#it probably means you're about to take five steps or even a leap forward

[la-cocotte-de-paris]

It's funny how, in order to get to a certain level of improvement in a skill, you're told to forget everything you know about an aspect of it

#like me for example - #when i entered college we were told to forget everything we knew about german grammar (rip lmao) #but then we mostly did improve once we hopped over that bridge #and then with me taking up solo singing i essentially had to forget almost everything i knew because ofc solo singing differs in technique #to choral #lol this episode of futurama just made me notice it bc bender had to 'unlearn' everything he knew about cooking #basically what I'm saying is don't panic if you feel like you're taking two steps back #it probably means you're about to take five steps or even a leap forward #ok i know this idea may not apply to EVERYTHING but it is nice to keep in mind when things like this come up in life #roacc

[voidstilesplease]

The Mission To Bring Lydia To Camp Half-Blood Because Her Demanding Poodle/Rottweiler/Hellhound Insists On It a.k.a Theo's First Quest part 2 of 2 [part 1 here]

a demigod au :)

---

Three hours later, Fred walks Theo to Half-Blood Hill, where Stiles, Chiron, the son of Hades and only occupant of cabin thirteen, Liam, and the giant hellhound, wait for him. The sunset was minutes ago, and the sky around Long Island is with a soft pink and orange glow, the forest already dimming. When the hellhound catches a whiff of his smell from a good twenty meters distance up the hill, its ears perk up, and its head turns in Theo's direction. He wags his tail back-and-forth and gives a loud, happy bark as it races down the slope to Theo.

Theo falters in a slight panic, but he's unable to plant his feet hard enough when the giant dog leaps to him and brings them sprawling to the ground. Theo grunts on impact, the weapon that is slung to his back digging on his spine. He turns his face to the side as the dog begins licking his face and bathing him in hellhound saliva. When it's satisfied, it pulls away to bark down on him, moving its body off of Theo only to tug on the strap of his leather sword-sheath around his chest with its teeth.

"Yes, yes, you infernal dog," Theo grits out, pushing at the animal's face as he sits up. "We're already going, aren't we?"

Theo doesn't even understand why the hellhound seems taken with him - he's never owned a single dog in his life. He certainly doesn't have a dog-lover aura. In fact, canines used to growl and bare their teeth at him when he passes them by on the streets like he's offended them by existing.

So, three days ago, when the giant rottweiler appeared in the camp, hounding at everyone until it saw Theo and proceeded to hound at him exclusively, well, Theo didn't take it well. He was already cross with the presence of a murdering one-eyed monster among them. Then a massive, crazy dog added to his ire - well, he almost chopped a limb off with a machete that materialized in his hand out of nowhere if Liam hadn't interfered and called off the hellhound.

When it calmed down, it still didn't stop pestering Theo and everyone at camp, only more subdued this time. It didn't appear to be from the underworld to deliver a message, nor was it truly hostile to anybody. So, Liam spent time with the hellhound to try and coax information from it; its purpose, intention - through some underworld mind-reading, zoolinguistic mojo, perhaps, that, frankly, Theo doesn't want to know the inner workings of. Some demigods just have the ability to communicate with animals. Children of Ares can talk to vultures, apparently, though Theo's never tried it.

Anyway, after an entire evening of bonding, Liam claimed that the hellhound is protecting a demigod and that she's in danger from monsters. Chiron authorized Theo's first quest since the beast was adamant about sticking with him - barking and rubbing at Theo and licking his hair until it puffed in disarray. The only question was his company. Logically, the answer would have been Liam since he's a son of Hades, and hellhounds are basically their house pets. But when Stiles steps forward to volunteer, Theo didn't even think twice and accepted.

Stiles had shadow-traveled with Liam before on his first quest, so he already knows what to expect to keep his equilibrium in the dizzying method of travel, and, well, Theo is comfortable with him. And Stiles is a skilled demigod, so the likelihood of the quest being a successful one is less questionable.

And now, they're minutes before Theo's first quest commences.

"Hey," Stiles greets him when Theo reaches the magical boundary of Camp Half-Blood. Peleus is sleeping a few meters away, tail and body twined around the pine tree where the Golden Fleece lay. Fred nods to him in encouragement, leaving him alone with the son of Athena. Stiles squints his eyes, looking at Theo's head with a strange expression. "You had a haircut."

Theo's hands come up to touch the buzzed sides of his head, then the stylish quiff on top. He convinced Fred to give him a cut before his quest to avoid any more embarrassing dog-licked hair. Theo thinks the new style looks good on him, actually. His hand falls, smiling at Stiles. "Do you like it?"

Stiles seems taken aback by the question. He clears his throat, cheeks tinging slightly. "I mean, the long hair is okay, you know," he rambles. "Like, the falling fringe. It looked soft But, um," he runs his observant eyes over his head again, nodding, a finger flailing up in gesture, "That works, too."

Theo grins, enjoying the attention. "I'm glad you think so. Maybe I can talk you into staying in cabin five next time."

Stiles throws him a deadpan look, but the little twitch on his lips break the facade. He rolls his eyes, turning around. "Come on," he says, walking to Chiron and Liam, who's petting the hellhound and murmuring things to it. "We still have a demigod to fetch."

•••

Theo does not recommend shadow-traveling.

Yes, it's quick, it's efficient, but it also makes your stomach leave your body at the sudden space-defying lurch and land in 0.2 seconds flat. He's lucky not to have thrown up on Stiles and lose all his cookie points, but he definitely almost went there.

When the hellhound lands, Stiles hops off unaffected, while Theo tries to remember his name. It takes him a few seconds to gather his bearings and shake the black spots dancing in his vision. By then, the hellhound has already torn through the porch of a house. And Stiles - Theo blinks - is rolling away from another giant vicious animal - this time a pig.

It's happening so fast, but seeing Stiles fighting an actual monster wakes his senses altogether. He only has a few seconds to assess their surrounding: they're in a residential area, a wide lawn specifically, the entrance to a two-story house just a short distance away, and the brick gate on one side is smashed in behemoth-shaped rubble.

A hoarse grunting puts his scrutiny back to the beast. It's a boar, about twelve feet tall, with massive tusks, stiff bristles, and red-glowing eyes. Theo doesn't have much time to study it as it opens its mouth, electricity crackling from inside and ready to zap Stiles where he stands.

"Stiles!"

The son of Athena reaches around his back for his aegis shield just in time for the lightning strike. The near-promixity attack throws Stiles a few meters backwards, hitting an opposite brick wall that immediately cracks in contact.

The boar grunts again, mouth foaming and preparing to pulverize and finish a demigod.

Theo's about to run to Stiles when the boy grunts, shaking his head sharply. "Just pierce its hide with the celestial bronze!" he instructs, gritting his teeth in pain.

Theo has no time to argue as the boar starts leaping forward to Stiles and his reflexes kick in. With adrenaline he never knew before, he unsheaths the knife from his side with an expert flair and charges the boar, screaming.

•••

Amazingly, all it took was one well-aimed thrust, and the colossal pig breaks into fragments in front of them like a piñata. In a matter of seconds, all that's left of it are its long ivory tusks. Theo stares at the space where the monster is previously poised for attack, then down to the cluttering tusks, sweating and heaving.

"Spoils of war," Stiles says, wincing as he stands. "They're yours."

Theo turns to gape at Stiles, still catching his breath. "How did you know it would be that easy?"

Putting back the shield behind him, Stiles moves forward, limping slightly, dirty and his hair a little singed, but his eyes are wide and alight. He grins, wiping soot from his mouth. He's even more attractive like this. "It's a Calydonian Boar, an ancient monster. Atalanta defeated it first by piercing it with a simple arrow. Its skin is nothing special like the Nemean Lion. The only thing to watch out for is the lightning it emits through its mouth."

Theo looks at the blade in his hand, the bronze covered in green slick. Laughter starts bubbling in his chest as his head wraps around the events of the last few minutes. He just killed a monster. He defeated a monster!

He feels Stiles beside him, laying a hand on his shoulder, smiling at him. He's sure he mirrors the elated expression. "Well done, son of Ares."

Theo would've kissed Stiles, consequences be damned, out of euphoria if not for the familiar sound of barking behind him. They both turn to find the hellhound standing on the lawn with a red-haired girl in tow. She looks around at the destruction, then to the demigods, scared and a little shaky.

Stiles steps forward, raising his hands in a placating manner, as Theo wipes the slick from his blade and puts it back in its sheath.

"It's okay," Stiles says. "We came to help you."

"You destroyed my lawn." The girl replies, trying to hide behind her giant dog. The hellhound wags its tails.

"Well," Stiles wets his lips. "We had to fight the monster."

That catches her attention, "You can see them?" At Stiles's nod, she continues. "Do you see the ghosts, too? Hear them whisper?"

"Um, no," Stiles replies, blinking. "Just the monsters. It's probably an ability you inherited from your godly parent. You could be a daughter of Hades since you own a hellhound and can, apparently, see and hear ghosts."

The girl only stares at Stiles like he's grown a second head.

"Look, we'll explain everything to you. You have to trust us," Stiles points at the dog. "Your hellhound came to our camp so that we can come for you."

The girl looks at her dog then, petting its black fur. The dog rubs its nose on her side in response. Finally, the girl purses her lips and turns to them again. She licks her lips and says hesitantly, "I'm Lydia."

Stiles is visibly relieved. He gives the girl an assuring smile, "And I'm Stiles," he points at Theo beside him. "This is Theo. We-"

Lydia cuts her off, eyes sliding to Theo in surprise. "You're Theo?" She asks, sounding breathless and in disbelief.

Theo frowns at the sudden shift of attention. He crosses his arms self-consciously and answers in a gruff voice. "Yes,"

Lydia shakes her head, fingers coming up to touch her open mouth. "I can't believe it. You're actually here," she murmurs more to herself. The hellhound nudges her side in comfort. Absently, she rubs the dog's ears while giving Theo a sympathetic look. It's beginning to irritate Theo, and as he prepares to snap on her, she tells him somberly:

"Your sister has a message."

~•~

#steo #steo fic #steo ficlet #demigod au #teen wolf #stiles stilinski #theo raeken #lydia martin #stiles x theo #fics tag #well i struggled again my god #this is unedited because I'm too worn out again #i apologize for the mistakes you might spot :) #I'll maybe read this again tomorrow in the morning when my head isn't pounding and edit it along with part 1 #not a promise lol but I'll try #for the meantime i hope this isn't as incoherent as i am now #demigodseries

[bangtanreadingcorner]

my saving grace • jung hoseok

plot – you rescue hoseok from the guys beating on him, never thinking that anything more would come from it.

genre – streetdancer!hoseok

words – 6.1K

You and your friend, Jimin, were walking home from work - both of you working as a waitress and waiter at a diner a few blocks away - when you walked past an alley and heard the tell tale sound of someone getting their ass kicked. You ignored it, this wasn't the best part of the city, there was always someone getting the short end of the stick somewhere around here.

"Hey, Y/N, looks like trouble." Jimin whispered, stopping in the middle of the alley, looking intently while you didn't even glance at it.

You grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the scene, "Hate to break it to you, sweetie, but this world is full of trouble."

"Come on," Jimin whined, tugging at your arm backwards. "It's three against one and the dude is getting his ass kicked. It's not fair, you have to help him."

You rolled your eyes, wondering how you ever made friends with this big hearted idiot. Really, Jimin was to soft and good for this world. You gave him a look, "If it bother's you that much, why don't you go do something about it?"

He glowered at you and you stared back unflinchingly as he said, "Because unlike you, I can't take on seven people at the same time."

"That was once and I was pissed." You reminded him pointedly. "And I got a sprained wrist and two broken ribs for my wonderful heroics."

"Good news then, this time it's just three." He said cheerily. When you still wouldn't budge, he pulled the ultimate weapon. "Please."

You sighed, knowing the battle is lost. You can't say no to Jimin's puppy eyes. "Jesus Christ, fine, if it will get you off my ass."

Jimin, the idiot, grinned widely. "Yes!"

You scoffed, walking back to the alley. At the entrance, you stopped Jimin and handed him your backpack. "Hold this and stay here. If I catch a glimpse of you in there, I'm leaving his sorry ass."

"Okay." Jimin nodded, taking your bag and clutching it tightly.

You entered the alley, taking in everything that was in the alley that could help you fight and the three guys. They were all at least three times your size. You whistled loudly, to catch their attention and turn it from the guy to you. They weren't beating him anymore, but they could decide to start again at any moment.

It worked, they turned around and faced you, looking a little confused. You decided to use that to your advangtage and to move quickly. You ran at them, jumping on one of the crates you spotted earlier and using it to propel yourself through the air, kicking the nearest guy in the face, full force. You landed on your feet and he landed on his knees, blood pouring from his nose. Quickly you landed a punch to his already broken nose, knocking him on his back. You weren't sure if he was unconsious though.

The other two snapped out of their stunned stupors and charged at you. You dodged them, grabbing the one's arm and twisting it behind his back, pulling it back with enough strength to dislocate it, a pained shriek leaving his mouth. The last guy aimed a sloppy punch that you dodged easily, snickering. You aimed a harsh kick to his balls, watching in vague amusement as he doubled over in pain. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw the one who's shoulder you dislocated coming at you again, but he was clearly off balance from the pain.

From there on, it was almost laughably easy to knock them unconsious.

You looked at the three unconsious men - and one half-consious man - and almost felt disappointed that there wasn't more of a challenge, more of a fight to it. You scoffed, "And my mother wonders why I'm still single."

You stepped forward and crouched next to the guy who had his ass kicked, his eyes were swollen and his lip busted. His nose looked realtively okay, but you couldn't tell if he had other injuries. "Hey, you a retard yet?"

The guy groaned, lightly shaking his head and groaning again. You took it as a no.

You heard footsteps coming up behind you and your body tensed for a moment, ready to fight again, but then you recognised the soft footfalls of you best friends. You sighed, "Jimin, didn't I tell you to stay out of here?"

"I figured you meant until the fighting was over." He retorted easily, also crouching next to the guy and besides you.

You closed your eyes, pulled for strength and then opened your eyes, pushing yourself upright. "Okay, so I helped him, time to go."

Jimin scrambled to his feet and pulled on you arm to stop you from walk him away. "We can't just leave him here."

"What do you want to do? Take him back home with us?" You asked, not meaning it at all, more sarcastic than anything. Then you saw the look on Jimin's face.

"Well . . ." He trailed off with a hopeful smile.

You gaped at him, then shook your head. "Jesus, fuck, Jimin, no. You can't be serious."

"But what if we take him to the hosipital and they go after him again?" Jimin asked, worrying his bottom lip, glancing back at the bloody guy.

You groaned, feeling the urge to hit your head against the wall. "You're gonna be the death of me, Park Jimin."

Jimin perked up, eyes brightening. "Is that a yes?"

You sighed in resignation, "Yeah."

* * *

"What happened to you three?" Daejoon asked as he looked at the idiots that were supposed to take out his competition.

"We were taken out." The one said, but that much was obvious from how they looked.

"By who?" Daejoon asked, furious because who would dare take out people related to them?

"A girl." Another one muttered shamefully. "But she's was really good, scary good actually."

"A girl?" Daejoon'd brother, Sejoon, who had been lounging on the out perked up at this. "About 5'4, fast as lighting and just as lethal?"

"Yeah." One of the three nodded.

Sejoon leaped from the couch, started pacing. "Jesus Christ, and you say that she protected him? The guy you were supposed to take out?"

"We asked around and people said she and some other dude took took him with them. We can find them if you want." Another one explained.

"Another dude?" Daejoon's brother paled. "Okay, fuck, no. Under no circumstances are you allowed to go anywhere near where she lives." He turned to his brother. "Daejoon, you need to stay far away from that Hoseok guy."

Daejoon scoffed, "What, because of some girl?"

"She is not just some girl, okay? And that guy she was with? I'd bet my life it was Park Jimin. And if that's true, then you need to stay even further away from her."

"What, you gonna tell me he's some badass too?" Daejoon scoffed at his brother.

"No, he's harmless." Sejoon said, tense. "But her? The girl? She's not badass, she's dangerous."

* * *

The next morning, you woke up with an empty space besides you which was weird, because you gave Beaten-Up Dude Jimin's bed to sleep on after your best friend said that you couldn't let him sleep on the couch with those raw bruises. You told him that he would be sacrificing his own bed, because you aren't letting a stranger sleep in yours. Jimin didn't push it because you already did a fuckton of shit for him that night.

You almost flew out of bed, worried about Jimin, and when you pulled open the door, your mouth fell open. Because there was Jimin and Beaten-Up Dude, sitting on your couch and laughing. Jimin noticed you first and waved.

"Good morning." He chirped and you just kept on staring, remembering to close your mouth. He turned to Beaten-Up Dude, who looked a little worse this morning but not as much as you thought he would have. Probably because you cleaned up his bruises the previous night. "That's my best friend, Y/N, she's not much of a talker in the mornings, or in general really, so don't feel insulted if she doesn't answer you. It's not personal, it's just who she is." Jimin looked at you with mirth in his eyes.

So, you did the mature, grown up thing. You flipped him a middle finger and said with a fake smile, "Fuck off." before heading to the bathroom, your bladder suddenly reminding you that it was full after a night's sleep.

After finishing your morning routine, you left the bathroom and found two sets of eyes looking at you. You raised your eyebrows, "What?"

"Hoseok, that's his name by the way, was just telling me why those guys were beating him up. He's a street dancer and made it into the finals of a really big underground competition, and his rival was the one who sent those guy's after him, to take him out, but then you saved him." Jimin told you excitedly.

"I have a feeling I'm not gonna like were this is headed." You noted matter of factly.

"The prize money is 50 million won," This time it was Hoseok who talked to you and you turned to him.

You looked at him in disbelief, more than a little skeptical. "There can not be that much money in street dancing."

"There isn't, usually." Hoseok told you. "But this a competition that only happens one every five years and it's the best against the best. My offer is, if you can protect me until the finals, I'll split it with you in half."

"Definitely don't like where this is headed." You declared.

"It's not gonna be a 24/7 thing, just like, go with me to places during the day and then on the day of the competition you need to come with me."

"First of all, I already have a job. Second of all, it's illegal. Third of all, I'm not a bodyguard." You told the both of them, trying to ignore the two sets of hopeful eyes were watching you. Why Jimin's was working, you got, but why Hoseok's was working, you had no idea. The guy's eyes were swollen, for fuck sakes!

"Which is why I'm willing to give you half the prize money. Right now it's not even about the money for me anymore. It's about beating Daejoon's ass. He thinks he can get away with anything." Hoseok said, voice turning angry and indignant. The name Daejoon was vaguely familiar but you didn't worry about it. If it was really important, you would have remembered immediately.

"And if you don't win?" You asked, raising a brow.

Hoseok scoffed, "You really think they would beat me up like this if they thought that idiot has a chance of winning?"

"Fair point." You conceded, crossing your arms over you chest.

"So, you'll do it?" He asked, eyes lighting up hopefully.

"Depends." You said after a moment of contemplating in silence.

"On what?" He asked, frowning ever so slightly, then wincing because the movement pulled at his bruised eyes.

"When's the competition?"

"In three weeks, twenty-one days exactly. I won the semi-finals earlier tonight."

"Even if I say yes and follow you around during the day for the next two weeks, you still have the problem of nights." You pointed out. "They could attack you in your apartment or even when you feel like going to the corner store because you're craving a chocolate or something in the middle of the night."

Jimin cleared his throat, giving you a sweet, sweet smile and you immediately knew what was coming. "I was thinking that he could stay here until the competition."

"Of course you did." You deadpanned. "Any other wonderful ideas that I should be aware of?" Jimin pursed his lips, actually thinking about it, and you glared at him.

Finally, he shook his head. "Not that I can think of."

"Great." You muttered sarcastically. You looked at Hoseok, who's hopeful and desperate eyes tugged at your heartstrings violently. You sighed in resignation. "Fine, but no dancing until the swelling of your eyes go down."

"Uh," Hoseok looked a little stricken. "How long's that gonna take?"

"No more thank two or three days." You answered.

"Okay." He nodded, lips that were no longer swelled, pulling up into a heart shaped smile that had your cheeks heating up.

"So, you're doing it?" Jimin asked, repeating Hoseok's question. You hummed in confirmation, hands flying up to cover your ears when the two let out identical squeals of happiness.

* * *

You came to the realisation that Hoseok was attractive four days after meeting him. The swelling in his eyes was completely gone by day three and on day four, he used a bit of concealer to hide the bruised skin. And when you looked at him, really looked at him, you realised that he was hot. You wouldn't do anything though, it's always been easy for you to ignore physical attraction to someone.

"How did you get your boss to give you time off?" Hoseok asked as you two were walking in the streets, your destination currently unknown.

"I told him it was only for three weeks, asked really nicely, even used the fact that I've never taken a sick day in two years, and Jimin promised to help out until he gets a temp." You answered with a slight shrug, a little distracted by his sunny grin. He was tapping his fingers against his thigh, body moving lightly the beat. "So where do you practice?"

Hoseok lit up at the question, "There's this warehouse, owned my one of my friends, where I practice. It's where we're headed right now."

You made an 'ah' sound of realisation, having wondered where Hoseok was taking you two but not being bothered enough to ask him. There was, weirdly enough, already trust between you. "Do they dance too?"

Hoseok put on a thinking face that you found adorable and had to turn away so you wouldn't smile like an idiot. "Uh, just Taehyung. And Jeongguk, sometimes. He's very shy."

You frowned a little, remembering that he had spoken about a Namjoon the previous evening. "Exactly how many of you are there?"

"Including me? Six. You and Jimin will make for eight." He looked at you, that smile still locked on his face.

"Oh, we're friends now?" You raised a brow at him.

Hoseok's smile faltered, and your stomach twisted. You were about to tell him that your were just teasing, that you are friends, when the smile returned tenfold and he said, "You saved my ass and I'm crashing on your couch, if that doesn't make us friends, then I don't know what will."

"Yeah, okay." You smiled slightly at the look he gave you.

"You have a nice smile, you should do it more often." He said matter-of-factly and you rolled your eyes, desperately hoping your cheeks don't get noticeably red.

You chose to change the subject instead, "How come you don't ask them for help? Your friends, I mean."

"I just, I don't want to burden them, you know? We all have our problems and I don't want to make their lives worse."

"So, you decide to up end my life instead?" You said, voice light.

"You're getting paid, aren't you?" Hoseok said, words more teasing than anything else, but it set something off inside you.

The next moment Hoseok found himself with his back pressed against a wall, you all up in his personal space, eyes narrowed dangerously. "Let's get one thing straight, right now: I'm not doing this for the money. Sure, it's a nice bonus but that's not why I said yes and if you piss me off, I will leave."

"Okay, sorry. I didn't mean anything by it." He said, eyes wide and a hint of fear in them. It made you take a step back, something inside of you deeply hurt by the fact that Hoseok is afraid of you and there was no one but yourself to blame.

"Just forget it." You muttered, willing the tightness around your heart to go away.

"Why did you decide to help me?" Hoseok asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

Because I couldn't say no to you and it scares the fuck out of me, you thought to yourself.

"Jimin." You answered instead, which wasn't a lie either, it just wasn't the whole truth either.

***

"Does she hate me?" Hoseok asked Jimin that night after they had all eaten dinner and you disappeared into your room, saying you are tired and wanted to sleep.

"She would never help you if she hated you, no matter how much I pest her." Jimin answered, tilting his head at the dancer. "Why do you ask?"

"I think I might have done something to make her hate me." Hoseok admitted, face worried instead of the usual cheery aura he had.

Jimin snorted in disbelief, "That's highly improbable. Y/N doesn't hate easily."

"Today we were talking and she said something about helping me and I told her she was getting paid and I think I really pissed her off." Hoseok explained, hoping desperately that Jimin was right.

Realisation filled Jimin's face and he gave Hoseok a gentle smile. "Good news is, she doesn't hate you. Bad news is, she is pissed." When he saw the panicked look on Hoseok's face, he rushed to add. "But not at you. Really. It's just the memories that come with what you said."

"What memories?"

"I'm sorry, but I can't tell you. All I can tell you is that Y/N swore on her life that she would never use her fighting skills for money ever again, and even if that's not the reason she said yes, she's doing it anyway." Jimin told him, looking more than a little guilty. "It's her business and her decision to tell you the rest if she wants."

"No, that's okay. I understand." Hoseok gave Jimin a bright grin, but he was still worried that he damaged something between him and you.

* * *

"I'm sorry." Hoseok blurted out the next morning as you two started your trek to the warehouse. It was about a twenty five minute walk and now five minutes had passed in complete silence before he broke.

You frowned at him, "About what?"

"About yesterday, when you got so angry." He explained nervously.

"Hoseok," You started with a sigh. "It's not your fault, okay? It's my own issues. Your words just triggered some nasty memories, but it's not your fault and I'm not mad at you."

Hoseok's grin was blinding and you couldn't help but give him a small smile back. "Good, good, that's really good. And if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here."

Your smile grew a little wider, stomach fluttering. "Thanks, Hoseok."

The rest if the walk was spent with Hoseok chattering next to you about anything and everything, dancing to some beat in his head every now and again. Arriving at the warehouse, you saw that unlike the previous day, today there was people. From Hoseok's relaxed posture and excited eyes, you guessed it must be his friends.

And so you finally met Seokjin, Namjoon, Yoongi, Taehyung and Jeongguk. Hoseok stood next to you, "And this is Y/N, she's gonna protect me from Daejoon until the finals."

"Like he actually has the balls to do something himself." Yoongi scoffed. "He'll send someone after you again."

"And I'll stop them. Again." You said, speaking up for the first time. Yoongi looked at you, a little surprised, then finally nodded his head.

Watching Hoseok dance, you realised, was something out of this world. He was graceful, strong and powerful but at the same time he looked kind of delicate and beautiful. It was mesmerizing, watching as his body moved to music. You quickly figured out his routine - warm up to two songs, one slow paced and one fast paced, then he started practicing for the competition for hours - long enough for you to loose track of time as you watch him dance, and then he warmed down by stretching.

"You're good." You complimented him as you walked home later that evening. "Really good. I can understand why your competition is scared of losing."

Hoseok's flushed, "Thank you."

"Just telling the truth." You shrugged.

"Can I ask you something? You don't have to answer." Hoseok looked nervous, really nervous and you didn't understand why. What was he about to ask you?

"Sure." You nodded hesitant.

"Where did you learn how to fight?" He blurted.

"That's what you wanted to ask?" You chuckled. "I thought it was like for a kidney or something, with how nervous you were."

"Well, you are a very private person, okay?" Hoseok exclaimed and you snickered. "I thought you might bite my head off for asking."

"Nah, I don't bite heads of for asking questions. I bite heads off when people can't take no for an answer or fuck off, depending on my mood." You told him with a slight smirk. "And to answer your question, my mom and dad used to own a taekwondo studio. They were both Master's and they taught me."

"Wow, that's great. Do they still have the studio? Maybe I'll sign up for some classes after this is all over." He rambled excitedly.

Your face fell and Hoseok saw, but it was too late to take back his words. "No, they don't."

Hoseok hesitated, not wanting to make yo sadder that you already seemed. "Can I asked what happened?"

"My dad got sick, lung cancer, and he died when I was seventeen. My mom couldn't do it alone, so I tried to help but in the end it didn't work out and we lost the studio." You answered him, looking at your feet.

"I'm so sorry." Hoseok said, voice truly and sincerely apologetic.

"It's not your fault. Sometimes bad things just happen." You shrugged, still looking at the pavement.

"Yeah, I know, but it doesn't make it any easier."

"No, it doesn't." You agreed.

* * *

The rest of the time until the competition passed quickly. Too quickly if someone were too ask you, but Hoseok was excited. So was Jimin and all of Hoseok's friends, who would all be there to watch as Hoseok and Daejoon compete for the winning title and the prize money.

"Is this like a dressing room or something?" You asked Hoseok with a snicker as you walked into the room. You were in one of the backrooms of a club that the finals would take place in. The two of you had grown much closer in the last three weeks and it terrified you as much as it excited you. You didn't know what would happen after tonight, but you hoped that Hoseok would still be in your life.

"Yeah, technically, but for me it's just a waiting room."

You hopped on the dressing table looking at Hoseok curiously. "So, how do they decide who wins these things?"

"There's three judges and we get a score out of ten. The one with the highest score wins."

You let out a laugh of disbelief. "It sounds so normal."

"It kind of is." Hoseok nodded with a bright, if somewhat nervous smile.

"It kind of is illegal." You pointed out teasingly.

"Only if we get caught." He retorted and you snorted, nodding your head in agreement.

"You ready?" You asked Hoseok, looking at him with curious eyes and a fondness in your heart that's just grown stronger with each passing day.

"Yes, I am." He answered confidently.

The door to the room opened and in came a panicked Namjoon. "Y/N, trouble."

You turned to him, body tensed and ready for a fight but confused too. "I don't understand, Hoseok's right here with me."

"It's Jimin, some guy-" And you didn't here the rest of what Namjoon said because you were already out the door, running to where you left Jimin. You were vaguely aware of Hoseok and Namjoon following you but you didn't pay them any attention, to worried about getting to Jimin, your best friend, your brother in all but blood.

When you finally rounded the corner into the large room where Hoseok and Daejoon would dance, your blood boiling when you saw who it was. An all to familiar and definitely unwelcome face. Jimin, who was luckily pushed behind Jeongguk and Seokjin and neither look scared to start a fight, looked absolutely terrified.

"Taemin." You called, voice icy cold and loud enough to catch his attention. He turned to you, eyes widening a fraction. "Haven't learnt your lesson yet?" You asked, raising a brow and walking closer and closer to him.

"Relax, no need to be so hostile. I just came to say hi." He let his hands up in defence, smirk playing on the corners of his lips.

"That was not the agreement." You all but snarled at him, hands clenching into fists.

"I didn't know you'd be here, that's just pure coincidence." He shrugged a tad to smug and your fuse blew. You quickly knocked him to his knees and gripped him by the throat, leaning down.

"I believe I told you that if I ever see you within ten feet of Jimin again, I'll kill you with my bare hands." You told him with a sickeningly sweet smile and you could hear three guns being pulled and aimed at you. You didn't flinch, knowing exactly where each gunman was standing and how to take them out, and how to use Taemin as a body shield if one of them gets trigger happy.

"Let him go." It was Jimin, voice pleading but you didn't listen, to angry to as images of Jimin's bruised body filled your mind, how you took care of him, how you put him back together again, how you nearly drowned in guilt because it was all your fault.

"Let him go, this isn't you." This time the voice was accompanied by a hand on your shoulder, but it wasn't Jimin's. It was Hoseok's. His other hand reached out to wrap around the wrist of the hand that was holding Taemin's neck as he crouched next to you. He gently tugged at your hand and you let go. He grabbed both your hands in his and you looked at him, mind racing as he pulled you upright.

Why did you let go? Why did you feel the anger die down inside of you? Why was Hoseok's touch relaxing you instead of irritating you like it normally did when someone touched you while angry. Not even Jimin could do that. You shook your head to clear it, you'd think about it later. (Besides, you already had some idea, if the feelings you had towards Hoseok was any indication.)

You looked at Taemin aiming a deadly glare his way, "I'll be paying your boss a visit tomorrow."

"That won't be necessary, I'm right here." You whipped around and directed your glare at the other familiar face. "My apologies, I didn't think Taemin would be anything less than a gentleman."

You scoffed at Sejoon, "We're talking about the same Taemin, right?"

"Again, my apologies."

"I don't want your apologies, just make sure it doesn't happen again. We've had peace for two years now. I'm sure you'd hate for something to ruin that." You gave him a cold glare.

"Yes, I would." Sejoon gave you a smile that would have been charming in another world. "Enough time has already been wasted, what do you say we don't waist anymore and get this show on the road?"

"Keep your bitch on a leash." You warned Sejoon with a glance in Taemin's direction. You grabbed Jimin's hand and then you walked away, back to the room where Hoseok was previously waiting.

"You know that guy?" Hoseok asked once the door was shut, pointing a thumb over his shoulder.

You hugged Jimin tightly, rubbing a hand over his back as he held on tighter. You tried to meet Hoseok's eyes over Jimin's shoulders, standing on your tiptoes. "Yeah, why?"

"That's Daejoon's brother. He's the reason why the little brat thinks he can do whatever he wants."

"I thought the name rang a bell." You muttered to yourself then looked at Hoseok again. "Not tonight he won't."

"You should very sure of that." Hoseok noted as Jimin let go of you.

"That's because I am." You shrugged, turning your attention to the dancer.

"They're a gang." Hoseok blurted after a moments silence. You raised an eyebrow, silently asking him to go on. "Are you part of their gang? Is that why he won't do anything? As a favour?"

"No, I'm not in a gang, I've never been in a gang and I never will be in a gang. Sejoon will keep both Taemin and his brother on two very tight metaphorical leashes unless he wants to start a war with me again."

Hoseok frowned, caught off guard by the words. "Wait, what do you mean start a war again?"

"It's a long story that we don't have time for right now." You sighed and as a thought came to mind, you smirked slightly at him. "Hey, if you win, I'll tell you the whole story."

"Okay." Hoseok nodded, eyes locking with yours. "And dinner."

"Huh?"

"If I win, then you have to tell me the story and buy me dinner." Hoseok said, swallowing thickly.

"Okay fine." You smiled, heart beating way to fast, cheeks flaming hot. With a grin, Hoseok left the room and you saw Jimin smirking out of the corner of your eyes. "Don't even."

"I didn't say anything." He held up his hands in defeat.

"You were thinking it, it's annoying."

Jimin hummed, a noncommittal sound. He looked at you seriously. "Are you really gonna tell him everything?"

"Yeah," You gave him a slight smile that he matched with a bright one "I really am."

"I'm so happy for you." He gushed.

"Yeah, yeah, settle down." You said with flaming cheeks.

***

"You know, then I said I want you to buy me dinner, I didn't exactly mean nooodles and chicken skewers." Hoseok said with a light laugh later that night. He won, of course he did. You weren't even surprised.

"Why?" You frowned a little. "Did you want to go somewhere else?"

Hoseok shook his head, hesitating a little. "No, I just, I meant it more along the lines of a dinner date." Hoseok said, voice growing less confident and softer with each word he spoke.

"Oh." You said, realisation spreading through you as you looked at shy smile on Hoseok's face. Finally you spoke, shy smile matching Hoseok's and your heart beating just a bit faster. "Well, this can still be a date, right? I mean, it's about the person you're with and not the place."

Hoseok's beam returned as he happily exclaimed, "Yes, it is."

You two were near a river and bought food from a stall that was near a picnic area, so you two sat down at a picnic table, eating your dinner and talking about nothing in particular, just enjoying each other's company.

"You still owe me a story." Hoseok said after dinner as you were walking around aimlessly along the side of the river.

"It's really not that glamourous, so if you're disappointed, it's your own fault." You paused for a second, thinking where to start. "Right, well, I guess it all started two years ago, when Jimin and I were almost mugged by two idiots. I quickly took them both out and apparently Taemin saw me. From then on, he tried to recruit me into the gang. At first, he offered me ridiculous amounts of money, which didn't work. He did everything he could, went to my work, figured out my phone number, basically like stalking me. And then one day, he found out where me and Jimin lived. And he kidnapped Jimin." Your breath faltered here and tears gathered in your eyes.

Hoseok's arms was around you in a second, wrapping around to tightly. You melted into his embrace, calming down as he held you. "You don't have to tell me anything else."

You pulled away, shaking your head. "No, no, I want too." You took a deep breath and then took Hoseok's hands holding onto them tightly, drawing strength from his presence. "I didn't know, at first, that it was Taemin who took Jimin. It was only after five days of searching and nearly going crazy, that he told me I had one of two choices: join the gang and get Jimin back or don't join and Jimin dies. I picked choice number three."

"I thought there was only two choices." Hoseok said, looking a little confused.

"There was, I made my own choice. I declared war. Not just on Taemin, but on the gang. I investigated and I didn't let the law stop me like the police. I burnt down warehouses with drugs and guns, called in anonymous tips about their human trafficking safe houses. See, I knew that if the gang started feeling the loses because of what Taemin did, they'd do something about it. And I was right. It worked."

"How did you know they wouldn't just kill Jimin?"

"Because they couldn't catch me, and believe me, they tried. And if they couldn't catch me, they couldn't stop me. Which means unless they give me what I wanted, I wouldn't have stopped until I ruined their whole empire. Taemin called me one day, after two whole fucking months of holding Jimin, he said he'd give me Jimin back if I went to see his boss. I wasn't stupid, of course. So, I made a USB stick with all of the locations and gang members and gave it to my neighbour. Said if I wasn't back by the next morning that she should sent a copy to the police and a copy to the media. Luckily, it wasn't necessary. Sejoon handed Jimin over to me and we both agreed that as long as Taemin stayed away from me and Jimin, I'd leave the gang in peace. I also told Sejoon that one day I'd get my revenge for what he did to Jimin, because Hoseok, when I got Jimin back, h-he," Your breath caught in your throat, a sob making you choke. "He was beaten and broken, so badly. It took me weeks to get him to talk, months to go outside without me and he still looks over his shoulder to this day when he's alone."

Hoseok hugged you again and you cried, softly and not making a sound. When you were done, you pulled away and sniffled, giving him a watery smile. "Sorry I got snot on your shirt."

"It's okay, I can wash it again." He waved you off.

You took a deep breath, wiping your face clean with the sleeve of your shirt. "So, that's it. That's the story."

"Did you ever go after Taemin?" He asked, hesitantly.

"Oh, yeah! I almost forgot. I did, it took me five months because Jimin didn't want to be alone, but I did. I put him in a hospital bed with the warning to stay away from Jimin or I'll kill him." You told Hoseok. "I almost did kill him."

Hoseok looked at you, shocked. "Now I understand why you are so overprotective of Jimin."

"Yeah." You nodded, voice trailing off and you looked around you. There was a bench not to far from you two and you walked to it, taking a seat. "See, Hoseok, I'm not a good person. I've done things I'm not proud off and if someone I care about is in danger again, I'll do those things without hesitating all over again. Now, I'm not gonna lie, I like you and I trust you, which is why I told you the truth now. I didn't want this to come between us later on. I need you to know who I am right now, before we can go any further."

"You're wrong, you know." Hoseok said, taking a seat next to you.

"About what?"

"You are a good person. You're a good person who had something terrible happen to you and then you did bad things to make it right. Does it make what you did right? No. Does it make you a bad person? No." Hoseok took your hand, lacing your fingers. "I like who you are and I want to get to know you even better. I want to you know favourite song, your favourite colour, you favourite food - I want to know everything."

You squeezed his hand, smiling as your eyes blurred a bit. You giggled out of happiness, "I don't have a favourite song, there's to many good ones, my favoured colour is turquoise and my favourite food is lasagna." You smiled at him, warm and wide. "Your turn."

Hoseok told you as you told him. Later, you leaned on his shoulder as you two kept telling each other all of your favourite things. Some your would remember, some you would forget, but as you sat through the night and watched the sunrise, you knew there would be enough time for you to discover it all.

the end.

#hoseok #jung hoseok #jhope #bts jhope #bangtan #bangtan fanfic #bts fic #bts hoseok #hoseok x y/n #hoseok x you #jhope x you #jhope x reader #jhope x oc #jhope x y/n #jung hoseok x y/n #jung hoseok x you #jung hoseok x reader #angsty #happy ending

[no-gorms]

Hi! If you're alright with a request, can you do something with Steve or Tony sitting in the other's lap as a joke? Or refusing to sit in the other's lap? Thanks! Feel free to ignore this if you're busy or uninspired or whatever.

Hello, this is ridiculous but I hope you like!

Steve/Tony, lap-sitting, background Bruce/Nat (also on ao3)

+

It’s nice to visit the Barton farm on their own terms, without the threat of world annihilation looming over their heads. A city boy Steve may be, but he gets the appeal of the place – the peace, the quiet, and especially the (comforting illusion of) distance from the never-ending stream of Avengers-related problems back in the city. Here it is calm, and here they can recharge.

Not that the others seem interested in recharging. They’re all outside the house: Natasha and Clint are having an intensely polite disagreement on how to handle the grill, Thor and Sam are chasing and being chased by various Barton kids, and Bruce and Tony seem to be yelling at each other about the chairs.

Steve’s on the porch, a glass of lemonade in his hand. He follows the steps down, into the thick of Bruce’s huffing at Tony.

“That’s my jacket,” Bruce is saying, his hands on his hips. He’s looming over the only deck chair among the series of wooden chairs, in which Tony is sitting in with his legs stretched out in front of him.

“That doesn’t mean dibs,” Tony says. “If you wanted the deck chair—”

“Then I should have put something of mine on it to call dibs? Is that what I should have done?” Bruce looks up at Steve’s approach. “Cap, Tony stole my chair.”

“I already said that we can share,” Tony says.

“There are other chairs, Bruce,” Steve points out.

“It’s the principle of it,” Bruce says quietly.

“Look, right here.” Tony pats his lap. “Is it the view, is that what you want? Come on, make yourself comfy.”

Bruce hums thoughtfully. “What if I Hulk out and then sit on you?”

“Bruce,” Steve says.

“Maybe you can ask Cap to build you another one,” Tony says.

“I thought building things was your specialty,” Bruce says.

“Tony, just let Bruce have the chair,” Steve says.

“Why are you taking his side!” Tony exclaims.

“Because he knows a chair thief when he sees one,” Bruce says. “I could flatten you. Like that.”

“No, you’re what, 170? That’s nothing. Come on.” Tony gestures at himself, while Bruce’s face twists in irritation. “It’s early, but you can tell Santa Stark what you want for Christmas.”

“You’re both being ridiculous.” Steve doesn’t exactly know why he does it. It’s probably a combination of the easy atmosphere, Bruce’s petty seething, Tony’s petty mockery, and the refreshing ridiculousness of their arguing about a chair instead of anything really important, which makes Steve want to take the most nonsensical route as is befitting the situation.

So Steve sits on Tony’s lap. He does it over Tony’s squawk of surprise, his back facing Tony and his feet flat on the ground, with his knees and Tony’s knees in rough alignment. Steve takes care to spread his weight carefully to avoid squashing him, though the solid muscle of Tony’s thighs really do seem to take his weight just fine.

Bruce blinks a few times. His expression clears. “Okay, this works for me. Enjoy your deck chair.” He happily trots over to another empty chairand sits down.

“Nooooo,” Tony whines, his voice somewhere to the left of Steve’s neck. “I’m being crushed. I’m dying. This is cruel, even for you.”

“The view is nice, actually,” Steve says.

“Not that I can see anything now, thanks,” Tony grumps.

Steve takes another sip of his drink. “Why did Bruce want this chair?”

“He’s just holding a grudge because he thinks I took his chair on the Quinjet earlier,” Tony says.

“Did you?”

“Yeah, but that’s only ‘cause, like, I thought he’d want to sit next to Nat.”

Steve sighs. “Tony.”

“What!” Tony shifts a little, and Steve moves his weight higher up to reduce pressure on Tony’s knees. It’s kind of nice, actually – Tony’s lapis firm but with some cushiony give, though Steve will definitely get up in a minute or so once his point is made. “So if Bruce thinks I just have a weird chair-stealing fixation, then he can keep on believing that I’m dumb enough to not have noticed that that thing is going on.”

“Or maybe you can just not interfere at all,” Steve suggests.

“Oh please, like you haven’t not done anything yourself.”

“I haven’t been reduced to stealing furniture, no.”

“I have lows that will surprise even you.” Tony pauses. “As do you, apparently.”

Steve laughs under his breath. “Yeah.” He glances over at Bruce, who’s made his comfortable sitting in one chair, and his legs propped up on another. “Okay, Bruce is looking better, so please don’t antagonize him any more than necessary, all right?”

Steve starts to move his weight forward onto his feet but is stopped by Tony’s quiet: “No, Steve, wait, wait.” Tony’s voice is urgent and barely above a whisper. His hands come to Steve’s waist, fluttering lightly as though unsure if he’s allowed to touch or not. “Just – just don’t move yet, okay?”

Steve immediately tenses up, his first thought being that he’s hurt Tony. He carefully inches to the side a little, hoping to ease the pressure on Tony’s lap, and this is when he feels something twitch under his right buttcheek.

Steve freezes, Tony freezes, and the whole world briefly takes on the shocking glow of revelation, before it fades and devolves back to a relaxed and scenic daytime barbecue. A couple of yards away, Thor is holding Mjolnir out and letting a pair of the Barton kids swing from the handle.

“Ah.” Steve adds quickly, “Tony, it’s okay. You don’t need to freak out.”

“Me?” Tony says. “You think I’m the one who should be freaking out?”

Steve rolls his eyes, though Tony can’t see it. “I’m afraid to have to tell you this, but your appreciation of my ass is not subtle.”

“Okay fair, but, uh… that’s just, you know, aesthetic appreciation and this is, um…”

“It’s fine, don’t worry about it,” Steve says gently. “You want to me stay until it goes down? I can tell you some bad jokes, if it helps? Sam told me some doozies the other day.”

Tony doesn’t reply. Steve moves again, only to find that the tell-tale length feels rather more solid than it was five seconds ago.

“Wait, really?” Steve says in disbelief.

“It’s sexy, okay!” Tony hisses. “When you’re sweet and thoughtful it’s really sexy! If you want to help, you need to not do anything or say anything.”

“All right. Oh.” Steve shuts his mouth and keeps it shut. At least, he tries to keep it shut and be quiet, but he’s compelled to say out loud, “Sexy? Really?”

“You know what does not help? You saying that word.”

“Sexy? Or sex?”

“Steve!” Tony digs his fingers into Steve’s sides, making him half-yelp half-laugh. “Come on, you’ve been really mean to me today!”

“All right, sorry.” Steve releases a slow, calming exhale. “I’m sorry, I’ll be nice.” Then, because he can’t help himself from grabbing a once-in-a-blue-moon chance, “Just like how your thighs are nice.”

“Steve!” Tony exclaims. “Uh. Really?”

“Very solid.” Steve nods. “Comfy.”

“Oh. Thanks. I mean, I try not to miss leg day.”

“Excellent results.”

“Cool. Very cool. Yep. Okay, you can get off—I mean, you can…” Tony groans, which is Steve’s cue to slide off of Tony’s lap entirely and parkhis butt on the significantly less-warm and less-comfy slats of the deck chair.

Tony swings his legs over to one side and plants his feet on the ground, so that they’re effectively sitting by side. Tony doesn’t cross his legs, but Steve can see that he wants to.

They sit like that for a handful of weighty seconds, while the smell of the grill wafts over. Someone might even have yelled that the food is ready, not that Steve’s been paying attention.

Steve clears his throat. “You feeling better?”

“Yep,” Tony says. “Much. Thanks. But I think I’ll stay here for a while.”

“You want me to get a plate for you?”

“You would?” Tony definitely aborts crossing his legs just then, which is all sorts of flattering. “Yeah, that’d be nice, thanks.”

Steve stands up. He could go and will go, but Tony’s starting to look miserable, which just won’t do. “Okay,” Steve says, firmly but kindly, “Iam sorry that I made you uncomfortable—”

“Geez, Steve,” Tony sighs.

“—but would it make you feel better if I had one, too?”

“I don’t…” Tony trails off, his eyes widening. He slowly looks up at Steve. “You do?”

“Not right now, but I could.” This is 100% the wrong place for this, but isn’t it just like Steve’s life to dangle opportunities at the most inopportune moment. “For you. If it’d make you feel better.” Steve wills meaning into the words, and doubly wills Tony to understand.

“I… think it would,” Tony says slowly. “But not right now. Like you said.”

“Later?” Steve says, just to be sure.

Tony nods. “Later. Okay. Yeah.”

Steve smiles, and feels a leap in his chest when Tony responds with a dazed smile of his own.

“Good,” Steve says softly, and bounds off to get some lunch for both of them.

Though Steve’s enhanced hearing means that he still catches Tony’s under-the-breath, “What just happened?”

#scaramouche writes superhusbands fic #anonymous #superhusbands #SILLY THINGS

[daybreak-academy-fanfic]

Daybreak Academy: Chapter 56

New Student, Familiar Face

Summary: In which my dumb af ship from 2013 can once again set sail. Word Count: 1,674 First | Previous | Next ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆ ⚬ ☆

There were going to be about 50 new First Year students this year- Ven did the headcount. Was it a bad turnout? It seemed like a low number to him, considering how large the school was. He couldn't even remember his student orientation to recall the amount of students there. But weren't all the students cherry picked from around Departure County? Maybe this count was right after all.

'She's not here.' Vanitas grumbled somewhere to the left of Ventus.

“She is.” Ven mumbled back, making a vague motion to the sound of Vanitas's voice. “She promised she would be.”

Yet, despite telling himself otherwise, Ven still couldn't see Sabrina in the crowd. Right now, the new First Years were taking their house tests en masse in the auditorium. When they were done, they were to give their tests to the headmasters -all five sitting on the stage itself at a very long table- and wait for the others to finish. Once everyone had their tests reviewed, each headmaster took turns in announcing who was a part of their house. It was a very nerve racking time; it almost rivaled the stress during finals.

Ventus had thought that choosing to hide out in the balcony seat would have helped him see Sabrina better. He had been quickly proven wrong in that regard. Sure, he could see everyone, but he couldn't see them clearly. From the back you couldn't tell who was male or female- you only got a very good look at the back of their multicolored haired heads. Sabrina's hair was a raven black. He's never forget that. Too bad she wasn't the only new student with black hair, though…

“There she is!” Ventus declared, almost a bit too loud, when he saw Sabrina head up on stage to hand her test in. It took all it had in Ven to not shout her name and wave over to her in hopes of getting her attention. But it was a massive relief in knowing that she was attending Daybreak Academy; he didn't have to call for her because she'd be on campus from now on. Maybe if the orientation finished quick enough, they could have lunch together.

Ven let out a sigh of relief as he relaxed now. Knowing that Sabrina was here led him to wait for the orientations to finish. He was so relieved that, when Invi stepped forward to announce the students coming into her house, Ventus almost didn't hear Sabrina's name among them. It took a solid minute for the realization to sink in, and when it did, Ven's heart nearly stopped.

He and Sabrina were not going to be in the same house. Okay, yeah, sure, it had been a one out of five shot. They wouldn't be sharing many classes, but they could still see each other after. It could still work. You know, just like it did with Ephemer and his other friends. Nothing to freak out about. It was just… disappointing. Yeah… Really disappointing…

The orientations finished up about 30 minutes after the house results were announced. Ven had snuck out just before the stream of new students came out of the auditorium. He waited at the front entrance for Sabrina to come out- idly passing time by watching the clouds roll by.

He only had half a second to register the happy exclamation of “Ven!” before being tackled from behind. A loud, undignified shriek escaped the boy's lips as both he and his tackler crashed into the ground. Ventus blinked for a moment, waiting for his senses to come back, before realizing who had now pinned him to the ground.

“Sabrina!” he rasped. “You… you're…!”

A wide smile stretched onto Sabrina's face. “Lemme guess,” she said, “I'm a huge surprise! Or the best thing you've ever seen! Or, or…!”

“You're crushing my ribs.”

“Oh.” was the small answer. “Sorry about that...” and she quickly got off of him soon after. She even helped him get back onto his feet.

“So now what?” the girl asked him. “Classes start tomorrow, right? So what do we do now?”

Ventus blinked. There was no stopping with this girl, huh?

“We could go get lunch.” he offered. A nervous laugh escaped the corner of his lips. “The cafeteria isn't that far from here.”

“Sounds great!” Sabrina agreed with a cheerful nod. Ven smiled and before he was able to tell her anything else, Sabrina quickly grabbed him by the hand and led them both to the cafeteria.

. . .

“I can't believe we won't be in the same house.” Sabrina pouted. “What a bummer.”

“Yeah...” Ventus agreed with a little nod. “It'll be a bit harder to get together, but not impossible, I don't think.”

“Will the schoolwork be the same?”

“Should be. I'd have to ask Brain or Lauriam about that.” After a short pause, Ven then let out a small sound of remembrance. “Oh!” he exclaimed, “That reminds me...”

Ventus reached down into his backpack and pulled out a three-ring binder filled with paper.

“I, uh, I wanted to give you some of the notes I made last year.” he nervously said to her. “We won't have the same teacher for a lot of classes because we're in different houses, but it should still help. I think.”

“Sweet!” Sabrina declared, taking the binder without a second thought. “Thanks Ven!”

The boy bashfully smiled while scratching the back of his neck as Sabrina poured through his notes. They weren't the best, but they would still work for studying. Ven watched her- he was quick to notice the faces she made as she tried to make sense of curriculum she had yet to learn. Her eyebrows were knit together and her nose was scrunched up, almost like a little rabbit.

“What was it like being adopted by rabbits?” Ven asked her- not at all realizing what he said before it came out of his mouth.

“Hmm?” the girl hummed. It took her a moment to realize what he was asking; when she did, she looked up at him with her nose even more scrunched up in disgust. “Ortensia's a cat. Oswald's the rabbit.”

“O-oh...” Ven stumbled, “I didn't mean...”

“'S okay.” Sabrina told him with a little wave of her hand. “I know what you're sayin.' It wasn't bad, honestly. Can't complain. They had a lot of money that they didn't know what to do with. Such as it is when you've got a multimillion billionaire to call a brother, and he's one of the slightly more generous ones. Or maybe he has a really guilty conscience? Old Ozzie was cut off from the money for years, so I've been told.”

Then Sabrina's face softened a little. She looked Ventus over with a curious eye before asking, “What about you? What's your family like?”

If it was possible, Ventus's face went from a bright red to a ghost-like white. “M-my family isn't special.” he sheepishly claimed, averting his eyes from her.  “My parents are nice. I've got some siblings, but it's not...”

“How many?”

“Huh?”

“How many siblings do you have?”

“I have… four.” Ven confessed. “Last year, just before I started going to school here, my mom had a pair of triplets. Sora, Roxas, and Xion. Roxas, he… he looks a lot like me. It's really weird. I haven't gone to see them in awhile though- I plan on doing it soon. I've kinda been waiting for Mom or Dad to give the okay. Gets kinda hectic raising three babies at once, or something.”

“And what about the other one?”

He didn't mean to, but Ventus flinched. “What do you mean?” he asked her. But Sabrina wasn't having it; giving him an impatient click of her tongue.

“You said you have four siblings,” she pointed out, “So what about the other one?”

“It's a long story.”

“I have time.”

But Ventus shook his head. “I can't tell you.” he told her in a quiet voice. “You'll never want to be my friend again if I did.”

Sabrina raised a bemused eyebrow at this. She's probably only known Ventus for a full day now and she had massive doubts that she would suddenly decide not to like him. Family was family- how bad could it really be? And, by golly, was she a stubborn one.

“Can I have a name, at least?” she asked him- she even put on her best puppy pout. Ventus made the mistake of looking at her for half a second and immediately gave in.

“Vanitas.”

Without wasting a second, Sabrina followed up with another question. “What house is Vanitas in?”

Ven shrugged as he looked back down at the ground. “He's, uh, he's in An… guis...” He paused, only know realizing what he had said. He looked up at Sabrina with wide, fearful eyes. “Oh no.”

“Oh yes.” the girl snickered. “So he's here, at Daybreak, and we're in the same house! That's so awesome! I can't wait to-”

“But you can't!” Ventus quickly told her; he almost leaped at her to take her by the shoulders, but just barely stopped himself in time. “Vanitas is… Vanitas is…!”

His new friend was giving him a weird look. “Vanitas is…?” she repeated. She even rolled her hand at him- a not very subtle hint that he just needed to spit it out and get it over with. Ventus once more averted his eyes.

“You'll hate me.” he mumbled. Ven's fist started to clench as he thought about Vanitas. He couldn't tell Sabrina about his brother. She wouldn't understand. She just wouldn't…

Ven jumped when he felt Sabrina calmly place her hands into his. He looked up at her to be met with an unreadable expression. His heart leaped into his throat in realizing how much older she looked when she wanted to be dead serious; it was like the ten year old had switched bodies with a thirty year old instead.

“Ven,” Sabrina then said, her voice quiet and still, “Is Vanitas even real?”

#daybreak academy #chapter 56 #kingdom hearts fanfiction #Ventus #Vanitas #Sabrina #Season 1

[xxkellsvixen19xx]

Forget Me Not Jim Mason x Reader 50 First Dates AU Pt 3

Jim laid a hand on her thigh out sight and casual-like. Just a light pressure to let Y/N know he was there for her.

Her entire body tightened, and she darted a glance around the table to see if anyone was watching. Everyone else was far too interested in their conversation and the joint floating around. He leaned over slightly to whisper by her ear. "You know they love you to pieces. It's going to be just fine, angel eyes."

His use of her nickname made her lips twitch. But even more importantly, to his delight she snuck her hand over his, linking their fingers together and squeezing tightly in response.

"You two got something on your mind over there?" Chad's question buzzed angrily in Jim's ears.

It was rather amazing how much disapproval could be put into such simple words.

Y/N took a deep breath, but before she could speak Jim decided what the hell. He'd sooner be skinned for the whole disaster, no matter what she'd said before.

"Not a secret," Jim announced. "We're dating."

Other than her quick gasp of shock, there was no response to his comment. Not for a full five seconds. Then an uproar of noise hit from all sides.

"The hell?"

"Since when?"

"Are you serious?"

Over all the questions and cussing lay a deep, heavy rumble, starting low then increasing in volume until Mr. Y/D/L/N's laugh broke through. He waved his sons off. "Calm yourself, boys. You really surprised by this?" He clicked his tongue. "Never thought I’d raised a pack of dullards. I saw this coming from a mile away."

Y/N gave Jim  a dirty look before facing her father.

"What's that mean?"

The older man shrugged. "Means I'd seen you two making calf eyes at each other when you thought no one was looking. About time you came to your senses."

Chad stumbled to vertical, glaring daggers at Jim. "Bullshit. You can't be dating Y/N."

Jim stood to meet him eye to eye across the table. "Not your decision."

"She's still recovering from the accident. She doesn't need to get involved with anyone."

A stream of very creative swearing burst free from a most unexpected source. Jim waited cautiously until Chad looked away before also turning toward Y/N.

She'd stood as well, her much shorter status very clear as everyone loomed over her from where they’d all risen to their feet around the table. The vile language spewing from her mouth stuttered to a stop as she whipped out her finger and stuck it in her oldest brother’s face.

"The accident happened two months ago. I. Bumped. My. Head. That's it. I didn't have a lobotomy or revert to childhood. I've had enough of you wrapping me in cotton and refusing to let me do anything on my own. Yes, I have gaps in my memory, and yes, dealing with that is a pain in the ass. But you, Chad"-she glared around the table to take in all her brothers-"all of you, are even bigger pains. I did not break my brain, or my body. My sex drive did not vanish out the broken window, and I will not allow you, or anyone else, decide what will or won't happen in my life."

Jim wasn't sure the mention of sex was the wisest idea as eyes narrowed further, and fists were clenched. Only he couldn't worry about that because she'd spun her fury toward him.

"And you! You're the biggest pain of them all. I told you I wanted to do this myself. You agreed, and now you just leap in and do exactly the opposite of what I asked for? Damn you." Y/N stepped back from the table, her eyes full of fire as she planted her feet wide and crossed her arms. "Jim and I are not going out," she stated clearly.

Oh, shit. She was more upset by his taking control than he’d expected. He reached for her, but she twisted from his grasp.

"Forget it, Jim. We might be seeing more of each other in the future if you get your head out of your ass, but the only reason will be because you might be the father of my baby."

The question exploded from five male throats at the same moment.

Y/N lifted her chin, cheeks red, her chest heaving. "Yes. I'm pregnant. Jim insists he could be. That's all I'm going to say about this tonight because I'm sick of all of you. Good night."

She twirled on her heel and stomped from the room, the door slamming shut after her. Jim wavered between running after her and staying to explain to the guys.

He never saw it coming. The fist that connected with his jaw made stars burst before his eyes, and he stumbled backward before landing on the floor, five very angry faces staring down at him.

"Shall we bury him alive in the back forty?" Danny asked, wiggling his fingers to shake out the blow he’d delivered. "Hang him in the garage. We can use the welder’s torch and skin him first."

Jim shoved aside the anger inside that wanted to flare like a torch. "Let me explain, dammit."

Chad dragged a hand over his head then gestured his brothers aside. He extended his hand to Jim.

Jim eyed it with distrust.

His friend snorted. "Look, you surprised us all, but I’m not going to beat you any further, and neither will the others."

"Speak for yourself," Alex drawled. "What the hell is going on, Jim?"

"Boys, let him up." Y/D/F/N Y/D/L/N pushed through his sons to cast an unreadable stare upon Jim.

Alex looked disappointed. "Does this mean we're not killing him and hiding the body?"

Y/D/F/N rested a hand on his shoulder. "Not today, but there's still hope for tomorrow."

And with that, Jim sighed in relief. He was going to be forgiven, at least by the guys. ,Y/N on the other hand, was another issue. He'd have to watch his balls around her for the next while.

They all settled around the table, a little uneasy. More awkward than he'd ever felt with the family. "So, now what?" Alex asked.

"That one is easy," Y/D/F/N answered. "Now Jim finds a way to convince Y/N they’re a couple. If she's going to have a baby, she needs all the support she can get."

"So you’d better find a way to convince Y/N she wants you in her life, or else," Chad snapped. Chad's ultimatum pissed Jim off all over.

"There’s nothing I want more." The secret seed of fear inside was shoved down and ignored as Jim went nose to nose with his stubborn best friend. “Did you not listen to what I said about sending you an email, you stupid ass? Did you not hear the part about how I'm the one who came to her before she even told me about the baby?"

"Easy words to say when none of it can be proved."

"Still say we take him outside and work him over,"  Alex muttered.

"Shut up, all of you." Mr. Y/D/L/N didn’t shout. Didn't storm, but his intensely spoken comment quelled all four of his sons. "Stop poking at Jim. He knows what he did was wrong, and if my baby girl is going to have a man in her life, I like Jim."

Warmth rushed him at the man’s words of acceptance. "Thank you, sir."

Y/D/F/N turned toward him with ice in the depths of his purple eyes. "You hurt her again, though, and I'll shoot you myself."

Ahh, family. Jim straightened up and wondered if he was going to survive.

Remembering the expression of fury in Y/N's eyes, he just might be better off dealing with the guys.

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

Y/N pulled herself alert. She was only a moment away from sliding into a puddle of relaxation in the overstuffed easy chair, tired from her week and everything that had been going on.

Medina had plopped herself on the floor to apply a new layer of polish to Y/N's toes. Instead of Friday night at the pub, Medina had suggested a girls’ home spa. The laid-back evening was so much better than fighting the noise and the crowds. Y/N was in heaven.

"Skipping away from the baby talk for a minute." Heather leaned forward on her elbows. "Tell me to butt out if you're not sharing, but what's this I hear about Jim.Mason basically camping out in your front yard?"

Y/N wasn't sure if she was pissed off or pleased with his relentless attention. "I laid down the law about two weeks ago, and ever since he's been trying to get back in my good books."

"Is it working?" Medina snorted. "Jim has not yet perfected the art of the grovel, we'll just put it that way."

"Hmm." Cami and Annisa, two more of Y/N's friends, exchanged glances. "A good grovel is always nice,”  Cami admitted.

"Followed by make-up sex, right?" Annisa grinned. "So, what’s he not doing right? Not being determined enough?"

Y/N stopped to think for a minute. Jim had been persistent-that much was in his favor. "I don’t think he understands what he did wrong in the first place."

"Of course he doesn’t." Heather grabbed a pitcher and topped up her drink. "He’s a guy. The words 'I was wrong' kind of stick in their throats and end up coming out as 'Get over it, little woman, I know best.'

A snort escaped before Y/N could stop it. "Yeah, that’s about the entire story."

"So, all he needs to do is say he was wrong?" Medina tilted her head to the side. "I would have thought this situation required more than that."

"Oh, 'I was wrong' would be the first step," Y/N agreed. "But until he figures out that this is my life, I'm not letting him back in. It's bad enough with my brothers wanting to make decisions for me."

"And you don’t need another big brother, right?" Ava winked at her. "I know you probably hate getting asked, but how are you feeling?"

"Much better,” Y/N admitted happily. "Morning sickness is done. Lots of energy. I haven’t got back my memory, but I have progressed in my math beyond two plus two is four."

"Hmm, too bad you have no memory of sexing it up with Jim." Cami waggled her brows. "I bet he’s got some moves."

"I can’t believe sex with Jim wasn’t memorable enough to stay in your brain no matter what. I mean, do you think he's got a teeny penis or something, and your mind is trying to wipe that out?"

"Not the size of the equipment, it’s how well they use it," Annisa quipped innocently, batting her lashes at the laughter that rose from the other women. "Well, that’s what they say, right?"

"No, I doubt Jim is lacking penis power. Unless he's shoving socks into his jock strap, the guy's got the goods."

Like a barometer, Y/N’s cheeks had responded to the chatter. She didn't really want to speculate on Jim's... equipment. "Sorry. Memory loss doesn’t pick and choose to save the juicier tidbits for repeat consumption. We'll have to stick with 'I don't remember’ on this one."

Laughter exploded, and Y/N relaxed back into her happy haze of food and friends. It wasn't the size of Jim's equipment that interested her -well, okay, not completely. But if she remembered the act, she'd know for sure who was involved in making the baby in her belly. She slipped her hands over the slight bulge beginning to show and wished again for a miracle, like total recall. It didn't come, but the friendship and warmth around her helped. Helped a lot.

The next morning Jim shifted uneasily on his feet and waited for Y/N to answer his knock. It was just past ten. Late enough she would have had time to sleep in a little and dress, because he didn't need any temptation to mess this up.

It sort of worked. She was awake. The woman who pulled the door open had bright eyes and a rested face; only she was still wrapped in a mass of soft terry cloth. Her robe ended at mid-thigh, and Jim snapped his gaze back up to safer territory.

He swallowed hard. "Hi."

She lifted one brow in a perfect Vulcan imitation. "Hi." Jim paused. "How you doing?"

Y/N nodded. "Good."

Ah, fuck it. "I'm so sorry, Y/N. I was an ass, and I had no right to butt in and go around your wishes."

She opened the door all the way and they headed towards the kitchen. She watched with a bemused attitude from where she’d pushed herself up to sit on the counter. "What are you doing, Jim?"

"Apologizing." He lifted his glass to her. "Trying to find a way to truly be there for you and make up for my stupid move at dinner a while back."

Y/N lifted her hand to touch his jaw where the final tinge of a bruise was slowly fading. "You got worked over by my brothers that night. I'm sorry for leaving you to them."

Jim stood stock-still as her soft fingers caressed his cheek. "I blew it more ways than one that night."

"You did." She patted his cheek gently then leaned forward to whisper, “But I'm ready to forgive you. Only for heaven's sake, stop acting like some ball-less dweeb."

Jim couldn't help but to laugh. "That's blunt."

Y/N shrugged. "It’s the new Y/N-I tend to speak my mind a little sooner. So here’s the deal. You will not fuck up and go against my express wishes, and I'll stop my brothers from beating on you."

Jim nodded. "And you'll let me get involved in your life; however it will help you the most. Whether that’s getting things ready for the baby's arrival, or being there to rub your feet or ..." He'd spotted the circle on the calendar on the wall. "Or going to prenatal visits with you."

She hesitated. "I don't know how I feel about that."

"That’s not true." Jim laid a hand over hers where it rested on the counter. "Come on, new Y/N, tell me what's racing through your mind."

She stared down at their fingers. "I'm afraid to let you in, I'm afraid to have you around and then have you taken off down the road." Her head lifted and those beautiful eyes stared into his soul. "I want you to be there for more than just the baby."

Jim stroked her fingers lightly. "I’m here. In spite of your fears." In spite of his own. "I wanted you before the baby was in the picture, and I'll want you no matter what." That much he could say with full and complete honesty.

The moment hung between them. Anticipation and longing right there. All his concerns and worries were overwhelmed by the need to have Y/N make the decision for him. To be with him, and give him a chance. Even though her accepting him would open up a world of nightmares-facing those would be worth it. Had to be worth it. He'd chosen to be a better man than his father, and this was the place that he made his stand.

Y/N moved so slowly, but finally she did move. Leaned toward him and rested her head on his shoulder. He slipped up a hand to brush the inch-long hair over her scalp, the softness against his palm like satin.

She leaned away. "Okay."

His heart raced like an out-of-control train. "Okay?"

She nodded. "You can come to the prenatal with me. And you can do some stuff around here, to help get things ready for the baby."

Jim waited, then got tired of waiting. "And us?" He demanded.

Her tongue snuck out quickly as she moistened her lips. "Well, I suppose we could start seeing each other."

He wanted to toss his fist into the air and shout, but that might freak her out. So instead he picked her up and twirled her. Hugging her close as she laughed. "Put me down, silly."

Jim lowered her carefully, reluctant to allow her warm, soft body to leave contact with his. "Does that mean we can go on a date?"

"Yes." She got an evil look in her eyes. He lowered himself onto the open space next to her, leaving room between them. There would be time to make a move on the physical side of things soon enough, now that she was letting him in. Letting him have a chance to do the right thing, and more.

She leaned back, the sunshine in the window making her soft and edible, and incredibly beautiful. "You have any plans for the day?"

"You are my plans."

Her smile bloomed, and Jim's heart swelled a little. It wasn’t what he’d expected to be doing, but in the big scheme of things-it was right.

@michael-langdon-appreciation

Credit to @carolthors

#jim mason #tribes of palos verdes #fan fiction

[distant-rose-archive-blog]

I'm not going to lie, I'm trash for the concept of Hook and Emma's daughter being with Gideon and I totally want to see some Beth and Gideon action but I am super intrigued by the mention of Jim Hawkins as Beth's SO and how that plays out. If you're not too busy and are up to it, would you mind giving us a taste of that relationship?

You and a lot of other people have made comments about Beth/Gideon interaction in the Little Pirates universe. Unfortunately (I guess), that will never be a serious romance in either Little Pirates or Ever After series. Though I did think about it and Beth/Gideon is something that happens very, very briefly and it’s something neither party had an invested interest in. The first romance I ever conceived for Beth was actually with Ariel and Eric’s son. However, this was nixed when I decided to fully commit to my pirate outline for Beth and I decided to really work on her having those types of adventures.

 Out of all the ships I’ve worked on for either series, Beth and Jim is probably the most fun and the most frustrating because it takes them FOREVER. They meet when Beth is 19 (Jim is 27. He’s 8 years older than her) and finds herself stranded in the Enchanted Forrest, looking for a way to get back home. It’s this adventure that really kicks off Beth as an individual and gives her an actual identity that she’s proud of. Jim and Beth are not an immediate ship by any means. It literally takes them five years to admit they have “chemistry.” However, the two lovely ladies who actually know all of my plans/ideas for the Ever After series will both tell you that Jim and Beth (or JimBeth as we’ve calling it) is one of their favorite ships for this universe. I have a lot written for these two already, which is why it’s jumping my queue. So with that being said, here is 2,300+ words written from Jim’s POV on the first meeting between 19 year old Beth Jones and 27 year old Jim Hawkins in the Enchanted Forest. Rated: T+ 

Jim Hawkins was twenty-seven and four years out of the navy when Elizabeth Snow Jones caught his eye for the first time. She was a willowy creature who looked like she just entered womanhood, with wild dark hair and cunning green eyes, sitting at Captain Isaac’s card table with an over confident smirk on her face. She was dressed like no woman or whore he had ever seen, but it didn’t necessarily bother him or any of the other patrons. They were in a ship port after all and people from all walks of life stopped and took temporary sanctuary here. She was just another exotic creature; a temporary fascination really. A dangerous one too, Jim noted almost right away as he watched her play cards with some of the nastiest bunch of cheats that Jim had the displeasure of knowing. Just by looking at her, he knew that she was more of a card shark than a pretty face; there was strategy in the way she held cards against her chest but low enough that the men at the table had an ample view of her exposed cleavage. Everything about her screamed trouble.

“That’s tragedy waiting to happen right there,” his boatswain Falken remarked, following Jim’s gaze. “She either naive or overly confident if she thinks Isaac is going to let her leave this tavern with both the gold and her virtue. Pity because she’s a young pretty thing.”

Jim made noise of agreement, but his brow troubled at the thought. He knew Falken was right. Captain Isaac had a horrible reputation of not only disemboweling anyone who “cheated” him of his winnings, but also one of being rough with women. Jim had found everything about him distasteful but knew better than to make it his business. He tried to play hero many times before when he was in the navy and when he started out again as a pirate. It always ended badly, especially for him. John Silver had always told him that his sense of justice, honor and duty would get him killed someday and it had taken Jim nearly four years to agree with his old mentor and foster father. Still, he watched the game anxiously with a knot in his stomach growing with every round she won.

“Well, it’s been fun, boys!” The young woman smirked as she drew all the gold into a leather pouch, which had been stored inside her strange leather jacket. “But it’s late and time for me to leave.”

Jim nearly groaned when she stood up from the table. He knew exactly what was coming and he had no desire to witness this. It was one of the things he really hated about this life. Jim had no stomach or tolerance for senseless and unwarranted violence. He had kicked many a talented crewman off of his ship for such unsavory behavior. She was half way through her escape when Isaac and his men stood up, one of them lunging forward and catching her by her long hair. She let out a surprised yelp as she was pulled backwards. The entire tavern turned to watch the ugly scene, but no one made a move to stop them. Jim’s hand tightened into a fist, his knuckles turning white.

“Oh, but the fun is only beginning, lass,” Isaac sneered, roughly grabbing her cheek and pushing his thumb into her flesh; hard enough that Jim knew it would leave a bruise. Her eyes went wide as she caught the implication in his words. “Did you really think I was going to let a cheating whore like you leave?”

A protective angry flare caught aflame inside of him. It was a curious thing to realize that there was still a sense of honor in him after all these years. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t sit by and watch Isaac roughen up this young woman. Jim was reaching for his saber before even giving conscious thought to it. Jim was a military trained swordsman as well as a large man whose strength was rarely matched by his peers. If anyone could handle Isaac and his men, it would be him.

“Jim, don’t,” Falken warned, placing an arm on Jim’s shoulder. He paid his boatswain no mind, allowing the righteous fury to fuel him as he brushed the hand away and pushed forward. He could hear the man muttering about navy men and misplaced honor, but Jim disagreed. There was no way he was going to let Isaac violate a woman who was barely more than a child.

Jim pushed his way forward, sword in hand and eyes blazing with anger. Isaac and his men stared at him in shock, not used to anyone interfering with their affairs. The girl in their custody also appeared to be taken aback as well. She obviously hadn’t expected anyone who to help her. Perhaps she wasn’t that much of a fool after all.

“Leave her be,” Jim commanded hotly.

“You really want to fight us, Hawkins?” Isaac laughed in astonishment. “Over some cheating and whoring doxy? I’m not sure if you remember, but you’re not a navy boy anymore, you self-righteous prick! You’re a bloody deserter and I will gut you like the scum you are and fuck her right on top of your corpse.”

At his words, Jim saw red and he moved forward to spear Isaac with his sword when the girl speared him instead. She had pulled a knife that appeared to have been stored beneath her leather jacket and stabbed Isaac in his soft part of his belly. It was obviously to Jim that she was comfort handling a knife, but he could tell by the expression she made as she pierced his flesh that this was her first time actually stabbing someone. Her face was reflection of horror, shock, hysteria and, more eerily, fascination. However, she didn’t let these emotions completely over take her as she kicked backwards to free herself from the crewman’s grip on her hair. Someone had taught this young woman to fight and they had taught her well.

Isaac fell onto his knees. His scream of agony made the hairs on the back of Jim’s neck stand on edge. Jim didn’t allow himself to ponder too much on Isaac. He knew from experience that the wound was a fatal one. He was more worried about the woman child getting out alive. He reached forward, bringing his saber down on a man’s arm as he tried to grab her. As the man clutched his now bloody stump with incredulous expression, Jim saw his own crew leap into action and join in on the fray. The girl whirled around, watching the action around her with a look of shock before she met Jim’s gaze with almost feral eyes.

“Come with me if you want to live,” Jim barked at her, gesturing towards the door with the nod of his head and making an impatient movement with his bloodied sword. He watched her eyes bounce between the blood covered sword to his face. Her expression on her face made her decision clear.

“If you say so, Arnold,” she replied faintly and Jim decided not to acknowledge her odd response with words, but rather took a firm grip of her arm and forced her towards the door as all hell broke loose. She trailed after him, masterfully dodging the bloody brawl that was happening around them, though Jim could feel her shaking a bit under his grasp. He hoped she didn’t go into shock.

Once they had safely left the tavern and were good way down the docks near his ship, Jim released his hold on the girl and glared at her in annoyance; pushing her away from him slightly. She was trouble, he knew it and he got something involved anyway. He had been stupid and impulsive, getting himself tangled with her mess and endangering his crew alongside himself. Silver was right. His misplaced sense of honor and justice was really going to get himself in trouble someday.

“What in blazes were you thinking playing cards against Isaac? If I hadn’t stepped in, his men would have raped and murdered you regardless of that little knife stunt back there,” he shouted out her, reaching forward to grasp her shoulders and give her a firm bodily shake.

She surprised him once more by slapping his hands away, straightening her back and glaring back at him. Her eyes narrowed into slits and flashing dangerously. Jim watched as her nostrils flaring like an angry bull’s. Instead of wilting under his frustration and looking at him in fear like he expected her too, she looked pissed off. She was a strong one, he had to give her that.

“Forgive me, but I didn’t know that. I was in dire need of cash and just in case you haven’t noticed, but I’m not exactly from around here!” She shouted back at him, gesturing to her clothing.

It was a strange ensemble of a short leather coat, scandalous skintight green shirt, a pair of odd blue trousers and the most bizarre pair of boots that Jim had ever seen. The most curious thing that caught his eye however was the necklace. Around her neck on a silver chain sat a dark steel fishing hook that was shaped in an odd way. He had absently noted her strange clothing before, but it had been pushed to the back of his mind in favor of focusing on the angry wasps nest she had created inside the tavern. Her clothing was fitted in ways that weren’t necessarily fashionable in the Enchanted Forrest and he had never seen such material used to make clothes before.

“What the hell has you so desperate that you’re playing cards with criminals?” He asked, studying her hard. She shifted under his gaze uncomfortably, the first sign of possible weakness that he had seen from her all night.

“I am in desperate need of finding something and I was hoping to raise enough money to get myself an expedition crew,” she responded vaguely.

“And what exactly are you looking for?” He asked, curiosity taking over anger for a moment as he regarded her with a raised eyebrow. She was a strange girl from a different land with a spine of steel, eyes for mischief and a penchant for trouble. He found her fascinating in all the ways that Silver would disapprove. He wouldn’t do anything about it however. She was far too young for him; at least nine or ten years his junior he was willing to bet.

She seemed troubled by the question and Jim could tell by her expression that she was debating whether or not it was worth it for her to tell him what she was looking for. He couldn’t possibly imagine what this girl would want that was so dire or valuable that she couldn’t tell him. There wasn’t much left to the Enchanted Forrest in the decades that had passed since the Dark Curse.

“A magic bean,” she replied in a hush tone. “Like I said, I’m not from around here. I didn’t necessarily come here willingly and I just need to get back home.”

Jim’s eyes went wide and he immediately thought of the secret treasure that went beyond just Florin gold back on Flint’s Treasure Island. He pushed back on his heels for a moment, contemplating his options while studying the look on her face. She still looked annoyed but in her eyes, he could see her sincerity alongside fear and determination. In the end, it wasn’t much of an option for Jim at all; misjudged sense of honor indeed.

“I know where to find a magic bean,” Jim started, pausing to lick his cracked lips. He could see by her expression that her proverbial ears had perked. “I could take you to one if you like…” He trailed off, firmly pausing the ball into her court.

“Really?”

“Aye,” Jim replied firmly. “And I will take all of that lovely gold there alongside something else as payment.”

The girl’s green eyes went even wider from a moment before she narrowed them at him, anger and wariness lurking behind the surface. He watched her fingers fidget and recognized it for it was, the movements of someone who was ready to fight tooth and nail in order to survive. She left her knife behind in Isaac’s stomach, but Jim wasn’t sure what else she had stored underneath the jacket. He didn’t know whether to be offended or amused at the obvious dark place that her mind had taken her to. However, he couldn’t necessarily blame her. She was in a tough spot and she didn’t know him. She couldn’t afford to trust him though he was being entirely genuine.

“Oh,” she said, almost sounding casual. “And what would that be?”

“Your name,” Jim replied with a small chuckle. She looked at him in disbelief.

“My name?” She repeated incredulously.

“Your name,” he affirmed, slightly amused.

“Elizabeth Swann,” she replied cooly, and she said it with such conviction that it didn’t register to him at that moment that she had lied to him. The wariness in her eyes and posture dissipated but the annoyance remained. It was obvious to him that this “Elizabeth Swann” had a backbone of complete steel.

“Pleased to meet you, Miss Swann. My name is James Hawkins. Most people call me Jim, but you can call me Captain of the Silver’s Spell.”

#asks #anon #answered #little pirates #beth jones #jim hawkins #ouat future fic #captain swan daughter #jimbeth #my fic #my shit #ever after fic #little pirates fic #jim meet beth #ever after

[fuckyeahalexjo]

Not sure if you're still accepting prompts but.. Jo and Alex talk through their problems and spend the night together in the loft for the first time in a while? :)

“Steph, I swear I’m fine. Go home!” Jo yelled outfrom her spot on the couch wrapped up in a throw. It had been a long day: shehad lost two patients and Kepner had given her draft for a possible article submissionback with what seemed like a hundred revisions to make. And then there wasAlex.

They had been talking more since she had spent time on hisservice a couple of weeks ago. Everything was fine, comfortable even, betweenthem, but it was everyone else that was the problem.

Every time she spoke to him, it seemed like all of thehospital’s eyes were on them. She knew it upset Andrew, Steph always gave hersickening sympathetic stares, and Grey always glared at her as if Jo had justpersonally killed a hundred orphans. Jo rolled her eyes and unburied herselffrom piles of paper and textbooks when the knock at the door became louder. Shereadjusted the throw around her shoulders as she shuffled across the loft andpulled the door open, “Look Steph, I told you. I’m fi-”

She stopped suddenly as she met warm brown eyes that had ahint of insecurity shining through, “Hey.” She stood quietly, juststarting at him in surprise when Alex’s gaze faltered, “Sorry, I shouldn’thave…”

“It’s okay,” she cut him off as she stepped to theside, “Come in.” He hesitated for a moment, causing her to smilesoftly at him, “I would have said that even if you weren’t holding a pizza,but now that I’ve seen it, whether you stay or decide to go, that pizza’sstaying here.”

He chuckled as the left side of his lips curled up inamusement, “You’d seriously take the pizza out of my hands and shut thedoor in my face?”

Jo laughed at his teasing and walked towards therefrigerator to get them both a bottle of beer, “I mean, I’d keep it openso you could watch me eat it if you wanted to.” She turned back towardshim so he could see that she was serious, “But I wouldn’t shut youout.”

He smiled nervously and followed her lead by sitting at thetable, “Good to know.”

She ripped a couple of paper towels for them and handed hima plate, “So what’s the reason for this visit?”

Alex shrugged and tried not to meet her eyes, “Youseemed like you were having a bad day and I figured with how we’ve been lately,I don’t know, I just thought you could use a friend today that’s all.”

She looked at him skeptically, “Today?”

He looked at the table as he chewed his pizza, “I meannot that this has to be significant or anything…”

“I knew it,” she mumbled as she rolled her eyes asher arm collapsed onto the kitchen table in defeat, “Alex, you don’t oweme anything. It’s a nice thing to do and all, but…”

He looked up to glare at her, “I’ve spent the last fivebirthdays with you Jo, I don’t see how this one has to be different….Unlessyou really don’t want me here.”

She smiled as he trailed off insecurely, “No, it’sfine. I just don’t want you to feel like you owe me anything cause you don’t.”

Alex dipped his crust into some marinara sauce as a silencehung over them for a moment before he spoke softly, “Then why do I feellike I do?”

Jo froze with the pizza halfway to her mouth as he looked upat her hesitantly. Was he seriously wanting an answer from her? Did he want tohave a serious talk about everything? Or was he just trying to feel out heremotions? She sighed in frustration of how complicated everything was,“Well you don’t.” Jo bit her lip as she dropped the pizza on herplate and wiped her hands on the napkin, deciding to go for broke, “Isthat what this is? Pity pizza?”

“No!”

“Or, ‘I’m sorry I wanted to marry you and bought a ridiculouslybeautiful ring for you’ pizza? Or ‘I’m sorry so many dickheads have beaten you downover the years, let me make up for all men’ pizza?”

His eyes sparkled with part sadness, but also a littleamusement, “It’s 'I thought you might be hungry, and I miss my friend’pizza. Now can you settle down?”

She blinked several times as he continued to stare at her. Friend?Could she be just his friend? She wasn’t sure she could ever be that again,“Friend?”

Alex’s slight smile faded as he looked down at his plate toavoid her eyes, “It was always easy to talk to you. I miss that.” Hestraightened up and drank from his bottle as she watched him with interest. Hesighed as he placed the bottle back on the table and ran his thumb over thelabel, seemingly collecting his thoughts. When he finally spoke, his voice wasslightly hoarse, “I used to think it was all crap.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she studied him, her voice low tomatch his, “What was crap?”

He glanced up to meet her eyes for a split second beforeglancing away again. He shifted uncomfortably in his chair, “The 'Imarried my best friend’ people. I never fully believed that.” He looked upand met her eyes, his stare unwavering, “Until you.”

The honesty in his voice and sincerity in his eyes almostmade her gasp, “Alex…I…”

He snorted and picked up his pizza once more, “Youdon’t have to agree.” He shrugged, still not looking at her, “I mean,I’ve come to realize it was never the same for you and that’s okay. Itjust…sometimes these things just don’t work out. It’s nobody’s fault.”

Jo sat silently, soaking up his words. She pushed the plateaway, suddenly not hungry at all, “What makes you say that?”

His head shot up to give a surprised look, “Whywouldn’t I? You couldn’t even tell me about your marriage.” He stopped andlowered his voice, taking on a calmer tone, “Look, I don’t want to fightabout it, that’s not fair to you. But come on Jo, you never trusted me at thelevel I trusted you.”

Jo bit her lip, so many thoughts and emotions soaringthrough her at the same time, “If that’s true, why didn’t you tell meabout your embryos with Izzie before I found that receipt?”

He stared at her dumbfounded and if the conversation wasn’tso serious, she might have laughed. His eyes narrowed in disbelief, “Areyou serious right now?”

“Why didn’t you tell me? If you trusted me that muchand I was your BFF, why didn’t you talk to me about it?”

He growled low in his throat, “That’s different and youknow it.”

“How? Was it not painful for you? Was it not something painfulthat you wanted to push away to the back of your mind? I realize that yoursecret about Izzie didn’t affect me as much as my marriage affected you, but Ihave a hundred reasons why I couldn’t tell you. And it’s a battle I foughtevery single day and will probably continue to fight for the rest of my life.You think I enjoyed keeping that from you? What, you think I did it to hurt yousome way? I get you can’t understand that, cause I don’t always do, but damn itAlex, I don’t need your condemnation, I have enough of that already on myown.”

“I don’t…you think I blame you?” The look ofsadness and regret in his eyes tore at her heart, “How can you think that, Jo?”

She shook her head quickly as she looked away, “Okay maybeshame is a better word, but still…I’m sorry I couldn’t be better…”

“Stop,” he interjected as he leaned back in his seat and ranhis hands over his head, “Please don’t apologize like that, it…you have nothingto be sorry about.”

Jo narrowed her eyes in confusion and shook her head eventhough he wasn’t looking at her, “I owe you a hundred apologies, Alex. Atleast. I was…my whole life, I’ve never….I’m sorry, I just don’t know how tohandle all of this.”

She watched as he rolled his lips in, a move she knew meanthe was searching for what to say. He sighed as he leaned back forward onto thetable, the legs of the chair clacking against the floor. Alex leaned onto hiselbows, almost rocking before he finally quit fidgeting and looked down at thetable, his voice softer, “Do you know how many nights I wished and…and even prayedthat my mother would decide to leave when I was a kid?” He chuckled quietly, alow rueful sound before he looked up at her with a slight smirk, “I should askyou since you’re the math expert. It was two months after my sixteenth birthdaywhen he left so how many days would that have been?”

She stared at him questioningly, unsure if he really wanteda serious answer, but decided when he didn’t speak that he was waiting on herto calculate it. She looked to the side, “It would be about five thousand ninehundred and six.”

Alex hiked his eyebrows playfully, seeming to try to breakthe tension somewhat, “About?”

She shrugged lightly, “Leap years can throw me off. Plus youdidn’t say if it was exactly two months after your birthday or not.”

He snorted under his breath, “Smart ass.” He then becameserious once more, “It would still be off, because at some point around middleschool I stopped wishing for it.”

Jo furrowed her brows when he didn’t continue, “Why?”

He looked up and met her eyes without any hesitation in hisvoice, “I knew he would kill her. I knew he’d find us and kill her, maybe us too,I don’t know. I just…I just knew.”

Jo nodded and wrapped her arms around herself, suddenlyfeeling cold, “The first time I left…” She paused, her heart racing as shethought back on it, “I thought it would be easy. I had been a street kid andused to nothing, but…he knew where to look for me. And he showed up like aprince on a white horse, you know?” She looked up at Alex, who was hanging onevery word, the sadness in his eyes too much for her, “He said he was sorry,that I deserved better, that he wanted me home with him, that he could dobetter, that he missed me. I believed him and in the time I had been with him Ihad gotten used to not being cold at night and having a warm meal and beingable to take a shower when I wanted.” She shrugged slightly and tried to keepthe bitterness out of her voice, “So I went back.”

She glanced up and wasn’t surprised to see that he had bentdown to avoid her eyes. She swallowed to try to ease the lump in her throat andwas surprised when he spoke, “How long were things okay?”

Jo laughed derisively, “He started beating me as soon as thedoor closed.” She licked her lip, almost able to taste blood there like she hadso many times all those years ago, “He said I had embarrassed him by him notknowing where his own wife was and that it wouldn’t happen again. He took mykeys and dumped my car somewhere and started keeping track of how much money Ihad. I left three more times before I finally got away.”

Alex nodded, his jaw clenching as he processed what she hadsaid, “I just don’t understand why you felt you couldn’t tell me.”

She shook her head as a single tear fell from her cheek, “I stillregret you knowing. If I could go back and do it over, I…I still may not haveever told you.” She watched as he leaned back in the chair, sighing heavily inagitation. She rubbed her eyes, feeling exhausted, “I would have told you a lotsooner that marriage wasn’t in the cards for me. That was selfish and I shouldhave let you find someone else.”

Alex’s eyes snapped up to meet hers, “Are you freakingserious right now? You’d just break it off and never tell me why? Why did youeven start dating me?”

“I had such strong feelings for you, more than I ever hadfor anyone, but I honestly thought there was no way the two of us would getthis far. I was sure you would have left me years ago.”

Alex snorted, “Yeah right, like that was ever going tohappen.”

There was an uneasy silence that settled over them for a fewmoments before Jo spoke, her voice cracking slightly, “I’m so very sorry, Alex.”

He looked up, his eyes shining with a trace of moisture, “Yeah,me too.” He rubbed his forehead, exhaustion starting to show for him too, “I domiss you, Jo. And I…I don’t know what I want, I wish I did, but…I do know that Imiss you.”

She licked her lips and nodded slightly as her eyesfluttered closed, “Me too.”

“Do you…,” he started shakily as if he was not sure how toword what he wanted to say, “Would you maybe tell me more? About it all? Atleast when you feel like talking about what….” He trailed off, seeming anxious,“Damn it, you know what I’m trying to say.”

Despite everything, she felt herself smile slightly, “Youwant to talk about it more?”

“I don’t want to push you,” he started, “I just…I feel likeI don’t know you as well as I thought I did.” He looked up to meet her eyes, “ButI want to.”

Jo sat in stunned silence at his words for a moment, “As afriend or are you saying that you….”

“A friend,” he interjected quickly, “For now anyway. I just….Idon’t know how I feel about the rest of it, but I’m saying if you want to talkabout it…I’m here.”

She nodded and looked away as she started to stand to putaway the leftover pizza, “That’s fair. I get it.”

She could feel Alex’s eyes on her as she fumbled around fora storage bag. She was focusing so much on trying not to cry that she didn’teven notice him standing and walking towards her. Jo jumped slightly when sheturned and almost ran into him, the pizza dropping to the floor as Alex reachedout to steady her; however, she still couldn’t look at him, upset with the coldtruth that there really wasn’t any hope left for them. His hands loosened fromher arms and he backed up a half step, but she could still feel his eyes onher, “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing.”

“That’s crap. What did I say wrong?” She shook her headquickly as she bent to pick up the bag of pizza, surprised at his soft,regretful voice, “I’m sorry, Jo, I just need time to….to think.”

“What is there to think about? People fall in love and theyfall out of love. Like you said, it’s no one’s fault. I just…I don’t know if Ican do the friendship thing with you.” She looked up so he could see how sorryshe was, but was taken back by the smile on his face, “What?”

“You think I just friendzoned you or something?”

“That’s what you said.”

He snorted, “Jeez, we do suck at communicating.” Shecontinued to stare blankly at him as the smile disappeared from his face and hetook a tentative step towards her, “I still…I still love you, Jo. I just don’tknow what to do with that right now.”

“You do?” She could feel her nose scrunch up in question, “I…”

He put his hands on his hips and tilted his head, his voiceraising in disbelief, “Do you really think I would have agreed to a ten yearprison sentence if I didn’t?”

She shook her head quickly, “I wasn’t sure if that was justabout me. I mean, other stuff could have gone into that decision…”

She trailed off as he shook his head in slight amusementbefore becoming serious again, “I wanted to protect you and do right by youbecause it would have been the right thing to do. But I also did it because Istill love you.”

Jo blinked furiously to keep the tears from falling, hervoice barely a whisper, “I love you too and it’s killing me.” In a heartbeatshe was wrapped in a tight hug, his hand stroking her back in an effort to calmher and probably himself too. They stayed that way for a while, each one’s mindracing with what they had learned and shared and hopes of what was to come.Before Jo could stop herself, she whispered in his ear, “Stay with me.”

He pulled back and looked at her questioningly, “That’s nota good idea.”

“You said you wanted to know more, right? I know you’re offtomorrow and I am too.”

“Jo…”

She pushed on, feeling more confident about her suggestionnow that she had a better idea of where they stood, “You remember how we usedto be when we would stay up till the wee hours of the morning talking abouteverything?”

Alex smirked, “We did more than just talking and you know it.”He sobered as he shook his head regretfully, “I’m just not ready for that.”

Jo rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips, “Yousaying you can’t spend the night with me and keep your hands to yourself?”

At this, he laughed, “Are you serious right now? You damnwell know the answer to that one.”

“Alex, we were friends for months where we talked all nightwhile drinking and goofing off and you never made a move on me. We can managethis.”

He continued to shake his head, “I’ve now had the forbiddenfruit though. There is no way I can sleep in the same bed with you and nottouch you, especially after not being with you for months.”

Jo smirked, “What part of talking did you not understand?Look, we’ll keep our clothes on and sit on opposite sides of the couch. And youcan ask me anything, I’ll be an open book. Or at least I’ll try to be.” Shewalked over to the couch and began placing throw pillows in the middle, “See,extra buffer.”

Alex watched her skeptically, “Jo, I’d love to, I just…” Hestopped when she raised up and stared at him. She saw the resistance melt awayslowly before he began walking towards her, “Okay…but keep your hands toyourself. And maybe we both need another beer.”

Jo smiled warmly and nodded in agreement. As he walked backto the refrigerator, she kept retrieving more pillows and brought over largerpillows from the bed, handing one to Alex in exchange for a beer. At hisquestioning glance, she shrugged, “In case we need to lean back. Don’t want usboth to end up hurting our necks.” He nodded and placed the large pillow in hislap, angling his body to be able to look at her without twisting. She took hertime getting situated, trying to stall a little bit as she knew theconversation was about to drain her. When she was sure she had all the suppliesshe would need including her throw, beer, and tissues, she looked up at himresolutely, “Alright, what do you want to hear first?”

#jolex #alex karev #jo Wilson #fanfiction #ask