if you want some plot driven, character to character, no xReader Fics, check out my AO3!
I’m not always logged into Tumblr so I might not reply instantly, if for whatever reason you want to chat and have a faster response, hit me up on my twitter!
So I just had an idea for a randomized character/trope series I thought could be fun. Like, I have a random wheel of all the characters I write for and a bunch of fanfic tropes, idk how many I would do, but I was wondering if anyone would be interested in something like that???
not a request, but i absolutely love your posts, just wanted to let you know <3
Oh em gee thank you????? Your so sweet????? I might love you????? I love reading these types of fics myself so I started this blog as just a side thing but I’m so glad people enjoy my writing ♡
hi! could i request a fluffy Lloyd garmadon x reader scenario where they’re waking up together? (established relationship) im just a sap for lazy morning kisses and snuggles 😭
anyways love ur writing!! 💗💗
Early Mornings
Lloyd Garmadon x Reader
~~~
oh my gosh, thank you!! so sorry this took so long, I'm trying to get to answering my asks rn since I have a bit of a break from work. This was so cute, thank you for this ask! <3
~~~
The gentle rocking of The Bounty roused you awake, much as it had soothed you to sleep the night before. Sunlight streamed in from the open window, silk curtains swaying gently in the breeze. It was nice, serene, calm. There weren't many mornings where you were able to wake up like this, being a part of the ninja team required sacrifices; like the sacrifice of a quiet morning.
You shifted under the covers, reaching a hand up to rub the sleep out our eyes. You pulled your other hand out from under the pillow, shaking the pins and needles away as you reached down to the covers; they had been pushed down around your waist during your sleep. Warmth enveloped you once again.
A yawn forced its way from your throat as you flipped over to face the man next to you. Lloyd looked beautiful in the morning light; you were glad he had time to relax like this, even if the opportunities were sparse. He was laying on his side and you took that as a silent invitation. You scooted closer, snuggling into his chest, hoping for just a few more minutes before you had to get up and start your, no doubt, exhausting day to come.
Lloyd groaned when you wrapped your arms around his slim waist, burying your face into the crook of his neck. You imagined his lashes fluttering as his eyes opened, adjusting to the gentle light, licking his dry lips, and ruffling his bed head with steady hands.
You felt his breathing change, slightly faster and more aware. His arms circled your pajama clad body, one hand settling on your hip, the other trailing upwards to trace shapes into your exposed shoulder.
“G’morning, sweets….” He mumbled into your hair. You smiled into his neck and tightened the hug briefly as your own greeting. “How long have you,” he paused to yawn, “been up?”
“Not long.”
“Hm,” Lloyd brought a hand up to your face, cupping your cheek and tilting it to face him. Your neck craned painfully, but you didn't complain when he pressed his lips to yours; you could feel him smile into the kiss. It only lasted a few moments, but that didn't make it any less wonderful. He pulled away, hand still resting against your cheek, thumb rubbing underneath your eye. “You look really pretty right now.” He kissed your forehead before you both laid back down into your previous positions.
“Can we stay like this for a little longer?” you asked, playing with the ends of his hair between your fingers. You felt a laugh rumble deep within his chest.
“You read my mind.”
You smiled softly, and pressed your ear to his chest. His heart beat thrummed loudly, steady, there. You loved your day to day, you were so proud of Lloyd and all he’s accomplished, and you wouldn't have anything any other way. But, you couldn't help but wish for more moments like this as you began to slip into sleep once again.
I just noticed you haven’t been active for a while and thought I’d check in, see if you’re okay
oh haha, yes I am! I just moved, started school again, got a job, and have been focused on my Ao3 fics, so I've been really busy lately! once I have a bit more free time I'll try to get back into this.
Hello! First of all, I hope you are having an excellent day! Second, may I request some dating Macaque hcs?? Please and thank you!! ^^
Dating Macaque Headcanons~
~~~~~
Notes: Hello!! Thank you so much for requesting, so sorry this took me so long, I've literally been writing this in a little notebook during my breaks at work lol
Hope this is to your liking, enjoy!
also, sorry if there's any spelling mistakes!
~~~~~
To start off, I think we would all love to say dating Macaque would be sunshine and rainbows, he would love you and treat you perfectly
But let's be real here
Macaque is an asshole lmao
Even getting him to date you is a hassle itself
But let's not get into that atm
He loves you a lot, don't get me wrong, he just has a very, very hard time showing it
Depending where in the series we’re talking about it's going to be quite different, but let’s just assume this is after LBD, ‘kay?
‘Kay
During this time Macaque is a lot more likely to stay in one place with you
Yes, maybe that consists of him popping into your apartment every now and then, but you slowly start seeing things around your place that aren’t yours
Piles of clothes, food, a toothbrush, his scarf at one point, all that jazz
But, this domestic scene is very… forgein to him
He’ll gladly sit down and watch your favourite stupid, predictable TV show with you for hours, but he’ll critique it the entire time
He insists that he help you cook, even though he knows even less than you and it always turns out a mess
You don’t even have to ask him to go shopping with you, he’ll use his shadows to get there quickly but will just stand beside you as you shop, not helping whatsoever
As I said in the last post, Macaque is very touch starved
But he also hates it lol
He doesnt think he deserves your touches
You’re just so perfect, how could you ever be happy settling for him?
If your dating Macaque, you’ll definitely have to make a few changes in your day to day life
Starting with the physical changes
Not to you, of course
If you want him to sleep beside you you’ll have to push your bed against a wall if it isn’t already, or else he’s sleeping on the couch, peace out
You’ll have to get used to telling him where your going/where you are when not with him
Not in a creepy, possessive, stalker-y way, but because he’s the ‘Six Eared Macaque’, he’s got a lot of very old, and very powerful enemies
Granted, most of those enemies are on the good side and wouldn't stoop that low to get to him,,,,
Doesn't matter, he’s worried about you
Speaking of said heroes,
If you happen to be friends with MK and co. he’s not going to be very enthused
Especially if you talk to Wukong
Macaque wants to puke when you come home smelling like peaches
If you happen to run into them while with him, or they stop by while he’s there, things are going to be kinda awkward
Half of them are trying to talk to him, some are keeping a respectful distance, and some are glaring like he held them by the throat and forced them to take on this really obscure dangerous weapon that even its creator couldn't handle and that might have killed them and the entire world or sumthin
Idk
Anyway
HE’LL PUT ON SHADOW PLAYS FOR YOU!!!
He’ll teach you how to make certain shadow puppets, but like the normal way with your hands
His are always better but he has powers so it doesn't count
Before Macaque initiates any physical affection he will always ask
“Can I kiss you?” while holding your chin
“Can I hug you?” while physically holding himself from reaching for you
Along with that, he always makes sure you have a way out throughout everything
All you have to do is say ‘stop’ and he’ll pretend like it never happened
Macaque dreads the day you’ll finally wake up and realize you deserve so, so much better than him
He’s done despicable things in his long life, how can you love him knowing that? It’s really just a matter of time, he’s sure
But, even then, he’s going to savour every single moment he has with you
Macaque is just a little bit too selfish to have this end so soon
Sun Wukong, Macaque, Red Son x Gn! reader (separate)
~
Notes: Hello! This is my first time writing for LMK as I just started watching the show four days ago and binged it soooo,,,, kinda hyper fixated lol
~
~
Sun Wukong~
Wukong LOVES how affectionate you are and is just as touchy as you are!
One of his favourite things to do is cuddle on the couch with you, your hands playing with his fur and his tail wrapped snugly around your waist as you two watch one of his cheesy TV shows
Will constantly literally crawl all over you, perching on your shoulders, all that good stuff
He is not shy whatsoever with PDA
Will hold your hand, kiss you, hug you, fuck you
If your more of a private touchy, he will tone it down to wrapping his tail around your waist or wrist as you walk together
Speaking of,,,
His tail is VERY sensitive, especially near the tip
If you play with it, petting it gently while you cuddle he will absolutely melt in your grasp
And purr
He purrs a lot
First time it happened he was embarrassed as fuck, tried to gaslight you into thinking you farted or sumthin
And while he is not opposed to kissing you anytime of the day no matter where you are, if you kiss him out of the blue he is going to be a lot more flustered
He will SWOON, BITCH
SWOON
All tension leaves him, he has a lovesick smile on his face, his tail shapes a heart, the whole shabang
He may love it if you're touchy, but he will not like it if you're clingy.
He’s the Monkey king! Great sage equal to heaven! He’s got important stuff to do!
Not saying that you aren't important to him, but
Y’know
Immortal monkey king stuff
There are some things he cannot and will not involve you, or anyone he cares about, in. It’s just much too dangerous
But!
When he comes back from these dangerous adventures, you can hold him until you both fall asleep
~
Wukong sighs happily, laying with his head on your chest, your hand buried in his hair and scratching his scalp absentmindedly as you keep your gaze on the TV. His tail whips back and forth lazily and he traces random shapes into your side with his short claws. He snickers when you shiver beneath him. He smirks into your neck and quickly moves his tail up to your face, flicking it gently under your nose before you can register it there.
“A-ah! Wukong!” You bat his tail away as you sneeze, he giggles into your neck and squeezes your waist. “What the hell?” You snatch his tail out of the air and start to fiddle with it as you go back to the TV show. Wukong stills above you before he absolutely melts into your arms. He almost falls between you and the back of the couch as his eyes slip closed.
You glance down at him when a soft purring meets your ears. You can feel his chest rumble against you. Your eyes narrow as you take in his blissed out expression, then the tail sitting innocently in your hands.
Revenge was in your hands.
You tug playfully at his tail and relish the shrill ‘eep!’ he yelped out. He sat up away from you, zipping to the other side of the couch before you could blink, a playful glare lighting up his face. He cradled his tail in his hands, petting the tip gently. “What was that for?!”
“You did it to me!” You laugh.
“You pulled my tail!” Wukong whines, still holding his tail.
“Pssshh. You’ve been thrown through mountains before.” You roll your eyes fondly at his dramatics. You turn back to the TV and pat the cushion next to you. “C’mon, oh Great Sage.”
You heard him let out a ‘hmph!’ and you turn back to him only to see his arms are crossed and he’s facing away from you. But, at the angle you were sitting, you could see a ghost of a smile pushing his cheeks up.
You smile fondly before reaching over your side of the couch and into an overnight bag you had brought along. Pulling out a fluffy blanket and a (hopefully not crushed) bag of Peach Chips. You spotted Wukong’s ears perk up at the crinkling of the snack bag. You crawl over the small distance between the two of you and curl up beside him, resting your head on his shoulder and pulling the blanket around both of you.
You saw his nose twitch as you handed him the snack, a sly smile on your lips.
“Hm, I guess I forgive you.” He snatches the bag from you and rips it open practically before he finishes talking.
“Love you, too.” You mutter quietly as you cuddle into his side. You smile again when a fluffy tan blur enters your vision, gently rubbing your cheek before settling around your shoulders.
Macaque~
Does not like affection
But is touch starved and craves it
Don't tell anybody
Tries to convince both you and himself that he hates it
But you know the truth
The way he sighs happily when scratch behind his ears, how he almost doesn't notice when he grabs your hand when your cold, tucking both his and yours into his pocket, the way he always touches you even when it's not necessary
He doesn't often stay in one place for long so it's always a long time between your meetings
Most of the time he arrives in the night, shifting through the shadows into your room, crawling into bed next to you and drifting off to sleep with his tail wrapped around you
When you two first slept in the same bed it was a wild ride
No not like that
Macaque is.. Traumatized to say the very least, but likes to act like nothing bothers him
But it becomes obvious when he can't sleep unless his back is facing a wall, he curls up with his arms wrapped protectively around himself, the works
It honestly makes you sad, but his tail around your waist assures you he’s okay, and him, you
He’s very subtle with his affection and in turn expects the same from you
The most he will allow in public is hand holding, but considering he can teleport or travel quickly through shadows you usually don't have the chance for people to see you anyway
Macaque is very insecure about his own self worth, and he constantly wonders if your affections are genuine
Do you really love him? Him? Why would you love him when you are so so so perfect and could have anyone you want? Someone who isn't broken?
Its my personal headcanon that he doesn't have a lot of body fur left, most of it unable to grow due to excess amount of scars and burns from,,, well from hell
It takes a while, but when you do eventually get intimate you MUST praise and reassure him
And that is not a problem for you, you happily do so
Will honestly tear up a little if your cuddling in a quiet moment between the two of you and you trace his scars, kiss them, tell him he’s pretty
AAHHH I LOVE THIS SAD EMO MONKEY
~
Rain pitter pattered against your bedroom window, it was briefly blocked when Macaque emerged from his shadow, looking into your bedroom. He held his hands up to the window around his eyes as he peered inside. A small smile graced his feature as he spotted you, his lovely s/o, sleeping soundly under your covers. He placed his hand against the wall and a shadow portal appeared, he quickly walked through it, appearing inside of your room soundlessly.
Carefully avoiding all the nicknacks and clothes littering your floor he made his way to your bed where you lay. He pauses beside you, gently reaching a hand down to brush the hair out of your face. You were sleeping in your usual place on the outer side from where your bed was placed against the wall. He knew you slept there, never by the wall, all in hopes he would come back to you in the night and you would wake up beside him.
Macaque leaned down and gently kissed your head, his tail caressing your bare arm. He fell into the shadow beneath him without a sound and emerged through the wall above the bed, bouncing slightly as he landed atop the covers beside you. He lifted the fluffy duvet and silently slipped under, pausing when you shifted in your sleep. He laid down, pressing his back to the wall as you turned over, a sleepy smile gracing your beautiful face.
“Hey, Mac….” You reached a hand forward and he met it halfway with his tail, the furry appendage curling gently between your fingers. You brought it to your mouth and kissed it gently. Macaque was suddenly very glad the dark cover of night hid the extra red adorning his cheeks. “G’night..” You slurred moments before you slipped back into unconsciousness.
Macaque stayed awake for a few moments longer, looking at you, taking in your features, committing them to memory like this would be the last time he would be with you. He smiled again, a rare genuine smile that felt forein to wear as he curled up under the warmth of the covers, pulling his knees to his chest.
“Good night, Princess.”
Red Son~
Gasp
What is this?
Normal, healthy, love and affection???
It can't be!
Gets really flustered any time you show him an OUNCE of affection he is done for
He gets so flustered and when he gets flustered he gets angry
Not at you tho
Er kinda
Anyway
You’ll have to be very, very selective when you give him affection
If your in front of his parents, he’ll get flustered and defensive
If you're in public around strangers, he gets weirdly jealous?
If your around his, f-f-f *casually throws up* f-frIeNdSss, he’ll be so humiliated he can never face any of them again. He’s a demon, the son of The Demon Bull King for goodness sake!
But, if you're in private, he’ll accept your advances without much more than getting huffy.
Red Son is not one for very touchy feely moments, he likes more quiet, subtle, domestic affection.
One situation you find yourself in constantly is sitting beside him as he tinkers in his workshop. The quiet peace between the two of you is never awkward or dull either.
He’s preoccupied fiddling with his nerd things and is comforted by the fact that your just,,, there
There with him
Kind of off topic but he was STRESSED when you first met his parents, their approval means a lot to him
The mere thought of them not liking you is both absurd and horrifying
Okay back on topic
When you first got together you didn’t exactly realize how he embarrassed he could get
In hindsight it seems pretty obvious but oh well
You grabbed his hand once out of the blue and his hair set fire
He gets SOOO cocky if you think his fire is cool
It really just gives you more ammunition to cuddle with
Oh, it's cold today? NOT FOR LONG
He’ll reluctantly let you drag him to his bed and climb under the covers with you, focusing on his power so he can heat you up and hopefully not set you on fire
That would probably not be good
He would be a lot more willing to go along with, and return your affectionate gestures if you could keep up with him on the daily
He teases you, you tease him, he does something amazing, you praise him, ect.
There are a few times when he will initiate
Usually quiet moments, or when your feeling down, or when your mad at him and he tries to apologize
It never fails to make you feel better when he slides in beside you and slips his hand in yours and let you lean against him
All in all, I 1000% recommend angry fire boy to cuddle with. Very toasty
~
“Could you hand me that screwdriver?” Red Son's voice breaks the peaceful silence between the both of you. You look up from the book in your hands to see one of his extended out to you, his head buried in his current project.
Looking over to the tray of tools beside you, you grab a small black and yellow one with a flat tip and place it in his awaiting palm. “This one?”
“Yea- wait, no, the green one.”
“Oohh.” you quickly switch the tools, handing him the right one this time. He mutters what you think is a ‘thanks’ and dives back into tinkering. You gently close your book and set it on the table. You lean forward, resting your head on his shoulder as you peered at the scrap metal in his lap. “Watcha making?”
“Well, at first it was going to be an extension to that car over there,” he jabs a finger over to the right, you follow it to see a sleek red car he had just completed the week before. It's too bad they get destroyed most of the time, all of his mechs were really pretty. “But now I think it’s…” He trails off, spinning the contraption in his hands, trying to find an angle that made it look like something recognizable.
“..A waffle maker.?” You offer. Sure, the waffles would be a misshapen ball, but a waffle nonetheless.
He turns to you confused as you slip into the seat beside him. “What the hell is a waffle?”
“Ah, a popular western breakfast food.”
“Huh. Sounds stupid.”
You roll your eyes, hand trailing upwards to play with his red hair. “Well, whatever it turns out to be, I’m sure it’ll be perfect, Red.”
His chest puffs up and he turns to you with a cocky smirk, “well, of course it will! It was made by me!”
“Sure, sure, whatever you say, Red.” You wrap your arms around his and lay your head on his shoulder again. You realize quickly that clinging to his arm would hinder his ability to work so you go to let go, only to be stopped by Red Son resting his head atop yours. He really didn't seem to mind the slow pace.
You leaned up quickly to kiss his cheek before settling back into place, snuggling into him further when his body heat suddenly ramped up. Not that you minded, of course, for a castle with lava as decor, it could get surprisingly cold down there.
Pregnancy (mentions are okay, just nothing in depth)
Incest
Omegaverse
Male reader (sorry, but I am not a guy, I really don’t think I’d do it justice)
Sub! reader
Dom! character
What I’ll CONSIDER writing:
Yandere (I am very iffy on this, I’ll only do it for already dark characters that fit this trope. But, only for the extreme Yandere stuff, I don’t want to write just toxic characters)
What I WILL write:
Fluff
Angst
Smut
Character death
Dark themes (I will do practically anything, the more depraved, the better)
Age gap (as long as its legal)
Dom! reader, Top! reader, Bottom! reader
Sub! character, Top! character, Bottom! character
~
If what you want isn’t on here, feel free to ask.
I don’t want to fill this will smut kinks and stuff like that, I’ll do a lot, though, so don’t be shy!
~
Please check my Bio if requests are open. You can always send one in, but if they are closed, I cannot guarantee I will write it immediately or at all!
I’m not gonna pretend I haven’t written anything because I was preparing all the ABC Fics, because I haven’t. I’m just a master class procrastinator! yay!
Anyway, I literally just finished HOO, The Lost Hero today, so if Leo’s character is a little shaky, I apologize! It’s also my first time writing for anyone in the Percy Jackson series. I fell in love with this series but no one in my real life reads them so now this is my outlet :’)
~~~
Finally, after days of defeating cyclopses and mother nature herself (basically anyway), Leo has a chance to sit back and relax. Okay, well, not ‘relax’ per se, he and his cabinmates (it felt weird to call them half-siblings still) had to finish the blueprints for Argo II and get to building ASAP. but for now, all Leo wanted to do is kick back and enjoy Camp-Half-Blood for what it is.
First off, breakfast was heavenly. The food was top notch and the choose-and-you-shall-receive- goblet? Genius! Obviously, it was magic, but still. The grass was soft underneath his shoes as he walked through the fields. He had decided to keep the free outfit Aphrodite had given him. Mostly anyway. He swapped the pinstripe pants for some rolled-up jeans and the shoes for a pair of work boots. Unfortunately, the sweet Ray Bans had gone missing almost immediately after getting to camp, so that was a bummer. Someone from the Ares cabin had called out his bright red suspenders so he had decided to wear them till his last breath. Just because.
Anyway! As he got closer to the training arena, he could hear grunts and clanging of swords. He rounded the corner and saw a few kids sparring with each other. Three pairs. One set had a guy on the shorter side who was actually winning the fight against his opponent, a bigger guy who used an axe instead of a sword.
Next was what looked to be an older camper teaching a younger girl the basics. He let the girl jab at him slowly, adjusting her form every time.
Then finally, the last pair was a guy who was like, a foot taller than him with piss yellow hair that was styled up. He had a broken sword, his shield was a few feet away from him. His opponent was obviously winning. They were….
Woah
Leo was interested in the training before, but then he saw you.
You only had a sword, but you were practically killing the guy. You slashed and parried and blocked then slashed again, all in a graceful dance. The only armour you wore was a bronze breastplate and leather elbow pads over your bright orange tank top and workout shorts. You had put your hair up in a ponytail but it had come loose somewhere in your match, hair flowing down and into your face but you didn't seem bothered. Your gaze was set in a determined glare and your busted lip looked like smudged lipstick when you wiped it.
You were beautiful. Exactly Leo’s type. A hot badass who can hold her own and who looks great while doing so? Sign him up. Said badass who will absolutely ignore him and who would probably spit on his grave? You don’t need to ask him twice!
Now usually, with Leo’s especially bad case of ADHD, he can’t sit still for long, but you caught his attention and held onto it with a vice grip. He couldn't look away from you.
Sure, his luck with the ladies was lacking, and every other time he went for one of your kind it went horribly wrong, Ice Princess was his latest escapade who tried to kill him and his friends. Did he learn anything from that? Absolutely not!
So, with false confidence oozing from his pores, Leo marched up to the arena to wait until you finished your- oh, would you look at that? You're done.
“Hey! I’m Leo, new here, you totally demolished that dude.” said dude was knocked out on the floor so Leo didn't mind his words.
You looked back at him with a quirked brow and briefly scanned him up and down. Leo shivered under your gaze.
“Oh, yeah, your one of the three who went on the quest.” you sheathed your sword and walked down the steps to meet him in the grass. Inwardly, Leo was shaking in glee. You didn't dismiss him immediately!
Now, just don't fuck it up, Valdez, he thought to himself.
“Yeah, it was no biggie, just some cyclopses, wind spirits, an evil saleswoman, and a dead guy. Oh, and I kinda saved Hera, but like, it's whatever.” he crossed his arms and tried to look smug but your deadpan expression was making him sweat.
“‘You saved Hera’? All on your own? Wow, you are cool.” he could almost smell the sarcasm and disbelief in your words.
Great job, moron, you fucked it up!
“Oh, well, Piper and Jason helped too.”
“Well, I’m gonna go on a whim here and say they did more than ‘help’.” you breezed past him and for a moment Leo slumped with disappointment. Another possible future with a hot girl wasted. But then he saw you waving a finger at him, motioning to follow you. He quickly glanced behind him to make sure you were in fact, telling him to follow and when he saw no one but knocked out Jonny Bravo over there, a giddy smile broke out on his face and he rushed to catch up with you.
“So,” you said when he finally caught up beside you. “I hear you’re pretty good in the forges. You fixed the dragon-”
“Festus.”
“Festus along with a bunch of cool stuff on your quest?”
It was silent for a moment before he realized you were waiting for an answer. “Uh, yes! Yes, I did that. Easy peasy lemon squeezy.”
You laughed, which Leo took as a massive win. “Great, then I have a request.”
Now, Leo’s interest was double-peaked. A cute girl wanted him to make her something? He raised a brow in a silent question.
“My sword.” you stopped and pulled your sword out. It was a long blade made of Celestial Bronze. Around the handle was a leather strap wrapped around it many times over.
He held out his hands and you gently deposited the weapon in them. “What's wrong with it?” he said as he examined the shiny blade. There was something about celestial bronze that just looked…. Magical. Maybe it was the shimmer and glare it gave off when the sun hit it.
“I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. This is my sixth one but it still feels too light? Heavy? Is it weird to say both?” you asked with a slight red tint to your cheeks.
Leo shook his head in the negative. “Not at all, my sweet hero.” you rose an amused brow at the nickname. “I’ve never made a blade this big before, or with celestial Bronze for that matter. But!” he cut you off when you opened your mouth to speak. “I wouldn't be called Leo The Great Mechanic And Ladies Man Valdez without reason, now would I?”
“No one has ever called you that.”
“No, they haven't,” he said plainly. you laughed into your hand and Leo's chest puffed up with pride. “But seriously, I think I can whip something up pretty quickly.”
“Thanks a bunch, Leo. if you could have it done at least by Friday that’d be great.”
“What's Friday? Got a hot date?” he asked with maybe a little bit too much worry and curiosity.
You rolled your eyes. “No, Friday is capture the flag, you gotta be in tip-top shape if you wanna win.” he raised his hand in a mock salute and you smiled. You turned to walk away, only now of which Leo realizes you’ve been standing in front of the forge with several pairs of eyes peeking out at the both of you.
“Ah! Wait!” he fumbled with the sword to catch up to you. his hand shot out to grab your wrist. You turn around questioningly. “I uh, I never got your name.” he cursed himself for stuttering. “Unless of course, you’d like me to keep calling you ‘my sweet’?”
Nice save!
You smiled sweetly. His heart started to race and his cheeks prickled with heat when you gently grabbed his hands.
Is… is this it? Have I unknowingly waited my entire life for this one moment?
You gently maneuvered his hands away from where they’d had a death grip on the blade part, wincing at the small amount of blood that rubbed off. “Careful there, Leo The Great Mechanic And Ladies Man Valdez, if you lose your hand you might lose your title too.” When his grip was firmly on the handle you wiped his blood off your hands and onto your shirt. You stepped back, Leo wishes you stepped closer but that's not here nor there, looked him in the eyes and smiled again.
“The names Y/N, but you can call me Y/N The Crusher Of Men And Taker Of Hearts L/N.” you winked at him and turned away. Leo felt his heart slow down gradually. He didn't know how long he spent in the field staring at where you’d gone but when he eventually turned and trudged back to the forge, he still had a smile on his face.
He was bombarded with curious campers’ questions as soon as he entered and he boasted (deserved, he thought) to all of them how easy and totally not scary or bone-chilling that had been. When he made his way over to an empty bench the others had saved for him (awh, how sweet) he set down your sword and perked up as Nyssa walked by.
“That was Y/N from the Ares cabin. A lot nicer than some of their siblings but still. They come in about every week or so for either weapon or armour repairs so whoever’s not busy usually takes it up. Weird they asked you to fix their sword though.” then, like she hadn't just dropped the best most fabulous bomb on him, she walked away like nothing happened.
So you had gone out of your way to ask him (he came up to your first but he wasn't gonna think about that) to fix- no, make you a whole new sword? You trusted that he would be able to do what the other Hephaestus kids couldn’t? Leo smirked.
Synopsis: You work in a small town bakery and when a man you recognize as your childhood friend stumbles in, you end up spilling some held in feelings.
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Notes: Uhm, so- I started writing this but then I realized I’m sad today so this got a lot more self indulge-y then I meant it to be. sorry, but also not? but sorry if its a little all over the place. whoops. I tried to make it Gn, please let me know if I made any mistakes!
and uh,, 2k words?? what did I do
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The scent of carrot cake wafted from the oven. Pulling on the bubblegum pink store-branded oven mitts, you pulled the dessert out and set it onto a cooling rack in the fridge that you had set out earlier. Turning off the oven with a ‘beep!’ you took the mitts off, set them into the drawer, and shut it with your hip as you walk past. They were cute, pink with white accents, along with almost everything else in the store.
Your ‘uniform’ consisted of latex gloves, a frilly apron, a mask, and a bandana covering your hair; all of which were the same shade of pink. The apron had patches of other colours and fabrics from where you’d sewn it when it ripped a few months back.
This was pretty routine for you, having been working in this bakery for years now. Your mother started it originally as a small passion project when you were still in high school, but people loved it so much that she ended up renting an old, homely store and the rest is history. You eventually mastered the skill of baking, learning how to make complex pastries, delicious filling, fluffy bread, moist cake, and more. Trial and error had kicked your ass more than once, but thankfully your customers were kind enough to let it slide.
You sighed, shaking your head as you stepped up to the counter. On it was various decorating tools laid out, along with bowls of white icing and food colouring of black, purple, and blue that still needed to be mixed. An order from one of your oldest customers, a sweet older woman with a plethora of grandchildren who, who woulda guessed, had birthdays. It was a lot of work, but hey, she tipped well.
You pulled your rubber gloves on, but before you could jump into it, the sound of the bell above the front door ringing caught your attention. Tightening your apron and walking out of the kitchen and behind the old wooden counter, you saw a young man with black hair browsing the treats behind the glass. He had a hand up to his mouth and his eyes were narrowed as if he was making the most important decision of his life. He reminded you of a boy you knew as a child, he left town a handful of years back, but when you first saw this guy you swore he looked just like-
“Cole?!”
The man’s head snapped up at the shrill of your voice, your jaw dropped in astonishment. His eyebrows furrowed and you saw his eyes rack your visible features, trying to remember if he’d met you before. At his confusion you remembered your mask, quickly raising your hands to rip the fabric from your mouth.
“Cole! It’s me, Y/N.” you said with a giddy smile on your lips, subtly leaning over the counter towards him. Cole’s eyes widened and he let out a gasp of shock at seeing you.
“Oh my god! Y/N, it’s so good to see you!” you giddily ran over to the removable countertop, quickly flipping it open and running over to the taller man who you haven't seen in years. He opened his arms and you jumped, wrapping your arms around his neck and resting your head on his shoulder, his arms circling your waist, fingers playing with the bow of your apron strings.
“I haven't seen you in forever, Dummy! I didn't know you were back in town.” the smile refused to fall from your lips. Cole was one of your best friends back in high school, you had a stupid big crush on him too, you two shared classes and would go over to each other houses almost daily, though it was usually him coming over to yours.
He chuckled lightly, shaking his head, making his soft bangs swish side to side. “I wasn't, this is my first day back here.”
“Well then,” you let him go, walking over to the front door, flipping the sign over so it now displayed ‘closed!’. “I guess it's fate you just so happened to come to this bakery then, huh?” you said with a playful smile, ignoring his ‘hey, it's a small town’.
You grabbed him by the hand and led him over to one of the bigger booths. “Here, come, we need to catch up.”
Once you two sat across from each other he leaned back in his chair and turned to you, “Okay, so what's been up with you? Surely a lot based on the new ‘baker’ status you seem to have.”
You laughed, resting your elbows on the table, leaning in closer. “Well, I'm in college now, nothing too fancy, just a few days a week.”
“Really? That's awesome! I’m glad you got there eventually.” his smile and the genuine look of happiness in his eyes made your insides twist, whether it be in glee or something else, you couldn't tell.
“Yeah, me too. Oh! I talked to your dad a week or so ago.” you giggled at his exaggerated eye roll. “He still thinks you go to MOPPA, you think you're ever gonna tell ‘em?”
He groaned, rubbing a hand at his neck and avoiding your gaze. “I dunno, his whole obsession with his dancing and Royal Blacksmiths is just… y’know..?”
You set a hand on his arm making him look back at you. You met his eyes with a gentle smile and an as understanding look as you could muster. “I get it, Cole, I do. But I still think you need to tell him eventually. He’s your dad and he loves you, don't waste that.” he’s silent for a moment before he speaks again.
“Anyway, you're just now getting into schooling? I thought you wanted to go ‘far, far away’ for college straight out of high school?” you flushed from his recounting of your childish words from one underage drunken night, but went along with it and let him change the subject without a fight.
“Ah, yeah, when I started in mom’s bakery I had to learn all the recipes pretty quick, so that took up the majority of my time. I barely had any time for anything but sugar.”
“Oh, yeah! I’m surprised your mom changed the style.” your heart sunk. “She really liked that old, rustic vibe she had going.”
The smile slowly slipped from your face but Cole didn't notice, he was busy looking around the decor of the shop. “Yeah, well, times change, I guess.”
“Hm, I guess so. Say, how is your mom doing? I’d love to see her again..” he trailed off when he turned back to you, seeing the look on your face. Cole's stomach dropped, dreading what that look meant and what you were about to tell him.
“Oh, she, uhm. Mom.. passed… a few years ago. It's just been me for a bit.” Cole set a gentle hand on your shoulder, rubbing your arm soothingly as your eyes started to water. Your father had died when you were young, leaving only you and your mother. Not long after Cole left town, your mother got sick and died quickly after. You neglected to mention her sickness to your old friend, knowing of his own mother's fate. Despite them not being the same illness, you knew it would upset him more.
“Your dad was pretty helpful, y’know. Let me stay with him until I got everything sorted.” your voice cracked and you raised a hand to rub at your eyes before any tears could fall.
“Why… why didn't you tell me?” he said in a gentle voice, it was comforting.
“Well, I didn't really know how to find you, Cole.” he winced, opening his mouth to either refute you or apologize, you didn't know but spoke over him. “It's true, you just…left, Cole. As happy as I am to see you now, I… I was really lonely.” you quickly rushed to reassure him, waving your hands in front of you to cover your reddening cheeks.
“Not to say it's your fault or anything! You left for a reason, I know that, and I don't blame you. I covered for you with your dad because I know you must've had a good reason. I just… I missed you, Cole. A lot.” you sniffled, looking at your hands that rested in your lap. You were both silent for a while until you heard fabric shift and felt Cole slide into the booth beside you.
You felt him hesitate to touch you, so you leaned in, laying against him with your head on his shoulder. You could feel him breathing beneath you and he wrapped his arm around you and pulled you in closer.
It felt… nice.
It was a relief to see him again after all those years. The months of crying yourself to sleep after he left, the temptation to send a letter, the guilt of not telling him, you could feel it all melting off your shoulders as you both sat there in silence together.
“I know I could have sent you a letter, but you barely respond to your father. I didn't want to bother you or distract you with something like that. I didn't know what you were doing, still don’t, it could be really important.”
“You’re also important, you know that right?” your breath hitched at his words.
“That's not what I-”
“Doesn't matter. You’re important to me, Y/N. You were like, my only real friend for years and I would have dropped anything if you said you needed help. You were never, and will never be a bother to me, especially with something like that.” he placed his fingers under your chin and tilted your head to look at him. Your eyes widened when you saw his coal-black ones were watering. Your hand clutched the fabric of his shirt as he brought you into a crushing hug.
“I’m so, so sorry you thought otherwise and I'm sorry I haven't sent letters either. I've been..” he chuckled sadly. “Very preoccupied, but I never forgot about you.”
Eventually, it got dark and, after both your tears had dried, Cole had politely excused himself. You offered him a place to stay with you above the shop for the night, but he said he and his friends already had a hotel and they would get worried if he didn't show up. When you said your goodbyes, you sent him on his way with a bag filled with the best of the best of your sugary treats.
“Oh, before you go, why don't you take a to-go bag?” you stepped behind the counter, sliding open the glass panel and choosing snacks you think he’d like best.
“Well, I won't say no to that.” he stepped up to the counter with a chuckle and you saw him dig around in his pocket before you stop him.
“Hey, no, it's on the house. No complaints.” you filled the paper bag, folding the edge and handing it to him.
“You sure?” you nodded with a smile as you walked him to the door, linking your arm with his. “Well, we’ll be in town for a bit so if you wanted to meet up for a bit tomorrow?”
“Mhm! I do have to finish an order but I’ll probably be free after one or so? Wanna meet at the center fountain?” you pushed open the door, the bell chiming in the background.
He agreed, wrapping his arms around you one last time for the night and you reciprocated, patting his back lightly.
“Bye, Y/N.” he walked out the door and when he turned to wave back at you, you lifted to your tiptoes, resting a hand on his cheek and pulling him down to you.
The setting sun cast a beautiful glow against his skin, making his eyes shimmer. You closed your eyes and pecked his cheek, letting him go soon after.
“See ‘ya, Cole.” You waved at him with pink cheeks, turning back and softly closing the door. You saw him gently touch his cheek with a smile before he turns and walks into the warm summer air. You watched him walk down the street before he eventually turned the corner out of your view.
You sighed, crossing your arms, locking the door, and walking back to the kitchen to pack up. You’d finish your orders in the morning, but tonight you dragged yourself upstairs and into your bed. You wrapped yourself in blankets, tears springing to your eyes. You had dreamed of seeing Cole again countless times before. When you were kids, everything was fine, everything was perfect. But then he left, and things fell apart.
But now? Cole was back.
Maybe not back in town forever, but back in your life.
