for you and i

Pairings: Spencer Reid x fem!Reader Warnings: honestly just pure fluff, mild swearing, mentions of alcohol consumption, implied smut (nothing graphic) Word Count: 2.2k Summary: A small collection of moments throughout reader’s and Spencer’s evolving relationship that features their song. A/N: this symbol ~~ signifies a time jump.

A/N: i finished my rewatch of bones last night (im hella emotional), and one of my favourite “running gags” from the show is hot blooded being booths and brennans song, and how the writers reminded us of that from season to season. it definitely definitely inspired me to write this. also i did this instead of working on my assignment as a birthday gift from me to me lmao ENJOY

-

The plane trip back home was completely silent.

Morgan and JJ were catching up on much needed sleep. Emily, lost in thought, observed the night sky through the small window. Rossi was reading, as Hotch worked his way through some case files.

Spencer sat next to you at the far end of the jet. You were listening to music while his nose was buried in a book. Although you could tell he couldn't really concentrate on the words as the page remained unturned for the last fifteen minutes.

“Why don’t you let your eyes rest for a minute?” You suggested, carefully taking out one earphone. “A short nap could be good for you. It doesn’t look like you’re retaining any information anyway.”

Spencer nodded slowly, agreeing with you. He shut the novel in his lap and tilted his head to look at you, his lips pursed into a thin shy smile. “You should get some sleep too Y/N.”

“I’m okay.” You replied. “Plus someone has to keep watch in case the jet gets abducted by aliens or something.” A sly grin appeared on your face as Spencer chuckled softly. He rested his head against the chair and gradually closed his eyes.

You watched him for a moment. Examining his perfect features. Your innocent crush growing by the second - something you would never admit out loud in fear it would ruin your friendship.

When you were about to place the earpiece back in your ear, his eyes shot back open. He sighed heavily.

"I actually don’t think I can.” Spencer said quietly and once again turned his attention to you. His gaze briefly landed on the phone in your hands before travelling up to your face. “Did you know that in addition to aiding relaxation and helping with falling asleep quicker as well as improving sleep quality, playing music before bed can improve sleep efficiency? Which means more time you are in bed is actually spent sleeping.” You raised a curious brow waiting for him to continue, but he just asked: “Can I ask what you are listening to?”.

Instead of answering his question, you wiped the dangling earphone against your blouse and handed it to him. He took it, a little hesitantly, and placed it in his ear - the two of you unconsciously shifting closer to one another.

You could tell by the expression on his face that he didn't know the song currently playing, nor did he particularly like it, but he didn't protest or ask you to skip it. In his eyes, you were kind enough to share your source of entertainment therefore he would never push to change what you were clearly enjoying.

The song ended, another began, and another, and another. Eventually Spencer closed his eyes again. The two of you continued to silently listen to the various songs on your playlist - a wild mix of different artists and genres, definitely showcasing your weird music taste.

Touch Me by The Doors began to play.

“I like this one.” Spencer muttered, eyes still closed. “I didn't peg you to be a rock fan.” You stated curiously. Spencer chuckled softly. “I wouldn't call myself a fan per se, this is just a very good song.” “This is actually my favourite song of theirs.” You proclaimed.

Sinking deeper in your seat, you quietly sang along. “What was that promise that you made?” To your pleasant surprise, the young doctor joined in. “Why won't you tell me what she said? What was that promise that you made?” 

Lost in the pure bliss of the moment, you gently rested your head against Spencer’s shoulder. His eyes fluttered open. He glanced down at you and smiled to himself. Yes. Yes, he could definitely get used to this.

~~

“Watch it!!!” You shouted and rudely gestured after the vehicle that overtook you out of nowhere, almost sliding right into your car. Frustrated, you ran your hands through your hair before placing them on the wheel again. A deep sigh escaping your lips in the process.

Spencer chuckled next to you. “Maybe next time I’ll drive.”

“Sorry.” You muttered, tone of your voice changing completely for a moment. “People are just so fucking stupid.” The groan was full of annoyance, and it only made the young doctor snicker louder.

“How about we turn on the radio?” Spencer suggested. “Cool you down a little since we have another hour drive ahead of us, and I would preferably like to get there in one piece.” He teased. You rolled your eyes at his comment, but didn’t protest.

Taking your silence as a yes, Spencer fumbled with the car radio.

‘Come on, come on, come on, come on Now touch me, babe’

Voice of Jim Morrison blared through the speakers. Instantly, your whole body loosened up. No longer feeling annoyed or angry. Driver’s rage dissipated. The frown circling your features was replaced by a happy smile.

‘Can't you see that I am not afraid?’

Stopping at a red light, you looked at Spencer who was lightly bopping his head to the beat of the music. His gentle curls bouncing with his every move.

“You know, the universe is telling us that this is our song now.” You noted. The young doctor met your gaze, and the grin present on his face made your heart skip a beat. A faint hit of nerves cascaded through your body as you anxiously waited for his response.

Spencer shrugged his shoulders slightly. “It’s a good song. The universe could have wished us a lot worse.”

As the light ahead turned green, and you were driving once again, the two of you burst into the chorus as loud as you possibly could: “Now, I'm going to love you! Till the heavens stop the rain!”.

~~

The bar was filled to the brim with people wanting to unwind after a long week of work. That included the BAU team.

“One more for the road!” Morgan exclaimed, jumping out of his seat. He motioned to Hotch for assistance and the two of them briskly walked off in the direction of the bar. “While they’re gone, I’m gonna hop to the loo.” Penelope chimed. “I’ll join you.” JJ spoke up and they hurried off.

Spencer sat beside you, shoulder pressed lightly to yours. He was sipping on the remainder of his drink and you were about to open your mouth to say something, engage him in conversation, when you heard it. The song. Your song.

Your head instantly snapped up at him and a mischievous grin spread on your face. By the time Spencer realised what was going on, you were up on your feet grabbing him by the arm, and pulling him onto the self-made dance floor.

You began to sway along to the music. The alcohol currently flowing through your veins definitely made you that much braver. It also gave Spencer the confidence boost he needed to join you with no objections.

Despite the questionable looks you were undoubtedly receiving, the two of you jumped around like kids. Singing the song out loud to one another. It was as if the world around you disappeared. Like you and Spencer were the only people left in the bar.

‘Till the stars fall from the sky’

And when the night concluded, when everyone said their goodbyes, Spencer continued to hum the melody of your song as he waited with you for the taxi. It was then you chose to make the first move - colliding your lips with his in a carefree kiss.

They were softer than you ever imagined. 

All at once, the attraction between you two and the tension that built up over the years burst. You grabbed onto his jacket pulling him even closer. Suddenly, the cold night air didn’t feel so cold anymore. It was hot, burning like a flame. Your body was on fire and so was his. 

Spencer’s long arms wrapped around you, trapping you in the fire. One of his hands moved lower down your back, while the other tightly gripped your hair. The sensation that he felt was unimaginable. He always imagined what you would taste like, although he never expected anything would happen. He imagined how your body would feel against his. How your lips taste. But this, this exceeded all expectations.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do this.” He said in a smoky voice after pulling away, his hands now holding your face. “That’s what I was going to say.” You managed to whisper before his lips landed on yours again. Your heart pounding hard inside your chest, it felt as if it was about to explode.

~~

Spencer huffed as he placed a heavy cardboard box down on the ground. He straightened himself, flattened down his crinkly t-shirt, and turned to you with a smile. “That’s the last of it.” He stated proudly, placing his hands on his hips.

“My hero.” You ambled towards him and pecked his lips. “Thank you.” His arms made their way around your waist, pulling you in close. He placed a tender kiss on your forehead before glancing around the room.

“I can’t believe we’re officially moved in together.”

“It’s been a longtime coming.”

“That it definitely has.” Spencer smiled kissing you. He let his arms fall and shuffled around to start unpacking. 

Having planned ahead, you removed a speaker from your handbag. You quickly set it up, connecting it to your phone, and pressed play to ease the process that would carry on into the night.

Starting with the kitchen, and the more fragile items, the two of you made your way through the new apartment. 

Hours passed. It was getting quite late as tiny yawns continuously escaped your lips. However, the hard work was paying off because space started to feel more and more like home.

You decided to finish up for the night - tomorrow was another day. Yawning, you leaned into the arms of your boyfriend. Spencer kissed the top of your head and began to sway you slowly from side to side.

Right on queue, the guitar intro you both recognised well began to play through the speakers. You smiled into his chest before breaking free from his embrace. 

‘Yeah! Come on, come on, come on, come on Now touch me, babe Can't you see that I am not afraid’

Sharing a knowing look, you both started to dance. Not wanting to disrupt any neighbours you both chose not to sing along like you usually did. Instead, you mouthed the words in sync as if you were competing in a lip-sync battle.

‘What was that promise that you made? Why won't you tell me what she said? What was that promise that you made?’

The two of you circled happily around one another. It wasn't long before the air guitars came into play. 

And as the song concluded, Spencer cupped your cheeks. “I love you.” He muttered, gazing deep into your eyes. “I love you too.” You replied smiling.

Without another word, Spencer’s lips crashed against yours. Both your heads tilting hungrily from side to side to vary pressure. Hearts hammering loudly. Your hands made their way up his muscled back as his hands traveled down your neck, giving it a gentle squeeze.

"Why don’t we move this party to the bedroom?” He suggested, his face still only inches away from yours. You lifted your hand, and brushed some of his light curls away behind his ear. “I do believe I read somewhere that it is considered bad luck not to christen the bed on the first night of living together.” You stated giggling. 

Spencer raised an interested brow. “What else does the article say?”

“How about I just show you.” And like that, your lips were on his once again as he blindly led you to the bed.

~~

“And now ladies and gentlemen we would like to bring out our newlyweds, Dr. & Mrs. Reid, to dance their first dance as husband and wife. Let’s give them a hand.”

Spencer turned to you, that warm kindhearted smile you loved so much circling his lips. He offered you his hand. “Mrs. Reid.” You took it gladly. “Dr. Reid.”

He led you to the middle of the dance floor and swiftly wrapped one arm around your waist, holding you close, while the other hand intertwined itself with yours. Music started to play and the two of you swayed elegantly from side to side.

“I have a surprise for you.” Spencer whispered in your ear before briefly pulling apart and twirling you around. 

Suddenly the music stopped. Sounds of disappointment echoed through the watching crowd as you shot your husband a quizzical look.

A melody you knew all too well filled the space.

Your mouth parted slightly in shock as Spencer let his arm fall from your waist. He spun you around once again and began rhythmically banging his head to the beat of the song. You couldn't help but giggle at the sight before joining in.

Excited screams echoed through the crowd as they cheered on. Even though you heard them, you knew people were watching and documenting this moment, you felt as if there was no-one else around - déjà vu.

Spencer pressed his forehead lightly to yours, his hands cupping your cheeks. His lips twirled into a smile. A big smile that you reciprocated. Feeling as if you were on cloud nine, you looked deep into each others eyes and whole heartedly sang along with the song. Your song.

‘I'm going to love you Till the heavens stop the rain I'm going to love you Till the stars fall from the sky For you and I’

-

masterlist

some ramblings about luke as a playable genshin character

thanks to this anon right here i couldn’t stop thinking about this so HERE, take obey me luke as genshin barbara's brother 

(i’m not formatting this like a formal writing post but it is a bit lengthy so i've put it under the cut)

luke would probably be a deacon in the favonius church just like his sister

i see them as twins so they’d probably be the most sympathetic to the traveller’s situation - they can’t imagine how it would feel if they’d lost each other like that

now at least someone other than amber is actually trying to help you find your lost sibling lmao

anyway! luke could definitely work as another hydro user, but personally i think it’d be brilliant to have him be a cryo catalyst user with a defence-oriented moveset

(this also has the added bonus of finally giving us a male catalyst user)

like!!! his elemental skill would create a cryo shield around him that applies the cryo effect to any enemies that get within a certain distance and causes ongoing cryo damage the longer they stay close (it wouldn’t be a lot of damage since i don’t want to make him too op - maybe it’d do 10% of his attack in terms of damage at intervals of one second). the shield would last for about fifteen seconds, during which you can switch to barbara and freeze all the enemies around you as well!!

in homage to his original identity as an angel in obey me, i’d like to think his elemental burst would be growing a pair of cryo wings from his back that flap at intervals of 1.5 seconds for six seconds, applying the cryo effect and dealing a relatively large amount of damage to enemies with each flap. the wings would increase movement speed while in effect as well!!

partially because i see him as a five star with this moveset and partially to match with his sister, luke would definitely get an animation for his elemental burst. imagine how pretty it would look!!

if luke got a banner, barbara would definitely also be on it, along with maybe razor and bennett?

genshin doesn’t really have this function but imagine that putting two characters with a close relationship on the same team gives you bonus effects -  luke and barbara on the same team would definitely give you buffs!! for example:

both of their attack and elemental mastery automatically goes up by 10% if you put them on the same team

if barbara’s hp is below 50%, luke’s defence immediately goes up (the strength of his shield would be dependent on his defence stat), and his crit rate also increases

and if luke’s hp is below 50%, barbara’s healing effectiveness and crit rate immediately increase as well

if one of the siblings ‘falls’, as the game puts it, the surviving sibling’s attack and crit rate immediately goes up

man i really be out here creating whole game mechanics out of thin air haha

barbara and luke’s story quest would be a joint one!! since luke’s a five star (and it involves two characters), it would be one of those story quests that you need to obtain through keys

it would start out with you going to the fountain in mondstadt and speaking to the locals, who are talking about how weird it is that barbara and luke keep going around practically interrogating people when they usually tend to keep to themselves in the cathedral (apart from barbara’s performances, of course, which luke always attends in full support)

then you need to go around and ask a couple of the locals which way they went, after which you’ll meet barbara outside angel’s share talking to diluc 

it turns out that the page twins have been going around mondstadt as often as they can to look for leads on your lost sibling, as well as asking diluc for help looking for intel and putting up missing posters in further areas of the region 

so sweet ;.;

barbara then realises that she promised luke that they’d do some baking this morning and rushes off. once she’s out of earshot, diluc suggests that you should do something nice for the twins as a thank you for your help. 

depending on which dialogue option you choose, diluc will either unsubtly pressure you into doing it anyway (if you refuse) or offer a helpful suggestion as to what to do (if you agree). either way, you’ll end up needing to go to find barbara and luke in mondstadt somewhere.

you’ll find them just outside the city gates, and talking to them (as the quest tells you to) reveals that the siblings have run out of apples for the apple pie they want to make

paimon suggests that they just buy some, but because (for some reason) no one in mondstadt sells apples, they need to go out to pick them

on your way there, however, you encounter a group of hilichurls bullying a poor hunter from springvale, watched by a calculating abyss mage that immediately turns and flees when it sees you and the page twins watching it

your next task in the quest would be to defeat the hilichurls, after which you, barbara, and luke speak to the hunter who was being attacked. he explains that he walked in on the abyss mage explaining something to the hilichurls, and that he thinks it might be planning something.

your next task is to use elemental sight to track down the abyss mage, and the next bit that plays out is pretty much like all of the domain finales for story quests

this domain is where you get to trial barbara and luke together! there are a bunch of puzzles that require hydro and cryo elemental pillars to be activated, and the abyss mage you fight right at the end is a pyro one, so you get to experience their moveset and how well they work together to the fullest!

once the abyss mage is down, there’s one last part to the quest: picking apples, taking them back to mondstadt, baking an apple pie with the siblings, and then going around and helping them offer a piece to the locals of the city. the story quest ends with diluc treating all three of you to a hot meal at good hunter!

the rewards you receive at the end of the story quest would include a recipe from each sibling as well! the recipe barbara gives you would be a spicy meat and vegetable dish of some kind that regenerates hp, while the recipe luke gives you would be a sweet pastry that increases defence and shield strength. 

(cooking these two recipes with the respective characters that give you them may give you a special dish!)

it’d be a pretty light story quest compared to some of the other five star’s story quests (like venti’s, which made me cry more than i’d like to admit), but luke wouldn’t be a particularly tragic character, so i think it makes sense for it to be like this

annnd that’s all i’ve got for now! i’m aware that i’m writing for a very small group of people right now and that not many will see this but honestly this was more for myself than anyone else, haha

For the salty ask 1, 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 14, 16, 20, 22, 23 and 26 for cobra kai pretty please

My answers are so long, so I am putting this under the cut @wonderwolfballoon! Also I just noticed your Daniel icon I SWEAR I’M NOT DRAGGING HIM TO BE MEAN!!!

1. What OTPs in your fandom(s) do you just not get?* My biggest IDGI ships for CK are probably Elimetri or Kiaz. I’m not here to yuck other people’s yums or anything, but I do think there is something to the idea that Migueli isn’t popular because it’s a ship predicated on mutual respect for one another. Kiaz has the obvious enemies to lovers vibe and I just generally don’t sail those ships. Elimetri has... its problems, IMO, most especially around the idea that Demetri has to like... save Hawk from himself? Idk. I just like romances that I feel are based on love and mutual respect and not ...tropes.

 I am also not a Lawrusso shipper although I have a lot of those on my dash and you all are great! Again, not yucking yums! Daniel just makes me want to head butt him too much to pair him romantically with anyone 😂 I don’t even want his wife with him. He needs to self reflect~ 

4. Do you have a NoTP in your fandom? Are they a popular OTP?* 

I once saw someone ship Amanda and Anoush and I noped out of that so fucking fast I almost tripped over myself. I’m not sure if they’re popular. I just think some people feel the need to get Amanda out of the way to sail their ship and stuck her with Anoush which... no. Just no. Let Amanda be a messy single queen with a martini hobby, thanks! 

5. Has fandom ever ruined a pairing for you?* 

Not in CK. I’m lucky because I pretty much stick to my little Migueli bubble and I’m okay with that? Lmao lord knows the Squad on my dash is all about the DISCOURSE™️ so idk if I just don’t feel the need to get sucked into the wider ship wars because we have good healthy debates, but so far, so good. 

6. Has fandom ever made you enjoy a pairing you previously hated?* 

I never hated it... I just didn’t have many feelings on shipping with this show in general at first. Then I was in the CK tag one day and I saw Migueli fan art. Then I discovered @afurioushawk‘s falconry series and it was all over for me after that! So fandom DID make me love a ship, just not one I hated.

9. Most disliked character(s)? Why? Oh boy. How much time do you have? In some instances, it’s a good thing season 3 happened because otherwise, this would be a multi-page essay on the problems with race and class privilege as it pertains to Sam LaRusso and just some... generally not nice comments about Demetri that I’m conflicted about because I’m not sure if the writers are intentionally trying to write him a specific way and it’s just not translating to me or what. But season 3 revamped both of their images with me a lot. I’m way more flexible in terms of Demetri, but lmao I was the number one Sam LaRusso hater for a minute there (or maybe number 2, I can think of at least 1 other person who was in that boat with me back in like... August/September, but I won’t call them out because I don’t want them to get hate...) However, I have grown a bit in my opinions of Sam, and even though I still think she’s responsible  for a lot of shit she NEVER gets held accountable for, I also think that’s a reflection of the adults around her too, and this includes my otherwise unproblematic queen, Amanda.

But honestly, my most hated character (other than the obvious villain that is Kreese) is Daniel. No matter how handsome Ralph Macchio looks in cable-knits, because Daniel has always been a sanctimonious, shit starting drama king and I say that about KK Daniel too. I’m not saying Daniel was the ~true villain~ or anything, or that Johnny was innocent -- I can only drink so much Red and Yellow Kool-Aid -- but Daniel’s always been annoying to me as a protagonist, and turning him into a smarmy wealthy car salesman who is also a class traitor did not do him any favors in my book. I will say, I also like Daniel more in season 3 than I have in previous season, but since he is the adult, I will be mad at him longer than I will be at the kids, ya feel?

10. Most disliked arc? Why?

 Johnny’s entire season 3 storyline. The sheer level of REGRESSION at every turn drives me bonkers. It’s like watching him go through all of the stumbling blocks of season 1 all over again, but without the “he’s learning! He’s going to make mistakes!” free pass that I was willing to give him the first time around. He regularly jeopardizes Miguel’s recovery and it’s played for laughs. He fucks up on every level with Robby. He spends most of his time running away when things get hard or too real. He drops the ball completely with Hawk, and like, not to put too fine a point on it, but a lot of Hawk’s issues are because Johnny put Hawk on this ‘flip the script and be a badass’ path and then offered him no guidance for how to walk that path and instead left him in the hands of Kreese. And then he has the nerve to go to Hawk and basically be like “I made you what you are!” lmao yeah Johnny, you sure did, that’s why he’s breaking peoples arms, hoss. And then all of the nonsense with Ali and Carmen, like... if you were planning on teasing KK fans with Ali and him getting back together, why write her as married in the first place? Why even tease the idea of Carmen and Johnny until after you were sure what you were going to do with Ali as a character? Instead, they do what they did in season 3 and it makes him look like a colossal jerk. So yeah. Literally every choice they made with Johnny this season, I hated.

14. Unpopular opinion about your fandom? People who hate Tory are not valid, sorry not sorry.

16. If you could change anything in the show, what would you change? I would have kept Miguel entirely out of Tory and Sam’s beef. Or at least not directly inserted him into it like he was with the kiss. I know the writers thought it was necessary to push Tory to the point of inciting a fight at school, but I am just so exhausted over girls being unable to fight about anything but boys. Also I would bring Aisha back.

20. What is the purest ship in the fandom? 

I am probably biased, but I still maintain it’s Migueli. Look, Miguel stood up to Kyler for Eli and Demetri both. Hawk joined CK because he saw what it could do for some skinny nerd who was getting his ass kicked. And he took to CK, really took to it! Even flourished before he started getting mixed messages. And he and Miguel were pretty much inseparable after that. They coordinated their wardrobes ffs. Hawk dubbed him El Serpiente and no one else calls him that — it’s Hawk’s nickname for him. Miguel confides in Hawk only secondary to Johnny, who is like a father to him. The entire Coyote Creek exchange shows they can fight and disagree but... well, to use the cliche, they don’t go to bed angry, you know? They’re square the very next day. Hawk is the first person at Miguel’s side when he gets kicked over the balcony and the LOOK he gives the second floor where Robby is? That boy is out for blood immediately to avenge Miguel. So much of his s3 behavior is fueled by that need for vengeance because MD is wholly responsible for what happened to Miguel. And Miguel is so confused and betrayed by Hawk’s shift in behavior, and yet still holds out hope that Hawk will see through Kreese’s BS and come with him to The Dojo I Refuse to Name. And when Hawk does make that deflection finally, he shows up at MD with Miguel. There’s so much more that I know I’m missing but whether someone ships them or not, that is a tried and true love and respect for one another, a willingness to fight for and defend one another that you don’t often see in TV friendships... or even in most tv relationships. And I just think that’s the best ❤️

22. Popular character you hate?

 Daniel, hands down. I mean... I don’t even necessarily hate Daniel, you know? I just think it’s really, pardon the pun, rich that a guy of immense wealth and privilege can’t get a therapist or turn to his far too patient wife for help with his existential crisis over his high school bully opening up a karate dojo to make some money and help a kid who is getting the crap kicked out of him. I get that Daniel’s narrative is necessary for the rivalry, but it does nothing to make him sympathetic as a character.

23. Unpopular character you love?

 Tory, definitely! Everyone hates her and then there’s me and the Squad over here banging away on our Coors Banquet cans yelling TORY RIGHTS! Seriously she catches so much flack for a teenage girl who is... the sole income provider for her family? At 17? While caring for a sick mom and a little brother? And fending off a creepy landlord? Tory has it so rough and then she meets a cool girl at her dojo who asks her to hang out at some fancy ass country club which is probably the nicest place Tory has ever been in, and then she gets talked down to and accused of being a thief and has another girl lay hands on her, only to find out that same girl is her new boyfriend’s ex and... ugh. I HATE that Tory gets shit all over when Tory and Sam wouldn’t even have beef if Sam had apologized to Tory as she SHOULD have. Tory isn’t innocent, but damn, I’d be pressed too.

 My other unpopular character I love? Nathaniel. Seriously that kid is THE best. He’s a literal child but is out there like I WILL FUCK YOU UP, even though he’s MD. Honestly, his Cobra Kai energy is so ferocious I won’t be surprised if he moves back to CK eventually. Anyway, I love him.


26. Most shippable character?

 Miguel, hands down. It’s because he’s so affable and sweet overall. And because his hair is so fluffy and pettable that no one can resist touching it. I like to imagine that one day he and Hawk are talking about their hair and Hawk makes a joke about how Miguel’s mane is getting so long that it’s going to be bigger than his own, and then he reaches out to ruffle it and internally has a bisexual meltdown because oh no IT’S SO SOFT AND NICE. But uh... anyway, yes. Definitely Miguel.

Life After Losing Him

Summary: Reader goes about their new daily life but soon runs into the best friend they had lost several months prior.

TW/CW: Platonic!Reader x Sam and Dean Winchester (mostly Dean tbh). Classmate bullying Reader. Should College Student Reader be a warning? Bc I feel like it should lmao. Lots of swearing. Dean does the silver blade test so a wound and blade are mentioned. I don’t think there’s anything else but lmk if I should add something.

Requested?: Yes, a lovely Anon said, “Hello love, your writing is really good and I love how active you are on your account it’s very impressive I could never 🥰 I would be so honored if you could do a platonic imagine for me??? I had in mind like Dean going to hell and coming back and being mad at Sam because he stopped hunting and maybe being mad at reader for moving on and going to college/not trying to help Sam? Idk if that makes any sense lol”

Word Count: 1,880

A/N: So, Dean isn’t as angry as I could’ve written him to be, I didn’t really include Sam much in this one, and it’s mostly Reader going about her day in her new life. If enough of you want it, I could write a second part where Dean and Reader get home and talk to Sam or whatever. I hope this is alright. I personally really like some bits of it but as a whole it feels off to me for some reason.

Your POV

    I grabbed the car keys off my side table before heading out my bedroom door with my backpack slung over my shoulder. I stopped in the kitchen to grab the lunch I had packed the previous evening and a thermos of coffee before heading out for another day of boring ass classes. When I enrolled at the local community college to major in folklore and mythology, I thought the classes would be more interesting and it would be a piece of cake but unfortunately, I got stuck with a boring professor who obviously didn’t even want to be teaching the class in the first place. I push the garage doors open before making my way over to the car. I open the door and drop down into the driver’s seat, set my thermos in the cupholder near my feet, and toss my backpack and lunchbox into the passenger seat. After closing the door, I sigh as I place my hands on the steering wheel, “Alright, Baby. Another day without him but I know you’ve still got my back.” I reach over and pat the dash before cranking the ignition and pulling out of the garage to head for school. The ride to school is quiet aside from the classic rock drifting softly through the speakers.  

    I manage to find a decent parking spot within walking distance of my class but have to mentally prepare myself before grabbing my coffee and backpack and stepping out of the car. I lock the doors, shut mine, and head towards class. On autopilot, I find the classroom that I need and take my usual seat near the front against a wall and turn my back to the wall as I always do. Aside from a few who like to get here early for the same reason I do, to get our favorite seats, the majority of the class hasn’t arrived yet so I pull out my notebook, pen, and coffee. I avoid all eye contact with the others in the room and label my notebook page for today’s lecture. For the most part, people around here seem to avoid me although I haven’t decided if it’s because I intimidate them or because they think I’m “one of those backwoods crazy people” or perhaps it’s both. Regardless, it suits me fine. I’m not here to make friends, I’m here to get a degree and do something useful with my new life. When he died, Sam and I both agreed to not try to find a way to bring him back and try to create a normal life. Every now and then, I secretly take a hunt but it’s usually nothing more than a basic salt and burn case. I did get a job at a local mechanic shop. They were practically begging me to take the job when I showed up for the interview in Baby.

    I’m pulled from my thoughts as a loud group of guys enter the room. I try to ignore them but as per usual their little pack leader wants to try to ruin my day. He calls out to me but thankfully before he can start something, the instructor enters and tells him to have a seat. I’ll have to give this instructor points for at least not putting up with any bullshit like that in his class. Anyway, the rest of the class joins shortly and takes their seats and, on the dot, as always, the instructor starts his lecture. A miserable hour and a half later I have several pages of notes, most of which are completely false from a hunter’s perspective, about topics I already know the truth about just so I know what the instructor will expect on the test. The instructor dismisses us so I pack away all my things and head back to the car to eat lunch before my next class.

    I’m about halfway back to the car, which is completely hidden by a huge, jacked up, 4x4 pickup truck, when the loud group of guys catches up to me and their leader calls out again, "Hey, nerd! Why don’t you stop for a second? I didn’t get a chance to take notes in class and I want to get pictures of yours.”

    I ignore him and keep my head down as I mumble under my breath, “yeah because you were sleeping,” and continue to the car. As I come around the back end of the pickup and approach the car, I slam into something, or rather someone, sturdy and nearly get knocked on my ass if it weren’t for the person catching me. Out of instinct I go to grab my dagger out of its sheath under my sleeve but the person grabs my hand, “Don’t pull that thing out here. It’s just me.” Hearing that voice causes pure shock mixed with a touch of suspicion to wash over me. I look up and into the face of my formerly, dearly departed best friend, Dean Winchester. However, before I can ask questions or even test to make sure it’s him, the small group of my classmates rounds the end of the pickup truck causing Dean to push me behind him in a protective way.  

    The pack leader grins mischievously, “Who’s this? You know this guy, nerd?”

    I roll my eyes but Dean speaks up for me, “I’m (Y/n)’s brother you little bitch. Now, fuck off and leave her alone.” In all honesty, Dean wasn’t biologically my brother but he and Sam have been the closest thing to having any siblings in general that I’ve ever gotten.  

    The pack leader looks around Dean at me, “This true?” I nod. He laughs, “Well, I don’t know which of you are driving this piece of junk but you should probably get with the times and stop driving this old rust bucket. Maybe you could upgrade to a nice truck like mine here,” he taunts patting the truck parked beside us.

    “Your attention seeking, overcompensating piece of shit on wheels could never handle the things this car has been through,” Dean argues, stepping forward. I grab his arm and tug in attempts to get him to back down, no luck.

    The guy scoffs, “Yeah right. I bet if your little friend behind you there hit a curb it’d tear this car to pieces.”

    Before Dean can get into a fist fight, I unlock the car door and shove him in before climbing in myself. Unfortunately, the asshole doesn’t get the hint that I’m leaving and leans back against Baby. I check the mirrors to make sure that I’m not going to run anyone over before driving forward out of my spot, mentally thanking whoever didn’t park there or had just pulled out of the spot in front of me, causing the pack leader to fall on his ass. I laugh to myself as I watch in the rearview mirror and then take off. I find a secluded spot on campus to park so that I can test Dean, figure out what the hell happened with him, and eat my lunch before my next class in four hours. When I put the car in park, and look over, he’s already rolled his sleeve up and has a silver blade ready for the test. He presses the blade into his arm right above another wound that looks fresh.  

    “I figure if Sam wanted all the tests done then you definitely will,” he grumbles before wrapping his arm having sufficiently proven he’s not allergic to the silver. I grab the bottle of holy water that I keep in my backpack and hand it to him. He takes a sip of it before handing it back to me. I nod in understanding before grabbing my lunchbox to eat.

    Once I’ve opened my sandwich, I take a bite, chew, and swallow before asking, “What happened this time?”

    “I don’t know, Sam’s working on that now,” he pauses, watching me, “I’d like to know what the hell happened to you.”

    “There it is again. You never call him Sam but that’s twice in just the past few minutes,” I muse, avoiding his question, “I guess you’re pissed at him because he stopped hunting?”

    “Yeah, and it seems to me like you did too so why don’t you answer my question?” he replies.

    I sigh, and toss my sandwich back onto the paper towel in my lap, “After we lost you, Sam and I agreed to not go looking for a way to bring you back and to start living a normal life. Granted, I always mentally thanked him for phrasing it that way because that meant if a way to bring you back fell into my lap then I could take the opportunity. Regardless, I got a job at a mechanic shop nearby and started classes here for a degree in folklore and mythology.”

    He scoffs and whips his head around to look out the windshield, “So you stopped hunting too. What the hell is wrong with you two?”

    “The two of us didn’t stop hunting. He did,” I snap back, “He doesn’t know it but I go on hunts every now and then when the apple pie life gets too boring.”

    “What about that asshole back there? Why do you let him bully you?” he asks, nodding his head toward where we had come from earlier.

    “He’s always trying to pick on me but I ignore him for the most part and keep my dagger in my sleeve just in case. The less attention I draw to myself the better.” I answer.

    “You’re really balancing all this? Like, you go to class and study for exams and shit but then every now and then you go hunting during the weekend?” he asks and I nod. “So, what about Sammy?”

    “He got a job, even been on a few dates but like I said, he stopped hunting, as far as I know anyway,” I respond. My phone dings before either of us could say anything else so I pick it up to check it and find that my instructor for my other class for today has sent out a message to cancel it for today. I toss the phone down onto the seat between us and stuff my sandwich and everything else I had pulled out back into my lunchbox before putting the car in drive and backing out of this spot.

    “What are you doing?” he questions, once again. I swear if he doesn’t knock it off with the questions, I’m going to roundhouse his ass.

    “Going home. My other class for today was cancelled,” I answer shortly.

    He’s quiet until we get to the campus entrance, “Can we- uh- Can we stop and get a burger on the way?” I nod as I laugh at him. This is probably going to be weird to adapt to but we’ll figure it out. The three of us always figure things out. Honestly, if this turns into something bigger, as it usually does, then wouldn’t mind quitting school. Turns out it’s not all it’s cracked up to be and definitely not for me. I just hope Dean won’t sulk too long about how Sam and I handled life after losing him.

Masterlist

Taglist: @emiijemii @akshi8278 @deandaydreaming @castiels-majestic-wings​ @desimarie12​

Heyyyyy girl! We haven't talked in a hot minute, but I just finished reading I Will Follow Him earlier and hadn't had a chance to comment when a friend brought the nonsense anon tumblr drama to my attention. Anyway, I'll just say you handled it much more gracefully than I ever would (and probably have in the past, lmao). And I know you have a thick skin and this isn't something that would make you stop writing, but I still just wanted to let you know that I've missed your writing. I don't know if it's just in my head, but having been around the fandom for roughly the same amount of time as you have, I've discerned patterns in terms of the way people write and even what they respond to as readers, and the cliques that get formed around those things, so that to me it feels like even the fic itself generally has eras of writing styles? Like in my head I kind of cluster people together who seem simpatico in regards to the way they write IxM, but also how they express themselves and the way stories flow, whether there's depth of emotion or not, etc, etc. Anyway, for whatever reason, true or psychological, I find myself missing an era of fic that feels gone now. Not to say that there isn't any good writing anymore, just that it's simply a different vibe. So your new fic really brought me back to that old feeling. You always defy expectations when you adapt something into your own thing, so right off the bat I was pleasantly surprised that you, knowing Johnny Castle was not a completely accurate fit for Mickey because dancing/performing and also being a big man whore with the ladies (lmao), decided to subvert that and make him someone else. And Ian was Baby, but also not. My favorite thing though is the unspoken way you really showed Ian not feeling like he belongs anywhere. He has two families and none of them feel like home. I've felt that way my whole life and it's an emotional theme that's always been highly relevant. Makes you feel like there's nowhere you actually belong or anyone you really belong with. So I loved that aspect and look forward to it being explored more in the sequel(s). I thought your ending to this part of the story was realistic, even if I teared up and felt the loss. I could imagine a bit of a time jump and them meeting in completely different circumstances down the line. Again, totally unexpected that you wouldn't even include the big dance at the end, but fucking bravo honestly, because I couldn't picture some cheesy shit where Mickey dances with Ian in front of everyone for shock value and do the lift. Lolololllll... but yeah... do people honestly think Baby & Johnny lived happy ever after once the credits rolled on the actual movie anyway??? No way in hell. Lol. They were too different in ways that couldn't be overcome back then, sorry. He was meant to be her sexual/romantic awakening, and she went on to have a freer life. That's what I think. Ian & Mickey have a lot more in common, and although they have obstacles to overcome, they ultimately will be able to understand each other, and I think, get on the same page eventually. So please, think no more of any hate-adjacent crap you got or will get for this, because you'll always have a willing audience here, and we enjoy your voice so much. 💜

Hey my friend! It sure has been a hot minute, and this is so interesting! I hadn't even really thought about it, but I think you're on to something here. I haven't really read IxM fic in a good while and I kind of just figured that it was all on me because I have changed over the years, but it makes so much sense that the fic culture would change too. The characters are different, the tone is different, the fandom is different... it stands to reason that the fic is different too. I remember how fascinated I used to be with finding demarcations of time in fic, going back chronologically through the tag on AO3. Season 1 fic felt one way, season 2 a whole other way, etc. I suppose we're yet another ring in the ever growing oak tree of this fandom, lol. We're vintage, baby! You want some of those season 5 vibes? You know where to go, these angsty oldies over here writing increasingly absurd AU in 2021, they got what you need.

All of this means so much to me, you have no idea, especially knowing some of these ideas resonated with you personally like that. I've been thinking about this dang AU for several years at this point and I'm a little bit frustrated that I didn't find a way to give the actual writing of it the time it deserved, but I guess I gave it all the time I had, in the end. So that's something. I hope to muster some enthusiasm to go back and perhaps edit it a bit more soon, or at least start working on the sequels. I was traveling with my dad last weekend and I played some of my playlists for him, telling him about all my silly research and plans, and I now have three books about Soul in the late 60s to read. So you know the next part is gonna be real approachable! 😆

I think I somehow imagined that everybody knows and loves Dirty Dancing, too? I never talked to anyone about it when I was a kid, and it's only really the last four years or so that I have started meeting people who love it, like me. And turns out it's all my friends from primary school! It's all of my coworkers (at least the women), and it's so many of my tumblr mutuals... I was halfway convinced that every single person around me was just waiting to reveal themselves as another fan. Not so much, turns out! Writing a 60s dirty dancing AU is really weird, honestly! I expected two people to read my MiB AU, and I should have had the same expectations for this one. Because that's fine! I will write what I want to write and people will read what they want to read, as it should be.

Most importantly, though. I couldn't agree more with your Dirty Dancing analysis! To me, the dancing isn't the actual ending. To me, the ending is "guess we surprised everybody" and "I'll never be sorry" and "neither will I". The dance number is just a good note Johnny comes back to end it all on, but really, the honest final note is that "I'll see ya" *saxophone solo intensifies*. I just think it's so very bittersweet and good, and I only loved the movie more when I realised this. With Ian, everything became more complicated. Clayton is no Dr Houseman, and there can be no cheesy onstage dancing, and Ian has barely had time to wrap his head around the idea of having a future at all, being himself, let alone spending it with someone he just met. The Dirty Dancing AU needed to end this way for it to truly be a Dirty Dancing AU, in my mind. The next part will be something entirely different, and operate under a different set of narrative rules... Oooh well, look at me. I'm all excited about it. I can't wait to write it!

Thank you 💜💜

Mondo Oowada x an effeminate male S/O

Request: Oml heyyy may I request a Mondo x male! S/O (imagine or headcanons i don't really know the difference dkfjlds) where the s/o is very feminine and tries to get Mondo to do feminine things? Painting nails, etc.

Of course! This was gonna be a head canon post but I just kept writing so I turned it into an imagine. The bullet points were getting too long LMAO, but it does include some personal headcanons throughout. And thank you for giving me my first ever request! Means the world to me! - Mod Kokichi

Imagine below the keep reading cut! SFW and no spoilers included~

     Your first day at Hope’s Peak Academy as the Ultimate Tailor, you got teased a bit. It was inevitable. You were the new transfer student, fresh meat to pick on, and you were a dude in a skirt, a doubly enticing threat to bullies. Immature high-schoolers were always going to whisper and glare at the ones willing to step outside the norm.

     On one of your first days there, during a particularly ruthless bullying session, the school’s hall monitor and student council president, Kiyotaka Ishimaru, stepped in after noticing the noise, breaking up the situation by standing between you and your oppressors.

     “Bullying is not supported in this progressive and nurturing school environment!” Taka’s loud and volatile personality always made quick work of the school’s trouble-makers. He spun quickly around to you, inviting you to spend lunch at his table for your trouble.

     You hesitantly agreed, but were glad you did in the end. That day, you met Taka’s best friend, Mondo Owada, a toothpick between his teeth and his feet kicked up onto the lunch table as he fixed his perfectly styled hair.

     You immediately found him extremely attractive: the sharp jaw, the bit of chest hanging out the top of his tank top. Quickly, you fell into their little friend group full of excitable and extroverted men. There were random stragglers to your lunch table on certain days, with Akane and Shuichi tagging along occasionally, but the main staples that ate with you every single day were Fuyuhiko, Mondo, Taka, Kaito, and Nekomaru, subconsciously scaring away anyone who wanted to start shit.

     You weren’t nearly as close to the rest of them as you were with Mondo, however. You often found yourself leaning against his chair, sharing your packed lunch with him, entranced when he laughed.

    He found himself always hanging out with you, shootin’ the breeze, smoking up on the roof after classes, putting his hand around your shoulder when you told a joke that made him and Taka crack up at lunch. He kept many secrets of yours, and promised to take them to his grave.

     When you came out to him as someone who likes men, he stuttered his response a little, but pulled it together.

     “It takes a real man to admit what his heart’s feelin’, S/O, you can be sure your secret’s safe with me until you’re ready to tell everyone else.” Feeling the atmosphere become awkward out there alone on the rooftop, he quickly changed the subject “So, Ultimate Tailor, huh? Shit’s pretty sick. Seen some of your clothing designs out in the art wing’s showcase. Don’t tailors just tighten up and fix a person’s clothes, though?” You smiled at his interest in your field.

     “Uh, yeah, normally I think they take in and size up clothes, b-but,” you put a hand to the back of your neck, nervous with his complete attention on you, “ I think some make designs from scratch, I have always loved making my own clothes. Maybe I should just be the Ultimate Fashionista instead of Enoshima…” you giggled, feigning envy humorously. Mondo smirked.

   “Yeah, maybe you should. You gotta design me a new coat sometime. This one’s seen better days.” You both looked at the dirt caked at the bottom of his coat, permanent stains throughout, and loose threads hanging in random places.

     “F-for sure!” You grinned.

     Your days returned to normal, lunch together and group hangouts after school, but something was different...to Mondo at least. He had to admit, to himself only of course, that he felt a little jealous of you. You could just come out and tell him who you are inside. He could never be that open. He usually was the one keeping secrets, not expressing them. But then, he caught himself. Why should he feel jealous...he was a simple guy, he didn’t even have any secrets or desires to share, even with who would listen. He brushed it off as just his normal hot-headed mindset, and packed up his stuff in his bag for the day.

     But the next few days, his eyes would linger on you even more, and he would become uncomfortable, his insides warm, his head clouded with that same envy tugging at his heart strings. In the hallway after last period, he kicked his locker, frustrated at this knot in his head and mind. What the fuck is up with him. Then it clicked…

     “It takes a real man to admit what his heart’s feelin’.”

     The next day, he pulled you out to the rooftop, his cheeks red and his heart beating wildly. You waited patiently, sitting down, figuring you were just in for another hang out session like usual, and pulled out your homework from third period, until he began to speak.

     “L-look man, I have been thinkin’, ever since you told me you’re into dudes…”

     Oh no...your head dropped expectantly. You felt like this was bound to come eventually, no matter what. He was this macho dude and hung around you all the time. It must be bothering him, ruining his rep-

     “That shit takes heart, like I said before, and I owe you my truth too, r-right, since you trusted me with yours?” He startled you, looking for validation. Mondo only stuttered when he was pissed and screaming, but he looked nervous now, a look of begging to be understood that you empathized with all too well.

     “I…” he looked out over the roof. Stop being a little bitch, Mondo, he seethed internally. “Fuck, I don’t know, man. I like you? I want us to be more than just friends. I mean, you’re cool as my bro, but…” He didn’t expect you to reach out and take his hand hesitantly, his cheeks flushing. You didn’t want his evident struggle to drag out until he blew a fuse.

     “I think that sounds ‘sick’ ” you mused, taking up one of his favorite sayings. He nodded, a arm around your shoulder, unable to look you in the eyes. But he felt a wave of peace run over him.

     Your close friends immediately picked up on this new relationship, seeing you lean on Mondo a little harder at lunch, Mondo’s blush as he rested his hand on yours over the table. Nekomaru slapped your shoulder loudly that first day as a new couple, almost shattering the bone there. He laughed, saying he couldn’t wait for you two to just finally admitted your feelings. A team works smoother when everyone is on the same page, after all.

     Weeks passed, and inside school, there was little issue. It’s the 21st century. Most were accepting of your obvious relationship. Those bigots who weren’t didn’t try anything. No stupid ass student was picking on a dude with Mondo, Taka, Fuyuhiko, Kaito and Nekomaru at his back.

     The problems started to arise when Mondo took you on rides on his bike, to his gang’s HQ or stomping grounds in general. That was the outside world, not an institution of modern and formal learning like Hope’s Peak. Japan itself was a little behind western society in terms of LGBT acceptance, and like the rest of the world, had a long ways to go.

     With Mondo being the leader of a biker gang, a setting known for violence, masculinity, grit, toughness, and a yakuza-like brotherhood of men, it just wasn’t an environment most conducive to openly gay relationships, but no one in the gang dared to call out Mondo, knowing how hot-headed he is and ultimately respecting him as their leader. They owed him unconditional loyalty.

     That was, until one day, a rather cheeky second-in-command saw you filing your nails, sitting in Mondo’s lap on a couch at HQ, and decided he’d had enough. He confronted you both in front of everyone, all eyes on you, making you shrink back into Mondo’s chest.

     “Eh, boss. If you’re gonna have a dude in a fucking dress doin’ his nails and twirling like a princess on your dick, why not just date a chick? This is gettin’ a little embarassin.” He spoke angrily. Mondo was taken aback, not used to being challenged by his men, obviously the alpha of his pack. He paused, struggling to find a response.

     “What’s the fuckin’ issue?! Like most of you idiots aren’t so close that you might as well be tuggin’ each other’s dicks anyway!” He spat defensively, refusing to take back talk from a subordinate. He looked down to your shaking form in his lap, seeing that you were obviously disappointed with his response and looked up at him with a bit of anger, tears at the corner of your eyes.

Why was he defending his rep, and attacking the man back? He should be defending the relationship, and pushing forward acceptance. It made you feel like he wasn’t proud of you, ashamed of what you two had become.

     He saw this in your eyes and hated himself, changing his stance quickly. He scooped you up from under your thighs from his lap and set you on the couch beside him. He stood, stepping up to the out-of-line gang member, chest out, looking down on him with malice.

     “Maybe you’ve forgotten your place, yeah? You forget who’s in charge? I’m involved with S/O, he’s with me, so he’s part of the gang. You’re gonna accept that, or there’s gonna be trouble to deal with, got me? What, you such a pussy that you can’t accept shit if it ain’t what you expect it to be?!” The second-in command cowered, breaking eye contact with Mondo, and the rest of the onlooking members returning to what they were doing. “Now, we got any other issues?”

     When Mondo drove you home on his bike hours later, you sat behind him as always, but squeezed onto his waist a little tighter than usual, and his heart beat proudly, knowing for once he was sure he did the right thing. You two rode silently, you pecking his cheek before slipping inside your house. He walked back to his bike, blushing like mad, and you two texted all night.

     The very next week, Mondo was over at your house for the first time, doing homework in your room. Well, that’s what you were supposed to be doing. Mondo wasn’t exactly the model student, much the the chagrin of his best friend Taka, and you just weren’t in the mood. And so you sat, him eating some chips from your pantry, watching you paint your nails on your bed, a towel to catch loose drips under your flattened out palm. You looked up to him, smiling at having his full attention on you as per usual when you were alone..

     “Want me to paint yours next?” It just slipped out. You didn’t really mean it. A guy like Mondo wouldn’t want that, surely, but you figured it wouldn’t harm to tease him. To your surprise, he responded rather quickly.

     “I seen Kaito walkin’ around this week with that shit on his nails. Maki apparently forced him to after he lost a bet to her. Didn’t look that bad, actually. Kinda looked sick with his jacket, all purple and shit,” he paused to think, “ fuck it, sure. But no pastel shit, yeah?” Your heart leapt with excitement. There’s no way you expected him to answer in a positive manner, but in this relationship, you quickly learned that you often underestimated Mondo, and let his macho-biker-gang persona leave you biased. You didn’t want people judging you by your sexuality or the eyeliner you wore, and suddenly felt hypocritical for ever pre-judging your big motorcylce-head of a boyfriend.

     Mondo held his hands out after you finished, observing the slick coat of black polish that covered his once grisly and battered nails. Yes, you had to manicure them real quick to even get the polish to stick. They had dirt under them and the cuticles were disgusting.

     “Hell yeah.” he simply spoke, smirking before pulling you in to lean on him as you finally pulled out your homework.

     Weeks turned into months, and soon Mondo was watching you get your ears pierced again in a new place, then sitting in the chair to get his done. He took you, in turn, to get “ink that matched your bitchin’ sense of style” as he put it. The tattoo didn’t hurt as much as you thought it would, and certainly inspired you to design clothes that showed it off and accentuated it.

Can you do a weeding head canon for Satan pls? Please please please. Thank you so much for you time

Wedding Headcanons for Satan/Reader

wow four pages just like his birthright lol

*:ﾟ*｡⋆ฺ(*´◡`) I love thinking about weddings!! hope you like it! 🌺 kept it gender neutral as usual

EDIT: ltskjdlafskj tumblr didn’t save my FORMATTING (cries) hhhhh but hope it looks okay now!

where they get married

England, probably, if you chose a human place to get married at, but not in the city

i can imagine a cozy little cottage near a lake, set up a veranda and tables and chairs and there you have it; definitely outdoors 

when they get married ( ie what time of day, what month and season etc. )

Early spring, late morning

very peaceful time of the year

If we want to get specific, most likely March when the breeze is cool and gentle and the foliage is lush and green

what traditions they include ( do they get married under a chuppah and crush a glass, garter toss, ‘something borrowed, something blue,’ etc. )

It probably sprinkles a little bit the morning of the wedding-- which is good luck, Satan reassures you

Throwing rice at the newlyweds over confetti-- mainly because it’s biodegradable and the wedding is outdoors 

(had to search this up but) Satan, devious as he is, asks to do the garter toss

Basically, you wear a garter (that can match your wedding night lingerie wink wink) and he takes it off using his teeth or hands

Satan uses his hands-- but that doesn’t mean he can’t make it as intimate and alluring as he possibly can, making sure you’re aware of where his hands are on your leg as he shoots a coy look up at you just to see you blush

if you’re uncomfortable being that intimate in front of your family, no problem-- he can always just take it off later when you’re alone together

definitely hands or tosses the garter smugly at his brothers next time he sees them just to watch them scream

what their wedding cake looks like

small, four tiered cake decorated with pink peonies and light pink roses, accented by green leaves and gold

matches the bouquet!

….who smashes cake into whose face

you think and even plan it the moment the two of you decide to get married that it would be you

Satan surprises you by getting the jump and smushing cake onto yours first

gracefully lets you smash cake into his face too, a wide smile on his face the entire time

who proposed to who first

you think the cake is revenge for the fact you beat him to the punch and asked him to marry you first (after he says yes)

Satan was slightly miffed because he planned a whole getaway and everything to ask you 

tells you as much with a pout as you laugh 

gives you the ring he bought you and gifts you with something else during the getaway instead of the ring

who walks down the aisle and who waits at the altar ( or neither )

Satan refuses to be walked down the aisle by Lucifer, so he stubbornly stays at the altar (with Asmo as his best man and probably Lucifer as one of his groomsmen)-- which honestly, works for him

the flutter in his chest and the way you look incandescently beautiful as you walk down the aisle takes his breath away

loves the traditional wedding, Satan is a sucker for romantic cliches considering his proclivities for novels-- he's undoubtedly has thought of you in this very moment before a real proposal was ever on his mind the sap

what their wedding dresses / suits / other look like

one thing is for certain: Satan does not get to dress himself

And honestly neither should I but here it goes

Asmo and Lucifer help him choose the tuxedo to go with the color theme (green) 

Grey, three-piece suit with an accented forest-green signature bowtie

White button-up shirt inside

Accented with a very, very pale pink rose pinned on the lapel of his suit

what their wedding colour scheme is and what sort of decor they have

Pastel and forest green with gold accents

Very nature-esque considering the outdoor location 

Considering this happens on a grassy area, the walkway is scattered with flowers, the arch is decorated with peonies and roses 

what flowers are in the bouquet ( if applicable. bonus: what do the flowers mean? )

Pink Peonies - represents honor, romance, beauty, and bashfulness

Pink roses - playful innocence/sensitivity

White daisies - true love, new beginning

Satan would have loved to thrown in an orange lily somewhere, but considering his color is GREEN, Asmo fought against it heavily -- but it would have symbolized a passion for life

Throw in some green in there too to match the theme and balance out the bouquet 

what their vows are ( eg poetry, traditional, improvised etc. )

It's not that Satan can't be original, but it's more like he believes the traditional vows are still true and romantic to this day; definitely customizes it to fit him more 

“With this ring, I give you my heart. I promise from this day forward, you shall not walk alone, may my heart be your shelter, and my arms be your home.”

He definitely does add the bits of poetry he's written about you-- highlighting the ways he has fallen for you and how you make him feel at home with you

Levi calls him a sap but he dries his tears with a tissue during the proceedings so his comment is invalid-- this scene is too perfectly anime to not love 

he's an intellectual and a man of books: he's definitely got a way with words and spent weeks forming the best vow that encompasses everything he would ever want to say to you

if there was a day he’d say all the tender feelings he had for you, today was the day (out of the many days from thence on)

is surprised when you cry and secretly pleased-- makes (more) vows to tell you how much you mean to him more

if anyone’s late to the wedding

bye jk

wedding would be pretty small so doubtful there would be late comers (unless you have a large family and would like to invite them)

wouldn't roast anyone on your side for coming late; very understanding about it

if any of his side comes late, he'll say something to playfully tell them off or be exasperated but not surprised 

but honestly it doesn't really matter to him because at the end of the day, he loves his family and he couldn't be happier to know they're there for him on his special day

who’s in the bridal parties / groomsmen / other

Lucifer -- and not just by default; Satan asked him specifically to be a part of his groomsmen

Lucifer was very soft about it, not that either of them will acknowledge it

tbh kind of hard not to just assume all the bros wouldn't be the groomsmen but if we had to choose a typical three, the other two would be Asmo (best man) and Mammon

who gives speeches at the reception ( bonus: what do they say? recount a sweet memory or two between them? tell an embarrassing story? )

Lucifer was the one to bear witness to another side of Satan when he made a pact with you, so undoubtedly he would talk about that just to embarrass Satan

Satan would never say it, but he’s warm thinking that Lucifer would remember something like that

I actually think his speech would be very emotional, considering the rocky relationship those had had and how much they each have grown and mended their bond

Satan tears up and squeezes your hand, though he is embarrassed when you smile at him knowingly

his other brothers probably sneak in speeches of their own about Satan's angstier days-- hoping to squeeze as many funny stories they’ve collected over the thousands of years living together as brothers

they're lucky Satan is in a good mood the entire day so he won't throttle them lmao

who catches the bouquet( s )

Solomon, the crafty bastard

Satan wishes he was more surprised

Asmo doesn't stop whining to Solomon the entire night

what their wedding photos are like ( are they sweet, with the couple holding hands or kissing or ~gazing into each others eyes~? are they silly, with a snapshot of the ‘cake-smash’ moment? or are they artistic, with one of them facing the sunset or holding their bouquets? )

Satan is a photographer-- of course he's going to go all out and memorialize the event

probably has been keeping a scrapbook of your relationship ever since you both went steady and tbh he might have to start a completely new photobook just for the journey from engagement to wedding

the wedding photos of you in your wedding outfit are personally taken by him-- there is no one else that can capture the way your eyes crinkle with joy or the soft glow of your smile at dusk

if beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then you would be the most beautifully wedded person the world has ever seen in the photos Satan has taken of you

literally cannot get enough of you in your outfit that you have to tell him to stop so you can actually have photos of him and with him

trusts Asmo to make sure that they look on point and that the photographer takes good pictures of everything during the reception and wedding itself

just as much tender moments as there are silly moments; Satan loves them all

what sort of food they have at the reception

if they have their wedding in the human realm, then Satan would let you handle the food considering he knows more devildom food (food which may alarm normal people)

agrees to most of your choices, taking into consideration any allergies

what can I say? he's a reasonable guy

also he knows Beel would finish everything if anything

Definitely chooses the tea to be served during desserts though 

who cries first during the ceremony

in comparison with Satan, you probably cry first, but Satan is definitely not far off from joining you after

it's one of the happiest days of both of your lives after all

how wild their reception gets ( who dances the best, who gets drunk first, etc. )

I stand by the fact Satan has pretty low tolerance for alcohol and you bet Asmo (and Mammon) helped plan everything and bought a TON of alcohol 

Satan gets drunk quick and is extremely sappy with you the entire night cannot stop saying how happy he is that you chose him of all people, that he promises to make you as happy as he can, and that he loves you

bless Lucifer for keeping his brothers in check during the wedding; god knows what would happen otherwise 

what their rings are like

Satan likes a simple gold band on his ring finger, though he wouldn't mind an engraving inside

if you do get something engraved, he'll get melty if it's a message for him or something that commemorates your relationship (he probably likes thay it's like the engraving on the One Ring in Lord of the Ring)

he gets you a diamond ring on a gold band 

simple can go a long way!

what sort of favours they have ( heart shaped sparklers, mini champagne bottles, personalized candy etc. )

I actually don’t think you have any party favors; I imagined it to be a quaint, small wedding

Guests can take home the centerpieces and decorations though-- and the rice, if they didn’t throw it all at you lol 

where they go for their honeymoon

somewhere with a lot of history and lots of things to see and do the man is an explorer and the next chapter of his life is with you

type to keep the romance alive by whisking you away into experiencing something new

idk why but I'm getting Belgium or Germany vibes for the honeymoon 

something memorable that happens during the party / ceremony ( do they run out of ice and someone goes to get it in full formal wear on foot, does anyone fall asleep in the middle of the party, etc. )

asides from the typical House of Lamentation excitement (ie. Asmo flirting with everyone, Beel eating out every table, Mammon trying to steal the silverware, Belphie sleeping underneath every table at some point)

they run out of alcohol pretty quickly so Beel (almost completely sober) and Mammon (drunk) go out to get more while being supervised by (an admittedly tipsy) Lucifer-- and come back with a boatload of more alcohol and McDonalds froes two hours later 

(i mean, combine a voracious appetite, a big spender, and a man who doesn’t make the best decisions when drunk is basically ASKING for something memorable to happen)

dear lord guys its almost 12am who do you think is gonna drink all of this wine and beer

also asmo definitely steals the wedding bouquet from solomon 

who officiates the ceremony

definitely not a priest (haha) 

I have an odd feeling it would be Barbatos

I think people would think he’s a priest anyways, asides from the teal highlight in his hair 

what song their first dance is to

Everything - Michael Buble + Choreo gotta love youtube

Playful, happier dance

Lots of swaying motions and looking at each other’s faces and just laughing 

(im so soft aaaaa)

A celebratory dance to start off the rest of your life together

sidenote: My friend was kind to note that the guy in the video’s outfit matches Satan’s butler where there’s a funky tie tucked into the vest too alskdfjsldkjf

Asmo couldn’t convince Satan otherwise to not wear the vest but it’s okay because all the two of you can focus on is each other anyways

who gives who away as they walk down the aisle

Satan doesn’t walk down the aisle, but Asmo (as best man), Lucifer, and Mammon stand beside him

Lucifer thinks it's endearing how much Satan fidgets until he sees you, then he's too enamored to remember to be nervous

Asmo thinks everything is picture-perfect; all according to plan

Mammon keeps crying into his sleeves

Satan watches you walk down the aisle, sees you beam at him, and it takes his breath away

nothing can take his gaze off you now 

Surveys #417-419

Been slacking on posting these, so here’s like three surveys over the past few days divided up. I just don’t feel like posting them individually. Beware, it’s a long post, haha.

Do you believe that animals don’t have souls? I lean towards the idea that they, at least more complex species with actual sentience, do in some way. It's hard to imagine like, a fly having a soul, but it's a nice thought. You could NEVER convince me some don't, though, like my late dog Teddy, Sara's old chameleon Jem, and I could go on and on. Have you ever not been able to swallow pills? No, I've always been able to. If you HAD to change your first name, what would you change it to? Maybe like, Quinn. Something you don't hear a lot, for sure. Something more memorable. What are your thoughts on orange soda? Orange cream soda is BOMB. Man, been so long since I've had that stuff... Are you good with children and/or animals? Don't mean to brag, but people say I'm like a magician with animals. No matter what it is, I bond with it. Children, not so much. I'm awkward around them. Who in your life makes you smile the most? My cat, ha ha. If you were cremated, where would you want your ashes to be placed? Hm. Maybe high up in the mountains or in the Kalahari Desert. Do you plan on going to your high school’s reunion? No. I'm pretty sure I'd shatter from memories just entering the building. Would you want revenge on someone if they killed someone special to you? Or would you find it in your heart to forgive? "Forgive" my ass. They'd better get what's coming to them, even if I've gotta be the person to deliver it. Is there someone you are dying to see? More than I think anyone could possibly know. But it's probably better if I never do. Could you picture yourself getting married and having kids? Married, yes. Having kids, no. I could only picture that in one phase of my life, but like I called it: a phase. I should never be a mother, nor do I want to be one to begin with, so yeah, no kids for me. Do you like to take walks? If my legs were actually worth a shit, yes, I would, if it's in a nature-filled area. What are you listening to at this moment in time? "Thoughts & Prayers" by Motionless In White. Did you ever kiss someone with a tattoo? No. Could you say something good about the last person you kissed? She's very resilient. Why are you single? Because 1.) I'm a very unappealing example of an adult, 2.) I'm not exactly very attractive, and 3.) I'm basically a hermit, so I don't meet people. Do you get jealous if your boyfriend hugs another girl? Hypothetically, in almost any case, I wouldn't. My imaginary boyfriend can have female friends. But I'll admit if it was like, an ex-girlfriend or something and it was a seriously intense hug, I might. Is there something that happened in your past you hate talking about? Yes, but I mean, who doesn't. Have you ever been completely alone with a boy in his room? You make this sound so scandalous lmao. Yes, plenty of times. I dated a dude and briefly lived with him for three and a half years. Do you hate the person you fell hardest for? No. Who was the last person that you cried in front of? I'm sure it was Mom. Is it hard for you to be “just friends” with the opposite sex? Nah. Do you remember every single person that you’ve kissed? Yeah. Do you believe that the world will actually end? Humanity, oh yeah. The planet itself, given the infinite nature of the universe, also yes. At SOME point, even if it's zillions of years down the line, Earth is gonna get fucked by something. Are you socially awkward? I am the literal avatar of "socially awkward." Would you rather watch a comedy movie or horror movie? Horror. Who is your favorite actor/actress? MARK IS A FUCKIN' ACTOR, Y'ALL. Are you satisfied with your gender? Yeah. Are you good at admitting your problems? HA! Yeah. ezpz Have you ever had a hangover? No, never been drunk to begin with. Do you know any strippers? No. How many times have you dyed your hair? I ain't counting. What is something that reminds you of your childhood? Dinosaurs. Do you think you eat healthy? I try to. I have my bad days, though. Are you sick quite often or hardly at all? My immune system is the fucking MVP. I am just about never, ever sick. Has anyone suspected you of being a different sexuality? Yes. Do you like chocolate or vanilla cake more? Chocolate, duh. Does it bother you to have blood drawn or not so much? Nah, no biggie. Has your cell phone ever rung in class? Omg no, I woulda been mortified. Have you ever tried opening your eyes under water? Yeah, as a kid. Would you rather have a cat or a dog? I prefer cats. Have you ever been admitted to the hospital? Like... six times, I wanna say. What would you say is your favorite type of flower? Orchids, but I also love dahlias. I've actually noticed that I've really had a greater "thing" for flowers lately. Like don't get me wrong, I've always loved flowers very much, but I've just found myself more drawn to them than usual, especially when taking the daily hour ride to the TMS office. Do you watch Toddlers and Tiaras? FUCK no. That show disgusts and angers me so much. If someone asked you to go to war today, what would you say? Yeah, no. Funny joke. I couldn't go anyway due to mental health issues and a suicidal history. Do you own an old vintage typewriter? We used to when I was little. I have no idea what happened to it, though?? Hell, maybe we still have it somewhere, but I doubt that. Do you like or hate the smell of fish? Ew, does ANYONE like the smell of fish??? Have you ever read any of John Green’s books? I got a few pages into The Fault in Our Stars, but stopped for no real reason. I didn't not like it or anything, I was just still in my "I don't read" episode. Are you a protective person? VERY. I'm a fucking guard dog over those I love most. Are you a fan of penguins? Yeah, they're cute. I especially think emperor penguins are very majestic. Have you ever met your favorite author? I don’t have a favorite author. Did you get your mom or dad’s eyes? Neither's. I think my maternal grandpa had blue eyes, though? I'm not sure at all, though. When was the last time someone bought you flowers? Not sure. Has there ever been a murder in your town? "A" murder? Thems is rookie numbers for my neck of the woods, fella. This place is known for crime, and that includes murder. When falling asleep, do you ever feel like you stopped breathing? Well, I have seriously severe sleep apnea, so... but the diagnosis came as a surprise to me, because I never DID think this. But sure enough, did a sleep study, and in just one hour's time, I stopped breathing like what, 30 times? What's the last thing that scared the hell out of you? Stupid drivers. Do you have any life-changing plans within the next 6 months? I guess getting a job could be pretty life-changing. As of right now, how do you feel about your future? I'm very, very scared. Who is the last person you ran into unexpectedly? Hm, I dunno. Where does your grandma live? Both of mine are dead, but my paternal grandmother lived in Michigan, while my maternal one technically lived in Florida, but stayed in New York with her son's family a whole lot. I don't really know where she stayed more. Do you know how to read music? Not anymore. Does the song you’re currently listening to remind you of anyone special? Not so much the song, but the band. Motionless In White is one of his all-time favorites, so I can't listen to them without thinking of Jason. Sucks because they've been becoming one of MY favorites, too, so I listen to them a lot. If the person who has hurt you the most, said they were in love with you, would you believe them? I'd tell him he was in a love with a person who no longer exists. It's impossible for him to be in love with me now when he doesn't know how much I've changed. If Facebook made you pay would you still use it? Ha, no. Have you ever been recorded on film without your permission? Not that I know of? Tell me about your last boyfriend? He's a wonderful person. He's been there for me without fail since we became friends in high school band, and he is SO fucking funny. He's always cared a lot about me, and I care a lot about him, just not in the same way he does me. He's like my big brother. Are your parents racist? My dad definitely is. What is your least favorite subject in school? Math and economics both sucked. Have you ever been involved in a custody battle before? Almost certain no. I'm pretty sure Dad didn't fight for custody at all, but it could've been something Mom just never told me. Have you ever babysat a newborn baby before? NOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I NEVER could. Do you have any siblings you neglect? .-. As a kid, did you ever go to camp? I went to Vacation Bible School, if that counts. Did your parents ever let you play in the pits of those multicolored balls? Yeah, until that big news story about a dirty needle pricking a child. Have any of your siblings ever had a crush on your significant other? Not to my knowledge. I highly doubt it. What do you usually order at Taco Bell, if you go there? Cheese quesadilla with fiesta potatoes. Rarely a pair of those cinnamon ball thingies. Ever consider a sex change? Nah. Do you eat whip cream straight out of the can? EW no. I hate the texture of whipped cream. What do you think of popcorn? Loooove. Have you ever dated any of your friends’ ex? No. Well, it's funny, Rachel (both Juan's and Jason's ex) and I are friends now, but definitely weren't at the time of us being together. Have you ever gone out with someone even though one of your friends liked that person first? If yes, did you feel bad? If no, were you tempted to? No. Would you rather be a rich musician, or a rich actor? Musician. What was the last charity you donated to? I don't recall. Did you like to collect frogspawn as a kid? I've told the "my friends and I saved hundreds of tadpoles" story enough times, so for this question, I'll just talk about when I would go fishing with Dad as a kid. Back then, if I got bored of actually fishing, I would walk along the riverbank and try to catch tadpoles and minnows in my hands. It was soooo fun to Kid Brittany. Do you walk fast or slow? I walk pretty damn slow. Can you juggle with more than two items? I can't juggle, period. Do you like jalapenos? Yeah! Do you like kiwis? Yessss, I love kiwi! Does anyone in your family go deer or bird hunting? Who is it anyway? I don't know if she still does, but my little sister used to go deer hunting with a friend.

Are you saving up for anything right now? What? Yeah, my pet snake's 40 gallon terrarium. What sort of things do you have bookmarked in your internet browser? It's quite diverse, but I think I mostly have templates for specific character profiles. Have you ever snuck in to a theater/dance/bar etc? No, I'm a good noodle. If given the chance, would you go to Ireland? Certainly! It's beautiful there. If you have a cat, does it ever “converse” with you? Oh, ABSOLUTELY. When I talk to him, he sure does try to answer me and it's the cutest thing, ha ha. Have you ever tried those electric toothbrushes? Yeah, that’s what I use. Has anyone told you that they wanted to marry you/were planning on it/etc? Yeah, guess he changed his mind. Name one of your ex’s mother’s names? Virginia. Does your favorite song have a meaning? BIG TIME. Have you ever written or received a suicide note? I've written one. .-. What is the worst thing a child has ever done to you while you were babysitting? When I was changing her diaper, she got up and ran around naked in the house. ;-; Do you own a nightgown? No. If you could get any pet right now, what would you get? i. want. my. tarantula. Have you ever actually been stuffed into a locker? No. That is just such a TV trope that I've never even heard of happening irl. Do you/did you decorate the inside of your locker at school with stuff? I only had a locker in middle school, and I believe I didn't. I didn't want one in HS. What’s the coolest thing you’ve made with Legos? I was never a Legos kid; I played with Lincoln Logs. Do you want to get pregnant right now? Fuck no, man. Or ever. Have you ever housed a friend for a long period of time because they had no place to live? No. If you have a favorite comedian, have they ever been in a movie? I don't have one, really. Are there any books you want to read? Besides the series I'm reading, I want to read The Testaments by Margaret Atwood, but idk if I'll ever get to it, really. If you have younger siblings, are you very protective of them? We don't have a close relationship, but I am nevertheless. If you have older siblings, are they very protective of you? Not really, it seems. First letter of the names of everyone you have kissed? J, T, D, S. Do you like going to school sports games? No, I hated it. When Ash was a cheerleader, Mom made me go, and I was never happy about it. Have you ever worn your boyfriend’s clothes? An ex-boyfriend's, yeah. Did you get into your mom’s makeup when you were a kid? I don't think I did? Do you want anything pierced? Ugh, a lot of places. The last time you washed your hair, did you use conditioner? I never do. Has your partner ever accused you of cheating when you actually didn’t? I've never been accused of cheating. Has anyone ever called you stuck-up? No. I'm quite the opposite. Have you been diagnosed with any mental disorders? Too many, really. What are you doing this summer? Nada. Do you still watch MTV? I never did. Have you ever spent the night with the last person you kissed? Yes. What’s the dress code for your job? Do you like it? I'm unemployed. Does your job allow piercings or tattoos? ^, and this might sound stupid, but I wouldn't work at a job that didn't. Especially tattoos. No job is stopping me from doing things that improve my self-esteem and body image, particularly when I LOATHE my body. If a little bit of art makes me feel better about myself? Nobody is stopping me. What are some trends you dislike that everyone seems to love? "Crocs. Whyyyy?" <<<< THIS. First people hated them, now they love them??? They're hideous as shit. If you got married and then got divorced, would you want to re-marry? I don't really know. How often do you use lotion? Not NEARLY enough for someone with skin as dry as mine. Do you donate your old stuff to Goodwill? If so, what was the last thing you donated? Yeah. Mom recently brought some old toys, I think? How weight conscious are you? You have no fucking idea. Rent a movie or go see one in theaters? I prefer going to a theater. I enjoy the experience. What’s the biggest personality trait turn-off for a potential partner? Probably being an explosive/volatile person. I can't with that. Would you ever go on a birth control pill? I already am to regulate my period and tame the cramps. And if I was sexually active, I absolutely would want to be on it. What's your favorite late night tv show? I don’t have one. At high school do or did you participate in Spirit Week? No. Do you have a favorite vocalist? Who? Queen's Freddie Mercury will probably always top the list. If you have a favorite photographer, can you describe their work? I don't have a favorite photographer. Surprisingly. Are sex and sexual activities something you enjoy? If it's with someone I'm in love with and am in the mood, sure. What is one aspect of your life that did not turn out as you expected? I did NOT expect to reach 25 like... *gestures at self* this. What is one thing stopping you from becoming a veterinarian? I could never handle euthanizing pets and watching the families' hearts break. How long have you lived in the house you live in? Not even a year. Compared to this time last year, are you happier or sadder? I'm definitely sadder. Especially today. Do you like Subway? I do. Have you ever seen a volcano? No. Have you ever found a spider on your bed? Yes. It's the scariest shit when one skitters across your blanket, because like, you LEAST expect it to happen in the comfort of your own bed. Are you satisfied with the way your life is right now? Not even remotely, if I'm being honest. I'm at a real low. When was the last time you ate at Burger King? Years ago, when I was a vegetarian and went there for the veggie burger. How often do you cry? lol a lot Ever had a crush on a teacher? No. Can you wire a plug? ... I don't even know what you mean by "wire a plug," so obviously no lmfao. Where were you when you got your first period? Well I think I actually *started* at school, but I noticed when I got home. Can you drive? I mean I'm capable, but I'm an incredibly anxious, overly passive, and just generally terrified driver. I'm so scared of when I finally get new glasses and therefore a new permit... but I have to get used to driving. Living where I do, public transportation is very, very limited, and I just can't have people driving me places the rest of my life. Exercise or healthy eating? I sadly hate exercising SO much. I'd rather eat healthy. Did you play Red Rover when you were a child? Yeah. Are you more attracted to men or women? This can actually vary with time, which I originally thought was weird but is apparently normal for some bisexual individuals. There are spans where I feel more sexual attraction to men, and then other times women. Has anyone ever called you rich? God no, I am so far from it. What makes you feel beautiful? Nothing. Are you considered a very sensitive person? I'm way too sensitive for my own good. Have you ever told someone you never wanted to speak to them again? Yes, my dad. I regret that letter I sent him so, so much. I honestly don't know how he can treat me with so much love after the shit I said. If you could watch any TV series right now, what would it be? I am... astonishingly behind on Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty. I know, seriously incredible. I just don't watch TV, man. It's strange, I'm into the show, of course I am, I just... don't like sitting myself in front of a television and purely watching it. I'll catch up, though. Do you grind your teeth, and if so, why do you do it? No. But it's not like people have a reason they grind their teeth... they just do. Do you feel the need to rant about anything right now? If so, go for it. I could, but I'm not going to. It'll just upset me. Do you have a friend named Nick? What’s his favourite food? My sister's husband's name is Nick, but he is definitely not my friend. I can't stand his bigoted, sexist, misogynistic, homophobic, racist ass. I don't know or care what his favorite food is. What are you listening to? I'm re-watching Gab and Sinow play Resident Evil 5. People can say all they want about RE5, but I love it. Do you prefer waffles or pancakes? Waffles, but only if they're still soft enough to not be considered crunchy. I prefer them because I can put peanut butter on them, and the grooves catch the syrup instead of just absorbing it all like pancakes. Do you prefer non-diet or diet soda? I don't/can't drink diet sodas because the artificial sweetener gives me a KILLER headache. Are you craving anything right now? You guys have no idea how badly I want Taco Bell for whatever reason. Which word did you say first, mama or dada? The latter. What was your first pet’s name? So, there's three answers to this. I was born into the family while we had a collie named Trigger, but I have absolutely zero memory of her. She passed when I was too young. Our first family pet that I clearly remember was Chance, our rescued cat. My first *personal* pet was either a guinea pig named Squeak or Chinese water dragon named Shadow. I can't remember who came first. Who was your best friend in elementary? It changed with the years, but I can say the three biggies were Brianna, Kim, and Quiata. Who was your favorite teacher in high school? Probably Coach Collie. He was so wise, kind, funny... He was all-around just wonderful and taught so many life lessons. When you go to a restaurant, do you have a go-to dish? Always. What is the best part of your most ordinary day? Waking up and doing my first sweep of the Internet before I get bored outta my fucking senses. Do you read any web comics? No.

Do you drink bottled water? Yeah, but like any water, it has to be COLD. Not room temperature. Not a tad chilly. I mean cooooold. When did you last use a straw? Earlier. I have a metal straw I use to drink water with because I drink faster through a straw, and with it being water, of course I want to try to drink as much as I can when I actually choose to drink water. Have you ever tackled someone to the ground? No. Do you know anyone who lies to make themselves look more interesting? My former best friend did that. She was an online friend, so it made it easy. I finally caught on and called her out on it, and then she just totally dipped. Do you like to sing? Not that much, honestly. Like sometimes I feel like it, sure, but not frequently. Are your parents in good health? No, not really. Have you ever been a caregiver to a sick/disabled relative? No. I feel bad saying it, but I know I never could be. I could NOT clean another human being. It's one of the bajillion reasons I'm not having kids. Do you like to take naps during the day? "Like" isn't the right word. I just... need to. Most days, there is NO way I can make it 'til night without one. What movie was your favorite to see in the movie theater? Even though it was sincerely a sucky movie, I really enjoyed watching Silent Hill: Revelation because I saw the 3D version, plus the hype over my favorite franchise getting a new movie was just very exciting. Favorite Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle character? I was never into that. Ever watched The Blair Witch Project? Yes, and I positively adore it. I genuinely think it's a genius horror movie, never showing, but telling through other methods. Have a favorite AC/DC song? Probably "You Shook Me All Night Long." Are you good at selling candy for those fundraiser things? Omg nooooo I HATED doing that shit, especially when some amount of sales were like, required for whatever bullshit reason. I hate hate hate advertising to people. My parents always bought them instead. Have you ever had a crush on someone too old for you? No. Well, besides James Hetfield, ha ha. What's your favorite Dr. Suess quote? I don't know enough quotes to have one. If you were to have wings, what would you want them to look like? Dark and dragon-esque with lots of rips and tears in them... but not enough to stop me from flying, ha ha. Have you ever broken up with someone to find you want them back later? No. Has anyone ever dared you to eat a chili pepper? Did you do it? No. Have you ever tried Thai food? No. Have you ever watched Avatar? The TV show, not the movie. I've seen I think one season with Sara so far? I actually quite enjoy it. What's your cellphone's signature for text? WOW this survey is ancient. If you smoke marijuana, what is your preferred or typical method? I don't smoke it. Do you often take painkillers? I dunno about "often," but headaches to the point I take something aren't rare for me. Do you wish you were in a relationship? I mean yes, but I know it's for the better I'm not. Have you ever been to the ER? Many times. Do you ever feel guilty eating meat? I feel extremely guilty. I try not to think about it. Where have you lived for the most part of your life? Eastern NC. How old are you? 25. What are you listening to at the moment? Powerwolf came out with a new album, so I've been bingeing the shit out of some songs, ha ha. Right now it's "Blood For Blood." Do you watch WWE Raw? Ew, no. I have NEVER gotten the appeal of wrestling. Just like... why????? Do you dye your hair? Nowhere near regularly. :/ I haven't had it dyed in a very long time, and I hate it. I love colored hair. We just can't afford that expense on something so little. My hair does NOT take dye easily, so we have to have a professional do it, and that isn't exactly cheap. Have you ever lived in a different country that the one you’re living in? No. Which of your parents will you see next? I live with my mother, so. Have you fallen asleep in school? Not in class, no. In college when I would be in the library between classes, though, I've dozed before. Have you ever been hospitalized? Yes, but not for physical issues. Do you make fun of obese people? You're talking to someone who is. So obviously no, and you're a piece of fucking shit if you do. Do you have an innie or an outtie? Innie. Have you ever tried to headbang? No. Even as a metalhead, I don't get it, man. You're asking for a headache. Do you own any Converse? What do you think of them? I have a few and like them. Have you ever started a rumor? No. Have you ever been in a position of authority? I mean, I'm an admin on two sites, so I guess? Were your ancestors royalty? Yeah, I'm related to one of the Queen Victorias, I believe. I just know she had a thing for beheading people, ha ha. What do you like on your pasta/noodles? Sauce, butter, grated cheese, etc.? Just tomato sauce and meatballs, really. Who is the most ungrateful person you know? What makes them this way? My fucking ex-best friend. You could never, ever give her enough and she just... blegh. She was so fucking ungrateful for everything people did for her. It was just never enough. Do you like cherry Pepsi? I like cherry Coke. I don't like Pepsi. Have you ever held an uncommon pet before (ex: mouse, spider, snake, lizard)? I've held snakes, rats, lizards, and a tarantula. Who did you last play truth or dare with? No clue. Have you ever camped out somewhere for an event the next day? No. When were you the saddest in your life? 2016. Do you know anyone, personally, who is in an abusive relationship? Are you? No. If you have siblings, have they moved out or do they still live with you? Yeah, they've moved out. What was the most unique pet you’ve owned? I'd probably say my champagne ball python. A lot of people don't even know ball python morphs exist, so seeing her might surprise some people. Do you like Doritos? Yeah. When you buy clothes, do you always try them on first? No, but I need to learn how to... I just HATE doing it. Have you used bugspray recently? No. Do you enjoy swimming in the ocean? Yesssss. Have you ever tried to sew or knit anything? No. Has something ever happened to you that seemed like it was from a movie? Most of Jason's and my relationship felt like one. Hence why the breakup felt so sudden and just impossible. Do you find yourself to be a believer in love at first sight? Not even remotely. Is there something you want to do, that you swear you will, no matter what? Spread Teddy's ashes in Yellowstone. I promised him. Are you longing for the day that you’ll be an adult? (If you’re not already) I am an adult, and it sucks. What’s something you’ve vowed to never eat? Any meat that was hunted. Have you ever owned a diary/journal with a lock and key? I don't believe so. When you were little, what movie did you watch over and over? Mostly Disney films, like The Lion King and Finding Nemo. Are you deathly allergic to anything? No. Do you know what you want for your dream house? Nope. I honestly don't really care about having a "dream" house to begin with. I just need one that's cozy to me and gets the job done. Have you ever seen the movie The Notebook? Many, many times. It's my favorite romance movie. Have you ever used the photo editing site “Picnik”? No, not to my memory. Has an animal ever taken a strong dislike to you? Our old dog Bentley didn't like me all that much, and I didn't like him, either. Have you ever attempted to cut your own hair? No. Do you have a lucky or special coin? No. Do you love ice cream cake more than normal cake? No. Do you check your email daily? No. Is there anyone you know who’s in any way paralyzed? No. For you, do you commonly feel more jealousy or envy? Envy. Do you rely on the heads/tails flipping of a coin sometimes for decisions? No. Has a laptop ever burned your legs? Yes, actually. For a while many years ago, my old laptop left subtle burn marks on my legs. Anyone’s birthday coming up soon? My nephew's is next month. Do you like Laffy Taffy? I doooo. Are your biceps at all noticeable? Ha, no. Have you ever seen a walrus? Maybe when I went to SeaWorld as a kid? Did you ever have one of those easy bake ovens as a kid? Yup. If given the opportunity, would you ride on a camel? Sure. What flavor cake do you like for your birthday? Red velvet. Have you ever had a job you loved? Nope. Have you ever been in a building that was on fire? Yikes, no. Have you ever written a poem for someone? Two people. Have you been best friends with someone of a different race? Yes. Who is the person you are closest to that you’ve met online? Sara. What was the name of the first porcelain doll you got? I was very afraid of dolls as a kid, so I obviously didn't have one. Do you sell any products? If so, what? I mean, I'm a wannabe photographer that sells my service. Owls or peacocks? Owls. Lions or horses? Lions. Can you still fit into kid’s clothes? Hell no. What devotional do you read, if any? None. What do you make wishes on? I only ever do for the tradition of it on my birthday. I don't believe in the magic of wishes, though. Have you ever made a recipe you found in a magazine? No. Are you bitter about anything? Probably always will be. Have you ever been in a love triangle? No. How bad are your hangovers? Never had one. Have you ever broken a bone? If so, what was the cause of it? Yes. It was identified as a fracture, but a break and a fracture are technically like the same thing, so. At a skating rink, I fell and landed on my hand so the top of it nearly touched my arm, so my wrist got FUCKED. I will never, ever forget the severity of the pins and needles feeling and just the experience in general. It hurt so goddamn bad. Is this the best year of your life? Fuck no.

lasagna evening

request: Could you write some domestic fluff with adult stan uris

A/N: (2020 edit: this was my first ever stanley writing :>) Man oh man do i love this concept. ajsndfjsdf i love, i just love. I apologise for the title lmao i dont have any other ideas alsdfsdjn. This is so fluffy and cliché that you're going to die :D Btw, gifs of Andy Bean are very hard to find and I'm mad about it. Hope this is what you were looking for. Happy reading!

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“Honey, I'm home!” Stan says in a louder voice so his loved one could hear him. For she's known to often leave music playing loudly through their apartment and go into another room to do something. He hears the smooth voice of Billie Holiday singing about autumn in New York and he smiles to himself, kicking off his shoes. The music is loud enough for her not to hear him at all. 

He walks into the kitchen, both hands holding a grocery bag tightly until he puts them both on the center counter. Her music is playing right in front of him, just a few feet between him and the sound system. 

“Baby!” He calls again. Stan leaves the bags be and they crinkle a bit, the products falling on top of one another. He walks over to the sound system and turns the song's volume down. And he hears her humming. It's coming from her study.

Stan jogs a little down the hallway to get to her and reaches the door frame of her study. He peaks his head in. “Babylove,” he says and smiles immediately upon seeing his girl sitting on her carpet, her back turned to him, still humming and obviously hunched over something. 

She whips her head around and smiles wide. There's a wicked glimmer in her eyes. “Honey!” She squeals and hurriedly gets up from her position, almost falling over her own legs, and tip-toes over to her one and only. 

He leans in to steal a kiss from her soft angel lips and she still has to stand on her tip-toes for him to succeed. She embraces him then, her arms around his neck, and smiles wide. Stan recieves a loving kiss on the cheek and smiles, too. His eyes are full of love for the woman in front of him. 

“What are you doing in here?” He asks, his hand going in slow circles over her back. 

“Before you turned my music down,” she says, pouting and pointing her index finger into the middle of his chest, “I was listening to Billie and making another small sculpture.” She smiles, proud of herself.

“You're getting inspired again?” Stan raises his eyebrows in happy surprise and his love nods, biting her bottom lip. “So, who's the muse?”

“You, silly.” She says and they both laugh. She notices Stan already glancing behind her shoulder to see what she's making. To not spoil the surprise, she brings his eyes back to her, holding his chin softly. “It's not finished yet. When it will be, you'll be the first to see. And you know that.”

“Of course. You know I'm impatient about seeing your art.” He tells her and tickles her sides a little, making her giggle in the most beautiful way. 

“So,” she claps her hands, “what are we making tonight?”

“Hmm, let's see...” Stan pretends to think, “seeing as I bought the ingredients for lasagna, I guess we're making... lasagna?” He squints, teasing his girl. She laughs and kisses him on the cheek again. And then all over his face, which makes Stanley laugh instead. 

When he's about to plead for breath, she stops and grabs his hand, closing her study door with the other. She drags them both back down the hallway and lets go of Stan's hand to turn the volume higher. Stan gives her a mock-annoyed look, but they both laugh.

One of the billion, trillion things he loves so much about his girl is her energy and youthfulness. They're only two years apart, but Stanley has always felt older than he actually is. And he wanted to enjoy his youth when it was happening, but a lot of things kept him from it. 

Her youthfulness and eagerness and sort-of hyperactivity brings joy in his life. Makes him happy about still being here, having a life. She's brighter than the sun to him in many ways. 

“Do you have the recipe?” Stan asks her as they're unpacking the groceries.

“Uh-huh, I printed it out. It should be next to the sink.” She replies, pulling tomato after tomato out of the bag.

“Terrible place for a paper to be, if you ask me.” He tells her, but she only laughs. Stan walks over to the sink and sure enough, there is a page with a recipe printed on it. And it's not wet. He quickly goes over the ingredients and steps. “So how was work today?”

She works as a museum manager/administrator in a pottery museum in town. Taking that she's an artist herself, she needs to be in an artistic place and area at all times. An administrator might not seem like the job to you, but to her it's the perfect one that pays the bills and takes her on holidays with her loved one. Many artists to meet, artworks to see and inspiration to suck in.

“Quite amazing. You know I met that one artist I've always wanted to host at my museum—”

“Emily Lacey?” Stan finishes instead of her. She nods.

“Yup. And she's even more lovely than I thought she'd be. She's got great sense of humor, a great sense of style, of course, and turns out we have a lot in common.” She tells him. Stan smiles, watching her rush around the kitchen and talk. “She likes to read books, go to the cinema, travelling, hiking.”

“Wow, you two are basically twins.” He states.

“I know, right?” She looks at him with wide eyes, clearly excited. Stanley chuckles. “How was your day?” She asks him. 

“It was good.” He says. “Better now that I'm home.” Stan states and they share a look of love and knowing. “The book is coming along well, there's not much left. And I had to teach a new class today! All the kids were sweethearts.”

“How old were they?” She asks and, while doing so, gives Stan a piece of dough to flatten out. They both start working on a piece.

“Uh, they're... I think second or third grade, so eight to nine.” Stan says in between grunts of pushing the wooden roll on the dough. “Why such a question?”

She shrugs. “Just wondering. Thought they'd put you in a college now.” She admits, and huffs.

“Huh.” He turns to her, puts the roll down and crosses his arms over his chest. “Don't you think I'm good enough for primary school?”

She laughs and huffs again. “No, I think you're more than good enough for primary school, and better than perfect for teaching college kids ornithology.” She tells him, honestly.

“Listen, it's nothing wrong with me.” Stan insists, pointing at his chest and raising his eyebrows. “Ornithology is not the most desired class in college, even for biology majors. So they have one professor in each college that isn't exactly an ornithologyst, but knows enough and can memorise texts from books. And they put that guy to teach ornithology if it's at all necessary.” He explains in detail.

“But that is so unfair! I bet you're not the only ornithologyst without a chance to teach in college, and they put some knock-offs in your place.” She justifies.

“You have a fair point.” Stanley agrees. She smiles wide. 

“I know. You gotta fight for your rights, hon.” She tells him. “We both know that your passion is ornithology and that you're an actual ornithologyst. They should let, whoever's in charge of it, the people who really know what they're talking about teach ornithology. It makes a huge difference for the kids.”

“Listen, if your artist carrier ever flakes, you should become an education politican.” Stan says upon restarting to flatten the dough. His love laughs out loud, holding her tummy. Stanley only smiles wide to himself.

“Can you even imagine me dressed in formal clothes everyday, having that politician-lady haircut, wearing glasses and talking in a very serious voice about the issues of today?” She asks him, mimicking the way politicians speak in the last part. She even makes a funny face. “I could never. I mean, yeah, they pay you like, crazy money, but I'd never do that.” She shakes her head, still quietly laughing to herself. Stanley keeps smiling.

Merely two hours later, the couple have finished their lasagna. They had put on their food-making playlist, which is basically a playlist full of songs that they know all the lyrics to and sing together to at the top of their lungs. Includes ABBA, Queen, David Bowie, Journey, Elton John and many, many others. 

They're happily setting the coffee table in the living room, and they're almost finished. Stan is already turning on the TV, wrapped in a blanket and waiting for his one and only to join him. 

She's still getting them forks and spoons, and when she has, she turns off all the lights in the apartment. Except for the little light in the kitchen above the stove, that one always stays on.

She tip-toes—a habit of hers that is not entirely healthy for her feet—into the living room and puts the instruments down on the table. She collapses into Stan's open, waiting arms with a happy sigh. He wraps the blanket around her and keeps his arm around her, too. 

Her fingers push between his and they lock together. As if their hands were crafted just to be interlocked with the other's, no one else's. They feel like they're made for each other. 

Stanley presses a kiss into her hair. “What are we watching tonight?” He asks, his cheek now pressed where his lips just were.

“Hmm,” she thinks and watches Stan browsing through movies and tv-shows on the screen, “something funny. Don't you think?”

“Yeah, we always watch dramas.” He agrees. “I'm kinda sick of you making me cry every other evening.” Stan admits then, and they both laugh. Stan yawns.

“Do you have a favorite?” She questions, looking up at him. He looks down at her and almost gets hypnotised. Looking at her makes him go a bit weak, every and anytime. The years spent together either don't do anything to help it or even give more to the effect.

“I don't watch that many comedies, not my favorite genre.” He tells her as his hand caresses the side of her face. She closes her eyes to that. “You can choose. Show me your favorite!” He suggests and she smiles. “Just not anything dumb, okay? I know you like those a lot, but, please, spare me.”

She looks at him and rolls her eyes playfully. “Alright, alright.” She agrees and turns to lay on her stomach, over Stan's lap and takes the remote from his hand. “I'll spare your soul from the doom of dumb comedy movies, my prince.” She teases and Stan smiles. “Aha!” She exclaims upon finally finding the movie she was looking for. 

She pushes the 'play' button and reaches for their two plates of lasagna while the intro plays. She straightens her back, sitting normally just like Stan and giving him his lasagna piece.

“Hear ye, hear ye. Feast your eyes and ears with the wonder that is Bruce Almighty!” She theatrically introduces the movie. She likes Shakespeare and Old English, despite that she may not be the best at using it right. Stan smiles at her. 

They lean in to steal a few kisses from each other before indulging in their home-made (hopefully, well-made) lasagna and the world of Jim Carrey's comedy. 

Permanent taglist: @v0idbella @inlovewithmiddleagedcelebs @works-of-fanfiction @destiel-stucky4ever-loki-queen @stfxlou @ur-gunna-h8-ths@empressdreams @betweenloveandfire @but-legendsneverdie@deardeacy @thewinchesterchronicles @mavieesttriste16@mrsmazzello@benhardyseyes @langdonzvoid @intrrverted @the-freak-cassie-131

A/N: Tell me why everytime I look at a picture of Stanley Uris, I immediately want to cry. Oh my God. heurehuherufshfsdh. 

can i request a pacify her - melanie martinez au with taehyung? 🥺

Anon I am so sorry this took so long to get to!! I listened to the song several times and this is the vibe I got from it, I hope it’s to your liking ;-; it’s 20 pages long lmaoIf you know the song then I guess you know what to expect?? If you don’t well then you’re in for a ride O: Edit: Idk why it looks so messed up on mobile, so I apologize for that ;-;-Admin FizzyPairing: Kim Taehyung x ReaderTags: College!au, implied cheating, lowkey kinda “crazy” reader???, angst, a wee bit of fluff, drinking

     You knew it was wrong to develop this crush on him, but honestly who wouldn’t? With his wavy black hair that looked soft to the touch, warm brown eyes that you seemed to get lost in every time you locked gazes, that unique smile of his that shaped his mouth into an almost box like form, and an overall personality that made you feel warm and giddy from the inside out. Kim Taehyung was truly a work of art, the perfect gentleman whose attractive features were truly just the cherry on top of his whole being. He was the guy everyone wanted to be friends with, the guy everyone wanted at their party, and the guy everyone wanted to date. Which is where your little problem comes in.He was taken, it was known by the whole campus that there was this lucky person who got to kiss those lips and call him theirs. It was another equally popular student so it was no surprise when the two finally got together, having been dating for about 5 months now. Lots of people were heartbroken, yourself included, but that didn’t necessarily stop you from developing feelings for the man. Even though you knew nothing would ever happen between you two.  You were not exactly content with not being with him, but always happy to look at him from afar but always saddened that he will never look at you the way he looked at her. You could say you two were somewhat acquaintances, exchanging a few words every now and then in the one class you shared. When he gave you that infamous boxxy smile of his, you swear your heart would burst out of your chest and land straight onto his lap. His always bright and upbeat personality slowly became the best part of your day.

So imagine your surprise when one day he walks into your first shared class with a sulky look on his face. He took his usual seat next to you, giving you a small nod of acknowledgment. Your eyebrows furrowed together at the lack of enthusiasm from the usually happy boy. You pressed your lips together wondering if you should say something, the obvious factor of something troubling him now starting to bother you. “Hey…are you alright?” 

His eyes open slightly in surprise, almost like he forgot you were there even though he said hello to you not even less than 10 seconds ago. “Ah, yeah I’m good! Just got a little something on my mind.” He gives you a small smile and was about to turn back towards the front of the classroom, but you didn’t want to stop talking just yet.“Um, I know we don’t really know each other that well but if you ever just wanted someone to talk to…” He looks back at you with wide eyes and you press your lips together again, wondering if maybe you had overstepped your boundaries. “Oh, thank you y/n, that’s very thoughtful of you.” He gives you another smile, this one softer than before, and turns fully back to the front. Deciding on not wanting to push him further, you give a small nod of approval yourself and also turn back to the front, questioning if he would really take you up on your offer.–Class went by as normal after your chat with Taehyung, the professor droning on about something you really couldn’t bring yourself to pay attention to, especially with the thought that something was bothering your crush.What could it be? Maybe he was having trouble in another class? Family issues? Maybe something was happening with his girlfriend.The thought of that caused a chill to go through you, an odd feeling starting to spread through your chest. You knew it was silly to automatically assume it had something to do with his girlfriend but your mind started to wander; what if they’re fighting? Or were on the verge of breaking up? A quick thought flashed through your mind that it would be your opportunity to make a move.You were so deep in your thoughts that you didn’t notice the other students beginning to pack up and exit the room. It was only when someone placed a hand on your shoulder that you jolted out of your daydream state. You looked up to your left and made eye contact with those warm brown eyes. A small laugh left his lips “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you jump- you just seemed to be lost in thought.” There it was, the part of his personality that made every person feel personally cared for by Taehyung. You felt a smile forming and let out a soft hum while nodding your head.“Yeah I was just thinking about something, guess I let myself get too carried away haha.” He takes his hand off your shoulder and adjusts his backpack, giving you a small nod before starting to make his way out.“Oh y/n?” You look up at him, a confused look on your face.“If you ever want to talk, I’m here to listen.” A blush starts to spread on your cheeks but before Taehyung could notice, he makes his way out of the classroom.You didn’t want your conversation to end there, so you quickly packed up your things, not caring to put your pencils in the case or your papers in your folder, and hurriedly made your way to catch up with Taehyung. You looked left and right for him, seeing him leaning against a wall with that worried look on his face again. He was staring down at his phone and biting his lower lip. Without giving it a second thought you began to walk towards him.“Something troubling you again?” You asked softly, not wanting to startle him with your sudden appearance. He sighs before shoving his phone in his pocket and turning his head to you. He seemed to be thinking about something for a couple of seconds before opening his mouth to speak.“Ah it’s nothing to worry about, I was supposed to meet up with Mina but she has to stay behind in class for something.” He gives a shrug and a ‘‘oh well’ face.“Oh, no I’m sorry to hear that. Um-” You bit your bottom lip, pondering if it was okay to ask this. When he tilted his head to the side, you decided to just say fuck it and proceed.“I’m heading towards the food court, you could join me if you’d like?” Your heart started beating rapidly in your chest, feeling a sudden clamminess on your palms. What were you thinking? Asking The Kim Taehyung if he wanted to join you for lunch. What a idiotic move, he has a girlfriend for Christs sake, as if he–“Sure, that sounds really nice.” You swore you could actually feel your heart begging to burst through your ribcage. “Cool, okay.” You turned the opposite direction and started walking towards the food court.“We can talk about the assignment the professor gave us.” He said when he got next to you.“The what–”—Never did you ever think that you would be having lunch with Taehyung. The thought would make your cheeks flush red and a wave of nerves travel through you. But yet here you are, with said man sitting across from you, putting fries inside his burger. You had gotten yourself a soda and a slice of pizza, the slice being ginormous. The stand you got it from being famous on campus for having one slice be about the equivalent of two. You grabbed your fork and knife, beginning to cut off a piece. “You cut your pizza?” Taehyung asks with humor laced in his voice. You look up at him and see him trying to hold back a laugh. In retrospect it was silly, pizza is a finger food but the portion was huge! You wanted to enjoy your food and not struggle to pick it up every time.“Well, yeah! I mean at least the pizza from here. This thing is huge and I don’t really want to get my hands dirty.” You said back while laughing. Taehyung laughed, the sweet sound making your heart flutter, he shook his head thoughtfully before taking a bite of his burger. “I mean you put fries in your burger, that’s pretty odd too.” “Is it? I actually know quite a bit of people that do so!” He raised an eyebrow at you, a smirk crossing his lips. You narrowed your eyes at him playfully and snorted, going back to cutting more pieces off your pizza. He takes a few more bites of his burger and wipes his mouth with a napkin. He cleared his throat before speaking out.“So, do you know what you’re going to write your paper on?”“Uh…can’t say I do. To be honest I kind of zoned out during class, as you saw. So I don’t know what our topic is supposed to be based on.” You laughed, feeling embarrassed to be reliving that moment when Taehyung brought you out of your thoughts about Taehyung. A hearty laugh escaped his mouth and even though he was laughing at your expense, it warmed your heart hearing it play through your ears. He began to explain what the subject was on and even helped you pick out a topic. After finishing your meals, you continued to talk even more, glad to be able to just spend time with Taehyung. You could feel your crush on him just keep getting bigger and bigger.You were about to ask him a question when you heard someone call out his name.“Tae!”Your heads turned towards the voice, a muscle in your jaw twitching at who was calling after him. The smile that appeared on his face made your chest tighten on itself, his perfect smile not aimed at you. You should’ve figured that your little pseudo date with Taehyung would eventually come to end but you didn’t expect it to come from his girlfriend. “Mina, hi! You made it out.” She reaches the table you two were seated at, leaning down to place a quick kiss on Taehyung’s cheek. His boxy smile appears and he clasps onto one of her hands.“Yeah I’m sorry! I just needed to ask my professor a couple of questions about something, but it’s all good now!” She beams at Taehyung, seemingly not noticing your presence just yet. You were about to say something when Taehyung spoke first.“This is y/n! She’s one of my classmates.” Mina turns to you finally, a graceful smile forming on her perfect lips. Something about it didn’t seem too friendly to you however.“Hi! Thanks for keeping Taehyung company for me, but I’m sure you have your own stuff to do right?”The question seemed so innocent but you felt something else lingering behind those words. Your eyebrows shot up and you made brief eye contact with Taehyung, giving you a sweet smile. “Oh, yeah I should probably start heading to my next class. I’ll see you later Taehyung.” You gave him a smile and he smiled back, feeling your heart flutter again. “Bye y/n! Thanks for inviting me, I had fun. Good luck on your paper!” His perfect smile reappears and you wanted nothing more than to just kiss him. You wave goodbye, giving one final glance at Mina who was currently occupied holding Taehyung’s hands. However she sensed you staring because she spared you look and raised an eyebrow, almost seeming to be taunting you. You rushed your way towards your next class, not wanting to see the googly eyes that Taehyung was giving Mina instead of you. –The rest of your day went by in a blur, not really remembering anything relevant that happened. The only thing on your mind being that you got to hang out and eat lunch with Taehyung. It was silly to be thinking about it this much but you got to spend time with your crush. Even if said crush was dating someone at the moment, it still made butterflies appear in your stomach. You were starting to walk towards your dorm when someone called out your name, feeling chills run through your body at the familiar tone.“Hey, are you headed home?” You turned around and came face to face with Mina. She wore a concerned expression on her face but you narrowed your eyes at her, feeling something a bit off with her question. “Yeah I am…why?” “I live this way too, thought we could walk together.” Okay this was weird, why was Mina, Taehyung’s girlfriend, wanting to walk home with you. You had just met her today.Oh…You immediately felt on guard, not knowing what her intentions could be. You’ve never heard anything bad about Mina, but with the way she was looking at you earlier today, you had your suspicions. It was quiet between you two for a couple of seconds, the only sound being the steps of your feet.“You know it was really nice of you to invite Tae out for lunch today.”“Oh uh, yeah. He just looked kind of bummed so I thought some food could cheer him up.” You weren’t completely lying, food is usually the go to when someone is feeling down. You had your own selfish reasons yes, but obviously you weren’t going to let Mina know.Unless…“Hm, I see. That’s pretty sweet of you considering you guys aren’t really friends” Her hands clasped together behind her back and she stared ahead.

A wave of nervousness went through your chest and into your stomach. 

“I mean we’re classmates and we talk every now and then so I just thought…”

You trailed off, not really knowing where to go from there. 

You came to stop in front of a building, the setting sun casting a golden light across the wall and making your shadows appear in front of you. Hers seemed to be looming over yours, getting ready to swallow you up at any minute. 

“Listen, it’s sweet of you to do that but you don’t have to worry about Taehyung.”

Your eyes snapped in her direction. You remained silent, waiting for her to continue on. When she didn’t, you took your chance to speak.

“Taehyung is my friend and he just seemed bothered today so—“

“Oh? He’s your friend now? I thought you were just classmates who talked every now and then?”

Your eyebrows came together and you felt anxiety starting to course through your body. Could she tell that you had a crush on him? You didn’t think you were being obvious. 

“I…just wanted to help.” You whispered, staring into her eyes. Her face bore no expression, her eyebrows faintly lifting upwards. 

“Well you don’t have to do that anymore.” 

And with that she turned back to the building in front of you guys, making her way inside and leaving you out in the cold chill of the evening.

—

The next day in class you weren’t feeling particularly happy, the encounter with Mina still at the back of your mind. Would she tell Taehyung? Should you tell Taehyung? Your mind was going in a million different directions, not knowing what to do. 

From the corner of your eye you could see him coming in, greeting your fellow classmates. Even from your side peripheral you could make out that beautiful smile of his. 

He places his stuff next to you and sits down, his mood drastically different from yesterday.

“Morning!” 

“Hey, morning” you replied with a tired voice and a small grin.

“You okay? You look like you’re fighting to stay awake right now.” He laughed and you knew he was trying to joke around with you but with the way Mina talked to you yesterday, you didn’t know if you wanted to have another encounter with her.

“Yeah I uh, was struggling to fall asleep last night.” 

“Oh no, I’m sorry to hear that. I think chamomile tea can help with that! My friend Hoseok drinks it every now and then to help him.”.

You smile at him and nod your head politely. You sit up straight when your professor walks in, dropping his briefcase onto the floor next to his desk. 

He began to speak but once again you droned out his voice, not really caring what he was talking about. You should be paying attention but your mind would not stop wondering back to Mina. Eventually your thoughts drifted to Taehyung, questioning if he knew this secretive side to his girlfriend.

The class went by quicker than expected and once again Taehyung was shaking you out of your thoughts.

“Did you fall asleep with your eyes open? I swear it was like you didn’t blink for five minutes.” 

You smiled to yourself and sighed, turning to look up at the boy on your left.“Yeah I think I just accidentally caught up on a few Z’s”.Taehyung laughed and you couldn’t help the smile that made its way to your lips. How could someone be making you feel like you’re on Cloud 9 just by laughing? It was at that moment that you decided ‘What was Mina gonna do? You guys are friends so why shouldn’t you be able to talk to him and such?’.“Hey Taehyung?”He tilted his head to the side and hummed at your question.“Would you wanna have lunch with me again? I mean if you’re not busy that is.”–As fate would have it, Mina just happened to stay behind in class again claiming that she “still had questions to ask the professor”. But you really couldn’t care, all that mattered was that you were once again having lunch with Taehyung. Today you were having chicken tenders and fries, while he was currently putting Doritos inside his sandwich, the action making you raise your eyebrow in question.“So do you always put something extra in your food or…” You trailed off and dipped your fry in ketchup, squinting when he pressed down on the sandwich, the crunch of the chips filling the air. “Yeah, it gives it that extra flavor. I can’t believe you don’t.” “I guess it’s just something that never occurred to me? It’s certainly an…interesting thing.”“Do you wanna try it?”It seemed like your body just went rigid, your grip on your chicken tender getting just slightly tighter. It was a simple question but why did your body seem to go into panic mode?“Uh, yeah sure. Do you have a knife?”He shook his head and just held his sandwich out to you.“Just take a bite.”It was a simple gesture, nothing to overthink about, yet it felt somewhat intimate just leaning forward and biting his sandwich. Something in you wanted to take a step further. So you leaned forward and placed a hand over his to hold the sandwich steady, the sudden skin contact making a chill go through your chest. You locked eyes with him as you placed your mouth on his food, biting down and hearing the crunch of the chips ring loud in your ears. You let out the tiniest sound of approval, making sure to lick your lips after swallowing.“Woah you’re right. That is pretty good.”Taehyung only seemed to be fazed for a half second before smiling at you and nodding in agreement. “See! Look what you’ve been missing out on!” The conversation continued on and even though you were having a pleasant time, there was one question that kept pestering you. “So, are things with you and Mina okay? I don’t mean to pry but it’s just…Well this is the second time she’s had to stay behind for something.” You looked down at your food, your heart beating a million times per minute because you really should mind your business but also you just really want to know if their relationship is flopping or not. Taehyung sighed and put down his drink, hands dropping into his lap. His mouth scrunched to the side before giving you a sheepish smile. “Ah, it’s been a little off lately. Every time we plan something, she always has something come up. I know she’s busy and stuff but lately it just kind of seems she’s avoiding me…” He trails off, cheeks turning a little pink at the embarrassment of basically saying Mina has been blowing him off. He put his hands on the table and began to rip up a napkin. “Oh, no I’m sorry. Maybe she’s just busy with school?” You really couldn’t care what her reason was not hanging out with him, she was dating Kim Taehyung for Christ’s sake she should be wanting to spend every second with him. “Hm, I don’t know. Even when we’re not in school she’s been telling me that she has things to do that day or she already has plans. Maybe I’m just looking too into it.”You couldn’t stop yourself from reaching forward and placing a hand on top of his, your skin suddenly on fire from the contact.“Hey don’t think too much into it, okay? She probably has a lot going on right now. I’m sure things will…go back to normal soon enough.” For extra measure you gave his hand a little squeeze and Taehyung smiled back at you, placing his other hand on top and giving a few pats. He removed his hand and picked his sandwich back up.“Yeah hopefully, thanks for listening y/n. Sorry I didn’t mean to just dump all my issues on you.”You smiled and shook your head “Hey, no don’t be sorry! We’re friends and friends hear each other out.” Your heart just kept beating at your sudden bravery. What were you doing exactly? Flirting with Kim Taehyung? You knew it was a dangerous game to be playing but you couldn’t help it. Especially since a small part of you wanted to spite Mina.“Thanks. And hey, what about you? You’ve had something on your mind too. You wanna talk about it?”You swallowed a thick lump that formed in your throat. You could lie and say it was something else. Or maybe you could use this as some sort of advantage. “It’s nothing really, just uh…guy troubles aha.” Well you’re not wrong.“Oh no! What’s up? If you wanna talk about it that is.”.“Well…it’s just this guy in one of my classes. I don’t know how he feels about me. We talk all the time and I feel like he likes me but I’m just not sure, you know?”Taehyung nods and places his head on his fist, narrowing his eyes as if he’s in thought.“Well I think you should just go for it y/n! If you guys have good chemistry and stuff, you should just ask him out.” He points a chip at you before popping it into his mouth. “It’s not that simple Taehyung haha, girls asking a guy out is way more nerve wracking than a guy doing it. Girls will automatically assume it’s because they’re ugly when a guy rejects them.” You quickly took a sip of your soda and looked away from him, feeling heat on your cheeks.“Well that guy would be a fool for saying no to you y/n, you’re very pretty.” Now the heat was spreading all the way to your ears. Did he just compliment you? Surely he just meant it in a friendly way right? You were about to say something when someone called out his name. Grateful for the distraction, you saw him turn his head towards the voice and you hurriedly tried to pat the condensation from your cup onto your cheeks.“Hobi, hi!”Taehyung exclaims and you see him clap a hand with this ‘Hobi’ fellow. When you deemed yourself decent enough, you turned to face them and saw one of the most beautiful smiles ever. Not as beautiful as Taehyungs, but definitely unique in its own way.“Hey, how are you! I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” Hobi enthusiastically says and sits down right next to him. You bristle slightly at the action, grateful that he distracted Taehyung from your flushed cheeks but you were calm now, you wanted to get back to what he was saying. “I’m doing good, man! Oh hey, this is my friend y/n!” He gestures his head to you and put on a bright smile.“Hi there! Jung Hoseok, but you can call me Hobi.” He smiles brightly at you and sticks a hand out for you to shake. You shake his hand and mumble out a soft ‘hi’. His energy was just radiating off of him. “So what’s up? You have something to tell me?” “Yeah dude! Jungkook is throwing a party next week and everyone is invited!” He turns to you and gives you a wink.“You too missy, no excuses.”Your eyes widen at the invite. A party? You’ve never been to one, especially not a college one.“Oh uh, I don’t know. I’ve never really gone to parties…” At this both Taehyung and Hobi’s mouths drop open.“Seriously!? Well then this one has to be your first.”You were about to open your mouth to protest again but then you locked eyes with Taehyung. A party could seriously be your opportunity to get even closer to him. You hummed and looked up at the sky, pretending to think about it.“Sure, okay it sounds fun actually.” Hobi brings his fist inwards in a silent victory while Taehyung laughs and smiles at you.One day, that smile is only going to be aimed at you. –Over the next few days, you and Taehyung talked more in class. Although there were some moments when Mina didn’t have to stay behind so she did catch up with him, leaving you to have lunch on your own. It did start to make you wonder what exactly she was doing. Taehyung had come to confess to you that she had started being secretive with her phone, immediately putting it away and changing the subject whenever he had innocently asked about it. The thought made your blood boil. She couldn’t be cheating on him could she? Who in their right mind would do such a thing? Especially to Taehyung. Which is why when you came upon the scene in front of you, a vile feeling rose up in your chest. Your tongue felt dry in your mouth, your head started spinning and your skin prickled on the back of your neck.Mina stood against a wall with someone in front of her, talking in hushed whispers. But that’s not what was getting to you, it was what you heard that made you almost scream in anger.“We can’t let Tae find out okay? He has no clue whatsoever.” The man in front of her nodded and laughed and grabbed her hands, pulling her into a hug. Mina laughed and pulled away, still clasping his hands and smiled up at him.“We have to keep this a secret.”You had heard enough, you turned around and walked away as quickly and quietly as possible actually feeling your face flare up at the anger you had towards Mina at the moment.A part of you was hurt, how could she do that to him? How could she just go and cheat on him? It was absolutely ludicrous! Didn’t she know she was lucky to be able to even call him hers? A pictured Taehyung’s saddened face flashed through your mind and your heart ached.Should you tell him? Was it any of your business? What kind of friend would you be if you kept such vital information from him?You suddenly stopped in your tracks. If Taehyung found out about this, they would surely break up. He would be single. Hurting yes, but single.That could be your way into his heart. Your lips pressed together at this sudden thought. Obviously you wouldn’t throw yourself on him immediately, you would give him time to recover and get over Mina. But now the question was; when would you tell him? Should you tell him today? Or maybe wait a few days to see if she would get caught? Maybe you should tell him the day of the party, it was only in two days after all.You were so lost in thought that you didn’t hear the person calling your name.“Y/n! Hey y/n!” You only stopped in your tracks when the person grabbed onto your backpack strap and gently pulled you back. You looked up and came face to face with those brown eyes once again. “Hey, some of us are heading to this burger place right now. You wanna join?” You wanted to scream out yes but another part just wanted to out what you had just witnessed. You were about to answer when someone else had called out Taehyung’s name.“Hey! Are we ready to go? Sorry I had to do something first.”Your blood started to boil once again, and you swear you saw red flash in front of your eyes.“Yeah! I’m just asking y/n if she wants to come.” You turned around and made eye contact with her, a small smile displayed on her face. As much as you wanted to join and glare daggers at Mina, you had suddenly felt very drained from everything.“I would love to, but I actually gotta head home. I need to work on a research paper.”“Oh, no. Well alright then! I’ll see you at the party then alright?”“We’ll miss you!”That false sugary sweet voice filled your ears and you clenched your teeth to keep yourself from speaking. As much as you would love to expose her for the horrible person she was, this was something Taehyung should hear in private.“Yeah, next time I’ll be there.” You gave Taehyung, Mina and his other friends a polite nod and made your way home.–Saturday night, the night of the party had finally arrived. You were currently in front of your closet, trying to decide what to wear. Friday had been uneventful, you hadn’t seen Taehyung due to him not having classes on Friday’s. You did see Mina however, hanging out with some of Taehyung’s friends. You shook your head at the memory and went back to focusing on what you were gonna wear. Should you go for something simple? Maybe something that shows some skin. You were trying to impress him after all, especially since you decided you would tell him what you saw that day. You had settled on wearing tight black jeans with an off shoulder red top and your boots. After fixing up your hair and makeup, you grabbed your essentials and made your way out of your dorm. The party wasn’t that far from you, only maybe about a 10 minute walk. You could use the time to think about what you were going to say to Taehyung.When you had finally reached your destination, it was already bustling with life, the party goers outside of the house having somehow already created a giant beer pong table. You laughed at the sight and made your way inside, eyes scanning for Taehyung and maybe Hobi. When you saw Hobi by another beer pong table, you walked over to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. Hobi swallowed the drink in his mouth before smiling at you, “Y/n hey! You’re here!”“Yeah! I see this party is already getting crazy.”“Yeah well, that’s Jungkook for you. He goes all out with these things.” A voice suddenly appears behind you and you jump at the suddenness of it. “You know I can’t let my parties be lame! I have a reputation to maintain.” The owner of the voice steps into your peripheral and you’re met with a tall man with long jet black hair and a bunny-like smile.“Hey, I’m Jungkook, the host of this very awesome party.” You laugh and raise your hand to greet him back.“Oh hey lemme introduce you to the rest of the gang real quick.” He gestures to his friends currently occupied playing beer pong. One of them had his back to you. “At that end is Jimin and Jin, currently the beer pong champions.” Hobi laughed and you saw Jin give you a thumbs up.“Yoongi right there is our ref, just to make sure none of these guys get too out of hand.” Yoongi gives a grunt in response, too focused on the game.“And this is Namjoon! The guy who’s about to lose his sorry ass.” Namjoon stands up to his full height and turns to face you, the color immediately draining from your face.It was the same guy you saw Mina with.“Hi there, glad you could come to this crazy, wild zoo fest we’re calling a party.”Your throat tightened up but you managed to croak out a ‘hello’. He smiles at you and turns back to the game. “Have you seen Taehyung?” You asked when you felt your nerves calm down a bit.“Nah he’s not here yet, but Mina texted me saying she was almost here.”At the mention of her name, your hand clenched into a fist.“Oh, okay.”“Do you want a drink or anything? You might wanna get some now before the rest of the party people take all the good shit.”“Uh yeah, I’ll go grab what I can haha.” Hobi smiled and led you to the table where there was an abundance of alcohol and soda. He told you to help yourself before going back to his friends. You poured yourself a drink, more alcohol than soda, and chugged it down. Your hands were shaking for the moment you would tell Taehyung what you saw.–After an hour or two, you were definitely buzzed. You drank about three cups, not caring about the bitter taste of beer anymore. You were currently sitting on the couch, glaring at Mina’s back. She was currently holding Taehyung’s hand and talking with Namjoon and Yoongi. You had said hello to Taehyung when he arrived, wanting to keep him to yourself but he said he wanted to go find Mina as soon as possible. You had nodded and went back to the kitchen to grab what would be your third drink. You closed your eyes for a moment, feeling the loud music vibrate through your body. God, how would you get Taehyung alone to tell him? You would have to try and wait to get him alone and away from Mina, but he was currently occupied with said girl. You felt the couch dip next to you and opened your eyes to see Hobi sitting next to you. “You enjoying yourself so far?” “Yeah! This is really fun, thanks so much for inviting me.”“See? And you didn’t want to come. Isn’t this great for your first party?”You nodded in agreement and you both laughed. Hobi was cute, with his bright personality and equally dazzling smile. If on the off chance things didn’t work out with Taehyung, you wouldn’t mind trying to get to know Hobi a little better. Hobi had asked you something and you were about to answer when you noticed Mina walking away from Taehyung. He had nodded and went on talking with Yoongi and Namjoon. After a couple seconds you noticed Namjoon slip away and head in the same direction as Mina.“So would you wanna go?”Hobi’s voice brought you out of your thoughts and you stared back at him.“Sorry, I zoned out for a bit, I think the alcohol is starting to get to me haha.”Hobi smiled softly at you and leaned in a little closer to you. “I asked if you would maybe wanna join us for our movie night tomorrow. It’s usually our way of unwinding and collecting ourselves after parties.”Your heart skipped a beat at the invitation. Did Hobi already like you? “Lemme get back to you on that, I have to use the restroom real quick.” He smiled and gave a quick pat to your back. You stood up and made your way towards the restroom. On the way there you saw Mina and Namjoon up the stairs, making their way down the hall and into a room.You could not believe she was doing this in the same vicinity as Taehyung. You slammed the bathroom door and turned on the sink, splashing your face with cold water. Your hands gripped the edge of the sink and you closed your eyes, trying to steady your breathing. A knock on the door startled you so you dried your face with a towel and yanked the door open, not expecting to see Taehyung.“Y/n hi, I saw you run in here so I wanted to see if you were okay.”God you could just cry right there at his caring nature. Mina was seriously going to regret doing this to him. “I need to talk to you.”Taehyung’s eyes widened but before he could say anything, you grabbed his arm and pulled him inside.“Woah! Okay.” He exclaimed and almost stumbled into the sink. You closed the door and braced yourself for what was about to come.“What’s up? Is everything okay?”Just say it, don’t dwell and beat around the bush, just get it over with.“I think Mina is cheating on you.”The air immediately became tense and you didn’t have to turn around to feel how Taehyung’s demeanor changed at once.“What? What makes you–why would you say that y/n?”You took a deep breath and turned around, heart crushing at seeing his hurt face.“I…I saw Mina and Namjoon together the other day.”“Namjoon…? You saw them–”“I’m sorry I didn’t know how to tell you or when but I saw them by themselves the other day and they were holding hands and hugging and…”“And what?”By now your voice was extremely shaky, a cold sweat had broken out on your skin.“I overheard what they were saying,” you whispered “She said that ‘it had to be kept a secret’ and that ‘you couldn’t find out’.”Taehyung looked down at the floor and closed his eyes, you could hear the gears in his head turning, trying to collect all the information that was just thrown at him.“I also just saw them go into another room upstairs, Taehyung I’m so sorry.” Before he had a chance to respond, you stepped forward and wrapped your arms around him in a hug. He didn’t make any moves at first but slowly hugged you back, his hands resting on your lower back.“Is that why she’s been so distant lately?” You didn’t know how to answer so you just placed a hand on the back of his head and pressed it into your shoulder more. You stood still for a couple of seconds before he pulled away from you, eyes still trained on the ground. You placed your fingers under his chin and had him look up at you.“She doesn’t deserve you Tae, you could do so much better.” You whispered while looking into his eyes. He tried to give you a smile but couldn’t bring himself to. It was at that moment that you glanced down at his lips, this was your chance to make your move. He would see that you were the one for him. When you looked back up at him, his eyes were searching your face and for a split second you saw him glance at your lips as well. That was all you needed to make your move. You slowly leaned forward, testing the waters first. When Taehyung didn’t make any sudden movements, you leaned in closer and could make out a little mole on his nose. Right as you were about to kiss, a knock was heard against the door. “Tae? Are you in there? I have to tell you something.” Taehyung jerked away from you, hands tightening into fists at his sides. He pulled away from you and opened the door, revealing Mina and Namjoon on the other side.“What’re you…nevermind that listen, I have to show you something, you need to come to the living room.”“And why would I do that?”Mina physically jerked at his response, clearly not expecting that.“Um…it’s just really important that you come out and see..” Namjoon steps up to be closer and his eyes widen at seeing you in the bathroom as well.“Don’t you think there’s something you should tell me?”Mina’s eyebrows came together in confusion.“Tae what’re you talking about?”“Oh stop playing dumb Mina and just admit that you cheated on him.”At this, all three looked at you, Mina and Namjoons mouths opening in shock.“Excuse me?? I would never cheat–”“She saw you guys together! And she just saw you guys sneaking off into a room to do God knows what else!” Taehyung yelled at them, his hands clenching and unclenching.“Tae, it’s not what you think–” Namjoon jumped in trying to ‘help’ in whatever way he could.“And you, I can’t believe you did this to me too! We’ve been friends for years, how could you hurt me like this?”At this point you had felt awkward, your work was done but now how were you going to leave? As much as you wanted to see everything go down, you wanted to get back to the party. “Taehyung, listen to me. I did not cheat on you.”“How do I know that?”“Because this party is for you!”At that, you felt your heart drop into your stomach. Say what? Was she really trying to use the party as her escape plan?“That’s why I’ve been so distant lately. I was planning out this party as an early birthday celebration for you since you’ll be going home. Namjoon was helping me out.”Your skin turned hot at once, your heart turned to stone, you felt nauseous all of a sudden. She was lying right?“This party is for you, Tae. We have a cake and everything…” The air surrounding you became extremely thick, you could cut the tension with a knife.“Tae, I…” You cautiously said. Shit, how were you going to fix this? Shit shit shit–“Was this your way of trying to break us up? Were you that jealous of us that you would lie?” Mina’s voice came through and you felt tears beginning to form.“N-no I just…” Your voice, coming out in weak whispers, barely being heard over the booming music of the party.“You are pathetic y/n. I can’t believe you would do this. I thought we were friends.” That, that was what made the tears cascade down your cheeks. As if things couldn’t be worse, Mina had to go and call you her friend, knowing that that was absolutely a lie. “Come on Tae, let’s go.” Mina grabbed Taehyung’s hand and dragged him out of the room, not even letting him spare a glance at you. Namjoon gave you one final look, shook his head and closed the bathroom door, leaving you alone with your tears.

Lucky Charm

Request: Yay! So I’ve been imagining Joe as a Football coach for a while now lmao and I was wondering if I could request that? Like, when he loses a game he’s like full on pissed off and hates everyone, so when him and the reader gets home she tries to talk some sense into him and she gives him the brutal honest truth that his plays are shit and she gives her two cents on what he should do, then when the next game comes they win. He could be a coach for little league, high school, or NFL it doesn’t matter. If you can’t or don’t wanna do it I totally understand. @deanscroissant

(A/n): I changed it up a little bit but I hope it’s okay :)

Word count: a little more than 1k

Warnings: A bad knowledge of football (of the American variety), I think some cursing, and probably some grammar mistakes but enjoy!!

Homecoming season was probably your least favorite. Joe was staying late at work practically everyday, including weekends! But the worst part about it; Joe’s team was awful. Not to say that the kids didn’t work hard, they did! But the plays just didn’t mix well with them and it always ended up in a disaster.

“39-0, 45-0, and 50-3, is that even possible!?” Joe yelled as he walked in the door.

Now you yourself had never been the biggest football fan, but you were certainly knowledgeable about the game. With your husband it would be practically impossible not to, you had to stop going to super bowl parties because all he would do was write down the plays. And on more than I be occasion, he would wake up in the middle of the night to write down another idea.

For a high school football coach, he certainly cared a lot, it was sweet the way he wanted these boys to be and do the very best, but clearly things weren’t working out.

“The boys aren’t even bad players! They’re amazing during practice, but this is the eighth game they’ve lost in a row!” He huffs, lying down on the couch with his head in your lap. Taking your cue, you immediately start to play with his hair, prompting him to close his eyes “Baby…” you begin “ maybe, it’s the plays that aren’t doing it” you suggest. You’d never seen his eyes shoot open faster. “ those are amazing plays (y/n)! How can they possibly be bad?” He scoffs.

You know he doesn’t want to hurt your feeling, he’s just frustrated, but for the love of god you’re going to try and help. “ I’m not saying they’re bad, but maybe you just need to think of something that fits the boys better” you coo to him, massaging his scalp, “what if I come to tomorrow’s practice, see how it’s going?” He reaches up to hold your face and smiles “ maybe you’re the good luck charm we need” He smirks and winks “ I’d love to show you around the field” “It’s not like I haven’t been there before” you retort and he laughs “ Newer kids, new field” “so new plays?” You raise your eyebrows and a smug look. “Maybe…” he replies.

Time Skip

“ How in the world do you do this every saturday?” you shiver, bundled in both your coat and a

Blanket, watching the varsity football team running laps around the field. It had to be below freezing, and your handsome, thoughtful husband… was in a sweatshirt and shorts. “You're overreacting, babe it’s beautiful out” “sure, believe that” you grumble, bouncing up and down to try and produce heat before feeling Joe’s warm arms wrap around you as the team comes back from laps.

“Alright everyone!” Joe shouts with you still in his arms, “ Today my beautiful wife is here to watch practise so i expect the absolute best times three”

“So she is real!” someone shouts and you giggle.

“It doesn't always feel that way but fortunately for me, yes”

For as much as you hated the cold, and as silly as his obsession with his football seems, you really did love him so much. It was nice to spend a Saturday together.

After making a semi-inspiring speech to the team, joe started calling out plays, and watching them: you were confused. The bulkiest kids were running the ball, and the kids playing defense were the first ones done with laps. You whispered in joe’s ear as he watched “ I think what's wrong here is surprisingly obvious” “ then what is it” he whispers back.

“ Well everything seems wrong, I get it some kids have seniority but that kid should not be Quarterback, he was last to finish laps and I’m sorry he can’t catch” you look up at him as he stares at the team, seeing exactly what you had said play out.

“ wow I…” he whispers with wide eyes “ I think I know what to do now” he smiles brightly and squeezes you. “You’re coming to the game next week, right?” You sigh, he only ever asks you to come to home games, and he hasn’t asked you all that much this year. But damn was it cold, the forecast was supposed to be below freezing. And the game was in the morning.

“Fine” you grumble, giving Joe a fake pout before he pecks your lips. We definitely won’t win if we don’t have our good luck charm.

Time Skip

Hand warmers, fluffy socks, two sweaters, a jacket and a school spirit blanket were the only things keeping you alive. The game itself had been pretty entertaining, the lead bouncing from team to team. But what made you the happiest was how excited Joe was.

His boys were scoring, and the crowd was loving it. The turn out for homecoming was always big, no matter how the team was doing, and for once they were all proud. You could tell, even if they didn’t win, everyone was going to leave at least a little happy.

It was the last quarter and the score was 24-27 for the opposing team. At this point you couldn’t even focus on the cold. You realized why Joe was so passionate, at least when stakes were high. They needed a touchdown to win the game, so that’s what they were going to do.

You watched as the last play of the game began. The play Joe called out was the same one you had seen them practice time and time again, of course with your suggestions in place. The new Quarterback got the ball and ran until…

TOUCHDOWN!

The sounds of the crowd were so incredibly loud, the pure joy running through your veins when your husband picks you up and kisses you.

“We did it!” He exclaims pressing kisses all over your face. The students took video of his display, and once he noticed his face was pink. “ that’s going to be all over the student pages they have” he teases, but you couldn’t care less.

“So did I help?” you ask, already knowing the answer. “You helped the most, lucky charm.”

HELLO YES CAN WE TALK ABOUT THAT ADORABLE CARRY AND HOW THEY DIDNT REALIZE HE WAS STILL HOLDING HER AT FIRST PLS AND THANMK

Ah yes. So like, fun fact: this chapter also turned out really different from its outline. Well. Everything but the last scene turned out really different. But I have fun stuff about that and pretty much everything else so...another outline comparison?

Obviously spoilers for chapter 21 of DoJ under the cut

Back to Ochako’s pov

This should start up incredibly chaotic. The sound of screams, being bumped into from people scurrying either to or from the where the flames are congregated. Ochako’s nose is burning from the smoke, and she has to cough to even take a deeper breath in.

Details are hard lol! I tried writing down notable sensory details to get me going but it still took ages to write the first page or so. Finding ways to word the images in my head and have them come across so hectic was really hard for me 😩

There’s a question of what they should do when Deku’s phone rings. It’s Todoroki. Ochako stands close to Deku’s side to try and listen but she can barely make anything out with all the commotion going on. She almost contemplates asking for speaker but, all things considered, that obviously wouldn’t fare any better. Deku mostly just seems to be agreeing and listening until he finally says that they’ll do their best and hangs up. Todoroki said that Iida had called Aizawa immediately. They were closer to the havoc and they’re helping lead the effort to get civilians to safety and any possible need for triage. Luckily a decent number of the class was already nearby so some are fending them off and other are helping with the effort to grab civilians.

So as you can see here things............deviated. A lot. I had a really hard time actually planning out how this chapter was gonna go and I pretty much wrote up this part of the outline going “okay this is probably gonna change but these are the basics. The basics I have to get across.

So as you can see, originally I thought of having izuocha like....idk too far away? Too in shock? To jump to action. Which was, honestly, very dumb on past me’s part but they were quick to say “fuck you we’re helping” like of course.

They wanted to rush over to deal with the trees and help but I was standing there like these guys are so far away how tf is this gonna work. And that’s when it was like “omg, bridal carry.”

I think I had to break from writing after deciding that though. And I was telling my little sister about it while we were in the car. And we kind of mutually came up with the scene. We played around with the scenario a little bit, and it was originally a jokey thing. But after we talked about it, and she agreed (as a Tododeku shipper) that she thought it flowed well and made sense, I decided to include it. It was so vivid though we could both imagine as a scene in the manga so a day or two later I decided I had to commission it.

I’ll be forever grateful that @jellojolteon was up for the task and did it so so wonderfully. 💖💖💖

We also were joking around about the Momo thing and after telling @savetheirhearts-midoriya about it but saying I thought it was too goofy to include, she told me I had to include it. And who was I to refuse? Lmao

Looking back on this though idk how I thought that that it was gonna be chaos but still chill enough to be able to have a phone call smh. Luckily I’m not super strict on my outline being the end all be all lmao

I definitely like the way it turned out a lot better though. Did a good job with showing the class’s self reliance. Especially considering they’re in third year now. It shows off that they have this kind of thing down pat now. Kinda like how the Big Three came off in canon.

They decide they should try to tell other civilians where to go (maybe check how long the street usually is in Kanagawa for the festival) in the midst of that, they see Toogata and Amajiki with Eri. They explain they were with Aizawa but he felt it might be best if they go to safety with the others. They didn’t want to leave Toogata and Eri alone but Amajiki will go back into the fray once he’s guaranteed they’ve made it safely. They explain where to find Aizawa and they take off.

Maybe include a conversation with Ochako saying that, all things considered, at least this attack is happening where a handful of pros and a majority of the 3rd year hero course were out tonight. Deku wonders if that’s really much of a relief. “Was it just a coincidence or…?”

Ochako blinks in surprise, about to stew on that thought a little more when there’s a scream just up ahead. A little further ahead, there’s two girls, twins from the look of it. One is on the ground, unconscious and disheveled as well as a bloodied arm.

ooooooh right, again, more differences here. I never altered the fact that I changed the setting in my outline LOL. Mostly because I knew and it seemed pointless to change something so small when I already know lol. I wanted to include Eri a little here but when I thought about it it just felt like it would slow down the pace of the scene. And it just felt too....pushy? Idk something about it just felt off. So I decided to cut it. I also changed where Aizawa came into play but I’ll get to that in a few lol.

Second and third paragraphs though are the same. I knew I wanted to highlight the fact that is was very likely targeted.

Aizawa arrives right as they do and they ask what happened. The sister explains that they were wandering around the festival looking for her boyfriend who was further down. She started to go off ahead, but some crazy girl popped out of the alley and attacked her sister. She ran off before the twin could come back over. She tried to stem the bleeding but--

Ochako says they’ll take it from here as she goes to join the girl on the side with the bleeding arm. She says that she feels bad doing this since Inko worked so hard but she tears off some of the bottom of her yukata, to wrap the wound.

Alright so, I changed where Aizawa came in mostly because I felt like, upon, writing it, he would be coming from further into the festival than they were. And they’re up toward to front, so it only made sense to have him show up late....not to mention that he might notice that the girl (Toga) was acting a little off. So I had to limit his exposure LOL

The story was pretty much the same and, real talk, I wanted an excuse to free up Ochako’s movement since a yukata is a little limiting. But I definitely wanted to feel the ache that came with messing up something that we spent so much time waiting for. I went ahead and added some details about Toga looking a little too long before this next part just to drive home that something really doesn’t feel right about this girl...

The twin watches her, seemingly entranced, an unblinking expression on her face. “You really know what you’re doing, don’t you?”

“Oh well, I’m a hero in training!” Ochako’s a little embarrassed. “It’s all in the job.”

“We should get both of you over to triage,” Deku notes, looking toward Aizawa. This seems to snatch the other girl’s attention from Ochako’s deftly moving hands. “They can help check on her properly there.” The sister suddenly jumps to her feet, suddenly remembering her boyfriend’s further ahead and alone. She has to go find him and takes off

“Ah wait!! Eraserhead, Uraraka-san, I’ll go make sure she’ll make it okay, be right back!” He takes off too.

Pretty much the same, as far as what’s conveyed, I think. Especially highlighting that something’s wrong with this twin and that Ochako’s uncomfortable. Though, here I didn’t spell out the latter as clearly as I felt it during outlining.

Main difference is who’s saying what and--again, tbh I like how the final result came out better. Toga pretty much dips as soon as Aizawa shows up. Because 1) Aizawa’s caught her in the act before (during Overhaul arc with Rock Lock) and 2) his quirk immediately takes off hers. So she knew she had to get out ASAP once she saw who it was. I also changed Deku’s “be right back” because what the point of coming back if they’re taking the passed out one to where triage is? Dumb lol

Ochako wonders if she should maybe use her Quirk on the woman to help make it quicker for them to transport her. Aizawa says he’s not sure that’s necessary. He doesn’t want to send her or Midoriya off alone because it sounds like a lot more of the League than what they’ve actually seen. And...yeah, it’s awfully weird that they haven’t really seen a lot of them. Did they really concentrate their attack closer to the entrance? But then there’s the person who attacked this woman--

Her thought is cut off when Aizawa continues, “And if I go to take her, you won’t know when to release your Quirk. It’s probably better not to”

The first part of this is confusing--likely because originally I planned on Deku coming back but once I realized that was a little futile I had to rephrase how this was worded lol. But no matter what I didn’t want anyone to think too hard about who was doing the attacking yet (I figured people would get it by then but I still wanted to keep it low profile).

The girl between them suddenly wakes up, startled, and they assure her that they’re heroes on the scene. “It seems you were attacked and passed out from the fall or possibly received a blow to the head.”

“And you guys got rid of her?”

“No, the villain seemed to take off when your sister came over to help.”

“What? But--”

“Oh, don’t worry, she’s okay! She went to go find her boyfriend but she and our friend’ll be--”

“No, that’s.” She looks between them seemingly more dazed and confused. “I don’t have a sister.”

Aizawa says that she received a blow to the head. It’s possible that she has a concussion and she’s a little confused. “No, I’m telling you I don’t have a sister!”

“I’m an only child, and I came here alone!”

This whole exchange was more or less the same. To be honest, most of this last scene is lmao. This scene (unlike the rest of the chapter outline) was super vivid when I planned it out and whenever scenes are vivid, they almost always play out exactly the same as my outline lol

That said, chapter 22 is incredibly vivid so. Prepare yourself 👀👀👀👀👀

“But she looked just like you…” Twins. A crazy girl. She happened to be unconscious and...had a blood wound. Just like her.

She pales. No way. She doesn’t want to believe it. Not even a little. But her body moves before she can think, taking off with no heed to Aizawa calling after her.

Deku-kun!!

This was, again, near exactly the same because it was such a vivid image in the planning stage that it carried over well into actual writing. For a little bit I debated whether I should actually name drop Toga but ultimately I was like “the readers are smart, I don’t have to hold their hand about it!” So I trusted yall to put two and two together lol

But yeah, that about sums it up!! The notorious scene actually only happened because of Izuocha wanting to help and me and my Tododeku shipper sister sitting in the car in the BK drive thru if I’m not mistaken lmfao

Hey, I wanted to ask: what's your process when it comes to planning stories? Do you plan, and if so, in how much detail? (Also I accidentally unfollowed and refollowed while trying to send this ask so my bad lmao)

THOMAS I PLAN SO F-ING MUCH YOU WOULDN’T EVEN BELIEVE

Ahem.

I’ve talked about my writing process a couple times before - 

Here I talked about where I tend to get inspiration from and how it starts to turn into stories (the Step 1 of my writing process). (The TL;DR version: my planning process starts with daydreams, and I write down all the ideas that I can when they pop randomly into my head. Then if I’m developing a particular story I can be like “oh yeah I had a scene idea where blah blah blah, maybe that could fit here...” and fit it into the plan like puzzle pieces.)

Here I talked about my writing process (which includes my planning process).

And to answer your question without sending you to other, longer posts: I plan a lot. In fact, the line between my “planning” process and my rough draft process is nearly indestinguishable. My plans tend to look like bullet notes, some of which may just be “There should be a scene where X confronts Y or else the emotional buildup will fall flat,” or they may be almost play-by-play sketches of a scene which only need to be formatted correctly and filled out with some details before they’re a rough draft. (And that first type almost always gets morphed into the second type, with time.)

Also, my planning is always color-coded. Sometimes the colors mean something specific (as in TRS3, where I have a lot of perspectives going at once, so each POV gets a color so I can keep track at a glance), sometimes they’re just to visually distinguish one block of thought from another.

For example, in case that’s all just confusing, here are screenshots of some “bullet notes” from RFS:

So, you see how sometimes it’s just “this thing happens,” and sometimes it’s like full paragraphs of stream-of-conciousness as I just write what I’m imagining with no real regard for “run on sentences” or “correct punctuation” - that can be fixed later when I turn it from “bullet notes” to “rough draft.” 

When I start writing a story, I usually have a pretty solid bank of these types of notes already prepared. If I just start with a blank page my writing is an aimless, dull, lifeless MESS. I’m just not someone who can think on my feet! I have to write down ideas and inspiration as it comes to me, when and wherever it strikes, and then hoard it away so I can use it later when I’m “actually” writing.

However, that doesn’t mean I always know exactly where a story is going. I may have some scenes I already imagined, which happen later in the story, or I may even know the ending, but in general my “thorough planning” is only about a chapter or two ahead of what I’ve written. Otherwise it’s mostly pretty sparse, like “Chapter Four: this scene happens, be sure to include the midpoint of this character’s arc (show by XYZ?), have that other scene, somewhere in here use that one piece of dialogue between A and B that goes “blah blah blah,” wrap up with something that sets up Ch 5.” 

Anyway, you didn’t ask for an essay but I gave you one anyway, sorry (actually nah I’m not lol), and now I should take my laptop and go inside because a storm is pulling in and my almost-empty Coke 0 can is about to blow away. Yeet.

i have no idea how this works LMAO but um i just wanted to see if you could maybe write an imagine/one-shot/what have you of nat x reader ft. their children & ironfam celebrating christmas together? it's ok if not though ❤️ and let me know if i'm rq'ing wrong? god i'm a dumbass sksksks (also i love ur blog so much)

YOU ARE SO NICE OF COURSE!!❤️

Somewhere Only We Know✨

(Natasha x Reader)

(Featuring the Iron Fam!)

warnings: lol I don’t think there are any:)

AUTHOR’S NOTE:

Y/S/N= Your Son’s Name

Y/D/N= Your Daughter’s Name

Natasha was in full on prep-mode, running from room to room making sure everything was settled. She pulled the lids off of pots and stirred while talking calmly to your two kids, occasionally a look of anxiety casting a shadow over her features as she zipped from the kitchen to wherever her mind was taking her to.

You sat quietly on the sofa, breaking a piece off of a cookie and popping it in your mouth as you flipped back and forth between the pages of a children’s book with your five year old daughter, Y/D/N. As Natasha checked the clock, she began to talk to herself quietly.

“Is Mommy okay?” Y/D/N whispered. You snickered quietly, hoping Nat wouldn’t hear.

Of course, Natasha did hear and sent death stares your way, along with a scornful smile.

“Y/N, come over here and help with these plates, please.” Natasha said in a sweetly fake tone. Your daughter’s eyes were wide and mirrored your expression of terror, knowing Natasha didn’t ask nicely for things. You scurried over to Natasha. “So much for some Christmas peace,” you muttered. Nat shoved the plates into your hands and spoke in a quiet, seething voice.

“It’s funny how much you forget I’m an agent and that I have an acute sense of hearing,” Natasha smirked, patting your shoulder. You knew she wanted this dinner to go well, especially since it was the first year your family was hosting Christmas dinner with the Starks. Tony hosted every year, and Natasha begged for the chance this year. Now, she had completely gone out of her way to make everything amazing. Fairy lights were strung from the ceiling, Christmas decorations like sparkly snowflakes and tinsel covered much of the house, and Christmas tunes played softly in the background.

Natasha began to place all of the food out on the pristine, white tablecloth where new silverware and ornate glasses were carefully placed. Natasha Romanoff knew how to impress.

“Y/S/N, come here!” You called. He didn’t move an inch from his seat on the couch, oblivious to your voice as he read his comic book. “Y/S/N!” You called again, looking over to Natasha for help. Your daughter was already marching over, and snatched the comic from his hands. “Hey!” Your twelve year old son yelled, trying to snatch the comic back from his sister. “I need to see if they destroy Thanos or not!” Your son whined. You straightened up his collar and smoothed back his hair.

“You’ll know later. Thanos is just in the comic, he’ll be there when you’re finished with dinner.”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: I’d like to imagine Thanos doesn’t exist in this story and this AU because of the pain he put me and all other Marvel fans through during Infinity War and Endgame. Thanks:)

The door bell rang and Natasha bounced up and over to the door in a second, pausing just long enough to fix her hair and smoothen out any wrinkles in her evergreen colored dress. The door swung open, and there was Pepper, Tony, and Morgan snuggled in her father’s arms. Nat opened her arms wide for Pepper and Morgan to come into, although her smile faded slightly when behind the Starks were three other guests. Peter, May, and Harley.

You looked from Natasha to them, watching her stress levels rise. She had only prepared for the three Starks, and didn’t know how she could bring three more people into her food and seating equation.

Tony kissed Nat on the cheek and she brought him in close. “You didn’t tell me you were bringing three other people,” she said through gritted teeth. Tony chucked, placing a hand on her shoulder. “You should know to always prepare, Nat.” He examined the house, taking in the decor.

“Cute,” Tony pointed, passing by your family’s Christmas card that year. Natasha growled, despite giving the three extra guests a courteous smile and welcoming them in. You were surprised she was handling this so well, but as she made her way over to you, her eyes eyes filled with concern. “What are we going to do?” She looked around.

“Easy. Morgan, Y/D/N, and Y/S/N will sit in the living room and eat, watch TV. That leaves three open seats, three spots for our new guests to fill in,” You stated simply. Natasha smiled, kissing your forehead. “Thank you,” she said before whisking away to chat with Pepper.

Some time later, the adults-well, including Peter and Harley-sat at the table to enjoy dinner. As dishes of food were passed around, everyone was ready to eat. But before Peter took the first bite, he paused, skeptical.

“Where’s the turkey?”

All eyes snapped towards Natasha, who came to a realization that dawned on her face in horror. “Oh no,” she said under her breath, immediately running over to the oven. You followed her, watching as she took the crisply burnt turkey from the oven, placing it on the stove. She put her hands to her face, silently cursing over and over. You took her in your arms, and the people who were at the table came over to see what was the problem.

Tony opened his mouth to say something smart, but Pepper gave him a weary look. There was a moment of silence before Natasha spoke. “I’m…so sorry everyone. I know you must be hungry,” her tone dripping with regret.

“Don’t worry. It’s happened to me. Multiple times,” May joked. Peter nodded, remembering many similar times.

“We only have a few side dishes to eat.” Natasha sighed. It didn’t take you long to think up an idea.

“Natasha, go get the kids. Everyone get their jackets on. I know just the place.”

Hidden between rundown buildings and closed diners, a neon light blazed brightly in the distance. As the ten of you approached, you walked inside the small cafe, breathing in the strong smell of pastries and coffee. You smiled at the owner, a little elderly woman who gave a loving wave back.

“What is this place?” Pepper asked.

“It’s a shame many people don’t know this place exists. Their hot chocolate and donuts are phenomenal,” you exclaimed. As everyone ordered their drinks and sweets, you put tables together so all ten of you could gather around. The night went on in a flurry of stories and catching up, the warmth in your hearts almost as hot as the hot chocolate in your hands.

“Thank you. For everything,” Natasha laid her head on your shoulder as the two of you watched your daughter play with Morgan.

“You know, you’re going to have to find a way to pay me back,” you teased.

“I’ll think of something,” Natasha lifted her head, a playful smile on her lips as she leaned in.

“Guys! It’s snowing!” Your son shouted. The two of you made your way over to where everyone else was gathered, pressing their faces against the glass to watch the flecks of snow make their way to the ground. Everyone was huddled together as another Christmas passed, hidden in a tiny coffee shop in the city. It was a memory that would stay with you long afterwards, where you would spend many days with your family, going somewhere only we know.

Thinking about 90s anime fandom, oh boy

IDK if it's because the end of 2019 had dawned on me recently, or if it's because I'm getting older, but I haven't been able to stop thinking about the days of 90s fandom, and how no one (?) has thought to interview people involved in fostering/maintaining it back then.

I'm specifically talking about the people involved in mags like Animerica and Protoculture Addicts, tbh. They were a lifeline for people like me, from a small Caribbean island. The only thing we had in terms of news direct from Japan, or learning about new creatives.Not just because for a bunch of oldtaku, they were sometimes our best and foremost anime news heralds -- but because they were the only thing we had.

I memorized the names involved, like Trish Ledoux, Julie Davis, Pork'n Beans (who remembers THAT artist), Claude Pelletier, Dana Lewis, Rachael Thorn or Toren Smith for translations, Carl Gustav Horn (Caribbean Kidd was where I heard of him, my brain wants to say) -- or the Manga no Mori column, the anime CDs reviews -- --the custom drawn covers Protoculture Addicts had (I liked those??) before they finally started to use licensed official covers --- the anime-lovin' punker MAI ANIME and her retired miltary grandpa mascots lmao

WHEN THE ANIMERICA LOGO CHANGED IN LATE 90S, IT WAS A HOT BUTTON TOPIC XD

( Sidenote: heck, who remembers when Antarctic Press started translating and publishing manga...that in hindsight ended up being doujinshi that they didn't have the rights to translate or super independent work that they mistreated in terms of publishing schedules )

To this day, I don't think anyone who read Animerica could forget the cool fanart sections (I sent in some and GOT ONE PUBLISHED...under a wrong name at first. Oops. I wrote in with the correction and I got a Ranma postcard set in addition to a printed apology), the 4-person reviews for fresh anime from Japan, the letters, the asking for penpals from other places, etc.

For Protoculture Addicts, it was filling in the holes that Animerica didn't, with their added insights and reviews on "niche-ir" anime, or giving us info directly translated from the listings or news of anime.

(What was fun to find out recently, was that Protoculture Addicts named themselves after the protoculture concept from Macross/Robotech...and it was actually a nice circle to learn that after I got into Macross two years ago. Now my memories are sweeter, to pen a nice phrase.)

I see a lot of good talk about archiving anime history -- but things like these magazines and the people involved in that era never seem to pop up. And that makes me sad because again, kid from the Caribbean, and I never was online like most of America at the time. Anytime people talk about irc this, rec this, r finding other kids their age online, I get envious, sad, bitter. But at the same time, I was very lucky and privileged to be able to read Animerica and PA frequently. I'm sure I may have been the only kid to do so for a LONG time.

And the reason why I say that almost arrogantly is because I never met any kids my age who liked "those Chinese cartoons." In fact, I was always made fun of. It's why I latched onto these magazines, and the letters column like Oh My Goddess' "Letters to the Enchantress."It was the only time I was able to see people talking about stuff I knew. I was made fun of in real life, and the only way I knew I wasn't alone was by seeing people who could have penpals asking for more friends, people with easier connections and their underground magazine/comic-making.

Only anime fans I'd met before, say, 2003 or 2004, were fans as old as my mother and usually male. Suffice it to say, I didn't hang much with them. The reason why I note the years is because I started cosplaying iirc and started to meet people who were getting into anime thanks to the broader internet availability and cable TV (Toonami!) -- and cosplay still wasn't big in Puerto Rico, but I kept at it and met new people. More ppl began to join me in cosplaying!

Of course, because anime was beginning to spread beyond, it also meant people now started to like "those Chinese cartoons" (ones that I was told were "just a phase") and suddenly forgot that they hated it before. And bullied me at times for it. And despite anime being cool now, I still wasn't one of the cool kids 🙃

(To be clear, I don't mind ppl getting into anime whatever way they do/did. I'm just more pointing how people like me don't suddenly become more important just because their hobbies were now cool.)

(That is, until I also was lucky to get Newtype Japan through the Previews catalog and people wanted to see these magazines to see what was up in Japan for about 3 minutes before pulling Beavis and Butthead moves and huh-huh-hu'ing about all the PRON SEXY STUFF XD Typical kids. )

...extreme tangents aside, people involved in those magazines SHOULD be heralded more, mentioned more. Only oldtaku, I'd wager, remember Trish Ledoux and even then, I wonder who ever looked at the credits page obsessively and committed some of those names to memory like I did.

(In fact, I was so happy to find her on twitter a while ago -- I'd wondered how she fared after she stepped down as editor of Animerica so many years ago. Y’all should follow her ! )

And if I may be frank, whenever I see CERTAIN people say that 90s kids "don't know what early anime fandom was," or that people my age aren't to be included in reminiscing about early anime fandom because it started in the 80s...ngl, can't help and mostly think "ok boom-x-er"

Imagine thinking that there wasn't anybody around in 1994 or 1995 becoming fans of anime because we weren't old enough or something -- or think that every single one of us thinks anime started in the 2000s.

Imagine thinking there's not such a thing called ERAS, and that Animerica and Protoculture Adults WERE part of 90s fandom, and fostered kids and adults alike throughout that decade.

Imagine being lucky to work in the industry and thinking that.

(This is why I don't look down on anyone who gets into anime one way or another, or has their own versions of anime fandom, or likes what they like. I don't want to become that gatekeeper person.)

And before anyone asks "why don't *you* do this archive work" -- I don't have those connections. I'm a Z-rate comicker. There's people who have those connections and haven't done it. They have other things to do in their lives or their fandom concentration is elsewhere. A-OK!

I just mention it because there should be someone out there who DOES have the time and connections, to get the direct insight on producing these materials for the Western sides before it's all lost. To collect for all of us to look back (or learn, for those who weren't there)

Because it's not just the Japanese side that needs to be saved for historical purposes. It's the Western, Eastern European, Western European, Caribbean, African -- any history of fandom outside Japan that needs to be saved too. We HAVE the technology now. We can do it.

thanks for coming to my tedtalk, as the kids say, sorry for the long introspective rambling rant thread.

I’d Love You for a Thousand More

Pairing: Terra/Aqua, Kingdom Hearts

Setting: Pre-Canon to Post Canon

Rating: T (Slight language & Slight Sexual Implications)

Words:  11209

Notes: HAPPY TERRAQUA DAY <3 My otp of otps I couldn’t not do something for them that was both different and special! SO this is actually a prompt and request fill. @ceelihearts posted that they liked the idea of Terra asking Aqua to marry him a few times (like Flynn and Rapunzel), they also mentioned it would be cute to include childhood too and I couldn’t stop myself hahaha Also a while back an anon asked me for an in canon proposal for them so here you go too, anon! I enjoyed doing this one a lot, I had to be super creative to think of ways this would be feasible hahaha I hope you guys enjoy it too!

Special thanks to my Jason who beta read this for me after I whined at how long it came out LMAO Thank you for dealing with me being an anxious mess the whole time you read it and giving me the help I needed <3

 AO3

I’d Love You for a Thousand More

Or the Five Times Terra Told Aqua He’d Marry Her and the One Time She Said Yes

I.

Terra hated the days Master Eraqus made them sit up in the library to study. Not only was it boring on a rainy day but even more so when the sun was shining through the windows, the green grass of the fields and high mountains in the distance beckoning him away on some adventure. There was literally anything else Terra would rather be doing than reading a dull book with no pictures. He huffed as he flipped the page of his book, the black words blending into the paper as one giant blur.

He propped his elbow up on the wooden table, placing his chin in his hand so he could stare out the window instead. It seemed cruel punishment to have history lessons on such a warm and sunny day. All he wanted to do was just go outside and actually do something. He was ten years old now; he should be able to have more combat training than reading.

Terra stuck his tongue out slightly as he looked to the book once more. Maybe if he just got through it fast, Master would let him go outside. He tried to blink the words back to focus, but a slight giggle made him look up.

Aqua was sitting only one chair away. She was only a couple years younger than him, but even she looked small in the big library chair. She had one hand over her mouth as she watched him, an amused expression in her blue eyes.

“What?” Terra grunted.

“You look like you just ate a bug,” she replied.

“I think I’d rather eat bugs than read this book.”

Aqua giggled again, looking back to her own work in front of her. She was better at this sort of stuff, so she probably didn’t hate every bit of this lesson.

Terra looked to his book again though this time feeling a little better. It was nice to at least have her here; it was really boring when he had to have lessons alone before she came to live with them. He didn’t really know what to make of her at first. He was alone before Master Eraqus came and then they were alone here. Terra was used to the quiet and doing things on his own even if sometimes it made him sad to not have anyone to play with. Then Aqua came and she was talkative and liked to hang around him and was like this walking ball of sunshine at all times. He found her annoying really; who was that happy all the time? It wasn’t till he heard her crying one night alone in her room that he thought she might’ve been as lonely as he was. He tried a little harder after that.

It was a few years ago though, and he couldn’t imagine not being her friend now. He found she made everything a little better.

Granted she couldn’t do his reading for him so she wasn’t helping there. He sighed, dropping his head into the book. “This is terrible.”

“It’s not that bad.”  

“It is too.”

“The faster you finish the faster we can do something fun.”

“I know,” he groaned, picking his head back up. “But it’s impossible.”

Aqua looked like she was going to respond, probably with some answer like “no, it’s not” or “Master wouldn’t have given it to you if it was” but instead Terra watched her eyes light up as she looked over her book.

“What?” he asked, leaning over to try and see what she was looking at.

“It’s so pretty,” was her only answer.

Terra couldn’t see it and she wasn’t holding it up to show him so he climbed into the chair next to her, sitting up on his knees to look over her shoulder. Aqua was tracing her finger over the painted picture in the book, a woman surrounded by flowers in a flowing white dress. Figures, despite the fact she didn’t mind mud or bugs she still liked the girliest things sometimes. Still, there seemed to be something familiar about this picture, like he had seen it before.

“What is it?” he asked.

“A wedding,” she said proudly, probably trying to prove to him that she was actually doing her work.

“A wedding,” he repeated. “Like in fairy tales?”

“Well, yeah, but weddings happen in real life too.”

He supposed that made sense. It was just that he had only ever seen weddings at the end of fairy tales when the prince and princess were finally able to be together. “What happens in it then?” Terra wasn’t really sure why he asked at first, but he figured it was a good way not to have to go back to his own reading.

Aqua got an excited look on her face as she flipped back a few pages. “My readings have been on traditions, especially with keyblade wielders, this section was on marriage and weddings.”

He wrinkled his nose; traditions usually meant you had to do them. “Wait, does that mean you have to get married?” He didn’t really know what went into being married but he knew the couple usually kissed, and that was gross.

She paused for a moment. “No, I don’t think so. It’s just a lesson on what it’s like. You should only get married if you’re in love with someone.” Aqua looked back down to the book, a picture of a man and women dressed in whites with their hands wrapped in some sort of cloth together. “And you have to be an adult. I think. All these pictures are adults so I guess they have to be.”

“Does that mean Master is married?” Terra asked. The thought had never occurred to him before now, but Master Eraqus was an adult after all.

Aqua looked up at the ceiling, a sure sign she was thinking. “No, I don’t think so. I think if he did we’d see whoever he was married to. You usually live together.” She flipped the page really quick pointing to a picture of jewelry. “And rings, as a symbol of the bond you wear rings. Master doesn’t have any rings like that.”

“That’s true.” Terra reached a finger up to tap at his chin in thought. “So what’s it like? You just dress up fancy and give each other rings?”

“Umm…” Aqua looked over the pages, turning it again. “Well, yeah, and you read an oath in front of witnesses. There’s something with the keyblades you hold, something to do with the magic. It’s like, once you perform the ceremony you’re bonded together forever both cause you love each other and through the magic.”

That peaked his interested more than the actual wedding, but he knew that was mainly because neither him nor Aqua had been able to summon a keyblade yet.

“And then…you kiss.”

Terra leaned back on the chair. “Sounds gross.”

“It’s not gross,” she said, almost more defensively than she needed to be.

He arched an eyebrow at her. “What? Do you want to get married?”

Aqua crossed her arms against her chest, looking away from him but he caught the hint of red on her cheeks. “I don’t know, maybe. I’m not an adult, I can’t say.”

He leaned in to poke at her side. “Yes, you do, don’t lie to me.”

“Terra,” she whined, but she was laughing, her smile making her eyes bright again. He liked it when she smiled. “It would be nice to wear such a pretty dress.”

“Still gross.”

“It’s not gross.” She turned in her seat to face him better. “It’s like…” Aqua paused, glancing away before looking back. “It’s like spending the rest of your life with someone who makes you happy, it’s like never being alone again.”

That admittedly did sound a lot better. He remembered what it felt like to feel alone in this big castle, and he really didn’t like that. Spending time with someone who made him happy seemed really nice. “Well, in that case,” he said. “I’d marry you.”

Aqua blinked at him.

“Without the kissing,” Terra clarified, sticking his tongue out a little.

She clasped her hands over her mouth as she started to laugh, but he really didn’t know what was so funny. “You’re silly, Terra,” she giggled.

“What?” he asked. “It’s the truth. If I had to pick one person to spend the rest of my time with, it’d be you. Would you marry me?”

Aqua pulled her hands away from her mouth, a big smile on her lips as she watched him. She looked like she was going to answer him but what the answer was he’d never know.

“Sounds like you’re doing far more talking than reading.” Master’s voice echoing off the bookshelves was enough to send Terra scrambling back to his seat as Aqua quickly turned to her book.

Terra could hear Master Eraqus’ footsteps as he walked closer to where they were studying but even then Terra couldn’t resist glancing over at Aqua. She looked up at him too, smile still on her lips. He quickly looked down before they got caught again but he couldn’t stop his face from feeling hot.

He wondered what she would’ve said.

II.

Terra barely had time to swing his keyblade to block the blast of ice magic flying at him. The force nearly pushed him back, blowing cold air all around him and making his face tingle from the chill. Aqua had taken quite easily to magic, but she sometimes was eager when it came to using it. Another shot came at him, causing him to duck to avoid it.

A little too eager sometimes.

He tried to compose himself and figure out where she was on the training grounds before she decided to fire more magic at him. Blue was easy to catch out of the corner of his eyes; also he was used to looking for it for the past ten years. She was skirting the edges, keeping her distance and always moving. She’d keep range until she felt like she could get the upper hand in closer combat.

Terra admittedly wasn’t as good with magic as she was, and he knew it, but he made up for it with his own strength. It was frustrating at first when he a kid who could barely hold his keyblade up when he summoned it; where as Aqua had no issues learning to fight with hers which was lighter and more agile. It took time for a scrawny twelve year old to build up the strength to be able to fight like he could now, but he held himself very differently now at eighteen.

There.

Aqua hurried past some of the rocks on the outskirts of the rink. He wasn’t great with magic but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to use it; he quickly cast a fire spell towards her, sending it past her to hit the rocks. The impact was enough to knock her off her track.

Ven cheered from somewhere in the background but Master Eraqus must’ve shushed the blond boy because it was quiet again.

She skidded to a stop glancing over to Terra nd he didn’t miss the slightly impressed look in her eyes. It only lasted for a second because she was already coming at him. Terra met her, swinging his keyblade up to block her inevitable attack.

She jumped back slightly, her bangs falling into her face but she didn’t move to adjust. Aqua had only recently started wearing her hair short, saying it got too annoying when she was trying to fight. “Nice hit,” she said. “You surprised me.”

“Yeah, you too. Your ice magic is getting stronger, I felt like I was getting hit with a small blizzard,” he breathed, feeling a slight smirk pull at his lips. “If only you weren’t so afraid that you need to run away from me.”

Aqua arched her eyebrows, twirling her keyblade in her hand before grabbing down on it again. “Oh, is that how we’re going to play?”

He saw her feet shift, dust moving just a little. He steadied himself to brace his body. “Yep, you know it.”

She dove at him and if it was anyone else the speed would have surprised him but Aqua he knew. He was already there, pushing his keyblade against hers to knock her off balance. Granted, she knew him too so she landed just fine, darting around to his side to try and catching an opening. He wasn’t as fast as her due to the weight of his weapon but that didn’t mean he didn’t know how to use it. He swung it around blocking her attack, and pushing her back to harshly she skidded in the dirt, making dust rise up.

Aqua tried to use that to her advantage and come at him from the other side but he saw it coming a mile away. He moved out of her way, swinging his keyblade at her now open side. Granted it wasn’t open for long as she gracefully twisted her body, almost like she was dancing, his keyblade hitting hers with a metallic clang. Despite her quick movements, the sudden twist managed to tangled her feet, causing her to hit the ground and slide back a little.

“C’mon, Aqua!” Ven shouted. “You got this !”

“Ventus, hush now,” Master Eraqus said.

Ven probably mumbled a sorry but Terra didn’t pay attention. Aqua was already pushing herself up to her feet, darting at him. He recognized the words on her lips and quickly ducked before ice shards hit him in the face. He swung at her, nearly catching her legs as she jumped towards him but she avoided it, flipping off to his side.

Terra reached the back of his hand up to his forehead, brushing off the beads of sweat. They often found themselves in stand offs like this which is probably what happened when you fought with someone so much you knew almost exactly what they would do. It only made it harder since it was that much more difficult to get knocked down.

“Not always so fast, are you,” he said, knowing she’d understand he was only egging her on and not critiquing her.

A pause before a smile crossed her lips. “You’d know wouldn’t you?”

He moved at her that time. While she blocked him, the force of his weight made her slip back before she could catch her balance again. “What was that now?”

She snorted, rolling her eyes but her amused smile was still there. “Cute, really cute, Terra.” Aqua spun out of his hold, skirting off to the side of him and making him whip around, blocking her attack just in time. “Being fast works just as well as being strong,” she said.

Terra heaved himself at her, pushing her back so she slid in the dirt. “You’re strong too.”

“Not like you.” Aqua positioned her feet before she started to run at him.

He recognized the set up and really he wanted to help her more than he wanted to win. So he ducked slightly when she pushed herself off the ground. It was a fast moment but it wasn’t the first time she practiced the move on him. He was ready to push his keyblade against hers as she flipped over his head, giving her the momentum to be able to land on her feet on the other side of him.  

“That’s not true,” he said, swinging low towards her legs while she was distracted from her landing but she skipped out of the way. “Your strength just doesn’t come from the fact you had to learn how to throw this thing around.”

She giggled slightly as she ran to his side, trying to get a quick hit but he blocked it; a little awkwardly though causing him to lose his balance. There’s no way she didn’t notice, not when she intentionally swung at him again to try and get him to fall.

He steadied himself even if by doing so she managed a hit on him, nearly taking his breath out. Terra winced as the sudden pain in his side, but moved to block her next swing so it wouldn’t happen again.

“I don’t know,” she said though she sounded a little winded, and he knew the feeling. The sun was high overhead. How long had they been at this today? “Maybe it’s better that way.”

“What are you talking about?” he grunted, resisting reaching to his side to see how bad the bruise would be. If she knew he felt it, she’d use it to her advantage.

She ran up to him, spinning around as she cast a spell. He would’ve blocked it but he recognized the green hue to it. The pain in his side eased immediately; which she really wasn’t supposed to do so he hoped Master didn’t see it or she’d probably get in trouble. Aqua swung at him but he blocked it easily. “Guys don’t like strong girls,” she said simply.

If they hadn’t been in the middle of training and if Master wasn’t watching Terra would’ve dropped the fight right there. For a second he thought she was just trying to catch him off guard but when he pushed her back he saw the way her eyes dropped down ever so slightly. “What?” he asked. “What makes you think that?”

She shrugged but she ran off to the side. He thought she’d go back to running the perimeter to avoid what she may’ve let slip and not actually wanted to talk to him about. It wasn’t always like that, they used to tell each other everything but for the past few years it got…confusing. Ven was usually a good distraction, coming in when the air got too tense between them or when the smallest things seemed to make something feel awkward when it never did before. Terra swallowed the lump in his throat as he watched her. He understood why, but it’s not like knowing made it easier to come to terms with his feelings for his best friend.  

Aqua veered off course, coming at him from behind but he twisted around, the sharp grind of the weapons hitting each other. “Books,” she answered with her teeth gritted from trying to push him back. “Fairy tales, princes and princesses. They’re all delicate, pretty girls.”

He was the one who managed to get her to skid backwards. She caught her balance fine, reaching up to brush her sweaty bangs from her face. She didn’t look quite as determined anymore, maybe a little sad and he hated it.

This was probably why Eraqus told them they probably shouldn’t have full conversations while they were sparring; an old habit from childhood Terra supposed.

“I’m not like that.” she continued, gripping her keyblade as she cast a water spell towards him.

He had to dive out of the way to not get hit with the blast but scrambled up to his feet in time to black her next swing. “You’re delusional,” he grunted, trying to catch his breath as he held his keyblade up against her force. “You’re not delicate that’s for sure.” Terra pushed her off of him as she twirled slightly away from him.

He wasn’t sure what it was because he was facing down with Aqua, looking as sweaty and dirty as he was; they weren’t even alone as there were two people watching them for technique and skills. Maybe it was an effort to make her feel better when he thought it was the stupidest thing to be bothering her or maybe because he wanted to say them, he wasn’t really sure but he opened his mouth anyways. “But you are pretty, beautiful and strong and there’s nothing wrong with that. Guys still like that. I am one, remember?”

She paused, watching him, like she never expected him to say that.

He took it to his advantage and quickly moved towards her but she wasn’t that stupid; as he should’ve know. Her keyblade was up and ready to block him. He should’ve left it at that really. There was no need for him to open his mouth again, and yet he still did.

“Anyone would be lucky to marry you. I would be.” It didn’t even make sense as he said it. “I mean to marry you. I’d be lucky to marry you…well, someone like you is…what I mean.”

Aqua was staring at him, wide eyed and maybe a little confused. It didn’t even make sense to him and he was the one who said it. He pushed her backwards, mostly to get out of this situation that had his face feeling like it was on fire.

He expected her to bounce back up but she didn’t. She caught the ground with her hand, dropping to one knee as she held her stomach; apparently in his panic he hit her a little too hard. It wasn’t that she couldn’t handle it but he tried not to do it on purpose.

“It’s over!” Ven shouted, probably getting the okay from Eraqus to let the match end there.

Terra could hear the younger boy’s feet pounding towards them in the arena but Terra still couldn’t breathe; mostly because his stupid words were ringing in his head. He dismissed his keyblade and slowly walked to Aqua who was still panting, face towards the ground. Returning her earlier favor, he cast a quick healing spell on her before he reached his hand down to help her up.

Aqua dismissed her keyblade as she look at him. Her face was unreadable for a moment but she gave him a smile. “Nice match,” she said, reaching her hand up for his.

“Yeah, you too.” He pulled her up to her feet just as Ven ran over, exclaiming something so fast that Terra could barely understand him.

Aqua was quicker in understanding, giving Ven a nudge against his chin before she dismissed her keyblade. “Oh, yeah? You liked that?”

She looked over to Terra, who was unsure what he should say or if he should say anything at all. Aqua gave him a smile, a reassuring one almost to say, “the match and everything was just fine, don’t worry”. She turned to respond to Ven and the footsteps of Master Eraqus got closer as he’d want to go over their spar.

Aqua never brought it up what Terra said, and neither did he.

III.

His heart was pounding in his chest as he sat up in bed, sweat caked on his forehead even though it wasn’t very warm out. His legs were tangled in blankets, head swimming as he tried to blink in his surroundings. The window was open, blowing in a light breeze as he tried to calm his breathing.

He was home, in his room, just like it was before. It was the same bed, same night stand, same castle; he was home. His nightmares were still so vivid the lines blurred sometimes. In them he was still trapped, imprisoned unable to move, or to even speak. All he could do was watch in vain as Aqua and Ven were tormented at Terra’s own hands over and over again.

“Terra,” her voice called, his door swinging open. Aqua sounded worried, and her facial expression matched the sound when she stepped into his room far enough that he could see her in the moonlight. She paused, as if she wasn’t sure if she should keep coming to him.

It was a dream, it was just a dream, he repeated in his head. Even though he was still having a hard time catching his breath, the concern that shone in her eyes was enough. He could never dream up her looking at him like she cared so much for his well-being; his dreams were never that kind to him. He rubbed one hand over his face, the other gesturing for her to come over since she was probably waiting for his consent.

Aqua walked slowly, till she sat up on his bed, her legs almost brushing up against his. She didn’t say anything and neither did he; just his heavy breathing as he tried to calm himself down. It was admittedly easier when she was here. He might’ve still been working through what had happened to them, but everything was always better when Aqua was here; that never changed.

“I’m sorry,” he said, his throat was dry, like he hadn’t had water in days. “Did I wake you?”

She hesitated, pulling on the long sleeves of her shirt absent mindedly. “I wasn’t asleep.”

He nodded but it didn’t really make him feel any better. He saw the dark circles under her eyes to know she was telling the truth. Yet she was also leaving out the part where he must’ve been talking or shouting for her to even come in here in the first place. He decided he didn’t want to know whatever the case might’ve been.

“Nightmares?” she offered.

“Yeah,” he breathed, dropping his hands to his lap.

Aqua nodded in understanding but didn’t say anything else, she just sat there with her legs tucked up underneath her. He couldn’t tell if there was something she wanted to say or she was just worried about how he felt.

“You can go back to bed,” he said, realizing only after that he didn’t want to make her feel like she had to. “Ah, I mean, I don’t want to keep you up, I’ll be okay.”

She perked up a little bit, giving him a sort of smile. “That’s not how it works,” she tutted. “You know that. You used to keep me company when I had nightmares after I came here. I’m here to do the same.”

Terra leaned his head back against the backboard of his bed, feeling a little bit of relief that the air felt a little more normal between them. “I’m not sure sneaking down to the kitchen at two in the morning can solve this one.”

“I’m very offended that you don’t think food can’t solve everything.”

He snorted, a smile pulling at his lips despite his exhaustion. “Would you like to prove me wrong?”

“Don’t I always?”

Terra paused for a second but he saw the laughter start to bubble up in her even if she tried to keep it quiet. It was impossible not to laugh with her. “Fair point,” he said.

“I’ll be right back then,” she said as she kicked her legs off the bed, heading towards the door. Aqua stopped short though, turning back to him; this time he knew there was something she wanted to tell him. He knew it by the way her fingers fiddled with the hem of her shirt, the hesitation in the way she bit at her lower lip, the slight fear in her eyes at what she didn’t want to admit. “I…um…”

Aqua didn’t need to finish the sentence for him to understand. The castle was too dark at night for her not to remember being alone and lost. Terra felt a sting of pain in his chest; he never wanted her to feel afraid in her own home.

He kicked the blankets back, pushing himself out of bed. “I’ll come with you, okay?”

She nodded, her face looking relieved; if it was because he was coming or because she didn’t need to ask he wasn’t quite sure. Aqua followed him out of the room and he made sure to keep his steps even with hers. If she should start to feel lost at least there was a warm and real body there to remind her she was safe.

“Where’re you going?”

Terra paused to turn his head back down the hallway, Aqua stopping with him. He supposed he shouldn’t have been surprised at the blond hair and blue eyes poking out into the hallway. Ven looked a little tired but his voice was clear which was probably a sign he had been awake too.

“Kitchen for something to eat, wanna come?”

“Yeah!” Ven said far too excitedly for this hour.  

Terra turned back to start to walk again but was nearly knocked over by a force hitting into his back. He had to scramble to catch Ven’s legs as he grabbed onto Terra’s shoulders, Ven pulling himself up to sit up on Terra’s back.

“Do you feel better?” he snorted, catching blond out of the corner of his eyes.

“Yep,” Ven said, popping his lips on the word.

Aqua tried not to laugh but she wasn’t doing a very good job. She reached over to pull down Ven’s shirt where it had bunched up in his effort for a piggy back ride.

For a moment, it seemed so normal as they walked he familiar path they had so many times especially late at night. It used to be just be Terra and Aqua, and then Ven would tag along if he was awake to catch them. They knew all the quickest ways, which stair creaked loud enough to wake Master Eraqus, what foods wouldn’t smell too strongly for the aroma to float through the castle. Even though it was just the three of them now, Terra still skipped the creaky step and Aqua still pushed open the dining room door in the way she knew it wouldn’t make any noise.

Ven reached over to flick on the kitchen light, before jumping so his feet hit the ground. “I know exactly what to eat.”

“Of course you do,” Terra said, gesturing for Aqua to sit at the small table they had set up off to the side while he headed for the stove.

Ven pulled open the kitchen door and held out the remains of the chocolate cake Aqua baked yesterday for no reason other than she wanted it. He sat down next to her, removing the plastic though careful not to smudge the chocolate frosting on top.

“Plates?” Aqua asked but Ven shook his head.

“No, we eat cake like men, straight from the pan.”

“Okay, men,” Terra snorted as he filled a pot up with water. “Do you eat it with your hands too? Or do you want forks?”

Ven paused for a second. “Forks please.”

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Terra reached for the drawer pulling out two forks to pass to Aqua who was chuckling. Granted, there wasn’t much better than eating something Aqua made at two in the morning straight from the pan, he knew that from plenty of experience.

Ven seemed to think the same as he sighed in contentment, reaching his fork for another bite.

Terra turned the stove on, getting the water ready to boil while he pulled open the cabinet filled with small vials and little bags. Most of the food had to get tossed since magic couldn’t preserve things from going bad after twelve years but he tried to restock some of their tea leaves when he could; especially ones that were calming to help with sleep. He pulled a few bags down and reached for three mugs that were drying on a nearby rack.

“There’s some cookies in the fridge, Terra,” Aqua said, covering her mouth slightly as she finished her bite. “I made them for you.”

“Well, thanks, I’ll grab them in a second.” He opened the first bag, pouring out what he needed to make a nice chamomile blend into the familiar clay pot that would hopefully soothe some of the restlessness they all had. Granted the two them were downing sugar right now so he wasn’t sure if this would do anything; as long as they were happy.

“Hey, Xion asked me a weird question the other day,” Ven said, barely audible because of the food in his mouth.

“Oh yeah?” Terra asked, looking up from the tea to glance at Aqua who was already looking back at him. To be fair, the things they had been through and the things new found friends had been through was the definition of weird. It really could be anything, but that didn’t stop the question from making the nerves in his stomach tighten. Aqua seemed to feel the same.

There were a lot of questions, and very little answers.

“Yeah,” Ven swallowed the bite of cake. “I meant to tell you earlier but I forgot.”

“Well, what is it?” Aqua asked, in an encouraging way, letting him know that they needed to have conversations about anything; she knew just as well not talking to each other is what got them into far bigger messes than they could’ve dreamed.

Ven reached take another forkful of cake. “She asked me if you guys were my parents.”

Terra fumbled the bag of herbs, knocking way too much into the pot. Aqua had a similar reaction as he could hear her choking slightly on her cake. That wasn’t exactly the question he was expecting.

“Which I mean, I told her no, cause you guys aren’t even that much older than me,” Ven continued, sitting up on the chair on his knees for better reach of the table. “I asked her why she thought that cause it was such a weird question, you know?”

Terra was trying to pour the tea leaves back into the bag and fix his mistake but he glanced over at the table.

“Oh?” Aqua asked, still trying to recover herself. “What did she say then?”

“She said that you guys just seemed like parents the way you looked out for me and everyone after, you know…” He paused for a second to get more cake. “After everything that happened. I asked her if maybe she meant you guys acted like you were married, cause you’re too young to have kids.”

Terra nearly dropped the bag of leaves again but he managed to keep it steady. He grabbed another blend to pour in but glanced over to the table. Aqua was still picking at the cake but he couldn’t see her face from here.

“Ah, Ven, you do realize you have to have, ah, a special relationship to get married right?” Aqua asked carefully.

He still had a mouth full of cake as he grinned at her. “Yep.”

When did he turn into such a smart ass? Terra was about to speak up to change the subject that was currently making his face feel hotter than it needed to be. Thankfully, the water broke to a boil next to him as a good distraction. He was well aware that his feelings never changed but now was really not time to face all of that head on.

Terra reached over to grab the pot and pour the water carefully into the teapot.

“Don’t talk with food in your mouth,” Aqua said, but it was very lighthearted; probably her effort to change the subject.

Ven audibly swallowed his food. “Yes, mom.”

“Ventus.”

It was too late, he had already dissolved into laughter because he apparently found himself hilarious.

“Alright, alright,” Terra said, carefully carrying over the mugs and the teapot as it brewed with the leaves. “How about balance the sugar some?”

Ven made a face but he grabbed a mug anyway. Terra placed one in front of Aqua but she was already moving out of her chair heading for the fridge. He put the teapot on a coaster between them to wait a few minutes longer but before he could even sit down on the chair next to hers, there was a plate of cookies placed in front of him.

“Dark chocolate and walnuts,” she said, sitting down again to pick up her fork.

“Gross,” Ven said, wrinkling his nose.

“Yeah, well, what if I said that cake you love so much was gross,” Terra snorted, pulling the plastic back so he could grab one of the cookies.

“Blasphemy.” Ven pointed his fork over to Terra.

He rolled his eyes but took a bite from the cookie. It tasted as to be expected from one of Aqua’s baked goods; which was in short, delicious. She should know this by now, but she was watching him for his reaction regardless. Maybe it was because it had been so long so wanted to make sure she could still do the things she used to or maybe because she was worried about him, he wasn’t sure. Terra looked over to Ven who was also watching for a reaction; Terra gave the blond a wink.

“Aqua,” he said, holding up the cookie slightly. “These are so good, I’d marry you right here and now.”

She stared at him for a second, but Ven quickly erupted into laughter making Terra crack a smile at her. “Oh, you two,” she said, though she had started to laugh too. “Don’t let anyone tell you you’re not brothers.”

“See,” Ven said. “Terra agrees.”

Aqua didn’t say anything else, she just took another bite of cake while he popped the rest of his cookie in his mouth. He reached forward to grab the teapot so he could pour it in the mugs.

A joke, it really had been a joke to make the both of them laugh. It worked well enough but at the same time Terra felt a warm feeling in his chest that had nothing to do with the hot tea he was pouring for her.

He moved to pour Ven’s cup before Terra went back to his own. He knew right now they were still figuring out how to get control of their lives again right now, wounds had to be healed, and a sense of normality had to be found. Everything else could wait; it didn’t stop his breath from hitching in his throat when she looked over to him, holding her mug to her lips.

“Thank you, Terra.”

“No, thank you,” he paused as he leaned back in his chair with his own mug. “For looking after me.”

She gave him a smile that almost made the nightmares seem like a distant memory. “Of course, that’s what I do.”

Ven was ignoring the tea and still going for the cake. “You guys are so sappy.”

He was adamantly ignored, though Aqua did reach over to push at his head lightly. “Drink some tea,” she said instead. “You’ll get a stomachache if you eat too much of it.”

The nights were still so dark, and the future uncertain, but Terra knew they’d make it through together; like they always had before. Aqua kept one hand on her mug but reached the other under the table, finding Terra’s so she could lace her fingers through it. She gave him a squeeze, a reassurance almost as if she could read his mind.

Ven was blowing at his tea. “I saw that.”

IV.

The sun shone in through the window in Terra’s room, bright enough to make him wince even though he was still comfortable in bed with his eyes firmly closed. A part of him knew that meant he slept in way too late, but he was too warm and the blankets were too soft for him to care.

He rolled over onto his side and mostly expected the rest of the bed to be empty since it was already sunrise. Even in his half-awake state he was pleasantly surprised to feel a warm body still tucked under the blankets. She was usually up so much earlier than him, he didn’t expect her to still be in bed.

Not that he was about to complain. Terra wrapped his arm around Aqua’s waist, pulling her back against him and letting his face burying into the familiar scent of her vanilla shampoo. She chuckled slightly, reaching a hand up to brush by his cheek and into his hair.

“Good morning.” Her voice still sounded sleepy like she hadn’t even been awake for that long.

“Morning,” he mumbled into her hair. “I wasn’t expecting you to still be here.”

She hummed, fingers gently rubbing against his head. “What? I can’t be lazy like you?”

“I’m not lazy. I just like sleep.”

She laughed again and he couldn’t keep the smile from pulling at his lips. His days were so bright now that even the nights weren’t as hard. Granted, going to sleep with her by his side and knowing she’d still be there in the morning helped significantly. When she did get up before him, she never was too far away. Terra still wasn’t sure if he had actually done anything good enough in his life to deserve her but as long as she kept smiling and laughing like she did now he wouldn’t question it.

“Well, I hope you slept well, cause it’ll be a busy day.”

“Define busy.”

“We have the meeting to determine if there’s a need to reopen the schooling element here and if the castle is suited to hold students again.” She paused for a moment, probably to stifle a yawn with the way she was breathing. “The other option being to open the castle as a sanctuary for travelers to stop on their way through the worlds. It’ll depend on many different things so it’ll probably take a good part of the day for discussions and choices.”

Terra made a snoring noise.

She swatted him on the side of his head but he felt her laughing. “Stop it,” she snorted. “You signed up for this, Master Terra.”

“Yeah, well, Master Eraqus should’ve been more upfront about how many meetings I’d have to sit through when I was a kid.”

“He knew better than that.”

Terra laughed as she gently started to play with her hair again. He may’ve joked but this was the only life he ever really wanted. For a while there it didn’t seem like this would ever be possible yet here he was. He’d go through a million meetings if she was sitting next to him.

She wasn’t wrong through. They were standing on the brink of another life changing event. If they decided there were enough kids being able to summon keyblades again then the school would open its gates once more. There would be new responsibilities as both teachers and heads of the worlds that would be thrown at them. They wouldn’t be the only ones since they weren’t the only masters who even lived here. Riku and Kairi both agreed to be willing to stay here to teach where Ven and Sora preferred to be out in the field to explore and help people; though both were willing to commit part time should they be needed. Lea and Roxas were more conflicted, not sure anyone would want to learn from them and the other half of their family and friends lived in Twilight Town. On the other hand if the castle would function as a space for weary keyblade wielders to rest then not much would change really.

“How much time do we have?” he asked, really not wanting to move yet.

“Depends,” she said. “What time we need to be there, or what time someone will come and get us for breakfast?”

“Banking on the latter.”

She chuckled but fell silent, lacing her fingers with his hair. He pressed a kiss to the back of her head, no desire in him to be anywhere but here.

This would never be old. He lost her for so long, thinking he’d never get her back, something he’d never take for granted again. It just…was always her, and it always would be. He felt warmth fill his chest just at the thought, letting out a sigh.

Aqua twirled her fingers against him slightly, her acknowledgement she heard him.

He had come back from the brink of the worst, his hands stained with terrible things but she welcomed him home with open arms. It took time, and recovery, but it was always done in understanding and in love. It’s what it was. He loved her more than he knew how to say; even in the simplest moments, laying in his bed joking about their potentially long and boring day. He wanted to have long and boring days with her forever. He wanted her to know that.

Terra’s mind was still hazy from sleep, from the unique warmth she brought him, from the desire to just spend the rest of his life with the woman in his arms. The words were out of his mouth before he even knew it.

“Marry me.”

Aqua didn’t move, she just continued to carefully play with his hair.

He snapped his eyes open when he realized what he actually said aloud. Panic crawled up his throat so fast he had to swallow the lump that formed there. He opened his mouth to say something, anything, else but nothing came out.

Did she even hear him? Did he want her to have heard him? It wasn’t like he didn’t mean it; he knew that without a doubt. But at the same time that wasn’t exactly how he ever thought he’d ask her. He didn’t even think far enough ahead to know he didn’t have a ring or anything to give her.

She rolled over under his arm, turning so she could face him and he had to swallow hard again to face the reality of this situation.

“Is that your tactic to stay in bed longer?” she asked, a teasing look on her face.

Oh, okay, she thought he was just joking. It was a weird sense of utter relief and disappointment.

“Did it work?” he asked instead, hoping the heat in his face wasn’t as apparent as it felt.

“Almost,” she said, nudging her face up to kiss him.

That was admittedly better. He reached a hand up to her cheek, holding her there so he could kiss her back. She moved her hand down to his shoulder, fingers trailing down his arm. Aqua slid up closer, pressing herself against him. He dropped his hand to her hip, slipping under her shirt to hold her lower back firmly. The soft noise from her lips already had heat swirling in the pit of his stomach, forgetting his momentary embarrassment easily enough.

“You’re not making it easy,” he breathed as she pulled back enough to pepper her jaw with kisses.

She hummed, tracing circles on his skin while she arched her head back for him. Before he got a chance to do much more, he felt her kick his leg over her waist and push her weight into him. Terra pushed himself up on his elbows when his back hit the bed. Aqua sat up, her legs on either side of his hips, giving him a grin that took his breath away. He ran his hands up her bare legs, until he reached the hem of his shirt she was wearing.

“Maybe I don’t want to make it easy,” she said.

He reached a hand up to the back of her head, pulling her down until her lips were on his. She groaned, her hands sliding up his shirt.  That was about the last of his willpower.

Until there was a loud knock at the door.

Aqua leaned her forehead against his with a sigh. Figures, he wasn’t sure why he was surprised.

“What?” Terra grunted, though he made no effort to actually move.

“You guys are taking too long,” Ven whined; which almost sounded strange since his voice was lower than it ever used to be and yet still so very Ven.

“So?” Terra asked.

“So I’m hungry.”

“You’re plenty capable of making your own food, Ventus.”

“How dare you deprive me a chance to have breakfast with my two favorite people.”

“You burnt the food you tried to cook didn’t you?”

Ven paused. “In my defense, I listened to Lea.”

Aqua chuckled as she tilted her head to press a quick kiss to Terra’s lips before she untangled herself from the blankets, to slip off the bed. “We’ll be right there, Ven.”

Terra reached up to rub at his face. He didn’t even have to have kids of his own to understand what it felt like to be a parent.

It was quiet outside but there also weren’t any footsteps walking away.

“Yes?” Aqua asked as she slipped on the leggings she had been wearing the night before.

“I don’t trust you.”

She rolled her eyes enough to make Terra try not to laugh. She grabbed the doorknob and pulled the door open, revealing Ven standing there with one hand slapped over his eyes. It was strange to see Ven taller than Aqua; a part of Terra always thought Ven would stay small but it wasn’t the truth. Growing up is what kids did.

“You’re being so dramatic, shoo,” she said, pushing him lightly into the hall. “I’m coming.” She looked back to Terra who still hadn’t moved. “We’re coming.”

“Yeah, yeah,” he said, kicking his legs over the edge of the bed to push himself up.

Aqua was poking at Ven in the side to get him to start moving. Yet it was clear by the way he was laughing and swatting her away without actually walking, he was waiting for Terra to come too. He ran his hand through his hair as he stood up, stretching his arms over his head. Ven had started trying to tickle Aqua back, which she was always very weak to, her laugh ringing through the hallway as she tried to get him to stop.

Despite being pulled out of bed somewhat against his will, he still felt a smile on his lips. His own words rang in his head; that was the only laugh he needed to hear for the rest of his life. Next time he’d actually be prepared and ask her right.

V.

Destiny Island really was beautiful. Not only for the tropical trees, the familiar star shaped fruit, the warm ocean air, but also the waterfall splashing into the blue sea, the white sand that never got too hot. Then there was the vibrant sunset that would set over the horizon casting the most stunning colors Terra had ever seen. Romance admittedly wasn’t his strongest point, but he figured a sunset on the beach was a good place to start.

Now if he could only stop feeling like he was going to possibly vomit on the soft sand it might make it a little better.

He could hear the laughter behind him, the others either playing on the beach or snacking on the food that laid around. It wasn’t anything to celebrate really, just another year of lives lived to the fullest. It became a loose tradition to spend a day on the beach together at least once a year. It was a day when no one had to work or were traveling or too busy; just time to relax with the people you loved really.

Terra watched the waves crash against the beach as he sat in the sand, just out of the water’s reach. The breeze was both warm and cool at the same time, the salty air reminding him of all the times he came here; including the very first time. Riku and Sora were near babies and now they had been to hell and back. Well, they all had Terra supposed.

If he would’ve turned around he knew he’d see Ven hanging from one of the tree branches while Kairi tried to throw food up at him so he could catch it in his mouth. Lea would be lounging nearby, usually never too far from the food. Isa probably sitting up listening to both Xion and Sora exclaim stories Isa heard a million times but would never say otherwise. Riku and Roxas sparring with old wooden swords on the beach while Namine watched on from the sidelines. Aqua would be nearby braiding flowers into the younger girl’s blonde hair.

While the people who visited changed as time went on as they grew from children to young adults, the island never changed. It was still the same ocean, same beach, same feeling of peace, same tropical flowers, same bridges, and the same star shaped that grew on the trees here. Its legend was where Aqua got the idea for their wayfinders, something that helped them all when they needed it the most. He figured it was about as good of a place as any to tell the person you loved you wanted to be with them forever. It was pretty and symbolic, that was romantic right?

Terra didn’t feel particularly romantic; in fact most of the others - including Aqua - had spent most the day asking him what was wrong. Guesses ranged from eating something that made him feel sick to coming down with some sort of fever, but really he just didn’t know how to do this. He wanted to, that wasn’t the issue, it was coming up with something good enough to say that actually expressed how he felt about her. He didn’t even know if he had the right words. A part of him really wished he had talked to Ven first, he was much better at this sort of stuff. Then again the reason Terra didn’t tell Ven was because then Aqua would know before Terra even got a chance. Secrets weren’t Ven’s strong point.

The wind blew off the waves, making Terra’s hair blow around. It was long enough that he could pull it back a little which provided at least some relief from the heat of the island. He sighed as he watched the colors from the sunset illuminate the skies. It really was beautiful.

He heard footsteps in the sand behind him, but one side glance at long legs told him who it was. Aqua sat herself down next to him, already wearing a sweater over her shirt and shorts to keep her warm as the heat of the sun started to fade.

“Hi,” she said, leaning her head down against his shoulder.

“Hey.” He leaned his head over hers while she snaked her hands around his upper arm. Terra almost wanted to close his eyes and just fall asleep. “All done making sure the kids don’t accidentally kill each other?”

“That’s a full time job so they’re on their own now.”

He snorted, a smile pulling at his lips despite his heart nearly feeling like it was going to pound out of his chest. The sunset was going on, everyone was distracted. Aqua was with him now and he could feel the small wooden box he made in his pocket; it was as best as it was going to get.

“Is something bothering you, Terra?” she asked, her voice a little softer than before.

“Ah, no, not at all. Today has been really nice.” Of course, Aqua would always notice if he was acting any different than the normal way he did. It was nearly impossible to pull anything over her eyes.

She lifted her head, making him turn to look at her. Her forehead was a little furrowed, like she was worried. “You just seemed distant, or upset.”

He reached a hand up to rub at the wrinkles, making her laugh instead. “I’m fine, don’t worry so much. I’d tell you if something was wrong.”

Aqua was still smiling as she considered his words and seemed to believe him in the least. “Okay.” She looked back ahead, leaning her head on his shoulder again. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”

“Very,” he said though it wasn’t so much in reference to the sunset, but the reflection of the sunset in her face.

“I could live here.”

“Like right here on the beach? Just set up a room and a bed right here?”

She swatted at his arm. “You know what I mean.”

“Is that really what you want?” he asked. “To live here near the beach?”

Aqua paused for a second, a small sigh falling from her lips. “No, it’s nice to visit but I love our home more.”

His throat felt a little dry as he knew he had a lead in here. Okay, it was okay, he was pretty sure she’d say yes, so he had nothing to worry about. Right? Though he supposed if she wasn’t ready she could say no.

Oh yeah, that thought process didn’t help him feel better in the least.

“Ah, yeah, me too.”

She hummed but didn’t say anything else, eyes just watching the sun start to sink below the horizon.

“It wouldn’t really matter though,” he breathed. “Anywhere with you is home.”

“Oh, that was pretty smooth.”

“Thank you,” he snorted;. She was the one person he never had to worry about having a conversation with, so why should this be any different? “It’s true though. Any place, any time, doesn’t matter.”

She started to trace some circles on his arm as she lifted her head, eyes looking to him with that soft smile of hers on her face. “Me too.” Maybe she knew, he couldn’t really tell. It was possible she’d know what he was trying to say without having to say it.

Terra shifted slightly, trying to make his pocket easier to get to without being obvious about it. “Do you remember when we were kids? And we had to study all those old traditions?”

Aqua nodded slowly, like she was a little unsure what he was getting at but was still being encouraging about it.

“You told me about weddings and I told you it sounded gross.”

She laughed aloud, recognition in her eyes. “Yes, you were so insistent.”

“I was ten, what did you expect?” he asked, unable to keep the laughter that bubbled up in him down. Maybe that was the nerves too; just a few more words, that’s all he needed. “I still said if I had to pick anyone, I’d marry you.”

She didn’t move or blink, eyes just watching him. His hand was nearly shaking as he tried to reach for his pocket, the words he said in his head a million times on the tip of his tongue.

Until he suddenly felt a torrent of water dump down over his head.

He froze. His hair was sticking down onto his face, and shirt and shorts already seeping with water. Even the sand under him was sticky with the excess water. Aqua gasped as she moved to quickly push her now wet hair from her face. He felt disoriented for a moment, but the hysterical laughter snapped him out of his surprise real quick.

Terra reached up to brush his sopping wet bangs from his face, turning around just in time to see Xion and Sora quickly toss empty buckets off to the side, with Roxas looking none too innocent behind them. All three of them were still laughing but slowly backing away like they knew what was probably coming.

It was impossible to be mad looking at their gleeful eyes as they laughed without a care in the world. Even though they just interrupted something he had been trying to get the courage to do all damn day. There was a time when these kids couldn’t be kids; they couldn’t laugh so freely and they couldn’t be teenagers. Terra could never get mad at them for just being happy to live life. That was all he was doing after all.

“It was their idea,” Xion snickered.

“What?! It was not!” Sora said, reaching over to push at her. “Entirely my idea.”

“Entirely,” Roxas repeated with a snort.

Aqua huffed as she shook her hands to get the excess water off. She didn’t look mad either, in fact she looked like she was going to start laughing at any second in pride of them being able to sneak up so soundly. “Ready then?” she asked, and he didn’t have to question what she meant.

Terra pushed himself to his feet. “You better hope you’re fast.”

The three cried out as they turned to run along the beach.

Terra reached a hand down to help Aqua up, before letting his feet slide in the sand to chase after them. She was on his heels, running just as fast.

He had been trying to pick the perfect time and moment, with the best setting. But as the kids ducked under one of the bridges, pushing each other alone while they laughed Terra thought maybe he didn’t need to pick the right moment. It would just happen when it was supposed to. Aqua was laughing next to him as the sun almost disappeared into the ocean, the stars and moon popping up in the sky. Ven was shouting out condolences to the trio who were still running away. It was still a good day, and would be a good night. Everything could still wait, time wasn’t an issue anymore.

For now, he had some teenagers to throw in the water.

VI.

There was nothing like the night sky in the Land of Departure. Terra could go to a million different worlds and the stars would never compare. He supposed he was biased though; he spent his whole life looking up at the stars with Aqua. Then Ven a little later on, and then the kids who would come to visit or stay with them here.

Sometimes he’d watch them from his room, sometimes from Aqua’s room when he had snuck in late at night, sometimes from the training areas on the cliff, or the windows of the library. But he thought his favorite might be from the fields in the summer time, when the nights were warm and the grass was green and fresh. From there it was almost like there was nothing but sky and stars. Again he could be biased since Aqua was currently sitting in front of him, nestled between his legs as her back rested up against his chest. He was leaning back slightly, hands propped up in the grass behind him as he watched a shooting star shoot across the sky.

“There was one,” she said, pointing upwards. “Did you see it?”

“Yeah, I did. What number is that now?”

She leaned her head back against his shoulder, her hair tickling his nose. “Three,” she sighed but even from his angle he could see the smile on her face as the moonlight reflected in it.

“Did you make all your wishes?” He tried not to yawn, knowing if he did she’d want to back inside but it was a long exhausting day so he knew he didn’t do a very good job hiding how tired he was. Still, the peace outside with just her was relaxing; he didn’t want to leave yet.

“Couldn’t tell you if I did.”

“I think Master  told us wishes don’t come true if you tell someone else, so he’d have a break from us telling him how much we wanted to be keyblade masters.”

Aqua chuckled. “That isn’t the only thing I wished for.”

“Oh yeah? What else did you wish for then?”

She turned her head to look over to him. “This.”

“What?”

Aqua shrugged. “Even when I was younger, I wished for a time when we could sit under the stars and not have to worry about anything else.”

Terra pushed himself up, moving his hands to wrap around her waist, making her giggle when her pressed his cheek to hers. “So even when you were a kid you had a crush on me, huh?”

“Stop it,” she snorted, reaching a hand up to push his face away. “You already knew that.”

“Yeah, can’t say I didn’t wish for the same thing once upon a time.”

“Ohh?” she said a little sing-songy “Terra had a crush on a girl.”

He squeezed her making her laugh again. “I did, even though she drove me crazy sometimes.”

“Only sometimes?”

“I’m being very generous.”

Aqua chuckled as she leaned her head against his, a small sigh on her lips. It was quiet for a moment; just the sound of the crickets, the wind in the grass, the animals in the forest hidden from view.

“Terra, are you happy?”

At first he thought he didn’t hear her right. “What? Of course I am. This is what we always wanted.”

She shrugged, clearly not convinced enough with his answer. “I know, but we didn’t quite get here how we thought we would.” Aqua paused for a moment. “And they were childhood dreams, people change as they get older. Dreams change sometimes.”

“Have they changed for you?”

“No, no,” she said. “They never have. I’m happy, I’m very happy, but I want you to be too.”

It was a simple question really; making sure the person you loved was happy with life. Yet it was such an Aqua thing to worry about. He almost wondered how long it had taken her to actually ask him. It would be easy to answer her, to reassure her that he was happy here with their lives. He was, that wasn’t even a question in his mind, but the weight in his pocket was suddenly heavy, reminding him of its presence.

He waited and waited for the moment that would strike him the most; even taking the ring from the box so it wasn’t quite as obvious what he kept with him. This time though he found he wasn’t even nervous as he reached for the ring, pulling it out until he could hold between his fingers in front of them.

“My dreams have never changed,” he said.

She didn’t say anything, she just watched the way the small jewel caught the moonlight.

“Aqua?”

She made some sort of choked noise he assumed was her trying to answer him.

“Will you marry me?”

This time the noise was almost more like a choked cry, but she was nodding her head. “Yes, yes, of course.”

It seemed his nerves kicked in the last second nearly fumbling the ring. “What, really?”

“Yes, really, dummy,” she laughed, reaching one hand up to rub at her eyes. “I love you.”

Careful not to drop it in the dark field where Ven would absolutely never let Terra live down, he slid the ring on her finger. He didn’t even really have time to process what happened before Aqua turned in his arms. She wrapped hers around him so tightly she knocked him off balance, falling backwards into the soft grass.

Aqua pushed herself up, watching him with a smile he always got used to as one for him, eyes glistening in the moonlight. Terra didn’t always know what his path was, if he’d make the right choices if he’d make the wrong choices. This one, this one he knew was right.

“I love you too.”

She leaned down to kiss him as he reached his hand up through her hair. In that moment he thought even a million years wouldn’t be enough to tell her how much she meant to him. Since the day a six year old, blue haired girl walked in through the doors of the castle and taught him what it was like to have a friend, a companion, and a partner.

Terra was still more than willing to try.