#I didn’t realize until now that Raine’s earring just straight up disappeared when I messed with the layers

[nightcatssketchbook]

‘Lil sketch from earlier today. Really love these two, they have to be my favorite characters of the show. Can’t wait to see them again.

#The Owl House #Eda Clawthorne #Raine Whispers #If I had a nickel for every time I loved a round-spectacle-wearing anxious non binary character #I’d have two nickels #which isn’t much #and one of the characters is my own #also I ignored Eda’s sleeves cause I happen to really like the first dress haha #I didn’t realize until now that Raine’s earring just straight up disappeared when I messed with the layers??? o k ay #my art

[gryffindorcls]

Plot Twist

Summary: Even though she still gets nervous around him, Marinette has been happily dating Adrien for several weeks. However, after agreeing to a mutual reveal with Chat Noir, Marinette postpones her date night with Adrien. Luckily, he also has plans with a friend that night.

Length: 7,178 words 

Hello, lovely readers!  This was written for the 2020 JV Art and Fic Trade on Discord. There is accompanying art for this fic by @supergirl9130.  Be on the look-out for it soon! Enjoy! 

(Shout out to my beta for this fic, @miss-congeniality-of-ml) 

— AO3

Fanfiction

Marinette snuggled further into Adrien’s embrace, relishing in his warmth. In response, he kissed the crown of her head and sighed.

If someone had told her six months ago that she would be in this position, she would have laughed, cried, and then laughed again. Never in a million years did she actually think that Adrien Agreste would ask her out on a date, let alone want to become her boyfriend.

“Are you still feeling cold?” Adrien whispered into her hair. “Do you want me to get you a blanket?”

She shook her head. “I’m okay.”

“You say that now, but you always get cold again when I let go.”

“Then don’t let go.”

“As you wish, my love.” He held her even tighter, sending her heart into a frenzy.

Much to her chagrin, six weeks of dating still hadn’t taken away all of the nervousness that she felt around him. She quickly discovered that Adrien’s love language was all of them; as a result, he constantly showered her with affection, gifts, and attention. While most of the time Marinette didn’t know how much more her heart could take before it exploded, she’d never been happier.

Ever the gentleman, Adrien never showed her anything less than boundless patience whenever she became a blushing, stuttering mess in his presence. If anything, he seemed to enjoy it, and that only made matters worse.

Whenever she had a “Marinette Moment” (as he affectionately called it from time to time), he would simply smile, pull her into an embrace, and whisper reassuring words into her ear. Sometimes, his soothing would work, but other times it sent her heart off to the races, leaving her to slowly melt into a hyperventilating puddle.

“Marinette, breathe.” Adrien’s hand was running up and down her back. “You’re turning redder than you usually do.”

She wanted to kick herself.

It had happened again.

She hadn’t even realized that she’d been holding her breath this time. Shaking herself back into reality, Marinette exhaled and buried her face against Adrien’s collarbone, relishing in the soft cotton of his designer t-shirt.

“Sorry,” she whispered, slowly feeling the embarrassment fade away.

“You know that you never have to apologize when this happens.” He kissed her cheek. “Like I would really complain about having another opportunity to hold you in my arms.”

“Yeah, but it happens all the time.” Marinette pulled away, bit her lip, and looked down at her lap. “Aren’t you getting tired of it?”

Adrien took her hands in his and ran his thumb over her knuckles. “Never. I love everything that makes you, you.”

Had it not been for the warmth that filled her chest upon hearing his declaration, she would have combusted again, but instead, she pulled her hands away and launched herself into Adrien’s arms. “You’re amazing. How did I get so lucky?”

He nuzzled his cheek against the crown of her head. “I ask myself the same question every single day. You are not only the best girlfriend I could have asked for, but you are also the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me. My only regret is that I didn’t ask you out sooner.”

Momentarily forgetting how to breathe, Marinette choked on her next intake of air. The coughing fit left her breathless and lightheaded.

So much for staying calm.

With sheer panic in his eyes, Adrien’s hands fluttered around her as she gasped for air. “Are you okay? Do you need water? What do I do? Please be okay!”

Taking a sharp intake of breath, Marinette managed to partially regain her composure. “I’m fine.”

The worry still hadn’t left his features. “You didn’t look fine. At least let me get you some water.”

Adrien hopped off of the couch and ran to the mini-fridge under his desk. Upon returning, he handed her a chilled water bottle and sat down next to her.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” He put his arm around her. “Did you choke on air again?”

She sighed. “No. It was your cuteness this time.”

“Oh, really?” The panic in his eyes melted away, leaving behind a dazzling smile. “Twice in one day. I’m on a roll!”

“You can’t just tell me that I’m the best girlfriend without warning me!”

“I can’t help myself. Complimenting you has become a hobby of mine.”

“Well, your hobby is going to kill me.”

“I highly doubt that.”

“I’m serious! You’ve watched me launch objects across the room and trip on air when I’m around you. One day you’re going to be so adorable that I’m going to get spooked and fall to my death or something.”

“You know I’ll never let anything like that happen to you, right?” Leaning in close, his breath ghosted her cheek. “I’ll always be there to catch you when you fall.”

The heat moved to her ears. “Adrien…”

Using his index finger, he tilted her chin upward and captured her lips under his. “Okay, I’ll stop.”

“Thank you.” Satisfied, she returned the gesture with an even deeper kiss, eliciting a contented hum from her boyfriend’s throat.

“For now.” His mouth curled into a Cheshire grin as he pulled away from the kiss.

With a pout, Marinette stood up and made her way to the opposite side of the couch. After crossing her arms and sitting down with a playful huff, she turned her head and stuck out her tongue.

“Marinette!” Adrien jutted out his bottom lip and pressed his hands together. “Please come back! The couch is getting cold.”

“Nice try, Agreste. Those kitten eyes won’t work on me!” Marinette looked away and pointed her chin in the air. “Have fun sitting by yourself.”

“NOOO! You have to come back!” Marinette choked back a laugh, and Adrien held his hands up in surrender. “Fine! You win, my love.”

“Good.” She crawled across the couch and resettled herself against his shoulder. “Now, hold still. I’m tired after almost dying.”

“Oh, so now I’m nothing more than a pillow to you? I see how it is.”

“Shhh! Pillows don’t talk.”

“GASP!”

Marinette snorted. “Oh my God...did you really just say the word ‘gasp’?”

“So what if I did?” Wrapping his arms around her waist, he pulled her back to his side.

“Who even does that?”

“I do!”

“You are such a dork.”

“And you’re surprised?”

No.

At least not anymore.

On their first date, Adrien had spent thirty solid minutes trying to balance a salt shaker on its edge while gushing over his new favorite movie. As she watched him hunch his body over the table, stick out his tongue, and maneuver the salt shaker into the perfect position, Marinette realized that the person who had been taped all over her walls was Adrien Agreste, the perfect model and son, not the boy who sat before her.

No, this was not the Adrien who went to photoshoots, took perfect pictures, and sat up straight during interviews. This was not the Adrien who smiled politely when approached and shook hands with powerful men and women. This was not the fabricated Adrien from the magazine quizzes whose personality was defined by his favorite color and the brand of shampoo he used to wash his hair.

This was the Adrien who had swallowed his pride and admitted that he didn’t know how to make friends. This was the Adrien who had seen a girl standing in the rain and sacrificed his comfort by giving her his umbrella. This was the Adrien who loved video games, whose eyes lit up when he saw a plate of cookies. This was the Adrien she’d fallen in love with, the Adrien she’d lost sight of when her mind had been clouded by infatuation.

That night, Marinette rediscovered what love meant. She’d silently cursed herself for getting lost in the glossy, ten-page spreads and towering advertisements that brandished his face, for jumping to conclusions without knowing the full story.

At that moment, she vowed to learn the full story, to truly get to know the Adrien behind the flashing lights and perfect etiquette. She’d dreamed of a life with Adrien, but in actuality, she’d only dreamed of a life with the idea of him.

Marinette didn’t know that she could love a person more than she already did, but at that dinner table under the soft light of a chandelier, her heart expanded to make way for all that she had to discover about her new boyfriend.

So yeah, he was a dork. A kind, selfless, sometimes clueless, wonderful, and amazing dork.

She smiled and tapped his nose. “No, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.”

He beamed. “Good! Because I’m not going anywhere.”

“And one day I’ll be able to handle your sweet nothings without turning into a puddle.” Marinette picked the water bottle off of the table and took several long sips.

“Once again, I will repeat this until the day I die. Your blushing is one of the cutest things on the planet. It rivals videos of kittens eating loudly and ducklings wearing hats. You’re absolutely purr-fect.”

Water nearly came shooting out of her nose. “Adrien Agreste, did you just make a cat pun?”

“Yup!” He looked so proud of himself.

All the nervousness from before disappeared, for if there was one thing she knew how to do, it was how to deal with a cat-pun slinging boy with a smug grin on his face.

“Is there a reason for the puns, or are you just trying something new?”

“I think you meant to ask if I was trying something mew.”

“Nope, that’s all you.” “Well, to answer your question from before, punning is a part of my purr-sonality. C’mon...just admit they’re claw-some.”

“Goodness gracious, just how many cat puns do you have in your arsenal?”

“I can go all night, Marinette.”

“And pray tell, where did you learn all of these puns?”

“I have a few cat pun websites bookmarked on my computer and my phone. I also have a cat pun translator app, and I bought a pun dictionary. But I put all of the best ones I find in my notes app.” He whipped out his phone, tapped the screen a few times, and held it out for her to see. “I’ve always liked puns, but the cat ones kind of took over.”

She bit back a laugh. “Who are you? Chat Noir?”

An indistinguishable emotion flickered behind his eyes before quickly being replaced by a mischievous glint. “Would that be the worst thing?”

No.

But something like that happening would be too good to be true.

Her partner was the best, and there was no doubt in her mind that whoever was behind the mask was brave, kind, loyal, and an all-around amazing human being, so it wasn’t completely out of the realm of possibility for the love of her life to be Chat Noir. However, Marinette knew that she wasn’t that lucky. At least the world had been blessed with two equally as amazing blond boys...who both apparently loved puns.

“Not at all.” She smiled and shook her head. “He’s a pretty cool guy.”

“R-really? You think so?” His voice uncharacteristically cracked on the last word of his question.

“Yeah, he’s my favorite hero.”

“Wait, really? It’s not Ladybug?”

“Nope. It’s Chat.”

And how could it not be? Her partner was incredible, and soon she would be able to tell him that not as Ladybug, but as Marinette.

Chat had been overjoyed when she’d suggested a mutual reveal. It was long overdue, and now that she was comfortable as the new Guardian, she was ready. It would make things safer for both of them to know. Not to mention she was excited at the prospect of being able to double down on their search for Hawkmoth.

Oh, how she dreamed of the day that Hawkmoth’s reign of terror came to an end! With her and Chat working together as both heroes and civilians, that dream might finally have the chance of becoming a reality.

If only Adrien could know about my life behind the mask, she mused, He’d probably be super helpful. Perhaps that’s something Chat and I could dis-

Her thoughts were interrupted by a piercing ring.

Adrien picked up his phone, turned off the blaring alarm, and sighed. “As much as I would love to stay here and cuddle, I have to go meet with my work friend now. Are you sure it’s okay that we’re skipping date night for this?”

Oh, right.

He was meeting with a friend today, as well.

She’d been worried about canceling her plans with Adrien, but he’d seemed relieved when she had brought it up earlier that week. When he revealed that he had also made dinner plans and needed to postpone their date, she couldn’t help but marvel at how in sync their lives were.

“Of course! It’s important for us to hang out with other people sometimes.” Marinette looked up at him through her eyelashes and smiled. “And we’re not canceling date night. We just moved it to tomorrow.”

“That’s right!” He grabbed her hand and laced his fingers through hers. “And to make it up to you, I will make sure that it is the most amazing date you’ve ever been on!”

“Even more amazing than the time you took me to Gabriel’s annual investor’s gala?”

Adrien nodded his head. “Most definitely.”

“Oh?” Marinette bit back a laugh. “And why is that?”

His face fell flat, matching the tone of his voice. “Because my father won’t be there.”

Giving in and falling into a fit of giggles, she held her stomach and doubled over. “Yeah, that would definitely do it! He made things so awkward when he demanded that you dance with that girl.”

“Sadly, it’s not the first time he’s done something like that. He’s always using me as a marketing tool with the investors. Let’s just say that having me spend time with a rich man’s daughter is one of my father’s many business tricks.”

“I’m sorry you have to deal with that.” She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. “At least he’s out of town for the next few weeks.”

“Yeah, thank goodness.” He leaned in and pecked her on the lips. “It means that I have you all to myself with no interruptions.”

The alarm on his phone went off a second time.

He took a deep breath and tapped the screen. “Except for right now. I really do have to get going soon.”

Marinette took her phone out of her purse and looked at the time. “Me, too. I told my friend to meet me at 6. If I don’t leave within the next five minutes, I’m definitely going to be late.”

“Same.” Adrien pocketed his phone, hopped off the couch, and grabbed his shoes. “So, where are you meeting up with your friend?”

“Oh, at some cafe I suggested. I went there with Kagami a few times.”

“Have we ever been there together?”

“No, but maybe we could go tomorrow! On our make-up date!” Marinette hopped off of the couch and slipped on her flats.

Adrien returned to her side and took both of her hands in his. “I’d like that.”

Marinette had picked the restaurant because she knew Chat would love it, and the more she thought about it, she knew that Adrien would probably love it, as well. “You know, you and my friend...you and he are really similar. I think the two of you would be really good friends.”

“And if we’re being honest, you and my work friend are so alike it’s insane. I guess there’s a reason why I used to be in love with her.” His eyes blew wide as he clasped his hands over his mouth. “I mean…”

Marinette took a step back. “The girl you’re meeting with today...she was the girl you-”

He frantically waved his hands in front of him. “No! It’s not like that anymore! I swear! I don’t love her...I mean, I do, but not like that. She’s like family? Also, she’s dating someone now. She only saw me as a friend, so it didn’t work out.”

“I always thought it was Kagami.” She collapsed back onto the couch, feeling her heart sink. “That means I wasn’t even your second choice. I was your third.”

Adrien scrambled onto the couch. “No, no! Please don’t start thinking like that.”

“But it’s true.” Feeling smaller than she’d ever felt, Marinette buried her head in her hands and pushed back tears that threatened to fall. “I’m sorry you didn’t wind up with either of the people you loved before me.”

“Marinette, I need you to look at me.” He carefully pulled her hands away from her face and held them in a steady grip. “You weren’t my third choice. You weren’t even my second choice. You were my always choice.”

“Your...always choice?” A tear slipped down her cheek and fell onto her lap. “I don’t understand.”

“You know what? Neither did I until the day I found out that you had a crush on me. Sure, I was in love with the girl I work with. It consumed me and didn’t let me think about anything else, but she didn’t want a relationship with me. I was heartbroken, and while I respected her wishes, I didn’t know how I could ever love another person the same way. Then Nino made his little slip-up, and I realized that I already did.” He leaned in and rested his forehead on hers. “I’ve been in love with you since the day we met.”

“But…”

“No buts. Please. I care about my work friend a lot, but I am in love with you. Yes, loving her was exciting, like fireworks, but loving you feels like…” His face softened, his gaze filled with adoration. “It feels like home.”

Her breath hitched. “Adrien…”

“Marinette.” The reverence in which he uttered her name set her entire being ablaze.

“You’re going to melt me into a puddle again.”

“Good.”

She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and closed herself around him. Returning the gesture, he drew her into a tight embrace. With his chest flush against her own, Marinette could feel the pounding of his heart and the depth of his breaths.

When he pulled away, she immediately felt the absence of his warmth. She sniffled, and using his thumbs, he wiped away the wetness from her cheeks.

“Now go have fun with your friend.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “I want to hear all about it when I call you tonight.”

Marinette couldn’t stop the giggle that escaped. “Thanks, you, too.”

“And maybe the both of us could convince our friends to hang out as a group one day...you know, since we’re all so alike.”

“It’s funny. My friend used to have a crush on me, and I turned him down. It sounds like our friends wouldn’t just hit it off, but they might just be made for each other...like you and I are.” She couldn’t help but laugh as she pictured Chat and Adrien’s work partner meeting for the first time. “Too bad my friend is already dating someone.”

“My co-worker is dating someone as well.” Adrien chuckled and shook his head. “But for real, it sounds like they’d be a match made in heaven.”

“Wouldn’t it be funny if they were actually dating each other?” It was a ridiculous thought, but it felt good to laugh after crying.

Adrien nearly doubled over. “That would be the most insane plot twist. Their relationship would be like one of those romances from a movie or something.”

“Only if it’s a really cheesy movie!” She thought back to all of the times she’d dealt with Chat’s flirtations. “I know for a fact that my friend is the ultimate hopeless romantic.”

“You mean like me?”

“Well, I did say that the two of you were alike.”

“Then I must meet this classy gentleman friend of yours!” Adrien held a finger in the air as he spoke. “He and I shall be the best of friends.”

An infinitely more ridiculous idea popped into her head. “I just thought of an even bigger plot twist!”

“Let’s hear it.”

“What if you’re actually the friend I’m meeting today?”

“Well then, may I suggest the biggest plot twist of all? You and I are actually each other’s friends, and we didn’t know because until today, we’ve been dressing up in disguises every time we’ve met up.”

Marinette slapped her hands against her cheeks and feigned surprise. “Then that would mean that you fell in love with me twice!”

Yeah, it would! And it would also mean that you turned me down because you had a crush on me but didn’t know it.” Adrien flopped dramatically onto the couch. “My poor brain can’t handle the confusion.”

“Same. Can you even imagine trying to keep something like that straight?”

“Nope! As crazy and cool as something like that would be, I’m pretty relieved we don’t have to deal with that kind of mess in our love lives.”

“Yes! Agreed!” But you’re right. I do think that the four of us would have a lot of fun together! I’ll ask him about a possible group hang-out session. I’m sure he’d be down for something like that.” Marinette straightened her purse strap, bent down, and pecked Adrien on the lips. “I’ll talk to you later. Love you!”

As she walked towards the door and out of his room, she heard Adrien call out behind her. “I love you, too!”

Carrying his words with her, Marinette bounced with each step she took. She skipped down the steps of the mansion and basked in the warmth of the summer sun.

How could she have been so silly to think that Adrien loved her less than he did? Of course, he loved her! She could see it in his eyes every time they were together. She could hear it in the way he spoke to her. She could feel it in each kiss.

Adrien Agreste loves her just as much as she loves him, and there was nothing that could ruin the high that came with this knowledge.

Nope. Not a single thing could ruin her day.

She was in love.

Someone loved her back.

And she was about to reveal her identity to Chat Noir.

Marinette froze.

She was about to reveal her identity to Chat Noir.

What was she thinking?

She couldn’t do something like this. She and Chat were fine the way they were. Right?

Opening the clasp to her purse, she ducked into an alleyway and did her best to not hyperventilate. “Tikki!”

Her Kwami zipped into view. “What’s wrong? Is there an Akuma?”

“No...it’s just…”

“Yes?”

“Just…”

“Marinette, what is it?”

She clenched and unclenched her fists several times before finding the words to say. “I can’t do this. No, I shouldn’t do this. How could I have possibly thought that this was a good idea?”

“What?” Tikki squinted. “Are you talking about meeting Chat?”

“Yes! Didn’t you always say that we had our secret identities for a reason?”

“Yes, but that was before. You’re the Guardian now, and you’re supposed to know where every single Miraculous from the Miracle Box is at all times.”

“But what if-”

Tikki cut her off. “No what if’s! This is the right thing to do, and you know it!”

Is it? Worry still clouded her mind. Am I going to regret this?

“I don’t know.” Marinette fiddled with the strap on her purse, fighting the urge to turn around and run home. “What if everything goes wrong?”

“It won’t!” Tikki nuzzled Marinette’s cheek. “Also, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

“You think so?”

“I know so. Don’t forget...I already know who Chat Noir is.”

“That’s right! You do!” She cupped her Kwami in her hands. “Will you tell me a little bit about him? It’ll make me feel better about all of this. Please?” Tikki shook her head. “Marinette, you already know everything you need to know about him.”

“I do? But I thought the Miraculous magic was supposed to make that impossible.”

“The suit masks your features, not your heart, and trust me, you know Chat Noir’s heart inside and out. He’s never tried to hide who he was from you.”

“I guess you’re right.” She fixed her eyes on the pavement below. “But I’m still nervous.”

“And you think he’s not? He’s most likely freaking out as we speak, and it would probably make him feel a lot better if you actually showed up.” And once again, Marinette knew Tikki was right.

She had to do this.

If not for herself, for Chat. Her partner deserved the support that came with knowing her identity. She never wanted him to find himself in a position where he needed help from the Guardian and didn’t know where to find it. Chat needed her just as much as she needed him.

And now it was time to meet him.

Doing her best to shake off the sinking pit in her gut, Marinette smoothed out her skirt and straightened her back. “I can do this.”

“Yes, you can!” Tikki threw her tiny paws into the air. “This is so exciting!”

“Sure, if by exciting you mean that nauseous feeling in your stomach, but I can do this. I’m Ladybug.”

“And more importantly, you’re Marinette Dupain-Cheng. You’re the girl who’s an amazing designer, class president, and friend. You are kind, and you always stand up for what’s right.”

Marinette could feel her confidence grow. “That’s right...I am! I’m great in and out of the mask. Just like Chat is.”

“Just like Chat is.” Tikki smiled. “And I’m sure he would love to know your name.”

“And I would love to know his.”

“And all you need to do is walk into that cafe.”

“And find the boy wearing the black hoodie and the silver ring.” Marinette held up her purse for her Kwami. “C’mon, Tikki. Let’s go have dinner with the boys!”

“Boys?” Tikki cocked her head to the side. “As in more than one?”

“Are you telling me that you’re not excited to see Plagg without having to sneak around?” Marinette couldn’t hold back her laughter when she saw Tikki’s face light up before she enthusiastically dove into the bag.

With a renewed spring in her step, Marinette made her way to the cafe. Within minutes, she found herself standing outside the glass door, gripping the metal door handle. She took a deep breath, opened the door, and crossed the threshold.

A blast of warmth hit her face as she walked into the intimate dining space. She scanned the room and felt a rush when her eyes landed on a hunched figure clad in black.

Chat.

If it was indeed her partner, he was sitting at the far end of the cafe, facing the wall and scrolling through his phone. He had a hood pulled over his head, so she couldn’t see the color of the person’s hair. During their last patrol, Chat had divulged that his hair was actually blond so she would recognize him when she saw him. While this stranger wasn’t making it easy, there was almost no one else it could be.

And there was only one way to find out.

It’s now or never, Marinette. She psyched herself up as she walked over to the hooded stranger. Just walk up and ask…

“HEYISTHISSEATTAKEN?” Marinette slapped her hands over her mouth when she realized how loudly the garbled strand of words had come out. “I mean…”

The cafe had gone quiet, and she could feel all eyes on her.

This is a disaster. What am I doing? If this is Chat, he’s going to think I’m such a weird-

“Marinette?” A hand wrapped around hers, bringing her catastrophizing to an end.

Wait.

The hand was warm and familiar. “My sweet, beautiful Marinette. Come here.”

I know that voice.

The hand tugged her closer. “Come here, my love.”

Adrien.

A pair of green eyes filled with love and surprise locked with hers. “Fancy meeting you here.”

Her brain continued to short-circuit. “What are you doing here? And why are you hiding under that hoodie?”

“Ahhh, yes.” Using his free hand, he scratched the back of his head. “I’m meeting my friend here, and I really didn’t want anyone taking pictures of me meeting with a girl who wasn’t you and getting the wrong idea. Having another media presence conversation with my father is the last thing I need.”

“I totally get that. I remember you telling me about the last time your dad sat you down for one of those talks.” She smiled, but confusion continued to swirl around her mind.

She could have sworn it was Chat; however, she couldn’t have asked for a better outcome to her mistake.

“I know it hasn’t even been an hour, but I’m happy to see you.” A gentle kiss pressed against her knuckles. “So, what are you doing here? You’re not following me, are you?”

Marinette rolled her eyes and took a seat across from him. “No, my days of following you are far behind me, thank you very much, and I would appreciate it if you didn’t remind me of all my embarrassing pre-dating decisions.”

“They’re so cute though!” He rested his head in his hands. “I’ve never had someone care about me as much as you do before.”

“Adrien, stop!” Her cheeks started to burn. “My friend is going to be here any second, and I can’t look like a tomato when he shows up!”

“Ohhhh, so that’s what you’re doing here! Wow...what a crazy coincidence!”

“You want to know an even bigger coincidence? My friend said that he was going to be wearing a black hoodie when I met up with him. I thought he was you.”

Adrien leaned back in his chair. “Wait...really?”

“Yeah.” Marinette nodded her head. “He said that he would be wearing a black hoodie with a silver ring. He wanted me to be able to recognize him.”

“Hold on.” He opened and closed his mouth several times before continuing. “Have you never met your friend in person before?”

“Uhhh.” Panic started to settle in her gut, but luckily she knew how to keep a straight face. “Well, it’s complicated.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah, we've met in person, but our outfits were kind of weird.”

“Uh-huh, and what’s your friend’s name again? I don’t think you ever mentioned it.”

“Umm...you see, we’ve only been using nicknames, so I’m not totally sure.”

He held up a hand. “So let me get this straight. You two don’t know each other’s names, and there was a chance that you wouldn’t recognize him because you were dressed weird every time you saw each other before today.”

“Yes.” Marinette looked away. “That’s right.”

“And I’m guessing that means that you gave him something to look for to help him know that it’s you?”

“Yes.”

“What is it?”

She swallowed, sincerely hoping that she wasn’t giving too much away. “My black earrings.”

His eyes immediately locked on her ears, sending him into a near trance-like state. Several emotions passed over his features before his eyes grew wide.

“Oh my God.” His voice was barely a whisper. “Oh my God.”

Her cheeks grew hotter as his unrelenting stare continued. “I-is there something on my face?”

“It all makes sense now.”

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?”

He grabbed her hands from across the table. “I was close a few times but you always shook me off your scent. You’re so clever, but I guess you already knew that.”

“What are you talking about?” She pulled her hands away. “Adrien, I don’t understand.”

“You’re joking, right?” Without breaking his stare, he leaned in and curled his mouth into a smirk. “Oh wow, you’re not.”

The panic and confusion that clouded her thoughts began to melt away as her annoyance grew.

Why would Adrien freak her out like that and then...laugh?

He was laughing.

Why was he laughing?

“Would you care to share what’s so funny?” she asked with a huff.

He wiped a tear away from his eye as he attempted to compose himself with several deep breaths. “I just can’t believe it!”

“Can’t believe what?”

“Marinette.” He got up, walked around the table, and knelt in front of her. “Don’t you think it’s interesting that you’re waiting in this cafe for a boy in a black hoodie and you ran into me?”

“Yeah, it’s a funny coincidence. Great minds think alike, right? Wait...speaking of friends.” Her eyes scanned the cafe. “My friend still isn’t here.”

“I guess we’ll have to do this a different way then.” Adrien stood up and grabbed his phone off of the table. “Can you do me a favor?”

“If I do, will you finally tell me what’s going on?”

“Yes, but I think you’re going to figure it out soon enough.”

“Fine. What do you want me to do?”

He pulled her onto her feet. “I’m going to go call my friend because she’s not here yet either. While I’m gone, could you call your friend, as well?”

“What, no!” Marinette did another scan of the cafe before turning back to Adrien. “I have to stay here in case he shows up. If he gets here and I’m not here, he’ll think I stood him up.”

“He won’t. And don’t you want to see if he’s okay?”

She bit her lip and watched as a pair of giggling girls walked through the door. “Yeah, I do.”

Relief washed over his face. “Thank you! And then when our friends get here, maybe we could all eat together?”

“And you’ll tell me what’s going on?”

“Yes, I promise that if you haven’t figured it out by the time we both return, I will tell you everything, but you’re going to facepalm when I do.”

His sincerity calmed her agitation. “We’ll see about that!”

Adrien laughed again and disappeared into the men’s room. Following suit, Marinette pushed open the door to the ladies’ room, checked that she was alone, and transformed.

Before she had the chance to pull out her yo-yo and make the call, it started to ring.

She grabbed the device and held it up to her face. “Chat, where are you? Are you okay?”

“Can you meet me on the roof?” She could hear a hint of mischief in his voice.

"Right now?"

"Yes."

“Why?”

“Purr-lease, my lady? Do it for me?”

"Is this something I'm going to regret?"

"Nope! I purr-omise. Cat's honor!"

She rolled her eyes. “Fine.”

“Awesome! See you there!” Before she could respond, the line went dead.

Great.

Now she had two boys who were acting weird.

After finding a window that was big enough for her to squeeze through, she leaped through the opening and hooked her yo-yo around a chimney. With a tug of the wire, she flew into the air and landed on the edge of the roof.

“Hey, Ladybug!” She whipped around and was met face to face with the most excited-looking Chat she’d ever seen. “Fancy meeting you here.”

“You asked me to come up here, you silly cat!” She sheathed her yo-yo and rested her hands on her hips. “What are you up to?”

“Even after saying the same opening line? Really? Nothing?”

“Chat, what are you talking about? I swear, between you and my boyfriend…”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Oh, right.” She pressed her pointer fingers together. “So, my boyfriend is here, and he’s also waiting to meet with a friend, but he’s acting all weird right now...just like you are. But anyway, I know that today is a big deal for us and we have a lot to talk about, but since he’s already here and I don’t want to make it any weirder than it already is, do you think it would be okay if we ate dinner with my boyfriend and his friend?”

He took a step closer. “That sounds like a lot of fun. I would love to.”

“That’s a relief! I was worried you’d get mad and say no.” She paused for a moment before continuing. “But we may have to get our stories straight before we go back in there. I kind of told him that we only knew each other by nicknames until now, so unless we want to tell him that we’re the heroes of Paris, we should do the reveal here.”

“I couldn’t agree more.”

“Oh, and one more thing. My boyfriend is kind of famous? He’s Adrien Agreste.”

“The model whose face is plastered all over the city?” Chat’s expression was unreadable. “Does that mean you’re the girl from all his Instagram posts?”

Marinette hoped it wouldn’t be a problem. “Yeah, that’s me. He’s wearing a hoodie so no one recognizes him, so I hope that’s okay.”

“That's fine with me.” He took another step closer. “So, would you like to do it on the count of three?”

“Do what?” They were so close.

“Drop our transformations.”

“Right! We should do that!”

He was now inches away from her. “On the count of three?”

“Sounds good to me.” Her heart hammered against her chest.

This was it.

It was now or never.

She took a deep breath and counted with him.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

They spoke their detransformations at the same time, and Marinette’s brain ceased to work as the magical green light left her boyfriend in Chat’s place. Taking a step back, her foot slipped off the ledge, and everything went in slow motion as Adrien yelled, grabbed her hand, yanked her back onto the roof, and fell with her into a heap of tangled limbs.

Without letting go, Adrien sat up and pulled her into his lap. “Are you okay? Please tell me you’re alright!”

Still stunned speechless, all she could do was nod.

“See? I told you I’d always be there to catch you when you fall.” He gave her a once over before wrapping his arms around her and holding her against his chest. “Sorry, I thought it was a good idea. I should have moved us to the middle of the roof.”

Her brain began to sputter back to life.

Adrien was holding her.

And Adrien was Chat Noir.

Which meant Chat was holding her.

Which meant…

“I’m in love with Chat Noir.” Her voice was barely a whisper.

“Yes, you are.” He rested his mouth against the crown of her head. “And I fell in love with the same girl twice. Best. Plot twist. Ever.”

Marinette thought back to earlier that day, a time that now felt like a thousand years ago. “How did we not see this?”

“I don’t know, but now it all makes sense why you never agreed to go to the movies with me as Chat Noir. We were too busy living in our own movie.”

“We have so much to talk about.”

He held her even tighter. “Yes, we do, but we have a whole lifetime to talk. Let’s just enjoy dinner tonight.”

“Dinner sounds perfect.” She let all of her muscles relax and allowed herself to melt into his embrace. “I’m surprised you’re not freaking out right now.”

“Oh, trust me, I am, but I’m just going to focus on how amazing it is that my girlfriend and my lady are the same person and worry about the rest later. How are you holding up?”

“I’m still processing, but there’s a good chance that I will freak out and scream into a pillow later.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“What makes you think that you’ll be there to see it?”

“What makes you think that I’m going to leave you alone tonight?”

“And how do you plan on doing that after I go home after our date?”

“I was thinking that purr-haps a certain cat could come and visit you on your balcony? It sounds a lot more interesting than a boring phone call if you ask me.”

Of course, they were the same person.

It all made sense now.

This was Adrien. This was her Chaton. This was her best friend. This was the love of her life. This was her everything.

“Fine.” She pulled away and tapped his nose with her pointer finger. “But the cat has to bring hot chocolate if he wants to stay.”

“Deal!” He leaned in and rested his forehead against hers. “And may I just say that I am so excited for our next patrol.”

“Oh, no…”

“I wonder what the pictures on the Ladyblog will look like when Alya captures Ladybug turning into a blushing, stuttering mess after Chat Noir flirts with her!”

“Don’t think that I won’t end you just because you’re cute.”

“Awwwww!” He nuzzled her nose. “We can be cute together!”

“I said it before, and I'll say it again. You’re going to be the death of me, Adrien Agreste.” She buried her face against his hoodie and shivered.

“Nope! Not on my watch.” He got up and lifted her into his arms, prompting her to squeak. “Let’s get you warmed up inside.”

As he called for his transformation, Marinette found herself unable to look away. Here he was, holding her like she was his world, ready to do seemingly anything for her.

How did she get so lucky?

“Alright, hold on.” She braced herself against him as he leaped into the alleyway below.

He set her down on the ground and called off his transformation once again. After telling Plagg to join Tikki in Marinette’s purse, he took her hand and began walking towards the cafe.

Before they reached the door, Marinette stopped in her tracks. “Hey, Adrien?”

“What’s up?” He turned to look at her. “Did you want to go somewhere else to eat?”

She shook her head. “No, that’s not it. I’m just really happy that it’s you.”

“Oh, Marinette.” He pulled her back into his arms and dipped her into a kiss. “I don’t know what I did to deserve this, but knowing that it’s you is the greatest thing that’s ever happened to me.”

“I thought having me as your girlfriend was the greatest thing that’s ever happened to you.”

“Life would be boring if that stayed my favorite thing. Besides, if we’re going to be together forever, do you really want to stay just my girlfriend?”

“We’re only sixteen, Adrien.”

“And that means that we have many, many years to experience even more plot twists and greatest moments with each other.”

His declaration warmed her from her head to her toes, but to her surprise, she managed to keep herself composed and stutter-free.

“I guess that means we’re still in this together? Just you and me?” She snaked her arms around his neck.

“Always.” She couldn’t help but smile as he kissed her again.

#miraculous ladybug #my fic #ml fanfiction #plot twist #fluff #tooth rotting fluff #adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #they are just so oblivious in this #SO OBLIVIOUS #identity reveal #prompt #clumsy

[bbhyeoliskooks]

…〔𝐈𝐧𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐞𝐬〕…

FINAL, PT. TWO.

Having an unrequited crush on Soobin was difficult, but you manage to make them hidden so he’s oblivious. It’s getting harder though, since each time you see him, you fall deeper into his mesmerizing eyes. You want to get rid of your feelings for him, so you grow closer to a boy named Beomgyu. However, when your one of your best friends, Sunhye asks you to back away so she can have a chance with Soobin, everything inevitably comes crashing down on you.

intro / one / two / three / four / five / six / seven / finale, pt. 1 / finale, pt. 2

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Pairing: Beomgyu x Reader (female) x Soobin

Genre: 3 cups of angst and 50 cups of fluff !!

Warnings: self-harm, blood, being sick, fluffy fluff fluff cheesy stuff, and some cringy angst ofc

(If curious, read my thoughts as the end of this part.)

Playlist: Can’t Take My Eyes Off You, Something, Still Into You, Confession, Crazy For You

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You saw him.

You actually saw him.

“Y/N, hey! Come back, you’re sick!”

You didn’t listen.

“It’s raining outside, don’t go!”

But how could you not?

You finally saw him for the first time in weeks.

Seeing his squishy cheeks form a tiny dimple as you ran up to him with all of the strength you had left in your body- the ones you love to pinch so much whenever he felt down... seeing his doe eyes widen upon laying eyes on you- the ones that sparkled whenever you mentioned ice cream or bread... seeing his bright beam reflect off yours when you told him about an accomplishment of something you’ve worked hard for- the one that you grew to adore along the way of being his best friend... it was so easy to run up to him like it was nothing despite what happened.

He was right there in front of you, you couldn’t lose this chance you’ve anticipated for so long.

For the first few seconds, you were actually... okay? Okay- the type where you believed you were happy. You were fine, you felt like you were doing well! You were fine because you saw him and his smile that was as radiant as him. You were doing well because he was happy, really. He was happy... right? That smile on his face said everything. As if you didn’t discover you had a fever earlier, you thought everything was going to be okay until you saw the regret color his bright cheeks.

Dark flowers bloomed at the front of his face as he hid his eyes with long bangs, gazing down immediately once you arrived. His smile faltered for a few seconds before turning into a deep frown. Of course seeing him made you happy, didn’t it? It obviously should have; you expected that the euphoria on cloud nine which came from this situation would last for a while.

His voice trembled when he finally spoke up, not being able to look you straight in the eyes as he murmured:

“Y/N, my heart isn’t ready to see you yet.”

But that... it didn’t bring you true happiness after a few seconds. It didn’t bring you a big smile to grow on your face while his gradually broke off. It was what you feared the most, but one you knew deep down was the truth. Soobin still must’ve been mad at you, right? And most definitely, happiness was just a simple emotion to use right now, wasn’t it? Instead of what you had expected, it brought tugging at your heart strings, pulling back and forth just to try and pull it out of your chest and into the puddles below. You would let it wither and break even just to bask in the sight of him happy again.

What you needed to realize most in that moment was that ‘what’s done is done and nothing can change that,’ an epiphany that hadn’t clicked from before. You’ve hurt him, and there’s nothing you can do about it even if you gave up your entire self. You could’ve had this relationship with Soobin, but eventually you would become unhappy seeing Beomgyu with another person. Just- all you wanted, all you wanted right now was to go back in time and forgive everyone because that was the best thing to do in lieu of taking revenge. Everything could’ve been so different, and maybe it would be the better option compared to all this. Was that too much to ask for?

And just like that the boy disappeared from your sight, running into the storm brewing outside.

He was gone.

“Soobin, no wait! Come back, please!” You dashed out as soon as you heard the footsteps that were once close to you click farther, splashing out in the puddles outside in little pit pats. Many of the students were pushed out of his way in a instant, with you squeezing in between the sandwiched bodies of students. You knew you were being completely selfish to want to see him, but all of this pent up frustration and feverish functions combining into one made your actions bold. He didn’t have to know that you were there, you just wanted to see his bunny smile and how happy he was without you either way.

Before you knew it, the slippery puddles made your heels plant into the floor the wrong way and you dropped to the ground, elbows digging into the wet dirt. You groaned at the flashing pain over your body, flooding through the torso and into your aching feet. The barren willow tree you always met up with Soobin after school seemed to be mocking you now, waving its dead arms at you while you tried to endure the pain. All of your strength had evaporated into dust now, and you couldn’t help but tear up because of your mistakes, your faults, your timing, and most importantly because of you, yourself.

Strong structures you built because of your experiences fell apart on the ground, knees planted on tiny, jagged rocks where the rough edges cut through your skin. It made you gnarl your teeth at the feeling, but what stung more was that you made a fool of yourself in front of the friend you promised most to respect. You covered your face with tingling fingers, embarrassed of yourself to run out in this weather without even finding him in the end like you wished. Something was incredibly wrong with you that you resorted to being such a pathetic loser. You shouldn’t have done this; it’s all your fault and now everything is back to the cycle of blaming what happened on you.

It was pitiful you were calling out his name like this, wishing with all your might that someone would save you.

“I’m sorry for being selfish enough to see you, Soobin...” You hoped he would hear you, but he was gone.

“I’m sorry for hurting you...” You hoped he would be sincerely happy in front of you, but he was gone.

“I’m sorry for being the worst friend ever...” You hoped he would see how much of a mess you are without him, but he was gone.

“I’m sorry for realizing too late what I’ve been doing wrong this whole time.” There was nothing you could do to help either of you anymore. You gave up. And he was gone.

Crying wouldn’t help with the situation at all, but could you just think of yourself for once? After weeks and weeks and weeks of putting on a smile despite hearing the shatter of Soobin’s heart in your ears 24/7, you had enough of all this crap. You were pushed to the limit, and this is what occurred. You were done with everything.

Pit!

Pat!

Although the drops of rain had echoed off into the distance, you could no longer feel anymore drops of water fall on the crown of your head. Had it stopped raining in this area? That wasn’t possible... a shadow loomed over your figure that you believed it was just another dreary cloud from above, guarding over you so you wouldn’t look so pathetic in front of the whole school population.

Instead you glanced up to see a red umbrella with spots decorated all over, protecting you from the rain that had already soaked you wet.

Looking to who was underneath the ladybug umbrella glistened with the sparkling tears of rain, you found your eyes to be set on Beomgyu whose nose was sniffling from the effects of fret each second. His expression was nothing short of worried, his usual cheery face falling apart at how weak you were kneeling on the ground. Tears were welling up in your eyes as he crouched down to get closer to you- to give you words of comfort, to hug you, even to hold your hand as a sign that he was there for you more than anyone else you could’ve thought of.

He failed to notice that he was soaking wet, but honestly he couldn’t give one damn. It didn’t matter that he ruined his uniform in order to progress through the day without feeling uncomfortable. Seeing how you ran out even with a raging fever, it made his heart clench in his chest. You felt so guilty that you were willing to do anything in order to make it hurt less, and the help he gave wasn’t enough even if he tried with the best of his abilities. The voice he had saved up practicing in order to make you feel better failed miserably, becoming stagnant in his throat where he wasn’t able to speak the words of his heart.

How could he make you feel better if all he knew was to cause more pain unintentionally?

“Beomgyu, I’m sorry...” You fell into his chest, undoing your agony with heart wrenching cries that he felt rain of his own gather in a puddle dripping down his cheek. With no complaints he swooped you in his arms and wrapped them around your waist, dropping the ladybug umbrella which bounced off the pavement and into the gateway.

“I know, princess. I know. Just let it all out,” he whispered into the top of your head before pulling you closer. His warmth had to be enough for now, right? He hoped it would work.

The intimidating rain seemed to grow weaker now, and you found yourself making a friend of an enemy once Beomgyu was finally by your side again.

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“The nurse said you had a fever the other day- and yet, you ran out into the pouring rain just like that? I’m upset,” he pouted his lips, staring at the bowl of chicken noodle soup he prepared himself a few minutes earlier. Your nose twitched at the delectable smell but instead of eating like he asked, you snuggled into the cozy blankets which were overflowing with the familiar scent of his cologne. It never failed to always bring you a peaceful feeling even if you felt like you were going to break.

Speaking of which, his hugs noticeably gave you a lot of strength. Was it too much to ask to let him…? No, that isn’t right!

You snuggled into his blankets once more upon hearing his soothing voice, taking in the familiar scent of your safe place. All his words went through one ear and out the other when he came into the room, pondering about how he managed to help you in ways that even he didn’t acknowledge. With that being said, he didn’t have to do this for you. To make you soup when you were battling a case of a fever or to make you feel better since you were sure he had many bigger problems than you. It was burdensome that you were bothering him enough already with the exception of being sick, and you felt terrible in the end for being such a burden. He’d most likely get sick after, and you’d be the one to blame. Beomgyu shouldn’t be doing this for you no matter how kind he is.

“Gyu, don’t do this for me.”

Beomgyu plopped down beside you, laying the tray onto the messy bed stand. At first, he was scared his room wouldn’t be a good place to let you stay in for the meanwhile since it was a bit untidy, but the rising heat on your forehead begged him differently. When you spoke, he noticed that your voice was all stuffy because of your nose, and all the more he just couldn’t stop adoring you. You were quite the adorable scene when you were sick, but he was hoping that you’d get better so you’d go back to school healthy and happy with him.

In one way, this did mean one thing! He could take care of you without your objections since you’re considerably weaker and prove to you that he can help you whenever you need someone to lean on! All this time, his heart has only desired that- to help you feel comfortable in yourself because you’ve grown as a person.

Patting your head which was still covered by the fluffy sheets, he drew closer to you while cooing only a few words you were able to make sense of in your state. “You cute idiot… you’re lucky I like you so much that I can forgive you easily.”

You only responded in a sneeze causing Beomgyu to break out in a fit of giggles. It’d been so long that he got to care for you when you were like this, how about we give it a year? He missed all of this, quite honestly! Not to mention the little things you did were making his heart waver, he had to admit. There really was no lie in that if somebody asked him. Even when you were sick, you could still do this to him. And yes although he isn’t saying it out loud, it was the truth! If he couldn’t get more whipped than this, then what was the point?

The sight of scratches and a bit of blood on your knees made him gasp and he made a move to get to the medical kit over at the other room until you tugged at his arm.

Apprehensively he stared down at you, his hand cupping your cheeks so that you’d let go. Though he doesn’t mind if you do this whenever you pleased, this isn’t the right time since you’re simultaneously sick and hurt.

“Come on,” Beomgyu’s smile that shot towards you made you go weak in the knees, and you felt your heart skip a beat. You swore he got so tiring like this sometimes!

“How about we fix the cuts on your knees? Oh wait, no! Let’s eat first? But your kneels’ll hurt if you sit up! Ah, what should I do?!”

That needless, wary expression set on his face once you peeked out from the blanket made the smile on your face grow even wider before laughter got a hold of you and you snickered at how sweet he was. His eyes widened when he saw you burst out in laughter before joining you with his own hearty yet comforting chuckles. He’d always been like this that you never had an opportunity to stop being so worried, so right now was the perfect time to reassure him.

Snuggling up to him with the blanket making you look like a caterpillar, you closed your eyes in pure relief while rubbing your head against his arm. It felt so warm when you finally huddled up against him like this after a while.

Feeling him turn towards you, giggling when you moved even closer to his embrace only encouraged your boldness more. “Let’s just stay like this, okay my Gyugyubear?”

You expected an answer, only to find that he was cooing at you with duck pouted lips and a red, blushing nose.

Like he said, the things you did to him any time of the day...

Now how could he possibly say no to those adorable, shining eyes?

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School was in fact, the same when you came back.

It had been almost two weeks since you hadn’t gone to school, and you knew it was your fault for the overflowing amount of lessons and assignments that piled up on your plate. You knew that one of the boys- whom you knew Beomgyu would volunteer the most- would try to help you, but this was your doing in the first place! The sight was enough for your stomach to start churning, and this was one of the reasons why you absolutely despised school when the time called for it. Hopefully you’d be able to finish all of it once the week was over in order to study for finals that were coming up.

Snapping out of your thoughts once you heard soothing Beomgyu’s voice melt into your ear, you glanced down to see both of your hands connected without even noticing in the first place. He playfully grinned at you when you teasingly tried to pull away, only bringing you closer so that the two of you could walk side by side.

He guided you smoothly along the hallways, creating enough space for you to walk comfortably although you (both) knew you didn’t ask for it. It was just the way Beomgyu was.

“If it makes you feel better, just know that I’m right by your side whenever you need me, okay? I know I’ve said it a lot of times, but I feel like you haven’t taken me seriously until now. I want you to know that I’m here as someone you can cry on if you ever need a shoulder to cry on,” he murmured softly as he squeezed your hand.

You nodded your head at his words, reaching up your other free hand to ruffle his curly, black hair. “You’re so cheesy for bringing this up all of a sudden, Gyu! But yeah, I’m sorry for not realizing it sooner when you’ve tried to prove it hundreds of times. Maybe if I just understood you more, we would probably be even closer, don’t you think? Ai, I can’t even see why you’ve stayed here for so long anyway, but thank you so much,” you couldn’t help the soft grin that permeated your lips when you spoke to him, realizing how much he’d done for you unconditionally.

Suddenly he halted in his tracks upon hearing that, causing you to look back with confusion. Did you say something wrong? You swore you almost fell if not for the strong grip he had on your hand. That’d be so embarrassing considering you almost did! If he was going to stop, then at least he could tell you before you could accidentally stretch your arm out too much!

When you turned back to see him however, you could feel your cheeks burn up with warm fuzzies spreading everywhere. That same soft grin which reciprocated yours from before had every part of your body becoming like jelly in front of him and you weren’t able to stop yourself from becoming entranced with him all the more. You forgot to mention that his messy yet somehow looking stylish hair really suited him now, and you had to admit that it made your heart do skips whenever you saw him. Since when had he looked so soft all of a sudden?... But this wasn’t the perfect time to fawn needlessly over such details about the boy!

“Y/N, I’m really happy that you’re grateful for that, but that’s my job. If I’m going to be your proud boyfriend one day, then I have to work hard for it unconditionally! Why wouldn’t I take care of the girl whom I love with all my heart?”

Beomgyu was being way too corny now (but you could say that you secretly loved it)! At the same time, what the hell was wrong with you? Why did everything inside unexpectedly become too warm once you comprehended what he said? Hearing that made all of your confidence just disappear into thin air, and you opted to look somewhere else beside his sweet, honeyed eyes.

“Let me take care of you, okay? You’re so precious that I’m willing to do anything for you, and you should know that the best.”

You’re melting. Oh my goodness, you were absolutely melting as you watched him inch closer to you with that same charming, boyish grin on his face.

Gently, he then proceeded to press a sweet kiss upon your forehead, one that you burning up even more from the inside. As much as the amount of times he did that, you still weren’t able to get used to them. Doing those cheesy things had an effect on you- he had to know how much they were killing you softly even if you tried your best not to show it.

What caught your eye was the way he winked at you straight after which was pretty much impossible to ignore, waving a goodbye while hopping on his toes to his first class.

“I’ll see you later, yeah? Call or text me whenever you want, and I swear I’ll be right there beside you as promised!”

You pressed a hand against your pounding chest, knowing you were going to think about that forehead kiss all day. There was no doubt anybody could hear it from a mile away.

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Arriving to lunch a bit early without Beomgyu accompanying you due to “personal reasons” as he called it, you were nonetheless surprised to see that neither Taehyun or Kai was there. It was silent considering the fact that many people hadn’t sat down, monkeying out in the hallways as if that was any better to do. You searched around a little, sighing in relief that you weren’t alone in the quite empty, gigantic room. The only person sitting there over at your usual table was Yeonjun, although he looked a bit bitter towards you when you took a seat.

“Oh hi Jun,” you shot him a shy smile, losing all confidence you had once his eyebrows furrowed. He must’ve been mad at you or something which you hoped not since he was such a marvelous person to be friends with, plus you’d never seen that grim expression on him before. Hopefully it wasn’t anything too personal, right?

“Hi, Y-N,” shooting you a dirty look, he enunciated every syllable of your name while you giggled nervously. He glowered at you behind those wondrous eyelashes, yet at the same time you couldn’t help but feel a great pressure being lifted from your shoulders. So he wasn’t mad! From the tone of his voice, you were glad to know that he was being playful and not actually mad at you like you’d originally thought.

Going along with his game, you curled your lips into a frown, “why are you mad at me?”

He didn’t respond, gazing down at his oh so interesting food instead. It was difficult with you prodding around with multiple questions and staring at him like your life depended on it, but that only got him more determined. With all his effort, he did his best not to break out into a smile until he heard you say something along the lines of him looking like an adorable duckling whenever he got mad.

“Fine, fine! I’m not actually angry, I just wanted to get back at you!”

You both burst into laughter once he started to smile again, and you raised an eyebrow in amusement. “Get back at me? But for what? If I remember correctly, I hadn’t done anything bad intentionally towards you!”

The boy shook his head jokingly as he snickered, “I’m just mad at you for taking a break without me knowing! I could’ve helped you a little since we’re friends.”

Although it was 100% true as you didn’t give him a notice before, you rolled your eyes at his harsh, yet caring accusation. “Sorry, dude! But I just don’t want to bother you with all these assignments we’ve been getting...?”

A mellow hush settled between you as soon as you both finished laughing, and he cleared his throat. “In all seriousness though,” he inquired, “you must be wondering about Soobin, right?”

It was like he read the back of your mind. Your eyes immediately widened, his words taking you by surprise. You weren’t expecting Yeonjun to say anything about him in all honesty. It’d been a while since you thought of him but once doing so, the flame of guilt in you ignited, burning your throat while your mind was cowering with what to say.

He seemed to know that you were practically speechless in front of him, his lips quickly tightening into a slightly disappointed yet hopeless line.

“Soobin told me all about what happened a few weeks ago. He told me not to confront you since he wouldn’t want anyone to bother you, but I just can’t sit still because I’m really confused. If it’s not too much to ask, could you tell me what changed your mind on dating Soobin? You two are so whipped for each other!”

Sighing, you knew deep down that he was right. But what could you say when that was before?

“Jun, I was whipped for him until Beomgyu came along. I’m not sure how it happened, but slowly I think I got tired of my love not being returned and instead looked to Beomgyu who was caring for me. Eventually he did hurt me and I hated him for the time being, but everything else- to his actions, to his words told me that he really loved me instead.” You hoped that would do the trick to appease his worries, but he only pouted his lips even more.

“But Y/NNN,” he whined, “don’t you still like Soobin? You two are meant to be... as much as Beomgyu’s my friend, it’s always been you and Soobin!”

Clunk!

The loud clatter of the lunch tray being set on the table reminded you that you weren’t the only ones in the room. It was Taehyun and Kai, grinning from ear to ear in your direction to which you smiled back, but most importantly Yeonjun also had to realize your side of the story as well. You were going to reply a few seconds later until a familiar, dreamy scent caught your nose- the one that always instantly made you feel safe. Beomgyu.

Once he smiled at you, that same exact one he had put on when the two of you kissed that prom night, you could feel all the blood in your heart vividly start to thump. You couldn’t stop yourself from getting lost in his eyes, those beautiful eyes that made you feel things whenever you looked at them. To his lips then which were almost like fragrant roses, you noticed as weird thoughts rumbled in your head over and over again. Since when had he become completely alluring? This spell on you, everything in sight was so gorgeous but the only thing that made you feel sweet, strong butterflies was simply him.

Maybe later you could tell the necessary information to who was waiting in curiosity... your eyes just wouldn’t allow you to look away at the boy who took all your breath away.

Yeonjun scoffed at the interaction, shoving spoonfuls of his food into his mouth instead of commenting at how this was a bit too selfish. Sheepishly you snapped out from your trance, awkwardly waving a hello back to Beomgyu after a few moments of staring at him.

Was this what people meant when they mentioned about the expression ‘La Vie En Rose?’ In short, everything was so beautiful.

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“Gyu! Have you talked to Soobin today? I heard from Yeonjun a while ago that he isn’t doing well after um, what happened.” You skipped towards the barren willow tree of the school, doing your best to put on one the most genuine smiles you could muster for the boy who had been waiting its arrival for the longest time. Actually, you noticed you’d been happier once Beomgyu was around but you weren’t going to say it. If you took whatever this feeling was- whether romantic or platonic, you couldn’t tell Beomgyu because Soobin would absolutely be crushed to see you together. It’d be best in your opinion to keep your mouth shut.

Instead of what you expected, his eyes shot daggers at the ground, rocking back and forth on the heels of his platform shoes.

“This again? Y/N, he’s doing fine, trust me.” Beomgyu didn’t spare even one glance at you, and you sighed at his lack of empathy. He’d always been like this whenever you asked about Soobin and even if you tried to prod in, he wouldn’t say anything much. This was going to be even harder than you thought if you were going to get some factual information through him. That didn’t mean you gave up though.

Tapping his right shoulder, you finally managed to grab his attention when he looked up directly at you with a blank face. You flinched at his disinterested expression, feeling the chills crawl up your spine. Looks like annoying him physically was the best way to do it, for he stared at you with empty, soulless eyes. Sheepish because of this “stranger” in front of you, you stepped closer to him albeit a bit hesitantly. “Beomgyu, I’m just worried for him! Of all people, you should know that!”

“Know that? Know that?” He loudly scoffed at your words immediately, throwing his head up at the grey sky while tsking several times. His tongue touched the insides of his mouth, roaming around to flatten against his inner cheek. “I know, Y/N! I know! You’ve told me so many times that you’re worried for Soobin, but can’t you see?! He’s doing just fine, and you’re worrying about him nonstop when all you have to do is let go and trust him!”

In a way to protect yourself, you got defensive.

“How can I do that? You don’t know anything at all!”

He ran his fingers through his hair, rational actions broken as he didn’t know how to express his endless frustration. His fists clenched from what you saw in the corner of your eye, struggling to keep in his anger from what you said. You, on the other hand, kept going, not acknowledging the fact that you were ruining him by the second.

“I literally broke his heart!”

The boy with raven hair became tense in every second that passed, his posture stiffening once that phrase passed your lips. “By doing what?! You haven’t told me the reason why you two have been like this for weeks,” Beomgyu exasperatedly gasped, “What did you talk about back there when he asked you to come with him? What’s so wrong about me knowing about what you said?”

“He likes me! But I said I didn’t feel the same way because I think I like someone else that definitely... definitely isn’t you!” Your brain was making up its own lies just to save itself from the embarrassment at that point. Words you never thought of spitting out came out harshly and in a way which not only damaged Beomgyu, but you as well. “You- you, I’ve never liked you at all! Just give up on me already if you think I’m not worth it!

“I hate you, Beomgyu! You’re just going to hurt me again!”

The world became silent for a while, and time seemed to stop.

Opening your strained eyes for a moment, you looked back to see a pair that looked similar to Soobin’s when you told him you didn’t like him back anymore. He looked broken, lost in time as his mind replayed over and over what you said to him. Especially that one phrase he never imagined you to say.  

“S-so all of those moments meant nothing to you? That kiss back at prom, the way you became jealous when I talked to Sunhye during the time we were apart, when you asked- no, said wanted me to be right beside you forever...?” His voice broke at the last part, trying to contain the torture that you put him through just by your words.

“Beomgyu, wait, please let me explain,” you tried, reaching out a hopeless hand to calm him down. Trembling, he shook his head back and forth rapidly, water gathering up in his eyes as his drowning sobs tore both your worlds apart.

“That can’t be the truth. You said you forgave me, you said I had a chance of loving you, you said you wanted to be lovers too! Were those all lies? Because I’m not sure, your eyes tell me all and it’s telling me that I’m the only one crazy for you,” he pulled both of your hands together desperately, quivering hopelessly as he held on to them as best he could.

He was trying so hard to love you... couldn’t you see that?

The boy gazed dejectedly into your face, searching for any emotion. It was the same sadness he saw in your face that prom night, but he wasn’t able to tell if it was guilt or because he snapped back into the harsh reality. And slowly, he realized that all of his tries, all of his love, the heart he pained to give just wasn’t good enough.

“Come on, princess... You know how I feel. Just like him, I can’t keep waiting and waiting for you to make up your mind. I know we haven’t known each other for so long, but I’ve tried so hard to make you happy. I hurt myself to make you smile. I tried to act like I was okay after every single time you said something about Soobin, but it just wasn’t enough. I’ve tried so hard to love someone who obviously still loves someone else, but what you’ve said proves everything,” a tear slid down his cheek but he made no effort to try and wipe it away.

It pained you to see him become weak in front of you, the boy no longer hiding his hurt that was caused all because of you.

You didn’t answer, words completely burning up in your throat as he went on, voice teetering with every word he softly spoke.

“I know I’m being selfish here, Y/N, but it’s so hard. I think I’m getting tired of all this arguing and lying... What good will it do if you can’t even say you love me back?” With every sniffle and tear he let out, you felt your heart crumble and crash onto the hard ground. Guilt was threatening to swallow you up as you stood there, holding his broken heart in your hands while he tried to smile as strong as he could in front of you.

Every ounce of hope in him disintegrated as minutes passed, your cowardly eyes gradually moving from him to the ground. Why was he even surprised at this point? All along this was the answer- you still loved Soobin with all you had to offer; he should’ve realized it before breaking himself in the first place. Anybody could’ve told him that he was a fool in love, but maybe... just maybe he could hear you say that you loved him at least once. Was that too much to ask? And still he stood in front of you, waiting and waiting and waiting to hear that it wasn’t true- that you really did love him.

There was no point in trying to fight for this anymore if you weren’t going to be truthful to both yourself and him. He seemed to grasp this fact now. It is you and it was always you, but perhaps you just weren’t right for each other. Wasn’t this doomed in the first place though? Knowing how he felt those butterflies when you like Soobin... perhaps all of this wasn’t meant to be.

Beomgyu chuckled in a sense of sorrow, shaking his head as the impending, grey clouds above gathered around in a band of dread.

“I’ll get going now. I don’t think I’ll be able to take you home today, so I hope you understand.”

He started on his feet, walking towards the entrance that loomed over you who was finally alone. Every part of you was shouting at your brain to hurry up and tell him. Your heart was telling you to just go, not stand there like a fool as you watched him walk away from you again. Wanting so desperately to hold him as you apologized over and over again, wanting so desperately to kiss his forehead and ask him to forgive you even if it took a million of times, wanting so desperately to feel his lips melt you when he accepted it... the air in your lungs evaporated, reminding you that you needed to go out there because he was the only one who could make you breathe normally. Choi Beomgyu is still the one you love after all this time, and you need to start sprinting with everything you have in order to have your happy ending. But what right did you have when you broke two hearts anyway?

The rain started again, yet this time you didn’t have your most favorite boy in the world to save you.

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You paced through the hallways, completely drenched in your school uniform. All of the words he said kept repeating through your head. What was wrong with you? For you to feel so hopeless in this situation when it was all your doing? Are you that much of a terrible person? He promised you so many things, to make you happy, to make you genuinely smile like the first time he asked to be your friend, to give you all the love left in his heart even if it ran out. And yet, you were still hesitating on your own faults, crunching those promises as if they meant nothing to you- at least that’s what the boy you loved most assumed.

For certain you had nothing to do with Beomgyu and he had nothing to do with you anymore. As long as you two would be alright apart- though it was the complete opposite for you- then it’d be okay because at least he was happy. But why? Why did it have to sting you so bad like this?

“Y/n?! Literally, what is wrong with you?” Straightaway the voice made you grunt, unconsciously rolling your eyes as soon as you heard it. What did she want this time?

“Are you that pathetic to go through the school like that?!” Well, who else could it be other than that desperate Sunhye? She laughed at your expense while you controlled yourself not to snap at her. Her neck looked so deliciously bendable, it was a shame that you couldn’t mold it or else you’d be expelled from school at the very least. As always, she knew how to press your buttons and not to mention, become completely frustrated with yourself because it was quite certainly the truth.

“Just move along. I can’t deal with your shit today, and I want to go home before anything else, “you quietly muttered so much so that it could be impossible to hear you. That offended snarl on her face meant otherwise.

“I was actually searching the whole school to find you, Y/N. I hate you and all, but I’m just really confused when you like Soobin and still rejected him after he confessed.”

Compared to earlier, you could see her face morph into a concerned expression, voice getting softer with every word she spoke. You found it funny that now she gets involved, instead of needing to act concerned for her own sake. You sighed, shaking your head at her.

So she heard about it, huh...

“That isn’t your business, so I’m sorry. We aren’t friends anymore, you have no right to enter my private life again after what you did to me.” A fool could only assume a girl like her would leave them alone, however that wasn’t the case. You knew you weren’t one to be talking since you got the hand of revenge, although she could just piss off and that would definitely help you. You guessed that only made her angrier, for her stature became stiff with reluctance as she visibly gritted her teeth in frustration.

“And you even saw he kissed me! Didn’t that make you jealous? Didn’t my plan work?” The word plan caught your ear, and you cocked your head to the side. What was she talking about? She had a plan- which you assumed to break you and Soobin apart when you were friends- this whole time? You should’ve known she’d be up one night concocting the plan of your demise.

She nodded her head at your confusion, acting as if she was all high and mighty for doing so, “yes I did have a plan if that’s what you’re thinking. But you know me, I’m not going to make this easy especially for you. Just tell me why you aren’t together and maybe I’ll tell you about it.”

There was exactly nothing else to say between the two of you. If she had a plan, so be it. What was the point if your world already crashed upon your shoulders?

“I don’t care about your plan,” you spat out. “Leave me alone, Sunhye. I’m so tired.”

Instead she kept prodding into your head like the annoying, droning mosquito she is.

“Could it possibly be about Beomgyu? Poor little dirty mutt, you know he’s only going to leave you in the end like before and you’re still going back to him. Haven’t you been taught that already?”

“Don’t say things like that! You don’t know him, how could you possibly think that?!”

She shook her head, a smug glint in her eyes as she drew closer to you in tiny steps. “Are you kidding? This plan that I’m talking about, you do know that Beomgyu was part of it right? Matter of fact, he was one of the key subjects that I used in order to perfect everything.”

“What do you mean?” Discombobulation rushed through your system as you followed her eyes to your shaking hands once the realization hit you. Of course there was a possibility she could be lying, but you knew better than that. You easily couldn’t forget how you and Beomgyu literally hated each other before, but now...  it wasn’t so long since you reconciled. But he wouldn’t do that, right?

“He wouldn’t do that to me, he said he loved me,” you gasped out, the breath in your lungs turning into dust the moment she said that.

“Well hate to break it to you, but once you proved you were a terrible person by giving away his hoodie to me that one day, he said he hated you a lot. To this day, I’m sure he was lying to me- the look in his eyes said it all. We made up a plan to make your life miserable by crushing your love with Bin, the only boy you ever loved your whole entire life. Most of it was finished, with almost all of the school population hating you. Plus, your friendship or your soon to be relationship with Soobin was basically crumbling since the time for you to confess could’ve been pretty soon. That isn’t the point, although I must say that I made sure I kissed him so you’d be jealous and come out clean. I just wasn’t expecting him to say he liked you back first before Beomgyu ruined everything with his damn feelings.”

“Yes, and that was in the past,” you countered.

She laughed at how naive you were, shrugging her shoulders like she knew something you didn’t. “Yes, it was. And it’s hard to believe that you hurt him even if he told you he loved you so many times. Tell me, Y/N, you never really did love Beomgyu, right?”

If your morals weren’t holding you back, you’d for sure already charged at her already. Gosh, how many toxic traits must she have and why didn’t you realize them earlier?!

“No, you’re wrong! I loved him! I still do! Stop making assumptions when you don’t know anything about us!” It was so hard to contain yourself in slapping her silly, but you had to remain calm. This isn’t what Beomgyu would like you to do even if a serious argument was in the way of both of you.

“I don’t know anything? You two danced while I kissed Soobin. How do you think I’ll ever forget that? You’re such a whore, you really can’t go a day without playing with other peoples’ feelings.

“What? You can’t speak anymore?! So I was right!

“You don’t deserve Soobin either. And since you’ve just declared you don’t love Beomgyu at all, I think I’ve just found a new target.”

That’s it. You’ve had enough.

“Will you shut your mouth, you desperate slut?! You can’t expect any of them to love you at all when you act like this! If you really wanted to love Beomgyu in the first place, then you would have to get through me first!”

“Why, you-” she threw her hands towards you, hoping to land a hit first until something dark red like dried up blood caught your eye. What in the world could that be? You gripped her arm before she could pull away, the wonder holding you captive in your spot as you took a good look at what she was hiding under that fabric. Her sleeve slipped, unveiling multiple gashes of bruised, unhealed skin as if someone forcefully clawed its way through the layers with a sharp object.

Lee Sunhye... the one you hated so much for hurting you, the one you thought was perfectly happy in damaging her relationships with others, the one you despised to the ends of this earth- was secretly hurting herself?

She retracted her arm the second you noticed it, wrapping her wrist with a trembling hand.

And without you realizing...

“You didn’t see that... please, tell me you didn’t see what needed to be hidden!”

Without you thinking that the sensitive girl trapped inside of her was actually hurt all this time...

“Sunhye? You’re cutting?”

Without you ever asking about her day when things got tough on her...

“Wait, no I’m not! Your eyes were playing tricks on you, there-” you grabbed her wrist, flinging her towards you as you checked the fresh scars on her wrist. Scanning profusely at what she did to herself, you slowly let go to watch her hide her face in her hands with embarrassment. Was this the reason why she had worn long sleeved shirts most of the time even if she hated them?

You were hurting her yourself without even realizing it, failing to open your eyes to see what you’ve done. This must’ve been one of the ways she coped through her suffering, inflicting terrible cuts in order to make the pain go away.

“Sunhye, I’m so sorry... I had no clue you were going through this, I’m so sorry.”

She couldn’t help the tears that welled around her tired eyes, falling down one by one as she stared at the sympathetic expression that belonged to her best friend from before. You reached out to her, and she stepped away hesitantly, afraid that she would be hurt again. The girl did her best to appear strong in front of you, but those vulnerable eyes and teetering voice gave it all away.

“Don’t be silly, Y/N! Don’t think like that, it’s just marker that my friend used to draw on me during class,” she frantically scrambled, backing away as you inched closer to her by the second.

“Sunhye, you’re cutting, why didn’t you tell someone?”

Her voice wobbled, running back and forth from the lie and the truth. “Me? I’m not cutting, I just told you! I’m happy, only someone pathetic enough would cut!”

Even the look on her face told you enough and that she knew deep inside you weren’t able to believe that.

Instead of what she expected- like for you to make fun of her, you pulled her into your arms, holding her tightly despite her wandering hands that slammed against your back in a weak manner to scare you away.

“You’re going to spread rumors about me, aren’t you? You’re going to tell everyone that I’m not perfect.

“You’re going to make sure everyone hates me after this. You’re going to show everyone I’m the worst like you always unintentionally have when we used to be friends.

“You’re going to make sure I end up all alone like you did to me with Soobin.”

Gradually the hits became weaker, and you knew right then and there that she never had the heart to hurt you in the first place if the both of you never experienced this brawl. Yes, you should’ve looked at her side before taking revenge, but perhaps this is a sign to look towards the present and future at the very least.

Her agonizing accusations stung, letting you sigh as you felt her fall into your embrace. It’s been so long since you’ve been closer to her like this that it felt strange, almost alien-like.

“I promise I’ll fix everything. We don’t have to be friends, but I’ll make sure to be here for you whenever you need it,” you reassured, holding her in your arms while she sobbed as hard as she could. It felt so nice to finally let someone know about her attempts to hurt herself where she succeeded, but she was so afraid you weren’t going to keep your promise. After all, how could she trust herself too when she was the one that ruined your friendship?

“I’m so sorry, Y/N... I’m so sorry for what I did.”

“It’s okay,” you cooed. “It’s going to be okay.”

She didn’t know that you were right. You were going to do everything you could to fix everything.

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“Hey, Y/N are you okay? You don’t look too good.” Snapping out of your trance, you looked to see Taehyun and Kai stroll down from the science room towards your direction and in front of you to which they gazed worriedly.

Were you okay? No of course not, you possibly couldn’t be.

But should you lie? Or should you tell the truth?

Either of them wouldn’t work out. You couldn’t say what you wanted to say. Your throat felt too tight- you really couldn’t say anything about how you were feeling because all this guilt built up from inside of you was threatening to explode.

When you didn’t respond, both of the boys glanced at each other, content expressions turning into puzzled ones. When had the atmosphere become so thick with awkwardness? Taehyun was about to speak up when another voice interrupted him. “Are you looking for Beomgyu? I saw him leave the school without you, so I was confused,” Kai chirped in, a sheepish smile on his face.

There was no point in hiding it anymore.

You sniffled wantonly, shutting your eyes shut from the burning in your chest. It made you want to throw up from how much it hurt. You laid a hand over it, clenching your fists when it only became stronger in response. “No, actually. I-I’m not fine. I just made a terrible mistake that hurt Beomgyu and I... I don’t know what to do.”

It’s as if they knew about this, and Taehyun groaned at the miscommunication without surprise. He ran his hands over his face in disappointment while Kai mirrored the same action. “Y/N, that means he’s hesitating as well! You need to hurry up and do something in order for both of you to be happy!”

“There was nothing I could do about it. I hurt him and that’s the worst thing I could do to someone who’s only been so caring about me this whole time,” you muttered under your breath as you hid your face in between your fingers. Pathetic enough, you did your best not to break out in tears in front of the younger ones despite feeling the tense air in your lungs become less and less.

Taehyun sighed at this, shaking his head in distaste. “You know, you shouldn’t look at things in the past anymore. Although it’s hard, you need to start looking towards the present and future in order for things to become better.”

“But you don’t understand! After what I’ve done to Beomgyu, he would hate me too like Soobin...”

The two of them exchanged weird looks, taking turns to look down at the floor as if it was much more interesting than what they had to say. So it was all about Beomgyu again, huh? To be honest, they weren’t surprised.

Evidently, Taehyun had enough of this and the anger bottled up inside from this situation of only watching had burst. He charged towards you, shaking your shoulders as his knuckles turned white from gripping too hard. “Why are you so hesitant, Y/N? Whoever you like, you know you can’t give up! If you don’t want to lose Beomgyu the same way you’ve done with Soobin, then tell him before it’s too late!”

You stiffened in your spot, shoes planted on the floor- what was he talking about?

“Too late...? I haven’t...” You were at a loss for words, eyes finally opening after all this time. They subtly grinned at you, taking in the fact that their advice was doing well for the first time. Taehyun and Kai were right, you shouldn’t keep him waiting when in the future, you could lose him eventually because of your hesitation!

“I- I love-” Kai cut off your words, pushing you towards the entrance of the school with a strong shove, “it doesn’t matter! Just go!”

You then saw the same figure who you’d been hoping for this whole entire time before he darted from your sight, sprinting away as you screamed for him to come back.

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“Beomgyu, wait! Come back, please!”

The door loudly shut behind you as you frantically ran, holding your breath as your eyes darted back and forth between his retreating figure and your shoes which could slip at any moment. The creak of the gate echoed behind you in crooked violin whines, sending chills up your back to finally realize you were the one chasing him after all this time. In a dazzling moment, all your chances were taken forcefully from your head and you stared cautiously at the sidewalk whose cracks filled up with pouring water.

Knowing how difficult it was to perform the action of sprinting on the wet ground, it was no doubt that you would most likely fall onto the rough concrete which would probably scratch your legs out til they bled. But honestly, did you really care? No, not enough, obviously.

Luminous lights from the cars blinded your eyes as you sprinted on the sidewalk for him, making you retract slightly at how much brighter they were than the golden sun from last summer. That cheery, joyous summer when you had your first set up date with... him. Had it really been that long since you were happy together? Just when you were starting to have smiles with him again, and everything was ripped away. But whose fault is that? Your hands swiftly covered your stinging eyes, but this was such a disadvantage that prohibited you from achieving your favorite dream.

The person who mattered most was Beomgyu. And he was right in front of you, running from someone who hurt him. You knew right then and there that it wasn’t right to keep chasing him after what you’ve said, but at least you were trying as hard as you could! It didn’t matter if you accidentally fell or hurt yourself as you ran trying to get to him because you’d do anything just to explain to him that you were wrong! This was your doing- you had a chance to make everything right, and you weren’t going to take that chance for granted ever again.

“Ahhh!”

Speaking too soon has its effects, and you slipped to the ground while groaning in pain. It was too much for you to handle this time. The rough concrete scathed your legs, creating a terrible, ripped hole in your knee high white socks you weren’t sure you could wear again. Pain rushed over you in seconds, white flashing running through your clawed skin to the rest of your nerves. The street pavement scraped long stripes of red against your thighs and every second of slipping on top of it was pure torture to you. It blazed so much that it felt like sharp claws dug into you with every scratch that came. Your legs jolted with an overwhelming, flashing agony and you let out a moan of misery, quickly glancing at the dripping, crimson blood that ensued with them.

“Ow...”

However the ache in your chest caused more pain than anything else you could’ve ever imagined, burning horribly as it heaved up and down with several, shallow breaths. Your mind was in reels trying to make up a solution for your slip up. You wanted to keep going; you really wanted to, but your body just wouldn’t listen! This was the last thing you could resort to, to at least explain that you were in the wrong. Otherwise he’d never talk to you again and going through that for the nth time would cause irreparable damage to your being.

This was all because of you, you had to keep reminding yourself. He left you because of what you said to him, and he never did anything like that before. It hurt more than anything to see the boy you loved whose heart that used to be filled with joy, broken. You couldn’t be surprised anymore at your words, but the taste of torture lingered on the tip of your tongue.

All of your actions, all of it building up in terms to say I love you to him - the only words you’ve truly needed to say to him from the beginning- were left on the street, practically being run over by busy vehicles while you lied there pathetically on the sidewalk.

You desperately reached your hand out to where you had last seen him running, your vision failing you as you looked left and right for any sign on him. He would never leave you like this, would he? And you knew you were simply deluding yourself in this situation that all occurred because of you, but maybe... just maybe he would show up like he always did.

But he wasn’t there and you were left alone just like in the beginning.

You felt glistening tears well up in your eyes as the rain boomed heavily all around you. The lights of the cars soon carried away, leaving you all in the darkness where you slowly felt the hope building in your heart to crash and deteriorate every second. In a moment your reached out hand was abandoned by you too, falling to the ground where the noir shadows of the dreary clouds covered your ashamed face.

“It’s too late now. I can’t tell you what I wanted to say.

“And I’m sorry for not being better, but I just didn’t know how to say it.

“Beomgyu, I... I love you.”

You failed.

Pit!

Pat!

“You idiot, you’re bleeding now.”

Suddenly you felt the cover of an umbrella envelope overhead, protecting you from all the heavy rain that poured in every direction. You dare didn’t look up from your spot, too scared to think he was really there. That one and only soothing voice belonged to Beomgyu, however at the same time you didn’t want to believe it. Your brain must be playing tricks on you after an event as such.

“Come on, let’s get up now. You know that you really do look like a fool after falling like that.”

The only things you could hear was his chuckles, an exact replica of how he would laugh at you whenever you did something stupid. Great, now this just signaled off the bat that you were starting to miss him even more.

“Princess, I promise you that it’s me,” the voice kept encouraging you. You covered your ears with trembling hands, afraid that all of this wasn’t real. “And I’m not mad at you, so please just look at me.”

The shuffling of his clothes from beside you made you steal a quick glance towards the drenched boy, only to gasp with shock that he was really there. He’d been kneeling for a while now, the evidence clear as day when you looked at the wet marks on his pants. You frowned, wanting to hide yourself from him again. How long had it been since he arrived? You didn’t like it at all when he saw you like this, but some part of you believed that this would only prove for the better.

He then pulled you up, letting you cling onto him since your legs were shaking with fragility. You did your best to stand up yourself by pushing him away, too embarrassed to let him hold you for the meantime. Although you were successful for a second or two, the intent gaze in his eyes made you fall on top of him again- this time on his chest where you shied away.

You opted to glance up at him as much as he staring at you, tears welling up in your eyes while you tried to tell him everything simultaneously.

“How can you not be mad at me? Beomgyu, I know it must be too late to say I’m sorry but...

“You mean the world to me and I need you more than anyone I’ve ever wanted. I feel incomplete without you and not having you beside me makes me want to disappear. I don’t know why I haven’t realized these feelings long ago and I’m a terrible person for not doing so, but please... You have no clue how much you mean to me and losing you, the only boy who’s made me feel like this would mean inevitable loss.

“Hey, look... there’s no need to-”

“I’m too young to really grasp what love is, but I know you’ve made me so happy. You’ve made me the happiest I’ve ever been. I don’t think words will be enough to say how thankful I am to you, really. It’s not fair to you that I haven’t been doing the same thing, but now I’m going to tell you what’s straight from my heart.”

“Y/N, give me a sec-”

“and that’s everything. From your smile that’s been making me crazy, to your voice which calms me down whenever I hear it and especially you who makes me feel so comfortable being myself. I know it sounds incredibly cheesy but I’m absolutely crazy for you and after all this time with no doubt, you’re still the one that I think of when I lie awake in bed every night. I think about you way too much for my own good but I find it endearing how much I’m completely enamored by you. See? Look how I can’t do anything or be myself without you!”

The expression in his face told you he wasn’t having it and you crumbled under his intimidating stare with hooded eyes. He furrowed his eyebrows, crossing his arms when you clearly had much more to say. The flame burning in you vanished little by little with every second he maintained eye contact as you tightly clenched your sweating fists.

“I didn’t want to say it now when the world is currently against me, but I just need to tell you that I-” he easily shut you up a moment later, pressing his index finger against your mouth while you blubbered with several words neither of you could understand. He grinned a little bit at this somewhat innocence, but you weren’t satisfied with his reaction at all. Did he not believe you this time? Was it not enough? You were aching to prove more but didn’t know how!

“Can you calm down for a second, princess?! I kno-”

“Then will this be enough?”

You pressed your lips against him in an instant, arms wrapping around and over his neck as you pulled him down to meet you. Your eyes automatically closed, drowned in endearment while Beomgyu’s opened wide, too stunned to focus on what was happening.

The boy immediately dropped the black umbrella against the flooding ground, letting the breezing wind carry it away when he finally realized his dreams were at last happening. The sound made an almost discreet plop, but it was suffice to say that you didn’t give one crap about it. You just melted into the kiss all the more when he responded back, falling against his chest while his fingers danced over your waist as if he was going to lose you any moment. You swore you could feel your heart swell with love the moment he smiled against your lips, somehow managing to pull you closer while you sighed in relief.

Did this mean that he was yours and you were his now?

Beomgyu stared at you with hooded eyes when he backed away, breathless and too stunned to regain focus of what was happening. When you reluctantly pulled away too, you noticed you were were panting and trying to restore breath through shallow intakes of air. The looks you sent each other were completely endearing and you buried your face in his chest all the more while he couldn’t help but contain the laughter from inside. Judging by how much serotonin his adorable giggles were giving you, you could tell that he still felt the same way in and out, seeing pink all over which only signified a one true love.

He then broke the silence, swiping his thumb a few times over your lips. "You don’t know how long I’ve been wanting to do that,” he admitted, cupping your cheek while you softened into his warm touch. Whenever you were with him, your heart bloomed into a pretty flower.

Relishing in the red roses that bloomed all around you two, you gently interlocked his fingers with his to which he instantly held back. This wasn’t a Wattpad fanfic or a drama but you felt as if you were the happiest girl in the world. Having him right beside you, being able to tell him how much you loved him because you finally realized you weren’t being true to yourself this whole time was something you never expected, but one thing you deserved. In order to have a happy ending, you had to keep going and not give up in the end even when things got tough because the inevitable promises of living would reward you in the end. You guessed that you had gotten it now because the love of your life was right before you, and you could finally look at him with love in your eyes.

“I just chased after you to say I love you,” you breathlessly giggled, pulling him closer to your body which was shaking with euphoria.

The erupting cheers from beside the gate made you turn and you looked at each and every single one of your friends cheering for the both of you. Yeonjun was excitingly screaming with joy while Taehyun and Kai jumped up and down together, tightly linking hands since their plan of getting you together had at last worked. The sudden support overwhelmed your senses when you glanced to see who was there as well. Right beside them was Soobin who was shooting you a genuine smile as tears filled up his chocolate, brown eyes. You grinned at him back, just in time to see Sunhye who was also clapping for the two of you.

Beomgyu quickly turned your attention back to him, kissing your cheek delicately as he whispered for only you to hear:

“I love you too.”

٩๑۶⁎⁍̴̆⁎ ๑)｡ﾟ´`ﾟ٩๑۶⁎⁍̴̆⁎ ๑)｡ﾟ´`ﾟ٩๑۶⁎⁍̴̆⁎ ๑)｡ﾟ

Posted: 3/7/21- 12:24am

(Y’all. Omg. I’m literally shaking as I write this. Like... I can’t believe it. Right off the bat, I feel as if I’m going to miss this series so much. I know it was all over the place since I started writing a year ago and I want to apologize sincerely for every mistake I’ve forgotten or clearly remember or for the cringy moments along the way too. I can’t say much, for I’m speechless right now. It was so much fun to write a series and to be completely honest with you, I never expected it to turn out this way. At first I really wanted to an ending with Soobin and another part with Beomgyu, but I guess this is how things turned out(?) I wanted to see who my readers were cheering for and I wanted to crush or lift their hearts through the ending. My poor soobinnie bby though :cc i promise i love you so so so much and i’ll make it up to you one day~~ And beomgyu bby how dare you steal my heart like this. ANYWAY NOT THE POINT !! thanks to everyone who read this mess and enjoyed it ! I’m so flattered to even get a note for this and finishing this was one of the most satisfying things I’d ever done in this lifetime. Like... finally. I don’t have to stress about writing another part to this when I know some people are waiting. And those people are really the best !! (especially teddy bear anon hehe >3<) I just... I don’t really know what else to say other than i’m so happy yet so sad at how i finally completed this. it’s a long list of words but whoever read this.. i love you so much !! ++ again, here’s just a special thanks to everyone who read. i love you so much and i hope that if i ever write a series ever again, you’ll be the first ones to read it <33 thank you for showing my series some love. i’ll never be able to repay you for such kindness my pink rats 🥺🥺🥺💗💖 goodbye, inevitable promises. )

Tags:

#txt fluff #txt angst #txt reactions #txt scenarios #txt imagines #txt series #beomgyu fluff #beomgyu angst #beomgyu scenarios #beomgyu imagines #beomgyu series #beomgyu oneshots #soobin fluff #soobin angst #soobin scenarios #soobin imagines #soobin series #soobin oneshot #beomgyu oneshot #txt oneshot #im shaking and crying rn #i cant believe its over #and that ive actually completed it #i'm just... speechless #could yall tell me your thoughts #id appreciate it sm #please #and... with that #farewell inevitable promises

[masterkief]

hiii this is really gross and I’m ashamed...pls forgive me and hopefully u enjoy. Also I did this from ryan’s pov so like idk?

- -

Heaven. I never really thought it existed, until tonight that is. Call me a weeb, corny, lame, whatever you want but when she walked into the room every once and a while and she danced with herself as she chatted up friends it felt as if the earth stood still and I was in the presence of a goddess. It was Saturday and some friends and I had gone to a party for the night. She was dressed in tight light blue dress that was decorated in various Animal Crossing characters, gripping at her curves in all the right ways.  Her hair was twisted in loose curls that fell just below her breasts and her smooth skin gleamed just as bright as her eyes.

“Aye ya big goof, just go talk to her!”

Although Matt was sitting right next to me his voice had gone distant as soon as my mystery girl had entered my vision. A sudden hand waved in front of my face attempting to draw my attention back to reality. I blinked slowly and reluctantly looked in his direction, my mind refusing to draw away from her. “Her” I didn’t even know “her” name, I didn’t know anything about her but still I was instantly infatuated.

“What?” I half growled, irritated that he took my attention from her.

He raised his eyebrows shocked at my irritable reaction, and then smirked when he realized why I was so mad.

“Go talk to her.” He suggested pointing his head her way.

I slowly turned my head back towards where she last stood and felt my stomach fall when I realized that she had vanished again. My eyebrows furrowed with slight annoyance that I had missed my chance because Matt needed me to look at him. I forced myself up but not before pounding my fist into his shoulder. The slight buzz from the alcohol I had gulped down was beginning to take over and I could feel my vision growing blurry. I searched the house up and down trying to find the girl who flooded my thoughts since the beginning of the night but found no luck.

“Fuck.” I grumbled to myself stopping in front of the table full of alcohol.

Drinking probably wasn’t the best idea if I was going to talk to this girl but my nerves were shot already and I hadn’t even spoken to her yet. As I was pouring the whiskey into my glass I glanced up and noticed the girl from before standing right dead in front of me, her eyes examining my entire existence intently as if she were reading right through to my soul. A hidden fiery lust began to burn through my veins and I wasn’t paying attention to my glass that was now overflowing with Jack.

“Shit!” I cried as the sticky substance soaked my hand and the table.

The girl giggled timidly to herself as she watched me flail and panic to quickly clean up my mess. When I had gotten it under control I looked up to see her smiling at me from behind her hair, her alcohol glossed eyes gleaming beautifully under the dimly lit kitchen light.

“Am I funny to you yeah?”

I guess they don’t call alcohol life’s “liquid confidence” for nothing because the confidence that suddenly filled my mouth shocked even myself. The girl chuckled again and raised an eyebrow seductively.

“In fact,” She started, leaning closer to me.

My eyes tried not to avert to her cleavage that was protruding from the top of her dress but I failed which caused her to laugh again and my cheeks to burn a deep shade of embarrassment.

“You are quite funny.” She finished slowly standing straight up again.

She put her cup to her mouth and took a sip. A droplet of the drink sat dormant on her bottom lip, her tongue soon traced the plump pink flesh to clean it off and she made sure her eyes never left mine. Hunger filled her brilliant eyes and I could feel a hunger of my own pressing firmly against the inside of my basketball shorts. My head began to spin quickly as the burst of confidence from before began to drain quickly, nervousness filling its place.

“So…” She began again placing her cup down. “What’s your name Mr. Funny?”

Words trapped themselves in my throat as I picked my brain for what my own name was.

“R-Ry…Ryan…Ryan my friends call me Ryan.” I stammered from both nerves and the liquor that swam through my veins.

The girl smiled again and shifted in place so that she was putting all her weight on her right leg and the table.

“Well R-Ry-Ryan,” She mimicked playfully. “I’m Y/N.”

‘Y/N’…her name floated through my head rapidly. I thought of beautiful things, like sunshine and rain and fields and fucking her mercilessly right here for everyone to see. A harsh throbbing erupted through my groin at the thought and my breath hitched in my throat.  Y/N’s eyes slowly moved from mine down to my hips and she absentmindedly licked her lips again.

“Ryan.” She stated knocking me from my inappropriate thoughts.

My eyes met with hers again as words escaped me. She tilted her head upward and eyebrow rose.

“Follow me.” She demanded with another radiant smile.

Without a word or even a thought of detesting I made my way to her side. She put her hand in mine causing a shot of electricity to ravage my spine as she led me throughthe living room where the music was the loudest. My head was spinning more rapidly now and I felt as if I might explode. 

We ended up on the patio, a cool breeze sending a chill down my spine.

“You smoke?” Y/N asked as she plopped down at the little glass table.

I watched as she pulled a blunt from her purse and cracked it open with her thumbnail, spilling the tabacco guts into the bush behind her. Without a word I sat down across from her, watching as if she might disappear.

“What?” She asked, looking up at me from beneath her eyelashes, “Never seen the devil’s lettuce before?”

She finished packing the blunt with the all too familiar green substance and I couldn’t help but watch her run her tongue across the end to seal it. She knew exactly what she was doing to me.

Lighting it, she took a few hits then passed it in my direction. It was as if I never smoked before and I smoked every fucking day. Trying to keep my hand from shaking as best I could, I took it from her.

“First time?” She teased with a playful laugh, exhaling the smoke.

I couldn’t help but snicker as I passed it back to her, “I wish.”

We sat outside for what seemed like forever. My brain was finally able to comprehend sentences and by the time we finished the blunt it felt like we were long lost friends just catching up.

“You’re really cute.”

Her sudden compliment caught me off guard, causing me to choke on my cigarette. She giggled into her cup as she took a sip of her drink.

“I’m sorry.” She started, “That was really weird.”

Ha...weird? I’ve been obsessing over her the entire night and she felt weird?

“You’re joking right?” I blurted out, sounding more harsh than intended.

Her eyebrows pulled together with confusion and offense. Way to go Magee..

“Sorry.” I apologized quickly, throwing my cigarette butt. “It’s just you’re a fucking babe.”

She bit her bottom lip and stood up from her chair.

“Come with me.” She whispered, leaning into my ear as she passed me.

I obeyed silently as she led me back into the house and eventually down a darkened hallway. She didn’t even give me a chance to make a move as she suddenly threw me up against the wall towards the end of the hall, her mouth destroying mine. She bit at my bottom lip causing a throaty moan to escape from my mouth.

“Fuck me Ryan.” She ordered in a harsh whisper against my neck.

My hands grabbed and squeezed eagerly at every inch of her as we backed towards a door still attached to each other. We busted through not even checking if anyone was already occupying it and closed the door quickly behind us. I threw Y/N to the bed roughly, our bodies only parting briefly so that I could eye her up as she laid on her back, her breasts coming out of the top of her dress even more. I licked my lips and quickly put them on hers again. Soon they traveled to her jaw…then her neck…and then her collarbone as I left sloppy kisses and bites against her skin. I tore her dress down to her waist violently not being able to hold back any longer.

“Ryan.” She moaned as my mouth planted itself onto her right breast.

I bit and nipped at the skin making sure to let my tongue trace her perfectly hardened nipple. Slowly but surely I moved downward gliding my tongue down the valley of her stomach, stopping right at her hips. I heard her breath lodge itself in her throat as I got dangerously close to her core. My hands gripped her thighs, my thumbs digging into the inside of each one causing her to buck her hips upward. I moved back up to her face and her hands tugged at the top of my shorts. Our lips crashed together fiercely as I ground my hips into hers causing a more audible moan to come from her mouth. My shorts soon found their way to my ankles and I kicked them off, then sliding Y/N’s panties off from under her dress. We reconnected once again as I readied myself at her entrance.

“Come on funny guy.” She groaned eagerly, wanting me to enter her. “Show me what you’ve got.”

I smirked and raised an eyebrow, the tip of my cock now right against her slit. Her eyes widened, in complete disbelief that I was teasing her. She forced herself upward trying to push it in for me but I pulled away every time knowing it was driving her crazy.

“Please.” She begged. “Please Ryan just fuck me.”

Her begging set me off and with her least expecting it I plunged deep into her warm, and wet center. As her noises of pleasure grew louder and louder I pumped harder and harder into her, the headboard of the strangers bed surely putting dents in the wall.

“Ryan.” She cried, her walls getting tighter around me. “Ryan I-...I’m close already.”

I smiled against her neck and thrust into her as hard as I possibly could, surely about to break her. 

“Not until I tell you to.” I ordered, my voice shaking as I got close to my own explosion.

I pulled away from her neck and placed my hand over her mouth to keep any outside audience on the edge of their seats. Wrecking into her I felt her breath on the palm of my hand grow faster, indicating that she was right at the edge and unable to take anymore.

“Cum for me Y/N, cum!” I growled against her ear.

Soon enough she screamed my name into my hand, her muffled cry of ecstasy setting me off as well. I collapsed next to her, both of us breathing heavily.

“Christ.” She breathed heavily her legs trembling.

“I’m not just good at being funny.” I teased, my hand now resting on her thigh.

Y/N laughed her lovely laugh, which made my head continue to spin.

“I see that…”

#ryan magee x reader #ryan magee fic #ryan magee imagine #ryan magee oneshot #ryan magee #supermega fic #supermega oneshot #supermega x reader #supermega imagine #supermega #matt and ryan #requests open #requests

[kookie-doughs]

Y/N L/N AND THE HALFBLOODS

Percy Jackson X Reader -Y/N L/N met Percy Jackson and everything was now ruined.

CHAPTER 11: Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double

In a way, it's nice to know there are Greek gods out there, because you have somebody to blame when things go wrong. For instance, when you're walking away from a bus that's just been attacked by monster hags and blown up by lightning, and it's raining on top of everything else, most people might think that's just really bad luck; when you're a half-blood, you understand that some divine force really is trying to mess up your day. Which was actually what's happening. So there we were, Annabeth, Percy, Grover and I, walking through the woods along the New Jersey riverbank, the glow of New York City making the night sky yellow behind us, and the smell of the Hudson reeking in our noses. Percy and I walked side by side with our hand still connected. Grover was shivering and braying, his big goat eyes turned slit-pupiled and full of terror. "Three Kindly Ones. All three at once. I was pretty much in shock myself. The explosion of bus windows still rang in my ears. But Annabeth kept pulling us along, saying: "Come on! The farther away we get, the better. "All our money was back there," Percy reminded her. "Our food and clothes. Everything." "Well, maybe if you hadn't decided to jump into the fight—" "What did you want me to do? Let you guys get killed? I was not going to leave Y/N." "You didn't need to protect me, Percy. I would've been fine." "Sliced like sandwich bread," Grover put in, "but fine." "Shut up, goat boy," I said. Grover brayed mournfully. "Tin cans... a perfectly good bag of tin cans." We sloshed across mushy ground, through nasty twisted trees that smelled like sour laundry. After a few minutes, Annabeth fell into line next to Percy. "Look, I..." Her voice faltered. "I appreciate your coming back for us, okay? That was really brave." "We're a team, right?" She was silent for a few more steps. "It's just that if you died... aside from the fact that it would really suck for you, it would mean the quest was over. This may be my only chance to see the real world." The thunderstorm had finally let up. The city glow faded behind us, leaving us in almost total darkness. Do you want to see?

Yeah that would be nice.

It was as if it was morning, I could see everything clearly. I wandered my head to make sure I could see everything. This is cool. "You okay?" Percy asked. "Yeah," Not really a fan of the current silence I turned to Annabeth. "You haven't left Camp Half-Blood since you were seven?" I asked her. "No... only short field trips. My dad—" "The history professor." "Yeah. It didn't work out for me living at home. I mean, Camp Half-Blood is my home." She was rushing her words out now, as if she were afraid somebody might try to stop her. "At camp you train and train. And that's all cool and everything, but the real world is where the monsters are. That's where you learn whether you're any good or not." If I didn't know better, I could've sworn I heard doubt in her voice. "You're pretty good with that knife," I said. "You think so?" "Yeah maybe you can teach me some tricks. "Anybody who can piggyback-ride a Fury is okay by me." Percy smiled. I couldn't really see, but I thought she might've smiled. "You know," she said, "maybe I should tell you... Something funny back on the but..." Whatever she wanted to say was interrupted by a shrill toot-toot-toot, like the sound of an owl being tortured. "Hey, my reed pipes still work!" Grover cried. "If I could just remember a 'find path' song, we could get out of these woods!" He puffed out a few notes, but the tune still sounded suspiciously like Hilary Duff. Seeing a tree coming up I tried to pull Percy to avoid it but Percy immediately slammed into a tree and got a nice-size knot on his head. I suppressed my laugh by covering my mouth which made Percy glare at me. After tripping and cursing and generally feeling miserable for another mile or so, I started to see light up ahead: the colors of a neon sign. I could smell food. Fried, greasy, excellent food. I realized I hadn't eaten anything unhealthy since I'd arrived at Half-Blood Hill, where we lived on grapes, bread, cheese, and extra-lean-cut nymph-prepared barbecue. This kid needed a double cheeseburger. >We kept walking until I saw a deserted two-lane road through the trees. On the other side was a closed-down gas station, a tattered billboard for a 1990s movie, and one open business, which was the source of the neon light and the good smell. It wasn't a fast-food restaurant like I'd hoped. It was one of those weird roadside curio shops that sell lawn flamingos and wooden Indians and cement grizzly bears and stuff like that. The main building was a long, low warehouse, surrounded by acres of statuary. The neon sign above the gate was impossible for me to read, because if there's anything worse for my dyslexia than regular English, it's red cursive neon English. To me, it looked like: ATNYU MES GDERAN GOMEN MEPROUIM. "What the heck does that say?" I asked. "I don't know," Annabeth said. She loved reading so much, I'd forgotten she was dyslexic, too. Grover translated: "Aunty Em's Garden Gnome Emporium." Flanking the entrance, as advertised, were two cement garden gnomes, ugly bearded little runts, smiling and waving, as if they were about to get their picture taken. I crossed the street, following the smell of the hamburgers. "Hey..." Grover warned. "The lights are on inside," Annabeth said. "Maybe it's open." "Snack bar," I said wistfully. "Snack bar," Percy agreed. "Snack bar," Annabeth joined. "Are you three crazy?" Grover said. "This place is weird." We ignored him. The front lot was a forest of statues: cement animals, cement children, even a cement satyr playing the pipes, which gave Grover the creeps. "Bla-ha-ha!" he bleated. "Looks like my Uncle Ferdinand!" We stopped at the warehouse door. "Don't knock," Grover pleaded. "I smell monsters." I turned to look at my knife. It had a light glow emitting from it. Probably because it was sheathed. "I think there's monsters." I was now reluctant and sided with Grover. "Grover's nose is clogged up from the Furies," Annabeth told him. "All I smell is burgers. Aren't you hungry?" "Meat!" he said scornfully. "I'm a vegetarian." "You eat cheese enchiladas and aluminum cans," Percy reminded him.. "Those are vegetables. Come on. Let's leave. These statues are... looking at me."

"Percy, I don't think---"

"It'll be fine." Percy took my hand and went in. Be careful and don't look. Then the door creaked open, and standing in front of us was a tall Middle Eastern woman—at least, I assumed she was Middle Eastern, because she wore a long black gown that covered everything but her hands, and her head was completely veiled. Her eyes glinted behind a curtain of black gauze, but that was about all I could make out. Her coffee-colored hands looked old, but well-manicured and elegant, so I imagined she was a grandmother who had once been a beautiful lady. >Her accent sounded vaguely Middle Eastern, too. She said, "Children, it is too late to be out all alone. Where are your parents?" "They're... um..." Annabeth started to say. "We're orphans," I said. "Orphans?" the woman said. The word sounded alien in her mouth. "But, my dears! Surely not!" "We got separated from our caravan," Percy said. "Our circus caravan. The ringmaster told us to meet him at the gas station if we got lost, but he may have forgotten, or maybe he meant a different gas station. Anyway, we're lost. Is that food I smell?" "Oh, my dears," the woman said. "You must come in, poor children. I am Aunty Em. Go straight through to the back of the warehouse, please. There is a dining area. We thanked her and went inside. Annabeth muttered to Percy, "Circus caravan?" "Always have a strategy, right?" "Your head is full of kelp." The warehouse was filled with more statues—people in all different poses, wearing all different outfits and with different expressions on their faces. I was thinking you'd have to have a pretty huge garden to fit even one of these statues, because they were all life-size. I was anxious so I tighten my grip on Percy.  It's stupid for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because we were hungry. For a child of Athena, Annabeth sure isn't making wise decisions. I mean yeah I agree, you've never smelled Aunty Em's burgers. The aroma was like laughing gas in the dentist's chair—it made everything else go away.  But Grover's nervous whimpers, and the way the statues' eyes seemed to follow me, to add the fact that Aunty Em had locked the door behind us. Made me more cautious. Sure enough, there it was at the back of the warehouse, a fast-food counter with a grill, a soda fountain, a pretzel heater, and a nacho cheese dispenser. Everything you could want, plus a few steel picnic tables out front. "Please, sit down," Aunty Em said "Awesome," Percy said. "Um," Grover said reluctantly, "we don't have any money, ma'am." Aunty Em said, "No, no, children. No money. This is a special case, yes? It is my treat, for such nice orphans." "Thank you, ma'am," Annabeth said. Aunty Em stiffened, as if Annabeth had done something wrong, but then the old woman relaxed just as quickly, I had to turn to Annabeth to check if there was something wrong with her.. Quite all right, Annabeth," she said. "You have such beautiful gray eyes, child."  I wonder how she knew Annabeth's name, even though we had never introduced ourselves. "Percy, I want to leave..." I whispered. "Just a few bites Y/N. Don't worry." He gave me a reassuring pat. Our hostess disappeared behind the snack counter and started cooking. Before we knew it, she'd brought us plastic trays heaped with double cheeseburgers, vanilla shakes, and XXL servings of French fries. I wasn't gulfing down my food like Percy was.  Grover picked at the fries, and eyed the tray's waxed paper liner as if he might go for that, but he still looked too nervous to eat. Annabeth slurped her shake. "What's that hissing noise?" he asked. I listened, but didn't hear anything. Annabeth shook her head. "Hissing?" Aunty Em asked. "Perhaps you hear the deep-fryer oil. You have keen ears, Grover." "I take vitamins. For my ears." "That's admirable," she said. "But please, relax." I don't like it here. I'm scared. Be wary of all things. Aunty Em ate nothing. She hadn't taken off her headdress, even to cook, and now she sat forward and interlaced her fingers and watched us eat. It was a little unsettling, having someone stare at me when I couldn't see her face, and I figured the least I could do was try to make small talk with our hostess. "So, you sell gnomes," I said, trying to sound interested. "Oh, yes," Aunty Em said. "And animals. And people. Anything for the garden. Custom orders. Statuary is very popular, you know." "A lot of business on this road?" "Not so much, no. Since the highway was built... most cars, they do not go this way now. I must cherish every customer I get. My neck tingled, as if somebody else was looking at me. I turned, but it was just a statue of a young girl holding an Easter basket. The detail was incredible, much better than you see in most garden statues. But something was wrong with her face. It looked as if she were startled, or even terrified."Ah," Aunty Em said sadly. "You notice some of my creations do not turn out well. They are marred. They do not sell. The face is the hardest to get right. Always the face." "You make these statues yourself?" Percy asked. "Oh, yes. Once upon a time, I had two sisters to help me in the business, but they have passed on, and Aunty Em is alone. I have only my statues. This is why I make them, you see. They are my company." The sadness in her voice sounded so deep and so real that I couldn't help feeling sorry for her. Annabeth had stopped eating. She sat forward and said, "Two sisters?" "It's a terrible story," Aunty Em said. "Not one for children, really. You see, Annabeth, a bad woman was jealous of me, long ago, when I was young. I had a... a boyfriend, you know, and this bad woman was determined to break us apart. She caused a terrible accident. My sisters stayed by me. They shared my bad fortune as long as they could, but eventually they passed on. They faded away. I alone have survived, but at a price. Such a price." Annabeth gave me a look of worry. I knew she realized something. "Percy?" I shook him to get his attention. "Maybe we should go. I mean, the ringmaster will be waiting." Grover was eating the waxed paper off the tray now, but if Aunty Em found that strange, she didn't say anything. "Such beautiful gray eyes," Aunty Em told Annabeth again. "My, yes, it has been a long time since I've seen gray eyes like those." She reached out as if to stroke Annabeth's cheek, but Annabeth stood up abruptly. "We really should go." "Yes!" Grover swallowed his waxed paper and stood up. "The ringmaster is waiting! Right!" "Please, dears," Aunty Em pleaded. "I so rarely get to be with children. Before you go, won't you at least sit for a pose?" "A pose?" Annabeth asked warily. "A photograph. I will use it to model a new statue set. Children are so popular, you see. Everyone loves children." Annabeth shifted her weight from foot to foot. "I don't think we can, ma'am. Come on, Percy—" "Sure we can," Percy said. "It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?" "Percy, I don't want to..."  "It's just a photo guys." "Indeed it is just a photo Y/N," the woman purred. "No harm." I could tell Annabeth didn't like it as well, but she allowed Aunty Em to lead us back out the front door, into the garden of statues. Aunty Em directed us to a park bench next to the stone satyr. "Now," she said, "I'll just position you correctly. The young girls in the middle, I think, and the two young gentlemen on either side." "Not much light for a photo," I remarked. But joke's on her I could see quite clearly. Don't look. "Oh, enough," Aunty Em said. "Enough for us to see each other, yes?" "Where's your camera?" Grover asked. Aunty Em stepped back, as if to admire the shot. "Now, the face is the most difficult. Can you smile for me please, everyone? A large smile?" Grover glanced at the cement satyr next to him, and mumbled, "That sure does look like Uncle Ferdinand." "Grover," Aunty Em chastised, "look this way, dear." She still had no camera in her hands. "Percy—" Annabeth said. "I will just be a moment," Aunty Em said. "You know, I can't see you very well in this cursed veil...." "Percy, something's wrong," I insisted. "Wrong?" Aunty Em said, reaching up to undo the wrap around her head. "Not at all, dear. I have such noble company tonight. What could be wrong?" "That is Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover gasped. DON'T LOOK. Annabeth turned to my direction, "Look away from her!" she then shouted. She whipped her Yankees cap onto her head and vanished. Her invisible hands pushed Grover and and I pulled Percy with me. We were on the ground, looking at Aunt Em's sandaled feet. I could hear Grover scrambling off in one direction, Annabeth in another. "Percy, we have to move!" I shook him. But he was too dazed to move. Then I heard a strange, rasping sound above me. My eyes rose to Aunty Em's hands, which had turned gnarled and warty, with sharp bronze talons for fingernails. Percy was about to look higher then her hands and I instinctively covered his eyes. "Don't look!" More rasping—the sound of tiny snakes, right above me, from... from about where Aunty Em's head would be. "Run!" Grover bleated. I heard him racing across the gravel, yelling, "Maia!" to kick-start his flying sneakers. "Percy we have to move please!" "Such a pity to destroy a handsome young face," she said soothingly. "Stay with me, Percy. All you have to do is look up." "Percy please!" Percy pushed my hand away and looked to one side. I turned to look as well and saw one of those glass spheres people put in gardens— a gazing ball. I could see Aunty Em's dark reflection in the orange glass; her headdress was gone, revealing her face as a shimmering pale circle. Her hair was moving, writhing like serpents. Aunty Em. Aunty "M." How did Medusa die in the myth? But I couldn't think. Something told me that in the myth Medusa had been asleep when she was attacked by my namesake, Perseus. She wasn't anywhere near asleep now. If she wanted, she could take those talons right now and rake open my face. "The Gray-Eyed One did this to me," Medusa said, and she didn't sound anything like a monster. Her voice invited me to look up, to sympathize with a poor old grandmother. "Annabeth's mother, the cursed Athena, turned me from a beautiful woman into this." "Don't listen to her!" Annabeth's voice shouted, somewhere in the statuary. "Y/N carry Percy!" "Silence!" Medusa snarled. Then her voice modulated back to a comforting purr. "You see why I must destroy the girl, Percy. She is my enemy's daughter. I shall crush her statue to dust. But you, dear Percy, you need not suffer. We won't even hurt, Y/N." I swung Percy's arm around my shoulder. But he was too heavy.  "No," he muttered trying to make his legs move... "Do you really want to help the gods?" Medusa asked. "Do you understand what awaits you on this foolish quest? What will happen if you reach the Underworld? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Less pain. Less pain." "Y/N!" Behind me, I heard a buzzing sound, like a two-hundred-pound hummingbird in a nosedive. Grover yelled, "Duck!" I turned, and there he was in the night sky, flying in from twelve o'clock with his winged shoes fluttering, Grover, holding a tree branch the size of a baseball bat. His eyes were shut tight, his head twitched from side to side. He was navigating by ears and nose alone. "Duck!" he yelled again. "I'll get her!" I tackled Percy to the other side. Thwack! Then Medusa roared with rage. "You miserable satyr," she snarled. "I'll add you to my collection!" "That was for Uncle Ferdinand!" Grover yelled back. Pulling along an out of a dazed Percy we scrambled away and hid in the statuary while Grover swooped down for another pass. Ker-whack! "Arrgh!" Medusa yelled, her snake-hair hissing and spitting. Right next to me, Annabeth's voice said, "Y/N! Percy!" Percy jumped so high his feet nearly cleared a garden gnome. "Jeez! Don't do that!" Annabeth took off her Yankees cap and became visible. 'You have to cut her head off." "What? Are you crazy? Let's get out of here." "Medusa is a menace. She's evil. I'd kill her myself, but..." Annabeth swallowed, as if she were about to make a difficult admission. "But you've got the better weapon. Besides, I'd never get close to her. She'd slice me to bits because of my mother. You—you've got a chance." "What? I can't—" "Look, do you want her turning more innocent people into statues?" She pointed to a pair of statue lovers, a man and a woman with their arms around each other, turned to stone by the monster. Annabeth grabbed a green gazing ball from a nearby pedestal. "A polished shield would be better." She studied the sphere critically. "The convexity will cause some distortion. The reflection's size should be off by a factor of—" "Would you speak English?" "I am!" She tossed him the glass ball. "Just look at her in the glass. Never look at her directly." "Hey, guys!" Grover yelled somewhere above us. "I think she's unconscious!" "Roooaaarrr!" "Maybe not," Grover corrected. He went in for another pass with the tree branch. "Hurry," Annabeth told him. "Grover's got a great nose, but he'll eventually crash." Percy took out his pen and uncapped it. The bronze blade of Riptide showed. He turned to me and gave the glass then offered a hand. "Percy you can't be seriously bring her along!?" "I'll go with him." Taking his hand, we followed the hissing and spitting sounds of Medusa's hair. I raised the glass so I could guide us. I kept my eyes locked on the gazing ball so I would only glimpse Medusa's reflection, not the real thing. Then, in the green tinted glass, I saw her. Grover was coming in for another turn at bat, but this time he flew a little too low. Medusa grabbed the stick and pulled him off course. He tumbled through the air and crashed into the arms of a stone grizzly bear with a painful "Ummphh!" Medusa was about to lunge at him when I yelled, "Hey!" We advanced on her. I had let go of Percy's hand to bring out my knife. So if she charged, I could help Percy. But she let us approach—twenty feet, ten feet. I could see the reflection of her face now. Surely it wasn't really that ugly. The green swirls of the gazing ball must be distorting it, making it look worse. "You wouldn't harm an old woman, Percy," she crooned. "I know you wouldn't." I could tell he hesitated. From the cement grizzly, Grover moaned, "Percy, don't listen to her!" Medusa cackled. "Too late." She lunged at him with her talons. I ran and raised my knife to block her talons, Percy then swung his sword, then we heard a sickening shlock!, then a hiss like wind rushing out of a cavern—the sound of a monster disintegrating. Something fell to the ground next to my foot. It took all my willpower not to look. I could feel warm ooze soaking into my sock, little dying snake heads tugging at my shoelaces. "Oh, yuck," Percy said. His eyes were still tightly closed, but I guess he could hear the thing gurgling and steaming. "Mega-yuck." Annabeth came up next to us, her eyes fixed on the sky. She was holding Medusa's black veil. She said, "Don't move." >Very, very carefully, without looking down, she knelt and draped the monster's head in black cloth, then picked it up. It was still dripping green juice. "Are you okay?" Percy asked me, his voice trembling. "Yeah," I decided. "Why didn't... why didn't the head evaporate?" "Once you sever it, it becomes a spoil of war," she said. "Same as your minotaur horn. But don't unwrap the head. It can still petrify you." Grover moaned as he climbed down from the grizzly statue. He had a big welt on his forehead. His green rasta cap hung from one of his little goat horns, and his fake feet had been knocked off his hooves. The magic sneakers were flying aimlessly around his head. "The Red Baron," Percy said. "Good job, man." He managed a bashful grin. "That really was not fun, though. Well, the hitting-her-with-a-stick part, that was fun. But crashing into a concrete bear? Not fun." He snatched his shoes out of the air. "I didn't know Grover got Luke's shoes."  Percy recapped his sword. "I can't fly." He shrugged.  Together, the four of us stumbled back to the warehouse We found some old plastic grocery bags behind the snack counter and double-wrapped Medusa's head. We plopped it on the table where we'd eaten dinner and sat around it, too exhausted to speak. Finally Percy said, "So we have Athena to thank for this monster?" Annabeth flashed me an irritated look. "Your dad, actually. Don't you remember? Medusa was Poseidon's girlfriend. They decided to meet in my mother's temple. That's why Athena turned her into a monster. Medusa and her two sisters who had helped her get into the temple, they became the three gorgons. That's why Medusa wanted to slice me up, but she wanted to preserve you as a nice statue. She's still sweet on your dad. You probably reminded her of him." "Oh, so now it's my fault we met Medusa." Annabeth straightened. In a bad imitation of my voice, she said: "'It's just a photo, Annabeth. What's the harm?'" "Forget it," I said. "You're impossible." "You're insufferable." "You're—" "You're both loud and stupid." I growled. "Yeah!" Grover interrupted. "You two are giving me a migraine, and satyrs don't even get migraines. What are we going to do with the head?" I stared at the thing. One little snake was hanging out of a hole in the plastic. The words printed on the side of the bag said: WE APPRECIATE YOUR BUSINESS! I was angry, not just with Annabeth or her mom, but with all the gods for this whole quest, for getting us blown off the road and in two major fights the very first day out from camp. At this rate, we'd never make it to L.A. alive, much less before the summer solstice. What had Medusa said? Do not be a pawn of the Olympians, my dear. You would be better off as a statue. Percy and I shared a look. We got up. "I'll be back." "Percy, Y/N," Annabeth called after me. "What are you—" We searched the back of the warehouse until I found Medusa's office. Her account book showed her six most recent sales, all shipments to the Underworld to decorate Hades and Persephone's garden. According to one freight bill, the Underworld's billing address was DOA Recording Studios, West Hollywood, California. I folded up the bill and stuffed it in my pocket. In the cash register I found twenty dollars, a few golden drachmas, and some packing slips for Hermes Overnight Express, each with a little leather bag attached for coins.  "Found one." Percy called. We went back to the picnic table, packed up Medusa's head, and filled out a delivery slip: The Gods >Mount Olympus 600th Floor, >Empire State Building New York, NY With best wishes, PERCY JACKSON <3 Y/N L/N "They're not going to like that," Grover warned. "They'll think you're impertinent." I poured some golden drachmas in the pouch. As soon as I closed it, there was a sound like a cash register. The package floated off the table and disappeared with a pop! "I am impertinent," Percy said. I looked at Annabeth, daring her to criticize. She didn't. She seemed resigned to the fact that we had a major talent for ticking off the gods. "Great, well Fred and George," she muttered. "We need a new plan."

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UwU bb I'm just licherali rippin off now srry -kookie-doughs

Taglist?

@gayer-than-the-gayest-gay @the-natureofme @booknerd-3000

#Percy Jackson #Percy Jackson X Reader #Percy Jackson X Y/N #percy jackon and the olympians #pjo #luke castellan #Luke castellan x reader #Lightning thief #Y/N L/N #Y/N L/N and the halfbloods #Fanfiction #fanfictions #X Reader #Chapter 11 #Book 1

[pinkprimrose05]

GX Month Day 18: This Wasn't in the Rule Book

@gxmonth

Ao3 Version Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/33473653/chapters/83310418

Why yes, it's prompt bending time! Wish this day came a bit later into the month so it was closer to the release date of Duel World ARC-V but, oh well, what can ya do? ...Oops, looks like I spoiled the chapter. Yes, this year's AU prompt also doubles as a celebration of ARC-V coming to Duel Links, and it's probably the one prompt I'm most excited to write because hoo boy I've been waiting for this moment for sooooo long! 8D

~~~~~

"Manual Reboot Successful. Initiate Sign-Up Process? "

..

"Initiating Sign-Up Process. Establishing Connection...Please Enter WORLD_ID."

..

"Response Recorded. Initiating Connection to WORLD_ID SERIES6..."

"..ERROR. Failed to Connect to WORLD_ID SERIES6. Continue Sign-Up Process and Retry?"

..

"Response Recorded. Continuing Sign-Up Process."

..

"Response Recorded. Aborting Connection to WORLD_ID SERIES6...Connection Aborted"

..

"...Sing-Up Process Completed. Initiating Log-In Sequence..."

..

..

..

"ERROR."

-----------

Yuuma sat by the river, waiting for something big to happen.

He knew he wasn't support to be there. Tour Guide hade explicitly told everyone to not get close to the Gate during new world maintenance, but being his curious self, he guiltlessly ignored the warning. Why? Because of the aforementioned new world, of course!

From what he knew about it -which wasn't much, but Juudai-senpai had been rambling about all the different Duelists, Decks and weird game mechanics that they might see for two weeks straight and that sort of gave him a general idea-, this new world thing was a pretty big deal in Duel Links, and with it being so covered up, Yuuma was all too hyped to see what it was like for himself, consequences be damned.

He'd tried world-switching to no avail, as he sebsequently found out that the game wasn't only staggering log-outs, it was also staggering travelling through Duel Worlds for however long he was stuck here. He'd tried asking everyone he knew about it over his D-Gazer too, but that didn't work, and neither did begging a sleepy Kaito to try and hack the game for more info..

..Which led back to him sitting by the river, kicking his legs back and forth as Emperor's Key swayed in the morning breeze, dangling from the string in his hand while he kept waiting, waiting, and waiting some more...

"Yuuma?"

"Eek!" The Xyz Duelist practically jumped five feet into the air upon hearing his name being called, thoughts racing in frantic circles as he turned to see someone approaching...then immediately relaxing when he realized exactly who that someone was.

"Three!"

Michael Arclight smiled, waving gently as he tottered to the river bank and sat down next to Yuuma, who sighed in relief at knowing he wasn't in grave trouble for getting caught near the Gate. The two traded greetings, then settled into silence as they gazed at the horizon, at the clear sky and rising sun of their Duel World's landscape. If it were him, Michael would be content with just staying like that and admiring the view, but the ball of excitement next to him wasn't about to share that sentiment anytime soon.

"Sooooooo..." Yuuma began "What are you gonna do today?"

"Hm? What do you mean?" His friend gave him a puzzled look, and Yuuma made a broad gesture with his arms in response, as if that was supposed to mean something.

"You know, about the, uh, the new world? Are you gonna visit that? Duel people there? I don't know what to expect from it to be honest, it's the first time for us and I'm reeaally excited and also curious and I can't wait to see what will happen...but we can't find out anything before the maintenance ends, and it looks like it's gonna take a while and I'm getting bored so, what are you gonna do?"

Michael hummed thoughtfully, glancing at his Duel Disk "Well, I was thinking of waiting until things settled down before doing anything about all of this. A game this big can get quite unstable with such a huge update, you know? That's why I came here anyway, and..." the pink-haired Duelist blushed faintly "..I may or may not have decided to ignore what Guide-san said about the Gate in the process. Please don't tell anyone I was here?"

"Don't worry, my lips are sealed." Yuuma said, mimicking a zipper sound as he ran two fingers along his lips for effect "No one will ever know of your super classified one-time incident of breaking the law...not that that law made sense anyway. I mean, COME ON..."

Michael giggled, listening as Yuuma launched into a full-on rant about how meaningless them 'closing' the Gate area was. He wasn't exactly wrong though; if it was about as dangerous as Guide said, surely there would be some obstacle or lock to stop people from getting too close, right? Surely she wouldn't just count on everyone to not be reckless enough to ignore her, right? Unless...

Unless the error she's dealing with here might cause serious backlash if she tried inputting a new command that also interacts with the Gate, in which case-

Any other thought that would have followed that trail instantly vanished when the Gate suddenly exploded with blue light, and in that moment, Michael's world went quiet.

-----------

"Unacceptable! This is unacceptable! I have a fucking job interview in two hours, how am I supposed to get ready in time for that??"

Yuusei sighed, running a hand through his already mussed hair for what was probably the eighth time in thirty minutes. Tour Guide's sudden announcement of an emergency maintenace -one that somehow overlapped with the new world's- had put everyone on edge, even more so after they found out they couldn't log out until it was over. As a result, every single Duelist currently in the 5D's World had gathered at the Deck Editor and unanimously decided to wait out the maintenance period there...but some of them weren't particularly happy about being stuck in the game for however long it took.

Chief of those was Jack, who kept pacing next to the table Team 5D's and co. clustered around, all while throwing several uncharitable insults at Guide, Isono, Kaiba, and basically everyone affliated with the Duel Links staff.

"Why do they have to keep messing up every time they launch one of those new words?? I swear, if I see any of those little-"

Carly instinctively covered her ears when the Resonator Duelist let out a particularly nasty swear, and Crow shot him a miffed glare from behind. Yuusei sighed again, then slowly pushed himself out from his chair to rest a hand on Jack's shoulder.

"Jack, please go get a cup of coffee and cool down." He said in an uncharacteristically pleading, tired tone "We're all stuck here, we all have important things to do, and some of us haven't slept for twenty-six hours. It'd do everyone a lot of good if you stopped yelling at empty air for a while."

Jack crossed his arms and huffed, but forced himself to simmer down regardless.

"...Fine. I'll go get myself some coffee and 'cool down' or whatever, but not because you asked me to, it's because I need some fresh air." And with that, the former King of Duels strode out of the Studio, coat flapping dramatically in a gust of wind before he went completely out of view.

"Good riddance." Crow let his head drop on the table with a low thud, raising a thumbs-up in Yuusei's general direction, and while he normally wouldn't agree with that sentiment, the Synchro Duelist was currently grateful for the calmer atmosphere of the place, now that Jack was gone. He slid back into his chair, hoping to get some shut-eye to compensate for staying up for all of the night before...

"Guys, we have a problem."

...Or not. Yuusei looked up in time to see Bruno -No, stop it, that's Antinomy- dropping in the chair between him and a barely conscious Kiryuu, the computer in his hands flashing with several warning signs overlapping on top of strings of code, which kept appearing and disappearing at a seemingly random pace. This, the noiret decidedly thought, peering intently at the screen, definitely doesn't look good.

"The energy output is spiking around the Gate area and the ones close to it." Antinomy explained to no-one in particular, his usually passive face set in a stressed frown as he clicked away at the keyboard "It appears that whatever issue that caused this emergency maintenance has gone completely out of control, and while we don't know exactly what that means, compressing so much energy in a certain area, no matter how broad..."

"...is bound to make it blow up." Yuusei concluded, eyes widening as his mind caught up with the implication behind that "This means the Duel Studio and everyone in it will be affected if anything happens to the Gate."

Antinomy nodded "Exactly. It could be that someone is trying to log in, and that's why I'm asking you to go and- dammit!" He swore, fingers moving across the keyboard at a far more frantic pace when the computer let out a series of long, loud beeping sound. Yuusei was pretty sure he got whiplash from how fast he turned to see what was going on-

-but before he could register more than the word "ERROR" bolded in blue across the screen, he felt a shock of static, and then...nothing.

-----------

"Automated Reboot Successful. Log-In Sequence...Complete."

"Connecting to WORLD_ID SERIES2...Connection Successful."

"Linking with.."

"..Sakaki Yuuya."

-----------

The first thing he felt when he came to was a gentle breeze tousling his hair, rays of sunshine lighting up his eyelids, and droplets of water spraying his face every couple seconds. It wasn't raining, that much he gathered, which meant that he'd most likely spawned near a fountain or a river, since there was no trace of the salty scent of seawater in the air.

Yuuya opened his eyes. Sure enough, there was a fountain to his left, its marble structure adorned with a ring of green leaves that carried all kinds of colourful flowers, water flowing from it center and from the sides. Pushing himself up, the tomato-haired Duelist looked around, taking in the rest of his current surroundings, and the first thing that caught his attention was a huge, round portal thingy that hovered in the air, with glowing lines of blue circuitry running through its silvery white perimeter.

That must be the Gate, he thought that's how I came here.

A bit further ahead was what seemed to be another portal, but this one was rectangular in shape, unlike the Gate's circle, and it was completely blue as well. Yuuya watched as the portal rotated in place slowly, the other side of it coming into view with the label 'Duel School' appearing on top of it. Curious, he reached out a hand to touch the portal...

...only to pull back immediately when the pixels forming it fizzled and crackled with electricity, shocking him.

"Ow ow ow ow ow!!" Yuuya clutched his stung hand with the other, hissing in pain at the contact before letting go of his hand. He sucked in deep breath then slowly exhaled, wiping the tears that formed at the corners of his eyes before turning away from the Duel School to keep walking (and to will away the sick, fleeting memory the shock had sparked for a moment).

Yeesh, that wasn't a great first interaction... he grimaced, waving his hand in the air in hopes that it would calm the stinging pain down But that doesn't mean I can't find something good if I keep looking. I wonder where all the other Duelists are.

The path he was walking down split into two at the end. Yuuya turned around, chancing one more look at the admittedly beautiful yet strangely desloate area he started in. He chalked its emptiness up to it being quite early in the morning...but then again, it wasn't morning for everyone around the world, so maybe it was just that the area was mainly used as a terminal, which would explain why he was the only one there...

Wait.

Wait.

He shouldn't be.

Switching his Duel Disk on with a quick swipe (which was an honestly stupid action in hindsight because damn his hand stung hard from that), Yuuya dialed the very first contact on his list, running the hand with the Disk strapped to it through bi-colored bangs and pushing them out of his face as the device rang once, twice, three times. Where was everyone else? He, Yuzu and Gongenzaka had logged in at the same time, and Sora had told them he'll jump in right after, so why was he the only one to come out of the Gate?

*Din-di-di-din, din-ding...Din-di-di-din, din-ding...Din-di-di-din-*

"Hello."

Yuuya blinked, then did a double take at the soft, young voice that came from the other end of the call. That...that wasn't Yuzu. He swallowed.

"..I'm sorry, who am I talking to?"

A few moments passed before the voice replied "My name is Sera. You must not recognize me, but please don't worry, the owner of this device is safe and sound, and if you wish to talk to her, she is here with me."

The line went silent then. Well, almost silent; Yuuya could hear bits of chatter and the sound of someone fiddling with the Duel Disk...before said someone decided to blast his eardrums full-force, like she always did.

"Yuuya! Where the heck are you?!" Yuzu cried out, and he found himself smiling at the familiar loudness "I've been looking for you everywhere!!"

He winced when her voice cracked on the last word, hand running through his hair again as he laughed nervously "Sorry, sorry! I...honestly don't entirely know where I am yet. Thought we'd start at the same place, but I guess we didn't..." He glanced around for any sort of landmark to pinpoint his position, then remembered where he came from at first and settled on that "Um, can you see the Gate? I'm standing close to it."

There was a beat of silence, then an audible sigh. "I see," Sera muttered at length "Sakaki-san, I think you have logged into a different Duel World than the one Hiiragi-san and I are in at the moment..because we're standing right in front of the Gate."

It took a full ten seconds for Yuuya's brain to register that, and when it did, all that came out of his mouth was a drawn-out "Whaaaaaaat??"

"...You skipped the rest of the tutorial, didn't you?" Yuzu's voice carried a hint of amusement and fondness, before assuming a more serious tone "Okay, look. If you check your Duel Disk, you'll find two arrows in a circle at the top left corner. Click that, and you'll get a list of the five different Duel Worlds in the game. Sera said that something happened before we came here that stopped everyone from travelling between those worlds, and apparently there was a sixth world that we were supposed to log into but didn't...anyway, the highlighted name will show you the world you're in. I'm in the fourth one right now..."

Yuuya listened as Yuzu explained what happened to her after logging into the Duel World, following her instructions all the while. A quick check told him that he was in the second world, the one labeled 'Duel World Series 2'. He nodded along his friends' words, and when she finished, he took yet another look at his surroundings.

"Alright, gotcha, I'm in the second world." He said, and it was then that he decided to head left "I guess I'll go take a look around the place, see if I can find out where everyone else is, and wait until we can all switch to the same world. It's great to hear you're alright, Yuzu. Take care!"

"Hey, that's my line!" She quipped in response, and Yuuya could practically hear the playful grin on her face "But seriously, I'm glad to know you're doing fine too. See you later, Yuuya."

And with that, the line went dead. Not even bothering to turn his Disk off, Yuuya broke into a quick jog, humming a cheerful tune to himself and grinning widely as he started rhyming the tune to his steps. Yuzu was fine, she was okay, they'll find each other soon enough and meet up with their friends, and they'll have tons of fun exploring the game, just as they planned.

Yeah, that's the spirit!

He only slowed down when the smooth, metallic path turned into dirt, patches of grass growing randomly in the way and on the sides, as well as a pair of trees and a few stray daisy bushes. A huge structure that felt so very out of place loomed ahead of him, its futuristic design and neon blue lines contrasting sharply with the simple greenery surrounding it, despite only being separated from that by a ring of gray tiles at the end of the dirt path. Upon closer inspection, there appeared to be a floating label above it that spelled out the words "Duel Studio", and a sliding door that opened on its own when Yuuya came close. The Pendulum Duelist stepped through-

"Ack!"

-and promptly crashed into a blur of black, stumbling backwards as a result. Leaning on the now-open door for support, Yuuya nursed his head with his free hand, letting out a small sigh before he looked up to check on whoever it was that he bumped into...and froze when he locked eyes with them.

That shade of gold was...familiar.

Yuuya's eyes widened, and the brunette facing him mirrored the action for a split second, before his shock faded into a passive scowl that clashed with his fluffy, Kuriboh-like hair. Yuuya opened his mouth to say something, he wasn't sure exactly what, but the taller male turned back to the Duel Studio, subtly motioning for him to come along, and whatever it was that he wanted to say went out of the window.

"Follow me." His voice -slow, deep and clear- carried a distinctly authoritative tone as he strode ahead, and after a moment of apprehension, Yuuya found himself trailing behind. The guy looked like he knew where he was going, and didn't exactly seem opposed to talking to him, which meant he could possibly get some answers to the pile of questions building up in his head, and well, weird gut feelings aside, that was actually a good thing.

The two sat at a round, red table in a distant corner, and then just...stared at each other. Yuuya waited for the Kuriboh-haired Duelist -at least, he guessed he was a Duelist, judging by the strange custom model of a Duel Disk on his left arm- to say something, anything, but nothing came out, and he wasn't sure exactly how to start the conversation, so...he kept waiting.

"............"

And waiting.

"............"

And waiting.

"............"

And waiting.

"............"

And then decided that was enough waiting. "Umm...are you even gonna say anything?" Yuuya asked after a full four minutes, half expecting to get no response..

..but the guy actually rolled his eyes at him, like he'd asked a stupid question or something "What are you expecting me to say?"

Huh. Okay, this man was kinda bad at conversing. Yuuya held back a sigh, plastered on a smile instead, and tried again.

"Hmm, how about an introduction? That sounds like a good start." He held out a hand "Nice to meet you, I'm Sakaki Yuuya. And you are..?"

The brunette's stared moved to Yuuya's outstretched hand, then back to his eyes...and then he sighed, holding his own hand to his temples as he mumbled something in a foreign language Yuuya couldn't make out (but assumed was an exasperated statement, based on the tone of what came next).

"Dear Lord, why is it that every single one of them turns out to be a child?"

"Huh?"

"You can see Duel Spirits," He said, pointing at Yuuya. It wasn't even a question, just a factual statement he threw as casually as someone discussing the weather forecast "and you most likely have a special bond with at least one of your cards, that may even go as far as your very soul being bound to it. Is that correct?"

A few moments passed in silence, and then: "How did you-"

"I knew that was the case. Listen to me, Sakaki Yuuya; I do not know the exact extent of your knowledge about the nature of this world, or that of the darkness you possess, but know this-" gold eyes narrowed dangerously, and Yuuya flinched in spite of himself "Duel Links is not just a game. There are greater forces behind the creation of the Duel Worlds, ones that can tamper with your memories and thoughts, even call back beings that were supposed to be gone forever and link different dimensioms. Your status as a Legendary Duelist means you are directly involved in everything that might happen in the new world, so proceed with caution, or prepare to deal with the consequences."

Yuuya reeled back in his chair, face going white. He stared down at his pendulum, gripping its dimly glowing crystal tightly in his hands -had it been doing that for a while? He had no idea. His head was starting to feel light, his throat got all choked up, and he was sure he'd be shaking if not for how tense his muscles were. What- what had he gotten himself into? If he'd known it was more than a game, if he'd known they'd be thrown in the middle of crossfire again-

Deep breaths, Yuuya, deep breaths.. He told himself before he got too lost in thought, inhaling sharply. Calm down, let it out slowly, relax.....yeah, there we go.

"Why are you telling me this?" The teen asked once he was certain his mini-panic attack was over, and he must've been imagining things because he could swear he saw a ghost of a smile on the other's face when he replied.

"In all honesty," he began slowly, the edge to his voice almost completely gone "I have had enough interdimensional conflict to last me a lifetime, and I would really rather not deal with any more of it if I can. I assume you understand where I'm coming from here?"

Yuuya hummed absently, and that seemed to be a satisfying answer to the brown-haired Duelist, who pushed himself out of his seat and turned to leave, but not without allowing himself another final sentence.

"Very well then. For your own sake, as well as everyone you may care about, I hope you're actually smart enough to follow my warning. Until we meet again...or not."

And with that, he walked away, disappearing behind the staircase to the right. As soon as he went out of sight, Yuuya let his head fall down on the table with an unceremonious flump!, making some inchoerent noises when the sound of some lady announcing the end of the 'Maintenance Break' blasted over the intercom above his head, and he became distantly aware of other voices and some footsteps sounding not too far from him.

*tap*

Alright, so he and everyone else have basically jumped into yet another grand scheme that caused conflict across different dimensions, but this time the stakes weren't as clear as in the Interdimensional War.

*tap-tap*

The thought was admittedly daunting, and he was a hundred percent sure no-one he knew would like to go through something like that again..

"Oi."

But on the bright side, it seemed that they weren't the only ones dealing with this sort of thing, which meant they could easily find many allies in the different Duel Worlds...yeah, if they kept an eye out, they should be all right-

"Oi!"

Yuuya's head snapped up when he realized someone was calling out to him, and when he looked up, he was greeted with the smiling face of..

"You again??"

..the same Kuriboh-haired Duelist?

"Sorry, what?"

Yuuya did a double take. Yeah, no, that wasn't him; the eyes were colored soft brown instead of hollow gold, and he was wearing a red jacket instead of a black robe too- Yuuya mentally scolded himself for overlooking the differences (but also found it somewhat funny because, you know, he had to deal with this kind of confusion more than once before).

"Nevermind, I think I confused you for someone else. My bad." He gave the red-jacketed brunette a sheepish grin, gesturing at the empty chair opposite to his, then watching as he placed his also strange custom model of a Duel Disk on the side of the table before sitting down himself, fiddling with the device all the while. Even the way he composed himself was different; this guy felt far more lax and chill compared to the other one, and it made Yuuya relax a bit in turn, the silence that stretched between them feeling more comfortable.

"So, let me guess..." Red Jacket began a bit later, leaning a bit forward with a curious glint in his eyes "You're one of the new kids?"

A small nod "You can say that, I guess. I'm Yuuya, and you?"

"Yuuki Juudai. Pleased to meet you, kiddo- wait, I can call you kiddo, right?"

"Sure, unless you're somehow younger than me, which I doubt because of the..height difference."

Juudai smiled again "Aight, kiddo it is then. I gotta say though, I'm impressed you managed to switch worlds that fast. Took me a whole week to realize that was even a thing."

He laughed, and Yuuya chuckled with him. "Actually.." he said afterwards, rubbing the back of his neck with a small, bashful smile "A friend told me about it, and I couldn't even use it when I first arrived. Something about an error happening with the new world and shutting down the whole game, I think? Yean, that locked out the switch thing for a while, and it stopped everyone from logging out too."

"Woah, for real?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Damn," Juudai slammed a hand down on the table "you sure had one heck of a first day, kiddo. Guide must be freaking out with all of this going on."

Yuuya blinked, confused "Guide?"

"Oh, you don't know her?" The older teen asked, quirking an eyebrow "She's, ah, the Duel Spirit of Tour Guide From the Underworld. Pretty much the one who manages this place, since the actual owner doesn't give a shit about the shenanigans happening around here, and she also runs the Duel School. You can go hit her up if you have any questions about the game; she's a great help for new players."

"A Duel Spirit..." Yuuya echoed quietly, stare moving down to the Deck slot of his Duel Disk. He closed his eyes for a moment, then looked up at Juudai and asked "So anyone can interact with them here? The spirits, I mean."

"Of course! It's part of the game's charm, y'know?" He answered, throwing a wink at Yuuya before continuing "Being able to hang out with all your monster friends, even if you might not see them in real life..I don't think anyone would pass up on something that cool."

The younger Duelist smiled at that, hand subconsciously touching the top of his Deck, which earned him several happy murmurs and a particularly loud roar as well "Yeah, that does sound pretty cool. I gotta try it sometime later."

"You totally should." Juudai agreed, taking out his own Deck and shuffling through it as he added "In the meantime...would you like a good ol' tabletop Duel? My old-ass relic of a Disk is being particularly laggy today, and I heard you had this cool summon mechanic with the backrow zones- what was it called again? Pendant? Pending?"

"It's Pendulum Summoning." Yuuya clarified, tentatively taking his Deck out of its slot when Juudai did the same "And uh, sure, I can show it to you if you want."

The brunette's smile turned into a wide grin as he whipped out a pair of folded game mats from his pocket and placed them on his and Yuuya's side of the table, putting each of their Decks on the far right before punching a fist in the air "Heck yeah! I'm finally the first to Duel the new kid with the new cards, this is gonna be a lot of fun!"

"Definitely!" He nodded, his own smile widening as he drew his starting hand with a little more flourish than necessary for a tabletop Duel- not that he really cared, what mattered at the moment was that, even if he was going to have to fight again later down the line, he was going to enjoy Dueling to the maximum as long as he could. No use worrying about the future, all he came here to do was have fun, and fun was he going to have.

Watch out, Duel Links, here I come..!

"LET'S DUEL!!"

~~~~~~~

THE END, finally. This, for whatever reason, took me three weeks to finish alongside the other prompts (okay actually Yuuya's POV slipped from me and I barely managed to end it where I did), and I couldn't even make it on time ffs. There goes my plans to deliver all chapters on time...but I at least hope you enjoyed reading. ...Oh yeah, you may have noticed by now that I left some loose ends here and there (like the conclusion of the chapter for the residents of Duel Worlds ZEXAL and 5D's, AKA those poor souls who got a mass reboot error and received no answers as to why), and to that I say...nothing. Yeah, you gotta wait a little while longer to see what happened to them after the reboot. That said, I shall now take my leave and return to the land of Ao3, see y'all on...someday by the end of the month, I guess.

#gxmonth2021 #yugioh gx #yugioh zexal #yugioh 5ds #yugioh arc v #too many characters to tag

[the-blind-assassin-12]

See You in New York (part four)

A/N: WOAH ARE WE ALL CURRENTLY IN THE SAME HALLUCINATION OR DID I ACTUALLY UPDATE THIS STORY?! The first might seem more feasible, actually, but strangely enough its the latter. I’m sorry this story went on such a long hiatus and I am very happy to have it back on track...sort of...Anyway. In case you forgot because it’s been eleventy five years, you and Logan are on the ferry on your way to show him the sights from Liberty Island. Oh, yeah...and you have some news to share with him before that part of your day is up. How will he take it? 

Word Count: 5,710 

*parts 1-3 and the intro to this series Services No Longer Required are available on my masterlist under the Logan Delos tab* 

Slow down, Delos. A few months ago, the warning would have come from you, reminding him not to get too drunk or too handsy, not to cause a scene. He would have rolled his eyes and groaned, displaying his distaste for censoring his behavior. But for once in his life, the warning came from himself. For once, Logan refrained from flinging himself headlong into the abyss of whatever new vice had taken hold, tried instead to take his time. For once, Logan resolved to take one step at a time, to be in every moment instead of skipping several steps ahead of himself. It’s worth it, she’s… He turned towards you. She’s different. I’m different because of her. With your hand on his thigh and your shoulder leaning into his, you anchored him in that resolve. He pushed away thoughts of pushing you up against the railing of the ferry and kissing you so indecently that even New Yorkers would stare. There’ll be time for that later, he told himself as you tucked a piece of hair behind your ear before smiling up at him. Plenty of time.

As the ferry cut through the gray blue water of the Hudson leaving white caps in its wake, you promised him the most amazing view of the city skyline. “It’s a good day for this, Logan. The sky is clear, so you’ll be able to see everything.” 

He smiled, nodding. But even if the sky was full of clouds, even if rain fell in sheets to force the two of you to take cover, even if the wind whipped the water into choppy waves, it would still be a good day for him because he was spending it with you. The sun reflecting off the rippling surface made the whole river seem to sparkle and shine. It made the chipped paint and weathered, dated appearance of the ferry feel fresh and new, and Logan couldn’t help but compare himself to the old boat. I bet it’s seen some rocky waters, too. He shifted his eyes to the side, looking down at you from behind his sunglasses as his thumb moved slowly over the skin of your far shoulder. No more rocky waves for me. 

There was still a lot about him and his past that you didn’t know, but the things that he had shared with you hadn’t scared you off, and he had no intention of repeating old mistakes or falling back into bad habits. He knew his limitations and he knew how to keep himself in check. In truth, Logan had been doing just fine before he met you. Finding stability on his own and regaining the control he’d lost over his company had defied nearly everyone’s expectations of him, and while when he was younger he found the lack of confidence from others to be discouraging, he almost welcomed the chance to prove people wrong now. He didn’t need anyone to quantify his happiness or to keep him in line. Getting this chance to have you in his life would simply give him the opportunity to share that happiness with someone else, someone who did believe in him, who saw him and didn’t flinch at the truth. 

But that doesn’t mean I have to rush it. This is… He inhaled a deep breath through his nose as he felt you give a light squeeze on his thigh, calling his attention to the way that the sunlight was hitting the glass panes that made up the flame at the top of Lady Liberty’s torch. He glanced up at where you were pointing, the golden yellow beams refracting to make it look like real fire. But he was quickly drawn back down to you, to the way that that same light was igniting your eyes. To him it was just as stunning as the glass. Letting out the breath he’d held in his chest, he continued stroking his fingertips absently down over your bicep, slipping his pinky beneath the strap of your dress. We have time. 

When Logan first realized that he had developed feelings for you, he tried to push them away. He was in the middle of recovering his public image from scandalous, albeit false, accusations regarding his behavior with female employees and coworkers, and so he knew that starting something with the very woman who had been brought in to clean up that mess was that last thing that he should be doing. For weeks he ignored the fact that every time you passed his office and flashed a smile or a polite wave, it made his pulse quicken. He shook off the fact that your laugh as the two of you ate lunch together was becoming one of his favorite sounds, even as he’d find himself storing up things to say to you in hopes that he’d get to hear it. He overlooked all of the signs that he was falling for the one person who was supposed to be off limits. And it didn’t work. Grinning to himself, he recalled the way it felt to bet high and go all in with you at the end of your contract, taking a chance and asking you to take one on him. Best way I’ve ever closed out a contract.

But even though things had ended almost exactly as he’d wanted them to, he’d felt rushed for time. He’d known that he had exactly one chance to show you that he was interested, and needing to wait for that one chance until the very last day of your contract had only made it feel more desperate and dire. But now there’s no expiration date, no last day. He felt a warmth in his chest that had nothing to do with the sunlight or the statue’s torch and everything to do with your hand on his leg and the chance you’d given him. Now we can...it can be normal. I can take my time. 

Having to wait the two weeks between dropping you off at LAX and seeing you again at LGA had been tough. Logan was used to instant gratification. When there was something he wanted or needed he didn’t wait, he found a way to have it now. In some aspects of his life it had served him well. In business, it made him a harsh negotiator, and in his personal life it gave him a sense of accomplishment to be able to provide for himself at such a high level. It also meant that he dove head first into pools he would have noticed were too shallow had he only been more careful. It was, he knew, a trait that made him more prone than others to fall victim to addiction, and it was something he worked to balance within himself daily. Normally, a two week delay between the moment that he knew he wanted you and the moment that he actually got to have you would have been a deal breaker. Even if he’d looked past the waiting, the fact that this was about as long distance a relationship as two Americans could possibly have would have doomed it from the get go. Different time zones? All those miles? So many closer, more convenient options? Normally, none of this would have made any sense to him. 

But with you, it simply did. Everything with you had been different from the very start. You’d taken the time to get to know him, the real him, not the Logan Delos in the papers, not the one in the boardroom or the ballroom or the bedroom. Him. You knew useless things about him, like which condiments he used on what food items, or that he only used yellow highlighters on paperwork. But you also noticed little details that pointed to parts of him that he wasn’t used to sharing. Like how you could tell from how he undid the top two buttons of his shirt whether or not he was stressed or just trying to get comfortable. If it was the former, he’d slowly trail his pointer finger horizontally under his chin. There wasn’t a scar there because the blade had just barely broken the skin, but when he was stuck on something or upset with an outcome, it was as though he could still feel the cold steel of the knife William had threatened him with in the desert. You’d only seen him do it once or twice when you’d made the correlation between the negligible motion and what he was thinking and feeling, and it took him completely by surprise. No one would notice that. Juliet doesn’t even know that, and she knows everything. 

You didn’t even know the whole story of what had happened on that trip to the park, but you picked up on one of the residual phantoms from it that Logan still carried. I’ll tell her. I’ll… she needs to know. All of it. The ferry began to turn towards the slips at the end of the dock on Liberty Island, and you pulled away from him to sit up straight, gathering your bag and making sure you had all of your belongings. But not… it doesn’t have to be all at once. He let his hand slide down your arm before unwinding it from around your shoulders, bringing it up to comb through his hair. It’s not a rush. I can...we can take things slow. You turned back to him then as you slung your bag over your shoulder, and he had to hold back a throaty groan at the way your lips pressed together before spreading into a grin, cheeks disappearing under the lenses of your glasses. Damn. He was thrilled to be out with you, carefree and relaxed. But I can’t wait to get her back to that hotel room tonight.

“What’s that look for, Delos?” You let your smile curve up one side of your face until it was a smirk. 

Oh you know exactly what it’s for. Logan pulled his sunglasses off and folded the arms to hang them from the neckline of his tee. “I have no idea what you’re talking about, buzzkill.” He shrugged, trying and failing to keep from giving himself away, laughing as you playfully smacked his arm. 

The boat lurched as the captain maneuvered it further to completely dock, and Logan took advantage of the shift and the way it drew your attention elsewhere to wrap his arms around you again, crushing you close and swallowing your laughter with a kiss. Sucking your bottom lip between his teeth, he bit down with gentle pressure as your fingers curled in the material of his shirt. You hummed as he pulled away, and the sound was almost enough to launch him into another, more involved kiss. Slow down, damnit. He brought one hand up to your ear, eyes focused on the earring you wore and the way his sudden attack had caused it to flip around. 

“What are you-” you sucked in a breath as he used his thumb and pointer finger to fix the earring, your eyes falling closed as his touch ran down the side of your neck. 

“There.” He smiled as you blinked up at him, enjoying knowing that he’d just put that look on your face, and that there wasn’t any other face he wanted to see that look on but yours. Damn. Standing, he reached for your hand and pulled you to your feet as well, deciding that if he didn’t get up that second, he wasn’t sure if he could justify moving from that bench on that ferry with you. “C’mon, you promised me some views.” 

You laced your fingers tightly through his and squeezed. “And I always deliver on my promises.” You paused long enough to wink and he was sure you heard the groan in the back of his throat as he wondered what other types of promises you’d make to him. “Let’s go.” Good idea. 

Logan let you lead the way off of the ferry and onto the island, following a crowd of tourists towards the base of the enormous green statue. Shit, it’s a lot bigger in person than you think it is… He felt his eyes widen in genuine appreciation for the massive structure in front of him. People built that. He gave a minute shake of his head, staring at one large sandaled foot where it stood planted on the multi-storied pedestal you were leading him towards. 

“Speechless already, Logan?” You tugged on the hand that you held and he tore his amazed expression away from the statue and looked down at you. “Wait until you see it from the top.” With that, you changed direction and started leading him towards a different entrance. 

“Where are we-” He looked back over his shoulder at the line forming in front of the main entrance. 

“That’s the general admission entrance,” you explained, a hint of mischief coloring your voice that excited him. “But I pulled some strings and called in a favor I had with a friend of mine who...well really he’s a friend of Cynthia’s, but,” you sighed through a smile, reaching up to remove your sunglasses as you stepped into the shade. “Long story short? We’re not waiting in any lines.” 

You shoved your sunglasses into your purse and dug around for your phone, pulling it out and scrolling through your email to find the digital passes you’d been sent that would get you inside and up to the top without having to share the experience with dozens of strangers. You showed it to the guard at the door you’d lead Logan to, and he nodded, saying something into the walkie he had clipped to his shoulder as he opened the door for the two of you. “Wait right inside, Byron will be right down, he knows you’re coming. You two enjoy your visit,” he said as you both stepped inside. 

You both thanked the man as he pulled the door shut again, and Logan’s surprise only grew as he turned to you. “I thought you said you were showin’ me the real New York.” He cocked his head in the direction of the long lines out front. “Doesn’t that mean-” 

“No,” you cut him off holding up one finger and waving it before you pressed it to the middle of his chest to pull a chuckle from him. “First of all, real New Yorkers don’t come here because it’s always full of field trips and family vacations and there are plenty of other places in the city to take pictures. But,” you pulled the finger away from his chest and waved it once more. “If we have to partake in the touristy side of the city, we do it in style. I’m doing this for you here, Delos, not, oh!” 

“I know.” He’d pulled you quickly to his side then, lips landing near your temple. I know you are, and I… no one’s ever done anything like this for me before. “Thank you.” 

“Logan, you’re…” your voice came out as a strained whisper before you cleared your throat. “You’re welcome.” 

The elevator at the end of the small hallway dinged as the doors slid open before he could say anything else, a man in a uniform similar to the one the guard was wearing emerging from the car. He gave you a bright smile and greeted you by name. You introduced the man to Logan, explaining that you’d met him a handful of times through Cynthia, who had known Byron since their college days. 

“Thanks again for doing this for us, Byron, I really do appreciate it.” You followed the man as he headed back towards the elevator he’d come from.

He laughed. “Of course, it’s not every day a woman like Cynthia comes calling for a favor, and once I heard that it was for you, darling?” Byron flashed a large, good-natured grin. “I was happy to do it.” 

“What exactly is goin’ on?” Logan couldn’t help but ask the question as he stepped into the elevator with you and Byron. I thought I knew what today was gonna be like but… this… He glanced over at you to catch your smile widening. 

“She didn’t tell you?” Byron’s eyebrows flew up on his forehead as he pointed to you, and Logan shook his head no. The other man laughed, the sound hearty and genuine. “Oh then you’re in for a surprise, Mr. Delos.” 

Logan was about to press the issue further when you spoke. “Just hang in there a few more seconds, Logan. You said you trusted me to surprise you, right?” I sure do. He nodded, and without missing a beat you reached up to fix a strand of hair that had fallen over his eyes. “Okay, so trust me.” 

He heard Byron’s muffled laugh as the man tried to cover it up with his hand but his eyes were focused on you. Damn. The way she… “Okay,” he nodded. 

“Okay,” Bryon pointed to the lights above the door, the top floor lighting up just as a soft ding sounded. “Here we are. I’ll be just outside here, you’ve got about twenty minutes between tours so,” the elevator door opened to show a small vestibule area, and a set of doors with a small sign over the top that read just one word: crown. “Enjoy.” 

You thanked him again and pulled Logan towards the door, but he paused, pointing up to the sign, one side of his smile pulling his cheek further up his face than the other. “The crown? That mean we’re-”

“No one gets to come up here alone, Logan.” You grinned, your smile changing your voice to make it lighter. “Well, no one but us.” 

Us. The small word sent a big rush through him and he inhaled through his nose as he let you pull him the rest of the way through the doors and into the observation deck of the crown level. He was overwhelmed by the combination of big things and small gestures, special moments and mundane ones all mixed together. And it’s not even...it’s just noon and we’re… 

But his thoughts were completely scattered as he took in the sight before him, mouth dropping open and a breath slipping out. Damn. The inside of the Statue of Liberty’s crown was far less glamorous than the outside, exposed steel beams and grated flooring making the small room feel more like a construction zone than a monument, but it was the arched window panes and the light coming through them that caught and held Logan’s attention. Beyond the glass he could see the river the two of you had just crossed, glittering between the island and the city, and he felt himself drawn towards the view, glancing back once at you before stepping up to the windows. “This is…” He leaned his hand against a beam and looked out. 

“Yeah,” you stepped up next to him, ducking under the arm he had propped against the beam, looking out the window and leaning into him slightly. With a sigh you continued. “It’s pretty beautiful, isn’t it?” Something in the sigh made him snap his attention down to you, but you’d already moved on to the next set of windows before he could bring it up. What was that? “I’m gonna,” you waved your phone and rolled your eyes. “I’m gonna play tourist and take some pictures. You should look out over there,” you pointed to a particular window. “The view facing that direction is-” 

“Alright,” he decided to let it go, figuring that you’d tell him if anything was wrong. What could be wrong, anyway? We’re… this is… she’s amazing. 

He watched you turn back towards the window you’d been walking to, eyes drawn to the way that the skirt of your dress twirled around your knees, and it was difficult to peel them off of you and train his vision back on the skyline and the reason that you’d brought him here. She’s the real reason, though. He felt another warm rush pulse through his chest as he let himself get lost in the view and the woman who had lead him to it. 

After a few minutes had passed, Logan straightened up and took a step back from the window. He turned towards where you stood, still gazing out on the far side of the curved platform. The view that had just stolen his breath, of the sun reflecting in diamonds off of the river and the shrunken city on the other side, had been one of the most impressive things he’d ever seen. And that’s saying a lot. Logan had had no shortage of unique, once in a lifetime experiences- things most people, including you, could only dream of. But this is different. This wasn’t new or cutting edge or high tech. Yet it was something that he hadn’t even thought to dream of- precisely because of what it wasn’t. He could only see half of your face as you continued to soak up your city from above, but he could tell that you were smiling from the slight rise of your cheek. I never would have done this if it weren’t for her. “Hey,” he added your name, loving the way it rolled off his tongue, and you turned, sunlight streaming in from behind you. 

“Hi,” you answered, darkening the screen on your phone and stepping over to where Logan stood. 

“You get some good pictures?” He pointed to the phone you held, but his eyes hadn’t left your face. You nodded. “Good. C’mere.” He reached for you and took the phone from your hand, explaining himself before you had a chance to ask what he was doing. “Need one more.” At that he brought up the camera app and held the phone out in front of the two of you, pulling you close enough to kiss but refraining and snapping the picture in the seconds before his lips met yours. That’s gonna be a good one. He hadn’t checked it but he didn’t need to, and he slipped your phone into your purse where it hung from your shoulder without even breaking the kiss. When he finally did pull away, you hummed and placed both hands on his chest to steady yourself. “Ya know,” he leaned in to run the tip of his nose over yours before pressing his lips against your cheek. “I think I’m really startin’ to like New York.” 

..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..

Shit. You stiffened in his arms and you knew that he felt it, even if he continued to let his hands roam over your waist and shoulder, and his lips claimed every inch of skin between your mouth and your ear. You sucked in a breath as he walked you back slowly until your back touched the cool glass of one of the window panes. The sensation of the glass and his hands on your body was almost too much, but you couldn’t let it eclipse what he’d just said. Or what I have to tell him.  

“Oh?” You managed the one word question between kisses, letting your hands travel up over the plane of his chest to his shoulders. He responded by humming an Mmhmm against your skin, making you shudder. “And…” your breath hitched as you clutched his shirt. “And what makes you say that?” 

“The company,” he answered, moving one hand from the small of your back to the front of your body, letting it climb up the side of your ribcage. “I can see myself comin’ back  to visit,” he nipped at the earring he’d fixed earlier before speaking around it. “Often.” 

Shit. 

Before you could say anything else, he surprised you by continuing to alternate between speaking and dragging his teeth over your skin. “I like that I get to come see you.” 

“Logan…” You knew you couldn’t let the moment go on without telling him about your move, but you weren’t sure that he heard you. You could barely hear yourself from the way that he was leaving you breathless. 

“Leavin’s gonna fuckin’ suck,” he pressed his nose into your hair and inhaled before changing positions to give the same attention to the other side of your neck and your other ear. “But,” he ran his teeth over the outer shell of your ear and you hissed. “It’ll mean I have somethin’ to look forward to, comin’ back here. And it means I’ll have to be patient. And you know what that means-” 

It was time to earn your nickname. 

“Logan, I...I have to tell you something.” You groaned as his thumb found the triangle of exposed skin at the top of your abdomen, his lips roaming the slope of your shoulder before he took the strap of your dress between his teeth. But if you keep doing that I…

“Yeah?” He released the fabric from his mouth and the hand he had on your hip came up to the base of your skull, the thumb of his other hand still pressing lightly into your flesh. Your grip on his shirt tightened as he walked you back another step. “Go ahead’n tell me then.” You could feel him smiling as he said it, lips pressing to the top of your shoulder again as you felt the cool glass behind you. 

Closing your eyes, you tried to quiet the thundering beats of your heart but they only seemed to echo in the empty observation deck. But between his touch and the diminishing space between your body and his you could feel yourself losing that battle, and it was only a matter of time before his chest was pressed to yours, only a matter of time until he could feel it for himself. You let out a sigh as your head tilted to the left, and you felt yourself give up. Can’t… not when he’s… 

“Thought you hadta tell me somethin’.” His beard brushed your cheek as his warm breath tickled your ear. “ What is it?” 

“You’re not-” Your words were cut short as he leaned his hips forward, pinning you in place. Shit. 

“M’not what?” He kissed the skin behind your ear and for a moment you thought about abandoning the confession entirely. But I have to… He needs to know and… 

“You’re not gonna like it, Logan.” Your voice was thin, barely a whisper as you opened your eyes. 

He pulled away then but didn't take his hands from you, palms relaxing but maintaining contact. “Hey,” his dark eyes found yours and locked on, softening. “What is it? You’re...worryin’ me a little here.” 

“I’m sorry, I,” you shook your head and let out a breath. “I don’t… you don’t have to worry, I just… Look.” You sighed and brought both of your hands up to your head, combing your nails back over your scalp as Logan dropped his hands from your body. “I know why you like this… why you like New York, and why you like that I live here and not…” 

He spoke your name and tilted his head. “What are you...what do you-” 

“I know you, Logan.” I do. “I know that you like the distance because it means we can’t… that you can’t rush into something, or that we won’t burn out and spend too much time together too soon or-” 

“Kinda blew that one before he had a shot though, didn’t we? Spent every day together for six months.” He brought one hand up to your face to tilt it back up to his, and you saw questions swimming in his eyes. “So what is it?”

“Logan, I’m…” Just say it for fuck’s sake. “Remember when I told you that Cynthia had me on a new project?” 

“Yeah, of course.” His eyebrows came together as creases formed in his forehead and small crinkles gathered in the corners of his eyes. “But…” 

“She promoted me, Logan. She wants me to run a new office and I’ll have to relocate.” Why are you drawing this out? Just say it. 

“Oh,” He let his expression relax. “That’s... that’s great! Congratulations! Don’t...I can still...it doesn’t have to be New York, you know. I’ll come see you anywhere.” He narrowed his eyes and let a small smile seep into them. “I have a ton of miles, I can use ‘em whenever.” I’m sure you do. “So,” he leaned in and kissed you quickly. “Where are you off to? Miami? Is Cyn finally goin’ International?” His expression changed to one of excitement. “London?” 

“Los Angeles.” You answered, closing your eyes and feeling his hands drop from your body again. Yeah, that’s what I… “She needs me to run the West Coast office, Logan, she…” 

“L.A.? You’re…” his eyes widened. “You’re movin’ to California?” You nodded, eyes still closed as he took a step back. “When?” 

Blowing out a breath you opened your eyes to see him staring at you. “Soon. Next month. But it doesn’t have to-” It doesn’t have to change anything. 

“You didn’t wanna tell me?” His expression was a mixture of serious and confused, and you wanted desperately to make him understand everything. 

“What? No, of course I wanted to tell you, I just… I know that…” Your heart pounded in your chest. This isn’t… I ruined it. The day, the trip, all of it, it’s-

“You thought I...wouldn’t want to hear it?” He shifted his weight and leaned his shoulder into the steel beam to your left. “Thought I’d get…” 

“I thought you’d think it was too soon for me to… even though it isn’t- I’m moving because of my job, not because of…” you gestured at the space between your bodies. “Not because of this, I...this is still...we just...I wouldn’t try to rush anything like that, Logan, it’s just...bad timing.” 

“Bad timing?” He blew out a small breath that was almost a laugh, and then he shocked you further by stepping close again, both hands finding their way back to your waist. “You think it’s bad timing that the woman of my damn dreams is movin’ to my city, and I only have’ta wait a month?” He searched your eyes with his as a smile curved his lips.

What? 

You were sure that Logan would have reacted differently, and you wanted to make sure that he wasn’t holding anything back. Even though I know he always… “You’re not...worried? That it’s…” 

He leaned in then to quiet you with a brief kiss, his fingers squeezing into your waist as your hands came back to his shoulders. “No.” He kissed you again. “I’m not worried, ‘cause I know you’re not gonna… I know you’re not movin’ because you’re tryin’ to…” he laughed then and brought his left hand up to wiggle his empty ring finger. “Look. I get it. It’s a business move, out of your control. I did like the fact that you bein’ here meant that I’d have to… take things slower than normal but... “ He gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t see why we can’t…” 

“Logan,” you nodded enthusiastically. “We can. We can take it as slow as...we don’t have to spend every day together just because…” 

He laughed again and pressed another kiss to your lips. “No, we don’t, that’s right, killjoy.” You rolled your eyes, his lips still against yours so that you could feel his breath on your face. Damn, this wasn’t what I expected but… you laughed. But none of this was expected. “Plus, you’re gonna have your plate full, runnin’ a brand new office. I bet you won’t even have time for me for weeks.” 

“See? You won’t have to see me any more than if I was still living he- oh! Logan!” 

He pulled you into him then, winding his arms around you to speak into your ear. “You think I’ll get sick of seein’ you?” He didn’t wait for you to respond before he answered his own question. “Not gonna happen.” 

Relief flooded your system then as he tightened his hold on you just to let it go. That’s one half of the news down. Now I just have to tell him who my new client is. You knew that part was easier said than done, and though he’d reacted far more favorably than you could have imagined to the news of your move, that luck simply wouldn’t extend to his feelings towards learning that you were to become very involved with his sister’s ex-husband. But… later. That’s I’ll tell him later, not...it’s too much all at once. I’ll… 

As though he hadn’t just confessed to being...excited? Happy? About your impending move and what it meant for your brand new relationship, as though he hadn’t put your mind and heart at ease all at once, he blinked twice and smiled. “You hungry? Think I saw a sign for a cafe downstairs? They had pizza and-” 

Despite the way that your emotions had just gone on a wild ride, you had to laugh. “No way I’m letting your first experience with New York pizza be from a glorified, overpriced snack bar, Logan. You deserve far better than that.” You rose on your toes to kiss the tip of his nose and you traced your fingertips over the line of his beard where it met his cheek. “C’mon,” you grabbed for his hand just as Byron poked his head back inside to let you know that your time in the crown was up. “There’s a hot dog cart down on the island. That’s how real New Yorkers do lunch.” 

He chuckled and let you pull him back towards the elevator where Byron was waiting to see you both out. “Sounds delicious, Ms. West Coast Office,” he whispered into your ear and you thought you heard a sense of pride as he teased you with your new title. “After you.” 

Standing in line at a hot, metal cart, waiting for a vendor to pass you a hotdog with Logan Delos, you couldn’t help but wonder… 

Could it really be this easy?  

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Thank you for reading! If you would like to be added to or removed from the tags please feel free to let me know! 

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#see you in new york #SYiNY #see you in new york part four #logan delos #logan delos x reader #logan delos x you #logan delos westworld #logan delos fanfiction #FINALLY ! #this has been eleventy five years in the making #but i needed to post this part before thanksgiving #you'll see #anywho new york logan is a hoot enjoy him

[hwy-unicorn]

Shelter in the Storm

Summary: Alex tried to think back to a time that Norma had shared this much with him before, but came up empty. Norma must’ve realized it as well, eyes meeting his, a flicker of regret in her gaze. He reached out to her before he could stop himself, his fingers brushing against hers, before he turned his palm upwards, intertwining their fingers. She glanced down at their hands, entwined together, his thumb just barely brushing over her knuckles, so gentle that she almost didn’t feel it. She did feel it though, because how could she not have felt one of the kindest touches another man had ever graced her with?

Norma is scared of a storm and Alex provides her with much needed comfort

Note: Hi there! This story takes place shortly after the pair of them are married, before they actually get together! Please let me know what you think!!

Storms are heavy. Cumulus clouds can weigh up to nearly a million pounds, the weight fluctuating depending on the amount of water it’s holding. No one ever really thinks about it, considering rain falls in tiny droplets and not all at once. Norma thinks that more people would consider rain a danger if the water fell in a heavy flood, but it doesn’t and most people are reasonable enough to know that it probably never will. Norma, however, has never been a reasonable woman, and the rain crushing her to death was just one of her many worries when it came to stormy nights. She could usually find solace by climbing into bed with Norman, sure that he could protect her from any weight of water that may fall. 

But Norman wasn’t here, and Norma was alone. Well, not completely, as Alex was just down the hall, but it wasn’t like she could go to him for comfort. Sure, they were married now, but it’s not like it was real, perhaps on paper maybe, but not in any other way. There were lines that shouldn’t be crossed no matter how scared she was, so she’d just have to push through her fears.

Lightning lit up her room again, and she childishly threw the blankets over her head, and plugged her ears. She was hoping to block out the sound of thunder that would soon follow, but it didn’t do much as the house shook with the sound. Norma sighed, climbing out of bed and making her way downstairs. It became quite clear that sleep wouldn’t visit her tonight, so she decided to make herself some tea and attempt to relax a little.

Easier said than done when your entire house feels like it could fall apart.

As her tea heated on the stove, she plopped down into the small nook by the window, peering out as the rain fell relentlessly against it. She couldn’t see the pit from all this way, but she was sure it was flooded by now and the thought stressed her out more than the sight of her drowned flowers right outside. Why did she think running a motel would be easy?

After her tea was poured, she settled back into the nook, legs curled up and a wool knitted blanket wrapped snugly around her. 

“Can’t sleep Mrs. Romero?” The scorching tea sloshed out the side of her cup and down her arm as she flinched from Alex’s sudden voice.

“Sorry!” he laughed, grabbing some paper towels and wiping her arm. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Well you did!” 

She snatched the paper towels from him, rubbing uselessly at her newly stained pajama shirt, a pout forming on her lips as she realized the stain probably wouldn’t come out. Alex rolled his eyes fondly, unable to hide his smile as she shoved the paper towels back into his hand angrily. Before he could walk away, a sudden burst of thunder had Norma dropping her cup, the last bit of tea spilling and soaking her pajamas and blanket in the process. He couldn’t help the surprised burst of laughter that escaped him and she whipped her head around to glare haughtily at him.

“I’m glad this is so funny to you!” she snapped, throwing the blanket off of her and standing to clean the mess. She looked entirely ridiculous, and entirely too adorable, as she stomped around the kitchen in her soaked pajamas and fuzzy little socks, huffing and puffing the entire time. Alex caught her by the arm as she stormed past him to clean up more, taking them gently from her hand.

“I’ll clean this up,” he reassured, his tone patient. Her eyes softened just a little, tenseness escaping her. “You go change. I’ll make some more tea too.”

She sighed, glancing nervously towards the stairs, before casting her gaze back up to his kind eyes. It’s not that Norma didn’t appreciate his offer, but to go upstairs, in the dark, alone, on a stormy night? It sounded entirely too much for her. He could sense her reluctance, and had already put the pieces together in his head. She probably would never admit it- Norma was never one to admit to anything after all- but she was scared of the storm. Alex found it almost funny; that this vociferous force of a woman was scared of something as harmless as a thunderstorm.

“Do you want me to come with you?”

She gave him a pointed look, as if he was being absurd about his assumption. “Why would you do that?”

Her mood swings gave him whiplash. Her defensiveness was always lurking under the surface, showing itself in the most erratic of moments, even towards his kind offer of comfort. “Well,” he shrugged. “I mean no offense but you look terrified.”

She scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him another harsh glare. “I am not terrified.”

He knew it to be best to not get caught up in such petty little squabbles, so he shrugged. “Okay then. Go change.”

He didn’t think she could do it, and she knew it, the smug smile on his face telling her that this was indeed a challenge.

“Fine. I will,” she stormed off towards the stairs, and for a moment, Alex thought he had lost whatever little argument this was, until she stopped at the bottom step. Norma gripped the railing, puffing out a nervous breath, before glancing helplessly back at her ever so smug husband.

“Would you like me to come with you?” he offered again, his complacent attitude disappearing at the moping look on her face.

She wrung her hands together nervously, before nodding, offering an apologetic smile and half shrug.

“Alright, let’s go Mrs. Sheriff,” he placed a hand on the small of her back, giving her a gentle shove up the stairs.

Any nervousness she had earlier had vanished, her entire being comforted simply by his kind voice and compassionate touch that he offered. She had always felt safe with Alex, perhaps not at first, but there had been a shift somewhere in their relationship, although it was unclear where. At some point though, the tension she had once felt while talking to him had dissipated, replaced with a more excitable, yet serene feeling. And at some point, the displeased look that she had once seen in his eyes was gone, instead a calm, almost content gaze taking its place. So many things had changed since that moment they met on her motel porch, things that she wished could have been different, but things that had led them up to this point. The pair of them, husband and wife. Alex kissing her not once, but twice the day of their wedding, gently leading her up the stairs hours after, in the dark after she had gotten too drunk to walk herself, and again tonight but for a different reason.

He waited patiently outside the door as she changed, throwing her stained clothes into a nearby hamper and rustling through drawers to find something just as warm. The winter in White Pine Bay wasn’t terrible, but it was still cold, and the heater in this old house was a finicky thing. Her satin slips and silk robes wouldn’t do it for tonight, though she didn’t own much else. She settled on a longer nightgown that fell just below her knees; the sleeves long enough to keep her arms warm, and since she still had her socks it actually wasn’t too chilly. As Norma was pulling the nightgown over her head, the lights around her suddenly flickered, before fizzling out completely, thunder rumbling low in the distance.

Panic rose in her chest and she stumbled towards the door. “Alex?” she threw the door open, crashing straight into him.

“I’m right here, you okay?” he asked, holding her arms to steady her.

She nodded, eyes darting around the darkened hallway. “What happened?”

“Just a power outage,” he shrugged, moving towards the stairs. “We can grab some candles or flashlights or-” she grabbed onto the sleeve of his shirt. “or something.”

“O-Okay. Okay, um,” she walked closely behind him, fingers tightening onto his sleeve. “They’re in the basement- just be careful on the steps!”

They moved down the stairs at a snail’s pace, Norma clinging onto him and refusing to let go the entire way down. She would’ve been more embarrassed if it wasn’t for her fear of the storm and the unlit house clouding her thoughts.

“You don’t own a single flashlight?” Alex asked, somewhat teasingly, as he rummaged through the boxes in her basement.

“There should be one down here somewhere,” had she left it in the pit? “I found the candles though.”

“I think that should be good enough,” Alex sighed. “I’m buying you a flashlight though. You need to have one, you know.”

She rolled her eyes. “I have one somewhere.”

He huffed a laugh, shooting her a look as he put another box back onto one of the metal shelves. “Yeah well, you kinda need to know where it is,” he peeked inside the little basket that rested next to her toolbag. “You know, in case-” he froze.

“What? What is it?”

He wasn’t sure what it was, but the sight of Norma’s small handgun in the basket next to a pair of scissors made his blood run cold as he thought of all the possibilities that could’ve put those objects in there together. The only scenario that made the most sense was the one of that night that Norma had left him that horrifying voice message. Was she the one with the gun or the scissors? Alex knew either way that if it came down to it, Norma wouldn’t use either against her son, and the thought that he could’ve found her dead terrified him. 

He held up the gun. “Why do you have this?” Panicked, Norma made a move to grab it, but he held it just out of her reach, eyebrows raising. “What is this doing here Norma?”

“I must’ve misplaced it, that was a mistake,” she reached for it again, though he wouldn’t let her take it. “Alex give it to me.”

He stared at her a moment longer, hoping for the truth to just spill out. “Did Norman have this?” she opened her mouth to no doubt defend her son, but he held up a hand, stopping her. “Norma, don’t lie to me. Did Norman have this that night you called me?”

She looked up at him, tears lining her blue doe eyes as her lip quivered. “He wouldn’t have hurt me,” she said definitively. “Okay? So just- just give me the gun and I’ll put it away.”

He had a certain look in his eye that she couldn’t quite place, and she wondered if it was a mistake admitting to him that Norman did in fact have her gun. And though she told Alex that Norman wouldn’t have hurt her, she wasn’t entirely sure that was true. He wasn’t himself that night, and Norma truly did fear of him turning that gun on her. She certainly couldn’t admit that to Alex though.

He decided to drop it, against his better judgement, and just hope that Norma would tell him everything at some point in time. Norman was away in Pineview, so there was no need for Alex to press this conversation any more. He handed her the gun, and she slipped it into the box with the little tea light candles.

“Let’s go light these.”

They both let the conversation go, the atmosphere returning to the easy, lightheartedness that was so rare for the pair of them. Norma sat back in the nook as Alex lit the candles, placing them strategically around the kitchen to provide some sort of light.

“There,” he set the last candle in the middle of the dining room table. “Good enough?”

“Yeah, it’s perfect,” she smiled. “Thank you by the way,” her voice was quiet, almost shy. “You didn’t have to help me.”

Alex only shrugged. “I didn’t want you to be scared.”

Norma flushed, butterflies erupting in her tummy at his sentiment. Alex Romero could be a truly sweet man when he wanted to be, and Norma wondered how many others saw this side of him. Had he ever had a girlfriend while she was here? Not any that she could remember, unless he was very good at hiding her. Then again, if he did, he’d probably live with her after his house burned down, and not at Norma’s motel for three months. He’d also probably call his girlfriend when he was drunk at that bar, instead of Norma. So no, he probably hadn’t had a girlfriend in quite a while, which seemed like quite a shame, considering he was a truly good man. Not that Norma liked him like that, not at all.

Lightning lit up the room, providing more light than the candles could, before it faded, thunder echoing immediately after, and that familiar anxiety that Norma felt earlier was back. Alex glanced back at her from the stove, eyes raking over her shaking form and comically wide eyes. He poured both of them tea, and made his way over, handing her a cup as he peered out the window.

“It doesn’t look too bad out there,” he said, in what he hoped was a reassuring way.

“Are you kidding?” Norma sighed. “Look at it, it’s practically a flood!”

He spared another glance down at her, sighing. He was moving before he could give his decision another thought, nudging her legs with his hand. “Alright, move over.”

“What are-”

“Just move,” he huffed, and she quickly rearranged her stretched out legs, curling them back up to her chest, moving the blanket to make room.

They didn’t both fit very well, but he managed to squeeze his way into the small nook across from her. Norma couldn’t help but blush just a little as their bare legs made contact under the blanket, but there wasn’t room for him to move so she didn’t comment. She fiddled nervously with her cup, watching as he settled in and sipped at his tea. Maybe this wasn’t too bad. It was silent for a while, neither really knowing what to say to one another. They never got many moments of tranquility in each other’s presence, so it was safe to say that this silence was just a little awkward.

Alex finally spoke up. “Why are you so scared of storms?”

It sounded accusing, and he gave her an almost guilty smile, letting her know he hadn’t meant it like that. Norma didn’t notice his tone though, shrugging in reply. “I don’t know. They’re… loud.”

“You’re loud,” he countered playfully, and she rolled her eyes, unable to hide the small quirk of a smile.

“Yeah, well,” she shrugged. “The lightning could strike the house.”

He snorted. “Norma, come on. The chances of that happening are like- like one in a billion-”

“One in two hundred, actually,” she replied, refusing to look at him. She felt like a child all of the sudden, being scolded for her silly fears, though she knew Alex wasn’t really scolding her. “I know it’s silly but-”

“I’m not saying it’s silly Norma. I-I just don’t think you have much to worry about.”

It grew silent again, and Alex got the feeling that he said something very wrong. He knew he had to tread carefully with Norma, but he always seemed to say the wrong thing, either leading to a blow-up or the silent treatment. It seemed to be the latter this time.

Alex opened his mouth to apologize, but Norma was speaking before he could. “I just... have always been alone,” it almost sounded like she was about to cry. “No one’s ever comforted me, or-or protected me, besides Norman of course, but not when I was a little girl. Not when I needed it the most,” this was about more than the storm, and they both knew it.

Alex tried to think back to a time that Norma had shared this much with him before, but came up empty. Norma must’ve realized it as well, eyes meeting his, a flicker of regret in her gaze. He reached out to her before he could stop himself, his fingers brushing against hers, before he turned his palm upwards, intertwining their fingers. She glanced down at their hands, entwined together, his thumb just barely brushing over her knuckles, so gentle that she almost didn’t feel it. She did feel it though, because how could she not have felt one of the kindest touches another man had ever graced her with?

“I’m sorry,” he spoke quietly. Their eyes met, blue to brown, an unknown feeling held between the gaze. “I… I’m not going to let anything bad happen to you Norma.”

She had a feeling that he was talking about more than the storm, but the sentiment was just the same. Norma blinked back her tears, and turned to look out the window once more, her fingers tightening her grip on him just momentarily, before their eyes locked again. There was a brief flicker of uncertainty in her eyes as she watched him, but then it was gone as if it was never there in the first place, and she was moving before she could change her mind.

She let his hand go, sliding across the small space in the nook resting her body against his in some sort of awkward hug. Alex didn’t mind it though, his hand resting on her back and pulling her just a bit closer, so she was almost on his lap, her head resting in the crook of his neck. Norma breathed out a sigh, the tension leaving her body. Why did this feel so… right, as if her body was made to be with his?

“Am I keeping you up?” Norma asked quietly, her warm breath feeling a little too nice against his neck.

“No. No, I- I start late tomorrow anyways.”

He hesitated, before his fingers came up to stroke her blonde curls, afraid to overstep any boundaries. She didn’t mind though, she was actually pleasantly surprised at how comfortable she felt in his arms. It was almost like she was protected from any and everything that could hurt her, sheltered simply by his touch.

“You’ve always protected me,” she spoke so quietly that Alex wouldn’t be able to hear it if she wasn’t pressed so close against him. “And I… I don’t always say it but I do appreciate it.”

“I know… Norma. I know.”

Norma was unsure about it at first, living together that is, but perhaps it wouldn’t be too bad. If this is what living together entailed, then she could get used to it. She could get used to more, if she was being quite honest, but this? This was fine for now. Excellent actually.

#normero fic #norma bates #alex romero #normero #my fic #bates motel

[floatingpetals]

Call of the Mountains || Ch. 6

Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes (Werewolf AU!)

Warnings: Nothin, a little bit of language

Word Count: 3100+ 

Summary:  (Werewolf-AU!Stucky x f!reader) Life had begun to overwhelm her. Work was insane and her life was a mess. There was a tug in her soul that called her to take this trip, deep into the forest away, where there was the peace and stillness of nature. She didn’t know why, but she knew she needed to listen. It was meant to be a relaxing trip, but one misstep on some moss sent her tumbling into the rapids of the flooded river. She thought she was gone and the earth decided it was time to reclaim her. She didn’t expect was to be pulled from the river nor the creature that saved her. Her entire world is turned upside down and all it took was an accidental step to the left. (18+ Only Story)

A/N: Yaaaa! I started this during my move and just now finished lol. The move went smoothly and my roommates are actually really sweet. Now the fun part of emailing and begging for a job lol. The plan is to have a job by mid-March. I’m tired of hoping and dreaming. I’m going to get a job by mid-March. Just like how I was going to move to New York. This isn’t the year of hope and maybe. Its the year shits gonna happen. But back to the story, I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think! ❤

The gifs are not mine, credit to the owner.

Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Series Masterlist

After Steve’s hasty retreat, Bucky and Y/N finished their dinner in relative silence. Bucky tried not to show how annoyed he truly was, but Y/N could tell from the tenseness in his shoulders that the interaction bothered him more than he let on. It also could have been how he was aggressively stabbing at his meatballs with his fork.

The sun was beginning to set when he led her out the back door. He was explaining something to her about his house, she wasn’t paying attention when a strange feeling washed over her. Y/N froze on the steps down when she felt a pulse, the hairs on her arms standing on end. She sucked in a sharp breath when a strange wave of blue light came from under the wooden steps and passed along the tips of the blades of the grass in front of her. Y/N watched in alarm as the thin glowing line moved at a leisurely pace, breaking around Bucky’s feet before connecting once passed by. She watched with morbid fascination as the light did the same with the trees, rocks, and houses before it disappeared out of her line of sight. It was pretty, she thought distantly, if not completely unnatural and in every way terrifying.

Bucky hadn’t noticed her stop, too busy talking about Natasha and her antics. When he didn’t get an immediate response, he turned back to Y/N where she still stood on the stairs, her eyes wide in terror. Frowning, Bucky walked back the short distance.

“Y/N? What’s wrong?” He asked gently. Y/N’s tried to open her mouth to reply, but she found it hard to find the right set of words. It only caused Bucky’s worry to grow the longer her silence went on. “Y/N?”

Gently, he placed his hand on top of hers. She jumped and her eyes drifted to his in a haze.

“I-.” She tried to swallow past the lump in her throat. She wanted to tell him about the light, to badger him until she got the answers she wanted. Every fiber in her being was screaming for answers to whatever the hell this place was. Completely reasonable in her opinion. Clearly, this place wasn’t exactly human. But so far, she hasn’t managed a straight answer from any of them. The uneasiness settled like a rock in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t tell him. She was alone in this. Clearing her throat, Y/N finally replied. “Nothing.”

Bucky cocked his head to the side and eyed her curiously. He knew she was hiding something from him. He could smell the change in her emotions, sharp and bitter like burnt cinnamon. She was nervous, a touch scared and incredibly uncertain. It made the wolf inside him restless. He had to bite back the whine ready to burst from his chest, startling himself with its reaction. His wolf never did that, always letting him take the lead. Bucky immediately dropped his hand back to his side, needing to let sever that contact between them.

“If you sure.” He said slowly and took a step back. Y/N hesitated to step on the grass, her thoughts gnawing at the back of her mind. Bucky watched her inner turmoil, his scowl growing the longer she hesitated and the heavier her scent grew. Bucky was ready to step in, but whatever hesitancy Y/N was stuck in, she shook it off and pushed forward.

Forcing a shaky smile at Bucky, Y/N stepped down onto the grass. If he noticed the shake in her fingers and the way her smile didn’t reach her eyes, he didn’t mention it. He waited for her to follow, and the two fell in line as he led her to his house along the dirt road.

“I hope you like the room. We don’t usually have guests, but it’s always set up in case my parents come in to visit.” Bucky said to fill the quiet.

“Oh, you’re parents live someplace else?” Y/N perked up at the topic change, willing to take anything to get her mind off things.

“Yep. They used to live here, but they moved to Arizona a few years back. Somethin’ about needing a warmer climate.” Bucky chuckled and tucked his hands in his pockets. “Steve’s ma still lives here, but she’s got her own place further up the mountain. She’ll come up every Sunday to have breakfast with us before she goes off to shop in the town though. So really the guest rooms are just used as big storage rooms.”

“Well at least you have someplace for them to stay.”

Bucky snorted. “It makes it harder to get rid of them when they do come to visit. What about you? Where are your parents?”

“They’re living in a suburb right outside the city. Not too far from where I live so, I can go visit whenever I want. Not that I get much of a chance with my job.” She rolled her eyes. Bucky raised a brow.

“Oh? Don’t like your job?”

“It’s not that, entirely.” Y/N let out a heavy sigh. She noticed the road they walked down led away from the clearing and into the thicker forest. Despite not knowing the slightest idea where she was, she didn’t feel an ounce of unease being with Bucky. It was just the forest that freaked her out. “I like it well enough, but it’s just… A lot. It’s actually why I decided to come out here for the week. To relax and get away from the hustle and bustle. Doin’ a bang-up job of that.” She remarked dryly and glared at her wrist. Bucky laughed softly and shook his head, his pretty grey eyes dancing with mirth.

“Has it been everything you’ve hoped and dream?”

“Oh yeah.” Y/N rolled her eyes. “Everything’s going according to plan.”

Bucky nudged her with his shoulder, smiling widely at her. It was nice to see her joking in such a short amount of time, all things considered. He turned right on a road and led them up a steep hill. The further they went up the mountain the thicker the tree line grew and the steeper the incline became. She also noticed the way the road cut through the trees but didn’t take more room than necessary to make way for the road. It was clear to her they wanted to blend in the environment. Almost as if they were hiding.

Eventually, after Y/N realized without a shadow of a doubt she was not in shape enough to be traipsing up the side of a mountain, the road lead them to what she assumed was Bucky’s and Steve’s house. Y/N stopped at the top of the road and hunch over with a wheeze, bracing her good hand on her knee. While she struggled to breathe, she caught sight of Bucky out of the corner of her eye. He didn’t look slightly fazed by their climb, not a single hair looked out of place.

“You all good?” Bucky teased. She glared at him and stuck out her tongue.

“You shush. Mountain boy.” She grumbled. Now that she wasn’t gasping for air and her side stopped cramping, Y/N looked over to the house.

It was smaller in size than the main building, but not tiny by any stretch of the word. It was a magnificent two-story wood cabin with a balcony and a wraparound porch perched near the cliffside, the back of the house overlooking the clearing below. There were a couple rocking chairs sitting out on the porch, and a few wooden tables between them. It looked straight out of a travel magazine. The house was adorable, quaint and screamed ‘lumberjacks in the woods.’ 

“It’s nothin’ fancy but it gets the job done,” Bucky said sheepishly. Y/N shot him a baffled look.

“What are you talking about? I love it!” She exclaimed.

Bucky’s ears went pink and he grunted in response, kicking the dirt with the toe of his boot. Her praise made his heart skip and the wolf inside him practically purred in response. An echoing rumble behind them made him pause and glance up at the darkening sky. The clouds off in the distance looked threatening and dark. It made Y/N’s stomach drop.

“Huh.” Bucky clicked his tongue. “Wasn’t supposed to rain for the rest of the week. Let’s get inside and I’ll show you your room.”

Y/N sent the clouds one last concerned glance before following him inside. She was surprised to see the inside was actually decorated tastefully, if not on the simple side. The front entryway led straight into the living room and she could see the kitchen and dining room off the left. There was a large black couch with a few blankets tossed on the back, a love seat and a giant flat screen tv mounted on the wall above the fireplace to the right. Dark shades covered the wall of windows, similarly like the main house. She wondered if the view was as breathtaking as she thought it would be.

“Kitchens there on the left, feel free to anything in the fridge. The TV has full satellite, so you're welcomed to use it and watch whatever you want. I just warn you not to delete Steve’s recordings of Chopped. He might have a meltdown again.” He chuckled unabashedly. “Steve’s room is upstairs to the left with the second spare room and mine is on the first floor here down this hall. Yours is right across from mine. Don’t worry. You’ll have your own bathroom down the hall so you don’t have to share with little old me.”

Y/N giggled at the wink he sent her way and followed him down the hall. He showed her the bathroom before leading her to her room.

“If I assume right,” Bucky began as he opened the door. “Ah, yeah, she grabbed it.”

Sitting on the floor next to a desk against a window was the backpack Y/N hadn’t realized she had been missing. She had other more important things to worry about than the pack, not like it contained anything valuable anyway.

“Natasha had taken it while you were unconscious and tried to dry what she could.” Bucky leaned against the door frame and glanced around. Y/N stepped in and headed towards the backpack. “You said you were camping near here?”

“Huh?” Y/N paused her shuffling through the pack. Her books, while crinkled, had been dried and the bookmark returned in place. “Oh, yeah on the nature reserve. I don’t remember the campsite number, but it was the closest to the waterfall. Hopefully, no one steals my stuff, or well, my dad’s stuff.”

Bucky nodded slowly, his brow creasing in thought. He shook his head after a moment and nodded to the stack of clothes on the desk. “Well, Natasha’s made herself at home and grabbed you some of my shirts and pants for you. There’s towels in the bathroom closet and I think there’s some conditioner and shampoo from when Becca stayed over.”

“Becca?”

“My sister.” Bucky sighed, sounding annoyed but the small upturn of the corner of his lips told Y/N he really wasn’t as bothered as he sounded. “She likes to drop in from time to time, unannounced of course.”

Y/N turned to ask more about his family, however, Bucky’s head snapped up and spun to glare down the hall. He wiped the emotions on his face, his features shifting into irritation. Y/N heard a door open and slam closed, the force rattling the house. She sent a worried look down the hall. She didn’t have to see who walked into know just who it could be. Bucky let out a slow calming breath and sent Y/N a strained smile over his shoulder.

“Make yourself comfortable. I need to go… handle something.” Bucky muttered before spinning at heel and stalked off towards the sound. Y/N was fully aware he meant he had to handle a certain someone. Letting out her own heavy sigh and went to pull a shirt and pair of pants from the neatly folded stack.

Now that all the excitement was over, Y/N wanted nothing more than to get out of her river water dried clothes and wash whatever dirt and grime was left in her hair. She stopped and stared at her splint with a scowl. She couldn’t get it wet, nor did she want to take it off and risk injuring herself further. It be would be easier if she could wrap it up but didn’t see anything in the room. She was already picturing the gymnastic routine she’d have to perform to make this work.

Groaning, Y/N grabbed her clothes and went to the bathroom. She stopped short when she noticed the box of trash bags sitting on the counter along with tape, body wash, a brand-new toothbrush, toothpaste, and a shower cap. Laughter bubbled out of her mouth. Natasha really did think of everything. Chuckling to herself, Y/N shut the door to start her shower, effectively cutting her off from the storm happening in the living room.

Bucky didn’t mean to leave her so abruptly. But when Steve walked up stinking of rage followed by slamming the door, he needed to say something. He might not like the situation, but he wasn’t going to take it out on her.

“What the fuck is your issue?” Bucky snarled, cornering Steve in the kitchen. Steve turned from where he was searching in the fridge and glared at Bucky. He growled low in his throat, baring his teeth at the other.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Steve snapped back and grabbed a beer before he slammed the fridge door shut.

“Would you quit doing that?” Bucky hissed, his face twisting into a snarl. “And the hell you don’t. I could smell you before you even walked in the door. You’re pissed and taking it out on the house cause you know I’ll skin you alive if you take it out on her.”

“So you think,” Steve grumbled and downed half the bottle.

Bucky narrowed his eyes at Steve and stalked around the island to stand toe to toe with Steve. Steve glare never wavered as he lowered the bottle from his lips. There wasn’t much of height difference, maybe an inch or two, but Steve still managed to accomplish looking down his nose at Bucky.

“The thing is, I do.” He growled. “You aren’t that fucking subtle Rogers. Especially since your doin’ a bang-up job at keeping your alpha macho on low. Just because you don’t like having a human here doesn’t mean you need to be a little shit. Thought you’re Ma raised you better.”

Steve snarled and shoved Bucky back, or at least attempted to. Bucky didn’t budge, his hackles rising and teeth snapping in retaliation.  Anyone else might have buckled under the strength and secretly Bucky was surprised by how much force behind the shove, but he wasn’t an alpha for nothing.

Bucky was right once again. Steve was really hating hearing that phrase in his inner monologue. He was losing control of his power, could taste it in the air around him. Steve usually always had better control of himself, the rage, power, and everything. The loss made him even angrier. All because he couldn’t figure out the woman and what she was doing to him.

“You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Steve huffed and stepped around Bucky. He sank onto a barstool and took another drink from his beer. Bucky glared and leaned against the counter, glowering as he did.

“Then why are you acting like this? Why?” Bucky pressed. “Cause it sure as shit doesn’t make any sense to me why you can’t at least be cordial. It’s not like she intended on potentially drowning and getting hurt. If you’re worried about the pack and how they’d handle her being here, don’t. Nat’s already on that. She likes the girl and is our beta for a reason.”

“I’m not worried about the pack,” Steve bit back.

“Then what’s your issue?”

Steve fell silent, glaring at the bottle. To be completely honest, he didn’t know. True, he wasn’t completely jazzed about her being here in their territory. Except he could handle the few ruffled furs and angry snaps from the members. There was something about her that stood out to him. He might have only said a few words to her, but it was still there. That’s what was bothering him. Why did his wolf raise it’s head for the first time in years? It’s never shown interest. Not since-

“Um.”

A soft voice behind him caused him to jump, his eyes going wide. Bucky even seemed startled by her quiet approach. They weren’t that deep in conversation to miss hearing her walk up, were they?

“Sorry.” Y/N said sheepishly when both men turned to stare at her in shock. “I didn’t mean to interrupt. But could one of you help?”

Bucky’s eyes dropped to the back and tape in her hand, blinking in confusion. Steve frowned and tried to figure out what she meant.

“I can’t get my splint wet and don’t want to risk taking it off and well… Slipping in the shower.” Y/N chuckled, ducking her chin to her chest. A slow grin spread on Bucky’s face before he pushed off the counter to help.

“Can’t have that can we?” Bucky teased.

“I figured we all had enough excitement for today.”

Steve watched quietly as Bucky helped tape the bag on her hand, his brows creasing in thought. She giggled at something Bucky said and Steve felt his breath hitch at the sound. Biting back a growl, he shook his head and glared at the bottle once again.

“There,” Bucky said looking down at the finished product. “Let me know if you need help taking it off.”

Y/N thanked him and Steve heard her soft footsteps retreat back down the hall. Bucky let out a sigh and slid in next to Steve.

“I just…” Bucky began slowly. “I just need you to not treat her like you wanted her to drown in the river. She’s actually really sweet and I know if you gave her a chance, you’d actually like her.”

Steve grumbled and finished what was left of the beer. He let out a deep sigh and sent Bucky a halfhearted glare.

“Fine.” He muttered and ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll try to keep my attitude in check.”

“That’s all I ask pal.”

The two fell silent, listening to the distant sound of the shower running and the dark rumble of the clouds above them.

“You know I don’t like you sometimes, punk,” Steve muttered. Bucky snorted and nodded.

“Right back at you jerk.”

The two exchanged lopsided smirks, whatever cloud hanging over them both gone. They’d be fine, that they knew at least. If only they knew of the other clouds that hung heavy and dark above their home.

NSFW Tag: (Open- MUST BE 18+, NO EXCEPTIONS)

@cherrynat  / @221bshrlocked / @theapologies / @lusts-of-the-flesh / @rowencarter3 / @littlehellflame / @buckyb4rnacle / @diinofayce / @sincerelymlg / @punkrockhippiefromthefourties / @slytherinlifeislove / @moderapoppins / @nirinael-the-rising-demon / @girlwhoisfearless / @whatisanniedoin / @xxashy999xx / @cinema212 / @sergeantjbuckybarnes / @lokigodofsasss / @myforeveryoungblog /  @serpentbaby / @palaiasaurus64 / @electra-hxart / @libbymouse / @disaster-rose / @cloverrover /

Call Of The Mountains Taglist: (CLOSED!!!)

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#stucky x reader #steve rogers x bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader #steve rogers imagine #bucky barnes imagine #steve rogers fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfiction #steve rogers fanfic #bucky barnes fanfic #steve rogers fic #bucky barnes fic #steve rogers #bucky barnes #marvel fanfiction #marvel imagine #marvel fic #reader insert #marvel au #stucky au #werewolf au #wer!steve rogers x reader x wer!bucky barnes #wer!steve x reader #wer!bucky x reader #call of the mountains chapter 6

[luciehercndale]

Ginger Mulled Wine // Kelila

Hi, here’s another ADSOM (mostly Kell and Lila) AU fic. One night, Kell and Rhy walk into a bar and... well, read to know what happens.

Couple(s)/Characters: Kell and Lila, Rhy and Alucard Rating: M  Tw: mentions of alcohol use

Kell and Rhy walked into a bar late at night. Although Kell didn’t like the idea that much, he agreed, because his brother insisted. 

“What is one night out in the open, brother,” Rhy protested, completely ignoring the facts.

“You’re still a king, Rhy,” Kell reminded him. 

“So what? Aren’t kings allowed a bit of fun?”

“Just be careful,” he frowned. “Is this the bar? Knives out… really?” 

“Why, don’t you like the name?” Rhy raised an eyebrow as he walked with him to the counter. “Don’t tell that to the owner, I beg you.”

Kell shrugged. The owner would not like it at all, and he knew it. His eyes went on the people behind the counter. He instantly looked for that person, but she wasn’t in sight. Not yet. “Do you remember what I told you?” 

Rhy shrugged off his coat and nodded. “Yes. Yes. You told me several times, but I told you I have a good memory. I shouldn’t -”

“There you are,” a voice said. 

“No, there you are,” Rhy replied, and reached Alucard, who was reserving some bar stools next to the counter. “Hope you didn’t wait a lot. But my brother, right here, spent too much to get ready.” Rhy glared at Kell, but he simply shrugged. 

“And here I thought you were the vainest,” Alucard told Rhy, who snorted. “Do you want a drink?” he asked them once they all sat down.

“Did somebody say drink?”

Kell tried not to look too fast in the direction of the new voice. Her voice. But he couldn’t help it, and stared. She wore black leather pants and a black camisole. He realized that it was getting warmer in there, and he removed his coat. The gesture earned him her eyes on him.

“What can I get you?” she asked no one in particular.

“Whiskey on the rocks for me,” Alucard said first, followed by a mimosa order from Rhy. 

When her eyes landed on Kell, he still didn’t have an answer. “What about you?”

“I don’t know,” Kell said honestly, then had an idea. “Why don’t you choose one for me?”

She didn’t say anything. She smiled, and then she started mixing the drinks. She made Alucard and Rhy’s drinks first. She took her time with his drink. After a few minutes, she put a red concoction in front of him.

“What is this?” he wondered, observing the glass. It looked like the type of thing you would use to drink tea or cappuccino, not an alcoholic drink.

“It’s ginger mulled wine,” she replied softly, placing her forearms on the counter. “To complement your hair.”

He frowned, confused. Then he started drinking slowly. In the meantime, she watched him with an expectant look in her eyes. Kell thought the drink was too sweet but also sour because of the union between the wine and the ginger. He wasn’t liking it that much, but he pretended he did. 

“It’s delicious,” he commented after he drank half a cup. It wasn’t an outright lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. He didn’t know what to say. It was okay. He hoped that this would be enough for her.

“Let me taste it,” she said out of the blue, and grabbed the cup from Kell’s hand to try it. 

Their hands brushed when she did it. He licked his lips as he watched her taste her own drink, but she didn’t seem so pleased. “How can you say this is good? It’s bitter! Remind me not to try it again,” she said, and turned her back to him and threw the remnants of his drink into the sink.

Kell watched her with astonishment. What if he wanted to finish it? He didn’t know if that was a farce or not, but her face still seemed contorted after sipping the ginger wine. He decided to spice things up a bit, because he was sure she would love that.

“I have to be honest with you,” he started saying, and he got her attention again. “I didn’t like that drink either. And I think you are not even good at mixing drinks.”

If the comment was too harsh, she didn’t let it show. “Oh, yeah?” 

“Yeah,” he agreed firmly.

She then turned to Rhy and Alucard, who were immersed in their conversation and hadn’t noticed this little rebuttal between them. “Messieurs,” she said. “Did you enjoy my drinks? Your friend, here, said he didn’t.”

“He’s not my friend,” Alucard replied, which earned him an elbow in the ribs by Rhy. “Anyway, yes. I enjoyed my drink, Bard.”

“I enjoyed mine too, thank you,” Rhy said.

“See? They enjoyed it,” she lamented.

But Kell had had enough of playing like this. He glanced at his watch. It was already late, and he had spent a day deprived of her. He decided to act.

“Oh my, I think I’m gonna need the restroom,” he said, putting a hand on his mouth, pretending to be about to heave out the contents of his stomach right there. 

If she was concerned, she didn’t show it. “This is the ginger getting revenge,” she said instead, as Kell rose from his seat and left.

He glanced at her one last time before leaving. It was an excuse, of course, one he was sure she had caught. He turned the corner before the narrow hallway that led to the toilets. It was dimly lit, the wall painted a dark blue giving it an even obscure feeling to it. As if that was the path to perdition instead of liberation, of freshening up before getting wasted at the counter. 

It didn’t take long until someone grabbed his hand and pushed him gently to the nearest wall. Two soft lips caught his in an intense and heated up kiss. Not the kind you give to an acquaintance, but the king you only reserve to someone you desire or cherish. His hand found the mass of her hair and they were a tangled mess of kisses. Unstoppable, fast, unyielding. On the lips, on the neck, even on her chest. They didn’t want to part nor wished to. But they were running out of air after a while, and she broke the kiss.

“What was that?” Kell wondered, breathless for a moment.

“A kiss,” she teased with a smirk, playing with his hair with her thin fingers.

His eyebrow rose in disbelief. “For saying that your bartending skills suck?”

“Do they really?”

“You know I was just joking,” he answered cautiously. She still wasn’t good at mixing drinks, but it wasn’t her job. “Besides, you’re the owner. No one will hold it against you.”

“Not even you, mister know-it-all?” she asked. 

He tilted his head and shrugged. "I'll give you a six," he finally said, eyes unblinking and confident. But she seemed disappointed. 

"Only six?" she chuckled, and touched the collar of his shirt. 

“Six is a good grade,” he argued with a grin, as he caressed her back with his hand. And no, he wasn’t trying to make her change her mind. Maybe. 

“Then I’ll also grade this kiss, if you don’t mind.”

“Go ahead,” he fretted and smirked, curious to know.

She frowned. “You seem so sure of yourself.”

“Shouldn’t I be?”

“No,” she replied, tugging his head towards her to whisper something in his ear. “Because you did poorly on your performance.” 

“That’s too bad,” he whispered back in her ear. “Because I was sure you liked it.”

She snorted. “You know that I’m a good pretender,” she said, her lips almost on his again. Almost touching, teasing.  “I’ll be kind and give you the chance to try again.”

She looked up when she finished, and blinked once. He didn’t know if it was an unspoken sign to go on or not, but he didn’t care. His lips found hers again, and for a moment it was just them in the silent hallway. Far from the world, far from the bar. Until the spell was broken abruptly, but not by one of them.

“I knew I would find you here, Kell,” Rhy said from the corner. His coat lain on his left arm. On the other side, there was Alucard. “There is no one at the counter anymore.”

“What? Already?” she freed herself from Kell with a surprised expression.

“Time passes quickly when you have fun, Bard. It’s two am in the morning,” said Alucard. “I gather that you lost track of time after he arrived.” He tilted his head towards Kell, who stood there feeling like someone had rained on his parade.

“Well, then. This means I should go closing up,” she commented, and started moving until Alucard stopped her. 

“No. We’ve already done it when we didn’t see you come back anymore. Don’t worry, go home.”

“Yes, stay here with Kell,” Rhy said, directed at Lila. “Alucard will accompany me back to my abode, don’t worry,” he added, now towards Kell. “By the way, tonight’s performance? I’ll give you both a nine,” he finished. “I’ll never get why they pretend not to know each other and act…” they heard him say before he and his boyfriend rounded the corner and disappeared, leaving them alone.

“It’s called roleplay, Rhy…” 

Kell looked at Lila after they couldn’t hear their friends’ voices anymore. She wasn’t mad, but she rolled her eyes. She turned toward him, and her face lit up. “I guess it wasn’t that bad, don’t you think?”

“It depends on what you’re referring to,” Kell straightened, and took her hand. “The game or the kiss?”

“Game? Which game?” Lila winked at him and started walking. “I just know I’m tired after a long day in this place.”

“Then this means you’re going straight to bed when we get home, I gather.”

“I’m sure,” she gazed at him, and he was watching her. They had just picked up her things from the office and were going to be out in a matter of minutes. “But I never said I would sleep.”

There wasn’t any need to explain. He understood, and so did she. As they closed down the last door to Knives Out and reached his red car, the anticipation grew strong. But at least, the day was over, and they could finally enjoy the night in each other’s arms.

#adsom #shades of magic #kell maresh #lila bard #rhy maresh #alucard emery #a darker shade of magic #a gathering of shadows #a conjuring of light #ve schwab #kelila #rhylucard #adsomfanfic #kell and lila #rhy and alucard #tweety.writes

[jonathananubian]

Cuun Tracinya [SWs Fanfic]

I’ll only be posting the first chapter here. The rest will be on AO3.

Synopsis: Kote was raised to believe the jedi were near gods of infinite power who only accepted the best of the best. But when he meets an injured soft eyed man with coppery hair and a sweet smile- he realizes that jedi are more fragile than he'd been led to believe.

Something about this man, his gentle sincerity, endless kindness, and fiery determination, calls out to him. Calls out to all of the vode. They were told they were created for the jedi. But Kote can't help but thinking that maybe... it was the jedi who were made for them.

Tags: Alien biology, Taung ancestry, obsessive and possessive behavior, dubious morality, clone culture and pack dynamics/hierarchy. Characters: Obi-wan, Cody, Rex, the 212th Pairings: Obi-wan/Cody, Obi-wan/Rex, Obi-wan/212th Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26782984/chapters/65336146

The first thing they learned as cadets was that they were made for the Jedi. All powerful and aloof beings that would find them wanting if they weren’t good enough, fast enough, strong enough, or smart enough. The second thing they learned was what happened to those who didn’t make the cut. The brothers who disappeared one cycle and never returned. The ones with the wrong color of hair or eyes, the ones who had trouble learning, the ones whose hands shook when they whispered late at night ‘I can’t do this anymore.’

Nothing but the best would do for the Jedi.

Rising through all of that was a near impossible task and yet some vode found solace in the struggle, in the challenge. Kote was one of them. Jango himself had named the future clone commander after a particularly nasty test called the Gauntlet. Kote had stood tall against the challengers and held his position at the top, never allowing a single vod or even trainer to unseat him. He was moved straight to the command track the next day.

As they grew they were introduced more and more to the idea of Jedi and what serving the Republic would be like. Soldiers, they were, and fighting was in their blood. But something struck Kote as odd. What he could find of the Jedi painted them not as war heroes but as some kind of peace keeper. He began to wonder why the Jedi, powerful beings of near limitless power with the ability to move things with their mind, would need an army. If one of them was worth an entire battalion… then why were there battalions to begin with?

The first time he saw a Jedi he knew immediately who and what they were. Brown robes, soaked from the rain, and pale skin that could barely be seen from under the wide hood. A thrill of anticipation ran through him. He had so many questions he wanted to ask, so many things he needed to know.

Then the hood came down and he froze. Copper locks, the likes of which he’d never seen before, and liquid blue eyes that made his heart speed in his chest. “Huh, Stewjoni. Don’t see that every day.” Two of the trainers had been doing a review of the troops, pitting them against each other in some sort of game to see how well they could think on the field. Both of them stopped to watch the Jedi as they passed. “Wonder how the Jetii manage to keep them away from all the slavers. Stewjoni are a rare breed.” Kote’s eyes followed the Jedi until they were out of sight- he needed to do research.

Stewjoni, it turns out, were a race of near-humans who were known for their high fertility and advanced adaptability. They could survive, and even thrive, almost anywhere. Them being a Jedi just made all the more sense to him now. And yet… the Jedi had looked so small next to the Kaminoans. There was something almost meek and gentle about them that made Kote frown in concern. He hoped he would be able to see them again and ask all the questions burning a hole in his mind.

Kote, and a large chunk of the command class, had never really put much stock in the Force or the Manda the trainers occasionally spoke about. So when he came across the Jedi again on his way to a class he was stunned still for a moment. The Jedi, who really needed a name, leaned against the white walls as if trying to keep themselves standing. Their cloak was gone and their uniform was soaked through, as if they’d decided to take a swim in the raging ocean below. Their hair was almost the color of blood and there was a bruise on their cheek. Kote started when he realized they were wounded.

“Sir!” The Jedi turned to look at him and fear crossed their face for a moment before it was hidden behind a blank mask. Kote knew that expression well and it shocked him to the core to see it one someone who was supposed to be his superior. “Let me help you to medical, Sir.” He said quietly, holding up his hands in a placating gesture often used on the more skittish of the young cadets. The Jedi gave him a small smile, trying to wave him off.

“Oh, no, I am perfectly fine. No need to see a medic. I’m only catching my breath.” They looked up at him, straightening, and Kote was surprised to find the Jedi was smaller than he was. Not by much, but it was enough. Funny, he’d never thought they would be smaller than he and his brothers. “Your, um, template?” The question was tentative, as if the Jedi wasn’t quite sure how to ask.

“The Prime.” Kote answered easily enough, liking the way the Jedi’s expression softened to appreciation.

“Ah, yes, thank you. The Prime, that is Jango, and I had a bit of a disagreement. I’m afraid my ship was utterly destroyed before he tossed me into the ocean.” There was a lightness to their voice, a hint of humor. It almost made him ignore the statement itself. Almost.

“The Prime did what!?” The Jedi shrank back slightly, as if worried about his reaction to the news. Honestly Kote was surprised he could read the nearly inexistent body language, especially with the loose clothing they were wearing. But there was something so expressive about their eyes, something that drew him in. “Sir, please at least let one of my medics check you over.” Knowing that the Jedi were supposedly mind readers he tried to force sincerity and concern into every single word. The Jedi shuddered slightly and licked his lips before slowly nodding. In relief Kote reached out and took the Jedi’s nearest arm, putting it over his neck and slipping an arm around the Jedi’s back to help him walk.

“This is completely unnecessary, you… ah.” Kote looked down at them when they faltered, finding the slight flush of their skin to be endearing. “I’m afraid I didn’t get your name.” Kote frowned slightly.

“Sorry, Sir. I am CC-2224.” There was a very pointed silence for a moment that he could almost feel. The hand over his shoulder clung even harder to his armor for a moment. “Or… you could call me Kote, if you prefer.” It was a risk, a gamble. There was no reason to believe a Jedi would care about something so simple as a name. Yet the relieved smile he received was enough to make his tense shoulders relax.

“Thank you for trusting me with your name, Kote.” The Jedi blinked for a moment, then frowned. “Is it Cody, or Glory? Like Darasuum Kote?” Hearing the Mando’a fall from their soft lips so easily made something light up inside him, something he couldn’t explain or control. He had to swallow hard past the sudden lump in his throat in order to reply.

“Bal kote, darasuum kote.” He murmured, feeling the tips of his ears burn.

“Suvarir. Kote it is.” They paused and a sheepish look crossed their face. “My name is Obi-wan Kenobi, He/Him, I am a Knight of the Jedi Order.” Kote tilted his head, wondering what that was in terms of rank. The Jedi were supposed to be their Generals, so he suspected it was something in that vein. He also didn’t miss how the Jedi had labeled himself as male, or at the very least using male terms. Kote would have to be sure to use them. Some of the trainers got particularly incensed when you messed up and called them by the wrong term.

As they walked further into Tipoca city every brother they passed quickly snapped to attention, trying desperately to hide the surprise and glee at finally seeing a Jedi in their midst before realizing that he was hurt. Even without looking Kote could just feel the sudden worry and concern, like a tangible sensation against his skin. Under his arm the Jedi shivered, although he couldn’t tell if it was from the cold or from the thoughts of his brothers around them. Eventually he sat them down in a common area and barked for a medic. The battalions had been assigned for half a year now, so everyone already knew their place. Where Kote went the rest of his battalion wasn’t far behind. So it wasn’t really a surprise when Stitch practically materialized next to them and began to fuss.

“Sir, what happened to you?” There was a hush as the clones waited to hear the Jedi speak. Kote already knew what his voice sounded like and even he was excited to hear that voice once again. The Jedi looked around at them wide eyed and politely cleared his throat.

“As I was telling Kote on the way here. I had a… disagreement with the Prime.” He glanced to Kote, as if trying to gauge whether he’d said it right. Kote gave him a small nod of acknowledgment and the Jedi continued. “We fought and my ship was destroyed. I ended up in the ocean, it was all quite unpleasant.” The hushed anticipation turned to awe. Even with their superior genetics none of them had ever been able to go toe to toe with the Prime. The fact that the Jedi didn’t have any broken limbs or was bleeding out all over the floor was impressive to say the least.

Stitch tugged at the Jedi’s clothes and got an annoyed look in response. The medic just scowled imperiously. “Sir, I can’t check you over properly unless you remove your… tops.” They weren’t quite sure what to call the loose cloth that covered the Jedi but it was obviously in the way. Seeing no objections, no one to back him up, the Jedi let out a sigh and finally complied. Kote tried not to stare at the pale scarred flesh, only focusing on the spreading yellow bruise over his right side. For the first time in his life he felt a small pang of jealousy as Stitch ran careful fingers over pale skin.

“Sir, you have at least three cracked ribs, multiple contusions, and a twisted ankle. I can administer a pain killer and some bacta, but that’s the best I can do at this time. I’m only a medic.” The Jedi smiled and shook his head.

“Really, there’s no need, I’ll be f-”

“What’s all this?” An unwanted voice called into the quiet moment of awe. Kote clenched his fists even as he straightened in response to a voice that he had been taught to obey. Sergeant Priest shoved past the troopers milling about. The man stopped once he could finally see the Jedi and his face contorted with disdain. “Jetii!” He hissed, reaching for his weapon.

Without a second thought three of the vode tackled the training sergeant to the floor. It didn’t matter if they were scared of him, it didn’t matter that he had a weapon and they had none, Priest had attempted to attack the Jedi. The Jedi who had been wounded in a previous fight and was sitting there amongst them, looking small and vulnerable. All of their instincts kicked in as the need to protect the Jedi took over.

“Get off of me!” The sergeant growled, trying to kick and punch the vode who were holding him down. The Jedi rose from the bench and moved closer to the struggling men. Kote wanted to reach out and stop him but found himself rooted to the spot when those blue eyes darkened to a stormy gray. Priest stopped moving and glared up at the Jedi. “You’re Kryze’s pet jetii, dar’manda whore!” He spat, face reddening with anger and strain. The Jedi stiffened in surprise before reaching out a hand and holding it above the sergeant’s face.

“Sleep.” Sergeant Priest shook his head vigorously, though his struggles were becoming weaker. “Go to sleep.” The Jedi wasn’t loud or even particularly forceful but there was something firm in his voice that felt unnatural, otherworldly. Priest’s eyes rolled back slightly before he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Whatever he’d done had rendered the man no longer a threat. The vode who had been holding onto him relaxed and slowly got up.

“Sir, we’ll see to it he’s locked up.” The Jedi smiled, though he wavered slightly on the spot.

“Thank you. I don’t want him to hurt anyone else.” There was a pause and a sigh. “I didn’t think that Jango Fett would allow Kyr’tsad anywhere near him, let alone allow someone like that to train his…” He shook his head almost sadly before he seemed to remember he had an audience.

Now that the danger was over there was more than one vod whose eyes were slowly trailing over his still unclothed chest and back. The Jedi’s face flushed beneath his beard and he shuffled nervously on his feet for a moment. “Sir, sit down and let me do my job. You need bacta. I’m worried about that sprain.” Thankfully Stitch was a persistent bastard of a vod and quickly hustled the Jedi back to the bench.

“Kote!” Turning he spied his favourite brother and smiled. Rex was a little winded, he’d probably run the entire way. Skidding to a stop next to him his brother opened his mouth to ask a question but stopped. His eyes had continued onward toward the odd splash of color in their midst and suddenly whatever his brother had meant to ask was gone to the void. Rex’s mouth hung open as he gaped at the half naked Jedi. Kote nudged him with an elbow and Rex shook for a moment, as if pulling himself out of a daydream.

“Is that-” Kote nodded.

‘Jedi. Mine. Get your own.’ It was only meant to be a playful jab, a throwaway joke, but something deep in his mind curled around the idea, clinging to it. The clones had been made for the Jedi, of course they would belong to them. But… why? Why did they need the clones if they were so powerful? He knew the Kaminoans were constantly lying, during testing, during class. Even the training sergeants disliked and distrusted the Kaminoans. So why should they blindly believe-

His brother responded by slapping him on the back of the head, which immediately broke through his thoughts. He glared at Rex, who gave him a cheeky smirk in return.

“Oh, hello there.” That soft voice called out to them. Rex turned to look at the Jedi and froze, expression carefully blank. Kote knew he was worried what the Jedi would think of him. After all the strict training and harsh testing Rex had been through, solely due to the color of his hair, he knew his brother was expecting to be found wanting. Even if he was one of the most talented vode.

“Sir.” Rex said, sanding at attention. The Jedi’s smile faltered slightly for a moment but it quickly returned.

“Who might you be?” Rex glanced at Kote, who signed a quick ‘designation,’ at him. His brother took a breath.

“CT-75-” The Jedi waved his hand in the air and Rex’s mouth shut with a snap.

“Oh, no, I… if you happen to have a name you prefer? I would be more than happy to use it.” Kote watched Rex as his brother digested the Jedi’s words before giving a slow, wary, nod.

“Rex.” The smile his brother received was one that Kote would be unable to forget as long as he lived. It was like seeing the sun for the first time.

“Oh thank the force! Please, if you all have names I would be honored to use them. None of this numbers business.” He faltered slightly, looking around. “Unless of course you prefer your numbers, in which case I will honor your decision and do my best to remember.” It was like a shock wave went through them. No one had ever told them they had a choice before.

“Thank you, Sir.” The Jedi looked up at him oddly, a slight frown on his lips.

“For what, Kote?” Stars, he could get used to hearing his name in that soft lilting voice.

“For using our names.” For giving them the choice to use them. A fierce look came over the Jedi and he stood, arms crossed over his chest.

“It’s what you all should have had from the beginning. You are all sentient beings with your own thoughts, feelings, and preferences. Each and every one of you shines differently in the force. You may look alike on the surface, Kote, but you are all unique.” A hush fell over them all as he spoke. There was a fire inside the Jedi that touched something within them, setting the tinder in their souls aflame.

“Sir.” Kote said, stepping closer and giving a proper salute. “We are at your command.” His, and no one else’s. Kote had already decided. This Jedi was his and he would kill anyone who tried to get in his way.

#star wars #fanfiction #Obi-Wan Kenobi #commander cody #captain rex #codexwan #212th attack battalion #alien biology #taung ancestry #obsessive behaviour #possessive behavior #clone culture #pack dynamics #pack hierarchy #darkfic #dubious morality

[thenightgazer]

Dreamcatcher

Being an agoraphobic is like a curse for you. But your healing starts here, and your man Vergil Sparda is glad to guide you.

A/N : it's SFW and include some fluffs, but if you're not comfortable with a bit of angst and mental issues theme, feel free to skip! 😊

You know the outside world is exquisite. The sun shines upon mother earth, giving life to all living beings. You love watching birds fly and sing among the trees. Sometimes rain would fall along with dazing thunders, but you love nature so much that you always appreciate everything it gives you. You can smell the intoxicating flowers at your little garden after the rain stopped, giving you a soothing sense.

You realize the world is beautiful. You're tempted to pick a flower from your garden by yourself. You  want to go outside like other people.

You just can't.

Although the world seems delightful to you, it's also your source of dreadful nightmares. You can't  even stand two seconds outside of your own house. You'd feel dizzy, followed by uncontrollable tremors and panic attacks. All of that would lead you to your deepest trauma. You'd scream, run back to your house, lock your door and take your medicine to help you relieve your mental pain.

It's frustrating to be an agoraphobic. The world, no matter how beautiful it is, is still too big for you. Too crowded. Too cruel.

But lately, your predicament seems to be a little lighter because of your beloved's presence.

From your kitchen window, you watch Vergil Sparda arrive from his latest job, making his way to your garden. The half devil knows you love smelling wet flowers after the rain. After a while of contemplating, he picks wet primroses and heads to front door.

Warmth fills your heart every time you think of how considerate he always is of your condition and needs.

"Welcome," you greet him from the kitchen. "I didn't expect you to come home this early."

Taking off his coat, Vergil makes his way to the kitchen, "The mission was easier than I thought it would be."

He gives you the primrose as you thank him, touching the petals and enjoy the smell of the flower.

Then you offer him dinner. You know he doesn't need food, but he’s always glad to consume everything you make for him. You don't have much to do aside doing your online jobs and house chores, so cooking and baking for Vergil are your favourite things to do to spend time.

You quietly smile when suddenly a memory of your first meeting with Vergil comes up. He was like a meteor, shining with blue fire that violently fell into your garden, waking you up from your slumber. When you saw a blue demon in your garden you were scared, not because of his appearance, but the helplessness you felt in that moment. You know how to defend yourself, in fact you know how to fight, but it means you must get out from your house, and that made you feel helpless.

"What's with the smile?" Vergil asks, noticing your curved mouth.

You chuckle, "Just recalling our first encounter."

"I see... I still regret destroying your garden."

"Well, you fixed it and planted those beautiful flowers in exchange of your abrupt arrival."

"The demon that attacked me back then was vicious scum."

"But you killed it after all."

He gives you a small grin as an answer. "How was your day?"

"You know... same day, same thing." You avoid his inevitable gaze by putting empty plates into sink.

It's still embarrasing to you, how mundane and boring your daily activities are compared to his adventurous job. You don't have much to tell about your life, while he can still tell you about something you don't have—work, friends and family.

You sense Vergil's hands wrapped around your waist as you're busy washing dishes. He places his chin over your left shoulder, giving you a bit of a tickling sensation. He always shows this kind of affection whenever you avoid him.

"Look what I made for you," he whispers to your ear.

"Hmmm...?"

You startle as Vergil swings a trinket in front of your face. Your eyes catch him holding a dreamcatcher necklace. You chuckle, drying your hand with a towel nearby the sink and turn over your body to him as he drapes the necklace around your neck.

"To cast away your nightmares," he says.

You quickly hug him. "Thank you, Vergil. I'll cherish this forever."

He gives you a warm smile as he returns your hug, caressing your back to give you a sense of comfort and security.

--- You rarely have a good dream. Mostly it was nightmares or static darkness. You don't remember the last time you experienced a joyful dream, and even if you remember, you know it won't do you any good at all.

It won't change the fact that a tragic civil war of your hometown a year ago doomed you and your family.

You still can picture everything in details, how your family was killed by those anarchists, the burning buildings, trees, flowers and grounds, even the piles of corpses and people's haunting screams for help. You were helpless, barely managed to save yourself. Your physical wounds are healed, but the trauma still lingers. The pain was too much for your brain and body to deal with. Sometimes the wounds are still screaming its tale, giving you infuriating psychosomatic symptoms.

Yet you can't blame anyone or anything for your unfortunate fate, so you started to blame yourself. You isolate yourself, hiding from the savage world with a hope that you could never get hurt again, despite you knowing there are still beautiful sides of this universe that you haven't experienced yet.

At least tonight you can exhale in relief, because nightmares didn't come to your dream. Your hands reaching to your side of the bed, hoping to find Vergil's firm body.

But you find nothing.

You rapidly open your eyes, alarmed with his disappearance. He usually stayed by your side until the morning, so this is unusual. You reach to the dreamcatcher he gave to you, searching for reassurance that you're neither dreaming nor dead. You spot his phone on the small desk beside your bed, so he must not have gone too far.

Where is he?

You get up and begin to search for Vergil. You're not a clingy or needy person, but your gut tells you that something is wrong. Your panic attack starts when you realize you can't find him anywhere. You look out from your window, perhaps he's in the garden. But you see no sign of him at all.

Should I wait for him?

You pick an automatic pistol under your bed and filling it with bullets. Even long before you meet Vergil, you always had the gun as protection. You are no stranger to criminals and demons. You know how to handle them. But it's a different story when you have to face them outside your house.

You wait in the living room until you hear a demonic growl outside the house. You're considering whether you should attack the demon of not, since it does nothing but growling and hissing. You don't want the demon to destroy your house, so you decide to wait for it to go away from the territory of your house. Your heart starts skipping hard when the demon walks closer to your garden, crushing the fence and stepping on your flowers. Anger rushes through your body, but you try to remain calm.

As long as I don't need to step outside, I'll be fine.

But what if the demon destroyes my house? Where could I find shelter?

Where could I find a hideout?

What if I could never find my way back home?

Casting your dilemma aside, you drag yourself to a door beside the kitchen that leads you to the backyard. You tiptoe through the dark, making your way to the garden and planning to attack the demon from behind. The demon appears to be a Hell Caina. It should be easy for you.

You point your gun straight to the head of the demon while it scatters your flowers all around, growing your anger again. Then you pull the trigger repeatedly until the demon meets its death and bursts into smoky dust.  

You release an exhale and lower your gun. Now I have to get inside!

You hurry yourself to run to the front door, but before you could reach the handle, your body is pushed roughly by an unseen force. You fly away from your house and landed harshly on the ground. You feel blood drop out from your head and nose as you shakily try to stand up, but your body barely manage to move. The midnight wind and coarse dirt embrace your skin, making it harder for you to balance yourself.

You look up to see what kind of creature had attacked you like that. It's a lizard-like demon with icy armor. Its claws are crackling, creating a disturbing sound to your ears. You search for your gun, but you no longer have it since it was thrown away somewhere when the ice demon attacked you. Your body begins to tremble as the temperature of your surroundings is dropping abruptly. The cold is slowly crawling over your body and freezing you.

Run! you scream to yourself, struggling to get up and try to avoid the pain over your body. You have to run! Now!

"Sparda..."

So it's after Vergil...?

The demon slowly approaches you. The closer it is with you, the colder the temperature gets. Your body begins to feel numb and you can already see the tips of your fingers turning blue. The cold creeps into your lungs, causing you to breathe hard.

Am I going to die here?

You know you must fight the cold and your fear of being trapped like this. But panic overwhelms you, forcing you to remember all the unpleasant memories of your family. The picture of their blood that covered your body flashes in your head as your own blood continues to freeze. The exact feeling of being helpless is repeated all over again right now. You hate it. You hate it when you know you're actually capable of fighting, but now that you're pushed away from your safest zone, the fear is too much for you to bear.

"Sparda...!!!" The demon loses its patience and releases another blizzard at you. But you keep your mouth shut. It's better to die rathen than giving them what they want. It doesn't matter one way or another, it would kill you eventually.

You smile ironically, thinking how messed up your life was. Is it too much to ask for a little happiness in your life? You know you can't just keep waiting for a miracle come upon you and you regret letting the fear consume you all this time.

I never did anything meaningful in my life and always made Vergil pamper my pathetic arse.

The thought of the son of Sparda gives you a spark of light. If only you knew that today you were going to die, you would have baked him his favourite blueberry cheesecake. You would have kissed him and hugged him harder. You would have made love to him more passionately than ever. You would have told him that you love him, that he's the light of your desolated world. That you don’t deserve him. That you don’t deserve his kindness.

You don't have to open your eyes to know that the demon is closer to you and ready to kill you any moment. Its growl is harder and sharper as its icy claws crackle, ready to tear your body apart.

Your hand struggles to reach the dreamcatcher that hangs around your neck. It's ironic since dreamcatchers were meant to cast nightmares away, but speaking of the devil, your nightmare comes to you. It's not the demon. It's not the death that awaits you. It's the feeling of being trapped and you not being able to see Vergil again.

"Vergh..."

You let out a teardrop that quickly freeze on your face. You used to dismiss the idea of a peaceful death, but now you seem to get it. As long as you think about Vergil in this final moment, you think you'll be okay.

I'm ready.

The demon shrieks in high pitch. You feel the ground shaking and crumbling, but confusion sets in your mind because you're still alive. A warm, heavy fabric falls over your body. Your survival instinct makes you quickly grip it tightly without even thinking what that thing might've been. You need warmth. You need to save yourself.

"Be gone, scum."

Ah.

You came!

Then you hear the sound of slashing sword and demon's scream.

The next thing you know is someone lifting you up and rushing inside your house. You can feel a strange heat warming your body. You open your eyes slightly and watch Vergil in his Sin Devil Trigger form, taking your fragile body inside his embrace. The blue fire from his body warms you. Your eyes move to inspect your body, and it turns out that the fabric you wrapped yourself with was Vergil's coat.

"I'm sorry..." he purrs in demonic voice. "I'm sorry... I'm sorry..."

For a quite long moment, you both said nothing. You regain your full consciousness as you move your body closer to him. You feel your blood flowing within your body as your breath begins to get back to normal.

"Better?" he asks.

You nod and smile weakly, "Where were you?"

His long fingers caress your head carefully, "I was half asleep when I heard a pack of demon around here. I went to investigate and managed to banish some of them. Then I heard the sound of a gun... I knew it was you. They distracted me to get you. My sincerest apologies, my dear. I wasn't there when you need me the most..."

"You came to me. That matters a lot. If anything, it should be me that owes you an apology. I... I don't want to be a burden—"

"Now you stop there. You've never been a burden to me."

"I thought you left me," you murmur. "I thought you grew tired of my... condition. It's annoying to have someone who can barely leave the house, isn't it? That's why no one really stayed for me."

Vergil doesn't answer directly. Instead, he picks your dreamcatcher, "The first time I saw you, I knew there's a story behind your unusual behaviour. You didn't yell at me, merely saw me from the window. You accepted my apology without doubt, like you expected me to leave you alone. You even rejected my offer to fix your garden, but I insisted. You saw me only from the window, and it was surprising when you came out of the door, offering me a cup of tea. But you ran inside after you gave me the tea, like you were afraid of being outside. Took me days to realized that you have agoraphobia. I was  going to leave once your garden is finished, but I couldn’t."

"Why?"

"It's not pity that made me stay. It's you. You're a remarkable person. You survived and still growing stronger day by day. You're compassionate despite being alone and still dealing with your trauma. The least thing you could expect me to do is leaving you. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

You can't hold your grateful tears as you kiss his scaly demonic cheek. He reciprocates by switching his face to his human face and kiss your lips, since his demon mouth and fangs could hurt you.

You hug him tightly, leaning yourself to his chest, "I love you, Vergil."

"No," he kisses your ear. "I love you."

--- You don't know when you fall asleep on Vergil's lap, still at the same spot from the last night. He already returned to his human form, sleeping peacefully without letting you get out of his embrace. You let go of his hands slowly, but he quickly grabs your hand as if he's afraid of letting you go. His eyes are opened as he smiles at you.

"I should've moved us to bed, but I fell asleep," he brings you back between his arms.

"It's okay. Let's move then."

Vergil helps you to stand up as he rearranges his coat to wrap your around body properly. The coat is sure too oversized for you, but you don't mind at all. You stop walking when you spot the view of your wrecked garden, lamenting the dead plants all over the ground.

"We can plant it again," Vergil says while caressing your shoulder.

You nod and turn your head over to him, "Can you wait here?"

His brows twitch, "Where are you going?"

"I won't be long. Wait here."

You don't wait for him to say yes. You open the door, making little steps outside your house. You breathe slowly as you watch your surrounding. It's morning already but still dark. You walk through your garden and continue straight to the main road. This is the farthest distance you can go since a year of your isolation. You turn around to see Vergil's reaction. The hybrid waits for you in front of the door, giving you a steady grin, but you can see he's ready to fetch you if you start to lose yourself.

Now that you're no longer trembling again, you take more steps ahead. Your body seems to getting relax than ever, even though you’re still anxious of what could happen. You decide to come back to your house before you start to panic again and surprised that you don't even run in fear anymore. You walk like you used to be.

I forgot how easy it is to walk like this.

"You did very well," Vergil greets you.

"I wish I can go further."

"One step at a time can be a huge leap," he kisses your forehead. "Now you go back to sleep."

You know it's still a long way for you to completely overcome your fear and trauma. Those baby steps of yours are just the beginning of your healing. You ponder secretly, if only the demon never attacked  you, would you still have the bravery to step outside your safe zone? Would you finally realize that you're not alone, that you're loved? This is the first time your head is full of optimism. You can't wait to face the world again. To be really enjoy your garden without the fear of being trapped again. To enjoy the sunshine and see the stars again.

And with Vergil Sparda by your side, you know that you'll recover. Not now, not tomorrow, but eventually.

Maybe he was my dreamcatcher all along.

Masterlist | AO3

#devil may cry #devil may cry fanfiction #dmc fanfic #angst #hurt and comfort #agoraphobia #trauma #post traumatic disorder #vergil #vergil sparda #vergil x reader #vergil x you #dreamcatcher #night writes

[copias-thrall]

There’s a New Papa in Town

The whole clergy was buzzing about it. Something had happened during the Ritual in Mexico. Sure, there had been hushed whispers about whether or not The Cardinal would meet the same end as the Emeritus brothers—but when the shaky footage of Papa Nihil had leaked, the Sibling’s dorms had erupted into bedlam.

And then the power had gone out.

*power play; power imbalance*

Ghouls slithered out of the darkness—not the feral but somewhat tame band Ghouls—the ones that still hissed and snarled to communicate and watched each human with hungry eyes. Phones were confiscated, and the Siblings were escorted back to their rooms—locks clicking from the outside—where they lit candles and talked softly to their roommates.

And if some of them though they heard howls and screams in the distance, they convinced each other it was just the wind through the old bones of the Abbey.

The next morning, Siblings awoke to the sounds of keys turning in their locks; they warily emerged into the halls where they were once again escorted like kindergartners to the mess hall (and if anyone noticed a slight dwindle of their numbers, no one said so). Sister Imperator stood at the head, stick straight as usual, flanked by her personal Ghouls.

After everyone had sat down, Imperator raised her hand—a subtle order for silence. When she had everyone’s attention, she spoke—her commanding voice loud enough the fill the hall even without the aid of a mic.

“Good morning, everyone. Last night there were higher than normal winds that knocked out some of our wires. The Ghouls were kind enough to help you back into your rooms for your own safety. You should thank them for their assistance.”

When no one spoke, the Ghouls at her side made “go on” motions, and the hall was briefly filled with the murmurs and mumbles of thanks.

“Very good,” said Sister, her voice clipped. “I’ve been told the electricity should be back on soon, but until then we’ll just have to make due with a cold breakfast.”

No one moved—some Siblings were literally at the edges of their seats—waiting to see if Sister Imperator would talk about It. The steel in her gaze seemed to meet everyone and no one at once. She lifted her chin and clapped twice.

“Chop chop! A power outage will get no one out of their chores or lessons. Breakfast hour still ends promptly at 9am.”

Slowly, the crowd in the hall began to move—quicker when they realized they’d have to fight over the potpourri that was set out for breakfast. Sister Imperator turned to leave, her Ghouls following a step behind, and it wasn’t until she’d reached the doorway that she’d turned her head over her shoulder and said,

“And I expect each and every one of you to be extra diligent in your chores today—Papa will be returning home tomorrow morning.”

She left the room before what she’d said even reached half of the gathered Siblings.

Excited chatter broke out as the game of telephone both amplified and muted the importance of her words. By lunch the rumors were flying, but without power, there was no confirming any of them. Their phones had been returned—all mysteriously without charge.

By dinner, everyone had stories of Copia’s favorites being summoned or taken by Ghouls. Some argued that meant The Cardinal was out of favor while others argued for it. That night, Sister Imperator imposed an early curfew and again had them locked into their rooms—for safety—since the power was still out.

At 6am sharp, the bells chimed out—not just a ringing of 6, but a whole unholy hymn. The Siblings were instructed to put on their ceremonial garbs and meet at the main entrance—some very lucky to get a spot outside, the rest congregating down the main hall. The Siblings found banners and their religious totems all done up in blue and gold—but any whispered speculation was quickly silenced by a sharp hiss and a jab of claw.

At 8am, the congregation saw Sister check her watch, and soon after they heard the low rumbling of a car and tires crunching across stone gravel. Some Siblings bounced on their heels, other clutched each other’s hands, and some swallowed in dread.

The Clergy limo finally pulled into view, and Imperator’s Ghouls rolled out a carpet, fibers blue and trimmed in gold. The door opened, and the band Ghouls emerged, sinuously—their polished masks held high, their uniforms new and still a rich black—to flank either side of the carpet.

Then.

A boot emerged.

Over the boot a hem—beautifully embroidered in golds—fell.

Then two legs came into view and with them a shock of blue vestments.

Aether and Swiss both leaned down, each lending a hand to help—

The Cardinal—

No, a freshly painted Papa Emeritus IV—out of the limo.

Like a butterfly out of a cocoon, Copia emerged, resplendent in his new colors and wearing his new title like a fist of iron. Gasps and sharp intakes of breath blanketed the crowd.

Mountain reverently placed the mitre on Copia’s head, and Copia give him the slightest of nods.

“Ah! Papa. Welcome home,” said Sister Imperator—her tone now laced with an emotion that could have been described as joy.

Copi—no, Papa—spread out his arms. “It is good to be home with my flock.”

When he was met with silence, Imperator said, “Well, is this how you welcome home your new spiritual leader?”

Claws were back jabbing in sides, and the congregation erupted into whistles and cheers—some genuine, some not—as Papa IV gestured with the subtly and grace of a ruler who knows not to waste their energy with grand movements.

Sister Imperator held out her hands, and Papa IV began to make his way down the blue carpet, stopping here and there to place chaste kisses on hands and unbless heads—his Ghouls following in his wake. When Papa IV reached Sister, he clasped her hands in his and leaned forward to kiss each cheek. He murmured something in her ear that became a hotly-debated topic for many meals to come—was it Madre, or was it Mater? Or—as some snorted—had it just been a non-verbal Mm?

Some poor fool—just loud enough to be heard—asked, “But where’s Papa Nihil?”

Dewdrop made a throat-slashing motion before Rain elbowed him.

Papa IV bowed his head, then turned to face his—his—congregation.

“It is with heavy heart I regret to inform you. Our dear Grand Papa has joined the Olde One.” Papa IV pointed a gloved finger to the ground. “This was a tour too many.”

The white noise of many whispers all up once filled the air, and Papa IV sliced his hand in front of him for silence.

“But what is a simple Cardinal to do when his superior insists on playing his solo?” Papa IV shrugged, an echo of his nervous rat persona. “Please, un momento di silenzio for Nihil, per favore.”

The congregation all bowed their heads, startled when Papa IV immediately clapped.

“Come! I have been hearing the beautiful Imperator prepared a welcome feast.”

Papa IV practically glided down the main hall, shaking hands and kissing foreheads. He paid particular attention to his favored—who had seamlessly reintegrated into the crowd and were beaming. They had apparently been tasked by Sister Imperator to carry out the celebration’s plans.

The only surprise came when Papa IV stopped in front of Sister Doreen. Sister Doreen had always been vocal on her disdain for Copia, saying her papal love would always be for Papa III. She’d often make chittering noises behind his back. Now she stood, pale faced, as Papa IV considered her. He held out a gloved hand, fingers now adorned with his ceremonial rings.

A Ghoul flinched as if to make for her, but Sister Doreen faltered only for a second before kneeling and kissing his rings. The whole hall let out an exhale it didn’t know it was holding as Papa IV gave her an unblessing and chucked her under the chin as permission to rise. He’d continued on down the hallway then, only pausing briefly to whisper in Cumulus’ ear.

Most of the crowd had their eyes glued to Papa IV’s form as he paraded away, but a few saw the Ghoulette walk over to Sister Doreen and hand her what looked like a square of cardstock.

The rest of that day was filled with pomp and ceremony over Copia’s ascension to Papa—the power having come back on sometime during his arrival. Papa IV sat contentedly—a Sister in his lap, a Brother feeding him fruit, a gaggle at his feet—as he watched most of the congregation gorge themselves on food and lose themselves in wine.

By midday, most of the Siblings were passed out drunk or in a food coma. Even some of the Abbey Ghouls lazed about, their tails slowly swaying in their stupor. The Band Ghouls had long since disappeared with their chosen Siblings. 

Papa IV—looking a little more lax, a little less bright—dislodged his harem.

“It has been eventful, no? It is time for Papa to rest—no, no: not that kind. Enjoy the rest of the festivities.”

The Siblings pouted, but a well-placed kiss here, a cheek-stroke there, went a long way to easing the disappointment as they watched their new Head saunter off to his chambers. 

His new chambers. The one guarded by two Abbey Ghouls, as befitting his new status.

It was a suite in the Emeritus wing, and either a trusted Sibling or Ghoul had carried over his possessions and his babies. Papa IV disrobed down to his tight suit, and bustled about, searching through drawers and boxes until he found the treats.

“Ah yes, sweet ones. Here you go.” The rats with their twitching noses and quivering whiskers rushed over to him as he opened their cage and let them take the treats off his fingers. “Daddy is celebrating today. You shall partake too, yes?”

Copia hung up his vestments, running his gloved hand along the fine embroidery, and he waited.

It wasn’t long before he heard muffled talking outside his door, and then a sharp rap. Copia put on one of the under robes, and answered the door. Sister Doreen stood there, hands clasped in front of her and looking pensive. Papa IV eyed her, then addressed the Ghouls.

“Yes?”

One of them held up the card—an invitation—for Papa’s inspection.

“Ah, thank you, Ghoul.”

Papa IV took the invitation and pretended to peruse it—but he already knew what it said. Knew it entitled the barer access to him to play.

“All is in order. She may enter.”

Papa IV didn’t even glance at the sister again until the door clicked shut behind him and he was seated in a chintz armchair. He caught and held her gaze—defiant still despite the contrition in her body language.

“So,” he said, “what has you seeking an audience with Papa?”

A glare crossed her face before she schooled it.

“You know why.”

“Do I? I must admit ignorance.”

“You ‘invited’ me here. Your Dark Excellency.”

“Sì. But you have come here why?”

Papa IV stood then, and Doreen flinched before holding her ground. He touched her head.

“Have you come to beg?” He slipped his hand down to grip her jaw. “Or have you come for … something else.”

Now she did glare at him.

“What if I’ve come for nothing, huh?”

Papa IV released her and stepped back.

“Then you have only wasted our time and you may go.” He gestured at the door.

“I may go,” she repeated.

“Sì.”

“And then what?”

“And then nothing. Life passes.” He paused. “But a warning: you continue to mock me at your peril.”

Doreen blanched.

“Ah. Not from me, child. I am unmerciful,” Papa IV spread his arms wide, “but some of your fellow Siblings. They are … fervent in their worship, yes? Best you be keeping your rat noises to yourself, mm?”

Doreen considered him.

“And if I don’t go?”

Papa IV crowded into her space, growling lowly. “If you stay I’m going to bend you over everything in here and you’re going to let me.”

He looked down at her again, his skull accents still stark against the white paint, his colorless eye practically glowing.

“Choose.”

Doreen crumbled to her legs and clutched at his robes.

“Please, P-Papa.”

Papa IV ran his hand through her hair.

“You have made an excellent choice, my child.”

He wrenched her head back.

“Now, up on your knees. You have a lot to atone for.”

“Y-yes.”

“Yes what?”

“Yes, Papa.”

#popia #papa iv #popia ascends #my writing #SA #sfw #power dynamics

[sherrybaby14]

Just a Touch

Prompt:  A short fic where Steve Rogers gropes the reader repeatedly and at first she starts to ignore it but then one time she confronts him and asks him to stop and then he gets angry and it turns into non con.

A/N:  I took some liberties and changed it a little.

Warnings:  NONCON/RAPE.  Please do not read if this offends you.  (But it turns into Dubcon)

Pairing:  Steve x female reader

Words: 3k (longest drabble ever, but not edited so probably has errors). 

You never thought you’d wear an evening gown after your prom, but here you were in a red and white show stopper at the Stark Christmas gala.  It was like a dream come true.  

“Y/N.”  Pepper grabbed your arms. “I’m so glad you made it you look great.”

“Thank you for inviting me Ms. Potts.”  You leaned in and greeted your boss with a quick kiss on the cheek. “This is amazing.”  

“For the millionth time, it’s Pepper now.  You don’t work for me anymore.”  She backed up and held your hands.  “You deserved that promotion, but I hope we still keep in touch.  As friends.”

“Only if it means you keep inviting me to fancy balls.”  You both broke out laughing. “But really, I respect you so much.  You were the best boss I ever had.  I owe you my career.”  

“Well stick with me tonight and I’ll make sure your star keeps rising.”  Pepper tucked your arm under hers and led you into the party.

The night was a whirlwind.  You’d met Avengers, politicians, philanthropists, even movie stars.  You felt like you were drunk, but hadn’t gotten the chance to touch any alcohol.  

“It’s overwhelming isn’t it?”  Pepper flagged down a waiter and took two glasses of champagne, handing you one.  “You seem to be handling it well though.  I’m not surprised.”

“Hey Pepper, come on.”  Tony appeared out of nowhere and grabbed his girlfriend’s hand. “I need you for a second.”  

“I promised I wouldn’t leave Y/N alone.”  Pepper reached out with her free hand and grabbed yours.  

“I’ll keep her company.”  Steve’s voice startled you.  

You smiled up at the blond and turned back towards your friend/former boss.

“It’s fine.  Go.”  You’d met Captain Rogers a few times and even though you’d never exchanged more than pleasantries the awkwardness of being around the famous man had long faded.

“Five, ten minutes tops.”  Pepper smiled and disappeared into the crowd with Tony.

“Having fun?”  Steve took a sip of his beer.

“It’s amazing.”  You put the champagne to your lips.  “You don’t have to babysit me.  I can survive on my own.”  

“I like watching over you.”  Steve lowered his drink. “Cheers.”

He clanked his glass to yours, but with too much force.  Your champagne went down the front of your dress along with some of his beer.  

“Shoot.”  You grabbed at the fabric.  

“Sorry.”  Steve reached behind you and grabbed a napkin. “What a klutz.”  

He pressed the cloth to your chest, but instead of dabbing at the wetness he squeezed your entire breast in his hand.  No bra would go with the dress and you felt everything.  

“Uh.”  You tried to back away, but you were against a post.  

His hand loosened, but then squeezed down harder again, groping you through the fabric.  

Your reaction was to twist away.  

“Almost got it.”  His hand relaxed, but then went to the tip of your breast and squeezed down hard on your nipple.  “There.”  

You squealed and jerked away.   Your hand covered your top and you bit back the urge to slap him.  But he looked down at you with a lazy grin and took another sip of his beer.  

“Mmmm.” He winked at you.

“Excuse me. I should head to the restroom and wash up.”  You darted your gaze.

Was that intentional?  No way.  Captain America was the definition of a gentlemen.  He would never.

“These hands.”  He held up a huge palm. “Sometimes I’m all thumbs.”

His fingers rolled and you nodded and brushed past him.  You would clean yourself up and enjoy the rest of your evening.  This wouldn’t get to you.  It was a mistake. That was all.  Steve meant spilling the beer, not grabbing you.  Either way the exchange had left you with a rock hard pebble and a decision to steer clear of Captain America.

~~

“Pepper!”  You saw your friend in the lobby of Stark Tower.  

“Y/N.”  She ran up and gave you a hug.  “Are you just getting in?”

“Nope.  I forgot my phone in the car.”  The lobby was packed.

You always got to work at least thirty minutes early to avoid the massive crowds.  A trick you picked up from your former boss.  

“I’m on my way to a meeting, but we have to get together for drinks soon.”  Pepper squeezed your arm. “I haven’t seen you in a month!”

“It’s been two weeks.” You laughed.  “I’ll call your assistant.  Get something on your calendar.”  

“Promise?”  Pepper let go.  

You nodded.

“Go!”  You shooed her off and headed toward the elevator banks.  

She waved as she walked through the lobby.  You loved how she was the most powerful person in the building but people treated her like she was normal.  That was the sort of leader she was.  Even though everyone was below her, she acted like an equal.  It was inspirational.  

An elevator opened up and you slid your way inside the mass of people reporting for work.  You didn’t pay much attention as you took out your phone and started scrolling through the e-mails.  

At least Spring finally hit New York and you were able to wear a skirt and blouse instead of a jacket, since you knew the crowd was going to make it hot.  

Once as many people squeezed in as possible the door shut and the slow climb of constant stops began.  At the first stop you felt something brush against your ass.  

You couldn’t wait until more people got off and you wouldn’t be so cramped.  The following three you felt the same brush.  When the elevator stopped a fourth time you started to think it was intentional.  

You glanced behind you ready to give a nasty look when you saw the blond super soldier grinning down at you.

“Hi Y/N.  Haven’t seen you in awhile.  How are things?”  Steve licked his lips.  “I think the las time was the Christmas party right?”  

All looks from your face faded.  You didn’t know how to respond.  

“Yeah.”  You nodded and turned back around, wanting the conversation to end.  

The elevator continued to climb and when the fifth stop came your ass was met with a hard pinch, making you jump.  

“Woah.”  Steve reached forward and steadied you, dragging his left hand over your ass while his right one stood you up again.  “Don’t fall now.”  

He didn’t let go.  His fingers were on your ribs to the side of your breast while his other hand was cupping your ass.

You didn’t know what to do.  If you smacked him you were going to draw attention in the still very crowded car.  There wasn’t room to step away.  

“I’ll keep you upright.”  He put his mouth right next to your ear.  “Go back to looking at your phone.”  

Did he think he was being nice?  He was from the past and you did almost fall.  Still the touching made you uncomfortable.  It was so uncomfortable and you didn’t know what to do, so you listened and acted like nothing was wrong as you went back to your e-mail.  

“Good girl,” Steve whispered before standing up straight behind you.  

The word made you cringe.  Who the hell did he think he was?  But telling off a superhero in front of all these people wouldn’t earn you any brownie points at work.  

His fingers would randomly move lightly.  You felt like he was getting closer to you as well and swore you randomly felt an erection brush against your back.  It was tempting to twist away as the elevator began to empty, but nobody was paying you any attention.  

“This is my stop.”  Both of Steve’s hands slid.  

He grabbed your breast and your ass fully at the same time and squeezed.  You dropped your phone, but before you could push him away he was gone.  

You stood bug-eyed as he stepped off of the elevator, giving you a wave and a wink as the doors shut.  

There was no misinterpreting that.  It was intentional.  He was messing with you.  Why?  You didn’t want to know.  It gave you the creeps, but not as much as the small wetness you felt between your legs.  Shame washed over you as you picked up your phone.  Why did that turn you on?

You didn’t want the answer and hoped you never ran into Captain America again.  

~~ “Hi.”  You adjusted the straps on your summer dress.  “I’m meeting a friend for dinner.  I think she’s here already?”

“Y/N!”  Tony stood up from a booth in the back.  

“Oh. I guess a few friends?”  You smiled at the hostess before walking back to the table.  

You thought it was a ladies night, but maybe Tony wanted to tag along too.  You almost stopped dead in your tracks when a third person stood up from the booth.  Steve Rogers turned around, giving you that million dollar smile, with wicked eyes focused on you.

“Y/N.”  Pepper stood up and came to give you a kiss on the cheek.  She whispered in your ear.  “This is not a set-up I swear.  Tony ambushed me.”  

“You know Steve right?”  Tony greeted you with the same kiss on the cheek.

“We’ve met.”  You cringed, regretting your decision to never mention Steve’s hands to anyone.

He stepped out of the way and signaled for you to slide into the booth.  All you saw was the wall though and as you sat down realized you were trapping yourself.  

“Pepper said you were going out for dinner and I thought we would tag along since the baseball game got rained out.”  Tony stood for Pepper to slide back inside before joining her.

“It’s not raining.”  It was one of the driest Julys on record.  

“It is in Chicago.”  Steve grinned at you.  “We were going to watch it on TV. Do you like baseball?”  

“Not really.” You smiled, trying to divert the danger flashing in your brain.  

“I love it.”  Steve cracked his knuckles. “Especially the thrill of getting off first base.  My favorite is stopping at second and then getting a double and going straight for a home.”

“I don’t know what any of that means.”  You took a sip of the water on the table.  

“I’ll show you sometime.” Steve winked. “You’ll love it.”  

You gave a half smile.

“So, did you hear about Lenny in HR?”  Pepper ended the awkward exchange.  

To your surprise dinner wasn’t going bad.  The four of you were having a decent conversation.  But then you felt it: a hand on your knee.  

You tried to jerk your leg away, but the booth was too tight and you didn’t want Pepper to notice.  So instead you squeezed your legs shut and put your hands in your lap to block him.  

“Have you seen Tony’s car collection?”  Steve ran his hand up your thigh.

“You can’t see it in person.”  Pepper topped off your glass of wine.  “Only digital since they’re scattered all over the country.”  

“It is impressive.”  Tony reached into his pocket and pulled out his phone, holding it in front of your face.  “Give it a glance.”

You wanted to slap Steve’s hand away, but didn’t know how without ruining the night, so you took Tony’s phone.  Mistake.  

He was strong and went straight for your apex, sliding his fingers over your panties as he leaned closer under the guise of looking at the cars as well.  

“Wow.”  You tried to give the phone back, needing your hands free.

“Scroll through.”  Tony took another sip of his wine.  

“Scroll.”  Steve dragged out the llll, as his fingers started rubbing you.  “Some of those babies really purr.”  

You gulped as his fingers found your clit and started pressing down.  You looked up at Tony and Pepper, neither of them noticed.  Then you looked over at Steve who grinned down at you as he pushed harder.  

You tried to cross your legs, but that only gave him a moment to get better access as he cupped your entire pussy, pressing his palm into your clit.  

Shit. It felt good.  You dropped the phone and turned to shove his shoulders.  

“Woah!” Steve lifted his hands.

“Y/N is everything okay?” Pepper looked at you like you were the one being inappropriate.  

“Sorry.”  You dropped your hands.  “I have to use the restroom.”  

“You could’ve just asked.”  Steve laughed and looked at Pepper and Tony with a shrug.  

He stood up from the booth and you practically crawled out.  

“What was that about?” Tony asked. “I thought you two were getting along?”

You walked fast, not wanting to hear the rest of the table’s conversation.  When you got to the bathroom you went straight to the sink.  

What the hell was going on?  Why did he keep touching you?  Why did he think that was OKAY?  You had to tell Pepper.  Clear this all up.  Let her know she was trying to hook you up with a creep since this was obviously a set up.  

If you had your phone you would text her to join you in the bathroom.  But you took a breath and decided if you hung out here long enough she would join you.  It was girl code. No way were you going back to that table.  

The bathroom door opened and your heart jumped, hoping it was Pepper.  Instead a tall blond man came inside and slammed the door behind him.  

“What are you doing in here?”  You started for the door, but he locked it.  

“You’re such a tease Y/N.”  Steve darted forward and cupped your cheek, pressing his lips to yours while his hand groped at your breast.

“Mmmff!”  You tried to push away.

His hands went to your hips and he spun you around.  

“Stop!”  You grabbed onto the sink to stop yourself from falling.  

“I know you’re soaked.  You got wet as soon as you saw me didn’t you?”  His hand went under your dress.  

“What?”  You tried to stop him, but your panties were pushed down.  “NO!”

His hand reached back up and found your hole.  To your shock his finger slipped right inside.  

“I knew it.”  He stood behind you. “So ready for me baby.  Have you been thinking about this since Christmas?”  

“I..stop.”  This was happening too fast.  

You didn’t know what to do, how to respond.  Zippppp.  The sound of his fly coming down made your eyes go wide.  

“I knew you were kinky, but sex in a bathroom?  With Tony and Pepper out there?”  Steve stood right behind you.  “I love it.”  

It finally dawned on you what was about to happen and you tried to move away, but Steve had you by the hips.

“Here we go.”  He pushed inside of you and you gasped.  “Look how beautiful you are.”  

Your eyes went straight ahead to the mirror and you got the view.  You were bent over the sink with Steve behind you, stretching you with his cock.  

“Oh you take me so well.”  He pushed in further.  “Most woman can’t handle it.”  

How were you this turned on?  Memories of your hard nipple at Christmas and the wetness from the elevator seemed to excite you at the moment.  Was he right?  Were you a tease?  Were you into this?  

“That’s it baby.”  Steve’s pelvis pushed against your ass.  “Enjoy it.”  

He must have sensed you relax and his hands left your hips.  One went under your skirt and found your clit while the other played with your breast over your dress.  

“This is just a taste.”  He started thrusting.  “You’re coming home with me tonight.”  

It wasn’t a question, but a big part of you wanted to say yes.  You found yourself arching your back to give him easier access.  

“Quick and dirty.”  He snarled. “I don’t want anyone to come looking for us. Brace yourself.”

Again, you did as you were told and gripped the sink.  He started plowing into you, rubbing your clit and using you breast to hold you steady as you bounced into him.  

You spiraled, tightening up and contracting around him as waves of pleasure left your body.  Your eyes rolled back in your head as you shook from the most intense orgasm of your life.  

Steve pulled out and you almost collapsed as he finished in his hand.  

“Guess you don’t need these anymore.”  He leaned on the sink next to you and held up your panties, now covered in his jizz. “Take a minute and meet me at the table.”  

He slapped your ass before letting your dress fall back over you, unlocked the door and left.  You looked up in the mirror at yourself wide-eyed.  What the fuck just happened?  

#steve x reader #Steve Rogers #steve rogers x reader #steve fanfic

[marril96]

The Distance Between Us

Chapter 32: Mother Knows Best

Pairing: Rowena x reader

Summary: Rowena and her mother have some well-earned bonding time.

Editor: @miss-moon-guardian

*****

Rowena had expected a fiasco since she'd first stepped foot onto the school grounds this morning.

She'd expected an even bigger one when her friends — when Fergus and, eventually, you — confronted Lucifer.

Nothing, though, could have prepared her for the thunderstorm that was her mother.

The outbursts weren't strange to Rowena. She remembered the epic fights her mother and her poor excuse of a father — if that wanker could even be called that — got into quite vividly. She remembered the absolute scorn on her mother's face back in December when details of her and Lucifer's relationship came to light and the reality of what, exactly, had caused her bruises came crashing down. Remembered the madness in her mother's voice, the pure, unadulterated rage, as she spewed threats of police and media and lawsuits at the cowering principal Shurley.

Hell hath no fury like Fiona MacLeod scorned.

This time, she'd gone off the rails.

While Rowena was mad at Ms. Hanscum for taking her, you, and Lucifer to the principal's office, she had to admit the teacher was fair. She'd given you the chance to sort the issue out. Though, unfortunately, the damage Lucifer had caused was too great for a simple conversation to fix.

Bruises she'd healed.

Humiliation, degradation… they would take a while to fade, if they ever did.

She'd been through it before; she knew how it worked. A reputation like that, however false and out of context, never quite went away. Most people may have stopped talking about it in public, but they knew. They knew, and many of them wondered and passed judgment because if there was smoke, there was bound to be fire, no matter how ludicrous the rumors were.

Rowena meant what she'd said — she could deal with it. She was no stranger to people whispering about her, calling her names behind her back, making senseless assumptions. She'd lived through it once, and she could do so again.

All she needed was for them to leave her alone.

They had a right to their opinions, however wrong they were. They had a right to speculate and badmouth her as soon as she turned her back.

She just asked that they not do it in her face.

It had taken her hours to make all her social media accounts private and delete the awful comments the night before. Her phone remained turned off; she didn't have it in her to click it to life to messages staring straight at her, accusatory, judgmental, cruel for the sake of being cruel. She could live without a phone for a few days, until she got a new number.

Her mother, on the other hand, was livid.

Principal Shurley's apologies fell on deaf ears as she screamed — actually screamed — in his face, her face ripe red, a bomb on the verge of explosion. Rowena was certain the entire school had heard her mother's shrill voice tearing into the Principal without a shred of mercy, with the same conviction and vigor Lucifer had put into ruining her reputation, into ruining her.

The Principal, to his credit, didn't know about the harassment and had promised to put a stop to it. He could try; he could get the posts down and threaten the bullies with detention, but nothing could make the rumors disappear.

People's minds couldn't be changed that easily.

For the remainder of the school year, Rowena would be a whore, a cheater, and a baby killer.

She wasn't ashamed of any of it. It hurt to have it shoved in her face so cruelly, but she stood behind her actions.

She wasn't going to apologize for surviving.

Her mother, bless her heart, shared the sentiment. Rowena was worried she would cast a bit of judgment of her own, or, at the very least, be disappointed in her for keeping it to herself, but, aside from a surprised tilt of her head at the news, her mother stood right by her.

Principal Shurley had almost had to fall to his knees to get her to not call the police. He'd promised the posts would be taken down and Lucifer would be punished, and, as a final plea, made plans to hold an assembly on bullying and harassment. If, afterwards, Rowena had any issues, she was free to contact him, he'd said. He would happily take care of the problem.

As if it was that easy.

As if one assembly could stop people from whispering "whore" behind her back for the rest of the semester.

Her mother still wasn't happy, but Rowena told her it was okay. She just wanted this mess to be over. She was tired of everything; of the Principal, of Lucifer's smug smirk even as his father chastised him, of you being forced to witness the entire charade under the threat of detention for "attempting to start a fight," when all you did was try to defend her.

After all was said and done, Rowena was given the rest of the day off. She'd spent it in her room, curled up on the bed in front of an old movie, one of those classics she always turned on for comfort.

She watched as the thick flakes of snow rained upon the street, and all she could think about was you. If you were okay. If, after she'd left, you'd gotten the stares and whispers in her place.

It was a miracle you still wanted to be with her. It couldn't have been easy to associate with someone with her kind of reputation. She wouldn't have blamed you one bit if you decided to break it off.

There was only so much a person could take.

Was love enough in situations like this?

It was a powerful emotion, overwhelming, but, unlike what the movies and books said, it wasn't absolute.

You were under no obligation to sink to the bottom with her.

A knock on the door shook her from her thoughts. "You alright, hon?" her mother's voice, thick with concern, came from the other end.

"Aye," she replied.

As alright as she could be, considering the day she'd had.

She wasn't bruised and battered this time. That had to count for something.

"Can I come in?"

She rolled her eyes, not in the mood for mother-daughter time, but still said, "Aye."

Her mother peered inside, then stepped into her room gently, tentatively, as if she were walking through a minefield. Her eyes fell on Rowena, looked her over in that typical worried mother way Rowena had always found overbearing.

"What are you watching?"

"Nothing," she said and shut the laptop. The end credits were rolling anyway.

Her mother shuffled her feet awkwardly. She took a small breath, and Rowena, well accustomed to that expression on her face, prepared for the inevitable. "Can we talk?"

"I'd rather not."

Not now, and not ever.

There were some things she couldn't talk to her about. Things that weren't for her, or anyone but you, to hear.

Her mother gave a nod, an honest one. "Okay," she said and meant it. She could be annoying, but she never pushed her children. Never forced them into unpleasant, uncomfortable situations. "Would you be okay with listening? I've a few things I'd like to say."

No, Rowena thought, but, with a shrug, said, "Whatever." The sooner she got it over with, the better.

"Is it okay if I sit?" her mother asked, looking down at the bed.

Rowena gave a small nod, though she wasn't the biggest fan of that, either. Her mother took a seat beside her feet, and all she could think about was that it was too close. Way, way too close.

The MacLeod family wasn't big on feelings. They rarely saw each other as it was, with mother working long hours, Crowley constantly heading out, and Rowena doing her own thing. They were a family in name only, really.

At best, their cohabitation could be described as symbiosis.

There was love, yes, and genuine affection, but they didn't show it.

They didn't have the time.

And, more importantly, pride didn't let them.

It certainly didn't let Rowena.

It took her a while to admit to herself she was in love with you, and even longer to say it to your face. Were it not for the confrontation the two of you had gotten into, she wouldn't have blurted it out anytime soon.

Her mother took a few moments to compose her thoughts into words, and what she said threw Rowena off balance. "I'm proud of you."

Rowena's chest tightened, heart burst into a sprint.

Where was this coming from?

Considering the stress she'd put the poor woman through lately, pride was the last thing she expected.

Disappointment?

Maybe.

Anger?

Definitely.

But pride?

Not in a thousand years.

Her mother continued, "You've grown into a marvelous young woman, and I've completely missed it. I look at you, and all I see is that wee girl with chubby cheeks and messy hair. But that's not you anymore. I know that now."

There was a wistfulness to her tone, a heartbreaking nostalgia.

"Don't get me wrong — you'll always be my precious wee girl, but you're also so much more. I'm sorry I didn't realize that sooner."

Her hand reached for Rowena's. Rowena squeezed back, a left-over childhood instinct to hold her mother's hand tight and never, under any circumstances, let go.

Her mother was right — she was still that wee girl she used to be. She was grown now, but a part of her never left, and would always stay. A reminder of the innocence long gone.

"I should have been there for you. In Scotland. You shouldn't have been alone."

Scotland.

Right.

The harassment.

The abortion.

Everything bad she'd sworn to never go through again, only to make the same mistake and end up right at the start.

"I should have noticed."

"I was only a few weeks along," Rowena said. A small attempt at comfort.

"You're my baby," her mother said, adamant, decisive. "I should've known."

No.

She should not have.

Rowena had hidden it with a reason.

She hadn't wanted pity, and, though she knew deep down her mother would never turn her back on her, she didn't want to risk being told she couldn't do it.

Not that she would have listened; she would have had that abortion one way or the other, but the thought of her mother — the one person who was supposed to love her, to be on her side — being disappointed in her, looking at her as if she were a murderer… It broke her heart.

She'd had no one. No friends, no boyfriend anymore. No shoulder to cry on. And, with the whole mess with her father going on, the last thing she wanted was to lose her mother as well.

Willful loneliness was better than stone-cold rejection.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you couldn't tell me." Her mother's eyes brimmed with tears; a few slid down her rosy cheeks, quickly wiped away with the sleeve of her shirt. "I know I was in a bad place after what happened with your father, and I'm always at work these days, but you're my child. You come first. Whatever is going on, you can tell me. I mean it — whatever. I will never, ever judge you."

Bloody hell!

Rowena's own eyes filled with tears. She willed them back, tried her hardest to regain her composure.

It was just a conversation.

She wasn't a sap.

"Okay," she simply said, and it took everything in her to hold her voice together.

Maybe, a traitorous thought crept up to her mind, she was a sap.

A very, very wee one.

Miniscule.

Her mother's lips widened into a smile. "If anybody else gives you trouble, tell me. I'll gladly put them in their place."

Because that was exactly what Rowena needed — for her mother to fight her battles.

That was a tad cruel, though, wasn't it?

Her mother cared about her, loved her.

What was wrong with that?

She would become known as mama' s girl, but that wasn't any worse than her current reputation.

Did it even matter?

What did she care about what some random Moira thought about her?

At least, she thought a tad smugly, her mother gave a damn about her.

The same couldn't be said for the majority of her peers' parents.

Rowena allowed a smile to bloom on her face. "I'll try."

Her mother beamed. Then, clearing her throat, said, "You and Y/N — is it true?"

Here came the awkward questions.

Rowena's face flushed ripe tomato red. She nodded.

It elicited a smile from her mother, big and bright. Happy to the bone. "She's a good lass."

"She is," Rowena agreed.

More than good.

You were everything to her.

One of the few people who gave her a chance. Who allowed herself to be her friend, to love her as she was without trying to change her.

Her miracle.

Whatever the future held, she would forever remain grateful to you.

What you'd done for her — what you'd given her, and kept giving her — would never be forgotten.

"She seems to care about you a lot," her mother said.

You have no idea. "She does. She's… kind to me."

Kinder than she would have been to herself if she were in your shoes.

After everything she'd done, she didn't deserve a second chance.

And yet…

"You feel the same, I suppose."

Rowena's cheeks couldn't get any redder. Her skin was hot enough to burn.

This wasn't the kind of thing one admitted to their parent. Or talked about. Or mentioned at all.

She cleared her throat, sucked in a small breath, and nodded.

She loved you. Goodness, she loved you. So much it sometimes hurt to be away from you.

She loved you so much she couldn't imagine her life without you.

There was a time, not too long ago, she thought it made her weak.

If it did, she never wanted to be strong again.

"Why don't you invite her over for dinner sometime?" her mother suggested, pleased by the response.

That was just what she needed — her girlfriend having dinner with her mother.

As if your relationship wasn't cliche enough.

There wasn't anything inherently wrong with it; her mother's liking of you was no secret, and you, awkward as you were, didn't seem to think anything ill of her.

Still, it was strange.

It made the relationship official. Serious.

Which it was, but to acknowledge it like that…

She wasn't sure she was ready for that.

"We'll see," Rowena said. If I'm ready was the unspoken addition.

It was enough for her mother. "I've got something for you." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a grayish-green bill.

A — Rowena realized, unable to conceal the surprise on her face — hundred dollar bill.

Her mother smiled. "I got a wee bonus at work."

Rowena was stunned. "Are you sure? What about—"

Bills?

Food?

She wasn't one to turn down free money, but she knew their situation wasn't as ideal as she preferred to think. They weren't poor, but they weren't rich, either. Far from it, in fact.

Their mother, working two jobs, always made sure she and Fergus had enough money for outings, generous as she was.

But a hundred dollars?

"Don't worry. Like I said, this is a bonus. I gave Fergus his share earlier, when he was heading out," her mother explained. "Gavin will be getting a wee toy tomorrow. And this—" she glanced down at the bill in her hand "—is yours."

A bonus, and her mother's first thought was handing it to her children.

Rowena's heart swelled with warmth, with love that made her chest ache.

She took the bill. Folded it up neatly and clasped her hands around it, almost protectively. "Thank you."

Her mother grinned. "Anything for my girl. It's Valentine's Day soon — why don't you take Y/N out someplace nice? Or buy yourself something lovely?"

A Valentine's Day date sounded like a marvelous idea.

Rowena already had a place in mind. A perfect thank you for standing by her, for never leaving her side. For loving her through everything bad.

"I just might," she said, smiling brightly, happily for the first time today.

"Great! Her mother's eyes fell on her discarded phone on the bedside table. "You need a new number, right?"

Rowena's face fell, gloom back with a vengeance.

"I'll take care of that for you tomorrow, when I go out with Gavin. Until then, you can use my phone, if you want. I assume you'd like to call or message Y/N?"

She perked right back up, like a flip of a switch.

They may not have hung out much, but her mother knew her so well.

"Thank you," she said again, and meant it from the bottom of her heart.

Today wasn't so bad, after all.

*****

Tags: @werewolfbarbie @oswinthestrange @songofthecagedmoose @apurdyfulmind @getthesalt-sam @metallihca @salembitchtrials @jay-eris @hellsmother @elizabeth-effie @shadowgirl-vsb @rowenaswife @wonderifshelikesroses @xfireandsin @liddell-alien @hotdiggitydammit @lae-lae @darkhumorsblog @angel7376 @cherrypierowena @ruthieconnells @evil-regal-vampiress @collectorofsecretsandsouls @angel-e-v-a @a-queen-and-her-throne @carryon-doctor-lock

#rowena #rowena macleod #spn #supernatural #spn family #rowena x reader #fanfiction #my fics #high school au

[kiszkawagnergvf]

School Bus Crush

A/N: I apologize profusely for completely butchering this request. I started writing this and then hated it so I was going to start over but had no idea what to write so I just finished what I had. I didn’t even proofread, sorry again. I’m still struggling with writing smut and this request was tough because I can’t picture Josh being enemies with anyone lol. Anyway, here you go, hope you don’t hate it too much, please send more requests so I can get better.

Masterlist Requests are open! Join the taglists!

Pairing: Josh x reader Word Count: 1262 Warnings: I don’t even know what this is. There’s soft smut, and terrible writing.

Requested by: @highoffcnc - Could I request an enemies to lovers smut kind of thing with josh? Like you’re friends with Sam and jake so you go to their house to hang and only josh is home? Sorry if that doesn’t make sense 😂

It was a beautiful October afternoon, too warm actually, for this time of year. You were sick of sitting inside writing papers all day, so you decided to go out for a walk. You were just wandering around the neighborhood when something soft and cold hit your head. Looking up, your face is suddenly pelted by raindrops.

You start to sprint down the road, careful not to slip on the slick pavement. You realize that it will take way too long to get back to your house, so you go to the place that you consider to be your second home. Now completely drenched, you bang on the front door of the Kiszka residence, shivering as you silently plead to yourself for Jake or Sam to answer. The door swings open and an annoyed Josh locks eyes with you. He looks you up and down, taking in your soaking form, before stepping aside without a word. You brush past him into the house, trying your best to wipe your feet on the mat and not drip all over the floor. “Is anyone else home?” you ask as you lean down to remove your drenched shoes. “No, just me” Josh answers coldly.

Jake and Sam had been your best friends since you were in grade school. You first met on the school bus where Sam would playfully mess with you by tugging your hair, and Jake would yell at him to knock it off. Josh, however, would always move to a distant seat as soon as you stepped onto the bus. You never knew why he hated you, but he would do anything to avoid being near you despite your close relationship with his brothers.

When you look up Josh has already disappeared, but you can hear the faint noise of a record starting in the living room. You head upstairs and down the hall to Sam’s room, which is unsurprisingly a bit of a mess. Stepping over discarded clothes and notebooks on the floor you open the closet to grab some sweatpants and a t-shirt, which are both several sizes too big. After peeling off your sopping wet garments and changing into Sam’s dry clothing, you open the bedroom door and almost walk straight into Josh who is holding a large mug of steaming liquid. “Watch where you’re going!” he barks. “I’m sorry, I-” you start to stammer before he interrupts.

“Here.” He holds out the mug, staring at you impatiently. You glance at it, then back at him with a confused expression.

“I made you some tea. Now take it and give me your clothes, I’ll put them in the dryer.”

You hesitantly accept the mug from his grip and hand him the pile of damp clothing. After Josh starts up the dryer you follow him downstairs to the living room where you recognize Music From Big Pink by The Band spinning on the record player. The two of you sit on opposite ends of the couch, not speaking a word as the music flows throughout the room, remaining the only noise besides the sound of rain pattering on the windows. Bringing the mug up to your lips, you suppress a sigh when the warm liquid travels down your throat, heating and relaxing your entire body.

“Thanks for the tea” your voice is just above a whisper and you’re not sure if he heard you until he looks at you and nods.

“You seemed like you needed it.” he replies and scoots closer to you on the couch, turning his body to face you with one leg bent under the other.

“That’s the first time you’ve ever done anything nice for me” the words come out of your mouth without a thought and you glace towards Josh, trying to gauge how bad his reaction will be.

His eyes are now on the cushion below him, his hands playing with the hem of his sweater. He opens his mouth but whispers more to himself than to you, “that’s not true.”

You scoff and shake your head, taking another sip before placing the mug onto the coffee table and turning towards him, mirroring his position. “When have you ever done something nice for me, or even said anything nice to me. You basically pretend I don’t exist or act like you wish I didn’t.”

He looks up at you, and you can see a glimmer of pain in his eyes. “I did that for you. Because I knew that you and Sam liked each other back then, so I distanced myself to keep from hurting either of you.”

Your eyebrows furrowed and your mind raced, trying to dissect what Josh was saying to you. “Sam and I had dumb crushes on each other that ended years ago, and even still, why would you being there hurt us?” You were trying to read his face, but it seemed like there were a million emotions running across his features.

“Because I love you Y/N, and I always have.” Your mouth hung open and your eyes darted between each of his, trying to decipher if he was joking. He couldn’t be in love with you. He hated you. Did he hate you? Your mind raced and your body reacted the only way it knew. You laughed. He had to be joking. You kept laughing, until you saw the pain creep into his eyes. “You’re not joking are you?”

He shook his head and lifted a hand to his face to keep a tear from escaping. Your eyes were brought to his lips when you saw them quiver. You studied them and found yourself staring. They started to grow larger, and you realized that it was because you were moving towards them. His breathing had stopped as you got closer, both sets of lips now brushing against each other. Josh brought his hand up to your cheek and you leaned in, connecting your mouth to his and the breath caught in his throat was released into you.

Your lips danced together with his, moving in perfect harmony, subconsciously to the beat of the music long forgotten. His arm wrapped around your waist and you were pulled onto his lap, legs placed on either side to straddle him. Your hands came up and fingers tangled themselves in his curls. A soft moan escaped his mouth when you lightly tugged on his hair, making your hips instinctively roll down onto his, allowing you to feel his hardness through his pants.

Josh reciprocates your actions, pushing himself up into you, and wetness begins to accumulate between your thighs. You slowly rock yourself back and forth over him and he deepens your kiss while bringing one hand under you shirt. It grazes across your stomach and pauses, before attaching to your breast. A thumb plays with your sensitive and now-hard bud, and your hips begin to move faster, increasing the friction between your groins still separated by layers of clothing.

You both continue these actions, only occasionally separating your lips to catch a breath or let out a moan, until loud estranged noises escape both mouths, and you climax together. Still seated on Josh’s lap with dampened clothing between you, your face was now planted in the crook of his neck. You finally even your breathing enough to whisper, “Hey Josh?” You glance up at him and his eyes are closed; he simply mutters an “mhm” in response.

“I love you too.”

He places a light kiss on your cheek and moves his lips next to your ear, “I know mama.”

Taglist: @gretastanfleet @satans-helper @mountainofthesunn @lazingonsunday

#josh kiszka #greta van fleet #josh kiszka x reader #josh kiszka fic #bri writes