So I could really use some advice

Creative Hobbies (And Other Musings)

I've been thinking about something lately, and I'd like to put my thoughts out there to see if anyone else has felt the same thing. (Warning: Long and ramble-y)

For the last couple weeks, I've been doing a lot of "making things" in my free time. Mostly writing, but also putting down ideas, editing works, and otherwise. A lot of my hobbies are creative, and while that's good, its almost overwhelming. I started a new job a few weeks ago and I can't really think of the last time I actually just sat down and relaxed by playing a game or something in my free time. I do a lot of reading, sure, but whenever I get home from work I tend to idly watch YouTube since that takes significantly less effort. Then, usually by the end of the night, I'll start writing something and then oop, I gotta go to bed now to go to work in the morning.

It's kind of...exhausting, having so many creative hobbies. I edit videos, I do 3D art (although that one's on hiatus until I can upgrade my PC cuz god my workflow is so slow cuz blender just freezes every time I wanna do something), I write, and like...I just wish I could pause my brain and enjoy doing something for the hell of it. My mind is just so busy, and while part of me wishes I could slow it down to enjoy things, another part of me is glad I have outlets for creativity. The one downside is that all my energy goes into these outlets, not really leaving time to just turn my brain off (to a degree) and enjoy something, save for just wasting time on youtube.

I want to create things, first off because I enjoy doing it, but also because I feel like if I can make something that even one other person enjoys, I'll have added value to the world in a tangible way. I love receiving positive comments on my writing (not that I'm simply writing for approval or praise), but sometimes the hustle and bustle of making things just wears me out. If I do turn on a game for a little while, it's something quick and easy to pick up and play or dedicate only a little bit of time to, so I always have the ability to shut it off and get back to whatever I was doing.

I like my hobbies, but I have a habit of turning them into work over time. I like order, I like a schedule, I like consistency. It forces me to always engage in something I enjoy, and maybe even get better at it to become a more rounded individual. But without fail, I will always find myself becoming a slave to my hobbies. A slave to something I started doing to have fun, to express myself, to take what I'm feeling and put it somewhere for others to see. Hideo Kojima often says that 70% of his body is made of movies. Well, 100% of my body is made of my creative pursuits. That doesn't leave a lot for much of anything else. I work, I come home, I work on something, and then I go to sleep. I still enjoy writing, but I'm worried that the same thing will happen where it becomes work. Where it becomes the very thing I tried to escape by engaging in it.

They say to write what you know, but I tend to write what I want. I don't really want to go into detail, because I don't wanna be a sad sack and get all depressing on here, but you know that "depressing" thing I was talking about writing the other day? Well, that's an instance of writing what I know. If you read between the lines, that's where I put myself. If you shift your perspective to the whole of it, it's what I want. I said I didn't want to insert too much of myself into my writing, into my work, but it just happens sometimes.

Fiction is written by people, and people have a lot of experiences. Feeling emotion for fiction isn't CrInGe because "it's not real". It's the result of perspective, emotions, experiences, and that's real.

Sorry, I know I've been a real downer recently, but life has been fucking me raw and its starting to come to a head (oh boy! I can't wait til the holidays for things to get even worse!). Here's hoping I can use this as a force for creativity haha... Seems almost sad to think about; considering my own struggles as inspiration for creativity. But that's just how my brain works, I guess. I live on a roulette wheel of hyperfixations and all I can do is wait for it to stop spinning and start walking in that direction. Whatever my mind wills, I will do. It's the only way to stay sane. If I fell apart and just did nothing, well...I've already been there. Boredom is one step towards madness, and no play makes Drac a dull boy.

So yeah, that's a bit of a ramble for tonight. Hopefully, one day, I can look back on this and laugh.

So I have a University assignment due at midnight, which I have absolutely zero motivation to do, but it did inspire this little piece.

Distractions

//AKA Dabi Distracts You From Your Work 💙

Dabi x Female Reader (NSFW)

Genre: smut, porn with very little plot involved, fluff

Includes: biting, unprotected sex, hair pulling, cock warming, teasing, pet names, fingering, crying (pleasure), after care, Dabi’s piercings

You can’t tell me that Dabi isn’t the type of guy who would gladly use sex as a means of distracting you from your work

Especially if he feels as though you’re paying too much attention to it and not him

And if you’re a university student, he would definitely fuck your brains out instead of letting you finish an assignment that he knew you had due

Maybe you make the mistake of letting him sit in your desk chair while you sit on his lap, so at least you can be close to him

He’d start off with his chin resting on his shoulder and his arms wrapped loosely around your waist, but it wouldn’t take long for his hands to begin to wander

One hand would drift down to your inner thigh, and begin tracing feather light patterns along the exposed skin he found there with the tips of his fingers, teasingly close to where you really want him to touch you

Meanwhile, his other hand has slipped under your shirt and is now toying with your nipples

And while all this is going on, you’re still desperately trying your best to concentrate, but it’s becoming increasingly harder for you to focus on typing out an essay when your boyfriend’s hands are doing sinful things to your body

It’s when he starts trailing his lips along your neck, nipping, sucking, and leaving tiny bruises behind that you give in to his touches

Dabi’s hand leaves its place on your thigh and his thumb hooks around the waist band of the skimpy pair of gym shorts you’d decided to wear around the house that day

You raise your hips, just enough for him to slide them down to your knees, where they fall and drop to the floor

He pops open the button on his jeans, and you swear you can feel yourself getting just that little bit wetter at the loud sound his zipper makes in the otherwise quiet apartment

His hands go to your hips, and he lowers you onto his achingly hard cock

A small gasp escapes your lips, you’d been careful not to brush up against his dick while you were working, not wanting to encourage Dabi’s teasing

You’d known he was horny, obviously, but you hadn’t realised how hard he truly was

The two of you moan when he’s fully sheathed inside your heat

You expect him to start bouncing you up and down on his cock, but when he doesn’t you figure he wants you to be the one taking charge

Instead, his hands tighten around you warningly, and he keeps you seated firmly in his lap

“Don’t you have something to do, princess?”

“But I thought-”

“You thought wrong angel.”

You can practically hear the smirk in his voice, knowing full well that if you turn your head to look at him, you’ll see one on his face

“Consider this your punishment for ignoring me.”

Part of you can’t believe Dabi is making you finish your assignment instead of fucking you, especially when his cock is buried inside you

Another part of you can totally believe it, knowing all too well what a tease your boyfriend can be

He sits back and begins drawing lazy circles around your throbbing clit

Somehow, you manage to type out a paragraph, and you think that maybe you can do this

Until Dabi decides to flex beneath you, the seemingly innocent movement making his dick twitch inside of you, driving you crazy from the stimulation

You could have tears rolling down your cheeks as you beg him to bend you over your desk and just fuck you already

Instead, he’d have the audacity to coo softly in your ear:

“Come on baby girl, I thought you needed to concentrate?”

But the moment you finish that assignment and submit it to your Professor, he’s pulling out of you and standing up so fast that the chair he’d been sitting on falls over backwards

He quickly manages to get rid of the few articles of clothing the two of you have left between you

Before you know it, Dabi has you bent over the desk, one hand tangled in your hair and the other at your hip in a grip so tight that it's bound to leave bruises. He thrusts into you rapidly, setting a brutal pace. The sounds of skin on skin slapping together, and the obscene noise your cunt makes as he fucks into you fills the air of the studio apartment you share with him.

It takes an embarrassingly short amount of time for you to cum around Dabi’s cock, already pent up and overflowing from almost an hour's worth of Dabi teasing you. Your thighs are glistening as you let go, screaming his name so loudly that your neighbours are sure to file another noise complaint against the two of you come the evening. He releases his grip on your hair, trailing his fingers down your body until they rest between your thighs, and begin to draw circles around your clit once more. Gone are the slow, teasing touches from earlier his only focus is on making you scream out his name out for a second time before he cums. Dabi leans forward, his chest pressing flush against yours back, practically laying on top of you as he rails you without mercy. You realise that you can feel the cold metal of his nipple piercings pressing into your back, and the mental image it conjures makes you clench around him. Dabi lets out a soft groan, his lips brushing the shell of your ear.

“Fuck sweetheart, you have no idea how good you feel wrapped around me,” he pants, his voice breathy as it caresses your neck. “So good and tight for me, fuck. Come again angel, one more time, I wanna hear you scream my name.”

“God Dabi, yes! Yes! Yes!” You whine, trailing off into a hiss at one particularly hard thrust. “Right there baby, I’m so close, fuck!”

Without missing a beat, he shifts himself slightly, angling his cock in a way that Dabi knew would have you seeing stars and hurtling over that precipice you were dangling from. You were convinced you could feel the tip of him pounding against your cervix, dragging deliciously against your walls in all his pierced glory as he brushed past that sweet spot hidden inside of you with each and every punishing thrust. This new angle, abusing your g-spot while his fingers danced over clit, your nipples being teased as they were dragged and pushed across the surface of your desk; All of it was proving to be too much for you. That coil deep inside of you winding tighter and tighter, rendering you all but incoherent. Your tipping point however, was when your boyfriend sunk his teeth into the junction of your shoulder and neck. It wasn't quite hard enough to break the skin, but you knew without a doubt that he would leave one hell of a mark. The pain from his teeth sends pleasure arcing through your body like waves of electricity, going straight to your pussy, causing that tightly wound coil to snap as you threw yourself from the edge you had been hanging onto for dear life.

"Fuck Dabi, I'm coming, FUCK!" You sobbed, cheeks feeling suspiciously wet. The way your pussy fluttered around him was exactly what Dabi needed to find his own release, his pace becoming more and more erratic as he continued to thrust into you, working you both through the shared orgasm. Your name left Dabi’s mouth in a loud moan that was practically pornographic. He came inside of you, painting your walls with his seed, your combined release already beginning to seep out of you from the sheer amount of cum he was pumping into your cunt.

Eventually, his thrusts come to a halt. Your face was pressed uncomfortably against your desk, and you were pretty sure there was a pen trapped beneath you, but at that moment you didn't quite have it in yourself to care. Your mind was pleasantly fogged over from the post orgasm haze, and had someone asked for your name in that given moment, it probably would have taken you a few minutes to recall.

The first thing you became aware of, was Dabi pressing a series of gentle kisses to your neck, paying particular attention to the large bite mark he had left in the heat of the moment. It throbbed slightly, but not unpleasantly so, soothed by the delicate pressure of his lips. Slowly, he pulled out, a small noise of displeasure escaping you at the sudden emptiness you felt with the absence of his cock. He pulled you up, and guided you gently over to the bed where the two of you collapsed together. His arms encircled your waist, gathering you up against his chest. Fingers began to play with your hair as your awareness slowly began to return, Dabi's lips now pressed gently to the top of your head.

"That was..." you trailed off, still slightly breathless.

"Yeah." He agreed, tracing patterns along your skin.

"I'm going to need a shower," you winced, feeling his cum already beginning to dry on you. You already dreaded the idea of getting up to leave the bed, knowing that by the time you did, your limbs would be feeling like jelly and there would surely be an ache settled between your thighs.

"Not yet," your boyfriend breathed. "I'll get up and get us a towel in a minute. Just, lie here with me for now, okay?"

"Okay," you murmured against him, not needing too much convincing.

"Maybe I should help you with your work more often, princess," he suggested, but was met with no reply. Dabi craned his neck to look down at you, only to realise that you had managed to fall asleep in his embrace.

Here’s that tag you asked for lovely, hope you enjoyed my first attempt at writing smut.

@simpforsadbois 💜

Let Me Worship You: Part 1 - Zemo x Fem!Reader

The fact that this man is the one who dragged me out of my refusing-to-write-fanfiction grave and let me post old work while working on new stuff is...Impressive. Damn you Daniel Bruhl.

Synopsis: With all the horrible things you had heard of Baron Helmut Zemo, you hadn't anticipated just how badly he wished to win you over. To a further extent, you certainly hadn't anticipated how tempting it would be to give in.

No bad NSFW this chapter - this is the lead up to the main course.

You were not an Avenger.

Unsurprising, really, given what you perceived to be your lack of talent and marketable super-heroine prowess, and so when Bucky called you up asking for a favour, you were pleasantly surprised.

You had only met Bucky on the rare occasion he let you help him, often expressing that he viewed you as a worrywart, a particularly bad day of his leading to him accusing you of trying to be his mother. He later apologized, hearing your explanation that you wanted to help in any way you could, and since you didn't have a superhero serum or fancy suit or arm, you relied on what you could - your mind and your giving nature.

He must have remembered this conversation, because he brought you with him and Sam to what appeared to be an underground parking garage.

"What're you talking about, you wanna break Zemo out of jail? Where the hell are we Buck? Have you lost your mind?!" Sam was raving as you followed behind the two men, silent as you stew over what Bucky had told you.

Babysitting duty.

You were effectively on glorified babysitting duty of an incredibly dangerous criminal.

"James..." you hesitated when he discussed this with you, how could you not? "I don't know how useful I'll be here."

"Very," he countered, his voice dull while his eyes were pleading. "Sam’s an Avenger, I have the serum. But you, you're just a person. Zemo will be less likely to hurt and immediately betray you because of that fact alone."

"He's killed people who've been in his way before. Normal people."

"He won't kill you. I'll make sure of that."

A heavy sigh escapes you as Sam and Bucky continue to bicker about the logistics of breaking Zemo out.

"I don't like how casual you're being about this, it's unnatural - and - where are we man?"

"I wouldn't mind an answer to that too," you supply, but any answer is interrupted by the sound of a door unlocking.

The three of you turn to approaching footsteps, and find no one other than Helmut Zemo striding towards you, dressed in a prison guard's uniform.

Sam responds immediately, arguing to throw him back in jail, while Bucky tries to calm him down. But you can't help but stare at the man before you as he removes the cap on his head, arms raised in an attempt to calm the men down.

"If I may" his voice rasped, but he was stopped short by Sam and Bucky in unison.

"NO!"

Zemo nodded, looking away almost sheepishly. "Apologies," came the quiet response.

If it were any other situation, you would have laughed - those two had the dynamics of a married couple and they couldn't stand each other. And for them to completely shut down the killer in front of them was...incredibly funny.

But you had a job to do.

As the boys continued to bicker, you took slow steps forward towards the man now looking you up and down, trying to place your part in all of this.

"Don't mind them," you spoke quietly, not wanting to distract Sam and Bucky, but still intending to speak with the criminal. "They're having some troubles in paradise. You must be Zemo."

His eyes take you in, a small smirk beginning to form. "So I must. May I have the pleasure of your name, Liebling?"

You offer your name hesitantly, and he repeats it back to you, as though he were sampling what it might taste like.

"Beautiful name, thank you." He turns to face the two men still arguing, not noticing your introductions. "I really think I'm invaluable..."

"Shut up..." Sam warned, before turning back to Bucky, looking between him and you.

You nod reassuringly to him - this is necessary, if the super soldiers are to be dealt with.

A sharp sigh leaves Sam. "Okay. If we do this, you don't make a move without our permission. And she is watching you every step of the way."

Bucky interjects. "And if anything happens to her, you're going to wish we left you in that cell."

Zemo nods, looking to you once again. "Fair."

You tilt your head slightly, unable to read his eyes as they examine you. You brush it off, chalking it up to him appreciating not being thrown back into a cell immediately. "Okay Zemo. Where do we start?"

*************************************

Zemo wasn't sure of what to make of you, he realized as you were on the jet to Riga.

You weren't an Avenger, you weren't a soldier, super or otherwise. You seemed to just be a person, one constantly offering her help where she could, even when it was to her own detriment.

He also took note of how rarely your help was appreciated or reciprocated.

You would offer help any moment you could, carrying supplies, offering to fetch food, simply offering and ear to listen. You were quick to attempt to smooth over Sam and Bucky's disputes, and you would play along with the role Zemo would assign you without much question - anything to help, you would say.

You were kind, he noticed as well. Smart, and shrewd, and clearly with trust issues, but you were kind and polite. You spoke with him as much as you might Sam or Bucky, you offered him your trust under the promise he would aide you find the super soldier serum. With your kindness, he thought it might be easy to manipulate you, to slip away from the group, maybe even to ask you to join him.

But there was an issue with his theory, he quickly noticed - any attempt to woo you, attract you, win you...didn't seem to work.

He hadn't been at the task long, mind you, but he had hoped you would be impressed with the jacket, the Baron title, the jet, the offer of wine. Instead, you simply seemed uncomfortable. Come Madripoor, you were happy to play the part of eye candy to escape much attention, yet when he offered you to keep the stunning dress, shoes, and jewelry ensemble you simply waved it off, claiming that you'd reimburse him if he insisted on you keeping it. You were happy to dance near him, unable to hide your laughter at his moves, yet he offered you a drink and you promptly declined, claiming it unnecessary.

Zemo's brow furrows as he observes you, awake and quietly reading as Sam and Bucky both sleep on the flight.

"What's your motive, Liebling?" he questions, and you glance up from your page.

"Don't tell me the criminal doesn't trust me," you respond wryly, turning your gaze back.

"No, I don't mean like that," he shifts, leaning forward to continue to observe the woman that was his guard. "I wonder what keeps you going. Some are motivated by riches, and dreams. Others from spite and anger. What do you want from life, my dear? What causes you to wake up in the morning?"

You pause, looking up to search his eyes to see where this question was coming from. You weren't sure what game he was playing, and you weren't sure how to answer him either. You eventually look back down to your book, a small smile playing on your lips.

"Nothing wakes me up in the morning, given I rarely get to sleep most nights."

His brows furrowed as she goes back to her pages, eager for the conversation to end. Her difficulty doesn't seem to be that he's a criminal - she's spoken plenty freely to him, she agrees to his plans...

The difficulty, he begins to realize with a smile. Maybe he's beginning to see what the difficulty is after all.

*************************************

You weren't sure what to make of Zemo, you think as you lie awake at night in the Riga safe house.

This criminal coming out of nowhere, apparently being rich as hell, so far doing nothing to cause you to believe he would betray you (yes, Sam and Bucky were shocked by his killing of Nagel, but really? You weren't shocked) ...but what shocked you the most was how badly he seemed to want to win you over.

You could justify it, sure. You're supposed to be his guard, he's likely trying to get you to let your guard down so he can escape. Yet when he's so charismatic, the way he holds himself, that voice...

Your eyes snap open sharply.

You were attracted to Zemo.

The man you're meant to be watching.

No, you told yourself. You're just lonely, and he's the first man offering you attention in a long time. It doesn't matter that his eyes examining you makes you blush, that you want to run your fingers through his hair, that a quiet voice your head wished that he would kiss you when he pulled you aside with one arm, other hand aiming at a pipe in Madripoor to blow up some poor saps...

It's the heat of the situation, you told yourself. Your options are Sam, Bucky, and Zemo...

Trust you to pick the worst option.

But how could you not, your mind whispers. When he danced like a goofball in a club your heart warmed. When he sat, filled with confidence and righteousness in the jet, legs splayed enough that you could perch on your knees in front of him, worship him, pleasure him. When he left the bathroom this morning in that damned robe, the deep V drawing your eyes down his chest before you could help himself.

You groaned. Of all the thoughts to keep you awake, why did it have to be your assignment on your mind?

It was too hot, your mind was swimming, you knew sleep wouldn't come soon.

And so, you stood, wrapping your arms around your book and padding downstairs in a loose t-shirt and shorts. Zemo had said that you were welcome to whatever resided within the safe house, and you were ready to take up his offer and steal a cup of tea.

You weren't expecting to find anyone else still awake. And yet, you weren't fully surprised to find Zemo sitting in the kitchen, bottle of whiskey at his side, a glass in his hand. He looks up at the sound of your footsteps, a soft smile on his face.

"Good evening, Liebling."

"Zemo. Can't sleep?"

"Unfortunately, not." He leans backwards slightly, examining you. "Another sleepless night for you as well."

"So it would seem."

You take a seat across the counter from him, not wanting to sit too closely to the man you were just fantasizing about. You were good at keeping a straight face, but you wondered if you got too close if he'd somehow be able to smell it on you.

He pushed his bottle forward, cocking an eyebrow at you.

"Drink?"

Your finger caresses the binding of your book as you hesitate to find the words.

"Actually, I had come down to make myself a cup of tea, if you don't mind."

Zemo's eyes lit up slightly, and he stood, motioning for you to stay where you were. "Allow me."

"You don't have to-" you begin to protest, but he's quick to cut you off.

"Please, Liebling, let me spoil you."

The heat that washes over you is clearly visible, if his chuckle is any indicator.

Silence falls and you quietly open your book as Zemo busies himself over the tea. In mere minutes a steeping mug is delicately placed in front of you. You smile graciously and nod, though you falter slightly as he doesn't return to the other end of the counter - rather, sitting on a stool right beside you, inquisitive eyes not leaving your face.

"Can I help you with something, Baron?" you question, taking the tea and blowing on it to cool it down somewhat. His eyes follow your movements, before travelling to meet yours again.

You could drown in those eyes -

"Day after day you offer your help, sarcastically or not," he begins, leaning forward slightly as he rests his chin on his hand, examining you. "Who offers help to the helper?"

You take a sip of your tea, tilting you head. "I don't know what you mean."

"Your refusal of my gifts, your reluctance to let me even make you a cup of tea - at first I wondered if it was in distrust of me, Liebling -"

"Well, you have killed people."

He quirks an eyebrow, and you motion for him to finish.

"I realize now it's because you're uncomfortable being cared for. You spend so much time looking after everyone else, you give no one the opportunity to worship you as you deserve."

You choked a bit on your tea at that.

"I don't know that I deserve to be worshiped, I just...exist. And do what I can to help others."

Zemo leaned forward further, slowly, so as to not push you away in result. "We haven't been acquainted for long, my dear, but from all I've seen from you with Sam, with James, and with an undeserving man such as myself...the strength in your soul and the empathy in your heart...It alone rises you so far above the men and women placed on pedestals because of their supernatural abilities."

You lean forward to match, but your eyes have steeled over. "Your sweet words won't make me let you go, Zemo. I won't betray Sam and Bucky."

He didn't miss a beat. "I should be so lucky to be held captive by you for eternity, Liebling. I don't ask you to betray your friends on my behalf."

"Then what do you want from me, exactly?"

You should be very afraid. The man who singlehandedly tore apart the Avengers is staring at you as if you were a last meal, his knees touching yours, his hand finding its way to lightly perch on your arm.

You should be afraid.

Yet despite your better judgement, you aren't.

"I want you to tell me every one of your desires, so I might fulfill them. I want to see you stand tall in the finest clothes money can buy, to whisk you away to Paris, Vienna, Rome, every beautiful local this world has to offer, local that pale in comparison to the beauty in front of me. I want you to let me bring you tea, wine, food, chocolates, and anything else that might please you. I want you to relax against me, to feel the tension you've had all mission to wash away in the most luxurious bath of your life, while I wash your beautiful hair, while I taste every inch of you."

His voice had dropped to nearly a whisper, and you couldn't stop yourself from leaning forward more to hang off his every word. "I'm not a stupid man. I know it's only a matter of time before I'm back in a prison cell of some kind. And even if I weren't, you may not believe the sincerity of my words. But tonight, little bird, I want you to let me worship you."

Your eyes fluttered as his hand reached forward to cup your cheek, thumb caressing over your bottom lip. You had the strength to look him dead in the eye with one final warning.

"If this is a trick of any kind, Zemo, I won't hesitate to let Bucky rip you to shreds."

The laughter that leaves him fans over your face, drawing your eyes to his lips.

"I'd expect nothing less, Liebling."

His eyes still search your face. A gentleman, you realize. He's waiting for permission.

You lean forward to close the gap, slowly letting your mouth brush over his, tasting him for the first time, as your hand raises to card through the locks of hair in his face. Your body thrums with anticipation of what's to come, with the anxiety that this may be a dangerous move, with pure, undiluted arousal from his words.

Yet you break away gently, both hands cupping his face now as he looks at you, curious as to why you stopped, pleased that his initial seduction worked.

Your hands slowly travel down to his own, and you stand, backing towards the way you came when you first gave up on sleep for the night.

"Come on then. You want to show me what being spoiled is like?"

A grin curls its way onto his face as he spins you in his arms, twirling you so that your back is against his front, his arms around you, his breath hot in your ear.

"Little bird, I'll give you everything you crave and more."

Flirtatious || David “Deacon” Kay

David "Deacon" Kay x Street!Reader, Jim Street x Sister!Reader

Summary: Jim's little sister visits and turns the life of a special Sergeant upside down.

Warnings: English is not my mothertounge. GIF isn’t mine, credit to owner.

A/N: I hope you all like this, let me know what you think. Love you all lots 💋

Words: 2097

Taglist: @browngirldominion

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For Deacon it was a normal day. At least what he could call normal since Annie left him. They tried as good as possible to make everything as easy as they could for the kids and they were as understanding as children could be. He stayed at the house with the kids while Annie went to her sister, who lived just down the street. It was Annie's wish. So in the morning, Deacon got up and ready, made breakfast and got the kids up for school. Annie would pick them up after. That was their routine since almost a year now. Once he got to work everything was as usual and normal as his day at work could be. Until she arrived.

*

With your travel bag over your shoulder and your favorite hot drink in your hand you slowly left the airport and headed towards the cabs. You missed LA. The burning heat in summer, the beach, and the waves and maybe even your younger brother. But if there was one thing about LA you didn’t miss it was traffic. You sighed when the driver had to stop yet again. "The traffic, huh?" He sighed. "Gonna be the death of me one day." You gave him a soft smile and nodded. "Well I surely didn't miss it." He laughed. Whole heartedly laughed. A big grin grew on your face. He was mid-fifties, no hair on his head but a full grayish beard in his face. "Vacation was that good?" You shook your head slightly as he stopped the car in front of the big compound. "No vacation. Lived out of city for some time but I'm coming back now." You paid him and gave him a soft smile with a quick thank you before leaving the cab and heading towards the entrance.

You knew these people were thorough but having to go through a complete body and back check that was worse than the one on the airport was something you didn’t expect. Another thing you didn’t expect was being escorted to your younger brother by some big muscular looking dude. "Sorry to interrupt Lieutenant, Commander. Street you've got a visitor." The guy stepped aside and gave you a chance to investigate the big room where some people were standing around a big table. "Y/N/N? No way!" Jim sprinted towards you and you opened your arms wide for him to hug you tight. He kissed the side of your head while picking you up slightly. "God I've missed you! You didn’t tell me you were back!" You chuckled when he let you down and gave him a big grin. "Well, surprise?" You shrugged before looking at his colleagues, all staring at the pair of you. "If you are busy now, I can come back later. Just wanted to see my little brother first thing." He rolled his eyes at you but then turned his head to the lieutenant, who gave him a nod. "It's alright. You wanna meet the team?" Now your heartbeat increased a bit. Meeting new people always made you nervous. You gave him a nod and dried your hands from the little film of sweat forming on it.

"So that's Lieutenant Lynch and Commander Hicks, my bosses. Sergeant Daniel Harrelson or Hondo, as we call him. Officers Dominic Luca, Chris Alonso, and Victor Tan. And lastly Sergeant David, or Deacon, Kay." You gave every single one of them a small smile while being introduced. Jim had his hand reassuringly on your back in between your shoulder blades. "It's nice to finally get to know the lot of you. Jim talks about you nonstop. I'm Y/N." The girl in the group, Chris, gave you a comforting smile. "Street talks about you all the time, too. He said you studied medicine?" You looked at Jim and raised an eyebrow. "Street, huh?" He just scoffed. "Yeah, I finished 4 weeks ago, now I'm just waiting to start practicing." Jim removed his hand from your back and gave your shoulder a short squeeze. The other Sergeant, Deacon had his arms crossed before his chest and gave you a soft smile when you locked eyes. "I'm sure you'll get a job soon." His voice made you shiver a bit, like an electroshock. "Thank you." You smiled softly and looked down. You needed to break the eye contact, otherwise you would have melted right away.

*

It had been some time since you came back and you and Jim had been spending more time together than ever. He had allowed you to stay with him and Luca at the house till you found a place for yourself and till you got a job. Since they were close as a team, they often spend time with each other, so obviously Jim dragged you along. You stepped out of the hospital your application file clutched to your chest as a big smile grew on your face. You tried to control the outburst of happiness that grew in your chest but failed miserably as you let out a little laugh. You had to talk to Jim. You needed to tell him. Since you were a little child and Jimmy and you had been sitting up all night, in the foster care bedroom, talking about your dreams and plans. His had been the police, the swat and your dream had always been working in a hospital. You got into your car an old Toyota you bought and drove to the swat compound. By now they all knew you but that didn’t stop the body and purse check by the entrance. As always, an officer escorted you to your younger brothers’ team. "Y/N" Hondo greeted you and gave you a brief hug. Deacon looked up from the computer he was working at and gave you a big smile. "Street isn't here and I have somewhere to be but I'm sure Deacon will keep you company till Street is back." With that he left and you turned around, your body still bubbling with happiness. You sat down on one of the chairs, not wanting to disturb Deacon who seemed to be working on something but your body was filled with so much energy that you got up right away. Deacon looked at you and stopped what he was doing. "What's got you all excited?" He asked and gave you a warm smile. A smile that could literally melt anyone. "Okay I really wanted to wait until Jim is back but I really need to tell someone." You took two energetic steps towards him, hands shaking from all the happiness. "The hospital I applied with gave me the job." You blurted out, stumbling over your words. Even if Deacon didn’t know the long backstory of you wanting to help people, be there for them at their worst and be there for them to get better, he could feel the importance of your statement. "Congratulations. That's awesome, Y/N." He wrapped an arm around you and pulled you in for a hug, which you happily accepted. "Thank you. I've been working so hard for this; you don’t even know." You whispered and let go of him. You were still shaking and your cheeks started to hurt from smiling so wide. You whipped over your face and as you lowered your hands you took yours in his. They were warm and rough, sending small electroshocks through your whole body. "You are shaking." He stated, applying a little pressure on your palms, trying to calm you. "I'm just so excited and happy about it. It's... I've always dreamt of this." You heard footsteps behind you and when you turned around Jim walked in. You slowly slipped your hands out of his, the warmth leaving you. "Jimmy!" You hugged him tightly and your happiness and excitement started to bubble up again, pushing aside the weird feeling the situation with Deacon gave you. Right now, the only important thing was telling Jim about your day.

*

You were currently siting on the sofa while Jim and Luca were playing a game. Hondo was leaning against the counter sitting on his beer while talking to Chis and Tan. They were fun to be around and great to talk to. "Got you another one since yours was empty." Deacon handed you another bottle and plopped himself down on the sofa next to you. "Thank you" you grinned while pulling your legs to your chest. Since the situation a couple of days ago you and Deacon haven’t spoken to each other but even right now only hearing his voice felt like pure electricity in your veins. A weird feeling you had never felt. "You are so quiet today, everything okay?" He nudged your side with his elbow and you looked up at him. With a small nod and smile you put the bottle to your lips. "I think..." your little brother slurred, putting an arm over Lucas shoulder who just won again, "I think that we should take a picture. To remember this glorious day and Luca winning against me." A small laughter escaped your lips when you jumped up, always ready to keep memories as a picture. You reached out to Deacon, waiting for him to take your hand while the others already formed to a small bundle. Chris put up her phone with timer and when Deacon grabbed your hand and let you pull him up, Chris pushed the button, only leaving enough time for you and Deacon to stumble into the picture. It was only after the flash went off and the picture was taken that you realized the hand on your hip and the other one still in your hand. While the others fussed about seeing the picture you just stood there for a second before Deacon quickly pulled away both hands, winking at you when he left you all flustered. You didn’t know if it was the alcohol in your veins or the simple fact that the warmth you had from having him next to you was gone, but something inside you screamed for his presence.

It was getting late, Hondo and Chris already left and you were just bringing Tan outside to his cab while Luca, Jim and Deacon were having a conversation about being in the swat. "It was really nice; we have to do that again sometime." Tan laughed while getting in the cab. You gave him a small smile and wave when the cab left. The fresh night air was soft and nice against your skin. The sky was full of stars. You sat down on the bench in the garden, taking a deep breath in, eyes closed. "Here you are" Deacon walked toward you, hands in pockets. He had a small smile playing on his lips. You simply had to smile back. "It’s so pretty out here" You stated, smiling up at the sky. "Yeah it is." He said. When you looked at him, he was looking at you. You felt something warm around your heart. For a brief second you held his eye contact, before looking at your hands. "Well that was cheesy." You muttered and he chuckled quietly. "But true." He was whispering so quietly that you almost didn’t hear him. For a moment everything was quiet. He softly grabbed your hand. "You should go back inside. I just got a cab and Street and Luca are going to sleep soon." You let him pull you up, till you were standing so close you could feel his body heat and you could swear that if you would have breathed just a bit quieter you would have actually been able to hear his heart beat. “Spending time with you guys has really been awesome. I understand why Jim loves you all so much.” With a smile on his lips he hummed. He was still holding your hand in his but you didn’t bother to take it away. It felt good. Familiar. Deacon stopped right in front of the door. With a questioning look you stopped as well, your eyes on him as you waited for an explanation for his stop. With a soft smile he stared back at you. “Maybe we could spend some time together. Just the two of us?” You were confused and raised an eyebrow. “I am asking you to go on a date with me, Y/N. If you want to?” The confused look on your face changed to a soft smile which turned to a grin. The warm feeling in your stomach grew. “Yes, Deacon. Id like that very much.”

Since Always - Part II

(Gally x Reader)

Part I

I didn’t wanna keep you guys waiting too long, so here it is! Warning: Unobstructed Fluff Ahead. Proceed at your own risk.

“Hey, Newt!”

The lanky boy turned to the sound of Gally’s voice behind him, arching a brow at his quickly approaching form. “Yeah?”

The builder propped his hands on his hips, a ghost of a sneer curving his mouth; he seemed evidently bothered by something, which didn’t escape Newt’s notice.

“Have you seen Y/N? I need to talk to her.”

“Do you? ‘Bout what, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Gally huffed, focusing his pointed stare on the Second-in-Command “A little birdie named Zart told me you two were talking earlier. He heard my name. What’s up?”

Newt resisted the urge to roll his eyes, resorting to a tight-lipped grin. Zart. Of course. The track-hoe was notoriously bad at keeping his mouth shut.

“Oh! It was nothing, really. She was just, uh... telling me about the Med-Hut expansion you’ve been working on.” He attempted to lie, but the brief pause, coupled with the way his brown eyes seemed to look everywhere but at him, was a dead giveaway.

“Well, that’s a load of crap.” Gally scoffed, crossing his buff arms, his expression bouncing between annoyance and concern. “Seriously, what’d she say? Did I do something? Is it bad?”

Newt had to physically restrain himself from laughing. Witnessing how easy it was to get Gally all fidgety and weird at the mere thought of you saying something bad about him, was enough of a confirmation for what Newt already knew.

“No, absolutely not. You can relax, mate, it’s nothing bad.” He couldn’t suppress the secretive smirk that curved his mouth as the words left it “It’s actually quite the opposite.”

Gally’s uniquely-shaped brows furrowed in confusion as he stared at his friend. The opposite? What the hell did that mean? He was relieved to hear that you weren’t upset or mad at him, but whatever Newt was trying to say - it wasn’t making any sense.

“What are you talking about? What’s “the opposite”? Come one, Newt, can’t you just say it?” He gruffed, his broad shoulders tensing with impatience.

Unfortunately, Gally was all out of luck, as Newt had no intention of saying anything else. As much as he wanted to give Gally a hint and maybe hurry along the process of you two getting together, he felt it wasn’t his place. He couldn’t just flat-out tell him that you had feelings for him and betray your trust like that. That’s not what friends do.

“Hey, I’ve already said plenty. Alright? More than enough.” He grabbed his rake, silently excusing himself from further conversation and beginning to walk away, watching the puzzlement only grow on Gally’s face “You can’t be that dense, Gally. I don’t believe it. Just... go talk to her, yeah?”

Gally blinked in further confusion as Newt walked away, shaking his head and trying earnestly to gather his thoughts. What in the actual hell was he on about? He couldn’t think of an answer, but he wanted one, and he wanted one, now.

He couldn’t bear the thought of something not being right between the two of you. Truth was, over the time of you being there, you have grown to be the one person Gally cared about the most in the glade. From the moment he had helped you out of that box, almost a year ago, he’s felt an inexplicable need to be near you. To help you with anything you needed help with, to protect you, to make sure you were comfortable and that you never felt like you didn’t belong there. He wanted you to feel happy, or at least content, because he felt like you deserved nothing less. He wanted you to trust him, to know that you could lean on him, and he was immensely glad that you two were as close as you were, now.

Surely enough, throughout your shared journey of getting closer, it wasn’t long before Gally found himself having... feelings. Feelings he hadn’t ever imagined he could have, feelings he didn’t know he was even capable of. Deep down, he knew what they were, but didn’t know how to admit it. Despite how great you and him got on, he was convinced it was strictly platonic on your part. He couldn’t find it in himself to think you’d be interested in him in any way that was beyond that. With all the shanks to choose from, why would you go for him? No, it was impossible. He’d be better off swallowing his feelings and keeping his mouth shut. At least that way he wouldn’t risk shucking up the friendship you two had. Just the thought of you wanting to distance yourself from him sent a wave of dread throughout his strong body.

Yet... Newt’s confusing words and weird behaviour rang in his mind again, and as he slowly put the pieces together, he began to feel a foreign spark of... hope? Was there a chance that Newt had meant what he thought he had meant? He was struggling to believe it, but shuck, how he wanted it to be true...

Gally tried to ignore the way his heartbeat was starting to accelerate as he turned on his feet in determination, already on his way to find you.

Unaware of the builder searching for you, you were just about to head out of the Deadheads, where you had spent the last half hour mulling over what to do about your feelings for Gally.

Your earlier conversation with Newt had stirred a nagging feeling of hollowness in your heart, making you contemplate your course of action (or lack thereof).

Were you getting tired of having to watch him, longingly, from afar, without doing anything about it? Absolutely you were. Did the mere thought of Gally possibly returning your feelings fill your being with ecstatic jitters? Oh, most definitely. But were you ready to finally try and shoot your shot and risk him turning you down, making you sorely regret it? You didn’t know...

If only he had given you the slightest of hints of how he truly felt about you, it would have been easier. But even though you and Gally were close, you often found it awfully challenging to see what was on his mind. You knew him well enough to figure that if he were to have any feelings he’d rather not address, he would be very skilled at hiding it.

God, why did everything have to be so difficult, couldn’t you just-

“Y/N!”

You yelped, the sudden sound of Gally’s booming voice making you jump, eyes bulging in a brief moment of panic.

Gally delivered you a small apologetic grin, putting his palms up in a calming gesture “It’s okay! Just me. Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you...”

You exhaled with relief, trying to calm your racing heart... though, with Gally standing right there in front of you, after you had just spent quite a while thinking about him, made it that much more difficult.

“Shuck... Don’t sneak up on me like that!” You chuckled, nervously, suppressing the antsy feeling within you as he slowly approached.

“I wasn’t! I was just... looking for you.”

He was? You’d had no idea. Were you supposed to meet him for lunch or something? No, you definitely wouldn’t have forgotten about that.

“Really? Why, what’s up?” You blinked, looking up at him expectantly, your slightly widened crystal-clear eyes reminding him of just how adorable he found you sometimes.

Gally’s jaw clenched, involuntarily, as he tried to visualize how he was supposed to ask you this. As much as he didn’t want it to come out so out of the blue, he couldn’t find a way to ease into it that would be any type of smooth or natural. So, with a deep intake of air, he decided to just go ahead and spit it out.

“You and Newt were talking about me earlier.”

Your heart dropped. It wasn’t a question, and you knew it, immediately beginning to feel your fingertips turning cold with impending dread. How did he know? How much did he know? Did Newt tell him something he wasn’t supposed to? You hoped he didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t know how you were going to forgive him for spilling your deepest secret like that.

Gally’s piercing gaze bore into you with a seriousness that made your pulse quicken in a blink of an eye.

“We, uh... It was nothing, really.”

“It wasn’t nothing.” Gally insisted with as much gentleness as he could muster. However, his tensing muscles and furrowed brows gave you a clue of how agitated he felt. “I asked him, because I thought maybe I had done something, but then he said it wasn’t anything bad. Which would have been fine, if he hadn’t been so shuckin’ weird about it.” He huffed, softly, still not taking his gaze off of you as you bit your bottom lip in worriment.

“Weird, how...?” You inquired in a small voice, the fragile sound of it shooting more confusion though Gally.

“Just weird! Hell if I know what he was trying to get across, but... whatever it is, I think we should talk about it, Y/N.”

It became clear to you that there was no dodging it now. Gally already knew you had something on your mind, something concerning him, and he wasn’t about to just let it go.

Your teeth dug into your bottom lip harder as you found yourself rendered incapable of moving, Gally’s much taller form towering over you and wanting answers. Was this it? Your chance to tell him how you felt? If so, then the next few minutes were about to be either the best of your life, or the worst.

With Gally’s attention already peaked, the way your expression was suddenly overtaken with fear didn’t get lost on him, neither did the slight tremble of your fingers. Concern encompassed him as he immediately took a big step forward, fighting the powerful urge to cup your face in between his large, rough palms.

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why do you look so scared? Come on, Y/N, it’s me! You can tell me, whatever it is.”

Oh, fine! You figured this was bound to happen sooner or later, and now that Gally was so directly asking you, you couldn’t bring yourself to lie to him. No matter how frightening this was, he didn’t deserve to be lied to, especially not by you, the person he trusted and truly cared about.

Overlooking the way your heart hammered in your chest, you drew in a short breath before muttering the words that had been swallowed and shoved away for months “Ihavefeelingsforyou...”

“What?” Gally frowned, shaking his head as he’d heard none of it. “Y/N, you’re gonna have to speak up.”

“Ihavefeelingsforyou” You repeated, neither louder, nor clearer than before, causing Gally’s frustration to swelter as he all but sneered.

“Y/N, I can’t hear you! Can you please-”

“I have feelings for you!” You almost shouted, the words finally leaving your mouth with no means of taking them back.

Gally froze, his mouth dropping open as he stared at you in stupefied bewilderment. He felt like he’d just got the wind knocked out of him, his breath caught in his throat.

“Y-You... You what?”

Unable to take his fervent stare on you any longer, you squeezed your eyes shut, wanting to just curl into yourself “You heard me, please don’t make me say it again...” You uttered, quietly, your heartbeat already thumping in your ears.

Gally couldn’t believe it. He’d heard you, but there was no way it was real... Newt’s odd behavior earlier made much more sense now, yet, his mind was having an impossible time wrapping around it. You had feelings... for him? You didn’t just see him as a friend or, even worse, a brother? He had been convinced that those were the only two options he’d have to accept and live with, but now, with your pretenseless proclamation, he felt as though an electric current had passed through his system.

“W-What.. You...” He stammered, trying to blink back the shock in his eyes “S-Since when...?”

A short wistful scoff escaped your mouth as you opened your eyes, but still kept them on the ground beneath your feet, unable to meet his astounded gaze.

“Since always, really... Since the first few weeks of me being here, since the day you first invited me to hang out with you at lunch...” You couldn’t help the blush that bloomed upon your cheeks as the warm memories you had of him flashed through your mind “Since you started letting me fall asleep on you at Bonfires, since you built me my very own hut, because you knew sleeping in a hammock was making my back hurt...” A timid but loving smile formed on your slightly quivering lips as Gally took in every word, his own heart threatening to beat out of his chest by that point.

“Y/N... I-I had no idea, I thought-“

“You don’t have to say anything!” You tried to assure him, ignoring the strain in your voice “Really, I understand if you don’t feel the same way... But you asked, and I just couldn’t keep it in anymore, it’s been so long-“ You trailed off, suddenly, as Gally stepped even closer to you before you even had a chance to register it. You voice died in your throat the second you felt his rough, calloused, but warm palms cupping your face. A flash of courage in his eyes, a dazed gasp from you, and then, his head dipped, his lips descending on yours.

Your form went rigid as you endeavored to process what was happening, but the abrupt and new feeling of Gally kissing you wasted no time overtaking each one of your senses, making your heart flip and shrouding you in a thick fog of pure bliss. Before you knew it, you were kissing him back, your lips moving flawlessly and wantingly against his, as your arms reached up to wind themselves around him, your fingers momentarily tracing the back of his neck. Gally grunted into the kiss, his hands smoothly lowering to your waist and pulling your closer, nearly knocking you into his firm chest. He had imagined this moment a surplus of times before, but not one of his fantasies came close to how amazing this truly felt, how warm and soft your lips were, how impossible it was to pull away. He swallowed the content little moan that escaped you, his large hands squeezing your waist tighter as you quivered at the raw magnetism and surging affection that pulled you two into each other.

Despite your heart’s frantic protests, you slowly drew back, breaking away from the sweet taste of his lips, your own practically tingling from the fervent and long-overdue kiss.

Gally leaned his forehead against yours, eyes remaining closed for the moment of you both catching your breath, still holding onto each other.

This was paradise, there was no way that it wasn’t. As if by a miracle, all the worries you’d previously had about Gally rejecting you fluttered away, leaving nothing but consuming joy and yearning for more of him in their wake.

Gally opened his eyes first - you did the same a mere second later, meeting his gleaming bluish-green gaze. He thought you were the most beautiful thing to ever exist as you beamed at him, starry-eyed and enamored.

“I-I take it, this means you feel the same way...?” You whispered, still barely a few inches apart, feeling an imminent thrill rush through your body at the enticing feeling of Gally’s fingers tenderly tracing your spine.

His warm breath washed over your lips as he chuckled, a captivating grin pulling at the corners of his mouth “As if I ever had a chance not to...”

Your smile grew brighter at his breathy statement, all the ardent feelings you had for the tough builder engulfing you and chasing away every thought that wasn’t about him.

Gally still didn’t know what made you choose him, want him, of all people, but whatever it was, he’ll take it, happily. If it meant he could have you in his arms, just like this, every day from now on, he wouldn’t dream of questioning it.

He leaned in once more, kissing the tip of your nose with a gentleness you couldn’t fathom he possessed, his grip on you tightening.

His lips then brushed against yours, and you shivered, your heart leaping at the doting whisper that trailed from him “You’re mine, Y/N...”

Gally kissed you again, softly, meaningfully, his hold on you feeling like the only thing keeping you on the ground “And I’m yours.”

Thank you for reading!

#8 "Come here, I'll carry you." for WinterIron. Can you add some smut to it please? Thank you.

this took longer than expected, but it's finally done! thank you for sending one, and i hope you like :)

it is most definitely explicit lol

“This is why I don’t go hiking,” Tony complains, wincing when Bucky gingerly touches his left ankle. It doesn’t look too badly injured, probably not even a sprain, but it doesn’t stop Tony from telling him I told you so. “I said that I would trip and fall and roll down the mountain, and then I would die there, at the bottom of a cliff for birds to scavenge my body until I’m just a pile of bones.”

“You twisted your ankle on a root, baby,” Bucky says, amused in spite of all of the grumbling. It doesn’t help that Tony’s disgruntled, pouty face is one of the cutest things he’s ever seen. “I don’t think you’re going to die.”

“There’s still a chance.”

Bucky rolls his eyes fondly, standing from where he was crouched next to Tony on the ground. He holds out his hand, and Tony takes it to get back to his feet.

Despite all the complaining, Tony doesn’t actually like looking weak. He hides pain and discomfort and doesn’t let himself get taken care of very often. Bucky knows that too well by now, after nearly a year together, and it’s why he easily notices the grimace Tony tries to disguise with each step.

He stops walking, making Tony turn back to look at him when he realizes it.

“Come here,” Bucky says. At Tony’s questioning look, he adds, “Come here, and I’ll carry you.”

Tony raises his eyebrows, “Seriously?”

“Seriously. We’ve only got about another quarter mile to the cabin, you’re in pain, and it’s not like you weigh much anyway.” Bucky takes another couple steps forward, hands on Tony’s hips, and he whispers into Tony’s ear, “I was strong enough to hold you up against the wall yesterday, remember?”

He smirks as Tony shivers, and he tucks a strand of Tony’s hair back, brushing his fingers against his skin to feel the goosebumps rise on it. “Bet I could carry you all the way back and still have the energy to do it again.”

Tony laughs, shoving playfully at Bucky’s shoulder. “Alright, I didn’t really need that much convincing. I was already going to let you do it.”

“Let me?” Bucky repeats, shaking his head with a smile. “I didn’t realize you were doing me favors here.”

He turns around and crouches lower to let Tony climb onto him, holding onto his thighs to support him when he rises up again with Tony on his back and his arms wrapped around Bucky’s shoulders. Tony’s legs tighten around Bucky’s torso, and he tucks his face into the side of Bucky’s neck to kiss him there. Teasingly, he says, “We both know you like this even more than I do. Being my big, strong hero. Pretty sure it’s a kink for you.”

Bucky grins as he starts back down the trail. “I ain’t admittin’ to nothing.”

Tony hums, and he loosens the elastic holding Bucky’s bun in place to tangle his fingers into his hair. He pulls a little, another thing he knows that Bucky likes, and his voice is seductively low when he says, “You don’t have to admit it, darling. I already know.”

“You keep that up, and I’m gonna drop you,” Bucky warns, and he can feel Tony’s smile against his skin.

“You’d never drop me.”

“Wanna test that theory?”

He lets go of Tony’s thighs for just a second, letting his legs fall a bit before grabbing on again, and he gets Tony’s screaming laughter in return as he clutches onto Bucky tighter.

“If you let me fall off a cliff, I’m coming back as a ghost to haunt you for the rest of your life. Not the nice Casper kind either. I’m talking full blown poltergeist.”

“The rest of my life, huh? That’s a lot of commitment.”

“Well, you’re already stuck with human me for that long anyway. Ghost me should get to have some fun too,” Tony reasons. “I’ll start with you, seeing as you’d be the one responsible for my untimely demise, but Clint’s really going to regret that prank he pulled on me last week by the time I’m done.”

“Can you haunt Sam a little too? He’s got a thing about ghosts.”

“Oh, I’ll get you all, don’t worry.”

Bucky twists to look at him and asks, “Why does it sound like you’ve thought about this before?”

“I’m naturally vengeful,” Tony grins, and Bucky laughs.

“Sure you are, honey.”

The cabin for their weekend getaway is back in sight through the trees, just a few hundred feet away now, and Tony seems to view its appearance as the perfect time to continue on the track of their earlier conversation. He twirls a strand of Bucky’s hair around his finger and says, “So are you really going to fuck me against the wall when we get back? Because I was leaning towards the shower first, then again in bed after, but I’m pretty flexible. Very flexible, actually, but you already know that, don’t you?”

Tony kisses the spot beneath his ear, mouth lingering there before trailing lower. Bucky groans, and his fingers flex on Tony’s thighs.

“Baby, can’t you be patient for just one more minute?”

“Nope,” Tony says lightly. He hooks a finger in the collar of Bucky’s shirt to pull it to the side to revisit a mark he left the day before and trace it with his tongue. “Maybe you should walk faster.”

Bucky does, carefully sidestepping the larger rocks and fallen branches and trying not to get distracted by Tony’s wandering hands. He takes the stairs up the front porch two at a time and clumsily fumbles with the handle on the door while Tony slips a hand into the front of his pants.

Dropping Tony back down to his own feet, he turns immediately and presses him against the closed door. Tony laughs into it at first, presumably at his eagerness, but it fades into a moan as Bucky grinds against him.

“Such a fucking tease, aren’t you?” Bucky murmurs, biting down gently on the tendon on the side of Tony’s neck. Tony moans, hands finding Bucky’s hair again and tugging to spur him on.

“Can you really blame me when this is what I get for it?” Tony asks in stuttered breaths as Bucky puts his knee between Tony’s legs to push them apart.

Bucky hums in consideration, then pulls back abruptly when he gets the idea. Tony blinks at him dazedly with a noise of protest, and Bucky smirks as he traces the pout of his bottom lip with his thumb. “I should make you work harder for it, then. Can’t just keep rewarding you for bad behavior, can I?”

“Yes, you can,” Tony whines, grabbing at his t-shirt to pull him in again.

Bucky puts his hands on the door on either side of Tony’s, elbows locked to keep his arms straight, and doesn’t give Tony as much as an inch. “Don’t think so, honey.”

Tony gives him an indignant look, but it quickly morphs into another one that Bucky recognizes well. It’s his defiant, you’ll regret this by the time that I’m done look, but Bucky already knows he won’t have a single regret. Not when it starts with Tony popping the button on Bucky’s pants and sliding them down his hips.

Every movement is slow, and it’s almost graceful when Tony drops down to his knees in front of him.

“You want me to earn it?” he asks. His wide eyes give the illusion of an innocence they both know he doesn’t have, and he holds Bucky’s gaze while palming him through his boxers.

Bucky nods, carding his fingers through Tony’s soft, unruly hair, then letting them drift down to caress his cheek. Tony leans into the touch like it's a subconscious reaction, and he turns his head to kiss his palm. The tender moment doesn’t last long once Tony wraps his mouth around Bucky’s fingers and swirls his tongue like a preview.

Bucky’s hips jerk forward into Tony’s hand on their own accord, and he groans at the pressure. He’s been half-hard since Tony first started this back on the trail, and now he’s aching with how much he wants him.

Pulling his fingers out of Tony’s mouth, he drags them across Tony’s lips to leave them spit slick, then frees his cock from the confines of his boxers. Tony wraps his hands around Bucky’s calves to urge him forward, and Bucky guides the tip of his cock into his waiting mouth.

“So good, baby,” Bucky murmurs, pushing his hair back from his forehead to get a better view of his face, and he watches Tony’s eyes brighten at the praise.

He’s completely pliant for Bucky to use his mouth, and Bucky plans to take full advantage of the opportunity. He slides in a little deeper and groans at the feeling of wet heat around him, forehead hitting the wall with a loud sound as his head falls forward.

“Just pinch me if it’s too much, alright?” Bucky says, and Tony nods the best he can. “Once to slow down, twice to stop.”

It’s still a little careful and cautious at first. He tests the limits slowly, inch by inch, pulling back when he feels Tony’s throat contract around him. He does it again, then once more when Tony makes no move to stop him and instead moans around him. It’s the permission he was waiting for to completely let go, and when he has it, there’s no further hesitation.

His hand fists into Tony’s hair, holding him still, and he watches every rough thrust of his cock into Tony’s mouth.

He’s beautiful like this, and the visual is nearly as good as the feeling itself. Eyes watery with tears that threaten to spill over his lash line and spit wetting his chin from where his reddened lips stretch around him. He isn’t going to last long at all with Tony looking at him like that, and every sound that escapes Tony’s throat only pushes him even further.

“You’re fucking perfect, baby,” Bucky groans out. “So pretty on your knees for me.”

His nails dig at the wall as he tries to keep himself upright on shaky legs, eyes twisting shut. He loses himself in the moment for god only knows how long. Tony swallows around him occasionally, but otherwise doesn’t move so much as an inch, even with how obviously hard he is in his jeans.

The hand in Tony’s hair falls slack as he nears the end, and it’s apparently a mistake, because suddenly Tony’s mouth is gone from around him. He opens his eyes again, and Tony is wiping his chin with the back of his hand as he stands.

“Now that’s called being a tease,” Tony says, voice hoarse but entirely smug. He turns towards the bedroom and gives Bucky a smirk over his shoulder. “But since I’m feeling generous, you can still join me in the shower if you’ve learned your lesson.”

Bucky gapes at him, frozen in shock, but when Tony strips off his shirt and throws it his way, he’s all but running down the hall to follow.

A Promise Under the Stars | Irene x F!Reader

Genre: fluff, idol au-ish but not really(?), romance is not extremely explicit

Summary: When you get to meet Joohyun again, you think back about a promise you two made long ago.

Word Count: 1.8k

A/N: Whew. First Irene writing that I’m posting as a stand-alone rather than a part of a series. Also can I say thank you for two of my posts reaching 100 notes within the same week? My very first fic, ‘Second Place’ and ‘Troublemaker’ seem to be very popular, thank you so much fhksadjhfk,

Date: 2/19/21

You collapse on the ground, all your energy expended during several hours of practice. Lying down you can feel the wooden floor under you, your heart pounding as loud as your breathing. As much as you physically feel pain, there was a greater pain building in your heart and mind. Will you ever make it? You've been waiting so long now, how much longer?

With nobody around tears threaten to emerge from your eyes, but the moment is lost when you hear a soft creak. Quickly, you compose yourself just enough to make sure no tears fall. You don't bother turning your head to look at who it was, instead staring at the ceiling as you hear footsteps growing nearer and nearer to your body. Finally, a familiar face emerges from the corner of your eyes. The girl leans over your face, smiling at the sight of you exhausted and sweaty.

"I figured you'd be here." She says teasingly.

"When am I not?" You say as your breathing starts to become steady again.

The girl offers you her small hands and you accept. She helps you on your feet, and when you're finally standing up on your own she doesn't let one of your hands go.

"Wanna cool down with a walk?" She asks you. You lazily nod your head, following behind as your friend, Joohyun.

She takes you outside the building, continuing to walk hand in hand on the sidewalk. You don't know where you're going, but frankly you don't care. Joohyun's mere presence is enough for you to calm down, to feel comfortable and safe. So you take the time to enjoy the feeling of her hand in yours, the night air passing by your skin, and the sound of your footsteps against the pavement. The silence between the two of you making you feel happy.

Eventually the two of you reach a swing set. She let's go of your hand and sits on one, tilting her head to tell you to sit on the one next to her. You go ahead and sit down, gently kicking the ground to create a soft sway. Joohyun does the same with her two hands holding onto the chains holding up the seat. You stare at your feet until Joohyun speaks up again.

"Look up at the sky. It's beautiful, isn't it?" You listen to her command and turn your head up.

You're quite literally star-struck for a moment, a smile appearing on your face as you admire the sky. You've seen the sky and the stars nearly every day of your life. It's the same sky as always, yet somehow on this night it stir something inside you.

"Sometimes I forget how good it is to be living, I let all the beautiful things pass me by." You admit to your friend. You stop looking at the sky, instead turning to face Joohyun. Your eyes follow the outline her side profile as you admire the amazement glazing over her eyes, the curve of her nose, the way her lips pursed together. The nighttime casts her in darkness but the moon gives her an ethereal glow. She stops looking at the stars to give you a smile similar to yours, a smile filled with endearment.

"It's nice isn't it? I come here a lot, just to recollect myself most of the time. It's my space. One where I can exist without worry, without trying to change myself." She says it as she recalls the many nights where she wanted to cry, the nights where she found herself walking here without thinking about it. "I wanted to share it with you though. You seem more stressed recently..." Her soft voice suddenly became laced with worry. You sigh before you start talking again.

"I guess I'm getting bad at hiding it." You try to joke. "I've been training for so long, you know? I've seen so many people leave. So many switch companies, so many debut. Sometimes I wonder if the last several years have been a waste. I don't wanna grow up with this kind of regret." Joohyun looks down dejectedly for a bit at your response.

"I know." She whispers. "I've been feeling the same thing. Sometimes I doubt I even belong. I don't know if this dream is achievable anymore."

You look down, not quite sure what you could possibly say to comfort the both of you. As another wave of silence envelopes the conversation, you kick a nearby pebble, watching it skid as you begin to launch yourself off the ground harder. You feel weightless as you get higher and higher, a little free even, from this restrictive life you live.

Joohyun sticks to the ground, not enjoying the idea of being at such a high height. Still, she begins to smile at the sight of you having at least some sort of fun. Things continue like this, the both of you contemplating different things in the silence under the same worries.

"Hey Y/N." Joohyun breaks the silence by calling for you. You're still staring at the stars as you swing in the air.

"What?"

"Slow down for a minute." You listen to your friend and start to slow down your momentum. When you're finally settled, Joohyun leans over from her swing with her hand out. She has her pinky finger raised while you look at her in confusion. "How about we do it?"

"Do what?"

"Let's complete our dreams. Together." You chuckle a bit at her sudden childish-ness that was different from her mature nature. Despite how out of character it was though, you couldn't help but feel appreciative for the act anyways. You stick out your hand and wrap your pinky around hers.

"Alright. Our little promise, between just the two of us."

"I know I can do it if I have you by my side." A pink hue paints itself on Joohyun's cheeks, complimenting the adorable smirk she gave you. Your heart pounds a little and you laugh at her.

"Since when were you so childish and greasy?"

"I don't know, since whenever it could make you smile like that?" You look away, feeling warmth flood your face.

"Whatever." You scoff light-heartedly.

For the past several weeks you felt like you were in a rut. Motivation draining away from you. Your promise with Joohyun though, her words, her loving voice, everything about her made you want to stay. Perhaps now you can complete your dream.

*

*

You're waiting in line, a smile is plastered on your face that you can't seem to wipe off. Finally, you can see her again.

You can still remember the day she told you she would debut. There was a part of your heart that hurt, but otherwise you were ecstatic for her. Of course out of consideration she tried not to talk about it much, but you assured her it was something that was worth celebrating. That it was an event and feeling you wanted to share between the two of you.

Things didn't turn out as planned. You kept training, but seeing Joohyun debut with seemingly no results for another year was disheartening enough to make you quit. It also didn't help that as Joohyun got busier, the two of you got to talk and hang out less and less. Everyday you would compulsively check your phone, only to be gifted a response on a rare occasion.

After your trainee years you moved on in your life, getting a higher education and joining a career that you found pleasure in. As you focused on your career though, you also found yourself with less and less time. It seemed like at some point Joohyun changed her number and forgot to tell you. For some reason it left you feeling a bit heartbroken. Although she wasn't really a part of your life anymore your memories with her graced your thoughts often.

Now though, as time has passed, your work life has settled down more. You've earned some money and took some vacation time to attend a very, very important event.

The person in front of you finally moves and you're face to face with Yerim, a girl you spent a lot of time with under the same company. She looks up at you with a smile and a face filled with both surprise and recognition. She signs your album before gently nudging the member next to her.

You move on in the line to meet Seulgi. She's happy that Yerim caught her attention to tell her you were here. She gives you a familiar smile and thanks you for coming to see the group. You get your album signed by her and two other members who you didn't get acquainted with during training until you reach the end of the table.

There she was, Bae Joohyun, the person you were closest with during those grueling years training. As soon as you're standing in front of her your heart threatens to jump out of your throat. When your eyes meet you almost feel like crying.

"Hey." You barely get the word to leave your mouth. The sound could hardly escape the tightening of your throat. Judging by the look on her face, it seemed like Joohyun was overwhelmed with feelings too, nearly wanting to cry. Instead she gives a light laugh.

"I've missed you." She says. Maybe it's in your imagination, but she's staring at you so dreamily. You don't know what to say, so you decide to just be honest.

"I've missed you too. I've been waiting for this day." You pause for a second before continuing. "I'm sorry I didn't make it." Joohyun shakes her head at your apology.

"Don't be. As long as you're happy with where you are now then I'm happy too." She gives you her signature smile that had always managed to comfort you.

"Let's make a new promise." Once again she sticks out her pinky finger at you. You take it without hesitation. "Let's talk. Like old times." Even though you haven't talked to each other properly in years, the feeling of her pinky and yours made you feel just as close as you were back in those days.

The staff are ushering you to go, the moment the two of you were sharing was holding up the line for too long. Quickly, Joohyun signs your album and you notice that she opens it and scribbles something inside. Could she have possibly written a message for you?

When go arrive home you admire the album with signatures strewn across it. The question that you had for the entire day though was what Joohyun wrote inside of it. Within the privacy of your home you finally felt safe to open and check.

xxx-xxx-xxxx

let's stay together this time ♥

pandemic overload

pairing: bucky barnes x reader

word count: 2,136

summary: You need an escape from everything, and Bucky is more than happy to give it to you.

warnings: SO MUCH FLUFF.  Bad words.  Bucky does think a naughty thing or two lol

a/n:  Thank you so much to @marylizabetha for this commission!!!!  I had so much fun with it, and honestly it was nice to get to write about escaping all of this nonsense for a little bit!!!!

He saw it when he came home from grocery shopping.  The quiver of your bottom lip.  He’d only been gone for about two hours—shopping for groceries for a super soldier can take a while, after all—but even so, it had made you anxious.  Everything about the last seven months or so made you anxious.  And he couldn’t blame you.  People were dying and it was just… frustrating how so many people didn’t seem to care.  At all.

Bucky had been the only one to leave the town house you two shared in that entire time, unless you counted the times you’d sit out on the front stoop and work on a Sudoku puzzle.  But that was a decision you had made very early on.  He was a super soldier that couldn’t get sick.  You were just a normal human.

It didn’t mean that you weren’t scared for him every time he walked outside.

Thankfully, it hadn’t taken much to convince you to stay home, even though you had to quit your job.  It wasn’t exactly the most… important thing in the world.  It wasn’t even in your field of interest.  Just a pit stop until you could put your degree to use.

But it looked like that wouldn’t be happening for a little while longer.

Technically, with how much money Bucky made from being a non-active Avenger on top of back pay from being a prisoner of war for seventy years or so and also being on an elite strike force during World War II, you would never have to work a day in your life if you didn’t want.  And, to be perfectly honest, a big part of you was seriously considering it.  It was nice to be able to sit around and do whatever you wanted to do.  You and Bucky helped each other with all the chores and such, but then you had an otherwise empty day to fill.  You’d taken up knitting and learning to play piano and yes, you did join in on that trend of people learning how to make sourdough bread from scratch.  You two had also gotten to up the amount of time you spent trying to make a positive change in the world, and you’d taken Bucky to his first twenty-first century protest.  Not a single cop had dared to fuck with you or anyone else with the former Winter Soldier by your side.

The perks of having a super intimidating boyfriend, right?

It would be completely perfect if it wasn’t for the fact that you had to stay because otherwise you might get sick.

But you were actually considering choosing to just… continue not working once all of it was over.  You and Bucky could do anything you wanted to do.  You could travel the world, maybe eventually adopt a few kids…  The possibilities were endless, especially since your boyfriend had surprised you by paying off all your student loans in one fell swoop.

Yeah, that… that had brought on more than a few tears.

Bucky couldn’t help but smile over at you as he put away the groceries, calling out everything to you.  You were sitting up on the counter, pretty as a picture, with your legs swinging back and forth as you put in everything he’d bought to that fancy app on your phone that took everything you had in your fridge and gave you a list of recipes you could make from it.

Last week the two of you had gotten your favorite recipe so far, grilled mahi mahi tacos with a sweet pineapple salsa that served a bit of a kick at the end.

Fish so nice, they named it twice.

Bucky’s pandemic hobby had become cooking.  A lot of the time, you two just ordered food in, which was a horrible habit.  But you couldn’t help it.  You both were so busy and neither of you really had the energy or patience to cook most of the time.

But spending everyday at home meant that Bucky finally had time to learn how to do something other than boil food, and he was actually pretty good at it.

“Baby doll, let’s go on a date.”

You looked up from your phone in surprise.  “A…  A date?  Bucky Bear…  I hate to break it to you, but…  We can’t exactly go anywhere,” you said with a weak laugh.  As good as it was to be able to sit at home and work on your hobbies, you were often overwhelmed with the thoughts about how so many people were suffering because of how selfish others were.

He put the last bell pepper away in the fridge before moving to stand between your legs, his hands running over your thighs.  “Now that’s not true, sweetheart,” he said as he pressed sweet kisses along your jawline.  “I wanna take you somewhere special, okay?  We haven’t gotten to dress up in a long time…  So how about you get your cute ass in the shower and get yourself all dolled up, yeah?  I wanna treat my girl.”

Ugh.  He always knew exactly what to say to make you melt.

“Okay,” you giggled, nuzzling your nose against his.  But you took your own sweet time getting off the counter, choosing instead to wrap your legs around him and pull him in for an impromptu makeout session.

What can you say?  Your man was hot as fuck and a good ass kisser.

“I love you,” he mumbled, his hands roaming down your sides to your ass.  He gave a playful squeeze before slowly breaking the kiss, letting it linger far longer than what would be considered necessary.  “But you have to go shower and get ready, baby girl.  I gotta jump in one, too.  I wanna be nice and fresh for my girl.  Now go on.”

A purse of your lower lip.  “You don’t wanna join me?”

“Now, that’s not what I said, you little minx,” he said, tickling your sides and sending you into a fit of giggles.  “But if I get in with you, we aren’t gonna make it out for a long, long time.  And then you won’t get your surprise.”

“Fine, fine,” you groaned, pushing against his chest so you could slide off the counter.  “Bossy.”  You shot him a wink as you headed upstairs, and he can’t help but stare at your ass.

God bless the quarantine weight you’d gained.

Granted, he always loved your body—if you like the girl, you’re gonna like her body, after all—but he was still a hot-blooded man with a thing for grabbing you and loving every inch of you.

He quickly put together a basket of food, various meats and cheeses and little things like olives, and set a blanket on top of it before running upstairs to grab a shower in the guest bath.  He knew the perfect place to take you to escape the city and the suffocating threat of the pandemic.

“You gonna tell me where we’re going or not, Sarge?” You asked as you appeared in the doorway.

He looked up from where he sat at the kitchen island, and the breath was knocked straight from his lungs.  Thank god he’d already stowed the basket and blanket away in the trunk, because he would’ve completely forgotten at the sight of you.  “Holy shit, sugar…,” he whispered as he got up.  He moved towards you, strong hands grabbing your hips and pulling you into a kiss.  He knew he had to be careful about grabbing your face, not wanting to mess up the makeup you’d just put on for the first time in months.  But you’d also learned not to wear a lip product that would smear on your first date, so you both had rules about makeup now.

The fabric of your yellow sundress rested against your skin so gently, and he would be ashamed to admit that for just a second, he was jealous of a piece of clothing.  He wanted to be that close to you always, wanted to feel your skin and draw little shapes over your heart.

Maybe he’d strip it off of you the second he got you to the spot, just so he could rest his head in the valley of your breasts and listen to the steady beating of your heart.  You knew that he could hear it even just standing beside you, but you wouldn’t call him out on it.

TLC played on the radio the entire drive, his hand on your thigh except for when he needed to shift gears.  Out of all the decades of music you were working to catch him up on, the nineties were your favorite.

Not that he’d ever disagree.  No.  Not when he got to watch you with one arm out the window, your hand making waves in the wind as you sang at the top of your lungs.

Just being out of the house for less than an hour was doing you so much good.

“Bucky, you aren’t going to kill me, right?” You asked with a laugh as he parked the car in a small lot at the entrance of a trail.  “Because I really figured you would’ve done that by now, you know.”

“Nah, baby,” he said as he popped the trunk, smirking at the surprised look on your face at the sight of the basket.  The trunk closed with a slam as he tossed you the blanket, moving to your side and holding your free hand in his before leading you down the trail.  “If I wanted to murder you, I’d have done it by now.  Besides, you’re too pretty to kill.  I’d miss looking at you everyday.”

“You’re an absolute cheese ball,” you laughed, nudging his hip with yours.  Not that it actually did anything.

Ah, the disadvantages you had when it came to play fighting with your super soldier boyfriend.  Poor you.

The trail was absolutely stunning, full of wildlife and color.  The shade the trees provided was a nice reprieve to the mid-August heat, the sunlight filtering through the leaves to dapple against your cheeks.

It was about a fifteen minute walk to the Wallkill River, and you heard the rush of the water long before you get there.

“We aren’t going swimming right?” You asked, eyeing him skeptically.  “Because I just washed my hair.”

“No,” he said, amusement lacing his tone.  “We’re not swimming.  Just having a late lunch.”  He sets down the basket and takes the blanket from you, laying it out on the small clearing on the bank.  He took his time setting up the charcuterie board, the bottle of wine, and the two pillows that he stuffed in the basket for you two to rest against.  “There.  Now it’s perfect,” he said as he held his hand out to you to help you sit down on the blanket.  “Worthy of my princess.”

A familiar roll of your eyes as he pressed sweet kisses to your cheeks, just like he did anytime he doted on you.  He only ever called you princess when he got all lovey dovey like this.

Not that you’d ever complain.

“So what’s all this for?” You asked.  Unable to stop your fit of giggles, you teetered to the side as the force of his cheek kisses grew and he made more and more obnoxious noises with it, his metal hand hooked around your waist.  “Bucky Bear…”

“Okay, okay,” he relented, leaving one last, noisy kiss to your cheek before sitting up straight.  He didn’t answer you right away, choosing instead to grab the wine and pop it open, pouring you each a glass.  He was always the designated driver, since alcohol didn’t affect him.  He was silent until you had your glass in hand, and he raised his in a toast.  “I want to celebrate us, and more specifically, you.  The past seven or so months haven’t been easy, but you’ve been a champ through it all.  And also, I think we’ve done pretty damn well on living together and being around each other almost 24/7, considering that we only moved in together in November,” he said.  His startling blue eyes were so soft as he stared at you.  “I just love you so much, and I truly don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Oh, my god,” you said, your eyes glassy as you shook your head.  “Bucky, you can’t say things like that when I just did my makeup!  You’re going to make me cry!”  But you didn’t mind the tears as you leaned in and pressed your lips to his, your glasses clinking together.  “I love you, too.  And there’s no one else I’d rather go through this with.”

“Together,” he said, his nose nudging against yours.

“Together,” you agreed.

Hanako and Tsukasa (separately) with a restless, hyperactive s/o who can't stay still for long. They struggle to hold conversations because they can't stay focused on the other person's words, but they appreciate anyone who talks to them despite this. Whenever the lads hug/cuddle/kiss the s/o, they start fidgeting and trying to slip away after a few seconds because they constantly feel the need to move but will try to restrain these impulses if the lads seem like they need the affection.

I was nervous about writing for Tsukasa but ended up enjoying it a lot… too much, even. Anyways! Your comments when you reblog my posts might as well breathe life into me andjdn 💖 I’ll have you know that I see you, and I love you. Hope you enjoy these!

hanako & tsukasa | with a hyperactive s/o

word count: 1395 words

warnings: tsukasa none

Hanako:

This lovely boy ALWAYS has his s/o’s best interest in mind. He knows they struggle sometimes, and he understands!

His s/o would be bouncing from wall to wall one minute, and he’d be right next to them, laughing with them about whatever they’re ranting one minute—

Or he’ll be floating at a distance when his s/o is feeling down.

Because, however endearing he may find them when they lose focus for a second but snap back to attention, or when they are fiddling with Hakujoudai in a moment of absent-mindedness, he sees how sullen his s/o can get when people make bad comments about them! :(

Luckily for his s/o, he knows exactly how to make their mood skyrocket in a second flat!

Perks of dating a hyperactive s/o like that is that he can get them outta the dumps real easy.

He’s… not great at heart-to-hearts.

But he is great at f u n!

Boundaries are one snap of his fingers away!

Fair in a boundary? Park? He’s got it covered.

Let’s not even go that far— they can do just about anything IN the school! Play cards with the Mokke if they can sit still long enough to finish the game, mess around in the kitchen, you name it!

So he basically just distracts them lmfao.

But the method’s worked thus far so??? No moping, no problem, right?

It’s all smiles when they’re together!

Hanako, the wholesome apparition, adjusts to his s/o’s pace perfectly.

“And then I bought my doll at—”

Oh, his s/o twitched a little. Of course he’d notice— is he talking too slow? Is that what’s giving them trouble engaging?

“—ThisOneBoundaryFullOfSexyItemsAnd—!”

Yeah, talking faster won’t help, Hanako. Bonus points for effort, though! They did not comprehend a single word lol— got distracted, oops!

He tries 😫👊

Given that his s/o is somehow able to touch him he’d be all over them.

He loves his s/o and giving them affection! When he sees them, his first instinct is to cheer and glomp them with a “Yay!”

He’d cuddle the rest of his ghostly life if he could. But his s/o just. Won’t. Sit. Still.

When they start whining that they want to be let go, he will— reluctantly.

He lets them go with a slight pout and watches as they give in to the urge to just move.

He gets it, but also he just wants some cuddles you know? :(

His s/o notices how Hanako is the actual embodiment of (｡í _ ì｡) and they feel bad cuz!! They also wanna show him some love! It’s just not easy!

It’s not like they can just be a statue and kiss him forever… so maybe a quick, small peck will do?

Hanako is ALL about that! He loves those!

One teeny tiny peck and after a moment of processing it he lights up and gets a blush and it’s cute af.

You know the big, close-eyed smile? That’s the one he makes.

After the first time, it’s over for his s/o.

He doesn’t mean to embarrass them, but every time he sees them in the hallways? Peck. When they’re on lunch break? Peck. Trying to focus in class? Peck.

They quickly react and to the folks that don’t see supernaturals it looks like they’re just laughing and talking to themselves.

“What’s up with them this time? Geez”

Hanako may or may not give them quite the fright because no one talks of his s/o like that.

But that’s another thing! If they can’t focus on the lesson, Hanako might just swoop in and have them play hang-man or tic-tac-toe with him instead of taking notes. Perhaps it doesn’t help them in the long run, but it certainly provides the relief they need at the time when they’re feeling jittery and restless in class!

He totally gets Tsuchigomori to tutor them later anyway.

On particularly good days, or when his s/o is just super tired, he gets to cuddle the daylights out of them!

While he adores to see them jumping around and laughing and talking of their most recent hyper fixation…

Sometimes he just wants to hold them, man.

He feels so lucky and incredibly thankful to have the bundle of joy that is his s/o.

And he doesn’t have it in him to see how his s/o is just as thankful and whipped for him for giving them a chance :”)

Tsukasa:

With any other partner, the matter of concern would be whether or not they can keep up with his s/o.

But, guys, this is Tsukasa.

It’s his s/o that has to match pace with him asdfg.

Like, not just physically. Emotionally he is ALL over the place. One moment he’d be much too clingy and all to sweet—

And then? He’d be acting upon his sociopathic tendencies and about to cut open a helpless Mokke and “(N/N)-Chan! Don’t you want to know what they look like from the inside, too?”

Yeah. Kid’s a lot to handle, alright.

It’s awfully convenient, he guesses, that his s/o gets distracted to easily.

They wouldn’t be particularly fond of watching how the human skull would look like if the others limbs solidified in the orifices where eyeballs and nostrils would be otherwise.

Or something.

So if they were to run off, attempting to catch a rapidly drifting paper crane while he has his fun, then he didn’t have anything to do with it.

How opportune, though!

When his switch is flipped, on the other hand:

Indeed, all too sweet. As in, so sweet it gives you cavities. And diabetes. And like, chronic pain or anything along those lines.

May not seem like it but I love Tsukasa I swear.

He’ll squish his s/o since they’re so cute and if they squirm around, wanting to be let go, he’ll tighten his hold on them and flash them a dangerous smile because they’re wrong if they think they can rid themselves of him.

They just want to move around. It’s not that deep, rat.

But when they do manage to escape his grip then he’ll whine and whine like a child wanting his guardian’s attention.

Way to make his s/o feel guilty.

The smug bastard will love it when his s/o kisses him, but he’s more of the boa-constrictor-hugger than the kissing type, really.

He pulls at their heartstrings when he starts with the puppy dog eyes. How can they say no when he looks at them like that?

He’s too cute, it’s unbearable.

So he makes them make an effort to sit still while he plays with their fingers or hair despite how much they may struggle with it.

If someone so much as scoffs in the direction of his s/o, they’re g o n e.

Because of his work in the shadows, no one will bother his s/o (and they’ll be none the wiser the entire time!).

His love may be twisted and it might be wrong, but love is love and he’s not afraid to literally cut open anyone that dares hurt the object of his corrupt affections.

Were his s/o to feel down any day for whatever reason, he’d ask and pester them and the moment he’s given a clue on who the one responsible is, anyone that vaguely matches the given description is gone— no questions asked.

But he makes sure his s/o doesn’t know. He’d hate for them to look sad because of him!

When they look so pleasantly broken, he’s the one to pick them up and show them all sorts of wonders to take their mind off the things that made them sad.

He’s their hero, and he intends to uphold that image.

When they’re having trouble expressing themselves, Tsukasa will gladly throw random guesses of what they mean to say that often have nothing to do with the topic at hand but it’ll make them laugh so what does it matter?

When they’re getting a far away look to them in the middle of a conversation, he’ll just switch to something else— easy peasy.

They’re a bit of handful, but it takes one to know one, so he knows just what to do to engage with his s/o.

Mans is nothing if not devoted. If he loves his s/o, then they’ll get all of his attention. Always.

Chapter 3 of "I'M GOIN'..." is done! Here's the AO3 link. Or read it below. (...Or don't read it at all. I'm not your mother. Do what you want....but don't forget to brush your teeth. And get a decent amount of sleep. And brush your hair. And-)

I'M GOIN'... Chapter 3: "Friendship"

Danny went home after a couple long days in the hospital. He was glad to be home. The very first thing he did was run to his bedroom, jump onto his bed, and look up at the stars on his ceiling. He heaved a heavy sigh, naming the stars, looking for his favorite constellations. Maybe things would be back to normal soon.

He was just beginning to believe that things were still normal, that things were safe, when suddenly his arm fell through his bed. A yelp escaped him as he pulled his arm back out of the mattress. "Danny? Are you okay?" Jazz poked her head into his room, her eyebrows knit in concern. "Is something wrong?"

"Everything's fine Jazz." Danny scowled lightly and crossed his arms over his chest. He really hoped that she didn't see anything. "I just want some time alone if you don't mind."

"O–okay." Jazz's eyebrows somehow managed to knit together even tighter. "I'll leave you alone for a bit then." She looked a little hurt, and plenty worried. But Danny didn't really care. He was too caught up in his own panic, because as Jazz left the room, his legs both seemed to vanish.

He stopped himself from screaming, and tried to make his lower-half visible again. The issue was, that Danny didn't know how to control what was happening to him.

Danny was panicking. He changed. He was different. He wasn't himself anymore. There was a flash of white light, and then he was different. He could feel it. See it. And sense it all at once. And he didn't know how to change back.

He was practically touching the ceiling and curling in on himself because he was freaking out.

Then his bedroom door opened. And shut. So quickly he almost didn't notice. There in front of him stood Sam and Tucker, looking concerned.

Danny suddenly turned back to normal, and fell hard on his bed. His panic didn't die down though. "Guys! I….it...just"

"Danny, calm down. It's okay. We're here to help." Tucker sat on Danny's bed, and put a hand on his knee. "Best friends don't leave best friends to deal with sudden mutations on their own." Danny looked over at Sam who nodded her agreement.

"We're not going anywhere."

"W-what am I?" Danny's choice cracked. "I'm not–not completely human anymore. I can–I can tell. I can feel it when I change. So what am I?" Sam and Tucker shared a concerned look.

"We'll have to figure that out together." Tucker scooted closer to Danny, and elbowed him lightly. "I'm sure your parents have something that can tell us what's going on."

"Y-yeah. You're right." Danny nodded.

 

Tucker handed him a small acrylic pin. It looked like a classic alien head, and the bottom said 'out of this world.'

"I thought you were gonna stop with the pins for a while Tuck?"

"After everything that happened, I think this is a justified purchase." Tucker said with a shrug. "Plus Sam brought you a couple things too." Sam stuck her tongue out at Tucker before tossing a plastic shopping bag at Danny.

"Here. For your collection." Danny looked inside and saw four 'Ghostie Energy' cans in bright colors.

"Thanks. You guys rock." Danny smiled softly at his two best friends, and gave Tucker a half-hug. "Let me put these away, then we can raid the fridge downstairs."

Getting downstairs proved to be a slight challenge, when Danny's left leg suddenly fell through the second step. He almost fell all the way down, luckily Sam and Tucker had fast enough reflexes to catch him before any real damage was done.

Danny's parents were both in the kitchen working on some new project. It looked like a handheld computer of some kind. "Hey Dad, we're gonna get some snacks from the fridge and play some video games in the living room, okay?"

"Alright Danno. Just try not to make a mess okay?" Dad looked up from the blueprints he was studying.

"Sure thing Dad." Danny flashed a smile at his Dad as he opened the fridge up.

"Danny, could you Thank your friend for calling an ambulance for you after your accident, for me?" Mom had her goggles pulled down but Danny could still tell she was looking directly at him.

"Okay. Guys my mom says thanks." Danny said distractedly as he grabbed more snack foods from the cabinets.

"No, your other friend. The athletic one." Dad chimed in while writing a note.

"Athletic one?..." Danny almost dropped his armload of snacks when he realized who his parents were talking about. Then it hit him, he realized the one thing he had been trying not to think about. Kwan. Saw everything. Kwan saw what happened to him! "You mean Kwan?" Danny managed to choke out. "He's not really a friend. He was probably here looking for Jazz."

"Still. Make sure to thank him for us." Mom smiled sadly. "I don't know what we would have done if he hadn't called for an ambulance." She shuddered, and Danny nodded.

"Yeah okay." Danny nudged Tucker on the arm and handed him some of the snacks. "We'll be in the living room. We might head back upstairs in a little while though."

"Alright. You kids have fun!" Dad said, with a slightly distracted wave.

————————————

Meanwhile, Kwan tried not to think about everything that had happened at the Fenton's. Over the past few days he had been mainly attempting to pretend that it hadn't happened, and that he has been in no way involved. Although that didn't really happen, because The A-List inadvertently "adopted" Jazz into their group...at least tentatively.

Kwan looked up as Dash entered through his front door, dragging along a slightly confused looking Jazz. "Hey, Kwan." Dash tossed a football softly at him. "You wanna hang? The other girls already packed an entire picnic." Kwan couldn't help but grin at that.

"That sounds great actually. But, when did Star have the time to pack a picnic?" Kwan and Dash both knew that Paulina wouldn't pack anything herself unless she was forced to, and Val was absolute trash in the kitchen. Dash shrugged.

"No clue. 'Lina just called me about half an hour ago, and asked if we could all hang and have a picnic, I said sure, got Jazz, and now I'm grabbing you." Dash grinned as they started making their way toward their usual picnic spot in the park. (Luckily Kwan lived close by.)

As they reached the picnic spot the rest of the girls were all doing their own things. Star was weaving together flower crowns, Paulina was reading a fashion magazine, and Valerie was laying on her back on the picnic blanket, watching the clouds.

"Hey! Did we miss anything exciting?" Kwan skipped a little bit as they got closer.

"Nah. Star made PB&Js for everyone except 'Lina." Val said, sitting up to make room on the picnic blanket.

"No worries though! I made her a very nice sunflower butter and honey sandwich." Star dropped the flower crown she was working on and leaned over to hug Paulina.

"You guys do this kinda thing often then?" Jazz asked as she sat down.

"Not all the time, but whenever we get the chance." Kwan told her, he sat next to her and smiled. "How's your brother doing?" He didn't want to think about all the things that happened, but he did want to make sure that the Fentons were all doing alright.

"He's doing better, thanks for asking. He's back to kicking me out of his room, only talking to his friends. So that's a big plus." Jazz gave a half-hearted shrug.

"I'm so glad things are getting better!" Star beamed. "If you need anyone to talk to, you're welcome to talk with us." As if to prove her point, Star placed the crown she'd been working on, on top of Jazz's head.

Kwan looked over at Dash and Paulina, he knew those two worked hard to make sure the A-List was only the most popular kids in Casper High. Dash looked uneasy, and Paulina looked like she was working out who could possibly be bumped out of the group. While Jazz and Star kept talking about the picnic, Kwan pulled Dash and Paulina aside to discuss it.

"Guys. I think it's fine. We don't have to be an exclusive group. Plus, we all know that Jazz is cool. No one would question her hanging with us." Kwan kept his voice low.

"It's not her that we're concerned about." Dash admitted softly. "Her parents really take her down the social ladder." The football star sighed. "I just don't know if she's got enough to stand on her own in the social climate."

"Plus she's just a tad nerdy." Paulina wrinkled her nose. "We don't want nerds. That takes us from the A-List, to like… the F-List."

"Guys. She isn't that nerdy. Plus we've all needed her help with homework plenty of times." Kwan defended. "She's good at moving between social groups anyway. So we don't have to make her an official A-Lister. We just need to be open to talking with her in public." Dash and Paulina still looked unconvinced. "We have been hanging with her for the past few days already. We brought her along on a picnic for goodness sakes! Get a grip! We're the only ones who care about social standing!" It took everything in him not to yell. Kwan had to stop and take a deep breath, otherwise he might have snapped.

"Kwan. We can let her join peripherally. Anything more than that and...you know how it is." Dash held his hands up in surrender sign of mock surrender.

"Dash. You're my best friend. I would jump off a bridge for you." Kwan narrowed his eyes. "But if you're lying to me. If you don't put your best effort into making this work out. I'll step down and let her take my spot on the A-List." Kwan didn't know where this was coming from, but he did recognize that Jazz needed friends. Especially right now.

"I'll do my best. Let's get back to the picnic and have some fun." Dash lightly punched Kwan on the arm, and Kwan relaxed. He knew Dash would keep his word, he may have overreacted a bit.

@i-cant-go-ghost

so basically my friend told me today about her dream she had that involved a demon and of course my mind went “...SAIOU AU”

here’s our convo so it makes sense:

if I had the motivation i would DEFINITELY write a fic about this- the fluff/crack/angst potential is t h e r e

and as a bonus doodle,

story is under the cut (it’s long)

“I was gonna keep this in tags but hsdf;j” is what I originally wrote here until I started thinking about this more and sorta wrote the whole plot-

-> as ouma’s killing the other monster things he flirts with shuuichi while the poor demon has never been flirted with so he’s stood there all confused and ??? (his version of blushing would be like, the fire coming from his small horns gets bigger and brighter)

-> the one he summons ends up being like. kaede and they both just end up having to lecture shuuichi on why it is that he should not want to die so easily

-> eventually kokichi and kaede wanna give him a hug so they try to but shuuichi’s Extra Hot™ (from being a demon and also probably blushing) so they both immediately regret that choice but kokichi laughs and gives an obligatory pun about shuuichi being hot which only confuses him because ‘of course im hot?? im a demon??’ while kaede explains what ouma meant

-> imagine shuuichi crying (fire tears..) at the generosity of these two strangers who a) aren’t absolutely terrified of him, b) refuse to hurt him and c) actually *want* to help him and ouma actually inwardly understanding a little bc he’d never imagine someone actually wanting to be with himself either

-> saihara now wanting to know what it’s like to live as a human with ouma and akamatsu but being unable to find a way (except for maybe being undercover?) but promising he’ll bring ouma back to him (he’s aware of the whole aging phenomenon in the lil demon world so he wants to keep their time short) and ouma finding that now he has something to look forward to

-> the 👏 mutual 👏 pining 👏 that commences after they both have to leave each other (if kaede knows kokichi in the real world she’d definitely tease him a little knowing he has a crush- this is probably good potential for building oumaede friendship)

-> it takes a while before ouma and saihara can see eachother again because getting the two to escape without killing saihara exerted a lot of energy on him, but they do get to! about once a month to be safe, and they get to know stuff about eachother like which shops ouma likes to steal from and shuuichi’s really loud demon friend he once had (aka momota)

-> one day though saihara tells ouma that if he keeps doing this he’ll die of exhaustion (it takes a lot of energy from saihara to get ouma in and out of there) and ouma calling him an idiot but really being worried. saihara tells him not to worry about him even if something happens to him, and makes ouma go back to the real world

-> ouma doesn’t hear from him after that

-> he worries he might have been killed or saihara forgot about him and feels stupid for being so hopeful in something so childishly impossible and starts trying to forget about him

-> the real world is aware of demons cause people talk about them (and obvs you can tell when someone’s gone to their.. dimension thing because you can visibly see them age) so still denying that he’s curious and likes saihara still, ouma tries to go to libraries and do his own research on demons and ends up finding out that saihara specifically comes from a bloodline that makes him quite powerful if not for that he wouldnt want to take the risks that come with it and then lowkey gets excited again for saihara while still in ✨denial ✨

-> it’s been almost a year when saihara has enough energy (and more) to ensure that his new plan is successfully carried out and that ouma (and potentially 1 more..) gets back to the real world safely. he created this plan when he figured out how to exist in the real world- by sacrificing the thing he cares most about

-> so when ouma suddenly gets that off-feeling people get when they’re leaving the real world he feels very many emotions at once (giddily going ”ohh my god its not this it cant be this no way oh heck tthisis not happening not a chance”) until he sees the face he’s been waiting 4 months for again except this time it looks.. frighteningly cold

-> ouma’s instincts are screaming at him that something is very, very wrong here especially when he can’t hear any warmth when saihara says “Welcome back, Ouma. It’s your final time” and explains the whole ‘kill these monsters then kill me’ thing again

-> ouma’s confusion inevitably turns to annoyance as he kills the dudes (there appears to be a lot more than there was last time) and fires questions at saihara (‘is this saihara?’ ‘what happened to you??’ ‘do you even remember me?’) while saihara stays silent for the whole time thinking about how he really doesn’t want to be doing this. 

-> eventually ouma decides he was wrong (again) to have put his faith in a guy- a demon- he only met once a month.. even if said demon gave him something to look forward to

-> when he finally gets to saihara alone he internally notes that saihara cant look him in the eye, but he finally speaks to tell ouma that now either himself or ouma will now die (saihara knows this is for sake of the sacrifice, but he can’t let ouma know else it won’t work)

-> ouma refuses to fight him again, expecting saihara to snap back into the meek demon from a year and some months ago, but rather than that happening saihara actually says something like “if you won’t kill me, I’ll have to kill you” and swings at him

-> even if ouma was on his full guard, he still would’ve been surprised by how strong saihara actually could be when he tried to fight- and of course saihara can’t stop now that he’s started but ouma hears the hesitation when saihara asks “are you going to kill me yet?” and gets annoyed that the whole time he spent with him and even akamatsu meant nothing. saihara smiles sadly knowing he’s achieving his goal but ouma thinks he’s smiling at the thought of dying and gets somehow even more annoyed

-> during their whole fight, insert “I’m alone, Ouma, and I will always be” line from saihara, “No amount of talking can convince me otherwise, Ouma. I’m sorry it took so long, but it was foolish of you to trust a demon you met only once” or something and yes it hurts saihara too but ouma’s staying silent and before saihara can continue, ouma fires back with “You’re right- you are meant to be alone. You were always meant to be that kind of guy” and stops dodging to start finally attacking- this is when saihara knows he’s pretty much achieved his target: sacrificing ouma’s trust in him

-> just as ouma swipes at him, saihara’s lil spell thing is activated that takes saihara back to the real world, disguised so people don’t see him as a demon. but now ouma thinks he’s just killed saihara (I just attacked him. and he is gone. i dont know what that light was but i must have just killed him. oh my god im a murderer.”)

-> saihara hiding in the forest to do the lil spell thing again but on ouma (all the time he spent saving on energy was worth it) so ouma gets transported to the real world too and immediately runs to tell akamatsu everything that happened

-> saihara trying to find to blend in with humans from what he remembers of how they act but he doesnt need to particularly eat he just needs a heck ton of sleep so he basically just lives in the forest now. he’s very sensitive to water so he actively stays away from it too (it wont kill him but it does make him sick). he’s still feverishly warm but not scalding and he also decides to work at a store to fit in more

-> ouma regretting what he did to saihara even though saihara hurt him first and realising he misses him

-> saihara ends up accidentally bumping into him at the store he works at that ouma conveniently steals from a lot (”Ouma, you’d make a good demon” “Nishishi! What do you mean? I’m a perfect little angel!”) and saihara gasping when he notices ouma’s unforgettable purple hair and cute smile.

-> ouma finding something familiar about this awkward new staff with the cute face and deciding he’ll visit the shop more often to see this stranger and not because said stranger might help him get over his demon crush

-> then they get to know eachother again for the 2nd time, and as much as this guy is really cute, he clearly knows more than he’s letting on... so of course ouma’s gotta now pay even more attention to him. just so he knows what the guy’s hiding. not cause he wants to know him.

-> one day saihara is sick from trying to protect himself from the rain (cause yk, water bad) so he stays in the forest instead of coming in to focus his energy on getting better and also not blowing his cover. ouma notices he isnt there on that day and asks other staff members where he lives and they’re all like ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

-> it rains quite a bit after that, inevitably making saihara even more sick and in turn needing time away to himself, so ouma starts getting worried when saihara stops coming to work

-> saihara really wants to see him though, so one day he tries to drag himself to work in a terrible state where he’s actually almost cold for once and collapses after trying to run to ouma. ouma sees him and tells his manager he cant work nd takes him home himself where saihara wakes up confused

-> ouma lecturing saihara because he worried him and the way he fell reminded him of.. someone (demon shuu).. then he asks vague questions to saihara about if he’s ever met a demon and half-confesses to having met one himself multiple times and ending up falling in love and then probably killing them

-> saihara, in his tired state, tells him his story of how he was raised to believe he had no purpose other than to meet someone who would kill him, eventually finding that person but instead of looking at him with fear or anger he looked at him with admiration and playfulness, how the guy meant to kill him refused to and flirted w him instead. ouma has probably clicked on by this point but saihara continues to tell him he wanted to protect that guy with the power he had so he took time away from his first ‘job’ to find out how to be with him. saihara is probably shaking at this point while he continues telling him about how he found out he had to sacrifice the most important thing to him, so he “went and had a terrible argument with him one day and i ran away. but i’ve never stopped looking for him since, he showed me that even a demon like me can fall in love” (there’s the ✨grand confession ✨)

-> ouma saw it coming from the moment saihara started speaking, but that didnt stop him from being utterly paralysed. of COURSE saihara has to say “When I said you’d make a good demon I really wasn’t lying. Your hand is so warm it could fool even me” which possibly makes ouma completely combust before absolutely bolting out the door and calling akamatsu to tell her to get to his house (”AKAMATSU-CHAN I’M GONNA DIE RIGHT NOW IF YOU DON’T GET HERE ABSOLUTELY RIGHT THIS SECOND”)

-> while waiting for kaede, shuuichi explains that he needs to be Warm™ and immediately holds kokichi’s hold again, while the other’s having a gay panic.. and he doesnt know how to feel because on one hand, his beloved demon is.. right here, in the ‘flesh’, holding his hand, telling him he fell in love with him.. but on the other hand, that doesnt excuse the confusion and hurt he put him through back then, not being able to see him for a whole damn year.. 

-> ouma ignores all the feelings when akamatsu arrives where she’s brought water and blankets (just in case- i feel like shes the kind of friend who would do that) so saihara takes the blankets and ouma takes the water and she calms them both down and gets them to explain everything slowly and in their own time. its awkward esp for ouma who isnt particularly close with her, but they manage it in the end

-> they decide shuuichi literally cant live in the forest so of course now he has to live with ouma but akamatsu offers to help if it ever gets too much for ouma which obviously ouma denies. she leaves soon and its just them but ouma needs some time to himself to clear his head and he only returns late to see saihara asleep clinging onto akamatsu’s blanket with his life lmao so ouma sighs and brings him more. and if he kisses the sleeping demon’s forehead, nobody has to know

-> ofc its still very much awkward and it takes ouma getting used to having even just another presence in his home, let alone his sort-of-unofficial-demon-bf and saihara’s still sleeping a lot of the time but recovering

-> they probably establish their feelings for eachother properly when they’re more mentally prepared for it, and then 👨‍❤️‍💋‍👨 (they kiss) and are now actually legally boyfriends. i absolutely cannot let this end in angst so they’re happy and love eachother now yay the end

nngl. i talked about this with that same friend and I lowkey want to start writing an actual fic for it now that ive written... literally the entire plot, but if i do that it probably wont be out for a while bc i take 10 years to write lmao-- plus i hardly ever finish what i start so uh yeah.. but hopefully! im not even good at writing fic this is just the plot but yello

I loathe you Pt 1- Sam Fender Imagine

Standing before the mirror, you were impressed with the reflection. You had made an effort with your appearance (for once) and the result wasn’t too bad. You were looking forward to tonight, finally getting the chance to catch up with the boys who had been on tour for months. You had missed them, in fact your home town didn’t feel the same without them. The plan was drinks at your local pub- the Low Lights Tavern- just so you could catch up and see how everyone was doing. Well, not everyone. Thankfully, Drew had convinced Sam not to come for your sake. It wasn’t as if you hated the guy, but he always seemed to kill the mood with his sulky attitude and blunt remarks. It was almost as if he despised you and just couldn’t stand your company, so you kindly asked Drew not to invite Sam. 

You hopped in the taxi and headed towards the tavern, getting more eager by the second to see your friends. The pub was your guys spot, whenever someone needed to celebrate, whenever someone was sad, whenever someone needed to let off a little steam, you’d always meet at this spot. 

You walked in and instantly looked towards your usual booth.You would’ve been happy to be reminded of your friends faces, but unfortunately to your dismay, Mr Sam Fender was sat with them, blatant of your arrival. You were tempted to walk back out, to come up with some petty excuse for you to leave, but it was too late, the gang had noticed you. “Y/n!”, Dean waved you over, obviously happy to see you. You quickly plastered on a smile and strutted in their direction. You were not going to let Sam ruin tonight.

“Hey guys, long time no see.” Dean squeezed up, allowing room for you to sit. Within an instant it was like they had never left. They told you stories from on tour (like Sam threatening to break into a Greggs after a particularly messy night out) and they had asked about what you had been up to too. 

“So y/n you seeing anyone”, Drew asked, whilst side-glancing towards Sam. Great, you were going to be reminded YET AGAIN that you were still single, and you were certain that Sam basked in your sad, single loneliness. 

“Yep obviously. I think I just defer guys with my presence.”

“Obviously”, Sam muttered under his breath. You pretended to ignore him but you couldn’t help but notice the sharp glance Drew gave him from across the table. He quickly attempted to assure you. “Nah that’s not true, I knew a bunch of guys who had a crush on you at school.”

“Yeah, like who?” You raised your brow out of curiosity.

“Sorry that’s classified information. I promised I’d never tell.”

“Drew, school was nine years ago.” You folded your arms across the table, waiting for an answer. 

“Yeah but it was a pinky promise and you know how sacred they are.”

“Sure, now I’m gonna go get us some more drinks before you bore everyone with my non-existent love life.” You left the table and headed towards the bar, hoping they’d change the topic by the time you’d get back. It wasn’t as if your love life was non-existent it was just very much unsuccessful. For some reason you had a certain type for dickheads, the kind who loved to walk all over you and cheat whenever they felt like it. In a way you were grateful for your chain of ex-lovers, they had made you tougher to a certain extent, and boys knew it too. In fact, most of the time, the boys refused to meet whoever you were dating. It was almost as if they could see right through each and every bloke, and decided that any guy would never be good enough for you or their time. “6 pints please.”

“That’s a lot of pints for a small thing like you.” You hadn’t even looked at the bartender, but his voice seemed to pull you out of a trance. You quickly realised how good-looking he was. He was roughly in his late 20s, dirty blonde hair and kind brown eyes. He was charming in some sort of way and he had even kinder smile. Shit, you were still staring. He must think I’ve got something wrong with me. 

“I wish they were, but I’m pretty sure you’d have to roll me out of here if I even attempted to down all six.” He laughed and started pouring out glasses, locking eyes with you every so often. “So are you new? I haven’t seen you around here before.” God, you were cringing so bad. You knew you were a bit rusty but this ‘flirting’ was just a shit-show.

“Kinda, some of my relatives live down here but I don’t live too far either. I take it you’re local?”

“Sadly, yes. Hopefully I can get out soon if my job picks up.” You were hopeful, but it was the truth. Although you loved Shields, you didn’t wanna stay here forever. 

“It’s not too bad around here, where would you wanna go, when you do get out?”

“I’ve not thought that far ahead yet, maybe down South or maybe even somewhere else in Europe.”

“I’ll have to tag along if you don’t mind.” He folded his arms across the bar and leaned down to your eye level. God, talking to this guy was so easy, you could stare into those eyes for hours. You hadn’t even realised that he’d poured all six drinks! 

“Sure, I could use the company.” You played along, silently hoping he’d take you up on the offer. 

“Isn’t your boyfriend good company then?” 

“My boyfriend?!” You gave him an unsure glance, you were certain that you were single. 

“Yeah, the guy giving me the evils.” You turned to look. “Don’t look!” He lightly grabbed your arm stopping you from turning. “God, don’t make it too obvious”, he laughed. “The guy in the white-shirt sat with you and your friends, blondish hair?”

“Ohhhhh, that’s Sam”, you laughed. “We’re not together.” 

“He’s been giving me the evils ever since you strutted on over, I took a guess thought you and him were a thing or something.”

You snorted, “Sam basically hates me, he treats me like shit or ignores me half the time.”

“Trust me, coming from a guy, he’s definitely feeling something other than hate for you.” 

“And trust me, knowing Sam for nearly 10 years, basically makes him my brother.” You couldn’t put anymore emphasis on that, you and Sam were not a thing. Period. 

“Well if you’re adamant that there’s nothing going on between you, I’d love to take your number?” You blushed but willingly took the guys phone and dialled in your number. 

“Y/n by the way.”

“Archie, lovely to meet you y/n.” He smiled and you and you smiled back effortlessly. God, his smile really was something. 

“You too, now I’d better get back to my friends before they start screaming for their beer.” You walked on ever to the group, careful not to spill the drinks. 

“Oi oi, look at you gettin’ ya flirt on”, Dean whistled. You blushed again, knowing full well that Archie could hear. 

“See told ya guys fancied you, you just can’t see it half the time.” You instantly thought back to Sam and glanced in his direction. Sure enough, he was sulking as usual. 

“I’m going for a ciggy”, Sam announced, and with that he stood up and stalked on outside- ruining the mood once more. 

“Think I might join him”, Drew said and quickly left after him. You shrugged and sat down next to Dean once more. Dean started talking about the good old days, laughing about the stupid things you guys did when you were young. 

“Remember that one time you hit by the swing playing chicken, and Sam felt so bad he pedalled home to go get you a plaster.”

“Omg and by the time he got back, I had stopped crying and we had started a new round.” 

“He was so mad, I remember he wanted you to sit out to rest your “injured” knee. It was literally the smallest cut ever!” You both laughed at the memory. You remembered that you had argued with Sam that day, you refused to sit and watch whilst the boys had all the fun. “I miss those days man”, Dean continued, “when we didn’t have to worry about anything other than going to the park after school.”

“Yeah but you enjoy tour life right? You’re travelling, meeting new people. I’m sure you got girls throwing themselves at your feet as well.” 

“That’s one bonus, I get homesick though. Actually, Sam was saying how you should come with us when we go on tour next.”

“He did?!” The news took you by surprise. He wanted to spend time with you. 

“Yeah, he said you could be our own personal groupie”, Dean chuckled. You? A groupie for Sam? You loved there music, there was no doubt about it but you weren’t sure how you felt about him as a person. You’d known him for a while but you didn’t really KNOW him that well. He was a difficult person. 

“Yeah sounds good. I missed you guys whilst you were away.”

“We all missed you too, especially Sam. It was kind of annoying actually, he complained about you not being there with us A LOT”. God, Sam just seem to escape the conversation tonight. Everything just sounded so unlike him. It never acted like this around you, and he certainly hadn’t said anything nice about you to your face. It was definitely a shock. 

“Speaking of the buggers, I’m going to see what’s taking them so long.” You needed some air anyway, it was so stuffy inside. As you reached the door you heard a quiet a conversation. You wouldn’t usually snoop but you recognised the voices. It sounded like a very important conversation. Their voices were tense yet quiet, ensuring that no one would be able to hear. No one but you obviously. 

“Drew leave it. Nothings ever going to happen between us. We wouldn’t work. We’re two VERY different people who have VERY different lives.” Sam. You wondered who he was on about, was he seeing someone? Why did you care?

“Mate you’ve had a crush on her since we were 12. I know you still like her, and you can’t deny it.”

“Yeah and so what. We date. It goes wrong. It fucks up our whole gang. Things become awkward. The end. That’s what will happen. End of.”

“Well, you’ll never know until you try. All I’m saying is that you better man up quick, otherwise someones gonna beat you to it.”

 Wait, known since 12, fuck up whole gang, that only narrows it down to one person. Me, Sam likes me, you thought, and with that, you heard the boys stomping out their fags ready to re-enter the tavern and face you once more.

@Meowthefluffy Zombie au au chapter 2

A happy belated birthday to you @meowthefluffy hope you enjoy it.

They had found themselves a safe space in the library. There was an underground parking to hide the car, the windows were high up so while it was well lit no one on the outside would spot movement and they could collect some books to help them survive. Knowledge and skill was crucial. Languages, knots, engineering… Anything that could help them out later. Virgil knew sign language, Janus knew French and Roman knew Spanish. They decided that to be safe they should each learn one additional language. Janus picked mandarin, Virgil Russian and Roman took Arabic. Roman had been very timid ever since they lost the horde. And Virgil hadn’t been exactly eager to talk to him. “V- Virgil? Can we talk?” Roman whispered. Virgil didn’t answer, nor did he look up from under the hood. He was checking over their car to see how long it would last them and what parts would need replacing soon. He wondered if they could make it to the shop to gather supplies for maintenance. “Listen… I understand that you are angry with me…” “Do you?” Virgil snapped as he finally got up, oil smeared over his cheeks, cleaning off his hands with a cloth he shoves in his pocket. He crosses his arms over his chest staring down at Roman. He’s definitely mad. “Because I don’t think you do. We’ve talked about how I feel about consent. But you go ahead and kiss me without so much as a warning! And then you plan to just go off so I can feel guilty and like a crappy person for the rest of my life? Are you that selfish?” Virgil seethed. Roman cringed. He did know. They’d talked about it plenty of times while watching movies. Virgil was not a fan of the ‘confess your love by kissing them without warning’ trope. “I was a coward, I know. It shouldn’t have taken the end of civilization and certain death for me to confess to you. But… I knew you’d be disgusted by me and I just…” “There’s another thing. We’ve been friends since before I can remember. You really think that little off me that I’d feel different about you just because of that?” Virgil growled. Roman looked up surprised. “But… You always laugh when people make those jokes… And…” “And that was wrong of me. I can own up to that. But you never said anything to imply you found them anything other than funny yourself. Has it occurred to you that I might do that for the same reason?” That… Roman hadn’t thought of that. “And didn’t I always come to your defense when people thought you were to girly? What did I say about that?” Virgil pointed out. “That… That I’m a different kind of manly. Like a prince…” Roman recalled. “Hence me calling you princey since kindergarten!” Virgil huffed. Roman’s head was spinning. Trying to make sense of everything he was hearing. “But you’re… You mean you’re…” Virgil was straight right? He did everything right. He rode a motorcycle, wore leather, worked on cars, liked aggressive music and guns… Sure he also wore make up but in a cool way.

Virgil shrugged. “I’ve been questioning myself for a while, I’m not sure. I don’t know how I feel about a lot of stuff right now. At this point I wanna see if either of our families are still around and make it so that we all live.” He stared Roman down again. “All of us. You are not allowed to die on me Roman. Understood? I’m pissed as hell. But that doesn’t change that I’ll keep you safe. Got it?” Roman’s heart went a thousand miles a minute. Virgil was right. With the end of the world hanging over their heads, this wasn’t the time to sort out this mess he’d gotten them in. But one thing was sure. Virgil didn’t hate him because of how he felt. He was mad about what he did and almost did though. And that was fair. If the roles were reversed he probably wouldn’t have been very happy about it either. But things could still be fixed. Maybe. “Yes… I’ll… See if I can put something together for us to eat,” he muttered softly. “There’s some supplies in the trunk. Use the perishables first,” Virgil instructed. Roman nodded. “Right… Good idea,” he said softly as he moved to the trunk and gathered some things to cook a decent meal for three. “I’m really sorry for hurting you Virgil… I just wanted to protect you for once,” he told him before disappearing back inside. Days turned into weeks and Roman had a hard time. Virgil’s anger at him subsided. Roman even woke up a few times finding that Virgil had moved closer to him either in his sleep or due to waking up from a nightmare. And when they were awake he slowly started to relax around him again. Roman wasn’t sure if he was waiting for him to make another move on him or to pull another heroic stunt, but he was slowly trusting that he wouldn’t. Janus was… He was clever. A master strategist, if Roman was completely honest. And he was handsome.  And charming.  And flirty. Towards both of them. But mostly Virgil. And that made Roman nervous. Because what if it wasn’t him but Janus who’d made Virgil question whether he was entirely, strictly into girls? Roman is too insecure to ask. They didn’t find their families. They decided to assume that they got out and were somewhere safe until proven otherwise. If only for their own piece of mind. Virgil recovered his tools from the shop, as well as some extra weapons and ammunition. They managed to raid a few homes and even an apothecary for first aid kits and medicines. Roman held a meticulous catalogue of all their perishable supplies. When Janus hinted at Virgil that he could give him CPR anytime, Virgil calmly deflected him and said that Roman would be the one playing nurse if any of them wanted to survive. “Though you might need to teach me some of the basics soon. I don’t want you to die cause I don’t know how to save you,” he’d added softly. Roman had blushed and nodded. Feeling hopeful that he was getting close to being forgiven. Then one night he woke up and found Virgil sitting at the window of the abandoned classroom they were hiding in for the night. Janus was sleeping. They must’ve switched watch recently. “V?” Roman whispered. They had to talk again. He needed to know where they stood. “You should be asleep Ro. You have three more hours until your shift,” Virgil said softly. Virgil always took the middle watch. Never allowing himself 8 consecutive hours. Roman and Janus both had tried to convince him to switch it up. But Virgil was adamant. Janus took first, Virgil second and Roman third. Virgil claimed that that way they’d all have breakfast waiting when they woke up. But Roman suspected Virgil didn’t want to disrupt his sleeping schedule if he didn’t want to. Ever since they were little, Roman had more trouble staying up late than getting up early. He’d loved getting up early actually. Sunrise was his favorite. Virgil and him had slept under the stars a few times. The only times Roman had managed to stay awake and alert for most of the night. It was almost sunrise when they finally went to bed. “I can’t… We need to talk,” Roman insisted. Virgil looked back. “I guess we do,” he sighed reluctantly. Roman went to sit with Virgil and looked out over the playground. “Are you still angry?” he asked. “… I’m still scared Roman,” Virgil answered finally. “I haven’t been angry with you for weeks. But I’m scared you will do something stupid and I won’t be able to protect you. I was… I froze last time. What if I freeze again and lose you without even trying to stop you?” Roman was shocked to find that Virgil’s eyes were filling with tears. “How do I live with myself if I lose the most important person in my life like that?” he asked. It was hard, trying not to be happy that Virgil said that. But the love of his life was in pain and Roman would be damned if he didn’t take that pain away. “Virgil, I did what I did because I knew you’d freeze up. You always do when you get dropped in unexpected situations. I knew that… That would shake you up enough to let me go. I used my feelings for you and what I knew about you to do what I thought was right. I regret doing that… I’m sorry Virgil. I…” Before Roman could continue he was pulled into a tight hug. “Promise me we’ll stick together from now on. Ok? No matter what you think is best for me. We’re a team alright?” Roman let himself melt into the embrace and nodded into Virgil’s chest. “Ok,” he said softly. The next month things seemed to go back to what would be normal for them under the circumstances if they’d never had a fight. They joked and teased and Virgil was comfortable with showing physical affection again. Roman was even warming up to Janus, who told him that while he enjoyed flirting and everything, he wasn’t very interested in dating of any kind. “Virgil and I have this game we’re playing, but I don’t care much about winning. He’s all yours your highness.” Being friends was much easier after that. There were scary moments. Stray zombies in what they thought was a clear building. Sometimes they found people who’d been infected and locked themselves away to give their family time to escape. But those situations were easily dealt with. The hordes were harder. Luckily they were rare. Only loud noises and bright lights attracted them and they tried their best to avoid both. But sometimes an engine would backfire or an animal would get spooked and make a ruckus escaping.

They didn’t encounter other survivors often. Usually at a distance and it seemed an unspoken agreement to not approach each other. It was the best way to avoid misunderstanding. It was Virgil’s birthday. Roman had done his best to keep track of time and been counting the days to do something nice for him. So he gathered the right ingredients and made the closest approximation to Virgil’s favorite pasta he could. They found themselves in a restaurant, as if the universe agreed to cut them a break and so Roman found the right spices and some unopened tubes of tomato concentrate. They obviously didn’t have ground beef but Janus had gotten good at providing them with fresh meat. Virgil nearly strangled the both of them when he realized what that smell was. The dinner was interrupted by a knocking at the door. It was soft, and rhythmic. Nothing like the way a zombie would sound. Virgil, naturally, took point and stalked towards the door. They all got ready to react if their visitor was hostile. “Good evening… Say, I haven’t smelled anything that good in ages. Mind if I join?”

i don’t think i’ve managed 3 chapters in one day before. and before you say anything, yes i did all my work first, i just wrote really fast.

@petrichormeraki

“Mumbooooo.” Grian gave a sickly moan as Mumbo continued to watch the cooking pumpkin seeds. “I’m hungryyyyy.”

“Be patient. Furnaces only work so fast and while smokers are faster, you always disapprove of how they come out.” Mumbo half scolded the builder.

“They taste funny like that.” Grian complained. Mumbo rolled his eyes and took the baking sheet out of the furnace, placing a second sheet in the now empty space.

“Alright, they’re done now.” He put the seeds into a bowl and then carefully carried it up the ladder to Grian’s nest. “Here you go. I’ve got more cooking now and-” Grian snatched the bowl from Mumbo’s hands and gobbled them up. “And I’m glad I decided to make more. How are you feeling?”

“I feel like I’m about to start molting and my head feels all buzzy.” Grian groaned before stuffing more seeds in his mouth. “Will you still loooove me with all my feathers gone?”

Mumbo covered his face. “Grian, I think you’re delirious.” Oh come on, isn’t it obvious what he means? Mumbo stopped covering his face to look below them. “Hey! Iskall is that you? We don’t need you bothering us right now.”

Grian looked down where Mumbo was looking. “Is Iskall here?”

Mumbo shrugged. “Someone is.” You know, why don’t things burn in furnaces? Mumbo stood up to try and get a better look. “Alright, who is it? Grian’s sick so he really should be left alone.”

Next to him, Grian looked around. “Mumbo? Are you okay? I’m not hearing anyone.”

“What do you mean? They’re quite clear.” Why doesn’t Mumbo just make a super smelter for the seeds instead of cooking them by hand. Bird Grian is best Grian. Guys, which is worse, spoon brain or bird brain. Spoon brain. Spoon brain. Def spoon brain.

Mumbo was looking around him. The voices no longer just being a sentence made him realize that they sounded much closer. Too close for them to be a Hermit on the ground. “What the devil?” He couldn’t see anyone, but he kept hearing people.

“Mumbo? Are you okay?” Grian, though sick, looked confused. Reluctantly the redstoner gave a short explanation and what little color was left on Grian’s already pale face seemed to vanish. “No. No th-they just said they were leaving.”

Mumbo was suddenly being hugged and was enveloped in Grian’s wings. “Grian, what’s going on, what are you going on about.”

“Can you please call Iskall?” Mumbo tried to argue. “Please?” He sounded so worried that Mumbo agreed and before long Iskall had arrived.

“Mumbo? Grian? Are you in here?”

Before Mumbo could say anything, Grian was answering. “Iskall they’re gonna take Mumbo away from meeee!”

Iskall climbed up the ladder to find Grian using his wings to essentially pin Mumbo. The builder looked like he was on the verge of crying while the redstoner looked confused. “I’m guessing he’s not feeling much better?”

“Definitely not. Though to be perfectly honest I’m not sure i’m feeling quite the best myself.”

Iskall sighed and shook his head. “Alright, what seems to be the problem?”

Again, Mumbo didn’t get a chance to speak. “The vault gods are messing with him now! Pixlriffs wouldn’t let me put a claim on Mumbo and now they’re gonna take himmmm!”

“What about vaults?”

“Mumbo noooooo! Don’t listen to them!” Grian actually started crying now. Mumbo had no clue what was going on, but Iskall seemed to have some idea.

“Hey, they’re not going to be taking him anywhere. They caught us off guard when they took Stress Ren and I but we know what’s happening this time.”

“Wait, are the vault gods the one who made you disappear.” Mumbo asked, receiving a nod from Iskall. 

“Why did you have to like vaults so much? Am I not good enough? What did I do wrong?!”

“Grian, calm down, I’m not going to leave.” Mumbo tried to calm the delirious avian. Iskall started to speak, but his words were lost in the middle of all the other voices that reared their heads again. Not wanting to upset Grian, he just asked Iskall to repeat himself, pretending to pull feathers out from his ears though they were really stray ones lying around.

“They won’t really give you any choice Mumbo. They’re just going to take you away if they really want to.”

Mumbo almost spoke but instead nearly fell over as Grian flopped on his back. “I don’t care what Pixlriffs says… I wanna keep him safe!” The avian started using his watcher powers, but that seemed to make him even more sick.

“Alright Grian, calm down. We’re not going to let them take him or-”

Mumbo suddenly found himself in a completely different world. It looked new, or possibly it was just a very underdeveloped area. “Grian? Iskall?” A voice behind him scoffed and he whirled around so see what looked like a young girl who hadn’t been there before. “Who are you?”

The girl rolled her eyes and then pointed to herself. The name’s Drista. And You’re Mumbo Jumbo. Weren’t you listening?”

“Um, I suppose not. I don’t remember that being said.”

The girl crossed her arms and rolled her eyes again. “I guess that makes sense why lots of VGs want you.”

“Veegees?” Mumbo asked, confused.

“Ugh, do they really want me explaining everything to you? I thought being around Watchers and other VG interactors would leave you smarter than this.” Drista jumped down from the stump she was sitting on and crossed her arms. “You like vaults, right?”

“Er, yes. I don’t see why that-”

“And you’re pretty smart.”

“That’s a little debatable and-”

“And you’re hearing voices.” Mumbo wasn’t sure how she knew, but he nodded. “Well, I’m what’s called a Vault God and the other VGs want you to be one too. It’s a big privilege or whatever, so you’re probably going to say yes or something.”

Mumbo shook his head. “What? No. You’re those people who kidnapped my friends and Grian seems like he doesn’t want me saying yes to… whatever all this is.”

Drista waved a hand dismissively. “Your friends were fine, it’s just something we do every however long. It was harmless.”

“They were gone for three months!”

“Yeah, see, that’s not that long. We could have kept them a few years.”

“A few years?!”

“Well we didn’t. We know they don’t always live that long.”

Mumbo rubbed his temples. “And so what, you still think after that I would want to be a vault whatever?”

“Why not? Immortality, amazing powers, stuff like that. You might have to mess with your ‘friends’ a little to keep charged up but otherwise it’s fine. And if you don’t want to mess with them, talk to someone else in the family. I’m sure they’ll let you use their wards for feeding.”

“Feed- Are you vampires or something?!”

“Or something. More just mess with people’s minds, get them hearing voices, and the energy that produces powers you. We put your friends in that world because to escape then needed the help from voices so it charged us up plenty. Sure, we could have gotten other people, but it was pretty funny to get people from such a protected world as Hermitcraft to mess with.”

Mumbo shook his head. “No wonder Grian was so worried. You’re dangerous.”

The girl shrugged. “I mean I guess from an outside perspective it seems bad, but it’s different once you experience it. Here, I’ll let you join the fam for a week and then you can make a decision. If it’s not allowed, I just blame it on the usual scapegoat. I’m with him often enough that it should trick them.”

Mumbo tried to say something, but suddenly he was back in Grian’s nest, finding it empty. “Oh dear, how long was I gone?”

From below, Mumbo heard Iskall speak. “Mumbo? Is that you up there?” The mustached man looked over the edge of the build. “Oh thank goodness. You disappeared and Grian panicked. He went through some weird bedrock portal.”

Mumbo saw said portal standing open a few blocks behind Iskall. “Are you able to go through there after him.”

Iskall shook his head. “I mean I might, but I’d rather not risk it and end up dead or something.”

“That is a fair point.”

They waited a while and eventually Grian came out, immediately jumping at Mumbo when he saw his friend. “Mumboooo! You’re aliveee!”

“Yes, of course I am. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, Pixlriffs said I could… wait… M-Mumbo, were you talking with Vault Gods?”

“Yeah.” He answered sheepishly. “At least one of them and they looked like a little girl. Said something along the lines about me being a part of her family for a week? And I assume that means be a Vault God.”

“Mumboooo nooooo!” Grian flopped against Mumbo in a dramatic fashion. This was going to be a long week.

The next week was a mess. Grian couldn’t stay around Mumbo without feeling worse. Instead Iskall had to pass messages between the two. Apparently Vault magic and Watcher magic did not do well together which is why Grian was sick in the first place, and since Grian inherited the hearing voices problem the rest of his family had, Mumbo found himself accidentally pulling them closer to the surface of Grian’s mind.

Instead Stress and Ren were asked to keep Mumbo company for the week. He felt bad with how his newly appointed powers messed with his friends, but they seemed to understand he didn’t really have a choice. 

When he was pulled back to the empty looking world, he was relieved that it would finally be over. Drista was there again, though her previously green hoodie was now red. “So, are you convinced now? We can make it permanent and you can hang with us and-”

“Definitely not!” Mumbo shouted before she could continue. “It’s hurting my friends and making Grian sick.”

“Grian? Oh the Watcher. Eh, it is what it is. And it’s not that bad. Maybe a week wasn’t long enough?”

“What? No!” Mumbo felt even angrier. “I don’t care how long you try, I’m going to say no! I may like a nice vault here and there, but obviously that’s not what this is all about! I mean the first vault I made on the server was because of Grian, what would I be without him?”

Drista just watched Mumbo, swinging her legs. She was silent long enough and refused to blink so it was slowly creeping Mumbo out. “Oh alright, fine. I’ve got places to be anyway. Maybe we can try again in the future.” And just like that Mumbo was back home. Stress and Ren were staring at him and asked if he was doing alright. He told them the good news, leaving out the potential of another return visit.

The two were glad to leave and Mumbo was able to fly over to Grian’s base. Mumbo could barely get his elytra off before Grian was hugging him tightly. He looked like if he let go of Mumbo for even a moment, he would disappear. His face pressed into Mumbo’s chest and the redstoner patted Grian’s head.

“You’re not allowed to talk with Vault Gods again.” Grian said to Mumbo, even though that didn’t seem like something either of them could entirely control.

Mumbo chuckled and some words slipped out. “Love you too Gri.” Immediately he slapped a hand to his mouth, expecting Grian to react badly to it. He had in the past, mentioning it was related to some bad memories from back when he was a teen. But right now, he seemed okay. In fact he seemed really okay as he pulled Mumbo’s hand away and gave him a quick kiss.

“Grian?”

“Do you have any idea how much all of that scared me, you spoon. I may have a bad past, but I don’t want that making me act in a way that will get me a worse future. Now come on.” And Grian was pulling Mumbo up to where the nest area had been. There were still bits of wheat around, but it seemed to have mostly been dismantled.

That being said, Grian quickly placed down some more bales of hay and had Mumbo sit on them. It wasn’t until his tie was being removed that he started to panic. “Grian what the devil are you doing?! We just got to kissing!”

Grian looked confused before looking at the red tie now in his hands and then at the equally red face of Mumbo. “What?! No! No no I wasn’t going to do that at all! I just-! I’m going to use Watcher magic on you so something like this doesn’t happen again. But it’s going to leave a mark behind so I thought you would want it where it can’t easily be seen. Especially since some worlds aren’t as happy about Watchers.”

Mumbo nodded. He remembered when everyone first found out Grian was a Watcher and the range of reactions that came from it. “I still would have liked you to tell me before you started taking my clothes off!”

“It would be easier if you didn’t wear a stuffy suit all the time and I could just move the collar! And I already had to wait a week since the Vault Gods were messing with you so I was impatient.”

Mumbo sighed and rolled his eyes. He unbuttoned his shirt slightly and revealed his shoulder to Grian. He tried not to squirm as Grian’s Watcher eyes opened and it felt like he had a bad sunburn on the revealed shoulder. When Grian returned to normal, he looked down to see a bright red Watcher symbol that matched Grian’s sweater imprinted on his skin.

“So… will we have to do that often, or what?”

“Hopefully it should last forever, so should be a more one and done type thing, but we can see.”

Mumbo’s eyes widened with recognition. “You’re a Vault God.” He managed to keep the word ‘too’ from making its way out of his mouth.

“Hmm… must be newer than I thought. You know, I was really wondering why hanging around Techno felt so odd.. I assumed it was the relation to Grian since Tommy was also there one time, but Apparently it was just because you were following them around.”

Mumbo didn’t care. “Vault and Watcher Magics don’t mix. Is that why Grian can’t change back? Are you hurting him doing this?”

Dream shrugged. “I’m pretty sure he’s fine. Besides, it’s easier to work with this way. I’m sure why you send a report back to everyone they’ll let me back in.”

“Are you saying you’re some disgraced vault whatever?” Tommy asked, not having as much information as Mumbo and Dream did.

“Disgraced is a bit harsh Tommy. But I suppose it fits.”

“Did you go after Grian because of what he did to you, or because of his relation to some of the people here?” Mumbo asked, wanting to know why.

“Oh neither. I’ve just been looking for a lone Watcher for a while now. Grian just happened to be the first one I found. Who exactly he was was just a bonus. Now if you don’t mind, I’d like him back so I can continue things.”

Mumbo held Grian closer to him. “No! He- He’s a person! He doesn’t belong to anyone! You can’t just use him like that!”

“On the contrary, I’ve already been doing it and it’s actually been pretty easy.”

“That’s not what I mean and you know it.” Mumbo glanced back at the others. “They were doing fine before you messed around.”

“I’m just trying to teach them all the right way to do things. Tommy messed that up by running off.”

Mumbo just stared at Dream before starting to walk off. “Let’s just try and get to the portal. Hopefully going back will fix things.”

“You can’t just take them. They belong to me! I own this world and they need to stay here.”

“No they don’t. They’re people. You can’t just treat them like they’re things.”

Dream scoffed. “Is that what they’re saying these days?”

“I’m not a Vault God. I’m saying what I know myself.”

Dream didn’t stop Mumbo as he walked off. “If you’re not a Vault God, you’re not fixing that Portal. But something tells me you know that you can fix it, and we both know what that means you are.” Dream smiled and spread his arms giving a somewhat crazed shout. “Welcome to the family! Only a matter of time before you’re just like us!”