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steddieas-shegoes · 2 months
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assistant to the dm, steve harrington
for @steddielovemonth prompt 'secretly studying nerd shit' rated t | 1,361 words | cw: mild language | tags: friends to lovers, getting together, d&d references (could be inaccurate since i don't actually play), banter that's also flirting
🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉🐉
"I just don't understand why you needed to borrow my character sheets. You don't even know what most of this means," Dustin said as he handed over the papers.
"I just need to see something," Steve replied, taking the papers and adding it to his mess of a kitchen table. Other character sheets were strewn all over, most filled out, but some empty. A couple of books were open on random pages, recognizable images of weapons and monsters visible to anyone who walked by.
"Why does it look like you're studying for a college degree in D&D?" Dustin asked.
Steve looked up at him, eyes blank, mouth in a straight line. "Because I finally got accepted to Indiana State. Go away."
"Fine! I want those sheets back though!" Dustin said as he left Steve to his studying.
Hours must have passed, the light outside turning to dusk before Steve thought to take a break. His head hurt, his vision was blurry, and he didn't feel any closer to understanding a god damn thing.
He thunked his head against the table, letting out pained groan as his head throbbed.
"Are you looking for something or have you decided to finally play with us?" Eddie's voice said directly behind him, making him nearly fall out of his seat. "Shit, sorry. Thought you heard me come in."
Eddie's hands were on Steve's arms, squeezing, centering.
Like he knew exactly what he needed to lose the slight hint of remaining panic left in his chest.
"I was just trying to figure out if there actual dragons in this game or if that was also made up," Steve said, sitting back and putting distance between them. He couldn't breathe when Eddie was touching him, which was often. He was starting to worry about oxygen deprivation to his brain. "Disappointed to find out the dungeons part seems like it's up to the DM."
"The whole thing is pretty made up, Stevie. That's the point," Eddie smirked, but it fell away when Steve turned back to the messy table. "Are you, like, wanting to play?"
And this is why he wanted to keep it a secret. Maybe he shouldn't have had everything spread out in the open like this, but he'd assumed he was safe in his own home. With the door locked. And with Eddie supposedly playing the Hideout tonight.
He looked back at Eddie. "Why are you here?"
"Dustin said something about you not answering the phone after he left hours ago and you seemed pissed off or something," Eddie shrugged. "Just wanted to check on you."
"The phone? It didn't ring." Steve didn't think so anyway. He had admittedly tuned his surroundings out entirely once Dustin was gone. "But it's Tuesday."
"Uh huh. It is Tuesday. How long have you been sitting at this table?"
"Ha. Funny." Steve rolled his eyes. "You play the Hideout Tuesdays. Tuesdays are for Corroded Coffin, Wednesdays are for dinner with Wayne, and Thursdays are Hellfire."
Eddie blinked at him. "Yes, usually that's true. But, wait. Sorry. You have my schedule memorized?"
"I mean, some of it, yeah. The parts where I know you won't be nearby or easily reached."
Steve knew it was ridiculous, but how the hell could he make sure he was safe if he didn't even know what Eddie was doing?
Eddie looked like he wanted to say something else about it, but must have changed his mind. He pulled out the chair next to Steve, turned it towards him, and sat down.
"So you've been studying this stuff for..." Eddie leaned in, eyebrows raised in silent question.
"I dunno. A few weeks. I didn't have most of the sheets until a couple days ago though," Steve gestured towards the papers spread out. "I still don't really get it."
"You've been studying for weeks? Stevie, why didn't you just ask me or any of the kids to help explain it?" Eddie almost sounded hurt. "I've been playing for half my life! And I've been a DM for half of that!"
Truthfully, Steve was trying to learn so he could have conversations with Eddie about the stuff he liked. That was basically lesson number one on how to get someone to like you, and Steve had already tried the music thing and failed.
He just wasn't that into the echo of loud guitars and angry drums.
He couldn't exactly ask Eddie to teach him everything and then turn around and try to use what he taught him to flirt with him. That was lame and embarrassing.
"Steve?" Eddie had his hand on Steve's leg, leaning in further towards Steve. He must've been trying to get Steve's attention while he was lost in thought. "I'm kidding. I mean, I wish you'd said something sooner, but if this is how you get into it, I'm not gonna stop you."
"I just wanted to surprise you."
Steve could hear how pitiful that sounded, could hear the whine in his voice that he wasn't able to pull his plan off. As if Eddie would even care! Eddie was the most easygoing, laidback, chaotic person he'd ever met. He would just be happy to have someone else in his little club.
"Surprise me? For what?"
He was also incredibly slow when it came to feelings.
"Because I want to spend more time with you! Because I like you! Because I want you to like me!" Steve tried not to sound frustrated, but his headache was turning into a real problem, and he was tired, and sick of hiding things. Robin told him to just be honest, so he was. "I wanted to surprise you the next time Hellfire was here and have all this knowledge, but it's hard! I don't even know how you keep up with most of this, let alone all the characters? There's like...at least 800 options for how to use weapons and spells. I can't even remember half the races or classes or whatever. I don't even know if those are the same thing. And I keep getting distracted thinking about how you look when you stand at the end of the table and do one of those stupid accents."
"Are they stupid if they're this distracting?" Eddie was smirking, suddenly more confident than Steve had maybe ever seen him.
"They are stupid. That's why it's distracting. And I'm stupid for letting it get to me!" Steve leaned forward, put his head on Eddie's shoulder. The angle wasn't the best, but he didn't care. "You get to me so bad, Munson."
"You're kinda easy to get to, Harrington." Eddie's lips briefly pressed against the side of Steve's head. "Been waiting for you to catch up."
"What do you mean?" Steve pulled away. "I've been trying to get you to realize for months!"
"You came to one show at the Hideout. I think Robin's been to more shows and she's a lesbian."
"She told you?!"
"Steve, she spilled every secret she's ever had when she kept me company in the hospital. I think I know things you don't even know."
Steve let his head fall down against Eddie's shoulder again. "I should've known you were teaming up."
"I wouldn't call it that. She just wanted to look out for us," Eddie's hand cupped the back of Steve's head. "So what did you learn?"
"Probably nothing useful."
"Well, it's easier to be an active learner. I could use an assistant on Thursday if you want some hands on experience," Eddie's fingers scratched at Steve's scalp, melting his brain and making him feel like he was completely weightless. "If you just wanna watch, that can be arranged too."
"You don't let people watch," Steve mumbled against his shoulder, his weight sagging against Eddie.
"I think I can bend my own rule for my boyfriend, right?" Steve could feel Eddie's heartbeat quickening beneath his ear.
His face felt warm as he realized what Eddie was implying. "Only if your boyfriend can sit next to you."
"I think that can be arranged."
"Oh, and I'd like to trap Dustin's character."
Eddie snorted, kissed Steve's head again. "That can be arranged, too."
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luvwich · 3 months
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OC Interview: Vania
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[camera template] ❧ tagged by @tarmac-rat — thanks choom! see the adorable interview with their Riley here
Name?
V: Vania Perez. Tiny Mike: Yo. Mike Kowalski. Interviewer: We've run a profile on you already, Tiny. Just getting to know Vania, here. Mike: Well it'll have to be a twofer, because I'm takin' her to dinner in an hour and I ain't just gonna putz around Kabuki the whole time like a fuckin' delivery drone. Interviewer (to V): We'll run this by you before it's published. V: Whatever.
Nickname?
V: Started going by "V" at Arasaka, but I'm looser about it these days. I like my given name. If someone wants to give me a different nickname, they are free to do so. Mike: You tell 'em, hotshot.
Gender?
V: I don't think this is an interesting question.
Star sign?
V: Taurus, though I'm not sure what it means. Mike: Far's I understand, it means she loves dick and gets croissant crumbs all over the bed.
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Height?
V: 160cm. Mike: I dunno how to do the centimeters to feet an' inches, but she's definitely lying. Subtract four or ten or somethin'. [Interviewee's height was confirmed to be 159cm --ed.]
Orientation?
V: Big, strong arms and uncomplicated psyches. Mike: Aw, you like my arms?
Nationality/ethnicity?
V: Have a U.K. passport, as much as that's worth these days. My mother's parents were Puerto Rican, and I'm not sure where the sperm came from. Interviewer: You're not close with your father, I take it? V: No, I mean, my mum simply went to a sperm bank. She's old-fashioned like that. But I think she would have used that service that's just cloning plus gene editing if it were legal back then. (glancing at Mike) By the way, d'you know how much that costs? Interviewer: Uh, no.
Favorite fruit?
V: Mum used to acquire a pineapple for my birthday every year, but the last time I had one was at an Arasaka company party. Mike (looking up from a search for BEST PINEAPPLES NIGHT CITY): Wait, did you just say "acquire"? What is this, the Night City Literary Review? Interviewer: I'm from the Watson Weekly Mirror. Mike (muttering, returning to search results): Oh, those fuckin' hacks.
Favorite season?
V: Suppose it's autumn, but there don't seem to be seasons in Night City. Or else there are about forty of them and they are all slight variations on "filthy rain" and "heat stroke."
Favorite flower?
V: I don't think this is an interesting question. Mike: Answer it, sweetie. V: Jasmine, I suppose.
Coffee, tea, or hot chocolate?
V: I like black tea with a bit of sugar and some cream. Mike: She likes a lot of cream. V: Are you writing down the things he says too? Interviewer: Yes. V: Do you accept bribes? Look, just give me a call before this runs, please. [Interviewee was unavailable for follow-up questions at the time this piece was published. --ed.]
Average hours of sleep?
V: Back when Arasaka was logging my biometrics and pumping me with all the good drugs, it was a consistent 6.25. I couldn't tell you now, though it's surely not enough. I haven't figured out how to use my new interface to start tracking it. Mike: Psh. Some "hacker." V: I'm trained in network security and combat quickhacking, love. That doesn't mean I know how to navigate neuralink menus or program your VCR.
Dog or cat person?
V: Mm, suppose I identify with cats more, but dogs and dog people are fascinating to me. Where do they find the energy to be like that? Mike: Damnit, gettin' hungry. Gonna run to the store for a snack. You need anything, babe? Tiancha? Locust jerky? Holobites? Foot rub? Anything?
Dream trip?
V: Okay, now that he's gone.. well, I really want to make it back home to London, but that's mostly to see my mother. I don't miss the town all that much. Been fucked for decades. But Mike's got this idea for a camping trip down the coast, and I have to admit I'm intrigued. I mean, it sounds dangerous and frankly a bit filthy, but I've never seen the rest of California, and I've heard it's still quite beautiful in parts.
Favorite fictional character?
V: So Jake, the protagonist of Bushido X, is really quite interesting because— Mike: I'm back. You talkin' bout those frickin' Bushido flicks again? God damn, when's this thing gonna wrap up?
Number of blankets you sleep with?
V: I don't think this is an interesting question and I'm starving.
Fun fact?
V: In physics, a "jiffy" is a unit of time measuring 3 × 10^−24 seconds. Also, we're late to dinner. Mike: Ciao.
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[📸 by breezypunk]
tagging @another-corpo-rat @aggravateddurian @fly-amanitaa @leota-nexus if you wanna interview your blorbos (if you did this already and i missed it, drop a link! 💖)
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labella-luna · 9 months
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steve harrington rambles
steve harrington x gn!reader
word count: 1,052 words
petname(s) used: (reader calls steve stevie), baby, honey, sweetheart 
tags(s): fluff, hurt n comfort 
prompt(s) used/ inspired by: 
“you wouldn’t, uh, maybe, want to stay the night, would you? i just really don’t want today to end.” 
calling the other a pet name for the first time 
navigating physical affection
(these prompts are from @/scealaiscoite ’s new relationship prompts list! all credits to them) 
warning(s): brief nod to his absent parents, brief mention of one night stands (however no sexual acts are explicitly mentioned/ described) (all of this is briefly mentioned in the intro, mainly part of my ramble before I write) possible ooc!steve (idk this is just how I see him lol)
a/n: hi again! so sorry this took so long to get out I had a busy week lol but this is my first time writing for steve, but he is very near n dear to my heart so I hope I can do him justice!! as always, lemme know if I need to add anything to the tags/ warnings and my inbox is always open! enjoy :D
comments n feedback welcome :)
currently unedited and proofread (I'll be back later to fix it!) 
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ever since I finished stranger things I always sit n think about how steve’s trauma has always been overlooked and how he never really got a chance to just live his life y’know?- yes I know season one was a thing but even then he wasn’t having a good time so hush. none of them have really had the chance to just be kids or young adults so I dunno, here’s if things were somewhat normal in Hawkins! (set post starcourt but pre vecna- when steve is working at family video) 
anyways here’s just a big post about my steve thoughts and little “headcanons” about his life with his partner!
I think despite everything he’s been through Steve still remains a doting, and hopeful lover. he’s been wronged before in his past, and still struggles with coming to terms with it on top up of everything else he’s dealt with. 
he’s sick of the one night stands, of being turned away when they inevitably fall through or he brings up wanting something more, putting his heart on his sleeve only for it to be thrown to the ground and stomped on when he’s turned down because they never wanted more- just a quick release before they left for college. it’s not like he ever got any affection or attention from his parents, and now from girls too? he’s starting to think he’s a lost cause at finding love...until he met you! (wow what a cheese fest that line is eh)
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you were so lovely to Steve, he’d never felt so cared for and heard- no one had ever put this much thought into their relationships with him..it almost seemed too good to be true. the relationship was still new, you were both still finding your way around each other navigating what was too soon and what was okay.
Steve had planned a date for the both of you- a simple lunch in the park to enjoy the nice weather before it left Hawkins and brought the chilly fall breeze in its place. there was a fair assortment of treats, sandwiches and fruits so you could have a bit of everything- he still wasn’t sure what you liked and disliked but he wanted to make sure you had a wide variety to choose from.  
he could tell you were nervous, the way you were shifting around on the blanket every so often a dead giveaway. “you okay? seem nervous” he asks gently, reaching over to stroke a thumb over the back of your hand to let you know he wasn’t criticizing you, brows furrowed in confusion. 
“yeah..I just uhm, I got you something n I'm worried it’s too soon to get you a gift but I know you mentioned it a while ago in passing” you shrug, reaching into the bag you brought to hide the wrapped gift “its nothing major...but it finally came out and I know you had your eye on it” you smile sheepishly, handing him the wrapped cassette tape. 
“no.. you didn’t!” he beams, excitedly tearing through the paper to get to the tape and shouting in glee when he sees the cover. “baby you shouldn’t have, oh my god this is amazing”. he’s too excited and touched by the fact that you would even remember he wanted it to realize that he called you baby, the petname slipping out in the midst of it all. 
he’s got this big cheesy grin when he looks back up at you, and only then does what he just said sink in “oh I uh- I didn’t..” “it’s okay!! it was nice...I don’t mind” you reassure him. the blush covering his cheeks deepens as he nods hesitantly, his grin only growing at the confirmation. 
he leans over and presses a kiss to your lips, once, twice, three times before pulling back to look at you “thank you honey...really, it means a lot” he mumbles, rubbing his thumb against the cover of the cassette fondly “wanna listen to it when we drive later?” 
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you were at Steve’s place for movie night- a little tradition you had started after 2 months together, where at least every every week or other week you would try to meet up for movie nights, setting up on the couch with a plethora of snacks on the coffee table. 
at first, his touch was always hesitant still unsure of what was okay considering you guys were still relatively new to your relationship. y’know, bumping your knees together, the casual arm behind the couch until he finally worked up the courage to just tuck you into his side to hold you close. 
nowadays though, you’re almost always laying on him or vice versa- sometimes he’ll fall asleep, tried after a long shift at the video store or catering the kids around to the arcade. in those moments you take the opportunity to really admire his features, taking in the little moles and freckles that line his cheeks. most of the time he’s fallen asleep because you started playing with his hair, running your hands gently through the wavy mess.
the movie on the screen was long forgotten- which was fine because it was one you both had seen many a time. this time you were the one who had fallen asleep on steve, the busy day wiping you out. he takes his time to admire the way your face settles so peacefully, running his hand gently up and down your back in a featherlight touch as to not wake you up. 
eventually (and unfortunately in Steve’s opinion) the movie comes to an end and he eventually has to wake you up, checking his watch to see how late it was. he’s gentle with his movements, pressing light kisses to your hair and down onto your cheek, whispering sweet nothings to wake you. 
“honey...movie’s over, you wanna wake up?” he’ll whisper, kissing your shoulder as you finally stir awake, apologizing for falling asleep to which he simply shakes his head “ ‘s okay...you had a long day” 
he lets you wake up, still holding you close as he ponders the question he’s been wanting to ask since you came over. 
“you wouldn’t, uh, maybe, want to stay the night, would you? i just really don’t want today to end.” he mumbles, albeit a bit shy and hesitant as you were yet to stay over and spend the night together. “you don’t have to- I just thought y’know since you’re already sleepy and...I dunno I just don’t want you to leave just yet” he admits, trying to ignore the red flush taking over his cheeks 
“I would love to Stevie... gonna have to borrow some clothes though” you mumble casually, leaning back down to lay on his chest a big grin taking over your cheeks as you hear his quiet ‘yes’ of excitement. 
“that’s more than okay sweetheart...definitely okay” he mumbles, nuzzling into the top of your head with a content sigh. 
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a/n: I suck at endings im so sorry but I hope you enjoyed! I love Steve a whole lot so this was very self indulgent lol 
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holdmytesseract · 1 year
Note
Hey :) can i request a drabble with Daryl and the song "Moodswings" by 5sos: "I think I need you more than you need me" ... thank uuuu :)
a/n: I love this song! 🥰 Thanks for requesting, kind nonny! 😄 I hope you like what I wrote! ☺️
Warnings: bit angst, grief, mentions of death, fluff
Set in Season 9!
Word Count: 1042
Tagging: @km-ffluv @stitchintimefan @sweetpeapod @loz-3 @peaches1958 @fictive-sl0th @lou12346789 @bookofsecretjourneys
Lyric-Drabble-Mania Masterlist
Based on this song:
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Demons
You took the two plates, filled with the piping hot soy bean stew from the small, makeshift counter of the food distribution in Hilltop in your hands and gave thanks, before you made your way across the small path, leading towards the trailer you shared with Maggie, Rosita, Sasha and Daryl. It was a very chilly evening, so the hot plates in your hands warmed your skin up.
Arrived at the trailer, you opened the door with your elbow and stepped inside. "I got some more food." You announced with a soft smile, before placing the plates on the small table, at which Maggie and Rosita already sat. "Where's Sasha?" "Finished eating already. She went to lay down." Rosita answered, taking another spoonful of the stew. "Oh okay..." You shoved one plate in front of Maggie, who stared aimlessly at the wall across. Your heart ached so much for your friend. Losing Glenn on such an excruciating way was horrible. "Maggie, hey..." You addressed your friend softly. "Eat something." She shook her head. "Not hungry, thanks." "I know, but please... You've got to eat something... It's important for you - and the baby..." Her gaze lifted, glassy eyes meeting yours. You tried to give her a reassuring smile, placed your hand on her arm, giving it a squeeze. In the end, she nodded, taking the spoon in her hand. Then you looked around the trailer, noticing that somebody else was missing... "Where is Daryl?" Rosita shrugged her shoulders. "I saw him leaving the trailer earlier, but I don't know where he went." "Oh, um, okay... I, uh, will go, look for him. He needs to e-" "Glenn's grave." Threw Maggie suddenly in. "He's at Glenn's grave. I saw him there." You swallowed hard. "Glenn's grave?" "Yeah." "Okay. I'll look for him. Thanks, Maggie."
You took the plate with the stew back in your hands and left the trailer again, in order to find your boyfriend. You made your way over to the two graves, put there for Glenn and Abraham. Maggie was right. Daryl sat on a stone beside the graves, chewing on his bottom lip and fumbling with his fingers nervously. The sinking sun casted a soft orange light on him; the cold evening breeze rustling his long hair. You could tell just by the look on his face and gestures, that he was deep in thoughts. So, you approached him slowly, in order not to startle him - what didn't really work out well in the end....
"Hey," you whispered, placing your free hand on his shoulder. Although, you were slow and gentle, you felt his body jolt underneath your palm anyway. "Shit, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you." You apologised immediately and sat down beside him. "'S okay." "Here, I've got something to eat for you." Daryl shook his head, shoved the plate towards you. "'M not hungry. You eat it. Need it more than I do." He stared back into distance, leaving you frowning. Yes, something was definitely wrong - and you had a guess... He had been this way since he returned from the Sanctuary. He was even quieter than usual. Yes, he almost seemed... absent-minded from time to time.
You placed the plate on the grassy ground and took his hand instead. "What's wrong? Is it about... Negan? What he did to you?" Daryl didn't answer for a moment, just fiddled with his hands again, before he nodded meekly. "You want to talk about? You don't have to, of course." Daryl shrugged his shoulders. "I dunno... 'S not jus' that..." You just gave him a compassionate look, leaving him the option to talk further about what was occupying his mind - or not. Daryl swallowed hard, visibly fighting the tears. "It's my fault." You knew instantly what he was talking about... The line-up. Negan. Glenn's death. "No, it's not your fault." He nodded, sobbing. "It is." You started to shake your head, brushing a few strands of his wild curls out of his face. "It's not. This isn't on you, Daryl. I know, this may sound cruel, but... He would've killed Glenn anyway. And if not Glenn, then anyone else." Daryl looked up to face you, teary blue-grey eyes meeting yours. "Wha' makes you so certain of that?" You swallowed hard. "Do you really think Negan was going to stay true to his word and kill just one of us, after everything we've done to him? To his men?" You shook your head once again. "He's a cruel man. Unforgiving. He wouldn't have left it by just one. I know it." Daryl looked away again, facing the ground and taking a deep breath. "Shoulda been me instead, not Glenn." An audible gasp left your lips at his words. "What? Daryl, stop saying such things... He did enough to you. Tortured you. Physically. Mentally." "But it's true, innit? Glenn was 'bout to become a father, Y/N... And I-" He stopped abruptly in his sentence. "And you what?" You asked with a shaky voice. Of course, your heart ached and bled for Maggie. Glenn was one of your dearest friends, family. You missed him more than anything, but... You couldn't have lived longer on this god forsaken, rotten world, if Negan would've chosen Daryl instead. It would've ripped you apart.
Daryl leaned over, rested his forehead against yours. "Yer strong. Ya can live and survive without me." You scoffed, lifting your hands again to cup his cheeks. "No, absolutely not – and we both know that. I think I need you more than you need me. You can easily survive without me, but I? No… My heart couldn't live without you, Daryl. It would die and decay... You are the survivor. I'm just lucky I've got you – and the others." Now he was the one who scoffed, but he also couldn't suppress the small smile on his lips at your loving words. "How do you do that, woman?" "Do what?" You asked, giggling softly. "Make me smile, even if I ain't got a reason ta smile." You giggled again, pecking his lips. "Love, Daryl, love." The archer smiled even wider and leaned in to kiss you properly. "Negan is going to pay for everything he did. I promise."
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craftycheetah · 1 year
Text
Taught to Love Again
tags: canon divergent, cute date, meet-cute, baby matchmaker
warnings: toxic ex, male masturbation
A/n: I made this with my bestie/DILF-lover @endeavours-jockstrap​! Pt2. coming soon!
taglist: @pharaohanubis0​
next
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“..ddy? Daddy wakey up! Daddy!” a small voice calls out jerking Hitoshi awake.
“Huh, what?”
“We go skool?” Kokoro asks, patting Hitoshi’s arm.
Hitoshi yawns and pats his son's indigo hair. “Yeah, let’s go. Gotta—” Hitoshi starts before getting cut off by a yawn. “Gotta get dressed and eat breakfast.”
Kokoro giggles and grabs Hitoshi’s hand with his. “Hehe daddy bedfast!”
Hitoshi hastily puts together a breakfast burrito for both of them to share.
“Can I has cofee?”
“It’s not for kids,” Hitoshi chuckles.
“Peez?”
Hitoshi pours coffee(apple juice) in a coffee cup and gives it to Koko. “Coffee.”
The toddler drinks it, none the wiser.
“Fank yew!” he giggles.
“Alright, let's get you dressed.”
Hitoshi didn't always expect to have a four year old that looked up at him as if he hung the stars. It was all Kokoro's mother's fault. A brief romance turned into baby trapping, great. She’s a huge bitch too.
Hitoshi locks the apartment door behind him, tucking his phone between his ear and shoulder. “No, dad, I’ll be there, I just have to take Koko to daycare—don’t run.”
Kokoro slows down to a waddle in front of him.
“Yes, Akibimi’s supposed to get him this weekend but I haven’t heard from her in a week so I dunno.”
“Daddy, we go park afta skool?”
“Sorry buddy, I have work but you can go with Auntie Bakugou.”
Koko frowns. “Don’t want to go.”
“Why not?”
“Wanna be wif Daddy. Daddy awway busy.”
Hitoshi feels a pang of guilt in his heart. “I promise we’ll go tomorrow.”
“You say that yestday,” Kokoro mumbles and slaps his hand on the low elevator button.
“I promise I'll take off Friday and then we can hang out all weekend.”
“You promise?”
“Uh huh. Dad?”
‘We’ll see,” Aizawa says on the phone. ‘Say hi to Koko for me.’
Hitoshi puts the phone on loudspeaker. “Say hi, bud.”
“Hi ganpa!”
‘Hello, Kokoro.’
“Lub you!”
‘Love you too. Be good. I’ve gotta go. Bye bye.’
“Buh bye!” Koko giggles.
“Later, Dad. Let’s go, bud.”
*
Hitoshi unlocked the door and unbuckled Koko from his car seat. “Don’t get into any trouble, okay?”
“Otay.”
“And go easy on your teacher, she’s old.” He doesn’t need to be called to the school about Koko using his quirk on his teacher because she was mean to him, again.
“Uh uh! Meanie Yuki go away! I has new teacha!”
Hitoshi rubs his eyes. “Oh right, they emailed me about that. Go easy on her anyway.”
“I be nice?”
“Yup, or else someone will call the boogeyman to come and take away all your toes.”
Koko squeaks and shakes his head frantically. 
“I good, Daddy! I good!”
“I know bud. Now let's get you inside.”
Hitoshi walks Koko down the path towards Kurume Daycare, a safe private school for pro hero children.
“I see Yoko?”
Hitoshi shuddered at the thought of those two being friends. It was good for Koko but bad for him. Hitoshi couldn't muster the courage to tell Koko they can't be friends because of that innocent little face he always had.
The door opens and a young woman in a bright pink apron over her baby blue dress steps out to write something on the whiteboard hanging outside the door.
‘Ms. L/n' you write, adding a little heart in the corner. “Perfect.”
Hitoshi looks at the woman and admires her outfit. Should he say something?
“Hai!” Koko speaks up.
You look down at the cute toddler. “Hello, well aren’t you cute? What’s your name?”
“I Kokowo!”
“Kokoro,” Hitoshi corrects.
“That's a pretty name. I’m Ms.L/n and I’ll be your new teacher.” You write his name on the sticky note name tag in your hand and peel it off to stick on Kokoro’s overalls. “So I can learn your name. You’re my first student today, isn’t that exciting?”
“Otay! Daddy we ohwy!”
“You must be his father. It’s nice to meet you sir.”
“It’s nice to meet you too.
“You’re MindJack right? My cousin is a big fan of yours,” you smile.
“That's nice. Well, I should be off. Gotta get to work. I’ll come pick you up after work. Be good Koko, okay?”
“Otay, Daddy!” Kokoro giggles as he hugs Hitoshi’s thigh. “Lub you.”
“I love you too,” Hitoshi smiles, ruffling Kokoro’s hair before waving and walking out the door.
*
“Alright, kids, it’s time to go home,” you announce. “Can we pick up our toys before your guardians get here?”
“Yes, Ms. L/n!” The kids chorus and start cleaning up their toys.
Throughout the day you’ve learned the latest “gossip” between the toddlers and you wish you had such meaningless problems like they did.
After waving to the one of the last few remaining children, you turned around and giggled softly when you saw Yoko and Kokoro playing together.
“Still waiting for your guardians?”
“Mama go and gets Popcown before me!”
“Popcorn? Who’s that?”
“My sissy.”
Odd name for a kid but whatever.
“I pop tart,” Yoko giggles
You nod slowly. “…sure, okay sweetie. Whatever that means.” You walk to your desk to write down a reminder to ask their parents what it means.
A knock at the open door pulls your attention away when you see a woman with a black and blond braid out walk in with a little girl that looks just like her.
“Das my sissy!” Yoko squeals and waddles up to the girl and hugs her. “Hi sissy!”
“Auntie!” Kokoro giggles and hugs the woman.
“Hi Koko, where’s your dad?”
“Dunno. He say you go park with me.”
“Did he? I’ll ask him that.”
The little girl looks around before locking eyes with you.
“Where’s Miss Yuki?”
“She leave! We has Miss L/n now. She nice.”
“Thank you, Yoko. So this must be Popcorn?”
The woman snorts. “It’s a kind of alias for the kids.”
“Ohhh, I see. Well it's nice to meet you all. Get home safe and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Yoko hugs your legs before waddling back to her mother and holding her hand, the other holding onto her small backpack. “Bye bye.”
You wave at her before turning around and seeing Kokoro all alone. “Kokoro?”
“Hmm?”
“Since it’s just us here, do you wanna draw on the whiteboard until your daddy comes and picks you up?”
“Reawy?! Yes peez!”
You hand Kokoro a marker and sit him on the rolling chair you have, locking it in place so it doesn't move much.
Not long after he starts, a woman with short black hair walks in, her head held high as she looks down her nose at you.
“Excuse me, I’m here to pick up my son.”
“Um, okay? What’s your name ma’am?”
“Kokoro, let’s go,” she ignores you.
Kokoro tries to jump off the chair but you stop him. “Ma’am, I need your name. I can’t just let you take him without knowing who you are first.”
“Did you not hear me? Kokoro is my son. Now give him to me.”
“As far as I know, you're some random woman who just walked in here and the only person who’s supposed to pick him up is his father.”
“Ugh, that deadbeat.”
You sigh. “In the case of multiple guardians, I have to refer to the planner for the names. Just give me a moment,” you recite the rules and check the book for Kokoro’s name. Beside it is Hitoshi’s name and that’s it. “You’re not in here, ma’am, I’ll have to call his father for confirmation.”
“Ugh, you bitch, just give me my son!”
You hold your hands up, tired of her antics. “I’m just following protocol. If you try to take him, I will call the police. There's no need for such foul language in front of the little one.”
The woman groans as you pick up the school phone and call Hitoshi.
He picks up on the first ring.
‘Hello? Did something happen to Kokoro?’
“No, he’s fine. I’m calling because a woman came here to pick him up and—“
‘What does she look like?’
“Uh,” you scan your annoying visitor. “Short wavy black hair, blue eyes, freckles.”
‘That bitch! I’ll be there soon.’
“Um, okay?” You look at the phone in confusion then put it down. “He’ll be here soon, you’re welcome to sit and wait.”
“Just give me my son and let me go!”
“If you start to get aggressive with me ma’am, I will call the police.”
Kokoro keeps drawing on the board, unbothered by what’s going on.
The woman sits on the only other adult sized chair in the corner, angrily texting on her phone.
‘Some people need to learn some manners,’ you think as you clean up some lingering toys.
Twenty minutes later, you smile at Hitoshi when he steps through the door in his hero costume.
“I’m here!” Hitoshi calls out. “Akibimi, you have some nerve showing up here.”
Looking at his figure, your face heats up as you notice his thick thighs and broad shoulders.
‘Holy shit hero parents are hot…’
“You’re the one who wants me to spend more time with Koko.”
“At least tell me first! I haven’t heard from you in a week.”
She waves dismissively. “I’ve been busy. Can I have him and go?”
“Too busy for our child?! Hell no!”
You awkwardly shuffle in place, pretending to write something in the planner but really you’re getting your tea.
“What do you mean no?!”
“You were gone for a week, no contact and no warning then all of a sudden you want to pop up for a sudden pick up! I don't think so. C’mon Koko, we’re going home.”
“Otay,” he giggles and hugs you as you help him down from the roller chair.  “Buh bye, Ms. L/n.”
“Bye Kokoro,” you wave.
Akibimi reaches out to grab him before getting her hand slapped away by you. “He said you're not picking him up. Please refrain from trying to touch the children,” you grit out professionally.
Akibimi scoffs and rolls her eyes before leaving. “Useless pointy eared freak. Waste of a teacher…” she grumbles.
Your ears flick in annoyance. “Goodbye ma’am, come back properly next time or don't come back at all.”
After Akibimi storms out, you look over at the whiteboard and smile when you see Kokoro's drawing.
It’s the best he can do as a four year old but it's you and him as purple and pink stick figures.
You take out your phone and take a picture of the drawing. ‘That’s adorable.’
“He likes drawing,” Hitoshi tells you.
“I noticed, he spent half the naptime doodling. Alright Mr. Shinsou, I’ll see you and Kokoro tomorrow.”
“Bye Miss. L/n!” Kokoro giggles.
“See you later,” he smiles, winking at you before picking up Kokoro and carrying him out of the school.
You put your hand on your chest, awed. “Bye.”
“Did you have a good time, Koko?” Hitoshi asks as he turns over his car engine.
“Miss L/n is so nice! I drawded on the board and she lubbed it!”
“Glad you had fun.”
“She also preeby. I likes her hair. It fluffy like Hana.”
Hitoshi chuckles at the comparison between your hair and his cat. “It’s pretty fluffy.”
“Also like Coco. She best teecha!”
“You really think so?”
“Ya! She used her quirk to show us bunnies!”
Hitoshi turns the corner to Aizawas agency. “Oh really? How?” 
“She make them glow from her hands and they were so cute. One of them hug me!”
“That's nice bud. We’re gonna hang out with grandpa for a bit.” Hitoshi tells him as he parks in front of the agency.
“No park?”
“If I get off early we can go.”
“Beat the bad guys, Daddy!”
“I’ll beat the evil paper man, I promise,” he chuckles.
*
The next day, Hitoshi brings Kokoro to school a little later than usual but just in time for you to meet him at the door.
“Good morning little Kokoro!”
“Sorry we're late, little guy wanted to dress himself and that was a whole thing,” Hitoshi explains.
“I big boy,” Kokoro says proudly.
“Yes you are,” you giggle. “You look very handsome, why don’t you go inside and show everyone your outfit?”
“Kay. Bye daddy, lub you.” He rushes inside.
Hitoshi rubs the back of his neck. “Can you not let Akibimi pick him up ever?”
“Oh, alright, I’ll put it down in the system.”
“Also can you add a couple of people?”
You open the notebook you’re holding. “Just give me their contacts and I will.”
“Thank you. So, how, um, how was your first day?” Hitoshi asks after giving you his fathers’ and sister's contacts.
“It was nice. The kids are cute and well behaved so I’m having a good time.”
“That’s good. Good.”
You shut the book. “I’ll be sure to tell the administrator your wife isn’t authorised to pick him up.”
“She’s not my wife. It’s sort of complicated,” he sighs.
“I’m so sorry,” you gasp before bowing, “Please forgive me for assuming.”
“It’s okay. Well, I should probably get to work, but I'm sure either I'll pick him or I’ll ask Eri to do it. Bye.”
“Goodbye.” When he’s out of sight, you groan at possibly messing up your chances. But at least you know he’s single.
Hitoshi sat on top of a building with Aizawa not too far behind. 
“Hitoshi are you alright? You can't afford to be distracted.”
“Right, sorry, I’m just thinking about Akibimi embarrassing me yesterday.”
“What happened?”
“She falls off the face of the earth for a week and suddenly she tries to pick up my son from daycare like she cares about him.”
Aizawa sips some of his coffee. “You should just file for sole custody.”
“She’d refuse out of spite. She's fucking vindictive and a bitch, Dad,” Hitoshi groans, pressing his hands into his eyes and laying on the rooftop. “I wish she would just leave me alone.”
Aizawa shrugs. “Shouldn't have stuck your dick in crazy.”
“Dad!”
“It’s true, I’m speaking from experience. How’s Kokoro’s new teacher by the way? You told me that old lady retired.”
“Yeah. Koko loves his new teacher. She swatted Akibimi’s hand away when she tried grabbing Koko yesterday.”
The older man nods approvingly and takes out his phone. “What’s her name? I’ll do some research on her.”
“Umm, L/n is all I know.”
Aizawa taps his phone a few times and scrolls through the database. “This her?”
Hitoshi looks at the small photo of your face, a small smile crossing his face. “Yeah.”
“Soooo, no criminal record, clean bill of health, master's in childhood education and hospitality. Seems legit enough.”
“She’s great with the kids. Kokoro loves her and she’s pretty cute.”
Aizawa gives her a weird look.
“What?”
“I’ve never heard you call anyone cute. Not even the leech. Hot, yes, but never cute.”
“Oh…”
“It's literally been two days, Hitoshi.”
“But she is! Ugh, I’m leaving.” He stands and throws the end of his scarf to wind around a nearby lamppost, swinging down to the street.
”At least it's not a loud blonde…” Aizawa chuckles.
Over the course of the next few days, the two of you warm up to each other a little more, Kokoro acting like a subtle tiny wingman.
Well, as subtle as a four year old could be.
Kokoro watched the two of you chat as he held onto Hitoshi’s hand at pick-up. 
After getting buckled into his car seat, he looked up at Hitoshi.
“Daddy?”
“Yes bud?”
“Do you like Miss L/n?”
Hitoshi freezes. “What do you mean?”
“Do you like her?”
“Of course I do, she’s nice. I like everyone who’s nice.”
“Uh uh.” Koko shakes his head. “Nooo, you like like her,” he giggles.
“I don't know about that,” Hitoshi chuckles nervously.
“I ask her to come to the park tomorrow?”
“Sure bud.”
He doesn’t expect Koko to actually ask you to come.
“Miss L/n, do you wanna go to the park with me and my daddy Friday?”
“Friday? Tomorrow?”
“You don’t have to,” Hitoshi says, nervously shuffling in place.
“Hmm, I'd love to, but we still have school and I have plans afterwards with my friends.”
“Oh…” Koko pouts.
“But, I can meet you on Saturday if your Daddy says yes. I'll bring my sister’s puppy.”
“Puppy?! Daddy, can we go? Peez?”
“Oh, um, sure,” Hitoshi stammers. “I’ll see you on Saturday. C’mon, you little troublemaker.” he scoops Koko up under his arm.
“But I do good, Daddy!”
In the car, Hitoshi has a mini panic attack. You and him alone at the park?! He needs a buffer.
He calls someone he finds annoying as fuck but he’s the only other person he knows that has a kid Koko’s age.
‘What?’ Katsuki growls into the phone.
“I need you to go to the park with me on Saturday.”
There’s a pause and the line goes dead.
Hitoshi dials another number.
‘Hello?’ a female voice fills the car. ‘Hi Shinsou.’
“Hi Iwa, are you busy this saturday?”
“Hai Auntie Bakugou!” Koko giggles when he hears the voice.
‘Hi sweetheart. Saturday? I don’t think so.”
“Koko asked his teacher to come with us to the park on Saturday and I kind of need a buffer.”
He hears shuffling in the background and a baby crying.
‘Yeah, sure. I’ll bring the kids and Mocha.”
“Bring Bakugou too,” Hitoshi tacks on mischievously.
‘Okay. See you then. Kat, we’re going to the park saturday.’
Hitoshi hangs up before Katsuki starts swearing. A minute later, he gets a call that’s a brief ‘fuck you’ which makes him smile to himself.
*
Saturday, he ignores Akibimi’s calls and texts all morning. They’re just her berating him for not letting her see Kokoro. Not that she really cares; she just wants to put up the appearance of a caring parent so the court won’t make Hitoshi stop paying child support.
Bitch.
His door opens and Kokoro rushes in, still wearing his Eraserhead pyjamas. “Daddy! Wakey up! We going to park with Miss L/n!” He smacks Hitoshi’s arm repeatedly.
“Koko, please stop hitting me,” Hitoshi chuckles, helping him into the bed. “You’re really excited for the park, huh?”
“Mhm, it’s fun! And miss L/n coming with a puppy.”
“I thought you liked kitties?” 
On cue, the siamese cat, Coco, hops onto the bed, making biscuits in the sheets.
“I like kitties and doggies,” Koko says matter of factly and pets Coco’s back. “And bunnies like da one from skool.”
Hitoshi pets his hair. “Mhm, let’s get ready then.”
They brush their teeth in the big bathroom mirror, Kokoro standing on the small purple stool to help him see.
Kokoro looks at Hitoshi while he shaves and takes some soap and rubs it on his chin, using the back of his toothbrush as a makeshift razor.
Hitoshi gives him a head pat. “Still a long way to go, bud.”
“I shaze like you Daddy,” Kokoro giggles.
After a bath, Hitoshi puts Kokoro in his favourite purple shirt and jeans, trying to comb his wild hair into a ponytail.
“You need a trim.”
“Nooooooo,” Koko whines.
“Yessss,” Hitoshi mocks him. “Just a little.”
“No!”
Hitoshi chuckles. “You’re just like Hana when she needs her nails cut.”
“I'm not a kitty, Daddy,” Koko pouts.
“Of course not, Koko. You’re my son and I love you. Now let's feed the cats, eat breakfast, then get going. We're gonna see Auntie Bakugou too.”
“Yay! I feeds Onnie?”
“If he comes down for food, yes.”
Kokoro squeals and runs into the living room looking for the coal-colored cat. “Onnie!” he giggles.
Onyx chitters from his perch and stretches before flopping over the edge of the cat tree and stretching towards Kokoro.
“Hi Onnie. You want bekfast?”
Onyx yawns and stands up, hopping onto Kokoro’s shoulder, meowing loudly.
“Daddy, I gets Onyx! Lookie!” he calls out as Hitoshi walks into the living room.
“I can see that, Koko. Give him his food so we can go, Auntie Bakugou is on her way.”
“Okie.”
Kokoro fills the three bowls up with dry cat food and picks up his mini backpack. “Bye kitties.”
“Don’t destroy the house,” Hitoshi adds and shuts the door. 
At the park, Katsuki is sitting with a baby in his lap when Hitoshi approaches.
“Hai Uncle Bakugou,” Kokoro greets. “Hai babee.”
Takahiro gurgles under the pacifier, pointing at Koko.
“Bakugou,” Hitoshi nods.
“I hate you for bringing me here.”
“You’re a saint. Where’s Iwa?”
Katsuki nods his chin towards the slides where Iwa is clapping as Yoko goes down the slide with Jasmine. A brown three legged labrador by her side.
“Can I go play?” Kokoro asks.
“Yeah, sure bud, go crazy,” Hitoshi drawls and sits next to Katsuki.
“So why the fuck did you make me come here?
Hitoshi pats his arm. “Sunshine is good for us.”
“Liar.”
“I’m meeting someone and we can't be alone with a kid, that’s weird.”
Katsuki rolls his eyes and adjusts Hiro’s dribble bib. “Whatever.”
“You would go on a date with all three of your kids?”
“First of all, no, because I'm married. Second, they’re a package deal so obviously.”
“That doesn’t…okay.”
Katsuki looks towards the park entrance and raises a brow. “That is so much pink, even more than Pinky, what the hell?”
Hitoshi peeks out from behind Baku and feels his cheeks warm as he sees you walking over to them in a pink two piece holding a border collie puppy on a leash. You spot his hair and wave.
“Hi Mr. Shinsou! I brought the puppy! Isn't she adorable?”
You hold out a border collie puppy who's eagerly licking your face and squirming in your hold.
“Um, yeah, sure,” He says. “You look good. Like, really good?”
Way different from the oversized sweaters and dresses he saw you in during the school day.
“Thank you. I like to be comfy in the classroom and outside. Hi Mr. Bakugou, nice to see you again.” You shake Katsuki’s hand.
“Who are you again?”
“…your daughter's daycare teacher? Miss L/n?”
“Not ringing a bell.”
You think and remember the nickname Yoko gave you in class. “Miss Bunny.”
“Ohhhhh. Yeah, I remember. You look different outside those ugly ass sweaters.”
You smile tensely. “Thank you, sir. That means…something.”
Hitoshi facepalms.
Kokoro sees you and gasps. “Yoko, is Miss L/n!”
“Miss Bunny!”
You giggle as both toddlers tackle your thighs.
“Hello, babies. Ooh, both of you look so nice today,” you coo.
“Thank yew!” they giggle.
You squat and show them the puppy. “This is Cocoa Puff. She’s my sister's dog. Touch her very gently.”
The toddlers carefully pat her coat and head, giggling when she licks their hands.
“She likes to run around so you can play with her a little, but hold the leash.” you give Kokoro the leash.
“Lessgo!” He tells Yoko and follows the pup towards the sandbox. Katsuki stands, adjusting Hiro. “I’ll go watch em.”
“Thank you,” You smile and sit next to Hitoshi. “Hello again Mr. Shinsou.”
“You can just call me Shinsou.”
“Alright, well how are you?” you ask, stretching and slightly unzipping the top of your sweatsuit. “Sorry, it was cooler when I put this on.”
“Don’t…don’t worry about that,” he stammers. “It’s fine.”
“So how was your week? We don’t really talk about it after school.”
“Nothing special. Stopped a couple robberies and petty thefts, did paperwork, and spent time with my little menace and his trio of sidekicks.”
You nod approvingly. “Sounds interesting. He always mentions how busy you are so it’s nice to hear you’re spending time with him.”
“I’m trying my best.”
“I can imagine. It can’t be easy. A lot of the other parents hire nannies and caretakers. I think I've only seen three actual parents this week: you and the Bakugou’s.” You watch Katsuki hold the baby to the dog to pet.
Hitoshi rubs his chin, subtly checking you out. “So do you have any kids of your own?”
“Not yet, unfortunately. Hopefully in the near future.” You give him a brief smile.
“What’s your boyfriend got to say about it? Or girlfriend, I don't judge.”
You snort. “Boyfriend? I haven’t had one in two years. Or a girlfriend.”
“That's a shame…” He hums. “A damn shame.”
“Why?”
“You’re too pretty to be single.”
You get caught off guard at the compliment. “I—um, thank you?”
“You’re welcome. So, what made you wanna work with kids?”
“I just love kids. They’re so cute and interesting. I put out my resumé for a new job and got a call from Kurume saying they wanted to hire me, which was really confusing and I had to sign a lot of paperwork.”
“Figures considering you're taking care of and teaching a bunch of heros’ babies.”
You shrug nonchalantly. “It also means I’m being monitored all the time to make sure I don’t ‘leak secrets’. It’s crazy. But anything for the kids.”
Yoko tugs Jasmine towards you. “Miss L/n, show sissy the bunnies, peez.”
You hold your hands palm up and they light up, a white hologram bunny appearing in your palms. It twitches its nose, hopping onto the grass and bouncing away for the girls to chase.
“That’s a cool quirk,” Hitoshi says. “Perfect for kids.”
You rub your hands on your pants. “It comes in handy with keeping them distracted when I need to work.”
Hitoshi stretches his arms over his head. He stands up and puts his hand in his jean pockets before reaching out to you.“Need to stretch my legs. Shall we?”
“Oh, okay.” You stand and dust the back of your pants, taking his hand. 
Hitoshi checks on Kokoro sitting in the sandbox petting Cocoa Puff. “You alright buddy?”
“Yah, the puppy likes me!” He calls back.
“That’s good, just be careful.”
You giggle softly as Cocoa Puff licks his face, her tail wagging eagerly.
“Don't wander off. Stay near Auntie Bakugou, alright?”
“I be good, Daddy!”
“Good.” He starts walking ahead, making you jog a little to catch up.
“Your legs are longer than mine,” you chuckle, matching his pace. “Shinsou slow down!”
“Sorry forgot how small and cute you are,”
“I’m not small.”
Hitoshi leans forward, bending at the waist and grins. “Small.” 
You huff and fold your arms, walking ahead of him in faux annoyance.
“Wait, wait, I’m sorry.” He teases, catching up to you. “You’re not small. As much as I love watching you leave, I don’t want you mad at me.”
You turn and gasp in surprise. “Excuse me? Are you some kind of pervert Mr. Shinsou?”
“No! What, no, I just was trying to—”
You start laughing. “Relax. It’s fine, thank you for the vague compliment. You’re not bad looking either.”
He relaxes. “Thanks.”
Both of you walk a little further, Hitoshi waving at a few fans.
“Must be nice being a hero,” you comment.
“It's exhausting and dangerous,” Hitoshi admits. “But I’ve wanted to do it for as long as I can remember but I was kind of held back because of my quirk.”
“Mind Control, right? I think your quirk is pretty cool because it’s a part of who you are.”
“And yes I know, it’s a villain's quirk blah blah, whatever,” he scoffs.
“Well if you think about it any quirk could be a villain’s quirk.” You shrug. “And if Kokoro hears you talking about it like that, how would he feel?”
“...he’d probably hit me and say that my quirk is amazing because I'm the best.”
“Yeah, and also if he inherits it, he might say that about himself.”
“Hm, you’re right.”
“I know,” you smile.
The two of you walk the short path back to the sandbox. Cocoa Puff yips and rushes to you, hopping on her back legs. Mocha comes over and sniffs her butt, trying to get her to play some more.
You giggle and pet them both before the dogs run off to play in the grass.
The hologram bunny hops back to you and poofs.
“Where bunny go?” Yoko whines.
“Sorry, sweetie, it’s time was up,” you tell her, putting your hands on your knees to get to her level. “But you can pet it on Monday.”
“Okie, Miss Bunny.”
Iwa comes over, gently pinching Yoko’s cheek. “Go ask daddy to get you and Jazzy ice cream.”
“Okie!” She toddles off to Katsuki who's sitting on the bench with Jasmine.
“Hi daddy,” Koko giggles as Hitoshi ruffles his hair.
“Hi buddy.”
Iwa holds her hand out. “So nice to see you outside of school, I love your outfit.”
“Oh god, that means so much from you, you’re just so cool,” you laugh loud and awkwardly and shake her hand. “I’m sorry, that was weird.”
“It’s alright,” she giggles. “This is Takahiro, our third, also known as Popsicle. Say hi, baby.” She bounces the little boy on her hip.
Takahiro gurgles softly and makes a grabbing motion at you.
“Hi little one. Maybe in a few years, I’ll be teaching your cute self,” you smile and boop his button nose.
Takahiro squeals and kicks his little feet making you and Iwa ‘aww’.
“So cute,” you swoon.
Hitoshi checks his watch and sucks in air through his teeth. “Better get home for lunch, buddy.”
“Noooo!” Kokoro whines. “Can’t we stay longer with the puppy?”
“You’ll get hangry, bud.”
“Miss L/n, do you wanna come our house for lunch?” Kokoro asks eagerly.
“I don't have any plans besides getting Cocoa Puff back home.”
“Well, after you do that, do you want to come over?”
“I’d love that. But wait, how am I supposed to know if you’re home?”
Hitoshi takes his phone, unlocks it and hands it to you. His screensaver is a photo of him with Kokoro and their three cats. “Add your number, so we can keep each other updated.”
You smile at him and hand him your phone so he can do the same. “Here. Type yours too,” you ask. “So I have you saved when you text me.”
He gives you back your phone. “I’ll send you the address.”
You get Cocoa Puff back and say your goodbyes, making your way back to the entrance.
“Miss L/n is double cheeked up,” Iwa says out of nowhere.
Hitoshi gives her a confused look. “Why would you say that?”
She shrugs her shoulders. “It’s true. On a Saturday morning, Jesus.”
“Daddy, what does cheeked up mean?” Kokoro asks.
“Never say that ever,” Hitoshi tells him. “It’s grown up stuff.”
“Oh okie. I go play with Yoko.” He runs off to the other toddlers.
Iwa snickers when Hitoshi glares, bouncing her baby. “So when are you gonna ask her out on an actual date?”
“I don’t know, we’ll see. She makes me a little nervous,” Hitoshi confesses.
“What? Mr. Calm, Cool, and Collected? You’ve definitely got a thing for her.”
“Eyebags has never been cool,” Katsuki calls out from the bench.
Hitoshi flips him off. “Divorce him.”
Iwa chortles. “No thanks, he’d probably die if I even thought about it. Good luck with her though, all the best. This little munchkin has nap time soon.” She smooches Hiro’s nose.
“Buh,” he gurgles softly and pats her face.
*
After screaming in your car for a few minutes, you get out and fix your shirt. “Oh god, should I close it?” You wonder out loud, zipping it a little as you walk up to the gorgeous apartment complex.
Ringing the button that says ‘Shinsou H.’, you shuffle nervously on your feet, fiddling with your pant’s hem. You never thought you’d be having lunch at a pro hero’s house, ever.
The door buzzes, unlocking it and you make your way inside, to the elevator, pressing the button for the second to last floor.
Walking up to the last door at the end of the hall, you ring the doorbell, adjusting your shirt for the umpteenth time.
‘She here!’
You fight back a giggle when you hear Kokoro’s voice cheer from behind the door. It opens and a fuzzy black ball rushes through the crack between your legs.
“Oh no! Onnie!” Kokoro cries, chasing the kitty down the hall.
“I’ve got him!” you snicker making a laser dot machine for him to chase back inside their apartment.
Onyx's eyes widen as he chases the dot inside.
“Wowee, so cool,” Koko marvels, hugging your legs. “I happy you here.”
“Aw, thank you. Let’s go inside before your kitty escapes again.”
He holds your hand, tugging you inside the beautiful yet simple apartment. “Daddy in the bathroom but I show you my kitties.”
He leads you to a huge cat tree with a Siamese cat napping lazily on the platform. “Das Coco. She prebby.”
“Very pretty.” You scratch her head and smile when she opens her eyes before closing them and purring.
A big fuzzy grey and brown long haired cat trots over to you and Kokoro, before rubbing himself along the toddler's leg and meowing at him.
“Dis Hana, she big. Daddy say not to give ha snackies anymore but I give her some. Don’t tell daddy.”
“Your secret’s safe with me,” you promise, patting his head and crouching to pet the chonky cat. “You have a lot of kitties.”
“Daddy likes kitties,” Kokoro says. “Mean lady doesn’t though, she think they stinky.”
“Mean lady?”
“Mommy. She mean to daddy sometimes.”
You hum, a little worried. “I’m sure she loves you very much.”
He decides to quietly pet Hana, not wanting to talk anymore about his mom.
Hitoshi steps in before stopping when he notices the awkward tension. “Hey L/n. Is everything okay?”
“Yeah, everything is fine. Kokoro was just showing me your cats. They’re very cute,” you deflect.
“Oh the cats, yeah they’re all foster fails. Koko found them too cute to let go and I get to clean up hairballs every other day,” he says with faux enthusiasm. Hitoshi playfully rolls his eyes before giving a soft smile to Onyx as he jumps on his back and climbs up until he loafs on his shoulders, nuzzling his face into Hitoshi’s, softly licking his cheek.
“Okay furball, you need to get down while I make lunch.”
‘Meow’ Onyx meows and jumps down, trotting towards the main bedroom.
“Wow! Did you train him?” You marvel.
“Totally by accident. He’s a smart cat.”
“Teach me to do that for Cocoa Puff! Please?”
“If your sister’s fine with it, sure. Do you want something to drink?”
“Umm, water is fine. Do you need help with lunch?”
Hitoshi glances at the open floor kitchen. “I don’t think so, I’m just making western lasagna cause Ko has a craving.”
“I love lasagna,” You chirp. “It’s one of my favourite western foods.”
“Lazagna!” Kokoro giggles.
“Close, Kokoro. Luh-ZAHN-yuh.”
“Luh-ZAH-nya? Lasagna!”
You give him a tiny applause. “Good job, you get a star.” You poke his chest and pretend to give him a gold star.
“Yay!”
You giggle softly as he hugs you.
“You the best teecha evah!”
“I don't know about that but thank you.”
“No, you best teecha!”
“Kokoro…”
“Peez say dat.”
“I’m the best teacher ever.”
Kokoro squeals and hugs you again. “Yay!”
“So lasagna?” Hitoshi chuckles as he watches you get motivated by a four year old.
“Yah!”
“Are you gonna hand make noodles or are you using the ones you boil first?”
“I usually just use the boxed ones.”
You follow him to the kitchen, admiring the appliances. “Your kitchen is bigger than my apartment.”
Hitoshi chuckles and starts gathering ingredients. “I thought hero school would pay big money.”
“I just started. I don’t get paid until the end of the month so I can neither verify nor deny those claims.”
Hitoshi chuckles and grabs the box of lasagna noodles.
“Can you get the biggest pot we can boil the water in? They should be behind you in the cabinet.”
You bend down and open the cabinet, looking for the pot. “I can’t see it, they’re all small.”
“They’re in there, just keep looking, yeah,” he mutters, looking at your ass.
You find it in the back of the cabinet, tugging it free. “Got it.”
“Yay,” he chuckles before reaching into the basket on the floor with a green scribble drawing stapled onto it for two onions, garlic and ginger. “hope you know how to cook and not bullshitting,” he jokes.
“I'd say I'm moderately decent,” you shoot back and take a knife from the chopping block. “I haven’t killed anyone yet so that’s successful.”
“Uh oh.”
“Watch it, I’m still the one with a knife, Mr. Shinsou.” You make a lazy circle with said knife.
He glances at the knife. “You know I could easily take that from you.”
“I’d like to see you—”
Before you notice the knife is out of your hand and he’s holding it. “Wha—how did you do that?!”
He turns it in his hand. “I’m a hero, this is basic stuff.”
“Hmph, show off,” you mutter and take another knife to start cutting the ingredients.
As you’re stirring the sauce, Kokoro comes over and pulls your pant leg. “What you doing?”
“I’m making the sauce, do you wanna taste it?”
“Yes peez!”
Hitoshi watches you dip a teaspoon in the sauce and blow on it to cool it down before giving it to Koko to try. “How is it?”
“S’good. Hot,” he smacks his lips together. “Like when Uncle Bakugou give me food.”
“He means spicy,” Hitoshi helps, dropping the pasta in the water.
“Uh oh, sorry, sweetie, I'll try and fix it. Why don’t you stay here and ‘supervise’?”
“What that?”
“It means you’ll watch and make sure I'm doing a good job, like a teacher,” you explain.
“I teecha now?!” Kokoro gasps. “Wike you?!”
“Just for today,” you giggle and lift him to sit on the counter. “Now you can see me better.”
Kokoro giggles as you boop his nose.
The doorbell draws Hitoshi’s attention. “Weird, maybe it’s my sister. Or some hero trying to sign me up for a building project.”
He wipes his hands and goes to open the door, already annoyed when he sees who it is.
“You haven’t been answering my texts, Hitoshi,” Akibimi sneers. “Why?”
“Then call me or something. Why do you keep popping up? How did you even get in?”
“The keycard you gave me, obviously,” she scoffs and pushes her way in. “Where’s Koko?”
“That was back when—okay guess we're just barging in.
“Uh oh,” Koko mutters. “Mean lady is here.”
“Huh? Oh…” you mutter when you look at Akibimi as she storms up to the kitchen.
“Hitoshi, who is this?”
“Kokoro’s teacher, idiot.”
You roll your eyes. “You saw me like a week ago…”
She gives you a once over. “And why is she here? Are you fucking the teacher?”
“Watch your mouth around Koko!” Hitoshi snaps.
You help the toddler down on the ground. “Why don’t you go to your room, Koko? Grown up stuff is happening.”
“Mm,” he nods and runs off, closing his door when the cats follow him inside.
“Okay, why don’t we all relax,” you say calmly, trying to mediate before flinching when Akibimi’s finger is shoved in your face before she pokes your chest. “I don't need some pointy eared, useless cheap job having, harlot try to tell me to relax.”
You smack her hand away. “Ma’am, we are not on school grounds so I don't have to be professional. I will defend myself if I have to. And my job isn’t cheap. I’m not fucking your baby daddy either. So relax.”
‘Not yet, hopefully,’ Hitoshi thinks. “Why are you even here, Akibimi?”
“To see my son.”
“That you barely raised?”
“Ugh, where is he?”
“Hiding from you.”
“You corrupted him, I just know you turned him against me.”
“I don’t even talk about you! Get out or I'll call the cops!”
She scoffs. “You’re required by law to let me see my son.”
“I am the law!”
“Maybe I should just go,” You speak up.
“No! Wait,” Hitoshi shouts, startling you. “She’ll be gone soon.”
“Okay, I’ll just check the stew then.” you pick up the ladle and continue stirring.
“Leave Akibimi. Now.”
She huffs. “I’ll see you in court, Toshi.” she gives you one last stink eye and strides out of the apartment.
“Never call me that!” he calls out before closing the door after her and groaning.
He looks over at you and feels guilt crawling its way up his spine. “I’m sorry you had to see that…”
“I’m sorry Kokoro’s mother is such a bitch,” you snicker. “But that is none of my business.”
“She wasn't like that when we met and honestly despite giving me Kokoro I wish she'd just get out of my life completely. She doesn't even care about him honestly.”
You nod understandingly. “One of the moms at the school I used to teach at had a similar problem. Her baby daddy was a nightmare. Even the kids didn’t want him to pick them up. Poor woman was always stressed out. She signed for sole custody eventually but it was long overdue.”
“Well, I’m glad she got what she deserved. If I tried, she’d refuse to sign out of hate and spite.”
“Can’t heroes cheat the system?”
He leans his hip on the island. “We can but I’d rather not go through the trouble.”
“I think you should check on Koko, he was really nervous when she came in.”
“Right, I’ll be right back.”
You shoot him a quick smile as he leaves. 
Hitoshi knocks on Kokoro’s door. “Buddy, are you okay? I’m coming in.”
He opens the door and sees Koko sitting on his bed with the cats, cuddling them with his Eraserhead stuffed toy.
“Oh, Koko,” he sighs, walking over and sitting on the edge. “ Are you okay?”
“I hear what you and mean lady say. What's a court?”
“Don’t worry about it, bud. She’s just being mean again. I love you more than anything, you know that right?”
“Uh huh. I lub you too, daddy.”
“And I’ll never let anything happen to you either.”
“Daddy keep me safe cuz you the best hewo!” Koko smiles as he hugs Hitoshi’s stomach.
Hitoshi kisses the top of his head. “Thanks, Koko.”
“Is Miss L/n still here?”
“Yeah, she’s making the lasagna.”
Koko fiddles with Hana’s tail. “I like her, she keep me safe when mean lady comes.”
“Yeah, she’s really nice,” Hitoshi smiles. “Let’s go see her.”
Lunch goes on without another hitch despite the awkward encounter earlier. Kokoro rambles on about his favourite things and you listen the whole time, wiping his mouth free from tomato sauce.
“This the best lasagna ever,” he giggles.
“You say that all the time, Ko,” Hitoshi snickers.
“Yah, but bettah cause Ms. L/n here!”
“Aw, I feel so honoured,” you smile.
After lunch, you help clean up and have to leave.
“Thank you so much for having me, I had a good time,” You grin at Hitoshi.
“Me too,” he nods. “Thanks for coming.”
You crouch to meet Kokoro’s eyes. “I’ll see you Monday, sweetie.”
“Yah! I see you den!” he goes in for a hug which you gladly give him. Giving him a light and comforting squeeze.
“Bye, Koko. Be good for your daddy.”
“I be best boy!”
“I’m sure you will. Bye Shinsou.”
Hitoshi looks at you as your arms are outstretched. Going in for the hug, he blushes a little when he gets pulled down, his face resting on your shoulder. Your warm vanilla and cocoa butter smell fills his nose and gives him a little comfort.
He straightens up a little, forcing you onto your toes and to let go.
“See you Monday,” you giggle, looking up at him before waving at Koko and the cats before walking down the hall towards the elevator.
“Yeah, Monday,” he says quietly and shuts the door.
“You like her!” Koko giggles.
“Get over here you little troublemaker!” he growls playfully as Koko squeals and runs away.
Later that night, Hitoshi tucks Kokoro into bed and does a little research on how he could get full custody of Kokoro without needing Akibimi’s interference.
He prints out a few papers, takes a shower and crawls into bed. The shirt he was wearing is laying beside him, forgotten to be thrown in the laundry basket.
He picks it up, balls it up to throw and pauses when he smells the vanilla scent lingering on it.
‘See you Monday.’
Fuck. 
Hitoshi feels his stomach drop as the speed of the blood flow rushing to his boxers could have made him dizzy. He groaned softly as he inhales the scent, vanilla and what he thinks is cocoa butter filling his nostrils. You smelled like nirvana to him. It drove him wild. Softly palming himself, he held the shirt to his nose as he imagined you next to him, resting on his chest, your hands trailing down his shirtless chest until they ghosted along the hem of his boxers before slipping beneath them and gripping his dick. Hitoshi softly stroked himself as he thought of you mimicking the motions before tugging them down.
“Shit, just like that, L/n…fuck,” he groans as he grips the shirt closer to his face and moving his fist faster.  It doesn’t take long for him to finish in his cupped hand, mildly embarrassed of finishing so fast.
Hitoshi sighed loudly as he took the shirt off his face. “Goddammit…”
*
April goes by fast, before Hitoshi realises it’s May then late June. Time to bust out the summer suits. Which for Hitoshi is just shorter sleeves and lighter materials for his hero outfit. 
“Is hooooottttt,” Kokoro whines in the backseat during the drive to school.
Hitoshi cranks up the AC. “Sorry buddy, looks like a heatwave.”
“Ughhhh.”
“We’re almost at your school. Then you can see all your little friends and your favourite teacher.”
“Is still hot, daddy,” Koko pouts.
All the students are feeling the heat in the classroom. You open the windows and turn the AC up to offer them some comfort.
“Miss L/n!” Koko chirps when he reaches you. “Hai!”
“Hi sweetie, how are you?”
“Fine. You still coming to lunch tomorrow?”
“Of course, go inside and take off your shoes.”  You fan yourself with your hand. “This heat, oh my god.”
“I could get Shouto to freeze the place,” Hitoshi teases.
“That would be amazing.”
He eyes your curves in the yellow halter neck sundress. “Nice dress.”
You smooth the front down. “Thank you, thankfully the dress code isn’t that strict and the front is covered up by my apron anyway. Your suit is different.”
He flexes his bicep. “Summer suit, it’s too hot for the old one and it gives me more mobility.”
“I like it, you look hot.”
He’s still not sure if your passing comments are flirtatious or you’re just being cheeky. He’s emotionally constipated.
“Thanks…I think.”
You glance inside the classroom at the kids getting ready for class.
“A little birdie told me your ‘bday’ is in three days.”
‘Kokoro,’ Hitoshi thinks, internally facepalming. “Yeah…it’s on Saturday.” 
“Fun. So what’s the plan? What’s the big age?”
“Umm, I don't really do anything. My dads get me a cat themed cake and I do some paperwork. I’m turning thirty-three. God, I’m getting old.”
“Boooo,” you say playfully. “You’re making me scared to turn thirty.”
‘She’s not thirty yet?!’ Hitoshi thinks.
“How old are you?”
“Twenty-nine, why?”
‘Oh thank god,” he inwardly sighs in relief. “Just asking. I should get going, see ya.”
“Bye,” you wave and watch him walk out the door before walking into the classroom.
Saturday comes around quickly and Kokoro somehow managed to convince Hitoshi to have a beach day for his birthday because of the heat.
With Miss L/n of course.
“Gandpas!” Kokoro squeals when Hitoshi opens the door for Shouta and Hizashi.
“Hi Koko!” Hizashi grins, hugging the little boy. “How’s my special little listener?”
“Fine. We going to the beach!”
Shouta kisses his cheek. “We know, we’re going too. Happy Birthday Toshi.” 
Hitoshi collects the black cat shaped card with ‘another year older, another year wiser’ on the inside. “Thanks, dad. Didn’t think I’d make it this far to be honest.”
“Well, I'm glad you’re here.” 
“Daddy, lessgoooooo,” Kokoro whines and tugs Hitoshi’s shorts. “We go to beach!”
“Is miss l/n gonna be there~?” Hizashi nudges Hitoshi but Koko answers.
“Yah! Said she would love to.”
Shouta chuckles, “Well then let's get going. We shouldn’t keep her waiting. Eri will meet us there.”
“I don’t even know if she’s on her way,” Hitoshi says and checks his texts. He missed one from you saying you’re on your way sent five minutes ago. “Dammit, let’s go.”
“No bad word Daddy!” Koko calls out, pointing up at Hitoshi.
“Damn is not a bad word, Koko.”
“Can I says it then?”
“No.”
The toddler stares up at him, plotting. “Dammit.”
“I should’ve expected that.”
Hitoshi looks at his dads who are both struggling to hold their laughter. “Dad, it’s not funny.”
“Its kinda funny,” Hizashi snickers.
“Lets just go.”
“Yay!” Koko cheers.
*
The sun blared down on the four as the salty sea air filled their noses. 
Shouta and Hitoshi hide underneath the big black umbrella to avoid the sun while Hizashi and Kokoro build sandcastles.
“It’s ridiculously hot,” Shouta complains, reapplying sunscreen on his arms. 
“Yeah, but at least we got part of the beach to ourselves and Koko’s having fun.”
Shouta hums in agreement. “But how're you feeling lately?”
“I’m managing. Akibimi’s been a giant pain in my ass lately. But I'm doing some research to try and get Kokoro under full custody. I might have to cheat the system and talk to Bakugou.”
“Bakugou?”
“In case I might have to do some back alley stuff. He’s a sucker for kid stuff and I'm using it to my advantage.”
“Oh, right.” Shouta looks at Kokoro putting a small flag on the sandcastle. “Normally I’d be against it but I hate her too.”
“Thanks dad. I'll talk to him if those forms I found don't work out.”
“Daddy! Look what Gandpa Zashi and I do!”
Hitoshi looks at the mountain of sand and chuckles. “Good job bud. Maybe you could bury Gandpa Zashi in the sand next,” Hitoshi says with a grin as Hizashi’s eyes widen.
“Yah!” Kokoro giggles.
His phone pings and he sees a text from you.
Ms.L/n
>>Wya?
Me
<<by that little bodega thingy idk what it’s called
Ms L/n
>>i think icu 
>>walking over from the entrance rn can you c me???
>>wearing green dress
Hitoshi looks up towards the entrance and sees a blob of green walking beside an energetic blob of blue.
You get closer and he sees you're holding a little girl in a pink tutu swimsuit and a beach bag.
“Hey,” you smile and step in the umbrella shade.
“Hai!” the cream hair colored boy says.
“This is my nephew, Nico,” you introduce. “And Amelie, my niece. They wanted to come to the beach too.”
Amelie waves her chubby arm and giggles when she sees Eraserhead. “Eye!”
“Hello,” Shouta nods.
Koko looks up from the half buried Hizashi and gasps. “Miss L/n here!”
“Lil listener? Kokoro, wait, come back!” Hizashi calls the fleeing toddler.
Kokoro runs up to you, grabbing your hand. “Miss L/n, come see my castle.”
“Why don’t you show Nico, he likes castles too.” You pat your nephew's locs. “Nico, this is Kokoro.”
Nico waves softly. “Hi.”
“Hi! Come see my castle!”
“Okay!”
They run back to Hizashi, kneeling in the sand.
You sit next to Hitoshi on the beach mat, letting Amelie sit between your legs as you put her pink bucket hat on. “Ami, this is Shinsou, say hi Shinsou.”
“Eye!”
“Eye?” Hitoshi chuckles, waving at the baby.
“That's how she says hi,” you giggle. “It's sweet.” You dig through your bag and take out a cat keychain. “Happy Birthday. I saw this and thought of you.”
He takes the small gift. “A cat, you know me so well. Thank you.”
You smile as Amelie pats your thighs. “You’re welcome. So how’s your day going?” You get one of the small blue buckets and spade from the beach bag for Amelie to play with in the sand.
“Pretty good. Koko got Onyx to yell a ‘birthday message’ for me during breakfast. Then he and the cats followed me around all morning. Normal things. I barely get time off so he likes me being home.”
You giggled at the thought of a ‘birthday message’. “That’s pretty cute.”
Amelie pushes herself up off your thighs, turns around and hugs your neck. “Ahtie!” she giggles, bouncing slightly.
“Thank you, sweetie,” you laugh and hug her back.
Pulling away, Amelie doesn't let go until she looks at Hitoshi and waddles in his direction, tripping over the mat.
“Uh oh,” you coo and help her back up.
“Bah!”
“You’re welcome.”
She changes her goal and walks up to Shouta, staring at him.
“What?” he asks.
She decides his hair is the most important thing ever and reaches for it, trying to tug the loose strands.
Shouta moves his head away. “Sorry, kid, you can't play with that.”
“Bahbah!” she replies and hits him with the spade.
“She wants to play,” You tell him.
Shouta chuckles and sits up more before stretching. Placing her in his lap, he pokes her little stomach, a small smile on his face when she giggles. She babbles quietly and starts trying to dig the mat.
“She’s cute,” Hitoshi comments.
You lean back on your hands and sigh. “She is.” Nico and Kokoro’s giggling catches your attention, watching them pour more sand on Hizashi. “Have you ever thought of giving Kokoro a little sibling?”
Hitoshi cringes and barks out a laugh. “No. Not with his mom anyway.”
“She’s that bad, huh?”
“Yup,” Shouta and Hitoshi reply.
“Oh wow. My bad,” you chuckle. “Hopefully you find the right person.”
“Or stay single forever,” Hitoshi mumbles and Shouts elbows him in the side. “Ow, what?”
Shouta leans in and drops his voice. “You cannot read hints. You're worse than me. It’s ridiculous.”
“What are you talking about?”
“When I hear about you finally dating her, you'll figure it out.”
“Why are you being so vague?”
Shouta sighs and focuses on the little girl.
You stand and dust the back of your dress off. “I’m gonna go get some drinks, do you want anything?”
“A Cola? And an orange juice for Koko?”
“Okay, How about you, Mr. Eraserhead?”
“I’m good and please call me Aizawa. Mr. Eraserhead makes me feel old.”
“Alright, sir.” you giggle. “I’ll be back soon.”
Amelie toddles after you, taking a step on the hot sand and running back towards Shinsou. “Owie! Ahtie!”
You pick her up, rubbing her foot. “You’ve gotta be more careful, Ami. Let’s go, I’ll get you ice cream.”
“Yay!”
You giggle and grab your wallet from the beach bag and walk across the sand to the mini bar.
Hizashi finally frees himself from the sand trap and chases the boys back to the shade.
Kokoro holds Nico’s hand. “Daddy. Nico my new fwen. This my daddy, he a hewo.”
“Woah! You Daddy MineJack! You so cool!”
“Thanks kid,” Hitoshi smiles.
“Where my teetee and baby sissy?” Nico asks, looking for you. 
“She went to get drinks. She’ll be back soon. Don’t worry.”
Koko takes him to the other side of the mat to play with some of his toys.
Walking by Aizawa, Nico stares down at him as Aizawa opens his eye, feeling the toddler’s gaze.
“Um, hi?”
“Hai Erasew! My mommy say you a Diwf.”
“A what?”
“Diwf. She says it when you on the telly. Dunno what it mean tho,” Nico says then goes back to playing with Kokoro.
Hizashi looks at Shouta before cackling and falling into his side as he sits beside him.
“Looks like you got a fan, Sho,” Hizashi wheezes.
Shouta shrugs. “Honestly, it’s not the worst thing I’ve heard. I appreciate the compliment.”
Hizashi nudges Hitoshi. “One day you’ll get there, son.”
“I’d rather not.”
“What if miss l/n says it~?”
“Get off my dick please.”
“To make room for—”
“Kokoro, why don’t we go swim a little?”
Kokoro shakes his head. “I playing with Nico. Nico my fwen.”
“Why don’t you go help Miss L/n with the drinks?” Shouta suggests.
“Wanna play ganpa.”
“Then you should go, Hitoshi.”
Hitoshi looks up from his spot and groans, “It’s too hot.”
“You are thirty-three, stop whining and put on your shoes.”
Hitoshi has a mini tantrum and stands up, putting on his slippers and venturing out into the hot sun. “I hate this.”
Once he gets to the mini-bar, he sees Amelie’s pink suit and you holding a strawberry-flavoured chucyfru for her to eat.
He puts his hand on your lower back, startling you. “Oh gosh, you scared me.”
“Sorry. Do you need help carrying anything?”
“Oh yes.” You touch his chest absentmindedly. “That would be amazing.”
“Great, I’ll carry the drinks and you can carry the icees and this little one.”
Amelie giggles as Hitoshi pokes her stomach.
Hitoshi picks up the drinks, putting the icee in your hands.
“Such a gentleman,” you chuckle.
Amelie sucks on the icee absentmindedly staring at you and Hitoshi as you walk down the beach. A piece of the popsicle drops onto you. “Ami! That’s cold!”
She giggles at your tone, putting her cold hand on your face.
“No.” You move your head away. “Cold. Ugh, I can feel it between my boobs,” you shiver.
“Do you wanna go back and get napkins from the minibar?”
“We’re halfway there, I’ll just wash it off in the ocean.”
“Smart.”
Once you get back into the shade, you sit next to Hitoshi as Amelie wanders around between you and waddles into Hizashi’s lap. Opting to sit down, she stares up at him and  giggles when she sees his sunglasses and tries to grab them.
“Well, hi there, mini listener. You like my glasses?”
Amelie giggles and makes grabby hands for them.
Hizashi chuckles and takes them off, putting them on her face and smiling when she squeals. “Aww, that’s adorable.”
Kokoro sits next to you, eating the green icee. “Miss L/n?”
“Hm?”
“What’s a diwf?”
“I’m sorry, a what?”
“Diwf?” he repeats.
You analyse what he said and start laughing. “Where did you hear that?”
“Nico say his mommy calls ganpa that.”
You laugh harder, leaning on Hitoshi who’s covering his face in embarrassment. You compose yourself, wiping a tear away. “It’s just a handsome dad, Koko.”
“So Daddy’s a diwf!” Kokoro announces.
“Koko, never call me that or I’ll take away the kitties.”
“Not da kitties!”
You and Hizashi start cackling as Aizawa lets out a chuckle.
Kokoro pats your arm. “Is it a bad word? Cause I don’t want my kitties took away.”
You ruffle his messy hair. “Kind of, just don’t say it around people.”
“But daddy is a diwf, right?” He looks at you expectantly.
“Your dad is handsome, yes.”
“So he is a diwf!”
“Sure, let’s say he is,” you giggle.
Hitoshi’s face turns pink as he wishes the sand would just sink in on him. “Koko. Please, bury me in sand.”
“Okie!” Koko giggles.
“No, no, leave him be, little listener. Why don’t you go swimming, son?” Hizashi offers.
“Fine.”
“Yah! I swims with Daddy!”
“Teetee, can I gos too?” Nico asks.
“Of course. I’ll go with you.”
“Ahtie!” Amelie whines as you start to stand, reaching for you.
“You wanna swim, bubba?”
“Sweem,” she agrees. Hizashi takes his glasses back and helps her on her feet so she can hold your hand.
“Lemme put on your shoes.” You squat down and put her little sandals on, gently pinching her toes. “All done.”
Amelie claps her hands and holds onto your thigh and you take off the net dress, revealing your bikini.
“Ahtie sweem!” she giggles as you pick her up.
“Time to swim,” you say excitedly and bounce her.
Walking with Hitoshi and the three kids you boop Amelie’s nose and giggle when she pats your face, attempting to copy you. “You are sooooo cute,” you coo.
Nico and Kokoro run up to the waters edge before squealing when the waves crash along their feet.
“Ahtie sweem!” 
You put her down and hold her arms above her head as you watch the water rush up to her calves. She squeals and wiggles in your hold before Nico runs over and holds her hand. “Sissy come play!” he grins as he wades a little deeper, the water getting to Amelie’s waist level.
“Not too deep, Nico! Stay where we can see you!”
Nico nods his head and giggles when Koko splashes him with some water.
You smile at them before gasping when your back gets splashed with the cold water. You turn around and see Hitoshi chuckling softly at your surprised look.
“Shinsou!” you gasp.
“It wasn’t me, blame the ocean,” he snickers.
You playfully glare at him before splashing him back.
“Did you just—”
“Don’t blame me, it was the ocean,” you mock playfully.
It turns into a splashing match, until some goes in your hair and you call it quits.
“My braids are gonna have sand in them,” you whine.
“Uh oh, if you want I could help with that.”
“Umm, I don’t think so,” you chuckle and shake out the braids before tying them up again.
Koko wades up to you.“Miss L/n, look at this shell I found.” He shows you a white and orange conch shell.
“It’s very pretty, Koko.”
“You can has!”
“Really? Thank you Koko. I’ll keep it safe.” You take it from him. “You can call me L/n when we’re not in school, Koko.”
“Okie!”
“I'll go put it back under the umbrella,” Hitoshi offers and takes the shell before walking up the beach.
You keep watch over the kids, leading them closer to the shallow end and sitting so Amelie can pour wet sand over your thighs.
“Amelie! That's cold!”
“Ahtie, can I dig?” Nico asks.
“Yes, you can.”
“We dig,” he tells Koko and they start scraping sand away from a spot.
A lady walking her dog passes by, ‘awwing’ at the kids. “Your kids are so cute,” she comments.
“Oh, um, they’re not…”
“Puppy!” Nico gasps as the lady’s dog’s tail wags furiously. “Can I pets your puppy?”
“Yes you can,” the lady smiles as both boys give the dog head scratches. “His name is Roscoe.”
“Roscoe,” Nico repeats. “Nice puppy.”
Roscoe pants happily and noses Nico’s hand until the lady has to go.
“Bye bye puppy,” Kokoro waves.
You smile down at the boys and Amelie, picking her up. “Come on, let’s go get something to eat.”
“We get nuggies?” Nico asks.
“Ooh! An fies!”
“Sure, why not?”
“Yay!” Both boys cheer. Nico runs ahead and Koko holds your free hand.
“Don't you wanna run ahead with Nico?”
“No, wanna stay wif you, L/n. I like being wif you. You make me safe and happy. You also make Daddy happy.”
“Aww, thank you Koko,” you coo. “I like being with you too.”
*
Amelie falls asleep in Shouta’s arms after eating her nuggets and fries. The boys sit with Hizashi, watching a kids movie on his phone.
“Think I ate too much,” you sigh, patting your stomach. “I need to walk it off.”
“Eugh, me too. Mind if I join you?” Hitoshi grunts.
You nod and follow him as you start walking down the beach. 
“The sunset is pretty,” you comment after a long stretch of silence.
“So are you,” he says.
“Thank you. You’re not bad yourself.”
“You think I’m good looking?”
You nod and continue walking beside him, basking in the ‘golden hour’ light.
Hitoshi stares at you as the sun illuminates your shin. ‘God, she’s beautiful…’
“This is nice. Just the two of us spending time together,” you hum, stopping for a moment and looking at the sunset. “It’d be nice to spend more time together.”
“Wait, just us. No kids at all?”
“Mmhm, just you and me.”
“S…so you wanna go on a date with me?”
You snicker at his nervousness, “Yes, Shinsou, I want to go on a date with you.”
“O-okay. I’ll set something up for us then.”
“Just let me know when, Shinsou.”
“Hitoshi.”
“What?”
“Call me Hitoshi.”
“Oh. Call me Y/n,” you smile. “You think it’s time to head back?”
“Five more minutes.”
You walk towards the railing and lean against it as Hitoshi makes his way beside you.
“You were right,” he smiles, placing a hand over yours. “This is nice.”
Once you both decided it was time to go back, Hitoshi felt a soft hand slip into his. Looking down, he noticed your hand holding his. ‘Oh…’
Cautiously interlocking your fingers, you smile at him and walk back to the umbrella and smile when you see the boys sleeping next to Hizashi while Amelie plays with Shouta and a lady with grey hair.
“Toshi!” she cheers when she sees you and Hitoshi.
Climbing out from under the umbrella, she runs up and hugs him before smiling at you. “Hi! I’m Eri, Hitoshi’s younger sister.”
“L/n,” you smile. 
“I'm so sorry I'm late. I had stuff with school projects and I lost track of time,” she apologises. “But I got you a present.” She hands him a black and red wrapped box.
“It’s probably socks again,” Hitoshi chuckles. “Thanks Eri.”
You pick up Amelie. “I think it’s time to get you cuties back to your mama and daddy.”
“Nooo, wan Wasew,” she whines.
“You can see him another time. Say bye bye.” you wave her small hand.
“Bye bye…”
Shouta stands up as best he can and boops Amelie’s nose. “I’ll try to see you again, okay little one?”
Amelie pats Shouta’s face and giggles. “Wub oo.”
Hitoshi smiles at the interaction before ducking under the umbrella and softly shaking the boys awake. “Wake up boys, it’s time to go home,” he chuckles.
“Huh?” Kokoro mumbles.
“Y/n’s back and it’s getting late.”
“Who Y/n?”
“Miss L/n.”
“Oh, okie,” he yawns as Hitoshi picks him up.
“Bai Koko,” Nico yawns as he goes over to you. “Ahtie, we has pwaydate?”
“If your Mommy says yes, then it’s possible.”
“Yay!”
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OC in 15 (Tag Game)
I was tagged by @aziz-reads in this post! I'm excited to try this one for the first time, so thanks for tagging me!
Rules: Share 15 or fewer lines of dialogue from an OC, ideally lines that capture the character/personality/vibe of the OC. Bonus points for just using the dialogue without other details about the scene, but you're free to include those as well!
I think for this one, I'm going to share dialogue spoken by Sterling from Minding Q's, mostly because it's going to be really funny to me at least (CW: strong language)
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“I wasn’t sure if it was gonna be warm or cold today, since it’s s’posed to rain later or whatever, so I just went with layers like usual. I think I made a mistake wearing pants, though. Damn, it’s hot out here.”
“Don’t die in there!”
“Wow—okay, stalker.”
“Okay, I should actually start heading back so I don’t get struck by lightning. Uh, but thanks for talking!”
“You’re not my real mom!”
“I don’t have a Pilea yet, actually. But-- I mean, if you want, we could swap. Not the whole plant! Just, like, a cutting. Or a leaf. I’d give you a cutting from one of my plants that you like. Maybe not the albo, though. Just ’cuz-- Sorry, I just sell cuttings from him, so I dunno if I could give you one for free. I could if I didn’t have to pay rent—but unfortunately, capitalism exists! And I have to buy groceries. Whiiiiich I totally forgot to do yesterday. Fuck—why does adulting have to be so hard?”
“Can you just let me deal with the consequences of my actions in peace?”
“Wait—oh my god, you’re right. It’s already Wednesday today. Ugh! I hate Labor Day! Not having classes on Mondays always fucks me up. I mean-- Sorry, you don’t mind swearing, right?”
“What! That’s lame. Seriously, why does being an adult have to be so lame?”
“Oh, sweet! They have grilled cheese sandwiches! I fucking love grilled cheese.”
“Sure! My class gets done at... Hang on. I literally just checked this. It ends at... No, not that button. That’s also the wrong button. Can I just-- Can I-- Oh my god—can I please open the right tab? There we go. That should not have been that hard. Uh... Thursday... Thursday... Where the hell did it go? Wait, I’m stupid—it’s right there. Jeez. Okay, it ends at two fifteen.”
“Yeah, I definitely was not paying attention.”
“That’s another thing I don’t like! Fucking roller coasters!”
“Huh? Oh. Oh, wait. Shit! I forgot—I’m super angry at you and never want to speak to you ever again!”
“Yeah, that’s prob’ly a good idea. I’m not really in the mood to die today.”
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Yes I put those entire paragraphs in there on purpose. It’s just who he is.
I'm going to gently tag @mary-is-writing, @veneritia, @maddstermind, @asablehart, @amaiguri, @macabremoons, and anyone else that managed to scroll all the way down here!
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hergan416 · 11 months
Text
Get to Know You Tag Game
Thank you @alabaster-moon
Three Ships: I only get three???? aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa (I think this tells you more than the actual ships I choose at this point). Uh. Prideshipping (yugioh), Katamar (One Piece), and oh my god I want to choose a yuumori ship for the last ship but I literally can't I've been weight the pros and cons of the ships for like. 15 minutes. Just staring at this ask. Albert/Milverton maybe?? because I want to write more of it and Dark!Albert is really hecking interesting? Moriarthree? Something I can go find content to read like mycal? I DONT KNOW IM SORRY and now you have like 5 ships
First Ship: I know I shipped other things before this but my first ever OTP was prideshipping. Most everything else was like... canon ships I supported or like... stuff other people were writing that I was into. I mean, I guess you could also consider zendall from All My Children in that I helped my mom send zendall keychains to AMC in the mail after they broke them up??? but I do truly think that was more about my mom than me.
Last Song: My phone says "A Million Dreams" was what I stopped halfway through playing most recently. I've listened to music since then, but the audio player on my desktop doesn't keep track of what I was listening to after I closed the program. (Honestly, I don't like that my phone does this either? I just can't get rid of it there).
Last Movie: Hell if I remember?? I don't really watch movies regularly. Fiance thinks it might have been Wakanda Forever? Which sounds right.
Currently Reading: Other than fanfic... My Secret Life. Yeah. That's uh. A thing.
Currently Watching: My family is NOT caught up with Master Minds. Not sure if that counts. But yes, we record and watch all episodes of a trivia game show.
Currently Consuming: I think I'll choose fanfiction for this?? I have been LIVING off Dying Wish which is a massive reincarnation RP fic that has literally made me fall in love with Albert as a character? I have lost so much sleep the last week because I started reading before bed and then suddenly it was like... 4 am? 5 am? even later?
Currently Craving: Oh man. I dunno. I think something sweet. Or maybe a nap. Or maybe some mycal? I'm pretty sure the next chapter in the above fic is mycal smut AND a different mycal fic that I've been reading (@user-needs-new-hyperfixation's Love In All it's Disrepute also updated today and I'm just so stoked to read more of THAT also)
Tag List: (0 pressure please, just if you want) @user-needs-new-hyperfixation (hopefully this double tag does not do anything screwy hyper, sorry), @sakuplumeria OOH IS IT GOING TO LET ME TAG YOU NOW?? DID YOUR BLOG GET FIXED?, @wurm-food, @xamaxenta, @operagoose I know you but what are you up to now?, @bum-scum, @sapphicspaceranger, @straycrayoncrypt, @rivaltagonist, @winxhelina OR anyone else who wants to!
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Pure Kisses. || Pt. 2 || Vance hopper.
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Summary: After Vance hears you talking about your “massive” crush on him, he “asks” you on a date.
Note: OMG IM SO HAPPY ABT THE SUPPORT PART ONE GOT THANK YOU GUYS SM 🫶🏽🫶🏽 I HOPE YOU GUYS LIKE THISS I DIDNT EDIT IT SO FORGIVE ME FOR SPELLING ERRORS ETC.
Tags: slushies 🤭, making out, cool mom but not the Regina mom cool, you’ll see, purple tongues 🤗, diner date, rain
Warnings: just cursing i think! Lmk if there’s more!!
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“We can talk about the date we have Friday night.” Those words replayed in your head all week. It was all your brain allowed you to think about! Once friday finally rolled around, you were a nervous wreck.
“No fucking way I gotta cancel” you whine to your friend.
“You can’t! Do you know how excited you were when he first asked you out? You wouldn’t stop talking about it!”
“I’m just.. nervous I dunno” you sighed, sitting down on your bed.
“Let’s just get you ready, the date is in less than an hour” Carly spoke up, “yeah okay sure.”
You got up, taking a deep breath.
Vance on the other hand, was perhaps more nervous than you.
“No! I mean no fucking way can I do this, shes just gonna- despise me!” He looked at himself in the mirror, he had been getting ready since school let out. The amount of clothes on his floor was absurd he had tried on every outfit in his closet.
“This is fine.” He uttered, walking downstairs to the front door. “Later mom, I’ll be back soon”
“Bye vancey!” His mothers voice strung through the house.
———————————
“Okay you ready?” Carly asked, you nodded shyly. She grabbed your hand and walked you outside.
“D’ya need me to walk you there?” She questioned, almost sarcastically. You scoffed and nodded
“I’m fine, I’ll see you after?” You wondered, Carly shook her head yes, and walked out as well, walking the direction towards your house as you walked the opposite to the diner.
Once you reached your destination, Vance was already there.
“Sorry for making you wait” you said breathily, “i tried to hurry”
“Oh no its okay! I don’t live far, uh should we?” He jested towards the door, you stumbled with your words before whispering an embarrassed “yeah.”
He chuckled as he grabbed your hand, opening the door for you, you smiled, feeling your face heat up.
You two sat down in the practicality empty diner. A waitress walked up to you, chewing gum noisily, “so what can I get ya today” she asked looking between Vance and you.
“A red slushy, and a cheeseburger” he spoke first, allowing you to gather yourself, you looked at the waiter, “a Blue slushy, and uhm a f/f is fine”
“Alright that’ll be out for you in a minute!” She strutted off.
“What made you want a blue slushy?” Vance asked.
“No comment” you giggled, looking around. There was a fog outside, making the glass wet. There was posters of food the diner sold, some people laughing one one too.
“Here you go, you two have a nice night” the waitresses said before placing your guy’s food down and walking away.
The rain started to pour down outside quickly, you looked at vance who was already looking at you, causing you to chuckle.
“Take a picture it’ll last longer” you winked at him playfully, he rolled his eyes
“Shut the fuck up” he laughed, taking a drink out of his slushy.
“Well we can’t walk to the bowling alley now that it’s fucking pouring down to hell” he grumbled angrily
“Pouring down to hell? I’m not sure that’s a phrase, but don’t get your panties in a twist we can just go back to yours for an hour or so you said you didn’t live far right?”
His eyes lit up, you remembered that small fact about him, no one else would have remembered that, especially if this was the first time they had talked.
He coughed trying to regain his composure, “yeah- yeah okay sure yeah that works.” He did not regain said composure
A small laugh came from you, you grabbed his hand which was across the table, he was sweaty which confused you, “you’d think I’d be the nervous one”
“Why’s that?” His entire face was beat red
“I dunno i mean, I’ve had a crush on you for the longest time”
“Oh yeah, totally” he sat up straight, looking around awkwardly, you rose a brow.
“Explain?” You questioned, he sighed looking down at the table, you took a drink out of your slushy while you waited.
“Imeani’vejustlikedyousincesixthgrade” he muttered, you sighed giggling.
“Speak up for me?”
“I, have I guess liked you since sixth fucking grade or something! You fuckin’ happy now?” He huffed.
“Very.” You smiled, slapping a twenty on the table and walking towards the door, Vance following you like a lost puppy, nearly tripping over his own two feet like a lost puppy
God you make him act like a fool.
———————
“Sorry it rained on our date” he begged for your forgiveness, hanging his coat on the rack before taking yours.
“No worries” you kissed his cheek reassuringly, he could’ve fucking- exploded into a billion pieces right then and there.
“vancey is that you?” His moms voice sang, he turned red, “mom, stop with the nickname.” He said through gritted teeth.
“Oh you must be y/n! You’re very famous around these parts” she laughed, “boy! He never stops talking about ya!”
“Mom shut up!” He whined, you turned around, “nono let her continue, i wanna know” you smiled
“Nope we’re leaving to my room! Bye mama” he grabbed your hand pulling you up the steps to his room
You stumbled along the way, laughing the whole time.
Once you finally reached his room, you quickly began looking around, “sorry for the mess- i wasn’t anticipating you to actually come over” he tried picking up and hiding some messes.
“No worries” you said taking your shoes off and sitting on the edge of his bed.
He did the same, but instead of sitting on the edge he laid down in the center, stretching out.
You looked over to him, he waved you over causing a most familiar heat to rise to your face. You crawled over to him, god this was embarrassing, as you laid on is chest, you sat and looked up at the celling.
“Hey y/n,”
You looked up at him.
“I think you’ve got something on your face” he pointed.
“What where?” You began patting at your face.
“Riiiiighttt-“ he began, leaning in slightly.
He looked at you for a second, his eyes moving frantically on your face for any recognition of disgust or anything like it.
When he saw none, he kissed you. Now some people might describe vance as violent, jerk wad, who could care less about the well-being of others, maybe some of that was true, but his kisses were, soft and gentle, passionate and filled with pure love. At least that’s the best way to describe it.
Your eyes fluttered closed as you relaxed into the kiss, man how many times had you dreamed about this? Sure yes it was a lot and sure yes it was weird and sure yes you’re taking it to your grave and sure yes no one will ever know but
good god.
He was a much better kisser than you could imagine. He snaked his arms around your waist, once again pulling you impossibly closer.
You sighed into the kiss before tangling your hands in his hair, tugging on it.
The kiss probably would’ve lasted longer, and it almost did until— “Vancey dear, what do you want from the sto-“
You and Vance’s eyes snapped open, pulling away quickly, you shoved yourself to the end of the bed. Facing his mom shamefully.
“Uh- Get out!” He gasped, scooting further away.
“You kids,” she cracked up before continuing, “d’ya want anything from the store?”
“No mom just get out!!” He repeated, she nodded gleefully and shut the door.
“Sorry about that” he spoke as you turned to face him.
“It’s okay, really.” The bed creaked as you scooted up next to him, lying your head on the head board.
“God that was embarrassing.” He put his head in his hand. You simply laughed, laying your head on his shoulder.
He turned to face you, “I’m still so sorry, I mean- first it rains, and then my mom- nothing seems to’ve worked out today.” He groaned
“We did didn’t we?” You tilted your head to the side.
“Yeah, yeah we did.” His cheeks were pink and his eyes were bright, his face was relaxed, it was state vance would never let the school see.
“You’re such a softy” you punched his arm, he shook his head.
“Hey wait— open your mouth” he directed
You confusedly, did as he told, for a while it was silent, the only thing that could be heard was the fan in the background.
A toothy grin was on his face before he absolutely lost it, he gripped his stomach, hunching over slightly, laughing like a maniac.
“I’m so confused”
He laughed for another three minutes before he stopped to wipe his tears and catch his breath.
“Well what is it?”
“Your fucking tongue is purple.”
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candied-boys · 10 months
Text
Second Chances
Leon Dompteur x gn! Reader
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No tags. A little drabble for @leonscape ♥️
“No.”
“WHAT?!” Yves screeches and spills piping hot tea all over his pants.
Even Licht’s usually calm demeanor cracks, his cookie missing his mouth entirely as it slips through his fingers and tumbles to the floor.
“Yeah, they said no.”
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“What the hell did you do?” Jin asks, shuffling his knees out of Yves way so the poor creature can escape the sofa to find a towel.
“I have no idea! That's the thing!”
“I thought you two were… you know, a done deal…” Licht mumbles, rubies flitting across the floor for the cookie.
“Uh… yeah. That's what I thought too. I mean, we've been dating forever. I never got the impression they didn't want to get married.”
“I got the impression they were pretty excited about your upcoming anniversary last we spoke,” Yves replies, yanking a cloth from between a pile of books and papers that scatter across the floor.
“Exactly! I wouldn't have asked if I thought there would be any hesitation. I don't want to put any pressure on them. I really thought… I dunno… the answer would be yes… Was I expecting too much?”
The soft sound of cotton rubbing across silk and the crumble of a cookie under a boot fills the long silence.
It ends with a loud crunch as Jin cracks his lolly and counters, “You must've done something wrong. There's no way us three could get an enthusiastic yes from each of our lovers but the king couldn't.”
“Remind me, how did you propose again?”
“In bed during post sex cuddles. How else? Good feels, skin contact, afterglow, emotional intimacy — it's a guaranteed yes… What are you all looking at me like that for?!!”
“Right. Yves, what did you do?”
“Baked all their favourite desserts, revelled in our shared collection of precious memories, told them all the ways they make me a better person and how I could never live without them, showered them in affection and praise. I tried to just be true to ourselves. What did you do?”
“We had a lovely, romantic tea party. There was a bit of a kerfuffle I sorted out, but after everything calmed down I took them out to the balcony to look over the cityscape and I proposed there.”
Jin narrows his eyes and cocks his head. “You had… a tea party?”
“Yeah, we love having tea together. It's one of my favourite ways to relax together.”
“Was it a fancy tea party? Did you bake all the treats yourself and hand craft them with love and affection?”
“Yves, that's you not me.”
“That's almost as bad as the guy who got his girlfriend a manicure, lied that it was a gift so the woman wouldn't be upset about the cost, used a friend to pass on the gift certificate instead of doing it personally — all hoping she'd come home and be in a good mood — then lit some candles and just popped the question.”
“What's wrong with that?”
“She was super busy and stressed that day with deadlines. He wasn't honest about the price so she just got the most basic manicure ever. Then, he didn't even cook dinner or do anything that says he's thoughtful or reliable. He just dropped the question at home with some candles like the answer was guaranteed!”
“I don't get it, Yves. That sounds decent to me…”
“If he was going to spend that much, he could at least have bought her something she would actually enjoy like yarn for knitting or a couples massage or go on a getaway! It's like he doesn't know her at all!!”
“That was almost me…” Licht mumbles from the corner.
“I didn't mean for you to take my advice literally and follow every step! I meant it as inspiration!! If you're lover doesn't like manicures, you should know that! Not me!!” Yves squeaks in protest.
“What did you do instead?”
“He took them horseback riding out to the meadow. I made the picnic basket because, obviously, Licht in the kitchen is almost as bad as Clavis. He set the ring in a pretty little holder and tucked that into the dessert. You didn't actually ask, did you?”
“No,” Licht answers quietly, cheeks stained red and shoulders rounded shyly. “Didn't have to… They understood… That's why we got married after all…”
“I still don't see how my proposal is that bad… You know all how much that view of the city means to me. They do too.”
Unwrapping another lollipop Jin queries, “Yeah, but did you talk about that with them or just use it as a backdrop?”
“Oh… hmmm…”
“Did you set the mood by saying how much you cherish the little moments together, like having tea and such?” Yves asks and retakes his seat in the centre of the sofa.
“You're much more verbal than I am. You at least asked them directly, right?”
“Okay, okay. I fucked everything up! I didn't think about what would make them feel loved as much as what would put me at ease to ask such a nerve-wracking question! I've been so stressed since becoming king that we spend less time together, and I just wanted to relax together like before…”
“I think if you told them that, walked them through how much you need them as your pillar of strength, told them all the ways you need them by your side as you bear this new role, hold them close and explain what they really mean to you, they'd say yes. Seriously! Why are y'all looking at me like that!!”
“Jin has a point. Even if you want to keep the event itself low-key, you have to make sure you're not so exhausted that you can't express the emotions the proposal depends on. I'm sure this isn't about them not loving you. Quite the opposite. They just want to share that vulnerability and take a moment to appreciate the constant that is your love for one another.”
Through a mouthful of cookie Licht concurs with his two older brothers, “Mhm.”
“Do you think if I tried again they would say yes?”
“If you make sure you have the emotional capacity to express yourself fully this time, then yes,” Yves answers and pours himself more tea.
“I suggest being a bit more romantic this time though. At least have a candlelit dinner on the balcony if you're adamant about proposing there. I still think bedtime snuggles— What did I say now?!”
“Thanks guys. I'll think about it. I'm sure there's something I can do that will really feel like us.”
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aerodaltonimperial · 11 months
Note
Lyric prompt
And then I think of yesterday
And every promise that you made
I never thought I'd be the one that you would break
(I'm in a confidence crisis that I cannot write anything good by myself so I'm attempting to work on the skills in myself I know I am lacking on here THIS IS SO LONG AS A RESULT)
The lights flicker, sputter, and go out with an ominous decrescendo before the entire backstage is plunged into darkness. Pitch black, really, because there aren't any windows lining the inner hallways. Hook jams a hand out to the side just to ensure he knows where the wall is, and then breathes. He waits for the power to come back on, and it never does. He's stuck, then, and until somebody comes around with a flashlight, he's going to either have to quietly simmer alone in the dark, or feel his way back to the main staging area, where the production aides most likely have a few battery-operated lights. He doesn't even have his phone, since the damn thing is shoved in his duffel, shoved into the locker that is...somewhere behind him. Fuck.
"Hello?" he tries. No response. A bad time to have been making his way through the hallways, trying to expel the jittery nerves from beneath his skin.
Heading towards the main area seems like his only option, then. With a sigh, Hook starts forward, keeping one hand sliding along the bricks to his right. He can't remember the layout; didn't pay attention, that's for sure. He's so caught up in keeping one foot in front of the other that when a door clicks open in the wall only a hand span ahead of him, he nearly tumbles over in his surprise. "Shit!" Something distinctly hand-shaped hits his forearm. "Sorry."
"No, no, it's not..." The words trail off. Hook knows that voice. "Hook?"
Fuck. Of all people to run into in the dark, in this state... Hook sighs. "Yeah. Hey."
"Danhausen was just trying to get out of the hallways. Perhaps I took a wrong turn."
"Can't see anything, so how would you know?" Hook responds. His chest clenches, bracing for the worst. No choice, then, but to make the best of this. "You can...you can just follow me if you want."
"Hook knows where he's going?"
Hook snorts. "No. But moving is better than standing around."
"Alright. Danhausen will..." A little cough, throaty and unsure. "Uh, Danhausen will follow you."
"Just...hold onto my shirt."
A pause. "Are you sure?"
"Don't make it weird, Jesus."
"Right." Fingers press against Hook’s sleeve, heading down to his side, and finally settle at the hem of his shirt. They clench there, tugging the fabric taut. "Ready."
"Okay." Hook starts moving again. It's weird with the pull along his back, and he tries his best to ignore it, but without other sounds, he's stuck focusing on the ragged in and out of Danhausen’s lungs. Either they do this whole thing in silence, or... "Um, you're wrestling next week? In the 4-team match?"
"Oh. Yes. Chuck and Trent are injured now, you see, and so it just...uh, well, it made sense."
"Right. Cause you're part of the Best Friends." Did that come out too bitter? Shit. Hook’s losing his touch.
Silence swells for a few careful steps as Hook’s palm flattens against the wall for a moment. Then: "Hook is angry."
"I never said that."
"Hook never says a lot of things; it's easy to deduce." A beat. "Why is Hook angry?"
"I'm not..." Hook shakes his head. Maybe there's no use fighting it. "Angry isn't the right word for it."
"What is the right word, then?"
"I don't...I don't know. Something else. Words aren't my specialty anyway. Shouldn't you be able to figure it out?"
"Why would Danhausen know what Hook is feeling?"
Hook huffs out a mirthless laugh. "I dunno, you always seemed to like doing that. Deciding you knew how I felt."
The pause is longer this time, and rattles. Dissonant. Then, quietly: "That's not fair."
"Isn't it?"
"Hook is angry because Danhausen is part of a group. But Hook just got out of a new tag team." A shaky inhale. "Hook sent Danhausen away because he didn't need help, and then he found help that wasn't Danhausen."
"That's not what happened." Hook's feet stop of their own accord.
"Oh, you didn't send me away, then?"
"No." Fuck. "I mean, I did, but...it wasn't like that."
A little laugh. It sounds miserable. The grip on the back of Hook’s shirt tightens. "What was it like then?"
Hook doesn't have an answer. He starts moving again, because eventually, he has to find where this spindly corridor meets up with the staging area. His throat gums up until he finally wraps his tongue around the right syllables. "I don't...I don't know how to care about people. I mean, that's not..." Frustration swells up hot. "I don't let people in."
"Right. So you didn't let me in."
"No. I did. And then...I don't know how to deal with it."
Knuckles slide against his lower back, muted from the fabric of his shirt. "Oh. So, Hook panicked."
"I...yeah. Yeah, I panicked."
There's a little noise of affirmation. "That's why Hook has such short term teams, isn't it? Hook lets people in, and then leaves."
"No," Hook whispers. His eyes still haven't adjusted to the blackness. He still can't see, and going into this conversation blind is devastating. "No, I don't let the others in. I only let you in."
"If Hook let Danhausen in," the words are measured, careful, and slow, "and then panicked, what was it, exactly, that Hook was so afraid of?"
When Hook fails to answer, Danhausen continues, "What might happen or what did happen?"
"Both."
"A cop out; pick one."
"I can't." He growls. "It's the same thing, in a way, and I don't...I don't..."
"Hook wanted Danhausen to leave."
Hook stops again, squeezing his eyes shut. This conversation is like taking a bullet. "I never wanted you to leave."
"So you wanted me to stay."
Hook swallows. His tongue is thick. "Yes."
"Hook absolutely hates this conversation."
"Yes."
A chuckle, less cutting this time. "Alright. Only one more question, then." The hand that had been pulling on Hook’s shirt lets go, fingers tracing their way up Hook’s spine to settle on his neck, loose but possessive. Hook’s whole body shudders. "What could it be that you want from me, but are so afraid of that you pushed me away in order to save yourself?"
"Is that a rhetorical question?" Hook whispers.
"It wasn't, no."
Hook is glad the lights are off, because his face is burning. "Sounds like you already know the answer."
"I might have a guess." Warmth puffs against the shell of Hook’s ear. He wants to dive into it and lose himself, drown within the crash of the waves. "But it means more when you say it yourself."
"I don't know how."
"Hook does." The feather-light brush of lips against his cheek. "But Danhausen can make it easier for you. How about a simpler question: what does Hook want?"
"You?" It's a confession and an admission of guilt at the same time.
"Ah," Danhausen says, a little breathless. "Not so hard, then."
"Not hard to say," Hook tries, wildly, "just...overwhelming."
"Is it?"
"Yeah, pretty fucking terrifying, actually."
Another laugh, and then the pads of Danhausen’s fingers are pressing at the side of Hook’s face to turn him. "No swearing."
"Make me stop," Hook whispers.
He can feel the smile against his mouth. "Okay."
Above their heads, the lights flicker, buzz, and then brighten to full, but Hook barely notices.
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neitherlightnordark · 9 months
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mettaton and children. now
BUT OF COURSE I LOVE CHILDREN!! WHY WOULDN’T I? THEY'RE SOME OF THE TELEVISION’S MOST DEVOTED FANS! WITH SO MUCH FREE TIME AND WHIMSY ON THEIR HANDS, IT'S NO WONDER THAT EVERY DAY, RIGHT ON THE DOT, THEY TUNE IN TO MY SHOW... FOR FAMILY-FRIENDLY, AMUSING, AND BLOODTHIRSTY TIMES! DON’T BELIEVE ME? JUST ASK... ANY ONE OF THEM!
...That’s a camera! Yo, am I on... TV?
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Yo, that's so cool!! Everyone can see me! Hi, mom! ... Oh, man, I forgot I’m not supposed to be out... Maybe I can get a ski mask somewhere? Uh, hey, do you have any ski masks?
SKI MASKS? IN SNOWDIN? WHY?
My mom told me I had to be back quick after my errand... She’s gonna be mad if she sees the paparazzi swarmed me first! You better be careful or she’ll have your hide, ha ha!
MY, MY. A FAN SUCH AS YOURSELF... OR AT LEAST, SOMEONE IN MY SHOW’S TARGET DEMOGRAPHIC... FAILS TO RECOGNIZE MY METALLIC FORM OUT IN THE LIGHT? ALTHOUGH I SUPPOSE THE SNOW'S SHEEN... MAKES IT HARDER TO LOOK AT ME. SURELY YOU CAN AT LEAST RECOGNIZE MY SILHOUETTE! I'M THE SQUARE THAT APPEARS IN YOUR TV SOMETIMES. WITH FLASHING LIGHTS AS A FACE AND A WHEELY THING UNDERNEATH. SOUND FAMILIAR?
Uh... Either way, you look super cool, mister!
THAT'S RIGHT! DON’T WORRY ABOUT NOT HAVING WATCHED MY SHOW, DARLING. NOT ONLY DOES IT PLAY EVERY DAY, AT THE SAME TIME, FOREVER... BUT, THERE'S NO OTHER SHOWS ON MY CHANNEL. SO I GOT THE EMPTY SPACES TO BE FILLED WITH MY SHOW’S RERUNS. NOW YOU CAN WATCH MTT TV ON THE GO, NO MATTER WHAT TELEVISION SET YOUR JOURNEYS TAKE YOU TO!
That's cool! Can I go now, mister MTT TV?
WHAT?? HEY, NO--- *COUGHS* *ROBOTICALLY* ERR, WHERE’RE YOU HEADING TODAY?
Miss QC’s Shop! That’s, uh, on the west-most part of Snowdin Town. If I help dust Miss QC’s shelves today, I get a free bicicle!
HOW FINE AND DANDY! A LOCAL BUSINESS!I MIND IF I TAG ALONG? 
Sure! Why not?
THAT'S RIGHT, YOUR LOCAL DAZZLING STAR LOVES EATING OUT AT PLACES THAT ARE PRIVATELY OWNED! AND TODAY I’LL BRING TO YOU AN EVEN SPECIAL-ER OFFER! PURCHASE A BICICLE AT MISS QC’S SHOP... AND GET A FREE STARFAIT AT MTT-BRAND BURGER EMPORIUM IN RETURN! MAKE SURE TO TAKE THE ELEVATORS SO YOU’RE NOT TOO STARVING... BUT EVEN THEN, I’M SURE YOU’LL STILL BE TEMPTED BY OUR GLAMOUROUS, SEQUIN-SPECKLED FOODS... WHEN YOU STAGGER UP TO OUR SLIGHTLY DAMP DOUBLE DOORS! YOU CAN'T GET THESE DEALS ANYWHERE ELSE! (STAMPS VERIFYING PURCHASE AVAILABLE AT QC’S SHOP UPON REQUEST)
I don't know Miss QC very well, but... I dunno if she’ll appreciate the free advertising...
DON’T BE RIDICULOUS. EVERYBODY LOVES BEING SHOUTED OUT BY FAMOUS PEOPLE.
You’re famous?
OH COME ON.
Ha ha! Yo, I was just joking!
HA HA HA. IS THIS WHAT THEY CALL BEING A LITTLE SCAMP? AH, YOUTH. (IF ONLY I COULD RECALL BEING SO PRECOCIOUS...)
...?
HERE’S ANOTHER DEAL. I BUY THE BICICLE FOR YOU. YOU WATCH MY SHOW! HOW’S THAT SOUND.
I don’t need you to buy me an excuse to watch more television, sir!
(MTT TV DOES NOT CONDONE MINDLESS CONSUMPTION OF ENTERTAINMENT, LEST IT BECOME ADDICTIVE, ESPECIALLY YOUTH. THIS IS WHY ALL METTATON COMMERCIAL BREAKS INVOLVE THIRTY MINUTES OF METTATON SCAMPERING THROUGH FIELDS OF GRASS, SPONSORED BY METTATON.)
Hey, are you listening to me! (whispering) I said, as long as you edit out my face! And make my voice really deep.
(WHISPERING) SURE! WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LOOK LIKE INSTEAD?
... Have you heard of this cool person named Captain Undyne?
WHY, YES I HAVE, DARLING! IN FACT... AFTER I BUY YOU THIS BICICLE, I THINK I’VE GOT A KEY RIGHT TO HER HOUSE! METAPHORICALLY.
REALLY?!
YEP, SHE LOVES ME. I’M SURE SHE’D ALSO LOVE CO-STARRING WITH YOU!
Well--- I--- *coughs* *lizardly* ...Maybe someday soon, yo! For now... I’ve got to bring groceries back home. The reason Captain Undyne’s so great... is because she never breaks promises! She’d do the same if she were me.
THAT’S FINE BY ME! I DON’T NEED ANY EXCUSES TO CONVINCE HER TO PLAY MORE TOTALLY TRIVIA! THANKS FOR THE GREAT IDEA, UH...
Haha, you’re welcome, mister...
METTATON. JUST METTATON, NO TV. THAT’S MY COMPANY.
Okay! See you!
AND SEE YOU IN FIVE MINUTES AFTER I’M DONE BEING VIRTUOUS IN THIS SHOP, VIEWERS~
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dragonofeternal · 3 months
Text
2 tag memes
I got tagged in two different memes this week! Yaaay~
Current things tag meme!
Tagged by @ghoul-misadventures
3 ships: Millionsummers, Vashwood, LeoJoker
Last song: "radio protector" by 65daysofstatic
Currently reading: The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle
Currently watching: I don't really watch a lot of TV, but I have been on and off binging through the "how it's actually made" parody dub-overs by huggbees on youtube. I also want to check out Flanagan's "Fall of the House of Usher" but starting shows is hard for me XDD
Last movie: uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh assuming that hours long youtube documentaries don't count, then I think the last thing I watched might have been the fucking FF7 Advent Children Director's Cut that we rewatched over the summer. (I feel like I've watched something since then but I can't. Remember. What it would have been. So. Yeah.)
Currently consuming: After binging through it in like 2 days, I am now more slowly replaying through Paranormasight
Currently craving: hot chocolate bc it's really cold and rainy here =A=
15 people 15 questions tag meme
tagged by @rosemirmir!
1. are you named after anyone? My first name is the name of my cut-throat great- (or was it great-great?) grandmother who earned the family fortune, and my middle name came from my mom's college roommate.
2. when was the last time you cried? Uhhhh... Like... a couple therapy sessions ago? I have a really good therapist, so we're working on a lot of shit, but unfortunately that means I cry somewhat frequently ><
3. do you have kids? Nope! Not really my scene, but more power to those who do.
4. what sports do you play/have you played? I did basketball on and off in elementary school, and my high school tried to get me to join the basketball team there too, but uhhh I wanted to do theatre more and I only had time to do one or the other. Not a "sport" but I'm gonna be taking an aerial silks class soon!
5. do you use sarcasm? Never. (yes)
6. what’s the first thing you notice about people? I don't. (I dunno? Height? I'll be honest and say I'm not the most observant about other people lol)
7. what’s your eye color? Blue~
8. scary movies or happy endings? That's a weird dichotomy to present XDDD I guess happy endings if we're talking movies, because I prefer horror in games, writing, comics, and audio mediums slightly more than movies.
9. any talents? Writing and acting spring to mind as two that are both "I've always been fairly talented in this" and "I have worked a lot to hone this skill."
10. where were you born? DC~
11. what are your hobbies Numerous. Uhhh, I write, I draw, I play video and tabletop games, I take walks, I enjoy watching anime and getting way too serious about it.....
12. do you have any pets? We have four cats at home! Two are technically "mine" and Killians, and two are technically Pat's, but yeah. They're good kitties
13. how tall are you? 5'9"
14. favorite subject in school? History! (Though I also honestly very much enjoyed Math bc it was one of the easiest to keep on top of homework and shit in lol)
15. dream job Honestly I'm really, really happy with my current job. It's not anything I necessarily would have expected being like HOMGORZ DREAM JOBBBBB but it's like? Really fulfilling and enjoyable? So uh. Admin for an LGBTQ Health Equity Center XDDD.
tagging @rosemirmir @ghoul-misadventures @arahith @onlines @clockworkspider @setsuntamew @ehyde @jacenbren @orcelito @xx-bluesummers-xx and whoever else feels inspired to do either of these in the most "seriously no pressure guys just do it if you feel like it" way XDD
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randalsgrave · 1 year
Text
Sweetness and Light: Part 5
Well hot damn, it's been long enough - and speaking of 'long enough' this part totaled out at 22 pages. Told y'all it's only gonna get longer from here on out.
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Week two and week three go by, each with its high - and low - points.
BobxFemale!OC. F/C: Kacey Rohl
Word count: 8.1K
WARNINGS: colorful language; not beta-read (we die like men); mentions of toxic family behavior
Recommended Soundtrack: Go! - Public Service Broadcasting; Kick the Tragedy - Drop Nineteens; Crank - Catherine Wheel
***
Week 2. PT does, indeed, suck on Monday. 
Everhardt decides that his class’s first PT session of the week is going to involve endurance conditioning at the base track - a lot of it. 
When he utters the dreaded words “caboose runs,” Katie groans (as do probably 5 other people, but that’s beside the point). As if it wasn’t bad enough that she and Bob kicked their asses hiking on Saturday, now she’s got 20 minutes of staggered sprints on shit legs to worry about. 
“It had to be caboose runs,” Katie mutters under her breath as she falls in line behind Fanboy and trots off for the next 20 minutes of hell. 
At least she’s not alone in her misery. Bob says nothing as he slips into line behind her. He does, however, pass her a grin of pained solidarity as he sprints his way up to the front of the train when his turn comes. 
It’s a grin she returns when it’s her turn to bolt to the front. 
It’s also a grin that Fanboy catches notice of, and one that he finds himself asking questions about when the run ends 20 minutes later. 
“Am I missing something here?” he wheezes to Katie when they’re all clustered on the side of the track, taking a much-needed water break. 
Katie, propped up beside Bob against a row of bleachers, shrugs. “Dunno. Maybe if you’d tagged along with us instead of spending all morning in bed on Saturday, you’d be in the loop.” 
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. How was the hike, anyway?” 
“Long,” Bob winces. “And steep.”
“Hm. Explains the faces of agony.” 
“You don’t even know the half of it,” Katie mutters with a snort, which Bob underscores with a nod and chuckle of agreement. 
Fanboy says nothing else beyond that - at least, not while Bob is within earshot. When everyone starts making their way to center field for calisthenics and Bob follows along with the others, Fanboy pulls Katie aside, leans in close. “So uh, like I was saying earlier… Am I missing something here?” 
There’s no missing the sly, knowing glimmer in his eyes when he speaks. Oh Christ Fanboy, what are you insinuating?
She plays dumb. “I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about,” she says airily. 
“Hell you don’t,” Fanboy retorts with a roll of his eyes and a smirk. “I saw you guys vibing together. Being all smiley and shit. Y’all got real friendly with each other on Saturday, didn’t you?” 
“If by ‘got real friendly’ you mean ‘hiked up the side of a mountain and OD-ed on pancakes and hashbrowns shortly thereafter,’ then yeah, we got real friendly.”
“Cute, cute. There gonna be a second date?”
“Oh my god Fanboy-”
“Ooh, that sounds like a yes-”
“Fuck off,” Katie giggles as she gives Fanboy a small shove. “Seriously, there’s nothing going on with me and Bob. We’re just friends.”
“Five bucks says that changes in a couple weeks.”
“You ready to lose that bet?”
Fanboy shrugs. “I dunno, I’m feeling pretty good about this one.” The waggling of his eyebrows earns him an exasperated groan. 
“You are absolutely ridiculous.” Despite the nature of the words she just spoke, Katie can’t help the grin that splits across her face. “C’mon, before Everhardt bitches at us.” 
He laughs, but says nothing more as he jogs off to join the others for the rest of PT - and thank god he does, otherwise he would definitely have words to say about the disgruntled scowl curling across Katie’s lips. Making bets about her love life… As if she even has one. She and Bob are friends and nothing more. 
At least, that’s what she tells herself. What she’s currently hell-bent on telling herself. 
She steals a glance at Bob, then at Fanboy - and the scowl deepens. Bastard, she thinks. 
This is going to be a long 3 months. 
***
Instruction picks up right where it left off on Friday, with two-man hops and simulated bombing runs and death by classroom lecture. The first half of the day sees Fanboy and Halfpint paired with Airbud, a single-seater pilot, and their hop goes as well as it’s expected to. 
Where it all goes to shit is during the second half of the day, when Katie finds herself paired with Melendez. 
Melendez isn’t a team player; she made that much clear during the first week. Of course, nobody really realizes it until one person or the other is paired up with her for flight ops. Nobody knows which is worse: the fact that she’s maliciously cocky in and out of the cockpit, or that she peppers her shit-talking with musings of being a TOPGUN instructor. She’s not making friends with anyone here - and it seems like everyone else is happy to keep it that way.
So why Katie finds herself jogging after her on the tarmac and calling out to her is completely beyond comprehension.
“Melendez!” she yells over the whistling roar of their jet engines. 
She doesn’t hear her. Either that, or she ignores her. It doesn’t matter to Katie. She jogs after Melendez, reaches a hand out to touch her shoulder.
And damn-near gets decked with a fistful of equipment. 
“What?” Melendez snaps. “What the fuck do you want?” 
“Whoa, hey-” Katie’s hands are up instantly, and she takes a step back, opens up the space between them. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea… “I just wanna talk, that’s all.”
“Yeah? About what?” 
Katie closes her eyes, sucks in a deep breath. She’s gonna have to make this quick. 
“Look - things got off on the wrong foot last week. I was hoping maybe we could reset and try again.”
“‘Reset and try again’?”
Melendez is mocking her, or getting ready to do it, at least. Fuck, Katie knew this was a bad idea. 
She stands tall, gives a single, curt nod. “Yeah.” This conversation may be going south faster than she would’ve hoped, but she’s not about to tuck tail. 
Laughter bursts from Melendez's mouth, a loud, raucous guffaw of… Disbelief? Amusement? Katie’s not sure - but the laughter all the same can’t be a good sign, not when she’s trying to extend an olive branch. 
It starts with a smile, a malicious one.  “Look, blanquita, I dunno what you’re on right now, but let’s get somethin’ straight. We’re not friends; we’re competition - and even if we weren’t competin’ there’s no fuckin’ way I’d wanna be friends with you.” 
Her response doesn’t really shock Katie. At least, the first part of it doesn’t. 
It’s the second part that throws her. 
“You little white girls are all the same,” Melendez says, voice laced with poison. “You try to be friends with everyone so no one calls you out for being trash. Make me look like the bad guy for callin’ you out on your shit.”
“I don’t-”
“Shut the fuck up, yes you do. Grow up, blanquita. Stop tryin’ to be everyone’s friend and do your fuckin’ job, if you even can. They can’t help you if you suck.” 
And with that, Melendez pivots on one heel, and continues her march to her jet. She spares no second glance at Katie, who stands stock-still for a moment, blinking and staring at the spot she previously occupied. 
She didn’t think it was going to go that bad, but… yikes. That was pretty fucking bad. 
And the worst part of it? Maybe Melendez has a point. 
It’s a thought that plagues Katie as she climbs into the cockpit of her F-18, and takes off for an exercise that sees Melendez push her around and leave her feeling like shit about her flying. Maybe she’s right. Maybe she does suck and is trying to distract from it. It wouldn’t be the first time someone’s told Katie that she doesn’t measure up and that she’s only lying to herself. 
You know you’re not cut out for this. Why do you insist on embarrassing yourself?
No. No, no, no. Fuck that. 
Whether or not Melendez is right, it doesn’t matter. Katie can’t let that get to her. She’s worked far too hard and for far too long to be derailed by some little Brooklynite trying to pick a fight with her. 
Melendez wants competition? Fine then. Competition is what she’ll get. 
She’s gonna wish she hadn’t, though. 
***
The next day is much better - Katie’s relegated to an observer position while two other teams are sent up in the air. The two teams in question? Bojack and Wolverine, and Bones, Bob, and his front-seater Rapture. 
Now, everyone at TOPGUN knows as well as the next person that each pilot and NFO has their own distinct magic, that little bit of something that sets them above and apart from their peers in the aviation community. Katie’s knack for quick absorption is unparalleled. Fanboy and Halfpint are fast, efficient, precise. Hell, even Melendez has her magic; her doggedness and tenacity in the air make her one hell of a pilot. 
And then there’s Bob. 
Bob is a goddamn crack shot. His rate of accuracy is so near-perfect that it’s almost a little frightening to watch him and his front-seater rain destruction down below them. Of course, Rapture is plenty accurate and deadly on his own - but with Bob? Their targets don’t stand a chance. Rapture’s WSO is sharp and laser-focused and on the money every damn time, a deadeye of epic proportions. 
Katie can’t help but smile as she listens in on the radio chatter in the ready room and hears Bob and his front-seater slam-dunk the exercise. They’ve got their targets zeroed and smoldering within minutes, a far cry better than most of the others in class. 
Certainly a far cry better than her and Melendez yesterday. It stings, just the tiniest bit, but she tries not to let it bother her. Besides, why should it bother her that someone who’s clearly meant to be here just killed their bombing run? 
This boy is gonna be the one to blow them all out of the water. Katie just knows it. 
“Jesus - remind me never to cross you,” she murmurs to Bob after debrief. “You were like fuckin’ Annie Oakley out there.”
Bob’s mouth screws up in a small grin. “Yeah, well, Annie Oakley appreciates that. It’s nice when your peers tell you how lethal you are.”
“Oh, you. Still wanna grab Chipotle with me, Fanboy, and Halfpint?”
“Thought you’d never ask.” Bob matches his pace with Katie’s, sets his garrison cap upon his golden-brown head. “I’ve been dreaming of a double-protein bowl since Fanboy brought it up this morning.”
“You earned it, that’s for sure.”
He smiles again, wider and happier, and it sends a flutter through Katie’s chest. “I aim to please.”
And he certainly does. Bob Floyd is an incredibly gifted aviator. There’s no doubt that he will take top spot in their class. No doubt at all. 
And, quite frankly, Katie thinks, it couldn’t happen to a better person. 
***
“Do you drink coffee?”
It’s barely past 0630 on Wednesday, and Katie is already receiving texts - and from Bob, no less. 
At first she’s confused. She’s in the Navy; of course she drinks coffee. Caffeinated beverages are practically her lifeblood. 
Her brow furrows as she picks up her phone to respond. “Yeah? Lol. Why do you ask?”
A bare 10 seconds pass before a response is shooting into her inbox. “I’m brewing some in my room,” the text reads. “Happy to make you a cup if you’d like one.” 
Hm. An impromptu coffee date with Bob Floyd. Even if it is ridiculously early in the morning, Katie has to admit, that sounds quite nice. 
“Sure, I’ll swing by. What’s your room number?” 
“224. Just a heads up, I split the room with Rapture and he might be here when you come down. Sorry for that btw.”
“No worries. Be down in a minute.”
Thankfully, neither of them have to worry about Bob’s front-seater when she appears at his front door moments later. He’s stepping out as she’s coming in, heading off for breakfast in the lobby. 
Which leaves Katie quite alone with Bob in his room. 
Somewhere in the back of her mind, a small ripple of excitement passes through as she steps into the hotel room and shuts the door behind her. 
Living spaces, no matter how temporary, have always been an interesting thing for Katie. They paint a picture of the person occupying it, shed light on the parts hidden by polite social interactions and facades. 
Bob’s living space is simultaneously everything Katie figured it would be and absolutely nothing like what she thought. Frank Herbert’s Dune rests on the coffee table in the living room area, but so too does a battered, oft-read copy of Robert Jordan’s The Eye of the World and Pathfinder’s Core Rulebook. A sticker-emblazoned gaming laptop with a pulsating rainbow-colored keyboard rests on the kitchen counter, but it’s streaming soft, soothing coffeehouse jazz. And the coffee that Bob offered earlier? He has a whole setup for it, complete with a hand-cranked coffee grinder, water boiling on the stove in a lodge-supplied tea kettle, and a small French press. Whatever images or preconceived notions Katie had about Bob’s living space have been all but obliterated at this point. 
It’s more than that, though. The contents of the hotel room prove that things are nowhere near as simplified as she would’ve thought. There are layers to Bob; that much has been apparent since the moment they first met. Still, Katie didn’t think she’d ever really get to see them. The fact that she’s now standing here, seeing these parts of him - hell, that he’s letting her see these parts of him… 
She might actually have butterflies in her stomach right now. 
Bob putters around the small kitchen space with his flight suit half-zipped and the sleeves tied tight around his waist, one hand gripping the coffee grinder while the other cranks the handle. His face holds an expression of calm, collected concentration, almost like an artist’s. It’s a creative process for him, Katie realizes. How very him. 
“Do you take anything in your coffee?”
Katie makes a noise of indifference as she seats herself at the countertop. “Not really. I kind of just drink it how it’s presented to me.”
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Why the double-check?”
“Well,” he replies as he dumps the freshly ground beans into the French press, “I ask because some people don’t like how I present coffee to them. I drink coffee black because it lets me taste the flavors and undertones better, but I know a lot of people who think drinking black coffee is like drinking charcoal, so…” 
“So give it to me black then.” When Bob makes a noise of protest, Katie rolls her eyes but smiles endearingly. “I’m a big girl, Bob. I can handle a little bitterness.” 
Bob only nods as he pours hot water into the press, then presses the grounds to the bottom with the plunger. When he pours the resulting liquid into a mug and slides it towards Katie, he does so with a look of nervous anticipation on his face, almost like her reaction determines how the rest of the morning - maybe even the day - plays out. 
Lucky for him, Katie’s reaction when she takes her first sip of coffee is a highly positive one. She’s no connoisseur; she can’t taste any flavors or notes or undertones, but she knows for damn sure that it’s a good cup of coffee. It’s smooth, warm and roasty, but not burnt. Clearly, Bob has good taste in the stuff. 
She smirks around the brim of her mug. “Well, it’s definitely not Maxwell House,” she says before taking another sip, a bigger one. 
“God, I hope that’s a good thing.”
“It is. Don’t get me wrong, there’s a special place in my heart for the cheap shit, but sometimes I want a cup of coffee that doesn’t taste like dirt.”
“Well then,” Bob replies as he seats himself beside her, “I’m happy to give you that second cup.”
“I’m happy to have it with you.” 
She says it before her brain can catch up with her mouth. It’s hardly that loaded of a statement, and somewhere in the back of her head, Katie knows that - but it doesn’t stop her from blushing, and damn-near crimson at that. Where did that come from?
What’s funny, though, is that Bob is blushing too, and just as red as Katie, if not more. It makes her wonder what’s going through his head in that moment. 
He takes a long, drawn-out sip of coffee, likely to help steady his nerves. “Uh, you know… I do this every day. Brew up some coffee, sit down, take some time to relax before class…” He takes another steadying sip of coffee, and the mug trembles in his hand, just the tiniest bit. “It’d be nice to have some company. Y’know, whenever.” 
The words hang in the air, and Katie contemplates them. It’s not like Bob asked her to marry him, but she can tell that even asking for something as low-key as a shared coffee before class is out of his comfort zone. That he’s putting himself out there like this, that he’s doing it for her, no less… 
Katie would be lying if she said her heart didn’t flutter in her chest. 
A small smile graces her face. “Happy to come by whenever,” she finally replies. 
She’s never been so glad to have accepted an invitation. 
***
Thursday rolls around with another round of paired hops and simulated bombing runs. Katie’s up first this time, paired with Fanboy and Halfpint. She’s had time to get her head on straight after Tuesday’s less-than-stellar hop with Melendez - and now? Her head’s more than screwed on straight; it’s a steel trap, a loaded spring ready to explode and execute. She’s pissed at how Tuesday went, and she wants that feeling of competence back. 
She can feel Melendez’s eyes boring into her as she passes by the ready room, can feel her smirking and sneering at her. No doubt she’s thinking there’s going to be a repeat of Tuesday’s hop. Like hell. 
The run winds up being everything Katie expects it to be and hopes for - her, Fanboy, and Halfpint all working together seamlessly and efficiently, zeroing their targets and raining ultra-precise hellfire down on them, getting in and getting out with not a second wasted. It’s everything Tuesday should’ve been, and everything the rest of her time here at TOPGUN will be. 
Needless to say, Melendez is no longer smirking when they all come out of debrief an hour later. 
And that is enough to put a smile on Katie’s face.
***
It’s Friday night, and all Katie wants to do is have a beer. A Deschutes beer, specifically. Something that she knows the Hard Deck doesn’t have on tap - not that she’s really complaining. She’s not in much of a mood to “go out” tonight. 
She could, however, wrangle up a friend or two to occupy the covered patio out back. That has the makings of a good time tonight. 
All she needs to do is grab a six-pack. 
It’s multitasking at its finest as she grabs her wallet and taps out a quick text to Bob. “Any interest in drinking tonight?” she asks him casually. “I’m about to head over to the NEX to get some beer.” 
The reply comes back sooner than Katie thought it would. “Funny you mention that; I’m actually at the NEX right now. What do you want? I can grab it for you.”
Huh. Well how about that. 
“Do they have Deschutes there?”
“I’ll take a look. What’s your plan b if they don’t?”
“Uhhhhhh Kona beer? If they have Longboard or Hanalei then that’ll work.”
“On it. I’ll let you know when I’m on my way back.”
“Sweet, sounds good.”
Well, that was easy enough. All Katie needs to do now is wrangle up some more company. 
She swaps over to her chat thread with Fanboy, begins to type. “Feel like drinking on the back patio tonight? Bob’s grabbing beer at the NEX; if you want anything I can text him and tell him to grab it for you.” 
She’s slipping an old red hooded flannel over her t-shirt when she gets a reply back from Fanboy - a picture, says the notification. When she opens the message, laughter bursts from her. Fanboy’s sent her a picture of himself jutting his thumb over his shoulder - and who happens to be standing behind him, holding up a six-pack of Shiner Bock and making a face for the camera? 
None other than Bob. 
“Wayyyyy ahead of u fam,” he replies in a second text. “Also Bob says they got deschutes here. They got fresh squeezed IPA and squeezy rider IPA.” 
“Ooooooooh definitely Squeezy Rider. Please and thank you.” 
“Bet. Grab us a spot downstairs? We’ll be back in 10.” 
“Will do.”
Without another word or text sent, Katie trots off for the elevator and makes her way downstairs, shuffling through the lobby to the back patio area, which is lit by the soft glow of brass torches. Coupled with several cushy seats in the area and the soft crash of the tide in the near distance, it provides just the right amount of relaxation and ambience for an easy Friday night in. 
She folds herself into one of the lounge chairs, starts up one of her quieter shoegaze playlists, smiling to herself. Yeah, this was definitely a good call for tonight. 
True to their word, Fanboy and Bob come waltzing through the door ten minutes later, each with beers in one hand and what looks like a bag of snacks in the other. For Fanboy, it’s Takis and mini pretzels. For Bob, it’s cool ranch flavored sunflower seeds and smoked mini sausages. Sure, it’s not the most inspired bunch of snacks - but food is food, and Katie is glad they at least had the thought to get some. 
“You’re a peach,” Katie beams when Bob comes over and hands off the coveted six-pack to her. “How much do I owe you?” 
Bob waves the question off and shakes his head. “Don’t worry about it.”
“No, c’mon, lemme pay you back-”
“Sand Trap, seriously, it’s fine.” He grins at Katie as he takes the lounge seat opposite hers, all nice and easygoing and good-natured, but the glint in his eyes makes it clear that the issue is no longer up for discussion. 
Well. Bob might not have taken very well to growing up in the South, but he sure as hell has the ‘southern gentleman’ mannerisms down pat. Isn’t that nice. 
Still, Katie can’t help but grumble. “Fine, but I’m buying next time.” She settles back in her seat, twists off the top on beer number one. She doubts he’ll let her pay for whatever it is they buy next time, but damned if she’s not going to try. 
“Yeah,” Bob hums around his first bottle of Shiner Bock, “we’ll see about that.” 
“I’m sure we will.” Yep, she was right about that one. Not giving it up that easily. Not that it’s a bad thing. Katie likes a guy with a sense of chivalry. “Pass me some of those sausages.”
Bob obliges, holding out the open bag to her, and she grabs a handful and fastens one between her lips. It’s punchy, full of minced hatch chilis and spice, a nice counter to the languid citrus haze of her beer. Not bad for cheap snack food from the NEX. 
“These are good,” she murmurs after a bite of sausage and a swallow of beer. “I’m gonna have to start buying these.” A snicker bubbles out of her mouth after a second. “Maybe that’s how I’ll repay you, Bob - just buy you a giant bag of hatch chili sausages.”
“Sand Trap-”
“Oh, c’mon Bob, I gotta repay you somehow! Lemme be nice!” Katie laughs, giggles tremoring in her chest as she takes another swill of beer. “Lemme be your friend and repay the favor.”
“You’re a plenty good enough friend without having to buy me stuff.”
And so the banter circles, and circles, and circles again. Katie’s not going to lie, it’s tiresome - but she keeps it up all the same. After all, it’s nice seeing Bob relax, nice seeing him engage in the dumb antics and arguments most others get themselves into. 
It’s nice seeing him comfortable. 
Speaking of being comfortable…
“Hey Bob?”
“Mmm?”
“You can call me Katie.” She can feel Fanboy’s amused side-eye boring into her the second she says it, but she doesn’t give a damn. Bob’s been her friend long enough; he’s certainly earned the privilege. 
His blue eyes glimmer behind his glasses, and the corners of them crinkle in time with the grin that spreads across his face. He says nothing, but he doesn’t have to - the look on his face says everything. 
“What about me? Can I call you Katie?”
“Loser - we literally established this the day we met!” 
“I know, but I wanted to get in on the moment! It was too cute to pass up!”
“You are the absolute worst,” Katie snickers before flicking a bottle cap in Fanboy’s direction. 
And there the three of them sit, drinking well into the wee hours of the night, snarking and poking fun at each other, vibing, laughing, living, basking. 
Few things truly are better than drinking with one’s fellow aviators. 
***
Week 3. Coffee with Bob in his hotel room at 0630 is a fairly daily occurrence now. Katie makes a note in her head that Monday morning to get her hands on some good coffee beans later in the day. It seems like the only proper ‘thank you’ for the man who’s been sharing his small supply of caffeine with her this past week. 
They’re sitting at his counter, scribbling their last little bits of homework before the day starts, sipping from their mugs while the usual coffeehouse jazz streams from his computer. Katie should be kicking herself for not having this done the night before, but she can’t be bothered to care too much. If anything, doing it now gives her a chance to cross-check things afterwards with Bob. 
Or so she says. 
“Y’know, it really is fascinating, what you can accomplish when you procrastinate,” Katie muses. 
“If stress and anxiety weren’t side effects of it, I’d do it more often.”
“Agreed. Although I’m not sure what you have to be stressed or anxious about. You’re easily the smartest guy in our class. If anything, I feel like this whole thing should be a slam dunk for you.”
Bob shrugs. “It’s only easy because I have my setup to worry about, nothing else. Point, shoot, done. You, on the other hand, have my ultimate respect because you do that AND fly at the same time.”
“I don’t think I’m very good at it, though. I’m doing my damnedest to prove my worth, but… I dunno.” Katie’s lips purse as she looks down at her work, scribbles in her final notes. “Honest truth? I dunno how I even wound up here. There are definitely way better pilots out there. They’d be more deserving of a spot here than me.” She’s stopped writing at this point, gaze downcast and jaw clenching tighter and tighter. God, how it pains her to admit that, but she knows it’s true. She’s been told that her whole life; it’s not like she can just wipe it from her mind, her entire existence. Hell, she heard it from Melendez last week. No amount of anger, hard work, or successful hops can erase that.
Why do you bother? You’re not good enough. You’ll never be good enough for them, Katherine Mae… They don’t know you like I do…
They don’t love you like I do.  
“Well, I think that’s a crock of shit,” Bob declares, voice cutting through the poison swirling in Katie’s head. “You’re a hell of a pilot, Sand Trap; someone clearly thought you deserve to be here. And I know that whoever sent you here, they’re not the only one thinking that.”
“Oh yeah? You one of those other people?” Katie mutters. 
There’s a beat of silence. Then…
“Yeah, actually, I am.”
Katie blinks, looks over at Bob, finds herself looking into his eyes, that endless stretch of cerulean. There’s an earnestness in them that makes her stomach clench and her breath hitch, just the tiniest bit. It’s not often that she hears serious reassurance like that. In fact, it’s rare, so rare that Katie finds herself at a bit of a loss for words. Or proper response. Or anything, really, because not only is it coming from a colleague of hers, it’s coming from him, from Bob, and how the fuck is she supposed to react to that, to someone like him actually giving a shit? 
She feels her face growing hot, burning red. She drops her head down, low enough so that he can’t see the embarrassment scorching across it. “Thanks,” she mumbles. 
Out of the corner of her eye, she sees Bob smile. “I’d fly with you any day of the week and twice on Sunday, Sand Trap.” 
Her whole body is burning now, and whether it’s with pride, pleasure, or shame, she’s not sure. Whatever the case may be, it’s a first for her.
She needs to speak. That’s what she needs to do. 
It’s on the tip of her tongue to tell Bob ‘thank you’, to say some sort of one-and-done pleasantry - but all she can think to say, in that exact moment, is…
“Thought I told you to call me Katie, Bob.” 
Though he seems momentarily taken aback by the answer (maybe he was anticipating her saying ‘thank you’ too), Bob chuckles, his cheeks tinted with the barest hint of red. 
“I’ll keep that in mind from now on, Katie.” 
This time, Katie doesn’t even try to hide her face when heat tears across her cheeks. Something about Bob using her first name the way that he does, so innocent and personal… It does something to her. What the hell’s happening to her?
She coughs, cobbles her things together and tosses them into her black backpack. “We don’t, um… have that much time left before class. I’m just - I’m - um, I’m gonna go-” It’s abrupt, out of nowhere, and certainly nowhere near the calm, cool, and easygoing responses she usually gives, and all she wants to do immediately after saying it is kick herself, because Jesus Christ, could she look like any more of a psychotic dweeb? 
Bob, poor thing, seems just as confused. “Okay… Um… Guess I’ll see you in class then.” 
Katie’s bolting out of the room and shutting the door behind her before ‘yep’ has even passed her lips. She doesn’t want to stick around long enough for him to see the internal meltdown she’s about to suffer. He definitely doesn’t need to see that. 
“Seriously, Katie?” she hisses to herself as she marches down the hallway to the elevators. “What the fuck was that? He used your first name - after you LITERALLY told him to! Could you have reacted any more weirdly to that?” 
Well, I don’t know - when was the last time you let yourself entertain ANY sort of male attention? Especially from someone that you, oh, I don’t know, MIGHT HAVE AN INTEREST IN?
Could she, though? Could she really? 
No, Katie decides - no, insists - in the elevator ride down to the lobby. She and Bob are friends, nothing more. That’s the way it will be - the way it has to be.
Anything more than that and she risks opening wounds and exposing truths that should never see the light of day.
She shakes her head with a quiet snarl, makes her way out of the lodge and off to her car.
She’s gonna have to have a long conversation with herself when she’s done with everything for the day - a very fucking long one. 
***
It’s Tuesday evening, a late one. Katie’s been staring at the same piece of instruction on aerial bombing maneuvers for the last half hour now and none of the information has absorbed into her brain. Whether it’s due to the late hours or the fact that it’s fairly complex material, it’s refusing to stick - and Katie is rapidly losing her patience with it. 
With a huff of exasperated resignation, she tosses the paper away with no concern about where it lands, and thumps back against her bed’s headboard. What use is there in trying to force memorization? At this point she’s been reading and rereading the same three sentences with no clue of what they’re saying. Better to just say ‘fuck it’ for the night and pick up where she left off tomorrow, when her brain - and patience - is refreshed. 
She lets her eyes slide shut with a sigh, thoughts tapering off into nothingness, welcoming the call of a peaceful night’s sleep…
Until the sound of her phone buzzing, rattling on the nightstand jars her awake again.
The phone continues to buzz on the nightstand, her sister’s name and number scrolling across the screen. Katie frowns. Naomi’s talkative, sure, but she’s not really the type to reach out with a phone call - not unless there’s something going on. What could be going on at close to 2230 on a Tuesday, Katie’s not sure, but she hopes it’s nothing too serious.
She rolls over, grabs the phone off the nightstand, accepts the call. “Hey kiddo, what’s up?”
“Katherine.”
Katie’s stomach lurches and her blood runs cold. Her. Oh god, her. 
It’s a fight to maintain composure, to not fly into a seething, furious rage at the mere sound of her voice. Four years since she last saw her and Katie’s still licking the wounds from her last encounter with her. This bitch is the last person she wants to talk to. 
“Carrie.”
She makes a sound on the other end - a ‘tut’ of disdain, Katie realizes. Jesus - is she actually thinking of scolding her, of shaming her?”
“‘Carrie’? Is that any way to address the woman who gave birth to you? I-”
“You lost that ‘mom’ title a long time ago and you know it,” she hisses before immediately closing her eyes and clenching her jaw. Fuck, fuck fuck fuck, she can’t be snapping like that. It’s how she pulls her into her bullshit; it’s how she’s always done it. Katie needs to calm down, and fast. 
She inhales through her nose, exhales forcefully, grips the phone tight in her hand, evens her breathing and pitch. “What do you want?”
“Well, I want to talk to you,” Carrie replies, as if the answer is obvious. “I just found out that my oldest daughter’s on the West Coast; why else would I be calling?”
“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I don’t want to talk to you?” No, of course not, Katie thinks. This is her mother; the only person she’s ever paid close attention to is herself. The feelings and boundaries of her kids don’t matter to her. They never have. 
“Why would you say something so horrible? What have I done to deserve that?”
Katie doesn’t even try to swallow her cackle of incredulity. “Are you serious? Do you want a list of all the shit you’ve done? I mean Jesus Carrie, you stole Naomi’s phone to get to me!”
“Let me remind you that I pay the bills in this family, and that includes the one for your sister’s phone. I may allow her to use it, but this is MY phone, understand?”
She’s pulling her into her bullshit already; Katie can feel it. Her immediate response should be to cut her off and end the conversation right here, just like she’s done countless times before - and yet, she can’t. It’s been a long week and it’s not even over yet. She’s tired, her guard is down, and after the last two minutes, her blood pressure is climbing and threatening to spill over. If anyone should know how pissed off and exhausted she is, it’s Carrie. 
“Do you hear yourself? What kind of fucked up ‘no privacy’ bullshit are you on?”
“Oh, don’t you lecture me, Katherine Mae. I do what I do to keep this family together. And if this is what I have to do to keep my other daughter from abandoning it like you did, then so be it.” 
Oh, that’s it. That’s fucking it. Katie’s not doing this anymore. 
“Well, you clearly haven’t changed, so I no longer feel compelled to keep this conversation going.” 
“Katherine, don’t you dare-”
“I’m done, Carrie. Give Naomi her phone back and don’t call me again.” 
Katie then disconnects the call before Carrie has the chance to protest, the action decisive, unwavering, final. She should’ve ended that call a long time ago, and she knows she’ll be kicking herself for it later, but she’s out of it now and that’s all that matters. That bitch isn’t getting to her anymore tonight; she won’t let her. 
But goddamn, did she come close to it. 
Worse still, Katie knows it probably won’t be the only time that it happens - that Carrie finds ways to pull her back into her lies and abuse. This is only the start. And though she might’ve had the strength to shut Carrie down this time, there’s no guarantee that she’ll have it for the next run-in with her. 
And that? That scares Katie. It scares the living shit out of her. 
She needs an escape. Now. Before the memories threaten to consume her. 
She slips in her Airpods, puts on Drop Nineteens’ Kick the Tragedy, cranks the volume to drown out the voices and nightmares swirling in her head, and pulls her knees tight to her chest, trembling. 
It’s a position she stays locked in for the rest of the night. 
***
“Does this instruction make any sense to you or am I just stupid?” 
Katie’s currently sitting at a corner table in the buffet area with Bob, surrounded by notebooks, scattered sheets of paper, and small stacks of flight manuals. The piece of instruction Katie’s currently focused on is the same one from the night before, but she’s reading and poring over it with a renewed sense of determination (and spite, if she’s being honest) - or, at least, she’s trying to. It’s still as dense and heavy as when she last read it and it’s still not willing to stick in her brain. 
She groans loudly when Bob glances over at the paper and shakes his head, thumps her head into her forearms. “I’m so fucked for this test on Friday,” she moans. “This is 65 percent of what we’re being tested on and I can’t” - thump - “fucking” - thump - “understand it.” 
“Maybe put it down then, focus on something else?” 
“I dunno. Maybe. My brain’s soup at this point.”
“Hm.” Bob drums his fingers contemplatively on the tabletop, seems to rack his brain for a solution. It isn’t until he glances down at the watch fastened around his wrist, though, that he comes up with something - and that ‘something’ involves him packing up all their study materials, rising to his feet, and gently pulling Katie to her feet by her elbow. 
At first, she’s confused. “What are you doing?”
“Stopping for the night. We’ve been at this for the last four hours and it’s almost 11.”
“So?”
“So, that would explain why you’re having a hard time absorbing material,” Bob explains. “You’re tired; your brain’s not gonna absorb much when you’re tired.”
He says it so calmly, so simply. Fuck, it is simple, and Katie knows it. But, somewhere in the back of her mind… she can’t bring herself to go along with it. She’s a fighter pilot. More importantly, she’s a 1% fighter pilot in arguably the most challenging course the Navy has to offer. She should be soaking this material up, not getting stuck on the particulars of two-man air-to-surface strikes, literally the simplest shit. What kind of pilot is she if she can’t even figure this out? A lousy one, that’s what-
“Katie.”
Bob’s voice seems to melt through the nagging in her head, rendering it to little more than a whisper. She blinks, slowly, drifts back into reality, her very tired, very sleep-deprived reality. 
Okay. Maybe he has a point. Exhaustion is definitely doing a number on her. 
But hell if she’s going to admit it out loud. 
Somewhat thankfully, Bob seems to pick up on that reluctance and speaks for her. “Here, I’ll walk you up.” He reaches a hand out, as if to touch her, but seems to think better of it after a second and pulls it back, choosing instead to nod in the direction of the elevators. “C’mon.” 
They’re quiet as he escorts Katie up to the third floor and down the corridors to her room. When they finally come to a stop at her door, the exhaustion has set in with a swiftness and intensity she hasn’t seen since she was in OCS. She wonders briefly how she ever managed to power through it.
Bob takes her key card, swipes it across the reader and opens the door for her. “Get some sleep,” he tells her, voice soft. “I’ll hit you up in the morning, ‘kay?”
Katie nods mutely, steps over the threshold, allows Bob to pull the door closed. The exhaustion is weighing on her so heavily now that she doesn’t even react when it thuds shut more loudly than she’s used to. 
Bob’s right - she really does need to sleep. 
She trudges into her bedroom, fingers fumbling as she sets an alarm for 0600, then tosses the phone on the nightstand and falls face-first into the bed. She’s asleep seconds after her head hits the pillow, but not before her thoughts give a final whirl ‘round the study material, her pride in being a pilot, and her soft-spoken, bespectacled WSO classmate - the one who will be there for her in the morning. 
And sure enough, he is, for when Katie wakes up the next day at 06, there’s a single-word text waiting for her in her messages:
“Coffee?”
***
Two days later, after an extended study session with Bob and Fanboy the night before, Katie walks out of the test on Friday with two errors shy of a perfect score. The ironic part? The errors were on material completely unrelated to what she’d been stressing over two days ago. 
When she tells Bob and Fanboy as much on their way back to the lodge, they each respond with a shake of their head and a quiet laugh. 
“See, smartypants?” Fanboy says. “Told ya you’d be fine. Gotta learn to trust yourself more.” 
“Yeah, I’m working on that. Celebratory beer at the Hard Deck later?” 
“Don’t have to convince me.” Fanboy looks over at Bob, raises a questioning, but friendly eyebrow at him. “You tagging along or are you laying low?” 
“I mean, I gotta take a nap and catch up on the sleep I lost last night,” Bob replies casually, “but, uh… I could be persuaded.” He looks directly at Katie when he says the last part, making it abundantly clear that if anyone’s going to persuade him, it’s going to be her. 
And goddamn, if that doesn’t set the butterflies afrenzy in her stomach.
“Yeah, I’ll, uh, I’ll let you know what’s going on.” Katie’s attempt at replying in equally casual fashion is damn-near a failure; the pitch of her voice squeaks higher with each word she speaks. She’s not sure why it’s happening, but speaking or replying to Bob these days seems to be doing a number on her nerves. “Honestly, I’m probably gonna take a nap too; I’m feeling kinda’ dead.” 
“How late did you guys stay up after I left?” Fanboy asks them quizzically. 
Katie shakes her head. “Trust me, you don’t wanna know.” She herself is running on five hours of sleep; nerves and stress made it difficult for her to rack out at her usual time, wiring her awake well into the wee hours of the morning. A nap is an absolute necessity at this point if she has any desire to socialize later. “Meet up in the lobby in a couple hours?”
Bob nods. “Works for me.” 
The three of them pile into Katie’s 4Runner and putter their way back to the lodge, Catherine Wheel thrumming from the speakers as the mid-afternoon sun brightens the world around them. Were it not for the fact that she wants to be horizontal for her nap, Katie would be damn tempted to put her seat back and catch up on sleep in the warmth of her car.  
Bob splits off from Fanboy and Katie in the parking lot, leaving the two of them to stroll into the lobby together and ride an elevator up to their respective floors. For the most part, it’s quiet, comfortably shared silence between two friends. It’s short-lived, however; just before the elevator dings to a stop at his floor, Fanboy leans in towards Katie, eyebrow quirked inquiringly, smugly. 
“So, not a whole lotta sleep between you two… Was that all code for something and I just completely missed it, or-”
“Fanboy, I swear to God-”
Fanboy only snickers before splitting off for his room on the second floor, leaving Katie alone and red-faced in the elevator. Jesus Christ - if he keeps making comments like that, she might actually have to kill him. 
“‘Code for something’...” Katie mutters when the elevator reaches the third floor and she stomps off to her room. “Fucking menace.” If she didn’t know any better, she’d say that Fanboy was actively trying to push her and Bob together. 
Whatever. She’s not going to dedicate anymore thought to it, no sir - especially when she’s tired and still coming down from the stress of their test earlier. 
She loosens her laces and kicks off her flight boots, falling into the mattress with her hair still bunned and flight suit still zipped, settling in for some sleep that practically blacks her out for the next few hours. 
Later, after a nice, long, well-deserved nap and some dedicated relaxation time, the three of them are clustered around a high-top table at the Hard Deck, a small bowl of salted peanuts in the middle, beers of various brands in hand as they muse about their first three weeks at TOPGUN. They decide that, for as hard and as break-neck fast as it’s been going, all in all, it hasn’t been a bad experience so far. They’re conditions befitting their jobs - and lord knows, it hasn’t been boring. 
“Kinda’ makes me worry, though,” Bob murmurs. “We’re only three weeks in and it’s already been a helluva challenge. What are the other ten gonna be like?” 
Fanboy snorts, takes a swill of his pilsner. “You’re not telling me you’re scared, are you?”
“Apprehensive is more like it.”
“Eh, same difference. Not like you need to be scared though. It’s obvious you’re top brain in the class. You’ll get through this shit just fine.” 
“Yeah, so I’ve been told.” Bob’s eyes dart over to Katie for the briefest moment, holding her gaze for an even briefer moment before returning to the bottle in his hand. “I’m just waiting to see where Everhardt takes us next, and, y’know, trying to prepare myself for it.” 
“Understandable.” 
“I mean, if the next ten weeks are anything like the last three, just assume he’s gonna try to run us into the ground and proceed from there,” Katie shrugs. “I’ve already resigned myself to getting my ass handed to me; you might as well do the same.”
“Says the girl who aced her test earlier,” Fanboy scoffs. 
“Almost aced her test earlier.”
“Oh whatever. You’re smart. You’ll be fine. Fuck, you’ll both be fine; you guys’ll probably take the top two spots.”
“Well, I’m certainly gonna try,” Bob murmurs with a bashful smile. “Can’t be helped if I get bested by this girl over here though.”
Fanboy shakes his head and sighs, but he does it with a smirk on his face. “This guy…”
“Nah, you’ll definitely best me, Bob; there’s no question about it.”
“We’ll see about that,” he replies. “May the best aviator win.”
“I’ll drink to that.” Katie raises her bottle. “While we’re at it, here’s to making it through air-to-surface.”
“And the first three weeks,” Fanboy chimes in as he raises his. 
Bob’s the last to raise his, and his accompanying sentiment really rounds the evening out. “Onward to the next and best.”
Clink. 
@thestagsheadsblog @everything-i-love-in-life @luckyladycreator2 @docdetective @airedale17
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klarion-the-witch-boy · 3 months
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20 Questions For Fic Writers
Tagged by @marirah! Love you, babe 😘
I'm TheWitchBoy and Klarion on AO3. 🫡
How many works do you have on AO3?
158 on TheWitchBoy
14 on Klarion (but I don't feel like logging into Klarion rn, so that's probably the only thing I'll answer for Klarion)
What’s your total A03 word count?
904,184 words on TheWitchBoy
What fandoms do you write for?
A lot of DC, some Marvel, a bit of Star Wars, a pinch of Harry Potter, a dash of Supernatural. Anything that strikes my fancy, really.
What are your top five fics by kudos?
Odd One, or, Wally's Mysterious Boyfriend. T, Birdflash, Secret ID Reveals, Humour.
A Strange Family. T, SuperBat (Pre-Relationship), Secret ID Reveals, Shenanigans.
A Game of Guess Who With Big Blue. G, Gen, Mistaken Identities, ID Shenanigans, Humour.
Grinning Shadow of the Bat. T, Batfam, Dialogue Centric, Shenanigans, Humour.
Secret Visitors (on the Watchtower). G, Gen, Secrets, Humour.
What’s the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I know this one... It's one of my DCWC fics. Uhh. The Unwanted Return of the Past. Or maybe The Cliff Walk? I'm not much of an angst writer, I don't think.
Oh wait, I did try my hand at writing expressions of grief that one time, of Dick after Jason's death. Picking Up the Broken Pieces.
What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Damn. Happiest ending. Uh. Maybe ...Trading Spouses? Most of my fic has happy endings, idk
Do you get hate on your fic?
I don't think so?
Do you write smut?
Yes, but only on Klarion. I prefer TheWitchBoy to be (mostly) sfw.
Do you write crossovers?
Sometimes. Mostly DC/White Collar (I have a series for those ones, actually). Sometimes DC/Marvel.
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I don't think so. But, way back in my dA days, I did lil Harry Potter comics and those were stolen lmao. I didn't care much at the time and I don't care much now, though.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not that I know of?
Have you ever co-written a fic?
Yeah! With the cryptid roommate! The Clue fic (it's Supernatural, that's you're only warning).
What‘s your all-time favourite ship?
That's a hard one. I think - if folks know me for any ship - they probably know me for Birdflash? That's definitely up there. In this minute, right now, though? Maybe Matt/Frank. Maybe TimKon. I'm not good at picking favourites.
What’s the WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
Unrepentant. :/ I wanna do it, but at this point it's been so long I don't think I can fool myself about it.
What’s your writing strengths?
Dialogue (or so I like to think). It's what I have the most fun with, anyway.
What’s your writing weaknesses?
Remembering what I wrote, probably.
Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I prefer it in moderation? I dunno, I think dabbling in other languages isn't a bad thing, but for myself I do like to understand what I'm putting to paper.
But also I don't like when an English fic sticks Cyrillic or katakana or whatever else into dialogue - Romanize that, so it can be read, however roughly, please. Otherwise I hear like... Villager Gibberish when my eyes pass over it and that's low-key uncomfy lmao.
First fandom you wrote for?
Prrrobably Kingdom Hearts? Or Final Fantasy 7: Crisis Core? Damn, going all the way back to my pre-AO3 days, there. And pre-fanficdotnet days.
Favourite fic you’ve ever written?
Right now, my favourite written/shared fic is Signs and Portents. It's a Fusion Fic of Supernatural and the movie Signs. I deeply enjoyed writing it. Sadly, it's not quite what folks were looking for to read. XD that's fine, though, since I wrote it for me, anyway.
Too tired to tag anyone, sorry. ✌️ If you feel like doing it, then you're it now. You're officially tag. Shoo, go write up your answers!
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c-rose2081 · 2 years
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Starchild || 13. F-211
(Disney Z-O-M-B-I-E-S)
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“I gave you direct orders on how tonight was supposed to go. What happened?”
“I-I don’t know sir…”
“Don’t give me excuses! I want answers. Why wasn’t Zed’s z-band disengaged?”
“It was, sir!”
“Clearly it wasn’t, or there would be more CARNAGE! Those Eastside players should’ve been zombie chow. What went wrong!”
“Sir, nothing went wrong. His z-band was off. We made sure of it. His vitals were spiking, just as you wanted. We watched the whole thing.”
“So what? He just decided not to go zombie for once? Of all the days…”
“No sir. He was a zombie. His band was off; he had no control. Something…stopped it.”
“Something?”
“A massive power surge straight to his brain, sir. It fried the neural processors caused by Zombiism for a few moments — enough time to derail the whole experiment.”
“Something more powerful than the z-band? That’s not possible.”
“Three times as much power, sir. There was also some sort of electrical anomaly around the same time as the experiment went sideways. We lost all vital data until Zed’s z-band reengaged automatically.”
“That doesn’t make sense. Every aspect of this experiment was controlled. Every. Single. Second.”
“There was…one thing, that we hadn’t counted on, sir.”
“And what was that?”
“A girl.”
“A girl?”
“Yes sir. We couldn’t see it from here, but supposedly his girlfriend met Zed on the field when things went wrong.”
“Jones, this is highly sensitive, and advanced technical equipment. Zombies are monsters — powerful ones. Rampages are not stopped BY TEENAGE GIRLS!”
“I wouldn’t be so sure, sir. She was the only anomaly in the testing. Nothing else could’ve administered the shock. Maybe she…I dunno, did something?”
“Did something. Right. Because the girlfriend of an undead football star has the power of medical AED equipment in her palms, and casually shocked some sense into him.”
“That…uh…well, seems to be the only option left.”
“Oh for crying out loud.”
“It’s the only explanation sir. Unless Zed just randomly got struck by lightning on a clear night.”
“Fine. Fine, Jones, I get it. What was her name?”
“Addison, sir. Or so my daughter has told me.”
“Addison. We’ll bring her in for questioning and put this nonsense to rest. Keep monitoring Zed’s vitals, and administering F-211. We can’t let this screw up mess with our data.”
“Yes sir.”
“Any new reports about our UFO pilot?”
“No, sir. It’s either gone, or hiding better than we can find it.”
“Hm. I’m getting too old for this. Remember Jones, any more mistakes and it’s your job on the line.”
“Yes, sir. Of course, sir.”
“Good. Now get back to work. I have a teenager to go find.”
Tag List:
@theredrenard
@disneyfan50
@rose-sparks13
@magical-ashley
@kokinu09
@octolingo-writes
@fantasticvoidnerdshoe
@sayorseee
@zeddisonss
@uglyduckling339
@descendantofthesparrow
@mbradshaw1997
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lenreli · 6 months
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20 questions for fic writers!
Thank you @virgo-dream!! :D
1. How many works do you have on AO3?
92 fics! Dunno how that happened, but sure.
2. What’s your total AO3 word count?
368k. Wow. That's over many years though, with I'm very sure the latest 100k being dreamling.
3. What fandoms do you write for?
Dreamling.... and before that superbat, which I'd also like to write more of but uh, dreamling, they've taken over my brain, so. 😅
4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?
The Accidental Summoning of Kaneki Ken (1.1k kudos)
The Problem With Clark Kent (631 kudos)
you're every luxury (590 kudos)
want some get some (572 kudos)
the difference between stone and skin (567 kudos)
5. Do you respond to comments? Why or why not?
I love responding to them! :D
6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
I think a hk fic, actually. Though it ended more open-ended than angsty, I think.
7. What’s the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Many of them. I prefer it. :D
8. Do you get hate on fics?
Think I got hate on one recently. It was just confusing, mainly. 🤔
9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Yes! Uh, m/m smut.
10. Do you write crossovers? What’s the craziest one you’ve written?
I do not.
11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?
I don't think so? But maybe? I've written many things over the yrs and my memory sucks so.
12. Have you ever had a fic translated?
No. :(
13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?
Not yet. Sounds fun though.
14. What’s your all time favorite ship?
Superbat and dreamling atm.
15. What’s a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will?
I have ideas that are quite long, but getting the energy and motivation to write is always a toss-up.
16. What are your writing strengths?
I can do world-building in very few words, so people have told me with my latest dreamling smut drabbles. :D Also, constantly get complimented on how IC characters are, so that too.
17. What are your writing weaknesses?
My brain. :D
18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?
I'd probably get someone who speaks that language to help me out with that gfhfgj
19. First fandom you wrote for?
Uhhhhh. YGO I think? Hm.
20. Favorite fic you’ve written?
Idk, I have many. :D
Tagging uhhhhhh @teejaystumbles @blueberrymffn @honeyteacakes and anyone else who wants to I guess. No pressure ofc.
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