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studiojeon · 3 years

Text

troubled outsiders | intro - jjk

| summary | - how you two end up pining for each other.

warnings: none :)

content: idol!jungkook x student!oc, friends to lovers (because it’s THE superior trope okurrrt), jungkook is quiet and shy but a social butterfly when needed (and when it comes to oc but you’re not supposed to know that yet), oc is both a badass and a socially akward queen, she has TWO friends and only because one is dating the other (like... same), the Lee Charyeong is her bestie, oc works at bighit and feels like everyone either fears her or hates her, author nim is a crackhead and has no plot planned for this series whatsoever (doesn’t know if she’ll keep this up, we’ll see).

words: 1.93 k

His presence was overwhelming, to say the least. Even if he were surrounded by six hundred other equally handsome men, somehow, to you (and the majority of the female population, at that point) he was as captivating and magnetic as they come. Jeon Jungkook didn't pay no mind to no one, but sure as hell everyone became hyper aware of his existence and essence in time. And that didn’t exclude you.

Yet, as nonchalant and indifferent as the man could be perceived, in reality he was more considerate and friendly than the aura he exuded. You knew this because working in the same company had to teach a thing or two about the people who literally carried said company and the whole industry at some point, still you barely knew four or three people, including your assistant and Jungkook, whom you had met once.

The opportunity of working at the company had come to you out of the blue, quite literally, you were attempting to send one of your assignments in when an email appeared in your notifications during your sailor moon study break.

HYBE Entertainment

We’re glad to inform you that you’re being recruited for the position of Logistics Manager in one of our sub companies, BIGHIT Entertainment. We’ve thoroughly looked through the CV you’ve submitted and are very interested in your capabilities and what you can contribute to our organization. One of our other managers will gladly meet you on a day you can both agree on. Make sure to answer this email to get more details about your interview.

“Nani!? THE FUCK?” sure as hell that your eyes and cognitive functions were deceiving you (ADHD) you went over the text a little over three times in a row before the message settled in your mind. This was sus.

Before even considering a reply you made a quick call. “Fucking Lee Chaeryeong” you spat on your end of the line. “You did this, didn’t you?”.

Her silence was more than enough to have you cursing her under your breath. “I don’t know what exactly you’re talking about but it most likely was me. Does it have to do with a sex toy in particular?”

“No” you denied almost monotonously, guessing the pile of boxes in the corner of your room with her names on them was what she referred to. “Does anything come to mind if i mention BIGHIT FUCKING ENTERTAINMENT?”

It was her. All those conversations during the summer about how badly you wanted to work in the entertainment business as marketing staff of some sort had their effect on your friend, who, despite all your excuses and denials, knew you better than you and your mom combined did, and because of this, was sure as hell you were not making a move towards that goal whatsoever. So, being the boss bitch she was, she took matters into her own hands, was what she explained.

You concluded that was the reason you had reached a point in your life where you had more experience than most recently graduated kids in your field, because Chaeryeong had you moving every summer break. You had been the manager of a coffee franchise and convenience store during you junior and senior years, and also figured a way to improve the marketing management strategy of a fucking restaurant while at it. Not to toot your own horn, but you were kind of cool.

Or not. “I hope this job satisfies your workaholic ass for once, I’m running out of ideas”. Chaeryeong spat before hanging up.

Sure as hell it would.

On friday afternoon, you made your way to the HYBE INSIGHT building and introduced yourself to your recruiters who promised to give you a call at some point. “It went fine” you told Chaeryeong once you were in your car. And it was the truth, however you weren’t so sure if they would actually hire you at some point since well, you were a girl in a male dominated industry and, in your opinion, there were always better people than you. “Wanna go grab coffee?”

“I want to. But, I have practice today. I’m actually on my way there. Please avoid driving through Hongdae today, this shit’s packed.” You sighed and thanked her for the heads up. You missed your friend, badly. You hadn’t seen each other in three weeks, and you didn’t even live so far away from each other (you did, but it had been worse before). You two had very agitated lives to say the least. Chaeryeong was a kpop group member, and well, you were jumping from job to job and getting your phD in Business Management at the same time. It was hard to find moments to spare together during some periods of the year, but you guess the anticipation made your encounters better.

“Talk about anticipation” you slammed your forehead against your desk, taking a breather after such an anxiety packed situation. Short story: you got the job (for some fucking reason). And you had gone through a whole week of expectancy and anguish. Not getting that job would have broken your heart, and ego at the same time.

You guessed the law of attraction tactics Chaeryeong had taught you had sorted their effect and were what led you to your current position in life.

“Miss _____, your presentation’s ready” your work assistant gave you a comforting pat in the back as she took a seat somewhere next to you. You were nervous, shitless. It was your fifth week at the job, and being the proactive woman you were, you had collected lots of data in order to come up with a resources management plan.

It was a Thursday afternoon, and more than a hundred people sat in front of you, waiting for your speech. Including him, who you’d once bumped into accidentally during one of your data recollections runs inside the building.

You hated having the need to impress others yet, hence your anxious behaviour. But this was a decisive moment in regards to your validation in your new job and how you’d continue to be perceived during your work stance (no reason to panic at all)… you needed to get it together.

“I think I just pissed off a bunch of old men right now,” you told your assistant right after you got off stage. “I need a bathroom break”. Linh gave you a reassuring smile, one she always had plastered on her face.

“Take as long as you need to. I’ll give you a call once the rest are done”.

The commute to the bathroom was unnecessarily complicated in your opinion. You had spent a little over a month rushing through the hallways of the building and you swore every single day your spatial orientation got a bit more fucked up. There was no way there wasn’t a single bathroom on the floor you were in, that would just be atrocious. “It’s not completed yet” someone said beside you as you stared at the half empty map the company had projected on a wall next to the elevators. “Where do you need to go?”

Kim Taehyung of all people in the world was talking to your ugly and unworthy ass. Your breath caught in your throat and after staring for at least five seconds your body finally reacted to your orders. “Oh, um… the bathroom. I’ve been looking for it for a good ten minutes” you explained with a nervous laugh.

“Trust me, I get it. I still get lost over here” he smiled gently. “It’s in the hallway in the middle of the next hallway”

You laughed at his very ambiguous explanation. “Thank you” you bowed your head and made your way to said destination.

It was in the hallway to your left, not your right, and it took you a while to figure out that new piece of information. Once you were staring at yourself in the mirror, you realized that you looked considerably tired and exhausted from all the social interaction you had undergone throughout the day. You were used to the side stares and whispering you’d get whenever you entered a room at that point, but some days you just wished you could get a break from them. After all, it wasn’t your fault you didn’t look Korean at all, and that you also didn’t fit the stereotype of a foreigner.

You got that from your mom, both the non Korean features and social fatigue. But that wasn’t even the problem most of the time, it was your friendly and smart nature which she had also passed onto you. Some would consider it a blessing, but to you it was a burden, like a clear glass that shielded you from introducing yourself into other people’s realities. You had few friends and people to trust, but in your everyday life you had to deal with the pressure of standing out too much and that came with a lot of negative energy from others. You sigh as you spray your favorite fragrance on yourself. You could be feeling like shit, but no one will ever catch you slipping.

But that excluded him apparently. You hadn’t noticed that on the other side of the hallway was the men’s bathroom and the realization hit you as you were calmly getting some tea from the vending machine. “Good afternoon” the man greeted you as he made his way out the hallway, but stopped in his tracks right after he noticed you. “_____! Hi” he smiled at you and you wanted to die, suddenly forgetting what you were ordering in the first place.

“H-hi Jungkook” You smiled back, poorly attempting to put your wallet back into your backpack.

“Need help there?” he noticed your agitated state and held your bag for you. He smelled just as heavenly as you had expected, somewhat between big dick energy and flowers. Oh, and he also remained as kind and polite as you remembered him.

Seeming as if he wasn’t planning on continuing his path to wherever he was heading to in the first place, he stood quietly by your side, waiting for you to be done with your deal. “How have you been?” you break the ice for him.

Quickly, you grab your tea and start walking back to the auditorium together, unaware of your surroundings or the suspicions that could arise. “Busy, but very good. How have you been? I saw your presentation earlier… I wish I understood half of what you said but you still sounded amazing”.

And you would never admit it out loud, but you were positive you were blushing (and falling in love too - platonically, of course). “Oh god, you think so? I basically told them they’ve been doing things wrong all along so maybe you’re the only one who’s appreciative of my work” you handed him the second can of iced tea you bought without him noticing. You swear his eyes lit up like stars in the night sky. “Payback for the other day” you smile at him.

The first time you two had crossed paths you didn’t look nearly as glamorous as you did now. In fact, you looked incredibly disturbed and in pain, carrying a huge pile of paperwork in your hands. But as soon as sweet Jungkook noticed your state, he offered you a hand and somehow ended up helping through your multiple data collecting trips that afternoon. It was a nice day.

“Anytime” he took the can in his hands with a shy look on his face. “Unless I’m practicing, you know…” you look down at his feet, with huge black boots engulfing them, and you smile due to their contrast with his personality. “Here, i’ll give you my number so you can call me whenever you need to put all those papers back. Hopefully I’ll be around” he added as he pulled his phone from his back pocket.

Way to get a girl’s number, my god.

291 notes · View notes

alicemitch09writes · 3 years

Text

(un)loving miya atsumu

twelve.

you’re my sunflower.

You didn’t like zoos.

It’s not like you didn’t like animals, there were a whole lot of fascinating creatures that lurked and filled the earth. Coming in different shapes and sizes - some rule the land, some soar the skies, and some are masters of the ocean, they can even be as large as a mountain or as small as your fingernail. Truly, they are humble dwellers on the face of the earth. It’s just that humanity, since their evolution, has learned to dominate the land thanks to their superior intelligence.

Thus, animalia that once ruled the earth were now cut down while humanity increased.

Once they roamed free, now, they are caged and put on display for all of mankind to see. Isolated from the freedom forever.

Hence, why you didn’t like zoos.

Watching animals on display, not being able to run wild and free just didn’t sit right with you.

“Wah!!!! Look, look, look at it, (Y/N)!” Atsumu held on to the railing, leaning down to look at the nearing creature – it looked like a giraffe, but fluffier, lankier, almost floppy.

Sadly, it was mandatory – being a school event and all. It was your first school trip, since moving to Hyogo. It should be exciting if it weren’t for helpless animals put on display.

“It looks like a giraffe and a sheep had a baby,” Osamu said, nearly voicing out your thoughts.

Laughing into your muffler, you eyed the approaching creature warily. “It’s an alpaca.”

“Oh!!!!” Atsumu was shaking with excitement, hand reaching out to touch it.

Very speedily – almost a quick reflex, you pulled Atsumu back at the creature spat, its slimy spit landing just inches from Atsumu’s feet.

“HEY! WHAT THE HECK!”

“Careful, they spit.” You warn, letting him go cautiously. Osamu laughs behind you.

“Ha, not even they like you,”

“’SAMU, SHUT UP!”

A caretaker, who was guiding the gentle creature, looked at the boy in shock, appalled by his language and tone. You had to bow in apology for Atsumu, prompting him to quiet as the three of you continued to roam the outside area of the zoo.

Passing the kangaroo farm, just across it was the penguin walk, where you could hear your schoolmates cooing at the sight of waddling flightless birds.

A collective gasp once the birds appeared, followed by cooing of the girls, some of the boys were clapping their hands to get their attention. Sure, they were cute. But not even that could ease your unease.

“Are you okay, (Y/N)?” Osamu turns to you, seemingly having enough of flightless birds.

“Yeah,” Atsumu rounds you, honey-brown eyes watching. “you barely said a thing since we came here!”

Feeling bad about your lack of response, you could only bow your head in shame. Muttering an apology under your breath, nose digging into your muffler. Cold winds blew in, winter must be approaching.

“Are you hungry?” Osamu asks.

“Do you want to take a dump?” Atsumu asks next.

Shaking your head, head still hung low. They both glance at each other, then to you.

Fiddling with your gloved hands, you wondered if the twins would leave you then and there. Eyes staring down on the concrete ground, focusing on the material that came to view.

You shouldn't have come.

At first, there was a hand – two hands, holding your own. Then a tug.

Suddenly, you weren’t seeing animals on display, allowing yourself to be whisked away.

Veering northeast from where you were.

“Where are we-“

And then, there was a burst of color in different shapes and sizes.

Flowers.

Reading the sign, blinking, the twins brought you to the ‘Flower Garden’.

“Girls like flowers, right?” says Atsumu with a smile, Osamu smiling next to him.

Feeling a smile coming on, a gentle tugging at your heart, slowly you nodded.

“…zoos are just weird,” you say finally, walking down the path, the twins on each of your sides, matching your pace. It shouldn’t be hard, since you were inches taller than them.

“Weird how?” Osamu asks, nose wrinkling as he sniffs around.

Shrugging, you thought of your next words carefully. “Maybe I just don’t like the idea of animals in cages?”

“Well, that’s what zoos are for!” Atsumu says, almost helpfully.

“And that’s where the problem lies.” You point out, drinking in the many flowers, far as the eyes can see.

Walking along the pebbled path, several schoolmates were in the area, gushing and watching at the flowers in interest. There were even some adults, two teachers leaning towards each other, whispering and giggling. Atsumu wrinkled his nose at the sight, Osamu just walked on quietly.

Having rounded the Flower Garden, the three of you leave, your eyes looking around until your eyes fell on the bricked flowerbed by the exit. An array of flowers were on full display, but your eyes on a particular flower. Little pieces of the sun, sprouting brightly against the rest of the equally bright, blossoming, and elegantly arranged flowers. The little sun was peeking up, proud and tall.

Osamu was busy watching some butterfly while Atsumu turned to you, curiously following after your gaze.

Out of nowhere, a bark sounded off. From the corner of her eye - where you vaguely read a sign that said 'Dog Stage' a blur of white and a bright pink tongue came rushing your way.

Quickly, you hid behind the boys, holding on to Atsumu's shirt. Osamu turned to you in shock, then at the dog, a smile spreading across his face. "Hey, a dog!"

Laughing, the caretaker approached you three. "He's just excited to meet you lot!" Kneeling, he gently ruffles the dog's head. "Why don't you come say 'hi'?"

White in color with splotches of brown littering his face and body, the dog had an oddly-shaped head, almost shaped like an inverted egg, its triangular brown eyes were bright.

Furiously shaking your head, a yelp left your mouth when the dog broke away from Osamu, walking up to you. Despite its obvious friendliness, the dog was half your size. Seeing your fear, Atsumu puffs his chest, holding his guard against the sweet boy.

"Sorry mister," Looking down at the gentle creature, Atsumu then pats the dog. "doggy, but (Y/N)-chan here isn't up for it."

His reply was a bark, causing you to yelp again.

"Okay then, guess we'll have to go now." Pushing himself to stand, the caretaker whistles for the dog. "Come on, Bowser."

From behind Atsumu shoulder, still holding on to his shirt, you watched the dog happily wagging its tail as it walked behind its caretaker, leaving adoring glances from everyone on the path.

The two brothers exchanged glances.

"Well, looks like you don't want to meet our granny's dog, huh?"

When it was time to leave, everyone settled in the bus. With a total of four classes, two classes had to share a bus, meaning, to your luck, you and the twins sat together.

"Atsumu," you berate at the boy, rushing towards your seat. "where have you been?"

Osamu, who was sitting by the window, was forced out by Atsumu, who sat on top of him, wiggling until he moved in disgust.

"You'll see!" he grins ear to ear, excitedly clutching on to his backpack. Noting his dirtied nails, Osamu frowns and mutters something under his breath.

"Okay, everyone here?" Your teacher asked, his response was a chorus of 'yes'. Nodding, he turns to the driver, and the bus slowly careened off the road.

Once the bus was miles away, instantly, Atsumu perked up and turned to you. “(Y/N)-chan, I have something for you!”

Ducking down low, very carefully, he zipped open his bag, produced a paper bag, which was covered in dirt for some reason.

Bright yellow, as though the sun's rays solidified itself, came to view. The very sun shrank to the size of a child's hand, sprouting out from the same child's bag as though in greeting. Mouth parting, you stared at the flower before you.

“Ta-dah! I got you a sunflower!”

“’Tsumu," Osamu frowns, hating that he was in the middle. "that’s stealing, ya know.”

Swiping the underside of his nose, you saw dirt under his fingernails. “They’ll never know!” he says rather proudly. "And hey, (Y/N), did you know?" he scuttles closer, voice low. "When it rains, and the sun's gone, sunflowers face each other to harness each other's energy?" He puffs his chest out, all smug. "Pretty cool, huh?"

You took a moment to appreciate the tiny sun in his bag, that he got. For you. Registering Atsumu's words, it was kind of endearing, and he looked really proud of the information he shared.

However, "That's a misconception." You tell him, he guffaws, Osamu cackles between the both of you.

Fingering the smooth yellow petal, seeing the dirt cumulate in his bag, which will probably earn an earful from his mom, the fact that he did this for you was enough. Smiling, you tell him, “Thank you so much, Atsumu.”

(Atsumu swore, your smile rivaled the sunflower he got for you.)

Hiroshima was surprisingly calm.

Proclaimed early on as the 'City of Peace' postwar, the city was only fours hour away by bus, the prefecture was known majorly for being one of the first to suffer the nuclear attack from the first world war that devastated the island. And yet, it feels peaceful, calm.

Like all the years ago, those past sins, have all but wavered into the wind, forgiving the many generations to come.

A strange sense of calm washed over you, gazing at the structure before you, feeling for the victims - direct and indirect victims of the bombing. Even the very ground you stood on, was once covered in casualties unimaginable today, a traumatic experience impossible to dismiss. Truly, after the war comes peace. But that peace comes with sacrifice, bloodshed, and tears.

"(L/N)-san?" a voice calls, cutting you of your stupor. Turning, you met Kusakabe's kind face. "Are you okay? I've been calling your name for a while now."

Feeling your hand holding on to the itinerary plan, your other hand on the railing, hearing students murmur all around you brought you back - you were having a class excursion. In Hiroshima. For three days.

"Um," putting the booklet down, you gave a weak nod. "yes. Yes, I am. Sorry. I was just" you peek back at the monument. "awe, for lack of a better word."

He smiles, pushing his glasses back. "I understand what you mean. Coming to these monuments just makes you appreciate the history behind it."

You nod again, looking at the map - it would be a long walk, considering the park's grand area and the monuments you'll visit along the way.

"Anyway, I just came to inform you that we can roam around the park for an hour. Then we'll meet up by the parking area for lunch."

"I see. Thank you so much, Kusakabe."

He nods, smiling.

"Kusakabe!" from behind him, a group calls, waving.

Turning to you, Kusakabe asks. "And ow about you, (L/N)? Do you have a group?" the wind blows, you wrinkle your nose at the cold. "If you want, you can join us."

Before you could even reply, someone walks up to you - well, four someones that is.

"...That's why I told you, if we strike that bell hard enough, it could probably echo throughout the park!"

"Idiot, you want to ruin the sanctity of the bell? It's called 'Peace Park' for a reason!"

"Woah," Suna deadpans, eyes on his phone. "'sanctity', that's a big word, even for you, Osamu."

"Now, now, let's just enjoy the trip, yeah?" Ginjima, ever the peacemaker, tries to settle things, smiling apologetically when he meets your eyes.

Heaving a sigh, wearing a smile on, you gestured to the boys with an open hand. "As you can see, I have a group of my own."

Nodding at the trouble children, Kusakabe breathes a laugh. "I can see that. Well, I'll see you around, (L/N)."

Osamu asks, watching said boy meet up with his group. "Wasn't that the student council prez?"

"That is him."

The rest of the boys watch Kusakabe approach his group in joint interest, especially from the way they move - all good posture and all, neatly pressed uniform, not a hair out of place, all of them were pretty as a picture.

"Elites, huh?"

You rolled your eyes at Suna's words. "Just because Kusakabe and I belong in a college preparatory class does not mean we're elites."

"Well, your class does give off some sort of vibe," Ginjima explains helpfully.

That was a strange way of putting it, you thought. After all, you've been classmates with them all of three years, with the occasional new classmate last year. Other than that, it was just like any other class, filled with different personalities on different faces, except everyone in your class was outstanding students with equally outstanding grades.

Cold wind gushed, (h/c) strands of hair flying in your face.

"It's gotten cold, huh?"

"We're just a week off nationals and we're greeted by cold," Suna mutters.

"At least it's not hot anymore," Osamu grumbles, remembering the unforgiving summer that passed.

Busily working on your hair, your muffler ended up loosening to the sides in the process. Letting out a sigh, you undid your muffle, ready to fix it when large hands took the ends of your muffler.

"Not to mention the culture festival next month!" Atsumu gushes excitedly, making quick work on your muffler. Next month, being November. Time sure flies when you least expect it.

"Oi, 'Tsumu, step away from (Y/N)," says Osamu, walking towards you both. "you might end up choking her."

"Will not!" he yells, yet his hands carefully folding around your neck, tying in front. "I know how to fix a scarf, idiot!"

Wincing slightly at the volume of his voice, you suddenly found yourself unable to look away, frozen in your spot, watching Atsumu busy himself on fixing your muffler.

"On your own, maybe."

"U-Uh, guys...?" Ginjima fumbled, Suna just watching in veiled interest.

Doing some finishing touches, ever so gently looping and pulling the ends, Atsumu nods, clearly pleased, before he steps back to admire his finished work. "There, see!"

Osamu steps in, eyes on Atsumu's work, face neutral, eyes laughing. "Sloppy."

"HAH!?"

Glancing down at Atsumu's work, it was a bit sloppy, but it seemed to hold up just right.

"You should be ashamed, now (Y/N) will lose face."

"From a fucking scarf!?"

"You've ruined her, idiot."

"You're ruined!"

Exhaling, you just walk ahead letting them argue amongst themselves. Ginjima and Suna were quick to follow after you.

"Um, should we-"

"You've been with them for three years now, Ginjima. They'll be fine. They'll just follow after." Suna nods at your words, randomly taking photos of the area.

For the next few minutes, relative calm washed over your group walking along the path, watching ancient buildings. What's left of it, a skeletal piece with absent windows, floors, or life, covered in scars from years past. Each of the boys carefully regarding each monument in awed whispers.

Although, time to time, someone would comment about how creepy it was to be up close to it, then would be called disrespectful by someone. You'd only have to turn and then they'd be silenced. Every now and then, you'd write down about the monuments on a small notepad, so you could use it later for your essay after the trip.

Furiously writing, a vibration went off in your coat pocket. Putting your notepad away, you flipped your phone open to read the text.

"Who're you texting, (Y/N)?" Osamu asked beside you.

"Aran-san."

“Eh? What about Aran-kun?” Atsumu asked, suddenly appearing by your shoulder. Suna and Ginjima looked up, at the mention of the senior.

“Well, he tried out for Tachibana Red Falcons a few weeks ago." You tell them, seeing no harm in it. Hitting send, you waited until the confirmation popped up before pocketing your phone away. "He’s going to get a call of his results sometime this week.”

Nearly all of them raised their eyes in shock, amazed by the news. It was the same reaction you had when he told you.

"Hear that, 'Samu?" Atsumu laughs at his twin, pride and unbridled happiness. "Aran-kun!"

"I heard, idiot." Not even Osamu can hide his joy and pride, like that of his twins', over the news.

"It's nice that you've still kept contact with Ojiro-san and the others." Ginjima noted with a smile.

Suna, appearing beside you, gently guided you towards the next destination as your group converged with some tourists, some girls giggling at Suna. "It's so you to keep in contacts with the seniors,"

"Because I respect them?" Burying your nose into your muffler, at the chilly wind that blew past.

"Because you fit right in with them."

Reaching the Peace Bell, just at the heart of the park, you were told that you can ring a bell and make a wish.

"Normally people wish for world peace here," Ginjima says aloud, reading from the booklet.

"Maybe we should wish for Ojiro-san?"

"I believe we can do that."

So you rang the bell, a soft gong echoing out, clapped your hands twice, palms pressing together, then lowered your head. Offering a quick prayer. For Aran-san. For Kita-san. For Akagi-san. For Oomimi-san. For Reiki. For Mika.

Following after you were the Ginjima, then Suna, and then finally, the twins, which you had to stay and watch over, lest they try to really smash the bell so loud it'll echo throughout the park. Thankfully, they behaved under your watch.

Later, while having lunch at a nearby restaurant, your phone vibrated.

“Ah.”

“What is it?”

The four boys turned to you - Osamu sneakily taking a meatball from Atsumu's bowl, Suna was putting mushrooms and carrots into a small plate, Ginjima was blowing into his bowl.

“He got in.”

At first, there was silence. Then, you ever so calmly turned your phone in your hands, showing Aran's text, for further confirmation. And then, the trouble children burst out in joy - all hoots and cheers, happy for their senior, uncaring at the spectacle that they've caused. And Suna caught it all on camera.

(Aran cried when he received the video)

“Something’s different about you,” Atsumu says to you. You blinked twice, surprised.

“…I’m wearing my winter uniform?” You say, almost consciously, gesturing to the blazer you now donned on your uniform, contrasting the summer uniform, which was just a shirt, a sweater, a skirt, and shorter socks. School-issued brown blazer shirt, shirt, maroon tie, black skirt. Your socks were knee-length because of the seasonal change.

Even with the culture festival going about, students were encouraged to wear their uniforms - well, students of Inarizaki High School that is.

With October long past, students were all to wear their winter uniforms to anticipate the cold weather ahead.

In spite of the season dropping a few degrees though, the culture festival at your school rolls easily. The school was filled to the brim with life coming from its students, visitors from different schools, and supporting families.

Yet for some reason, amidst the fanfare going around, Atsumu keyed on you.

Something was shining, hitting Atsumu in the eye.

“Wait a minute,” Atsumu closed in, too close for comfort, tucking bangs and some strands of hair behind your ear. “You got a piercing!”

There was a stud by the inside of your right ear cartilage, just by the inner middle rim.

Suna whistles. “Wow, never thought you had it in you, (L/N).”

“Uwah, it looks cool, but does it hurt?”

“More importantly, when did you get it done?” Osamu asks with a frown.

Atsumu’s thumb was tracing along the shape of your ear, staring at your conch piercing in fascination, standing way too close. Gulping you took a step back, fixing your bangs as you explained. “I, uh, did this on a whim. And yes, it did hurt, because it was on my cartilage, but nothing I can't handle.”

The four look at you, eyes wide.

It kind of ruins the image of the perfect role model people has cooked you up to be. Then again, you were never perfect, to begin with, it was nice to ruin that image and shatter people's expectations.

“Woah.” Ginjima's eyes shined at the stud on your ear.

“Badass,” muttered Suna.

"When did you get so rebellious?" Osamu teased, as though reading your thoughts, pinching your nose with his knuckles.

Atsumu couldn't look away at the new addition in your body. "But when did you-"

"(L/N)-senpai!" a voice cheerily called you from behind, green from the torso up - green wig, green coat, ruffled white undershirt, black pants, with black shoes. Oh, and there was some sort of contraption strapped on their arm.

Atsumu stared in confusion as the person happily greeted you, holding your hands and full of smiles, he just about to burst when Osamu elbowed him.

"It's Yoshimichi," Suna explained, admiring the costume. "y'know, one of the kits."

"Or the managers-in-training," Ginjima added, enjoying the interaction between you and the younger girl.

"Yoshimichi!" you greeted, taking her in. "Wow, you look amazing!"

The younger girl flushed, her usual dark brown eyes were replaced with light blues - contacts, it seems, gripping your hands tighter. "Thank you so much! I worked hard on it! But senpai, your hair looks great!"

"Ah, thank you," you say with a faint blush. "Asano worked on it." More like, she worked on them while you busily sat on your booth, studying the papers from all the attendees who came to the volleyball club's gig. Asano took advantage of your preoccupation to work on your hair. You couldn't hate her for it, since the style proved to be helpful from keeping your hair from your face.

"It's times like these where (L/N) can really be a girl, huh," Ginjama said.

"You're making it sound like she's not." Suna deadpans.

Sputtering, Ginjima tries to defend herself. "Y-You know what I mean!"

Atsumu sort of does, having known you all his life. You weren't the girliest girl around, but you dressed like one, but it was average at best and formal, compared to Mika, who loved wearing frills, brightly colored dresses, and all. Plus, you didn't have many female friends because you had the twins. Most of the time, you were surrounded by boys, so you had to toughen up.

"But who're you supposed to be?" Osamu couldn't help but ask.

"Lyserg from Shaman King!" Yoshimichi says excitedly.

"Your class is doing a cosplay cafe, huh?"

"Right on! Senpai, you should visit!" remembering that you weren't alone, she looked at the four boys behind you. "Ah, you senpais can come, too!"

"I feel like she's extended the invitation to (L/N), though," Suna mutters, Ginjima laughs.

From the end of the hall, someone, with an equally elaborated costume, holding a sign, calls out to her.

"Ah, that's my cue! I have to go now!" Before she leaves, she turns to you. "Senpai, I'll be waiting!"

Smiling, you wave off as she runs towards her classmate, watching them stroll down the hall.

Once the younger girl left, you turned to the boys. "Yoshimichi's family owns a tattoo and piercing shop. I had it done there." Their reactions were instantaneous - multitudes of shock.

"Yeah, but when?" Atsumu asked. He can't even fathom the idea of Yoshimichi - bright, bubbly, cosplayer Yoshimichi Ryoko to come from a family of punks!

"Um," uncharacteristically on the spot, you rubbed at your elbow. "A day after we came back from Hiroshima."

"Who would've thought that our kit comes from a ragtag fam."

"That's a rather crude way of saying it,"

"Yeah, but the flip side of getting a tattoo is you can't go to onsens,"

Ginjima hisses, eyes suddenly sad and dim. "Ah, that is sad and true."

"On the contrary, there are onsens that allow tattoos, so long as it's not visible or in an innocuous location," you say helpfully, automatically bringing backlight in Ginjima's eyes.

"(Y/N) have mercy on us with your words," Osamu cries. "the lot of us are idiots here!"

You'd expect Atsumu to retort, absolutely refusing to be called an idiot, or likening to one. But he was quiet, right by your side, smiling.

"Heh, I'm thinking of getting a piercing myself!"

Three eyes turn to him, doubtfully.

"What?"

"Everyone knows you're likely to cry getting one."

"HAH!?" And there he was. His aura was emanating warm and gentle, like his usual vibe from before. What's weird was, you were there, yet he was smile was genuine, probably brighter than everyone in school.

"(L/N)-san, are you alright?"

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"Um," Asano's eyes went from your face to the mechanical pencil in your hand. "y-your pencil lead…it’s run out." You stopped writing, or what you thought you've been doing. "For a minute now." Oh.

Pushing your pencil, seeing the lead pop out, you write again.

"Thank you, Asano."

"You're welcome," she smiles, but her lip turns up, eyes filled with worry. "But are you okay?"

"I've just got a lot on my mind."

Asano's face fell, eyes not leaving your face, noting the heavy intake of breath, followed by the sag of your shoulders. Even your eyes seemed lost, sad.

The feared and great 'Inarizaki's Fox Keeper' was known for her uptightness, her stoic and cold aura - intimidating by name, more so in person. Highly respected and feared, even the coaches held her to a high regard. With a reputation like hers, it was no wonder she was able to manage the team on her own for years, even aiding them to nationals, and holding her ground against Miya Atsumu. (L/N) (Y/N) was the perfect manager, a standard for all club managers. A reputation that definitely lived up to her expectations.

However, Asano Miki, found that you were actually just a really reliable person, extremely kind, and a saint-like patience. Under your guidance, she eventually got out of her shell - she and Yoshimichi, and easily adjusted to the club thanks to your guidance. And behind closed doors, especially during those nights at training camps, you were practical, uptight like a mother, and almost always preoccupied.

And yet, underneath it all, there was always this sort of sadness in you.

She couldn't help but think of the iceberg theory, that's there's always more to a person.

With her and Yoshimichi, you could open up more about yourself. With the rest of her seniors, you could, too. But Asano could feel like it was to a certain degree, there was something you'd like to keep within. The more she thinks about it, the more it scares her of what's underneath it all, of how long before the truth just freezes her over.

A flash of yellow appears from the corner of her eye, when she turns, it was the captain - Miya Atsumu.

Just a year ago, you and him were not on good terms, having been childhood friends for a long time. The team's dynamic changed drastically, but you remained as manager, only colder and more robotic, as the rumors say. It was said you supposedly resigned, only to wordless come back. Magically, the team's dynamic changed for the better. Even your dynamic with the now, blond-dyed, setter-captain.

"Oiiii, As-a-no~" Yoshimichi calls in a sing-song, her fellow manager-in-training nudges her shoulder. The girl turns to her. "C'mon, I'll pass the bibs to the opposite team, you fetch the cart from the storage room. Okay?"

"O-Okay!" she starts for the storage room. However, unable to help herself, she looks over her shoulder, to where you were, with the captain standing close, the two of you seem to be discussing something. You were doing the talking, pointing with your mechanical pencil, talking a mile. And then there was the captain, eyes soft and warm...watching you.

Atsumu - known for his smug smirk, likened to that of a fox, filled with general mischief and mayhem, wore a true smile. A smile that softened his features, that made him (and his twin, because they were identical) admired by many, a smile that brightened him more, one that reached his eyes - one that Asano knew was reserved for you and you alone.

Of all the things Asano knows about you, one thing is for sure: Miya Atsumu was the cause for the sadness in your eyes.

“You know, I worry about you,” Osamu says to you, echoing questions that have been thrown to you for days - mostly indirectly, at your usual convenience store over a shared sashimi set.

Something's bothering you, has been bothering you, from the looks of it. Osamu knows it.

From the dim moonlight that hung up in the sky, contrasting against all unnatural light, you blinked at him. When your eyes met, his grey-brown eyes took you out of your stupor, making you feel bare and open, without even saying anything.

“I’ve been worrying about you." Osamu adds, voice thick. "For a long time, you felt this need to put others before yourselves. Don’t get me wrong, it’s admirable and honorable at best. It's what many of us love about you, (Y/N). But," his shoulders sag, gray-brown eyes softening "if you keep putting them over you, one day, you’ll forget yourself altogether and just crush from the weight of keeping everyone first.”

You feel the need to defend yourself, to make a statement rebutting all his claims. Yet, your tongue feels heavy, mouth clamped shut. Looking up at him reluctantly, you were met by his unwavering kindness - so, so kind, and worry. Worry growing, seeing as your eyes turned glossy, neutral expression cracking.

Osamu reached an arm, pulling you over. You wanted to pull away, but his warmth washed over you.

Quietly, eventually, you leaned against Osamu, crying softly.

Strong as they were last year, it wasn't enough to satiate the hunger of your foxes, led by Atsumu, that brought them to victory. Still, Karasuno's presence was felt, establishing themselves in the national scene now that they've made a resurgence in the past year with an invaluable set of players. One of them, being your dear childhood friend.

"Sho-chan!" you called out after the match ended, seeing as you had time.

The redhead turned, eyes widening and brightening at the sight of you. "(Nickname)!"

Running to him excitedly, he did the same and the two of you met by the sides.

"Oh wow, your hair's getting shaggy!" you laugh, ruffling at his hair. "By the way, great game, today. You guys are as tenacious as always."

Noticeably, some people were looking your way - still surprised that by some twist of faith, you and the spry middle blocker were acquainted, let alone childhood friends! Too busy being in your friend's presence, you hadn't realized the attention you were receiving. Too busy catching up to the ball of sunshine before you, going on and on about the feats they did today, freely smiling about with your childhood friend.

"Inarizaki is crazy strong this year! Especially with Miya-san's serves!"

"Which Miya?" you laughed with a cock of your head.

"Oh, uh...the blonde dyed one??"

"Ah, Atsumu."

"Are you close?" Hinata asked, sensing the familiarity when you said the setter's name.

"Um," tucking a strand of hair behind your ear, you were unsure how to answer. "kind of." That seemed like a good answer. "He and his twin brother live next door and were my first few friends when I moved to Hyogo." Behind him, his captain was calling for him. "Neh, let's continue our chat later, okay?"

"A-Ah," he sputtered, short-circuiting.

"You're here until tomorrow, right? Better make it worth your while. After all, we haven't talked much in a while. Well," you take his hand in yours, squeezing. "face-to-face, that is."

At the prospect of seeing more games, and maybe spending more time with you, he brightened. "Sure thing, (Nickname)!"

Unable to help yourself, you ruffled his hair playfully. "Then, wait for my text later, okay?"

Later that day, dinner, a bath, a short meeting later, you were slipping on an oversized hoodie over your pajamas, and took off. Despite it being a rather exciting day, you still had enough energy to go about, carefully making your way to meet your childhood friend.

Meeting Hinata just a block away from your hotel, the two of you walked a few more blocks until you reached a neighborhood playground, chatting aimlessly as you sat by the railings framing the park.

"Since it's your last year of high school, do you have any plans, (Nickname)?"

"To be honest? Not really." Wrinkling your nose at your answer, you tried again. "Maybe nothing special. How about you, Sho-chan?" you ask, despite him being a second year.

To your surprise, he readily answered. "I wanna do beach volleyball!"

"Beach volleyball? Why?"

Something sets off in his eyes, almost like excitement, assurance, burning compassion. "I want to try and learn a lot of things!" It even showed off from his voice, no longer quivering, strong and firm, with a hint of childish excitement. "I want to try and get better to be able to play more volleyball!"

That was a rather interesting take into his career, choosing to play outside court. Plus, you've heard beach volleyball can be demanding with just two players.

"You're really set on it, huh?"

"Yes!"

You felt warm.

"Well, good luck with that, Sho-chan. I'll be rootin' for ya~"

Extremely, pleasantly warm, despite the January cold.

“(Nickname), you’re really a lot different, huh?” Before you could ask what he means, he furthers. “I mean, from all our texting, you seem…kinda…on hold? Like you’re holding back? But in person, you seem more relaxed now.”

You blink, remembering bright lights, head against another warm body, a shared sashimi set.

“Maybe it’s because I’m with my Sho-chan.” you smile, forcing the thoughts away. “A lot’s happened in my life. I’m not ready to unpack them all to you, but Sho-chan, you just really have a way with making people feel relaxed about themselves, of making them feel like it's okay, y'know?”

He flushes at that.

“I’m really jealous of that part of you.”

“W-Well, I’m jealous of how smart you are, (Nickname)!”

The two of you laugh into the night before you randomly blurted out wanting something sweet to eat.

"Want ice cream?" Hinata asks, gesturing to stand.

Peering out at him in the dark, the park was a bit dim, your childhood friend shined bright. "Nah, maybe I should head back."

"But you said you wanted something sweet!"

Chuckling, breath coming out in puffs, you stand. "Alright, but you're buying, okay?"

"Aren't you older?"

Playfully frowning at the younger teen’s argument - because yes, you are the older one by a year, you just link your arm around his. "Yeah, but you lost to us!" you threw back.

"How mean, (Nickname)!"

On the way, you realized how eating something cold during a cold season wasn't feasible, which made the younger boy panic. Laughingly, you assured him that it was probably because it was so cold that you wanted something sweet, for a boost of insulin or that happy feelings rush.

At the nearest convenience store the two of you could find, which was a few blocks away from your hotel, the two of you make idle chat over ice cream despite the January weather, explaining further on sweetness, boost of insulin or that happy feelings rush.

"O-Oh! I see!"

Seeing the look on his face, you guessed that the mini-biology plus chemistry lecture made his head spin. "Do you really, Sho-chan?" you tease, handing him a plastic spoon. "It's okay to say you don't."

That caused his nose to scrunch up, brows furrowing together. "I understand, (Nickname)! Sheesh, I passed biology!"

Laughing again, both of you opened up the small pack of ice cream to share. It was in salted caramel.

One bite full and comically, both of you felt warm inside, moaning in absolute delight at the sweetness and saltiness.

The conversation started anew from there with topics that flew from fun plays, his sister, Natsu, taking an interest in volleyball, your sister and her boyfriend, Kaoru and his soccer, talks of the new Karasuno captain.

"Hey, Sho-chan," you asked, watching him chew. "if we didn't move..." if her dad wasn't an asshole "...do you think...?" you mulled, thinking of all the people you've met since moving. Weakly, you leaned against the younger boy, much to his surprise.

"(Nickname)-"

"...do you think things would be different?"

Hinata falls silent at that.

Who knows what your life would have turned out had your family stayed in Miyagi, or your uncle didn't forcibly bring your mom out of her depression and move the family all the way to Hyogo? Would you be happier? Would you have turned out better? Who would you even be?

"Does it matter? What's happened, happened. And whether we like it or not, it's for the best!"

Ah, such a simple-minded sweet boy. "That's true."

"But," you push yourself off, watching him. "had (Nickname) remained, maybe I would've had a boost up with my skills! I would be at maximum level now!"

Snorting, you broke out laughing. "Maximum level!?"

It was a shared moment of nostalgia between two childhood friends over a tub of ice cream, all smiles and laughter.

...which is how Miya Atsumu found you.

"Miya-san!" came Hinata's energetic cry, you look up in shock.

"Shoyou-kun..." the setter says quietly.

Was he looking for someone, you thought, spooning a chunk into your mouth. Or maybe he was out for a late night snack?

Chewing, you didn't notice your captain walking towards you. "(Y/N), if you wanted a late night snack, you shoulda counted me in!" Huh?

Before you could react, he took your spoon and fed himself the last chunk, moaning dramatically at the burst of flavors in his mouth.

"Mi-Miya-san!" shrieked the younger boy, cheeks flushing for some reason.

"You could have gotten your own spoon, you know," you frown, grabbing the spoon from him, he whines. "Besides, you shouldn't be eating sugar before your bedtime."

"Speak for yourself, (Y/N)."

Thinning your lips, you put away the spoon. Your captain turns to the redheaded boy. "Anyway, it's getting late and we should all get back." Turning to your childhood friend, the setter asks. "Shouyo-kun, you're here until tomorrow, right?"

Recovering from whatever it was earlier, the younger boy nods. "Ah, y-yes, n-no!"

"Which is it?" you ask worriedly.

"That's cool!" without warning, he stands next to you "Be sure to watch our game, 'aight?"

"Of course!"

"We should probably head back now," you announce as you stood up, taking your trash with you. "You need a full rest of sleep. Both of you." At the last part, both athletes felt chills run down their spine.

When all three of you were at the door, Hinata assuring you that he can walk back to his hotel just fine, you suddenly remembered something and called out to your friend. "Sho-chan!” the younger boy turns to you. “Actually,” seeing you uncharacteristically sheepish, he keeps his eyes on you, waiting. “I'm on the fence with what I really want."

Offering you a smile, you feel warm all over. "That's okay, (Nickname)! You still have time!"

"We're months away from graduation," you reply, a small smirk at his crestfallen face. "but I think I'm settled."

Instantly, he recovers. "That's good to hear! Well then, good night, (Nickname), Miya-san!"

“What? What? What?” Atsumu turned to you curiously, picking up on the conversation with Hinata. “What were you two talking about?”

Burying your hands into your pocket, you debated. Osamu, Hinata, and Mika were the only people you’ve shared with, the ones you could trust with. The career form fresh in your mind.

“C’mon, (Y/N)!” he whines. “You can tell me!”

And for some reason, you opened your mouth and told him. “We were talking about future careers after high school,”

“Ah, really?” Before your third year even started, you were already thinking and dreading life after high school. “It’s strange that you don’t have a plan after high school.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“I mean," he shrugs easily, carefully steering you to his side, his other side to the open street. "you’re so well organized and value order above anything else. Not to mention, you’re one of the smartest people in our year-“

“Just because I’m part of the top students doesn’t mean I’m guaranteed success,” you tell him, bluntly. Despite the cold, Atsumu feels even more chillier at your pointed words.

But he chips at the ice.

“Still! It makes a world of a difference because it’s you!”

You stopped at that, his words sinking in.

“It’s…me.”

“Yeah!" He continues to chip at the ice, mouth opening, as though reminding you of the most obvious thing on earth. "Plus, I’m pretty sure you’ll be fine wherever or whatever you end up choosing. I’ll be rooting for ya!”

Despite yourself, you smiled, warmed by his words. “Thanks…I kind of needed that.”

Atsumu glanced at you, the two of you carefully taking a turn. “So, what did you write in your career forms?”

“Um…nutritionist, psychologist, or probably something related to sports.”

“Wow,” he thinks back to your background, awed at how much your past impacted your future. “That’s amazing, (Y/N)!”

"Nowhere as amazing as you," you tell him, with utmost sincerity and honesty. He was, after all, a nationally recognized athlete for a high schooler. With his impressive reputation, he'll definitely go far and have the best teams at his disposal.

He barked a laugh, happily. "But of course! Sucks that 'Samu won't be with me, but I'll work for the both of us. No," he thrusts three fingers in the air as he declares "the three of us!"

For some reason, that was a moment of calm for you, filling you with the assurance you'll need. No matter how many years passed, even with his hair dyed lighter than his natural dark roots, he was still that same self-assured, cocky boy you know. You get the feeling he'll always stay like this, which you find you don't mind either way.

Much like Hinata, this boy right here, made you feel inexplicably warm. "That's surprisingly mature of you, Atsumu."

His name came out surprisingly easy. And to Atsumu, who stares at you as though he discovered a snowflake's design at a microscopic level, it was the sweetest thing he's ever heard.

Snow gently falls down, your breaths coming out in puffs, Atsumu's unable to look away.

"We should really head back to the hotel now."

"Y-Yeah!" Atsumu takes hold of your hand, much to your surprise, tugging you forward.

Inarizaki, unfortunately, made it to the top 3 after losing to Kamomedai – who, under the captaincy of Hirugami, were relentless as always – you and your team found yourself with heavy, weary hearts. There were regrets here and there, but the fact that the team maintained its spot as the top 5 made the pain of losing less. Also, you kept your promise to Aran and the rest, who were over the moon (and probably in tears) from watching in the benches.

Speaking of Aran and the rest, you had met up with the rest of your former seniors. Ever the emotional man that he was, Aran was tearing up at how proud he was of how well the team played, and how much the trio – the twins plus you, held the team up.

Being captain in his final year, with his brother as vice-captain, and you as manager, was definitely a highlight in Atsumu's high school career. Smiling at the camera, arms hooked around you and Osamu, Atsumu will forever cherish this amazing high all his life.

Now that you think about it, when did you first start liking Atsumu? What was the instance that made you fall in love with your best friend?

It's been almost ten years - 9 years, to be exact once the cherry blossoms bloom. It's been that long since you met the twins, met Atsumu, and loved him.

But for however long you loved him, a most precious feeling for your young heart, never had you expected it to be inferior in the eyes of many. You may never have said it out loud, but when Atsumu read your love letters out loud in front of the whole team - seeing the looks in their eyes, you felt so cheap. Maybe your feelings were cheap, a joke. Even after the incident, even after a new year and the new faces, that scar was still there - the unavoidable scar that lingered on the fearless, 'Inarizaki's Fox Keeper'.

If people knew the actual reason for the dispute between you and Atsumu, would people think of you differently? It never bothered you, but the knowledge of your feelings for someone as perfect, unattainable, unreachable, and out of your league?

It only made sense.

In a sense, it was like an old toy - one you loved so much as a kid, but once you've played with it too much, it gets worn out, broken, and useless, you'd have to throw it away.

The whole time you held on, foolishly you were also holding on to the possibility that maybe one day Atsumu would come to return your feelings. In a cliche way, he'd think of you as more than a friend, see you as something more, then come around to love you. Again, you were foolish.

It was wishful thinking.

Atsumu's eyes and heart were set on your perfect big sister, Mika.

And who wouldn't? She was perfect, beautiful, smart, kind - everything you're not.

You? You were boring, plain, an afterthought.

Annoyed at the person staring back at you, you childishly flicked water at it - as if it would magically dispel the ugly. Nope.

All you found was a splotchy view of you, strings of water running over.

For all your feats - or whatever people thought of you, you had one terrible weakness: you gave your heart way too easily.

Your asshole of a father was one.

He was your father, of course it was only natural to love him. Until he broke it in a million pieces.

Miya Atsumu was second.

You gave your heart to him since he took you by the hand, never getting the courage to take it back. Atsumu can do whatever he wanted with your heart, just so long as it's still with him at the end of the day.

You had to wonder though, much of your heart was left in his hands?

The human body was composed of atoms – millions and billions of them in the form of hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. It also contains much smaller amounts of the other elements that are essential for life.

The human body is also composed of love. Now, compared to atoms, its amount was infinite, endless.

Atoms burn out and die each day, easily replicated the next second, but not love. Love was something that you give but never runs out.

How much was a single person capable of loving?

How much of their fill until eventually, it runs out?

You might never know.

Scientifically speaking, love was just…unexplainable.

Law of attraction or serotonin can do very little in explaining the amount and power of love.

It was infinite in quality and quantity, yet it's also finite in a way.

"Nee-san?"

Lately, you've noticed that Kaoru tends to call you 'nee-chan' behind your back. You heard it once when you were sick. Normally, he just calls you 'nee-san', Mika was 'nee-chan'. It was just an honorific, with subtle tones when using.

"What."

His brows furrow, arms folded against his chest. "Why are you lying on the floor?"

"Because of gravity," you reply, staring into nothing, maybe at the ceiling, maybe at cracks, maybe at the ceiling fan, maybe at the spaces in between composed of billions and billions of atoms. Inhaling through your nose, exhaling the same way. Some days, it was just getting harder to think...to be, to seem.

Kaoru frowns harder, always hated how cryptic your replies tend to be, whenever he was genuinely worried for you. Then his expression wipes clean into worry.

"Nee-san," you could hear the franticness in his voice. "are you crying?"

Alarmed, you didn't move to hide your eyes, lest you worry him or make it worse. Instead, you sigh and close your eyes. "No. It's just dust."

You didn't see the slight panic in Kaoru's eyes, his big (e/c) eyes on you - his big sister.

“…nee-chan?”

You hummed, not daring to open your mouth at the sudden wave of emotion.

Kaoru was silent, for a while, and then. “I love you.”

Smiling at your brother, opening (e/c) eyes met lighter (e/c) ones, saying it back. “I love you, too.”

masterlist • thirteen

#(un)loving miya atsumu #miya atsumu x reader #miya atsumu #miya atsumu fic #miya atsumu angst #haikyuu!!#haikyuu!! fic #haikyuu!! angst #haikyuu!! angst fic #hq #hq x reader #hq fanfic #hq angst #hq angst fic #inarizaki #countdown to the end begins

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bamfdaddio · 3 years

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X-Men Abridged: 1981

The X-Men, those back-to-the-future mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!

(Uncanny X-Men 141 - 152) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Brent Anderson, Dave Cockrum, Jim Sherman, Bob McLeod and Josef Rubinstein

While I also committed various fashion atrocities at the age of 14 (tye-die and fauxhawks, oh my), even Liberace would find Kitty’s outfits too much. (Uncanny X-Men 149; Uncanny X-Men Annual ‘81)

We dial back from the v. epic scope of the last few arcs. Instead, 1981 is just a lot of fun! We get:

Storm and Emma doing a Freaky Friday!

the X-Men vs. Magneto (again!)

A surprisingly effective Alien rip-off

An dystopian future! (OoOoOoOo)

Last year was the year of the Dark Phoenix, this is the year of Kitty Pryde. That’s not to say Jean’s death is swept under the rug: all throughout, we see her friends mourning her loss or remembering her fondly. (Scott even gets to have a demonic adventure about it.) But in general, Claremont puts Kitty in the forefront, fleshing out his YA-addition to the team. And what would a YA heroine be without a grim dystopia? Roll out the iconic Days of Future Past!

To be fair, 2013 was a dark time for all of us: What Does the Fox Say somehow got to the top of the charts and I was still watching Glee. (Uncanny X-Men 141)

How cool would it have been to see a name like Jonothon Starsmore or Eva Bell on those tombstones?

Anyway, that’s Kate. Kate’s had it rough. Mutants are at the bottom of the foodchain, most X-Men are dead and only a small cadre of resistance fighters remain, Sentinels dominate, and while she is married to Piotr, her children have been murdered. Bleak. Luckily, the rebellion has concocted the plan to shunt Kate’s spirit back in time to prevent this awful future from happening. (You’ve seen Days of Future Past, the last passably good X-Men film, you know what’s up.)

Let’s do the time warp again! 1981!Kitty’s mind gets taken over by 2013!Kitty, who promptly tries to convince the X-Men that a new Brotherhood of v. Evil Mutants will try to kill Senator Kelly, a presidential candidate who tries to put the mutant menace on the agenda. (Mutants tend to blow stuff up when he’s around.) Since the X-Men recently took a literal trip to Dante’s Infero and also befriended a cosmic world-ending entity, they basically shrug and go: “Yeah, this checks out.”

Off to Washington they go (zoommm) and there, they happen upon the Baddest Bitches in Herstory:

“How dare you hate mutants, senator Kelly! We’ll fix that by killing you!” (Uncanny X-Men 141)

This All-New, All-Different Brotherhood consists out of:

Destiny, a blind woman who can see the future. Definitely the eeriest member of this group. Badass lesbian, though that won´t be canon for years.

Avalanche. Greek who makes things shake. Is a long-standing member of the X-Men Rogue’s gallery, but rarely features in the spotlight. I think he got more characterization in four years of X-Men Evolution than he ever did in the comics.

Mystique. Shapeshifter. Ruthless and unhinged, the Cersei Lannister of the X-Men universe. Absolute legend, secretly the wife of Destiny, currently not as unhinged as she’ll be later. Immediately implied to be related to Nightcrawler: it’s the yellow-eyes-blue-skin-combo.

Pyro. Can manipulate fire, not create it. Absolute pillock, in all the best ways of the word. Originally intended as gay, but they decided to make him Australian instead. (?!)

Blob. Big, strong, immovable. We’ve seen him before.

One of the details in this fight I enjoy is that Storm is still struggling with her leadership, although she has a better grip on things than Cyclops:

Wolverine then proceeds to use those iconic but deadly claws about twice per issue for the next, oh, forty years. (Uncanny X-Men 142)

While the X-Men fight the Brotherhood in the present, we cut back and forth to the future. There, the X-Men consist out of some familiar faces - Storm, Colossus, Wolverine - and some surprises: Magneto (in a wheelchair), Franklin Richards (son of) and an unfamiliar ginger girl called Rachel. (She’ll be important later.) We even learn (one of) Magneto’s names: this is the first time he’s canonically called Magnus.

One of the strengths of Days of Future Past lies in its brevity, the way it tantalizingly taunts us with a brutal but familiar future without giving away too much. It’s single-handedly responsible for all those dark future timelines the X-lines are so fond of which will eventually culminate in time-displaced grandsons from alternative dimensions and the impossibility of a succinct answer to the question: “Who’s Cable?” Too much of a good thing and all that.

Still, what Days of Future Past does so successfully is:

Put the idea of the mutant menace back at the forefront, hammering home the metaphor of mutants being a minority. Mutants being put in camps and being forbidden to breed should - regretfully - make us think of all too many real life equivalents. (Specifically, all of the imagery harkens back to the Holocaust.)

It starkly shows what happens should the X-Men lose, reminding everyone of the stakes. The X-Men are here for a reason: bridging the gap between mutants and humankind. If they fuck up, we end up with mutant concentration camps.

It helps that the X-Men in the future almost all die horribly: Franklin is incinerated, Storm is impaled… It's brutal stuff. The only one to survive is Rachel, who wonders if their plan actually changed the future or if they created an alternative timeline. (It did the latter, sorry ‘bout it, Rachel.)

In the present, Kate chases after Destiny, who trains a gun on senator Kelly. I always wondered how this works: if Destiny saw the future, she knew that killing Kelly would trigger a terrifying future. What in the current Marvel timeline made her decide that the Days of Future Past was better? Did she see her own death? Did she see the Onslaught-crossover coming? The Chuck Austen run? What was it?

In any case, time-anomalous Kate stops Destiny from killing Kelly and the future is safe! For now. Kate disappears, Kitty returns to her body and some of the Brotherhood are apprehended. All is well, for now.

After being a key figure in DoFP, Kitty is also the main character in the Christmas special, which is basically a straight up horror and a pastiche of the Alien-movie.

Seriously, John Byrne still isn’t sure why he wasn’t sued by Ridley Scott for this. (Uncanny X-Men 143)

If you love Kitty Pryde? Read this issue. If you’re not convinced you like 80’s Kitty? Read this issue. It’s not continuity relevant and it’s basically Kitty playing the part of a Final Girl in a horror where she’s being chased by a demon, but it’s so good. It showcases all her strengths and her foibles. Kitty’s intelligent, cute (sometimes preciously so) and brave, but she’s also young, self-conscious and hot-headed. And it's not as if the other X-Men automatically adore her: Storm berates her all the time, she’s afraid of Kurt because of the way he looks (though she grows out of that) and she fights with Professor Xavier a lot. Moreover, she has a clever power-set for a young superhero who faces menaces on a daily basis: a thirteen year old who can go intangible is far less likely to have reality ensue on her and be dramatically offed because she's better at protecting herself.

I’m sure there are people who thought Sprite was hogging the spotlight, but I, for one, say she brings more to the table than, say, Angel. She’s not the Dawn Summers of this franchise.

Scott also gets a side quest. Poor guy can’t catch a break: first the love of his life dies, so he quits the X-Men, then he realizes he can’t do much else than be a superhero. He becomes a sailor on the ship of spunky captain Lee Forrester, is drawn into the sadistic plans of a demon unironically named D’Spayre and then shipwrecks in Bermuda with Lee.

The X-Men, meanwhile, are tormented by a team-up of Doom (who’s currently Latverialess and working on a comeback) and Arcade, that annoying crony. Locke, Arcade’s dom, has kidnapped the loved ones of the X-Men (Moira MacTaggart, Jean Grey’s parents, Illyana Rasputin and Amanda Sefton) in order to blackmail them into getting Doom to free Arcade. Apparently, Arcade accidentally insulted Doom and DOOM DOES NOT FORGIVE THAT FOLLY.

While the B-Squad (Polaris, Havok, Banshee and Iceman) goes to save Arcade’s hostages, the X-Men sneak into Doom’s castle. Well, except for Storm, who doesn’t give a single fuck and simply flies up to Doom, demanding an audience. Doom likes the cut of her jib and invites her to have dinner. (This is pre-Tinder, so this is a legit way of scoring a date.)

If Storm has a flaw (I said if!), it’s got to be her atrocious taste in men. (Uncanny X-Men 145)

The X-Men find Arcade’s cell empty, while Arcade casually saunters up to Storm and says hi. Storm realizes too late that this is a trap: while the X-Men are all trapped in Saw-like traps, Storm is encased in ‘living chrome’.

If you remember she’s claustrophobic, you know why this is a bad move.

While the X-Men free themselves from their traps - Polaris hilariously has to deal with a murderous merry-go-round - Storm is slowly driven mad in her prison, triggering a worldwide tempest. (She causes Lee and Scott to shipwreck.) Under the threat of Wolverine’s claws, Doom releases Storm - or rather, unleashes her.

“Instead of a Dark Lord, you would have a queen, not dark but beautiful and terrible as the dawn! Tempestuous as the sea, and stronger than the foundations of the earth! All shall love me and despair!” (Uncanny X-Men 147)

The memory of Jean brings Ororo back to herself and she starts undoing the superstorm she created. (If only climate change were reversed that easily.) Their confrontation ends by Storm easily forgiving Doom, because she apparently trespassed on his grounds without adequate cause.

Mkay.

All of Arcade’s hostages return to their homesteads, except for Illyana Rasputin, Piotr’s sister: she’s staying at the mansion for a while. Angel, who’s sort of been a part of the team since the Phoenix thing, has had it with Wolverine and his ‘tude, and decides to quit the X-Men : he doesn’t want to be a part of an outfit that has a killer like Wolverine on it. (Or maybe he’s just mad Claremont didn’t give him any storylines: his presence has been mostly pointless.) It’s too bad he left before Kitty started experimenting with her outfits: I bet he would have loved her ugly-ass costumes.

Equally inconsequential is the introduction of a brand new character, who then proceeds to disappear from the narrative for the rest of the year:

Black Tom has tried to kill you at least twice, but him sending you a long-lost daughter doesn’t give you pause? Ugh, Sean, you deserve Moira. (Uncanny X-Men 148)

Intrigued by Theresa? TOO BAD, WON’T SEE HER AGAIN ANYTIME SOON.

Another new character is the lonely, decidedly mutant looking Caliban, who can sense “people like him” and is on the lookout for companions. Like many lonely people who try and grasp at friendship, he decides to overshoot his shot and ruin the night of Storm, Kitty and Jessica Drew at a Dazzler concert. Because he tries to kidnap Kitty, the girls react a trifle aggressively. When they realize their mistake - the eerily pale Caliban is a simpleton rather than a menace - he’s already fled. No mention is made of the Morlocks yet!

There’s also another dull annual where the X-Men team up with the Fantastic Four to save Arkon’s dimension from the Badoon and yaaaaawn. Far more interesting is the landmark issue #150. Slowly, through the adventures of Scott and Lee Forrester, Claremont has been setting things up for the return of a favorite villain. While the X-Men investigate Magneto’s old base in Antarctica on a hunch of Professor X and tangle with Garruk, Scott and Lee survive Storm’s tempest, only to wake up next to a strange island that seems to have been raised from the ocean.

It’s apparently some ancient citadel from a long forgotten civilization with a fondness for squid statues. (I don’t know man, I’ve never been to the Bermuda Triangle, maybe this is just super-accurate.)The tentacles make Lee Forrester feel very amorous, but before Scott can tell her he is way too repressed to just have sex with an attractive someone he’s known intimately for a month or two, Magneto saves his ass by revealing he, in fact, raised this island from the seafloor.

Oh, Magneto. So extra.

My ambitious little mutant demagogue then proceeds to take the entire world hostage, showing how much he’s grown from the pompous, raving madman from the sixties. (Sure, Magneto is still a bit of a madman, but increasingly, he starts being on the right side of history.)

“I’m trying to make Magneto more sympathetic.”

“Just put him on a page with some bigger villains who are less noble, like the Vanisher, Count Nefaria, or…”

“Reagan, Thatcher and Brezhnov?”

“Er.” (Uncanny X-Men 150)

It’s obvious Magneto is being pivoted as a more noble villain, codified into the well-intentioned extremist we know and love today. Not only do we get the first hints at his past, fleshing out his motivations, he’s also not wrong. Humans are historically not great at taking care of the planet or each other.

When the Russians call his bluff and launch nukes at Magneto’s new island, he quickly disarms them. His retribution is swift and ferocious: the entire citadel is a machine that massively amplifies his powers. He sinks the submarine that launched the missiles, condemning the entire crew to death, and he casually erects a vulcano in a Russian city in Siberia.

Damn. Not messing around this time.

Despite his good intentions, Magneto is still definitely in the wrong: not only because of his methods, but as Scott points out: if Magneto unifies the world under his kind of benevolent dictatorship, all of that will simply fall apart as soon as Magnus dies.

In a way, Magneto is just as big a dreamer as Charles is: Charles believes in peace and integration, whereas Magneto believes his iron fist will be enough to make a perfect world happen. Both of them ignore the reality that acceptance is difficult and messy, because you’re trying to change essential human nature: the fear of the other. Magneto believes in big, sweeping gestures that will fix the world in move, while changing the world is also boring, hard work. One step forward, two steps back. Magneto just wants to leapfrog to his ultimate goal.

The X-Men fly over the citadel, returning from Antarctica, and their plane crashes into the ocean. (Magneto does not brook planes over his territory, humans!) The Professor is also nearby, looking for Scott with Moira, Peter Corbeau and Carol Danvers. The X-Men sneak onto the island, but to their horror, their powers are nullified by some machine of Magneto. They reunite with Scott, who formulates a plan to thwart the would-be ruler of the world.

While the rest of the X-Men go to trash the machine, Storm, Kitty and Lee infiltrate the control chamber where Storm finds a sleeping, shirtless Magneto. Once again showing her terrible taste in men, she is not weak in the knees at the sight of a sleeping Magnus: instead, she contemplates killing him.

Storm knows how dangerous he is, but she also knows that he’s a great man who’s fighting for ideals, no matter how misguided. She hesitates too long: Magneto stirs, suspects an attack and tosses her out of the window, to her death.

Magneto quickly undoes the sabotage the other X-Men have wrought to his machine. A fight erupts. Storm, meanwhile, has managed to grab hold of a ledge. She crawls back up and smashes an important-looking computer, restoring everyone’s powers.

The battle turns grim, but Scott sends Kitty away to wreck Magneto’s machinery. She sneaks off, following Scott’s orders and destroying both Magneto's power-up device and all of his plans by phasing though the computer circuitry. Magneto senses this and furiously gives chase. Overcome by rage, he attacks Kitty and disrupts her phasing power with a magnetic bolt, seemingly killing her?

Everything about this story beat is great: mama bear!Ororo, mournful Magnus and even the fact that Kitty’s godawful outfit serves a narrative function: highlighting to us (and Magneto) just how young she is. The fact that Kitty’s Jewish is just icing on the cake. (Uncanny X-Men 150)

And thus, the softening of Magneto commences. 1981 might be a year with wildly varying narratives, but it has given us at least three enduring legacies to the X-Mythos: a new kind of Magneto, a fondness for dystopian futures and the character of Kitty Pryde, who's really come into her own this year.

Ugliest Costume: Kitty! Purposefully, but still. Best costume, by the way, goes to Destiny, with her creepy, creepy golden mask. Just imagine this lady casually strolling across a battlefield, eerily calm and collected, dodging everything you throw at her. Awesome design.

Best new character: I usually pick one character - what good is having a shared award when declaring the best of anything? - but this year, it’s going to one of my favorite couples: Mystique and Destiny. Can’t wait to see more of them.

Most audacious retcon: Blob somehow retroactively becomes a member of the original Brotherhood, which is not what happened. Ever weirder is Xavier pondering that he never met Magneto before his attack in X-Men #1, while their cordially adversarial relationship rooted in a youthful friendship would soon become a cornerstone of the X-Men.

What to read: Uncanny X-Men 141 - 143 and 150 - 152

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insanityclause · 3 years

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SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: There’s a great line in this season’s penultimate episode where your Loki and Sylvie are stunned at watch Richard E. Grant’s Classic Loki recreate Asgard to distract Alioth and you say “I think we’re stronger than we realize.” There seems to be a great resonance in the line that there’s a whole lot of Loki coming in the finale and probably more …

HIDDLESTON: I suppose it resonates with the theme that we all wanted to highlight about purpose and about meaning. Loki’s someone who’s probably been deluded by the idea that he’s burdened with glorious purpose, and that perhaps that purpose has been revealed to be fraudulent or meaningless, and maybe his self-image or the role that he has condemned himself to play is redundant.

His experiences through this story have shown him that there are actually more opportunities available to him, and you know, it speaks to this idea, like, can we change? Can we evolve, and in that evolution, is there room to grow? You know, so, I think the stronger than we realize I think is Loki finally understanding that, really, by caring for other people, that maybe there’s power in that, and I found that very touching, and the whole thing is an extraordinary dream.

DEADLINE: Speaking of an extraordinary dream, you have been playing Loki for a decade now, since the first Thor movie, We know you are going to do some voice work in the animated What If…? series, but how has it been having this series directly centering on him, in all his variants, so to speak?

HIDDLESTON: You know Dominic, I have enjoyed it so much, because I felt it was a gift and a privilege to be invited to come and sit at the table and think about what the show might be. Also, I suppose so many of the things that I’ve discovered about Loki as a character in the comics and a character in the Norse myths, in the canon, aspects that I’ve always thought were interesting, and understandably, there hasn’t been time or space in the movies to explore them.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

HIDDLESTON: Those aspects of him have been externalized and embedded into this new story about identity itself and about integrating the disparate fragment of the many selves that he is or perhaps the many selves that we are. You know, we contain multitudes. Loki certainly contains multitudes. We have met many of those multitudes, including Alligator Loki (laughs).

DEADLINE: Sounds like you’re not done with those multitudes yet. From your POV, from conversations with Kevin (Feige) is there more that you see for the character as the MCU heads into its next stages?

HIDDLESTON: Well, I certainly don’t have Kevin’s brain or encyclopedic knowledge or capacity for invention. I’ve been on the ride for a while, and it’s been the most extraordinary journey, and to have lived through different iterations, different phases of the MCU, and I’m so grateful that I’m still here, and it’s been amazing to watch. I feel that the MCU is even more expansive, is even braver, more inclusive than it’s ever been.

DEADLINE: How so?

HIDDLESTON: I think the stories are getting really exciting. Not that they weren’t before, but I think they understand that the investment of the audience is very deep, and they don’t take it for granted for a second. So, yeah, I suppose the perspective I have on how Loki might affect the ongoing course of the MCU is this idea of the multiverse. People have already understood it when Miss Minutes is introducing Loki to the TVA. She talks about the multiverse and the war and that the sacred timeline, which is reality as we know it.

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

HIDDLESTON: It raises questions of, well, maybe there are other parallel or alternate universes. Maybe there are other realities, and the possibilities there are endless. I feel that at the end of episode five, Loki and Sylvie are close to discovering the answers to the questions that they have of who is behind the TVA and that, somehow, this will provoke even more curiosity about…

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

HIDDLESTON: Well, yes, maybe, as I say, all the kind of multiple alternate realities are …it’s taken me 10 years to get a handle on this sort of mono timeline. The idea that this might be a multiverse is actually beyond my knowledge of physics.

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: (laughs) I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions. So, I’m also aware that I’m only playing him because of the audience, really. So, it’s not up to me. But I do love playing him, and every time, I seem to find new, interesting things about him. So, yeah, I’m a temporary passenger on Loki’s journey, but we’ll see. We’ll see where the ride goes now.

DEADLINE: On the ride, as the finale looms, there’s a ton of fan speculation out there and so much that people have hooked on to from the show. So, as the man at the center of it, what was your favorite part of Loki the series?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?📷I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Making your bonkers show in Atlanta as the world, as America was still in the heat of the pandemic. What was that like, because you were in production and then everything stopped and then you came back, right?

HIDDLESTON: I mean, people have used this word a lot, but it really was unprecedented. I think we did six weeks of filming before the hiatus, and then the production was suspended for four or five months, and we came back. At first, it was unfamiliar because we had to make adjustments, but the thing I remember most of all, quite honestly, is the diligence and resilience and spirit of our cast and crew.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: In that vein, you have just come off filming The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes for AppleTV+. Very different from Loki, and yet also a tale of what is real and who we are. Is that what attracted you to it on some level?

HIDDLESTON: I read it and immediately connected to it. Read the screenplay, the adaptation. It’s based on a novel by Sarah Perry, which was published in 2016 and is set at the end of the 19th century. It’s an extraordinary story about uncertainty and about our deepest fears and how sometimes our fears can distort our imaginings and how our minds can lie to us. About how we have to guard against that, and Perry sets it in this extraordinary time with a beautiful leading character of Cora Seaborne, played by Claire. Anna Symon adopted it.

There’s this community on the east coast of England who believe that an ancient beast has been awakened by an earthquake and that it’s dislodged all these fossils. But perhaps, it has also dislodged this ancient underwater monster, which has been used to explain certain unusual phenomena. This was in the era when Darwin had just been published a few decades before and people are starting to think, this Charles Darwin, he’s onto something. Still, fear spreads very quickly, and it’s a very fascinating time where science and faith are in conflict.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

HIDDLESTON: Maybe the themes are very Loki. Maybe that’s where they join up, but I’m playing a 19th century vicar who is trying to contain his community. You feel very destabilized by all these rumors. So, yeah, to go from Loki to a vicar was definitely new, a new territory.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

HIDDLESTON: Well, it’s my first significant time in Essex, where we filmed, which I feel embarrassed about. I’ve been to Essex before, but I’ve never been to the very, very eastern, most eastern coast of Essex. It’s the Blackwater Estuary, which then feeds into the River Thames, and it’s a very ancient part of England. It’s so marshy, it’s where in Great Expectations, that’s where Pip meets Magwitch for the first time. It’s all foggy and muddy and marshy and quite atmospheric and a perfect place to set a story about of uncertainty and fear and gothic romance. Clio Barnard directed it, and working with her has been amazing.

DEADLINE: You know, it occurs to me that of all the main Marvel characters, Loki has been such a constant, yet so ethereal in so many ways too. Is it jarring for you to jump back into the role with all the uncertainty it brings?

HIDDLESTON: You know, I’ve always seen it as sort of an extraordinary and surprising constant in my life for a decade. But, I don’t take it for granted because I don’t often…you know, it may end. It has actually ended, and those endings have been conclusive. I really thought a couple of years ago, after I made Avengers: Infinity War, you know, we all know what happens in that scene, and I thought, that’s it.I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#Tom Hiddleston #Interview #Loki #The Essex Serpent

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katsukisbayy · 3 years

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I Miss the Misery (Shoto Todoroki x Female Reader Band AU)

Warnings: sex, oral (f receiving), cussing

S/O to @unbreakablekiribaku for thirsting over this with me and @thewheezingwyvern and @nocturnalazura for betaing!

Also this is over 3000 words and I don’t know how that happened.

“When we get out there, I wanna do the set like normal and then end with the new song.” You told your band mates. Your bassist Eijirou Kirishima, guitarist Shouto Todoroki, and drummer Denki Kaminari all snapped their heads in your direction, wondering if you’d lost your mind. Shoto was the first to speak.

“You mean the song that I’ve practiced with Kirishima and Kaminari and Kaminari and Kirishima have practiced with you, but we have yet to all run through together? Are you dense?” His smooth voice stated. That voice used to be the last thing you listened to at night and the first thing you heard in the morning, it gave you the idea to start your band after he had heard you sing God knows how many times, and it was the voice that broke your heart when the two of you broke up less than six months ago. The two of you had been together for years, starting your band with your friends before you started dating and being together throughout the rough stages of becoming one of the most loved alternative bands in the world.

Now you hardly spoke to each other on bad days, and joked around like best friends on others.

“Yeah. That song. I think it’ll be fine, you know the tempo even without hearing me sing the lyrics. We’re doing it.” You told him flatly, side eyeing him to see his muscles tense.

“I haven’t even seen the lyrics, how am I supposed to know what the song is about? Or play it without fucking you or Kaminari or Kirishima up? It’s not a good idea and you know it.” He glared at you.

“I think you forget who runs the show, Shoto. If I say we’re doing a song in the set, we’re doing it. Besides, Denki and Ei have heard me sing it and they think it sounds good. Just go with me on this, please?” You finally asked him.

“If we fuck up, this is on you.” Came his reply through clenched teeth. Hearing the signal that you four were to be on stage in five minutes, he grabbed his guitar and left the dressing room. Kirishima and Kaminari both turned to you.

“He’s going to hate you when he hears the lyrics since they’re about him Y/N.” Kirishima told you.

“Yeah, he’s gonna be pissed. I can’t wait to see what the tabloids and Twitter have to say about the end of the show!” Kaminari laughed.

“There’s a reason he hasn’t seen or heard the lyrics. I can’t wait to see his face.” You stated before grabbing your mic and following the two boys out the door. Oh yeah, this show was going to be one you never forgot.

The show so far had been uneventful, but you could tell the closer it got to the last song of the set how agitated Shoto was getting. As the final notes from your penultimate song echoed through the stadium, you knew it was time to announce a slight change of plans.

“You guys have been a fantastic audience tonight, but unfortunately we’re at our last song of the show. I know the set list had been given out and Playing God was supposed to end the night, but I think it’s time a new song we’ve been working on is played. Would you guys like that?” You asked through the microphone. As soon as the words left your mouth, the audience went crazy at the thought of getting to hear a new song before it was released.

“That’s what I thought! This is something I’ve been working on for a few months, so here’s I Miss the Misery!”

You paused for a second, letting the guys get ready and the crowd to calm down. When you’d decided it was time, you signaled Shoto and Denki and the music began.

“Oh, I miss the misery!” You began. Hearing the boys come in with the music, you walked around the stage letting yourself get into it.

“I’ve been a mess since you stayed, I’ve been a wreck since you changed. Don’t let me get in your way, I miss the lies and the pain, the fights that keep us awake. Oh I’m tellin you! I miss the bad things, the way you hate me, I miss the screaming and the way that you blamed me. I miss the phone calls, when it’s your fault. I miss the late nights, I don’t miss you at all. I like the kick in the face and the things you do to me. I love the way that it hurts. I don’t miss you, I miss the misery.” You continued the song, glancing at Shoto every once in a while to see if he had figured out that it was about him. He stood calm, cool, and collected while watching his fingers pluck the guitar strings. One of the best and worst things about him was that he knew how to keep his emotions under control when needed. That was always one of the things you’d hated when you got into arguments, he could turn his emotions off at the snap of his fingers. You shook your head and continued to focus on the music.

“I’ve tried but I just can’t take it. I’d rather fight than just fake it. You know that I’ve had enough, I dare you to call my bluff. Can’t take too much of a good thing. And I’m telling you. I miss the bad things, the way you hate me. I miss the screaming, the way that you blame me. Miss the phone calls, when it’s your fault. I miss the late nights, I don’t miss you at all. I like the kick in the face, and the things you do to me. I love the way that it hurts. I don’t miss you, I miss the misery.”

Walking closer to the boys, you took a spot close to Shoto. You glanced over at Kirishima and nodded, signalling him to sing his part of the song while you did yours. (Bold is Kirishima singing).

“Just know that I’ll make you hurt.”

“I miss the lies and the pain what you did to me.”

“When you tell me you’ll make it worse.”

“I’d rather fight all night than watch the tv.”

“I hate this feeling inside, you tell me how hard you’ll try. But when we’re at our worst, I miss the misery.”

You turned to face Shoto head on and placed a hand at the nape of his neck, pulling his forehead to yours as you sang the next part.

“I miss the bad things, the way you hate me. I miss the screaming, the way that you blame me.” You trailed off, turning away from Shoto after seeing the rage in his eyes.

“I miss the rough sex, leaves me a mess. I miss the feeling of pains in my chest. Miss the phone calls, when it’s your fault. I miss the late nights. I don’t miss you at all. I like the kick in the face and the things you do to me. I love the way that it hurts! I dont miss you, I miss the misery. I don’t miss you, I miss the misery! I don’t miss you, I miss the misery.” You were panting as the song ended, the adrenaline of being in front of a crowd this large seeping out of you as you tried to catch your breath.

“Thanks you guys! Stay safe and we’ll see you again soon!” You called out as you began to walk off the stage. Heading back to your dressing room to grab your things, you grabbed your manager and whispered in his ear “I’m not waiting for the boys, I’ll be at the hotel.”

He nodded as you passed. You hurried to the room, grabbing the few things in there and then heading to the car that was awaiting you outside the venue. You laid your head on the window after climbing in, wondering if debuting the new song without Shoto having heard it first was a mistake.

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

After arriving in your hotel room, you stripped and took a shower. You stayed in the shower for a while, letting the warm water soothe the tense muscles from the nerves of the show. Ten minutes after you’d gotten out of the shower and gotten dressed you heard a knock at the door. Shoto stood before you with an unreadable expression on his face.

“Did you think that that was a good idea? You could have ruined the show.” He seethed, stepping into your room and shutting the door behind you. You took a step back.

“I knew that we could handle it, and I wanted to do that song at the end. I knew it would be good publicity too. Who else would debut a song at a concert instead of releasing it on music apps?” You asked, still stepping back as he prowled towards you.

“You make me so goddamn angry sometimes. Don’t think I don’t know who that song was about. And that little stunt that you pulled? Pulling my face towards yours? I wanted to punch you and kiss you at the same time.”

You stilled at that. He wanted to what?! You felt the back of your knees hit the edge of the bed and knew you had been caught. Sitting on the bed slowly, you looked up at him as he towered over you. He knelt down so you were at the same eye level and placed a hand on your cheek.

“You drive me absolutely crazy. Sometimes I feel like we can get along and maybe go back to being friends and others I feel like the only reason we still talk is because of the band. We need to figure out what’s going on because I feel like I’m going to explode otherwise.” He stated softly.

You placed a hand over his and sighed softly. Feeling bold, you moved your hands to cup his cheeks. He leaned his forehead to yours and exhaled slowly.

“I want to kiss you. Honestly, I want to fuck you. You need to stop me if you don’t want this, okay?” He asked.

His confession shocked you, and you gave your answer when you pressed your lips to his softly. The first kiss was short and soft, only lasting for a few seconds until he pulled back. He searched your eyes for any hesitation and when he didn’t find any, he smashed his lips to yours. It was a flurry of lips, teeth, and tongue as you fought for dominance over the kiss. Shoto won, as he normally did, and as his tongue swept through your mouth you felt his hands slip down your arms and grip the bottom of your shirt. He quickly pulled it over your head, leaving your chest bare to him.

He pulled back slightly, smirking as he took in your chest. “You know, not much has changed. You’re still beautiful.”

Lowering himself, he took one of your breasts into his mouth and grasped the other with his hand. You moaned lightly, feeling his tongue slip over your perked nipple with ease.

“Sho-Shoto.” You gasped. He pulled back once more, only to slip his hands into your bottoms and slide them down your legs. You lifted your ass up to help him pull them off your hips and then pulled his face back to yours. This time you led the kiss as you traced the tip of your tongue over his bottom lip before slipping it into his mouth. He let you familiarize yourself with his mouth once more before breaking the kiss and pressing open mouthed kisses to your neck and down your chest to your cunt.

“You have no idea how much I’ve missed this. Seeing you writhe in pleasure underneath me, seeing the face you make when you cum. I’ll make you do it over and over until you can’t anymore.” He accented the statement with a graze of his teeth over your right thigh, causing you to jerk in response.

Chuckling, he moved so his face was in front of your core. Shoto slowly ran his fingers up your leg until he slowly pushed one into you and groaned at the way you clenched around it.

“How long has it been since you’ve been fucked, love?” He asks, slowly pushing his finger in and out of your cunt. “It feels like it’s been a while.”

You groaned out “a while” in response, digging your heels into his shoulders and trying to lift your ass so he’d put his tongue to use doing something other than talking. He pulled his finger out and smacked your clit lightly.

“Ah, ah. Remember I’m in charge baby. Be a good slut and stay still.” Shoto smirked at you before plunging two fingers back into your core. You moaned at the sensation as he began to increase the speed of his fingers before finally bringing his tongue to flick at your clit. He flicked it twice before flattening his tongue and dragging it up and down your slit slowly, allowing your juices to coat his tongue and the bottom half of his face. Slowly sliding his fingers out of your cunt, he brought them up to his eye level while pulling back slightly.

“Suck.” Was all that was uttered out before he shoved his fingers into your mouth, letting you clean them off for him. When his fingers were clean he grabbed your thighs in both hands and spread your legs as wide as they could go. Once you were maneuvered to his liking, he plunged his tongue inside of you, using the tip of it to play with your walls. You could feel your impending orgasm, and apparently so could Shoto because right as you were about to cum he pulled back.

“You don’t get to cum yet sweetheart. I’m nowhere near done with you.”

He quickly undressed himself before leaning over you and kissing you once more. You felt him grab his cock and rub it against your folds for a few seconds before pulling back to gauge your reaction.

“Are you okay with this? I can stop if you don’t want to.” He murmured. In response you wrapped your legs around his waist and pulled him forward.

“I promise if I didn’t want this I would tell you. Now please Sho, fuck me.” You whined out.

He didn’t need to be told twice, grabbing your hips and sheathing himself inside of you with one thrust. A dull ache began within your walls and you winced slightly at the sensation. Shoto noticed the slight hesitation and stilled.

“I’m okay Sho. It hurts a little because I haven’t done this in a while, but I’ll be okay.” You felt him relax and push slightly further inside your aching cunt.

“Fuck I missed this princess. I missed the way your pussy sucks me in every time I try to pull out, the faces you make as I hit your spot, and the sounds you make as you climax.” He accented every statement with a particularly deep thrust that had you writhing. You could feel your juices sliding down your ass and dripping onto the sheets below you and you made a mental note to leave some extra money for housekeeping.

“Sho-” You whimpered. His control seemed to snap at that as he grabbed your ass and lifted it off the bed, angling your body to only allow your shoulders and head to touch it. This angle had him going deeper than before, and you felt your climax rising once again.

“I’m gonna...I’m gonna cum. Please can I cum?” You babbled. Shoto got harder at the pleas.

“Cum for me Y/N. Let me hear your pretty little noises.” He grunted out. The permission was all you needed as you felt it crash over you in one big wave, your back arching and lifting you further off the bed. Your cum gushed from your cunt, splashing against Shoto’s abdomen before dripping down his thighs.

“Fuck. I can’t hold back much longer.” He groaned, thrusting into you harder and harder as he chased his own release. He slammed into you four more times before he stilled, then thrusted three shallow thrusts to ride out his own orgasm.

Shoto slowly lowered your ass back onto the bed, trying and failing to not lay you in a wet spot left on the sheets. He laid a hand on either side of you and tried to catch his breath before trying to speak.

“That was probably the most intense fucking we’ve ever done.” He chuckled. You smacked his arm before covering your face.

“I can’t tell if that was a hate fucking or a makeup fucking.” You said.

“It can be whatever you want it to be.” He said softly. “I know we were bad for each other, and fought all the fucking time. But I miss this. I miss waking up next to you and falling asleep with you. I miss going out and doing things whenever we’re in a different city. Hell I even miss people following us and asking us to sign things together. I promise I’ll try harder to be worthy of you, and not fight as much. If we do fight, we’ll keep it out of public and listen to each other instead of being so stubborn and hard headed,” he flicked you lightly in the forehead to accentuate that he meant you, and you pulled your hands off your face to look at him. “and just try to understand the other person’s point of view. These past six months have been hell without you, and I want to try again. Please Y/N, can we try again?” He looked at you with pleading eyes as you processed everything he had laid out for you.

There were a few seconds of silence, and you saw the emotions in Shoto’s eyes. You could tell he was wondering if he should’ve kept his mouth shut when you pressed your lips to his lightly. He kissed you back hesitantly at first, then harder. You were the one to pull back from him and sigh.

“If we’re really going to make it different this time, I’m okay with trying again. I’ve missed you so badly these past months that I was hoping the song was going to grab your attention. I didn’t expect it to do this though.” You laughed and gestured to where he was still inside you. “We can try again. But only if we both promise that it will be different this time.”

“I promise it’ll be different.” Shoto said softly, moving one hand from the side of your head to cup your cheek. You lifted your hand to cover his, and turned your face to kiss the palm of his hand.

“I promise, too. Now get out of me before I want to go for round two.” You tried to push him off of you but he caught your hands.

“Wait, we can do round two?”

#todoroki x reader #shoto x reader #shoto #this took so long #i was scared to write the smut

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ilikemesometaetaes · 4 years

Text

Blithe (M)

Kim Namjoon Oneshot

•••> Author: @ilikemesometaetaes

•••> Summary: “Blithe (adj.) - showing a casual and cheerful indifference considered to be callous or improper.” In which you face the consequences of not paying attention to your not-so-innocent behavior.

•••> Pairing(s): Namjoon/Reader, slight Namjoon/Reader/Yoongi

•••> Requested by Anon: “I have a request for a one shot 💜 three words: namjoon, daddy kink 👀 (p. s. love u)”

•••> Word Count: 6.25k

•••> Rating: 18+

•••> Warnings: smut, unprotected sex, masturbation, slight choking/strangulation, spanking (lots), dirty talk, slight bondage, Daddy/Little Girl relationship, Joonie is PISSED, but he’s also caring, cursing, pining, mention(s) of a threesome, immense teasing, rough sex, punishment time

Thank you for the request, anon! This was a bit to unpack for me, but here you go! I hope you enjoy :) And I love you too!

~#~

“But baby, we were supposed to stay in tonight.” You trapped the phone between your shoulder and ear, pausing your task of draining the pasta noodles in the titanium sink.

You were making a simple dinner for the two of you so that you could have a nice, quiet night dining on your balcony. Maybe get a little frisky and do the dirty over the railing afterward.

Your plans were completely smashed, however, when your fiancé called to cancel your plans, yet again, to work late.

“I know, my love. But I need to finish these layouts for Taehyung before tomorrow. You know how he gets if the displays aren’t in order in time.” Namjoon sighed audibly, to which you sighed with him in disappointment.

“Why can’t we just have a little bit of time together? I thought getting engaged would kind of organize our lives a little more.” You whined, dropping the empty pot back onto the counter. Just one night, God. That’s all I ask. Just one damned night with my husband-to-be.

Namjoon’s voice interrupted you, a beacon in the silence you received as a response to your plea.

“We’ll get our time. I promise, babe. Listen, I gotta go. Don’t wait up for me, okay?” You could hear his voice move away from the phone for a moment during his reply, a clear indicator that he was needed.

“Alright.” You replied dejectedly. The last you heard from him was a brisk ‘I love you’ before several beeps indicated the end of the call, taking away your opportunity to return the sentiment.

With a huff, you took your phone from your shoulder and lightly tossed it onto the counter in frustration- still mindful of breaking it, of course. He just had to work late again. On a Sunday evening. Right before your classes begun again. Of fucking course.

You were saying goodbye to the summer with a bit of an indifferent attitude; your “vacation” was filled with working a full-time job, worrying about bills, and getting engaged to Namjoon whilst a pandemic loomed over the world’s shoulders. To say that you actually had a summer was a bit generous considering all of the normal occurrences that were no longer considered “the norm.”

Despite your stressful schedule, Namjoon was always there to calm the storms brewing inside your mind. Since the moment you started dating freshman year, his words of wisdom and natural calming effect kept the worry from suffocating you.

You were always an over-thinker. Since you could remember, you worried about every single minute detail of your life. When Namjoon asked you to be his girlfriend across a table of the university’s café, you stared at him and waited for him to tell you that he was being facetious. Surely he didn’t actually like you, right? A man like Namjoon had no business wanting to date a girl like you- or so you thought.

“So…” You trailed off, coffee cup in your hand slightly dented from your tight grip. “You want me to be your girlfriend?”

You admit, your tone was a little monotonous and emotionless- an instant defense mechanism due to your belief that he was playing a cruel joke on you. Staring into his eyes through the lenses of his glasses, however, you only found sincerity gazing back at you.

“Y/N,” He reached out and placed his hand over yours on the cup, automatically soothing your grip on the poor thing. “I’ve liked you for months now. I’d honestly really like it if you could be my girlfriend.”

You stared at his hand over yours, loving the warmth and softness as it calmed your racing mind. He actually wanted you to be his girlfriend? Like, the type to hold hands and kiss and maybe fuck a little?

Oh good lord, how you wanted to fuck him.

Being friends with Namjoon was filled with positivity in everything except your sex life. Sure, you didn’t really have one being a double major and all, but that didn’t prevent your imagination from running away from you whenever you studied him too closely.

You’d stare at him from time to time, imagining nasty things that you would do with him, but it only left you aching and wanting with a very damp patch in your panties every time. You were thirsted to the brink of desperation, finding yourself close to downloading Tinder just to have a dick to fuck yourself onto. But no, even that felt like a betrayal to Namjoon despite his lack of knowing that you imagined sitting on his face almost every night.

So once you actually started dating Namjoon, to say you were nervous to get between the sheets with him was an understatement. You were fucking terrified. Numerous anxious thoughts filled your mind.

What if he doesn’t like my body? What if I cum too fast like I know I will and he gets disappointed? What if I’m too loud or too annoying? Oh god, I should probably do some ‘research’ on how a Virgo man like Namjoon likes his women in bed.

You didn’t have time to worry too much, because the very next week, you and Namjoon had sex for the first time- research and all flying out the window. He wasn’t soft and vanilla but he wasn’t a monster either. It was a gorgeous balance that you found yourself loving immediately.

Through the years, your sex life had remained exciting and utterly adventurous, always ready to try new things.

Tonight, an evil idea crossed your mind in your sexual frustration. You hadn’t had sex with Namjoon in over a week, okay? You can’t be blamed.

A small snack, shower, and a few glasses of wine later, you found yourself freshly shaven and draped across your black living room couch with a romance movie playing on the TV. You wore Namjoon’s favorite set of lingerie, preparing yourself in your wine-buzzed state of mind for your plan.

Grabbing your phone from the coffee table, you unlocked it and opened Snapchat to start a new chat conversation with Namjoon. You typed out your message to him and waited a moment before typing another when he didn’t open it immediately.

Babeeeeeeeeee

I’m hornyyyyyyy

Setting your phone back down on the table, you resumed watching the movie for a few minutes in wait, only to grow disappointed when ten minutes ticked by without a notification from Namjoon. Instead of waiting any longer, you picked up your phone again and decided to send him a video, double-tapping his name and readying yourself.

Once you held down the button to record, you put on your bedroom show.

The light from the TV cast the perfect glow on your body, emphasizing shadows on your curves and ridges, which did most of the work for you. You knew that he wouldn’t turn up the volume at work so you didn’t bother speaking. All you did was use your free hand to lightly trace your fingers over your skin, grasping your breast in your hand and lightly squeezing it through the black material of the lace bra piece.

After releasing the record button, you watched the video once, put a filter on it and watched it again, and then removed the filter once you decided that you didn’t need it. You watched it one last time with a satisfied smirk on your lips, sending it right after.

Carrying on with the photos and videos with the occasional cute or sexy message written in them, you grew upset by the fact that Namjoon hadn’t opened a single one in the last twenty minutes. Finally, you settled to touching yourself on camera and bringing yourself to the brink of a climax more than once only to deny yourself to make the allure of the videos even more difficult to resist.

You could only take so much before you grew irritated in your slightly drunken stupor, checking the time to find that it had been an hour since your first message to your fiancé. A groan of annoyance sounded from your throat and you finally gave up the patience to have some sexy time over the phone with him. So much for new things. I thought we were going to have a use for phone sex more often.

Tossing your phone to the other end of the couch, you continued to busy your hand on yourself, picturing Namjoon as the one touching you- as you always did on lonely nights like this one.

Once you finished the last drops of your wine, you took the bottle to the kitchen and dropped it into the recycling bin before heading to your bedroom with sinful thoughts in mind. Stripping yourself of the uncomfortable garments, you collapsed into the bed and got comfortable in preparation to finally finish yourself off.

Completely unaware of your phone lit up with a string of missed calls and snapchat notifications in the living room, you brought yourself your orgasm. As unsatisfying as it was without the help of your fiancé, you still managed to be relaxed enough to turn in for the night with the wine pairing in to send you off. You sighing contently despite missing your other half.

_______________________________

Namjoon was furious as he drove home well over the speed limit.

He remembers the exact moment his switch was flipped.

His phone was bribed with elongated vibrations in his pocket, a sign that someone was messaging him on Snapchat, as he stood over the planning table. Upon a brief glance at the screen, once he pulled it out, he saw that it was you. Being notifications on Snapchat instead of regular text messages or calls, he knew the issue wasn’t an emergency.

Instead of opening them, he went right back to work after turning on ‘Do Not Disturb.’ He was working extra hard to clear up his schedule for the next few days, knowing that you would appreciate the extra time he put in once he was able to stay home for you. So he needed to stay focused.

Of course, he would be staying home for himself too.

Namjoon longed to have you in his arms. Longed to hold you and touch you and feel your skin on his. Namjoon felt his slacks grow slightly tight as he let his imagination wander from him. The last time he had sex with you was over a week ago. Could you blame him?

Shaking his head to rid himself of the thoughts so that he wouldn’t get hard in the middle of his office, he went back to work.

It wasn’t until an hour later when he finally sat in his chair to take a break.

“Hey, Namjoon?” A voice called him from his state of relaxation, prompting him to look at the source of the voice.

Min Yoongi stood in the doorway of his office, slightly shaking and shifting uncomfortably in his spot. Namjoon quickly stood up and approached him with concern for your friend.

“What’s wrong? What happened? Are you alright?” Namjoon fired at him, grabbing onto his shoulder. Yoongi looked down with a slight blush to his cheeks and Namjoon raised his eyebrow expectantly.

Instead of replying- he wasn’t very good at voicing embarrassment- Yoongi lifted his phone that was clutched in his hand and turned it so that the screen faced Namjoon, displaying a picture of a very familiar body clad in a very familiar set of lingerie with a hand placed over her core.

That’s Y/N. Namjoon’s blood ran cold.

Across the bottom of the screen was a sentence in the snapchat text box that read: ‘Come home soon, Joonie. I miss you… obviously lol’

For a split second, he thanked whatever god was looking out for him that the picture was intended for him, but the relief was swiftly replaced by jealousy and anger once he realized you accidentally sent a photo of yourself to his coworker. He understood that you and Yoongi talked- and that you were good friends- but his jealous side loomed over his head because he was the only one allowed to see your body.

The older man noticed Namjoon’s change in demeanor quickly, knowing that the younger man was upset. Yoongi was fast to defend himself.

“Namjoon, I swear that I had noth-“ Namjoon was quick to interrupt him.

“Yoongi, you did nothing wrong. Just forget the picture ever happened, hm?” Namjoon couldn’t pretend to not notice the way Yoongi’s smaller and very obviously nervous frame slightly peaked his interest.

“Of course.” Yoongi nodded and tapped on the screen so that it would disappear.

As Namjoon turned back around and went to sit in his chair, Yoongi perked up.

“I know that you told me that the two of you have been trying new things and- forgive me if I’m overstepping-” Yoongi gulped and toyed with his phone case, unable to maintain eye contact with his coworker. “But, uh… if you ever want a third-” Namjoon cut him off again before he could continue, thoughts already heading towards the subject that the older man was addressing.

“Noted.” He said curtly. “We’ll consider it.”

Namjoon saw the small smile at the corner of Yoongi’s lips, fighting the urge to smile with him. “Thanks, Namjoon. I’ll take my leave now.”

“Very well.” Namjoon bid. “Please close the door behind you.”

Once Yoongi left and enclosed Namjoon in his office, Namjoon sat back in silence for a moment, attempting to control the storm in his mind. Pulling out his phone, he gawked for a moment at the amount of notifications from you.

Snapchat

26 Notifications

Why would you message him so many times? You know that he’s busy. Regardless, Namjoon took this time to open them.

And he watched every second.

So yes, Namjoon was still furious when he came home to find you fast asleep in your shared bed, stark naked and sprawled out.

He tried calling you, snap chatting you, texting you; he tried everything to contact you so that he could tell you that he was on his way home. To no avail, his efforts went unanswered only to discover that exhaustion had won against you.

He couldn’t blame you for being needy. He couldn’t be angry when you laid there so damn cutely. Namjoon knew that you were just as desperate for him as he was for you.

But he could blame you for not paying attention and sending a thirst trap to someone who wasn’t him- even if it was someone who could potentially be involved with the two of you later on.

So yes, Namjoon was furious.

_______________________________

A stinging pain burned your ass, jolting you from sleep with a start.

You yelped, body whipping around to address the sensation, only to be grabbed and held with your back tightly pressed up against another body, restrained by arms circling your waist. One arm nudged itself underneath your breasts while you stood on your knees.

Namjoon. You immediately recognized the feel of him, sighing with relief. Your heart calmed with your body as you slumped back against him.

“Why’d you do that?” You whined, relaxing your neck back to rest your head on his shoulder. His breath brushed the side of your face and trailed down your naked chest. “That hurt.”

“Because someone decided to be a naughty little girl.” He growled against the shell of your ear, teeth nipping at your cartilage. You instantly became hyperaware of the bulge pressing into your naked ass, a shock of hot desire cramming itself straight into your clit in a throbbing pulse. You quivered softly.

“I needed you so much and you never came.” You whimpered as he moved his mouth lower to suckle on the skin on your shoulder.

“I know, darling, and I’m sorry. I did tell you I was staying late, though.” He tightened his hold around your body, hands curling into the flesh of your waist. “You should have listened.”

You shifted in his hold, attempting to escape it so that you could face him, but he wouldn’t let you move. Your naked body was hot with desire and he kept you bound to him tightly.

“I wanted to listen. Believe me, I did. But I wanted to do something good for the both of us.” You raised and arm to curl around the back of his neck, wanting more intimacy and closeness. “Those pictures made me feel good.”

“Did you want Yoongi to feel good too?” He said menacingly in your ear. Confusion flooded you, eyebrows immediately furrowing.

“What?”

“I said-“ Namjoon raised a hand from your body to grip your jaw in his grasp, dragging your gaze to his. “Did you want Yoongi to feel good too?”

“Joon. What are you talking about?” You were concerned, wondering why he was getting so worked up.

Were you talking to Yoongi too much? Namjoon was never jealous over your friendship with Yoongi. He was nice and kind to the both of you. Although more on the quiet side, he seemed to fit in quite nicely when he was around you and your fiancé.

“Seeing how you’re acting like you don’t know any better, I’ll treat you like you don’t know any better, little girl.” He growled again, anger obvious. He released his hold on you and pushed you forward. “Elbows and knees. Ass in the air. Now.”

You scrambled into position, excitement coursing through your veins as the adrenaline spiked your heart rate once again.

Hands trembling, you gripped the bed sheets in anticipation, biting your lip. The sound of Namjoon’s belt buckle coming undone and his trousers hitting the floor only caused the heat in your core to increase tenfold. The bed dipped down shortly afterwards and you craned your head to peak at his partially-undressed body with boxers restraining his cock. A short smack was delivered to your thigh, followed by a curt statement, “Eyes to the front, brat.”

You obeyed his command immediately, feeling him slide into a kneeling position with his legs below your stomach.

“Lay across my legs.” He murmured, hand lightly pressing down on the small of your back where it was arched. You lowered your body, draping yourself across his lap while attempting to stop your body from vibrating with pure joy. His hand slid to your right ass cheek, rubbing tender circles into the skin.

“You think it’s okay to share yourself with others?” A sharp sting licked its way across your backside, force jolting your body forward and pain eliciting a whimper from your lips, yet you couldn’t help the clench of your cunt with the sound of Namjoon spanking you incredibly loud in the quiet room.

Namjoon’s hand was quick to soothe the pain, resuming his ministrations over the afflicted area.

“No.” You wavered. Another smack, softer this time, was delivered. A yelp slipped past your lips as your body reacted to the delicious pain.

“You will address me as daddy from now on, understood?”

“Yes, daddy.” Your vocal cords struggled to maintain balance with your breathlessness, resulting in your response coming out as a whisper. Namjoon’s hand clapping against you was unexpected, pain scorching against the now-tender skin. The sensation of your hot skin slightly raising made you mindful of the fact that you would definitely bruise.

“What was that?” He asked. You tensed as his free hand slid to enclose your neck in its grip, tightening.

“Y-yes, daddy.” You said with a bit more volume despite the pressure on your trachea. Namjoon released his grip but left his hand placed on your throat.

“Good girl,” He cooed lowly, shivering at the new name that you called him. He liked it very much. “Very good girl.”

You couldn’t help but bristle proudly under Namjoon’s compliment, juices now beginning to slightly trickle down from the apex of your thighs.

“Elbows and knees.” Namjoon directed as he removed himself from below you and took away much of the heat you were feeling. “Let’s talk.”

You stared at the bed in confusion. Why were we talking now? You thought he was going to fuck you.

“So,” He began from behind you. “If you know that it’s not okay to share yourself with others, why did you share your body with Yoongi?”

What.

“Namjoon,” You turned your head to look at him seriously from your position, breaking out of the tense moment. He stood a few feet away from the bed with his black work shirt unbuttoned and rolled up at the sleeves, pectoral muscles peaking from in-between the split. The sight was accompanied by the slight appearance of a nipple and his toned abdomen. “What in the fuck are you talking about?”

“Eyes to the front or I will fucking strap you down right now.” His reply, brimming with fury and warning, was no match for your concern.

“Namjoon.” You grit out with a fiery gaze. “If you think that I chea- Joonie!“

You didn’t get a chance to finish your statement because Namjoon moved toward you and pounced, engulfing your body with his own. Your strength was no match for his weight on top of you, causing both of you to collapse to the bed. Swiftly, Namjoon grabbed both of your wrists and held them down. You automatically turned your head so that your face wouldn’t be pressed into the mattress.

“I fucking know that you didn’t, Y/N.” Namjoon graveled through his teeth into your ear. His lips just barely ghosted over your ear lobe. “But you did do something naughty.”

His hand slid below your hip to your core, harshly cupping it and forcing a groan from deep in your chest.

“Tell me,” Namjoon let a single finger press between your folds, the minimal sensation warranting your body to shudder again. You shifted your weight so that you could arch your back and give his hand more room to work underneath you. “When you were sending me the photos, did you really pay attention?”

“Nam-“ His grip on your wrist served as a reminder of the name he wanted you to call him. You corrected yourself quickly, back in the mood. “-Daddy. I did, I swear.”

“Are you sure about that?” His finger began trailing up and down your slit, bringing some of your wetness over your pussy lips. You needed him on your clit, desperately.

“Y-yes, daddy. I’m sure. I remember everything I said and everything I did for you.” You pressed your backside into his pelvis as you arched your back, feeling his clothed dick slightly separating your ass cheeks.

“Stop moving.” He commanded. You froze on the spot as he continued to toy with your juices. “And I guess you really don’t know what you did, huh?”

“Daddy, no.” You keened as his finger dipped into your depths, pushing through your slick walls to nestle against your sensitive spot with ease. Softly and lightly, he stroked it, sending your mind into a horny stupor.

“Then I guess I’ll just have to teach you to pay attention. Sending a photo of you touching yourself to Yoongi isn’t a mistake you can make.”

His finger left you instantly, along with his body, as you were left to think about what he just said.

Yoongi got a photo of me? How in the- Oh fuck. Namjoon must be livid.

Almost as soon as Namjoon got off of you, he was grabbing you and flipping you over, evoking a short scream of surprise at being manhandled so abruptly.

Now, with an unobstructed view of him, you were rendered mute by the way Namjoon’s daddy persona exhumed a physical change in him. As he slid his shirt and boxers off of his body, you were trying to find the words to say in response to his statement, but you were terribly distracted by bulging muscle and his delicious stature along with an expression of reprimand gracing his facial features.

Before you could even attempt to discuss the issue, Namjoon was picking up his slacks from the floor and sliding his belt out of the belt loops whilst he spoke again.

“Put your wrists together and spread your legs, brat.” He approached the bed with his belt in hand, watching you eagerly obey him with a slight smirk pulling up the corner of his lips. Namjoon used his belt to bind your wrists together while you struggled to suppress the elation from the thought of getting fucked while restrained.

Once he had the belt wrapped around your wrists, he grabbed it and pushed it down to the bed with your arms having no option but to follow. He leaned down over you with your arms so that he could come face-to-face with you.

“Pay attention to me fucking you. I’m sure you’ll have no problem with that.” He rumbled. You felt his breath fan over your face which was, with no doubt, displaying your anticipation.

Namjoon looked down for a moment as he grabbed his dick with his free hand to rub it against your parted lips. Your slick was already pouring out of your depths, gathering on the head of his dick when he passed it over your opening. Nudging your clit only served to arouse you further into insanity. You tipped your head back in preparation to be filled.

A sharp slap on the inside of your thigh made you snap your head back up to look at him in question.

“I told you to fucking pay attention.” His voice rose slightly, making you feel like you were indeed about to be reprimanded for getting distracted.

“Yes, daddy.” You whispered, casting your eyes down to where your bodies were about to join. He followed your gaze shortly after, continuing his massage on your core.

Your heartbeat picked up instantly when he placed himself at your opening.

“Watch me fill this little pussy.” He murmured before sinking into you. The weight of his hand holding your arms to the bed lessened as he removed his hand from his dick and placed it on the bed to support himself while he moved.

You whimpered quietly at the feeling of him pushing into you so fast. The stretch burned slightly and you shifted your hips uncomfortably. Namjoon leaned down and pressed his lips to your jaw.

“Sh, darling,” He whispered soothingly. “I got you.”

With your view of him slowly rearing back and entering you interrupted by his body, you decided to let your head fall back again to help accommodate the subsiding pain. A few more pumps of his dick later and you were only feeling bliss with hopes that he would speed up soon. Your small moans keyed Namjoon in on the fact that you weren’t uncomfortable anymore, warranting him to lightly nip your neck and sit up. You followed his movement with your eyes.

Namjoon looked down at your already-wrecked form, staring at you heatedly. You couldn’t fucking breathe past the lust that filled your veins when he was looking this hot and in charge- this daddy-like. Breath held in wait of his next move, you saw a smirk grace his lips, causing your walls to constrict around his girth.

In response to your excitement, he pulled your bound hands back up and slid them over his head, looping them behind his neck. Then, he slid his arms underneath your thighs and picked you up, carrying you with your legs spread open in his lap.

“Now watch me fucking destroy you.”

You cried out and dug your fingernails into your palms as your fiancé raised you up and dropped you onto his dick, impaling you deeply with it. Before you could even fathom how far inside you he was going, he repeated the action again.

Namjoon began at a vicious beat, your body subjected to letting him control you like a doll. His warm, brown eyes were locked on yours as he fucked you, holding your ogle intensely and preventing you from looking away- even as you fought the urge to let your eyes roll back into your head.

His dick pumping into you had your toes curling. Every time he bottomed out, he pulled your legs closer to his body to touch his chest against yours. Despite his tight embrace, you could barely stay straight up with the sensations he was giving you.

“You know you only belong to me, right little girl?” He leaned forward and pressed an open-mouthed kiss against your neck, sucking in the skin to bite down. Once he released it, he laved his tongue over the affected spot and moved to get to work your shoulder.

A particularly hard thrust had you screaming your response, head craning back in ecstasy. “Yes, daddy! All yours!”

With his arms below you and his hands clutching onto your backside, Namjoon had easy access to deliver another spank in the same spot he had spanked you minutes before. You howled out a cry with tears welling in your eyes despite the pain adding to the pressure building between your hips.

Unable to find another way to let out your automatic instinct to pull your fiancé close with your orgasm approaching, you resorted to pulling him by his neck with your bound hands, kissing him sloppily. Hopefully, he would be there to catch you when you finally fell to the throes of your climax.

“Daddy,” You moaned against his lips. “Gonna cum.”

And then he stopped.

Movement ceased. Friction stopped. The battering inside you came to a halt and you looked at him with panicked eyes, desperation controlling every aspect of your mind once your orgasm was completely and absolutely denied.

“Oh? You’re going to come? Without asking?” He pulled away and smirked at you with an eyebrow cocked.

“Daddy, please. I-I need it.” You dug your face into his neck, attempting to move yourself on his dick to regain some of the mind-numbing sensation.

Namjoon only laughed in response. “Oh? You need it? How badly do you need it, darling?”

“So bad. Sososo bad.” You were rambling- begging shamelessly- now while tears began to trickle down your face and onto his skin. “I need you. Please.”

Namjoon dropped the two of you to the mattress, allowing your legs to fall to the sides. With your hands still bound, you pulled him down to you so that you could kiss him again but was left confused when he resisted.

“Nuh-uh.” He clicked his tongue. “You want it? I’ll give it to you.”

Before you could even ask, Namjoon was removing your hands from around his neck and flipping you over. You immediately raised your ass and arched your back excitedly.

“The little girl is ready for me, isn’t she?” Namjoon rumbled out a laugh, placing a hand on your ass. You flinched slightly at the contact seeing as you were expecting another smack, but you couldn’t even answer because, quickly, he swiped his thumb over your exposed pussy. Namjoon loved the way it was widened by his dick. “Oh, look at you all fucked open by me. Just wait until I fill it up.”

“Please fill me up, daddy.” You pleaded, forehead pressing down into the mattress.

“As my little brat wishes.” He acquiesced to your request, pressing his dick between your spread ass cheeks in ready.

You weren’t expecting him to act on it so quickly, thinking he would tease you some more, but you only moaned into the sheets as he entered you again. The previous fire in the pit of your stomach that burnt out those few moments ago was quickly rekindled. His hands clapped into a vice-like grip on your hips, fingernails digging into the flesh and surely breaking the skin, as he began his pace all over again.

“D-“ A savage thrust interrupted the whimpered word, shooting your body forward. “Daddy.”

Namjoon was reaching a new depth and angle within you, and when his dick began directly pummeling that oh so sweet spot inside of you once again, your brain might as well have reset and kick started a speed race towards your orgasm.

You couldn’t even focus on the way he was fucking into you when his own grunts and moans of pleasure were filling your ears nor the way your orgasm seemed to have come upon you within moments due to your oversensitivity from a denied orgasm.

“Daddy, please let me come. I’m gonna cum. Gonna cum.” You chanted, feeling numb whilst tightening your entire body in attempt to control your body during climax. You almost didn’t feel the sensation of your fiancé grabbing you by your waist and lifting your body so that your back could meet his chest.

The clapping sounds of your bodies only got louder and the squelching sounds of your pussy eagerly taking him in only got more sinful from the new position. With your arms in front of you, you had no choice but to loop them back around Namjoon’s neck behind you.

“Cum, little girl. Cum all over my cock so I can fill up your pretty cunt.” He growled. He removed a hand from your hip to place it on your jaw so that he could turn your head o face him. Your eyes fluttered as you felt your walls begin to seize up and he took this as a sign to quickly cover your mouth with his own.

The inferno of pleasure within you grew too hot and burst moments later, your body seizing and jerking with each of his pumps into your tightening body. Hissing through his teeth from the sensation of you squeezing yourself around him, Namjoon attempted to swallow your screams with his lips whilst chasing his own high.

“Fuck,” He ground out. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

Namjoon’s climax followed shortly after yours, pressing his hips into your ass with as much pressure as he could muster to ensure that his essence painted your walls as deeply as possible. Groaning with his release, he laved his tongue over your lips and into your mouth sloppily.

The two of you, spent and breathless, didn’t stay in your position for long. He knew that you were uncomfortable and that your wrists were probably going to bruise. The roleplay was over and there was no need to keep you restrained anymore.

Pulling out, Namjoon watched as his cum streamed down your thighs and onto the bed. You grimaced at the unpleasant sensation and the fact that it was now soiling the bed.

He got up quickly, smiling, and after rolling over onto your back with exhaustion, you watched the beautiful grin spread across his lips with dimples in his cheeks. You couldn’t but smile blissfully in return.

“I’m not actually mad at you, my love. You know that, right?” He grabbed the wipes from your bathroom as he spoke.

“Oh, I know. But it would be really hot if you could pretend to be mad a little more often.” You giggled, widening your legs for him as he cleaned you up. “That whole ‘Daddy Joon’ thing suits you incredible well.”

“Oh, does it now?” He snickered while reaching for the belt. “Hold on, let me undo this.”

Once the belt was unwrapped from your wrists, you rubbed them soothingly. “Ow.” You muttered.

Namjoon balled up the wipes and threw them in the trashcan. Once he was done, he picked you up bridal style and carried you from the room.

“Where are we going?” You questioned.

“To the kitchen.” He laughed heartily. “We have a pasta dinner to eat.”

“But I need to put clothes on!” You protested. He only placed you down in front of the counter before walking to the fridge, completely butt-naked. He just kept laughing.

“We’re in our own house, Y/N. No need to worry about trivial things like clothes.” He pulled out the Tupperware that you packed the noodles and pasta sauce in earlier while you watched. Shrugging, unable to argue with his reasoning, you turned to grab the plates and silverware from the cabinet.

“Oh, by the way,” Namjoon set the noodles in the microwave and set it to warm them up. “Yoongi asked us if we wanted a third.”

You paused in shock, turning to look at him. His form, even in normal lighting, was mouthwatering to look at. Broad shoulders sat upon a wide chest graced with lean pectoral muscles. His biceps, bulging with light ridges of veins running down to his hands, had gotten bigger in the last few months. When he smiled, allowing his dimples to dent his cheeks, there was no way any woman would be able to resist him.

And you were his woman.

“Yoongi?” You drew up an eyebrow at the thought, remembering that you had sent him a photo of yourself by accident. You also remembered Yoongi to be a very calming and relaxed man who was very easy on the eyes. He was your friend, after all. “Really?”

“To be honest with you, I’m kind of considering it. It would be exciting to try having a third.” He leaned against the counter with his hands gripping the edge.

“I thought you wanted me to pay attention to you and only you.” You laughed incredulously.

“Well,” He stalked towards you and placed his hands on the counter on either side of your naked body, leaning in. He was so close that you felt the body heat radiating off his skin.

“I can make certain exceptions to your behavior.”

~#~

If you’d like to read more of my work, feel free to check out my Series Masterlist! If you’d like to read my first fic, check out the DHYB Masterlist!

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chilly-me-softly · 3 years

Note

One with DCL where you're a football player for Man U womens team and you've never met Dom but there's a few fan pages of you two and there's a new event called idk the Prem Get Together or something which is basically like the met gala where all the premier league footballers (men/women) dress up and go and they do something like prom king and queen type of thing and call it Prem King and Queen where they have a vote for best dressed and you're chosen Prem Queen while he's chosen Prem King and the footballers that know of the fan accounts that ship you two, all call it fate and what not and he asks you out at the end of the event.

This is a really odd one that I just came up with and I love it, I might just write something like this myself but I'd actually like to see how you go about it as well. But if you don't want to because I'm planning to write something along the lines too, then trust me I totally get it, no hard feelings :)))) Xx

I absolutely loved the idea, I am not that good with descriptions and this request perhaps needed it more than anything else. But absolutely can't wait to read yours too, tag me in it if you haven't already written it x

Prem Get Together is the most anticipated event of the year, perhaps even more so than the weekly games. The excitement is in the air from the start of the week, everyone starts talking about it, wondering if the level of the year before will ever be topped or how the various players will perform. There are a lot of people within the football world who want to express themselves without being judged, and that event is the best opportunity. You personally can't wait, to see the reaction to your outfit or to hear the ideas behind other people's outfits or to laugh at some people's choices.

The red carpet is there for you, you walk proudly with your gaze high until you turn to the photographers and let them take as many pictures as they want. It's also their time not to hide behind bushes to get pictures of the footballer of the moment. You smile at everyone, stopping for a short interview, before entering the hall and starting to wander around to look at the competition. There were people who were certainly more excited than others, others who simply enjoyed having a different evening. And then there would be the proclamation of the king and queen of the event, whoever had thought of that event had made sure that everyone put a little effort into the competition.

"Oh my god you look fabulous!" you turn around smiling finding yourself in front of Tom Davies and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the former has an excited look on his face and can't keep his eyes still studying every little detail of your outfit. It's a well-known fact that the two are passionate about fashion and this is reflected in their choice of clothes, which you can see they've put a lot of work into. Dom in particular strikes you, it may be simple but the simplicity strikes in an unexpected and unique way. You seem to have found who to vote for in the male audience.

"You guys are great too. It's almost a shame I can only vote for one of you two."

"Oh no vote Dom please, I just came for the art part"

"I can see that" you giggle bringing the glass in your hands to your lips. Tom sees one of their friends and drags Dom away unceremoniously, the boy turning quickly to give you a nod before disappearing into the crowd.

You approach a few of your teammates and together you gossip a bit about the boys, some of them not really applying themselves and some just wearing heavy makeup or dressing up like it was a simple Halloween party. But at least they tried.

Together you go to the voting booths and wait for the line to proceed so you can cast your vote. You never vote for yourself and you found a female costume that you liked, even if it belongs to a city player you make the cross next to her name. For the men's outfit you didn't have so many problems. Satisfied you go back to the common room where you enjoy the rest of the evening chatting and waiting for the proclamation.

The hosts of the evening are the king and queen of the previous year, who can change clothes for the award ceremony and in fact as they come on stage you notice that they have changed into their classic ceremonial clothes.

"Are you ready to find out the king and queen of Prem night?" the boy shouts and a round of applause and booing is heard loudly soon after.

"The wait is almost over, in this envelope we have the names of the winners"

"C'mooon!" shouts someone in the crowd raising a few laughs, you're nervous and you don't even know why. It's not like you're aiming for victory, you're already quite satisfied with the criticism you received for your outfit.

"Okay ladies first" the girl opens the envelope and nods finding herself clearly in agreement, "The Queen of the Prem is..." it feels like the last day of competitions where the games are all played at the same time and no one knows until the end. It's a strong, exciting feeling but you don't want to feel it on a daily basis.

Then you hear your name and a spotlight shines on you and the applause and whistles start up as you make your way incredulously towards the stage, with all those eyes on you and the crown and everything you feel a bit uncomfortable and you don't know what to say honestly but you try to act normal, thanking and waiting for the king to be proclaimed.

Shortly after you are joined on stage by Dominic and you find yourself agreeing with the popular choice, a wide smile greets him on stage from you. Even on his face there is some slight embarrassment as he tries to hold the crown balanced on the curly hair he has decided to keep natural for the evening and thanks his friend for representing the idea they had one night in the best possible way.

"Well our work here is done. We leave you with tonight's winners and next year's hosts, ladies and gentlemen the king and queen of the Prem!" you are immediately blinded by the flashes of reporters wanting as many pictures as possible of the two of you together and then alone and then together again.

"I voted for you" you murmur as they continue to take pictures, turning slightly towards Dom to see he's smiling at you.

"Me too" he murmurs, "I was so happy to see that you had won"

"Me too in sharing this with you" your friends don't miss a chance to congratulate you on your win and take a closer look at that crown, curious to see if it's cheap jewelry or what. Inevitably you walk away with your groups, but all it takes is for your gaze to briefly fall towards him to apologize to the girls to bring you closer to him again.

"Hey king, it's been a pleasure. I guess we'll see you again next year"

"Or we could start preparing as early as tonight" he says boldly, "maybe over coffee?" and you find yourself nodding accepting his offer, starting your journey that will take your complicity through the roof at the next edition of Prem Get Together.

#thank you #dominic calvert lewin #dominic calvert lewin blurb

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belit0 · 4 years

Text

Anonymous:

Hey can you do Indra with a partner who's equally power thirsty as he is? (s/o is already strong and absolutely a top)

Power couple goals!

Power couple goals for our King🧙‍♀️

After trying to kill each other countless times, Indra and [Y/N] finally understood that they could not erase each other’s existence. They are both highly powerful, and for every attack or defense that one presents, the other has an equally strong trump card up the sleeve.

Your life was relatively quiet until you came face to face with the deserter from the Ōtsutsuki clan, who with airs and graces of violence and revenge sought to increase his power at all costs. The problem is that you were looking for the same thing. Your story is different, you were not betrayed by your family, you were not turned away by your village, but the darkness hovers over your soul in the same way.

This is something that you notice in Indra from the first moment that you cross glances. How his only desire is to dominate, to destroy, to conquer, to impose himself. But this is a disadvantage in your plans, because in a world as broken as the one you both live in, there cannot be two rulers over the underdogs.

From your first meeting, you were both destined to try to kill each other. He underestimated you, believing that your power and intelligence would never compare to his, and it was at that moment that he condemned the encounter to an infinite draw.

The village you were in was big, with a largely developed self-sustaining system, a stable place to dominate and make your home, your empire. With determination, you knew that you would stay there, fight any villager or warrior who wanted to challenge your rules and build your much-desired kingdom.

And that’s what you’ve been doing for the past three months. You had found this place by pure chance while walking through the forest, looking for a location where you could rest and recharge your supplies to continue your journey. But just in the same way that you arrived as a terrifying stampede for the helpless village, so did Indra.

The people tried to fight against your orders, in fact, you annihilated almost the entire military unit that the village had. It was a struggle to be heard, you had to repress and punish them all over, but eventually, they dropped their rebellion, giving in to your inevitable command.

When things were going relatively well for you, a suspicious traveler appeared at the entrance to the village, and invaded the settlement carelessly. Killing villagers in the blink of an eye, the very same Indra Ōtsutsuki appeared in your home, attempting to steal everything that was yours.

Of course, you had heard the legends about this man. Myths run as fast as the shooting stars in the sky. But that did not mean that you believed the stories that reached your ears when you were traveling from place to place. If the tongues didn’t lie, this warrior wasn’t someone normal, but someone on your level. You were always smart and learned that underestimating your enemies was the fastest way to dig your own grave, so when Indra demanded to speak to the village leader, you waited and tested his patience.

“If you don’t bring the head of this wretched place here this instant, I will have to get rid of all of you, one by one… the choice is yours.”

Faced with the man’s threat, a desperate villager looked directly in your direction. Hiding among the sea of people watching Indra’s massacre, you listened to his speech. You prayed internally that this villager would not be so foolish as to give away your identity in front of your enemy, but of course, you could not expect much from people so inferior to you.

“[Y/N]-SAMA! PLEASE SAVE US PLEASE THIS MAN IS INSA- ”

Before he could speak any further, you pierced his right eye with a sharp Senbon, thrown towards your victim from a formidable distance. No one noticed the weapon that struck the villager, but of course, Indra was able to track and detect the movements, and when the villager fell dead in front of the crowd, he already had his eyes on you.

A long dark red cape covered you completely, from head to toe. Its hood covered your eyes, preventing your enemy from using his visual powers on you. That was the first thing you noticed when he burst into your village, confirming that the stories about him were real.

“What kind of leader is such a coward enough to hide among those who are the lowest followers… [Y/N]-Sama… I despise you; I should do you a favor and kill you here and now.”

“You should try, Ōtsutsuki Indra. I don’t guarantee your fate, anyway. Take the risk.”

That’s how the first fight between the two happened. It lasted an incalculable amount of time, occupying days, and nights of physical fatigue. The chakra exhaustion attacked the two of you at the same time, signaling the same level of accumulation. On the battlefield, where they had fought vigorously and relentlessly, they collapsed.

By the time you woke up, Indra was sitting next to you, and his intentions felt different. You were no longer detecting homicidal feelings towards you. The man was calm, relaxed in some way. His clothes were torn and dirty, and you assumed that yours were too. You were unable to move your body, as the pain spread mercilessly through all your limbs, so you just watched him.

If for some reason he decided to kill you at that very moment, there would be nothing you could do to prevent it. But instead, he simply stared at you when he heard your groans of bodily pain, and you gazed in confusion at his countenance. The man who fought you seemed to have vanished.

“Why didn’t you kill me? Keeping me alive and watching me die is quite cynical…”

“I have no intention of killing you, not yet. You have proven to be efficient, and you could work in my plans.”

“Your plans… Why would I be interested in participating in them? Just kill me.”

“I’m afraid I won’t do that. I’m proposing an alliance, if you don’t accept, I’ll leave you here on the floor, incapacitated and at your mercy. You know, someone said to me a few days ago ‘You should try Indra, I’m not assuring your luck, anyway. Take the risk’. I don’t assure your luck [Y/N], take the risk”.

“Shut up, you idiot, cocky, annoying, fucking asshole… Did you say days? Has it been days?”

“You know how to fight, but you don’t know how to calculate the time it takes to beat your opponent… too bad, you’re missing points. Are you in or not?”

“What exactly should I do…”

“Help me, to form my clan. Once you conceive my heirs, you are free. Until then, you are bound to comply.”

“You’re crazy to think I’ll help you with that.”

“Very well, then, I will set out again on my journey. It’s a shame about your dreadful village… we killed everyone with our fight and destroyed the land. Good luck surviving.”

“Wait! … Shit… I’ll go with you, but we’ll share the power equally.”

“You think you’re in a position to negotiate? How delusional.”

“Not at this moment, but when you want to impose yourself again, we’ll solve it by fighting.”

“You sound very confident… I accept, but when you have to surrender to me, don’t expect me not to enjoy the victory.”

"Be quiet and help me.”

Abruptly, he stood up as if nothing had happened, and lifted you off the ground with him. Quickly, you were positioned on his shoulder, just like a rag doll. The only thing you could focus on was the painful ways your body bounced with each step from Indra, who showed no compassion for your poor health.

That’s how the two of you started a complicated relationship, which, between fights and provocations, became something addictive that neither of you could give up. Suddenly years had passed since the first encounter, and your days were filled with challenges for power.

Neither of you wanted to give in to the other. You knew that Indra would not abandon you even if you continued to extend the time to conceive his heirs, you could feel it in his soul and see it in his eyes. The Ōtsutsuki had developed a strong attachment to you, love, I would dare to call it, and even if it took a lifetime to form your family, he would never change you for anyone.

So, in the meantime, both of you were playing a little game. Your routine was based on constantly provoking the other, pushing the other to the limit so that the situation would end in an inevitable fight to the death. The funny thing is that, as both maintained the same level of power, there was never a winner. Weeks could pass in a single confrontation, but no one was ever victorious over the other.

For years, the two would travel around the world. With no need to settle in one specific place, terrifying legends about the couple spread throughout the villages and towns, telling how the most powerful partners in history wandered the Earth, looking for power and control to feed on. Your days were joyous as you found a small village to destroy together, delighting in the screams of the villagers, making love over the blood of the murdered people.

Everyone began to fear your presence, escaping the sighting of [Y/N] and Indra, reincarnations of hellish beings.

At some point, Indra became somewhat impatient. Without warning, he began to show the need to find a place to build a real-life for both of you, where he could give birth to his family with you. Without any complaint, you accepted the request and decided that maybe it was time to listen to his desire.

A déjà vu hit you when you found yourself standing in front of the big door of a village, your man next to you, looking straight at the frightened people who were turning pale in front of you both. The satisfaction of power ran through your veins, and from the strong grip Indra held in your hand, you knew he felt the same way.

The Ōtsutsuki began to talk to the villagers, explaining what you both wanted from them, when you felt it necessary to interrupt him and continue with the task yourself.

“We are here to take control of this community. We don’t care who the ruler is, we are both the leaders now. Whoever opposes our supreme authority will perish on the spot. Inform your people of this, for we have come a long way and only wish to rest. When we deem it appropriate, we will announce the changes to come”.

In terror, the people who received you two at the door looked at the floor and nodded their heads. Without saying anything, they slipped inside, carrying out your errands.

One of them guided the two of you towards the main house, where there was privacy.

“I was in charge of the situation [Y/N].”

“Oh honey… I can’t help but think that since you want to start our family you have become a little more… Weak? Soft? I don’t know… I think I’m the only one who still wants to dominate everything around here…”

“It would be unwise to start a fight in the village we just occupied.”

“Are you chickening out? Where is my Indra and what did you do with him, stranger?”

“[Y/N]… you are really getting on my nerves…”

“I’m glad, darling.”

“You know what? If you want to fight so bad, fine, let’s do it. But this time, the rules are different.”

“Well, well, what do we have here? Indra-Sama wants a harder challenge… tell me, with weapons? Without Jutsus? Blindfolded?”

“No dear… I’m not talking about any physical fight you can imagine.”

“So…?”

“Whoever exhausts the other in bed first is the absolute leader of this filthy place. Until our clan rises above the unpleasant people who live here.”

“If I manage to dominate you during our entire fuck, will I be the supreme leader? No tricks, Ōtsutsuki.”

“No tricks, love.”

“Let’s get started.”

#indra otsutsuki #indra otsutsuki x reader #indra x reader #otsutsuki indra #otsutsuki indra x reader #x reader #naruto x reader #naruto shippuden #naruto imagines #indra imagines

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teamhappyme · 3 years

Text

a series of promising events (2/5)

aaron hotchner x female!reader

word count: 10.6k (yeah i have a spacing problem)

a/n: part 2 of this series is here! some dialogue, cases, and themes taken directly from criminal minds (S03 EP20, S04 EP01, & S05 EP08). originally, i had it planned to be 3 parts, but after editing, and looking at the word count, it makes more sense to be 5 parts. i don’t want to inundate you lovely people with massive word counts (even though 10k is massive) so this is the finalized count. because i finally got my shit together and finished this out, part 3 will be up wednesday morning, part 4 will be up friday morning, and the final part 5 will be up sunday morning. thank you to everyone who showed some love for part one, and thank you to anyone else who stumbled across my crazy writing and read along!

at the end, I’ve tagged the peeps that interacted with part 1. if you don’t want to be tagged for the other parts, just let me know :)

ok enough of my rambling inner monologue, here we go friends!

link to part 1: here

****

May 2008

We were in New York, investigating what started out as five connected shootings in the city. After twelve hours, we were up to nine fatalities.

We delivered the profile at nine thirty, finally satisfied with the outcome after a day's worth of combing over crime scene photos and witness statements. Hotch didn’t want to waste another second, making sure the profile went out before the night shift went out to patrol.

“Now, our first theory is that we’re dealing with a team.” Derek started. “In the case of the D.C. snipers, there was actually one intended victim.”

“John Muhammad wanted to kill his ex wife, but he knew if he did, he’d be the prime suspect, so he created a spree in order to mask his primary motivation.”

Spencer added before turning to SSA Joyner. “Muhammad and Malvo also left a death card at one of their scenes, just like this unsub.”

“We believe our unsubs have studied that case. They’re opening a line of communication.”

There was an outpouring of judgement focused on us, since we were in charge of the D.C. snipers case as well. These unsubs know we’re here, and they’re trying to show they can outthink us.

“Yes, they are playing games. But what that tells us is at least one of them has some intelligence.” You tried to hold your ground, and not let their opinions get to you.

“And like I said,” Prentiss interrupted, ready to put these cops in their place. “They know these cases. He’s also studied the placement of the surveillance systems well enough to avoid detection.”

“We’ve asked officers to canvass their precincts, and look out for a father-son type of duo that fit the dominant-submissive profile.” Rossi had Reid hand out some gang related profiles, just in case the profile shifted. But we were pretty confident in our first go.

“Talk to the people on your beats, look out for anything suspicious. And let's pray that this isn’t random.” The detective in charge finished and let his precinct disperse.

“Hey y/n/n, we’re gonna head back in five if you want a spot in the fun suburban.” JJ teased and lightly shoved Spencer’s shoulder.

You smiled and started packing up your backpack. “Okay. Just, leave the fragile doctor alone.”

After packing up any files you wanted to review when you got back to the hotel room, you let Morgan and Rossi know the four of you were headed out. They weren’t much further behind with Prentiss and Garcia.

You met Reid and JJ in the lobby, droopy eyes and mouths full of yawns adorning the three of you. It was a long day, and it was only going to be worse tomorrow.

“Where’s Hotch?” You asked, ready to get your feet out of these narrow leather dress shoes. You were wearing your combat boots tomorrow.

“He’s checking in with the lady friend.” JJ nodded her head toward Hotch, who was conversing with Joyner in her office. They were standing close, and you thought you caught a smile on his face. “Do you think they’re into each other?”

“She looks like she could be Haley’s twin,” Spencer added and you sighed.

The moment the team arrived at HQ this morning, everybody noticed the resemblance to Hotch’s ex-wife. SSA Kate Joyner went pretty far back with our unit chief. They went through the academy together and had some assignments overlap over the years. If it were up to Morgan and Garcia, the two of them would be out on a date right now. But you and Rossi quickly quieted the rumors, not wanting to deal with the rage that was Aaron Hotchner if he knew we were discussing his love life.

It had barely been six months since Haley left with Jack, and Hotch had just taken off his wedding band a few weeks ago. He didn’t tell any of you until you all witnessed him getting served in the office. It slapped you across the face, especially since you’d just met Haley and Jack for a quick lunch a month and a half before. I guess she wanted Hotch to tell you when he was ready.

As much as you valued your three year friendship with Aaron Hotchner, you knew Haley deserved better. Hotch adored his wife and son, and would fight heaven and earth to keep them safe. Unfortunately, he was too busy fighting the demons from hell to be a present father and husband. Everyone had their breaking point, and Haley had hit hers. From what Hotch has told you, they’re still amicable, and are trying to be friends again. After all, it wasn’t a lack of love that ended their marriage. It was a lack of prioritizing his family.

“Knock it off. He’s on his way over.” The three of you turned to one another, pretending to hold an intriguing conversation about one of Spencer’s magic tricks. Truthfully, you were always intrigued in his magic tricks; you never understood how he could pull endless quarters out of your ear. But that conversation would have to wait for another day.

“Ready to go?” Hotch pulled the keys out of his pant pocket, and the three of you nodded as Spencer called shotgun. A smile crossed your lips, never getting over the jovial things Spencer loved to claim when his intellect wasn’t needed to solve a case.

The fifteen minute ride to the hotel downtown was silent. You were all exhausted, emotionally and physically, sick of having to watch people die over and over again.

The four of you made it into the lobby, tomorrow morning’s papers already spread across the table. “The late edition didn’t miss a beat.” You said and picked up one of the papers, the headline reading ‘Execution Style’ with a still from one of the murders. You showed it to Hotch and he shook his head.

“I’m glad I never stooped to this level when I was publishing.” You murmured, reading the first paragraph of the article.

“JJ,” Spencer started and pointed across the lobby, causing all of us to turn. It was Detective Will LaMontagne Jr., JJ’s adorably chivalrous Louisiana boyfriend.

“Will.” You could practically hear the smile on her face as she led the walk over to him.

He was supposed to fly into D.C. to visit JJ for the weekend, but came to surprise her in New York when he heard the news. Spencer and I shared a look as Hotch extended a hand to him.

“Detective.”

“I’m sorry for showing up like this, I know you’re working. But, um. I can’t stand you being on this case. And me not being here, not with what’s going on.”

JJ shook her head in the slightest, and you started to get nervous.

“Is there a problem?” Hotch asked, concern completely taking over his voice at the thought of any harm happening to his team. The couple shared a knowing look, and your patience was starting to run thin with the information being withheld. JJ meant the world to you, and you wanted to make sure she was okay.

Reluctantly, she turned to face you all, a shy smile covering her face. “I’m pregnant.”

Spencer looked over at you, not knowing how to react to the news. But you couldn’t help the smile widening on your face.

“Oh my god, JJ! Congratulations!” You wrapped your arms around her and she laughed, most likely out of relief. This was a secret she kept for a long time.

“I’ve asked JJ to marry me,”

“Will.” She cut him off as Hotch gave him a congratulatory handshake.

“We’re working out some kinks.” He added as Spencer was next to hug your blonde friend. A baby, in the BAU. You might have been more excited than JJ.

“We’ll, uh, give you both some privacy.” Hotch started towards the elevator, and JJ was quick to follow.

“Hotch,” She didn’t continue, you knew this wasn’t the exact situation she wanted to tell everyone she was having a baby.

“JJ, you could have told me.”

The tenderness in his voice could have broken your heart in two right then and there, but add on the fact that you swore you could see Hotch’s eyes tear in the slightest, you were done. You didn’t want to mention it in front of Reid, but you knew this had to do with Haley. You’d be an idiot not to notice.

The three of you filed into the elevator, leaving JJ and Will to talk in private. You all got off on the fourth floor, Reid’s room the first to come up in the hallway.

“Night Spencer.”

“Goodnight. Seven a.m.,” He reminded you as he opened the door with his keycard.

You and Hotch walked down another ten feet before he found his room.

“Goodnight,” He mumbled out and reached for his key.

“Hotch,” He closed his eyes, nodding his head in the slightest.

“I’m tired, y/n.” You could’ve pushed harder. You could have gotten him to crack if you started nagging enough. You’d earned the title as baby sister from the team since you could whine and nag them into doing anything. But tonight didn’t seem like a good time for your skills.

You nodded, understanding this conversation wasn’t going to happen.

“Goodnight. Get some sleep.”

Despite your best efforts, you didn’t sleep a wink. Hotch had gone over his files and called for Kate to meet him in the lobby. But then there was an explosion, and you had to watch from your window as Hotch sat by Joyner, waiting for her to die.

Once the team had caught the second unsub and wrapped everything up at the precinct, you headed to the hospital to check on Hotch. And unsurprisingly, he was refusing any further treatment for the ringing in his ears he tried to deny. You saw him kick Rossi out of the room, the third member that couldn’t get through to him.

“Bobo, why don’t you give it a try. Can’t yell at the baby with a broken arm.” You were the one to tackle the unsub, and landed pretty hard on the pavement downtown. Nothing a black cast covered in smiley faces from Spencer and Garcia couldn’t fix.

“I know you can’t tell, but I’m flipping you off right now.” You responded to Morgan as you raised your casted hand toward him.

You headed to Hotch’s room, knocking on the window before you walked in.

“I swear to god if you try to put me in another MRI,” He started to raise his voice when you interrupted him.

“Shit, I should go tell Morgan he was wrong. Boss is willing to yell at the baby with a broken arm.”

He turned around to face you, the lines on his forehead disappearing once he saw it was you and not Rossi.

“What happened to your arm?” You smiled and glanced down at the cast. “Just another day on the job. Tackled the unsub, the pavement was not very kind to me.”

He sat on the edge of the bed, trying to put his tie back around his neck. You scoffed, stepping over to him.

“Why the hell would you want to put that back on?”

“Because it’s part of my suit.”

You knew better than to pull it out of his hands. He was holding on to any semblance of control, and his outfit was all that he had left. Instead you took a seat in the stiff chair across from him, watching as he grimaced every time he lifted his arms too high.

“If your goal is to get me to stay another minute here under observation, you’re not gonna win.”

You shook your head. “That’s not my goal.”

He sighed, giving up on putting his tie on. He moved to finish his top button, he was at least going to be covered.

“You should be excited for JJ.” You started, testing the water on this subject.

“Did I suggest otherwise?” He asked and you shook your head.

“When was the last time you saw Jack?” His eyes widened the slightest, and you regretted asking the question. You gripped the arms of the chair, ready to be ripped a new one.

Instead, Hotch let out a sigh, and you snapped your head up. “Two weeks. Haley went to visit her mother for a week, and then we went from Florida to New York in three days.”

He was already away from Jack half the week when they were still living under the same roof. Now he was lucky if he got to say goodnight on a weekend.

“Why don’t you take some time off? I’m sure you have weeks saved up. I’ve been here three years and have never seen a tan on you.”

He shook his head. “Strauss would never approve of it.”

“Hotch,”

“Y/n, I really want to get out of this hospital room and call my son.” You shook your head, crossing your arms over your chest.

“Fine. But you’re not flying home. You have a choice between Morgan and Rossi to drive you home. My recommendation would be Morgan, you don’t want to sit through four hours of Opera music.”

You stood up, refusing to meet his eye. You were sick of dealing with stubborn men.

“I’ll see if they can fax your records to D.C. before we leave.”

He muttered out a thank you as you left the room, shaking your head at the rest of the team.

“Nothing?” Morgan asked as you returned to them.

“Nothing. Even the baby gets yelled at.” Spencer spared you a glance and you gave him a small smile. You would be fine. “And Derek, you’re driving him back.”

***

January 2010

You didn’t think it could get worse than seeing Hotch with nine stab wounds at the hands of Foyet. You desperately wanted to believe that it couldn’t be worse than that. But you were naive to think that he would let Aaron survive and not make him suffer.

None of you would be able to erase the image of Haley’s bloody body lying in the home where she and Aaron created their family. You wouldn’t forget the sight of Hotch beating into Foyet’s face, or the sobs that raked through his body once Derek had shaken him off. This was a tragedy that shaped the entire team.

After Haley’s death, the seven of you took turns checking in on Hotch, Jack, and Haley’s sister Jessica. She stayed close by when Hotch was on leave, helping him with Jack’s routine, and how to explain to the four year old where his mommy went. She moved back into her apartment a few blocks away before Aaron returned to work. He wanted to prove to her that he could do this on his own, that he could be the strong father that Jack deserved, and that Haley would be proud of.

While the three of them were together, the team would try and make it over every Saturday for dinner. Hotch needed to be around friends, and Jessica needed a guilt free night to spend with the people that made her feel good. He was reluctant at first, not wanting us over the apartment, complaining that it was a mess, and it was too small to fit everyone. But it was impeccably neat, the result of a widow not being able to sleep. Once he became comfortable with us coming around on Saturday’s, we’d pick two weeknights to stop by with a dinner, movie, or game to help take their minds off of the pain. Although you and JJ stopped by every friday regardless of whose week it was, Hotch really appreciated the extra company, and so did Jack.

Despite his attempts at being independent, there were one too many distressed calls being made to you or JJ if he couldn’t get a hold of Jess, or if he didn’t want to burden her with the responsibility.

Your feelings about Jack Hotchner hadn’t changed in the four years since you met him. You would still do anything to see the adorable little boy smile. So, it was easy to say that you didn’t mind the late night phone calls worrying about Jack’s stuffy nose or when he should take the chicken out of the freezer without it going bad. Because the more he reached out to any one of you, the closer he was to finding a new normal.

However, all of you were surprised to see SSA Aaron Hotchner in his office only a month and a half after the event. Sure, he made remarkable progress, but you all assumed he would take a little more time, maybe take Jack on a well deserved vacation. Instead, you walked into the office on a monday morning, Hotch the first one in attendance.

That was two weeks ago.

The readjustment period had worn off, and Hotch was back to being a drill sergeant. Even more aggressive than he was before.

The case we were working was local, saving us the discomfort of sleeping in a hotel bed. We were in Virginia, investigating two murdered families, similar to ‘The Fox’.

“Who?” You asked, not familiar with the creepy nickname.

“Four years ago Karl Arnold, aka the fox, killed eight families.” Derek informed you. It must have been just before you started at the BAU.

“Similar to this case he took the father’s wedding rings, except in his case he took them as trophies.” Spencer finished.

“Hotch, you gave evidence at Arnold’s trial. I think you should go see him.” Derek was acting unit chief since before Haley’s death, and continued his position even with Hotch’s return. Strauss was weary now more than ever to give Aaron the title back so quick.

“I’d like to take l/n with me.” You looked over to Hotch, his eyes resting on yours, waiting for your approval.

You gave a small nod, placing your sunglasses over your eyes. “Okay. Let’s go.”

Hotch got the keys to a suburban and before you could meet him at the car, Prentiss pulled you back.

“Hey, are you sure you’re okay with this?” She was always looking out for you, heck she was the one that made you pack extra barf bags for crime scenes. She knew meeting face to face with a family killer would do a number on you. But Hotch can’t face this guy on his own. Not after what happened.

“I’m good. Not the first time I've interrogated a psychopath.” She reluctantly nodded.

“Okay. Just, let Hotch take the lead.”

You gave her arm a squeeze. “I will. Let’s find this guy.”

The ride to Red Onion Supermax was a short and quiet one. Hotch filled you in on the particulars of Arnold’s case, making sure you knew it inside and out. This was a team effort after all.

You couldn’t get a clean read on Hotch, however, on the ride over. He’d yet to crack a true smile or laugh in the weeks he’d been back, which normally wouldn’t be so out of character for him. But Reid had been trying to get him to crack with every magic trick he knew, even agreeing to let Derek joke about his lack of childhood and understanding of pop culture. But nothing worked.

It worried you to see the regression he’s made since coming back. You knew how happy he was at home with Jack, that a smile crossed his face most of the day when he was playing legos with his son. You hoped he was here because he wanted to be, not because he felt like he had an obligation to the team or the Bureau.

“Karl has a big ego. He’s going to answer every question with a question. He’ll try to gain the advantage with me by asking why I’m not wearing my wedding ring.” You looked down at his left hand, the gold band that you noticed on your first day, now gone, along with the woman he loved. “And then he will turn his attention to you.”

“So that’s why you brought me along.”

“Your presence will throw him off guard. And he’s going to want to describe to you in graphic detail every sexual act he committed with the families.”

“To freak me out?” Because you haven’t even met this sick bastard and you were certainly already freaked out.

Hotch met your eye, and you knew this was only going to get worse. “To pull you into his fantasy.”

The guard radioed for the gate to open, and you tried to contain the tremors in your hands. This was a wing of psychotic sexual sadists, they would pick up on your nervous ticks.

You looked to Hotch once the gate opened, and he nodded for you to go in.

“Go ahead.” You followed the guard in, surprised at the lack of noise you were welcomed with. “Keep your eyes forward. More than anything he’s going to want to see images of the children.”

“We can’t give him that.” You argued, as you started to hear the men from their cells.

“We have to give him something or we’ll get nothing from him.”

You’d kept your breathing under control the entire walk down the hallway, until a man crashed against the glass, causing you to flinch and spare a glance.

“Isn’t that, uh,-”

“Derek Payne.” He finished for you, his eyes still straight ahead.

“It’s reinforced glass.” You scoffed. Of course he wasn’t worried about another man ripping him apart.

“Easy for you to say, he tore apart fourteen women.”

The door opened to the interrogation room, and this time Hotch entered first. You were met with Karl Arnold, red bushy hair and a beard to match. He was average height, and a little stocky, not what you pictured him to look like.

“Hello Karl,” Hotch greeted him as we settled in on the other side of the table.

“Agent Hotchner,” He stood. “I wasn’t informed you were bringing a, uh,” He glanced at you, looking you up and down before turning back to Hotch. You really regretted wearing a white silk top with your dress pants today. “They just said two agents.”

“This is Agent-”

“Y/n, l/n.” You tried to control the dilation of your eyes as he looked right through you. “I know all about you.”

Now you understood why Emily asked you if you were sure about this. He kept his eyes on Hotch as he started the interrogation, never looking you in the eyes longer than a second. Even if you directed a question toward him, he would only answer to Hotch. He was a misogynist. You don’t know why you’re so surprised at this discovery, he tortured wives and families.

When he offered up his book of dialogue between him and his fans, he smelled your perfume as you reached across the table to grab it. Hotch quickly took it for you, letting you sit back down in your seat. Your gut was no longer in your stomach, it was lodged in your throat.

“How’d you lose your ring, Agent Hotchner?” It was beyond your level of profiling to understand how Hotch could just sit there and take the assault on his personal life from a man who ruined families, especially with what he’d just been through. You’d never mastered the art of compartmentalization quite like Hotch. But right now, you were thankful for your uncontrollable emotions.

“I can look past your refusal to answer my question, if you let me see the children. It’s the only way I can truly help you.” You gripped the files harder at the mention of the victims and looked at Hotch.

“Can I speak with you for a second?” He nodded and the two of you stood.

“Is there something wrong, y/n?” You bit back the sarcasm that was threatening to fall from your mouth.

“Nothing’s wrong, Karl.”

You exited the interrogation room, still clutching the files close to your chest.

“We cannot show him these.”

He looked at Arnold, who seemed to find your eyes, even through the reflective mirror. “These images will be his undoing and will lead us to the killer.”

“These are not just images.”

“That’s exactly what they are.”

“Hotch, I am not about to parade a dead twelve year old girl in a bathing suit in front of a serial killer who gets off on it.” You raised your voice, not willing to compromise any respect you had left for these victims.

“Then show him the others. It’ll gain his trust and get him talking. He won’t talk to me, he knows I know everything that gets him off. But he’ll want to tell you just what he would do to them. I told you, he wants to pull you in.”

You shook your head. “These are children! Helpless children whose fathers have to live with what this animal did to their families! These strangers do not get to see the torture and humiliation that they went through.”

“If you can’t stomach showing him what he desires, then I’ll do it. Because we’re not leaving until we get a name out of him. You’re either with the team or you’re not.”

You scoffed. “You’re not the unit chief anymore. I do what Morgan says if we can’t come to an agreement.”

It was bold of you to remind him of his subordinate place. But you were equals now, despite the decade between you two. You didn’t have to listen to his orders if you felt they were wrong.

He reached for the files, but you turned away from him. “I’m going in there. Not you. But I’m going to run the interrogation my way, not exposing these children. If you have a problem with that, you can call Morgan.”

You motioned for the guard to let you back in. You took your seat across from Karl, a smirk still evident on his face.

“What, no Agent Hotchner?”

“You know, yours was one of the first cases I studied,” You started, trying to loosen up the muscles in your face. Going against every natural instinct in your body was making it hard to relax. “I’ve been fascinated ever since. I wanted to tell you sooner, but I was embarrassed with him in the room.”

“You’re embarrassed because you want to know what I did, don’t you.” You pushed out a smile, a little giggle behind it to entice him.

And of course it did. “Yes.”

“I can show you exactly what I did to them.”

“Tell me.” You tilted your head to the side, pushing some hair behind your ear. You were fighting the bile rising in your throat with every word you exchanged with him.

“Children are so precious, so clean. But they need guidance, especially the girls.”

You narrowed your eyes. “Why?”

“Girls have much more to lose than boys. It’s a fact, the female body can handle pain much better.” If this wasn’t a serial killer across from you, you’d agree with him and make some jokes about the female anatomy. But he was enjoying this, just like Hotch said. He was pulling you in.

“What did you do to them?”

He smiled. “I showed them, what men, their fathers, and brothers, are capable of.”

“And what is that?”

“Once I killed the children, It always amazed me how little the father fought the inevitable, the dying.”

“I never thought I would get these answers, let alone from the man himself.” You pushed out another smile, because you knew he was holding back. He was almost willing to trust you, he just needed to be groomed a little more.

“It takes a good woman, to make an honest man. And you’re prettier than Agent Hotchner.”

He was dancing around the information now, knowing that he had your time and attention. “Karl, do you know why you killed all those families?”

“I already told you why.”

You dropped the sweet tone, and pushed up on your elbows. “No, you told me how. And your motivations were all driven by sex, motivations you learned from your father.”

You saw him flinch, and you knew you were getting somewhere.

“You assert your dominance by making the father, the head of the household, watch you torture, assault, and take anything you wanted from the people he’s supposed to protect. Now your admirer, they don’t have the same ambitions as you do. And normally, that would bother a man like you. You want to be adored for every single part of your mess. But like you said, they’re an admirer, not a fan. So I’m guessing it’s a woman, who you’ve really come to care for.”

He tugged on his shackled wrists, you clearly got what you were looking for.

“Those women, those girls, they needed to be taught a lesson. How to obey who’s in charge. And you,” he laughed as he inched as far across the table as he could. “The things I would do to you if I weren’t nailed to this table. You’d be done before I could call your name.”

Before you could respond, Hotch came into the room, demanding a name. You stood up, no longer needing to play a role.

“It must be distracting, working with such a beautiful woman everyday.” You didn’t spare him another glance as you heard him mumble out a name to Hotch, finally getting what he wanted: power over you.

“Morgan, we’ve got a name. It’s a female guard in intake. Get everybody here ASAP.�� The guard led you and Hotch back down the hallway, through the lion's den, and back to the elevator. Once inside, you let out a breath. Hotch turned to look at you, but you spoke up before he had the chance.

“Don’t ask me to do that ever again.”

You would’ve yelled at him, tore him to pieces in the elevator ride from the fourth floor to the exit, but there was a guard escorting you out. You didn’t want him to have the privilege of watching two FBI agents battle it out. And honestly, you weren’t sure if you had the heart to yell at him after all he’d been through.

But once you were escorted through the exterior gates, your team in sight, you regained the nerve to give Hotch a piece of your mind.

Not before he spoke first though.

“You did exactly what needed to be done. I didn’t ask you to act that way toward him, and I’m sorry you feel that that was your only way in. But I’m not going to apologize for getting the name of the killer.”

“So you would have acted in the same degrading way if the roles were reversed?”

He scoffed. “Yes, I would have. Because unlike you, my feelings don’t impair my judgement or ability to do this job. You’re an asset to this team, you need to find a way to get your emotions in check.”

You stopped walking, turning around to face him. You were in the middle of the driveway now, SWAT and BAU canvassing the scene. But you were going to do this here and now.

“The only reason you brought me here was to appeal to that sick son of a bitch. The only thing that makes me an asset to you is the fact that I have a vagina and you don’t. You turned me from a Supervisory Special Agent into a fighting fuck toy! You watched as I drained every ounce of respect I had for myself to turn into what that psychopath desired, all because I wouldn’t show him pictures of innocent children.” He looked over your shoulder to the team, embarrassed that they were hearing this. “At least have the respect to look at me while I’m talking to you!”

Hotch had never heard you yell like this. You were the calm one, the baby, as Derek called you. No one ever pushed you so far over the edge to get a reaction out of you. At least, not until he did.

“The next time you ask me, JJ, Prentiss, or Garcia to flirt our way into a serial killer's mind, to expect us to degrade ourselves in order to save another woman, I will not hesitate to report you to Strauss.” You could hear footsteps behind you, but you continued on as tears started to form in your eyes. “You used to say that my empathy was what made me an amazing agent. That my ability to connect with victims and families was the reason I’m here. So do not try and make me feel worthless for possessing something that you wish you could have. Because the way you act, with no capability for empathy, is a depressing way to live.”

“Y/n,” Spencer rested a hand on your shoulder, but you shook it off.

“Figure out the man you want to be.”

Before you could say anything else, Spencer dragged you away from Hotch and towards the cars. You could feel the tears freely falling down your cheeks, but you made no effort to remove them. You ignored the stares from the rest of your team, not giving them the satisfaction of knowing what went down in that interrogation room. Instead, you got into the passenger seat of the suburban, and Spencer started the drive back to the office.

Rationally, you knew you went off too hard at him. He never deliberately asked you to flirt with Arnold. He asked you to show him the pictures of Lucy, to get him to crack under the fantasy. But you refused. You would rather make yourself go through that pain than any young child. It’s what you’d always done.

Spencer tried to convince you they hadn’t heard the conversation. That they were all too focused on SWAT’s apprehending of the guard to pay attention.

“Spence,” You started and looked over at him. “We all had our earpieces in. You heard every word.”

And he was silent the rest of the ride back. You were exhausted, and you wanted nothing more than to go home and fall asleep on your couch with reruns playing in the background. But you had a mountain of paperwork to finish, and still needed to debrief when the team got back.

Halfway through your stack, the team came back to the bullpen. Prentiss gave your shoulder a comforting squeeze as she passed by, heading for her desk. Derek had agreed to let everyone go home without debriefing. This was the earliest we’d been done with a case so close to home. We needed to capitalize on our rest.

JJ was the first to go home, excited to be home in time for dinner with Will and Henry. Prentiss and Rossi followed shortly after, going to celebrate the win of this case at an expensive restaurant, at Dave’s expense.

“Come on you two, don’t make me drag you out of here kicking and screaming.” Derek addressed you and Reid as he pulled his coat on.

“We’re right behind you boss man.” Spencer said and turned his desk light off, grabbing his cane. He should be able to ditch all mobility aids soon.

You swung your backpack over a shoulder and turned off your own light. You didn’t even make it out of your four foot space before Hotch called out to you.

“Y/n, could I see you before you leave?” He was standing in front of his office, on higher ground than the rest of us. Power move, you thought to yourself. But he wouldn’t be that petty.

You looked back to Reid and Moran, the former nodding to you before seeing himself to the elevator. Now it was just Spencer, his eyes begging for you to leave.

“I don’t need to remind you how deeply you care for all of us. But if you keep putting yourself out there to comfort him, you’re going to get destroyed.” This was the first time Spencer had mentioned this to you. Sure, you’d been helping Hotch out at home, a little more than normal, but everybody was pitching in. His wife died for god's sake.

“Spence, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He let out a sigh and fidgeted with his cane. You found it at a consignment shop on one of your weekends off, and bought it for him without hesitation. It had an eagle engraved in it’s clutch, something regal, medieval, and screamed Spencer Reid. You ignored the price, a forty dollars more than you would’ve liked to spend on a walking stick, but the look on his face when you gave it to him was priceless.

“You need to stand up for yourself. Nothing excuses the way he treated you today. Regardless of your decision to play a character.”

God, could he read you.

“No pair of rose colored glasses could cloud that. Not even yours.” He gave you one last shadow of a smile before limping his way to the elevator.

Once you regained your composure, you turned to make your way up to Hotch’s office. He was sitting in his chair, staring at the paperwork waiting to be filled out before him. You knocked on the open door, and he stood up without even looking at you. You were going to take Spencer’s advice and stick up for yourself, so you had to set the pace.

“Can this be quick? I wanted to get home before traffic started up.” He rounded the front of his desk, stuffing his hands in his pockets as he leaned against it.

“I’m sorry for the way I treated you back at the prison.” You nodded, not wanting to verbally accept the apology that was due to you hours ago. “I was out of line and completely blinded by the case. I should’ve listened to you and taken your reservations into consideration. It was narcissistic of me to think I was the only one capable of making the right decision.”

“Thank you.” You stuttered out, still absorbing the tone of his voice. His word choice was self deprecating, a cry for help if you didn’t know any better.

“Y/n,” He started but was interrupted by a shaky breath. “I hate that I made you feel like all you’re good for is to romance your way into their heads. You deserve to be treated with respect, to be valued because of your empathy and your psychological understanding of victims and their families. If I’ve ever made you feel like you were worthless before this afternoon, please tell me.”

“No, you’ve never made me feel that way.”

He nodded before turning to grab a piece of paper from his desk.

“Good. Because I’ve written up a complaint for Strauss, describing my behavior and language directed toward you today. You shouldn’t have to wait for a next time to file it.”

He extended the paper to you, and you walked until you were standing in front of him, accepting the complaint into your hands. But you didn’t even read it before tearing it in two.

“What are you doing?”

“Hotch, I’m not filing a complaint against you. Everything that I did today was my choice. You didn’t force me into anything.”

He ran a hand through his hair, the first time you’ve seen it tousled in the office.

“I was uncomfortable showing Arnold those pictures. So I made the choice to play a character, to appeal to his fantasy. You weren’t in the room, and you didn’t suggest that. If anything, you tried more than anything to get me to stick to the script. Did you have some choice words for me that weren’t necessarily appropriate? Yes. But we all have our moments. After we got out of there, I felt sick that I had to do that to get a name out of him. It wasn’t the first time I’ve camouflaged myself for the greater good, and it won’t be the last. I took out the self hatred I had on you, because you were there. Because if I did it your way, I wouldn’t be able to look at myself in the mirror again without feeling ashamed. But you didn’t deserve it.”

“Yes, I do. I deserve to be ridiculed for telling you that your empathy is a weakness. I deserve to be ridiculed for yelling at Garcia for missing something on a search. I deserve,”

His voice broke, and you froze in place. You were about to see Aaron Hotchner cry for the first time in four years. “I deserve to be punished for Haley’s death.”

Your own eyes started to water as you saw a single tear roll down his cheek. Without thinking, you reached forward and held his hands in your own. They were shaking, and he tried to pull them away from you. But you held on tight, you weren’t going anywhere.

“Hotch, look at me.” He kept his gaze on the windows, looking out onto the concrete roof.

“Hotch, please.” You were quieter the second time, and that’s what got him to meet your eyes.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that you could’ve prevented Haley’s death if you did one thing instead of the other. Because no matter what you did, Foyet would’ve found her, and done this all over again.” He tried to look away from you, but you tugged on his hands, begging him to stay. “But what you did prevent, was Foyet taking away the greatest thing you and Haley ever made. You saved your son, Hotch. And you ended Foyet’s reign of terror. You get to spend every day reminding Jack how amazing his mother was. How strong, resilient, and fierce she was. How she looked death in the eye and didn’t even flinch. You get to live the rest of your life for your son.”

He nodded and closed his eyes, letting the few remaining tears fall down his face. You let your own fall with the reprieve of no longer being under his stare, not wanting to fall apart when he needed you.

“I love her. I never stopped loving her. The divorce, it wasn’t because of that. It was because of this job.”

You squeezed his hands before letting them go, letting him wipe off his face.

“I know. And I know she never stopped loving you.”

You never thought you would get to this moment when you first met Haley. You let out a small laugh while remembering your first encounter, how pregnant and angry she was at Hotch.

“What?” You smiled and shook your head.

“I’m just remembering the first time I met her. She was pregnant, she called you a robot, and was cracking jokes left and right to try and get you to crack.”

That got him to smile. “I could always make her laugh when we were younger. She had the funniest, most embarrassing laugh. But it was Haley. And it was addicting.”

You wanted him to remember her like this, with a smile on her face and the loving soul she was.

“I truly am sorry for what I said to you, but you have to know I didn’t mean it.”

You nodded. “I know you didn’t. Just apologize to Garcia in the morning, and get home to Jack. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He gave you a small smile as you picked up your backpack.

Spencer’s words stung in your ears while you were holding Hotch’s hands. You loved everyone on this team as your family. And Hotch needed you to be there for him a lot more over the last two months. Sure, you’d brushed off some harsh conversations with him considering the circumstances, but you knew when it went too far, like today.

“Y/n,” His voice pulled you from your thoughts, stopping you at the door. “Thank you.”

You nodded. “Of course.”

Maybe you did care too much for people. But if it helped them get back to normal, you’ll continue wearing those rose colored glasses a little while longer.

***

March 2010

“I’m grocery shopping. Because I have no food in my apartment and I never thought I’d say this, but I’m sick of eating pizza.” You threw a box of cheerios in your cart, careful not to hit the eggs on their way in.

“That’s how you’re spending your saturday? Our first saturday off in a month?”

“Well, unless I want to spend another twenty bucks on one meal, I’ve gotta do my grown up chores.” “You need to get your butt back home so we can go out and drink.”

Emily was relentless, to say the least. Every single weekend you had off, her number popped up on your phone the minute you got home. She hated resting in her own solitude, and tried to drag you along for any activity she could think of. Shopping, drinking, walking around the national mall, and, in desperate cases, running. But her record wasn’t stellar in getting you to attend.

“I’m spending the afternoon with my couch, a book that has taken me too long to read, and probably eat an entire bag of smartfood.” You chucked a box of granola bars in your cart too when you heard a kid cry. You turned to the end of the aisle, but the parent was blocking the child. “Besides, it’s dinner tonight at Hotch’s.”

“He canceled this morning. Rossi was supposed to call and let you know.” You rolled your eyes. Of course Dave forgot.

“Daddy! I want the poptarts!” You heard the kid yell out again. But you knew that voice, and you couldn’t help the smile that spread across your face.

“Em, I’ll see you on Monday. Have a shot for me.”

“I’ll have two.”

You laughed as you hung up the phone, pushing the cart over to your favorite little boy on the planet. You didn’t think to give the father another glance when you didn’t recognize him, but that’s because Aaron Hotchner is never without a suit at the office. He was dressed in jeans now and a quarter zip, looking like a normal dad.

When you approached the two boys, Jack was leaning against the shelf, tears streaming down his cheeks as he kicked his feet against the ground.

“It looks like SSA Hotchner could use some help profiling his son.”

Hotch was quick to stand up, meeting your eye. You only smiled while crouching down to Jack’s level.

“Hey little man, what’s the problem here?” He wiped the tears from his cheeks, and your heart broke at the redness in his eyes.

“Daddy won’t let me get any pop tarts.”

“That’s because you ate the whole box in one day without my permission.” Aaron argued back.

You hid your laugh in your shoulder, not wanting to upset Jack any more. But Hotch had already caused him to spiral into a meltdown again.

“Jack, have you ever had ants on a log?” He shook his head, tears continuing down his chubby cheeks. “Well, they were my favorite snack when I was little. It’s celery, peanut butter, and raisins all set up on a plate. And the best part is, you get to make it yourself! Now, I know how much you love peanut butter, and I bet if you ate this snack, Daddy will let you get poptarts the next time you go grocery shopping.”

“Okay.” He said and nodded his little head. “But I’m sick of grocery shopping.”

“Me too buddy.” I sat down next to him. “I do not like having to walk up and down these aisles searching for food. So, why don’t we sit here while daddy finishes his list?”

You spared a glance at Hotch and his practically full basket. You knew he would be done in ten minutes if you stayed here with Jack.

“Are you sure?” Aaron asked and you nodded.

“‘Course. I don’t need food that bad anyway.” He sighed and made his way back to his carriage.

You pulled a piece of paper and a pen out of your purse and handed it to Jack.

“Aunt Jessica told me that you know how to write your name now. Can you show me?”

He sat up straight, laying the paper down on the floor. You watched as he made a loopy uppercase J, followed with big and small letters to spell out the rest of his name.

“That’s awesome buddy. What about your last name?”

“Hotchner!” He yelled out and you laughed.

“Yeah, let me spell it out for you.” You wrote it out on the paper and it took him a few minutes to copy down.

“You’re turn now, y/n.” He handed you the pen and you wrote your name down, saying the letters as you wrote them. Jack repeated you, and it made you laugh. You forgot that kids were such sponges.

By the time you finished writing Aaron and Haley’s names for Jack, Hotch was back with his cart. “Alright buddy, it’s time for us to go. We gotta let y/n finish her grocery shopping.”

“No! I want y/n to come home with us for dinner. She was helping me spell everyone's names!”

You smiled as you stood up, giving Jack a hand. “Maybe next time buddy. But you gotta get home to try those ants on a log.”

“Actually, we’re making pizzas for dinner, Jack’s saturday choice. You can come over, if you don’t have any plans already.” You’d never heard Hotch this nervous before. It made you laugh a little.

“I’d love to. Only if I get to put extra cheese on my pizza though.”

“Of course!” Jack exclaimed and you matched his smile.

“Awesome! I’ll let you two pay for all this food and I’ll meet you at your house okay?” Jack nodded before running to the front of the cart.

“You sure you don’t have any plans? I don’t want you to give up another saturday night at my expense,”

“Hotch there is nothing more exciting than spending my weekends with the cutest four year old on the planet.” He smiled, but you knew he still wasn’t convinced. “Besides, every other twenty-nine year old I know is in a stuffy club in uncomfortable clothes. This is much more my pace.”

He nodded, a small smile on his face. “Okay. We’ll meet you at the apartment in a half an hour.”

“Sounds good. See you soon Jack!” You waved to the little boy and quickly tried to finish buying the staples that could get you through a few days at home.

You got home and quickly put your food away, making sure everything that needed to be refrigerated was chilled. You switched your t-shirt for a long sleeve tee, opting for sneakers instead of boots. Comfort was the utmost importance on days off.

It took you twenty minutes to get to Hotch’s apartment from yours, arriving at five on the dot. You were known for, and proud of your punctuality. Hotch answered the door after two knocks, and you couldn’t help but focus on the noise of three different locks unlocking.

He greeted you with a slight nod of the head, button down replacing his quarter zip.

“Do you even own comfortable clothes?” “This is comfortable.” You rolled your eyes, as he took the poptarts from your hands, raising his eyebrow at you.

“Didn’t I just have this fight with my four year old son about not buying these?” He asked as he let you in the house.

“Yes, but I’m the fun dinner guest. I bring the treats for the children.”

He tried to hide the small huff of a laugh that escaped his lips, but you still caught it. “You will be the death of me.”

You let out a laugh as he led you into the kitchen, putting them away on the top cabinet. I reached for my hip and pulled my holster off, putting it on the counter.

“Do you have somewhere I can put this? Last thing I need is to drop it while I throw up my pizza dough.” He unlocked the drawer in his desk, placing it in there before locking it back up.

You heard tiny footsteps running down the hall. “Y/n! It’s pizza time!”

You smiled as he tugged at your legs. “I know! I’m so excited!”

“Alright buddy, you’re up first. Show y/n how we properly throw our pizza dough in the air.” Hotch pushed a step stool over to the counter, waiting for Jack to step up. The grin on the little boy's face was ginormous as he powdered his hands with flour, taking the small ball of dough Hotch separated for him.

The two of you were on either side of Jack, each ready to follow his lead in the process. “Ok, on the count of three. One, two, three!”

You spun the dough in your hands before throwing it in the air, watching it separate the slightest bit. Jack’s giggles filled the apartment as he let his dough fall onto the counter. Aaron shook his head, you could tell this part of the meal was always a struggle for the little boy.

You watched as Jack spread out the miniscule amount of sauce he wanted along his crust, topping it off with a mountain of cheese. You taught him the more cheese, the better, and he clearly still believed you. You added some pepperoni to your own oval shaped pie, unsuccessful in making a perfect circle crust. But, not everyone could be the perfect Italian chef like David Rossi.

While the pizza’s were in the oven, the three of you sat down to play a few rounds of Candyland. You hadn’t played since your time at DCFS, and you forgot how there was no real objective to the game. It certainly wasn’t your game of choice, but Jack was still a little young to be able to contend with you in a game of monopoly. A few more years, you thought.

Once the pizza’s were done, Jack helped you set the table as Hotch cut the pies. You felt a little out of place, crossing some very important boundaries by having dinner with just the two Hotchner boys. This saturday was much different than the ones you spent when the whole team was over, Henry and Jack putting on dance parties for the guests.

You started to become more aware of your actions around the apartment; how you knew where the placemats were kept, that Jack used his purple cup for milk at dinner, and the strict no electronics rule at the table. However, that had been established by Haley years ago. The thought of her had a shot of guilt running through your stomach, sitting down with her family for dinner, just three and a half months after she’d passed.

You’d been thinking a lot about what Spencer had said that night at the BAU. He was vague, too vague for the doctor that could tell you how long he’d been alive down to the second. After a few sleepless nights, you called the doctor in question and demanded he explain himself. But after his admission, you quickly regretted having all the information.

Spencer Reid has known you for almost five years now, and has seen you through the moments that have shaped your adult life. Killing Stephanie Moore, testifying in the fisher king case, being your excusing phone call from multiple dates, and holding your hand as you took in one of your former foster siblings from a bad relationship. There was absolutely nothing in your life that could be hidden from him.

So when he told you he noticed your feelings for Hotch ‘about two years ago’, you nearly stopped dead in your pacing tracks. Not because you didn’t know your own feelings for the man, but because you didn’t realize it had been that long. That he had been married to Haley, albeit only for a month longer, that you started to notice how handsome your boss was. Upon hearing the truth out loud, and from another person, you ran to the bathroom and threw up a few times.

You were so embarrassed, so ashamed of caring for someone that couldn’t be yours. For caring for someone who’s wife you truly adored. After the third round of puking, Spencer reassured you through the phone that it wasn’t your fault. We can’t control who we love. And yes, he said love.

“Are you okay y/n?” Jack’s little voice pulled you from your thoughts. You smiled at his sauce covered face and nodded.

“Yeah, I’m fine. How’s your pizza, Jack?”

“Awesome! Daddy is the best pizza cooker ever!”

“You sure you’re okay? You look a little pale,” Aaron commented and referenced your plate. You hadn’t taken a bite.

“I’m good, really. Just thinking about how I’m going to make a bigger lego tower than Jack after dinner.”

That got the little boy to laugh, successfully switching the conversation to Jack’s favorite toys. But you noticed the glaces Hotch snuck your way, not believing you for a second. You were an awful liar.

The longer the three of you sat at the table, the larger your smile grew around these boys. Seeing Hotch being able to relax and really enjoy his time with Jack always brought a smile to your face. He was a natural father, sliding into the role of playmate and swaddler, cuddler and soother. You even remember him helping JJ out with Henry’s swaddle at work one day.

But you knew he felt guilty, not being able to be present in his son’s life everyday. You saw it in the hundred’s of views of the video of Jack’s first steps, the late night phone calls while away on a case just to say goodnight to his little boy. He missed out on a lot of the baby years, and he would be making it up to Jack for the rest of his life, with nights like these. With the whole weekend devoted to Jack Hotchner’s favorite things, minus the sugary pop tarts. Hotch had mastered the duality of being a Supervisory Special Agent for the FBI, and the loving father to Jack Hotchner. It was one of the reasons why you started caring so much for him.

“Alright Jack, you can build one tower with y/n, then it’s bath time and off to bed.” You saw the pout on Jack’s face as Hotch cleared our plates, and you helped him off the chair.

“Come on, maybe if we’re quick enough we can make two.”

He giggled as he led you to his room, stuffed animals and toys galore. This boy won’t want for a thing.

“Okay, you make a big blue one, I’ll do purple.”

You finished much quicker than the four year old, but under no circumstances would he let you sit and watch him make his masterpiece. Instead, since you had nearly two and a half feet on him, you stacked your tower on top of his and continued adding pieces to make it bigger. He cheered you on as it started to reach your head, and you were getting excited yourself. Until, it came to a crashing fall with the last green piece on top.

“Noo!” Jack yelled out, trying to catch the falling pieces.

“It’s okay Buddy, you can always make another one.” Aaron’s voice trying to soothe his son caught both you and the little guy’s attention.

The two of you turned to see Hotch leaning in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. You wondered how long he’d been standing there.

“And maybe next time, we can make one as big as daddy.”

Hotch let out a laugh as Jack smiled at you in amazement. He liked how your brain worked.

“Bath time, bud. We gotta get your face cleaned up from all that pizza sauce, and ship you off to bed.”

“But y/n’s here,” He whined, not wanting the lego fun to end.

“Well I have to get home and take a shower too, bud. Don’t worry, there’s plenty more playdates in your future.” You said and stood up, giving the little boy a high five.

“Go wait for me in the bathroom okay, I’m gonna walk y/n out.”

“Okay. Bye bobo.” He said and ran off to the bathroom, leaving you speechless in his bedroom.

“You let him be around Derek Morgan way too much.”

“Probably. But you can’t compete with the guy who brings over a new lego set every weekend.” Hotch got your gun for you, walking you back to the front door.

“Are you kidding? You’re his hero, Hotch. He asked me last week if I was a superhero like daddy.” He cracked a smile, but his eyes were glued to the floor, unable to meet your own.

“Why did you cancel dinner tonight?” He sighed and lifted his head. You’d been wanting to ask him since you were at the grocery store. The team had been coming over for three months now, and it was something we all started to look forward to.

“I was sick of feeling like a burden to you all. I mean, asking you all to give up your Saturday nights, sometimes our only free night of the week to spend in my depressing apartment, it had been enough.” If only you could show this man how much the team cared for him through your eyes, he would never doubt his worth another day in his life.

“Hotch, the highlight of my week is coming here to be with you all. My family. Watching Henry and Jack play with each other, listening to Spencer and Penelope fight over who the true godparent is, and getting to be on the receiving end of Rossi’s awesome cooking?”

He nodded, mumbling an ‘I know’ a few times under his breath. But he needed to know that as much as you all come here for Jack, you guys care for Aaron and his well being just as much.

“I come here every saturday to make sure that Aaron Hotchner has not dressed in a suit for the sixth day in a row, and to make sure he knows that he’s doing such an amazing job with Jack. That he is being the best father, friend, and boss, that he can be.”

This time, his eyes were locked on yours as you got a real Aaron Hotchner smile out of him, dimples and all. You couldn’t help but make a check mark in the air, the team tally still going strong. He playfully rolled his eyes as you swung your bag across your shoulder.

“So who’s in the lead now?”

“Me, for the last six months. I can’t be dethroned.” You felt your cheeks grow warm, hoping he wouldn’t think too much into your stat keeping.

“Well, that seems like a pretty accurate tally.”

You made sure it was. And selfishly, you hoped no one else could get that beautiful smile to cross his face like you could.

“Thank you for coming over. We both had a lot of fun.”

“I did too. I’m around anytime, my tower building skills are not occupied for many other people.” He let out a laugh as he opened the door for you.

“Goodnight y/n. Let me know when you get home.”

“I will. Night, Hotch.”

You got home in twenty minutes, texting Aaron as you walked through your door. Quickly changing into pajamas and throwing Legally Blonde into the DVD player, your phone dinged at a new message.

It was from Hotch, a picture attached to the message. It was of Jack, towel wrapped around his head, eyes shut from grinning so wide. ‘He wanted me to send this to you. He said, ‘this is how happy I am that y/n was here tonight.’ Thanks again for everything. Goodnight.”

You couldn’t help the tears that pooled in your eyes at the sweet little boy in the picture, and his amazing dad behind the camera.

****

tags: @simplyprentiss @michaelahah @ssahotchner99 @svrgicalhands @hotchtopic @unionjackpillow @philcoolson @tommhollandzxhaz @kathleenjasmine @canimarrypizzaornah @reaperwalking @inlovewithaaronhotchner @shelbymm11 @mrshotchner23 @tropicalwrites

#aaron hotchner x female! reader #aaron hotchner x female!reader #aaron hotchner fic #aaron hotchner fanfiction #aaron hotchner x reader #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds #aaron hotchner

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mochegato · 4 years

Text

Covert Marriage

Covert Dating Covert Romance Covert Wedding

Prompt sent in by @redscarlet95 - what happens when Marinette’s family and friends find out about the wedding?

“Okay… are you ready for this?” Before Jason could respond, Marinette continued her decent into rambling madness. “Am I ready for this? Oh God, I’m not ready for this. We are not ready for this. This is going to be terrible. They’re going to hate me and kick me out and I’ll be homeless. Homeless, Jason, homeless!” Jason gave her a bemused smile and grabbed her hand with his free hand, his other hand loosely gripping the rental car’s steering wheel. She had been catastrophizing over telling her parents about their sudden elopement on and off for the last few weeks, ever since they got back to Gotham from their wedding.

“Pixie, Love, Light of my Life, we have our own apartment and you’re already making it into a beautiful home. You won’t be homeless. And they won’t hate you. They love you. They will still love you after this,” he assured her. Marinette looked at him doubtfully, her mind still racing with all the terrible possibilities her anxiety had convinced her were inevitable.

He knew somewhere in her mind she knew he was right and he would be more concerned about the reveal of their marriage to her parents if she hadn’t reassured him on multiple occasions, after she had calmed down from her panic attack, that it would be fine, really. Her parents were amazing and they might be surprised and maybe a bit disappointed, but they would still love her and they would welcome him with open arms… eventually. So, he let her panic run its course for the time being, with only minor interference to keep it from going too dark, and instead focused on the road ahead of them, occasionally squeezing her hand to offer silent support.

Marinette looked down at their hands with a small smile before her eyes widened in horror, “Oh my God, my ring! They’re going to know as soon as they see the ring. I should… we shouldn’t… You know what? We should ease them into this instead. We should… You should be my boyfriend first. Yeah! I should take off my ring so they… so it will all be okay. They can meet you as my boyfriend first… or just a friend. Maybe you can walk by and we can pretend we are meeting for the first time? We can tell them about the marriage in a year or two… we’ll have to have a second ceremony, but that should be fine. We just have to let your family know not to mention anything whenever they finally meet. We’ll have to sedate Dick, but that’s for the best for everyone really. How long do you think we can keep him sedated before causing permanent damage?”

Jason laughed before giving her a gentle look, “Marinette, no. As much as I love the idea of tranquing Dick, it will all be okay. Please don’t take your ring off. Your parents would be more upset if they found out you lied to them and especially if everyone but them knew,” he said calmly trying to reason with her. “They love you. They can handle this. So can we. We will be fine, Pix. And I will be there right next to you the whole time, yeah?”

“Yeah?” she gave him an uncertain look.

“Yeah,” he said running his finger along her cheek with his free hand. “Come on, you’ve taken on a city full of zombies. You can handle this.”

She gave him a firm smile, “Right. We can do this. We’re a team. We can handle anything. Okay, recon report: Sabine Cheng and Tom Dupain. Marital status, married… to each other. Occupation, bakers who own their own business, a very popular boulangerie and patisserie in Paris. One child, a daughter currently in this rental car with you, who got married to you without their knowledge. Age, you don’t need to know.

“Psych work up, Sabine has a glare that would put Batman to shame and although capable of messing you up, she won’t actually, physically hurt you. She may make a vague threat on what she will do to you if you hurt me and she’ll make you feel like you disappointed her, which… which is worse honestly. But, after everything she will give an amazing hug to make you feel better and offer you food and something to drink casually mentioning that you are part of the family after all.

“Tom looks like he could crush you with one arm but is actually less threatening than Batcow. He’ll follow Sabine’s judgement, but he is likely to scowl at you until he decides for himself. He will continue to be suspicious of you even after my Maman welcomes you to the family. If you talk about how you just want to make sure I’m happy and feel loved, it will ease his suspicions. If you add in that you really want to start a family with me someday but you want to make sure I’m in a place where I feel like I’m ready and you’re letting me take the lead on the decision, he will start calling you ‘son’. After he accepts you into the family, he will cry. Brace for it now.”

Jason took his eyes from the road to look at her quizzically before shaking his head with a chuckle. “You’re not allowed to hang out with Tim anymore.”

Marinette rolled her eyes, “yeah, I’ll be sure to tell him that when we’re hanging out next week. It might delay it by a whole hour… because he’ll be laughing so hard.”

Jason shook his head and looked at her in fake severity, “I’m serious. It’s too dangerous to allow you two to hang out together. Your combined forces could take over the world.”

She smiled back at him, preening at his faith in her abilities. “Yeah, but a nice takeover, a benevolent tyranny, if you will.” Jason barked out a laugh and grinned at her.

“I can see it now. By royal proclamation, everyone must have a hamster, nobody is allowed to wear checks and stripes at the same time, peanut butter and jelly is strictly forbidden, and nobody wakes up before noon.”

She hummed in response, “Now that is a monarchy I can get behind. But my plans for world domination are going to have to wait. We’re here,” she said pointing to the corner store just ahead of them.

Marinette used her key to open the exterior door and led Jason up the back stairs to her parent’s apartment.

“Okay, how do I look?” she asked nervously, her anxiety ramped up again now that they were outside her parents’ door.

“Like you’re trying to make it hard for me to focus on anything other than getting you back to the hotel,” he answered with a sultry look.

“Good, it wasn’t too subtle,” she gave him a wicked look. “Remember, you aren’t allowed to grab me while we’re in there.”

He growled at her and grabbed her tightly, “We’re not in there yet.” He gave her a deep kiss, pulling her flush against him.

She pulled away breathlessly and nodded at him with a resolute look on her face, “Okay, let’s do this.” She turned to knock on the door.

The door had barely opened before a huge man had reached out on the landing and grabbed Marinette in a bear hug. The man was so large, Jason couldn’t even see Marinette anymore. “Sweetheart! It is so great to see you. Oh! Who is this dear?”

“Papa, remember I said I was bringing someone for you to meet? This is Jason. Jason, these are my parents, Tom Dupain and Sabine Cheng,” she said indicating her father who was still holding her close and her mother who Jason couldn’t see behind Tom.

“Welcome to our home, Jason,” Tom said with a wide, welcoming smile.

“You might need to move so they can get in dear,” Sabine commented with a kind smile.

“Of course, of course. Sorry. Please come in,” he moved to the side and made a sweeping motion welcoming them into the apartment.”

“Thank you, sir. It is very nice to meet both of you. Marinette speaks of you often.” Jason shook Tom’s had with a big smile. As he went to shake Sabine’s hand he noticed her flick her eyes up to his eyes from wherever she had been looking, a glare settling in her eyes.

“Yes, welcome, Jason. Funny, Marinette hasn’t mentioned you at all.” She said coolly.

Jason chuckled awkwardly, “Huh… how about that… uh…” He floundered for what to say next, but Sabine’s glare never wavered. Her eyes bore into him like they could see every secret he had, even the ones he tried to hide from himself. Every self-doubt, every insecurity, every failing that haunted him was exposed. Everything Marinette had been helping him to recover from was suddenly laid out for Sabine to examine and judge. Jason stood paralyzed under her stare until Marinette grabbed him what seemed like hours later and pulled him away from her mother.

“Come on, Jason. I’m dying to show you the view from my balcony. I’ve missed it so much since I’ve been away. You don’t mind, right Maman?” Marinette was pulling him up a set of stairs before her mother could give her “Of course not dear,” response.

Jason didn’t even take in what her childhood bedroom looked like before whipping around as soon as the door closed, “Okay you were right. Take off the ring, we’ll do it later.” He prompted her hurriedly motioning toward her hand.

“Oh, it’s already too late. She’s seen the ring. We’re committed to it now,” Marinette said direly.

“What? Why would you wear the ring?” he asked exasperated.

She gave him a deadpan look, waiting for him to come to his own conclusion.

“Why would you listen to me? You know better. And that glare! I feel like I’ve never done anything right in my entire life. How long was she glaring at me?”

“I think it was about 5 seconds before I could get to you,” she smiled sympathetically and cupped her hands around his face to stroke his cheeks. “She does that. It’ll be okay. I mean, I’m not going to lie it’s going to be really terrible for a little bit but then it’ll be like Miraculous Ladybug sweeping all the pain away. Also, it wasn’t my ring she saw.” She gave him a chaste kiss on the lips. “I love you, Jason Todd. They will too. They are scared for me right now because they don’t know you. But when they get to know you, they are going to be your biggest supporters, a second, and actually functioning, family for you.”

He let out a stressed sigh and pressed his forehead to hers. “I just don’t want to screw this up. And your mom is intimidating as hell.”

“You can’t screw this up. It isn’t possible. And yes, I know.” They heard Marinette’s mom calling to them that lunch was ready. “Relax. You’ve taken down crime lords, you can handle my parents.

“Something tells me I’m not allowed to just shoot them though.” He muttered under his breath. Marinette gave him an unamused look as she made her way toward the door. “What? I said ‘not allowed’.”

“Lunch smells amazing Maman and Papa. I’ve missed your cooking so much! I’m going to have to rub this in Adrien’s face tonight. He says hi, by the way. He was planning on stopping over tomorrow if that is okay.”

“That’s nice, dear. He knows he’s always welcome. All of your friends are,” she said pointedly, looking sharply over to Jason.

“Thank you so much for letting me tag along with Marinette. I am really glad to finally meet you after everything I’ve heard about you from her.” Jason tried to lighten the heavy mood with pleasantries, but Marinette’s mom was not following the lighter tone. She seemed to have perfected the art of a biting remark with a smile. She would do wonderfully at one of their Galas.

“Of course, sweetie. So, how did you two meet?”

“We meet at a coffee shop. We started talking and… here we are,” he faltered. They hadn’t actually discussed how they were going to tell her parents and he figured she would want to be the one to say it.

“Well, we are really glad to meet you. You must be really important to Marinette if she brought you home.” Tom offered only scowling slightly.

“He is Papa. He is really important to me,” she paused to take a deep breath and look to Jason who gave her an encouraging nod before reaching for her hand to entwine their fingers. “He is so important to me that we decided to get married a few weeks ago. We’re married. He’s my husband,” she said quietly holding up her left hand to show her ring.

Tom sucked in a breath but Sabine’s eyes went steely. “I see,” she said in a deceptively calm voice.

“Sweetheart, are you… are you sure that was the wisest decision?” Tom hedged tentatively.

“I am, Papa. We know it was sudden and impulsive, but we know what we’re doing. It might not look like it, but we do. We love each other, but we know that isn’t enough,” she looked over to look into Jason’s loving eyes. “We know we are going to have to work at it and we are ready to do that.”

Marinette’s father opened his mouth but before he could say anything Jason continued where Marinette left off, “We know it is going to be hard at times and we’re not fully prepared for whatever is coming, but we are ready to fight for it, together. We want a future together. We want a family together, at some point, when Marinette is ready, little kids with Marinette’s eyes and creativity and my hair and determination, or my eyes and her smile,” his eyes softened as he spoke about their future children. Marinette grinned at the future children he pictured. They had never spoken about kids and it was warming her hear to hear his vision.

“I know you’re worried about me and this was a huge surprise to spring on you out of nowhere and for that I am truly sorry, but… but you need to trust me that this is what is best for me.” Marinette added timidly.

Her parents looked at one another in silent conversation for a while before turning back to Marinette and Jason. Sabine reached across the table for Marinette’s hand, “Okay dear. If this makes you happy, then we are happy for you.” She was smiling at the two of them but the smile was cautious, uncertain.

“Welcome to the family, son,” Marinette’s papa said standing with a strained smile to give Jason another bone crushing hug. “We’re so glad to see our little girl happy again and if you were the one to do it, then we are beyond happy to have you in our lives.”

The lunch continued as Marinette’s parents asked questions about Jason and his history. After lunch they kept talking about Gotham and Marinette’s career and Jason’s family. A few hours later, Marinette and Jason were finally able to take a few moments for themselves to recover from the stress of the earlier reveal. They were enjoying the view from her balcony, Marinette was reveling in the feeling of Jason’s arms wrapped comfortingly around her and the steady rise and fall of his chest against her back as he breathed. “I don’t think I’d mind just staying here like this for the rest of the night,” she said quietly as she melted into his embrace.

Jason leaned down to kiss her temple. “It’s just your friends though, right? That one should be easier, shouldn’t it? Less stressful? Then we can go back to the hotel and just lay down wrapped up in each other’s arms for a while.”

Marinette winced slightly, “God that sounds amazing. Yeah, tonight should be less stressful but… you brought your Kevlar vest right? You might need it, Kim is going to be there.”

Jason chuckled lightly, “Sounds like my kind of people. I should fit right in.”

Marinette hummed at him “I think you…” before she could finish her sentence Sabine made her presence known. “Marinette, sweetie, your father wanted you to pick what you wanted to take over to Luka’s house.”

“Okay, Maman.” She looked over to Jason with a raised brow asking him if he was okay or if he wanted her to get him out as Sabine made her way onto the balcony. Jason smiled at her and nodded toward the door, reassuring her he would be fine. His wife’s mother wanted to have a talk with him and she deserved to have her say.

“I’ll be right back,” she said, looking at Jason to reassure him that she wouldn’t be gone long and giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Once she left, Jason looked to Sabine waiting for her to start the conversation. When she continued to silently watch the sun makes its way toward setting Jason started getting uncomfortable. Finally after a few minutes, Jason decided to break the awkward silence. “You have a beautiful view, Mrs. Cheng. A beautiful home as well.”

“Sabine, please. You’re a part of our family now after all,” she said kindly but with an edge to her voice.

“Sabine, thank you. And thank you for being so calm about this… about us. Marinette has been panicking about telling you since we got married. She is really terrified about disappointing you. I know this must have been a shock and hard to accept for you.”

“It is. You have to understand, it’s nothing personal, but she will always be our baby and we just want what’s best for her. This is an unknown, you are an unknown so we aren’t sure how to react yet.”

“I do understand. I don’t take it personally. And I fully understand wanting to protect Marinette. I’m not going to try to force you to like me. I’m just happy Marinette is happy and doesn’t feel like she disappointed you.”

Sabine watched him for a few moments. “I can see the way you two look at each other and I can see how much you two love each other. But I can see something else.” He raised his brow at her. “I can see the way you need each other. I want to make sure you aren’t just using each other.”

Jason sucked in a breath and glanced away. That was not the observation he had been expecting. He didn’t think either of them was that obvious about how they interacted. He looked back to her, impressed with her insight. “You’re very observant. We are using each other… but that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We both offer something the other needs. But neither of us is willing to take more than the other can give,” he reassured her. “And we really do love each other. We want the other to be better, to be happy. We rely on each other and we need each other but, isn’t that the way marriage is supposed to be? I mean, I don’t have very many models of a good marriage… or any, honestly, but that’s the way Marinette describes it. And that is what I want, a happy, healthy marriage. But more than that, I want her to be happy. I’m not going to do anything that will cause her more pain.”

Sabine’s eyes softened as she gazed at him. “I think she was right… about marriage and about you,” she reached up to pat him on his cheek. “I’m glad you found somebody who helps make you feel complete. I’m glad you both did. Do you mind if I give you a hug?”

Jason shook his head, too dazed to use words. “Here, let me just…” He knelt down so he was closer to her height, “There. That’s better.”

“Ah, I see it now.” She smiled as she hugged him with a gentle but firm hug, making him feel like he was welcome and accepted.

“What’s that?” he pulled back curiously.

“Why my daughter fell in love with you. She always did appreciate a smartass.” Jason barked out another laugh and hugged her again.

Marinette popped her head through the trapdoor. “Well that seemed to have gone well.”

“It did, sweetie. Now, you guys better hurry or you’re going to be late for your party. But I want you guys here for brunch tomorrow with the wedding pictures.” Sabine said with a smile, leaving the two to prepare for their next confrontation. “Oh, and dear?” she called back before disappearing through the trap door.

“Yes, Maman?”

“This family you guys want to start, I’m won’t be finding out about it after the child is born, right?” she asked with a calculating smile.

“No, Maman.”

“Jason?” she prompted him.

“No, Ma’am… uh, Sabine.”

“Good. Just making sure dear. Now, have fun tonight kids.” She said with saccharine sweetness.

<><><><><>

The party seemed to already be in full swing as Jason and Marinette approached Luka’s new houseboat. They could hear the music and laughter from a block away. “Just a quiet, little, friendly get together, huh?” he asked with a raised brow.

“Yep. Just like your quiet, little, friendly family dinners. It should be a familiar environment. You okay with it?”

“No, I mean, no, it isn’t a problem. I’m definitely not complaining. I like this better. More witnesses if someone does something.”

“That’s cute. You think we don’t cover for each other,” she gave him a wicked smile, dragging her finger along his jaw before walking ahead of him, swinging her hips for him.

“Oh, you’re in for it,” he laughed, running up behind her, picking her up, and throwing her over his shoulder without slowing down.

“Hey,” she squawked at him, laughing uncontrollably. “Let me down, you big goof.”

“Huh. Did you hear something?” he said confused spinning around and getting smacked by the bag of pastries she was carrying. “I could have sworn I heard something. Nope nothing there.”

“Jason!” Marinette called slapping his firm ass.

“Oh! There. I heard it again,” he grinned suddenly switching the direction he was spinning getting smacked by the bag on the other side.

“You are such an asshole. You’re going to ruin the pastries,” she laughed even harder.

“Ah, it must be my loving wife,” he said setting her down in front of him with a loving smile. “I would recognize that description of me anywhere.”

She huffed in mock annoyance at him, “Why do I put up with you?”

“Hmmm,” he hummed moving his face closer to hers and letting his hands roam up and down her sides, pleased with the contented sighs she let out. “My charm, my amazing personality, my devilishly good looks, I believe. Plus, I’m the only one who could survive the coming onslaught that is your friends.”

She smiled comfortingly at him, “Don’t worry, my friends are going to love you. I mean, don’t get me wrong, they’re going to threaten you, but after that, they’re going to love you.”

He rolled his eyes, “Why is it everyone you know is coming up and threatening me if I ever hurt you but everyone I know is… also coming up and threatening me if I ever hurt you?”

“Because they think I can’t defend myself,” she shrugged.

“Have you ever thought about telling them who you are? So they know you can defend yourself? I mean, not everyone but a few people you trust.”

“No, I don’t think it’s that.” She looked down to consider how to word her thoughts. “It’s… it’s how we deal with things. You lash out. I take it out on myself. Everything I do only affects myself. I withdraw from people and things, I lose my appetite, I get more tired, I lose my passion for things. Those things don’t affect anyone else, at least not directly. But you lash out. You yell, you hit, you get drunk and say cruel things, you try to hurt them as much as you’re hurting. It… the way we deal with things, makes me look weak and you look dangerous.”

He looked at her with sad eyes. She was right and he felt comforted knowing she knew him so well, but it also upset him that she was right. That is how he responds to negative things but he never wanted her to experience it firsthand. “I don’t ever want to do that to you. I won’t ever hurt you,” he promised sincerely.

“You will. And I’ll hurt you. We won’t mean to, but we will. But we’re going to talk about it, right? Instead of brooding or detaching? We promised... and we’re fucking adults and that’s what adults do.” He chuckled but nodded, hugging her closely as if protecting her from their future fights. He pulled away just far enough to press his forehead to hers. “I love you, wife.”

“I love you, husband,” she looked up at him adoringly, wrapping her hands around the back of his neck.

“WHAT THE FUCK DID I JUST HEAR?” they heard screamed from behind Jason.

Marinette and Jason froze, “Shit,” Marinette whispered out, peeking around Jason to see Alix standing close enough to have heard at least the last part of their conversation.

“You got married?” she exclaimed only slightly less loud this time.

“Uh, yeah. This is Jason… my husband.” Marinette awkwardly indicated Jason.

“When did you get married?” Alix asked hugging Marinette and eyeing Jason suspiciously.

“A few weeks ago.”

“Does Alya know?” Marinette’s pained expression was enough of an answer for Alix. “Shit. Well it was nice I got to see you again before your funeral. Good luck. Hand over the pastries. I don’t want them destroyed in the mauling. I get to be there when you tell her, right?”

“I’m telling her as soon as I get there,” Marinette nodded as she handed over the bag she was holding.

“Sweet. I’m sticking by you. This party is going to be more interesting than I thought it was going to be. Does Sunshine know?”

“Yeah. He was there… Don’t tell Alya that part,” Marinette added quickly.

“Oh God no. Two murders is enough for tonight. Well, let’s get to it. I’d like to dig into these pastries and get some drinking done tonight.”

“Thank you, Alix. It’s good to see you. What have you been up to?” They chatted amicably as they walked toward the boat. Marinette’s hand held tightly to Jason’s as she walked. She looked over her shoulder, giving him a tight lipped smile, betraying her nerves. A few friends called to her from the boat as she got close. She waved and called back to them with a genuine smile. As soon as she stepped foot on the deck there was a rush of people each trying to give her hugs and find out about her life in Gotham.

“Back off everyone. She needs to breathe,” Alix yelled at the crowd, causing them to back up a bit.

“Thanks,” Marinette whispered to her, smiling consolingly at her friends.

“And she needs to make an announcement,” Alix decreed with an evil smile.

“Bitch!” Marinette hissed at her.

“You reap what you sow. Shouldn’t have snuck off.” Alix smirked at her.

“I was supposed to tell Alya first,” she hissed through her teeth.

“Ohhh, yeah. Good point. My bad. Oh well, too late now,” Alix shrugged and stepped back so Marinette could take center stage.

Jason stepped up behind her and wrapped his hand around her waist to let her know he was there for her. She took a deep breath and gave a fake smile to her friends. “Everyone, I’d like to introduce you to Jason Todd… my husband.”

Everyone stared at them slack jawed for a few moments. The boat was so quiet they could hear the water slapping against the bow. Finally the quiet was broken by Adrien squeezing through and hugging Marinette and shaking Jason’s hand, “Good to see you guys! How are your parents? Jason, I’m so glad you made it. Max over there was just saying Shakespeare was overrated. We need your expertise, man. Well, no what I actually need is someone who knows what the fuck their talking about to destroy him.”

Marinette smiled gratefully at Adrien who just winked in response. “Go savage, man. Let the heathen have it,” Adrien encouraged, slinging his arm over Jason’s shoulders and gesturing to a man in glasses in front of them. Jason looked back to Marinette for confirmation. She nodded to him with a wry smile and leaned over to Alya who had finally made her way over to Marinette, “Watch this.” She grinned proudly as Jason proceeded to give a solid 5 minute literary critique of Shakespeare’s works, the prevalence of the themes he wrote about, and the effect he had not only on his time but on future writers.

“He’s passionate about Shakespeare.” Alya observed.

“Yeah. Our place is filled with classic literature. You should see him talk about Jane Austin,” Marinette looked down to her hands for a moment before softly saying, “I’m sorry, Alya. I wanted to tell you first, in person. It was very sudden.”

Alya nodded. “Does he make you happy?”

“Yes, very,” she nodded vigorously. “He makes me feel… again.” She looked over at Alya uncertainly.

Alya nodded again and looked away as Jason returned with a grin. “How did that feel?” Marinette asked with a knowing smile.

“That was awesome. I never get to geek out like that.” He said hugging her. “You must be Alya,” he held out his hand. “Marinette talks about you constantly. I feel like I know so much about you already.”

“So how did you meet? When did you know you needed to get married?” Alya nodded her head in acknowledgement as Kagami joined them.

“We met when she kicked someone’s ass and I knew I needed to marry her when she handed Batman’s ass to him in a verbal smack down for the ages after he interrupted our date.” He grinned proudly down at Marinette.

“Marinette!” Kagami chastised her as Alya smacked her in the chest.

“It was the second time our date had been interrupted! I was pissed. And he tried to pull that glare on me like I did something wrong.” Marinette defended herself.

“Ooh, that was a mistake.” Alya shook her head with a laugh.

“I know, right?”

“Marinette, can I speak with you a bit more privately? I have some concerns I’d like to address with you.” Kagami spoke sharply looking only at Marinette.

Marinette looked between Jason and Alya and for the second time they had a silent conversation about if he was okay with being left alone. He nodded to her and motioned for her to follow her friend.

As soon as they were out of earshot Alya started her shovel talk, staring directly in his eyes. “You understand that you are an exceptionally lucky man and you will never meet anyone as amazing as her again, right?”

“I do.” He nodded sincerely.

“And if you ever hurt her, there will be no place to hide.”

“I understand.”

Alya nodded at him but her eyes didn’t soften. “Okay. My girl has been miserable for a really long time. None of us know what caused it except Adrien, but we have our suspicions. She hasn’t allowed herself to feel anything, good or bad in years. But she finally looks happy. With you in her life, she finally seems back to her old self so…”

“So?”

Alya squinted at him and pursed her lips, “So, I will allow it. I will allow you to stay married to her. But if that changes, if she becomes suddenly unhappy, they will never find the body, understood?”

“Understood,” he nodded at her. “And just so you know, I think there’s a line now. I think you’re after Sabine, Adrien, and Fang, not to mention several members of my family.”

“Oh no, we work together. I do the tool supplying, Kagami does the killing, Sabine does the cutting up, Adrien does the feeding, Fang does the eating, Kim does the alibiing, and Max does the cover up. If your family wants to get involved, we can assign jobs.”

Jason looked at her curiously, “Should I be concerned that you seem to have thought this through?”

“Not if you treat her right.” Alya gave him a pointed look.

“Which one is Kagami? I don’t think I’ve seen her yet.” He scanned the crowd.

“That’s her skill. You won’t see her coming,” she sent him a devilish smile before pointing to a woman leaning against the balcony railing having a serious conversation with Marinette, “Kagami was the one that was over here earlier, the one that currently is interrogating Marinette. You’re lucky I’m the one doing this and not her. She still might actually, but she should know I’ve already done it. I’m higher in the hierarchy.”

“There’s a hierarchy?” he looked at her with a raised brow.

“You think you’re the first one to get this talk? We protect our friends and we all know who gets to give the talk to who’s significant other and who is second up in case that person is unavailable. In most of these scenarios, Marinette is the one doing the digging. We don’t usually have the option of Fang. You didn’t wet your pants so you’re doing better than most of the significant others.”

“Thanks. Have you ever had to enact it?”

“Not that anyone has been able to prove.” She shot him a finger gun and a wink.

“Hey, new guy! You look like you’re in shape. You’re getting in on this, come on.” A large man with frosted tips tugged him to one of the ship’s two masts. Jason looked back at Alya who just gave him a thumbs up. “It’s a race to the top. Whoever sits on their mast first gets a prize.” The man announced excitedly.

“What’s the prize?”

“If you win, we let you stay married to my little sister.”

“I’m not your sister,” Marinette yelled from her spot at the railing.

“She says such hurtful things,” Kim mock whispered to Jason, his hand held sadly against his chest. “If I win, you buy the alcohol at the next party.” Jason nodded at him and looked over to Marinette with a wink.

“Winning this one for you, Pixie.” He gave her a dashing grin and a wink.

“Show ‘em what you got, Red. Mulan that bitch.” Marinette yelled back.

Marinette looked over as Adrien threw his arm around her shoulder, eyeing him suspiciously, “Hey, awfully convenient you guys were talking about Shakespeare when we got here.”

“Awfully wasn’t it. Couldn’t get Max talking about anything else.” Adrien shrugged with a false nonchalance.

“Right, classic lit. Max’s favorite subject,” she rolled her eyes. “Thank you.”

He gave her a tight side hug. “Don’t know what you’re talking about, Bug.” He shifted his focus to the center of the boat as Jason and Kim’s race started. He soon doubled over laughing as Kim slipped and fell from about half way up the mast all the way back to the deck, landing on his ass with a thump, followed almost immediately by Jason losing his footing and smacking his face against the mast but managing to keep his lead. “You married that. That’s yours now. You own that.”

“Yeah, but have you seen him without his shirt on?” he shook his head. She looked back with adoring eyes and a wicked smile at her amazing husband, engaging in dumbass challenges with her friends, “Worth it.”

Covert Pregnancy

#maribat #jasonette #Covert Jasonette

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twh-news · 3 years

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‘Loki’s Tom Hiddleston Teases Marvel Series Finale, What It All Means & Is There More Of The God Of Mischief To Come?

By Dominic Patten | Deadline

SPOILER ALERT: This article contains details of the first five episodes of Disney+’s Loki, & maybe the finale. Maybe.

EXCLUSIVE: “I have learned, at this point, having said goodbye to the character more than twice, two and a half times maybe, to make no assumptions,” says Loki’s Tom Hiddleston as the hours tick away to the finale of the Disney+ series drops early on Wednesday morning. “We’ll see where the ride goes now,” the Marvel alum adds. As always with almost any project from the Kevin Feige run studio, that ride could continue, at least in some form or another. Certainly, the June 9 ‘Glorious Purpose’ premiere of the Michael Waldron penned and Kate Herron directed Loki proved to be the Disney+ and the MCU’s biggest small screen success so far. Also with any Marvel project, past Emmy winner Hiddleston was elusive on what could be coming next, be it in the Loki finale, another season or another appearance in the movies as the MCU shifts into its next phrase.

One thing is clear, after a decade playing the God of Mischief, Hiddleston still has a lot of Loki on the brain, in the best way.

Leading towards the finale, I chatted with a UK-based Hiddleston about returning to play Loki and the search for who or what controls the seemingly all knowing, all powerful Time Variance Authority. The Night Manager star also spoke about filming during the coronavirus pandemic, working with Owen Wilson, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Wunmi Mosaku, Richard E. Grant, and Sophia Di Martino, who portrays variant and soulmate Sylvie, and his upcoming AppleTV+ series The Essex Serpent with Claire Danes.

DEADLINE: In terms of who he is?

DEADLINE: How so?

DEADLINE: It opens up the aperture certainly for new stories from all opportunities, doesn’t it?

DEADLINE: …Because in the Marvel Universe, answering one set of questions always leads to another set of questions, in many ways.

HIDDLESTON: Right. Yeah. Yeah, and I know that there are lots of, you know, interesting titles of movies that’ve been announced, which kind of hint at where it might be going.

DEADLINE: One of those that hasn’t been officially announced, but is rumored is a Season 2 for Loki, in gear under the temporary title of Architect on call sheets and the like …

DEADLINE: Well, I doubt that, but let me ask, and no spoilers for the finale or further, but if Kevin, Marvel, Disney asked you to do more Loki, are you game?

HIDDLESTON: That there was meaning in the making of it.

That we crossed the finish line in the middle of a global pandemic and could create something, and more than ever, I felt really grateful for being able to do this job. I think in this there are some of those questions that we were all asking ourselves in the last 18 months in the show, you know, what do our lives mean?

I love taking Loki in new directions. I love the contributions of my fellow actors, of Owen Wilson and Sophia Di Martino and Richard E. Grant and Gugu Mbatha-Raw, and Wunmi Masaku, they all brought so much to the table, and I’ll always remember that. You know, I’ll always remember just being in Atlanta with all of them and making our bonkers show. Yeah.

DEADLINE: Really?

HIDDLESTON: Yes, and it remains extremely special for me, this project, for that reason.

For me, it just demonstrated the character of these amazing people. It took a huge amount of planning and care and looking after each other. By that, I mean, being in the bubble. So, for many of us, the only other human beings we saw, really, were each other. So, we came to work, and we became a team, and the circumstances fostered this extraordinary team spirit, and so the memory of making it is really my incredible and deep respect and affection for my fellow filmmakers. People like Trish Stanard, our line producer. Richard Graves, our first AD. Kristina Peterson, our second AD. Autumn Durald, DP. Kevin Wright, our supervising producer, and so many others making sure everyone could stay safe and look after each other.

It’s really…I find it…it’s very moving, and it’s remarkable, and I just want to salute them all because I couldn’t have done any of it without them.

DEADLINE: When you describe it like that it sounds very Loki indeed.

DEADLINE: Literally and figuratively?

I thought it’s over, and I was really proud to have been part of it. I was grateful for my time, but I thought that, my work would go off in a different direction. So, the idea that I got to come back and have another go was a complete delight, it truly was.

#loki #loki series #tom hiddleston #interview #article #deadline #loki spoilers #spoilers #loki series spoilers

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amintyworld · 3 years

Text

Secrets - Dream SMP Drabble

WATERFALL (Part one) SUNSET (Part two)

A/N: Part 3 is finally here! So, bit of a update - this is indeed NOT the final part as I had planned, since there’s so much I want to cover about my own little backstory about two these two lovebirds, including how they get to the SMP. So, more parts to come, be on the lookout! Also, if you haven’t already, links to the two other parts should be above, please check them out if you’d like! Anyway, as always, enjoy!

TW: Arguing, secrets, surprise pregnancy, miscommunication, vomiting, cursing, roughhousing, injury (Not vv bloody tho). (Let me know if I need to tag anything else!)

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

“Alright boys, get down here, breakfast is ready!” Philza heard scampering and thudding footsteps on the stairs as both Tommy and Tubbo raced to the table, smiling and laughing all the way. Wilbur walked down next, the only one out of their pajamas as he sat with his notebook in front of him, scribbling ideas, notes, and lyrics. Technoblade was last, not exactly the morning person of the group, as he passed by his two younger siblings and ruffed their hair lovingly before sitting down with a yawn. Phil quickly set eggs in front of each of them, a warm loaf of bread at the center the baker delivered early in the morning. Techno murmured a sleepy ‘thanks’ as Philza set down a cup of coffee with his plate, and Wilbur got up to grab some orange juice for him and Tubbo, leaving it out so Tommy could pour his own as he insisted.

It was a nice feeling in the mornings with his boys, sitting and eating a nice breakfast as the sun began to rise over the horizon. Philza mused over just how much changed over the last few years - they adopted Tubbo, Technoblade and Wilbur were becoming adults - but yet, things still felt the same. The little family was silent as they ate, enjoying each other’s company as the world began to wake up just outside their windows.

Tubbo, to Philza’s relief, was not as chaotic as the rest of his siblings and was all around a responsible and kind soul - at least when he was alone. When Philza walked inside to Tommy and Tubbo covered head to toe in bee stings due to ‘showing dominance over the bees so they’ll be our pets’, he learned quickly that the two younger brothers together would spur on all kinds of trouble. Luckily, he was used to it from the elder two when they were around Tommy and Tubbo’s age. Philza chuckled remembering when Techno and Wilbur tried to corner that parrot to only run home with nothing but a bunch of scratches, bruises, and covered in feathers - he’d snapped a picture before they both cleaned up, both pink from embarrassment.

“So, I’ll be off today checking in and fixing up the garden, going into town for a while, and then going fishing if I have the time. I should be home by around sunset, though.” Philza declared, taking a swig of his morning coffee.

“Me and Tubbo are gonna go find Mothman and catch a couple of pet bees,” Tommy said. As Philza opened his mouth to respond, Tubbo interrupted.

“We’ll take our swords and be back by sunset.” Tubbo finished. “And we’ll make sure to follow the path and not get lost.”

Philza chuckled. “Good.” He smiled.

“Techno and I were gonna train for a bit - I think I’m getting close to beating him.” Wilbur said, and a loud ‘HA’ erupted from his older brother.

“You wish,” Techno smirked. “The day you beat me one on one is the day I give up eating potatoes.” The pig hybrid did love himself a baked potato, and Philza knew that all too well. Chatter spurred on amongst the family, and Philza just smiled, taking in the moment.

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

“Jeez, is Techno some kind of mega pig demon?” Sally said, sitting cross-legged on the floor of her treehouse, across from Wilbur who looked a little worse for wear. “He went way too rough with you.”

“He didn’t mean to, he just got carried away.” Wilbur defended. “He felt really bad after, I kept telling him it was fine.” Wilbur let out a soft curse as the disinfectant soaked cloth ran over a particularly deep cut on his forehead, and Sally rubbed circles on the top of his hand in a loving gesture.

“Wil, it’s not fine, you got really hurt.” Sally’s tone turned serious, and Wilbur intertwined their fingers together.

“You’re scared.”

“No shit I am!” Sally yelled angrily before she took a deep breath to calm herself, continuing.. “Wilbur, sure you’re fine now but what if you got worse, and he didn’t stop? What if you got really hurt?”

“I know, I didn’t mean to worry you.” Wilbur gently squeezed her hand. “I promise we’ll be more careful.”

Sally placed a bandage on the cut on his forehead and planted a soft kiss on it. “Thank you.” Wilbur cracked a smirk as she faced him fully again.

“How bad’s the damage?”

Sally smiled back. “Just some bruises and cuts, a few days of healing and you’ll be fine. Don’t worry, you still look handsome.”

“Good thing, too,” Wilbur said jokingly. “My face and my guitar’s all I got going for me.”

“Oh please, Beanie Boy.” Sally smiled as she moved to cuddle closer to him, and his arms wrapped around her until they were both comfortable against the wall, Sally’s head leaned against Wilbur’s chest, the girl all too careful in her movements to make sure she didn’t hurt her boyfriend’s many bruises. “Did you win, at least?”

“He called a draw,” Wilbur said. “But, I did manage to use that weapon snatching tactic you taught me.” He laughed a bit. “He totally freaked.”

“Good,” Sally chuckled. “Someone’s gotta keep that pig on his toes.” Sally felt Wilbur shift a bit as he tensed. “You okay?”

“Yeah, just sore,” Wilbur said. “Why do I have a feeling I’m gonna regret most of the fight in the morning?” They both chuckled at the comment.

“I’m sorry, Do you want me to kiss it better?” Sally asked, looking up to her boyfriend in time to see a slight telltale pink on his cheeks. He nodded as Sally shifted to sit up more and began leaving some kisses along his arms wherever she saw a bruise, before leaning in to give him a soft peck on the lips where a small bruise was beginning to form.

“It’s almost sunset, I gotta get home or Phil will kill me,” Wilbur said, before tucking a long piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be back tomorrow, though.”

“Good, someone’s gotta help me refill my stash of supplies,” Sally said, smirking. “I’m all out of beetroot for bruise cream, if you haven’t heard.”

“Will do, my salmon,” Wilbur said, getting up, grabbing his sword, bag, and beanie before heading to the entrance.

“Be careful heading back, you’re still healing.”

“Gosh, you sound like Phil.” Wilbur chided sarcastically before Sally gave him a look. “I’ll be careful, I swear.” Wilbur pulled Sally in for a close embrace, pressing a tender kiss to her forehead. “I love you, my salmon.”

“Love you, Wilby.” At the rarely used nickname, Wilbur’s heart melted as he muttered a simple ‘bye’ and climbed down the ladder.

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

Sally didn’t understand what was going on, and she was mostly kind of scared. Standing over a bucket and puking as the sun rose up was not exactly a great sign. Neither was the weird soreness. Maybe she had some kind of flu or something? Either way, one thing was for sure - she didn’t like this, at all. Being a survivor and runner for years on end, she prided herself for being pretty healthy and knowing a lot of good healing tips and tricks to not slow herself down. Now, she felt ashamed. Weak.

She hoped it was just the flu. Grimacing, she swallowed the medicine and took some water and a snack on her way out - She didn’t want to be late for work. Her hair was a bit of a mess and she chewed a bit of mint to disguise the bad breath she gained from this morning. She felt awful but pushed the feeling aside. It must just be a bug or something, had to be.

When she was old enough, she started looking for a job in town to get some money and not have to worry about hunting every night. Sure, Phil always had a spot for her at the table, but even Sally knew how much he was stretched to the limit feeding five. Luckily, she found a pretty cushiony job at the trade center - where she and a handful of others settled disputes over what was a fair trade and what wasn’t.

As she worked she headed to steady herself every now and then when she felt sick or lightheaded. It just got worse as the days went on, and it got too much for her to ignore. She left early on sick leave and made a quick stop at the library before heading home, determined to figure out what was going on with her and fix it in whatever way possible. She settled in bed with some hot tea and opened the book: ‘Easy to Spot Ailments Hidden in Plain Sight’. At this point, she was fed up feeling horrible and just wanted it to end. Her head ached, her stomach churned with any bit of food she tried to get down. Her shaking hands flipped through the pages as she looked for what matched her list of symptoms in her head - Nausea, light-headedness, fatigue…

‘Pregnancy, in the early stages, is common to have morning sickness, fatigue, tender or sore muscles…’

Her eyes widened at the thought… pregnant…? She scanned the page intently and as it were - most of her symptoms she’d been suffering the past few weeks were right there. Her mind whirred with the thought of the possibility. Wilbur was still trying to find a job in town, and they haven’t even gotten their own space yet - they definitely were not ready. The shapeshifter’s thoughts turned to Wil - if it was really the case, how would he react? Maybe he’ll be done with her for good because of it, they took precautions but not enough, she didn’t do enough to stop herself from getting into this position. Wilbur wouldn’t be ready yet, she isn’t either - maybe he’ll ditch her for his own survival.

She wouldn’t blame him.

It took her a few moments to realize she was crying. Her head was clouded with so many doubts, fears and what ifs she didn’t even notice. She wiped her tears away. She needed to keep a clear head, she needed to stay calm. Maybe she wasn’t even pregnant, she had to check with the town healer to make sure. There was probably nothing to worry about anyway, and she’d have gotten so worked up over nothing!

Now, looking over the positive pregnancy test in the healer’s hut, all she could think was: ‘Shit.’

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

Wilbur strummed a bit on his guitar as he sat cross-legged in his bed, Sally snuggled up in blankets next to him, humming constantly. “Have you been writing, Wil?”

“A bit.” Wilbur smiled. “Nothing concrete yet, I’m afraid.” Sally pouted slightly, her lower lip out just so, dramatic enough to make both of them laugh. “Sorry to disappoint, my number one fan. Maybe I could make it up by playing a song request…?”

“Love your songs, Wilby.” Sally said as she nuzzled to his side and he smiled.

“I know, my salmon.” Wilbur crooned as he planted a soft kiss on her forehead. “Now, what song do you wanna hear?”

“Hm… what about the pretty soft one?”

“You never remember the names, do you?” Wilbur joked as he checked and tuned up the instrument. Sally laughed.

“Never.” Sally said. “Luckily I don’t have to.” Wilbur began to strum a soft tune as he sang softly with the music, and Sally drank it all in with a smile, her heart feeling full.

“You and I

We’re different but somehow we fit.

And I promise you

No matter what, I’ll never quit.

Because you are the good days,

The tough days,

When I feel like I can’t breathe,

I love you, I hope you like me.”

Sally began to sing along as well, and when the song was done, Wilbur put his guitar down and cuddled Sally close. He wrapped his arms around her until she was completely comfortable and they both laid there, just content in each other’s arms. Though Wilbur could tell she was happy, he also could tell something else was up - she fidgeted every now and then, seemingly never comfortable. He knew her well enough to know when something was bothering her - the way her eyes focused too much on the blanket, lost in thought and her eyebrows furrowed were her telltale signs. “Okay, what’s on your mind?”

“Nothing’s on my mind, I’m just tired.”

“You’re fidgeting, you’re staring into space - did something happen at work?” Wilbur asked, concerned. “If anyone’s bothering you-”

“No, no. Nothing’s going on at work.” Sally said. “Really, I’m fine.”

“Are you sure?” Wilbur asked, and he couldn’t help but notice her hesitation.

“Yes…” She said before she looked around the room a bit, her body fidgeting more violently. “Where’s the bathroom again…?”

“Just down the hall.” Wilbur grew concerned as he noticed her shaking body rush out of the room. Did… did he do something wrong…? He heard the door quickly slam, and he couldn’t help but replay the events in his head over and over. Did he make her uncomfortable? Maybe he shouldn’t have tried to cuddle her, maybe he shouldn’t have said anything at all.

“You okay?” Wilbur looked up to see Philza standing in the doorway casually, looking a bit concerned. That’s when WIlbur noticed how hard he was gripping the blanket on the bed, staring off into space.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I dunno if she is, though.” Wilbur said.

“I heard the slam.” Philza stated.

“Phil, how do you know if someone’s uncomfortable around you?” Wilbur asked, and Phil’s eyebrows furrowed in thought.

“I guess it depends on the person, sometimes you can tell by their body language... Why?”

“Sally’s been off, she’s not acting like herself. I’m worried about her, I know something’s causing her to be like this, and I dunno if it’s me.” Wilbur said honestly, and Philza’s face turned to a warm comforting smile.

“It’s not you, Wil. I know she loves you just as much as you love her.” Philza said, certain.

“If it’s not me…” WIlbur started. “Then what is it?”

“I don’t know, if I’m honest. But i wouldn’t worry too much over it, okay? I’m sure she’ll tell you what’s going on when she’s ready to.” Phil reassured him. As he told his son, he too tried to keep his worries at bay. He didn’t want to get in the middle of his son’s love life, but if something really bad was happening to the shapeshifter, Phil wanted to help.

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

Philza tried to stay calm as the girl broke down into tears over the two words that spilled over her lips. Part of him wanted to scream, to scold… they were both in their early twenties, but Phil still saw them as kids, kids who didn’t know what to do and were too young to be parents yet. He was mad at them for not being careful, he was upset that Sally felt the need to hide it, and most of all he felt scared for both of them. For the first time in his life, Phil couldn’t protect them. He couldn’t just pull out his sword and fight it all and make all the monsters and scary things go away, and it scared him. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a second to process, before handing the crying girl a tissue, doing his best to calm her.

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I… I felt so ashamed that I let this happen, I-” Sally’s voice shook. “If Wilbur knew, he’d probably leave, I-”

“Hey.” Phil’s voice was stern but soft. “You couldn’t have done anything to prevent this, it isn’t your fault, okay?” Sally looked to the floor. Phil rubbed her trembling shoulders as a few moments of silence passed between the two. Phil looked firm. “You’ve gotta tell him.”

“No… no I can’t…” Sally said, images flashing through her head of his disgusted face, glaring at her coldy, telling her that if she really cared and respected him, loved him, she would have been more careful, telling her that he wasn’t willing to get dragged down into her mess, so she’ll just have to deal with it.

“Sally, he’s gonna figure it out eventually. Would it be better if you told him, or if he figured out you kept it from him too late?” Philza said.

“He’s done so much for me, I don’t want to burden him with this. He doesn’t deserve to pay for my mistake.” Sally said softly.

“But it’s not your mistake, it’s not ‘your’ anything, you can’t blame yourself for this.”

“Then who can I blame, Phil? Why did this happen, then?!” Sally snapped. “What am I supposed to do now… what can I do now?!” Silence once again engulfed the room as Phil sat and slowly took the shapeshifter’s hands in his.

“You know, when I figured out I was going to be a Dad, I was so scared. I was 22 with no stable job, moving from place to place, living off the land, that’s no way to raise a family.” Philza said, staring into space as he spoke, recalling the memory. “I learned a lot, then - like some things happen without a reason… bad things, but also really good things. Amazing things. And, I know that even now, I’m still scared about it all, but I know you’ll both get through it together just fine. You care too much about each other to let anything get in the way of that.” His gentle expression met hers. “What you’re gonna do now, is you’re going to breathe, finish your cup of tea, and relax. Then when Wilbur comes back from getting the honey with Tommy and Tubbo, you’re gonna look him in the eyes and tell him, even if you’re scared. Because as much as you’re afraid of losing him, he’s afraid of losing you, too.”

Sally swallowed thickly, nodding. “Then what?”

“Then, we’ll figure everything out together, okay?” Phil took his own tea cup in his hands and sipped, looking out the window as the sun began to set. Sally, with shaking breaths, sipped her tea as well as the two sat in a comfortable silence. When the door opened and shouts erupted from the hallway, Phil gave Sally’s hand one final squeeze before getting up and taking their empty tea cups to the kitchen.

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

“Go. Take your mind off everything for a bit.” Philza had told him as he practically pushed him out the front door. “You can’t just be anxious, worried and cooped up in your room over a girl. Take a break.” When he tried to protest, Philza put his hand up, silencing him. “Besides, Techno’s too busy today to go with them, and someone’s gotta make sure they get home in one piece. Enjoy yourself and have fun, okay?”

Now, sitting under the cover of a bush, all three of them - Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo - looked over toward the bee’s nest. “Okay, what’s the plan here?” Tubbo asked, and Tommy smiled, a plan already forming in his mind.

“Okay, so you lure all the bees out with some flowers, while Wilbur and I get the honey. If it backfires..” Tommy hit his fist against his hand. “We’ll hit ‘em with Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B..?” WIlbur asked curiously.

“Well, it's a highly complicated-” Tubbo began.

“-and a simplistic plan that has always gotten us out of trouble so far.” Tommy said, which did not do much to help Wilbur’s new worries over Plan B.

Tubbo picked a huge pile of lilies and daisies and nervously walked closer while Tommy gave him a thumbs up from behind the bush. “You got this, Bee Whisperer!” He hashly said softly, while Wilbur looked over to him.

“Are you sure this is safe?” WIlbur said, looking over at Tubbo, ready to tackle him to the ground if things went south. “I know bees like flowers, but I’m pretty sure they can tell the difference-”

“Oh yeah, Tubbo’s got this.” Tommy reassured him. “He’s the Bee Whisperer, after all.” A large glass jar landed with a ‘thunk’ on the soft grass. “You’ll hold the jar while I get the honey.”

“Do you even know how to get honey from the nest?” Wilbur asked, and Tommy looked confused.

“Yeah, you just stick your hand in, and-”

“No, nope, we’re not doing that.” WIlbur said. “You’re holding the jar, I’m getting the honey.” He looked over the bush, and to his surprise, the bees flew around Tubbo peacefully, landing on the flowers he held as Tubbo let out a weird buzzing noise from his mouth. Huh - the Bee Whisperer… cool.

Tommy muttered angrily in protest as he hauled the jar over at his signal, and Wilbur picked up a stick and slowly began to put globs of honey in the jar.

“Is the reason I’m not doing it because of your women problems?”

“Shut up, Tommy-” Wilbur harshly said under his breath, trying to focus. “You’ll alert the bees.”

“Well excuse me for trying to distract myself, this thing’s heavy-”

“Shut up.” Wilbur muttered angrily. Sure, it was kind of harsh, but he was the one who was complaining. They were about halfway done filling the jar when a few bees began to fly back to the nest, and Tubbo tried to call them back to no avail.

“I think it’s time for Plan B, Wil-”

“No, it’s just a few bees, Tommy…”

One bee in particular decided to land on Tommy’s nose, and that was it. “PLAN B!” He shouted as he capped the honey jar and gave it to Wilbur as he noticed all the bees begin to run back to the nest, sensing danger. Wilbur pushed him away from the nest. “Run!”

Well, Wilbur did not need to be told twice. He rushed away as Tubbo ran after him toward their hiding place in the bush. Tommy followed soon after, covered in honey and bee stings, his hands particularly sticky. Wilbur looked over to see the nest destroyed. He flicked Tommy’s forehead. “That was a terrible plan, you idiot!”

“Ow!” Tommy rubbed the spot a bit as it burned in pain. “Hey, it worked didn’t it? We’re all safe.”

“You can’t just punch away all your problems!” Wilbur shouted. “You could have gotten really hurt!”

“I’m sorry.” Tommy said quietly, looking bothered by his older brother’s tone. Wilbur sighed, his arms crossed. Though it was good to let his frustrations out, he shouldn’t have snapped at him - Tommy was far from the one who’d been aggravating him recently. Tubbo looked at the two, then to the jar.

“Well hey,” He said, smiling, trying to lighten the tense mood. “Look at how much honey we’ve got.” He moved the almost full jar in front to show off. “This has gotta be enough honey for the bee farm, Phil’s gonna be impressed - we make a pretty good team.” Tommy brightened a bit at his friend’s words, though still kind of hurt, and moved to take the jar from Tubbo.

“We should be heading back, the sun's almost down.” Tommy said as he stood, picked up the jar and walked off, Tubbo close behind, and then Wilbur at the back.

Wilbur would be lying if he said the past few weeks had been easy - he tried his best to just stay calm, but every time without fail Sally would always rush away, or snap at him. If she was upset with him, he wished she’d just tell him instead of playing this stupid guessing game. He felt like he was walking on eggshells around her, and he hated it. He didn’t like all this secrecy, he didn’t like not being able to just talk with her the way they used to. He was upset and angry with Sally, he just wanted to know what’s going on, is that such a hard thing to ask?

He scoffed to himself - he was supposed to be keeping his mind off it, but he couldn’t even do that. He couldn’t even relax when things were so tense with her, how pathetic is that…?

“Wilbur?”

“...What?” He asked, snapped out of his thoughts by Tubbo, who pointed ahead.

“This is the right direction, right?”

“I’m not Techno, but… I think…” He looked around, scrambling for some familiar landmark. Tommy was in front, uncharacteristically quiet. Then, he spotted a rotten tree log, and it clicked in his mind where they were. “Yes, just a bit that way.” He moved toward the front, and Tommy kept his eyes forward. Feeling awkward, Wilbur touched the sft fabric of his beanie, taking in his hands and running his fingers over it, taking a breath before finally breaking the silence.

“Look, I’m sorry for snapping at you. You didn’t deserve that.”

Tommy’s eyes were fixated on the jar for now. “You’ve been so off lately, and I just thought maybe if we dragged you on some crazy adventure, I’d get you back. But it still followed us, I don’t understand… is it me?”

“No, I… it isn’t, Tommy.” Wilbur said, focusing on the knitted stitches as he formed the words to say. “I’ve just been- Things with me and Sally have been... complicated, recently. Still, I shouldn’t have yelled at you like that.”

“So, you really are having women problems.” Tommy’s tone was serious, an oddity for the usually joking teen. “You really care about her a lot, don’t you?”

“Yeah… yeah, I do.” Wilbur breathed.

“No wonder. I haven’t seen you this torn up about anyone in… in well, forever.” Tommy smiled, not joking or smirking, but just smiled. “We’re here for you, you know.”

“I know.” Wilbur smiled as the two made eye contact. “Thank you, Tommy.”

“Does this mean you’re not mad at each other anymore?” Tubbo asked from behind them, and the two brothers smiled.

“Yeah, yeah I think we’re done.” Tommy said as Tubbo wrapped his arms around both of his brothers shoulders with a relieved smile.

“Good, because I did not want to be walking home in that awkward silence for another hour.” With that, laughter erupted from all three.

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

Philza smiled, eyebrows raised in a bit of surprise as he took the jar of honey from Tommy, looking at his condition. “Should I even ask?”

“We used Plan B.” Tubbo said with a smile, making Tommy smirk.

“I punched a thing.” Tommy said confidently, and Philza laughed.

“Go get cleaned up, both of you - and don’t forget to apply that sting cream.” The two boys marched to the bathroom as Philza set their prized jar on the counter. Back in the living room, Wilbur’s gut ached uncomfortably as Sally walked toward him, giving him a sad smile.

“Hey.” Her hands found their way into his and their fingers interlocked. It felt… nice.

“Hey.”

“Do you, uh… can we talk? Alone?”

“Uh… yeah, yeah. Okay.”

Sally’s hands never left his as they sat down on his bed in his room, the door closed behind them. Though for the past few weeks Wilbur had so much he wanted to say to his girlfriend, now he couldn’t seem to find any words as they just sat in silence for a few moments. The fur on Sally’s ears and tail stood on end, and she took a deep breath, looking at their hands as she finally spoke.

“Okay, Wil… there’s something I’ve gotta tell you.”

Wilbur’s heart felt uneasy by your nervousness, worries filling his mind of finally figuring out the truth… and if he didn’t like what it was. If Sally decided to break up with him - all the uncomfortableness would make so much sense, why would she drag it out for this long… he really hoped it wasn’t that, but… it seemed more and more probable.

“You’ve probably noticed I’ve been acting weird, right?” She asked as he nodded. “Well, remember when I told you that I used to not be attached to anything, because I knew it could only lead to disaster?”

“Yeah…?”

“Well… I’m attached to you, a lot. I’ve realized it lately, and I’ve realized I don’t… I don’t want to lose you. I was so scared that if I told you, I would, and I… I love you too much to lose you, Wil.”

Is this what she’d been upset about?

“You’re never going to lose me, Sally. I promise…” He said, relaxing a bit as his mind whirred about the entire situation. He kissed her forehead softly as he pulled her in for a comforting embrace. “I promise I’m not going anywhere, okay?”

Sally smiled, beginning to relax a bit more, but still a bit nervous. “That’s why it’s been so hard to tell you, Wil.”

“Tell me what?”

Sally took another deep breath. “Wilbur, I’m pregnant.”

Wilbur blinked a few times, trying to process what his girlfriend had just said. Pregnant. She… she was pregnant. That was not what he was expecting her to tell him in the slightest. But, it did explain some things - her frequent bathroom trips, for one. His mind slowly began to put the pieces together, how it made so much sense…

“You serious…?” He asked her, and she smiled, tucking his hair behind his ear.

“One hundred percent, Wilby.” Her voice shook with nervousness as she mustered a smile, not knowing what he’d do or say next. Wilbur broke out into a huge smile as he took Sally into his arms and spun her around as the two laughed, smiling. Wilbur was so relieved that it wasn’t what he thought, that it was the farthest thing from his worries. All the anxiety, the fear… it all went away. They both fell into the bed, smiling and laughing. Wilbur planted a soft kiss on Sally’s cheek as he moved to cuddle her tightly in his arms. “So… you’re not upset with me?”

“No, why would I?” Wilbur said. “Of course, I mean, it’s unexpected… but, we’ll get through it together.” His attention quickly turned to her, his relief turning quickly into concern. “Are… are you okay? I can’t imagine what you’re going through, if you even want the baby-”

“I’ve had lots of time to think about it.” Sally laughed. “And, I’ll admit I had mixed feelings at first - partly because of what you’d think, but partly because I’ve never even thought about kids, you know? It always seemed so far off.”

“Well, if you’re uncomfortable about it, we can always talk about other options, or…” Wilbur said, trying to reassure her.

“No. No… I…” Her eyebrows furrowed, and her ears flicked back and forth. “I think I wanna keep it.” She looked over to Wilbur as her hands found their way back into his. “I was so scared of losing everything that I kept this from you for so long… I don’t want to be scared anymore.” She laid her head against his chest, finding the words as her eyes were glued on their hands. “I want… I want you, Wilbur. I want this.”

“Are you sure, we don’t have to decide anything right now, I don’t want to pressure you-”

“Wilbur.” Sally reached up to cup his cheek with a comforting smile, feeling happy, relieved, and content. Of course, part of her was scared of the unknown, but Sally knew that what Phil had told her, what Wilbur told her was the absolute truth - she and Wilbur would get through it together. Her hand moved his over her stomach, and Wilbur couldn’t help but smile as he leaned down and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

You wouldn’t see it at first glance, but they were both absolutely terrified at the new adventure waiting for them. Yet, somehow, in each other’s arms, they felt safe, secure. Like they could do anything. I guess, looking to what would come next, that was more true than either of them would think.

#dream smp #dream smp drabble #dream smp fic #wilbur soot #sally the salmon #wilbur x sally #tubbolive #tubbo #tommyinnit #tommy #tommyinnit and tubbo #technoblade #dadza #philza #dadza philza #sleepy bois inc #pregnant sally the salmon #my writing

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