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little-fics · 3 years

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Curiosity Killed the Cat

Fandom: Marvel

Pairing: Stucky x Reader

Request summary: you are not happy about your daddies new way of keeping track of you, but maybe you could warm up to the idea of it

Warnings: Age regression; pacifier mention; sort of leashes but its like a baby leash connected to a backpack; baby has hurt feelings; I could have missed something so please read at your own risk.

Word Count: 2.6K

A/N: I really hope you like it nonnie, I really enjoyed writing it. love you buggy boos <3

You wanted to look at everything not matter where you went with your daddies. At the park it was every dog, every leaf. At the store it was every fluffy thing you could find, every piece of candy or toy. If you saw something you wanted to look at, you were gone. Steve and Bucky had discussed their options after the fifth time you'd run off from them. It wasn't that they didn't want you to look, but you're their baby and you needed one of your daddies to go with you. The problem with that? You forgot in your excitement; a lot.

That's how you've found yourself in this predicament.

You were ready to go to the zoo, tattered thigh jean shorts and a pretty tie-dye shirt with SpongeBob's crew with cute purple shoes. You were bouncing on your heels at the door, waiting impatiently on your daddies. You know better than to go out the door and wait for them by the car, so you're whining, rushing your daddies.

"Papaaaa, it's time to go! We not gonna get to see eb'ryfin'!" Steve came rounding the corner, Bucky trailing right behind him with a lavender backpack in his hand that seemed a little full. Steve picked you up, balancing you on his hip, "We're almost ready little one," he wiggled his finger on your tummy, "we just want to show you something before we go." Bucky held the backpack up, smiling innocently.

It was so cute, it was a shade lighter than your shoes to match perfectly. It was plain, other than the pins and small keychain fidget toys your daddies had surely put on. He opened it up and it had a coloring book, a pack of colored pencils, your favorite pacifier and Lincoln the Ram, the oldest stuffie you had. You reached for the ram, and when you'd pulled him out you saw a bag of candy. Bucky laughed when your eyes lit up, "No baby, that's for today, you can have some later." You jutted your lip out and he shook his head, "Nice try, but puppy dog eyes only work on papa."

When you accepted that, Steve spoke up, "This is a special backpack sweetness." Your brows furrowed as you looked at it, not seeing anything about it. Bucky pulled out a stretchy cord that ended in a scrunchy like bracelet. "When you put this backpack on, daddy or papa will put this on." He slid it on his wrist and tugged at the cord close to his wrist, "So you can't go wondering off like you always do." You whined loudly, "Won' run off!" Your face in Steve's neck, letting out another loud whine.

“Oh silly baby,” Steve kissed your hair, “it’s okay, you’re not in trouble for being curious, we’re just trying to protect our kitty.” You let out a heavy groan, “No, don’ wanna wear it.” You clutched to Lincoln, your chin wobbling on edge of tears. “Dollie,” Bucky said softly, stepping forwards to rub your back, “it’s dangerous when you run away from us, you forget in the pretty head to tell your daddies where you’re going and we can’t find you.” You let out a long groan in protest and stayed in the crook of Steve’s neck, Bucky’s hand still on your back, “We can stay home instead of going and seeing all the animals, would you like that better?” Your head rose and you shook your head at him, “No daddy, I’ll wear it.” Bucky felt a strain on his heart when he saw the way your pout still rested on your face. “You won’t hardly notice it baby,” he kissed your nose, “not with all the pretty animals we’re gonna see.”

When you got to the zoo, Bucky unbuckled you in the back. You always sat in the middle because that’s where you were most protected, so he had to drag you out of the car a bit. “Okay baby,” he held the backpack up, “put ‘em in there.” You just stared at him a minute, “What if I pinky p’omise to be good?” He shakes his head, “Baby, you already are good. You agreed to wear it to be safe, we can’t go in if you’re not going to be safe.”

You huffed and put your arms in it, the band already around Bucky’s wrist. “Good girl, now listen to me baby, you gotta keep your backpack on, it can’t come off or it defeats the whole purpose.” You nodded deftly, body now trained on bouncing towards the gate. As you got around more people, Steve grabbed your shoulder and bent down to your face. “Did you hear daddy baby? That backpack doesn’t come off until we are back in this parking lot or you're in one of our arms, understood?” You nodded and Steve raises his eyebrows, “Yes papa, I understand.” He rubs your cheek with his thumb before giving you a quick kiss, standing back up.

It had worked remarkably well, you’d gotten distracted by all the animals as suspected. You were pulling Bucky around everywhere, and of course with Bucky came Steve. You pulled them to the lions rather quickly, jumping up and down, changing positions all over the outside of the enclosure to see them. “Daddy!” You ran to near the end of the enclosure, stopped dead in your tracks by the leash.

Bucky chuckled, but to you it was no laughing matter. “Wha’ you doin?” You pulled on him, shaking your bag roughly, “Baby, slow down okay, we’ve got plenty of time to look at the lions.” You made an angry face at him and continued to pull at the leash, “Come on! Wanna walk wif it!” You stomped your feet until he finally caught up with you. “Dis’ is why I always look wifout you, you too slow.” Bucky ignores your comment, mainly because you grab his hand and intertwined your fingers with his, shaking his arm and pointing at the big cat, “Take it home wif us?” Steve, who stood behind you, laughed in shock, “That’s a no from me bug, come on, let’s go see what’s next.”

With his recommendation you remember that there are so many more animals at the zoo. You squeak out a high pitched okay and take off skipping. Your long legged daddies had no problem keeping up throughout the next few hours, but then you had to potty. Truth be told, you were tired of looking at the giraffes anyway.

You glanced up to your daddy, who's whispering something in Steve's ear and laughing. You tug on him, and he turns toward you, "Gotta go potty." He smiled, nodding his head, "Of course bug, thank you for telling us without trying to run off." You grumbled and started walking to the bathroom, keeping the leash taught the entire time. You started to shrug off your backpack, irritation creeping up your spine before stopping.

You turned around to Steve and Bucky, a frown plastered on your face. You waited until they were dead in front of you, you slid off the backpack and pushed it roughly into their chest, stomping away to the bathroom. Both of them stared at each other for a moment, Steve commenting lowly, "Awfully grumpy." Bucky's mind swirled, you're not one to be outrageously bratty, so when you came back out, he knelt down and grabbed your hand.

"What's going on my buggy boo? Is something bothering you? You not feeling good?" You shrugged, pulling your hand back and taking the backpack with a wobbling lip. He made a clicking noise, smiling and took the backpack from you. "How about papa wears the backpack and I'll carry you, it's about time for lunch anyway, right?" You seem to instantly relax and let Bucky balance you on his hip, kissing your cheeks.

Steve slipped on the backpack, an odd and tight fit on his body but with the straps completely loosened, it had a millimeter of wiggle room. He starts to lead the way and Bucky whistles sharply at him. Steve turns around with raised eyebrows, but Bucky is looking at you with a 'can-you-believe-him' look.

Bucky turns to Steve, grabbing the bracelet part of the backpack and sliding it on your wrist, "You can't go running off either," Bucky looks down to you, giggling into his shoulder, "isn't that right sweetness?" You nod, looking up to Steve, shaking your wrist, "Papa we gots tuh know you safe!" Steve immediately catches on to what Bucky's doing, and smacks his forehead playfully, "How silly of me, huh dovey?" You pointedly nod, a smug look on your face, "Uh-huh, now nommies please!"

You're in a much better mood being carried by your daddy, shaking the leash playfully at Steve when you sit down at the table. He slid the backpack off of his back, laying it down on the table. "I thought maybe you'd like a dum dum while we wait on Daddy to come back?" Steve was bouncing you on his knee, already popping the sucker into your mouth. You laid your head on his shoulder, your eyes fluttering closed while enjoying the sweet lemon in your mouth, too asleep to notice it disappearing from your mouth.

Bucky sits down with Steve, smiling at your tired form, "I told you she'd tucker herself out and we wouldn't be able to get through the whole zoo today." Steve scoffed, "You act as if she's going to be willing to leave." Bucky kissed Steve softly before planting kisses all over your face, rousing you from sleep.

As much as you don't want to be grumpy, you can't help but frowning at Bucky. He just kisses your nose and tilts his head towards the food at the table. Your eyes land on the chicken strips first and your whole body bounces at sight of the large slushy on the table. "I-Buh-'S mine?" Bucky laughs at your apprehension to breaking the rules, don't have too much sugar. "Of course baby, we thought you'd like something sweet, like yourself."

When you are done eating lunch, Bucky tries to help you put your backpack on, but you run away from him, around the table. "Nuh-uh," you cross your arms over your chest and look to Steve with puppy eyes. "Baby," he starts, coming over to you, sitting on the metal seat, "what's going on? Don't you like your new backpack?" Your bottom lip wiggles again, tears in your eyes, "'S ugly." Steve looks shocked, "Honey, you love purple, what's really going on?"

That's when the damn broke, tears falling from your face and broken sobs coming out. Steve's holding his arms around you, and Bucky's found his way to rub your back. "Shhh, dove, tell papa what's got your head going so fast." You're hiccuping, letting out broken coughs with small gags, unable to form coherent words. Bucky grabs your chin, holding your straw to your lips, "Here baby, take a drink of your slushy." Somehow you listen to him, sugar is always a good bribe for you.

"Dollie," Bucky pulls you onto his lap, "what's wrong?" His eyebrows are raised, forehead against yours, noses almost touching. He's waiting for you to regain a normal breath to press harder. He doesn't get the chance, because you start talking before he can ask again. "J-jus- 'nother reason tuh ignore me."

Bucky's heart breaks, Steve's expression matching the hurt Bucky feels deep inside him. "What on earth are you talking about honey?" Your eyes start to tear up again and Bucky scolds you gently, "No, no more of that you hear me?" You nod and let Bucky wipe away one of your stray tears. "Honey, we bought the backpack because we were so worried, not so we could ignore you. You run around and poke at everything, you forget to tell your daddies what you're doing and it scares us. You understand baby?" You shrugged and Bucky sighed, kissing your cheek. He's about to say something else when Steve picks you up from Bucky's lap.

"Bucky, put the backpack on, let's go," he's gentle about it, but you're still upset. "No! Wanna see more pets!" Steve tries to lightheartedly chuckle, but it comes out dry, "Oh dove, we're not leaving the zoo, we're just moving on." When Bucky has the backpack on he puts the leash on your wrist, just as it was when Steve wore it.

Steve catches you shaking the band around your arm, and a lightbulb goes off in his head. "You see baby?" Steve starts, and you're confused, so he continues, "You're constantly playing with it, that means your eyes are on daddy at all times." You furrow your brows, a pout still resting on your face. "Go on Bucky," Steve nods in an opposite direction, and Bucky starts walking. When the leash reaches the end of its rope, your arm is pulled until Bucky turns around to face you.

You're hesitant, eyes flickering between Steve and Bucky, "No forgettin' me?" You're looking up into Steve's eyes, swimming with love, "Dove, you're everything on our mind every second of every day. We got it so if anything happened, anyone tried talking to me or Bucky, or we argued over dark or milk chocolate, we'd never be too distracted for you." You instinctively wrap your arms around his neck, cuddling closely to him.

You can feel the leash pulling on you, and it takes your attention away from Steve. Steve doesn't move his feet though, Bucky playfully moving side to side to pull at the cord around your wrist. "Papa, daddy's tryin' to run off!" You could hear Bucky laugh as Steve caught up to you. "Whatdya say we get some of that ice cream you love so much Dollie, before we go see the rest of the animals?"

You beam at Bucky, a genuine smile crossing your face that lights up your eyes. "Dippin' Dots!" You shake and dance in Steve's arms, "Lemmee down, lemme down! Dippin' Dots! Dippin' Dots! Dippin Dots!" Steve lets your feet hit the ground, and you pout a little, glancing to the backpack. Steve seems to pick up on your hesitation, "How about daddy wears the backpack, you wear the bracelet and hold my hand? That way everyone is kept together and safe?"

You happily take his hand, all wariness thrown to the wind when you started skipping. "Dollie," Bucky stops, making you and Steve stop in place. He looks stern for a minute, but then breaks into a laughing fit, pointing to the righthand turn at the intersection. "You were so excited," he kept laughing, moving you to see the stand with many balloons and a sign that says 'Dippin' Dots', "that you ran right by it!"

You take off running, Bucky and Steve quick to follow. They didn't bother trying to gently reprimand you, they didn't care if you were excited and couldn't contain yourself. In fact, they loved it, as much as they needed a way to keep track of you with the leash, they wanted a way to make sure they never miss your bubbling excitement.

When you've made it to the stand, you are tugging on Steve. He looks down to you, watching your eyes flicker to the balloons. He smiles at you, adding your favorite color balloon to the order. Once you'd all sat on a bench, he starts to tie the balloon around your free wrist but you jerk away. "Daddy," you turn to Bucky, "we switch." You starting pulling the backpack off Bucky without waiting for a response, causing him to struggle to shuffle around his dippin' dots while laughing at you.

You've safely switched who holds what, now chowing on your dippin' dots in your hand and a y/f/c balloon on your wrist. You're starting to think the backpack isn't so bad, maybe you can convince them to buy you more of the things you want if they see you so excited over them.

Or you could always pout about the backpack and get what you wanted any ways.

1K notes · View notes

kkusuka · 3 years

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Valentine’s day dates <3

this is just what i think they would do for dates :)

gn! reader

characters: Shigaraki, Todoroki, Overhaul, Kirishima, Hawks, Dabi, Shinsou, and Bakugou

super fluffy and cute, that’s it!

Shigaraki

✴ arcade

He just doesn't know what else to do

He knew what you liked, he has it written down

But he was scared that you wouldn’t like what he would plan, and that if he messed up valentines day he would never get a second chance

But he was 100% sure of one thing, you both enjoy arcades

Specifically the retro-themed one with the roller rink

It had good food and all the games that the both of you liked to play

He was even willing to try roller-skating this time

Now he needed a gift, was he supposed to get gifts too? He was going to just in case

He knew chocolates, so he got them.

Flowers, he sent in an order they’ll be there.

Was there supposed to be something else? Just in case.

He got you a polaroid. A full polaroid camera.

Needless to say, he nailed Valentine's day.

Todoroki

✴ Picnic date

He did what he thought that he would like to do on valentines day

(I'm convinced that he’s a really good romantic bc he just does what he would want to be done to him)

He knew that it was supposed to be a super romantic day or at least night

He set up a blanket under a tree, had two full baskets of food that he and his sister had made

And of course, he was dressed to impress, slacks and a nice dress shirt

(Natsuo made fun of him for getting so ready for a date on the grass, Shoto didn’t really care all that much)

He didn't tell you what his plan was, so when he drove you to the meadow and a walkway of candles awaited you, you knew it was going to be a good date

He had all of your favorite foods and you guys sat and drank and talked

Not to mention the games of hide and seek and tag, or when you guys rolled down all the hills you could find

Overall 10/10, would recommend

Overhaul

✴ candlelit dinner

Person hater or not, he knows how to be romantic

Just like the rest of his life, he was kind of traditional (very traditional)

He had the night planned to a T

He knew your favorite food, so he made sure to find the restaurant that has the best of that food in the entire city

He reserved an entire dining room just for the two of you

He told you to wear something nice and something that would match what he was wearing

(I'm also on the train that he secretly like cute couple shit)

He met you at the front of the restaurant with a full bouquet of red roses and a necklace with “私は月とバックにあなたを愛しています (i love you to the moon and back)” written on the back of the heart charm

(I'm not sure about the translation, I know a bit of the kanji just not the full phrase)

You talked until the wait staff practically kicked you out

But you just walked around a park and talked some more

Now he realizes that every year after this he has to make it better and better

Kirishima

✴ ice skating

This was more of an impromptu date

He had a plan, but it started to snow the day before and the lake near his family home froze over

That threw him down the rabbit hole that led him to ask you if you could ice skate

And with that he threw his date idea away, he had the rest of his life to do that date, this was a once in a lifetime thing

Well first he made the both of you dinner then he unveiled a pair of bright red custom made ice skates

(they matched his own so he just HAD to get these for you)

And the both of you skated until it was almost pitch black outside, but that also meant it was colder

You had so much fun the only way he got you off the ice was telling you that you could do more tomorrow

The rest of the time you were awake you drank hot chocolate and watched silly movies.

Now he could add something to the list of things he knew you liked: ice skating.

Hawks

✴ flight

He likes that you are so interested in flying

He doesn't take you a lot, just in case something happens, but he makes it worth it when he can

So he made a tradition that every valentines day he takes you on a flight around the city

After dinner and taking you to your favorite dessert hotspot, can't have dinner without dessert, he could feel you buzzing with excitement

He can never help but tease you when you got like this

He would change the subject when you asked him about flying

He would start hovering off the ground and you would hold your hands up to him, but he’d fly right back down and keep walking

When he finally relents, he flew you to the tallest building in the city and the two of you spend the rest of your time watching the stars

Then when you got tired he jokes about just leaving you there and flying off but you know he wouldn’t

Not unless he didn't want to get laid-

Dabi

✴ roasting marshmallows

Since he can't exactly walk into a restaurant with you because of his…… circumstances

And he sure wasn't cooking anything

(he’s never been too keen on being in the kitchen unless you were there too)

He still had to do something and he only had two hours before you said you were coming over

He had nothing, no ideas, and way very close to giving up

Then it was like the gods were finally in his favor!

He remembers one of those Pinterest bored you had seen and was telling him how much you wanted to just sit and roast marshmallows

It was easy, all he had to do was get things for smores and he was set

He also set a little blanket in front of the tv and a small coal grill and he waited

You guys just sat and roasted marshmallows while watching movies the rest of the night.

Shinsou

✴ cat cafe-ish

He was going to go to a cat café no matter what you said

But there was no need, you agreed to go with him

You guys sat in there for a while having small cake slices and drinking, as the cats seem to orbit around your boyfriend

You guys sat and spoke for a while, until dinner time finally rolled around and he took you to an actual restaurant

That was his real plan

Not known to many, but he had a real mischievous side and he lets it loose all the time

You had a lovely dinner surrounded by candles and rose petals and your beautifully bashful boyfriend.

After he decided it was enough he took you shopping and even let you take him to the makeup counter and let the workers put some on him

Then you both went back to his house and you know what happens after that.

Bakugou

✴ home-cooked meal

Believe it or not, he loves to cook for you

He likes when you compliment his cooking so he does it as often as possible

So why the hell would he take you to some shitty restaurant that cant do it as well as him

But he wasn't planning it was a regular home-cooked meal, not his would blow any home-cooked meal ever made

He dimmed all the lights, replaced all the plants with fresh flowers of all kinds, and he set the table with the finest china he owned

He had all of his gifts lined up: a bracelet with your and his initials, the nicest box of chocolates he could find, and a locket that had a picture of the two of you from your first date inside

He found the best wine, he had and even put the napkin and utensils in a napkin ring

After possibly the best meal you ever had he took you to a cake shop and let you choose an entire cake for the two of you

So you went back home ate the cake while watching some trashy reality shows while making each other laugh

(the both of you did finish the cake, to which you got another one the next date and he laughed then helped you finish it)

Who knew bakugou was so good at being a boyfriend?

(you did

You knew)

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falcor-thee-luck-dragon · 4 years

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Klaus Hargreeves x Powered Reader

-Watch and Learn-

Warnings: buffoonery ensues, fun times

This gif is beautiful and represents the reader v well.

Masterlist

Do you realize shoplifting is bad, yes. Are you about to do it on a dare, also yes. You see, Klaus has been up to no good recently, you put it up to his desperation for your complete and undivided attention.

For about a month you were over in Australia visiting an old friend, and your poor Klaus was left all alone to fend for himself, for 30 whole days. You were honestly surprised that your apartment didn’t burn down, or look incredibly trashed with random street cats walking around it.

Amazingly enough, everything was intact, but oh man did Klaus miss you. For the first day he wouldn’t even leave your side. The two of you laying on the couch and Klaus couldn’t keep his hands off of you. Not that you minded, he was needy and very handsy that night. So let’s just say, no movie watching was happening.

But back to your current situation, here you are outside a high end clothing store, and you’ve never been more ready in your whole life.

“Remember the goal Y/N, some shiny bracelets, sunglasses, a pricy pricy shirt, and something special for, muah.” Klaus purred sweetly in your ear trying to throw you off, but you remain unflinching and determined.

“Piece of cake, this will be a record haul.” You tell him with a mischievous smirk as he grins back at you.

The two of you casually walk into the store, you’ve put on your long blonde wig and dark sunglasses to better conceal your identity if things did in fact go south. Klaus didn’t try much to disguise himself as he walked in looking like some carefree wanderer, but then again, he’s the distraction.

He walks to the nearest group of employees and begins an over dramatic display of fascination for a certain hat that is laying a top a mannequins head. You make a beeline for the jewelry, finding your prize and nonchalantly sliding them into your inner jacket pocket. Easy money. Next you practically glide over to the sunglasses, looks around you before snatching your favorite pair, ripping off the tag and placing them casually into your coats inner pocket. Yours now.

You scan the store for the shirt isle, easily enough your eyes land down an isle to your left where you let out muffled snort. Klaus now has dark glassed Harry Potter looking specs as well as a fancy cowboy type hat. All in all he looks relatively good, like a sexy desert traveler who’s about to steal some hearts. A smile forms onto your face as you briefly watch him keep up his dramatic act of being the best shoplifting distraction you could have asked for.

Turning back to the pricy isle of shirts that altogether probably cost more then your car, well that is if you actually payed for it. You continue forward, your eyes scanning over the silk and leather fabrics, over ones encrusted with jewels and animal fur that you’re hoping is just fux fur. Your keen eyesight finally stills onto a gorgeous Gucci sweater that practically screams take me. You glance up and find where the nearest security cameras are, spotting them, you pull your attention back to the task at hand. You run your hands down the sleeves and swiftly tug, the sweater comes off the rack and makes a quick descent towards the polished tiled ground.

As sly as a fox you kneel onto the tiled floor, picking it up and sliding it into your coat where it’s completely hidden from any prying eyes that might not be minding their own business. With a smirk you stand up, taking the empty rack and calmly sliding on a new sweater that you found at the local thrift store, that’s been patiently waiting for its next clothing rack. You turn down the isle watching Klaus sweet talk an employee who seems to be under his little spell. You can’t help it when your jaw clenches in subconscious jealousy, you know it’s all for show but still, only you get that adorable smile and emerald eyes that at least they can’t see due to his current fashion statement.

Shaking those thoughts away, you ground yourself again to what you and Klaus actually came here for. Now to find something special for your man, scanning over the brightly lit store your eyes widen in excitement at the beautiful jewel encrusted golden snake necklace that only queens of Egypt should be allowed to possess. You coolly walk over to the necklace, your nerves racing in a bustle of excitement as you make it to the glass case that surrounds it. You shift your eyes once to the left and then once to the right, surveying the area for any intruders. No ones in the nearest proximity due to Klaus’ amazing ability to draw in a crowd practically anywhere.

“Oh and look at you, Klaus is gonna love you, not as much as me but hmm you are one beautiful snake.” You whisper to the glimmering metal hiding behind the stores attempt at a security precaution. Reaching out your hand you simply use your power and defy the laws of what humans should be able to do. Your hand phases through the see through glass where you promptly pick up the dazzling trinkets made for royalty. You silently stick it into your bra and turn around, making your way down the isle and towards Klaus and his crowd of high end retail workers.

You walk past him and give him a wink, he takes the subtle hint, says his goodbyes and trails after you towards the doors. You slow down your pace so he can catch up, a sudden arm slings over your shoulders as he kisses the side of your cheek.

“My dear you would not believe what a bunch of kiss-asses those guys are. Enough to match Luther honestly.”

“Well you seemed to be handling them just fine from what I could see.”

“Huh yeah, they thought my tattoos where interesting.”

“They did, didn’t they.”

“Ohhh were you...were you, gettin a lil jealous Y/N?”

“What? Jealous of a couple of blonde bimbos, you need your eyes checked babe.” Klaus lets out a laugh as he opens the stores door for you. You avoid eye contact, your frustration slowly building until he reaches for your open hand. The contact and the way that he leans into your side instantly calming your agitation once again.

“Alright fine. That was admittedly mean and unnecessary, and yeah okay I was a tad bit jealous...but come on Klaus. You make me feel things.”

“Aww Y/N you’re so cute, my little thief. So watcha get?”

“Oh some of this some of that. I’ll show you when we get back to the apartment. I’m gonna have to come back later and destroy the security footage.”

“Oh right, that silly thing those pricey stores like to do. Security cameras.”

“Ruining fun for burglers since they were invented by some paranoid prick.”

“Eh they have their uses.” Suddenly his attention snaps over to a hotdog vendor further down the sidewalk, “Oh hey, you want a street sausage...and I’m not talking about mine..ah Jesus Y/N I was kidding don’t hit me.”

“Klaus.”

“You have a strong arm. It was a serious question before you assaulted me.”

“Babe we have stuff that’s worth more then the building we live in. We should just go home, we have leftover Thai in the fridge.” Klaus abruptly halts the both of you, shifting your body so he can rest his hands on either side of your shoulders as he looks deeply into your eyes, his face shifting into a pleading expression.

“But my tum tum is grumbling...listen to it Y/N...it says feed me or I’ll die of hunger.”

“Wow I didn’t realize you could speak stomach. Klaus you are truly full of surprises.” You deadpan with lack of facial movement but a low sigh coming from your parted lips.

“Do not antagonize me woman this is serious.” He gives you the biggest and most adorable puppy eyes, trying with all of his might to sway you to the dark side. You roll your eyes as a smirk tugs at the corner of your lips. His eyes go wide in excitement, knowing he’s won you over with his usual Klaus charm.

“My lovely lady, you are a gem among the city sewage.”

“Thanks Klaus. You really know how to make a girl feel special.”

“That’s what I do babes.” Replies Klaus with a quick kiss to your lips before he drags you over to the vendor, that admittedly smells quit delicious if you’re being honest. He orders a simple dog for the both of you, actually paying for it himself to your great astonishment. Then he slathers his in toppings as you select a few of your own, then it’s through the city park to reach your apartment. The two of you and your concealed stolen goods, walking casually down the parks walking trail as you both happily munch on your hotdogs.

“Maybe I have too much on mine.” You have a look at Klaus who’s face is smeared with ketchup and mustard as he fumbles with is already messy napkin while you take another bite from your own hotdog in an attempt at concealing your laughter. “Seriously Y/N, it’s all over my face now, I’m a mess.”

“That’s what she said.”

“Ben don’t laugh..” Whines Klaus with a pout as he glances over at you who’s definitely losing your shit. “Okay fine, it was pretty funny.”

“You walked right into it. I couldn’t help myself.”

“Well Ben’s about to pee himself if you’d like to know so good job at that.”

“Thank you thank you I’ll be here all night.” You bow to no one in particular as Klaus finishes off the last bit of his hotdog. You hand him your napkin as you throw your dirty ones in the nearby trash can. Klaus doing the same, now looking much less of a mess, both on his face and hands. He swiftly catches up to you and practically throws himself onto you. You stagger to the side as his full weight begins dragging you downward towards the wet pavement, oh no you are not about to have his lanky ass get you all dirty. As a witches cackle escapes from your mouth you use your phasing abilities and a second later your idiot boyfriend has fallen onto the cold cement. He lets out a yelp as his hands reach out to catch his fall, he does a little tumble before sitting on the ground, a annoyed huff leaving his lips.

“Eww Y/N I was in you.” Whines Klaus as he picks himself up once again, you cross your arms and bite your lip in amusement.

“You didn’t think so this morning.”

“That was very different.”

“Yeah well your fatass was about to send me into the dirt. I happen to like this coat and would prefer to keep it looking snazzy.”

“Your snazzy can kiss my buns, I’m going home and then I can be in you...but not in that way.” He quickly adds as he reaches out for your hand, you gladly accept his appealing invitation and just like that the two of you make your way out of the park and towards the apartment building where some fun times await.

#klaus hargreeves #klaus hargreeves x reader #klaus hargreeves x you #klaus hargreeves imagine #the umbrella academy x reader #the umbrella academy #the umbrella academy imagine #the umbrella academy x you #falcor the luck dragon stories

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salthaven · 4 years

Text

Stupid and in Love, P5

Chapter Five: La Paonne, Master of Illusions (Or Better Yet, Lies)

Nino is a chill guy. He’s always been known for keeping his calm, going with the flow. He’s not the kind of dude who gets upset over small things, or jealous when someone else has a crush on Marinette…

Okay, Evillustrator was a completely different thing. That...that was him being a hero! Protecting her from evil.

(It’s a story for another time, thank you!)

But yeah. Nino is super chill. Like, ice cube chill.

So why does the new girl get on his nerves so badly?

She seems pleasant, too. A transfer, daughter of an Italian ambassador. The girl, Lila just wants to make friends. She’s nothing but sweet, with a cheerfulness to match Adrien’s and a kindness that parallels Marinette...so why does she rub Nino the wrong way?

He asks Wayzz about his gut feeling, the Kwami shrugs.

“Sometimes the human subconscious can pick up on danger that you may not otherwise perceive,” the small turtle says calmly as they hide in the empty bathroom. “Perhaps you should look into the matter.”

So he does, because his little buddy is never wrong about this stuff. (Nino thinks it’s cause the Kwami is roughly a bajillion years old, but he won’t say that out loud. Respect your elder gods and all.)

He follows her to the library, where she talks with Adrien. Adrien, his best bro, who is holding a book on...is that a hero? Are those...Miraculous wielders?

Huh. Nino should probably tell Ladybug about that, huh?

Nino hears shuffling, and glances around. And then he blinks, surprised, because he sees Marinette eyeing the new girl, Lila, with curiosity. She, too, seems distrustful of the girl. Nino wonders if she has the same weird feeling, or if there’s something else Marinette is thinking.

Maybe Marinette is just feeling shy.

The sound of books falling makes Nino look away, and he sees Lila and Adrien on the ground, picking up Adrien’s books as Lila apologizes for knocking them over, with Adrien waving off her apologies before walking off, books in hand.

Nino hums lightly, wondering why the feeling isn’t gone, and then he looks to Marinette.

And he sees the ways her eyes narrow, and she starts to follow Lila.

He follows her.

“What’s up, Nette?” He asks when he reaches her, making sure Lila doesn’t hear his voice.

Marinette jumps, turning on him with wide eyes.

“Not much, Nino! Were- were you looking for something?” She’s fidgeting, glancing around, trying to look natural.

She’s an awful liar, but it just makes Nino smile. It just shows how amazing she is, that she’s always so honest.

“I saw you following Lila,” he admits. “Why?”

“I think she took his book,” she whispers the confession after a few seconds, and Nino scowls.

“I knew something was up with her! Don’t worry Nette, I’ll handle this.” And then he’s storming off, trying to find her, missing the way Marinette blinks and looks to her own Kwami, trying to find answers that the little goddess doesn’t have.

Nino finds Lila leading Adrien to the park, smiling and giggling. Adrien follows, responding with ease.

They stop in a secluded area, and Nino hides among the trees, eyes trained on Lila.

He won’t lose track of her, not this time…

“So, what did you want to tell me?” Adrien asks, as happy as always.

Lila giggles, leaning in. “Well, I noticed how much you love heroes, what with your book and all…”

“Oh!” Adrien blushes, smiling. “Yeah, the heroes are really cool. Especially Ladybug. Did you see how she took down the latest Akuma? She’s so awesome.” Then Adrien pauses and laughs awkwardly. “Wait, you couldn’t have. You just moved here.”

“Yes, the fight was so intense!” Lila gasps, it’s over exaggerated and makes Nino wary. He glances away for a second, locking eyes with Wayzz, who seems just as wary. “I mean, from what I’ve heard.”

“Uh, okay?” Adrien tries to brush it off, willing to ignore the weird response, but Lila sighs.

“I can’t hide this anymore. You seem really sweet, Adrien, and I’d hate to keep this a secret. You’re trustworthy, right?” Lila giggles when Adrien nods. “Of course you are. I’m going to tell you something, but you have to keep quiet about this, okay?”

“Sure, what’s the matter?”

“You see...I’m actually a hero, too,” Lila confides, and Nino feels his eyes widen. There’s no way she is, right? Unless...is she Rena Rouge?!

“Really?” Adrien gasps out, and Lila nods.

“Really!” And Nino watches her pull out a peacock themed broach. “I’m actually a secret hero named La Paonne. I work from the shadows to help Ladybug and her team.”

Nino sees the way Adrien blinks, how he hesitates and his excitement dims. And he feels the way his blood boils.

He’s normally calm. He’s normally chill, relaxed, laid back-

But there is no Peacock hero. At least, there isn’t at the moment. And Nino knows Ladybug would have told them if they had a teammate, especially someone that worked from the shadows!

He doesn’t know what upsets him more- that the new girl is trying to claim to be a savior of Paris to make herself look better, or that she’s lying to his best friend.

The second, because Adrien finally blinks and smiles. “Wow, that’s amazing! I didn’t even know there was a secret hero!”

“That’s the point, silly.” She giggles again, the sound making Nino scowl even more, and then taps his nose playfully. “Ladybug trusted me to guard her back, we are best friends after all.”

Nino feels his hands curl into fists as Wayzz whispers, “The Peacock Miraculous was lost long ago, and it was broken. Whatever that girl has, that isn’t Dusuu’s Miraculous.” He adjusts his own Miraculous, the bracelet charm shining in the light.

“I think it’s time she sees a real hero,” Nino decides. “Wayzz, shell-”

“Just who do you think you are?” Rena Rouge’s voice cuts through the air as she leaps out from behind a bush, and Wayzz zips into Nino’s bag.

(They’re lucky that Rena didn’t notice them.)

“I- I’m-” Lila tries, but Rena is nothing but pure rage right now.

“A liar, that’s what! Let me tell you, little miss, we don’t have a Peacock hero! And if we did, it wouldn’t be you. It’d be someone fighting by our side, because we don’t do shadow work. That’s Hawkmoth, because he’s a coward. If you were a hero, you’d know that we risk our lives to get up close and personal with Akumas to protect Paris. I don’t appreciate hearing some little teenager trying to take credit for the risks we take so she can impress some boy, thank you very much.” With one last huff, Rena Rouge turns around and jumps away, disappearing quickly.

Nino looks back to the scene. Adrien looks taken aback, and Lila...Lila looks pissed. The Italian runs off before Adrien can even say a word.

Nino takes that as his cue to leave. He doesn’t notice that Adrien’s book is in the trash can nearby, and neither does the blonde as he walks away.

And nobody notices Marinette as she slips onto the scene afterward, urged on by Tikki.

~~~~~

“What is it?” The bluenette asks, unheard as she races after her Kwami.

“I think the book is nearby! It’s important!” Tikki says, darting around. “We need to find it!”

“I just wanted to design,” Marinette moans out. “The sky looked so pretty.”

“You’ll have time later, Marinette! This might be about the Miraculous!”

“What?” Marinette yelps, and then she’s searching just as intently. Five minutes pass, then ten, then-

“I found it, Tikki!” Marinette cheers, yanking the book out of the trash can.

Tikki zips over, eyes scanning the book as Marinette flips through it. “We have to get this to the Guardian!” Tikki blurts out. “Come on, Marinette!”

“Wait, who?” Marinette asks, but Tikki is zipping away. “Tikki!”

“Come on! I’ll answer questions when we’re there!”

Marinette sighs, letting her little friend lead the way. Maybe she’ll get to design later?

She doubts it.

~~~~~

Her doubt was right. She just got relaxed, she just finished all of her homework and was about to chill on her balcony, with nothing but her sketchbook and some pencils to pass the time…

When some fudging Peacock snatched her and ran off.

“You’re in danger, little lunare,” the bird cooes as she darts along the Parisian sky.

“Huh?” Marinette responds, ever the eloquent gal.

“A man was Akumatized, he’s stalking down beautiful girls. Apparently he was rejected by someone, and believes he’s owed love from everyone now. He was climbing up your house.” Her mysterious heroine glares behind her, huffing, then turns her gaze back to Marinette. “I knew I couldn’t let such a beauty be harmed, so I swooped in without a second thought.”

Marinette blushes at the heroine’s words. “Ah..thank you, uh…”

“Call me La Paonne.” La Paonne smiles. “Your personal guardian.”

Marinette giggles. “Thank you, La Paonne, I-” She hesitates, the girl’s words striking a bell.

Guardian?

Marinette recalls the rest of her lunch period. How she ran after Tikki and learned of the existence of a Miraculous Guardian. How she met the man, and recognized him as the one she helped to cross the road on her first day of school. How they talked about the book and quickly made a copy, as she knew she’d have to return the original to Adrien soon.

...How she saw a Peacock hero...one who looks oddly similar to the one who holds her now, who claims that they saved her from an approaching Akuma that neither she nor Tikki noticed.

And just as Marinette starts to doubt the mysterious girl that continues to dart across Paris, her judgement is confirmed.

Because her actual hero leaps in front of them.

And he looks pissed.

~~~~~

Nino didn’t expect Lila to get Akumatized.

Okay, no. He kind of did. Rena Rouge definitely didn’t hold back when yelling at the Italian.

But why at night? Nino just wanted to patrol, to get some fresh air, maybe some inspiration for his music.

Instead, Carapace finds himself face to face with ‘La Paonne’. And to make matters worse? His Nette is currently being carried in her arms.

“Who are you?” Carapace growls out, on edge, and he sees the way Nette tenses in fear, eyes darting to her holder and back to him.

“I’m La Paonne.” She smiles easily, but he sees how she shifts. He does, too, pressing a button on his shield, calling his team and sending his location. “Ladybug chose me to work in the background and help you. I’ve tried to stay out of sight, to be a hidden trick-”

“Then why are you out now?” He growls out, but he knows. Nette seems to realize the problem, because her eyes are scanning the area, more frantic than before, and he can see the way she fidgets.

“She was in danger,” La Paonne says calmly. “I saved her from an Akuma. He’s still on the loose, though, so it’s best to go after him.” She smiles, holding Marinette a little closer. “I’ll protect her, or-”

“I will protect her,” Carapace bites out. “I don’t know who this Akuma is, or where he is, but if you do, I trust that you’ll deal with them. We don’t need any hidden partners, so you might as well show the world you exist.” He’s lying, he knows who the Akuma is, but La Paonne thinks he buys her act.

“I suppose you’re right. Take care of her.” La Paonne hands her over, and Carapace smirks as he hears two sets of footsteps landing behind him.

“Shellter,” Carapace says calmly, and a glowing green dome surrounds him and his Nette.

“What? What’s that all about?” La Paonne asks, and Carapace barks out a laugh.

“I know an Akuma when I see one, and I don’t appreciate one that tries to hurt others to further their goal,” he states.

“Took you this long to get Akumatized?” Rena Rouge asks. “I suppose you’re good at lying to yourself, too, Lila.”

La Paonne snarls, leaping at Rena Rouge and Chat Noir, and the battle begins.

~~~~~

Marinette watches with wide eyes as two of her teammates fight La Paonne, unable to leave the protective dome that Carapace created around them.

Speaking of, her hero kneels beside her. He gazes at her with concern, asking, “Are you alright? She didn’t hurt you, did she?”

“No!” Marinette squeaks out, blushing. “I’m, uh, fit as a fiddle!” Who says that?

Carapace seems relieved by her answer, though. “That’s good to hear, br- beautiful.” His dome flickers, and he winces. “My shellter will only last a bit longer, and then I’ll only have five minutes. The moment it wears out, I’m getting you out of here, okay?”

He called her beautiful. Carapace called her beautiful. He thinks she’s pretty!

Oh, oh he asked her a question didn’t he?

“Okay!” She says, then winces as she hears Chat Noir knock into a chimney. Her teammates are getting hurt, and she’s here talking to Carapace...she’s not even suited up yet.

So Marinette sighs and looks around. She spots a few things quickly. A doorway, letting her down into the apartments they landed on. A pipe, just laying on the ground. And Carapace’s shield, which he holds in one hand.

“Hey, Carapace?” She starts, and all of his attention goes to her.

“Yes, beautiful?”

“Do you trust me?”

“Yes.” His lack of hesitation surprises her, but then Marinette beams.

“Follow my lead.” And then she takes his shield and hits the dome, shattering it.

“Hey!” He screams, but she’s on the move. The crash startles La Paonne, distracting her long enough that Rena gets a good punch in. By the time the Akuma is back up, Marinette has the pipe in her hands.

“Why you mangy fox, I’ll make you pa-”

La Paonne is cut off when she gets hit in the head by a pipe. She turns to see the cause, but the door slams behind Marinette as she darts into the building.

Seconds later, Ladybug swings around the building and kicks La Paonne in the face, knocking her down. She snatches the broach, breaks it, and purifies the Akuma.

And then she looks to Lila.

“What happened?” Lila asks, then sees the broach in Ladybug’s hand. “Was I...oh no.”

“It happens to the best of us,” Ladybug tries to console the girl. “What happened?”

“I..I was trying to befriend this one boy,” Lila says softly. “And...I saw that he liked heroes. I thought, I thought,” she starts to cry, “I thought if I was a hero, he’d like me more.”

“But lying about being a heroine isn’t right,” Rena huffs out.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t realize it would be so offensive,” Lila cries, and Rena’s gaze softens. Chat fidgets, unsure what to do as the girl cries. Even Carapace seems remorseful for his anger, although not as much.

“It...it’s fine,” Rena says at last, then turns. “Just don’t do it again, got it?”

“Of- of course!” Lila promises with a quick nod.

“Great. Bye, guys.” Rena hops off.

Chat Noir sighs. “I need to head home. See you guys next time.”

Carapace opens his mouth to speak, but his Miraculous beeps, cutting him off. “Shoot,” he mutters. “Ladybug, can you check on Marinette?”

“Marinette?” Lila asks, confused.

“I will before I leave. Go on, Carapace.”

Carapace leaps away with thanks on his lips, and Ladybug excuses herself. She darts into the apartment building and detransforms. Two minutes later, Marinette races to the roof, where Lila stares at the Parisian sky.

“Lila?” Marinette asks, forcing herself to sound confused. “Were you La Paonne?”

Lila nods, and Marinette can see the tears. “What did I do to you?”

“Nothing bad!” Marinette promises. “You just...well, you kind of kidnapped me?”

Lila stares at her with wide eyes. “I what?!”

“It’s not the worst thing, honestly. I, uh, enjoyed the view?”

Lila giggles, and Marinette starts laughing, too.

“Well, can I...can I walk you home? It’s the least I can do,” Lila offers, and Marinette agrees.

As they walk, Lila admits to Marinette the same thing she told Ladybug moments before.

“I just… I just wanted to impress him. Is that so bad?” Lila asks, voice soft and quiet, but echoing in the streets.

“No, it’s not. I’m not a fan of liars, but I can see the appeal. Honestly, Lila, I don’t think you need to lie to impress anyone. You seem amazing as you are.” Marinette smiles, missing the way Lila blushes.

“You seem amazing, too,” Lila responds.

The rest of the walk is peaceful, and Marinette finds design inspiration in the twinkling skies, and a new friend under the streetlights.

Perhaps the day wasn’t a waste.

(A few blocks away, Nino has the feeling that he has competition, but doesn’t know why.)

~~~~~ Wow, it’s been far too long since I last wrote for this! I had toyed with the idea of going in order, but I...well, I was in a Lilanette mood? So if you want to see Evillustrator and how that played out (or maybe see some other episode?), hit me up and send me a request, and I’ll see what I can do!! Tags: @northernbluetongue @indecisive-mess-named-me @magnitude101999 @crazylittlemunchkin @allolale @immatureidiot101 @bee-wrecker @demigodgirl20031

#Stupid and in Love #caranette #lilanette

163 notes · View notes

gotchagirl · 4 years

Text

MLQC: Victor

Victor x M/C

Sweet fluff

kiss

Summary: You decide Victor needs some real downtime and decide to invite him on a day out, It’s a surprise thanks for supporting you. He begrudgingly obliges you.

Word count: 3027

You agree to meet at a coffee shop near downtown. You're there early dolled up in a bohemian style white skirt to your calves and a loose fitting hemp blouse with a v neck and large sleeves, you have donned a brown sunhat and you have matching brown sandals on that lace up to your knees. Underneath it all you are wearing a swimsuit and you have lots of wood bead bracelets on your wrists but no other jewelry. You left your hair loose and flowing as that was the theme for the day.

You were excited to see Victor, you told him to dress as casual as possible. You have never seen him outside of a suit. It was also very hot out so you guessed he would wear shorts and a t-shirt. You had waited for him outside in anticipation. Watching the hustle and bustle of people go about their day, you feel your excitement bubbling up.

As you turn around to look the other direction, you step into a hard sculpted chest. Big warm hands had to grab your arms to keep you from falling on your ass. You noticed he barely stifled a laugh and felt your face turn bright red.

“Victor,” you squeaked meekly, taking a step back looking him up and down.

He was wearing a pale green polo shirt that made his grey eyes look green, light brown khaki shorts, he also had sandals with thick brown straps and buckles. Victor's hair was dark and tousled by the gentle breeze. You could still see the hint of a smile on his lips and the mirth in his eye.

“Enjoying the scenery?’”

You smiled up at him, “yes I am very much. I never expected to see you without socks so soon.”

“In what context were you expecting to see me without socks?”

“Nevermind….” You trailed off, “Lets get some Iced coffee and go for a walk.”

Victor followed you into the cafe and you both ordered Iced coffee and walked out towards the park. You snuck a quick glance at Victor who was sipping his coffee and surveying the surroundings casually. You smiled to yourself, he already looked relaxed. You leisurely walked halfway around the park chatting at Victor about your week. When your drinks were done you threw away your cups in a trashcan.

You had been eyeing up the dock full of paddle boats and you wondered if Victor would be up for it.

Victor turned to you and at the same time you asked each other, "Do you want to rent a paddle boat?”

You giggled and he smiled simply taking your hand and walked you to the boat rentals. “One boat please!,” He paid, taking the key for the boat.

“It will be number 5,” said the worker pointing to the dock, " I'll keep your purse, bags and belongings here into the same number locker. He opens the locker and puts your phones and wallets in locking it.

The two of you walked to the dock and Victor helped you into the boat and climbed in himself. Once he was in he unlocked the chain and used his foot to cast off the dock. You started paddling in time with him. It felt like you two were in sync. It was very calm and peaceful.

“So, this is what you do for fun?” he inquired.

You smiled, “No, this is what you do on a date. I would not do this with just anyone you know.”

He nodded, “I wouldn’t like it if you went on one of these with another man…”

“Victor, was that jealousy i just heard?”

He looked at you with such a serious face,”Have you been on one of these before?”

You were trying to tease him but he was so serious right now your smile faltered, “Yeah, I have.”

Victor frowned.

You raised an eyebrow at him and gently touched his hand, "When I was little my dad would bring me out here.”

He seemed to relax at that, “I see…”

The two of you stayed on the lake and stopped paddling just sitting there enjoying the bobbing of the boat on the small waves. Holding hands you sigh.

“Is this your first time on a paddle boat, Victor?”

He nods his affirmation,”I quite like the pace, I don’t often get to just stop and take a breath.”

He leans his head back and closes his eyes for just a moment. You find yourself studying his profile, his sharp jaw, his angular face contrasted by his soft lips and thick dark eyelashes. You follow his neck past his adams apple to the sweep in between his collarbones. You swallow thinking you really wanted to lick that spot as you run your hands across those shoulders.

The breeze blows his cologne towards you and you automatically breathe in his scent and close your eyes. You feel the boat shift and something soft touch your cheek as you open your eyes. Victor's hand came to rest on your cheek and he caressed your lower lip with his thumb. His steely demeanor seemed to soften in the warm sunlight as he looked from your eyes to your lips. He leaned in close, you hold your breath in anticipation of something more.

"Your lipstick is smudged," He states simply as he tucks your hair behind your ear as he leans back. you feel disappointed but brush it off.

The two of you continue paddling and talking when suddenly a frog hops from a stray branch onto your lap. It startles you and you automatically try to stand up which tips the boat off balance and Vicor tries to steady you but you grab onto him and fall backwards into the water with a huge splash taking him with you.

You resurface and see Victor is okay too. You grab the boat and swim to the other side putting it between you two. Victor grabs onto the boat and sees your huge grin and playfully splashes you with a handful of water.

"Idiot…"he says but he's softly laughing.

You both cimb back into the boat agreeing it's time to find dry land. You return to the dock and secure the boat. You were both sopping wet. Victor's looks you up and down. You blush under the scrutiny.

"Was this your plan all along?"he motioned to your swimsuit visible under the soggy blouse.

You shrug, "Well, I can cross it off my bucket list,"you giggle, "I always wanted to go swimming with a shark."

He shook his head exasperated.

Once you returned the boat key, collecting your belongings, you grabbed Victor by the hand and found a great soft patch of grass. Let's dry out in the sun and watch the clouds. Victor played along and lay on the grass hands behind his head and you plopped yourself beside him.

"That one looks like an ice cream cone, you started and that one looks like a rabbit."

Victor watched with you even giving a few suggestions himself but slowly he started to drift off and you'd hear the occasional soft hmmm in agreement when you looked over he was almost asleep. He must really be exhausted, you think to yourself letting him nap. After all you suspected he was more run down than he let on and that's why you planned this outing initially.

You watched him sleep for a bit and decided to occupy yourself with a cute phone game you have been playing. You rolled over onto your stomach so your backside could dry. Kicking your feet up in the air you played for a bit and started yawning yourself.

Glancing over at Victor you smiled, watching him sleep made you warm and fuzzy. He looked so completely different. The tight features you were used to seeing were now completely gone. His furrowed brow now smooth his tight lips slightly parted his tension replaced with relaxed demeanor. It was special, a treasure to be hoarded for your eyes only. You wanted to carve this sight into your melting heart forever. You took a picture and hugged your phone to your chest for just a moment. You watch him for a while longer nodding off yourself.

When he woke up from his nap you were holding your phone to your chest protecting its precious contents while lying on your side. Victor gently brushed your hair out of your face noting that it was so thick it was still heavy and wet. He would remember that for later.

Looking around it was still early afternoon and he watched people sitting on the grass, noting couples and families with their children. It was calm and simple. Something he wasn't used to but it felt good. He had known he was overworking himself but ignored his need to rest in favor of faster results. However sitting here right now he felt so completely at ease. How did you know he wondered?

His eyes trailing back to you. Watching the swell of your breast as you breathe shallowly, noting the soft curve of your hip and the cute sandals that made your ankles look so dainty. Your tiny hands desperately clutching your phone. Your soft lips part as you sigh in your sleep. He wondered if you were bored, surely falling asleep on a date was not acceptable. Frowning he thought he might need to make it up to you later. He wasn't one to disappoint.

He caressed your shoulder, "____you should wake up." The deep cadence of his voice drifted into your dream making your toes curl.

"Victor…"you moan contentedly.

The tone of your voice unhinges him shooting him in the gut and slightly lower. Taking him off guard for a moment. He had never heard his name so sultry coming out of your sweet mouth.

He runs his hand up your arm again, "It's time to wake up ___,"

"I don't want to wake up, I want to stay here with you…" you grouse as you drift in and out of your dream.

"What would we do?,"Victor asks, realizing you are not quite awake, and you are talking in your sleep, this could be fun.

"I want to touch it, it looks so fluffy…"

Victor quirks and eyebrow at this, "What are you talking about?"

"Your hair, silly."

He's a little surprised at the comment and reaches up to touch his hair. It is soft, he thinks.

"Tell me what would you do if I let you touch my hair?"

You respond with no hesitation, "I would run my fingers through it all the time. You're so hard everywhere else. I love the contrast."

Vicor blushes at the thought of your hands running through his hair and down his shoulders to his chest. He shakes his head grateful you're not seeing his reaction.

Feeling a little guilty he again rubs your arm. He knows he should stop but he just can't seem to help himself.

"What else do you want to do babygirl?" he drops his voice lower quietly prompting you to respond.

"Victor, please I want you to…" you doze off again.

"What do you want me to do?"

You hmmm licking your lips, "Pudding!"

He drops his head in dismay thinking he was going to get something good and here you want him to make pudding? It figures.

"Idiot!"he says to himself this time.

Victor gets up and walks over to one of the park vendors ordering two coffees and comes back to sit beside you. This time he shakes you awake.

You yawn and stretch out. opening an eye you look up to see your boss beside you. You sit up ,"I'm sorry I didn't mean to doze off…"

He simply nods and hands you a coffee. You take it and sip it. Looking around, it's still early. You check your phone. It's about three in the afternoon and your stomach grumbles.

"Time for some special food," you smile.

Victor looks dubious at the prospect of you choosing the food. You smile and get up.

" We are strolling over to the tea house. I had the owners pick out a special meal for us. I promise it will be amazing."

You took him to a beautiful tea house that housed a very traditional style garden full of several koi ponds with just the right amount of shade. You sat on the tatami mat, across from the table was Victor. The elderly couple who lived there were the ones serving you tea and a late lunch. There was a fair variety of food to choose from all in small portions and all very healthy. Victor was indeed impressed.

You ate your food and described each dish to Victor. He already knew most of the dishes of course but he liked how animated you were when you talked so he indulged you. The two of you enjoyed a tea ceremony afterwards and you both got to try with some guidance. It was fun.

It was starting to get darker and you wanted to take Victor to a very special place. It was where you first met him, the street he had saved you from the car when you were five. There was a festival happening there and you wanted him to see it with you. You quietly hoped he would remember too.

You hailed a cab and when the two of you got in you told the driver where to go. it was a long drive and you sat in comfortable silence along the way. It was always like this with Victor, you could just enjoy each other without saying anything. it was so natural like he'd always been by your side.

When you arrived at your destination You paid and the two of you got out. Victor surveyed the surroundings with a positive nod. There were stalls and vendors along both sides of the road and Small stalls with various games. The highlight of the festival was the dance of the shrine maiden and so you literally dragged victor around to play games and kill time until sunset.

When they announced the dance you beamed up at Victor and he nodded, taking you by the hand under the pretense of not getting lost. He skillfully weaved the two of you in and out of the crowd until you reached the platform. A huge crowd was gathered and you were too short to see.

Victor got down on one knee in front of you, "get on," he said as you took each of his hands to balance as you hiked your skirt up to strattle his shoulders. He wrapped his large hands around your calves and stood up with ease and you grabbed his hair for balance.

"Oh wow, it's so soft," you say as you run your finger through his dark locks.

Victor knew you wanted to touch his hair, he smirked to himself at your comment, "Pay attention dummy," he motioned to the stage as a woman came out dressed in a beautiful kimono.

She collapsed to the ground dramatically and shot up suddenly with two large bells in each hand. The music started and she began to dance as she rang the bells.

It was a beautiful dance and you were so enamored of it you almost forgot you were on Victor's shoulders. There was a bang and smoke rose up from the stage. Suddenly men dressed as demons began dancing around the girl. You startled and could feel Victor shaking under you with laughter. His cheek brushed the inside of your bare thigh.

Just now realizing how incredibly intimate this position was you failed to focus on the rest of the show. Instead softly letting your fingers play in Victor's hair as you pretend to watch. Wishing you could do this forever but also feeling like it was almost too intimate. You were at war with your inner self, would you get the chance to do this again? Who knew. Occasionally you'd feel Victor unconsciously rub his face against one thigh or the other and it made your toes curl. You wondered if he noticed.

It was over all too soon. Victor reached his hands up to grab yours and knelt down slowly keeping his balance. You climbed off and Victor turned to face you. His hair was a mess and you laughed. He had an unreadable expression as he looked at you. His eyes were darker than usual. You reached up to him and he automatically leaned down to you. Gently you put his hair back into place while he maintained intense eye contact with you. You stopped, hands sliding to rest upon his shoulders.

Before you knew what happened he was kissing you. His arms around your waist pulling you in as he expressed his desire without words. Your hands went back to his hair, fingers curling around the softness pulling him closer as you leaned into him and your lips pressed his, a soft caress and he tilted his head and parted his lips letting his tongue caress your upper lip. You opened your mouth and licked the tip of his tongue with yours in silent affirmation.

Suddenly the kiss became deeper, more demanding. His tongue swept your mouth exploring every crevice as you chased it with your own. You lapped at his mouth as he moaned into yours. Sucking on his lower lip as you parted from him.

Victor's voice came out husky,“That look on your face right now, it’s how I always want you to look at me!”

It was a command, a sweet one full of love. You put your hand on his chest and felt his heart pounding. Looking at his face he seemed cool as a cucumber but his heart told you the truth.

The End

#mlqc fanfic #mlqc #mr love queens choice #mlqc victor #victor x mc

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leondaltons · 3 years

Note

💘 - seon and sienna !

it took me like two weeks but here it is ♥

where they first met and how

They have known each other since they were babies! Their mothers used to be childhood friends and are still close during adulthood, so Seon and Sienna used to have playdates together

how long their ‘flirting’ phase was before feelings got involved

I think since they both acknowledged they had feelings for the other (when they were around 15), so there have been incidents of flirting without meaning. A comment, a hand lingering to long in the other’s face but it was never intentional; they both were too scared to ruin their friendship

who fell for who first ( if applicable )

So, funny thing here but they have been in love with each other for their entire lives. Like, that feeling has always been in there, they just didn’t really know what it was until they grew a little older. I think they both realized at the same time tho

where their first date was and what it was like

Before dating they did things that would be considered dates for anyone else but for their first REAL date Seon takes Sienna to the top of a hill at night where a small picnic is waiting for them and everything is set to stargaze. It's something out of the ordinary but also familiar enough as it's something they used to do on their houses rooftops. It's fun and sweet and happy 💕

who asks who out and how ( with a sign? spelled out on a cake? just a simple ‘will you go out with me’? )

Well, after THE KISS it’s kind of given that they are dating now lol. They already did couple things before except now it’s official lmao

who proposes first

Seon!!!! Sienna knows it’s coming at some point tho; they both have talked about this and she found the receipt for the ring (yes super inspired in THAT post ajshasjka)

if they keep / kept their relationship secret or let everyone know right away

They keep it a secret at first. There is a lot going on in their lives, when they started dating Sienna was still trying to find out who killed her twin (and who tried to kill her lol) and going public would be weird to explain while she pretended to be Chantal. At the same time, going public would mean having to deal with Seon family and the scandal that would follow, so they want some moments of peace before the chaos

where the proposal happens and how ( kiss cam at a baseball game? on a hillside surrounded by ducks? at a disney park? )

Seon takes her in a "tour dating" sort to say, he takes to different dates spots of things they do together (going to a botanical garden and their favorite coffee shop, plus other) and to things Sienna always wanted to do but never got the chance (like being in a hot air balloon) and then he proposes at the end of the day in the hill where their first date was!!!

if they adopt any pets together

two dogs!!!

who’s more dominant

It’s a 50%-50%

where their first kiss was and what it was like

One of these days I will write this scene but: Their first kiss was in a stream near the school grounds and Seon learned that Sienna was alive, there was this mix of anger for not telling him, relief, shock and a lot of other emotions; some angry and desperate words are exchanged until he kisses her because she is here and she is real

if they have any matching couples stuff ( mugs? sweaters? pillowcases? )

They both have the same bracelet! It’s a friendship bracelet they have had since they were kids and they made for each other

how into pda they are

Seon might have this tough exterior and all that but he is always soft around Sienna, so I would say a lot. Like, even before dating they would hug, hold hands, lay their head on the other’s shoulder while in public

who holds the umbrella when it rains

Seon

where their usual ‘date spot’ is ( if applicable )

Usually a park or a place with a lot of green so they can lay on the grass and enjoy the sun and wind or a small coffee shop

who’s more protective

Equal ways. Seon doesn’t want to lose Sienna again and she can’t lose someone she loves again.

how long it is before they sleep together ( can be as in ‘had sex’ or as in ‘shared a bed’ )

They have been sharing a bed since always, but as the years pass by and they grow up there is some electricity or tension palpable in the air, the connotations are bigger. I would say they sleep together like that some months after their first kiss

if they argue about anything

Not big fights or anything. Sometimes Sienna needs to berate Seon for being lazy or rude but nothing drastic hahahah

who leaves more marks ( lipstick, hickeys, scratchmarks etc. )

Haven’t asked Malak this but my money is in Seon although Sienna likes it too

who steals whose clothes and how often

Sienna does!!! Again, even before dating she would steal his hoodies or shirts. Now it is just worse lmao. She loves them because they are so different from what she usually wears and they look so big in her and they have his scent too!!

how they cuddle ( spooning? facing each other? )

Mostly facing each other, looking each other in the eyes

what their favourite nonsexual activity is

They like to cook together! Sienna is great at cooking and she loves teaching how to do these things!

how long they stay mad at each other

Not too long, almost nothing tbh lmao. Maybe Sienna can stay a little longer than some hours but it’s usually never the case

what their usual coffee / tea orders are

Sienna loves tea, her favorites are black tea with some lemon and hibiscus tea. Seon likes iced americano

if they ever have any children together

Yes!!! They have 5 kids!!! a girl, then triplets (two girls, one of them named Chantal and a boy) and then another boy🥰

if they have any special pet names for each other

Sienna calls him "love" once in a while BUT to bother him she calls him terrible and horrible pet names like "honey bear", she calls him that and then starts crying of laughter at his reaction (the worst is that she has been doing this even BEFORE dating lmao)

if they ever split up and / or get back together

Once they are together they never split up

what their shared living space is like ( messy? clean? what kind of decor? )

It's big and with a lot of natural light! Light colors and more of a minimalist style except for all the plants they have around. Both Seon and Sienna are clean and keep things ordered so their house it's always looking nice (at least until the kids come into the picture lmao)

what their first christmas / hanukkah / etc as a couple was like

It’s a little sad and awkward tbh. Not because of them but with Chantal’s death and the tension with Seon parents everything was a little hard.

They still had snow fights and baked cookies like every year, however the dinner part was the complicated moment. But the 31 of December when the clock strikes 12 and the new year comes, she holds his hands and kisses him tenderly, it’s time for new beginnings and they are facing them together ♥

what their names are in each other’s phones

She has him as “Seon💞” and she also had him as "boyfriend" for a while lmao. He has her as "Sienna 🤍" or some silly nickname of an internal joke

if they have any ‘couple traditions’ ( buying a new mug for their collection every year? baking every friday evening? )

They bake together at least twice a month, as she was the one who taught him! They also go to their favorite coffee shop every Saturday afternoon!

who falls asleep first and who wakes up first

Seon is the first to fall asleep and Sienna the first to wake up

who’s the big spoon / little spoon

Seon big spoon and Sienna little spoon!!!

who hogs the bathroom

Seon klasjkasja

who kills the spiders / takes them outside

Seon kills the spider because Sienna is terrified of them lmao

#zadiechoi #murderverse: seon x sienna #I LOVE THEM SO MUCH OMG #ask #malak✨

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everythingoesnk · 5 years

Text

Once in Rockfield Farm (1/5)

summary; you own Rockfield Farm and your bf Mary Austin asks you if you can help her friends with an enormous favour that will lead to a much bigger unprecedented change into your life. Thanks to a cute guy specifically.

word count; 6 126

disclaimers, PLEASE read them; don’t forget this is fiction. i’m using queen‘s 70s era as a base for the story but it won’t be historically accurate. the song mentioned towards the end of the chapter is from Taylor Swift, i don’t claim those lyrics as mine. sorry in advance if u find a f*cked up grammar mistake or whatever. feedback would mean everything, it’s the first time i’m posting something i’ve written it feels like i’m giving birth looool

warnings; minor violence at some point and mention of abuse

********

Mary didn’t stop until she convinced you to give green light to her proposal.

She called it like that, but it seemed more like an order. Both of you knew she wouldn’t let it pass until you agreed to.

Taken aback, you refused at first.

The idea of four strangers living in your house, coexisting with you in the only safe space you knew, wasn’t appealing whatsoever.

Even though all they needed was a studio to record, they’d have to stay until the album was finished. They could afford to rent a proper one, but Mary made it quite clear that getting out of town was crucial to avoid possible distractions.

You’d been fired from your job because the restaurant bankrupted, so the money they were going to pay for rent was welcomed.

Your grandfather passed Rockfield Farm on to you when he died.

It was a lovely place full of good memories, mainly concerning hours on end together in the studio he built in the attic throughout the years. The relationship you had with him had always been special, but ever since your nana passed away at the age of 70, your bond became stronger.

He also wasn’t there anymore, and you tried not to think too much about it, just were glad that you met someone like him. He was the main reason you loved making music so much.

Sadly, as you grew up, although your talent for writing songs and producing music was undeniable, you realized you needed to be realistic and pursue a more down-to-earth career.

Medicine was another thing you were slightly attracted to, it wasn’t your passion but it would have to do.

The music business was too complex and difficult to get in, and wasting your time wasn’t on your plans. It’s not like you were a prodigy or a diamond in the rough, anyway. That was your honest opinion.

But now and then you’d succumb and compose. It was an effective way to forget about the rest of the world and vent whenever something would make you sad, grumpy, anxious, angry… Rarely did you write about happy feelings.

What’s the fun in claiming how fulfilled you are with your life? Which you weren’t, but still.

Ballads and songs that’d leave you with your heart aching on the floor were your daily bread.

Mary was the only one allowed to hear your little creations. She’d try to get you to show them to the world, to step out of the comfort zone and perform them in public, to rush out of those same four walls.

You were quick to brush her comments off every time, content with her and your dog being the only ones to get to listen to your babies.

“How long they’re going to take?” you asked using a fake uninterested tone, pretending not to care whether they needed weeks, months or a year.

The truth was that you wished for the album to be done quite fast.

“Who knows,” Mary said. “When the album’s finished I’m the first to know, but in the meantime Freddie won’t give me any clues”

You nodded, unsatisfied with the answer.

“Thanks for agreeing to this. I owe you big” her eyes found yours and yours softened.

“If anything it’s them who do, don’t you think?”

Mary grinned and offered to cook something for tonight’s dinner.

She left you alone with your molecular pathology notes resting on your lap.

It was your last year in University, thank the Lord. One last effort and you would be a doctor.

After memorizing various concepts you found yourself staring at the horizon wondering how was Freddie Mercury like.

Obviously because of Mary you sort of formed this idea of him, but hadn’t had a face to face yet. About the other Queen members… yeah, Mary mentioned them sometimes, vaguely: she described John as a nice fella to have around, Brian as the only one with common sense, and last but not least, when it came to Roger’s personality, she told you hesitantly to judge him yourself.

You thanked her when she handed you the pen you forgot inside.

Mary gave you an encouraging smile, placing her hand on your shoulder and squeezing it.

As soon as she turned around to go back inside, you called her name, squinting your eyes to try and get a better sight of the vehicle that kept getting closer to your property.

“What?”

When she spotted the van she sighed happily.

“Finally”

Mary ran to wait for them in the parking area. She was over the moon, clapping and waving effusively to welcome them.

“Are you coming or not?” Mary shouted, gesturing you to go and stand next to her.

You took your time to get up from sitting upon the grass and do just that.

Not a single second since they pulled over went by and Mary was already imprisoning Freddie in her arms.

You chuckled, completely sure he would be dead in a matter of seconds if she wouldn’t loose her grip.

He lovingly wrapped her in his and stroked her hair.

All of a sudden, running from the backyard where he usually played in the mud (this time was no different), your dog appeared on scene. You asked him to remain quiet and by your side, which to your dismay he did not obey.

He went and greeted Queen, who pushed him away with no bad intentions, they just didn’t want to get dirt on their trousers.

John, nevertheless, got on his knees and began patting him. It did not take long for him to regret it when Sherlock seemed to be captivated by his face, licking it non-stop.

You cleared your throat. It would be nice of Mary to introduce you, being the one who organized this whole of a mess in the first place.

Apparently she read your mind. The next thing she did was link arms with you.

“This is (Y/N)” she spoke. “Freddie, come here”

“You have no idea how happy I am to finally meet you”

Freddie gave you two sweet kisses, one on each cheek.

“Same here” you nodded and mirrored his smile when you saw it reached his eyes.

In a heartbeat you were fascinated by him.

There was this intriguing strong aura he projected that made you feel like you were in the presence of someone from the royalty, someone important.

Freddie examined you from head to toe and fell in love immediately with your outfit, a pastel blue dress with tiny sunflowers printed all over it. He did spot your exposed feet and smiled pleasedly at your choice of painting your toenails with the colours of the rainbow.

“Boys, don’t be rude and come say hi” he gestured his bandmates, who were taking a rapid glimpse of their new temporary home, and stepped aside.

“Nice to meet you, I’m Brian”

“Nice to meet you too” you kindly responded, shaking his hand.

“Thank you very much for allowing us to record our album here. If we win a Grammy expect you to be the first one we address in the speech” he joked, face beaming with a heavenly smile.

Damn, you were so soft for him already. And you wanted to touch his curls.

“You’re welcome, Brian”

“Yes, we’re endlessly grateful” another gentle voice joined the conversation.

John stood now in front of you.

“Hi, I’m John Deacon”

“I know” you laughed, tilting your head to the side. “I hope your stay here is… productive”

“I hope so too” he smiled big, and it made your heart melt. He was so cute.

Roger was next.

He was wearing a black leather jacket that fit him like a glove. One silver bracelet hugging his right wrist, matching the necklace around the neck. What caught your attention the most was the glittery rosy shoes, though. He had long blond messy hair (like the others, except the colour part), and prominent sideburns.

They looked ridiculous, you thought, although every second you spent contemplating his face the less they bothered you.

He was gorgeous, what the hell?

You got somehow a little nervous.

“Productive it shall be. I’m Roger” he spoke, referring your words from before. He took your hand and held it to his lips. “We’ve come to the right place, guys. With such a pretty face like hers we’ll never run out of inspiration” he snorted when he heard John face-palming himself.

You raised an eyebrow, unimpressed.

Sure Roger didn’t mean that at all, it was just his constant flirty mood Mary warned you about taking over him, you reasoned.

“Don’t get it started, Rog. We don’t want her to kick us out the very first day” Brian scolded him like a father would his children.

Roger laughed, his silly expression never fading away, and soon he was again observing you.

“I was joking, I’m sorry if it made you uncomfortable,” he said, taking some of the heat out.

“It didn’t,” you said back, confident.

You followed the others when they headed to the house carrying their respective suitcases with Mary as the leader.

Roger was fast to grab his and catch up with you.

“You live alone?”

“I have Sherlock”

He was still in ecstasy, trying to get everyone’s attention.

“That’s it?”

“That’s it” you shrugged. “It’s not as tragic as it sounds. I enjoy my own company”

“Oh. Anyway. This is a farm, right? You do all the, huh… you know, farm work on your own?” he looked around, scanning a bit the surroundings. He pointed with his chin at one big rooster. “The guardian of the house, eh?”

You let out a vague chuckle that made Roger proud, already eager to make you like him.

The reason was obvious: you were so eyecatching he almost tripped when he missed one of Sherlock’s toys on one of the porch steps, too engrossed in how the sun made the freckles in your face stand out.

“My grandfather baptized this piece of land as Rockfield Farm, but it hasn’t been a proper farm for years. Now it’s just… my house”

“You know,” he began, digging deep around his mind to come up with something so the conversation wouldn’t end, “years ago I had this summer job in a much more immense place than this. I had to watch over 200 sheep every day”

“Was it as entertaining as it sounds?”

“Clearly not”

Roger extended his hand to stop the door from closing after John came in. He motioned you to go first and winked, but you didn’t notice the last part, which slightly bothered him.

“(Y/N), this place is precious!” you heard Freddie praise.

Mary interrupted you before you could thank him.

“Then you sure are going to love the studio even more! C’mon”

“How did your grandfather manage to get this studio together? It’s pretty impressive” Brian enthusiastically asked, taking a small sip of tea.

The six of you were now chilling in the living room. It was the perfect time for them to rest since the road trip had been long.

Moments before they finished unpacking and settling down, Mary and you gossiped in the kitchen. She remarked how attentive Roger acted towards you, and asked if you were into him.

“Are you stupid?” you couldn’t believe her. “We’ve known each other for what, ten minutes?”

“I was just wondering whether there was desire at first sight or something”

“Desire at first sight?” you repeated slowly, taking in every word.

“It was a softer way to ask if you’d give him a ride or not” she laughed watching you gesture her to lower it down. “I’m just asking because I can tell he would”

Before answering Brian, you looked over at Roger.

He’d taken off his jacket and was rolling up the sleeves of the white tee he wore underneath.

Your lips parted, finding that mundane action quite amusing and sexy on him.

You looked away, guilt taking over you for having stared too keenly. There was nothing wrong about it, and you couldn’t explain why you felt agitated. Maybe you were self-conscious about whether the others noticed.

Forcing yourself to remember Brian’s words and with a sense of pride, you smirked behind your cup, gazing at the wooden floor.

Your grandfather poured his soul into this studio, which he also referred to as a sanctuary. It made you happy to hear Brian acknowledging its value.

There were several electric and acoustic guitars, a generous collection of microphones your grandmother enjoyed saving, two trumpets, a synthesizer -to which Freddie and Roger scoffed loudly at-, a drumkit, one saxophone, and a bass.

Not to mention the tape machine that still worked perfectly plus the recording booth.

Mary told you that John Reid, who was looking after Queen at the moment, managed to convince the label to provide them with a significant amount of money. You assumed they’d brought enough tapes to record on, therefore yours would remain intact.

“He bought half of the instruments”

“The other half?” John inquired.

“He stole them” you answered, not much of a fan about it.

“Whew!” Roger whistled.

You took a short sip of the tea and turned slightly towards the window, presencing a flash of light.

“A piano?”

Freddie dropped the question with no high hopes.

“Pardon?” you turned your head and looked at him over your shoulder with your body still facing towards the window.

The head movement was so fast that a clip you wore to hold a fraction of hair in place loosened a bit, letting the lock to fell down your face.

Roger stared at you in awe.

The light illuminating the room had a warm cosy tone, which surely helped to make your skin look softer and smooth. He wasn’t aware of the heart eyes he was giving you, but Brian, John and Mary were.

When you batted your lashes, he looked away and saw Brian try and fail to hide a smile when they locked eyes. He’d been caught.

“Do you have a piano?” Freddie questioned again, eyebrows raised a little.

A tiny playful smile made its way to your lips.

“Of course I have a piano” you cockily answered.

When you saw Fred’s satisfied grin appear you instantly knew he liked you as much as you liked him. It wasn’t in the attic; you’d show it to him later.

To be honest, the piano was your favourite instrument to play. So delicate, so powerful and majestic.

“Excuse me for a second” you got up from your seat, everyone confused by your sudden urge to leave, but not alarmed.

That light from before wasn’t a bolt of lightning, you came to realize, it was a car that parked outside.

A little voice popped in your head guessing it could be him, but it couldn’t… right? There were approximately two hours from Cardiff to get there.

It sure was someone lost, or maybe they were stopping by to beg to use your bathroom because they couldn’t hold it in anymore. It wouldn’t be the first time.

“How about we start dinner? I’m starving” Mary added.

Their voices kept getting lower and lower as you crossed the corridor, oblivious to Roger’s eyes following your every move.

You stepped outside and closed the heavy door behind you, but not completely.

The silhouette of the last person you’d want to see in the entire world was leaning against a red car, one you did know very well because you lost your virginity in the backseat. He was humming to a tune you didn’t recognize, head facing downwards.

Picking at the fabric of the sweater you put on to forbid the cool air of the night from touching your skin, you opened your mouth.

“Leonardo!” you whisper shouted.

He definitely heard you, although he turned a deaf ear.

“Leo, what the fuck!”

“You’re a stupid whore”

Shit. He’s drunk? You prayed he wouldn’t make a scene, not now, with Mary and the guys around. The shame to have them complicit of whatever could possibly happen would be unbearable.

“You’re miserable” he went on with his speech, voice thick, which made it difficult for you to understand him.

You called it quits three months ago. Apparently he wasn’t any close to getting over the fact you ended it.

“Leave”

After what felt forever, he abruptly raised his head.

“What?” the expression on his face revealed he wasn’t happy.

What his eyes showed freaked the hell out of you: they revealed an intense desire, either with words or physically, to hurt you. He wasn’t sober, and you were aware that he had struggled with alcoholism when he was a teenager. It was fair to say Leonardo never put a finger on you in that way before, but alcohol was the push he needed to do it and his body was full of it now.

A lump formed in your throat.

“Get out of here”

“I just want to talk” lifting his hands up in an attempt to seem harmless, losing balance doing so, he took a few steps forward trying his best to sound convincing so you wouldn’t move and listen to him.

“I don’t want to hear what you have to say”

“How do you think I felt? Huh? When I saw you making out with that moron? You’re so selfish. A fucking slut, (Y/N). You disgust me”

That was the final straw. You promised you wouldn’t give in and start an argument, but he fucking did have to bring that up. He had the nerve to blame you for moving on and having some fun with a guy a few days ago at a party.

“Are you serious right now, Leo? How dare you?! We’re not together!” funny enough, this time it was you walking up to him not giving a damn anymore about the consequences.

When you raised your fist to punch him, even in his state, he managed to catch your wrist on time.

“How wrong you’ve done me” he hissed, tightening the grip. That’d leave marks for sure.

He pushed you against the car, causing your back to crack roughly. The situation was so tense not even the tears were brave to roll down your face, your vision blurry and unclear.

“Please, Leo!”

Mary’s voice never felt so good in your ears.

You totally forgot about them, that you could’ve screamed for help instead of dealing with Leo on your own, too absorbed in rage to be able to think things through.

“Do something, help her!” she pleaded the boys.

Four arms were fast to catch him and throw him to the ground.

Everything was happening so fast, almost as fast as your crazy heartbeats.

Brian came to you and held you by the shoulders, checking you out entirely, looking for bruises. He was asking repeatedly if you were alright, if that man dared to touch you. You could hear him, but it felt like he were miles away from you, his words echoing in the back of your mind.

Mary grabbed your arm and the two guided you, treating you like you had some kind of disability.

Before letting them drag you inside, you quickly turned your head to see what was going on, and saw a fuming Roger threatening Leo to disappear and never come back.

Freddie and John remained behind him in case he’d lose his temper. They looked at each other in astonishment; it was the first time they saw Roger like that.

“(Y/N)” Mary called you, once in the common room. “Fancy a glass of water?”

“I’ll be right back with it,” Brian said, his long legs taking him to the kitchen.

“Sit down, babe”

“I don’t want to. I’m fine”

She could perfectly see the tension in your shoulders.

“You’re not. But it’s fine, it’ll be fine” she sympathized, caressing your hair.

At this point you were lost for words. You were confused, angry, stunned.

“Here, take it. It’ll do you good, (Y/N). Is there anything else you n—” Brian began, offering you freshwater to maybe comfort you and make the knot you felt in your throat go away.

“For fuck’s sake!” you felt choleric. Maybe you were about to pass out.

Freddie, John and Roger came in and stopped dead in their tracks when they heard you complain.

Brian blinked a few times.

You were desperate for some time alone to process the last couple of minutes, but that wasn’t any excuse for you to take it out on Brian when all he wanted was for you to get better.

“I’m sorry” you lamented, ashamed at your behaviour, and took the glass not looking at anyone in the eye. That’s when you saw you were indeed shaking a little bit.

He smiled comprehensively, not giving too much attention to your outburst.

“Who the fuck was that?” Freddie wondered.

John elbowed him and mouthed “not now”.

“I’m so embarrassed. I’m sorry you had to witness that” you sighed, choking back the agony.

“Don’t apologize. That piece of shit shouldn’t have treated you like that. He looked mad” Freddie condemned.

Another heavy sigh escaped your mouth when you saw everyone staring intently at you, hating the feeling of their unasked pity.

Roger hadn’t said a word. His muscles were tense, mind way too far from the scene recalling something from the past.

It’d been several weeks since Queen came to stay.

To your surprise you had no complaints. They helped you without hesitation with the housework and kept their rooms tidy. More or less. The only thing you could protest about was that after the sessions it seemed like the studio had been the target of a fateful hurricane.

However, they were too cute to stay mad at for more than ten seconds.

Coming out of your shell was easy because of them. It didn’t take you long to feel comfortable enough to show your true self instead of hiding in your room like you did the first three days.

Reading a book easily kept your mind busy, except now; it was unbearably hot outdoors and indoors. Without taking your eyes off the page, you held the Coca-Cola can against your neck seeking a refreshing sensation.

“Mind if I join?”

You lowered the sunglasses until they were fitted a little bit below the bridge of your nose. The sun was hiding behind a cloud now, making it easier to adjust your vision and get it focused on whoever that was.

A shirtless Roger stood before you, with a towel around his neck that he rushed to spread on the hammock next to yours.

His skin glowing due to the sweat made him look rather tempting.

Your brain lent a helping hand forcing you to smile and nod because you wouldn’t, couldn’t do that yourself.

A small grin tugged at his lips when he noticed your eyes on him longer than usual.

“You’re always studying, angel” he pointed out, lying down and crossing his arms above his head.

You let out a loud sigh you’d been holding in, cheeks red at the pet name he chose. Anytime he’d call you something sweet rather than by your name, it was always how you tended to react.

There was no denying that you’d sort of developed a small crush on him.

Nobody could blame you, though; the same thing would happen to any human being with feelings.

He always treated you as one of them, making sure you didn’t feel left out. His sense of humour was similar to yours, and you appreciated it when he included you in their plans even if he knew you were occupied with Uni and probably wouldn’t be able to join.

Also, he was hot as fuck. You swore you’d never seen a man so beautiful in your life so far.

“I have to if I want to pass my exams”

“Sure, but you’re always studying” he emphasized. “It cannot be healthy”

It couldn’t, but everything was so difficult and you were so lost at some points you thought the world as you knew it could end if you took the smallest break.

“(Y/N)”

“Tell me”

“Seeing you stressed out stresses me” he sat straight, took the book from you and shoved it away. “Fuck this. I suggest you have some fun before the pressure ages you”

“And what do you recommend, ay?” you questioned, crossing your arms across your chest.

“We could play Frisbee”

“Frisbee? Really?”

“Why not? I’m sure you’re not that bad” he teased, getting to his feet.

You faked a laugh and stood up.

“Don’t underestimate my skills”

He used his hand to mimic a mouth talking nonsense, and approached the pool since the frisbee was floating in the water. But he stopped when he felt he stepped on something, proceeding to lift his foot to see what it was.

Roger knelt down and picked a piece of paper up, which said in messy handwriting together with scribbles here and there: You tell me ‘bout your past, thinking your future was me.

His brows cocked in surprise and your eyes widened. You grabbed it out of his hand and held it close to your heart reflexively, as if protecting it. It must have flown out from within the pages of the book when he first threw it away.

Roger watched you curiously, crouched down still, as you breathed slow and deep avoiding eye contact. You could feel your face getting hotter.

He got up with an unnoticeable smile.

“That’s yours? It’s decent”

You waited for something to get out of your mouth, but this time your brain didn’t find a way to help you out, speechless at the fact that he liked it.

“Do you have more? I’d love to hear” he continued, glancing at you.

“Oh, n-no” you forced a laughter. “I don’t”

“I’m glad you’re not as bad as a lyricist as you are as a liar”

You gave him a dirty look and the corners of his eyes crinkled at that. He puppy-eyed you.

“Please?”

“No, Roger”

“We don’t protest when you’re in our recording sessions, you could return the favour”

“Excuse me? You’re in my goddamn house. Watch your tone”

He giggled, fascinated by how cute you turned out to be when poked at.

“What do I have to do for you to say yes?”

“Nothing. It’s not happening”

“(Y/N)!” he pleaded. “I want to hear you sing”

You shook your head.

“And I want to own all the dogs on the planet. Guess we’re both stuck”

Roger groaned in defeat and turned around to get his hands on the frisbee.

For some odd reason, it made your heart dance in your chest knowing he was willing to sit down with you and listen.

A sense of enthusiasm and confidence moved you and shockingly enough you found yourself considering the idea.

Roger gave you a quick head nod.

“Ready?”

You didn’t know what the hell you were doing but you whispered a small “okay”. It couldn’t be that bad, right?

“Take a few steps back first, you’re too close”

You pulled a face at him but quickly shook your head.

“I said I’ll do it”

Roger wasn’t getting it.

“Do w—“ he stopped mid-sentence, his sapphire eyes widening in understanding this wasn’t about playing Frisbee anymore. “Yes!” he took you in his arms and spun you around.

Since he was shirtless you could feel how well built he was. Although he wasn’t the most athletic man out there, apparently drumming on and on was enough to keep him fit.

“Rog, Rog! Enough! I’m feeling dizzy”

You were wearing a mini skirt that had a tiny slit on one of the sides. Seeing it rolled itself up a little you adjusted its length, avoiding any extra space to anyone’s imagination. Too late for Roger though.

When satisfied with how your skirt fitted, you looked up and saw a subtle wink roaming his lips.

“I’m ready when you are” he announced, bending over to grab his shirt and put it on.

At first your legs wouldn’t cooperate.

Roger followed you closely.

He saw you toy with your hair, questioning yourself why you agreed to do this when you weren’t a hundred per cent sure about it. He placed his hands on your shoulders and slowly massaged the back of your neck with his thumbs, relieving some of the pressure.

Every single hair of your body stood on ends.

“Don’t be nervous, love. We can drop it whenever you want” he conceded, tossing an arm around your shoulders.

Opening the door to the studio you felt sick, already regretting your decision.

Roger took a sit on the couch, watching you like you were about to do a mind-blowing performance that’d change the meaning of his life forever.

Feeling like a rat in a laboratory with the doctors waiting to see if the experiment was successful or not, you shifted weight from one foot to the other, discomfort intensifying.

The piercing electric blue of his eyes triggered something in you when they met yours. You didn’t know how but it seemed like he was speaking to you through them, encouraging and imploring you to open up to him.

“Take it easy, (Y/N). It’s not a big deal”

“It is for me”

You sank down on one of the chairs next to the control room, poorly trying to hide how intimidated you were.

“You’re singing, then? Or reading the lyrics out loud?”

“Singing” you muttered. God knows if you went downstairs to pick up your notebook you wouldn’t come back.

A very cheeky expression overtook his face.

“Okay, go ahead” he gestured, rubbing his chin.

You clenched your jaw and snapped your eyes shut. It was easier to do it if you weren’t looking. You’d just imagine it was your grandfather in the room with you instead.

“Time won’t fly, it’s like I’m paralyzed by it I’d like to be my old self again But I’m still trying to find it

After plaid shirt days and nights when you made me your own Now you mail back my things and I walk home alone”

Roger’s fingers fidgeted at the sight of you tucking a piece of hair behind your ear, silently wishing it was him doing it.

He saw how your angelic features relaxed along to every word you sang. When it comes to your voice... He had to remind himself he didn’t die nor was leaving a dream, because it felt like he were in the very gates of heaven.

His breathing quickened, well aware he was witnessing something intimate.

Leaning closer, elbows resting on his knees, he allowed your voice to transport him to the place and time you were describing.

“But you keep my old scarf From that very first week 'Cause it reminds you of innocence And it smells like me You can’t get rid of it

'Cause you remember it all too well”

You swallowed before opening your eyes and speaking.

“There’s more but that’s the part I’m most proud of”

Roger’d fallen silent, his brain on fire.

He seemed to be absent, daydreaming probably.

Your heartbeat could make you go deaf any second, partly because you allowed him to have a peek at your heart partly because you were dying to know if he was any positive about it.

“You sounded like an angel” he stated in the softest voice, working on coming back to his senses.

There was nothing you could do apart from blushing and awkwardly shaking your head, yet on the inside you were saturated with a strong feeling that filled you completely: his opinion was relevant to you and the reaction he had was more than enough.

“You’re exaggerating. Thank you though, for your words. You’re very kind” you said, entwining ankles.

“Is it…” Roger was afraid this would ruin the mood. He decided to give it a shot and solve any doubt. More importantly, he wanted to make sure you were alright.

You weren’t stupid and knew where he was going.

“About Leonardo? Yes. Next question” you explained bitterly cutting him off, and pressed your lips together making an effort to not roll your eyes and appear rude.

He did ruin the mood.

Roger felt bad now.

“I’m sorry. Forget it”

“It’s fine” the flat tone you used before switched to a more delicate one.

It was overwhelming that he cared. He didn’t have to but he cared.

“I experienced something similar. I know how fucked up domestic abuse is” Roger confessed, bowing his head.

Wait, what? He what?

“Rog…” you got up and carefully sat next to him.

It shocked you how quick the atmosphere changed.

“It’s nothing, dear, it was a long time ago. She was… she was crazy” he laughed drily and cleared his throat. “You know what I mean”

“I do not. What you saw when Leonardo showed up was a one-time thing. He was drunk and barely himself, but I’m so terribly sorry you had to go through that”

“Ah, good for you then” he tapped you on the knee with a small smile on his face.

It broke your heart. How could anyone be so goddamn evil? You just couldn’t understand why they were people like that out there, willing to harm others deliberately.

Your mind drifted to Leonardo, did he become one of them?

Glancing at Roger, you hesitantly got closer to rest your cheek against his shoulder, letting him know mutely you were there in case he needed to vent more often. You intended to cuddle for just a few seconds before it turned out weird. That was until he wrapped an arm around you to keep you in position.

“Thank you” he whispered.

It sent shivers down your spine hearing for the first time his voice discreetly cracking up. You weren’t entirely sure about what he was thanking you for, though.

Roger didn’t quite understand why such information slipped out his mouth. Maybe he thought it was appropriate to share it since he contemplated you went through the same thing after what he saw. He just wanted to make sure you knew you could count on him as well.

The boys knew about the matter, obviously, but there was this thing about you he hadn’t figured out just yet that pushed him to speak to you about it.

That’s what his mind was saying, his heart on the other hand defended the idea that he felt comfortable with you and that since he presenced the incident with Leonardo he remembered his experience. Hence the fit of anger he had.

The thought alone of that scumbag hurting you made his head collapse. He was very sensitive about the subject.

“Better?” you wondered out loud after a while of snuggling, yet you didn’t move, finding the proximity significantly pleasant.

“Yeah, uh, sorry” he cleared his throat and released you.

“It’s more than okay”

He nodded, not really looking at you yet.

You tried to think of something that could distract him from those undeserved and heartrending memories.

There was no point of comparison to what Roger had struggled with, but every time you argued with Leo during the year your relationship lasted, you were grateful that your friends organized sporadic plans to help you forget about the fights.

You had to do that for Roger. You had to entertain him. To keep his mind occupied.

“Freddie explained to me drums are much more complicated than what they seem”

Roger glanced over the drumkit.

He was suspicious at first about the topic change, and looked at you from the corner of his eye.

“It can be very ambitious if you don’t do try for real, instead of goofing around. There’s too much going on. People believe it’s just hitting the drums and you’re good. Wankers”

It was unmissable how his face lit up, talking about his passion.

Crossing an ankle over your knee, you bent forward to get a better sight of his much more eased features.

“I’m sure it requires a lot of hard work, the coordination on hands and feet and all that stuff. Singing along as well must be tiring”

Roger’s eyes bored into yours, as if studying and reflecting upon your words. A corner of his mouth lifted.

“Yeah,” he replied amused, “physically it can be tough”

He knew what you were doing.

Just when he was about to ask you if you wanted him to teach you some basics, John came flying through the door.

“For God’s sake, there you are. Roger, I need you. Freddie and Brian are arguing again. Help me out spreading some peace before Freddie slaps him”

****

end of part one, lemme know what you think ! ♡

126 notes · View notes

justlightlysedated · 5 years

Text

our particles they're burning up because they yearn for each other

Part Two of the Strangeness and Charm Series [1]

for @allthehearteyes and @fraudulentzodiacs 💚💚

***

When Michael gets home it's late and he's understandably on edge.

Andro has been missing for over a day, which wouldn't be weird, but Michael usually knows where they were at all times and something was blocking him.

Michael has been waiting for the other shoe to drop since it became obvious that while Liz had been marked and was now having to deal with the fact that a demon could be coming after her, he couldn't help but feel like something much worse was heading their way.

The feeling gets worse when he notices the shadow sitting on top of his Airstream.

He takes a step closer and the stinging burning sensation shoots up his left hand and he takes a step back immediately shaking his hand out.

“Alex,” he sighs feeling his heart leap in his chest.

Alex snaps his fingers and the lights turn on throwing him and Andro into sharp relief.

Andro is a black lion, lying they’re big furry head on Alex's lap. Alex has one hand in Andro's mane rubbing against the top of their head.

The bad feeling in the pit of Michael's stomach gets even worse as he takes in Alex's appearance.

The sand scuffed uniform, the bloody tear on his left knee, the split along his bottom lip, the cut slashing one of his eyebrows in half, the bleeding purple and green bruise painting the entire left side of his face.

“What happened to you?” Michael asks stepping forward and ignoring the pain in his hand.

Alex watches him evenly and then shrugs. “Hazards of the job.”

Andro growls low in the back of their throat, and Alex pushes them away before he jumps down from the roof, landing just a bit unsteady enough that it makes Michael reach out with his hands to catch him.

He tugs Alex to his feet, and Alex gives him a hesitant smile.

“Thanks.”

Michael takes another step forward left hand clenched into a tight fist.

Alex's smile drops and he watches Michael intently as he moves closer.

“What are you doing?” Alex asks sounding a little distressed as Michael gets closer, but he doesn't move away.

Michael ignores the worry in Alex's eyes and the anxious whining from Andro, and places his fingers gently on the bruised side of Alex's face.

Alex inhales sharply, his eyes fluttering shut.

Michael closes his eyes and concentrates.

He says the spell under his breath and feels it spark along his fingers.

Healing magic is always difficult because everything comes with a price, and the price for this was halving the pain.

The bond formed instantly almost as though it was just waiting for a reason to connect.

Michael felt the presence of the demon as it pushed Alex away as though it were swatting a fly, the protective spell only working in preventing broken bone, but not the way he hits the pavement. Before that his brothers running away. Before that an argument that turns rough. Before that a fight with his father, the sting of a slap, splitting his lip open.

Alex pushes him away breaking the contact immediately and he glares at Michael.

Michael licks his bottom lip and hisses a little when he feels the split running across it.

The bruise on the side of Alex's face isn't gone, but at least he's not bleeding anymore. Michael can feel how tender the left side of his face is and he looks at Alex defiantly.

“Don't you think you're in enough pain because of me?” Alex asks, motioning with his chin at the way that Michael keeps clenching and unclenching his left hand.

Michael clenches his fingers into a tight fist and looks at Alex. “I don't really care.”

“Well you should,” Alex snaps and moves, darting around Michael to get far away enough that his hand stops spasming.

He looks to Alex who is staring right back.

“I came here because I need your help,” Alex says after a tense silent moment.

That much is obvious, and it's also obvious that coming here wasn't his first choice from the way that Andro moves and forms at his back, still a huge lion prowling behind him as though making sure he doesn't go anywhere.

Michael watches Andro with a furrowed brow and wonders what happened to the animosity from three nights ago.

Alex turns to see what he's looking at and throws Michael a smile and a shrug.

“They saved my life,” he says simply and Andro moves forward and settles down on Alex's side leaning their heavy head on Alex's leg, giving Michael a smug look.

Michael thinks he needs to have words with them later.

He focuses on Alex's previous statement since freaking out about his near miss would be silly since Alex is alive and breathing before him.

“Why do you need my help? Don't you have a whole team at your beck and call?”

Alex exhales roughly, but gives Michael a serious look. “You owe me.”

Michael raises an eyebrow at that.

“I've been chasing this demon down for three nights-”

“Fuck,” Michael interjects dragging his hands through his hair. Hello, consequences.

“-and it's been getting stronger the closer we get to the full moon. I need help to stop it, and Cam is busy dealing with the sudden influx in magical spikes. And there's the little fact that no one is supposed to know that there is possibly a very powerful demon running around because like his sister, your brother couldn't let an Ortecho die-”

“Okay,” Michael says cutting him off. “I'll help.”

Alex stops the restless hand gestures he was making and looks at him.

“What's the plan?” Michael asks flexing his fingers a little.

Alex bites down on his bottom lip and Michael wonders if he had always been this distracted by Alex's mouth or if it was because of the distance, because his immediate thought isn't danger, it's want.

“Well,” Alex starts and Andro starts to growl low in their throat.

Alex sighs.

“I need its essence-” Alex starts defensively.

“No,” Michael says immediately knowing where this was going.

“-to build the trap, Guerin! There's no other way, unless we undo the spell that brought it here in the first place!”

Michael inhales roughly and looks away from Alex pacing restlessly for a few seconds before looking back at him.

Alex is looking at Andros eyebrows furrowed as though he's having a silent conversation with a being made up entirely of shadows and magic and brought to life by Michael's essence.

It says a lot about Michael's feelings for Alex which is a problem for another time.

Alex looks up at him and raises an eyebrow.

“Fine, what's the plan?”

Alex swallows hard. “It marked me.”

He tugs up the right sleeve of his shirt to show Michael the stark black mark on his forearm, several interlocking circles with a black dot right in the middle. It's a perfect match to the mark on Liz's arm.

“But it can't find me if I'm wearing the Talisman.”

Michael exhales roughly and shakes out his left hand.

“That thing is the only thing cloaking your essence,” Michael says slowly. “You're strong, Alex. Even for a Witch Hunter. This demon won't be the only thing we'll attract if you take it off.”

Alex just moves to slide up his left sleeve, and Michael feels something akin to an electric shock when he sees the bracelet, the way the weaved together black and rusty brown strands stand out against Alex's pale skin, how the sigil is pressed down against the vulnerable skin of his wrist.

Michael can also make out a thick scar going directly down from the middle of his forearm to the edge of his palm.

Michael takes a step forward feeling like the bottom of his world dropped out and Alex just lets his hands drop.

“I didn't do that to myself, if that's what you're thinking,” he inhales deeply, and talks fast. “Once the Council heard word that I was invulnerable to spells they thought it would be an asset. When they found out how I'm protected however, it became a problem they were determined to fix.”

He looks at Michael raising his eyebrows and Michael feels known.

He wonders just how much of his life before they met had Alex deduced from the little he said when they were together.

Alex keeps talking before Michael can say anything.

“The point I'm trying to make is that I'll be fine. I got you to protect me.”

He sounds so sure about it that Michael wonders how many times he's had to rely on it to protect him.

Michael vaguely remembers a pain slashing down a straight line in his left arm, weeks after Alex had disappeared, but he had thought it was aftershocks of the curse. The scars along the back of his hand were still tender then.

Michael licks his lips and sighs surrendering to the inevitable.

Alex looks determined to do this, and Michael will help him not only because he's Alex, but also because this mess is partially his to clean up as well.

“If I die,” Michael sighs dramatically and both Alex and Andro glare in his direction. “I’m never speaking to you again.”

Alex gives him a reproachful look, but turns to Andro.

“Now, you need to let me out of the protective circle.”

“What protective circle?” Michael asks feeling confused and alarmed.

Alex throws Michael an incredulous look. “The one surrounding the area. Your Airstream is the center point. It stops right where your truck is parked.”

When Michael doesn't feel any less alarm, Alex sighs.

“You managed to create a familiar, and a pretty powerful one at that, but you don't know anything about them, do you?”

Michael looks away, “Didn't have the books to study it. Andro wanted to be born so I gave them life.”

When he looks back it's to see that Alex is looking at him with soft eyes full of emotions that Michael isn't prepared to be dealing with tonight when Alex is determined to act as bait for a powerful demon.

“Andro made a protective barrier around the place where you feel the safest to make sure that you are always safe. No one who has bad intentions can cross the barrier. It is rather impressive.”

He says the last bit casting his eyes to Andro, but Michael feels a shiver go down his spine at the praise.

“He’s here now and we have a plan,” he says taking a step towards Michael's truck.

Andro gets in his way growling low in their throat.

“I'll be safe. I promise if something happens you have permission to sit on me until I'm all better.”

Michael watches as Andro stares at Alex intensely and then looks to Michael, clearly saying, keep him safe or else.

Yeah, he definitely needs to have a talk with Andro.

Alex starts walking again and this time Andro lets him pass.

Michael follows behind him reaching a hand out to Andros who pushes their head against Michael's knuckles.

Alex stops right by the tailgate and turns eyeing Michael when he stops right as his hand starts tingling.

“Maybe we should get someone else to help-”

“I can do it,” Michael says cutting him off.

Alex sighs, shaking his head, but doesn't protest when Michael moves towards him.

Michael can deal with the pain.

Alex tugs the bundle of necklaces out from beneath the collar of his shirt.

He separates the Manes’ Heirloom Talisman from the rest and looks up inhaling sharply in surprise when he sees how close Michael is.

Michael reaches for the necklace and Alex's hands fall to his sides, swallowing hard.

Michael looks into his eyes right as his fingers graze the medallion.

The pain that shoots through his hand intensifies, feeling like his skin is on fire.

He hisses, and looks away when he sees the guilt flooding Alex's eyes.

He hooks his fingers into the golden chain and bites his lip before he moves to take it off.

He feels it tug slightly and the pain in his hand intensifies until he finally gets it over Alex's head.

There is a sensation like a bubble being popped and then the pain disappears as though it was never even there and all Michael can feel is an overwhelming sense of relief.

He gasps, and the talisman falls to the floor as he drops his hands and cups Alex's face between his trembling fingers.

Alex makes a low noise and leans into the touch, whining low in his throat when Michael drops their foreheads together and slides his nose along Alex's.

“Guerin,” Alex gasps voice trembling. “Is now really the bes-?”

Michael nods his head slightly tilting his chin back and just barely brushing their mouths together.

He hums, and Alex's hands reach for him, fingers clenching into the fabric of his jacket.

“You're right,” Michael says voice low and slow, enjoying the way that Alex trembles in his hold, body yearning to be closer. “I guess I can wait. What's a little bit more time compared to ten years.”

Michael pulls back then and Alex chases after him as though their mouths are magnetized.

It makes Michael smile slow, and sweet, and smug.

Alex moves back a flush working it's way across his cheeks. “You're insufferable.”

Michael's smile widens and he nods his head. “I can't believe you forgot.”

Alex uses his hold on him to push him back rolling his eyes.

Michael grabs onto his wrist and tugs him along making the two of them stumble across the protective circle.

Alex laughs a little shaking his head and tries to tug his hand from Michael's grip but Michael uses the hold to pull him closer.

Alex's gaze goes from amused to trepidation and he watches warily as Michael lifts his hand to his face.

Michael thinks about the first time that he saw Alex how he had looked with his head bowed low over his guitar as he plucked at the strings and pulled out a tune that snaked its way into Michael's subconscious and hasn't left since.

Michael hums it now, low and against the skin of Alex's wrist as he concentrates on the spell.

Alex's hand spasms in Michael's hold and Michael presses a kiss to his wrist the bracelet pressing against his lips before he pulls away.

The bracelet glows gold, the sigil burning bright and it expands like a blanket of golden light that covers Alex like a second layer of skin.

He's still holding on to Alex's wrist when he feels the spell sink into him.

Alex gasps, mouth dropping open as his eyes close and Michael feels how he shudders and how his knees go weak as he stumbles.

Michael drags him close, and Alex's eyes flutter open.

“What was that?” he asks blinking at Michael.

Michael shrugs, a greedy part of him happy that Alex is invulnerable to all spells but Michael’s protective ones. “An additional layer of protection infused by one of my favorite memories of you.”

“Oh,” Alex says dumbly and stares at Michael intently for a second before Andro growls low in the back of their throat and Alex immediately goes tense all over.

Michael looks to Andro who is looking behind behind him and then before he can look to see what they're staring at, Alex is pushing him to the down and to the side toppling them to the floor.

Michael feels the heat of a fire chain swinging dangerously above them as several howls and growls reach his ears.

He exhales roughly and glares at Alex who is looking at him and gives him a sheepish smile when he notices that Michael is watching him.

“And you were just not gonna mention the pack of Hellhounds?”

Alex gives him a grin that makes Michael's mouth dry up and he pushes himself to his feet looking down at him, “It was supposed to be a surprise. A happy late birthday gift.”

Michael lies back on the floor as he hears Andro go on the attack.

“We're gonna die.”

He can feel Alex rolling his eyes.

“Come on, Guerin! I've seen your record. This wouldn't be the first time you go up against a couple of Hellhounds.”

He has a point Michael has to admit. But both times had been with Max and Isobel at his side which always made him stronger.

Michael looks over to respond when Alex moves.

He whirls around, hands reaching beneath his jacket against his back. He tugs out the crossbow and shoots at the Hellhound that had been sneaking up behind him.

The beast growls as it jumps out of the way, hissing as one of the arrows grazes the side of its face. The arrows aren't silver, but they are sharp enough to cause enough damage.

Michael scrambles to his feet as Alex runs the few steps to his truck and climbs up on the side on to the truck bed until his back is pressed to the window of the cab.

The beast shakes its head roaring loud and runs full speed at Alex.

Michael watches as Alex fumbles at his belt and at first he thinks he's going to use the lasso on it, but then he's tugging out a long thin silver sword as though his belt were a sheath.

Michael freezes watching as Alex runs and jumps up on the edge of the tailgate before he's launching himself at the Hellhound.

He swings the blade down and there is a sickening slicing sound and a low unearthly grunt and Alex flips and lands on one knee sword held at an angle in his hands.

The Hellhound falls to his knees and his head starts falling from his neck as he bursts into flames and smoke and ashes.

Michael's so distracted by how incredibly hot that was that he's completely blindsided when one of the other Hellhounds hits him with one large paw, knocking him clear across the empty space towards the Airstream.

Michael huffs, feeling a sting in his pride, but he gets up fast and smiles a little when the beast knocks against the invisible barrier, ripples in grey silver tones visible every time it hits one massive paw against it.

Michael takes decisive steps towards it, reaching a hand out and pushing the beast back as hard as he can. It goes flying, landing nearby where Alex is fighting against two others, sparks of golden light surround him as he ducks and swirls and hits back proof that Michael's spell is in full effect.

He spots Andro chasing after the last one, snapping their jaw against its heels.

Michael inhales and reaches for the heaviest item in the junkyard while the beast going after him gets up.

It's hard but he tugs and smashes a big rusty yellow crane right against it.

The Hellhound dies with a shriek and a ball of flame and ash.

The crane swings alarmingly and Michael barely manages to stop it before it crashes into Alex who had rolled out of the way and rolls back avoiding the crane holding his hands up to block the punch.

Michael pushes the crane to the other side and jumps, propelling himself higher to land against the back of one of the beasts going after Alex, wrapping his arms around its neck and tugging down with all of his weight so that the beast falls to his back.

He darts a look at Alex to see him tugging a thin silver chain from around his neck as he moves back to his feet.

Michael watches him weave out of the way as the beast goes to punch him again and wrap

the thin chain around its wrist before looping the chain around its neck forcing its fist right beneath his throat.

He tugs hard against the chain grunting with the effort, and Michael turns away stepping back as the Hellhound at his feet gets to his feet in one single bound.

He hears a sickening squelch and grunt then the whoosh as the Hellhound dies behind him.

The beast in front of him pulls out a fire chain and swings it against his side. It hits the floor with bright sparks and then it charges at him swinging the chain out first.

Michael ducks out of the way tumbling into a roll and landing on a slide.

“Catch!” he hears Alex yell and immediately feels the cold metal of the chain landing against his hands.

He's distracted minutely by a pained yelp coming from Andro, but he knows that Alex is going after the last Hellhound Andro had been keeping at bay.

The searing heat of the fire chain catches against his arm, and Michael moves fast, flattening himself on the ground before it could do more damage.

He winds his fingers around the delicate feeling chain in his hands and gets to his feet.

He runs around the Hellhound, swinging the chain like a lasso and over his head before he throws it and makes sure it lands wrapped around the Hellhounds neck.

He turns, pulling the chain from over his shoulder hard.

It gives way so easily that Michael stumbles forward as the beast grunts and dies.

He looks up in time to see Alex stumbling from the last Hellhound as it falls to its knees and dies landing wrong on his feet.

Michael catches him, reaching with his hands as soon as he's close and letting him go so that he braces him with his body.

Alex is smiling as he grabs onto Michael's shoulders.

He looks at him, eyes bright, a wide smile on his face, breathing heavily, and sweat plastering his hair to his forehead with blood staining one corner of his mouth and Michael wants to kiss him so badly that he's moving in before he can think too hard about it.

Michael fits his hands to Alex's jaw and Alex gasps and moves into the touch, fingers clenching on Michael's shoulders.

Before Michael can press their mouths together, Alex jerks in his hold.

His right hand is torn away from Michael's shoulder with enough force that it swirls him around.

“Alex,” Michael says.

“Fuck,” Alex breathes at the same time.

His right arm is in the air in front of him but his eyes are staring off into the distance.

Michael looks over and can just barely make the smoky dark outlines of a large demon.

Fuck is right.

“Why didn't you say it was that big?” Michael asks feeling like he may be out of his depth.

Fighting Hellhounds was one thing, going up against a demon that looked to be at least twenty feet tall and was powerful enough that it had taken complete control over Alex from over several hundreds of feet away was a total other thing.

“It wasn't,” Alex hisses clenching his teeth hard as he gets dragged several feet forward.

“I fucking hate demons,” Michael says and wraps his arms around Alex's waist only to be dragged along with him as well.

Alex laughs a little hysterically.

“And the plan?” Michael asks reaching out with one hand behind him and closes his eyes and concentrates grabbing onto the pipes buried deep in the ground. Alex wraps his left hand around the hand Michael still has on his waist and when the demon tugs again they dig their feet into the ground and pull back.

There is a loud groaning noise from beneath them as the ground starts to shake.

Alex screams out in pain loud and piercing and it tears something inside of Michael.

He yells and the ground shakes harder and then there is a snap and they go flying backwards.

Michael pushes himself to sitting position and looks for Alex who is dragging himself to stand.

He has his right arm curled to his chest.

“So that wasn't part of the plan?” Michael asks and gets to his feet, reaching to help Alex.

Alex swallows hard and looks over to where the demon seems to be waiting for them to make another move.

“It wasn't able to control me before. Something happened. It's gotten stronger.”

Michael nods his head, “Okay, plan B then.”

Alex throws him a confused look, but Michael is already moving.

He grabs on to Alex and runs towards his truck.

Andro appears then still a lion running alongside them so that Alex is in between them both.

They were just about to cross when Alex stops suddenly the momentum almost toppling him back as both Andro and Michael try to skid to a halt. Michael falls and slides on the floor, getting to his feet and turning to Alex, but it's too late.

The demon towers behind of Alex dark and terrifying, leeching all of the warmth in the air around them, and making the stars blink out one by one.

It makes a low wet hissing sound that makes Alex go all tense as it forces Alex to turn around to face him.

Michael tries to think of something he can do, but his terrified mind is drawing a blank.

The last time that he'd been face to face with a demon was the night that Isobel brought Rosa back from the dead, and Michael had been knocked out of the fight before it even began. When he had woken back up, Isobel was catatonic, Max was angry and Rosa was gone.

And now there was Alex in a monster's thrall, and Michael doesn't have to think too hard about why Isobel couldn't leave well enough alone.

The air turns icy cold and there is an awful moaning groaning sound and then Alex lifts his left arm in front of himself crossing it over his right arm held aloft in the air.

The demon’s spell hits the protection spell with a sound like thunder and it pushes Alex back a little at the impact, but the bright vibrant gold of the spell shines bright dissipating the darkness of the demon’s spell.

There is deafening silence and Michael holds his breath as he inches towards Alex who is still frozen in place.

Michael takes two steps and the demon roars, a ripping wet sound that sends the smell of rotting meat and decomposing vegetables rolling straight pass them.

Michael gags and then there is another less loud roar as Andro launches themselves towards the demon getting in between it and Alex.

The demon shoots a spell at Andro and they break apart, disappearing into the shadow’s darkness as though they were never there.

Michael feels a sharp pain in his stomach and he tastes blood at the back of his tongue, but he can still sense Andro in the air, just too weak to reform.

“No!” Alex yells loud and sudden piercing through the air as a golden glow takes Michael's gaze away from trying to find Andro and back to Alex.

Michael gasps and takes a step forward only to feel something stopping him.

The ground at his feet glows black and pulses deep purple, a barrier between him and where Alex is, the outlines of Andro's protective circle.

Michael gets the bad feeling that as long as Andro isn't able to protect him, the circle isn't going to let him out.

He looks back up to Alex as the feeling of hopelessness crashes through him.

Black tendrils like fingers made of ash and smoke and darkness are wrapped around Alex's left arm, lifting him into the air. The boost Michael had given protective barrier is working, surrounding him completely glowing bright and gold and strong.

The demon lifts Alex higher into the air, and Michael can tell he's gritting his teeth so that he doesn't yell.

The demon presses his other hand against Alex's chest and he gasps, wet and painful.

Michael moves to take a step closer automatically, but a sharp pain pierces him in the center of his chest like someone wrapped their fingers around his heart and is squeezing.

Alex yells no again and the feeling gets worse, sending Michael to his knees as it spreads from his chest to his stomach, a pulling, tugging, squeezing sensation.

“Lea-ve h-im alo-ne!” he hears Alex heaving out.

Michael looks up at them, and can see Alex's eyes on him, the golden glow surrounding him seems like it's being funneled into the demon.

The pain intensifies and Alex screams as Michael tips over on his side.

He presses his forehead against the dirt as his vision starts to swim and a cold feeling starts to spread from the center of his chest and washes through him in a cresting wave.

Michael breathes out and he can see the white mist his breath leaves behind in the air and he would panic but there's an icy cold numbness spreading across his brain.

His eyes fall shut.

“Fine! I'll do it! I'll take it off! Just let him g-!” he hears Alex's voice from far away and it fades away with his consciousness.

***

Michael comes to with a gasp, sitting up immediately as he looks around disoriented trying to get his bearings.

He’s at the junkyard. He's outside. It's dark. He came home after talking to Isobel worried about Andro and found Alex-

His train of thought grinds to a halt as the memories of what happened flood his head. He looks around and this time spots the crumpled dark form that is Alex's body.

Michael crawls over to him, feeling a sense of relief as he passes the protective circle with no problems.

He scrambles closer to Alex and turns him around checking his pulse and exhaling in relief when he feels it beating hard in his throat against Michael's fingers.

Alex moans as he wakes up hands reaching up to his head.

Michael just breathes out and smiles propping himself up on his hands behind himself.

He touches something that's definitely not dirt and closes his fingers over what feels like a bundle of rough fibers.

He feels the broken edges of something pricking along his palm and he brings his hand forward just as Alex speaks.

“Michael?” his voice sounds hoarse and Michael looks up at him eyes wide feeling his heart leaping in his chest.

Alex leans up on his elbows and smiles at him, but there is something odd about it.

Michael looks down at his hands and jolts when he realizes what he's holding.

The bracelet looks so ordinary and plain in his fingers.

He remembers when he tied it around Alex's wrist, how Alex had pressed in close when Michael had asked for his hand, how he'd listened carefully as Michael said what it was for, how he'd looked at him afterwards eyes wide and unblinking and on Michael for a long moment before he'd leaned in and kissed him.

Michael remembers saying, “It will only come off if you want it to.”

He remembers Alex's response, words breathed against his mouth. “Good, because I'm never taking it off, Guerin.”

He looks back up to Alex and the smile drops from his face turning into a hopelessly bored expression.

Inky darkness leaks into his eyes turning them black and a cruel smile stretches across his face.

“Fuck,” Michael breathes.

The demon reaches out with one hand and flicks its fingers towards Michael.

Michael goes flying backwards again landing within the protective circle.

Michael gets to his feet immediately looking over at it.

The demon stands right on the edge of the circle looking at Michael intently.

Michael tries frantically to think of a way to get out of this, but he keeps drawing a terrifying blank.

It's not impossible to expel a demon, but it's not possible to do it alone. The only sure fire way is undoing the spell that brought it here, and that wasn't even an option.

“I should thank you,” the demon says tilting its head and smiling that too weird smile. “If it wasn't for you, I'd be stuck with the fiery brunette from the diner, but Witch Hunters are infinitely more delicious. Especially one with my descendants blood running through his veins.”

Michael clenches his fists tightly glaring, the broken pieces of the bracelet held tightly in his left hand. “Well, enjoy it while you can because I'm going to send you straight back to hell.”

The demon laughs and it sounds wrong and unnatural like human vocal cords should never be able to make a noise like that.

“You?” it says incredulously. “That little trick with the protection spell was impressive I'll give you that. But it's the limit of your potential.”

It grins at Michael like it knows something that Michael doesn't know.

“You have no idea what I can do,” Michael says clenching his fists.

It laughs again. “Then why don't you come over here and show me?”

It raises an eyebrow in challenge like it thinks Michael is that dumb.

The demon sighs when all Michael does is stare back at it, “You witches, always having to do things the hard way.”

It crosses its arms across its chest and closes its eyes and Michael doesn't have the mental space to worry about that.

He's thinking that the only thing that could work is broken in the palm of his hand and making a new one would take too long. But there are shortcuts he could use to make a temporary one strong enough to break the demon’s hold on Alex. He just needs something already imbued with magic.

The demon laughs again and Michael's gaze snaps back to it.

It looks amused. “It's just like I suspected Witch Hunters are an inquisitive bunch. They don't rest until they find the answers that they are looking for, and he knows what I know.”

It sings the last line sounding deranged and laughs again.

“But most importantly, and primarily the reason why he came here tonight, proximity makes the spell stronger. Too bad I was even stronger.”

The words hit Michael like a jolt to the back of the neck, but not for the reason that the demon wants.

He looks over to his truck, and swallows hard.

The Manes’ Heirloom Talisman is imbued with powerful magic. And it's already naturally attuned to protect Alex.

The only downside is-

Michael looks down at his left hand. At the scars lining the back of his hand. He inhales hard, and reaches out with the same hand, closing his eyes and searching for the talisman.

“Isn't it just like a Witch Hunter to not care about the consequences? He came to you for help because he knew he'd be stronger. He knew if his powers failed him he could just drain yours like a battery. That's all you are to him, a battery.”

Michael latches on to the talisman and turns to the demon, who seems to be struggling to find something suitably damaging to say.

“If you're trying to provoke me, you're going to have to try harder than that.”

Michael moves his fingers and the talisman flies from the ground to his hand.

The demon makes a noise of derision. “That's not going to do anything even if you manage to get it around his neck.”

Michael doesn't answer him as he kneels down on the floor.

It's easy to form the casting circle even though his hands are shaking and to ignore the demon as it demands what Michael is doing.

Michael traces the spell on the floor in front of him and places the talisman down on top of it.

“You're being boring,” the demon finally snaps. “I thought you'd give me more of a fight considering the fact that he could've come back at any time during the last ten years and kept telling his dad no.”

Michael jolts at that, getting distracted as he tugs a switchblade out of his boot.

“But if you're not going to fight, I'm going to look for a more willing opponent.”

The demon moves his hand and Michael calls out sharply.

“Andro!”

There is a loud howl and then the demon is being thrown backwards by a huge black wolf.

Michael feels a spike of worry but he knows that Andro won't hurt Alex too seriously.

He flicks the switchblade open and places the tip of the blade in the center of his left palm.

He would find the situation ironically amusing if it wasn't for how dire it was.

He hears howls and growls and the demons unearthly screeching, and tries to block it all out.

He inhales deeply and slides the blade across the skin, slashing his sigil across his palm and the protection spell up his fingers.

Michael reaches forward and grabs the talisman in his bloody hand before setting his other hand down on the dirt before him, the tips of his fingers grazing one of the curling symbols and inhales.

Michael thinks of Alex.

Of the first time that he touched Alex, and how his fingers trembled as he tucked his hands right against the curve of Alex's jaw, skin soft and smooth as Michael pulled him in.

Of the first time that he saw Alex, and how his heart had leapt into his throat and he felt mesmerized and bewitched and unable to look away.

Of the first time that he heard Alex, and how his laugh was as clear as a bell, a sound that Michael heard from all the way across a noisy crowded room, and how it had been the sound reverberating around his head when he'd been trying to fall asleep that night.

Of the first time that he tasted Alex, and how his mouth was sweet from the gum he was chewing and wet and warm and addicting.

Of the first time that he smelled Alex, and how his scent is strongest right behind his ear, where his shampoo and his cologne mix together with a scent that's just so uniquely Alex that reminds Michael of wood shavings and the breeze blowing across the hot sand.

He holds all of the feelings evoked in the memories and exhales and whispers the words to ignite the spell.

He feels the curse latch on to him immediately, sending jolts of electricity through his hand, and he wants to let go of the talisman but he just grips it tighter in his fist, fighting through the pain and thinking about Alex, about everything Alex means to him, all the good things and the bad things and that above all, Michael is willing to give up everything in his life if it meant that Alex would be safe.

His hand feels like it's on fire, fingers losing strength as he clenches the talisman tighter in his fist. He moves his right hand and clasps it around his left fist.

His hands tremble and he can feel the blood sliding down his arm, dripping down onto the spell scrawled in the dirt and it starts to smoke.

“Enough!” the demon roars and then there is a yelp and a thud, and Michael shuts his eyes against the ache in the pit of his stomach that tells him that Andro is hurt.

He forces himself to think if nothing but Alex.

AlexAlexAlexAlexAlexAlexAlexAlexAlexAlex.

There is a flash of bright white light burning at the back of Michael's eyelids. And he feels the magic pour out of him like opening a water faucet too far.

It doesn't hurt per say, more like he immediately feels dizzy and faint and sick to his stomach like he hasn't eaten anything all day.

Michael blinks his heavy lids open and sees the talisman in his hand feels hot, the golden light of the active spell peeking through his knuckles.

There is a loud sonic boom that crackles through the air and forces his gaze away from the talisman.

Michael looks up and sees it right at the barrier hands out in front it, eyes open and black and glowing and smoking.

He sees the amber stone hanging from Alex's neck glow dark gold and then turn black like a well of ink tipped over into a glass of water.

Another loud sonic boom rocks through the air and the barrier shatters like glass that dissolves into smoke.

The demon smiles smugly and stalks in reaching a hand out for him.

Michael scrambles at his fading reserves and wills himself to his truck.

He lands on the truck bed with a thud and looks around.

The demon whirls around and glares when he spots him.

Michael looks around again and wills himself to Andro's side.

They're still breathing when Michael presses his right hand to their flank.

“Come on, buddy,” Michael says. “I need you.”

Andro's twitches but doesn't wake up.

Before Michael can try anything else, he feels like something hook right into his spine and tug him back hard.

He lands right at the demon's feet and before Michael can will himself away it's reaching for him.

Wrapping fingers around his neck and using the hold to tug him to his feet.

Michael gasps weakly and wraps the sweaty fingers of his right hand around its wrists.

“Witches these days are so cocky,” it says into Michael's face, looking at him with Alex's eyes. “A spell is only as strong as the caster. And you're no match for me.”

“You're wrong,” Michael says weak and strained.

The demon smirks in his face. “You think you can take me?”

Michael shakes his head. And swallows hard.

“The spell is as strong as the intent,” Michael says as he presses the medallion of the Manes’ Heirloom Talisman to the back of the demon's hand.

The demon yells loud and horrible as the talisman burns, and the spell works through Alex's body.

It tries to push Michael away, but Michael tangles their hands together, keeping the talisman against him.

Golden light and black smoke pours out of their joined hands, and the pain pulses ever persistent in Michael's hand but he just holds on tighter, clenching his jaw hard.

The demon struggles and then gasps loud and painful and then falls like a puppet with its strings cut taking Michael down with him.

Michael pushes himself up and unclenches his finger with difficulty reaching up and looping the talisman around Alex's neck. It falls around his neck as though it’s magnetized and a tingling burning sensation starts working its way up Michael’s hand.

He drops down on the floor beside him falling on his back and looks up at the sky. He breathes in once, the silence feels deafening, the only sounds for a single long second; the wind rattling through the spare metal parts and Andro's soft wheezing.

Then Alex gasps loud and hoarse and arches on the ground.

Michael sits up with difficulty as Alex twists and turns and then sits up suddenly and moves turning his head to the side as he coughs and coughs until he's gagging.

Michael crawls over to his side and then gasps as the pain spasms in his left hand hard reminding him not to get too close, stopping him in his tracks as he presses his head down against the dirt as he cradles his hand to his chest, breathing through the pain.

Alex dry heaves, coughing one last time and Michael hears him drop back down on the floor.

Michael looks over to him and he's got his eyes closed, breathing hard, something darker than blood staining the corners of his mouth.

Michael shuts his eyes and exhales through the pain and tries to concentrate on anything else.

He focuses on Alex's breathing, and realizes with a jolt that Alex and Andro are breathing in sync.

Andro came to him in the aftermath of Alex disappearing, a nagging tugging in the back of his head, a tight squeezing around his chest, a painful clenching in the pit of his stomach that wouldn't let him be until he'd given into his instincts and had performed the spell.

He's so concentrated on their breaths that he doesn't hear the hissing smoke of the black goo that Alex had just thrown up until Alex speaks.

“Fuck,” he says and his voice sounds like it was scrapped raw with sandpaper.

Michael's eyes open and he watches as Alex sits up and tugs a silver flask out of one of his many pockets.

He leans over and collects some of the goo inside and then drops back to the ground looking over to Michael.

“Mission accomplished,” he croaks giving Michael a tentative smile, and Michael wants to laugh but he's afraid that he just might start crying instead.

He just sighs and closes his eyes again.

The hissing sound from the goo gets louder and Alex sighs again low and tired. “Fuck.”

Michael feels him get up and feels him get closer, and he clenches his left hand tighter and feels a drop of blood running down his wrist.

“We should probably head back to the protective circle.”

Michael laughs at that, and it sounds all wrong and there is a clench in the pit of his stomach as the demons words come back to him, that Alex is only here because being near Michael gives him a power boost.

“The demon shattered it like glass when I turned your family heirloom into a protection spell,” he croaks.

He feels Alex gasp and then scramble backwards until he’s far away enough that the pain recedes like a wave.

“Okay,” Alex says and there is something odd in his voice that Michael can’t quite decipher.

He can feel the exhaustion tugging against the edges of his consciousness. The feeling of using too much magic in such a short period of time makes him feel like he's going to be sick at any second and he can feel the edges of a headache threatening to take over, and a stinging sensation spreading from his right arm where the Hellhound had caught him with the fire chain.

“Okay,” Alex says again as the hissing sound gets even louder and Michael can feel the cold and heavy feeling of the demon slowly reforming. “One thing at a time. Good thing you weren't the only one who came up with a Plan B.”

Michael wants to laugh but he coughs instead and blinks his eyes open watching as Alex gets to his feet and starts to look around, “Where is Andro?”

Michael doesn't say anything, because Alex spots them then and runs towards them.

Michael turns towards his back and looks up at the stars listening to Alex talk as he gets to Andro's side.

“Hey there baby,” he says voice low and soothing like he was talking to a child and not a terrifying magical creature. “We gotta wake up now, Michael needs us.”

Michael's breathing hitches and then he feels something warm spread from the center of his chest to the rest of him, infusing him with enough energy that he opens his eyes and leans up on his elbows and through the heavy dark smoke he can see Alex bent over Andro, his hand on Andro’s chest a golden glow spilling from between them.

Michael inhales sharply as Alex falls on Andro exhaustion finally hitting him.

Andro makes a purring sound low in their throat and the warm feeling in Michael's chest gets stronger as Alex says something voice muffled and too low for Michael to make out.

Michael exhales and lets himself fall back onto the dirt.

The unearthly ghastly moaning sound that the demon makes as it reforms makes all the warmth flee his body replacing it with an icy cold dread and a sense of exhaustion that makes his head swim and immediately clouds his senses.

He looks up and all he can see is darkness floating above him.

It moves downward suddenly and Michael's thoughts freeze as it descends on him.

Before he can figure out what to do there’s a golden flash like lightning and the demon yells loud and terrible as it flees back from it.

Michael blinks slowly and then Alex is standing above him, feet on either side of Michael's hips at he faces against the demon.

Dark purple smoke and golden light swirl around him and the power is radiating from him in waves that makes his clothes and hair ripple as though he's caught in a windstorm.

As Michael watches, he raises his arms above him, crossing them at the forearms and ducks his face.

The demon's spell hits a barrier that surrounds them like a bubble as the dark spell breaks into dark red sparks. The dome surrounding them crackles with golden and silver grey flashes.

Michael feels a tug deep in his gut that makes the edges of his vision fade as he feels the bile at the back of his throat.

When the spell clears, the demon snarls something horrible sounding that makes Alex look up immediately.

“Because I know something that you don't,” Alex says and his voice has an odd timber, like he's growling the words at the back of his throat.

The demon hisses something but Michael can't look away from Alex and he notices when his stance changes.

Alex raises one hand in the air and goes through the banishment spell words sharp and precise.

The demon vanishes with a loud unearthly groan, and Michael feels a sensation like someone is tugging against the base of his spine. His vision goes black around the edges and he tips his head back and passes out.

***

Pain spasms through Michael's hand in small electric bursts that wake him up.

He flexes his fingers and feels the way his entire hand is bandaged, and he's pretty sure he can feel the edges of a pair of butterfly stitches above his eyebrow and gauze wrapped tightly around his right bicep.

He can feel the usual aches and pains that come from a fight that exhausted his magic, and he stretches out on the bed struggling to remember what happened through the fog of exhaustion.

“Sorry,” Alex says voice tight and just a little bit shaky, making Michael jump and freeze. “I just needed to sit down for a moment.”

Michael swallows hard as everything comes back to him in waves, and then he blinks his eyes open and looks out of the window, the sky is lighting up with the dawn. He takes a deep breath looks to the side and sees Alex, sitting with his back to him on the edge of Michael's bed, right by his hip.

His hair is wet and dripping down the back of his neck, and he's not wearing a t-shirt, the expanse of the skin of his back on display for Michael's eyes to catalogue every scar and every burn and Manes’ Family Sigil in stark black right in the middle of his shoulder blades.

Ten years ago Alex's skin was unmarked and smooth and pale.

Michael remembers the first time he'd slid his hands beneath his shirt and touched his soft, warm skin, remembers the last time he'd had his hands pressed against the sweaty skin of his lower back as Alex pressed in close, closer than anyone else has ever been inside of Michael.

Michael's eyes fall shut and he shudders, and his hands ache with the urge to touch him again.

Alex moves, and then hisses in pain.

Michael opens his eyes again to watch him leaning forward, hands massaging right underneath his right knee.

Michael sits up, and Alex straightens up, tensing immediately.

Michael manages to slide off the bed without touching Alex and realizes only then that they are both dressed down to their boxers.

He ignores the way that it makes a warm and boozy feeling spread out from the pit of his stomach and kneels at Alex’s feet.

He looks at the prosthetic for the first time and feels his heart leap into his throat.

It looks uncomfortable where the metal is fused to the skin a few inches below his knee.

Michael wraps his hand around the back of it, fingers touching the cool metal, and watches as the sigils etched along the front glow in white blue healing lights. He slides his hand up to where the metal meets the skin, but keeps his fingers pressed to the cool metal as he ignores everything and concentrates on the feeling of it, on how the magic works, and what he can do to help.

“It hasn’t been that long,” Alex says and his voice sounds even shakier than before. Michael slides his hand back down. “I haven’t gotten used to it yet. They said it could take months before I ever get used to it. I forget all the time, especially during a fight.”

Michael wants to ask if that’s the reason that he came back when he hasn’t for the last ten years, but he doesn’t really want an answer to that question.

Instead he concentrates and mutters a spell to relieve pain beneath his breath.

“Guerin, wai-” Alex starts, but it’s done.

Michael’s eyes open and he watches as the sigils burn bright gold and it spirals up in ribbon of golden light wrapping around where Alex’s skin is bright red and raw against the metal.

Alex gasps a sound full of relief and pleasure and then falls forward, hands gripping the edge of Michael's bed as his leg spasms in Michael's grip.

Michael’s control is flimsy at best when it comes to Alex, and right now Michael has been aching touch Alex for what feels like years.

Michael surges up, and Alex moves back keeping some distance between them.

Michael stares at him, and Alex stares back breathing hard.

“Why did you do that?” he asks breathless and hoarse.

“You know why,” Michael says moving in closer.

Alex licks his lips and swallows hard, and his eyes are still unsure, but when Michael moves in close, he makes space for him between his thighs.

Michael’s hands shake as he reaches for Alex, his left hand aches, and he thinks that maybe it’ll hurt more once he touches him, but Michael has to kiss him, if he doesn’t kiss him right now he feels like he just might die from the wanting of it.

Alex’s eyes fall shut, and Michael inhales deeply and presses his trembling finger to the curve of Alex’s jaw.

He’s so sure that it’s going to hurt that when the pain disappears like someone flipped a switch inside of him, all he can do freeze.

Alex is so still against his hands that Michael thinks his heart might have actually stopped beating.

But then he’s moving in, sliding his fingers to the back of Alex’s head pulling him in.

He stops right as their noses brush together and Alex’s eyes flutter open.

He stares into Michael’s eyes and his eyes are clear and wide, and Michael can’t help the smile that crosses his face at the thought that he had spent the last three days in silent anguish at the thought that it would always hurt to be near Alex, and now here he was, touching him, without feeling any pain.

He leans their foreheads together and closes his eyes with a sigh.

Alex moves into him until their lips are barely brushing, sliding his hands up Michael’s shoulders and into his hair.

Alex is still shaking against him, and Michael slides his finger up into his hair.

“It doesn’t hurt,” he whispers against his mouth.

Alex kisses him, fingers digging into the back of Michael’s head as he tugs him in even closer.

Alex is frantic against him like he’s on a time limit and needs as much of Michael as he can have, but Michael has spent a decade thinking that he’ll never see Alex again, let alone touch him, and he wants to savor this.

He slides his hands down Alex’s shoulders, and down his arms and back up again, biting against Alex’s mouth until he gives him control of the kiss, and Michael slows it down, pressing his tongue to Alex’s bottom lip and coaxing his mouth open to kiss him deeper.

Alex sighs and his fingers loosen their hold in Michael’s hair and he tugs lightly against the strands moving in closer as Michael slides his hands down his back.

Alex shivers and moves in closer, moaning into Michael’s mouth.

Michael’s fingers stutter across the scars, and he feels the way that Alex tenses against him, before he’s moving back, parting their lips, noses brushing as he blinks his eyes open and looks at Michael as though he’s worried that the scars are a deal breaker.

Michael licks his lips and slides his hands even lower.

“Stay,” Michael says, sliding fingers into the waistband of Alex’s boxers.

Alex stares at him eyes wide and dark, mouth red and wet, and Michael wants to kiss him again.

He’s leaning in when Alex speaks.

“I can’t,” he whispers voice low, and he’s looking at Michael like he doesn’t just mean to stay right now.

Michael’s fingers press into the skin of his back and he looks at Alex as seriously as he can. “You can’t?”

Alex swallows hard and his eyes are full of misery and guilt.

“I know the demon told you-”

“I don’t care about that,” Michael says roughly, wrapping his arms completely around Alex’s waist and pulling him in tighter.

Alex gasps and looks at Michael shaking his head. “It didn’t tell you everything.”

“I don’t care,” Michael breathes and leans in and kisses Alex hard and fast. “I don’t care about anything as long as you’re safe don’t you get that yet?”

“Don’t you know it’s the same for me?” Alex responds, eyes close as he presses his fingers into Michael’s hair and shakes. “It’s why I didn’t come back until now.”

Michael inhales deeply and presses their foreheads together hard.

“Alex,” he says voice soft. “Stay. We’ll deal with everything else later, okay? Just lay down with me.”

Alex blinks his eyes open, and stares into Michael’s eyes.

Michael looks back at him not hiding anything.

Alex exhales and nods his head pressing it harder against Michael’s before he’s pulling back.

“I did promise Andro they could sit on me until I’m better if something did happen, after all.”

At the mention of their name, Andro appears, a small black cat, forming at the counter and jumps on top of Michael’s bed curling into a dark blob right at the foot of the bed before giving Alex an expectant look.

Alex laughs, and it’s tired but delighted as he moves away from Michael to rub his fingers along Andro’s soft ears.

Michael leans back against his heels watching them and feels the warm and sweet feeling in the pit of his stomach intensify, and thinks he could get used to this.

#malex #malex fic #i totally turned this into a series #can you tell it's gonna get bad???#lemme know if there is anything in this universe you wanna see cause i have P L A N S #but i'm willing to write anything for this verse tbh #warnings for blood #semi graphic fighting scenes #(i tried my best okay)#(writing action scenes is hard)#this is also nearly 10k #rip me #witchau

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taehyungiestummy · 5 years

Text

Return to Paradise -- Chapter Twelve

Masterlist Previous Next

Warnings: None

Word Count: 3023

“You are so goofy, Tae,” I smile as Taehyung makes a silly face at a baby a few tables over. “That baby is so cute.”

All night Taehyung and I have been having a great time talking and being ourselves. Our meal was delicious, and now we are waiting for our waitress to come back so we can order dessert.

“Your Korean impresses me,” Taehyung looks back at me. “You learned so much so fast for me.”

“I think I know why I am your first true girlfriend,” I brush passed his compliment.

He chuckles. “Why is that?”

Our waitress steps up, taking our plates, “Dessert?”

“Chocolate cake, please,” Taehyung smiles.

“Coming right up,” the waitress nods before walking off.

“You remembered,” I feel my heart skip a beat as my cheeks warm up/

“A love of my jagi, I would never forget,” Taehyung reaches across the table to grab my hand. “Now, why are you my first girlfriend?”

“Because you are so weird,” I giggle.

“What?”

“Like, when you first meet a girl, you are calm and such a sweetheart. Then, you show how goofy and weird you can be, and they can’t handle it. I could. I love your silly side because I have one myself. We fit together so well.”

“I guess, that makes sense,” he smiles.

Our waitress comes back, placing a slice of chocolate cake in the middle of the table. “Enjoy,” she smiles before walking off again.

“Can I feed you?” Taehyung picks up his fork, contrasting with how we have used chopsticks all night.

“I’m not a baby,” I pout.

“I know, its just,” Taehyung bites his bottom lip.

“It is cute and shows everybody that I am with you in that way,” I squeeze his hand. “Go ahead.”

His face lights up, and he is quick to fee me a bit of cake. “Is it good?”

“Amazing,” I run my tongue over my lips to pick up any icing.

“Ah, don’t do that,” Taehyung’s voice comes out lower than usual.

“What?” I innocently look at my boyfriend.

His tongue runs over his bottom lip, “That.”

I chuckle, “Licking my lips? That got you?”

“Hey,” he pouts. “Shut up.”

“Aw, Tae, you are so cute.”

“Why am I never manly?” He grumble.

“Oh, you are so manly in that suit,” I teasingly bite my bottom lip.

“Now you are teasing me,” he takes a bite of cake.

“Just a little. Think of it as revenge for all the times you have teased me.”

“Fine,” he feeds me another bite. “You’re lucky I love you.”

“I am lucky that you fell in love with me. As you are lucky I fell in love with you. That was confusing, but I think I made some sort of sense.”

“Have you planned our next date?”

“I have, and I am not telling you anything about it. It is going to be a surprise.”

“I can’t wait. When will it be?”

“After we are done traveling.”

“Oh, well, that’s fine. We are going to get busy really soon, but we will be together, so I can’t complain.”

“Yeah, traveling starts in a week or something.”

“You know what I just noticed, and I can’t believe I haven’t noticed until now.”

“What?” I barely tilt my head to the side.

“You don’t have your ears pierced.”

“Oh, ha, no, no I don’t,” I reach up with my free hand to touch my ear lobe. “Just not something I want to do. It’s painful, and I am scared of needles, and I just don’t feel the need.”

“I did it.”

“Yes, and you look so hot with your ears pierced. I just, don’t want them. I like necklaces and bracelets. At times, rings.”

“Why aren’t you wearing a necklace now?”

“I didn’t have one that matched. I haven’t had a necklace I love to wear in years, so I don’t have any over here.”

“I’ll change that.”

“Oh, oppa,” I roll the word over in my mouth, still debating if I should use it. “Don’t do that. You don’t need to do that.”

“No, I want to. I’ll get a cute necklace you can wear everyday with any outfit.”

I tenderly smile, “Don’t get anything too expensive. If it comes from you, I will love it no matter what.”

“I will find something when we are traveling. Your birthday present, that’s what it will be. Then, you get to meet my family.”

“Do they know?”

“Know what?” Taehyung eyebrows come together in confusion.

“Does your family know about me?”

“Of course,” he shoves some cake into my mouth to calm me. “I talk about you so much. They want to meet you because of how much I gush over you.”

“That’s good, but not what I meant. Do they know I’m not Korean?”

“Oh, um, yes, they do,” Taehyung nods. “They got over it in seconds when they saw all my pictures of you and how much I love you.”

“Why do you have pictures of me on your phone? When do you take them? Besides our selfies and what not.”

“I take pictures of you all the time when you aren’t paying attention to me. They are all adorable, I promise you. I have them on my phone for when I miss you, and because I love you.”

“Yes, of course,” my cheeks warm up again. “Why didn’t I think of that?”

“Do you not have photos of me on your phone?”

“No, I do. I save everyone you send to me. I also have photoshoots and whatever else I can find online. Helps when I miss you and can’t video chat.”

“So, my family knows what you look like, jagi. They are excited to meet you, regardless of where you come from. You’ll love them and they will love you.”

“I’m sure we will all get along,” I smile. “How about we finish this cake, and then get going?”

“Are you getting tired?”

“Yeah, not because of you or anything. Just, it’s been a long day, and we’ve been here for a long time. Nari and Emily are going to want all the details of this, so I need to make sure there is enough time to spill everything to them.”

He chuckles, “Of course. They are quite interested in us, and I find that cute. Do I ever tire you out?”

“You make me feel energized, actually, which not many people do. Only Emily is the other person that is constantly in my life that can pick me up.”

“I feel special,” he smiles.

“You are very special to me,” I smile back. “So special.”

********

“Just a few more minutes,” Jungkook messes with the laptop. Being able to understand him has been beyond great for this summer. Being able to understand all the boys has been truly wonderful.

“Every time one of you comes on screen for the first time, we are shouting your names,” I smile, looking around at the seven boys.

“Won’t be the last time you scream Taehyung’s name,” Jimin smirks.

“Jiminie,” I glare at the boy.

“I will kill you,” Yoongi grumbles.

“Screaming my name, hm?” Taehyung chuckles.

“Amber and Taehyung are innocent kids,” Seokjin says. “To an extent, of course. The internet is a crazy place.”

“Yeah, tease Namjoon and Emily,” I sigh. “Namjoon has a lot more experience.”

“Hey, don’t drag me down,” Namjoon shakes his head. “I can’t believe you.”

“Experience?” Emily looks around. “What does that even mean?”

“Namjoon has a dirty mind,” Hoseok smirks. “Like Amber, but like ten times that.”

“Keep me out of that,” I flop down on the couch, pulling Emily with me. “Is the music video live, Kookie? How much longer do I have to wait?”

“It is ready, so you don’t have to wait any longer,” Jungkook smiles, turning the laptop around on the coffee table.

“Okay boys, shut up so we can watch how amazing you are,” Emily says.

“Yeah, the only people who can talk are Emily and I when we shout,” I smirk.

Jungkook pushes play and everyone goes silent.

The Big Hit logo sequence starts up with its soothing tone, lasting a few seconds.

“Kim Namjoon!” Emily and I shout as the boy comes on screen.

Namjoon shakes his head, a smile on his face. The version on the screen is dressed up as what I can only guess is the one who works the elevator.

“Jeon Jungkook!”

The maknae is dressed as a police officer, looking fine as hell.

“Park Jimin!” Emily and I already have big smiles on our faces.

The red head is an office worker. An office worker that is way more attractive than any office worker I know.

“BTS!”

All the boys are on screen for the chorus. All dressed as office workers. My eyes darting between Yoongi and Taehyung.

“Jung Hoseok!” Emily and I don’t miss a beat.

Hoseok is dressed as a race car driver, and he fits the part.

“Min Yoongi!”

I catch Yoongi nervously smiling out of the corner of my eye.

The blond boy seems to be dressed as a military man, and he looks very handsome in it.

“Kim Taehyung!” Emily and I are now leaning into one another.

My boyfriend is dressed up like a detective from what I can gather. He’s cute and hot at the same time which is driving me mad.

“And Kim Seokjin!”

Seokjin is dressed up as a doctor, looking adorable as always. Nari is going to love this look.

The music video is very similar to the dance practice. Just more outfit and setting changes. It’s hard to soak it all in. The video ends and my thoughts are all over the place.

“So, did you like it?” Seokjin asks.

“Like it?” I take a deep breath. “Loved it!”

Emily nods, “Yes. Best music video to date. They just keep getting better and better.”

“The outfits, the dancing, the song. It was all perfect.”

“We have seven talented, hot, amazing friends.”

“Can we watch it again?” I look around at the boys, using my puppy-dog eyes. “Please, I was so into shouting, and I feel like I missed out on like half the video.”

“Of course,” Jungkook hits the replay button. “You can watch it as many times as you want.”

“Thank you, Kookie,” I smile, ruffling his hair.

“Is this all we are going to do today?” Hoseok whines.

“Video game tournament in a second,” I wave him off.

“Just a few more times for the music video,” Emily adds.

I’m not sure how many times we watch the video, but enough that I could recount it scene for scene to someone who has never seen it before. Even though I could look around and see those same boys next to me, I can’t help but love the fact that they could have these different personas.

“Wow, I just love it,” I squeal as Taehyung drags me into his lap. “Don’t you guys like watching it?”

“It is nice to see all the hard work pay off,” Namjoon has pulled Emily into his side.

“We just wanted it to be over with when we were filming,” Jungkook closes the laptop. “It was fun, but also a lot. We had to film as quickly as possible, but there was so much to do.”

“Now you want to play video games, right?” Jimin starts going through the games in the cabinet next to the TV.

“Very much,” I giggle as Taehyung places multiple kisses on my cheeks. “What games do you have that we can play against each other?”

********

“A whole month, well, close to it, traveling with our boyfriends and best friends,” I smile, opening my small suitcase.

“Comeback and then vacation,” Emily tosses clothes out of her dresser into her suitcase. “Sounds like a great few weeks.”

“I’d love to share a room with Yoongi one day.”

“I bet he is good at cuddling,” she teases.

“He is,” I toss some clothes into my suitcase. “That day I was with him at the studio, he held me as we listened to some of his music that he’s working on. He is comfy and warm.”

“That’s cute,” she smiles.

“Anyways, we get to see the boys perform tonight, so that’s cool. Three days without seeing them is hard.”

“Well, we watched their performances the past two days, so it hasn’t been too bad.”

“The first day just sucked because we could have gone to watch them practice, but we wanted them to work hard and focus, so we stayed home.”

“I bet they thought of us all day.”

“Of course,” I shake my head. “I can’t wait to see them tonight. They did so well the past two nights. One more, they can do one more this week.”

“The song is so good; I don’t think we will ever get tired of it.”

“Never,” I plop down next to my suitcase, folding my clothes neatly to fit.

“This summer seems to be lasting longer, yet not at the same time,” Emily kneels by her suitcase, neatly folding her clothes as well.

“It’s the last summer we have to worry about our time over here ending. I don’t know if that helps.”

“You are so sure our parents will let us move over here.”

“I will do something so they can’t say no. Really, once I turn eighteen, I can do what I want.”

“What could you do?”

“Get married.” I burst into laughter. “No, ah, I need parent consent.”

“Would you really get married at that young of an age?”

“No, Taehyung would be too busy, and it would be so hard. Our lives would be so crazy, and even thinking about marriage is something I can’t believe after less than a year is coming up so much.”

“You could just travel with him. We, actually, could travel with the group if you are thinking about that.”

“I guess. I still would want to wait until I’m at least twenty. My parents wouldn’t consent before then anyway.”

“Eh, I don’t know. I bet Taehyung could get them to. All for love.”

I giggle, “I still have the final say. I’m no getting married at eighteen. End of story.”

“Fine, fine,” Emily sighs. “Would you share a room with Taehyung on this trip? Or, better yet, a bed.”

“Maybe,” I zip up my suitcases. “I don’t think we get much of a choice.”

“Same for me. We’ll see what they let us do.”

“I’m ready for all the laughs and fun times.”

“They have to be filmed at times, so we have to be hidden.”

“A small detail. Easy to hide when we can wear face masks.”

“Period week is going to suck for you,” Emily zips up her suitcase.

“Don’t even want to think about it,” I groan. “But, Tae will help me through it, so it won’t be too terrible. Still, I don’t want to worry about it.”

“He can’t be better than me.”

“No one could be better than you, but he can try. He needs to try to live up to your standards.”

“He’ll do a good job; Taehyung seems to be good at things like that.”

“I can’t stop thinking about going to award shows as his girlfriend.”

“Weird to think of, but, I can imagine going as Namjoon’s girlfriend.”

“Walking down the carpet in a beautiful dress, arm linked with Tae’s. Everyone knows us as the goofy couple. Yoongi is keeping a close eye on me. We have to separate as the press can get group photos. You and Namjoon are known as the serious couple.”

“We have matching dresses in different colors. The two of us hang off to the side as photos of the group are taken. Photos of us are being taken too, though. Going public has its perks and drawbacks.”

“Nari would be there once. I know she doesn’t want to be out in the public like that a lot. She comes once. All of us have a grand time. The life of having an idol as a boyfriend.”

“One day, we will be public. We will have to deal with a lot. Love and hate.”

“I can deal with it. I want people to know about our relationship. Hiding sucks.”

“Yeah, it’s a lot of effort to not get spotted.”

“Can’t wait to stop worrying,” I stand up.

“Girls!” Nari’s voice travels from the living room. “The boys are here to take you to the venue! I need to say goodbye and repeat rules!”

“Ah, so soon,” I grab my glasses case off my desk. “It seems so early.”

“Just a tad,” Emily stands up. “Come on, we have a fun night ahead of us.”

The two of us grab our backpacks, leaving the room with our suitcases in tow. We may not be leaving tonight, but it feels like it.

“I feel like I am sending my kids off to college or something,” Nari chuckles, standing behind the couch. “You’re just leaving me for a few weeks, and will be back before I know it. Just like when you leave to go back to America at the end of the summer. You’ll be back before I know it.”

“What are the rules?” I stop in front of my cousin. “That before goodbyes.”

“Only a few rules,” Nari nods. “Call me often so that I know you are doing good and everything is fine. Don’t do anything stupid, and take that anyway you want. Last, have a great time and take in everything around you. Take pictures and buy little knick-knacks.”

“We can do that,” Emily nudges me with her hip.

“For sure,” I widely smile. “We come back tonight, anyways, and we don’t leave for a little bit longer. We are just getting ready.”

“I know, but I still need to make sure you know how much I love you, and how happy I am that you get to do something like this,” Nari smiles. “You are my responsibility, but I trust you. This is good for you. Have a great time, girls.”

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A bit shorter because another scene would make it too long, and everything is changing, so it makes sense to stop here. Anyways, hope you enjoyed, and I’d love to know what you thought. :D

#BTS #BTS x OC #BTS imagine #BTS fanfiction #Jungkook x OC #Jungkook imagine #Taehyung x OC #Taehyung imagine #Jimin x OC #Jimin imagine #Namjoon x OC #Namjoon imagine #Hoseok x OC #Hoseok imagine #Yoongi x OC #Yoongi imagine #Seokjin x OC #Seokjin imagine #My OCs

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cncobby · 5 years

Text

CNCO at Disneyland/California Adventures

as a native californian and an avid disney lover writing this WRECKED me so i hope you all enjoy~

JOEL

cali boy obviously loves his disney

u guys are season passholders duh

always there right when the park opens

he refuses to let go of your hand the whole day

“babe you don’t have to hold my hand all the time ya know? its not even that crowded today”

“nah i gotta or else you’ll get lost”

*eye roll* “yeah ok dork”

being so cutesy in line

all the smooches??

just like small ones when you’re leaning on him since the lines are long

forehead ones

cheek ones

so many smooches all over ur face

forcing him to wear the minnie ears

“they look cute i PROMISE”

“can’t i just wear the hat??”

“uh no this is what the people want”

taking his sunglasses for yourself

“baby this is why you should just let me buy you new sunglasses”

“why when i can just wear yours??”

so. many. selfies.

i mean what else is there to do in line???

cute ones, funny ones, gross ones

he’s really good at taking candids of you

attempting to do cute poses when the cameras take pictures of you at the end of the ride

him being pouty bc the ride messed up his hair

“baaaaabe can you fix my hair again the ride messed it up”

taking the cutest couple pics in front of the castle

watching the fireworks together!!!

u guys are just talking when u absentmindedly note that your dream proposal would be at disney

he’s like “noted as FUCK” to himself

CHRISTOPHER

he’s SO EXCITED

being the big kid he is he’s so excited for all the rides

also just spending a day with his baby?? his favorite activity

tbh his favorite part is all the food

you guys probably spend more time eating than on rides

seeing his face when u buy him that giant turkey leg is PRICELESS

u have to stop him from stopping at LITERALLY every cart/restaurant

“baby if you eat that rn you’re going to vomit on the ride”

“BUT ITS BLUE CHURROS”

has the most fun on autopia and the cars ride tbh

(since he gets to drive like a fucking maniac)

he LOVES all the characters

fuck the princesses he wants pictures with pluto and goofy

he screams louder than you on rollercoasters

buying matching couple stuff

matching hoodies

matching bracelets

matching mickey and minnie ears

he surprisngly loves the train that takes you around disney

(also gives him an excuse to smooch you during the tunnel parts)

he falls in love with toontown

loves how cartoony everything looks

once u guys go over to california adventures he literally is exploding with excitement

end up spending the rest of the day there

(not that you mind he’s so cute how can you say no)

literally squeezes ur hand to death on california screaming

he’s also fascinated with soaring over california??? “AMOR IT SMELLS LIKE ORANGES”

you end the day on silly symphony swings overlooking how pretty everything looks at night

“lets do this again baby”

“yeah? you liked it that much?”

“yeah i also like how happy you look when we’re here”

that makes u have the BIGGEST smile

ur so in love w this goof

RICHARD

took you on a surprise date!

he knows how much u love it and he FINALLY had some free time

woke u up at the ass crack of dawn

“baby wake up i have a surprise for you”

ur like ???? bro its SEVEN IN THE MORNING

so u just throw on a oversized shirt and leggings

and then all of a sudden ur in the car???

u see the disney hotels suddenly and ur like ... wait

“YOU DIDNT”

he smiles that cute toothy smile he has

“i did baby, we’re going to disney!”

you’re literally bouncing in your seat

he’s laughing at how adorable you are

u guys go during christmas disney and everything is so pretty and magical

homeboy came prepared with a whole bag of snacks and drinks

also bough matching ears beforehand that say “mr. and mrs,”

you’re like huh foreshadowing are we???

he just winks at you

*swoon*

going on all the rides but also just walking around looking at how beautiful everything is??

he is the perfect insta boyfriend taking cute pics of u in every possible angle

starts calling you princesa throughout the day bc he see’s how much u love the princesses there

he also got u guys a reseravation to the blue bayou???

wow this man really owns ur heart

also u guys may have made out on the pirates ride

(who doesnt lets be honest)

giving you piggyback rides when your feet get tired

“cant let mi princesa have sore feet”

buying souvenirs for aaliyah

“do u think she’d like this??”

“maybe i should buy both”

you’re like babe i think she would like the stuffed turtle and the stuffed fish but do u

stay really late and ur both pooped at the end of the day

he’s like one more surprise!!

ended up getting you a suite at the disney hotel

“nothing but the best for my princess”

u really have found the disney prince you’ve been searching for

ZABDIEL

u guys go during halloween disney!!

couples costume as harry and ginny

(yes i know they arent disney characters)

forces u to go on haunted mansion twice

“babe its literally just looking at stuff”

“yeA BUT ITS HALLOWEEN STUFF”

“ohmygod”

eating everything and anything pumpkin

buying all the halloween treats!!

“zabdi that looks nasty plus we have enough food”

“theres never enough halloween food”

he’s so sad tower of terror isnt actually tower of terror anymore

watching live shows together!!

he ends up loving mickey and the magical map

taking a boat ride on mark twain riverboat to take a break from walking

cuddling together and just being happy bc its halloween and your with ur baby what else is better???

you guys end up sitting at a restuarant and just people watching

looking at all the cute couples costumes

and all the little kids who are dressed up

he casually just like ... drops a BOMB

“when we have kids they can go as lilo and stich and we can go as nani and david”

u look at him like uh what did u say

just winks at you and is like

“yeah i said it amor i wanna have kids with you”

takes every ounce of self restraint to not jump out of your seat and give him the biggest smooch

bc hello family friendly park fellas

when u guys watch the parade or the fireworks he always hoists you onto his shoulders

“can’t let my little shortie miss out”

buying matching pins!!

u guys start collecting and trading pins together

so now everytime he’s free in california u guys make a point to try and go to disney at least once

ERICK

baby is soooo excited

they rarely get time off and its been TOO LONG since he’s visited disney

u guys legit get there as the park opens

he has SO MUCH ENERGY

running around and dragging you to every ride

his favorite is astro blasters

also loves the bugs life section in california adventures??

runs around to all the little rides and games

posing and taking cute photos together with the different characters

showing him all the “secret” disney food

he LOVES the light show at the end of the the night

sharing frozen lemonades and ice creams

u guys go to all the less crowded/less known places in disney

he loves the goats near adventureland

u end up getting SOAKED on splash mountain

literally RUSHES to get u a new outfit bc he cant have his baby being cold thats a no no

ur just standing there giggling as he’s running around the gift shop trying to find clothes in ur size

u end up in an overized tie dye shirt and basketball shorts

“erick i look ridculous”

“i think you look beautiful cariña”

“ur just biased”

*him being fake offended*

“are you saying i dont have good fashion sense???”

“yes thats exactly what i’m saying”

“...you make a good point”

he loves watching the frozen show

(even tho a part of u is heartbroken aladdin isnt showing anymore)

(he’d make such a handsome aladdin)

you guys end up strolling around main street near the end of the night

just taking cute ass pics together and looking at all the cute souvenirs

he gets u a cute little heart bracelet

engraved is his initials in it

“there mi vida, so my heart is always with you”

#cnco #cncowners #cncowner #cnco imagines #cnco fanfic #cnco headcannon #joel pimentel #christopher velez #richard camacho #erick brian colon #zabdiel de jesus

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ayearofpike · 5 years

Text

Black Knight (Witch World, Vol. 2)

Simon Pulse, 2014 441 pages, 9 chapters + prologue and epilogue ISBN 978-1-4424-6734-7 LOC: PZ7.P626 Bl 2014 OCLC: 1065025018 Released December 2, 2104 (per B&N)

A month after her connection, Jessie Ralle starts dreaming about a young thief who mysteriously disappears in a flash of light. On the ninth night of the same lucid dream, she herself sees the flash, and wakes up next to the thief and four others in transport to a deserted jungle island. There are no ideas, no instructions, no obvious goals. There’s just a clue, a plaque mounted near their drop-off point that indicates that six groups just like theirs are here, but only one will make it out alive.

In other words: Remember that world-building we had in the first book, where it was implied that Jessie and her baby daughter were going to be integral components to the new and evolving leadership among the witch council? Remember the difficulty and heartbreak of Jimmy only being alive in one half of her life? Remember the potential new bonds of realizing her father was active in her upbringing, and could be again in both worlds? Well, fuck all that — let’s have a Hunger Games.

OK, technically this is more like Battle Royale, and Pike actually makes a reference to it as the young adults acclimate to their surroundings. But it is undeniable the influence that Suzanne Collins had on YA fiction, and certainly YA sci-fi/fantasy/analogues. In the wake of Katniss Everdeen, the market felt like it made a hard shift from doomed supernatural romances to dystopian future societies. It would be irresponsible of Pike to not try to cash in on that.

But this book ... is lacking in this regard. Collins’ success was not just that she made us care about Katniss, but that we cared about the bigger problem endemic to her (and all the other contestants’) situation. And Pike doesn’t give us enough to care about here. We don’t know what the stakes are, beyond survival. We don’t know who these people are, where they come from, or what they have to live for. We don’t even know where they are or why. I’m assuming there was another book or two planned for this series that would eventually get us to the meanings and revelations of this battle and why they were chosen to fight it and what ultimately was to come out of it. But this shit was so unsatisfying and we care so little about anyone or anything here that I can’t imagine we’ll ever see resolution.

(Like, does Pike even care? He claimed when the first one came out that it was going to be his “finest work,” and that the series could go “over ten books.” But it’s been almost five years and we haven’t seen another one of these. He didn’t mention his newer works at ALL in that recent Electric Lit interview. So who knows?)

The biggest problem is that the characters and setting we already know makes such a drastic shift to accommodate this story. And, like, I get it. The model of the industry, especially when this book came out, almost requires that you have established characters and an ongoing storyline before you ever publish anything. But it doesn’t feel connected to what’s come before. At all. It’s a new place we’ve never seen, everyone in the action except Jessie is a new character (and remember there are thirty-five of them), and there is almost zero resolution or explanation for what’s happening. There’s no reason this couldn’t have been literally anybody. Like, this could just as easily have been a Sita book, and maybe it would have actually made more sense, except that there’s no other vampires left. It probably shouldn’t have been a book about Jessie, who has a uniquely important position in witch world in light of the high-profile deaths she’s overseen and her responsibility to the Special. None of what happens in this story fits with anything that’s led up to it, and we are left a) wondering why the hell we’re reading this and b) ultimately unsatisfied.

I don’t even necessarily feel like there’s much to summarize, but I’m gonna do it anyway, because I’m dedicated.

We start with a chapter about the thief — Marc — whose MO is to hide in the trunk of a fancy car he’s valet-parked, wait for the owner to take him home, and then make off with the jewelry she (usually it’s a she) was wearing after she falls asleep. This heist is going to be his last job, because he doesn’t want to risk someone putting together a pattern that these high-profile thefts all came in the wake of the victims having been at his theater. So he steals the lady’s necklace and then her car to safely get out of Dodge, but when he stops to take a leak the light appears.

This is the dream Jessie has for over a week. The rest of the story is told from her immediate perspective, in first-person present tense just like a good little dystopian. She’s wondering about the dream, but she’s more concerned about who she just saw in the mall: the Highlander and President Coroner, just sitting there eating ice cream like they didn’t both get fatal holes in their chests last month. And yes, this is in witch world, where they died. She tails them and discovers they’re staying with (of course) the Alchemist, who tells Jessie there’s a reason for this and she needs to be prepared for ... something big, he isn’t clear on it. The Council has more info, maybe: the bad witches need to replace their leadership, and Jessie is first in line because she facilitated the killing. But what about the fact that she just saw President Coroner? The Council has an answer to that as well: one of the witch genes allows its bearer to control time, and so probably the Alchemist has that and has brought her and the Highlander forward from the past for some reason.

So Jessie goes home and has the dream again, only this time when the light appears she feels as though she’s yanked from her bed. She wakes up in the real world (and yes, I have expressed my hate for these names, but I’m sticking with them for consistency’s sake) in some kind of a shipping container with five other dudes, all of them wearing identical green outfits and matching unbreakable bracelets. And yes, one of them is Marc. The others are a precocious genius who’s going to MIT at 16, a quiet and scared Korean girl, an Israeli military fighter, and a Sudanese farmer who exudes strength and just seems to accept the situation. All of them were snatched at about the same time, globally and not locally — morning for the Americans, evening for Africa and Israel, middle of the night in Korea. But as far as Jessie can tell, she’s the only witch. So what is this about?

They don’t get very far before the next chapter, where Jessie wakes up in witch world and realizes she’s in some deep shit. She spends all day trying to find Marc, but like ... if he’s not connected, how is this going to help? She ends up not doing anything about it, and awakens again in the real world on some kind of volcanic jungle island. They find the aforementioned plaque and immediately realize that they’re going to need to work together and find a place to defend. They also need food, and so Jessie has to start showing her hand when she catches a bunch of fish just by grabbing them out of the water. They find a cave to hide out in, but they also see some fast-moving people in gray outfits, presumably another set of contestants.

The Israeli wants to hunt them down — kill before we get killed, she says — and so everyone except the brain and the Korean go tracking. What they find is a grotesque death scene: five bodies in various states of dismemberment. It’s not the gray people there, though: it’s a giant Swede who has a deal for Jessie. He wants her to kill her humans as a show of faith, and he’ll do the same, and then they can team up against the other witches. Because of course he’s gotten all the information already, having made better use of his interim day in witch world than stalking some boy. Jessie refuses, and they fight, only the Swede has a healing factor that works almost immediately. Luckily some of Jessie’s time-controlling gene kicks in and she manages to run away, but her teammates aren’t so lucky. Another witch shows up and throws motherfucking LAVA at them, killing the Israeli and spearing the Sudanese to a tree.

So her next day in witch world needs to be more productive than the last one. Jessie calls up the Council, who is all pissed off that she didn’t come to them already. To survive, they say, she’s gonna have to go back to the Alchemist, because obviously this is what he wanted to prepare her for. So she shows up and talks to the Highlander, who starts working with her on fighting. Specifically, he forcibly activates her telekinesis power by throwing her off a cliff. So after this she’s gonna want to unwind with her family and enjoy their time together, right? Nope — she goes straight to Marc’s house and tells him the world’s least believable story, ending in the prospect that she might want to try to kill him so his witch powers activate in the other world. But haven’t we already said that killing someone in witch world means they’re totally dead? Technicalities. So she gets home and, oh shit, Jimmy’s mad that she went on a date with some random dude without talking to him at all about her troubles! What a silly boy!

When they wake up in the real world again, the Sudanese warrior is totally healed. Apparently the Korean girl has a super-powered healing factor even though she’s not a witch, tied somehow to the death of her twin sister, who presumably channels the power through her. They’ve also been offered a truce by a couple of other witches, not the ones who tried to kill them last night. So they partner up, but the Korean girl’s healing factor is instantly undone when she tries to fix one of the other dude’s teammates but they die randomly on the walk. (Probably actually secretly strangled by the lava-thrower, who Jessie learned yesterday can also make herself invisible.) They talk about the bracelets, which have some kind of weird stone inside, and one of the other witches says he’s found the source: a giant wall that blocks off half of the island they’re on, which you can only see if you climb to the top of the volcano.

As they’re walking, the gray team attacks ... sort of. These people are short and pale, almost albinos, but they move faster than any human can and Jessie knows they have some kind of group mind that allows them to work together. They surround the group and lure them into a battle with the giant Swede, and while they’re fighting him the invisible lava thrower murders all the humans except five: Marc (who does take a poisoned knife to the back), brain boy, Korean healer, and two dudes on a new witch’s team. Jessie manages to lop off her hand and collect her bracelet before she totally vanishes and gets away. Oh, and the other witch has captured the leader of the albinos, and is holding her hostage to attempt to lure in the rest of them. She doesn’t talk, but her telepathy is unsettling at best.

Jimmy shakes her awake in witch world and tells her to do whatever she has to in order to survive. If that means blowing another dude, whatever. So Jessie calls up the Council, which gives her a little more info on the two witches she’s teamed up with. Watch out for the second one, they say (not the one who’s tied up an albino), because he might have choked his last boyfriend to death and successfully covered it up. She goes back to the Alchemist’s house, where President Coroner pins her down about why their present selves can’t help Jessie train. So she has to limit just what she says about their deaths, and in turn they limit telling her that they traveled to Jessie’s funeral in the near future.

Fuck this training, then, right? Jessie figures the only thing to do is help Marc live, and to do that she’ll have to activate his witch genes. But to convince him to die she’s probably gonna have to give up the booty ... only she can’t do it, she’s too busy thinking of Jimmy for a change in this novel. He wants to go through with it anyway (the death, I mean) but she has second thoughts and isn’t ready to put him through it. So they fall asleep next to each other and wake up in a cave on the side of the volcano, where the other two witches are fighting. It seems the first dude had his teammates on watch, but they mysteriously choked to death in the night while the second dude was backing them up. Huh. But they have to keep moving, climbing to the place where the second dude said he saw the wall, for ... like, reasons.

They find another cave near the top of the volcano, and inside there are drawings showing a woman who looks suspiciously like the Council president touching a bracelet to a giant wall. They have to learn more, but the second witch isn’t eager to reapproach the wall. Brain Boy wants to go, so they agree that Chokey Witch can watch Healing Girl and Slowly Dying Marc while the rest of them investigate. Brain Boy touches the wall and freezes, and even though Jessie knocks him away immediately he senses that a lot more time passed, and he’s seen things that happened in witch world but not the real world. So Jessie wants to try, and when she touches it she’s suddenly playing red queen with the dead gambler from the first book, who reminds her that there’s more to the game than just the next card in her own hand. What? I don’t know.

She comes to on the ground with a lot of screaming going on. The Swede is back, so she and the first witch have to fight him. But he forgets Jessie’s plan and attacks weird, getting stabbed in the gut by one of the flying spears Jessie is controlling with her new telekinesis. Oh, and here’s Invisible Lava Thrower too, about to kill Brain Boy! He acknowledges that there’s nothing he can do and succumbs so Jessie has enough time to grab the Swede’s head and crank it around 360 degrees. Lava Girl vanishes, and Jessie picks up our other witch and carries him back to the cave, which is suddenly being guarded by all six albino dwarves. The other witch says that in this proximity, killing the leader will cause all of them to die because of the group mind, so Jessie sneaks up and lops off her head, and then goes inside the cave by herself.

Sure enough, there’s Lava Girl, holding Chokey at machete-point. Marc is mostly submerged in a freezing stream, and Healing Girl is just, like, there. Chokey fights free, but of course Lava Girl hits him with ... you know, because they’re INSIDE A FUCKING VOLCANO. Only Jessie has realized something: these bracelets with the rock inside that matches the wall control their physical connection to the island. Lava Girl looks sick, pale, and weak since she’s lost hers, and when Jessie casually chucks it into the lava she drops dead.

And now Healing Girl comes to. She wants to try to help revive Marc before it’s too late, and wants to study the poisoned knife. Only she then tries to stab Jessie with it. Turns out that when she was alone with the first witch, the one hiding outside with a spear through his guts, he used his strongest power: mental suggestion. He turned Healing Girl into a slave, designed to kill those who weren’t expecting it. Jessie uses all her mental powers to break the hold, upon which Healing Girl ... jumps right into the motherfucking lava herself.

I don’t know, I guess because we’re getting close to the end.

So Jessie disguises herself as Healing Girl and goes to confront the last witch standing besides herself. Who, surprise, does NOT have a spear through his guts. Apparently he can disguise himself too, in addition to the hypnosis. So he tells her to kill herself with the knife, but she stabs him in the lungs just before dropping her disguise, and then ... slits her wrists.

So Marc can live.

Because only one can survive, and of course it should be some dude we just met rather than the main character of the LAST TWO BOOKS. THE ENTIRE SERIES THUS FAR.

But as Jessie’s soul is floating away, she sees something. She sees herself, only older. Even though I thought once you were connected you stopped aging. And she tells herself that it’s not over, and they can go wherever they want to go ... or whenever, rather.

The epilogue takes place at Jessie’s memorial service (not actually a funeral, because there is no body, Jessie’s just been missing for a month but because Marc is now connected they think they know what happened) where Jimmy approaches Marc and they talk about what they know. In particular, Jimmy asks Marc to watch after his real-world son, who oh yeah there was an unfollowed thread where they got a DNA report that said he wasn’t actually Jimmy’s kid but it was also prepared by Jessie’s still-mostly-absentee father who has an agenda in ascending the ranks of the Council so its authenticity is questionable. But then they talk about Jessie and ... neither one thinks she’s actually dead.

And that.

Is the end of Black Knight.

I can sort of pick out the seeds that Pike is sowing in this story. I can start to sense the coming trails and paths the characters might walk in the supposedly potential ten-book series about witches. But like. You just essentially killed your MAIN CHARACTER. Your NARRATOR. And we don’t actually care about this jewel thief guy, who by all appearances is a BAD PERSON. But you went ahead and put him in the forefront.

Is it any wonder this series fizzled out? Part of why I (and maybe a lot of us) got tired of dystopian fiction is that so many authors felt the need to keep raining shit on their protagonists. And yeah, this is another Hunger Games thing, but there’s a reason there — the dictatorial leadership fighting to keep rebellion down. To be perfectly honest, even though I see that reason, I didn’t like it there either. At some point, I wanted Collins to HELP Katniss rather than repeatedly jamming a boot in her face. We want to trust our authors to care about the protagonist the way we’re supposed to care. So when writers keep making their characters climb uphill, for no reason other than to try to get readers to buy the next one and see how they get over the obstacles, it becomes stale. If they obviously don’t care, why should we?

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beautality · 6 years

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Fears & Ferris Wheels

Series: Hunter x Hunter with original character(s) Ships: Implied Chrollo x Malachi (OC) Warnings: Internal minor anxiety Extra Notes: Much love and credit to @terminallydepraved for helping me! Thank you! ♥ This is my first piece of writing so it’s fairly short. Malachi’s art is also by me. Please ask permission before you start to critique!

Summary: The summer fair has arrived in town and being the charmer he is, Malachi convinces the troupe that they need to go. The bad news is that a certain magician is also inviting himself, determined to cause a little trouble as he always does. Fortunately, Chrollo knows how to get under Hisoka's skin just right so that he can steal Malachi away for a special ferris wheel ride.

He didn’t think it could ever be this way. It never played out in his mind that he could be here, at a dusty county fair with its trademark flashy amusement rides and sinfully greasy eats, feeling like he had his place in the world figured out among people who never failed to win his heart over again and again. The colorful lights of the fairgrounds strobed to a song Malachi knew all too well, but his thoughts were too preoccupied to focus on the lyrics.

These are the people who love me. Accept me. They might not always understand, but they try.

He gazed around at each and every person, his left hand propping up his chin and a bite of scone drenched with honey butter in his right. Most of them were laughing and talking with each other, boasting little to no cares about the world tonight other than keeping their hands from getting sticky with the syrup and grease on their deep fried treats, but two certain people were watching him. Hisoka scooted closer on Malachi’s left, a faint but musical hum coming from his throat.

“Are you going to eat that?”

Hisoka teased with his usual saccharine tone, pointing a sharp, neon purple nail at the sticky sweet snack between Malachi’s fingers. It took Mal a moment to snap back to reality before he looked Hisoka straight in the face and stuck the scone in his mouth. The silly reaction made Hisoka laugh as he crossed his arms on the table and leaned on them.

“Hm, I suppose that’s your answer. You seem distracted... Is there something wrong?”

Sharp golden eyes were fixated on Malachi as Hisoka awaited an answer. It wasn’t easy to give him one; Malachi had always struggled to convey his feelings in the form of spoken words.

Hisoka, why do you always put me on the spot? I almost think you want to see me flustered. No, I know you do. You’ve always been like that.

“I just... Was thinking about stuff? I mean like... Uh...”

He didn’t have to flounder for long before a warm, lilted voice interrupted and saved him from needing to reply.

“Malachi, what’s your favorite part of the fair?”

Chrollo was watching Malachi with a curious smile from his seat across the table, seeming to completely ignore Hisoka. From the look on the magician’s face, it was obvious that he was displeased, but he kept his lips pursed tight. It appeared that even he didn’t want to cause too much tension when everyone was having fun.

Malachi pretended to think about it momentarily, tapping a finger to his lips before grinning over at Chrollo. His heart felt like it was going to burst, but after all this time around the beloved head of the troupe, he’d started to expect it whenever they talked. Hell, it happened just when Chrollo looked at him, but he wasn’t complaining.

It’s usually the rides I look forward to every year. Right now though, it’s him. I want to see him have fun and experience the things he never got to as a kid. I want to see him smile. Not the one he does to fool people or the one he does when he’s curious, but the one he does when he’s enjoying himself.

“I love the rides ‘cause of the thrill. Maybe it’s different for you guys but I always enjoy the rush of excitement I get from them.”

He paused with a soft squeak, glancing away as his face reddened.

“My favorite is the ferris wheel though.”

“That’s not very thrilling, Malachi!”

Shalnark laughed off to the side with a lighthearted tease, earning a nervous glance from Malachi. Even though he wanted to explain himself, Mal just couldn’t do it when words continuously failed him. The feeling of anxiety started to get the better of him and he looked down at his hands to stay calm as his chest tightened.

No no no, don’t do this to yourself. Shal isn’t actually judging you, you need to stop. Please. This is a night for relaxing. There’s nothing to be upset about. Please, stop freaking out, you’re okay. You’re going to be fine.

Seeing Malachi start to panic, Chrollo spoke up again. This time he had that light in his eyes like he did when there was something new and interesting right in front of him.

“Let’s go ride then! I want to see what makes it your favorite. It‘ll be just you and me.”

For a brief moment, Chrollo glared at Hisoka, who had opened his mouth with the intent to invite himself. The other’s eyes narrowed in disdain and he dug his nails into his arms.

“I suppose I’ll have to steal Malachi later then. Enjoy yourselves.”

“I appreciate it, Hisoka! You’re so nice, sharing your friend with me.”

Chrollo clapped his hands together gleefully, a triumphant smile crossing his face as he stood to leave. Malachi’s eyes darted between the two as he slowly rose to follow.

I wonder if they’ll always be this way? It’s... It’s almost as if they might literally kill each other at any moment, but they manage to still get along fine at the same time somehow. I’m so glad that’s not the case between us.

Malachi joined Chrollo in a casual stride towards the ferris wheel, taking deep breaths and looking straight ahead as he matched steps with the man beside him. Chrollo noticed how stiff Mal looked and gently grabbed his hand, interlocking their fingers together as they entered the waiting line.

“You’re important to all of us, you know.”

Chrollo... Is holding my hand?

“You bring a lot of happiness to my spiders.”

He is. He’s trying to comfort me again. But it feels... Genuine. It’s not like when people tell me I’ll be fine, that things will get better.

“You struggle a lot but you still put your heart into all that you do. Thank you for being you.”

This is too much, this is...

Malachi stared at Chrollo for a couple moments, a strange feeling overcoming him, and he realized what it was when tears threatened to pour over his cheeks. Chrollo’s smile was soft, warm, and completely real, one Malachi didn’t consider as a possibility before. If he had to pick a word to describe the emotion behind that look, it would probably be adoration.

This is love. I can’t help it, I truly love him.

After taking one more deep breath to compose himself, Malachi grinned back at Chrollo sheepishly. His cheeks were on fire but he paid no mind, instead squeezing the other’s hand. The touch was electrifying and he craved it.

“I’m so grateful to have all of you... Even Hisoka, I guess.”

He laughed softly, his ears perking up to show his mood lifting.

“But I should be thanking you too, Chrollo. You mean a lot to me and I--”

Before Malachi could confess his newly recognized feelings, the girl taking tickets cleared her throat and reached out for theirs. He hadn’t even noticed the line moving but Chrollo had it covered, lifting their entwined hands to show their bracelets for unlimited rides.

Wow, he’s on top of things and smooth as always. But... I should rethink telling him how I feel. That was close... And I don’t want to ruin things right now.

As Chrollo pulled him towards the open car excitedly, Mal bit his lip but managed to keep his anxiety at bay for the moment. Even though the car was big enough for six people or so, he took a spot nearest the door so he could look out over the fair. Chrollo claimed the seat next to him and inspected the inside with wide eyes.

“It’s a wonder that these old machines don’t just fall apart.”

He murmured as he stared up at the ceiling, although he didn’t seem at all nervous. Then again, Chrollo didn’t seem to worry too much about anything. That was something Malachi found amazing about him.

“They have inspections and procedures, but I think it adds to the thrill in a way!”

Malachi’s tail curled up high and wagged furiously as the cars started to move. Chrollo jolted just a bit at the sudden jerk and Mal couldn’t help but giggle.

“Well, since you mentioned thrills...”

Chrollo looked over with an unamused pout, crossing his arms as if he were about to chastise Malachi. A mischievous grin crossed the younger’s face as he tried to quiet his giggling.

“What makes the ferris wheel your favorite? It’s not fast and it doesn’t flip you upside-down like many of the other rides.”

The pout eased back into Chrollo’s intrigued smile as he moved his hands to settle in his lap. Looking out over the wall of the car, Mal waited to answer until they were near the top, the ride stopping for more people to get on.

“It’s not the same rush of adrenaline I get from the other rides. I’m so scared of heights, scared of feeling like I’m going to fall. But what makes it worth the fear is seeing down below.”

As Malachi spoke, Chrollo peered over the wall behind him. He saw the darkness of the parking field, barely lit by the carnival next to it. For a moment he was a little lost, but Mal gently pulled him over to look at the fairgrounds below.

“You can see Fei shoving a pie in Phinks’s face at the table. Bonolenov and Franklin are over at the game booths, watching Shizuku win countless prizes. Uvo, Paku, Machi, and Shal are doubled over laughing at Nobu, who just ran straight into a front window of the fun house.”

Mal’s eyes were lit up with joy as he pointed out the other troupe members from above. Chrollo watched him with fascination but still wasn’t quite sure what he was getting at.

“Even though I’m scared to be here, I can see how happy everyone is so clearly. Not just the troupe but other families, groups of friends, and... You know, couples.”

He laughed slightly in embarrassment but kept his eyes looking down below. The two sat in silence for a brief moment before Chrollo broke it.

“You don’t just mean the ferris wheel anymore, do you?”

He leaned over and rested his shoulder against Malachi’s. The motion startled Mal for a split second but he reciprocated it, happy to be this close to Chrollo. They both knew the answer and the silence returned again, this time warm and comforting.

He’s right, I don’t mean the ferris wheel anymore. I’m scared to be here, to be alive, but seeing people smile makes it worth facing those fears. Chrollo’s here with me though. He’s the one who keeps me from falling. I think I’ll be fine.

The two of them stayed quiet and soaked in the blissful moment before it was their turn to get off. Neither of them had to say anything as they clasped hands again either. They just walked back towards the rest of the troupe with knowing smiles on their faces.

No, I know I’ll be fine. That’s because I’m loved.

#eq fic #malakuro

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