island can hear you.”

“Gordon- “ Scott started, having the grace to look at least slightly guilty.

“It’s fine.” Gordon huffed as he sat down on the couch.

They waited in silence for Alan who ran in a few minutes later grinning sheepishly as Virgil glared at the damp bandages around his wrist. He was supposed to keep them dry. Gordon reckoned a trip to the infirmary was in line for his little brother once they were finished.

John popped up on cue as always and they started the debriefing. Scott talked through the actual rescue and then Gordon gave yet another account of what he saw in the mines. Albeit a much more detailed version while he was practically playing 20 questions with John and Scott. He felt like they were trying to poke holes in his story, but he tried to keep calm.

“Yeah like I said, it climbed up the wall behind Alan and pounced at him with the taser arm thing extended.”

“What was the visibility like?” Scott questioned further.

“Pretty dark but we both had our torches on and it’s kind of hard to miss a sparking spider monster in the dark Scott.” Gordon added a hint of sarcasm into his voice.

“I think Gordon’s told us enough Scott.” Virgil reasoned, always playing buffer between him and Scott.

John stepped in to give his report. “The GDF haven’t found anything in the area. And I still haven’t found anything either.”

John sounded like he was getting frustrated with himself.

“So, you pushed Alan down and it just disappeared?”

Apparently, Scott wasn’t done with his 20 questions yet.

Gordon sighed. To be honest this was the part that was bothering him as well. “Yeah, it’s weird when I knocked Alan out of the way I was sure I was in it’s path.”

He contemplated for a second before continuing. “I could’ve sworn the taser arm touched me before I fell too but I didn’t feel anything. Then I lost sight of it when I fell.”

He felt like the memory was becoming a lot clearer to him and he was finally noticing all the things that just didn’t add up.

“Come to think of it, I didn’t hear it land either.” Gordon knew he wasn’t exactly helping his story here, but he was just trying to be honest. “Those things are huge; it should have crashed to the ground.”

Everyone was staring at him now, Scott with worry, John with curiosity and confusion from both Alan and Virgil.

“What are you saying Gordon?” Scott asked gently, almost tactically.

Gordon was frustrated with this whole thing. “I don’t know okay! Something weird is going on.”

Scott spoke again, even more gently. “Listen Gordon, you’ve been through a very stressful situation when it comes to the Hood, you can tell us if you think you’re seeing things that aren’t there.”

“I know what I saw Scott!”

The concern in Scott’s eyes practically burned into his soul as his brother continued. “Paranoia is common in cases of PTSD, there’s nothing to be ashamed of.”

Gordon scowled, scrunching his fists into the couch. “I’m not crazy Scott! Why can’t you just trust me!?”

“Well give me another answer for what’s happening then Gordon.” Scott shot back.

“I don’t know! But I know what I saw Scott!” Gordon exclaimed jumping up from the couch. All his brothers were looking at him with worried looks now and Gordon felt tears brimming at the edges of his eyes. “Why won’t you guys believe me?”

He knew he must be looking a bit crazy now but the problem was he was beginning to doubt himself as well. What if he hadn’t seen anything? Alan should have been able to see the mecha if it had been there. The climber should have noticed the bomb as well. John should have been able to pick up everything on his scanners and the GDF should have found the tech at the rescue sites.

He knows what he saw. But what if he can’t trust what he’s seeing anymore. Maybe he is imagining things. And then the worst possible thing happens. He sees a mecha on the ceiling in the corner of the living room. It just looks so unnatural in this setting that he cracks.

He sits back down heavily on the sofa and presses the heels of his hands into his head. “I don’t know what’s happening.” He whispers.

He looks back up at the ceiling and the mecha he thought he’d seen has vanished, leaving just the dark shadows of the corner. He is seeing things. His tears finally start to fall.

With tears streaming down his cheeks and panicky breaths coming from his lungs he’s not surprised when Virgil is suddenly there, kneeling down in front of him and placing hands on his shoulders.

“Just breathe Gordo. In and Out.” His brother deepens his own breathing, encouraging Gordon to imitate him. Gordon does and it gives him enough breath to let out a half-muffled sob. Virgil wraps his arms around him, and Gordon has to admit, he immediately feels slightly better. Virgil’s hugs are magic like that sometimes.

“You’re not crazy Gordon.” Virgil assures as he squeezes just a bit tighter. “We’re going to figure this out.”

Gordon sniffs, raising his own arms with a shuddering breath and hugs his brother back before tensing as his eyes catch movement on the table. He sucks in a sharp breath as his eyes watch the mecha. It’s not real. It’s not real.

But then Scott’s guilt-ridden eyes catch his own and follow his gaze. Gordon does not expect it when Scott’s eyes also widen in horror and he back-peddles away from the table so fast he almost trips.

“Holy- “

Gordon pushes Virgil off him in shock, pulling his brother up with him as he backs away, he sees Alan doing the same thing to his left. “You- you can see that?”

Scott just nods as Virgil gapes beside him.

“YES!” Gordon exclaims happily before quickly realising this is not much better of a situation. The glares he receives from his brothers prove as much.

“Sorry, sorry. Just revelling in the fact that I’m not actually going insane.” He tries to say it as a joke but his voice cracks half way though and his hands are still shaking slightly. “But I get it. New problem.”

“Why isn’t it doing anything?” Alan asks quietly and Gordon motions for his little brother to come and stand closer to him and Virgil.

“How did it even manage to get on the island?” Scott asked in bewilderment. Gordon could see the tension running through his eldest brothers body. This was their home, they were suppose to be safe here.

John’s hologram was still hovering above the table that it was standing on and a stupid part of Gordons brain was scared at his brothers supposed proximity to it. His space-bound brother was furiously typing on his keyboard with a deep frown etched onto his face.

“I don’t understand.” John exclaimed. “It’s not on any of my scanners, it shouldn’t exist!”

One of John’s hands was pulling at his hair and Gordon wondered briefly if his brother was feeling the same amount of crazy as he had just moments earlier. Well probably not the same amount, Gordon was pretty sure he’d fallen down the rabbit hole for a few minutes.

“Well I’m looking at it with my own two eyes Johnny so I can confirm it does exist.” Scott shot back.

Gordon couldn’t help himself.

“Sure you’re not seeing things Scott?”

“Not the time Gordon.” Scott grunted.

And then more of them scuttered in through the door. Another six to be precise. They scattered as they came in, covering the room.

“Dammit.” Scott swore. “Where’s Kayo?”

“She’s not on the island Scott.” John answered grimly. “I’ve called her back in but she’ll be at least another half an hour.”

“Grandma and Brains?”

“Locked in Brains’ lab, they’re aware of the situation.”

Scott nodded. “Good.”

Gordon felt Alan pushing in closer to him and peered over, noticing one of them slowly creeping towards his baby brother.

“What do we do Scott?” Gordon asked. He knew it was cruel of him to put this on his eldest brother, but he was just so used to Scott having all the answers.

“Try and get to the balcony. We can lock them inside.”

Gordon grabbed a pillow off the coach before retreating backwards towards the balcony. The mechas just seemed to stare at them as they went and Gordon thought they were going to get away easily before one started skittering towards him at a fast pace. He did the only thing he could do and threw the pillow he was holding with deadly accuracy…only to watch it soar right through the mecha.

What?

The one he’d hit seemed to shimmer slightly before reforming.

“They’re holograms!” Gordon exclaimed.

“Of course!” John gasped, a little too excitedly. “That’s why I wasn’t picking up any signals or thermals from them.”

“And why they never made any noise in the cave!” Gordon added.

Scott looked dumbfounded. “But why? Why go to all this trouble?”

It was then a low laugh sounded through the room and the mechas vanished, leaving behind a very realistic looking Hood.

“For fun Mr. Tracy”

Gordon scowled at the familiar voice.

“Hood.” Scott replied darkly. “Whatever your plan was it didn’t work, we’ve figured out your game.”

The Hood laughed under his breath, filling Gordon with unease. He even threw another pillow at the projection just to make sure he wasn’t the real thing. Thankfullt, it soared through harmlessly again.

“Knowing about them doesn’t reduce the impact Mr. Tracy. I have hundreds of microscopic projectors on your property now. They’re tiny and sophisticatedly cloaked, you’ll never find them all.”

Scott scowled, glaring at the man as he continued. “Let’s see how well you get on when you can’t even trust your own eyes.”

The man gave a roaring final laugh before signing off.

The brothers looked at each other with grim expressions. How were they going to get through this one?

Maybe tbc? I make no promises.

#sensorysunday #sensorysunday2020 #thunderbirds are go #this one turned out wayyyy longer than I expected #and its technically not even finished urghh #really should have been multi-chapter with more fleshing out #tis my own fault tho #lastminute.com #as per #oh well

[spirit-of-the-void]

Gunpowder and Flower Petals (Dante x Reader Fanfic) Chapter 3

Author’s Notes: I formally apologize for the long hiatus everyone. I was depressed and anxious after having some doubts in my writing, and then got roped into a long commission....I’ll do my best to keep this updated

A huge thanks to @meliapis​ for making the new cover picture for this story!

                                                     Chapter 3

                             ~Calloused Palms and Delicate fingers~

Opening the shop in the morning went on as usual.

You woke up bright and early, getting in a shower and some toast for breakfast before bouncing cheerfully downstairs. Unlike the previous morning, Clover followed each footstep, black tail flicking back and forth as she searched out a nice patch of sunlight to lounge in. Meanwhile, you breezed through each task with ease, pleased to find all the previous day’s seedlings fully grown and ready for trimming. Magic made quick work of those, your mouth babbling forth cheerful praises and kind words to the new bulbs and buds as more were planted in the place of others. A cycle, one that came and went every day without fail. Going smooth enough that there was time to spare, leaving you free to tidy up the front shop and loosely braid your hair. Soft, delicate--peppered with mini carnations and tiny clovers, in honor of your lovely familiar soaking in the morning sun on her belly fur.

You giggled when the cat blinked slowly at you, whiskers glowing with bright light as the shop door was unlocked and sign flipped to “open”. Customers usually wouldn’t come in for another half hour or so, but that was fine. Mondays were generally slow anyway, so you didn’t expect many people to stop by minus the occasional regular or newbie looking for a last minute gift. After ten o’clock, there would be no other orders either, only one being scheduled for a restaurant to pick up some time after nine. Various assortments, mostly lilies. You looked at Clover, realizing this was probably why the cat was more comfortable hanging around the shop that day. Low amounts of people, lots of sun, plenty of time to get attention from their owner. Typical. You shook your head, causing a few stray petals to flutter out onto the floor.

Since the morning was slow, you attempted different tasks to keep yourself busy and distracted from wandering thoughts. Yesterday was flower crowns, today was grinding roots and leaves into salves. They were sold on the side as natural remedies, and they definitely worked for their intended purposes. Balms to soothe pain, powder to sprinkle on a pillow to aid sleep, cream to help with dry skin. It was one of the few things your mother managed to pass along before she died, your mind awash with memories of those times. Her smile, showing you just how to use a mortar and pestle while lightly channeling magic. It was cathartic, a walk down memory lane and a reason to smile.

Thinking of her always made flowers bloom in your hair.

 By the time that restaurant came to pick up their order there was quite a few buds in your silken locks. They didn’t comment on it, seeming to be in a bit of  a hurry as the boxes of flowers were loaded into their truck quickly and efficiently. Papers signed, payment given, customers on their merry way in a matter of minutes. You both preferred it this way and felt a twinge of disappointment--it was nice to have things done and ready at a fast pace. Satisfying even. But once they were gone you were left in the shop by yourself, minus Clover sleeping soundly in a patch of sun as it warmed the fur on her belly. Mondays were oddly lonely, leaving you to drift around the shop repeating small tasks over and over in an attempt to stave off boredom. Trim the roses, arrange bouquets, praise seedlings, make flower crowns--it left your thoughts free to drift in and out of focus, only snapping back when the occasional customer popped in for some flowers.

It was normal. But wasn’t normal was the new addition to your thoughts--Dante. 

How could you stop yourself from thinking about him? You sighed softly, fingers playing with the locket resting on your chest as his face kept making an appearance. Maybe you were just easily swayed by ruggedly handsome men? His white hair, slightly unshaven face and soft eyes...Ah, there it was again. The lonely feeling was worse today because each moment passed with you hoping the mysterious man might return. Maybe you were reading too many romantic books, head spinning webs and stories where none belonged. A handsome stranger comes into your shop, rough around the edges and seeming to carry a deep sadness...what a love story that would make! Problem was that your wistful mind kept hoping so desperately that it was yours.

“I’m losing my mind, Clover,” You mumbled to the cat, who most certainly wasn’t listening, “Maybe Mrs. Davenport was right--I need to get out of the shop sometimes.”

Clover gave no indication that she had heard other than a flick of her ear, eyes still closed and fur shiny in the sun. You sigh, head resting on your hands as you watched that same sunlight make dancing patterns on the walls every time a car passed. These feelings of attraction came with a strange guilt, one you wanted to shake. How rude was it to daydream about someone who simply came in to get their roses? To convince yourself that there was more to the encounter? He did ask me out to coffee, didn’t he? You tried to reason through the doubts with that, but maybe he could have meant it in a friendly manner? Overthinking again, panicking, mind left to wander in the quiet calm of a monday morning. You let out a light groan, a scattered pile of petals falling from your curls with the spike of stress. Too many maybes, there to make you regret not setting up a day more.

What were you going to do?

“Clover,” You practically whined, head now resting on the counter as you stared at the wall in a daze, “If only you could speak...I need someone to tell me what an idiot I’m being.”

The cat didn’t like you berating yourself. This caused the furry creature to blink her eyes open, glaring at you from the floor before she stretched and sprung to her feet. She was on the counter moments later, one paw firmly pressed to your forehead in a sign of disapproval. Message received loud and clear--she didn’t like you calling yourself an idiot. 

“Sorry sorry…” You mumble, making a face when she rubbed her fur all over your poor nose. Thank god you weren't allergic.

Regardless, Clover settled down nearby on the counter edge, staring with round eyes while her tail flicked back and forth. You knew she wanted to help, but there wasn’t much a cat could do in a situation like this. To offer even that silent support was more than you had for a long time, already used to not having friends after going through school alone. Children and teenagers strayed away from the strange and unusual, and you had a reputation for yourself early on. That girl is strange, I heard she can grow flowers in her hair--What if she collects animal skulls in her spare time? Does she do blood rituals? Can she curse us if we do something wrong? Witch rumors spread fast, so you kept that to yourself for a long time. No friends, no relationships ...just the flowers, and focusing on the skills your mother left behind. 

Maybe that was why the idea of going on a date was so exciting, so...nerve wracking. 

You just didn’t want to be alone anymore. The Davenports were lovely, but their new home was an hour drive away. They didn’t want to be close to a city after the Redgrave incident a while back, which you could fully understand. Both stopped by whenever they could manage, and you to them, but...those times between left a lasting effect. It felt so selfish to want more after all the wonderful things you had been given, but...was it so wrong to want companionship? You had gotten lucky, raised by two wonderful human beings who didn’t have to help you, but chose to anyway. They took your mother’s role seriously, buying books on witchcraft and being supportive in any way they could after the incident at school...The Davenports gave so much, and you would never forget that.

You would be fine. You just needed to get past these lonelier days.

So lost in your drifting thoughts, you didn’t notice someone pass by the open store front at all, not even when Clover’s eyes flickered to that area with interest. They stood at the door for a few moments, as if gathering their thoughts before the bell jingled to sound an entrance. Yet you still didn’t notice at all, focused on those patterns on the wall. Thinking about your mother, the Davenports, school and the kids who ridiculed you there. It wasn’t like you to not pay attention, used to greeting each and every customer to make them feel welcome and see if they needed help. But you were oblivious to the tall man entered through the glass door, staring at you in surprise and raising one white eyebrow as he took in you slumped over the counter, looking glum. What a sight that must have been, seeing the cheerful girl from yesterday so troubled and moody.

No, you didn’t notice him at all. Not until he was standing right by the counter, deep voice jolting you right out of daydreaming and bringing the previous days excitement back in a burst.

 “You alright, sunshine? Lookin’ a bit cloudy today.”

Oh.

You jolted upright with a gasp, petals scattering all over the counter as you swung around to stare up at the white haired mystery man himself. Sure enough, Dante stood tall and handsome, completely real and solid as he met your gaze with a light grin. Oh goodness, he was dressed differently today--still casually, but a little more clean cut. His stubble had been trimmed neatly, and now he wore a grey button up tucked into black jeans with that red leather jacket slung over his shoulder. The sight of his white hair pulled back in a messy attempt at a ponytail sent your heart into overdrive, orchids blooming and dropping a considerable amount of petals from your hair onto the pile already forming at your feet. You immediately tried to hide them in your hair, flustered and panicking a bit despite how absolutely relieved you felt.

There goes the loneliness, here comes the absolute sheer excitement and nervousness with him being in the shop again.

He called you sunshine. He remembered. He’s here.

Calm down, you’re being ridiculous.

“O...oh…!” You tried to get your voice under control, but failed, cheeks already feeling far too warm as you stood straighter and stammered, “H...Hello again, Dante…!”

The rugged male seemed surprise as well, tilting his head a bit as he cleared his throat. You noticed him nervously run a hand through his hair, almost like he didn’t realize it was in a ponytail--the action pulled a few strands loose.

“Didn’t mean to startle ya, “ He chuckled, the sound both warm and a bit off, like he wasn’t sure how to progress at all, “Shocked you remember me, to be honest. I uh...didn’t make the best first impression.”

Something about his awkward disposition was oddly...cute. Relaxing, even. Dante kind of reminded you of a nervous boy asking a girl to a school dance for the first time. Maybe you were reading too much into it, but he seemed just as nervous as you, but better at hiding it. Trying to keep his cool. Reading people was a hobby you kept up on while working in the shop, so his cues and mannerisms were starting to make more sense. That hand through his hair, the way he kept shifting from one leg to another, clearing his voice...He looked a bit embarrassed, to be completely honest. No better than you, which was comforting and endearing all the same. 

His words made you smile softly, some of the anxiety melting away as you replied with firm honesty in your tone, “I disagree...you were very kind and understanding, it made for a lovely first impression. Of course I remember, Dante.”

This seemed to relax him a bit too, his stiff posture losing some of its edge as he let out a hefty sigh, “Maybe, but I do owe you an apology though. I uhhh... I realized later that I hadn’t actually given you a day when we can have coffee or...anything.”

Oh. You blinked, staring at his blue eyes despite him looking away, scratching the side of his neck and looking slightly guilty. Another nervous habit. Cute. He must have realized belatedly, like you, that no date had been set up for this impromptu interaction that had you so nervous. 

A smile tilted your lips, followed by a soft, embarrassed giggle as you admitted, “I kind of forgot to ask about a day too...I...I got too excited and didn’t realize till later…”

Admitting that felt strange, almost like you were giving away too much. It was awkward, but in a way that seemed oddly correct. 

Dante certainly didn’t mind. Hearing about your excitement made his blue eyes finally meet yours, surprise and relief mingling on his expression like it somehow took a weight off his chest. You didn’t really know what you looked like to him in that moment, but Dante was absolutely enchanted. Flowers blooming in your curls, cheeks pink with honesty and excitement...it shot several arrows through his already nervous heart, sending it into overdrive like a caged bird seeking to be freed. Thank god he decided to come back, that he didn’t chicken out and listened to the others.

“That was all on me, sunshine,” He chuckled, leaning against the counter and plucking a few petals from its surface. You flushed more at his closeness, watching him rub the soft floral between his fingers, “Thinkin’ I got a bit too excited myself. It was pretty rude of me to just...ask and bounce like I did. So how ‘bout I make it up to you and take you out today, if you’re free?”

Today? So soon? It was everything you wanted and more.

You couldn’t help but notice he smelled nice today--he was close enough that a warm scent reached your sensitive nose, bringing traces of what must have been a men’s soap brand or cologne. Both this and his words sent a little thrill down your spine, heartbeat pounding in your chest even as Clover looked on with curious eyes. She seemed to be keeping her distance for now, sizing Dante up even as he looked at her with a hint of interest in his own gaze. Focus, you needed to focus--The man had asked you a question. But the sight of him trying to cover up his nervousness by turning his attention to Clover was only making you more flustered.

We’re both a mess. An absolute mess.

Dante extended a hand to let your familiar sniff, purposely allowing the small cat take her time instead of petting her outright. Clover already knew about Dante after you talking to her about it. But...her reaction to sniffing him really put you off. Clover was usually a very mild mannered cat, she behaved and liked everyone she met. With Dante, however, her little nose scrunched up in obvious distaste, ears flat against her skull and a low growl emanating from her throat. You blinked in surprise, watching Dante immediately retrieve his hand and look ruefully disappointed. Not surprised, like he somehow expected this outcome. He didn’t try to reach out again, making an apologetic face to you as she let out another low growl.

What in the world was that? Your familiar immediately slunk her way around you in a very protective manner, ears still down and eyes not leaving Dante for a second. Why was she so angry? You got nothing but honesty from Dante when he spoke, and there were no bad scents or energies. Mind you, there was something a bit off about his aura, just a twinge of something from him that felt familiar. But...no violence, no bad intentions. Your senses didn’t lie, not when it came to something this important. Perhaps Clover was just feeling a bit territorial or jealous? Having a stranger coming into your life might have been scary, or maybe it was due to how upset you were the previous night due to not knowing if he would come back?

“Clover!” You scolded, picking the cat off the counter and tucking her against your chest, “Don’t be mean, that’s so unlike you…!”

The cat snorted in your face, ears flicking and looking quite perturbed. Her gaze kept flickering over to Dante in a fierce glare, letting out light growls as Dante shifted back a step, getting the message loud and clear.

“Don’t worry about it,” He chuckled, seeming ruefully as he stared at Clover’s fluffed up tail, “Cats don’t like me too much--never knew why.”

That last part of his sentence...it was tinged in a bit of untruth. He knew why cats didn’t like him--but whatever it was, the man was reluctant to tell you why.

Perhaps that should have made you wary, should have made you hesitate. Clover was your familiar, and her judgement was important to you above all other things. But this lie, seeing the almost sad way his eyes drifted away only served to make you very curious, stirring that part of you that sought adventure and wanted to know more. Past attraction, wanting to know what rested at the core of this strange man who seemingly stumbled into your life. You paused, staring at Clover’s scrunched up face imploringly for a moment, gathering your thoughts. If anything, going out to a coffee was the safest you could get--you could pick the place, somewhere public and talk for a bit. If there was any indication of danger, you could leave. Easy as that.

You wanted to know him. Wanted to know what made Clover not like him.

I’m sorry, Clove. I have to try, I have to know.

“I can close the shop down early for the day,” You said decidedly, looking shyly at Dante while he blinked in surprise, “It’s slow on mondays. Do you mind waiting here while I take Clover upstairs and get changed?”

Something akin to eagerness flashed in his eyes, but he tried to keep his tone neutral as he replied, “You sure? I wouldn’t want to barge in on your work day or anything.”

That was the fun part about owning your own business--you got to set hours and make choices. There were no more deliveries and business would be slow at best, completely absent at most.

A soft smile tilted your lips as you stepped out from behind the counter, shaking free a cloud of petals as you turned up the closed sign on the door. All the while Clover growled softly, tail doubled in size with her anger. She wasn’t liking this situation at all, especially not with you ignoring her warnings and still going out with Dante.

“It’s perfectly fine,” You reassured the man and her at the same time, slipping past him to head upstairs, “I’ll be down in five minutes...I know a lovely bakery nearby that serves coffee and tea, we can go there for lunch.”

Somehow this relieved Dante, like he hadn’t actually decided where you both would go. He nodded, running a hand through his silver hair again in a nervous gesture, “Sounds good, sunshine.”

That nickname made your heart beat faster, cheeks flushed as you hurried to the back room and up toward your apartment. Petals drifted in your wake, a few more orchids blooming in your excitement. Lord, you were so out of control at that moment it was ridiculous. This was your first date, the only one you had ever gone on in your whole life. No dating in high school, so busy with the shop afterwards that it never came up. But now...what were you supposed to do on a first date? Could you hold hands? Was that too much? So many questions were buzzing around your skull that you weren’t sure how to process anything.

All the while, Clover meowed naggingly as you entered the apartment, seeming distressed as you set her down on the table. She followed, eyes watching and little mouth working overtime as you changed into something cute--a pink sweater tucked into a high-waisted, black pleated skirt. Would pink thigh highs and boots be too much? You settled for tights instead, and brown laced boots to go with it. There was still that part of your brain worried about Clover’s reaction to Dante, but you wanted to try trusting your instincts for once. 

So many years you spent letting fear and worry keep you to yourself, working in the flowershop alone. A lot of that time was spent letting others make your choices for you, content on just doing what was expected of you and safe. But now...you wanted something exciting, wanted to try and listen to instinct for once.

You paused, taking a deep breath and holding your mother’s locket firmly between your fingers. She would never let you get hurt, never lead you astray. There were no bad feelings from Dante, and until there were you would rather take a chance than play everything safe.

“I’ll be okay, Clover,” You promised the cat, finally looking down at her body weaving between your feet before plucking her up into an embrace. She stopped meowing as you did so, looking incredibly worried even as you kissed her snout, “Just trust me, okay? I don’t know why you’re so spooked, but...I want to take a chance. If something is up, I’ll come right home. Promise.”

The cat still hesitated, ears pressed back and eyes wide with worry. But she didn’t meow again as you set her down, grabbing your small purse and keys before heading for the door. Cell phone carefully tucked away, everything in its place. Just in case, you brought a packet of particularly potent seeds, ones that could sprout into vines if you needed to make a quick retreat. You never ever assumed Dante could hurt you, or even want to, but...Mrs. Davenport taught you to be cautious, and you didn’t want to be too trusting.

Clover was sitting by the door as you closed it, like she was ready to wait until you came back. Hopefully she wouldn’t do that, but you gave her a small wave anyway as the wooden surface separated you both from view. Her dislike of the white haired male was definitely disappointing, you wouldn’t deny that. There was still a mystery to uncover, however, and going out on this little date was something you wanted more than anything. It felt so foolish to think this way--like those girls you see in movies who end up ignoring warning signs and going out with serial killers.

But...Dante’s aura was gentle with you. It was sad, filled with trauma he seemed to keep bottled up. The colors were warm and bright, tinged with something you didn’t understand--but you wanted to.

So you gathered your courage... and made your way downstairs. 

Dante was still waiting there when you arrived, seemingly trying to fix his messed up ponytail. That leather jacket was now on his body, a stark contrast from the neutral grays and blacks of his outfit. He didn’t notice you return, eyes down in concentration as his long fingers slid back the white hair with a black hair tie in tow. Something about it made your heart beat faster, flustered all over again at the way his grey button up shifted around his chest muscles and waist. Oh dear…maybe you didn’t have the nerves for this? Sent blushing and nervous just at the sight of him doing something so normal, like a flustered school girl.

No backing down now.

You took a deep breath, nervously tucking a curl behind your ear and trying to will each flower to stop blooming in the loose braid you still had. The orchids had a mind of their own and practically blasted your feelings to the whole world, it was so embarrassing. So...honest.

Dante looked up at the sound of your boots clicking on the floor, breath catching as he took in your appearance with unabashed awe before trying to make his expression more collected and neutral. You looked like a fae in his eyes, ethereal and gorgeous in the sun’s dancing patterns. The flowers in your hair, the way your braid curled over your shoulder with the occasional curl escaping to cling around your face….you were a vision, and he was having trouble gathering himself together at the sight. How was he supposed to not act like a stammering, bumbling mess around you now? 

 He needed to remember what Trish and Lady told him. Open all the doors for her, tell her she’s pretty, but that’s not the most important thing about her. Remember to listen, to talk about her and yourself. Be a gentleman for fucks sake.

“Welcome back, sunshine,” He greeted you, lips quirked in a half smile as he stood straight and stepped away from the counter. There was a hint of nervousness in his eyes, a chuckle escaping his lips as he added, “Just gonna warn you now, I’m gonna be a whole idiot today walking around with you lookin’ that gorgeous. I’m already forgetting how to make complete sentences.”

He was trying to use humor to cover up his awkward compliment, which was charming your socks off while also sending your heart pounding away. I’m such a mess. I’m such a MESS--one complement and I’m practically a puddle at his feet.

You flushed pink, looking down as you stammered, “I...I highly doubt that...but...you look very handsome today. I’ve never been on a date before so...I might be an idiot too.”

Were you supposed to admit that? Maybe not. But Dante didn’t seem to mind. 

He let out a sigh of relief, walking toward you and staring ruefully at your flustered face. You felt a twinge of surprise when he held out a hand for your to take, showing you those calloused, scarred fingers you felt the day before. 

“Then we have something in common,” He admitted, scratching the back of his head with the other hand, “This is honestly the first time I’ve tried going on a date with anyone...I’m a bit of a disaster, sunshine.”

Somehow, that both surprised you and didn’t. He was so handsome and warm, but...there was tragedy in his life. It was something dark and heavy, weighing the poor man down and you weren’t doubting that, not with what you could sense. But...you were a bit of a disaster too, and you had your own secrets tucked away where no one could see. Dante was an adventure, and something about him drew you in like a moth to a flame. So you took his hand gently with your fingers, enjoying the way he sucked in a surprised breath and a hint of flush made its way across his cheeks. It would seem some of his reactions were very honest, especially when your fingers curled around his and squeezed. Warm...very warm, and oh so gentle with you...he squeezed back.

His expression was so cute.

You smiled softly, tugging him towards the door as you replied, “That’s fine with me...I’m a bit of a disaster too, so try not to worry too much. We can learn together, slowly if you’d like.”

This was only the first date--both of you had all the time in the world to decide how this would go. Maybe after learning about him, or seeing how he acted in public would make you change your mind. Maybe you weren’t compatible--but learning that would be part of the fun. And there would be no better way of doing it than having a nice lunch at Alex’s bakery, with people you knew and faces around who had your back. But Dante didn’t seem to be a bad person, nor did he seem to have bad intentions. There was only a quiet, nervous eagerness from him as he opened the flowershop door for you, still holding your hand as you locked it tight for the day. 

The waiting mid-day sun was warm on your face, like a soothing caress as you turned to smile at Dante. Your cheeks immediately flushed, however, at how handsome he looked with the light glinting off his white hair. Lord, he was a beautiful man, and the world seemed determined to show you. The thought made you suck in a breath, trying to gather any courage you could muster while tugged his hand to signal movement. He fell in step easily, tucking you hand around his arm like a gentleman would.

Do not get too attached yet. It’s only one day.

“I think you’ll like Alex’s bakery,” You hummed, the wind rustling your curls as you walked the familiar path, “His sweets are great if you like that--and they have a wonderful dark roast and many different exotic teas.”

“Sweets are good,” Dante nodded in approval, eyes lighting up at the prospect, “To be honest I wasn’t sure if you liked coffee, sunshine.”

A sweet tooth then? That was pretty surprising for a man like him, not that you would say that.

Instead you smiled, staring forward as you responded softly, “What’s your favorite sweet, Dante?”

You expected him to think about it, or maybe rattle off something like chocolate or some cream filled pastry. But instead he grinned, his answer quick and smooth as he turned to meet your gaze.

“My favorite? Strawberries.”

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#devil may cry #devil may cry five #devil may cry 5 #dmc5 #dante devil may cry #dante x reader #flowershop fic #flowershop OC

[caps-lockdown]

Operation: Man Flu

Alright guys here it is the first part of my new series! I thought of this awhile ago but my life has been absolutely bonkers lately and I didn’t have a chance to get started on it til now! I hope ya’ll enjoy this insane and (hopefully funny) romp I’ve come up with.

Tagging @kaytizzle and @cuffski for now, let me know in the comments if you would like to be tagged for future parts!

Summary: As a hacker nobody agent of S.H.I.E.L.D you get roped into what might possibly be your worst nightmare come to life. Will you survive the long weekend? Will you have a chance to get closer to a certain reserved Captain during this extremely stressful (and hilarious) situation?

Pairings: Steve x Shield Agent Female Reader!

Words: 3,397

Ratings/Warnings: I’m going to put hard R here for the whole thing because there’s going to be cussing, mentions of sickness, alcohol consumption, physical fights, mental breakdowns. Jealousy, love triangles (sort of), angst, drama, and lots of crude humor. Just strap in.

Also no Beta so my mistakes are my only thing to claim, I don’t own any characters either, with the exception of the reader, a doctor, and some random characters here and there.

It is in Y/N (Your Name) L/N (Last Name) format. Enjoy!

 Part One

“Y/N I need more water!”

“Y/N my eyes hurt!”

“Y/N can you tell Bucky and Tony to shut the hell up? I’m trying to sleep off this headache!”

“Shut up Wilson!”

Pinching the bridge of your nose, nostrils flaring, you released a slow and irritated breath. The shouting was coming from the makeshift quarantine section in the Tower. Never in a million years would you be able to guess that this was going to be your job at some point. In fact, you would have laughed in anyone’s face if they told you that at some point in your life you would be stuck in Stark Tower taking care of a bunch of sick and over dramatic man children. This was supposed to be your weekend in. You were supposed to be comfy and cozy surrounded by happy things, not a bunch of sick cry babies. You were so getting a raise when all of this was over.

You looked to the ceiling praying to anyone upstairs for just a small moment of peace. The moment of peace could come in the form of a giant mallet to knock all of the whiny men in the next room unconscious. Perhaps a dart gun with Nyquil loaded ammunition? Anything to help you cope with being stuck with this lot of ill idiots for the next 48 hours. Why of all people did it have to be you? You were not someone that saw The Avengers in close quarters, you were sort of work friends, but you never thought your friendship would be put to the test quite like this. Who were they to ask this of you anyway? It’s not like you have any medical experience. Hell you get squeamish just thinking about blood. You rarely got sick. You cried watching Grey’s anatomy for cripes’ sake! You must have been cursed by some otherworldly power. Loki was messing with you. That had to be it. You were sure that had to be the reason behind this cruel and unusual punishment.

“Y/N BUCKY KEEPS STARING AT ME!”

“Well you keep sounding like you’re gonna puke Stark! And if you puke I puke! So don’t puke!”

“Damn I need a drink.” You uttered before squaring your shoulders and heading back into the fray. When did it all go to hell in a hand basket?

~~Friday Morning~~

0600

The crisp early autumn air made its way into your room from your half opened window. The birds chirping slowly woke you from your slumber as your eyes opened to take in the leaves changing colors on the trees outside. The smell of coffee starting to brew at your small desk invaded your senses and you smiled out to the rising sun in a good mood.

Your alarm clock went off which caused you to scream and nearly throw it out the window, groaning as you heard the rumble of the Quinjet touching down a few floors up. So much for a quiet, easy day. They were back early.

Dragging yourself out of bed, you hastily threw on your uniform and secured your hair up, reaching for your travel mug to hold your life juice as you sloshed it into the container and headed out the door.

Life hadn’t always been this fast paced for you. You were never a morning person, and even though it had been years that you have been with S.H.I.E.L.D, these caffeine fuelled mornings were something that never got easier with time. Being an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D just wasn’t a picnic for you most days, but you certainly had it better than some of the others in your line of work. You weren’t one of the people willing to put their life on the line out in the field. In fact it was the complete opposite. You were behind the scenes, knee deep in technology. Hacking files, constantly bypassing security, you name it. You never had to leave the comfort of your own country. It was hard work, but it was also your calling. It had been since you were a teenager in high school. It was a habit that got you caught several times breaking into the school security systems, changing when the bell would ring so you and your friends could get out a few minutes early. Especially during Geometry with Miss. Wilkins.

You had been given a scholarship to New York City College of Technology after you graduated high school and you packed your bags and moved from your small town in Ohio to the beautiful state of New York. After graduating in record time with high marks you were recruited by Agent Coulson to join S.H.I.E.L.D. You accepted without any hesitation (Along with constant reassurance to your always worried mother that you would not actually be in the field. Ever.)

After a few years, and more importantly the battle of New York, Nick Fury created a small unit specifically trained to work alongside The Avengers. It was truly amazing getting to move into the Tower, always being there in case of emergencies. Which there often were plenty of. You were under the command of Agent Keaton, your unit possessing a mere ten agents total. No one knew who you were, or what you did, except The Avengers and a small number of others. You were shadows, able to breach the toughest security, get what you needed, and get out without a trace. Or in most cases, get Earth’s Mightiest Heroes into places they previously didn’t have access to. Everyone called you “The Ghosts of Stark Tower”. The hours were sometimes long, missions often stressful, but it suited you just fine. One of the many upsides was knowing that you were making a difference in this messed up world.

The down side was these way too early mornings. At least it was Friday and you could look forward to the three day holiday weekend ahead of you. It was Labor Day weekend which meant that after today you wouldn’t have to return to work until the following Tuesday, unless an earth shattering catastrophe happened. Trudging your way down the hallways your mind drifted to the future that awaited you at 1800 hours. All you had planned was a giant fort of blankets and pillows to call sanctuary as you caught up on the six books that sat unloved in a box by your bed. They were feeling extremely neglected since you had gotten most of them as birthday gifts, which had been some time ago now.

Stepping into the elevator you let out a wistful sigh as it began to climb the few floors leading to the floor that held the landing pad for the Quinjet. Smiling to yourself as you day dreamed about being nestled in a blanket cocoon and not seeing a soul for 72 hours, you couldn’t stop in time and ran smack into Sam Wilson as you exited the elevator and took a sharp turn. His back of toned muscles acted as a wall as it threw you backwards and onto the floor with a loud and ungraceful oomfph.

“Shit. Sorry Y/N. My head isn’t on straight today.” He offered a hand to help you up which you gladly took, pulling yourself up and pretending to brush yourself off.

“It’s fine Sam. Ya miss Bucky that much?”

“Ha. Ha. Ya I missed him like a hole in the head.” You snickered as the two of you made your way down the hall together.

Sam Wilson and you went way back. Back to before you were working (usually) with the Avengers. Back when you were just starting out and he wasn’t cleared for all the “fun” missions, as he called it. Those were the days when you trained together, ate together. Hell you even shared a bed together. It was only once, and nothing romantic happened, but you two only got closer because of it. You didn’t know where you would be without him in your life. He always seemed to know what to say to make you feel better after a hard day, and he always had you laughing. It usually bummed you out when he went along for missions, so you were extra thankful he opted to stay behind this past week when they announced a new mission would take place. It had been nice spending time with each other outside of work hours, catching up, shooting the breeze.

He was one of the only people here that seemed to see you for everything that you were. With the exception of today of course.

“Any issues with the mission? Why are they back two days early?”

Sam raised an eyebrow as you reached the double doors that lead outside to the landing pad.

“Now how did you know they were supposed to be back in two days? That was classified information L/N.” You quickly shot your eyes to the ground, releasing a heavy sigh.

“I…I may have hacked into the mission details…”

The look Sam gave you made you bite your lower lip in embarrassment before he merely shook his head in response.

“Damn Y/N, you should have come with a warning label. If you missed Steve that much you could have just called him.” You swatted his arm as he pushed the door open for you, the fresh air hitting you in the face and causing your eyes to water.

Sam had known about your small crush on Steve Rogers, otherwise known to many as Captain America, since the first time you had met the larger than life super soldier. He pegged you as a giddy school girl from the gate and you found yourself threatening his life on a weekly basis to keep his mouth shut about the whole thing. Steve and you had a professional work related friendship, nothing more. It’s not like what you and Sam had, and you had come to accept that it never would be that. Or more, no matter how often you caught yourself thinking about it.

“Why would I miss Steve Rogers when Sam Wilson has been here to keep me company?” You batted your eyelashes at him, causing the man to chuckle as you neared the group of fellow agents that were gathered around the jet.

“Nice try slick, but I’m still telling Tony you broke into the mission files. Again.”

You pouted at him but he only clicked his tongue at you.

“I swear Tony just needs to give you a raise already and put you in charge of that tech stuff here. His old ass mind is clearly slipping.”

“You suck Wilson. I was only worried.”

“Worried ol’ Blue eyes was gonna take a dirt nap? Come on Y/N,  he’s stronger than that.”

“Actually I was worried for Tony and his,” you made air quotations “Old ass mind”

You and Sam’s laughter was quickly silenced as the jet ramp lowered and you watched Steve Rogers exit, a deathly pale Tony leaning on him as they disembarked.

“Shit. He looks worse than normal. Pepper is gonna pitch a fit when she sees him.” Sam remarked, the team headed towards you.

Your eyes couldn’t help but dance across the Team’s faces. They all looked beat. Thor and Bruce seemed deep in conversation, their hushed voices angrily biting at each other. Clint kept quiet, focusing his vision forward and not looking at anyone. You noticed Nat and Wanda were missing, only for a moment before you realized they were on a separate mission elsewhere. They were slated to come back sometime next week.

Your vision drifted over to Tony, taking in his sickly appearance. The color was drained from his face, the area around his eyes dark and his body too weak to walk very far. Bucky walked to his left, his worried expression evident as they neared you and Sam through the crowd.

You quickly snapped your line of sight to Captain Rogers, your pulse picking up just a little at the sight of him. His uniform was still in really good shape considering how ragged he was looking. Apparently he had forgotten his razor or something because his facial hair had grown a considerable amount since they had been gone. His strong jaw was set tightly, his lips in a thin line while his large intimidating frame effortlessly helped the injured billionaire along.

“Why do I have a feeling my weekend plans just got cancelled?” You grumbled, clearing a path for the Captain as the rest of the team followed behind him, none of them sparing you a look. You were used to it by now.

“Wilson, debrief. Now.” Rogers’ voice boomed with authority and you couldn’t help but grimace in Wilson’s direction.

“Sorry Sam, tough luck.”

“L/N you too.”

Jumping at the acknowledgement you cast a worried glance to Sam who merely shrugged before picking up his pace to catch up to the group headed into the building. That could not be good at all. You followed after him, struggling to keep your mind calm with all the questions currently swimming in it. It didn’t take you long to reach the small conference room, paramedics cutting off your journey about halfway to take Tony into the medical bay to run tests.

You quickly took a seat next to Sam, everyone at the table looking to Steve for answers you were fairly certain he didn’t have. It didn’t mean you couldn’t admire his tall, gorgeous body though as he stood in front of all of you. Nope, you’d drink in the sight of him any day and any time you could. It wasn’t illegal to look after all, even if most of the time he saw right through you. Just like a ghost.

“Look L/N, I’m going to give you the extremely short version,” Steve started, blue eyes staring into yours and you could only bring yourself to nod. His voice was hard, short, he was clearly on edge with worry.

“Might as well shorten it even more Rogers, L/N here already hacked the mission files. She knows the mission.”

You could only give Sam a “What the hell?” look, trying not to let the disappointed sigh that came from Steve’s lips sink into your stomach like a boulder of guilt.

“As much as I want to be angry with you L/N, I need to know how much you know. It might help speed things up so we can get to work faster.”

All eyes seemed to shift to you as you began to fidget with the edge of the table, training your eyes to stay focused on the smooth wood surface as you recalled the details you briefly scanned last week.

“You were all sent to Tal-q’eiek to retrieve an energy source for another planet…Mon…mon something..who’s current environmental health is unstable. The planet’s self defense measures made most of the planet toxic to keep predators from other neighboring worlds away.” You started, looking up at the people around the table as they all nodded in agreement.

“ You were made special suits and would split up into teams to search the planet for the energy source. You were sent out of your element considering Danvers was unavailable to join you, as well as Quill and his team being currently MIA as well.” Taking a deep breath you couldn’t help but notice the smallest of smiles on Steve’s face as you finished divulging what you knew.

“Correct L/W, I’m always impressed by your sharp memory.” Steve complimented you and you had to grasp the chair to make sure you wouldn’t fall out of it. It was the first and so far only time Captain Rogers had made a positive comment in your direction. Usually he was far too busy to pay you or any of the other Ghosts of Stark Tower any mind. Not that you could blame him. If you were being honest, you didn’t even think he knew your first name for the first two years you worked together.

“So based on your knowledge, what conclusion can you come to on your own?” Thor pried, your gaze moving to catch his.

“ My assumption is that Tony was simply  in the wrong place at the wrong time and managed to inhale some of the toxic air of the planet, and that’s why you had to come back early. Because he’s showing symptoms of a sickness and you didn’t know what to do.”

“Two for two L/W, well done.”You felt a swell of undeserving pride at Steve’s words, wondering if this was to be your Christmas gift or something. Two compliments in one day? Within minutes of each other? You most certainly weren’t complaining but it did make you a bit nervous, especially when those beautiful blue eyes weren’t leaving yours.

“So now what? We just wait for the doctors to come back and tell us Tony is going to be ok?” Sam’s voice broke you out of your trance, Steve clearing his throat and Thor nodding in agreement.

“Unfortunate, but until we know more there isn’t anything to be done.” The other blonde’s deep voice boomed and you couldn’t help but feel an overwhelming sense of dread.

“I don’t understand why I was needed here…” You trailed off, Bruce chuckling at your statement causing you to blush with embarrassment.

“You never know when we may need a Ghost on our side Y/N.” Bucky smiled at you, giving you a small wink.

“Yea besides,” Clint continued, “We actually like you. You’re not some stuck up, loud mouthed, cocky know it all like some of the others.”

“You shouldn’t talk about Tony like that, after all he’s the one sick right now.”

Your comment earned you a chorus of laughter.

“I’m gonna put that in Stark’s Christmas card this year.” Sam got out in between laughs, patting you on the back.

“That’s my Y/N, always one with the fast quips.”

His statement caused you to beam in response, allowing yourself to be grabbed in a small side hug. The expression on Steve’s face was a bit puzzling to you as you looked at him, but no sooner had it appeared, it was gone.

What seemed to be hours passed, but your eyes shot up at the sound of one of the doctors on standby walking into the conference room, her HASMAT suit creating a hideous scratching noise against the floor as she moved. You recognized her as Doctor Kelly Hooper, she had been working for Stark for years. She was a short and stout woman, with dark blonde hair that was always up in a tight bun on top of her head.

“What’s the diagnosis Doctor?” Clint tried, his voice humorless despite the poor attempt at a joke.

“Firstly, you should know that Mister Stark is going to be alright.”

The entire table collectively sighed in relief at the Doctor’s news, a huge weight seemingly being lifted off of everyone’s shoulders. You and Tony didn’t always see eye to eye on things, but you still respected the hell out him, and definitely didn’t want him dying anytime soon.

“However, there is some bad news.” The older woman continued, turning her attention to Steve.

“He’s going to be sick the next forty eight to seventy two hours, and will need constant care. He’s going to experience the worst equivalent of the flu we’ve seen in years. Fever, vomiting, dehydration, chills, extreme pain, and maybe even hallucinations. What’s also troublesome is we don’t have the proper staff to take care of him, as most of the day and night crew have left for holiday, and we can’t risk taking him to a hospital where it might spread.”

“Got it, can it get any worse than babysitting a sick Tony?” Bucky groaned out, his head hitting the table.

“Actually it can Mister Barnes. I’m afraid the illness he has contracted from the foreign planet is very peculiar in the fact that it only seems to attack beings with the combination of XY chromosomes.”

“Doc, are you saying what I think you’re saying?” Bucky suddenly looked up at Doctor Hooper, who had now locked eyes with the winter solider before nodding her head.

“That’s right Mister Barnes, any male who has come within contact with Mister Stark within the last twenty four hours has a seventy five to eighty five percent chance of falling ill as well.”

#steve rogers x reader #the avengers #captain america #fanfic