#dunno if it'll be their canon but /shrug | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

oolathurman · 2 years

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found this in my draft from before i left tumblr so have this now. it’s silly shit about wanwo and vette recruiting quinn to help renovate the ship.

yknow i was thinking about that post i did about renovating the with warrior starship

(yknow this one http://oolathurman.tumblr.com/post/172211844145/house-hunters-narrator-voice-newly-appointed )

And how stupid it was of wanwo to decide that renovating a starship of all things was a good idea

Anyway, I feel like by the time wanwo and vette get to balmorra, the renovation has only just started and although it’s gotten to a point where only the basic necessities have been completed (bathroom is technically functional and there are technically enough beds and the kitchen technically has all the basic appliances in)

So when Quinn requests to be part of the crew, Wanwo’s just all ‘hm idk man what can u do’ and vette’s all “who cares what he can do? I can use some help around here.”

Wanwo thinks it over for a moment and then asks, “Quinn, how handy are you?”

“Excuse me, my lord? I don’t follow...”

“Can you take measurements and hammer in nails and install appliances?”

Vette snorts and explains, “Our big scary sith lord here decided it would be more economical for us to buy a used starship that’s in desperate need of renovation. And by renovating, he means gutting everything but the supporting frame and beams and throwing everything else out the airlock.”

“But you were getting headaches from the lighting system in there too! It’s been a mutual choice, right?”

“Uh, no? Cuz you’re the one with all the money, big guy. I’m on your crew. My income comes from yours. And I definitely wanted to go with the one that needed less renovating, by the way.”

“I— y’know what, I see how that was definitely a decision I made on my own and am definitely starting to feel consequences of. And that bit about how you’re on my crew. It was weird to think about in that context. But we’ll talk about it in a bit. For now! Lieutenant Quinn, how handy are you with power tools, measuring things, checking if they’re level, that sort of thing?”

“I, um— I can review the guidelines and rules for starship modifications, to ensure everything is up to code.”

“Well, considering those building codes are what makes sure we don’t have furniture flying around if the grav stops working, welcome aboard, Quinn! Get your things inside and settled in, but be careful. We haven’t finished the renovation in the crew quarters quite yet, so storage may be outside the actual room for now. At least until we can get the other bunk bed in and get started on the loft bed.”

“Oh? You are installing a loft bed in the crew’s quarters?”

“Yes, let me show you the bluepr— actually, why don’t you just come inside, and you can get an idea of what it looks like?”

“The ship does seem to be an older model...”

“That’s cuz it is. Mister Rich Sith was making it rain when he decided to buy a starship that was ten years old. Hey, if you know how to fiddle around with the engines later, maybe the sound won’t be so horrid at night. Anyway just throw your jacket on the table AND LEAVE YOUR SHOES AT THE DOOR! We aren’t tracking dirt onto my ship!”

“Technically mine, I signed the papers. Anyway, slippers are to your right in that corner, we plan to add a mirror in the entryway because otherwise the entryway looks less dismal and actually larger.”

“I see you’re in the process of adding shelving here...? What for?”

“For additional storage of things. Trying to figure out what yet. Anyway, this way is the kitchen, and as you can see—“

“Why is there a microwave on the floor next to the caff maker?”

“— we have a long way to go. Other side is worse though.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask...”

#wanwo #my creations #dunno if it'll be their canon but /shrug #it was silly and cute so there #my stuff

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humanitys-strongest-bamf · 1 year

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hello! how are you? i love how you write my favorite snk character levi ackerman, thank you for sharing such an amazing talent. i hope i am not yet late, would like to request #16 of your rabble prompts.

again, thank you so much and have a nice day!

alkdsjf ;alkjfksldf you're so sweet!! i want needy levi T^T

ok my brain is literally running on exhaust fumes, so this will probably be my last drabble for this challenge!! thanks everyone for participating <3 pls still bother my asks or dm's :)

16: I Want Your Attention | Drabble Event

✧ word count ➼ 600 (guys i'm getting better at managing word count be proud of me) ✧ notes ➼ canon!verse, fluff, captain!reader, needy!levi

It was going to be a long week. You knew this. The recent batch of recruits just graduated and would soon be splitting off into their respective branches. This cycle, you were assigned to spend the week with the new graduates and cross reference their rankings with your own observations.

You figured it wouldn't be that bad as long as Levi was by your side.

However, your aloof boyfriend had only stuck around with you for about 2-3 hours before completely disappearing, leaving you to fend for yourself for the remaining 5-6 hours.

After a long day, you found yourself looking forward to even something as simple as grabbing the standard military-style rations and eating it within the presence of your other half.

However, he simply grabbed his own portion and walked off, showing zero intention to sit and eat with you.

You frowned upon seeing him walk away, but didn't think too much of it otherwise. After all, he was also the captain of a squad. It was normal for him to also have extra work into the night.

That thought quickly reminded you that you had your own work that you needed to catch up on, which prompted you to finish your dinner in your office.

You had barely finished your dinner and had only began sorting through the papers you had to sign off on when you heard knocking on your door.

"Come in," you spoke up without looking away from your desk.

You heard the door open, but didn't immediately hear anyone. You glanced up and saw the disapproving look of your boyfriend standing behind the door.

"Did you finally take care of what you needed to take care of?" you asked, looking back down at your papers.

"What do you mean?" he asked quietly as he stepped inside.

"I dunno," you said with a shrug. "You've been running around all damn day. I couldn't even catch a moment to make eye contact with you."

"Tch."

He immediately dismissed your comment.

"I'd say you were the one running around."

You looked up at him with a confused look.

"Well, it was onboarding day for the new recruits, so I kinda expected it to be chaotic. I imagine it'll be like this for the next week or so."

Levi only responded with a grunt.

You groaned at his response, exasperated at his behavior.

"What the hell did you come in here for? You were the one that was avoiding me at dinner and now that I have more work piled up, you happen to drop by?" you spoke, throwing your hands in the air in frustration. "What the hell is going on? What do you want from me?! Unlike you, I can't do a million things at once!"

"Your attention, for fuck's sake!" he also yelled out, equally frustrated.

You stopped speaking and shot him a confused look, at a loss for words.

"Are you really going to make me say it?" he grumbled.

"Say what?"

"I want your attention."

He said that last phrase with reluctance, a small frown showing on his face.

"There. I said it," he spoke after a few seconds of silence. "You happy?"

A small smile appeared on your face.

"Oh," you said quietly as you stood up. You reached over for him and pulled him in into a small kiss.

"Was that really so hard?" you asked, tilting your head as you looked into his eyes.

"Yes," he grumbled before pulling you back into a kiss, letting it last a bit longer this time as he held you in place by placing both his hands on your waist, using his right foot to kick the door closed behind him, ensuring that any "work" you two planned on doing from that point forward was kept purely confidential.

A/N: interested in casual office sex anyone? no? just me? nice.

#drabble challenge #kats oneshots #levi ackerman #levi ackermann #levi heichou #levi x reader #kats levi fluff #levi ackerman x reader #levi heichou x reader #levi ackermann x reader #aot reader insert #levi x you #levi ackerman x you #levi ackermann x you #levi heichou x you #levi fluff

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greenhousethree · 6 months

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Asked and Answered (Chasing chapters 2-3!)

These asks have been making my day since I posted chapter two, and life was unexpectedly a lot last month but we're back and ready to rumble, baby. Chapter four is getting a bunch of final edits, but in the meantime I've been getting a KICK out of your questions...

Spoilers, sneak peeks, and theories below!

I'm sorry it took me so long to get to this one, anon! But rest assured I have not forgotten about Kreacher, and we haven't heard the last about selling Grimmauld Place (more on that in chapter 5). From Harry's letters, though, we're learning that George and Ron think they could use a slave someone to do the washing up, which would be a level of such bougie dichotomy in a shitty London flat that I, for one, would love to see.

Dean In Paris is a little arc that I've been so excited to reveal, and starting with chapter 4 we'll definitely be hearing more about it. We still have a lot to learn about his year on the run, too, and what it was like to come out of the woods and reintegrate with both Muggles and wizards... our poor boy's really been through it.

As far as Luna goes, we'll be getting more of their interactions next chapter too (wouldn't be a party without a little inter-house mingling)! We know she's fresh out of a relationship with his old roommate, so we'll see if Dean will go two for two with DA girls 👀

Cheers, anon!

Thank you so much for this question, anon! I promise we'll get some Charlie moments that have to do with Quidditch, but at this point it would be giving away too much to reveal the role (if any) he might have at her first match. Instead here's something a little out of context:

"What the hell," she snorted, turning a stone over in her left hand before pitching it low over the waves. "You sound like Mum, asking me shit like that. Or Bill." Charlie shrugged, sending his throw so far he must've charmed the rock. "I dunno. Bloke seems moody is all. Not that I blame him... I just wanted to be sure everything was good, I guess." "It's sort of cute, you checking up on me." "Shut up. You think this is the first time?"

Anon I could kiss you for this question because I don't really write A/Ns for these chapters, but now I get to point out one of my favorite self-indulgent little details from chapter three:

“We’re just going to keep him still until someone gets here.” And she took Kirke’s head between both hands, sliding her fingers underneath to gingerly probe through the back of his hair. “Help’s coming, Andrew. You’re okay. We’re going to get you inside.”

I took that last line directly from the text with the intention of thrusting Ginny back into a moment at the end of DH that doesn't really get resolved or explained. More on that to come, but in this moment Ginny is really triggered by this burden of someone else's safety— of caring for the injured— and the helplessness that accompanies it. I'm really looking forward to tying this in with her ambition to be a Healer, which we learn she discussed with Professor McGonagall months after witnessing her father's hospitalization, her brother and friends' injuries, and Sirius's death. As the youngest Weasley she's been barred from so much of the action, so those moments of powerlessness were made more bitter by the fact that she was trying to do the only thing she felt she could. The panic comes from knowing the only thing she could do wasn't always enough...

Gushing over this question! A theory! About my fic!

I've gotten a few different versions of "where's Binns?", and I really don't want to give too much away because it'll come into play in later chapters, but I will say that the situation is a little more complicated than education reform. The only hint I can offer is that it's been really hard to convey everything that hasn't been around at Hogwarts without drawing too much attention to it, especially through Ginny's limited narration...

Priscus, though! Shame that Ginny would (imo) never canonically take a History of Magic N.E.W.T., so we'll have to settle for hearing more about him from Hermione.

🫡

thanks for this prompt, anon! without further ado, here's a peek at two character debuts for this fic:

Demelza grinned over the rim of her mug, eyes narrowed. "Could've told me sooner." "I know." "You know Romilda still doesn't believe you either, right?" "Doesn't matter," Ginny mumbled before tipping her head back to empty her cup, blood thudding sluggishly in her ears as she thought of his jumper and his letters— solace and evidence, tucked away in the same place. "She can't prove anything. Didn't believe me last year either, did they?" Demelza shrugged. "Just thought you'd want to know. She brought it up first thing on the train 'cause she knows we're friends. Can't imagine she's wasting too much brainpower on it right now, though..." At the table by Dean's bed, Dennis was refilling two cups with wine, cracking a grin as Romilda bumped a playful shoulder against his.

(Neither of today's sneak peeks passes the Harry Bechdel test, and for that I apologize.)

I also received a few more questions about Ginny's shoulder, especially after her conversation with Dean this chapter... I answered something similar in this post (if you scroll down a bit) and linked to postwar fics that occur before this story. Cheers! 🌱

#y'all are CRUSHING IT with these and i'm so so grateful #posting chapter 4 asap will be my birthday gift to myself so i don't have to keep looking at dorm party scenes #some curveballs coming with this one #get ready for another character theme song too!#chasing #asked and answered #hinny #ginny weasley #dean thomas #charlie weasley #luna lovegood

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vinnygordon · 9 months

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Ykw fuck it y'all get my scrambled hlvrai au of wreck it Ralph. It's just copy and pasted. It will be updated.

Quick doodle so far (very quick) not canon height. As in Bubby is smol unless he's angry and he grows tallll

"my name's Gordon Freeman Jr from the game Gordon Freeman Jr have you seen my friend Benrey?"

"Break it Benrey?"

"Yes! YES THATS HIM!"

"Should have locked him up when we had the chance...."

"Lock him up?"

"Not making the same mistake as you...."

"Benrey! Oh I'm so happy to see you!. Wait no. I'm. Not."

"plz fix this... Please?"

"I don't have to do shit! Excuse my potty mouth. I'm just so so CROSS at you! Do you have any idea what you've put me through?! All this chasing around the others are scared then ahhh... I met this most dynamite gal... Oh he gives me the honeyglow something awful. But, she rejected my affection! An then, I GOT THROWN IN JAIL!"

"'m sorry..."

"You don't know what it's like being rejected and treated like a criminal!"

"Uh.... Sure I do. Playin that game everyday bro. It's why I ran off. Benny boy tryin to be the good guy but I'm not. Epic fail. Now can you uh... Don't have to forgive y'know but uh... Young boy and the game depends on it for him to uh... Get this racehorse car back in order. Fix? Pretty please?"

"Heh.... Fine...." (said gal is Forzen and boy is Joshie)(Gordon falls for Forzen at first then for Benrey later and fozen is like "rude wtf" and Benrey is just "ha fuck you bro")

Turbo is Gman (I dislike gman that's why :))))

Benrey goes to destroy the mentos thing (dunno what it'll be in cowboy, just dynamite?) And Gordon pushes away from Forzen, the science team and Joshie glitches to run after Gordon as wel.

Gman ends up destroying Gordon's arm but he can't fix it cause it's virus issues if won't work as he and Josh push Benrey out the way so he doesn't die. Tommy and Coomer are from other games that the plugs got pulled. Bubby is the sour guy.

"I can't remember nobody can, gman locked away our memories and modified us to fit his theme"

Like Benrey shaoeshifts as the levels go on to destroy the facility and Gordon fixes it

I like to imagine Forzen, Darnold and Tommy are in a shooting game, but Tommy's was pulled. Coomer I guess just a fighting one like the classics and his special ability is to like muktiolyfor a KO.

Oh god Sour Bubby prototypes- only he's spicy cause cowboy.

Viruses are obviously xen creatures like

Forzen modded her game so he (she/him pronouns) could appear androgynous (help from Darnold and Tommy). Gordon his game had a fault being made and he was a guy when his game art and other arcades are him as fem.

See I thought of Darnold being like a potions seller in a shooting game but what if he's Tapper.

Benreys sweet voice is like his health.

Benrey sees that gman has destroyed Gordon's hand and he's PISSED. So after he explodes the dynamite to explode the volcano, he jumps to the virus gman and makes him look at the light and bleed virus blood.

They just adopt Joshua both of em. Benrey watching people love playing with Joshua even when he's mute (he's like qbert type like just ! And that) and glitchy at times but he's not a guaranteed win still a challenge unlike Vanellope

"you live here?"

Joshua claps and smiles, rushing to the little makeshift bed next to a vamp fire near the volcano and bundles in the blankets, a heart emote above his head

"All by yourself? With all this garbage..."

Joshua shrugs sadly miming he shouldn't exist and his glitchiness makes it dangerous.

Benrey rubs the back of his neck and watches the lava bubble and explode a little

"Why don't you leave?"

A red circle with a line through it followed by a glitchy emote. He mimes being unable to get through a door. Before flopping onto his bed sadly, cowboy hat flying off.

Benrey looked between this child and the unfinished race course, before looking at the newly made, messy mechanical horse. His four arms sprouted thicker and tougher, claws becoming like shovels as he quickly scooping the dirt away, tail swiping rocks side to side as he rushed further all around the lava.

Joshua bubbled question marks and exclamation marks, making shocked beeping noises.

"It's a uh... Track. Tadaaa. Can uh... Learn to drive cool horse rather than the uh... Peddle horse."

#hlvrai #darnold pepper #gordon feetman #gordon hlvrai #benrey #hlvrai au #updating soon cause im so not normal about it

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drarrily-we-row-along · 3 years

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Day 149: Stuffed Animals

cw: mentions canon typical child neglect

Harry liked being a godfather.

It had been a little overwhelming with Teddy; he'd been such a mess from the war, and he had really still been just a child himself, and he'd had no idea how to take care of a baby. Thank Merlin for Andromeda stepping in.

But it was different now with Ron and Hermione expecting. Six years and a load of therapy had made a world of difference. And so when Ron and Hermione had asked him to be the godfather, he'd been overjoyed and readily agreed.

Now he and Draco were shopping and buying heinously expensive things for the baby; they'd decided to buy everything left on the registry after the baby shower. As they were walking through the nursery section, Draco saying something about cribs and bassinets, Harry got distracted by an elephant plushier.

Smiling at the long-nosed, fuzzy, purple creature, he picked it up and stroked it's super soft head and gave it a little squeeze for good measure.

"Harry," Draco said.

"Mm?" he asked, glancing over at the other man.

Draco looked down at the toy in his hands, "That's not on their list, is it?"

"What?" he asked, glancing down at the elephant again, "Oh, no. It just looked soft," he said with a shrug, worrying the elephant's ear between his fingers.

"It doesn't really match the theme of the room," he said uncertainly.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I wasn't thinking about it for the baby," he said. "Just," he shrugged, "Dunno. It looked kind of nice to touch." He set it back down amidst the other stuffed animals and turned to Draco with a smile, "What's next on the list?"

Draco looked at him calculatingly for one more minute before looking back at the piece of parchment they'd brought with them. "I think we're still trying to find the bassinet that you can charm to rock itself."

(Read more below the cut)

Harry didn't think about the little elephant again after that, they were too busy making sure that they'd gotten everything on Ron and Hermione's list.

At least not until the next day when he came home and went to change into sweatpants and saw the plushy sitting on their bed. "Babe?" he called, tentatively reaching for the toy and picking it up.

Draco appeared in the doorway, "Yes?"

Harry turned, the elephant held gingerly in his hands, "What?" he asked, looking between the elephant and Draco. "Where did this come from?"

"The store," he said, brow furrowed.

"Why is it here?" Harry clarified.

Draco shrugged an elegant shoulder, "It seemed like you liked it."

"It's," Harry started as he clutched the elephant a little closer to his chest. "It's for me?" he asked.

"Yes," Draco said, brow furrowing in confusion. "Unless you don't want it," he added, "Which is fine."

"No," he said quickly, "No. I want it."

Draco stared at him like he had two heads, "Alright, then." He nodded once, "I'm going to go finish making dinner. It'll probably be done by the time you're done getting changed."

"Alright," Harry said.

"Okay," Draco replied, giving his head a little shake as he turned to head out of the room once again.

"Draco?" Harry said, stepping across the floor and toward the doorway.

"Yeah, love?"

He stepped forward and pressed a kiss to his cheek, "Thank you."

Draco looked at him quizzically, "You're welcome." He leaned in and pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead, "I'm going to finish dinner."

Harry turned his attention back to the elephant in his hands and carefully stroked the elephant's trunk, trailing his fingers lightly over the plushy softness. His throat felt strangely tight and he squeezed the elephant tighter as he sat down on the edge of the bed.

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

He wasn't quite sure how long he sat there on the edge of the bed but it was long enough that Draco came back in. "Harry," he said.

And when Harry looked up Draco was suspiciously blurry.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked.

"I-" Harry started, pushing his glasses up to swipe at his eyes.

The other man was at his side in an instant, sitting next to him and resting a warm, comforting hand in the middle of his back. "What's wrong?"

"This was just really thoughtful," Harry said, stroking his thumbs over the elephant's chest.

"It's just a toy," Draco replied. "I don't understand," he confessed.

He swallowed, "I've never had a stuffed animal before."

There was a pause then Draco said very calmly, "excuse me?"

"Oh, the Dursley's thought that buying toys for me was a waste of money," he shrugged, staring down at the plushy. "And any stuffed animals that Dudley had got wrecked before they could get handed on to me."

Draco was quiet for a long moment, "How many plushies do you want?" he asked eventually.

"Oh, this one is perfect," he said shaking his head and giving Draco a little smile. "I love it. Thank you."

He rubbed his forehead, "I hate them," he said. His voice was that vaguely scary sort of calm that Harry never quite knew what to do with. "I would be genuinely happy to kill them. Or at the very least to make their lives absolute hell."

Harry leaned over, resting his head on Draco's shoulder, "Not worth it," he murmured.

"Maybe," he conceded, "but it sure would make me feel better," he huffed, pressing a kiss to the top of Harry's head as he pulled him down until they were laying on the bed, Harry's head resting on Draco's chest, the elephant still wrapped tight in his arms. "There's nothing I wouldn't give you, you know?"

"I love you," Harry breathed, nuzzling into Draco's neck and letting the comforting familiarity of home and family surround him.

"I love you, too," he whispered back. Kissing the top of his head once more. "So much that it scares me sometimes," he confessed. "The feeling is so big, so terrifying, so consuming. And I just-" he felt Draco squeeze him tighter. "You're everything to me and I don't know what I would do if you-"

"Hey," Harry said softly, gently curbing the thoughts that he knew still raced through Draco's mind. "I'm not going anywhere," he said, sitting up slightly so he could look down at Draco. "I feel like you're the one with a reason to leave."

"Me?" Draco asked incredulously.

Harry shrugged, "Yeah. I mean I'm still pretty messed up sometimes," he added softly.

"You're healing," Draco corrected. "As am I," he reminded him.

"I know," Harry said, snuggling back in under Draco's chin. "Thanks for loving me in my mess," he added.

"Always," Draco murmured, trailing his fingers through the hair at the base of Harry's neck.

"We should go have dinner," Harry said, even though he was loathe to move.

Draco hummed, "It'll keep," he said softly. "This is more important."

Harry pressed a kiss over Draco's heart, feeling lucky beyond all measure that he had found someone who loved him as deeply and as well as Draco did, and whom he could love in return.

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

Day 148: Hair Dye | Day 150: Babies

#100 drarry drabbles in 100 days #love #healing #trauma #stuffed animals #drarry #drarry ficlet #drarry drabble #established relationship #soft

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mulletpeters · 3 years

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toothache of the mind

ship: peterpatter

rating: g

word count: 1938

tags: canon compliant, pre-canon, high school, 1990s, best friends, feelings realization, pining

Reggie gets braces for his sweet sixteen.

He doesn’t tell anyone―not even his best friends in the whole wide world. So when he walks into homeroom the Tuesday after his birthday, Luke nearly topples out of his chair at the sight of the metal wrapped around Reggie’s adorable little snaggletooth. Alex may or may not be hyperventilating, but Luke wouldn’t know. He’s distracted.

Reggie, for his part, is acting like Luke’s world hasn’t just been tilted on its axis in a dangerous way. “Hey, guys,” he says nonchalantly. “Sup?”

Alex recovers much quicker than Luke, though there’s still a glint of concern in his eyes. They both know how self-conscious Reggie can be, especially about his smile, so he treads carefully. “Hey, Reginald. Do anything fun for your birthday?”

They had their own party on Friday after school―Luke gave Reggie a new studded strap for his bass because the one he’d found in Bobby’s garage had started to look pretty sad―but Reggie’s parents are the type to force family time onto him any chance they get. Luke has a sneaking suspicion they only do it so they can use Reggie against each other in whatever asinine argument comes up that day, but it’s not like he can really do anything about it. None of them can, so Reggie is unfortunately left to his own devices when it comes to compulsory dysfunctional family celebrations. “Not really,” he says in lieu of giving any actual details; he’ll tell them eventually, but a crowded classroom is not ideal for dishing out his personal drama. “Got braces.” He shrugs, like his mom hasn’t made him feel like shit about his less than perfect teeth for most of his childhood. Definitely since Luke’s known him, anyway, and they’ve been friends since they were ten.

“Oh, did you?” Alex asks, and it sounds borderline sarcastic but he holds back most of his usual bite. “Let’s see ‘em, then.” He holds an arm out in a grand gesture like he’s giving Reggie the floor, and Reggie flashes the most hesitant smile Luke’s ever seen on him.

Luke swears his heart stops, but Alex is once again carrying the conversation so he does his best to tune in. “Oh, nice,” Alex says, approving of the red brackets stuck to the front of Reggie’s teeth with a slight nod.

Reggie returns the gesture, and he looks considerably more relaxed now that he knows his friends won’t shun him for something this mundane. “Thanks,” he tells Alex before turning to face Luke, and he looks a little apprehensive, like maybe Luke should get his brain to reboot so he can offer some reassuring words instead of just staring like a total weirdo.

Luke wants to say something about how red looks good on him, or how it’s cool that it’ll match his favourite flannel, or maybe he’d settle for even just a supportive thumbs up. What actually comes out of his mouth is, “How long do you have to wear them?”

Reggie gives him a funny look, head tilted and brow furrowed. “Only like, a year,” he answers anyway, and Luke wants to scream.

Thankfully, the teacher chooses that moment to draw their attention to the front of the room, and Reggie turns around in his seat so Luke can only see the back of his head. Luke sighs in relief, sinking further into his chair till his limbs are sprawled out into the aisle, accepting his defeat. It’s gonna be a long year.

Luke decidedly does not address the issue after that day. The issue being that weird fluttery feeling he gets in his chest every time Reggie smiles at him, or laughs, or talks, or breathes. Basically any time he sees the glint of metal in Reggie’s mouth, really.

It’s not like this is a new development, exactly; Luke has always had a bit of a soft spot for Reggie, a little bit of weakness. In the six years they’ve known each other, he can’t recall a time that Reggie just existing didn’t make his brain static out. The braces just made him recognize what’s always been true, even if he still doesn’t know how to make sense of it.

Normally he’d talk to his best friends about whatever’s on his mind, but he can’t very well articulate a dilemma he can’t comprehend to begin with. Plus, he doubts Alex would be any help, considering he’s got his own set of issues to work through, and he’d rather die than bring it up with Reggie himself. And as for Bobby, well. Bobby’s got the emotional depth of a puddle. So, naturally, he does the only logical thing there is to do: he writes.

He figures if Reggie’s smile is stuck in his head like a song, he might as well make it one. It’s what he’s good at, and it gives him a false sense of separation from the issue that grants a certain clarity he can’t get any other way. He jots down pages and pages of lyrics, curled up in his bed late one night, fingers itching for his guitar even though he knows his mom would kill him if she caught him playing at 1am again. So he just sits cross-legged on his comforter, hunched over his ratty old notebook, scrawling cliche lines about green eyes and freckles and an endearingly crooked canine.

It’s the sappiest thing he’s ever written. When he reads over it before school the next morning, he knows he’s well and truly fucked.

Reggie plops down into the dip in the center of the studio couch, inadvertently leaning onto Luke’s shoulder. “You working on a new song?” he asks, tilting his chin at the notebook on Luke’s lap like the question needs clarification.

Luke nods even as he scrambles to shut the book, shuffling loose papers to stuff them between the creased cover. “Uh,” he stammers, biting his lip. “Yeah, I am.”

Reggie just nods back, averting his eyes to look up at the loft when he realizes that Luke doesn’t want him to see the song. “Rad. What's it called?” He glances at Luke, offering a comforting smile that says Luke can tell him as much or as little as he wants.

And well, that's the thing. Luke hasn't given it a name yet―the song, or the bewildering cocktail of feelings that inspired it to begin with. So he looks up from his scratchy handwriting to Reggie’s lopsided grin and says the first thing his useless brain can come up with. “Crooked Teeth.”

“Oh.” Reggie’s smile slides right off his face and Luke realizes what he's done half a second too late. Reggie bites his lip self-consciously, fidgeting with the sleeves of the flannel tied around his waist as Luke scrambles to backtrack into less sensitive territory.

“It's about Bobby,” he blurts unwittingly. And technically speaking, it is a little bit about Bobby, mostly because it's a little bit about the whole band, seeing as they’re mentioned in one line of the second chorus. But Bobby’s not the point of the song, not by a long shot. Luke decides Reggie doesn't need to know that, though. Especially not when his face lights up at the revelation, conspiratorial eyebrow raised like Luke’s letting him in on some great secret.

“Oh, snap! Well, I won't tell him, but don't let him find those lyrics.” Reggie winks, and it's not like it’s an unfamiliar sight, but Luke’s heart stutters out of time all the same. He's just glad Reggie isn’t the type to ask to see a song before Luke’s ready to share it; Luke doubts he'll ever be ready to share this particular piece, but if he does show it to Reggie, it'll be his choice.

He laughs halfheartedly, more a forceful exhale than anything else, and lands a playful punch to Reggie’s bicep. “Sure, man.”

Reggie just smiles wider. It feels like a kick straight to Luke’s solar plexus.

“You told him it’s about Bobby?” Alex asks, but what Luke hears is, you’re an idiot. Luke looks down at his best friend―he used to consider Reggie his best friend too, but he thinks maybe Reggie is in a category all his own at this point―and frowns. “He got his braces off before we even met him.” Alex stands up, walking around his drum kit to pace the floor. “And you told Reggie it’s called Crooked Teeth before you said that? Dude, you know how insecure he is about―”

“Yeah, Al, I know,” Luke huffs, cutting him off. It’s not the title Luke would've consciously chosen, but it's weirdly fitting, in a sort of convoluted way. Like, maybe Reggie’s teeth weren’t the sole catalyst for this whole...whatever this is, but they definitely played a major part. Luke’s really gonna miss Reggie’s snaggletooth, okay? He resents Reggie’s parents for a lot of reasons, but forcing him to get braces instead of a real birthday present is pretty damn high on the list.

Alex, with all his anxiety-induced powers of perception, notices Luke’s internal struggle and momentarily stops wearing a hole in the floor. “You’re kinda wiggin’ out, man. Chill.” He holds his hands out in what’s meant to be a placating gesture, but the drumsticks in his fists sort of ruin the effect.

“You’re one to talk,” Luke mumbles, but he doesn’t mean it, and Alex knows that. He’s just confused, and stressed, and generally unsure what to do with his recent epiphany. “What should I do?” he asks louder, eyes pleading.

Alex goes back to nervously lapping the room, and Luke picks at a loose string on his guitar strap just to have something to do. “I dunno,” Alex says after what could very well be an eternity. “But I think you’d feel better if you told him.”

Luke’s eyes shoot up to meet Alex’s gaze, brow furrowing involuntarily. “You what?”

Alex walks over, planting his feet in front of Luke, clapping a hand on Luke’s shoulder that isn’t holding his guitar strap up. “You’re clearly upset about this, Lucas. Tell him.”

Luke is shaking his head before Alex has even finished his sentence. “Not happening.” He folds his arms like a petulant child, but it loses its effectiveness when his guitar gets in the way, a sad thump echoing through the room. “I wouldn’t know what to say, anyway.”

Alex cocks an eyebrow with a pointed look at the notebook sitting on top of Luke’s amp. “I think you already said it.”

Luke follows his line of sight, eyes landing on the folded corner of a piece of paper sticking out from all the others. He already knows what’s written on it―has the words memorized by now. They were written on his heart long before he put them to the page, anyway.

Bobby bursts into the studio then, Reggie in tow, and the moment is broken. They’re laughing about something Bobby said, and Reggie is as beautiful as ever as he throws his head back, and Luke thinks that maybe one day he’ll get the courage to tell him how he feels. He’ll ask Alex to work with him on the music to go with his lyrics, maybe even get Bobby to help with the melody. He’ll throw rocks at Reggie’s window and serenade him from his front lawn like they do in the movies, and his friends will back him up, and it’ll be perfect.

For now, he needs to focus on perfecting the songs they already have. They’ve got a show at the Orpheum next summer to prepare for.

#posted this a week ago but i finally got around to putting it here too lmao #i still don't know if i like the formatting but whatever #anyway! i'm writing willex next <3 #jatp #julie and the phantoms #peterpatter #luke #reggie #alex #mine #fic

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