#*shrug emoji* listen it was a cute idea and it brings

[flownintothesun]

𝐀 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄-𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐅𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐂𝐈𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐀𝐓 𝐈𝐒 𝐔𝐍𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐄𝐃 & 𝐒𝐀𝐃 :

Content Warnings for mentions of NPC death ; early-onset Alzheimer's, memory loss.

At the age of sixteen — two years after his mother was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s, and about a year before his violin tutor (and mother’s employer) Valéry died — Francis, with Valéry‘s help, was cast as none other than (the) William Shakespeare in a small local theater group’s production of Something Rotten! (Shh, is this possible, probably not, is it fiction, yes! Also, lest we forget — Francis’s very first love was the bard.)

To hide the news and production from Henri (Francis’s father), Valéry changed Francis’s ‘tutoring’ schedule and the four of them (Francis, Valéry, Valéry‘s husband Michel, and Francis’s maman, on her good days) kept the whole thing a secret, managing to sneak him around to most rehearsals. This is one of the crowning moments of Francis’s entire life — not because he slayed the role (he did, tight pants and all) or even because it was one of the increasingly rare times he was truly and authentically himself — but because his real ‘family’ was there opening night with so many flowers, cheering loudly as though it was a big-name production. It was one of the last big hurrahs with his mother before she was moved into a care facility with her condition gradually deteriorating, and before Valéry‘s condition took a turn. There was nothing in the world that could stop them on that night, it was well and truly a happily ever after.

His mother gave him kisses and told him how proud she was, how proud the Bard himself would be, and Valéry had spoken to him about queerness and identity following that, a glass of champagne in hand. Francis had felt so seen, and utterly loved at every level.

To this day, Francis has kept that memory close to his heart, and a secret for all of these years. He keeps a photograph of his ‘family’ in one of his books — The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. While most of Francis’s books are in pristine condition — this one is well loved, and so is the concealed picture of him in his costume, glowing like the sun alongside his loved ones.

(by the way ; here’s the role.)

#➤ 𝚅𝙸. 𝚃𝙷𝙴 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚁𝚂 ┊ francis devereaux. #⋆ ⚓︎ ⋆ ── 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐃𝐂𝐀𝐍𝐎𝐍𝐒 ┊ 𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑛 𝑖𝑓 𝑤𝑒 𝑑𝑜𝑛'𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑡𝑒 . . . 𝑖𝑡 𝑏𝑒𝑙𝑖𝑒𝑣𝑒𝑠 𝑖𝑛 𝑢𝑠. #probably not the case in every verse #also it is very late and words are not wording #*shrug emoji* listen it was a cute idea and it brings #me and francis joy #also this song is literally my writing jam #death cw #memory loss cw #illness cw #grief cw

[harleybeaumont]

Shut Up And Dance With Me

One Shot from - Love Me The Way I Am

Book - TRR AU one shot

Pairings- Maxwell x MC (Harley)

Synopsis - Maxwell and Harley have a dance party in Ramsford late one night. 

A/N- This is from my story Love Me The Way I Am, between Part 1 and Part 2 (which will be out soon!) You don’t need to have read my fic in order to enjoy this one shot. ❤️

A/N 2- Every time I hear this song it makes me think of Maxwell, so I knew this story had to be written! There’s a nice dose of Maxwell’s sweet soul and endearing nonsense.🥰

🎵 🎶 Song Inspiration- Shut Up And Dance by Walk The Moon (listen to it here!😊)

Warnings- just a bit of language, but mostly fluff

Word Count- 2,580

*I’m tagging some people who have read LMTWIA before or who I think might be interested in this! Don’t feel obligated to read! ❤️

Lyrics will appear in bold.

Shut Up And Dance With Me!

11:00 pm and here I am thinking about her again. Not like it’s an uncommon thing for me. She occupies my brain nearly twenty four hours a day. Though, not only my brain.. I finally know what they meant by someone taking over your mind, body, and soul. That’s Harley Hughes, alright. My Harley.

I pull out my phone, rereading the texts from today, the cute little emojis and ‘I love you’s’ filling my heart with nearly unbearable joy. I never thought someone would love me the way she does. Through all my flaws.. my idiocy, my impulsiveness, my ‘through the roof’ energy. She loves me through it all. And God, I love her.

I sigh and put my phone away. How can you already miss someone who you just saw two hours ago? Ugh, tomorrow morning can't come soon enough. I think I’ll make her breakfast. Even though we both suck at cooking, we have a lot of fun trying. Harley burns nearly everything she touches, and for some reason, I never cook anything long enough. Most mornings we end up eating cereal.

A knock at the door causes me to nearly drop the phone on my face as I’m laying in bed. Yes, I was reading her texts again. God, I’m so far gone.

I open the door and standing before me is my beautiful goddess, wearing a backless dress and some beat up sneaks. Her face has been scrubbed clean of all her makeup and her long brown hair is pulled back in a messy bun. She’s absolutely gorgeous. I feel my heart jumping out of my chest as she smiles at me.

“Hey!” Harley throws herself against me and hugs me tightly. God she smells so good. Like honeysuckle and cupcakes all mixed together. Note to self: Try to make honeysuckle cupcakes one day.

“I missed you!” She says blushing. “I know it’s stupid to talk about missing someone when you literally just saw them a couple hours ago but-”

I grab her hand and bring her toward me for a kiss, cutting her off. “I missed you too, beautiful.”

She blushes and I’m sure I am too. No one has ever had that effect on me. Maxwell Beaumont has always been cool as a cucumber, but with her.. I’m anything but. 

“Do you wanna come in?” I open the door wider and step back. 

She smiles and says, “I have a better idea! If you’re up for it.”

I am officially intrigued and one hundred percent up for anything and everything this woman wants to do. “Hell yes!”

“You don't wanna know what it is first?”

I shrug, “Are you gonna be there?”

“Yesss.”

“Then I’m up for it! It doesn't matter what it is, as long as I get to be near you,” I say and she blushes again. God, I’ll never get tired of seeing her like that.

“Then throw some shoes on and let’s go to the ballroom.” 

I gasp. “The ballroom?” I think I know where this is going! “You don’t mean.. Impromptu dance party?!?!”

 Harley giggles, “Let’s go and you’ll find out!” She loves dancing almost as much as I do, even trying to learn some break dancing moves for me. No one ever gave a shit about that before. Harley is my discotheque, Juliette, teenage dream.

I’m wearing sweatpants and a white undershirt and Bertrand would be mortified if he knew I came downstairs dressed in anything so casual.. Even though no one is here besides us. I could run through the halls naked and no one would know. And believe me, I’ve done it. It was so freeing until I crashed into one of the housekeepers who was working late. But that’s a humiliating story for another time. “Shouldn't I change?”

“No way! We’re being spontaneous, Max!” She grabs a pair of tennis shoes from my closet and starts putting them on my feet. It would probably seem silly to most people, but the gesture makes me fall for her a little more. I may be a grown man, but it’s really nice to have someone want to take care of you every once in a while. “There.” She looks up from the ground in front of me, and my breath catches, just like the first time I made eye contact with that beautiful waitress in New York. I swear even back then, I felt it in my chest as she looked at me. And nothing has changed.

I pull her up and we make our way down the stairs, trying and failing not to giggle at the thought of waking up Bertrand. Although it is Wednesday night.. He’s probably watching his telenovelas. 

Harley pauses outside of the door to the ballroom and tells me to wait as she slips inside. Suddenly I see neon lights from under the crack in the door and hear music blasting. Oh my god she planned this! She actually planned this for me! I am trying my hardest not to cry.

“Ta-daaa!” She throws open the doors dramatically and part of the ballroom is lit up like a middle school dance. I’ve never seen anything more beautiful in my life! Strobing neon lights and streamers adorn a corner of the ballroom. But the best sight is Harley giving me that bright, hopeful smile. From the moment I first saw that smile directed at me, I knew we were bound to be together.. Well at least I hoped we would be!

She took my arm and pulled me inside, smiling brightly. “What do you think?”

Damn it, I’m crying. Why am I such a fucking crybaby? “Harley.. Did you do all this yourself?”

“Of course I did! Although I don't know how it happened so smoothly! I had to sneak all this stuff past Bertrand when he was in his study!” 

“I’m truly in shock.”  I say as I grab her hand, leading her toward the dance floor and the flashing lights.. 

We took the floor and she said, “I know it’s kinda corny, but is it.. ok?

“Okay!?!?! It’s the best damn thing anyone has ever done for me!”

Though it’s hard to tell through the strobing neon lights, I see a slight blush tint her beautiful cheeks and I stoop down to kiss them.

She closes her eyes and smiles. “So.. what are we waiting for?” 

The music is calling me and I feel it in my bones. Harley has already started swaying her hips and places my hands against them. She gets up on her toes and gives me a heated kiss that I feel all the way down to my... feet. Uh, ya my feet. Try to keep your mind PG tonight, Maxwell!

I’m so wrapped up in her that I almost forget to close the ballroom doors.. Don’t want Bertrand to hear the music and ruin everything. I pull away from her and she grabs my hands, pulling me back as she stares into my eyes. Those beautiful blue eyes. “Oh, don't you dare look back. Just keep your eyes on me.” She brought my hands behind her and placed them onto that amazing ass.. So much for PG thoughts!

I gulp. “Um, no problem there.” Why was I even looking away in the first place? No idea.

Harley asked if I could show her some break dancing moves. Oh yes.. My time to shine. They don't call me ‘secret agent break dance’ for nothing. Or maybe it’s just me who says that. Aaaanyway..

I drop down to the floor and bust a move like there’s no tomorrow! Handstands, flips, spins.. And that one move I trademarked that got me the gold in the European Breakdancing Championship. I call it ‘The Squid’s Justice’. Ya, that one nearly gave me a concussion the first fifty times I tried it. Bertrand forbade me from ever doing it again, but what he doesn’t know wont hurt him. The whole point is that your arms and legs are spinning so quickly that you can't tell how many limbs you have and you kinda look like a squid. Ya, it’s bad ass. 

“Oh my god, Max!” Harley gasps as I perfectly execute ‘The Squid’s Justice’. In your face, Bertrand! “That looks way too hard for me to do! I’ll just stick to shaking my ass!”

“Hey, you know I’ll never object to that!” I laugh but I am one hundred percent truthful. That ass is.. Muah! Chefs kiss. 

Harley slowly drops down to the floor, making eye contact with me over her shoulder. I’m trying to keep my cool and not let her see how much it affected me. Maybe if I tease her, I can get her to do it again. I said, “You’re holding back, Harley. I’ve seen you go even lower at the club.”

She laughs, seeing completely through me as usual. “I know what you’re doing!”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about!” I lie, trying to keep a straight face.

Harley gives me a smirk. “Maxwell..” she said, “Shut up and dance with me!”

“Yes, ma’am!”

I grab her hand and twirl her while she laughs. I love seeing her let loose and dance with abandon. I watch her spinning and jumping around, the loud music and the strobing lights surround her, and my heart swells. How did I ever find someone so perfect? This woman is my destiny. 

I lift Harley off of the ground and she squeals, clinging to my shirt like I’m going to drop her. There’s no way. If I ever felt like I was going to drop her, I’d do the chivalrous thing and let her fall on top of me to cushion her fall. Maxwell Beaumont was raised to be a gentleman, after all. 

I grab her from behind and lift her and she spreads her arms out dramatically. She said, “Woohoo! I’m queen of the world!”

I can’t help but laugh. She is just the best, most ridiculous person ever. Well, maybe the second most ridiculous person. But that’s another reason why I love her. “You know that’s not the exact quote, Harley. It’s actually I’m king of the world!”

“Oh my god, Maxwell just shut up and dance with me!” She shimmies towards me then drops into an ungraceful cartwheel. “You think you can keep up with this?” She is clearly trying to hide her laughter.

It’s hard not to crack up at that display, but I try to keep a serious expression. “Oh, come on girl, you ain't seen nothing yet!”

We take turns twirling each other and laughing and having the best time ever. Her messy bun has almost completely fallen out and her wavy locks cascade across her shoulders and over the bare back of her dress. I dip her and look deep in her eyes, and the love I see is almost too much to bear. Those eyes that I always feared would never see me the way she sees me, are looking at me the way no one has before. Those eyes that I always imagined would look at Liam with that much adoration, are locked on mine. She’s here, not looking at The King, but the Court Jester. Sometimes it’s surreal to think she wants to be with me. 

When I pull her close and close my eyes, I swear I think I see the future. My future. Our future. Up until I met Harley, I didn’t give a crap about my future. I was always just living for the moment, partying, and had basically given up on ever having a relationship. But now I'm dancing with the love of my life.. And hopefully I’ll get to dance with her every day for the rest of my life.

We dance into the night, and I see Harley is starting to fade. And I’d never let on, but so am I. Even ‘secret agent break dance’ needs to rest every now and then! I realize this is my last chance to show off an epic move before both of us pass out, so I’m bringing out the big guns. We’re about to go full on Dirty Dancing in here.

“Baby, get ready for the lift!” I yell and Harley gives me a confused look. 

“The lift! Come on Baby, Johnny’s got you!”

“Oh god, Max are you sure?!” She quirks an eyebrow.

“Am I sure? Am I sure?! Listen, nobody puts Baby in a corner!”

She puts her hand on her forehead like she always does when she's worried. “Max, that has absolutely nothing to do with what I just asked-”

“Get ready!” I jog backwards and hold my arms out. I’m gonna Patrick Swayze the hell out of this.

Harley looks scared as hell, but God love her, she still runs at me full steam, pausing just in front of me to leap. I grab her waist and lift her straight over my head, and for a few glorious seconds she is hoisted in the air, arms spread wide like an eagle in flight. The clouds part as the angels sing ‘Time of My Life’, and even Patrick Swayze himself descends from the heavens to give me a thumbs up.

But.. apparently to do a lift you need a lot of upper arm strength. I started wobbling and she took my arm, trying to hold on for dear life.

Oh my god, we’re going down! I don’t know how it happened.. Ok ya, I do. I skipped ‘arm day’ at the gym a few too many times.. Ok, I don’t go to the gym. I get these guns from break dancing.

Before I know it, we’re both crashing unceremoniously to the ground. And of course I allow myself to cushion her fall. Didn’t I say I would?! We both stare at each other for a moment before Harley starts laughing hysterically. Yes, my pride is wounded, but that laugh is contagious and soon I’m joining in. Despite crashing to the floor, this has been one of the best nights of my life.

Harley stands and pulls me to my feet, still chuckling. “Come on, babe. We definitely need to end on a better note than that!”

I rub my back and smile at her. “You’re so right. Sorry I’m such an idiot!”

She gives me that warning look and I backtrack. “Ok, sorry.. I’m not an idiot! I know I’m not supposed to say that word anymore.”

“None of those self-deprecating words!” She chides me. She’s so cute when she looks angry. Her cute little nose wrinkles and I just have to kiss it. 

“I love you, Harley Quinn.” I kiss her forehead, nose, and lips.

She grabbed my hand and led me back toward the flashing lights. We took the floor and she said with a grin, “I love you too, my handsome Joker. Now let’s finish up with a freestyle!”

We both bust out our best and worst dance moves, laughing into the night. And at that moment, nothing in the world could make me happier. 

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

“Oh, don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me"

I said, "You're holding back"

She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"

This woman is my destiny

She said, "Ohh hoo

Shut up and dance!"

"Don't you dare look back

Just keep your eyes on me"

I said, "You're holding back"

She said, "Shut up and dance with me!"

This woman is my destiny

She said, "Ooh-ooh-hoo

Shut up and dance with me”

#trr fanfic #the royal romance #maxwell beaumont #maxwell x mc #one shot #choices #choices fanfic #shut up and dance with me

[thefanficmonster]

Just Two Sad Roommates

Corpse Husband x Reader(Female)

Warnings: Swearing (maybe)

Genre: Angst, Fluff

Summary: The power of medieval tavern music gets put to the test when Corpse’s roommate is having a rough day. SPOILER ALERT: it’s more powerful than anyone could assume.

Requested by Anon. You know who you are 😊😋 Wish I could tag you, I loved this idea so much and had such a fun time writing it. Hope you enjoy it just as much 🥰

The last twenty four hours haven’t been so great. 

Last night I had a huge fight with my boyfriend over his flirty messages with several girls. It was not just witty banter, it was way more and way more hurtful to me. He obviously denied it and defended himself, at least in the beginning of the argument. Then he took on the accusatory stance, pointing fingers at me for living with another guy. That had me absolutely fuming. Not only was his statement fabricated and literally made up on the spot, but he also used some seriously horrible insults for him. I was having non of it. Corpse is a really great roommate, sweet guy and overall amazing person. I haven’t once argued with him since we’ve started living together. We’re actually quite good friends. So hearing my asshole boyfriend call him all those names was more than enough to chase him out of the apartment. Thankfully, Corpse wasn’t home to hear all that. He rarely leaves the apartment but by some miracle this was the time he was absent.

Then this morning my mom called me to have a chat. It started off decently enough but it only remained that way for so long. It didn’t take her long to start criticizing each and every element of my existence. From my job, my boyfriend, my living arrangement, the career I’ve decided to pursue, the fact I moved to a different state, my paycheck that’s lower than her friend’s daughter’s...…..You get the point. 

Now I’m sitting here, contemplating what the two years I’ve been in a relationship with Marcus mean to me. I guess it is just like a phone call from my mother - starts off nice but slowly deteriorates. All things follow this pattern in my life, apparently. And just like the phone calls, I’ve considered ending things between me and him many times but never actually decided on it. Until now. The last part of this decision is executing it, which doesn’t look very promising. My thumbs are frozen, hovering over the keyboard.

I take a second to take a look at my life from a third person point of view, like an out of body experience. I am wrapped in a blanket, huddled on the couch like a burrito with a face. A really sad burrito with a face. I have a job where I work as much as three highly ranked workers and get paid a little over a secretary’s paycheck. I’m in a constant state of exhaustion and disinterest. I often forget I’m human and just assume I can live like a cactus - no food, no water. I have a boyfriend that’s cheating on me and most likely has been for quite some time now. And we’ve been dating for two fucking years. Man, that must be the longest cheat streak in history. Who knows with how many girls as well. And I still have trouble deciding weather to break up with him or not. Actually no, scratch that, I have already decided, but it feel so unnatural and so out of character that my body refuses to complete the task of delivering the final blow to the structure of this relationship which was already weak to begin with.

And it only got weaker when I started catching feelings for another guy. I know, I know, I’m a bad person for that, but I was never planning to act on those feelings. They have always just...lingered, loomed over me. They got stronger and stronger every time Marcus and I would fight, as though they were laughing at my mock of a relationship.

Speaking of laughter, I hear my roommate laughing in his recording room. I gave him the spare room for his recording equipment for a cheap add to his rent fee and it’s probably the second best decision I’ve ever made - first being picking him to be my roommate. He was among the first to reply to my online add and appeared the least sketchy over the phone. More hypnotizing if I’m honest. He could’ve told me he was a hitman and I wouldn’t have batted an eye, handing the keys to his room and the apartment without a second thought. All he had to do was keep talking. Again, SUE ME.

“Fuck, I’m so fucking pathetic!“ I drop my phone when all the strings inside me snap, releasing the sobs and tears I’ve been holding back for so long.

I bring my knees up to my chest, hiding my head in between them, desperately trying to shield myself from the plane crash that is my life at the moment. Crying makes me feel even sadder and more miserable but I have nothing left to do to get all the crap that’s piled up inside me out.

I’m on the verge of falling asleep, the tears have dried and the sobs have died somewhere in my chest, when I hear what sounds like music straight from Robin Hood’s time. 

Holy shit, I’ve lost it

I lift my head from in-between my knees, looking around the living room for the source of the jolly, lighthearted tune which despite all the heaviness of my self-loathing makes me feel like the main character in an medieval adventure. Wait...Holy crap, it’s that medieval adventure, Robin Hood-ass music I hear from Corpse’s room!

I whip around to face the entrance from to the hallway where I see an arm sticking out, holding a phone which is where the music is coming from. 

“Corpse?“ I call out to him in a questioning manner, shifting to a sitting position with my blanket kicked off of me and bunched up next to me.

“I can’t tell if you’re angry or sad...or both. Didn’t want to get attacked upon entering the room.“ I see the right side of his face peek out as well.

I break out into laughter, covering my mouth with one hand, “You’re such a dork.”

He takes this as a sign to come in, pausing the music as he does so. “What’s wrong?”

My laugh stops but a smile remains on my face as I look at him. He just has that effect on me. “A lot. What’s going on with you?”

He shrugs his shoulders, plopping down on the couch, “The usual, streaming Among Us. You should play with me and my friends some time.”

I scoff, “I can pull of a lie no problem. Maybe I really should.” I don’t actually consider it, it’s just funny to think about. 

I have never watched any of Corpse’s content. Not his scary story videos, not his streams, not his animated compilations. Just his songs. And let me tell you...they are hella good. One song and I was hooked.

“Hey, I have a question.“ I tilt my head to look at him, “What’s with you and your love for medieval adventure music?“

“Medieval tavern music, and it’s not really love.“ He shakes his head with this dopey grin that is just. so. adorable. “More like a coping mechanism. Tell me, did you feel less sad I played it for you?“

I stop and think for a second. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Point made.“ He declares, leaving me to nod in amusement. “Now, tell me what that ‘a lot’ is.“

So, I do. I tell him everything, from how my boyfriend is cheating on me to how my mother thinks I’m a complete failure. He listens carefully, paying close attention to everything I’m saying. I catch myself laughing a few times while I retell the recent upsetting events.

Must be that music.

“So, you broke up?“ He asks once I end my monologue with a sigh

I shake my head disappointedly, “Not yet. I still haven’t pulled the plug. I don’t know what to say.”

He holds out his hand to me, “May I be of assistance?”

I look at his hand then at him and contemplate for only a second before deciding ‘what the hell’ and handing over my phone after unlocking it. The screen displays my boyfriend’s chat so Corpse just types away what he has in mind. Before pressing ‘send’, he hands the phone back to me. “Proofread it.”

‘Dear Marcus, this is one of your girlfriends speaking. Yes, one of them. You think I’m not onto what you’re doing, you little shit? Well, to your dismay, I am. And so, I discontinue this relation between us. That word might have been too long for your IQ so let me rephrase: We are over. Finished. Hope your other girlfriends wake up too, unless they are already in the know, of course. Love, but really hate, Y/N‘

I was never aware this level of sass even existed.

I add a smiling emoji and send the message, sighing in relief. “I can check that off my to-do list now.”

We both lean back on the couch, looking up at the ceiling. A moment of comfortable silence takes over, leaving us both wandering in our own heads.

“Hey, um, I wanted to do this when I first moved in, but then I met your boyfriend and I took the hint. Now that you’re single, would you want to...“ he sounds a bit uncertain but continues regardless, “It’s ridiculous cause I don’t really like the idea of going out, but maybe we could order take-out...“

“Are you circling around asking me on an at-home date?“ I am surprised by how unbothered I manage to sound while I’m squealing on the inside. It’s fascinating how quickly a person can flip someone’s day around. Turns out it wasn’t the music at all. It was him that had the positive effect on mine.

Out of the corner of my eye I catch his face turn red and have to contain my laughter. The grin can’t be tamed though, especially not when he says, “Yes.”

Internally squealing, I launch myself from the couch, standing up straight in front of him. “Thai. My usual order is on the sticky note on the fridge. But first,” I offer him my hand, “I need to find out if a person can even dance to that ridiculous music.” At his amusement, my grin widens, “May I have this dance?”

He laughs that adorable laugh of his I’ve only heard through the layer of a wooden door. It’s even cuter when there’s nothing between me and its source. The source is cute too, not gonna lie.

With a shake of his head which is most likely disbelief, he takes the hand I’ve offered him, saying: “And you call me a dork.” 

@susceptible-but-siriusexual  @simonsbluee  @save-the-sky  @hacker-ghost  @itsminniekat  @bi-andready-tocry  @imtiredaffff  @jazzkaurtheglorious  @hereforbeebo  @fandomgirl17  @chrysanthykios  @maehemscorpyus  @loraleiix  @letsloveimagines  @annshit  @i-cant-choose-a-username-help  @enigmaticmaze

#corpse husband #corpse #husband #corpsehusband #corpse simp #corpse husband fanfic #corpse music #corpse husband x reader #corpse husband x y/n #corpse husband fluff #corpse husband fanficiton #fluff #angst #love #romance #corpse x reader #corpse x y/n #x reader #reader #reader in #x y/n #requests open #request

[waitimcomingtoo]

Chemistry Under Candlelight

Synopsis: Tom nervously prepares for your first date

continuation of Chemistry on the Couch but can be read on it’s own 

Masterlist

“Hello beautiful. I hope this text finds you well. I have not stopped thinking about you since we kissed in the elevator. I enjoyed that kiss very much and I was hoping we could perchance go on a date?” Tom read robotically from his phone. “How’s that?”

Tom looked at his friends expectantly after he read them the first draft of his text to you. It had been three days since you kissed him in the elevator and he wanted to play it cool, but he needed some help.

Zendaya and Harrison looked at each other with a similar look on their faces, avoiding eye contact with Tom.

“If you want her to get a restraining order, it’s smashing.” Harrison said finally, giving Tom and encouraging smile.

“I thought it was great.” Zendaya added and Tom sighed in relief. “Are you method acting for the part of a stalker or something?”

“You guys are supposed to me helping me.” Tom whined. “Clearly I need it.”

“What makes you think we can help?” Zendaya scoffed.

“You’re supposed to be an expert on this, Daya.” Tom said. “You’re the smoothest person I know.”

“Thank you. A little Shea butter and coconut oil goes a long way.” She smiled as she stretched ostentatiously.

“That’s not what I meant.” Tom groaned. “Look, I really like this girl. The whole world knows I really like this girl. I can’t mess this up. What am I supposed to text her?”

“How did you leave things?” Harrison wondered, figuring that was a good place to start.

“We made out in the elevator and she left in my hoodie and sweatpants.” Tom soft softly with a shy smile on his face. “She also told me to text her.”

“Give me your phone.” Zendaya rolled her eyes and held out her hand.

“Why?” Tom asked as he handed it to her.

“Because I don’t want to listen to you whining for the rest of your life because you ruined your chance with Y/n by sending her a creepy text.” Zendaya said simply as she began to type. “There.”

She handed Toms phone back to him and he eagerly took it, turning it to read what she sent.

“How’s my hoodie treating you?” He read the text sent to you. “That’s it?”

“Trust me. I know what I’m doing.” Zendaya shrugged and leaned on her hand. Tom looked at the text, skeptical of how different it was from his original one. There was no romance, no passion, no-

“She answered!” Toms train of thought haulted abruptly when he heard his phone ding. “What do I do?”

“I suggest you read it. Just a thought though.” Harrison said sarcastically from the other couch. Tom swallowed nervously before looking down to read your response.

“It’s been keeping me warm. You’d probably keep me warmer though.” Tom read out loud. “And then she put the emoji with the eyes looking to the side.”

“That’s good.” Zendaya nodded. “That’s flirty. Flirty is good.”

Tom opened his mouth to speak but shut it suddenly as his eyes grazed his screen, a sheepish smile lighting up his face.

“What?” Harrison wondered what had made his friend react like that.

“She said it smells like me.” Tom said with a sense of pride as he looked up from his phone.

“That could be a bad thing.” Harrison shrugged. “It could smell horrible.”

“She’s talking about your cologne.” Zendaya gave Harrison a warning look before looking back at Tom. “Tell her you bet it smells even better now.”

“I bet it smells even better now…” Tom spoke out loud as he typed.

“Perfect.” Zendaya smiled, relaxing back into the couch.

“…because your body has been inside it.” He continued before looking at Zendaya for approval. “That good?”

“Can you honestly look me in the eyes and ask me if that’s good?” Zendaya asked through gritted teeth.

“What’s wrong with it?” Tom held up his hands in defense, unsure why she got so angry with his message.

“With his whole chest, too.” Harrison mumbled as he shook his head. “He asked that with his whole chest.”

“I’m so disappointed in you. Give me your phone.” Zendaya held out her hand again.

“Okay, but I totally could’ve handled this on my own.” Tom said timidly as he handed his phone back to her.

“Tell that to the God awful text you almost sent her.” Zendaya rolled her eyeshadow she typed. “She wrote back.”

“That was fast.” Harrison noted. “That means you have her full attention right now.”

“What’d she say?” Tom bounced up and down as he grew impatient.

“You��ll have to come find out for yourself.” Zendaya read off Toms phone. “And then a smiley face.”

“A smiley face emoji or a typed out smiley face?” Harrison asked.

“Does that matter?” Tom wondered.

“It’s crucial.” Harrison insisted. “Which is it?”

“Typed out.” Zendaya wiggled her eyebrows and Harrison looked impressed.

“Oh, dude. She’s into you.” Harrison smirked.

“You can tell just from a colon and parentheses that she’s into me?” Tom asked, hoping his friend was right.

“Yeah.” Harrison said like it was obvious. “Can’t you?”

“I honestly don’t think I can do much of anything.” Tom mumbled.

“I’m writing her back.” Zendaya announced as her fingers flittered over his phone.

“What are you saying?”

“I asked if she was still in London.” Zendaya replied. “She’s here until the 4th. What’s the address of your weird house with the stupid chickens?”

“You mean my lovely house with my beautiful chickens?” Tom sassed. “It’s 221b Baker Street.”

“She’s coming over tomorrow. You’re making her dinner.” Zendaya said simply as she handed Tom his phone back. Toms face lit up as he read the texts for himself. He already knew what they said, but he could read it in your voice when he looked at them.

“And then you’re gonna hit that.” Harrison interrupted his thoughts with a loud clap of his hands.

“Harrison!” Tom snapped. “Why would I hit her? You should never hit a woman.”

“That’s…I didn’t…no.” Harrison rubbed his eyes as Tom completely misunderstood what he was saying.

“I don’t have time for your games.” Tom whined, still not getting it. “I have to learn how to cook in less than 24 hours.”

“You also have to thank your friend for securing you a date with your dream girl.” Zendaya shrugged as she sighed loudly.

“Yes. Thank you. Thank you thank you thank you.” Tom said sincerely as he took another look at your texts.

“I do what I can.” Zendaya nodded. She’s never admit it, but she hoped this ended well.

“I don’t get a thanks?” Harrison asked with offense.

“You can get a thanks if you help me cook dinner tomorrow.” Tom pleaded as he clasped his hands under his chin.

“Sounds good to me.” Harrison agreed, making Tom sigh in relief.

“I have a date with Y/n tomorrow.” Tom spoke, letting it sink in as he said it out loud.

“You do.” Zendaya laughed. “Don’t blow it.”

“I won’t.” Tom shook his head, still staring at your texts. “I won’t.”

~

“Call me Remy, because your boy came through with the food.” Harrison said proudly as he held up a glass pan covered with tinfoil. He had a big reusable bag around one arm, looking far more prepared than Tom was. His shirt was only half buttoned, as it was only one of many that he had tried on. Of course Tom had waited until he had a date with you to realize he hated all his clothes.

“You’re a life saver, Haz.” Tom thanked his friend. “What did you make?”

“Personally I made a phone call to Sam and asked him to make me a roast chicken.” Harrison admitted. “Then I made the drive over here with said roast chicken in my passenger seat.”

“Works for me.” Tom shrugged, taking the chicken and walking with Harrison to the kitchen.

“I also made a trip to the store and got ice cream sundae supplies. I figured some cute domestic shit could come out of that.” Harrison shrugged as he set the reusable bag on the table.

“Good thinking. How did you get so good at this?” Tom wondered as he put the ice cream in the freezer.

“Years and years of watching reality TV.“ Harrison sighed, looking off in the distance for a moment. “Now, what’s going on with your shirt? You look homeless.”

“I can’t find an outfit.” Tom whined anxiously as he flapped his hands.

“Okay, calm down.” Harrison said as he put his hands on Toms shoulders. “You’re acting like a teenage girl in opening scene of a Disney Chanel original movie.”

“What do I wear?” Tom asked desperately. “I hate all my clothes.”

“Wear the navy shirt with the white outline on the pocket. It brings out your eyes.” Harrison shrugged as he licked his hand before using it to fix Toms hair. The two boys stared at each other for a moment as an awkward silence settled between them before Tom cleared his throat.

“I love girls.” Tom nodded repeatedly, using a deeper voice than usual. “I can’t wait to go on a date with this girl.”

“Me too.” Harrison agreed, cracking his neck on both sides and flexing his muscles. “I like girls. Girls are great.”

“I’m gonna go get changed.” Tom pointed to his door and Harrison nodded eagerly.

“Good idea.” He said. “I’ll put the chicken in the oven.”

Tom dashed to his room, laughing a little to himself as he went. He returned shortly with the navy shirt on, feeling more confident than before.

“Can you set the table while I get the candles?” Harrison asked from the kitchen as he took the rest of the sundae supplies out of the bag.

“Candles?”

“It’s called, romance, Tom.” Harrison scoffed. “Girls love candles. Have you ever walked past a Yankee Candle store in the mall? It’s just a bunch of girls with their noses shoved in candles. They go crazy for them.”

“My mum loves candles.” Tom folded his arms as he realized.

“Exactly.” Harrison smirked. “Where do you keep yours?”

“The closet.”

“I’ll go grab them.” Harrison said as he left the room. Tom took out two plates and put them at opposite ends of the table. He was busy setting out utensils when Harrison returned with the candles.

“I told you to set the table.” Harrison said as he set the candles down.

“I did!” Tom pointed to the table. “All the utensils and plates are out.”

“You put the place settings at the heads of table.” Harrison rose his voice as he gestured to Toms work. “What is this, Beauty and the Beast?”

“What was I supposed to do? Seat her next to me?” Tom asked like it was ridiculous.

“That’s exactly what you were supposed to do!” Harrison yelled. “Do you not have vision?”

“I think it looks nice.” Tom defended his work.

“This is not nice.” Harrison shouted as he roughly grabbed the place setting. “This is the Last Supper.”

“What do I do?” Tom panicked. “She’s gonna be here soon.”

“She’s gonna sit at the head of the table because she’s the guest.” Harrison explained as he moved a plate to the other end of the table. “You’re going to be sitting to her left because once the sun starts setting the lighting will make your eyes and skin glow. Girls love that. Hell, I love that.”

“Okay. Sun, eyes, got it.” Tom nodded as he mentally took note of everything Harrison was saying.

“Do you have a vase?” Harrison asked he he neatly set the table to perfection.

“No. I have glass cups?” Tom offered in its place, getting an angry look from Harrison before getting slapped on the back of the head.

“Ow!” Tom rubbed the back of his head and looked at Harrison angrily.

“That’s not the same thing!” Harrison snapped. “I’m gonna see if Mrs. Beverly next door has a vase we can borrow. Stay here and don’t touch anything.”

“I’m in my own house. If I want to touch something-“ Tom cut himself off when he noticed the death glare Harrison was giving him.

“I won’t touch anything.” Tom said sheepishly. Harrison gave him a tight, sarcastic smile before leaving the house. He returned shortly with a vase in one hand and daises in the other.

“She gave me flowers too.” Harrison smiled proudly as he filled the vase with water and put it in the center of the table. “Now you look put together.”

“I look put together because I have flowers on my table? I doubt it.” Tom scoffed, though the flowers did add a nice touch.

“Oh my God. Were you raised by bears?” Harrison groaned as he lit two candles, one on each side of the vase.

“I don’t know how to do this! I’ve never done this.” Tom reminded him, secretly impressed with how nice Harrison had made the table look. The smell coming from the kitchen was heavenly, and Tom knew he looked good. He was starting to think he might actually pull this off.

“I know.” Harrison sighed, calming down now. “I can’t believe your first date is with your dream girl. No pressure, right?”

“Go big or go home.” Tom chuckled, nervously toying with the bottom of his shirt. The doorbell ringing made both boys heads snap up before looking at each other in fear.

“She’s here. Quick! Hide in the closet!” Tom whispered harshly as he pushed Harrison towards the coat closet.

“Or I could go out the back door. That’s also an option.” Harrison whispered back sarcastically.

“I might need you for something. You have to stay. But you know, in the closet.” Tom smokers apologetically as he pushed Harrison inside.

“The things I do for you.” Harrison shook his head in disdain as he squeezed in between Toms coats.

“Love you.” Tom said weakly before closing the door.

“Yeah, whatever.” He beard Harrison mumble as he opened his front door. You stood on his porch in a dress the color of a red velvet cupcake. Your lips matched the color of the dress and for a moment, Tom couldn’t think of anything else.

“Hi.” He blurted, a shy smile crossing his face as he stepped aside to let you in.

“Hi. I missed you.” You laughed lightly as you pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back comfortingly when you noticed how nervous he was.

“I missed you too.” Tom mumbled into your ear before letting go. You kept your hand on his shoulder after pulling away, seeing the look of fear in his eyes and he stared at your lips.

“You look scared.” You chuckled. “Are you wondering if you should kiss me or not?”

“Are you a mind reader?” Tom asked with wide eyes, being as that was exactly what he was thinking.

“No. Just a face reader.” You joked as you gave his shoulder a squeeze.

“I didn’t want to assume you wanted to kiss me.” Tom spoke softly, avoiding eye contact by looking at the ground. You smiled at his shy demeanor before putting your pointer finger under his chin, using it to tilt his face up. Before he could react, you were leaning in and kissing him. You let it linger a moment before pulling away, feeling a sense of pride when you saw how flustered it made him.

“I wanted you to kiss you.” You whispered against his lips before leaning back, giving him time to relax. Tom put a hand over his heart, grinning cheekily as he caught his breath.

“Somehow, it’s even better than I remembered.” He laughed in disbelief at what just happened.

“Yeah. I know the feeling.” You raised an eyebrow, signaling to him that you enjoyed it as much as he did.

“Let me give you a tour of the house.” Tom said confidently, taking charge now.

“Sure.” You linked your arm with his and followed him through each room of his house. You clocked a framed picture of you and him as kids from the Secret Life of Arietty premier, feeling your face flush to know he cherished that moment as much as he did. Finally, he brought you to the table.

“This is the living room.” He gestured to the table before he heard the oven ding. “And that’s our food.”

“It smells amazing, Tom. I didn’t know you could cook.” You complimented him as he walked a few paces away into the kitchen.

“I didn’t either.” Tom laughed nervously, feeling bad for lying to you.

“What did you make?”

“I made…something.” Tom blinked as he forgot what Sam had made. “Something delicious.”

“Sounds great. Thank you.” You said sarcastically before laughing at his strangeness. Tom gave you a bashful smile from the kitchen before opening the oven.

“It’s chicken!” He called from the kitchen. “I made chicken. All by myself.”

“I’m so proud.” You laughed again, chalking it up to him being nervous.

“OW.” He yelled from the kitchen. You looked up and saw him bouncing up and down while clutching his hand.

“Is everything okay?” You worried.

“I forgot things in the oven are hot.” Tom responded, pain evident in his voice. You were by his side in no time, touching his back gently to let him know you were there.

“Let me see.” You instructed as you took his hand and found a red mark on his palm from where he touched the pan.

“Ouch.” He laughed weakly, taking notice of how close you were standing to him. You smiled assuringly at him and walked him to the sink, turning on the cold water and putting his hand under it. He winced at first, but the pain slowly melted away the longer his hand was under the water.

“I can’t believe I did something so stupid.” He shook his head, feeling embarrassed for goofing up in front of you.

“It’s okay.” You shook your head. “I do this all the time.”

“You do?” He asked, wondering if you were just trying to make him feel better. “ Do you cook a lot?”

“No, not at all. I’m terrible at cooking.” You chuckled. Tom laughed too, knowing he had that in common. “I’m a decent baker though.”

“Last time I baked I had to call the fire brigade.” Tom recalled his nearly fatal cupcake incident.

“I’ll have to show you how to do it sometime.” You looked at him through your lashes, nudging him slightly as you turned the water off.

“It’s a date.” Tom smiled softly. You brought his hand to your lips and pressed a kiss to the burn, leaving your lipstick stain with it. You grabbed the oven mitts and took the chicken out before turning the oven off.

“Here. I’ll bring this to the table.” You said pointedly as you walked back to the table.

“I’ll get the drinks.” Tom decided. He joined you at the table with a bottle of soda a bucket of ice.

“Ginger ale.” You looked up at him in shock when you saw what he was carrying. “That’s my favorite.”

“I am your biggest fan, after all. I know these things.” Tom shrugged causally as he poured some Ginger ale into your glass. After setting the bottle down, he pulled your chair out for you so you could sit down.

“Here’s to our first date.” He smiled as he held up his cup.

“First of many.” You added as you clinked your glass against his.

You made easy conversation as you ate, always making Tom laugh at something or another. He was falling in love with you every second, and the same could be said for you.

“These flowers are beautiful.” You said as you stole a carrot off his plate.

“Thank you. I grow some in my garden by the chickens.” He lied, not even knowing what he was saying at this point. He was pretty sure Harrison stole the flowers from Mrs. Beverleys backyard.

“You own chickens?” Your jaw dropped as you turned around to see into his backyard.

“Yes, but don’t worry. The chicken we’re eating now is from the store, not my backyard.” Tom assured you, making you laugh.

“Okay good.” You chuckled. “The candles are a nice touch too. You really know how to set a table.”

“Only the best for my girl.” Tom shrugged as he took a sip of his drink, immediately scrunching his eyes in embarrassment. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to call you my girl.”

“Don’t be sorry. I liked it.” You bit your lip and looked at him fondly. Toms eyebrows raised, always pleasantly surprised by you.

“Okay then.” He smiled proudly. “Then would my girl like some more ginger ale?”

“I would.” You giggled as you held up your cup. You took a long sip before leaning on one hand and running your fingernails over his hand with the other.

“You know, the sun is hitting you perfectly right now.” You told him, timidly looking at him from your seat. “You look beautiful.”

Tom gasped a little as Harrison’s plan worked before blushing at your compliment.

“So do you.” He said softly, not feeling confident enough to look at you when he said it.

“The chicken was really good, Tom.” You changed the subject before you turned into a blushing mess. “How did you season it?”

“Oh, you know…salt.” Tom said the first thing that came to his mind.

“Salt?” You asked, surprised with his answer.

“And pepper.” He added quickly.

“Salt and pepper? What made it spicy?” You wondered.

“That would be the cinnamon.” Tom was just listing all the spices he knew at this point, feeling caught in his web of lies.

“Wow. I would never think to put cinnamon on a roast chicken.” You jutted your lip out, looking equally impressed and confused.

“Me either.” Tom squeaked, the guilt of lying getting to him now.

“I can take your plate if you’re done. I’m just gonna rinse it and then grab dessert.” He changed the subject quickly before you could think too hard about the chicken.

“Or we could rinse the dishes together.” You suggested. “It’ll go even faster.”

“You’re always thinking ahead, aren’t you?” He noticed. “I can barely think in the present.”

“Don’t worry about it, Tom. I can do enough thinking for the both of us.” You laughed as you took his hand and lead him to the kitchen. He turned the sink on and was about to put his dish under it when you stopped him.

“Wait.” You kept his hand back. “Wait for it to get hot.”

“Why?”

“To melt away any sauce. Cold water won’t get it off.” You explained. Tom looked up, thinking about what you said and realizing he was never able to get sauce off his plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

“Honestly darling, I have no idea how I’ve survived this far without you.” Tom said bluntly. Your laugh echoed through the kitchen as you rinsed the plates before putting them in the dishwasher.

“I don’t know either.” You shook your head playfully. Tom felt a surge of confidence go through him, leading to him leaning in and kissing your temple. He quickly turned away and went to the counter, gathering the sprinkles and whip cream before you could see his blush.

“Can you carry these to the table please?” He requested as he held them out.

“Are we making sundaes?” You gasped as you took the sprinkles from him.

“We are, if that’s okay with you.”

“That’s perfect.” You gushed. “I haven’t had a sundae since I was a kid.”

“I know. I haven’t had one since yesterday.” Tom sighed dramatically as he got the ice cream from the freezer, missing the way his joke made you light up.

You walked back to the table together, immediately sensing something was different.

“Why is it dark in here?” Tom asked as he set the ice cream down.

“Looks like your candle burned out.” You answered as you picked up one of the candles. You held it out for him to see, and he could see that the wick had burned all the way to the bottom.

“Shoot. We simply cannot eat this without candles.” Tom joked, trying to keep calm as the newfound darkness threatened his perfect dinner.

“Obviously.” You humored him.

“I have to get another one.” He decided, feeling frustrated with himself for literally leaving you in the dark. “How could I let this happen? We can’t have a candle lit dinner without candles.”

“Tom, it’s okay.” You told him, sensing that he was psyching himself out. “We don’t need candles.”

“No, it’s not okay.” He shook his head. “I should’ve checked how much wax was left before I lit them.”

“Tom. Look at me.” You took his face between your hands and made him look at you. “No one checks how much wax is left. I get the feeling you’re a little stressed out, yeah?” You asked calmly.

“A wee bit.” He smiled weakly.

“I’m gonna get the candles while you try and relax, alright?” You brushed your thumbs against his cheeks to calm him down. “Where do you keep them?”

“In the closet by the front door.”

“I’ll be right back.” You let your hand drag on his cheek as you walked towards the closet.

“Okay. I’ll be here.” He called after you before taking a seat and trying to relax.

You found the closet he was talking about and opened it, jumping a little when you were met with two blue eyes.

“Oh. Hello.” You greeted as you reached for the candles on the top shelf.

“Cheers, mate.” Harrison nodded in embarrassment. “Are you having a good time?”

“I am.” You answered honestly. “Are you?”

“I’m alright. A little cramped.” He shrugged.

“Hey, Tom?” You called out.

“Yeah, darling?” He answered as he walked to where you were.

“Are you aware there’s a grown man in your closet?” You asked him as you nodded towards Harrison. Toms eyes widened as he realized he forgot all about Harrison in the closet.

“Oops. This isn’t the bathroom.” Harrison said weakly, trying to lie for Toms sake.

“Harrison, could you please come out of the closet.” Tom gulped.

“Tom, I’ve been in love with you since we were kids.” Harrison declared as he stepped out of the closet.

“No, not like that.” Tom waved his hand is dismissal of Harrison’s joke. “Get out of my coat closet.”

Harrison shut the closet door and gave you an awkward smile and wave, which you returned.

“Y/n, this is Harrison. He’s my best mate and a much better at this than me. Everyone’s better at this than me.” Tom sighed. “My brother made the chicken and it was Harrison’s idea to have the candles and the flowers and make sundaes. All I could think of was pulling your chair out.” Tom looked down in shame.

“I appreciated that.” You said sincerely, stepping closer to him to let him know he still had you on the hook.

“You’re probably wondering why I offered to cook you dinner if I can’t cook, but I didn’t even offer to cook you dinner. My other mate was the one texting you because I had no idea what to say and I didn’t want to blow it with you.” Tom was confessing all his secrets now. Harrison quietly stepped back, letting the two of you speak.

“So you got your friend to flirt with me through text?” You asked for clarification.

“Yes.”

“And then hired your other brother to make us dinner?” You pointed your thumb towards the the kitchen.

“Yes.”

“And then got your other friend to prepare everything before you stuffed him in a closet?” You chuckled playfully, making Tom look up. He thought he had completely blown it, but the look on your face told him you found it funny.

“Yes.” Tom replied. “But in my defense, he willingly went in the closet.”

“I wouldn’t exactly say willingly. Forced might be a better term.” Harrison mumbled as he averted his eyes.

“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you the truth from the beginning.” He sighed. “And the truth is, I don’t know how to do this. I can’t talk to girls, especially ones I’ve fancied my entire life. And I’m a shit cook. I can’t even boil water. I’ve been lying to you all night. I can’t imagine what you’re thinking right now.”

You took another step closer to Tom and ran your fingernails over his arm.

“I’m thinking the best part of my week has been sitting here talking to you.” You told him, much to his surprise. “Not the texting, not eating the food I thought you made, just talking to you. That’s what I’ve enjoyed. Don’t get me wrong, the food was great. But I could not care less if you made it or not. All I care is if you want to go on another date after this one. And another one after that.”

“And another one after that?” Tom asked hopefully.

“Yeah. And-“

“Let me guess, another one after that?” Harrison cut in with a roll of his eyes.

“Stop listening, you trilobite.” Tom snapped before returning his attention to you with a loving smile.

“I was just leaving.” Harrison nodded curtly and excused himself.

“I really like you, Tom.” You stoked his cheek as you spoke. “So if you need your friends to text me and cook for us, that’s fine. As long as you’re the one I’m talking to, I’ll be okay.”

“I have a proposition for you.” Tom smiled, putting his hand over yours to keep it against his cheek.

“I’d love to hear it.” You raised an eyebrow.

“I will take you on as many dates as you want.” He began.

“Okay. Sounds good so far.”

“But I get to call you my girlfriend, not just my girl.” He smirked, slinking his arm around your waist and pulling you flush against his chest.

“I think I can work with that.” You told him before connecting your lips to his.

Tag List 🏷

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#tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland x y/n #tom holland x famous!reader #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x actress!reader #tom holland fluff #tom holland blurb

[babybluebex]

english love affair [tom holland x reader]

➽ pairing: tom holland x fem!reader ➽ word count: 2.1k ➽ summary: you attend the bronx school of science, and you’re immediately taken by the new student: ben perkins. ➽ warnings: deception ig?  ➽ a/n: PART 1! no idea how many parts this is gonna be, but stick around! (taglist link is in bio)

As soon as you stepped off the bus, you heard the chattering that only came from one occurrence. A new kid. That confused you, though. It certainly wasn’t unheard of for kids to drop in halfway through the semester, but, at your school, it was rare. The Bronx School of Science was an elite high school and it took amazing test scores and the grace of God to get in, so a new kid in the middle of the year was a rarity. 

You saw him the moment you walked into your first period chemistry class. After all, he was the only face you didn’t recognize. Dark, curly hair that was just a bit long, with rosy cheeks and wide brown eyes. He seemed nervous; as new kids usually were. He wore a red hoodie, his hands shoved deep into the front pocket, and he was looking all around the room. The seat next to him was empty and, while it wasn’t your usual place, there was no formal seating chart. “You new?” you asked, swinging your backpack to the floor. 

The boy looked at you with a keen alertness in his dark eyes, and he swallowed thickly. “Yeah,” he laughed softly. He sounded a little Queens, maybe; perhaps even Brooklyn. “Just, uh… Just moved here.” 

“Nice,” you said. “From where?” 

The boy clenched his jaw. “Queens,” he said, and you nodded. 

“Well, welcome to the Bronx,” you laughed. “I’m Y/N.”

“Ben,” he said quickly. “Ah, Ben Perkins.” 

“Ben Perkins from Queens,” you repeated. “What brings you here?”

Ben shrugged. “Parents,” he mumbled simply. Ben seemed like a guy of few words, but you didn’t mind too much. It was a welcome change from the other guys at your school who wouldn’t shut up. 

You decided to not really say much to Ben. If he didn’t feel like talking, you didn’t want to push him and make him uncomfortable. The first day at a new school was stressful. “If you need help with any classes or anything, just let me know. Getting into the routine here is hard as shit.” 

“Thanks,” Ben told you with a nod. “That’s quite nice.” 

You couldn’t place why the usage of the word “quite” tickled the back of your brain. Maybe because you had never heard anyone use it like that. “You’re quite welcome,” you replied, biting the tip of your tongue. Ben looked at you and the rosiness in his cheeks grew deeper as he smiled. 

The class started normally, until your teacher got to the Ps on the roll sheet. “Oh!” she cried. “We have a new student! Benjamin Perkins!”

Ben’s face grew red, this time not from laughter. He gave a quick two-finger to the class, and he mumbled, “Just Ben is fine, actually.” 

“Welcome to the Bronx School, Ben,” your teacher said. “I’m sure you’ll do great here.” 

About halfway through the lesson, you looked at the boy sitting beside you. He wore jeans and scuffed sneakers with the red hoodie, a dark curl bouncing along his forehead as he looked at the board and diligently copied notes. He was cute, a lot cuter than any boys you knew, and you wondered what he was like when he was in his element. His hands were big, veins popping as he gripped his pencil tightly. You took a second look at the mechanical pencil, and your heart soared. Quickly, you ripped a page out of your notebook and scribbled a quick “i like your pencil :)”, and you passed it over to Ben. 

He tore his attention away from the lecture for long enough to look at your note, then at the pencil. It was red and blue with various white spiderwebs all around it. You liked the Spiderman pencil; your dad had practically raised you on the Toby Maguire Spiderman movies, so you liked anything Spiderman. In fact, you had been Spiderman for Halloween three years in a row when you were little. Not Spiderwoman, you said, Spiderman. Ben wrote something down and gave you the paper back, and you bit your lip as you read his message. 

“spiderman’s pretty cool i guess. you like the movies?”

“yeah!! toby maguire’s awesome”

“cool. i like them too :)”

You invited Ben to sit with you at lunch, and he did. You usually sat alone, and you secretly liked having Ben there with you. You two talked about Spiderman, mostly: how Toby was a better Peter Parker but Andrew Garfield was the better Spiderman. “You know,” you started. “In the comics, Peter Parker becomes, like, an intern for Tony Stark. Tony makes him this suit and he becomes the Iron Spider.” 

“Really?” Ben said. His eyebrows went up, and he scratched at a few upturned hairs. “That sounds cool.”

“I wish they’d add Spiderman to the MCU,” you added. “I think he’d fit really well with everyone, ya know? I mean, I guess they’d have to cast the right guy, but…” You shrugged. “A girl can dream, right?” 

“Sure thing,” Ben said. “I like Robert Downey Jr. a lot, he seems really fun.” 

“Oh, definitely!” you agreed. “And Chris Evans! Man, I’d love to meet them, I would just die right there.” 

Ben smiled and nodded along with you, and he slotted his chin into his palm as he listened to you chatter about Avengers: Age of Ultron and Ant-Man. There was a hint of a smile on his lips, and you stopped mid sentence when you noticed it. “I just think Elizabeth Olsen is so underrated, and-- Ben. You alright?” 

Ben blinked a few times. “Yeah,” he said. “M’all good. Just listening to you.” 

You flushed. “I’m not talking too much?” you asked, feeling the urge to sink into yourself. “I’ve been told I do that.” 

“No, not at all,” Ben said quickly. “I like it. I like how people get when they get excited about something, you know? It’s cute.” 

“Cute,” you repeated, rolling the word around your mouth. Did Ben just call you cute? Or did he call the whole concept of your dumb blathering about some movies cute? Did that still qualify as calling you cute? You raised your eyes to his and, nervously picking at a loose thread on your sweater, hazarded, “You think I’m cute?” 

Ben shrugged. “I mean, yeah,” he said, as if it was obvious. “You just seem so passionate about those movies. I would listen to you talk about them for a long time.” 

“You wouldn’t want to.”

“I do,” Ben said quickly. “I promise you, I don’t mind one bit. I’d tell you if I did.” 

You nodded again, and you scooted just a bit closer to Ben. “For the record,” you started. “I think you’re cute too.” 

Ben smiled, little dimples appearing in his cheeks. “Cool.” 

Before the day ended, Ben had given you his phone number. “I don’t have Snapchat or anything,” he said. “Strict parents, ya know? But I’d love to talk to you.” 

You liked the way that Ben texted. He used a lot of emojis and even a few goofy emoticon faces, a la 2012, and he signed every text off with xx. With texting, you felt like Ben was a little more open than at school, probably because it was just the two of you, completely private. And, man, did the boy talk. He sent two, three, four messages in a row, just spewing thoughts the second he thought them. You didn’t mind one single bit, though; but your parents did. 

Even though the sound was off and your phone was in your pocket, the entire dinner table could hear your phone buzzing. “Is someone calling you?” your dad asked. “Your phone just keeps going off.” 

“Oh, no,” you said, your face going warm. Quickly, you pulled out your phone and set it completely silent, and the buzzing ceased. “Sorry. Just texts.”

“From who?” you mom asked. 

“A boy from school,” you began, fully intent on explaining the situation, but your little brother was quicker to the uptake than you. 

“Ooh, Y/N has a boyfriend!” he squealed. 

“Shut up, you little fungus!” you hissed. Brothers of any age were unbearable, but 13 was an especially difficult age, you had come to find. 

“Don’t call your brother a fungus,” you mom sighed. “That boy’s texting you an awful lot, though, Y/N.” 

You shrugged. “He’s new,” you said. “Just asking questions about school and stuff.”

“And his name?” your dad asked. 

“Ben Perkins,” you said. “He just moved from Queens.” 

“He’s a senior?” your mom asked and, when you nodded, her eyebrows creased. “That poor boy, moving schools in the middle of his senior year. Well, good for you, making new friends. I bet he really appreciates you.” 

Tom slumped himself down on the couch. You weren’t answering his texts and, while he knew that you probably had homework or were eating dinner or any number of other things, he couldn’t help the anxiety that filled him at the thought that maybe he had scared you off. 

Tom hadn’t had a normal high school experience by any means. Sure, secondary school was a thing that was semi-normal, but normal in the sense that everyone around him was in the same boat. And he was certain that British secondary school was a hell of a lot different than American high school. Hence, the joke that had landed him here.

“It would be funny if I went to an American high school for a few days. Just to see what it’s like, ya know?” 

Apparently, Anthony and Joe Russo didn’t seem to understand his British sense of humor, because he was on a flight to New York within the week. The Russos had helped him come up with the bare bones of a backstory: Ben Perkins, originally from Queens. American. 17. Quiet. It was a far cry from Tom Holland, originally from London, British, 19, and loud. But the Russos, in their infinite wisdom, had seen through Tom’s joke and understood something that was integral to the character that had taken Tom a few days to really see. 

Peter B. Parker was a high schooler. A smart one, an unusual one, but he was still 15 and trying to understand himself and the world. Tom didn’t have that knowledge; at least, not in the way that Peter Parker would have had it. He needed to see the inside of an American high school to get to the core of his character, and even Tom understood that. The filming for Captain America: Civil War hadn’t started and the news of Spidey’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe hadn’t hit the airwaves yet, but Tom knew that, if his contract was to be upheld in the way that Sony and Marvel had promised, he would have plenty of time to use this high school experience to better the character. 

Tom really and truly did not intend to develop a crush on a girl. Yes, a beautiful, smart, and funny girl that shared a love for the same things he did, but he was sure that the Russos would disapprove of it. After all, he was only slated to go to the Bronx School of Science for three days. There wasn’t nearly enough time to have anything more than a crush. But you. There was something about you, something intangible. He had felt a pull in his stomach when you first walked into the room and, when he had texted Harry about it, his brother had only laughed at him and made a joke about wanting to get his dick wet. And, yes, while that thought was in Tom’s mind, you were already so much more to him than that. 

As much as Ben Perkins was a character, Tom felt like he could be himself around you. He had shared stories from growing up, mostly about his brothers pulling shenanigans, and had shown you pictures of him and Tessa when he had first gotten her. The little squeal and sigh that had left you when you saw the puppy made his heart swell. Then, he had said something that still made his stomach turn: “Maybe you can meet her soon.” 

What a great fucking thing to say to someone that he would have to abandon in three days. Sure, he could keep texting you after he left, but he would have to explain everything to you. He knew what your reaction would be, too; somewhere along the lines of laughing at him and going, “Dude, you’re fuckin’ nuts, bro.” Or, on the other end of the spectrum, getting mad at him for lying to you. He was sure that you would be more mad than amused. And, after the conversation that you two had shared about your requited love for Spiderman, he knew that trying to tell you wouldn’t land him anywhere except alone again. 

And, God. Tom was tired of being alone. 

#tom holland #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x reader #tom holland x y/n #tom holland fluff #tom holland x reader fluff #tom holland angst #tom holland x reader angst #tom holland x y/n angst #angst fanfiction #fluff fanfiction #tom holland fic #high school au #sorta??

[mxchellesworld]

𝟑 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐊𝐢𝐧𝐝 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟕

𝐒𝐩𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐝 𝐱 𝐂𝐚𝐭 𝐀𝐝𝐚𝐦𝐬 𝐱 𝐑𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫

𝐒𝐲𝐧𝐨𝐩𝐬𝐢𝐬: 𝐃𝐢𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐭𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝐖𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬: smut, oral (male receiving), unprotected sex, praise

𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 | 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

***

It had been a little over a month since the last time you went to the club. Work was starting to pick up for you and they had the same situation. However that never stopped you guys from seeing each other every so often. Time was either spent out for dinner or at their place.

Although you stuck to the ‘no dates’ rule you could tell there was a little more going on. You and Cat would always walk around holding hands which always warmed your heart. It was good to see her let go of the hard demeanor she held onto. 

Spencer was as kind and gentle as always. He would always put his hand on the small of your back as you walked. He loved to help you get dressed, buttoning up your shirts, and helping you into sweatpants when your legs were entirely too weak to stand. 

They never failed in taking care of you, not just sexually but emotionally as well. You’d spend nights on a call with either one of them talking about your lives and what was going on. They’d even send you good morning texts which would always make you smile. 

The weekend was coming up so you texted in the groupchat to ask if they were busy, you had planned to do something nice for them. Since your apartment was now styled to your liking, you wanted to cook and have them over. 

“What do you guys think about dinner at mine? Maybe Saturday night?”

Spencer responded first, “Yeah that works princess, can’t wait :)”

You giggled at the smiley, he was never one for emojis. Somehow you could always picture the little smile he gave whenever he typed one of those. 

Cat responded a minute later, “What an amazing idea angel. We’ll be there lets say 5:30?”

“Perfect! See you guys then,” you sent with a red heart emoji. 

You spent the rest of your day at work on cloud nine. Abbie had made a comment on how you were in for it tonight. Even your boss had noticed the way your shoulders seemed a little lighter as she bid you goodnight. 

_

Saturday rolled around and you pulled out everything you needed to make dinner. You decided to make your aunt’s famous mac and cheese recipe along with roasted chicken and brussel sprouts. It was quick and easy but you took your time to make sure everything was cooked to perfection. You set up your dinner table with cute placemats and new plates you had bought. 

Looking at the time you saw it was 4 pm which gave you just enough time to get ready. Turning the oven off but leaving the food inside to stay was, you made your way to the shower. You hopped out and grabbed your fluffy towel for your body, letting your hair air dry. 

You settled for jeans and a silk tank top, not trying to dress up much but still look nice. You topped everything off with a belt and your everyday jewelry to add some spice to the outfit. 

You made your way back to the bathroom where you did your makeup. Just a natural glam. Checking your phone you saw it was 5:15. That gave you enough time to clean up your kitchen and lay the food on the table. 

Always one for being punctual, Spencer knocked on your door at 5:30 on the dot. You opened the door and he swallowed you in a big hug. 

“Hey Spence, come in. Make yourself at home,” you said widening the door so he could get inside. 

“Thanks,” he said shrugging off his jacket. He was dressed differently then you’d ever seen him. Jean jacket on top of a grey v-neck and blue jeans. You had always seen him in suits he wore for the lounge and when he was teaching. This was a good look on him too. 

“Where’s Cat, I thought you’d guys would be here together?” you asked taking out some wine glasses. 

“She was at her office earlier today, they got a new case so I think she was looking over it quickly. She’ll be here soon though.”

You motioned for him to sit on the couch and you came over with the glasses and a bottle, “Red okay?”

“Perfect,” he sighed. 

You popped off the cork and poured him a glass then one for yourself. He reached over to clink your glass with his and you giggled at his actions. You both took a sip then set your glasses down. 

“So what tricks are up your sleeve for tonight?” he asked raising his brow. 

You opened your mouth in shock, “Me? Tricks? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

He gave you look telling you he knew you were full of shit. 

“Fine. It’s nothing bad,” you sighed, “You guys do so much to take care of me so I wanted to be nice and pay you guys back. Ya know take care of you for once,” you said picking the skin of your nails. 

“Aw princess come here,” he said pulling you to straddle his lap. You wrapped your arms around his neck as he put his warm hands on your cheeks. 

“We are so grateful to have you and that you want to take care of us,” he paused and you searched his honey eyes, “i - we really like having you around.” 

You smiled and he pulled you in for a kiss. His kisses were always intense compared to Cats more delicate ones. You could feel the passion radiating off of him. You guys were stopped by a knock on your door. 

You pulled away and ran a hand through his hair to comb it down, “Let me go get that.” 

He nodded and you stood from his lap, walking over to your door. You opened it to see Cat holding another bottle of wine. 

“Hey come in,” you said letting her through. 

She set the bottle down on your table and pulled off her coat, “It smells great in here angel.” 

You knew you’d be blushing so you looked down, “Thanks Cat.” 

You turned into the kitchen to start pulling out the food. Spencer and Cat greeted each other with a nod. You looked at them questioningly but then quickly changed your expression. You had noticed that they never kissed in front of you. 

“Do you need any help y/n/n?” Spencer asked. 

“No don’t worry. Just bring our glasses over,” you turned to Cat, “let me get you a glass babe.” 

“Babe?” she said questioningly. 

Since when was that name off limits? you thought to yourself, you had used pet names before. 

You turned to look at her, “Oh shit sorry. I didn’t mean-” she cut off your rambling. 

“Y/n/n it’s fine, a glass would be great angel.” 

You smiled at her then took out a glass and set on the table, filling it up halfway. You set it down and went back to get the chicken. Once all the food was at the table you took your seats. 

“Alright dig in guys,” you said excitedly. 

You all took turns serving yourselves the various items. Spencer was the first to take a bite of the mac and cheese. He let out a moan at the taste, “Where have you been hiding these cooking skills Y/n?”

“Hey they were not hiding. You guys just love to order out,” you defended. 

“You need to write down the recipe for me later,” he said. 

“Why so you can burn it,” Cat jabbed. You could tell it was meant to be light hearted but came off a little more hostile. 

You quickly changed the topic to clear the tension in the air. 

_

Dinner went by and the food was mostly done. A new bottle of wine was popped open mostly drank by you and Spencer. However he was holding it better than you were. You guys migrated over to the couch and had a movie playing in the back. Mostly you spent making conversations about work. Spencer was talking about his grading and lectures he planned. Cat couldn’t say much about her cases for confidentiality reasons. 

10pm came by and they stood to leave. 

“Hey um, do you guys wanna stay? I mean with the wine I just would feel better if you stayed later or maybe the night,” you looked at them hopefully. 

“Sure” “No I should go”

They answered at the same time. You looked between the both of them. Cat spoke up first, “I should get going. I only had a glass and I need to be in early tomorrow to review the case. Spence you can stay though.” 

“Aw ok. Well it was great having you Cat. Let me make you a plate to go,” she nodded and picked up her coat. 

You walked over to the kitchen and pulled out some tupperware for her food. You looked over to see them silently talking. You tried not to listen in and instead focused on packing the meal. 

Why was Cat acting so hostile all of a sudden? Everything was going fine and you thought maybe there could be something growing between all of you. Maybe she was having second thoughts about having invited you to play with them. 

She walked over to the door and you handed her the box then wrapped her in a hug. 

“Thanks for dinner. It was really great Y/n,” you slightly frowned at her use of your name instead of calling you angel. 

She opened the door and didn’t look at Spencer as she walked out. You locked the door then turned to walk back over to him. He pulled you down onto the couch, picking up the remote, “Have you ever watched Doctor Who?”

_

You guys had made it through an episode before you both ended up asleep slumped on one another. 

You woke up to the television still playing. The time on the cable box read 4 am. Looking over at Spencer you saw a curl splayed over his forehead and moved it out of the way. You lightly shook him awake, “Spence cmon lets go to bed.”

He stirred then his eyes opened and he looked at you with a smile. You stood up then held your hand out for him. He eagerly took it as you turned off the tv and made your way to your room. 

“Alright I have a pair of your sweatpants I can pull out for you and there should be an extra toothbrush in the bathroom for you to use,” you said digging in your closet. You turned when he never replied, “Spence?”

You stood up and he stepped towards you smashing his lips on yours. He walked you over to your bed, never once breaking apart for air. His hands trailed up inside your tank top, gliding up and down the smooth skin. He separated from you to slide it over your head. 

“Wait Spence,” you said. 

“Are you alright? Did I do something wrong,” he said searching your eyes. 

“No no. Cats not here and we’ve never done this alone so I don’t know if its... I don’t know allowed. I don’t want her to be upset.” 

“Don’t worry about that princess. She won’t be mad and even if she is I’ll take the heat. It’s just us right now, okay? Don’t worry about anything else.” 

He put a strand of hair behind your ear. You searched his eyes and saw nothing but comfort. You nodded, satisfied with his answer, “Alright.” 

He smiled then leaned back in to kiss you. You felt him rock his hips between your legs. You let out gasps at the feeling of friction where you needed him most. Mustering up some force you flipped him over and nodded for him to slide up to the pillows. Your crawled over him and slid your hands up his chest before removing his shirt. 

You leaned in to kiss his neck. Trying not to leave marks as you went. You trailed kisses down his abdomen and saw it flex under you. 

You looked up at him as you went to unbuckle his belt, “Told you I wanna take care of you this time.” 

You went to undo his zipper and pull down both his pants and boxers. He lifted his hips to help you then put his hands under his head, “Yeah you wanna make me feel good princess?” 

You nodded eagerly, licking a stripe up the base to the tip, “Yes Sir.” 

You wrapped your hand around his shaft, using your thumb to swipe over the precum leaking out of the top. He shuttered at the feeling. You licked the tip then started to take him into your mouth, sucking at he top. One of his hands moved to your hair, gathering it into a pony tail. He helped you bob your head and take him further down your throat. 

He let you to catch your breath. A trail of split fell down your chin. He used his thumb to swipe it away before speaking, “You look so pretty like this princess.” 

You went to start pumping his cock when he grabbed your hand, “Get the rest of your clothes off baby.” 

You stood from the bed and went to your belt to pull your pants off. You reached behind you to unclasp your bra and let it fall to the ground. Spencer was laying bare in front of you, stroking his long length, just weeping with arousal. 

You bit your lip as you slid your panties down then got on the bed straddling his hips. You lined his cock up with your entrance and slowly slid down. You both let out moans at the feeling. His hands moved to grab your waist your placed yours on either side of his head. 

After getting used to the stretch you starts to move your hips with his hands aiding you. Your head fell forward and your eyes scrunched closed at the feeling. 

“Look at me pretty girl, Look in my eyes as you ride my cock,” he gritted out. 

You moaned at his words, speeding up for motions to start bouncing on his thick length. You could feel every vein along your walls. You looked into his lust blown eyes, coffee rings were the only thing visible around his dark pupils. 

The grip on your hips got tighter as he started meeting each of your thrusts. You moaned his name as he started hitting the spot inside you that made you see stars. He flipped you guys back over and started drilling into your pussy. The sound of skin slapping vibrated throughout the whole room. 

He leaned in to press his lips against yours. You swallowed each others moans as he kept pounding into you. His hand intertwined with yours, “Fuck you’re so perfect y/n. You’re taking me so well baby, m’so proud of you,” he gritted in your ear. 

“I’m so close Spence,” you whined in return.

Your legs wrapped around his waist pulling him closer than he already was. There was no way to tell where you started and he ended. The way his pelvis was perfectly rubbling your clit was enough to set you off. You came with a silent scream. The knot in your tummy bursting as you trembled. 

“That’s it cum for me princess. You’re doing so well. I’m right there with you.”

“Want you to fill me up Spencer. Cum inside me,” you moaned tugging on his hair. 

That was enough to set him off. The way your walls contracted, milked him for all he was worth. He stilled his motions and his head fell in the crook of your neck. One of your hands was still interlaced and he brought to his lips. 

He pulled out and you sighed at the loss. You got up slowly to head to the bathroom. Meanwhile Spencer laid in bed thinking about what he was going to do. He was starting to catch feelings for you and he knew Cat knew it too. He knew she was cleaver enough to figure it out and sometimes he swore she felt the same way about you as well. So why had she been so distant all of a sudden?

He was pulled out of his thoughts by you walking back. You pulled the shirt you had out for him over your frame and opened the covers to get under. 

“Go clean yourself up,” you said looking at him, “but do it quick I want cuddles,” you pouted. 

He laughed then pecked your pouted lips as he got up and took the sweatpants with him. 

When he came back you were dead asleep on your side facing where he would lay. He slid under the covers and pulled you into his arms. He played with your air and kissed your forehead as you let out soft snores. 

“I think I love you princess,” he whispered into the dark room. 

𝐚/𝐧; 𝐨𝐨𝐡 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐮𝐩 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐟𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐭 𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲! 𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝐦𝐞 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐠𝐮𝐲𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐨 𝐟𝐚𝐫, 𝐡𝐨𝐩𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝:)

#spencer reid smut #spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #cat adams x reader #cat adams smut #Criminal Minds Fanfiction #criminal minds smut #chellewrites

[lord-explosion-baku]

Socks (For Lack of a Better Title)

Mirio x F!Reader

Warnings: yellow sour fruit, swearing (??)

A/N: I do not write for Mirio basically because he’s the epitome of sunshine and I don’t think I’d be able to grasp that well enough (he’s too good for me!!!), but I had a small smut idea for him and it’s a very special guy’s birthday. I love them and they deserve the world, but I can’t give them the world so they can take my smut.

“A sub??”

You ignore your other slack-jawed peers sitting around in the same circle you’re in and take a sip out of your bottle, keeping stern eye contact with Mirio Togata, who’s staring at you incredulously because you’ve just deemed him a submissive. You let the frothy liquid slip down your throat and smack your lips, as if to point out that you haven’t said anything too out of this world. You repeat yourself with even more nonchalant confidence with a shrug. “Sub.”

“I think I can kinda see it,” says Kirishima who sits perpendicular to you, but it seems that he’s only trying to back you up because nobody else will. Mirio looks to him, mouth agape, but he keeps his smile present. Pink dusts his cheeks, either from the beer or your accusation. It’s cute and you stand by your point.

“I don’t think so,” Mirio finally chides, taking a swig of his beverage. He looks to his socks, then to you, and you lift a brow.

“Care to dispute my claim?” you say, taking a business-like approach, as if you’re in civil court and your friends around you are the judge and jury.

“Sure,” he says, “I think I’m pretty dominant.”

“Do you have witnesses?” You slap back without thinking, and your friends around you snicker. You don’t actually want to know if Mirio has slept with anyone in the room. In fact, you hope he hasn’t. You and the ex-permeation user have been growing closer if the past couple weeks, and you haven’t been too sure what that closeness entails besides sporadic boba runs and last minute studious cramming. Since the incident that’s left him quirkless, you’ve made it a point to let him know how important he is to you, and you’ve feared that maybe, while trying to be there for him, you’ve made it seem like your relationship is nothing more than platonic. Still, he’s never talked about girls and you’ve never asked, but you’ve mostly hoped that maybe you could be the girl he talks to other people about.

“I’m innocent until proven guilty!”

“That’s exactly my point! You’re innocent. You seem like the kind of guy that would ask permission before doing anything.”

“Is it so bad to be a gentleman?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. I just think you’d have an easier time if someone else held the reigns and guided you.” You pause, trying to think of the perfect thing to equate Mirio to, and your face lights up when you come up with, “a puppy! You’re like a Labrador retriever. Ready to please and receive commands and such…”

“Okay, I can definitely see that,” Kirishima, who’s quickly becoming one of your favorite friends, chimes in.

“A puppy.” Mirio considers this, mouth pushed to the side in that cute way it goes whenever he’s thinking hard about something. He decides not to battle that, instead turning back to you, and asks, “then what do you think you are? A dom?”

Another wave of snickers bounce around the room and you can’t understand them. Is the idea that wild? You don’t think you come off as someone more passive, but until that moment, you hardly considered yourself a dominant either. Now you can, if only to spite your doubtful friends.

“Sure! I would say that I am!”

“What makes you a dom, and me a sub? I’m not doubting you,” Mirio says, though the tone of his voice suggests otherwise, “but I am curious!”

“For one thing, it would mean that the two of you are compatible.” Yaoyorozu, who mostly stays silent during these kinds of discussions, nods to you. You could either kiss her or kill her. She’s dealt with you mooning over Mirio plenty of times in the past, so her adding that in might’ve done a good service for you, planting the idea of you and Mirio together in his head, but you’re now the physical embodiment of the monkey-covering-his-eyes emoji.

“A dom that’s been nursing a beer for the last hour and a half…” you hear someone who’s having a different conversation say. As if your drinking habits have anything to do with you in bed.

“I wanna hear what Ms. Lightweight has to say about this issue.” Mirio grins at you and you can tell that he finds your flushed face amusing. You’re so embarrassed that you can’t even remember your real reason for calling Mirio a sub to begin with!

Throwing any hope of sounding intelligent out the window, you point at Mirio’s feet. “Mr. Togata is wearing socks, your honor.”

The room goes silent. You hear a silent, “socks?” from some faceless individual outside your vision.

You continue, scrambling, “a true dom would make a decision: keep their shoes on or take everything else off. It’s the indecision that says Mirio would’ve done much better if he had someone else instructing him.”

Mirio looks to his socks and you can almost see an exclamation point above his head. You might’ve made a valid point by the looks of it, and he doesn’t say anything more when he sees you wearing your shoes, thank goodness.

Someone says they’re through talking about socks and shoes and the conversation moves to a topic more interesting to the masses. You can’t help but still feel a bit flushed. Two out of five times you look Mirio’s way, you catch him staring at you. Of the remaining three times, he catches you staring at him, and the sixth time both of your eyes meet seemingly at the same time, he smiles. It’s not the same smile he shares with the group for when Denki Kaminari says something stupid. This smile is warm and genuine, with a hint of curiosity.

You make a decision to get up and excuse yourself, explaining the the one beer you nursed throughout the night has made you sleepy. You brush off friendly objections and make your way to the stairs. You don’t go up before looking back at Mirio who holds the same curious expression he did before. You part your lips and climb the stairs. You hope he doesn’t know how embarrassed you are.

Once you’re in your room, you make no rush to get ready for bed. You’re not actually all that sleepy; you just spent too much time around everyone else when you really would rather have just been with Mirio. You think about texting him— maybe he’ll wanna see a movie tomorrow, but as soon as you decide against it, there’s a knock at the door.

It’s Mirio, a sockless Mirio, leaning against your doorframe. You furrow your brows, but before you can speak, he says, “I’m here to dispute your claim.”

Your cheeks grow hot. He can’t mean… he can’t really mean… anything by that. Could he? You’re so struck with bewilderment that you don’t even realize you step to the side to let him in until he’s gliding past you. You close the door and hear a surprising click! You did that, but you don't remember making the decision to lock your door.

Your room has never really seemed too small to you, not until you see Mirio standing in the middle of it, talking in all that is you: your thoughtless tchotchkes, your messy bedspread, your various posters, until finally his eyes land on your bookcase.

You don’t know why you’re suddenly so embarrassed about the collection you’ve got going on. You’ve got Paula Fox and Khaled Housseini— books that you could speak endlessly about, though at the bottom shelf, you have books that you read in middle school that you choose to ignore, but haven’t wanted to part with.

You step in front of him with intention, but Mirio is so much bigger than you, and he still manages to read out loud, “Broadway Musicals of the 1980’s?”

Your blood boils. “You wanted to… dispute your claim?” you urge, trying to draw his attention away from anything other than your books, but Mirio isn’t having it, probably sensing your embarrassment. He has to get you back somehow.

“You’ve got… quite a few books about musicals…”

you clear your throat. “Your claim?”

“In a moment— what’s this?” Mirio reaches around you, his arm just barely brushing against your stomach. You swallow harshly, bringing yourself into full defensive mode, because you know what he sees: a bottom shelf book about vampires that you failed to put back on the bottom shelf!

“I love musicals!” You admit, turning to face your bookshelf. You seat his hand back and you’re too aware of how close he is behind you. Your heart flutters, very unlike a dom, but he isn’t allowed to see the look on your face.

“Do you?” He asks with genuine curiosity. It could have easily been something to tease you about, but he doesn’t. Instead, he asks you to talk about your favorites, particularly the ones from that damned book, your lifeline.

You speak. He listens, only asking a few questions about things he’s genuinely curious about. You wonder if he actually came to your room to do anything, or if he just wanted to check in on you... because he’s your friend and a good one at that.

Your breath catches when he snakes his arms around your waist. You feel a chill while he moves his face through your hair to find your neck, and suddenly you’re jelly as lips press against your skin. He kisses the junction between your neck and shoulder, large hands squeezing your sides and you think you’ve lost your sense of sight, the second thing to go after you find yourself unable to speak.

Mirio grins against you, lips brushing farther up your neck. You allow your eyes to close and lean your head to the side, granting him more room for his lips to roam. You try to steady your breathing, but it’s heavy; you’re too obvious and Mirio knows you’re trying not to sigh.

“Keep talking,” he purrs, fanning your ear with warm breath, but it’s not him. At least, it’s not the Mirio you know. This Mirio’s voice is deeper, aggravatingly alluring, dark and husky— a fantasy you didn’t know you had come to life.  “I wanna know more about 42nd Street.”

You’re certain he’s teasing you now and you want to be mad about it, but you can’t. It’s sweet that he’s paying more attention to your words than you are. You could keep talking after you’ve gained some ounce of composure. Hell, you could babble his ear off until the two of you lose the mood and decide to do something else to pass the time. You have board games— you could easily beat him at a game of battleship, but will you truly be winning if things escalated to battleship? Figuratively speaking, you could keep speaking until Mirio eventually trails his hands down past the hem of your pants, but, figuratively speaking, that would mean he’d win. He’d be the dom making a mess of you while you held no power, and you aren’t going to let that happen.

Screw battleship. You had a boat right behind you and you’re going to steer it.

You turn abruptly to face him. This catches him off guard for a split second and you use that to your advantage. You reach up to the back of his head, grab a fist full of his surprisingly soft, not-so-gelled hair, push yourself up against him, and your lips collide with his like stormy waves crashing against unsuspecting beaches. Mirio’s quick to grip onto you from behind, pulling your body flush against his hardened chest. He’s warm and you feel good pressed against him. It’s not fair. It’s not fair because it’s not enough.

You run your tongue along his— he doesn't taste like beer like you expect him to. He tastes faintly like Colgate washed out a couple times, and a more prominent minty flavor. You grin against his lips. He must’ve stopped by his dorm to brush his teeth before he came to you. He wants to taste good for you and he does, but he doesn’t want you to know that he wants you to think he tastes good.

You eye your bed, the goal. Your hands slide down to his shoulders and you add a bit of pressure onto him, trying to push him back all the while you struggle to deepen your kiss is far too apparent. Trying to move Mirio is similar to trying to move a mountain. He pulls away, eyebrows raised, with a complacent grin that tells you he enjoys watching your struggle. You huff.

In a higher, more loving voice, Mirio asks, “what is it, girl?” while cupping your cheek with his large hands, and you vaguely recall comparing him to a Labrador retriever while you tried to explain yourself earlier. You scowl back at the motionless mountain and his grin widens. He brushes his thumb against your pursed lips. “What do you need? You may speak”

Even though you know Mirio is only taking on this contemptuous persona to prove a point, it infuriates you. Frustrated, you leap up at him, wrapping your legs around his torso, and striking. him with another deep, impassioned kiss. He stumbles back a bit, and you think that maybe you could win, but the sturdy Mirio catches himself with one leg, pushes back, and slams you into the book case.

You gasp at the short pain pinching your back, but it’s nothing compared to the sensuous feeling of Mirio’s desperate lips grazing your neck. You moan, one hand holding onto Mirio’s muscular shoulders, while the other grips the second highest level of your bookshelf. Paula Fox falls to the floor, followed by Khaled Housseini, and you couldn’t care less.

You find yourself craving more of his touch, more of his warmth, more of his skin, so you grip onto his jacket and usher it off of him. Mirio holds you up one handedly while his free hand rips through your blouse, the buttons of your shirt scattering to the floor to dance around Fox and Housseini. You knot your fingers into the back of his shirt and whine. In the position you’re in, you won’t be able to get his damn shirt off, and he doesn’t hold that same predicament. He’s able to unclasp your bra with singular, nimble fingers and that joins your buttons, your tattered shirt, and your books on the floor.

“Mirio,” you hiss through your teeth as his own teeth graze one of your puckered buds. He doesn’t stop, but he looks up at you tentatively. He slides his pink tongue out to lav over your sensitive nipple, and your body melts into him.

“Bed,” you say with less ferocity and Mirio complies, bucking you up so that you’re even higher and easier to carry towards your mattress.

Mirio’s knees reach the edge of your bed and you try to use the weight of your body to make the both of you topple over. He laughs in response, seeing through your obvious advances, and swings you around to the bed, but you kick your legs just enough that you land on your feet on your sheets, towering over him.

You feel a little ridiculous standing on your bed when it should be used for much more than that, but you’re finally able to get his shirt over his head. If you weren’t flushed enough before, you certainly are now. Everyone has seen Mirio naked, there is positively no avoiding that, but there’s something different about being right in front of him, feeling the heat of his ripped body so close to yours that make your stomach turn to knots. He chuckles at you because you don’t realize you’re gawking.

“Yeah?” He says, both as a question and an affirmation. Mirio isn’t one to say something as preposterous as, ‘this is the real deal,’ but he says so much more with a simple, ‘yeah.’

Instead of replying with a ‘yeah’ yourself, the easy route, you grab his hand and lead it to your side. His eyes mellow as he runs the back on his pointer finger up and down your body, over to wear the waistline of your jeans. He kisses you right above your naval, then right below it, and your body shivers in response.

“So soft,” he muses so quietly that you can assume it’s not meant for you, rather he’s voicing his thoughts aloud. His fingers go to the button of your jeans, but he pauses, purses his lips, and narrows his eyes.

You begin to fret over the thought that maybe he’s finished. Maybe he’s come to prove a point and just by getting you flustered and topless on your bed, that point has been proven— game over, goodnight, see you never, bye. Then his eyes meet yours, and his brows furrow gently.

“Can I?” He asks, pulling slightly on your jeans.

Mirio Togata is a glorious mountain, a cute Labrador puppy, and a polite gentleman. You find victory in the fact that you were half-right about something, and despite being absolutely charmed by the man who you’re going to let fuck you senseless, you must gloat a little bit.

You bring your thumb and forefinger to his chin, tilt his head up, and say, “I don’t know. Can you?”

Mirio’s eyes flash and you can see the heat of desire in his longing stare. The pools of his eyes grow heavy as he unbuttons your pants, kissing you right above the hem of your underwear, and says, “let me.”

And you do. You let him. You let him ease you down, you let him push your body onto the mattress, and you let him relieve you of your jeans, your bottoms, your doubts, your inhibitions. And it’s fine, and it’s good, because his cheeks feel fantastic brushing against your skin, and his tongue is extraordinary teasing you between your thighs.

Mirio is a gentleman and the way his tongue paints maps against your quivering heat would be charitable, if not for the fact that he’s enjoying himself as much as you are. He hums when you sigh, tentative to every twitch of your body, every sudden gasp you elicit, every surprising tug your tangled fingers give to his beautiful, golden hair. Mirio draws coils deep within your belly, building a tension that’s dark and deep, until he has you arching your back, squeezing your eyes tight, and seizing as pleasure bursts and breaks and floods the entirety of you.

When you’re no longer grasping at the sheets and you’ve gained some sense of composure, you look down to see Mirio practically wagging his tail, ready to receive affirmation— praise for a job well done. You smile and pet his head, probably a little too smug with the picture he portrays even though you’re wordlessly thankful for all that he’s done, and say, “good boy.”

The eager look on his face is replaced by something more mischievous. He brings his lips to your fluttering bliss and gives it a long lick, calling back your senseless shaking.

“M-mirio,” you mewl, shaken and overly-sensitive to his treacherous tongue. “What are you—? I’ve already—!“

His fingers edge the center of your desire while he pushes the rest of his body closer to you. He levels his head with yours, fingers running circles between your thighs, causing you to squirm and pant underneath him.

“Have you?” He asks, even though he knows too damn well that you have. He captures a wistful moan with his lips, tasting your pained pleasure as if it were only an appetizer for a grand feast.

“Yes!” You say breathlessly just as his fingers curl into you. Your mouth hangs open and he watches you lose your mind with delight.

“but you’ve been such a good girl,” he whispers huskily, slowly pumping his fingers, setting you up to blow you away, “and I might not be so innocent.”

He bites into your neck and you claw at his back. It’s only then that you realize he’s lost his pants. You don’t think he realizes he’s slowly grooving against you, erect and throbbing, and your eyes roll back imagining him inside of you.

“I want you…” you whisper as his tongue glides against the shell of your ear.

“Mmm?” His low thrum tickles you in a way that’s both sweet and enticing. That’s what he is… sweet… you want him to know that you think he’s sweet. You want to make him feel good, too, maybe even while demonstrating that you still have some fight in you, despite your shaky hands and uneven breath.

You reach down and gently pull his hands away from your center. You roll on top of him so his back is to your headboard and you look down on his cute, surprised face. You lean down to give him a sweet peck. He sighs against your lips, “you’re beautiful,” so you kiss him again, deeper, memorizing the curve of his lips and relishing the soft groan he gives when you reach around to grab the base of his cock. You pump it, edging yourself closer to him until the two of you are aligned.

The tides of his eyes are heavy with need while his palms smooth over your thighs. You bite your lip and look towards his abs, clenching and unclenching from anticipation.

“Let me?” You say, posing it as a question, when really you know he wants it just as badly as you do. His answer comes when his hands grip tightly onto your hips and he pushes you onto him.

You roll your hips, wielding a steady rhythm, only allowing Mirio to keep shallow and slow thrusts as you get used to both his length and his girth. He’s breathy while the head of his cock accepts most of the attention; he’s sensitive and you can tell by how he shudders every time you sink a few centimeters lower on him.

“Please,” he rasps, and you don’t realize it until you see his brows furrowed above desperate azure eyes scanning over you that you’re torturing him and he’s letting you. Your hands cover his and guide them up and down, picking up your pace until you’re finally hitting his hilt.

You moan, loud enough for anyone in the next room over to hear, though you’re relieved by the fact that most of your friends are probably still downstairs, playing the same game that’s lead you and Mirio here.

Your name teases his lips, lost to a mixture of swears and grunts. The yes, god, please, fuck, you feel incredible, god’s fill the room just as much he fills you. You groove against him, skillfully trying to keep hold of the reigns, but Mirio’s strong body has more control over you even while he’s the one against the sheets.

Mirio’s large enough that you feel a stretch and the thought sends jubilant waves cascading throughout your body. He thrusts into you, making you cry out in glee and pleasure while bouncing on his shaft. Sweat wedges between your motor bodies and you don’t care, because  it’s wonderful; you feel him. You coil around him, nails imprinting tiny crescents into his muscular back while his lips roam your collar bone, your chest, your breasts, until they find yours, and he kisses you like it’s his god-given right.

You’re in ruins when he tangles his hands in your hair and pulls your face away, still close, but not close enough that you can kiss him once more, just enough that you feel his panting fanning your face. He eyes hold you steady— you don’t think you could look away even if you wanted to— and tears prick your eyes when you’re swarmed with the realization of what those beautiful, round eyes hold: adoration.  

Mirio loves you, and he’s displayed that not only with your ambiguous friendship, but with the way he’s handled you on this singular night. Even while trying to prove a point (he’s the dom), he’s shown restraint. Even when he slammed you against the bookcase, he could very much have hurt you more than that simple pinch, but his arms guarded you and kept you safe and still.

Hell, he could have ripped your pants off at any second of the night, but he wanted to make sure that you wanted the same.

Mirio loves you and he’s displaying that now through his touches, through his whispers, through his liquid eyes that show much more than fiery lust and circumstantial desire. They show care, and devotion, and reverence. You want to tell him you feel the same, but you feel a tugging pulse from your belly.

“Mirio,” you choke out and just as you feel a jolt, he stutters inside of you.

He grasps your sides and flips you onto your back. He says your name likes it’s a hymn as he hammers into you, praising you with loving kisses and nips. You squeeze around him, feeling the surge build up and spill out. You can’t let go of him while your body sings pleasure and gratification in energetic waves flowing up from your toes to your shoulders— overwhelming ecstasy taking you over.

He spills onto your sweat covered stomach, bowing his head against your shoulder. Your fingers tickle his sweat covered back and you coo at him, happy. He lets his body hit the mattress next to you and he stares at your body like he can’t believe what’s happened.

“You-” he breathes, but shakes his head, deciding that whatever he was going to say can’t amount to what he’s feeling.

“You,” you agree, sinking into your pillow. You’re not sure that you can believe what happened either, only the evidence lays out clearly through the tingles in your fingers and the mess on your stomach.

He tries again. “That was—“ but he’s at a loss for words. You brush his hair back and kiss him. He wraps his arm around your torso and brings you into a warm, already-too-familiar embrace. “Should I get like a towel or something?”

“No,” you say, “not yet. I’m happy here. I’ll probably just shower anyway.”

“Can I join you in that shower?”

You snicker. “Do you really have to ask?”

“Hey.” You feel him grinning against your shoulder. Then, he laughs. “Don’t forget to take your socks off before the shower.”

TAGS FOR EVERYTHING: @ayeputita @yandere-inamorata @dee-madwriter@unboundbnha @rizamendoza808, @rubycubix@smbody-stole-mycar-radio@zellllyyyy @sarcastictextstuck@kpanime @captain-sin-allmight-queen@psionicsnow@wickedlewicked @ghost-of-todoroki @kattariapenn @im-an-adult-sometimes @bnhya @local-senpai@eggpienutbuttercroissant@usernamekate94 @reyvenclaww @hi-ho-and-hello 

#mirio togata x reader #mirio x reader #bnha x reader #bnha reader insert #reader insert #mha x reader

[andinewton]

Based on this post by @acrispyapple​, just a little something I threw together!  Thanks for the idea!  I hope you like it!  (as always, I’m too lazy to edit it right now, so I hope it all makes sense!)

Give me a Break!  - A Victor oneshot

Victor continued with his work, his phone face down on the desk, awaiting the vibration to signal    your next reply.  It never took you long to come around to his way of thinking, even though you seemed to be really riled at his reply this time.  He could picture you now, brow furrowed delicately with a cute little pout on your lips.  His face curved into a smirk before he put his fountain pen back to paper and carried on working.

***

You glared at your phone.  You had taken five minutes out of today’s incredibly busy schedule to try and invite Victor on a trip.  Sending him a message, fishing for whether he might be interested or not, only to have him shoot you down in flames by questioning your work ethic!  Okay, well, fine.  If he wanted to be your boss and nothing else, then that was what he would get.

***

Later that evening, as you tucked into a very basic but still tasty microwave dinner at your tiny kitchen table, your phone beeped a new message.  Glancing at the display you could see a notification from Victor, asking where you were.  On the other side of you was a copy of your latest proposal which you were skimming over to double check it made sense.  Time to launch operation business only.

Taking a picture of the file you attached a short message, simply stating; very busy, boss.  Before putting the phone back down and continuing to eat, your desire to work suddenly fired up by his query.

Another beep.  You were meant to be at Souvenir.

Actually, sir, you said you would take me to Souvenir later.  As no time nor date for said meeting was confirmed with myself or my office, I assumed it was tentative.  Apologies if I misunderstood.

Wow, that felt soooooo good!  It was professional, made your point, even to the degree of apologising to draw attention to the fact it was his fault.  Now for stage two of your plan.

You opened a new text message and sent a brief note to Kiro.  Weirdly, he was the one who supported your not-quite-a-relationship with Victor, and was more than happy to be your venting buddy as well as constant co-conspirator.  You knew Kiro “shipped” the two of you, as he assured you the internet said these days, and he wanted to make it his mission to bring you together.  You admitted you weren’t exactly averse to the idea, and making Victor jealous just might help.  Just minutes later you got a stream of excited emojis from Kiro, followed by the simple phrase; I know just what to do, so go with it!

You were sure whatever it was would get Victor’s attention in no time, the real test would be how he reacted.

***

Victor threw his phone down on the countertop, the metal surface reverberating with the clash.  You were taking it this far, seriously?  Making out your relationship was nothing more than professional?  He would make you pay for that in some not so subtle way.  He started to pack away the ingredients he had bought to make you a special meal, knowing you weren’t coming.  It was a shame to let it go to waste and while he wanted to share this recipe with you he could be just as petty as you were.  Probably even more so.

His phone vibrated the counter as he came back from the refrigerator, glancing at the screen to see it was from Goldman, and a screenshot no less.  Opening it he stared for a good ten seconds before his anger rose to a near impossible level.

Kiro had apparently made a post that Goldman thought should be brought to Victor’s attention immediately.  And he could see why.

Kiro:  Looking forward to a weekend away with my bestie!  Just the two of us, sun, sea, swimsuits, sand, sweet treats, and sangria!

And you were tagged in it.

It was no secret that the two of you were friends, completely platonic yet irritatingly friends who had the press eating out of your hands at the far too many not-dates you went on.  Was this what he had blown off by reminding you that work was important?  A chance to enjoy a tropical vacation with you wearing very little clothing and…he cleared his throat and shook his head, trying to dislodge the image.  Two could play this game.  If she was trying to make him jealous she was not going to succeed.  No.  He would take the high ground and let her go waste her time with the blond pretty boy.

At least that was what he thought.  Until Goldman’s second image came through.  That of your reply.

MC:  Can you believe we get the entire island to ourselves?  Thanks #romanticgetaways for the amazing prize!

She won a private island getaway and she was going with…with…with him?!  Oh, he didn’t think so!  Victor slapped off the lights and headed for the door, grabbing his jacket as he passed.

***

‘Do you think this will work?’  You asked Kiro when he video called you after he posted.  He had talked you through your reply and it made sense.  He knew about the prize you had won, how excited you had been at the prospect of inviting Victor on what you hope might be a romantic little getaway, and he knew the CEO wasn’t keen on your friendship with the star.

‘With that reply it’s guaranteed!’  You could almost feel Kiro’s excitement through the screen.  ‘You are totally going to get him demanding you go with him instead of me!’

‘I mean demanding does sound like him.’  You agreed.  ‘But I can’t see it.  He was obviously put out that I switched to all business and we both know how stubborn he is.’

‘Psshh.’  Kiro made a dismissive noise.  ‘You’ll have him eating out of the palm of your hand.’

‘He’ll probably say that’s unsanitary.’

Kiro’s bubbly laugh echoed through the tiny speaker.  ‘I bet he’s actually okay with the idea of a little food play.’  The wink he gave you was enough to bring a blush to your cheeks.

‘You’re worse than me, I swear.’  You shook your head.  ‘I don’t imagine I’ll hear from him, but if I do I’ll let you…’

You were interrupted by a knock on your door, your head jerking around to look at it.

‘It’s him!  Oh my God, just leave me here on the table so I can listen in!’

‘Nope.’  You waved and cut the call, placing the phone face down on the table before heading over and going up on tiptoes to look through the peephole.  Holy crap, it was actually him!

You glanced down at yourself, still wearing your skirt and blouse from work but barefoot and hair down.  You’d have to do.  Opening the door you looked at Victor, leaning against the wall beside the door with his forearm, glaring at you the moment his eyes found you.

‘Good evening, Mr Li.  To what do I owe this unexpected visit?’  Your tone was clipped and professional but his stern expression didn’t slip.

‘Do you always open your door at this time of night to strangers?’

‘I wouldn’t call us strangers, Mr Li.  And I checked through the peephole first.’  You waved a hand towards it in demonstration.

He straightened from his leaning pose and tugged his jacket so it sat right.  ‘Quit calling me that.’

‘Mr Li?’  You asked, and he gave a brisk nod.  ‘But that’s your name.’

‘We have been on a first name basis for as long as we have been in business.’

‘And I apologise for my lack of professionalism in that regard.’  You bowed your head briefly.  ‘Now, what can I do for you?  It must be important for you to have come all this way at this hour.’

‘I want to know what this is about.’  He thrust his phone in your face just as your neighbour’s door opened, Lucien poking his head around the frame.

‘Is everything alright, MC?  I heard raised voices.’

You smiled pleasantly before emphasising his name.  ‘Everything is fine, Lucien.  Some last minute business that couldn’t wait until morning, that’s all.’

He gave Victor a none too friendly glance.  ‘Shout if you need anything.’

‘I will.  Thank you, Lucien.’

After a final look Victor’s way he closed the door again and you turned your attention back to the man in front of you, who seemed even angrier now than he had a moment before.

‘What can I do for you, Mr Li?  It is, after all, very late.  Is there some sort of emergency?’

‘No, there’s no emergency!’  His tone became exasperated.  ‘I want to know…’

‘This is well out of business hours so I assumed it was urgent.’

‘Are you just going to leave me on the doorstep all night?’  He finally snapped.

‘With that attitude I think I might.’  You begun to close the door but he put his hand against it and held it there, not that you put up much of a fight.  ‘Mr Li, this is very unprofessional.’

‘Enough with the Mr Li, and enough with the professionalism!’  His nostrils flared, you thought in an attempt to stop himself from really yelling, but you just continued to looked at him with a confused expression on your face.  ‘I want you to tell me what this means?’

Again he held out the phone and you leant forward slightly, examining it carefully.  ‘I believe that is a post from the idol Kiro regarding to his plans for this weekend.’

‘His plans this weekend with you.’  He specified.

‘That’s right.’

‘Quit playing dumb, MC.’

‘I don’t know what you’re alluding to, Mr Li, but dumb is the last thing I am playing.’

The sigh he let out was more of a huff.  ‘Are you really going to spend the weekend on a private island with him?’

You shrugged.  ‘I had no one else to ask.  My first choice was unavailable therefore I went with my backup.  If that’s all, sir, I was in the middle of eating.’

‘You said you were working.’

‘I’m multitasking.’  For the first time your irritation slipped through into your voice and you had to take a calming breath before continuing.

He glared at you but you glared right back.  He was in the wrong here and if he were really jealous, as Kiro suspected, he had to do something about it, not you.  You were not caving.

‘This trip?  It was what you wanted to ask me on?’

‘I thought to.  Until you stated you couldn’t possibly find the time and that my workload shouldn’t afford me the time either.  However, I happen to believe in a healthy work/life balance and this short break will be most welcome.’

‘I would have gone with you.’

‘I’m sorry, I didn’t catch that?’  You leaned forward with your ear turned slightly towards him.

‘I said if you had come out and asked me in the first place I would have gone with you!’

‘Asking if you would like a spur of the moment trip wasn’t to the point enough for you?’  You finally snapped back at him.  ‘Your cue then would have been to ask me where to, not to have dismissed me like you have so many other times!  I am tired of trying to be perfect for you, Victor, I mean Mr Li!  I know in future not to bother asking you to anything you would obviously feel is a complete waste of your valuable time.  I’m sorry I bothered you with it in the first place and you will be pleased to hear that from this point on our relationship will be nothing but professional!’

‘You can’t just…’

‘I can’t just what?  Tell you a few home truths?’

‘No!’

‘Decide not to allow you to antagonise me any more?’

‘No!’

‘Go on vacation with Kiro?’

That was evidently the last straw for Victor as he shoved his phone in his pocket, stepped forward, and pulled you to him for a bruising kiss.

You couldn’t lie, it was everything you could ever have dreamed of and more.  You swore you saw fireworks behind your eyelids, your nerve endings tingling throughout your entire body as his lips forcefully took yours, his hands cupping your face as though afraid you might move.  Moving was the last thing on your mind, though, and you made a small satisfied murmur as he drew back from you just enough to allow you to focus on him.

‘Try asking me again.’  He all but growled, the noise making you shiver in such close confines.

‘Would…’ you swallowed, ‘would you like a spur of the moment trip?’

A smile curved the edge of his lips.  ‘With you?  Any time.’

#mlqc victor #mr love victor #oneshot #mlqc oneshot #kinda fluffy #jealous victor #kiro guest stars

[myheroheacanons]

Idiots on Ice

- You and Todoroki go ice skating as an unofficial first date. Your friends are clowns but they care for you, so they follow you to see how this “date” was going. 

Pairing: Todoroki x Reader                                                                                    Word Count: 1.5k 

A/N: This is a more in depth showing of what really happened on the ice skating “date”. People really enjoyed the concept when I presented it so here we are. Thank you for reading this and my text series. I love you all so much! Stay lovely my dears :)

What was that annoying, loud, blaring sound you were hearing in your sleep? You could have sworn it was a weekend. You turned in your sheets trying to block it out. It would shut up eventually right? Well, it was still going off after about 10 minutes. With a groan you sat up in your bed, looking around the room. Your phone was vibrating on your bed and with another groan you, quite literally, dragged yourself out of bed. You crawled over to your desk and looked up at your phone. And only then it hit you why the hell the alarm was blasting on a Saturday. 

“Todoroki!” you screamed. Grabbing your phone and shutting off the alarm you ran to the bathroom to get ready. It was currently 10:15 am, which meant he was picking you up in 45 minutes. And sure that seems like a lot of time but you wanted to get all dressed up. You looked yourself over in the mirror. Grabbing your toothbrush and you vigorously got to work. After you finished your face routine, it was time for your outfit. Which of course not choosing it the night before came back to bite you in the ass.  Going through all your winter clothes as Todoroki texted you to make sure you dressed warm. Winters in Japan tended to be pretty cold. Finally finishing your last effort on your outfit, with five minutes to spare you plop down on your bed and grab your phone. You exhaled a breath you didn’t know were keeping. For the next couple of minutes you just scrolled through Tik Tok laughing at the occasional one. Finally, you heard the lovely sound of a text message. It was from Todoroki and it read “Hey, I’m outside. The white car”. You hurriedly replied letting him know you were coming out and of course adding on some exaggerated emojis. 

You waved when you saw him sitting in his car and ran over. Nearly slipping but catching yourself. 

“Hey!” you said getting into the car. 

“Hey, you alright? You nearly slipped y/n, you should be more careful” he replied with concern in his eyes.

“Oh no, I’m totally fine! I tend to be a klutz sometimes. This one time I accidentally spilled chocolate milk on Bakugou’s phone. I have no idea how I made it out alive but I’m here now so!” You saw him chuckle at your little story and you couldn’t help but blush a little. I mean he just looked so cute when he smiled so wholesomely. Suddenly, you got a notification from twitter than Kaminari tweeted. You opened it up and frowned. What does he mean by it’s time? They had some kind of plan and everyone was in on it. Except for of course you. 

“Hey Shoto, do you know what Kaminari means by ‘it’s time’” you asked. On a red light he looked over the tweets and shrugged. 

“I have no clue” he said. That brought your mood down a little but you wouldn’t let it ruin your friend date with Todoroki. I mean it was ice skating after all! Plus you would get food after, what is there not to be excited about?

You got to the ice skating rink and went over to buy tickets. After a solid 20 minutes of helping each other put on the shoes you finally did it. And fell right back on Todoroki as soon as you stood up.

“Oh my god, I’m sorry!” you squeaked a little too loudly. 

“It’s alright” he said with a neutral expression on his face as he held your hand this time as he stood up. You smiled at him. 

“Hey can we hold hands while we ice skate? So you know I don’t fall on my ass” you say laughing. He just smiled and gave your hand a reassuring squeeze. 

“yeah, of course” he replied making his way with you towards the rink. You guys were skating very badly but everything felt peaceful. The way he was being so gentle with you and helping you. The way he smiled when you nearly fell and just put his arm around your waist to make sure you stayed put. It made you feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

“We can get hot chocolate after we’re done before we get food?” he offered. 

“That sounds great! I haven’t had a good cup of hot chocolate in a while!” you exclaim with the excitement of a child. Todoroki was smiling a whole lot at you today, it was endearing to say the least. But then you felt your weight shift and felt yourself falling and Todoroki wasn’t fast enough to catch you. With a slight ‘oof’ you fell on your ass in the middle of the rink. Todoroki stared at you for a couple seconds before helping you back up. Once you were on your feet again you saw him cover his mouth and turn away.  “You can laugh if you want, I can be a clown sometimes” you say giggling. You’ve never seen Todoroki like this. He looked so relaxed and happy. Maybe, you could allow yourself to think it was because you were here with him. But that’s ridiculous, was your final though before you shook away the feeling. 

“Let’s go get that hot chocolate we talked about” Todoroki said leading you of the ice. As you made your way towards the exit you saw a familiar bright blonde haircut. Turning around you saw what you assumed was Kaminari wearing a mustache and sunglasses slip and fall on his ass. Not even wanting to bring up the subject to Todoroki, you turned back to him and followed him out of the skating rink. You would question them about it later. 

Todoroki led you to a small cafe he knew around the area. It had a cute look from the outside and was even cozier on the inside. You guys sat down and ordered two hot chocolates. You looked over at Todoroki as he ordered. Damn, he was so beautiful. Like how can one look like this? He caught you staring not even a couple seconds later which flustered you. You and Todoroki talked about everything while waiting for your drinks. With him, it was so easy. He was a great listener and you were a big talker, well around him at least. It worked out perfectly. Finally, your hot chocolate arrived and you looked so excited. Todoroki slipped a small smile. How could he not? You looked so adorable. 

“Let me post this on twitter and make everyone jealous” you joked. He let out a small chuckle as you pulled your phone out and snapped a picture. Captioning and posting it you put away your phone. You looked up and now it was your turn to catch Todoroki staring. He blushed a little and looked away which just made you fall in love even harder. 

You and him talked all evening and soon the cafe was starting to close. Leaving the warm place, you shivered a little. 

“Hey, are you cold?” Todoroki asked you. 

“Just a little, it’s fine we’ll be in the car in no time” you said laughing. He nodded and you continued walking to the car. Now, small snowflakes began falling out of the sky. 

“Woah, it’s the first snow of the season Shoto!” you exclaimed. He nodded with a smile on his face as he watched you try to catch the snowflakes in your hand. You finally made it to the car and got in, which ended up being even colder than the outside. 

“Here, put this on” Todoroki said handing you a big jacket.  “I had it in the car so don’t worry” he said reassuringly. You take it and put it on. Sure it minimized your movement but it was warm and smelt good, so you weren’t complaining. The ride home was calm and warm. Calm music was playing in the car and everything was perfect. But then, you reached your house. 

“Well, I guess it’s time to go” you said taking off the jacket.

“Keep it.” Todoroki said smiling. You stared at him for a few seconds and returned the smile.  “Thanks for the amazing day Shoto! We should do it again sometime” You said cheerily. He nodded and gave another smile. You closed the car door, waved and ran to your house. He watched and made sure you made it in safe, then sighed. He didn’t know how long he could handle being just friends, when all he wanted to do was kiss you and show how he truly felt. And with that he drove off home. 

Inside, you still kept the jacket on. You didn’t want to take it off. You shot Todoroki a quick text, telling him you had fun. Then, you opened your shared group chat with friends. You shot them a quick texting saying ‘hey’. Kaminari instantly asked how your date went. You told his it was all good and great. Then, Kirishima replied with ‘we know’. That proved your suspicions. You pushed on how they knew and those flustered idiots didn’t know how to respond. You laughed at their sorry excuse of ‘we were studying’. Perhaps, this was one of the best days you ever had. 

#bnha #mha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #shoto todoroki #shoto todoroki x reader #todoroki x reader #bnha todoroki #mha todoroki #bnha todoroki x reader #mha todoroki x reader #shoto todoroki imagines #bnha fanfiction #mha fanfiction #bnha x reader #bnha x you #mha x reader #mha x you #bnha smau #mha smau #bnha social media au #mha social media au #shoto todoroki fluff #bnha fluff #mha fluff #bnha todoroki fluff #mha todoroki fluff #ice skating au

[corie-the-writer]

Ignite - Ch. 3

Chapter 3

Waking up in the familiar bedroom, Chloe blinked her eyes open to look to the clock to see that it was going on nine in the morning. Once she had arrived at her father's house, changed out of her clothes and had laid on the bed she was out cold for the entire night. Since she hadn't gotten any sleep the night before due to the fire in her apartment, and had a non stop day. She had been exhausted. 

Laying in the bed, Chloe had stretched out her body and then examined her hand since she had taken the bandage off before she had fell asleep. The olive skin was red blistering and painful but manageable. Deciding to lay in the bed for a moment longer, Chloe had pushed herself up to head towards the shower to get ready for the day. 

Once she had done what she needed and got dressed in a pair her dark skinny jeans, black boots and a basic black t-shirt, Chloe headed down stairs with her badge hanging proudly on her hip, and her gun holstered. Heading into the kitchen, Chloe was grateful to see that her father had left the coffee pot on for her and a large to go cup sitting next to the machine with her keys on the counter. 

Chloe poured herself a large cup of coffee, making sure the lid was secured, she had headed upstairs to grab a grab her cellphone and wallet. Then headed back down to start her day at the office. Once she had gotten in the Jeep Rubicon and started it up, she took a long sip of the coffee for before driving to work. 

Deciding to stop off to grab donuts for everyone, as she waited on the order, she pulled out her phone to see that Kelly had text her sometime through the night. 

K: I have tomorrow off. Want to come over for dinner?

Chloe knew that he was talking about today from the time he had sent the message and knew that she had wanted to spend time with him, but she wasn't sure how long the undercover would last tonight.

C: I have to go undercover tonight so I won't be able to make dinner, but I'd like to hang out if you're still up then.

K: I'll be up. 

Chloe chuckled with how quickly he responded to her text message as the older man gave her the box of donuts and she quickly left after tipping him and headed back to her jeep. 

Driving towards the district, Chloe heard her phone chiming from the cup holder it was sitting in, but she didn't bother to look since she was driving. When she had arrived at the district, she quickly grabbed the box of donuts, shoving her cell phone into her pocket and grabbing her large cup of coffee and headed inside. 

Letting Trudy get first pick of the donuts, Chloe made her way upstairs and was instantly swarmed by the team, thanking her as they shoved the dough into their mouths. 

As she walked past her desk she noticed a large vase of flowers sitting on the edge as she walked into the common area to put the donuts on the table, and then walked back to her desk with a curious glance. She examined the flowers, noticing that they were not her type, but they were cute, and began to look for a card. When she spotted the small card, she pulled it from the stick and read the words. 

"For the face of an angel, may we meet soon. - Sincerely yours " 

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows as her partner approached, "Severide get you flowers?" Adam questioned and Chloe shrugged her shoulders, pulling out her phone to call Kelly, because it didn't seem like it would be something he would do. As Chloe listened to the ringing, she had handed the card over to Adam to read. 

"Hey..." Kelly answered the phone with a sleepy voice. 

"Hey, I have a quick question." Chloe started out, "Did you happen to send me flowers?" Chloe questioned and heard Kelly chuckle. 

"No. Is this your way of saying that you want me to send you flowers?" Kelly joked causing Chloe to let out a laugh. 

"No." Chloe answered, "I just got to work and there is a vase of flowers on my desk with a card." 

"What's the card say?" Kelly questioned curiously. 

"It says, for the face of an angel, may we meet soon, sincerely yours." Chloe answered, "I didn't know if you have inhaled too much smoke in your career." The young detective joked causing Kelly to laugh into the phone.

"No, it wasn't me. But you can tell whoever sent them to you to back off." Kelly spoke causing Chloe to grin realizing that he was slightly jealous. 

"Will do Lieutenant. I'll text you later okay?" 

"Alright Detective." 

Once Chloe had ended the call she noticed that she had several texts from an unknown number. Furrowing her eyebrows, she clicked on the text log and had to scroll up for a second to see the first message. Chloe's blood ran cold seeing a photo of her bent over on her apartment bed completely naked with Kelly standing behind her, his large hands on her hips. The next photo was of the same photo but with Kelly's face covered by a flame emoji and a big red X over it. She scrolled to the text message to see that it was a video and there was a song that started playing. 

Sweet dreams are made of this Who am I to disagree? Travel the world and the seven seas Everybody's looking for something Some of them want to use you Some of them want to get used by you Some of them want to abuse you Some of them want to be abused...

"What the hell..." Chloe immediately had goosebumps form on her arms at Marylin Manson's song playing, Ruzek immediately questioning what was going on, and Chloe quickly stopped the song, "I don't know..." Chloe answered, her eyes scanning to the last text message, claiming that Kelly Severide was using her, that he did not deserve her, that Severide would make her down in his darkness, that she was an angel needing to be saved. 

Chloe looked to her partner, "I uh...I think someone is stalking me." Chloe stumbled over her words, then explaining the texts she had received on her phone, including a vague description of the photo that was sent to her. 

"Come on, let's go trace the number." Ruzek suggested and Chloe nodded her head. 

It took a lot for Chloe to be affected but she was officially creeped out. She had no idea who could have taken the photos of her because she always makes sure she isn't followed because of her profession. She also knew that if her father knew about this, he would not let her follow through with the undercover that evening. 

"Look...I am not taking this to Hank until after tonight." Chloe stated to Adam as he began to trace the number.

"Chloe..." Adam spoke hesitantly. 

"I'll be with you the entire night. Hopefully we get a bust tonight, and then I'll bring it straight to him. Severide needs to be aware too." Chloe stated and Adam reluctantly nodded his head. 

"It's bouncing from different towers." Ruzek stated, getting large location that ranged within 20 blocks of Chicago. 

"Well that's fuckin' helpful..." Chloe grumbled with annoyance, pulling out her phone to shoot Kelly a message to be careful, that she would explain later, then shoving the device back into her pocket. 

Adam and Chloe had been interrupted by Hank Voight, "What are you two doing? I thought I told you to go try to find a way into the nightclub?" Hank questioned. 

"Oh sorry..." Chloe stood up, Adam quickly exiting the screen on the computer, "We were trying to figure out what to wear exactly to fit in." Chloe lied seeing her father narrow his eyes for a moment. 

"Stop standing around and go." Hank growled. . . Chloe and Adam were unable to find a way into the nightclub without completely blowing their cover, so the entire plan was to tell the bouncer that they had gotten invited through a fake name, hoping like hell it worked. 

The dark haired detective had sent Kim Burgess to buy a dress for her undercover assignment, and had disappeared into the locker room to get dressed for the part. Chloe had curled her long dark hair, applied dark eye shadow to create a smoky look, and dark red lipstick. Slipping the skin tight white dress on, Chloe struggled to breathe for a moment as she adjusted her breasts, allowing some cleavage to be shown, and then slipped on a pair of red stiletto heels, and her black leather jacket, making sure that her badge was secure in the pocket. 

Walking out of the locker room, Chloe got a round of whistles from her co-workers and noticed Kelly Severide sitting at her desk. She furrowed her eyebrows as she approached. 

"You okay?" Chloe questioned quietly. 

"I uh..yeah..." Severide answered, his eyes trailing up and down her body, a boyish smile appearing on his mouth causing Chloe to let out a small laugh, "Can you wear this to my place later?" Severide questioned lowly. 

"I'll see what I can do." Chloe replied, being hollered at by her father. 

Kelly stood up remembering why he had shown up in the first place and caught Chloe's arm gently, "Hey, uh I came here because I started getting weird phone calls..." Kelly began to explain catching Chloe's attention. 

"From an unknown number?" Chloe questioned and watched as the man nodded her head, "Look, can you hang out here until we get back? I can explain everything then but right now I need to focus." Chloe stated. 

"Yeah, okay..." Kelly replied.

Chloe gave his hand a squeeze before walking over to her team, allowing Kim Burgess to hide a mic in the cleavage of her dress. Glancing over her shoulder as she walked to the stares, she smiled at Kelly who was watching her intently.

Tag List : @talicat713 @letsstarsfalling @samantha-chicagos @shikshinkwon

If you would like to be added to the taglist for Ignite, please find the post where you need to comment your username. 

#Kelly Severide #kelly severide imagine #kelly severide one shot #kelly severide x reader #nbc chicago fire #kelly severide x oc #Ignite Chapter Three

[rainbowserenity]

I read your tags so of course I request: “I’m sorry that I got way too into playing house and accidentally kissed you passionately.”

Like so many other things, it started with Serah.

“Pleeeease can you watch her this afternoon? I really need to get to this appointment, but Snow’s working overtime and I can’t bring Rosa with me!”

“I guess,” Lightning replied slowly. “But Hope’s holed up in his room on a video conference. I don’t want him to be disturbed.”

“I’ll warn her! Thank you so much, sis. I really appreciate this.”

“Sure.” Lightning sighed as she hung up, immediately looking around the room and wondering if she had anything to feed a four-year old. Rosa was luckily past the picky eater phase, but you never knew with that one. Honestly, Lightning thought most of the time that her niece had gotten a little too much of her father’s genes.

While she was rummaging around in the kitchen, she heard footsteps and turned her head, a little smile on her lips when she saw Hope. “Hey. Done already?”

“Not yet. One of my team members has a bad connection, so we’re taking a break.” He glanced around. “What are you doing?”

“Serah begged me to babysit Rosa. I want to make sure I have something for when she inevitably claims she’s ‘starving’.”

Hope quirked a smile. “She does get pretty dramatic. Do you think you’ll need help?”

“I think we’ll be okay. I’ll make sure she doesn’t bother you.”

“It’d be no bother.”

“Don’t let her hear you say that.” Lightning shook her head in amusement. Even though Hope wasn’t actually Rosa’s uncle, she still called him as such and was obsessed with him in that way kids got around their favorite person.

It was cute, but it also made Lightning feel a little weird. Hope was merely her roommate - she’d gotten a decent-sized house, but then Serah had married Snow and moved in with him. Lightning figured there was no use in letting the empty space go to waste, so she’d decided to let Hope live here way cheaper than it would’ve been for him to rent his own place. They’d always gotten along, so it worked out great.

Things had gradually gotten weird, however. Not in a bad way by any means, but things felt....fluttery between them, for lack of a better word. She couldn’t really pinpoint when or why or how, but seeing Hope around the house always brought a smile to her face. Her stomach did flips when they had dinner together and she always felt weirdly disappointed when they went to their separate bedrooms at night.

Plus, there was Rosa. Not only was she obsessed with Hope, but she couldn’t seem to grasp that he and her aunt were merely friends. Lightning couldn’t blame her - after all, she was a kid with her dad’s attention span - but it called attention to those weird, fluttery feelings neither of them knew what to do with.

She was totally going to ignore it today. Hope had a video conference and Serah would only be gone for a couple of hours. No worries.

Of course, all of that fell apart when Serah dropped Rosa off some time later, smothering her face with kisses. Rosa didn’t really seem to care and immediately skipped towards Hope’s room.

Lightning quickly stopped her. “He’s working,” she explained gently. “You have to wait until he comes out here, okay?”

“I haven’t seen Uncle Hope in daaaays!” Rosa whined. “He should stop working and play with us!”

“Sorry.” Lightning picked her up with a grunt - this kid was definitely going to be as tall as her dad - and gently poked her nose, which got a giggle. “I don’t make the rules.”

Of course, just then, the door to Hope’s room opened and he immediately brightened when he saw Rosa. “I thought I heard someone familiar here...”

“Uncle Hope!!!” Rosa cried, immediately trying to wiggle herself from Lightning’s arms. Hope quickly went to them and Rosa practically flew into his embrace. “Aunt Lightning said you had to work!”

“She’s right,” he said. There was a gentle grin on his face that brought that fluttery feeling back. “But I think I can take a break for my favorite lady.”

“YAAAAAY!” Rosa was bouncing as much as she could while still in Hope’s arms. “Can we pleeeease play house and tea party and princess and - “

“Whoa.” Hope finally set her down since the bouncing was getting extreme. “One at a time, okay?”

“Let’s play house!” Rosa exclaimed, bouncing some more before immediately hopping to the couch, where the ‘house’ usually was when she played.

Lightning shook her head in amusement, her eyes sliding to Hope, who was watching Rosa with a fond smile. “Are you sure about this? I know you were worried about getting work done.”

He shrugged one shoulder. “It’s fine. They can survive without me.”

“If you’re sure.”

They had about five seconds before Rosa peeked around the couch and started ordering them around. “You gotta be the mommy and the daddy, ‘cause you’re bigger than me! I’ll be the baby!”

“Really?” Lightning raised her eyebrows. “You want to be a baby?”

“Waahhh!”

She couldn’t help but huff out a laugh. Admittedly, it was fun playing with Rosa - playtime wasn’t really something she’d had much of as a kid, and she knew that Hope hadn’t had much opportunity, either. Maybe that was why he embraced the Uncle role so much.

Playing house got mashed with playing tea party, which involved all of them sitting on the floor, sitting up straight and drinking out of pretend teacups. Rosa admonished them for not holding their pinkies out (”I saw it on TV, Aunt Lightning! It has to be true!”) and praised Hope for being so lovely otherwise.

When Rosa got bored of playing tea party about fifteen minutes later - a record for her - started making pretend baby noises. “Goo-goo-ga-ga!”

Lightning raised an eyebrow. “I think it’s the baby’s naptime.” She glanced at Hope. “What do you think?”

He nodded seriously, clearly embracing the dad role. “I think so too, honey. Babies need plenty of rest.”

While Lightning tried to ignore the term of endearment, Rosa made a noise that was half whine, half laugh. “Noooo! Babies get to stay up and play!”

“Is that so?”

“This one does!” She grinned. “I get to stay with Mommy while she waits for Aunt Vanille so she can go to work!”

Not for the first time, Lightning mentally praised Vanille’s energy and patience. She had no idea what was gonna happen when Snow and Serah inevitably had a second kid. “So what does the Daddy do while you stay with the Mommy?”

“He goes to work!” Rosa answered in a very matter-of-fact tone. She ran to Hope and pushed on his legs. “You’re the Daddy, Uncle Hope! You gotta go to work!”

“I probably should,” he said, although he was still using that serious voice that came when he played with Rosa, just to show he was into the game. He picked up Rosa, much to her delight, and kissed the top of her head. “I’ll see you tonight. You be good, okay?”

“Okay!”

And then, before either of them knew what was happening, Hope leaned forward - Rosa still in his arms - and pressed his lips to Lightning’s.

She froze, unable to breathe or even really think. Her mind had gone utterly blank with how stupidly perfect this felt and she felt herself kissing him back without even realizing it. He made a small, quiet sound in his throat as he pressed himself closer to her...

“Heyyy! You’re squishing me!”

At Rosa’s voice, the two of them sprang apart, eyes wide. Lightning was breathing heavily and Hope’s face had gone completely red. “Um - “

“C’mon, the Daddy has to go to work!” Rosa was completely unperturbed by what had just happened. After all, they were still playing house, and this was how it went - the Daddy kissed the Mommy before leaving for work.

“Um.” Hope stared for another moment before he nodded slowly and carefully put Rosa down. “Um. yes. Right. I’ll....I’ll be back later.”

“....Okay.” Lightning wasn’t sure what else to say. What could she say, especially when Rosa was still right there?

Hope retreated back to his room and didn’t come out for the rest of the afternoon. Though Lightning kept her focus on Rosa, it was hard to really get in to any of her games when there was a memory of a kiss she hadn’t even known she’d been waiting for.

When Serah finally came back to pick up her daughter, Rosa ran straight into her waiting arms. “Mommyyyyy!”

“Helloooo my little darling!” Serah scooped her up with surprising ease. “Did you have fun with Aunt Lightning today?”

“Yeah! We played tea party and house and princess and horsie and Aunt Lightning and Uncle Hope played Mommy and Daddy!”

Serah looked amused. “Is that so?”

“Yeah! They acted like you and Daddy do before he goes to work!”

“....Really.”

Lightning wanted to crawl into a hole. Serah’s face looked so amused and smug. She was practically a human emoji. “It’s nothing. We had fun.”

“I’m sure you did,” Serah replied in a sing-song voice. “Thanks again, sis!”

Lightning merely grunted - though she did wave goodbye to Rosa - and finally closed the door behind them. She let out a long, steadying breath, wondering what she was supposed to do now that there wasn’t a four-year old to distract her.

“Did they leave?”

She spun around, only to see Hope standing there. Her heart immediately began to pound. “Yes. Just now.”

“Oh.” Hope cleared his throat. “I hope she had fun. It’s always nice to have her here.”

“Right.”

“...”

“...”

It was Lightning’s turn to clear her throat. “Listen, I...”

“I’m sorry that I got way too into playing house and accidentally kissed you passionately,” Hope said in one breath, like he’d been working up the nerve to apologize. “It just - I just - I’m sure you’ve never wanted me to do anything like that and I never wanted to make things awkward between us. I - I can start looking for a new place tonight - “

“...Hope.”

He snapped his mouth shut. “Yes...?”

Lightning stared at him for a long moment. There was a tiny part of her that wanted to just ignore all of this and move on.

But there as a huge, fluttery feeling within her that urged her to embrace it.

She smirked. “You call that kiss from earlier passionate?”

His mouth fell open and then snapped shut. “I - excuse me?”

“You’re welcome to show me better.” She walked up to him and rested a hand on his arm. Was this flirting? All the fluttery feelings pointed to yes. “If you want, of course.”

Hope stared for another moment before he covered her hand with his own, his shocked expression finally morphing into a soft smile. “I do want that.” He paused. “I feel like I should thank Rosa.”

“Please. If she’s anything like her father, she doesn’t need her ego stroked.” Lightning wiggled her fingers so she could thread them with Hope’s. “So. How about our own version of playing house?”

Hope smiled, hesitating for a split second before leaning in to meet her lips again. “I’ll play that game anytime.”

#hello83433 #hopelight #hoperai #hopurai #hopelight fic #a little bit of fluff #in these trying times #that last bit came out...... #idk like weird innuendo LOL #oh well #also i just typed this into the text box #and didn't really look it over #so forgive any mistakes #nothing like a little OTP ridiculousness ohohoho #ugh i adore them #ps if you're reading this in the future #idk what glitch tumblr had #for some reason the keep reading cut is in the ask??? #and i can't seem to fix it #sorry about that ugh 8))))

[lukatheselkie]

FrUk Week Day Five - Coffee Shop

@frukweek2020

TECHNICALLY this is a café, but shh. I guess this is a human AU?

Warnings: Cussing, alcohol, clothed erection (no detail)

    Arthur grumbles angrily as he shoves a door open, walking into the building. Stupid Alfred! He can’t believe he let him convince him to travel to France with him! And what he can’t believe even more is that Alfred just left him alone. Abandoned him! Ignored that he even existed and went off with some friends he made a few days ago! Arthur slams himself down into a seat, glaring at anyone that dares look at him. These next three months can’t pass by fast enough. He places his head in his hands and groans. Three and a half months away from home. What on Earth had he been thinking? No, he knows exactly what he was thinking. Alfred was giving him puppy eyes, so he was thinking saying yes was the fastest way to get rid of those. He should have listened to the question.

    “Pardon the time it took to bring you this, sir.” Arthur’s head snaps up, and his cheeks flush pink. It’s been so long since he saw someone attractive, he nearly forgot he was bisexual. But apparently his body didn’t! He slides a hand into his lap discreetly. Thankfully, the man doesn’t seem to notice. He places an English menu in front of him with a polite smile, and continues on to the next table. Is he really that obviously a tourist? Arthur glances at the menu, frowning deeply when he sees it’s different from what he’s to. Well, he can still order tea without much trouble. He tries to ignore the extra items on the menu, but they make him curious. Alcohol? Meals? He’s used to just coffee, tea, snacks, and small desserts!

    He might need some alcohol, after his morning with Alfred. He’s a handful. And a stressful one, at that. He looks up when the waiter returns, taking a deep, steadying breath. No one should be allowed to be that attractive. It’s not fair. He greets him with a smile, and asks what he would like. You, he thinks at him. I would like to have you. Instead of answering with that, he gives a curt smile and a, “May I have some tea and a glass of champagne?” The waiter raises a brow at him.

    “You might want something to eat with that, if you haven’t had anything recently. It might make you sick.” Arthur sends a hearty glare his direction.

    “I think I know what I’m doing with my body.” It comes out harsher than he meant it to, but he’s not going to apologize for it. The stranger smiles at him.

    “Of course, sir. I will be right back with that.” He bustles off, and Arthur groans quietly. Why does he always have to be super rude when he’s around someone he finds alluring? It’s a devastating flaw of his. He glances around the café, taking in the comfortable atmosphere. At least he’s got that going for him. Not that it means much, if anything. “Here you are! Will that be all?” He places the tea and champagne on the table in front of him with a bright smile. Shit. He shifts slightly, placing his other hand in his lap as well.

    “Thank you very much. Yes, that will be all,” he tries saying clearly, but it comes out somewhat strained. The stranger giggles, and places the bill next to his tea. There’s writing besides the drinks on it. You are incredibly cute. Call me, mon cher. -Francis His number is written neatly next to the words. Hell yeah! Score! Maybe it’s a good thing Alfred abandoned him earlier. He never would have gotten the number without being angry enough to storm in for tea. He tugs his phone out of his pocket, and takes a deep breath. He has to get this right. He types the number in carefully, and then goes to write a text. Thank goodness for international coverage.

    You are much cuter than I am, Francis. But I thank you for the compliment. I know this is not a call, but I couldn’t resist. I had to contact you immediately after reading your note. My name is Arthur. He sends the message before he can talk himself out of it. He looks up, heart flipping happily when he sees Francis smiling at him. He must have his cellphone in his pocket. Arthur navigates over to Alfred’s number, and sends him a lot of emojis sticking their tongues out at him. Then, Guess who just got a date and potentially a boyfriend because you decided to leave him alone today?

    There’s absolutely no way you got a date OR a boyfriend that fast! You’re Arthur! The Brit rolls his eyes, sipping at his tea.

    Your confidence in me is overwhelming. Alfred sends him a paragraph of side-eye emojis. Hey! Fine, I’ll prove it to you. When he asks me to go out, I’ll ask him for a picture! With me, so you know I’m not pulling your leg.

    I’ll be waiting for the bad photoshop job you do. Arthur scoffs. He’s not that bad at photoshop! But this won’t be fake. He places his phone in sleep mode, then focuses on drinking his tea. It’s better than he was expecting from France. He’ll have to give it another try elsewhere to see if it holds up, or if it’s just because Francis likes him. Either way, he finishes it entirely too fast.

    The champagne is an even better idea now, since his interaction with Alfred has given him a slight headache. He sips on it lightly, enjoying the taste. It’s not something he’s very used to, but it is good. His phone vibrates again and he clicks it on, expecting another message from Alfred. It’s actually Francis. Arthur. I like that very much. Well, Arthur, my shift ends in seven minutes. Would you like to go on a walk around the city? I can show you the best places to be. He flushes crimson at the message. It’s a good thing speaking with Alfred killed his minor erection. And hopefully stopped any more from popping up for a few hours.

    I would like that very much. Though the person I am visiting with requests a photo of the two of us together. He does not believe in my ability to find a date so fast. He glances up to see Francis walking about, and shrugs lightly. He probably won’t see it until he’s off, but that’s fine. Arthur finishes off his champagne at a leisurely rate, and goes to pay for it. When he’s done with that, he checks the time. One more minute. I will be waiting outside for you. He rushes out the door, wanting to get in a suave position before he has the opportunity to come out. He leans against the wall by the door nonchalantly, watching the people walk by. Someone touches his arm lightly, and he turns his head toward them. Francis. He’s even more beautiful up close. Stunning, even.

    “Hello, Arthur,” he whispers, giving him a bright smile. It makes his knees weak. “I wouldn’t mind taking a picture with you to prove that you are indeed capable of getting a date so fast.” Oh! Right! He tugs his phone out of his pocket, and steps closer to him.

    “Thank you very much.” Francis laughs quietly. Bloody hell. He’s too damn attractive! Arthur can’t keep his thoughts straight. No, that’s a poor choice of wording. He can’t keep his thoughts organized. He lifts his phone up and taps the selfie camera on, placing his head next to his date’s. He has a date! That’s such an amazing thought. Just as he presses the button to take the picture, Francis wraps his arms around his neck and kisses his cheek, causing his cheeks to turn red from embarrassment.

    “There! That should convince him.” He drops his arms, and grabs Arthur’s free hand. “Will you send it now? I want to know how he reacts.” Wordlessly, he sends the photograph to Alfred. It isn’t very long before he messages back.

    HOLY SHIT DUDE! You weren’t kidding! And he’s HOT! If you don’t boyfriend him up, I will! Francis laughs, right in his ear. It sends a shudder down his spine. “I’m so sorry for him. He doesn’t know what he’s saying half the time. I’ll tell him that would be going too fast.”

    “Is it though? We see each other as beautiful. I’ve kissed your cheek. We’re currently holding hands. That sort of seems like we’re dating, don’t you think?” He parts his lips to reply, but nothing comes out. “Arthur, close your mouth before I kiss you there too. Unless you want me to?”

    “More than anything!” It’s out before he can place a filter on it. Francis doesn’t have to be told twice. He tilts Arthur’s head up slightly by his chin, and presses their lips together sweetly. He smirks when he pulls away.

    “It’s going to be interesting, having a foreign boyfriend. But well worth it.”

BONUS: Francis is very happy when he opens his photos app. He managed to get a picture of them kissing! He types in Alfred’s number, having memorized it specifically for this. He sends the best picture of them kissing, and leaves it at that. Arthur turns crimson a few moments later, and lets out a quiet whine that Francis finds adorable. “You didn’t!”

    “Oh but I did, mon cher. Now he has no choice but to acknowledge that you found a boyfriend.” Arthur whines louder, and buries his face in the crook of his neck. He takes the opportunity to release his hand, and wrap his arm around his waist. “You are too cute.” He kisses his hair lightly, causing him to whine again. He’s very happy Alfred left without Arthur.

#frukweek2020 #day 5 #fruk #aph england #aph france #aph america

[written-prose-things]

Backpacking through Europe?

Forgive me for not using the full prompt, but i couldn’t let go of this idea... 

You can read the Fic on AO3 and ffn.net

SUMMARY: How Peter and Harley turn from enemies to friends to cute domestic scientist boyfriends who have a ten year plan...

It’s funny how quickly time passes. Peter and Harley had met in their sophomore year, at Tony’s penthouse. 

They had both been jealous of each other, trying to figure out their roles as Tony’s mentees- slash- adopted kids. 

Peter walked into the penthouse, uncertain. 

Tony had regaled him with stories of the quick-witted and smart Harley, who had connected with Tony much earlier. 

Though Peter didn’t want to admit it, he was very insecure. Usually, he could call Tony for every problem he had, whether big or small, but Tony did have an extremely hectic schedule. 

Would Tony still have time for him now that Harley was in the picture?

Peter sighed and walked into the penthouse. The elevator shut behind him with its usual ding, which sounded ominous today. 

“Hey, Peter. Come in here.” Tony yelled from his office. 

Peter walked in timidly. Tony and Harley were standing next to the windows, which spanned one entire wall of the office, staring outside. 

When the door shut with a creak, Tony turned around and smiled, “Hey kid, meet Harley.”

Outside Tony’s peripheral vision, Harley stared at Peter with a murderous expression. Peter gulped. 

The change in the blonde boy’s expression as he moved forward, scared Peter more than most of the preps he handled in the middle of the night. 

Just as Tony’s gaze settled on Harley, he became the personification of sunshine and rainbows. 

“Hey, Peter. It’s nice to finally meet you.” Harley drawled in his southern accent. 

Peter nodded shortly, “Yeah-yeah. Same.”

It was only when Harley let go of Peter’s hand did the super-powered kid realise how strong Harley’s grip was. 

Had he been a normal kid, Peter thought woefully, he would have broken a few bones at least.

Over the next few months, they resolved their animosity, while sitting on the roof of Stark Tower. 

Peter couldn’t stand it anymore. Every time he went to the tower, to meet Tony, for help or even for their weekly lab days, Harley was hanging around like a shadow. 

Peter didn’t understand it. They were getting along in school easily now after Harley had punched Flash in the face for bullying him. They even hung out alone in the tower sometimes, playing games on Harley’s new X-box. But Harley still leeched off Peter’s time with Tony.

Peter had made an effort to give Harley exclusive time with the inventor. Was it too much, to expect the same in return? 

So, when Peter walked into the lab, for some help with the suit and Harley was still there, Peter placed his suit next to Tony and promptly walked back out. 

Now, Peter was sitting in the roof, the quiet wind hitting him in the face. He assured himself, he had already spoken to Tony about what was wrong with the suit, he wouldn’t have been needed there anyway.

Then the elevator door opened. Peter sighed, apparently not. 

Peter abruptly turns around. This was not the person he expected. He focuses on what Harley is saying.

“You don’t have to keep storming away. I’m leaving.” Harley says harshly.

Peter shakes his head exasperatedly, “Quit being so dramatic, I don’t want you to leave.”

Harley yells back, “Excuse you? I’m the dramatic one? Who keeps storming out of here every time something doesn’t go their way?”

Peter points a finger at Harley, “I can’t help it, if you’re here all the time.”

Harley rolls his eyes, “That’s why I’m leaving.”

Peter smacks his head, “I don’t want you to leave forever. Just go somewhere else while I hang out with Tony.”

Harley laughs at that. But it isn’t the cute laugh he shared with Tony or the sarcastic laugh he aims at Peter. It’s a weird broken sound that surprises Peter and not in a good way.

Harley adds between his bouts of laughter, “ Somewhere else? Where is that?”

Peter shrugs, his anger fading away quickly, “I don’t know. To your friend’s house?”

Harley’s laughter stops abruptly, “My friend’s? I don’t have friends, Parker.”

Peter gives a confused reply, “What? Of course, you do...” then he realises, Harley’s friends are Ned, MJ and the aca-dec team. 

Harley must see the revelation on his face because he adds, “My friends were your friends first. Look me in the eye and tell me that you wouldn’t have been possessive about them.”

Peter’s eyes skitter to the ground. Harley snorts, “Even with Tony, you look like a dog ready to piss on a fire hydrant.”

Peter scrunches his nose at the imagery, but looks up and apologises, “Sorry I got so weird. I just felt like you were here to take him from me.”

Harley laughs at that. But this laugh is much better, it makes Peter feel good as well.

Harley adds, “Parker, you’re so dumb. I always had Tony’s number, even when I wasn’t here. Did it feel like I was stealing him away then?”

Peter shakes his head bashfully, “No.”

Harley replies snarkily, but Peter can detect tones of warmth under it, “It’s like your parents didn’t teach you to share.”

Just to be a little shit, Peter replies sullenly, “Don’t have parents.”

Harley rolls his eyes, “Jesus fucking wept, quit going on and on about being an orphan.”

Peter laughs at that. The tension in the air is gone, replaced with something far more electric, and Peter doesn’t know what to do with that. 

Harley shoves his hands into his pockets, “Now, I don’t know about spider people’s ability to feel cold, but as a human teenager, I don’t want to turn into a human popsicle.”

Peter sighs dramatically and gets up, “Alright, let’s go.”

Harley adds, “You better make me some hot chocolate for all the useless drama you’ve cluttered my life with.”

By the time they leave high school, their days of hating each other are long gone, replaced instead by a warm friendship. The day of their graduation ceremony is one which both of them cherish. 

It feels weird to decide their colleges in such a show-boaty and unnecessarily dramatic way, but that’s what Harley and Peter decide. Ned had already made plans to fly out to his school of bio-tech in Japan the day after their ceremony and MJ’s leaving for Stockholm for her journalism school the week after. 

Peter and Harley are the only ones who are looking at the same courses in the same schools and it’s going to be a dream come true if they decide to go to the same school. 

Peter takes a deep breath and clutches the letters he’s gotten from all the colleges he’s applied to, before getting into the car with May and driving to the high school. 

May parks the car and Peter steps out. The grass has been freshly cut, the sun is shining and the bleachers have been wiped down and placed in a semi-circle around the podium. 

Students in blue gowns and hats are milling around. Peter can;t see his friends in the mele yet. 

He turns around and puts his letter inside the car before walking towards the bleachers. 

May walks with him, holding his hand. Even though they aren’t talking about it, Peter knows they’re both thinking of Ben, how he’d have loved to be around for this day. 

May tightens her grip for a moment, Peter looks down at her. He’s grown taller in the last year. Tony had pitched a fit about it. 

“I’m proud of you, kiddo.”

Peter nods, swallowing the lump in his throat, “Thanks, May. I love you.”

When they reach the seating arrangements, May walks towards the bleachers, which are the parent’s area and Peter heads to the arrangement of chairs  directly in front of the podium. 

Coach Wilson is standing in front, directing students to their seats. He smiles at Peter and points him to his chair. Peter sits down and waits for his friends. 

MJ and Ned text his within a few minutes and they all get together to take pictures with each other and their parents, before heading back to their seats.

As expected, Peter gets a message from Harley five minutes before the ceremony starts. 

Hey, I’ve reached the parking lot. Where r u?

Peter rolls his eyes and types otu a reply, 

I’m sitting in my seat, at the right time. Get here quickly, it’s about to start. 

Harley replies with an eye-rolling emoji. 

The ceremony starts a few moments later, the ceremony starts. Thankfully, Harley is in his seat before Principal Morita starts his address. 

Harley, MJ and Ned walk across the podium before Peter. He holds up his phone and takes videos of them, yelling hard and hooting as they wave at him. 

He feels elated when his name is called.

After the ceremony is over, when everyone’s done taking photos, crying and hugging, Harley and Peter stand in the parking lot. 

They’re both holding the letter of the school they’re going to. Harley smiles at him softly. Tony, Pepper, May and baby Morgan are standing to the side. 

Peter’s heart is thundering. He hands Harley his letter and snatches Harley’s from his hand. 

He opens the letter with shaking hands and bursts out laughing as soon as he sees the letter head. 

MIT

They’re both going to MIT. Harley’s hug comes out of nowhere. Peter stands in his friend’s embrace, listening to his thundering heartbeat, which copies his own. 

When they separate, Peter realises that he’s crying. Harley’s face looks blurred and by the hiccuping sound that Harley’s making, he’s crying as well. 

The first few weeks at school are a little difficult as they try to get their bearings, but having each other helps both Harley and Peter a lot. Which brings them here. 

In their second year, Peter and Harley share a room, a bed and soft morning kisses. Sometimes, Peter feels like they’re an old married couple. 

Tomorrow is the first day of their winter break. They’re going home in three days. Peter lies awake in bed, staging out of the window. 

New Year’s is approaching. Although he hates to admit it, Peter and Harley have had a ten year plan since sophomore year and  they’re almost halfway through it. 

Of course, the list has changed slightly, with the change in their relationship, but the idea is the same. 

Peter sits up slowly. He hasn’t been able to sleep due to the excitement. He tries not to wake Harley up, but the blonde boy is a light sleeper. 

Harley pulls him closer by the waist and mumbles, “Hmm, where you goin’?”

Peter shrugs, “Couldn’t sleep.”

Harley cracks an eye open, “What’re you thinkin’ bout?”

Peter replies softly, “Our 2020 resolutions.”

Harley is suddenly wide awake, “2020 isn’t a real year!”

Peter laughs at that, “Yeah it is, babe.”

Harley jolts out of bed, “Holy mother of god, we haven’t even planned our trip.”

Peter laughs out loud at that. They have a tentative plan of going for a backpacking trip across Europe before their final year. 

Before Peter can say anything, Harley has pulled out his laptop and is staring at it, bleary-eyed, at it powers up. 

Peter crawls over to him and softly closes the laptop. Harley hums inquisitively, “Hmm?”

Peter shakes his head and puts the laptop back in its place on Harley’s table, which is right next to the bed. The alarm clock sitting there, reads 1:45 a.m.

Peter replies softly, “There’s still time for that, Harley. Why don’t you catch up on your sleep? We can plan tomorrow.”

Harley lies down easily, taking Peter with him, “Knew there was a reason why I loved you.”

Peter blushes and cuddles into his chest.

#parkner week 2020 #harley keener x peter parker #parkner #harley keener #peter parker #spiderman #iron lad

[darkblueboxs]

The Manga is Way Better (Save me from the Fangirls)

Read here or on AO3

Inspired by an absurd GC conversation feat. @hope-coeurell and @karmacharmeleon18 about exy anime in the aftg universe.

Neil wakes up to eleven hundred new twitter followers overnight, which sets off alarm bells for a number of reasons.

He didn’t want the damn account, but his publicist insisted, and Carol rules Neil’s public life with an iron fist. He leaves her to post generically upbeat tweets on his behalf about the exy world, and in return he tries not to start any fights that she’ll have to finish. Emphasis on tries.

He assumes that the influx of followers is down to some vaguely rude retort going viral that he’d already forgotten making, but to his bafflement most of the new followers seem to have cartoon avatars and names that are more emoji than letter. He clicks on one profile out of curiosity, understands about one word in five, and promptly loses interest.

He puts it down to the ramp up in interest caused by the approaching world cup and shuts off his phone. The muggy SoCal heat makes Neil drowsier than he usually would be, but the sound of Andrew brewing coffee in the kitchen is enough to drag Neil from bed. They’re only on the western coast for a few days while the national team attends a few mandatory press junkets and board meetings, and Neil would resent it more if not for the opportunity to spend time with his family.

They’re actually scheduled for a day off, but Kevin pulled every contact he had with the Trojans to bag use of their court for the day, and he’s dragging every player he can in with him. Luckily for them, it’s the off-season, so the only players they’re booting from their own pitch are the ones with nothing better to do on their break.

The fox’s group chat is buzzing regularly on the ride to the stadium, but Neil ignores it for the city sights rolling by his window. Neither he nor Andrew have visited this part of California before; it leaves a far better impression than their previous experiences with the state.

It’s when he arrives in the locker room to find Matt and a few other players huddled around a phone screen that the alarm bells return.

Matt looks up, takes one look at Neil, and bursts out laughing. “Hey, look, it’s Niall Jamestown.”

Neil gives him a deliberately blank look as he shoulders his bag from his shoulder. “Morning, Matt.”

“You’ve watched this, right? Tell me you’ve watched this.”

Neil glances to Andrew, who seems to know as much as Neil does, before replying. “No?”

“Oh my God,” says Matt, and shoves the phone in Neil’s face.

The sight he is met with is baffling to say the least; a bunch of cartoon boys with brightly coloured hair yelling at each other in Japanese the middle of an exy court.

“Japanese soap opera?” Neil guesses.

“Just wait.”

Neil watches with disinterest. The doors to the cartoon court bang open and the lights flicker as the music crescendos, building up to some dramatic reveal.

A kid with red hair, blue eyes and a scarred face steps into frame. “I’m Niall Jamestown,” say the subtitles as the character slings a racquet across his shoulders. “And I’m going to beat you all!” Then the screen goes black.

Neil is genuinely speechless.

“You’re an anime character, Neil!” Matt beams. “How cool is that?”

Neil looks back to his cartoon doppelganger. “What the fuck is anime?”

*

Neil is acutely aware of when the next episode comes out, because his twitter following jumps wildly again. He has a lot of new messages, although none of them seem to really be directed at him.

“Do not fucking talk to me about fucking King of the Court,” Kevin snaps as they toss a ball back and forth.

“It’s a show about exy, isn’t it?” Neil says. “Why wouldn’t you like it?”

“It’s thinly-veiled Raven propaganda that shows no respect for actual exy rules. They have a distant cousin of the Moriyamas on the creative team because they figured it might be a good merchandising opportunity, but thankfully the manga never really took off in America.” Kevin’s expression darkens. “The new TV adaptation, on the other hand…”

When Neil continues to look at him blankly, Kevin rolls his eyes and explains, “A Manga is like a comic book.”

Neil nearly drops the ball. “I’m a comic book character, too?”

“No, they’ve clearly changed the character’s name and appearance in the remake to make him look like you. They’re going to make you look like an asshole.”

Neil thought he was used to being on television; it turns out he was sorely mistaken. He shrugs. “I’m pretty good at doing that by myself already.”

Kevin throws the next ball to him harder than necessary. It whistles past Neil’s right ear; an inch to the side and it would have been a black eye. The whack of a racket against the ground clatters from the other side of the court, Andrew’s idea of a friendly warning. “Take this seriously.”

“It’s a cartoon, Kevin, how on earth do I take it seriously?”

“I wasn’t exaggerating when I said it was Raven propaganda,” Kevin snaps. “The main team, the protagonist, they’re very…” Kevin trails off. “Just go look it up when you get home.”

Neil tries ten minutes of the first episode, but quickly loses interest when he realises there’s more heartfelt speeches about friendship and teamwork than there is actual playing. Kevin’s right, though; the main team, Iwatobi Crows, are a clear stand-in for the Ravens with their black-on-red uniforms. They’re supposed to be the underdog team, which is hilarious, but worst of all is their captain, a charismatic, friendly, dark-haired teenager with a conspicuous beauty-spot on his left cheekbone.

Neil retches quietly before throwing his laptop aside and vowing never to think about the show again.

*

“People on twitter are yelling at me.” Neil frowns. “A lot.”

“This is not news,” Andrew says without raising his eyes from his book.

“This one says I ‘hurt her precious baby.’” Neil scrolls. “They could be a little more creative with their death threats.”

Death threats is enough to pique Andrew’s interest. He takes Neil’s phone and scrolls for several minutes, the crease between his eyebrows deepening slightly. He hands the phone back. “Your cartoon alter-ego is insulting their precious king.”

Neil snorts. He plays a clip beneath one of the tweets showing Neil’s character and Riko’s in a heated argument. It’s melodramatic and darkly lit, and fake-Neil’s smile is wide and sharp as he tells Riko his team will never amount to anything. “You are destined for failure,” Niall snarls. “Pathetic.”

It isn’t meant to be funny; it’s meant to be cruel and devastating, but Neil laughs. “This guy is growing on me.”

Andrew shakes his head as he returns to his book. “Don’t come crying to me when the fangirls break your face.”

Neil snorts. “I’d trust you to patch me up again after.”

Andrew raises an eyebrow but doesn’t deny it.

*

“One of my co-workers has asked me for your autograph,” Nicky says, his voice cracking and jumping across the videocall. “Think you can get a poster to me before Christmas?”

“Easily. I can get a hold of some national team merch as well if she-”

Nicky cuts him off with a snort. “No, it’s cool, she isn’t really into exy.”

At the kitchen counter behind him, Andrew’s knife stalls over the carrots. They share a baffled look.

“What?” says Neil eventually.

“Oh, yeah, she doesn’t follow exy or anything, she’s just really into that show, what’s it called? King of the Castle?”

“Something like that.” Neil says, keeping his expression remarkably straight. “You’ve heard about it?”

“Are you kidding me? The whole anime world is talking about it. Not that I’m deep in the weeb community or anything, I just followed a few people for posting those cute yaoi ice-skating gifs a while back and they’ve been talking about nothing else in months.”

Neil understands some of those words. “Okay.”

“Say, Neil, do you know what a ship is?”

“Like, a boat?”

Andrew reaches past Neil and hits the end call button. “Not today.”

Neil nods, feeling as though he has just been saved from something unfathomably vast and dangerous. “Not today.”

*

Robin sends a picture of the photo wall in the Foxhole Court’s lounge. Someone has put up a poster of Anime Neil in one corner. It’s life-size, and he glares across the room with overshiny blue eyes, a leather jacket thrown over his shoulder as he scowls. She accompanies the message with a simple smiley emoji, but Neil isn’t fooled.

Not funny, Neil texts back.

He’s taller than you, she replies.

*

“What are you going to do about it?” Kevin says on one of their phone calls. “You can’t let them burn your reputation to the ground like this. They’re portraying you as a mouthy bad-boy who listens to no one and breaks all the rules.”

“Just like real life, then,” Andrew says loudly enough that Kevin can hear.

“Kevin, some kid’s cartoon isn’t going to affect my exy career,” Neil says, scooping Sir onto his lap as he talks. “It’s about how well I play.”

“It’s about image, Neil. Your publicist will agree. Has she considered suing for defamation? I know some good lawyers if-”

“She’s looked into it.” Neil had watched Carol’s growing exasperation with detached amusement; she was, as far as he knew, a good person, but watching her having a meltdown over a cartoon caricature had been mildly entertaining regardless. Neil just couldn’t bring himself to see what all the fuss was about. “They’ve changed my name, so it’s a no-go.”

Kevin makes an exaggeratedly pained sound. Neil doesn’t have to picture his expression; he knows all too well what Kevin’s disappointed face looks like.

“You’re taking this heavily,” says Neil. Then, “Did make you into a character too or something-?”

Kevin hangs up.

*

“Neil, how does it feel knowing my husband loves you more than he does his own wife?”

“This isn’t news.” Neil smiles as Dan laughs. He can see moving boxes and sports equipment behind her as she spins, showing Neil through the camera their new living room.

“Have you seen the monstrosity? Has he shown you? He said he wanted to bring it on our next fox holiday, but I said no, there’s no way I’m sitting next to that thing in the truck for six hours, besides, it’s not even that funny.” The amused tilt to her voice says otherwise.

“I’m not sure I want to know.”

“If I have to be traumatised then so do you.” Dan leads into her bedroom, and for a moment the picture turns dark and grainy. The lights flick on, and on the bed Neil sees-

“Dan, what the fuck is that?”

“Randy came across it online and thought it would be funny.” Dan sighs.

“What is it?”

“Haven’t you seen a body pillow before?”

Neil screws up his nose, leaning into his screen to get a better look despite himself. “What is he wearing?”

Dan hesitates. “Swimming costume?”

“It’s a show about exy.”

“Yeah, I got nothing. So I’m guessing you don’t want us to bring it on holiday?”

“Burn it. Please.”

“Good idea.” Dan pauses. “Unless you think Andrew would-”

“No. He would not.”

*

Neil’s anime persona gets a girlfriend, which Neil discovers only when he opens Twitter (an action which becomes more fraught with danger with every passing day) to see art of them having sex.

He blocks several hundred more followers (he’s gaining more than he can possibly hope to block every day, but it’s for the sense of control more than anything) before throwing his phone aside and climbing back into bed.

“I have a girlfriend,” Neil announces. Andrew’s head appears from beneath the covers to blink at him blearily, dislodging one of the cats as he does so.

“An unexpected development,” he says eventually.

“Anime me. He has a girlfriend.”

“Jealous?”

“Don’t ask questions you already know the answer to.” Neil nuzzles under the covers and waits for Andrew’s go-ahead before shifting in against his side.

“Does it upset you?”

“No, it’s just weird.” Neil stares up at the ceiling for several seconds before meeting Andrew’s eyes. “Well, it’s not the show, really. It’s the people.”

Andrew doesn’t reply, but his gaze remains fixed on Neil, encouraging him to keep talking.

“I’m just not used to being seen like that. Like, the people who are yelling at me because they don’t like the character I kind of get. It’s more the really flirty ones. Like, why? They don’t know me.”

“The flirty ones?”

“Just a lot of people saying really sexual things. I keep blocking them, it’s fine.”

Neil thinks he has inadvertently conditioned Andrew to tense up at the word fine; he has long tried to erase it from his vocabulary, but it still slips through now and again.

Andrew’s chest presses against his as he leans over Neil to the bedside table. For a moment Neil’s mind stops working, just thinking about skin against skin. When Andrew leans back, Neil’s phone is in his hand.

“Don’t bother looking, honestly, it isn’t worth it,” Neil says as Andrew taps several buttons.

“I’m not,” says Andrew. When he hands back the phone, the screen says account set to private.

“Carol isn’t going to like that.”

“Carol can take it up with me.”

Neil smiles. “Jealous?”

“No,” says Andrew flatly, and Neil realises that, oh, this isn’t about him.

After several minutes on the phone with Andrew, Carol concedes that keeping a low profile might not be the worst thing in the world.

*

“Neil, it’s bad,” Kevin says before he’s even through the door. “How are you not keeping up with this?”

“Digital detox,” Neil answers as Kevin pushes past. “You should try it. Great for the skin.”

Kevin doesn’t dignify him with a response. “Your character broke Riko’s  - I mean, Ryuu’s – arm. Mid-match. You can’t stand for this.”

“Are you watching this show every week?”

“I have to be ahead of the backlash,” Kevin says emphatically. He throws himself down on the couch, before standing up again, clearly too agitated to stay still. “You don’t understand, Neil. This could destroy you in the Japanese markets before you’ve even made it big in America. You have to-”

“What did they do to you, Kevin?” Neil interrupts. Kevin stops short, mouth open mid-sentence. “Because this clearly isn’t about me.”

Kevin looks away. “His name was Kev. The bumbling, obsessive, star-struck idiot that messed up the whole team’s dynamic, injured himself by pushing himself too hard and crashed out into nothing.”

Neil sobers. “Everything they told you you were.”

Kevin doesn’t look up.

“Kev? They didn’t even bother to change your name?”

Kevin shrugged. “Why bother? I couldn’t sue them. I was under the Moriyama’s thumb, remember?”

Neil stares at him. “You aren’t anymore.”

“I’m-” Kevin starts, stops, starts again. “Oh.”

“You said you knew some good lawyers, right?”

A smile breaks across Kevin’s face. “Right.”

*

King of the Court does not get renewed for a second season. Several of the foxes send Neil messages of faux commiseration, which he responds to with equal sarcasm.

A few months later, after the exy world cup medals are hanging securely over Neil and Andrew’s dresser, the same studio releases a promo for a new show. It’s nothing like their last exy anime save for the mutual sport. The characters are all decidedly fictional, neither looking nor sounding like any prominent figures in the exy world, and the protagonist’s strip doesn’t share the colours of any big USA teams.

The new anime looks as cheesy and melodramatic as the last, although Neil likes the name a lot more this time.

All for the Game. That’s a title he can get behind.

Thanks for reading, let me know what you think!

#aftg #tfc #andreil #neil josten #andrew minyard #kevin day #my fic

[sooghostwriter]

The Bee and The Fly

Pairings: Do Kyung Soo x OC

Genre: Mature,  Romance, AU, childhood friends, fluff, a tiny bit of angst because being a teenager is hard.

Summary: Kyung Soo and Eunji have been friends since always. Growing up together, finding themselves, following their dreams.

Part 3: The SoundPart 3: The Sound

Jongin was chatting with some of his classmates when she grabbed him by his arm and pulled him to the side so she could talk to him. He must have seen the urgency in her face because he just followed her 

“I just did something”

“You confessed!”

“No, worst, I’m going to model for him” Jongin gasped and began clapping like a baby watching a plastic bag moving with the wind. 

“He is going to see you naked!” She had thought about it. Most art was naked women, but Kyung Soo said nothing about nudity. 

“Were you naked?” Jongin moved closer, covering his mouth with his hand to tell her a secret. Crap. 

“No, I wasn’t naked” He stood straight, smiling mischievously “But I was half-naked, and he told me to wear pants with very low rise to show these muscles here” He pointed to his hips, below his belly button. She knew what he meant, that part was very nice indeed. 

“He did some sketches of different parts of my body, he measured me with this metallic thing like a compass, took a couple of pictures, and that’s it,  took us like two days to do the study”

“Jongin…I can’t be naked, or half-naked in front of him”

“Yes you can, you like him, you want to be naked, or half-naked in front of him” She was glad Jongin was close enough to her to make those comments, but it seemed as if he was making fun of her. 

“I’m not making fun of you, you should take this opportunity” Eunji jolted, fearing for the second time that Jongin had read her mind. 

“And also, half nakedness in a man is different than a woman’s half nakedness” He hugged his chest as if covering her imaginary breasts. 

“Oh my god, he is going to see my boobs!” He nodded, trying to stay serious, but failing. 

“But maybe he wants me to wear a flowy dress like…like the Winged Victory of Samothrace” She only knew about the existence of that piece because Kyung Soo had a sketchbook with its picture on the cover. 

“I don’t know what that is, but no, he is a great man, but he is just a man, this is going to be a Venus de milo situation, I know that one” She had to run to her next class so she cut the conversation short. But in the middle of her class she got a message from Jongin. 

“Try not to think too much about it, he asked you to be his model, and it’s kind of an honor, do it, you won’t regret it”  She didn’t answer, but sent him a smiling emoji. She did think about it because she had a lot of time to do so. Kyung Soo wanted to finish Jongin’s statue before beginning hers and that would take him roughly two months.

Winter recess was a month away and everybody was busy. She wasn’t the exception, but she knew how to manage. She pulled out three short stories out of nowhere and three essays about female authors, magical realism and creative process.  Her writing places changed constantly. The library, her room, the coffee shop where she worked and the studying rooms next to the library. She stopped visiting Kyung Soo’s shared studio and Jongin’s because they were busy too, and she didn’t want to be a bother. But Fridays were the exception, so Jongin texted them both inviting them to his house. His mom wanted to cook for them.

Eunji went to pick him up at the dance studio so they could go and pick up Kyung Soo. With all the walking around the campus and her heavy jacket, she got very hot. Her hair wasn’t helping, so she put it up in a bun. She had to almost drag Jongin out of the room, wanting to dance one more time, just one more time. She had to pull out the mother trick of - Ok, I’m going and I’m leaving you behind! -  And just then she heard him following her. 

“Oh my god, it’s you!” She turned around in defensive mode when she heard him shout so loudly, looking around trying to find what he was talking about. 

“It’s you Eunji, it’s you!” People around them began looking at him weird. 

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jongin kept giggling, covering his mouth to quiet down his squeals. 

“The neck from the painting is your neck”

“What painting, what are you talking about?” She was getting a bit mad at him. Jongin grabbed her arm and pulled her to the side. 

“Kyung Soo has a painting in his room, a square picture that is very pretty, it’s the nape of a woman, and you can see all the baby hairs, the soft shine of the skin, but the main point is a constellation of moles, the same moles you have! It’s you isn’t it?” Eunji sat down defeated and out of words. The memories from that morning when Kyung Soo took her picture. Jongin squatted next to her, asking her if she was mad. 

“Jongin, can we talk?” Jongin sat with his legs crossed in front of her and took off his bag, ready to listen.

Narrating her story with Kyung Soo from childhood until now came very easy to her. Her lips moved as fluidly as her fingers over the keyboard. Jongin’s focused face was encouraging, but also, she felt excited about sharing her short but warming story. She noticed that their story wasn’t very long, but her heart kept fluttering the entire time, and even when she was telling him the sad parts of her story, she was glad that it was in the past now. 

“So that morning he took that picture and then painted it?”

“He told me he was going to do it, but he never showed it to me…I never asked either and obviously, I could never imagine he brought it here”

“He loves that painting, when I asked him who it was, he shrugged, so I thought it was better not to keep asking” Jongin's pleased face gave her a good feeling. If he was this happy to hear their story, it meant it could have a happy ending or that overall it was a wholesome one. He asked some more questions about them at school, just out of curiosity. 

“May I ask why you told me all this?” She gave it a little thought so she could explain herself better. 

“I think I was trying to go back in time to my teenage years and have a friend who could listen to all this and react just like you did” He looked a bit clueless “I felt like it was the right thing…I wanted to do it” She explained, and he nodded in understanding “Thank you” He looked down thoughtfully. 

“It’s crazy to me that you two dated other people, you were clearly in love since you were kids”

“No, we weren’t, I wasn’t, and I loved Junmyeon, at that time I was just missing my childhood friends Kyung Soo, not my love Kyung Soo”

“How do you know that?”

“Because now it hurts, missing him when he came here hurted, every day it hurted” Her voice broke a little bit, so Jongin stood up and sat next to her, passing one arm over her shoulder resting his head against hers. 

“I’m sorry, don’t cry”

“I’m not, that was a lot though, sharing with another person it’s not as bad as I thought” Jongin laughed loudly, lighting up the mood. 

“Eunji, I don’t think you need advice, and I’m not sure if I can give it to you, but if fear is what is keeping you up, fear of being rejected or lose Kyung Soo” He took a short pause, tightening his grasp around her shoulder “You are in his mind for sure, so go for it”

“Should I?”

“Yes, so it doesn’t hurt anymore” After Kyung Soo, Jongin was the other person she wanted the most in her life. 

“Never change Jongin” He pulled apart surprised. 

“But people change, Eunji”

“No, they don’t, they evolve, or they go backward, you already reached your maximum evolution, you are the perfect man, so don’t change” He smiled patting his chest with pretend smugness.

“What is taking you two so long? Are we going out?” Eunji shouted, bringing her hands to her chest in surprise. Kyung Soo was standing at the top of the stairs looking at them with a confused frown. 

“Sorry, sorry, we were having a girl talk, it was necessary, let’s go!” Jongin got up, dashing to Kyung Soo’s side. Grabbing him by the shoulders he turned him around pushing him back to the stairs. 

“But you are not a girl”

“Debatable” Jongin turned around and winked at her, signaling her to move. She got up quickly and reached them, grabbing one of Kyung Soo’s arms.

After a big, huge meal at Jongin’s house, they caught the last train just in time to go back home.

“I’m not tired” She told him, not wanting to separate from him. 

“Me neither, where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere” Kyung Soo nodded with determination and grabbed her hand, pulling her out of the subway in the next station. 

“But this is the last train?!” She told him with urgency. 

“Don’t worry, we can walk back home and if we are lucky we can catch the bus” That was good enough for her. They walked a couple of streets until they reached the bottom of a hill with a set of very steep stairs that went up to the sky. Only by looking at it she felt tired. 

“Don’t make that face, is not that terrible, and the top is really great, let’s go” He pulled her hand, stronger this time, because her legs refused to give up on the idea of exercise. 

“Eunji, come on, If I can do it, you can too” He patted his thighs, which looked kind of nice under his jeans. 

“Ok, ok, I’m going, let’s go slow, I ate a lot” Kyung Soo let go of her hand so they could walk up more comfortably, and quite quickly, she was left behind. He was in better shape, clearly, and she couldn’t care less. From the back she had a nice view, which was great. Mister Bumblebee.

She was sure they climbed more than a hundred steps, her legs hurt, and the back of her neck was more than damp by now. Damn Seoul and its hills. 

“We are almost there” He said a couple of times, and it was never true. She didn’t get mad at him only because she loved him and she was glad she could spend this time with him, looking at his derriere. The fourth time he said they were almost there, it was true. They reached the main street and Eunji could see immediately why Kyung Soo insisted on climbing all those damn stairs to go there. Cute little houses filled both sides of the street, and there was a lot of movement for a residential neighborhood. Kyung Soo gave her some minutes to rest and then kept walking.

“What is this place?” She asked, with a bit of difficulty. 

“Just a place, on the other side of the hill there are a lot of restaurants, that’s why there is a lot of movement, but we are not here to eat, just a couple of streets and you will see” He walked her across narrow streets and more stairs until they reached a lookout with a view of the city. You couldn’t quite see the main landmarks, but the lights of the residential buildings and the houses were just as lovely. 

“A teacher told me that my landscapes were a bit lousy, that I needed to practice perspective, so he recommended this place, I always wanted to bring you here, isn’t it beautiful?” Eunji nodded. She was currently failing as a writer because she couldn’t find the right words to describe it. It was more than beautiful. It was peaceful, bright, new, yet familiar. But most importantly, Kyung Soo wanted to share it with her. 

“Someday, can you show them to me? The paintings you made from here” He nodded excitedly, looking around. He pointed at an empty space on the railing were they could have a better look. The air was cold, but bearable, very refreshing after that horrible stairs situation “I’m happy that climbing didn’t mess with the huge meal we had”

“That was great food, I was missing some homemade meals”

“Of course Jongin is the way he is with parents like those” He agreed, but his mood changed abruptly. He began fiddling with his fingers, looking everywhere but her. She was going to ask him what happened, but he took the lead. 

“You like Jongin?” It sounded offhanded, but her ears were better than that. 

“I do, but not romantically, I love having him around, but I don’t see him as I see… Someone I would love” She was maybe overexplaining it, but she didn’t want him to misunderstand anything.

“Jongin is only a platonic”

“What is that? What do you mean by platonic?” She was sure that he knew what platonic meant, but he probably wanted to have everything clear. 

“A platonic love is a kiss on the forehead, that’s the farthest it can go, the rest is the devil’s work” Kyung Soo broke in a merry laugh, she loved making him laugh so much. 

“That one was good” He cleaned the corner of his eyes, taking a deep breath after a fit of laughs.

“You weren’t born to share hate, just to love, I’m glad Jongin is one of the few people that get to have your care” She didn’t know how to answer or how to follow up the conversation, so there was silence for a while. It wasn’t uncomfortable, at least Kyung Soo didn’t look like it. But she wanted to talk to him. She had missed his constant company in the last weeks. She missed the slow passing answers, his deep voice and the giggles in between. 

“Kyung Soo, I never asked you, why did you shave your head?” He passed his hand over his short hair repeatedly, and she saw it as an invitation to do the same. He leaned closer, allowing her to caress him more comfortably. 

“I had a little accident with yellow oil paint, I was too lazy to get rid of it so I just shaved it, and I stick to it because is so much more comfortable”

“It looks great on you” He thanked her shyly and she was responsible enough to stop touching his head so shamelessly. 

“Well, we are old enough to do whatever we want with our hair, Maybe I should do something like that”

“What is your dream hair? Pink? Blue? Short?” She gave it a little thought, and then she remembered something she saw once on TV and that really caught her attention. 

“Blonde, I want to be like one of those idols who look like dolls” He looked at her, one eye closed as if focusing on her image. 

“Yes, I can see it, you would look cute” She shook her head dismissively.  

“I don’t have that kind of money, and who are we kidding, I’m not going to look as cute as those idols”

“Don’t say that, you are just as cute” It was her turn to look shy. They were both giggling like children when she got a call from Jongdae. 

“Look, don’t get mad at me ok? This is me being your best friend and future colleague but…remember that story about the two women that went to the forest for a short vacation to work on their relationship and they hear that voice that guides them, and ends up telling them their future as a couple?”

“Yes, you were going to proofread it for our assignment”

“Well, I did that and a bit more…I sent it to the zine of the faculty, and they want to publish it next month” She shouted at her phone, alarming Kyung Soo. 

“Jongdae! How could you?!”

“Because someone had to do it, that’s one of your best stories, and you are a great writer, stop hiding your writing, it can’t be possible that our professors and I are the only ones reading them, so I had to take matters in my own hands, I’m not sorry, but I’m sorry, also, they are going to call you on Monday so you can give them your approval to publish it…ok, that’s it, bye!” She wanted to scream at him some more, but Jongdae was running away cowardly. It’s not like she was going to hit him over the phone. Kyung Soo’s eyes were about to leave their orbits, the uncertainty was killing him. 

“It was Jongdae” She explained to him what her friend had told her, and he took his side. 

“Kyung Soo!”

“But it’s true! Look, you got a full scholarship thanks to your writing, so you have to be good, very good, I’m sorry but I’m with Jongdae here” She looked at him with narrowed eyes, resentful.

“Come on Eunji, have some confidence, and if you are scared of attention, publish it under a pseudonym, like fly, or better, the fly” He used his hands to mark each word. 

“No one knows about the scholarship, and I like it like that, so maybe the idea of the pseudonym is good…and I’m not going to tell them not to publish it, by now they must have the entire zine edited, it would be very inconsiderate from me” Kyung Soo giggled at her worry. 

“That’s so cute, you are thinking about them. About their comfort and not yours”

“Well, if I’m honest, I’m kind of glad Jongdae did that, and I am very happy they select that story…I really like that story” Before even Kyung Soo asked his next question, she felt a shiver go up and down her back. 

“Do I appear in that story?” If she was shocked by his question, Kyung Soo looked as if he had pushed the launch button of a spacecraft by accident. 

“How do you…why are you asking me that?” He could get a neck injury by how hard he as trying to avoid her stare. 

“You said something the other day…some time ago, when you got drunk”

“What did I say?” He cleared his throat a couple of times and kept twisting his neck to the left.

“Just that you put me in all your stories” Unbelievable. She couldn’t believe that she was so full of clichés, she was such a predictable woman. So when she gets drunk, she speaks more than necessary. Brilliant. 

“What else did I say?”

“Just that, you fall asleep soon after” That was good. And even if she had said something embarrassing, Kyung Soo was the kind of man who would keep it to himself, especially if it was something discomforting for her. She could leave the subject hanging there, but the long monologue that she told herself some time ago went against that. She had to grab the future, be brave, open up to him, slowly but steadily. 

“You are, you are in my story, you are the sound”

“The sound?” His eyes were back at her. 

“Yeah,  the couple in my story hears a sound, it starts as a melody or a vibration and then is a voice,  the thing is that it is always there and… ” He stopped her. 

“Say no more, I want to read it” She was always so afraid of people reading her stories. She allowed Junmyeon to do so, but he was more of an editor, he was really good at that, but this was the first time Kyung Soo would read one of her stories. Some time ago she would be terrified by the idea, but at that moment, she was excited to hear his opinion. 

“You can read it today if you want, I have it saved in the cloud, I can send it to you now” His eyes went round in surprise. 

“Really?! Do it! I want to read it”

“Ok, but let’s move, it’s getting late, you can read it on our way there” As they went down the hill, she sent the archive to Kyung Soo’s phone, but forbade him to read it until they were seated. He could fall for not paying attention to the road.

They were able to catch a bus that would leave them close enough to their respective dorms and as soon as he sat down, he pulled out his phone and began reading. She tried to focus on the radio show that was playing on the bus but couldn’t avoid looking at him every five seconds to see his reactions. 

There were none. 

He was just frowning. Focused frowning. But nothing else. She went over her story in her head. She kept her feelings for him out of the story, in her head all the things this voice said to the couple were spoken in his voice, which helped her to write the dialogues. In a way, the couple represented her, and Kyung Soo was the voice soothing everything. By the end of the story, the voice tells them something heartbreaking and helps them understand it, so they could walk through the suffering.

After half an hour, he was done. His eyes shining with tears. 

“They loved each other…but they were destined to part ways”

“In several years in the future, yeah” He cleaned his nose with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. 

“There were going to have their family, a couple of children and then divorce, that was so sad, when they hear it from the sound, the way you wrote their reactions, I could almost feel how hard they hugged each other” Eunji felt like apologizing, she never imagined her story was going to break him like this. 

“That’s how you see me?” He asked between sobs 

“How?”

“I was feeling as hopeless as the main characters when the sound explained to them why they had to keep on with their relationship, even if they knew their outcome, that to keep loving each other despite knowing the expiration date of their love was necessary so they could be happy in the future…the words the sound used, the care it used, it gave me calm, I felt like there was hope for them, if it wasn’t for the sound I would be crying even harder now”

“Well, yeah, that’s how I see you” Kyung Soo turned around on his seat, grabbed her shoulders and brought her to his chest, hugging her cautiously. Sliding his arms around her with care. She let her body sag in his embrace. Her worries flew away and her optimism flourished rich and warm on her chest. Her eyes fluttered shut when she felt him brush her hair, his hand guiding her by the nape to his shoulder. The hug was so warm, so comforting. She was going to feel cold once the hug was over. She was going to miss it.

She didn’t want to let go, because this hug wasn’t like the others.

This hug hit so differently.

The way he held her, how he fit his body against her was different.  Probably that was what gave her hope. The way he touched her. His hands moving over her arms and back, slowly and softly. His caresses against her nape and his lips resting against her shoulder set fire to her blood. He was bathing her in his warmth and his fresh smell, the smell of fresh laundry and the first days of spring.

That hug didn’t feel friendly. Even after the emotion that it could cause him to read one of her stories for the first time and see how she saw him, that hug wasn’t friendly.

It was passionate, with some desperation on it. He didn’t let her go. The bus stopped at two red lights, and he was still holding her. She wasn’t complaining, but she couldn’t not think about it.

What was happening?

A loud ring made them jolt, and the moment was over as if resurfacing from the water. Her ears were buzzing, and it was a bit hard to breathe. Kyung Soo was getting a call. He answered with monosyllables. She saw him blink quickly, looking around nervously. 

“It was Jongin asking if we arrive safely”

“Right, we made a little detour, is he ok?”

“Yes, actually, tomorrow we are meeting at the campus. I finished his sculpture some days ago and I want to show it to him, wanna go?” She said yes, of course. She was very curious about that sculpture, and also, she wanted to spend the Saturday with him.

The bus was a street away from her stop and there was a tension building. Doubt too. She didn’t want to leave. But what other option did they have? Kyung Soo clenched his phone in one hand and her hand in the other “I’m going to read the story again, I was so nervous that I don’t think I was able to catch everything, and Eunji…I can’t wait to read everything you write, please, trust me some more and allow me to get into you, into your passion, to be part of it”

“You are already part of it”  She commented followed by a soft laugh, referring to the way he was in most of her stories. 

“I know, and I want more” She saw in his eyes the same passion and desperation she felt in his hug.

This was the opportunity. This was her moment to ensure her future. The words were fizzing in her throat, ready to be released to the atmosphere. It was so easy. Such a short sentence. And this was the right moment. Everything was built. Losing this opportunity would mean to achieve this level of intimacy, and at the same time crush down any way of defense.

But she didn’t make it.

She gave him the most relaxed ‘goodbye, see you tomorrow’, stood up, pressed the button to announce her stop and got off.

She walked to her dorms in a state of trance. She washed her teeth and face, changed into her pajamas and went to bed. Her goal was to fall asleep quickly so she couldn’t think about anything. And she almost achieved it, when her phone vibrated with an income message – Send me an emoticon to know that you arrived safely – With shaking fingers and a smile on her face she sent the emoticon of a fly and a bee. He answered with the same icons, followed by a -Perfect, have a good night-

And she did. She went to sleep, took her a couple of hours, but was finally able to close her eyes and finally have a deep sleep.

++++

The next morning, she met Kyung Soo at the campus, but Jongin wasn’t there. 

“Is he late because he couldn’t choose what to wear?” She asked as she greeted him. 

“No, he called me a couple of minutes ago, he woke up with a slight fever and a sore throat, he is not coming”

“Oh, ok…then what do we do?” He locked arms with her, standing next to her, covering her face from the morning sun. 

“Come with me, I want to show you the sculpture, I can’t wait for you to see it” She agreed, excited to see his work, and glad that the date wasn’t over.

When Kyung Soo unveiled the sculpture, she gasped in surprise, bringing her hands to her mouth. In front of her was Jongin, as if frozen in stone. His granite-like muscles were now carved in clay. His long limbs looked light, one of them raised to the sky, ending in elegant fingers. Her eyes followed the motion of the statue. 

“It’s him, just finishing a spin, I like how he looked at that moment, like fighting centripetal force, his legs and arms want to keep spinning, but his body stopped, so there is like a confrontation between the both”

“I can see that” His elegant muscles were perfectly carved in his back and chest. She thought she could see the statue breathe. Just as Jongin said, he wasn’t naked, but his pants were very low, making her blush a tiny bit. 

“You like it?” He urged her after she had moved around the statue about five times, speechless.

“This is amazing Kyung Soo, I don’t want to say is realistic, because is not a Madame Tussaud sculpture, but I can see it, the same grandiosity from Greek sculptures worshiping the human body in all its beauty, this is amazing, your work is incredible, congratulations, I’m so proud of you, I don’t know what else to say” As always, he hid his shy smile. She loved that reaction, that’s why she loved complimenting him. 

“I wish I could afford marble, it would be so much more gorgeous” He caressed his work, with dreamy eyes. 

“Someday you will” She circled the statue again, every time finding different details. The movement of his hair, the commissure of his smile, the veins of his arms. It was really incredible.

“Now is your turn” He interrupted her amazement. 

“What? What turn?” He took a step closer to her, bringing her attention to him. 

“It’s your turn to model” His tone was calm but slightly nervous. She walked away from him to the window just so she could have another thing to look at and not have to face him. 

“You regret accepting my request?”

“No, not at all, it’s just…it makes me a bit nervous, I’m going to be as naked as Jongin?”

“Yes” She called his name flustered and he tried to clear the air. 

“Look, nothing is set in stone, we will see, I still have to do the study of the sculpture, so nothing is definitive, and of course, if you are not comfortable, we can always put you in a dress, so what do you say? Want to come here on Friday so we can begin working” She was going to do it, of course, but her insecurities made her look doubtful. He called her name softly and sweetly. He turned her around slowly, so she could look at him, caressing her arms soothingly. 

“Eunji, I don’t care what conditions you have for modeling, I will take them, as longs as I get to have you as my model…reading your story, seeing how you used me as inspiration, you know, I want to do the same, I want to show you how I see you” Her hands were tied now, weren’t they?

They agreed to meet that Friday after class. Kyung Soo’s studio partner was sick, so they were going to have the place for themselves. She needed to study so she left first, and as she was walking out the door, he stopped her by calling her by her childhood nickname. 

“If you are insecure or scared about the possibility of nudity, I just want to tell you that I am a professional, we have been studying the human body since first year, I have work with models before so…what I’m trying to tell you is that I’m not doing this with second intentions, or to objectify you, I adore the human body, and I just want to portray it under my own terms and trying to fight old standards” Eunji knew all that. She didn’t think Kyung Soo could be doing this for other reasons than his artistic needs. That’s why she was still on board. 

“Then if you want to show the human body in its perfection and beauty, are you considering making a self-portrait or something?” Three seconds passed until he processed what she said. His ears went red and he turned around hiding from her stare, looking around, finding something to busy himself.

She flustered him.

It felt like a win, so she walked away with pride.

All the – This is the moment, this is when I change my future – power talk that she gave to herself several times didn’t do crap for her future, but they did give her a sense of confidence. Said confidence turned her into a flirty girl.

She was now flirty with Kyung Soo.

She would speak, act and touch him in a flirty way. Sure, she wasn’t hugging his arm and rubbing her chest against it, which was a very tacky way of flirting. But she would call him Bumblebee, comment on how great he looked with his shaved head, she would grab his hand like it was nothing, every goodbye was followed by a hug and they were hanging out together every free time they had.

And Kyung Soo didn’t complain. He didn’t act uncomfortable or nervous. Sometimes he would laugh shyly. But most of the time he reacted to her approaches very positively. He smiled every time she called him Bumblebee, whenever she caressed his head, he would rub his head against her hand like a trustful puppy. When she grabbed his hand, he squeezed back, when they hugged he had the costume of sinking his nose in her hair. But the peak of her flirtiness was that morning in the studio;

-Then if you want to show the human body in its perfection and beauty, are you considering making a self-portrait or something?-

On her way home, she kept congratulating herself for that sentence. It came so fluidly. Her voice steady, her eyes on him, checking him out. She straight up told him that she thought he was hot, no shame.

 But as easy as it came, that flirty self began to tone down as the days went by, and the day of modeling was closer.

It was nerve-wracking.

Jongin kept telling her that it was nothing, it was fun and cool. And she was sure that was the case for him, but for her, not so much. 

“So you are going to be naked in front of your crush, use it” Jongin said to her over the phone. She wished he was there in person so he could smack his arm. 

“Eunji, this is what you have to do, put on a robe and when everything is ready, let your robe fall and tell him, come and get it” He could barely finish his clownery, his own laugh interrupted him.

“Ok, I’m hanging up, please don’t talk to me anymore, ever again, forget we are friends, bye” She hung up, it was clear that he was useless now in terms of emotional support.  

She was out with Jongdae and his girlfriend when she got a text from Kyung Soo telling her that everything was settled, he would be waiting for her at his studio at 5 pm. She had to excuse herself and leave the couple so she could go and breathe in a paper bag or something like that.

But Jongin could be right. This could be nothing. It could be fun and cool. She had the strength to fool herself and just fake it until making it. Act chill.

She spent the remaining hours until her date, or rather, the appointment with Kyung Soo, pumping herself up. Telling herself that she would make it. It was going to be a great experience. 

Before going to bed, as she was changing into her pajamas, she stood in front of her mirror completely naked. 

“Not bad” The words left her mouth in a rush, surprising her. If her subconscious was telling her that she was not bad, it must be true.

She was able to sleep that night. For a couple of hours. But that was better than nothing.

The morning went by fast. Of course, she didn’t register a single word her teachers said, but Jongdae was great at taking notes. She had a light meal and then a workshop with some students from second year. Since the subject of the workshop was something that was interesting for her, she was finally able to suppress her nervousness and focus on the now.

But as soon as the class was over. There it was again, the fear.

And it was a mixture of fear, nervousness, and repentance. But also there was a bit of excitement. Just a tiny bit.

It was 4:30 so she texted Kyung Soo asking if she could arrive a bit early. He said there was no problem. On her way there she got a text from Jongin – Come and get it, say it, say that to him! – She sent him the emoji of the middle finger.

There was soft music coming from inside the studio. The window at the door was covered with newspaper so she couldn’t see inside. She knocked at the door and Kyung Soo came to open it. He was wearing his painting clothes, as he liked to call them, he looked a bit out of breath, but overall relaxed. Knowing him, he was probably trying to spread some of that easiness onto her. He invited her in, and it surprised her how cozy the studio was. There was a heater on a corner, the bit of sun that came through the windows made the room warm in color and everything was tidy. He asked her how her day was, if she was hungry or thirsty and how she was feeling.

“Actually, I’m feeling good now, I was a bit nervous, but now that I am here, I think I’m ok” And she wasn’t lying.

He invited her to sit at a stool and brought a chair for him. 

“I want to tell you about my vision for this sculpture…I want to portray you in a leisure position, laying down on a mattress, half-naked, with a soft smile on your lips, half awake, half asleep and your hair down and wavy”

“How big is it going to be?” He looked at the floor, reflecting. 

“Big enough so they can fit in the kiln of the school, I think I can make it life-size if your legs are flexed, I think I’m going to do that, are you ok with it? You like my idea?”

“Of course, I like it, I feel comfortable with it” He beamed with her answer and stood up, grabbing her hand and pulling her to the other side of the room. 

“Now I need you to pose for me, I have to measure your body, and do my sketches…I think that should be enough for today, I’m going to need you again in a couple of days when I start working with the Roma plastiline”

“What 's that?”

“The clay I’m using, is good enough for my budget and the quality you would expect from a student” All that art talk was helping her to ease into the situation. She was already taking her jacket off. 

“So how naked is half-naked?”

“Could you…would you be comfortable taking your top off?… If you don’t want to, for now, you can just stay in your bra, but I would like to see your neck, shoulders, and back” She suspected it was going to be like that, but when he told her to take her top off, a weird feeling settled in her chest.

Kyung Soo didn’t have a changing room, but he gave her some privacy by walking to the other side of the room to retrieve his art supplies. She opened the buttons of her blouse one by one. The first two opened easily, but as her fingers moved down, they began shaking. And when she was finally able to open the last one, a drop of water fell into her hand. She brushed her cheeks and found them wet with tears. Her breathing began to rush and her lower lip was shaking. She didn’t feel this coming and it was too late to control it now. Her hands kept working on her blouse, and when the piece of clothing slid down her arms her crying was now louder, with deep sobs and a shivering chest. 

She felt so vulnerable. So alone and cold. 

She loved Kyung Soo, and she had been loving him for so long. She was terrified by the idea of being naked in front of the men she loved. But he was calm and focused. He spoke with composure, projecting his art onto her. This wasn’t as much for him as it was for her. And it felt horrible to be alone with her feelings. To fantasize and never take one more step. And there she was, stuck in the next step, without the will to move forward. Here she had another opportunity. Another missed opportunity. 

She felt like she was never going to be brave enough to do anything and the worst thing was that she never knew, she could never understand what scared her so much. She didn’t have a single reason to deny herself such happiness. The only reason could be Kyung Soo’s feelings. Only if those feelings were different from hers. Because they could be. 

“Eunji, are you ok?” His voice came from the other corner of the room, it was very low, but so charged with worry.

“Are you cold?” Oh, she was not ok, and she was so cold. 

“Kyung Soo, did you ever like me?  Did you find me attractive?  Interesting?  Did you ever see me as more than a friend? Than a neighbor?” Again her words were faster than her discernment. He called her name, but she kept going. 

“This past year when you left,  did you miss me once?  Did you think about me as much as I did,  as obsessively as I did?” Her last word ended in a loud cry. She wanted to go down on the floor and hug herself, close herself so she could stop bursting like this, but a piece of clothing covered her body and a set of arms held her, spinning her. She met Kyung Soo’s face, frowning, with glossy eyes and shaking lips. He wasn’t crying, but he was shaken by her. His eyes roamed her face several times as his hands held her tighter. She was unable to say anything. She only stared at him, petrified under his eyes. He called her name twice, only a whisper and as his arms circled around her, he brought her closer to him. 

She closed her eyes just when his lips touched hers. He didn’t open his mouth, neither did she neither. He didn’t move either. His arms held her and with his lips, he was trying to calm her. To soothe her with his warmth. She never imagined their first kiss was going to be as peaceful as this. It was perfect. It wasn’t innocent though. There was a controlled passion behind. It was filled with emotions about to overflow, emotions that she was clearly part of.

When they moved apart, both inhaled sharply. Kyung Soo rested his forehead against hers and slowly closed his eyes. She did the same, it could maybe help to calm her down. Both their breaths were shaking. They both sobbed a couple of times. His hand rested below her ear and his thumb caressed her cheek soothingly. She wanted to move. Hold him, kiss him again. But her body was still in shock. 

“Eunji” He called her name again, this time a bit happier than before. 

“I love you Eunji, I missed you, I thought about you and I’ve wanted you for so, so long” As if punched in the stomach, she released a shaky breath and began crying again. Not out of loneliness or fear. It was pure relief. He moved away from her with a soft chuckle and she looked up at him again. The warmth of his hand and the familiarity of his stare ease off her tears and shaky limbs. She kept looking at him, repeating the words in her head slowly, as if she was writing them down. 

“You love me too Eunji?” He asked, and how could he have doubts? She nodded, but that wasn’t enough, nor fair. So she took a deep breath, and did her best to sound sure and loving in her confession. 

“Whenever you sneak into my thoughts, you stomp and thunder until I feel that I love you so much it overpowers me” Simple confessions were for others, not for her. Kyung Soo smiled widely before bringing her back to him and kissed her. This time for real. But before she could keep kissing him and loving him. She needed to take care of both of them. She pulled apart slowly and held his face with care. 

“Before we do anything, I think we need to think about this well, I know my feelings, I have been pondering them for so long, but I need you to do the same, it’s not enough that I understand you or that you can find cover in me, there has to be body and desire” Kyung Soo frowned again, but it felt different. 

“You think I haven’t thought about that, you think I waited so long because I wasn’t sure about how I love you, that this is not an old friendship, an amenity, but me loving you passionately and wanting you for me, for ever…you were never alone in this Eunji” Before she could answer with another insecurity filled sentence, he held her by the waist and brought her closer, kissing her temple, her cheek and her neck. One of his hands moved to her shoulder, moving her robe, uncovering her shoulder and kissing it slowly,  lingering there for a couple of seconds. 

“I’m sure about how I feel, and I hope you are too” He whispered against her neck. 

“And even if this could end someday, I want to have you, and I want to give myself to you, I told you once, what we have can’t compare, it’s forever, I meant it because I felt it back then” Eunji recoil in surprise, making him smile. 

“Since then?”

“Since then…and now that I kissed you and touched you in some of the ways I always wanted to, I can’t avoid thinking of how easy it was, I should have done it awhile before”

“When?”

“The day of your birthday” He gave her a peck on the lips and then kissed her like before. Temple, cheek, neck, and shoulder. 

“That’s why you are portraying me like that, laying in a bed”

“Yeah, that night, I don’t know why, is a memory that comes very often to my head,  I woke up at one point of the night and found you sleeping next to me, completely relaxed, peacefully, it felt like you were saying that you trusted me, as much as you did when we were kids, that’s why I’m doing this sculpture because you trust me, and now I know that you love me, and I’m so thankful for that” She grabbed his face and dropped a kiss on his rosy cheeks, the tip of his nose and then his lips. After a couple of brushes against his soft lips, she grunted, urging him to deepen the kiss. Kyung Soo was always so open to comply. The kiss was languid and long. He paused a couple of times, taking a quick breath and changing the position of his head. She was hungry for him, and this rhythm made her want him more. It surprised her how nothing about this felt foreign, even when it was the first experience with him. No awkwardness, no unpleasantness. Just him. Always him.

She moved apart first because she wanted to see his face. To touch it and confirm again that this was all true, not just a fantasy, a paragraph of her stories or even worse, a dream.

This was real, and as part of the real world, they needed to keep functioning in it. They were friends a couple of minutes ago, and now they were them, now they were more honest, and now they were happier than some minutes ago. They just have to keep on with their lives. Although now they were more joined than before. She kissed his lips for the last time and took a step back, taking off the robe Kyung Soo wrapped around her and after taking a deep breath gathering all her courage, she took off her bra. 

“We are moving on?” He commented amused, looking at her chest, his mouth moving like a fish’s. He was astonished. Good. 

“We are, you love me, we are together, that’s all I need,  where do you want me?” Kyung Soo’s grin faded, and a grimace of worry appeared in his round face. 

“What? What is it?”

“Are those marks from your bra?” He pointed at her naked chest. 

“Yeah” She looked down, and of course, they were there, like always. Two semicircles that met at her cleavage. 

“Do they hurt?” He lifted his hand and touched them with his fingertips. She bit down her lip so her moan couldn’t be heard. 

“I wouldn’t say hurt… They are itchy” Every time she took off her bra she did that little scratchy dance where she scratched her chest furiously to get rid of the discomfort of her underwear, and she really wanted to do it now, although it wasn’t very pretty. 

“Wait here” He went to his desk and came back with his sketchbook and a pencil and began drawing them in a loose sketch of her chest. 

“Why are you drawing them?”

“I want to have them in the sculpture”

“But they are not pretty”

“But they are real, is it ok if I do it?”

“Sure, it’s your creation, do whatever you want” He asked her to turn around so he could draw the mark on her back too. 

“Are you comfortable?”

“Very, thank you for keeping the place warm”

“No problem, could you put your hair up please?” She held her hair in a bun, holding it up with a brush that was lying around. He thanked her and she could hear the pencil scratching against the paper. It was very relaxing.

The sound of the pencil came to a halt and the next thing she felt was his arms around her waist and his lips on her nape. She gasped in surprise but welcomed his touch, of course. 

“I love your nape, I have wanted to do this for so long” He whispered against her skin, sending  waves of shivers up and down her body. She was speechless. If Kyung Soo got abit braver and daring, wanting to do something else instead of drawing her, she wasn’t sure she could agree with it. This was too much for one afternoon of opening up emotionally. She wasn’t sure she could open up physically.  

One of his hands slid down her waist and grabbed her hand, caressing it and squeezing it. And she did the same, she held to the hand of this dear, delicate and wonderful man. This loved man to whom she owed so many thrills, pain and also a good part of herself. 

“Lay down there so we can start” He muttered in her ear and helped her seat on a daybed that looked very expensive and elegant for a student. 

“The guys from theater lent it to me, in exchange I’m going to draw the poster for their upcoming Shakespeare montage, don’t worry, it’s clean, lay comfortably” And she did, the velvet of the daybed felt soft and warm against her skin, and it was very fluffy. Kyung Soo brought a sheet and covered her from her waist down. Then he arranged her on the seat just as he wanted her. He made her lay on her side, with one arm extended to the side, her palm up, and the other resting across her tummy. Her entire chest was exposed, but when he offered to change the pose, she refused. 

“I don’t really care, but don’t let my mom see this until I’m dead ok?”

“Promised…I don’t think she would be happy with me making you do this”

“Of course not, she is going to hate you” Kyung Soo stopped arranging the cover and spoke to her a bit worked up. 

“Eunji, she is my mother in law now, I can’t let her hate me! She is like a second mom to me”

“That’s why I’m telling you that she can’t find out about this, by the way, are we telling them that we are dating” She didn’t feel like doing so. 

“Let’s not, I feel like they are not going to let us live if we do it” He sounded decisive. 

“Deal, let’s keep it for ourselves for a while” Once he was done positioning her, he brought a chair and began sketching. She felt observed, but also incredibly pretty. The room was silent, warm and dimly lit. She ended up falling asleep.

She woke up a while later. Kyung Soo was caressing her cheek, bringing her back to consciousness with his soft voice. 

“It’s late and I’m done with your sketches, let’s go for dinner” She stretched like a cat and yawned until she was finally ready to get up. 

“I can’t go out for dinner, I don’t have enough money”

“Come with me then, I have plenty of food at my dorm, my roommate went to visit his parents and most of the guys are out” Free meal sounded like a treat, so she accepted.

The dorms were indeed empty. All the lights out and complete silence. Kyung Soo prepared some instant food and guided her to his room. 

“I could have prepared something better but you said you wanted something quick”

“We are already dating, you don’t need to hit on me with your cooking skills” He stopped in front of what she suspected was his room but didn’t open the door. 

“We are really dating…I can’t believe that we are finally dating, so if I want I can kiss you right now?” She nodded and took a step closer so he could kiss her. A short confirmation peck. 

“Let’s go in, I have something to show you” The room was quite clean for two university students, although you could clearly see which side belonged to whom. Kyung Soo’s side had a simple table, boxes with books and oils and clean walls, except for one frame. She gasped when she saw it. Jongin wasn’t lying, that was her. 

“Yeah, remember that time I took that picture of your nape, it was for this, you like it?” She left her tray with food on the table and climbed on top of Kyung Soo’s bed so she could see it closer. The canvas was a little bit bigger than her face, with Kyung Soo’s signature style of hyper-realistic technique with soft colors. Her friend didn’t lie to her. The constellations of moles across her neck and the baby hairs were there. In the middle of her neck though, there was a spot. A light stain of something. 

“What happened there?” She looked at Kyung Soo, who looked startled and had a bit of trouble answering. 

“That’s…that was me, I…Chanyeol says that when I get drunk I grab the painting and I kiss it, I guess I always kiss the same spot”

“It’s the same spot where you kissed me today” He looked down abashed “I’m sorry for doubting if you missed me, If you didn’t call I should have call, I should have been nosy to save each other from lovesickness, I should have been braver instead of imagining you and write about you”

“There’s no point on thinking about that now Eunji, we did what we did, I don’t regret any of that”

“Me neither I guess, but I wanted to apologize, I could have done better” He held her face tenderly and she huddled between his hands. 

“Then I’m sorry too, let’s be better with each other from now on”

“I should express more through my mouth than my writing”

“Only if you want to, but I don’t think you need to change that on you, at least not with me” Getting his approval, knowing that he understood her was the reassurance she needed.

After all the talking Kyung Soo went downstairs to reheat their food. They sat on the floor and ate in silence for a little bit, too hungry to slow down, but once their tummies were a bit fuller, Kyung Soo brought a subject to the table. 

“Was the tale I read the other day about us? about how we coming together could end badly?” So he got that too. 

“Yeah, it’s an honest fear, things always come to an end”

“Sure, I was reading it last night and it got me thinking about that, but quoting the voice, ends can be good or bad, we have a 50% chance”

“What if it is bad?”

“Would you reject me and stay as just friends just for that?” She didn’t want to answer that. “It could be a good end”

“And what’s a good end Kyung Soo?”

“We die at the age of 90 years old, a couple of days apart and our family buries us together, that’s a good end” She was so right when she wrote the sound inspired by him. 

“And the bad end?”

“We broke up in a couple of weeks because we cheated on each other”

“That’s horrible!” He laughed brightly. 

“Of course, that’s a bad end, all trust is gone and we end up hating each other”

“What if we break up amicably?” Kyung Soo sounded as if he had everything figured out, she wanted to hear it, so she could live her love in peace. 

“If someday we realize that we run out of love, that we love another person or that we want something different, we are going to talk about it, be honest with each other and we let go our romantic relationship  but we stay as friends, maybe not as close as before but still friends” That was good enough. There wasn’t a sentence good enough to follow up his, so she nudged his leg under the table and grabbed his free hand. He smiled at her, heart shaped lips and round cheeks, and kept eating. She did the same, still hungry. 

“You are staying tonight right?”

“Do I have another option?” He shook his head dramatically. 

“Then I’m staying, you take Chanyeol’s bed” Kyung Soo’s eyes went round, offended. 

“We have shared a bed before! wha…oh, very funny Eunji” She couldn’t keep a straight face, stopping his spiraling. 

“Borrow me some clothes though, I always sleep with street clothes with you” He brought her a set of black pajamas and left her alone to change while he went to wash the dishes. When he came back she was already in bed, ready to sleep after a quick visit to the bathroom. He changed too and followed her routine. When he came back, he locked the door behind him, turned off the lights, checked the windows and then got in bed next to her. It was so different to get in bed together when they were both conscious. He immediately enveloped her in his arms and she molded to his frame, hiding her face under his chin. 

“Eunji, I feel like I really need to clarify this, I didn’t ask you to model for me so I could see you naked…you know that right?”

“I know”

“Really?”

“Really, although you were so chill with it, I had a full break down”

“But I was nervous, I just kept it under control because I wanted you to be calm” She suspected that much so she let it go. The weariness of the day was settling down, and his warmth lulled her into sleep. But before falling asleep, Kyung Soo asked her out. 

“Let’s go somewhere tomorrow, let’s go to the museum and then a book shop, but this time let’s hold hands the entire time, let’s tell each other I love you and let’s kiss a lot and hug a lot” His voice and entreat touched her, burning. 

“Let’s do that, I would love to do that” She sealed it with a kiss on his chin and he ruffled the hair of her head with his happy laugh.

They fell asleep soon after. 

She woke up twice during the night to check if he was still there. To look at him and find his sleeping face right next to her, his arms still holding her.

TBC

#exosnet #d.o fanfic #kyungsoo fanfic #do kyung soo #do kyungsoo #d.o #exo fanfiction #Kyungsoo #kyung soo

[sanderssidesfanfiction]

Royal Growing Pains - Chapter Fourteen

Warnings: Homophobia, transphobia, misgendering, sympathetic Deceit

Royal Growing Pains Tag

The next morning, Roman woke up with a long stretch and a sigh, checking the time. Nine thirty in the morning. He had slept in just long enough to reasonably skip breakfast with his mother and the Queen. Nice. He sat up in bed and rubbed his head with a soft groan. Didn’t mean he was looking forward to spending the whole morning without any contact with the one man who made this whole experience bearable, but if he were quiet in his room he could let people think he was just asleep for at least another hour.

He sifted through his books and art supplies, finding nothing of interest to him in any of them. He sighed. This was going to be exceptionally difficult if he were bored. He couldn’t stay in his room with nothing to do except maybe play with an app or two on his phone. He needed to move around, or at least have something that would fully capture his interest. And any apps remaining on his phone wouldn’t do that for him. He fiddled with his phone for a minute before texting Remus his predicament, asking for suggestions on things to do.

Remus, true to form, sent him a ridiculous suggestion in response. why not bug some of the guards around the castle? find the best places to make out with fh

oh, screw you too, re! Roman texted back. i might talk to some of the guards, tho. they could show me where to hide from mother

that’s the spirit! Remus said. go find out where to hide from mother AND make out with fh

Roman sent Remus a knife emoji and headed to shower, after realizing he had failed to do so yesterday. Dysphoria was a bitch, but at least Roman felt slightly cleaner afterwards.

He walked out of the bathroom, phone in his skirt pocket and hair pulled into a low braid, promptly running through the halls until he reached the main foyer, finding Virgil talking to some of the other guards. “Hey, Virgil!” Roman said, walking down the stairs. “I’m trying to hide from my mother, do you mind if I shadow you today?”

Virgil glanced over at Roman and rolled his eyes. “I don’t mind as long as you stay quiet, and if I tell you to get lost for your own safety you do so.”

“Cool,” Roman said. “Anywhere you were going in particular?”

“Not as of yet,” Virgil said. “Have you had breakfast?”

“No, I just woke up and showered,” Roman said.

“Well, then we should probably go to the kitchen and get you something to eat,” Virgil said. One of the guards he had been talking to snickered and Virgil turned to him with a glare. “Shut it. I’m making sure the prince is fed, nothing more.”

Roman sent Virgil a questioning glance as Virgil led him to the kitchen. Virgil sighed. “The guards are all convinced I’m in love with Patton,” he said with an eye-roll. “To which I respond that if they’re so sure, they should get me and him in a room alone. No one has the guts to do it.”

Roman laughed. “Oh, that’s cute!” he exclaimed. “Do you actually like him?”

“I’m not saying,” Virgil said. “Not to the man who can’t even see that his fiancé has a massive crush on him. You couldn’t be subtle even if you tried, and I am not letting you put any ideas in Patton’s head.”

“Damien doesn’t have a crush on me,” Roman scoffed. Virgil snorted. “He doesn’t! How could he? He’s...listen, he’s gorgeous, okay? He’s gorgeous, and funny, and genuine. And I’m just...me.”

“Roman, there is nothing ‘just’ about you,” Virgil said with a scoff. “So you can cut that out right now. And trust me, not just any guy will leave Damien speechless simply because he holds his head high. Damien likes you. He doesn’t have the guts to admit it, and he won’t say anything unless confronted, but he likes you.”

Roman laughed. Virgil lightly smacked Roman upside the head. “Hey!” Roman protested.

“I’m serious, Your Highness. Damien likes you,” Virgil said. “And you like him. Honestly, the two of you should just make out already. Not where I can see, because gross, but I’ll show you some spots where you can make out with him if you just say the word.”

“I do not need that information, Virgil, but thank you,” Roman said with a little laugh. “In all seriousness, though, I sincerely doubt that Damien could ever like me. Sure, I like him. I’ll admit it. But I doubt it’s anything more than a crush. And even if Damien seriously liked me...it wouldn’t be fair to try and date when I wasn’t sure if I even liked him as much as he supposedly likes me.”

They walked into the kitchen and Patton turned with a smile. “Who likes who?” he asked with a grin.

“The two idiots we have the pleasure of calling our future kings,” Virgil said, jerking a thumb at Roman.

Roman stuck his tongue out at Virgil while Patton just giggled. “Oh, I thought you were talking about news, my mistake!” he exclaimed. “Roman, I heard about last night through the grapevine, and I’m really sorry. Is there any food I can make to console you?”

“Not really anything to console me,” Roman said with a shrug. “But I could use a breakfast in general.”

“Say no more!” Patton exclaimed, holding up a finger and heading to the refrigerator. “Virgil, be a dear and make sure that his mother isn’t coming, will you? We can’t hide him away forever, but he needs to finish breakfast before he’s confronted, at least.”

Virgil’s cheeks tinged a dusty pink but he said, “Sure,” in a normal voice and walked out of the room.

“Oh, he’s crushing,” Roman muttered.

“Honey, we been knew,” Patton said with a wide grin. “But he’s not ready for anything yet, so I won’t push him.”

Roman laughed and walked over to where Patton was bringing out eggs, ham, cheese, and bread. “You okay with a sandwich for breakfast, Your Highness?” Patton asked.

“Sounds delicious,” Roman said with a smile.

Patton took what he needed to the stovetop and started to cook everything together, while he stuck the bread in the toaster. “So, Roman, are you genuinely going to consider whether or not you’re trans this morning? Is it true that you hadn’t considered it for long?”

“I don’t know about the first question, but I had considered for months whether or not I should come out, and months before that as to whether or not I’m genuinely trans. I don’t see myself changing my mind anytime soon.” Roman shrugged. “I mostly said that to placate my mother. I say a lot of things to placate her, so what’s another lie? I just hope Damien knows how I actually feel, because he looked devastated when I told him to stop last night.”

“When do you get to talk to him again?” Patton asked.

“This afternoon,” Roman said. “But I imagine it’ll be restricted to mostly wedding talk. Why?”

“Well, I did deliver breakfast to Damien’s room this morning,” Patton said, worrying his lip. “But his parents didn’t confine him there. He just...refused to leave.”

Roman’s heart leapt into his throat. His mind raced. Was that because of Roman? Had he hurt Damien that much by saying he might not be trans? Did Damien feel lied to? Roman didn’t know, but he wouldn’t find out until this afternoon. Suddenly, he didn’t have as much of an appetite.

“Hey, Roman, it’s going to be okay,” Patton said, putting his hands on Roman’s shoulders and snapping him back into the moment. “None of this is your fault, and I know Damien knows that too. He doesn’t blame you. The most we have to worry about is if he blames himself.”

“What happens if he does that?” Roman asked, worried.

“He’ll isolate himself and won’t want anything to do with whoever he perceived he hurt. But I know Logan will be dragging Damien out of his room whether he wants to be out or not because he has papers to work on,” Patton said. “And usually once he has something to work on he feels much better.”

“Okay,” Roman said, heart settling only a fraction. At least Damien wouldn’t do anything drastic. He sincerely hoped that Damien wouldn’t try to avoid him, though. Damien was the one who made this all bearable. The Queen and King were nice, yes, but the Queen had to act like she was on his mother’s side, and that was painful enough last night. He didn’t want to deal with that any longer than he had to. “Do you think that Damien and I will be allowed any time alone after last night?”

“Do you want my honest opinion?” Patton asked, turning back to the food, “Or are you looking for reassurance?”

“Are they not the same thing?” Roman asked.

“Not necessarily,” Patton said. “They’re not polar opposites, but I might give you a different answer than the one you want.”

“I’d rather have your honest opinion,” Roman sighed. “Better to be realistic.”

“I think that if you want time alone with Damien, you’re going to have to pander to your mother a lot more. You’re going to have to pull the thickest wool you have over her eyes without her realizing it’s there. That’s going to take some impressive acting. Everyone in this castle except her is on your side, and almost everyone knows that you’re still transgender no matter what you do to convince your mother otherwise. Those who don’t know are those who might give the game away. But rest assured, Roman, we all want you to be yourself, whoever that might be,” Patton said.

Roman offered Patton a small smile. Virgil walked back into the room. “His mother was coming this way but I convinced her to look for him in his room first,” Virgil said. “You might still have to eat fast, unfortunately, Roman.”

“It’s okay,” Roman said, as the toaster dinged and Patton got everything on a plate. “I’m used to eating fast or on the go.”

Patton guided Roman to a clean counter, and all three of them sat down, Roman taking a big bite of his breakfast. He hoped Damien was okay. He hoped Damien had eaten this morning. Was the Queen serious when she had said that he wasn’t eating or sleeping well? Was that because of the wedding, or something more sinister? Roman wanted nothing more than to run to Damien’s room immediately after he finished breakfast and make sure he would be fine.

“Calm down, Roman, you look like you saw a ghost,” Virgil said.

“Hm?” Virgil asked, glancing up from his sandwich.

“Deep breaths,” Virgil said. “It sounds stupid, but they actually work. Damien will be fine. I promise you that. If for no other reason than because he has to spar with me later today as part of his exercise routines, and I will give him something to focus on that isn’t you or himself.”

“And that something would be a sword to the throat, wouldn’t it?” Patton asked with an amused smirk.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Patton,” Virgil scoffed. “Swordplay was last week, and we don’t do repeats. We’re grappling this week. Classic hand-to-hand combat.”

Roman snickered. “Oh, that would be a sight to see.”

“You’re welcome to watch, if you want,” Virgil said. “We do it early afternoon, usually fifteen minutes after Damien has lunch. If you want to see Damien in nothing more than what he has to wear for exercise, then by all means, make up an excuse to come outside.”

“As if I’d need an actual excuse, when I can just say I’m dragging him back inside for wedding planning,” Roman pointed out. “But yeah, I’d love to watch his butt get kicked.”

Virgil smirked. “You know, he kinda likes that.”

“What? Getting his butt kicked?” Roman asked dubiously.

“Well, he is a masochist...” Virgil said in a false-innocent tone. “I should know. I’m the one who found out about his bruises the first time he tried it with a partner.”

Roman nearly choked on his breakfast. “So that’s what he meant by ‘a new kink,’ oh god.” Roman laughed. “Well, that will be interesting.”

“You two gonna play around on your wedding night?” Patton asked with a wink.

Roman was turning red and he tried his best to finish breakfast without dying of laughter or embarrassment. “I don’t know,” Roman said.

“I mean, it’s bound to happen one way or another, your hands are as good as tied,” Patton said, a wicked gleam in his eyes.

“Okay, guys, please, I appreciate the information, but I do need to finish breakfast,” Roman said. “And before anything like that happens, we would need to have some very long, lengthy talks. I’m not about to hurt him in ways he doesn’t want just because we forgot to go over something.”

“Spoken like a good partner,” Virgil said, raising an imaginary glass and tilting his head towards Roman. “Major props.”

Roman shook his head in slight exasperation and finished his breakfast as fast as he could. As he was swallowing the last bite of his sandwich, his mother burst into the kitchen. “Veronica! There you are!”

“Ah, Your Majesty, I was just about to get you,” Virgil said, turning towards her and giving her a placating smile. “Turns out that your daughter was just getting breakfast after sleeping in.”

Roman stood with a sigh and offered his mother a weak wave. “Is there something you need, Mother?”

“I needed to talk to you,” his mother said. Roman’s heart leapt into his throat as she said, “It’s about last night.”

“Yeah?” Roman asked, forcing his hands to not tremble.

“I would appreciate us being able to speak somewhere private,” his mother said.

“All right,” Roman said. “Thank you for breakfast, Patton, it was truly delicious.”

“I’m glad, Your Highness,” Patton said with a small smile. He mouthed Good luck when Roman’s mother glanced at her phone and Roman just nodded.

“Come with me, Veronica,” his mother instructed.

Roman resisted the urge to roll his eyes and followed his mother out of the kitchen, and she took him to the day room where the Queen was apparently waiting. “Did you find her, Diana?” she asked.

“In the kitchen, Rose,” his mother said.

“Have a seat, dear,” the Queen said to Roman.

Roman did as he was told, resisting the urge to fidget. “What’s going on?” Roman asked.

“We need to talk about what happened last night, dear,” the Queen said. “You’re not in trouble, we just want to talk about it.”

“Okay...?” Roman said, heart still pounding.

“I have been thinking,” the Queen said. “And while I do see your mother’s argument, Damien had a point as well. He shouldn’t have tried to prove that point the way he did, but it’s undeniable that he whole-heartedly believes that you are transgender.”

“I mean, what can I say?” Roman asked. “I didn’t tell him that. My mother is the one who brought it up in the first place.”

“We know,” the Queen said. “But you deserve to have your side of the story heard as well. And I wish to hear your side.”

Roman’s heart hammered in his chest. How was he to explain his side and make his mother happy?

“Diana, I need you to promise that you won’t interject during this,” the Queen said, and Roman was stunned. “If we are to hear both sides, we can’t have anyone shouting.”

His mother looked about as stunned as Roman felt. “You want to feed into her delusion?” she asked.

“Of course not,” the Queen said. “But I also want to determine if this is a delusion at all.”

His mother showed a split second of panic before she put on an unreadable mask and said, “I suppose.”

“So...Roman,” the Queen said. “Tell us your side of the story.”

“Well, it all started out so long ago,” Roman said. “When Remus and I were children, really. I believed from the start that we were actually identical. The fact that he and I had different parts didn’t affect my opinion at all. I thought from the start that if he was a boy, then I was a boy. I never really appreciated dresses much, and I loved getting dirty and roughhousing with the guards. Even if people called me a girl, I would still think that at the very least, I was a tomboy, if not a boy outright. As I grew older, it became clear to me that was not the case. And for a while, I did believe that what I had thought as a child was just me being a child and not understanding different sexes. I assumed that I thought that because Remus was my only consistent playmate, and I wanted to fit in with him.

“But time went on, and puberty occurred, and I was dissatisfied with every single change that happened. I tried to embrace it, because everyone told me to. But bras were cumbersome, and periods hurt, and everything that happened to me just...wasn’t what I wanted, even though at that point I didn’t know what, exactly, I wanted. I questioned why my voice didn’t get deeper, like Remus’, and why I had to have breasts while he didn’t. And I spent years in denial, trying to fit in, you know? I tried to be the ‘good girl’ that everyone wanted me to be.

“I came across the word ‘transgender’ one day and...the thought just wouldn’t leave me. My experiences weren’t exactly the same as the stories I read, but...they lined up enough that it kept me awake at night thinking about it. And I wanted to experiment with a different name, maybe cut my hair short to the way I liked it as a child, just to see if this was something I truly wanted. So I went to Remus and asked him to try the different pronouns and name, and he complied. All I wanted was to see if this made more sense than what being a woman felt like.”

“And did it?” the Queen asked.

“At first, I didn’t feel too much of a difference, but after some time...maybe a week or two...if felt odd to respond to anything that wasn’t Roman and he or him. It felt more natural than the pronouns that everyone had been using for me the rest of my life. And I took that as my sign. I was...and I am transgender. I just...can’t see it any other way.”

The Queen nodded, and his mother stared at him, perturbed. “You never said any of this back home,” she said.

“You wouldn’t allow me to. You just yelled that I wasn’t transgender and confined me to my room,” Roman said with a shrug. “You haven’t let me explain myself since this whole argument began.”

The Queen hummed. “And you still believe that you are transgender?”

“I mean, I will admit that I may not have searched for as long a time as my mother may have wanted me to, but the surety I felt...you can’t make that up, Your Majesty. That feeling of right was so pure and so strong, I can’t believe that I would make that up as some part of delusion.”

“The whole point of a delusion is that you believe it to be real, Veronica,” his mother said.

“Mother...how can you still not see?” Roman asked. “Everything that I do to try and express myself...it may not be what you want for me but it makes me happy. When I was growing up all you ever wanted me to be was happy. But now that I know what makes me happy, you’re denying me it. I know it’s hard for you, but I want to be myself. Whoever I may be.”

His mother looked more lost than ever before.

Roman sighed. “I’m happier as Roman than I could ever be as Veronica, Mother. I’m sincere about that.”

“You’re my little girl, Veronica. You can never be anything else!” his mother said.

Roman didn’t bother hiding his flinch. “Mother, you’re still not listening to me.”

“And you aren’t listening to me!” his mother snapped.

“Mother. I’ve listened to you for over nineteen years of my life. And nothing you said about my identity ever sat right with me. I just want to see who I am outside your view of me.” Roman forced himself to stay calm. Snapping at his mother would completely cement her in her opinions.

“Diana, I’m inclined to believe...Roman,” the Queen said.

His mother looked like the Queen may as well have slapped her. “No! No, she’s my daughter, and she can never be anything else!”

“Mother—”

She glared at him and he closed his mouth with a click. “You’re my little victory, Veronica, isn’t that enough?! Isn’t it enough that I love you, and your father loves you? Why isn’t that enough for you?!”

Roman felt his patience snap. “You really want me to be your daughter?! You want me to shut up and sit down and never speak my mind, never trust you with anything ever again? Do you want to wake up ten years from now and wonder why we never speak anymore?! Because that’s what’s going to happen if you’re not careful!”

“You’re my daughter! Not my son!” his mother snapped.

Roman balled his hands into fists, standing. “You’re right about one thing: I’m not your son.”

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