#also I want to give him that cool hip-with-the-kids I-am-still-young-at-heart energy

[kiribaku-queen]

Home [1/10]

Pairing: Bakugou x reader, Kirishima x reader

Fluff, angst, werewolf!au

Word count: 4.8K

A/N: This is my first time writing for something on Tumblr, so do tell me how it is! Also haven’t written in a hot minute so it’s going to be a bumpy ride until we get to the good parts!

Summary: Being called the beauty of the clan isn’t as nice as it sounds. The beauty of the clan is supposed to exude confidence, power, and well, beauty. You were quite the opposite, only possessing one of those traits. Yet, the older you got, the more you fit into the role you were given. After your brother and all the boys of age come back from their training period, it was time to find a mate. But who will steal your heart? Is it Bakugou, the rising leader of the pack, or is it Kirishima, the personal guard and the strongest in the pack?

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5 years old

“Mommy! The other kids won’t stop picking on me,” you cried as you run into your mother’s arms. She kneels so that she is eye level with you, wiping her hands on her apron.

“What happened this time sweetheart?”

“They knocked down my sandcastle. And I worked really hard on it!” You puffed as you crossed both of your stubby arms across your heaving chest. Tears threatened to spill as you recall the accident that just happened. Sniffing the morning air, you could tell it was going to be a nice day outside. The rain has just passed which allowed the air to be crisp in your nose and the warm air passing by the window made you itch to go outside. You couldn’t ignore your instincts, so you immediately run out the front door, ignoring your mother’s call to eat breakfast. She smiles at your energy and shakes her head lovingly while preparing breakfast for your older brother. Thank god the park wasn’t far from your house because that’s exactly where you were going.

You wiped your hair out of your face before sinking your hands and feet into the sand box. Something about how warm the sand was the deeper you went felt so comforting. You didn’t hesitate to dig up a hole to stick your feet in, far enough so that your legs are buried in the sand while sat down comfortably on top. After finding a comfortable spot, you buried the hole your legs were in so that you couldn’t move. As silly as it was, this never failed to make you laugh because you found it entertaining how you couldn’t escape and your upper body was the only thing that could move. On top of where your legs should be, you started building your own sandcastle. You looked up and modeled your sandcastle after the clan leader’s big house in the distance. Oh, how you dreamed you could even step inside at least once in your lifetime. Your lips fitted into a pout upon the realization that this was only a dream. Looking back down at your now crumbling castle, you erased what you had to focus on a new one.

“Look, it’s (y/n). She’s playing by herself again,” some neighboring boys said from a distance, snickering at the sight of you. You continued to look down to only focus on what you were trying to make.

Mommy says to ignore them because they’re jealous.

“Do you see her legs?”

“Did she do that herself?”

“If she did, she must be a real idiot.”

“Yeah, looks like the beauty is an idiot after all.”

They’re just jealous.

“Looks like the idiot beauty must need saving. Let’s go.” The three boys, much bigger boys, slowly approached you. Fear started to ignite in your body. Your chest started feeling tight and your breathing became heavy. Your eyes darted around, not knowing what to do first. Should you fight back? But how can you fight back when your feet are stuck in the sand? Your hands shot to the sand floor, trying to push yourself up but the sand on your legs kept you in place. The boys were getting closer and you were stuck. Shaking, you closed your eyes and braced yourself for the worst. The three boys laughed and knocked down your sandcastle with their feet, causing the sand to hit you in the face. Sand reached your mouth and eyes, causing you to cough and lose your vision.

“HEY!” you hear a boy yell and the shuffling of feet.

“Let’s get out of here,” panic filled one of the boy’s voice. The three boys could be heard running away but two more approached. One touched your hand while the other was chasing after the boys. All that could be heard in the distance was yelling and small sparks.

“Are you okay?” the voice asked, “That wasn’t very manly, what those boys did. A princess should never be treated this way.” Soft hands rubbed the sand away from your eyes. You looked up and squinted. Deep, red eyes stared into your own, a worried look written all over his face. He dug your legs out of the man-made hole and helped you to your feet.

“Are you okay?” he asked again, dusting more sand off your legs. You could only nod in response, you head hung low. “Have no fear! For I, Kirishima Eijirou, have come to the rescue! Those fiends shall hurt you no more!!” Kirishima smiled, showing off his sharp yet kind smile. A smile that was so wide that it reached his eyes. His red hair lay flat on his head, bangs almost covered his eyes.

“Those guys are lucky I’ve been running all day or else I would have beat them into next week!” A blonde boy came into sight, huffing and puffing, hands balled into fists.

“Bakugou! We have to make sure the princess is okay!” Kirishima called out to Bakugou. Bakugou caught sight of you and immediately, his eyes widened. Forgetting about his rant, he ran up to you and knelt next to Kirishima.

“Princess, are you hurt?” Bakugou asked. All you could do was look at both of them wide eyed. Where did they even come from? Why were they helping you? Was this a trick?

“I’m not a princess…” you mumbled, still looking down at your shoes.

“Of course you are! A pretty girl like you has to be a princess.” Bakugou answered.

“And a princess needs guards to protect her! We will be your guards!” Kirishima said determined, looking around in a protective stance, ready to pounce at anybody who dares to hurt you.

“But…” you try to retaliate but Bakugou quickly interrupts you.

“Sir Kirishima! The princess seems to be hurt. We need to clean her up. Hurry!” Bakugou swiftly picks you up in princess style and carries you to a nearby creek with Kirishima following closely behind. Kirishima rips part of his shirt to dip into the water and wipes your face off. Bakugou sits there and watches intently.

“Princess, what is thy name?” Bakugou speaks up. You turn to him. He has the same eyes are Kirishima’s: worried but more intense. You fiddled with your fingers.

“(y/n)…” you say in the softest voice.

“Well, Princess (y/n), we won’t let anything like that happen to you anymore. Because you have us to protect you!” he said with a thumbs up.

“But… you don’t know me…”

“Yes we do! You’re (y/n). And I’m Kirishima, he’s Bakugou. See! We know each other now so let’s be friends, yeah?” Kirishima pointed out and gave you another wide smile. Wow, friends? You never really had friends besides your brother. They didn’t want to pick on you like the other kids? You were too excited by the fact that they wanted to be friends with you. Looking up with determined eyes, you gave a small smile and nodded your head. Kirishima cheered aloud while Bakugou gave a small smile.

“Well Princess (y/n), since you are a princess now, a princess needs a prince! Since I am the most qualified, I will be your prince!” Bakugou stands and puts one hand on his hips, the other pointing to himself.

Kirishima agrees. “And I shall be your bodyguard that keeps you both safe! I can harden my skin, you know.” And he shows off his hardening quirk by hardening his forearms. Your eyes shine in awe but Bakugou scoffs in return.

“Oh yeah? Well princess, my powers are better than his. Watch this,” and Bakugou lays his hands out in front of him and they start to spark. “With this super cool power, I will forever protect you.” He said determined.

“Bakugou I can protect her too.” Kirishima starts to pout.

“But I’m married to the princess so I have to protect her. You have to protect both of us. That’s pretty manly,” Kirishima didn’t need to hear anymore. Manly? Nothing was more manly than protecting people. He could protect you, sure. But TWO people?! Now that’s what he’s talking about! Kirishima then went on a rant, bragging how he was better because he was protecting two people instead of one. You and Bakugou giggled and paid no mind to him. Instead, Bakugou continues to clean you up and makes sure that you didn’t have any scratches.

“(y/n)?!” a young, male voice calls out. Your head spins and immediately calls back.

“Ah, Sero!” You get up and run towards your older brother. He catches sight of you and runs to meet you in the middle.

“(y/n), where did you go? You know better than to be out of sight from the house. Mom was worried,” Sero looked down on you, worry plastered all over his face. Your lips went into a pout and apologized.

“Sorry Sero. But my friends came to help me because I got hurt,” you explained. Sero looked behind you and saw Bakugou and Kirishima standing there looking all high and mighty.

“Ah, thank you for helping my little sister. But we have to go now. Mom made food and you skipped breakfast,” he bowed to thank the two boys, grabbed your wrist and took you back to the house. You looked back to see them still staring at you, waving their goodbyes.

“See you later princess!!” they said in unison. You smiled and waved back, giving them a toothy smile.

 12 years old

You sat outside, sitting on your favorite, most comfortable stool that you wove yourself. In front of you was a table full of gems, rocks and string. You were concentrated on improving your jewelry making skills. Next to the table was a basket full of failed jewelry. It’s not like you couldn’t make anything, but it was the design that bothered you. You just can’t seem to make something pretty or aesthetically pleasing in your eyes. As the string passed through the final stone, you sighed in relief and raised the piece of jewelry in front of you to admire your work.

It’s perfect. I wonder if he’ll like it…

“Ew, that’s what you came up with?” You looked up to see a group of girls staring at your work in disgust. You let out a breath and put down the necklace you had been working so hard on.

Their words mean nothing.

“Honestly, shouldn’t you be better at this by now? I mean, I can make something better than that in less than a minute. And blindfolded!” the snarky comment came from the girl in the middle, who seemed like the leader of the group. The rest of the girls laughed along, but it wasn’t even funny.

I’m still practicing. It doesn’t have to look perfect.

“Who are you trying to give that to? Bakugou? He would never wear something so ugly.”

He wouldn’t would he…

“What’s ugly?” Bakugou appeared behind you, his face a little too close to you. He took the necklace in his fingers and examined it. Without a second thought, he wore it around his neck and turned to you. “How do I look?” he asked. All you could do was admire how well it fit him. You didn’t say anything but he already knew your answer. Switching from the soft eyes he gave you, he looked down on the group of girls, snarling, showing off his canines. “Scram.” That was all it took for the girls to get lost in the blink of an eye. As soon as they left, you turned to Bakugou and gave him a disapproving look.

“I could have handled that myself,” you crossed your arms across your chest, looking up at him.

“Yeah, I can tell.” He says sarcastically and takes a seat next to you, examining everything on the table. You turn to him and gave the necklace another glance.

“It is kind of ugly isn’t it?” you were mostly talking to yourself but Bakugou could clearly hear it.

“This thing? I look good, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He checks himself out in the nearby mirror. You shake your head and try to pry it off his neck.

“They weren’t wrong though. Let me make a new one for you. I promise it’ll look better,” as soon as you touched his neck, his hands grabbed your wrists, stopping you from advancing any further. You jump at the action and your eyes traveled to his red eyes. Man, were they intense as ever.

“I said I like it, okay? Have more confidence. Your skills have definitely improved.” You remove your hands from his and continue to work on the other jewelry pieces.

“I know but they just aren’t up to my standards, you know that.”

“Ah, you beat me again!” Kirishima runs up to you two out of breath. He is leaning so that both of his hands are resting on his knees. He looks up and glares at Bakugou.

“Bro, I’m supposed to be the knight in shining armor. Why do you always beat me to it?!” he groaned and kicked the ground.

“It’s because you aren’t her husband. I always know when (y/n) is in trouble. Plus you’re just slow,” he mutters that last statement under his breath but it cracks you up. You let out a small giggle and Kirishima stares at you in disbelief.

“(y/n) how can you laugh at that?! You’re supposed to be on my side!”

“Sorry Eiji, it was kind of funny,” you replied, trying to stifle another giggle but you failed. You continued to laugh while Bakugou smirked right beside you.

“Yeah yeah. Bakugou, your dad is looking for you. We have to go back now.” Kirishima informed Bakugou, straightening up once he caught his breath. Bakugou groaned in response.

“I barely got a chance to go outside this week and now he wants me back already?”

“Clan leader’s orders.” Was all he could say. Bakugou cursed under his breath and stood up. It didn’t take you long after you became friends with them to find out that Bakugou was the son of the clan leader and Kirishima was his personal guard… in training. They would sneak out once in a while to escape the responsibilities and the strict rules that he had to follow. They would sneak out even more just to see you and make sure that no one was bothering you. After all, Bakugou was your prince and Kirishima was your knight in shining armor. Groaning once more, Bakugou stands up and stretches a little. He then turns to you, ruffling your hair which causes a blush to creep up your face.

“See you later, yeah?” he questions. He raises a brow when you don’t answer. “Oi,”

“Huh? Oh… yeah, see you later,” you sheepishly reply and look away before he could see the ever-growing blush on your cheeks. Bakugou didn’t catch it but a certain pair of sad, red eyes did, glancing back and forth between the two people in front of him. His chest tightened slightly at the sight. As the two boys turned their backs, you began to continue your jewelry making. Only when you took a glance up did you see a certain blonde boy looking your direction.

 16 years old

Bakugou and Kirishima started transforming into their wolf form more often. You would watch from the side while they play fight. “Training” as they would call it. These fights were never serious, even when they were fighting with the other boys. Today was no different. A huge crowd formed a circle with only two opponents in the middle. You sat on top of a rock, watching the spectacle from above. Kirishima was in the middle this time facing an opponent that had a similar quirk to his. When Kirishima is in his wolf form, he can harden his fur, allowing him to be impenetrable. Seeing that his opponent had a similar hardening ability, the fight wasn’t getting anywhere. By the end of the fight, both were fighting for their breaths and almost passed out. Kirishima looked frustrated from above which was funny to watch. He never got like that unless he was losing.

Next was Bakugou. You straightened up and payed closer to the wolf in the middle. His golden fur was fully spiked up, just like his silly hair. His mouth turned into the nastiest snarl, baring his sharp teeth. Intimidating, but not to you. Dangling from his neck, the necklace you made for him 4 years ago. He’s still wearing it to this day. You couldn’t help but smile at the fact. Even when he’s fighting, he still chooses to wear it. Bakugou’s quirk transformed from his hands to his mouth when he is in his wolf form.

When the fight starts, it starts off as any other fight Bakugou has. He lets his opponent think he has the upper hand but when they are caught off guard, Bakugou finishes them off in one blow. As Bakugou jumps in the air to land on top of his opponent, they react fast and bites his neck in response. With one snatch, the necklace that was once on Bakugou’s neck was shattered into pieces on the floor. Both wolves stopped moving, as if like they were put on pause. No one was cheering. No one was even breathing. Bakugou, mouth agape, stared at the broken necklace on the floor. And as if someone brought him back to life, he snapped his head towards his opponent with a glare that could suffocate anyone who looked straight at him. Red, fiery eyes burned a hole straight into his soul but not before Bakugou was ripping his fur to shreds.

Quick to stop the fight, Kirishima jumped in to hold Bakugou back. But Bakugou wasn’t stopping without a fight. He broke the necklace you gave him. The necklace you worked so hard on. Just for him. The necklace that proved to everyone that you weren’t someone to be messed with. The necklace that symbolized your growth. And he broke it. Realizing what was happening, you swiftly moved towards the fight and towards Bakugou.

“Bakugou, calm down!” Kirishima yelled, in hopes that Bakugou could hear him through his tunnel vision. He was already having a hard time pulling him back, but he needed to find a way to get out of the situation.

“Bakugou!” you reached the circle and ran straight to him. You reached up and cupped his muzzle, forcing him to look at you. “It’s okay. Let’s just get out of here okay?” you pleaded. You desperately searched his eyes, trying to bring Bakugou back since he was so blinded by rage. It took a while for him to calm down, but he eventually did, chest heaving up and down. Without a word, he stalks off into the night, disappearing from the crowd. Kirishima takes one step to follow after him, but you stop him. With a light nod, Kirishima allows you to chase after him but eyes linger in your direction for a little too long.

You spot Bakugou, back in his human form, sitting on a boulder near the creek. Slowly approaching, you sat right next to him. It was silent. You both stared at the flowing water, just listening to the sounds of nature, until you break the silence.

“You okay?” you asked, looking up in his direction. His lips formed in a frown, eyes furrowed, and eyes staring daggers into the water.

“Yeah..” he mumbled. You sighed and stood up to face him better. He had a few cuts and bruises on his face. Nothing too big but enough to make your heart ache. Like you’ve done a million times before, you ripped part of the dress you were wearing, dipped it into the water and proceeded to clean his wounds. Again, it was silent. But you didn’t mind it. You were too deep in concentration to notice Bakugou staring right at you.

“Why did you get so angry?” you questioned.

“That fucker broke my necklace,”

“It’s just a necklace,” you tried to laugh it off, to lift the mood. But you probably read the room wrong because he wasn’t laughing.

“That you made.” And as soon as he said that, you couldn’t help the smile creeping on your face and the hotness on your cheeks. You pursed your lips together to stop yourself from smiling.

“Well I can always make you a new one. I can’t believe you kept that same one from 4 years ago. My skills have improved you know.” You puffed your chest out and put both hands on your hips, looking offended. He chuckled in response.

“Then make me a new one.” The way he stared at you made it look like a challenge. Well challenge accepted.

“I will! Come on,” You grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him back to you family home. You sat him down and started to create a new necklace while he watched. Instead of making a completely new design, you decided to make the same one but just tweak it just a little so that it looks better. Bakugou wasn’t watching your hands make it. No. He was watching your face. How you were so concentrated on putting the string through the gem. How your nose would scrunch up when you messed up. How your tongue stuck out a little because you were so concentrated. How the moonlight hit your face so perfectly, making you shine more beautifully than ever before. Yeah, you were the beauty of the clan but to Bakugou, beauty doesn’t even come close to describing how you look. Your looks were so out of this world, he can’t believe you actually exist. And here of all places. He doesn’t even realize that the longer he stares, the more he is leaning in.

You smile and hold up the new necklace, proud because it looks so much better than the original.

“Done! Do you like i-” but before you could finish, a soft pair of lips land on yours. You stare for a second because you have no idea what is happening. Looking down, you see Bakugou’s lips on yours. But why? How is this happening?! You are sure that you are dreaming. Bakugou pulls back to look you dead in the eye.

“Are you just going to stare?” he barely says in a whisper. His deep, raspy voice loud enough for only you to hear. You blink and continue to tell yourself that this is a dream. But you know it’s not when you feel a tingling sensation on your lips from when Bakugou kissed you. Making you crave more of him.

“I just – I don’t… what just happened?” You could barely fix a sentence. Bakugou chuckles and leans more into you, placing a hand on either side of you.

“What? Can’t kiss my wife?” he teased. Warm blood rushes to your cheeks and you push his chest away. He was too close for comfort yet you didn’t want him to go.

“S-Stop joking around. How can you joke around in a situation like this?” You could barely look him in the face.

“Am I lying though?”

“Yes! I’m not your wife!” you exclaim, pointing out the obvious. You expected him to joke around some more and tell you how you’ve been his wife since age 5. But what you didn’t expect was what he said next.

“We can change that,” gosh, why was he always making you blush. Adrenaline was rushing, your heart was pumping, you head was spinning. You felt like you could pass out any time but a burst of confidence surged through your body.

“How can I be your wife if I’m not your girlfriend first,” Where did this confidence even come from? Bakugou cracked a smile. He looked at your lips and then back to your eyes.

“Then be my girlfriend.”

 18 years old

“Do you really have to go?” you pouted, tears threatening to spill. You looked up at your older brother, Sero, and a bigger frown appeared on your face when he just gives you a soft look. Ruffling your hair, he connects your foreheads together.

“It’s only a couple of years. I’ll come back stronger than ever.” He gave you a soft smile. When he pulled away, you immediately went in for a bear hug because even though he hasn’t left yet, it already felt like he was going to be gone forever. A small chuckle could be heard as you lay your head on his chest, the vibrations of his laugh made you feel at home.

“I love you.” You say in his chest. “Please stay safe and make it back in one piece.”

“Don’t worry, I will. Love you,” he kisses the top of your head, picks up his duffle bag and jogs towards the group of other 18-year-olds who are ready to go. When boys reach the age of 18, they are required to go away to a special training camp for 2 years. This camp helps them grow stronger, build their skill and train to become alpha of the pack. By the end of the camp, only one male will come out victorious as the successor. As you watch Sero greet his friends, strong arms envelop around your waist while a head rests on your shoulder.

“How come I don’t get any love?” Bakugou teases in your ear and you can just see the smirk on his face. You slap his hands away, turning around and wrapping your arms around his neck.

“I was just going to come see you,” you smile but then it slowly turned into a frown. Bakugou was going too. He had just finished saying his goodbyes to his parents and sniffed you out immediately.

“You’ll wait for me till I get back?” Bakugou asked, almost scared and unsure. 2 years was a long time and anything could happen in between that time. You could find another mate. Or worse, have pups with another man. Or you could be seriously injured or sick. A neighboring clan could invade and no one would be alive to tell its tale. Seeing the worried look in his eyes and the way he was spacing out, you stood on your tippy toes and to peck him on the lips to bring him back to life. His vermillion eyes reached yours, waiting your answer.

“Of course I will,” you reassured him. A soft smile reached his lips.

“And when I get back as the new clan leader, I’ll take you as my wife, so we can rule this pack together.” He sounded more confident this time. It was a statement, not a question. You bit your bottom lip to stop the smile coming but you failed miserably. Before you could respond, Kirishima jumps on Bakugou’s back, ruining the precious moment between you two.

“Baku, let’s go! Group is waiting on us!” Kirishima informs, never failing to leave a smile on his lips. Oblivious to Bakugou’s glare and ranting on ruining the mood, Kirishima faces you and gives you a crushing hug. “See ya later (y/n)! We are going to come back ripped and manly as hell!” he flexed his muscles in all directions, making you laugh in response.

“If you don’t, I’d be questioning what you did all that time,” you and Kirishima continued to have small talk while Bakugou is just watching from the side. Annoyed, yes. But this was the last time he could see you smile for a couple years. So as much as he wanted to blow up on Kirishima, he didn’t want to ruin the little time he had with you.

“Alright shitty hair. Leave us alone for second. I’ll meet you over there,” Bakugou shooed Kirishima away. He pulled you close, your bodies flushed together, his hands securely wrapped around your waist. Kirishima’s smile faltered a little, but not enough for anyone to see. Saying your final goodbye to Kirishima, he jogged towards group with a red duffle bag slung over his shoulder. Bakugou let out a groan, finally thankful that his friend was gone. Pulling you into a hug, he inhaled your scent, trying to ingrain it into his memory. He then put your noses together, giving you eskimo kisses.

“I love you,” he breathed. Your heart skipped a beat upon hearing those words. It wasn’t your first time saying it together each other, but every time he said it, it was like he was saying it for the first time.

“I love you, too,” you replied. The warm feeling inside you was now fading. It was being replaced with heavy breaths and a tight chest. Tears began to form again. You really didn’t want him to leave, but you couldn’t do anything about it. He quickly pecked your lips for the last time and picked up his own duffel bag.

“Wait, Katsuki!” As he was about to turn around to get to the group, you tugged his arm causing him to look at you. “Promise?” you looked at him with pleading eyes, referring to the statement he made earlier. Bringing you back in for one more passionate kiss, he left you breathless.

“Promise.”

#bakugou x reader #kirishima x reader #bnha bakugou katsuki #bnha kirishima eijirou #katsuki bakugō #kirishima eijirou #bakugou imagine #kirishima imagine #bnha imagines #my hero academia #boku no hero academia

[ourloveisforthelovely]

Tease 5

Harry Potter AU 

Pairings: Sirius Black x Reader 

Link to Chapter 4 

Rating: E- smut

Song at the beginning: Still Loving You by The Scorpions 

______

If we'd go again, all the way from the start I would try to change the things that killed our love Your pride has built a wall, so strong that I can't get through Is there really no chance to start once again?

If we'd go again, all the way from the start I would try to change the things that killed our love Yes, I've hurt your pride, and I know what you've been through You should give me a chance, this can't be the end

I'm still loving you

Tonks and her damn radio…

You didn’t want to open your eyes. Why was every song so fitting for the fucked up disaster known as our life? It had been a week and a half since the two of you arrived in Las Vegas. You hadn’t heard a word from Sirius since leaving London. Of course, you really didn’t blame him. You had given him the tongue lashing of a lifetime.

Sure, you were standing up for yourself but at the same time, you couldn’t help but wonder if you were too cruel? You thought that things were perfect in your relationship. What made Sirius second guess everything, you still had no idea. How he went from being a total slut for you to totally cutting off the love supply was enough to drive you crazy.

“Hey, you’re awake!”

Tonks said eagerly as you sat up and yawned.

“Can you turn that song off?”

Tonks, realizing what was happening immediately made the radio blow up. You blinked before getting out of bed.

“I didn’t say you had to kill the poor thing.”

Tonks shrugged. She needed to make something happen. Remus had sent her a letter saying that Sirius was one miserable bloke at the moment.

“I think that he is regretting his decision.”

Tonks internally muttered about “he damn better be miserable.”

“Sorry, I didn’t think. So, what do you want to do today? We’ve done the gambling thing, the tiger show, the creepy muggle buffets, what else can we do?”

You glanced over your shoulder as you attempted to fix your messy hair.

“How about we go lay by the pool? We planned on going to that cheesetastic nightclub later. I think that we will both need out energy for that.”

Tonks grinned.

“That's a great idea! I’ll go find my bikini.”

30 minutes later…

You lay beside Tonks watching children play in the hotel’s pool. As much as you hated to admit it, you were still a bit sour that you still hadn’t received a letter from Sirius. When you woke that morning, something said today is the day. Apparently, it wasn’t though and tomorrow didn’t look promising either.

“The muggle kids are funny

You chuckled, looking over the top of your sunglasses at a little girl who had clearly pushed her brother into the pool.

“That one is going places.”

You said, with a grin. Tonks nodded.

“The little darling is doing well. I’m going to get a margarita. You want one?”

“Day drinking already?”

You asked with a smirk. Tonks rolled her eyes.

“Hush, we are on vacation. So about that margarita?”

“Yes, get me one.”

You said before laying your head back against the chair and closing your eyes. Maybe a small nap didn’t sound too bad...

It seemed like only two seconds later that Tonks’ chair creaked. You frowned feeling what felt like ice drip down your bikini top. Reaching up, you felt your right breast to figure out what was going on. Maybe a little kid had dripped water from their swimsuit on you.

“Do you always touch yourself when you sleep?

Your eyes snapped open hearing Sirius’ voice. He sat beside you with that snarky grin that made your heart pound.

“Sirius, what are you doing here? The muggles…”

He slipped on a pair of black sunglasses to block those gray eyes that you loved so much.

“They don’t see anything. You look so sexy in that bikini, sugar. I could just eat you up.”

You swallowed as he took off the v-neck t-shirt that he was wearing.

“Aren’t you hot in those jeans?”

You asked, motioning toward those damn black jeans that ruined your pure thoughts. Sirius shook his head.

“Not as hot as you’re about to be.”

“What does that mean?”

You asked stubbornly. Sirius quickly slipped off of the pool chair and to your side.

“It means that I’ve missed you and am about to have my way with you. I am a fucking fool for listening to Snape.”

“Snape?”

You questioned as Sirius pulled you into a soft kiss.

“I’ll explain later. Just focus on us and be a good girl.”

Sirius said in a low raspy voice. You didn’t have to be told twice. Wrapping your arms around his neck, you turned to your side to deepen the kiss. Merlin, you had missed him!

One of Sirius’ hands had wrapped around your right breast and was kneading the plump flesh softly. You had forgotten about all of the muggles, who didn’t seem to see what was happening.

“I love you.”

You whispered against Sirius’ mouth.

“I love you too, sweetheart.”

Sirius kept his attention on your face as he reached toward the glass of ice water that was on the table.

“Time for a little cooling off.”

You gasped as Sirius’ hand slipped into your bikini bottom. He pressed the ice cube to your clit; making you want to jump.

“You better be still or all of the muggles will know what I’m doing to you. Do you want them all to see you spread open like this with my hand between your legs?”

You shook your head frantically. Sirius laughed.

“This is Sin City so they shouldn’t be too surprised.”

Sirius said, lowly before going back to sucking at your bottom lip. He continued to tease you with the ice cube. The damned cube rolled over your clit, through your folds, and down to your opening.

“Can we just have sex already?”

You panted. Sirius shook his head.

“Sorry, love. I’ll see you soon.”

You tried to sit up but you were stuck against the pool lounger.

“What? You can’t just leave me like this!”

“Y/n! Hello!”

Your eyes snapped open to see Tonks shaking a margarita. With a scowl, you took the iced drink from your friend and took a few sips

“What's with you”

Tonks asked, sitting down. You groaned.

“Your cousin is a dick, do you know that?”

“What are you talking about?”

Tonks asked, taking a sip of her drink. She had a good feeling about what was going on. Sirius was as desperate for you as you were him. He was finally getting to the point where he had to make his feelings known.

“I was just dreaming but damn it felt so real.”

You tried to keep the dream from your mind as you went through your day. Tonks eagerly chatted about anything and everything as the two of you got ready to head to the nightclub. You didn’t really feel like listening to loud music or dealing with drunk guys hitting on you but it would be better than being stuck in your head.

3 drinks later, you were feeling much better. Tonks was dancing her heart out. You smiled at the thought of how much Remus would love seeing his girlfriend like this.

“Y/n, get some more of those jello shots.”

Tonks called over the loud music. You nodded and stepped to the bar. As you waited for the drinks to be brought to you, your mind went back to the dream. It was probably just a stupid dream. A stupid dream that would probably never happen again. If Sirius wanted anything to do with you, he wouldn’t be ignoring your existence. You were smart enough to know that.

You probably were just a young tight tart to him.

You thought miserably.

“Now I wouldn't say that.”

You jumped as a set of hands grabbed your hips in an all too familiar fashion; followed by a hard body against your back.

“What are you doing here?’

You asked. Sirius tilted your head to the side. He nuzzled his face against your exposed flesh.

The better question was what was he not doing there? You were not home yet and he was going nuts.

“I needed to talk to you. I was hoping in a place a bit quieter and less tacky but you work with what you get.”

You fought the urge to smile. Merlin, you had missed his cheeky humor but you also wanted to play hard to get. Sirius had a lot to make up for!

“Why? What do you honestly have to say to me? You broke up with me, in case you forgot.”

Sirius groaned. You were not about to make this easy for him. Sirius pressed closer to you as he leaned his mouth down next to your ear.

“I’m sorry. I was an idiot. Snape was running his mouth and I should have never listened to him. I want to be yours again.”

You frowned, trying to turn to face Sirius but he wouldn’t let you. He didn’t want you to face him at the moment.

“Snape is wrong. Tonks told me what he said to you. If you believe that man says then you don’t know me at all. I just want you. I don’t have to have a bunch of other crap and I sure as hell won’t get bored with you.”

Sirius’ arms relaxed enough for you to turn. His eyes were dark in the lowlights of the club. You stood on your tiptoes to kiss him gently. Sirius sighed as your fingers reached up and ran through his hair.

“Tell me that you love me.”

He groaned against your lips. You didn’t care that the two of you were close to making out in a very public nightclub. No one else seemed to mind either. They were too busy with whatever they were doing to notice two people making up.

“I love you. I love you. I love you.”

You whispered, not moving your mouth far from his.

“Damn it, I love you too. We need to get somewhere quiet so I can get my hands on you.”

Sirius said as your hand went to cup the now obvious bulge in his pants.

“Princess, you need to behave yourself or get us back to your hotel room.”

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders before apparitating back to the hotel.

“Ask and you shall receive.”

You said with a smirk. Sirius rolled his eyes and yanked you back against him. This time it was more manhandling you so you could feel how needy and desperate that he was.

“Get this damned dress. Daddy needs some loving.”

You didn’t need to be told twice before quickly getting out of the tight dress. Sirius was busy getting out of his own shirt when you went back to him.

“That didn’t take long.”

He muttered as you took his hand and placed it between your now bare legs.

“Feel how wet I am.”

Sirius stopped all further movement except stroking his fingertips over your folds. You were pleased to see that hungry expression on his face.

“Spread your legs, I really want to feel how wet you are.”

You did as you were told and fought back a moan as Sirius’ hands caressed you fully.

“You really are a bit of a tart sometimes.”

Sirius said, completely pleased. He didn’t want you any other way. Your sex drive was as greedy as his.

Sirius quickly spun you around so your back was against his chest. He tilted your head to the side in order to press fiery kisses to your neck while his hand went back to your entrance to tease you mercilessly. You were so close to coming on his fingers when Sirius stopped. He put his hand on your thigh leaving you gasping with need.

“You should see how wet you are, princess. Your thighs are soaked.”

Sirius left you staring after him as he laid down on the bed. He looked at you with a cheeky smile. You looked almost desperate. If you could formulate words you would have been beginning him to carry you to bed and have his way with you.

She’s all mine.

Sirius thought evilly. You were all his to please, to play with, and to love. Snape would be lucky if he didn’t have to sit and witness the two of you make out for the rest of eternity.

“Come here. I want to make everything up to you.”

You didn’t have to be told twice as you hopped on the bed. Sirius chuckled under his breath as he took his place on top of you. He lifted your right thigh over his hip before changing his mind and placing it over his shoulder.

“Nice and deep....just like our first time.”

He said smugly before pushing in inch by blasted inch. You bit your lip as he lightly thrusted a few times. Sirius had all intents of letting you adjust but once he got the head of his cock inside there as no Mr. Nice Guy. He had to have what was his and no one would stop him.

“Harder, please.”

You whimpered. Sirius leaned down and kissed you chastely.

“Such a sweet girl. I wonder where this dirty mouth comes from though.”

He said in almost a whisper as he ran his index finger over your bottom lip.

“Suck this like you would my cock.”

Sirius groaned. You wrapped your mouth around his finger doing as you were told. Swirling your tongue around the tip before running your tongue on the bottom side; you kept your eyes on Sirius’ face. He was biting his bottom lip and breathing deeply. Between how you were sucking at his finger and taking his cock, it was a miracle that he didn’t come.

You lifted your hips as Sirius pressed all the way in and froze. Both of you were gasping at the pressure of him being completely balls deep inside of you. You were dying for him to move and begging him to stay still at the same time.

Sirius slowly removed his finger from your mouth and rubbed the wet digit on your already aching clit.

“When you have all of me inside you and are all stretched like this....merlin, sugar, you look like such a goddess.”

“Need to come.”

You whined. Sirius adjusted his hips enough to pull out but slam right back in. Your eyes clenched as he quickly seemed to “get to work” with fucking you. The two of you were moaning each moment that your bodies met.

“I want you to feel every inch, baby.”

Sirius growled. At that point, you couldn’t take it anymore. Your body was coming apart and there was no turning back.

Breathing deeply you tried to keep your senses focused until you heard Sirius moan louder. His hips moved forward quickly once more before freezing as his fingers dug into your hips. You sighed as he filled you to the brim and possibly onto the already soaked sheets.

Sirius pulled away from you long enough to lay down. You sighed happily against his chest.

“Now that was the way to make up.”

_______

@brokencasbutt67-writer

@authoressskr

@fandom-trash-worth-it

@hankypranky

@summer-novak

@emiwrites3reads

@shitfaceddaniel

@stuckinsaudi1

@knight-of-gleefulness

@marichromatic

@maggioli-m

@shadows-and-padlocked-hearts

@tas898

@li0nh34rt

@shaylybaby2032

@untoldshortsofthefandoms

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#Harry Potter #Harry Potter AU #Sirius Black #Sirius Black x Reader #nymphadora tonks #Remus Lupin #remus x tonks #smut warning #BEN BARNES AS SIRIUS BLACK #ANDREW GARFIELD AS REMUS LUPIN #sirius black au #harry potter fan fiction #au story #reader insert #Tease #Tease update

[quickspinner]

Motorcycle Fairy Part 3 (end)

Part 1 | Part 2

Also available on AO3

His mother had taught him to throw caution to the winds, to take a chance and seize the moment, to care for no one’s opinion and to chase his own happiness.

She hadn’t, however, given him much of an education in the art of the cover story.

Luka pulled up to the campground without a single clue as to what he was going to say if—hopefully when—he ran into Marinette. He hadn’t exactly rushed to get there. He wasn’t a morning person in general and he’d decided to take the scenic route, hoping the familiar ride would help ground him. He’s come to see races here enough times that no one at home even questioned him about his impromptu road trip, which was a blessing. Juleka would never have let him hear the end of it.

The extra time hadn’t helped him, though, because when Luka pulled up to the parking lot next to the campsite and paid for a day pass, he still had no idea how he was going to explain showing up here in a way that wouldn’t sound obsessive or stalkerish or like he was totally smitten and absolutely not willing to trust fate to bring them together a third time. It was true that he loved motorcycle racing and he always enjoyed the energy at Le Mans, but...he really wanted to see Marinette again. 

Luka took off his riding gear and stowed it, dusting off his ripped black jeans and deciding he wouldn’t need his leather jacket. He nervously tugged down the hem of his navy blue t-shirt and then looked around, knees feeling rather weak and butterflies in his stomach as he tried to figure out his next move. Ugh, he was a wreck. Just chill, he told himself, getting out his guitar and sitting back on his bike to tune it, just to calm his nerves. Just enjoy the day and whatever happens, happens. Gina’s in the races, so probably Marinette will be in the stands somewhere so I’ll need to walk over there...

He breathed, and focused for a moment on his pick slipping slowly down the strings, each one now perfectly in tune, and just as the last note faded he heard a familiar laugh. Luka looked up, his heart suddenly in his throat. Apparently fate wasn’t too mad at him for his lack of confidence because there she was.

And...wow, she looked so good. She’d taken his advice and improved on it. Her skinny jeans had leather panels with pink piping running up the sides. A low-slung chain belt hung from her hips and her hair was back in what probably started as a sleek french braid. The slight ruffling and flyaway hairs just softened the otherwise devastating line from her jaw down her bare neck to her shoulders. She’d ditched her jacket somewhere along the way; she wore only a t-shirt with the sleeves cut off. Luka swallowed as the guy she was with leaned in, but Marinette just smiled and put her hand on his chest, pushing him back, and apparently saying goodbye as she walked away from him. 

Luka forgot about the other guy when she turned and he saw that the collar was cut too, into a modest V over her chest, not deep enough to actually show anything but more than enough to expose her collarbones and a very appealing expanse of skin. Her sweet face was the same but she looked so much more mature than he’d ever seen her and very, very hot. 

Marinette seemed oblivious to the heads she was turning as she strolled, hips naturally swaying on the uneven ground. Her eyes were on a book in the crook of her arm and she had a look of concentration on her face as she tapped a pencil thoughtfully to her lips. 

No more time for thinking. Time for action. Luka took a breath, shifting so that he leaned as casually as possible against the seat of his bike, and played the song he’d been playing when she’d surprised him at the shop.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her head whip around towards him, and it was work to keep his smile from giving him away. His heart leapt in his chest as she turned and made her way towards him and shit, he still didn’t know what he was going to say, but screw it, he was good at winging it, right?

“Luka,” she called cheerfully, waving. “Wow, I didn’t think I’d see you here!” 

Luka could feel the eyes on him as he lifted his head and smiled at her. “Hey, Marinette. I was hoping I’d catch you sometime today. Yeah, my plans got cancelled and I didn’t have anything else to do, so I thought...why not a road trip?” He shrugged, and grinned, looking her up and down with considerably less intensity than he had when she wasn’t watching. “You look good.” 

“Good?” she pouted, as he rather thought she would.

“Better than good,” he winked. “Way better. But I don’t think you need me to tell you that,” he added, leaning back slightly to look pointedly at a group of young men behind her. Marinette turned to follow his gaze and blushed deeply when all but one of the group suddenly became very interested in looking elsewhere. The bold one gave her a slow up and down look and a wink. 

Marinette put her nose in the air and turned back to Luka, still red-faced. “Maybe,” she said, shrugging one shoulder and damn, her arms were really toned, he suddenly realized. He hadn’t noticed before because her build was so slender but now that he was looking, the girl had some guns. “But I’d still rather hear it from you.” 

That put a grin on his face that he couldn’t have kept back if he tried. “Where’s your grandma?” he asked, glancing around. “You’re not by yourself are you?” 

“Oh, she’s over at the track buttering up the pit crew,” Marinette said brightly. “I got kind of bored; the tech talk doesn’t interest me the way it probably would you, but I remembered what you said about the bikes over here so I thought I’d take a walk and come look around. I didn’t think I’d find you, though.”

“Well, I hope it’s a good surprise,” Luka said, looking down at his guitar and plucking a string idly just out of nerves. “I was kind of hoping to run into you. I’d love to hang out with you if you’d like to, but if you’d rather not, that’s cool too. I’m not trying to crash your day if you’d rather do your own thing.” 

Marinette’s cheeks pinked and she seemed to have a little trouble meeting his gaze for a moment. “Well, if you didn’t have any other plans, then...yeah, I’d love some company. Your company,” she added hastily, and then blushed redder, looking away. 

“I’d love to give it to you,” he grinned. “What were your plans?” 

“Nothing specific,” Marinette shrugged, and his eyes went to the line of her shoulders again. “I was just doing some sketching and then I thought I’d wander back over a little bit before the race started.

“Oh, awesome, can I see?” Luka asked, and she looked up, eyes brightening.

“You want to?” 

“Yeah, your stuff is amazing.” Luka slid over, making what little room he could for her to come lean next to him. “I’d love to see if that’s okay.” 

Marinette smiled shyly. “Okay. Just, keep in mind I’m not that experienced at drawing cars and things.” 

Luka spared a glance back at the other group of guys as Marinette came and leaned one hip on the bike seat, leaning over to show him her book. He couldn’t resist a smirk when he locked eyes with the one guy, who now looked rather sour.

They chatted about her sketches, Luka identifying the bikes for her to her delight, and he played a little music for her, and then her phone alarm rang out.

“Oh, it’s almost time for Grandma’s race,” she said, pulling the phone out of the back pocket of her jeans (God he really wanted to be that phone all of a sudden) to silence it. “I have to get back to the track.”

“I’ll walk with you,” Luka said, straightening up and failing to not watch her slip the phone back in her pocket. “Just let me lock up.” 

She exclaimed over the custom case he had mounted to the side of his bike as he put his guitar back in it and locked it shut. 

“It cost me a ridiculous amount of money,” Luka admitted, “But it’s a must. I don’t go anywhere without at least one guitar.”

That started another conversation as they began the walk to the racetrack, and he told her about how he’d grown up playing music and what he liked about his different guitar, and she talked about the types of music she liked, and he got to ask her more about working with Jagged and found she’d been a fan even before he was a client. 

Marinette ignored the whistles and catcalls as they walked, so Luka did too, though he walked a little closer to her and tried to stay between her and the worst offenders when the crowd got close. One man put a hand on her, but Marinette brought her boot solidly down on his instep without missing a step and kept walking, grabbing Luka’s arm to keep him from turning and giving the guy a piece of his mind. She kept her hand curled around his bicep for the rest of the walk, and Luka wasn’t sure whether it was for his comfort or hers. He wasn’t about to complain though. (He would, however, go to his grave before he’d admit maybe flexing a little bit under her hand.)

They got to the stands and Marinette had a spot right at the rail waiting for her, and Luka was able to put himself between her and the rest of the crowd. 

The races were the best kind—friendly but absolutely cutthroat—and not only was Marinette sweet, pretty, talented, and smart, she was fun and Luka was having the time of his life. The nervous babbling was cute and all but listening to her trash talk the competition was hilarious. Once he had to grab her around the waist because she heard someone insult her grandmother and he was afraid she was about to leap the rail and run onto the track to give them a piece of her mind. Her elbow whipped back into his gut mercilessly and she spent the next five minutes in horrified apologies while he tried to convince his lungs to inhale again.

“You weren’t kidding about being able to take care of yourself,” he said when he felt less like he was moments away from death. 

“I am so, so sorry,” Marinette said for the fiftieth time, clutching his arm. “I’m so sorry, it was just a reflex—” 

“Stop apologizing,” Luka sighed, rubbing his abdomen. “It was my fault, I had no right to grab onto you like that and you have every right to react that way if someone touches you in a way you don’t like.” 

“But I wouldn’t have minded if I had realized, I just—I got caught up in the moment and I forgot you were with me.”

“Aw, that hurts, Marinette,” Luka said with affected sadness. “Way more than the hit.” 

“No, no, that’s not what I—here they come!” She shoved him aside and pushed against the rail, screaming and jumping up and down. 

Gina’s bright red bike was easy to spot, trapped behind two others that clearly had some kind of agreement to block her. Luka’s mouth fell open and he cheered just as loud as Marinette when Gina, apparently cool as a cucumber, nipped neatly through a space no one would have thought she could fit through and took the lead. They zipped around the curve and back out of sight again.

“Your grandma’s a badass, Marinette,” Luka grinned. “Wow.” He nudged her with his shoulder. “Guess it runs in the family.”

Marinette giggled. “Wait until you meet my mom.” Luka looked at her in surprise and her eyes got round as she stared back at him, and her mouth did too, and then she was sputtering. “I didn’t mean—not that you would want to—not like if we were—“

Luka had to laugh, he couldn’t help it. “I gotta warn you,” he said, “My standards are kind of high. My mom’s pretty badass herself.” He glanced up at the board as the racers whipped by again, Gina still in the lead. “Last lap.” 

Marinette cheered and screamed as the racers came back into view, but the crowd was going wild and she was kind of tiny. Luka glanced around and made a quick decision.

“Come stand in front of me,” he told her, guiding her into place. “Keep your back to me. Put your hands in mine...no, like this.” He gave her quick instructions and she looked back over her shoulder at him in surprise. He grinned. “Trust me. On three.” She faced forward and Luka bent his legs. “One...two...three!” 

Marinette jumped and put her weight on her arms in his hands as Luka straightened and pushed her up. She yelped in surprise at the height and the speed, but managed to get her feet on his shoulders.

Forgot about the boots, Luka thought ruefully, gripping her calves and pulling down to stabilize her. 

Marinette wasted no time screaming “THAT’S MY NONNA!” at the top of her lungs and waving her hands wildly as Gina whipped across the finish line in front of them. She pulled off her helmet and turned to wave wildly at Marinette, a huge grin on her face!

Marinette cheered again and laughed, waving back with both hands, and Luka grinned.  He squeezed Marinette’s calfs in warning, and then bent his legs and popped her up, catching her by the waist as she came down. She didn’t quite manage to come down straight and she stumbled as she landed, but Luka kept his grip on her waist until she was steady. Then she turned and hugged him. “Thanks Luka! That was amazing! I didn’t hurt you, did I?” 

Luka chuckled breathlessly and hugged her back. “Nah,” he said, and it was mostly true; the burn in his arms wasn’t her fault—though the lingering pain in his abs kinda was. “Been a while since I did that,” he said, letting her go and rolling his shoulders. “You followed my lead like a pro, though.” 

Marinette tilted her head and quirked up one shoulder, smiling up at him. “Guess being a badass runs in your family too.” She brushed some dirt off the shoulder of his navy t-shirt and her gaze followed her fingers as they ghosted along the muscle of his arm before her hand dropped.

Luka grinned, suddenly feeling no pain. “Shall we go find Gina?” he suggested, and Marinette agreed brightly. She grabbed his hand, and Luka was so gone, so totally in love with this gorgeous contradiction of a girl that he wasn’t sure his feet actually touched the ground as they wormed through the crowd.

Marinette dropped his hand to throw her arms around Gina. Luka hung back, sticking his hands in his pockets, suddenly not particularly eager to meet the older woman’s sharp eyes. 

“Well, well, my little fairy, have you found a friend?” she asked, and he wasn’t quite sure how to read the tone of her accented voice. 

“You remember Luka, from the shop?” Marinette beamed back at him, her hand curling around his arm, and Luka couldn’t help returning it, though his cheeks heated slightly. His heart was beating so hard he felt breathless, but somehow he managed to get enough air in his lungs to speak.

“Nice to see you again, ma’am,” he said to Gina. “That was an amazing race. You really earned that win.” 

“Oh, he’s a charmer, this one,” Gina laughed, though she shook the hand he offered. “Well, I can hardly complain about such sincere flattery. Thank you my dear, I am just a little proud of that one.” She put her hand on Marinette’s head. “Well, my fairy, I am positively famished. Let me pack up my gear and we’ll find a nice spot for that picnic your father packed.”

His heart dropped from his throat to his stomach, but he tried to keep up his smile. “I guess that’s my cue,” Luka said reluctantly to Marinette as Gina turned to put her things away. “I had a really great time hanging out with you, Marinette.” 

Marinette’s face fell. “You’re leaving?”

“Well, it sounds like you have plans and I don’t want to intrude—” he began, hoping to at least get her number before he had to leave.

“Oh, no, please have lunch with us,” Marinette said eagerly. “Papa always makes twice as much food as we need for everything, I’m sure there will be plenty. I mean—if you didn’t have plans. I know you probably have lots you want to see so if you’d rather not—” 

“No, I—I’d like to.” Luka reached up and ruffled the back of his hair nervously as he glanced at Gina. “But if this is your time with your grandma, I don’t want to intrude…” 

“Nonsense, dear,” Gina said, straightening and slinging her bag over her shoulder. “Marinetta is right, Tom will surely have packed more food than we need, and you are quite welcome to join us. Unless, as Marinette said, you had other plans?” There was something about her smile and the sly look she gave him that made his face heat.

“No, no plans,” he replied, barely managing not to squeak. He cleared his throat. “Um, if you ladies wouldn’t mind the walk back to the campground, there’s a picnic area over by the day parking.” He looked at Marinette. “Right where I parked, you remember? There were tables but I don’t recommend them, they’re pretty gross, but there’s a big grassy area that should have plenty of room and it’ll be quieter over there. Of course if you had something else in mind, that’s fine too, I’m flexible.”

“That sounds lovely, doesn’t it Marinetta?” Gina slung one arm around Marinette’s shoulders. “We will go have a nice picnic, and then come back and watch the afternoon races.” They stopped to drop off Gina’s bag and pick up their cooler, which Luka offered to carry, and the three of them made the walk to where Luka’s bike was parked. They were having lunch a little late, so they didn’t have any trouble finding a comfortable patch of grass to lay out a blanket. 

“You were right,” Marinette smiled at him as she opened the cooler. “It’s much quieter over here.” 

“Wow,” Luka said, staring as Marinette unpacked the food. “You weren’t kidding.”

“My Tom believes in expressing his love through food,” Gina said with amusement. “He gets that from his father. It does at least mean we have extra for new friends when we meet them.”

It was a very French meal, with several different kinds of bread and cheese, including brie and chevere that Marinette drizzled with honey, as well as fruit and other treats. 

“Wow, this is great,” Luka commented. “This is all delicious.”

“My parents run a bakery,” Marinette told him. “Best macarons in Paris. Papa made all of this himself fresh this morning.”

“Wow,” Luka repeated. “Thanks for sharing it with me. Definitely a million times better than anything I could have scrounged up around here.” 

Gina, as it turned out, was a lot of fun too. She really had travelled all over the world. Luka was no homebody himself and had been to a lot of places both with his family and alone, but Gina was on a whole other level. Her stories frequently had him in stitches, though Marinette’s rolled eyes when Gina wasn’t looking told him that their charm had long ago worn off on her. 

She listened to his stories, however, with big eyes and eager ears, and asked Luka a lot of questions which he wasn’t at all opposed to answering. 

“That’s so cool,” she sighed as he finished describing sea kayaking in the Northern Highlands of Scotland, where his mother’s family was from. “You both make me sound so boring.”

“You’re kidding me, right?” Luka said, leaning back a little so he could look up at her. He was on his side, propped on one elbow with his long legs stretched out so that his boots were off the blanket. “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, designer for rockstars, rubbing elbows with supermodels and newscasters, taking the fashion world by storm one design contest at a time?” She blushed under his soft look. “Compared to you I’m just a hippy slacker with a guitar.”

Marinette brightened and she looked back towards his bike. “Your guitar! Can you play for us? If you don’t mind...I mean it’s okay if you don’t want to—” 

“I always want to,” Luka chuckled, sitting up and grabbing a napkin to make sure his hands were clean. “I’d never stop if I had my way.” He looked at Gina, who waved him on before he could even ask, and pushed himself up to retrieve his guitar. He also brought his leather jacket back and offered it to Marinette. Some clouds had rolled in, bringing a light breeze, and she had goosebumps on her arms. She smiled gratefully at him and slipped it on and he had to keep his face turned away to hide his grin.

It was pretty close to heaven, sitting in the warm grass, comfortably full, with his guitar in his lap, playing whatever came to him. Whenever he looked up there was Marinette, with her sweet face and pretty eyes, enveloped in his jacket as she quietly cleaned up the remains of their picnic. When she finished, she moved over next to him, and without meaning to he looked up at her just at that moment, and their eyes caught and held, and he suddenly forgot what he was playing. 

“Sorry,” she whispered. “I didn’t mean to interrupt.” Luka shook his head without looking away.

“It’s fine,” he said, hands already beginning to play a new melody, soft and warm like fresh bread and honey, but crisp on his steel strings like the fresh air. “I think I like this one better.” 

They stared at each other a moment longer and both jumped when Gina cleared her throat. Luka ripped his gaze away from Marinette and swallowed hard, glancing guiltily at Gina.

Gina studied him for a moment, and then Luka’s heart nearly stopped when she smirked at him. “I’ll be back in a little while,” she said, getting to her feet, and waved Marinette down as she started to get up. “No, no, darling, you stay with your friend, you will be bored trailing behind me talking to people you don’t know about things you aren’t interested in. You look so comfortable, just relax. I’ll catch up with you later.” 

“Are you sure, Grandma?” Marinette frowned. “You know I don’t mind what we do together.”

“I’m sure, my fairy, I want you to have a good time too. Don’t worry, I’ll be back before you know it. You won’t even miss me.” She winked over Marinette’s head at Luka. 

“That’s strange,” Marinette fretted. “Usually when she’s in town she sticks to me like glue. I hope I didn’t do anything to upset her.”

Luka chuckled through his nose, setting his guitar carefully aside on the blanket. “I don’t think that’s it.”

“You don’t think so?” Marinette sighed, still looking towards where Gina had gone. 

Luka took a deep breath and swallowed his nerves. Deceptively casually, he leaned back on his hands and nudged his shoulder against hers. “Well, I might be wrong, but I kinda think she’s figured out that I’m crazy into you and she’s doing me a solid by ditching us for a few minutes so I can ask you out.”

The sudden dump of adrenaline in his veins made the next few moments seem like they were in slow motion. God, she was beautiful, swallowed up in his jacket, her short braid flying as she whipped her head around to look at him, lips parting in surprise, cheeks rapidly turning pink, and her eyes—he could get lost in those eyes forever, and right now they were huge, the thick lashes dark against her pale skin.

Outwardly, he remained calm, but his heart was pounding, his fingers curling tight in the grass to keep his hands from visibly shaking, and his breathing was shallow.

“R-really?” Marinette whispered, and Luka dared to shift his weight and raise one hand to capture a strand of hair that kept whipping across her lips and tuck it behind her ear.

“Yeah,” he said,careful to meet her eyes. “Really, Marinette. The more I learn about you, the more I want to know. You’re amazing and I really, really like you.”

“I...I don’t know what to say,” she whispered. 

“Oh, well, there’s plenty of options,” Luka shrugged, trying to be casual. “‘I like you too, Luka.’ ‘Sorry, Luka, I don’t feel that way about you.’” He had to clear his throat to go on. “‘Wow, Luka, this is kind of unexpected, I think I need some time to process before I can really answer.’ ‘I’d rather just be friends, Luka.’ ‘Shut up and kiss me, Luka.’ Any of those, really.” He softened as he looked at her. “Whatever you want to say is fine, Marinette. I won’t get upset if it’s not the answer I’m hoping for. I just, I’ve never met anybody like you, and I’d hate myself if I didn’t take the shot.”

Marinette opened her mouth, and then closed it again, and bit her lip. “Well,” she said slowly, Luka hanging on every breath, though her dawning smile made his heart gallop even faster. “It’s definitely not the second one. The third one is c-close, maybe,” she looked down at her hands in her lap, where she was playing with her fingers nervously. “But...I think I’m going to go with the first one.” 

“It’s a good one,” Luka said, voice shaky with sudden giddiness. He tried to steady as it went on. “My second favorite option, I’d say.” 

Marinette gave him that blinding smile, like the sun bursting out from the clouds. “Shut up and kiss me, Luka.” 

“Yes ma’am,” he breathed eagerly, leaning forward without hesitation to cup her cheek and turn her face so he could kiss her pretty lips. It was only supposed to be gentle and tender and befitting a first kiss, but Marinette grabbed his shirt and kissed him back, harder and deeper, and he was sure his soul departed his body in the moan that he let out. His senses were overwhelmed; the smell of leather and grass, the lingering taste of honey, the roar of the engines in the distance, her fingers brushing over his jaw and down his neck, and the warm, electric feel of her mouth moving against his as they kissed and kissed again. 

He felt downright drunk when she finally let him go. “I’ve maybe wanted to do that for a while,” she said with a mischievous, if slightly embarrassed, smile. The admission and the sight of her reddened lips did absolutely nothing to help his composure. Marinette’s brow creased as she looked at his dazed expression. “Luka?” 

Luka lifted one finger and laid back dizzily onto the grass, staring up into the sky as a completely idiotic grin spread over his face. 

Marinette’s face appeared over him, framed by the collar of his jacket as her shoulders hunched up, and the grin only got wider. “Are you all right?” she asked.

“Nope,” he sighed. “I must be dead, because I just kissed an angel.” 

Marinette’s face washed over with color, sweeping the worried look from her face. “I don’t think angels wear leather,” she giggled. Something else seemed to occur to her and her eyes twinkled down at him. “But maybe fairies do.”  

Luka chuckled. “When bards fall in love with Scottish fairies it never ends well.” 

Marinette’s mischievous smile sent a thrill through his entire body. “It’s a good thing I’m French then, isn’t it.” 

“I’m enchanted, that’s for sure.” Luka gazed up at her. “You’re so beautiful, Marinette.” 

Why that particular compliment startled her so, he couldn’t say, but her face disappeared from his view as she shot upright, turning red. 

“What?” Luka asked, chuckling, as he rolled up onto his elbow. 

“You can’t just say things like that!”

“Why not?” he laughed. “I’ve been thinking it since we met.” He reached over and slipped his hand over Marinette’s, brushing her fingers lightly with his until she let him lift it and tangle their fingers together.

“I’ve always thought you were pretty,” he told her, in a conspiratorial whisper that had her unconsciously leaning towards him. “But I have to say you look really good in leather. Especially my leather.” 

Marinette made an inarticulate noise in her throat, looking at him wide-eyed and blushing so hard it was a wonder she hadn’t passed out. Luka grinned. “And you’re so talented,” he told her. “You’d think I was a stalker if you knew how much time I spent looking through your Instagram feed.” She made another squeak and he could actually see her pulse fluttering in her neck. “And sweet,” he added, inching a little closer. “At least half those things you made were for other people.” 

She was totally speechless now, so overwhelmed Luka put his fingers on her cheek and murmured “Breathe, Marinette.” 

Marinette drew in a great gulp of air. “How can you say all those things,” she huffed as Luka straightened up and faced her more fully. 

“I told you, didn’t I?” Luka grinned, fingers sliding around to the back of her neck, eyes fixed on her lips. “I’m crazy into you.” Marinette smiled and Luka leaned forward. 

Suddenly something stiff whacked the top of his head. Luka ducked away and lifted a hand to shield himself. 

“None of that now,” Gina declared. “At least not until you’ve taken my Marinetta on a proper date.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Luka said, sitting up straight quickly. “I absolutely will do that.” 

“Grandma!” Marinette scowled, snatching the rolled-up motorcycle magazine out of Gina’s hand. “I can kiss him if I want to!” To prove the point, she tossed the magazine aside, grabbed Luka’s face, pulled it to her own, and kissed him firmly. He couldn’t have stopped himself from melting into her if his life depended on it, one hand coming up to grip her shoulder automatically. 

Standing over them, Gina made an amused noise and folded her arms.

Marinette looked a little bit embarrassed when she released him, but her smile returned at the dazed look he gave her. “Will you, um,” he cleared his throat. “Will you go out with me? I don’t work on Wednesdays, we could do dinner and a movie?” 

Marinette giggled. “I’d love to.”

Luka looked up at Gina, who shrugged, clearly finding the whole thing funny. “Good enough, I suppose. But you will treat my fairy right, or you will deal with Nonna Gina.” 

“Don’t worry,” Luka said breathlessly, a smile spreading over his face as he gazed at Marinette. “No way am I ever going to want to break this spell.”

The rest of the day felt like a pleasant dream, his fingers tangled with Marinette’s, full of little touches, quiet laughter, and light, quick kisses—in between screaming trash talk at the races, which he still found incredibly funny. It was even funnier when Gina joined them, screaming in a garbled mix of Italian and French that had him nearly doubled over laughing. She grinned and ruffled his hair and scolded him half-heartedly. 

Finally Luka looked reluctantly up at the nearly-setting sun. “I should go,” he sighed. Gina and Marinette were staying overnight for another set of races the following day, but Luka had only planned on a day trip. “If I leave soon I won’t have to make the whole trip in the dark.”

Marinette sighed and wrapped her hands around his arm, leaning her head on his shoulder. “I’ll walk you back.”

They strolled slowly back to where he was parked, taking their time. Luka perched on the edge of the motorcycle’s seat, and reached for Marinette’s hands. She let him take them and draw her closer so that she was standing between his legs. “I had a great time with you today,” he said, rubbing his thumbs over her hands. “I’m really, really looking forward to seeing you again.”

“Me too,” she said, smiling. “To both.” 

“Now that I’m allowed to say it,” he murmured, running his eyes along the line of her shoulder and up her neck, where he’d been longing to run his lips all afternoon, “I want to make sure I tell you that you look super hot today.” 

Marinette blushed, but looked pleased. “Yeah?”

“Hell yeah,” Luka sighed, chuckling softly. “Can I kiss you one last time?”

“One last time?” she asked, eyes twinkling above her fake pout.

“Last time today,” Luka corrected with a grin. “All bets are off when I pick you up on Wednesday.”  

Marinette giggled. “Shut up and kiss me, Luka.” 

He took her face gently in his hands and kissed her, brushing his thumbs over her cheeks, then sliding his hands down to her neck so his thumbs slid along her jaw. He felt her shudder and kissed her deeper, tilting her head back. Her fingers unhooked from where they were clinging to his shirt and slid up his neck and into his hair and she pressed closer, lips parting under his in an invitation he was not about to refuse. He finally pulled back slowly and more than a little reluctantly, giving into the temptation to suck lightly on her criminally plump, soft bottom lip for just an instant before letting it slide from between his lips and opening his eyes. To his satisfaction, when her eyes fluttered open she was looking up at him with the same kind of dazed look he’d given her earlier, her mouth so irresistibly reddened that he laid one more soft kiss on her lips before nuzzling her temple, waiting for her to find the ground again. 

When she did she turned her face into his cheek and put her arms around his neck, making a small whine. Luka chuckled, sliding his hands across her back and hugging her tightly to him. 

“Hey,” she said against his neck. “One more selfie before you have to go?” 

Luka grinned, nuzzling her forehead. “Sure.” 

***

“I didn’t know Marinette had a boyfriend,” Adrien commented. 

Alya nearly spit her drink across the table. “What?” 

Adrien turned his phone towards her to show her his instagram feed and Alya and Nino both gaped. Sure enough there was Marinette with a dark-haired boy with blue tips and a leather jacket. He had his arm around Marinette’s waist and she was draped over his side—wait was she sitting on his knee?—and beaming at the camera. The guy’s smile was softer but just as happy and he was leaning his head against Marinette’s. The sky behind them was streaked with sunset colors. Alya opened her mouth to deny it but Adrien swiped his thumb to show them the next picture, in which the mystery man was kissing a shy, blushing, but obviously happy Marinette on the cheek. The caption only said Fairy tales do come true. 

“Wait a minute,” Alya said, grabbing her own phone and swiping furiously. “Isn’t that—yes! It’s the hottie from the motorcycle shop!” She turned another picture towards them from the previous weekend, where Marinette next to (though not nearly so close) the same guy, this time wearing a black t-shirt with a shop logo on it. “Marinette’s been hanging out at motorcycle racing and making out with a bad boy all day!”

“Oh, come on, I doubt she was making out with him.” Adrien rolled his eyes. 

Alya now had the picture open on her phone and she looked up at Adrien from it with her eyebrows raised.

“Adrien trust me, that is a girl who has been very recently smooched.” 

Adrien frowned, looking back at the picture. “Really? How can you tell? I mean she looks happy, but she could just be having fun.”

“Oh my God, you’re so dense,” Alya groaned. “Nino, what the hell, educate your boy.”

“Ah, nope, sorry. He can learn about makeout face from someone else.” He leaned over to look at Alya’s phone. “Hey, I think I know him,” Nino frowned, leaning closer. “He plays in one of the bands that do the club rounds.” 

“Is he a player?” Alya demanded immediately, narrowing her eyes. 

Nino shrugged. “Dunno. If he is, he’s not as blatant about it as some of the other guys.” 

“That shade of lipstick really suits her,” Adrien commented. “I’ve never seen her wear it before.” 

Alya groaned and dropped her head into her arms on the table. “You’re impossible,” came the muffled mutter as Nino patted her back sympathetically.

#quickspins #i'll never not know you #motorcycle fairy #lukanette #i am lukanette trash i admit it #luka couffaine #marinette dupain-cheng #miraculousladybug #miraculous ladybug #ml fics #meet-cute

[moonlightstars16]

Aching Emotions

30 Days Connverse Challenge

Day 9 ~ Nursing The Sick One

It was just one day after her final exam for the year. Connie was already doing her prep work for the coming year ahead. Studying so much she actually got the entire summer off. However she planned to keep up her education even on her 'break'. Thankfully she had her family, friends and of course her best friend/boyfriend, to keep her relaxed and calm during her "time off".

Later that evening, hours into the night she was pouring over her schedules and organizing her summer reading list. Waiting patiently to get her test scores back. Glancing at her phone and laptop every few minutes to see if there was an email notification from the school. The time between now and then was agonizing for her. So much so that she hardly ate or slept. Drinking only the smallest amount of water.

The fan in her room was higher than normal. Already feeling the summer heat from outside. At one point she did fall asleep on her desk. Only to wake up feeling strangely aching all over her. Stretching out her arms and legs from the uncomfortable sitting position, to see if that would help. Nothing. A ding from her phone caused her to quickly look up, brushing off the small headache she felt, and gasp from the notification alert.

Rushing around her room and bathroom, getting ready for a special terrain sword-training day. Having already grab and stuff one last thing into her bag, she ran outside only to be met by Lion. Standing there and waiting for Connie to climb on his back and take her to the temple. Complying instantly, she gripped onto his mane and tried to focus her breathing. Her heartbeat pounding all over her faintly. Lion turned his head to look at her. Though without much expression at a glance, his eyes told it all.

"I'm okay Lion I promise. Now let's go just in case Steven needs you there."

Lion had become sort of Steven's support animal. Helping him cope with all the therapy sessions and facing the reality that it is happening. It didn't seem to be a big deal. But it made a huge change to his life and things were becoming a bit easier. In fact, he only showed up when he sensed something wrong or 'off' with Steven. Teleporting himself right over to his side instantly no matter where he was.

Those visits became less frequent as of late. Because of that, he snuck in a few visits with herself and most likely more Lion adventures. Narrowing his eyes, he faced forward and roared out the portal, jumping threw and landing inside the infamous beach house. Sighing, she jumped off and patted his soft fur.

"Okay, but remember we can't barge into someone's home like this." Glancing up she gulped and bit her lip upon seeing the newly constructed wall. With a passing look, it seemed like it was unaffected by the past events. To herself, she could see it coming a mile away. Shaking her head she turned upon hearing the temple door opening with Pearl stepping out. Her mentor, her friend and, in a way, extended family.

"Oh! Hello Connie, it's good to see you."

"Same to you Pearl, how are you?"

"I'm doing okay, just busy with the school is all. However I'm pleased to have days were I only focus on one person." They giggled as Connie nodded in agreement.

"I hope you don't mind me continuing these lessons. It just helps me de-stress and keeps up my stamina for self-defense. As well as my own health."

"No worries, I'm honored to still be your teacher... Even after everything I did." Pearl smiled weakly as Connie set her bag down, sword and scabbard around her waist, and walked towards her. Placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I already forgave you long ago."

Moments later they were warped to a special arena. Pearl explained it was an earth terrain battle training area with ever changing scenarios and places to battle in. Originally used for the Gem War since it took place on earth as well as among the stars. Connie could barely focus as her sword seemed to grow heaver and heaver against her hip. Already sweating a bit from the long walk to the very center of the architecture.

"I also have a surprise guest for you." Pearl spoke while opening the secure doors to reveal the amazing arena and a few gems she recognized sitting in the stands. Garnet, Amethyst and Steven all sitting together to support her. Instantly whatever she was feeling seemed to disappear. Though upon seeing her boyfriend, her legs almost buckled down from beneath her. They all waved from their high positions as she waved back. Turning to face Pearl, her sword instantly pulled out from her seethe.

"I'm ready."

Connie jumped from a high bolder and landed on the sand. Changing the terrain from the forest to the dessert instantly while in mid-air. Rolling over to where her feet were back onto the ground, she ducked while moving out from her spot. Pearl, the real one, attacked mercilessly. Not even giving Connie a second to think. However it was hard keeping up with her as she young knight moved quickly with every second. Finally she landed a hit on Pearl's sword.

Advancing forward with metal clashing all over. So focused on the fight Pearl didn't seem to notice the change, when a more rocky terrain came into view. However as soon as she felt the rocks beneath her, she broke her concentration for a slight second. Leaving Connie only so much time to attack. Within a few swings, Pearl's sword left her hand, as Connie had her fall backwards with her own sword to the gem's throat. That ended the entire match.

"Alright, I yield." Connie smiled and helped her up. Suddenly a huge wave of pain seared through her head as she gasped and raised both her hands to her head. Heat radiating off her more and more. "Connie! Are you okay?"

"I'm f-" Another groan escaped her lips as she found herself unable to stand on her own two feet. Falling backwards and on her side as the arena itself began to spin. Pearl leaned down to her left side as darkness clouded her vision. The only thing she could remember before blacking out was a flash of a pink jacket and words spoken.

"I got you, Connie."

Hours passed as Connie laid in her own bed. Covers pulled over to her chin, a diffuser of gentle and calming senses surrounded her and sitting right by her side, was a concerned boyfriend. Dabbing a wet cloth over on her forehead and gently around her face. Watching over her sleeping form as she breathed in and out.

Instantly, Steven picked her up in his arms and sprinted towards the warp pad. Lion was waiting on the other side, licking his paws until a beam of light appeared. Standing up quickly as they jumped on his back.

"Take us to the hospital quick!" He held her close the entire time. Feeling the radiating heat from within. Now normally he would give her a kiss and heal her instantly. However it was important to know what affects the human body and the build-up to it's immunity. He had a hunch of what was going on as her and Pearl's sparring match occurred. The movements she had were a little sloppy and uncoordinated. It was obvious something was up. If only he could recognize it sooner.

It was also better for her mom to know what was medically going on, with her daughter especially. After knowing about all the fractures to his skull and bones, the recoveries he made physically were good....for those moments. Had he known more about them, he would've been more careful about it instead of magically healing it all away.

After two hours with Connie in the examination room then intensive care alongside her mom, both came out to where he was waiting. A common case of overworking herself to being sick. Plus her sword-training exerted all her energy and caused her to collapse and faint. After apologizing multiples times and Dr Maheswaren being understanding, yet firm, she asked him to take her home and watch her until she was off work.

Guilt overtook him once again as he sighed and ran his hands through his hair. He knew it wasn't directly his fault. But that didn't take away the twinged feeling of pain in his heart. Hating to see her like this ever. Blinking back tears he focused on what was more important. Cooling her off. Another hour passed before she finally was awake.

Blinking she focused until she saw him more clearly. A weak smile on her face as he gently grasped her hand. Leaning closer with a cup of water. She placed her lips on the rim and slowly drank every bit of it. As he held it for her. Afterwords, while setting it down on the side table she sighed.

"I suppose this is because I overworked myself?"

"Adding in that you physically fought for a long period of time." He filled her in on the rest before helping her lean forward against his shoulder. Adjusting the pillows so she was sitting up more. "Why didn't you tell me?"

"That my studies had me overworking myself?"

"Why didn't you come to me? How could you not come and talk to me about this?"

"How could I? After all you've been through? I-...I didn't want to be a burden." She blinked back tears and looked down at her hands. He placed a hand over hers and his other under her chin, encouraging her to look up.

"I am going through things myself, yes I admit that. But that does not ever mean I don't care for you or not wanting to at the very least listen. Connie I love you. I care so much for what is happening in your life. I want to be there for you too. Just like you wanted many years ago. I want to be apart of your life." He smiled reiterating her words from when they were kids. She smiled and nodded wiping away a few fallen tears as he did the same. "No more hiding from each other, promise?"

"Promise" She giggled as they hugged each other. Steven being a bit more careful while feeling her entire body still limp and weaker from before. Pressing a soft kiss on her forehead, she began to spill out everything. He listened to every word as he allowed her to lean against him. Stroking her hair gently to help ease her mind and worries.

After a long talk together, he helped her walk to the bathroom and put together a calming bath in her surprisingly fancy tub for her home. Leaving for her privacy as he made some hot soup for her and grabbed more water. On account of her parents both unable to be there for a bit longer than expected. He didn't mind staying by her side. Enjoyed taking care of her actually.

Finding her already dressed in her pajamas and refreshed, he set the tray down by her bed. Leading her away from the bookshelf and back into the cushy mattress. Pouting as he was firm (and teasing) with her. They took this moment of peace just to be in each other's presence. Well as one can be while their sick and the other taking care of said sick person.

"I think I already feel a bit better." Connie confessed with a smile and an all to innocent twinkle in her eyes.

"Really? So soon?"

"You kissed me a few minutes ago and my headache was instantly gone." She giggled as he froze in place. A blush tinting his cheeks a bit. Knowing the rule of using his powers, which he had control over, for emergencies only.

"Technically this was an emergency of sorts."

"Which is why I'm not going to hold this one over you. But to simply say, thank you." With a flirting wink he chuckled and shook his head.

"You're welcome. But what do you mean by 'holding this one over me?'"

"I was going to do this." With a small portion of her regained strength and energy, she gripped his shirt and pulled her over to kiss his lips. She was low on energy, not contagious after all. His eyes widened in shock before closing them and falling more into it's intensity. Holding her gently against him once again as they shared the most strange, yet loving of intimacies between them.

"You're lucky your parents aren't around." He spoke in between their kisses as she giggled herself against him.

"Exactly"

#30 day connverse challenge #30 days connverse challenge #30 days writing challenge #30 days of domestic fluff #connverse #steven universe #connie maheswaran #steven universe future #steven and connie #stevenxconnie #pearl #day 9

[electricxmayhem]

When It’s Time

Fandom: Dungeons and Daddies

Relationship: Oakson

Word Count: 5,339

Authors notes: There’s a lot of gen content in this because I accidentally thought too hard about the plot and also I’m afraid of intimacy. Please just pretend the action was more drawn out and realistic. Also if the writing of this seems un-American I’m sorry I’m...not American. 

One

‘Did anyone think for even a second that this might be a terrible idea?’

‘All our ideas have been terrible, Darryl. This is our best shot right now.’

Trudging around yet another unfamiliar town was wearing on everybody, and the long day had only been made longer by Darryl’s mood. He had been a little extra crabby since his split with Carroll, which would have been understandable were the other dads not so on edge. 

‘Can someone else take Peter?’ Ron asked, shifting his shoulders under the weight of Paeden fast asleep on his back, ‘He’s heavier than he looks.’

‘Give him here.’ Henry rubbed his eyes and reached out his arms to take the exhausted boy. But before he had him, something caught his eye and he turned suddenly. Ron let go of Paeden’s legs and the boy fell hard into the dirt, startling himself awake.

‘What the fuck?’ He spluttered.

‘Oh my gosh, Paeden, are you okay, buddy?’ Henry fussed, pulling Paeden up and dusting him off while he squirmed indignantly. 

‘Yeah, I’m fine, I can take a hit.’ He sniffed, ‘What happened though?’

‘Oh, I think I just saw the sign.’

‘For the fortune teller?’

‘Yeah, come on, this way.’

Relief bringing a burst of energy, everyone followed Henry to a faintly glowing eye-shaped symbol carved into a wooden sign. Below, in similarly glowing letters the sign said ‘OPEN’. Below the sign was a small tent made of heavy red material.

Glenn reached out and knocked on the door. Nothing happened.

‘Did you just try to knock on a curtain, Glenn?’

‘Look, I’m really tired okay.’

‘Hello?’ Henry tried.

‘Enter.’ Came a creaking voice from inside.

Shrugging, the dads piled into the tent, shepherding Paeden ahead of them. Disappointingly, the tent was no larger on the inside than it was on the outside. There was barely room for 4 and a half people to squeeze in facing the woman sitting at the table within, commanding the room despite her small stature. She smiled at them in silence for what felt like minutes before Henry spoke up again.

‘Uh, are you the Seer of-’

‘Silverman? I certainly am, Mr Oak.’

Henry laughed delightedly. ‘Neat!’

‘Hey, Siri, what’s my name?’ Ron pushed forward.

‘You’re Ron. And my name is not Siri-’

‘Siri, call me uh, Adam Sandler.’

‘............No.’

Darryl waved his hands in the air.

‘We’re getting off track. Ma’am we’re here to-’

‘Let me guess. You vowed to take on the beast in order to gain the favour of Lady Lockwood, so that she might grant you an army to assist you in your raid of Castle Ravenloft.’

‘Uh, yes.’

‘So what do you want from me?’

‘Seems like you already know.’

‘I know a lot of things, Darryl, but I do hate a one-sided conversation. So come on, ask me nicely.’ The old woman leaned forward and clasped her hands under her chin. Her gaze was unnervingly bright for her wizened face.

‘We heard you might be able to give us some clues on the beast, see what we’re up against.’

The Seer chuckled. Drawing back a sheet of velvet she revealed a perfectly smooth crystal ball in the center of the table that glowed softly in the low light. Everyone leaned in.

‘You should know, first and foremost,’ The old woman hummed, ‘That I work for Lady Lockwood. I am forbidden to give you information like that.’

The dads groaned.

‘But!’ She continued, ‘I have one offer. For a few seconds I can allow one of you to see one day into your future. Whatever this reveals may offer you some...foresight into your battle.’

Darryl looked around at the other dads. Everyone seemed to be nodding. Paeden’s head was nodding too, in and out of sleep. 

‘I’ll do it.’ Darryl nodded firmly. 

‘There will be a price…’

‘No worries.’ Glenn held up a heavy bag, coins jingling as he did, ‘We’re good for that.’

‘Well, then, let’s begin.’ 

Without warning, the candles in the tent extinguished, leaving everyone blinking in total darkness. Small, cold hands found Darryl’s and he felt the cool curve of the crystal ball under his palms. Anticipation tingled through his arms.

And then suddenly he was somewhere else. His eyes fluttered open and low candlelight spilled in. He could still feel the hard wooden stool of the tent under him, but out of the corner of his eye he could see that he was reclining on a large bed with a thick blanket. It was kind of hard to see anything else, though, because it seemed like something was pressed against his face. He could hear movement and-

Oh God.

He was kissing someone.

Someone was sitting on his lap and he was kissing them.

Shocked, Darryl was vaguely aware of his shoulders moving to run his hands up the other person’s back.

‘Ow!’ The person recoiled suddenly, wincing in pain. Barely breathing, Darryl stared dumbly at the other person. At Henry. It was Henry and he had been kissing Henry and it’s not like he hadn’t thought about it but nothing had prepared him for it actually happening. There was no way this was right. He must have been in someone else’s vision-

‘Sorry! Sorry, I forgot-’ No, that was definitely Darryl’s voice. Those were definitely his arms, wrapped in bandages, moving frantically, touching Henry’s arms, his stomach, his hips-

Laughing, Henry grabbed his fussing hands gently by the wrists. ‘It’s okay, it’s okay! You were distracted.’

Henry was wearing an unfamiliar silk shirt with his old cargo shorts, which looked cleaner than Darryl had seen them in a while. He followed his future self’s awe-stricken gaze up to Henry’s flushed face, and watched as Henry’s hand reached out to brush his forehead. Finally, he heard himself take a breath to say something-

And his vision went black.

Darryl blinked in the darkness, a little shell-shocked, as the Seer gently moved his hands off the crystal ball. One by one, the candles in the tent lit themselves again, and in the flickering light the other dads were leaning in expectantly, searching Darryl’s face for clues. Paeden was sitting on the floor, dozing against Glenn’s leg. 

Darryl nearly jumped out of his skin when he felt Henry’s hand on his shoulder.

‘Whoah, Darryl, are you okay?’ Henry threw his hands in the air, looking worried.

‘It is something of a harrowing process, seeing one’s future,’ The Seer assured the room, ‘It may take a few seconds for him to adjust.’

Darryl massaged his forehead and turned to look at the others. Somehow he couldn’t quite bring himself to look Henry in the eye.

‘Sorry, sorry guys, I’m fine it’s just...that was weird.’

‘So what’d you see?’ Glenn prompted.

‘Did you see the beast?’ Ron added.

‘I was...in bed.’

A look of collective disappointment shot around the room.

‘Well hold on! It was a big bed in some kind of fancy room, and I had bandages on my arms, and Henry had some kind of sore back or something.’

‘How do you know Henry had a sore back?’

‘He was in there too.’ 

The others took this pretty easily. Sharing rooms and beds had become a pretty familiar sleeping situation during their time in this world.

‘Well!’ Glenn shrugged, ‘That’s what we get for doing this at night.’

‘No, wait, are you kidding?’ Henry cut across, ‘This is amazing! If me and Darryl are hurt, but we’re resting up in a fancy room, that must mean what he saw was after the battle! Now we know whatever beast we’re up against, we win!’ 

Darryl put this together. Not only was the fancy room most probably in Lady Lockwood’s house, but despite their injuries they were obviously strong enough to…

Well, they couldn’t have been that hurt anyway.

Glenn placed the bag of coins on the Seer of Silverman’s velvet covered table, and Darryl gave her a firm handshake which she returned with surprising force.

‘Before you go,’ She spoke up ‘Let me see the boy.’

Groggily, Paeden stepped forward, and the Seer fussed over him, holding his hand and pinching his cheeks.

‘I just love children.’ She cooed, ‘How old are you young man?’

‘Eight.’ Paeden snuffled.

‘And so brave for your age! Tell me, little one, how would you like a gift?’

‘Hell yeah.’

‘Paeden, come on, use your manners.’ Henry said.

‘Oh, that’s quite alright.’ The Seer smiled, and turned to pull something from the darkness behind her. ‘I’ve got something I know you’ll enjoy.’

A glint of metal shone in the candlelight and Paeden’s eyes widened.

‘A sword!’

‘Mmhmm, a sword named BeastSlayer. It’s just a name, but hopefully it will bring you luck. Do you like it?’

‘Yeah, it’s boss. It’s fuckin’ sick.’

‘Paeden!’ 

 ‘We should go,’ Darryl told the old woman, ‘But thank you for your help.’

She returned his shifting gaze with a knowing smile. ‘You’re quite welcome.’

And, pushing through the curtains into the clear night air, the dads headed back to the van, led by Paeden swinging a massive sword with reckless abandon.

Two

Darryl had always been a light sleeper, even at the best of times, but tonight he’d given up entirely. Knowing he needed to rest up for the fight tomorrow did nothing to quiet his racing mind, and his heart beating fast in his chest just would not let him sleep. He sat in the upright drivers seat and just stared out the window at the city walls. 

He thought about the first time Henry had kissed him. It had been to shut him up, but it hadn’t been mean. It had been rushed and desperate but comforting too. He’d felt guilty about the feelings that had stirred in him, cursed the butterflies in his stomach for making something out of what had been nothing but a peacekeeping move on Henry’s part.

What he hadn’t considered before was that there had been plenty of times that Henry had wanted Glenn or Ron to shut up, too. But he only ever kissed Darryl. 

Tomorrow, Darryl knew, he was going to have to fight and defeat something mysterious and threatening. He knew it was going to be hard, and that it was going to hurt him and his friends. And still he was more scared of the fact that he was in love with Henry Oak.

As if on cue, Darryl heard stirring from where Henry had been sleeping moments before. He cringed silently to himself and waited for Henry to inevitably notice him sitting up.

‘Darryl?’ God, his sleepy voice at that moment was almost too much .

‘Mmhmm.’

‘What are you doing up?’ Henry whispered.

‘I could ask you the same thing.’

‘To be honest with you,’ Henry climbed gingerly into the passenger’s seat, ‘I, uh. I swallowed my retainer a while back, when I was in bear form. So I’ve been kinda sneaking out at night and turning into a bear to try and, you know, pass it.’

Darryl blinked.

‘You swallowed...you had a retainer? And you haven’t- seen it?’

‘Nope! I hate to think what it could be doing to my insides. Never chewed gum a day in my life and this is what I get.’ 

Darryl chuckled and Henry smiled at him softly. Did he smile at him differently or was Darryl just reading into it too much? Was that just the way he’d always smiled? Or had he always been smiling like that?

‘You still haven’t told me why you’re up.’

‘Oh you know I just….  just got a lot on my mind.’

Henry reached for Darryl’s hand, which he shakily offered. Turning to face him, cross-legged, Henry turned his hand palm up and looked at it. Darryl shivered as Henry lightly traced his finger over the creases, stroking his fingers one by one.

‘Are you reading my palm?’ Darryl whispered, barely able to breathe.

‘Yeah.’

‘What does it say?’

‘It says I’m no psychic, but I just met one and according to her we’re gonna get through tomorrow, and I’ll be right there with you at the end of the day, sore back or not.’

Darryl closed his hand around Henry’s, squeezing gratefully. Glancing up, he saw Henry’s eyes searching his, open and honest, and he felt a crippling wave of guilt. There was no way he could tell Henry what he saw, but he felt awful keeping it a secret, keeping the image of Henry in his lap behind his eyes, even as he sat in front of him.

Darryl had the strange feeling of being a man caught spying in through the windows of his own house. Slowly, he let go of Henry’s hand and reclined his seat. Henry laughed almost silently as he watched him, before following suit and curling up in the passenger seat. 

‘What about your retainer?’

‘It hasn’t killed me yet. What’s one more night?.

Three

The next day dawned with the noise of false bravado, each dad secretly comforting himself with back slaps and battle cries, filling the morning with terrible jokes and tense laughter. Paeden enjoyed swinging his sword a little too close to people’s legs as they hiked towards the castle.

‘Paeden, I’m glad you like the sword but I think you should give it to someone else for the battle, okay buddy?’ Darryl suggested, ‘I don’t want you involved in the action.’

‘Why are you taking me then?’ Paeden huffed.

‘Well we can’t leave you on your own, someone might take you.’

‘I’d take them.’ He grumbled, swinging the sword in a low arc right next to Henry’s ankle.

‘Whoah! I need that!’ Henry was exaggerating his confidence as much as everyone else. Darryl could see that he was paler than usual, and he kept scratching at the skin around his fingernails. Looking around he could see that Ron’s forehead was sweaty and that Glenn had tied his hair back from his face. He only did that when he knew they were getting into some real shit.

The two guards at the castle door regarded them with undisguised judgement as the five of them approached. 

‘Hey fellas!’ Glenn waved an arm, ‘We’re here to take on-’

‘The beast?’ Said one of them, ‘Quite. You will see the lady. She is waiting for you.’

‘For some reason.’ The other one added, raising an eyebrow at each of them in turn.

Ignoring this, the dads and Paeden followed the first guard through the door into the huge entrance hall, and down through another door into a huge room with high stone ceilings and tapestries on the wall. In the center of the room stood a long wooden table, and at the end of it, in a high backed chair, was an incredibly muscular woman in a delicately embroidered tunic. She waved a hand for everyone to sit. There were notepads and pens at every chair.

‘So you are the brave warriors who have vowed to slay my beast.’ She looked skeptical. ‘I thought you’d be...I don’t know. Taller.’

‘We’ve got it where it counts.’ Glenn shrugged.

‘I don’t even know what that means.’ The Lady frowned. ‘Is the kid one of you?’

Paeden was drawing in his notepad. It looked like a drawing of himself with a six-pack.

‘He’s just tagging along. He’ll keep to the sidelines.’ Darryl assured.

‘Hell no. I’m fighting that thing.’

‘Maybe you should sit up in the box with me.’ Lady Lockwood patted his shoulder regally.

‘The box? Are you telling me you’re going to be spectating this fight?’ Henry asked.

‘Of course! Why do you think I have people challenge the beast at all? I just love a good blood sport.’

Everyone at the table looked uncomfortable. Suddenly, the Lady clapped her hands.

‘Shall we?’ And she swanned across the floor on legs like tree trunks, while four disgruntled dads and one disappointed boy stomped after her.

Outside the castle, the grounds had been surrounded with a large stone wall, encircling the lawn like an amphitheater. The features of the courtyard still remained; a few pleasant statues, a stone path, flower beds- but it was all overshadowed by a fifteen foot reinforced door set into the wall. No one could tear their eyes away from it. 

‘Well, this is where I leave you.’ Lady Lockwood smiled, one hand firmly on Paeden’s shoulder. ‘Good luck, warriors.’

‘Wait.’ Ron said suddenly, ‘Paeden. Give me your sword.’

‘No.’

‘Okay, thanks anyway.’

And just like that they were alone in the courtyard. Darryl could hear the other dads’ breathing in the tense silence.

‘Quick dad huddle?’ He suggested, and the others fell gratefully together, ducking their heads into the private space their bodies created. ‘Okay I don’t think we have much time so let’s just one-two-three-doodlers okay? One, two, three-’

‘Doodlers!’ Came the nervous response as everyone’s hands went up. Henry turned back to the door, and then back to Darryl.

‘Listen, before this kicks off, I just wanted to say-’

The ground shook. Slow, heavy footsteps echoed against the walls. Darryl tightened his grip on his hatchet and set his jaw. Then came the cry of Lady Lockwood, safe in her viewing box above them.

‘RELEASE THE BEAST!’ 

The door gave way, and standing in the courtyard was a huge, red dragon.

A dragon.

Oh fuck. 

For a second everyone just stood there, stunned. Then the dragon bowed its head and starting walking, covering too much ground with a single step. It took a while for all of him to come out of the door. 

Henry yelled indistinctly, and suddenly vines burst from the ground, wrapping around the dragon’s legs. They held for a couple of seconds, then they were torn apart like wet spaghetti, lying useless on the ground. Henry looked around desperately.

Already, Darryl had lost sight of Ron. He took this as a good sign.

Steeling himself, Darryl mustered all his strength and ran towards the dragon, hatchet raised. Uncertainty was beginning to grow in his stomach. Maybe that Seer woman had tricked him. Maybe they were going to lose and she had just shown him a fantastical image to spur him on. He aimed for the dragon’s face and caught the side of it as the giant reptile turned away. Strange blood wet his blade.

Darryl was still processing his own strike, catching his breath, when too late he realized the dragon’s head was swinging back in his direction, fast. He tried to scramble out of the way but before he could move the beast’s huge skull knocked the air out of his body, throwing him like a rag doll to the ground. Darryl’s lungs tried to make up for lost time as his head swam. Vaguely aware of the dragon leaning towards him, he dug his heels weakly into the ground. Tears of frustration filling his eyes as huge, awful teeth moved in-

Any breath Darryl had gathered was suddenly knocked from him again, but this time by something smaller and warmer than a dragon’s head. Henry rolled into the space between Darryl and the teeth, his back on Darryl’s stomach, and green poison sprayed into the dragon’s mouth. The dragon recoiled, shaking his head, and Henry was beside Darryl, holding his arm, checking his eyes.

‘Are you okay? Can you stand?’

‘Yeah.’ Darryl croaked, ‘I’m fine.’ He was well aware that the fight was far from over, and even as Henry helped him up, squeezing his hand worriedly as he did, he could see that the dragon had turned its attention to Glenn, armed only with wildly swinging nun-chucks.

A surge of adrenaline tightened Darryl’s grip on his hatchet as Glenn started running, and he moved to strike again, but quickly noticed something was happening. The dragon’s steps became short and unsteady, and its head whipped around in confusion, still oozing blood. With one final step, it fell in an indignant heap on the ground. Darryl couldn’t help but laugh when he saw two of the dragon’s legs tied together with four pairs of shoelaces. Ron stood up behind the heap of scales with a grin. Somewhere above them, Paeden cheered.

‘Hey, nice work, Ron!’ Darryl called.

Nun-chucks spinning, Glenn ran towards the writhing dragon and flailed at it’s jaw, resulting in a loud crack, and a strangled cry as he nutted himself on the rebound. The dragon snorted.

Little by little, smoke began to pour from its nose. Struck by fresh fear, the four dads slowly backed away. The smoke thickened as the dragon’s breathing got heavier, angrier, and with a ‘ping!’ the shoelaces snapped. The dragon was back on its feet. And it was staring at Henry.

Darryl swallowed. He hadn’t thanked Henry yet for stepping in when he was in danger, and there was no time like the present. Henry was standing with his hands out, fruitlessly trying to de-escalate the situation as flames started to lick the dragon’s lips. He moved, and the dragon followed, locked onto his target. And suddenly Darryl was between them, heart hammering, holding up his hatchet like it could provide any protection.

Henry’s hand found Darryl’s shoulder and pulled. 

‘Don’t you dare.’ He said as he pushed Darryl behind him, turning his back on the growing flames as he faced him. 

Time froze for a second as Henry’s hands cupped Darryl’s face.

‘Look,’ Henry rushed, ‘I know this is a bad time and I should’ve told you before, but I can’t die without saying I love-’

He was cut off as Darryl’s arms were flung around him in a vice grip, and not a second later flames hit them hotter than Darryl could have imagined. He wasn't sure if he screamed, he just focused on Henry’s head buried in his neck hard enough to bruise, and held his body so close he worried he could break it. Fire and desperation rang in his ears, tinted with muffled yells. Smoke filled his lungs.

And it was just smoke. Without warning the flames turned to black, choking, extinguished smoke.

He looked up. 

Glenn was wrapped around the dragon’s neck, kicking and yelling. The dragon’s head had dropped to the sooty grass, defeated.

‘FUCK YEAH!’ Glenn yelled, ‘I SLAYED THE FUCKING DRAGON!’

But Darryl was looking past him. Straddling the lifeless dragon’s back was Ron, and buried in the scales in front of him was the BeastSlayer.

‘Nice work, Glenn.’ He smiled genuinely. Glenn stared at the sword.

‘Yeah, I mean...you probably helped.’

From the box, Darryl could hear Paeden whooping, but his attention was turned back to Henry. His back, along with Darryl’s arms, was blackened. The adrenaline coursing through Darryl’s veins stopped him from feeling his burns as badly as they looked, but at least he could still feel Henry’s shaky breathing and bounding heartbeat against his own chest.

‘Henry?’ Henry didn’t move his face from Darryl’s neck. ‘Henry, we won. We did it, we survived.’

Slowly, painfully, Henry lifted his head. His tear stained face was still blank with horror. Darryl all but peeled an arm off Henry’s back to cup the side of his head. He leaned towards him, whispering into his hair. 

‘You should have let me protect you.’

Henry’s own hand covered Darryl’s as his brow furrowed.

‘Your job isn’t always to protect people.’

‘It kinda is.’

‘It shouldn’t be.’

‘Guys!’ Glenn yelled, ‘Come on bring it in!’

‘Can we maybe…’ Darryl felt the dull ache in his arms begin to sting, ‘Can we maybe have the group hug over here? And maybe don’t actually touch me?’

Henry disentangled himself from Darryl’s arms and turned shakily to take in the scene with a small shake of his head. Gingerly, laughing with utter relief, the four dads orchestrated a makeshift group hug as decorated guards marched out to escort them inside.

Four

The rest of the day was a blur. The dads were welcomed by an elated Lady Lockwood who quickly bustled them into the castle infirmary. Darryl spent his afternoon biting back tears as attendants washed and bandaged his burnt arms, and biting back embarrassment as they bathed the rest of him and laundered his clothes. Although he had to admit, his aching muscles had been crying out for a hot bath.

He couldn’t stop thinking about Henry. He hadn’t seen him since the fight finished, and everything had been so overwhelming he hadn’t had the chance to think. Well now he had way too much time with only his thoughts.

It was just...it had sounded like Henry was about to say he loved him. Loved him. Loved Darryl. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone had told him they loved him. He had kinda resigned himself to giving out love and not getting it back. To protecting without being protected himself. 

Of course, he’d seen his future. Maybe it should have been obvious to him. But he had assumed that whatever happened would be Henry experimenting, or giving him what he wanted in celebration, or some weird fluke born from a rush of high emotion. It just hadn’t dared to occur to him that it could be something Henry had wanted too.

Henry wasn’t at dinner. A servant informed them he was on bed rest. Glenn and Ron were almost unrecognizable in new clothes fit for nobles, with washed hair and clean faces. Even Paeden had been dressed up, and was sitting at Lady Lockwood’s right hand side with pride. Darryl felt a little under-dressed, having opted for his newly cleaned polo shirt and jeans, but he couldn’t get into the spirit of celebration anyway. He was too nervous to eat, and ended up asking to be shown to his room early as the others laughed and drank.

The room hit him like a ton of bricks. Of course it was the room from the vision, but it still made everything feel frighteningly real. The red curtains, the heavy blankets, the low candlelight. He sat down to stop himself from pacing. How much time did he have before whatever was going to happen happened? Did he have time to go and pee? Did he even need to pee or was he just nervous? He stared at the candles for a second. They were only recently lit but had melted down a little already. If he wasn’t mistaken they looked pretty close to how they looked in the vision.

There was a knock on the door and the breath was knocked from Darryl for the third time that day. For a moment he was totally frozen.

‘Darryl?’ Henry’s voice came softly through the heavy door.

‘Yeah, uh, come in.’ Darryl called, and watched the doorknob turn and Henry appear in his room, dressed in a familiar silk shirt and his cargo shorts, clean apart from those stubborn iodine stains by the knees, freshly washed hair bouncing as he moved, glasses reflecting the candlelight. Darryl was a little entranced. 

‘I thought you were on bed rest.’ Was the first stupid thing out of his idiot mouth. Great job, Darryl. And they say romance is dead.

‘I’m supposed to be.’ Henry smiled, ‘But I wanted to come and see you.’

‘Well, sit down, take it easy. Are you okay?’

‘I’m fine, I feel way better.’

‘You look better.’

 Darryl moved his legs to let Henry get comfortable on the side of his bed, their hips parallel, close enough to hear each other’s breathing. 

‘I’m sorry-’ Darryl started.

‘Don’t.’ Henry cut him off, ‘Please don’t, just, let’s talk about anything else.’

Darryl took a deep breath to settle his nerves. He could feel Henry’s eyes on him as he looked at his hands.

‘Earlier. Before...this.’ He gestured to his bandages. Henry shifted his weight and nodded. Darryl noticed that he looked nervous, too. It wasn’t a look he was used to on Henry. ‘Were you about to say you love me?’

Henry looked very hard at the floor. Then he stared at the wall and sighed. Finally he turned his gaze to his own hands and stuttered ‘I-’

‘Just ‘cos I was wondering whether I should say I love you or I love you too.’

Henry’s shoulders dropped and his eyes widened. For a few seconds he just stared at Darryl, but there was no intensity in it, it didn’t hurt to meet his gaze. It was the stare of someone seeing something beautiful they hadn’t believed existed before.

‘I was.’ He whispered eventually, ‘I mean, I do.’

‘I love you too.’ Darryl smiled ever so gently and Henry softened completely, leaning forward stiffly to rest his hands on Darryl’s shoulders and leaning in as Darryl leaned in to him and their lips met like soot falling, soft and silent. 

Kissing Henry before had been exciting. Thrilling, unexpected, and forbidden. This time, it couldn’t have been more different. This time, Darryl let himself relax and melt into it, and his heart jumped as he felt Henry do the same, moving his hands from his shoulders up his neck and into his hair, taking breaks to smile against his lips. Darryl felt safe, trusted to take control as he gently took Henry’s glasses off, and lifted him carefully into his lap when he started slipping off the bed. 

This is a hell of a lot better with feeling Darryl thought as he appreciated the warm weight of Henry in his lap, and let his hands pull him closer by the hips, run up his back-

Wait, shit.

‘Ow!’ Henry recoiled suddenly, wincing in pain. Darryl floundered for a moment. How could he have forgotten? 

‘Sorry!’ He yelped, ‘Sorry, I forgot-’ As he frantically touched the unscathed parts of Henry, trying to somehow reverse his mistake.

Henry grabbed his wrists gently, careful enough not to disturb his wounds through the layers of bandage. 

‘Its okay,’ He laughed, ‘It’s okay! You were distracted.’

Darryl could do nothing but stare as Henry dropped his wrists. Looking up from his compromising position to Henry’s flushed face, smiling even after everything that had happened, watching the slight drag on one of Henry’s eyes without his glasses, he wasn’t sure how he could have possibly been this lucky. 

One of Henry’s hands gently brushed a loose strand of hair off Darryl’s forehead.

‘This is what I saw, you know.’ Darryl said.

‘What?’

‘This past few seconds. That’s what I saw when the Seer showed me the future.’

Henry’s face turned slowly into a shocked grin before he burst out laughing.

‘Really?’

‘Yeah!’

‘No wonder you were so weird about it!’

‘I was weird about it? Do you think the others noticed?’

‘Nooooo, they probably believe you. I mean we are alive, in a fancy house, and covered in bandages.’

Darryl relaxed.

‘You know I have two Darryl-arm-shaped patches of skin between the burns.’

‘Oh, God.’ Darryl laughed ruefully as Henry dropped his forehead to rest against his. 

‘Hey.’ Henry whispered. ‘Can I stay in here tonight?’

‘Are you sure?’ Darryl’s voice was slightly slurred by Henry running his thumb over his bottom lip.

‘I’m asking.’

‘Of course.’ 

With this, Henry kissed Darryl briefly one more time and crawled out of his lap onto the empty bed space beside him, where he lay on his front.

‘I’m just really tired.’

Darryl shuffled down until he was lying on his back.

‘Me too.’ He whispered. With everything that had happened, he would have done anything to hold Henry as they fell asleep, but with their injuries it was impossible. Instead he lay his hand, palm up, between them. Henry idly traced the creases with his finger, before folding his hand into Darryl’s. A gentle gust of wind through the room extinguished the candles.

Muffled by the pillows, Henry spoke up one last time.

‘You know, the others are going to figure out something happened.’

‘How?’

‘You told them I was in your bed in the vision. Now they know that we weren’t made to share they’ll know I must have sneaked in.’

‘Well, that sounds like their problem.’

Fin.

Authors note: This is not a songfic but the title is the name of a song which I chose for the lyrics 

‘All I want is you to understand

That when I take your hand

It’s ‘cos I want to.

And we are all born in a world of doubt,

But there’s no doubt,

I figured out

I love you’

#dndads #dungeons and daddies #oakson #henry oak #darryl wilson #glenn close #ron stampler #paeden bennetts #fanfiction #my writing

[joemuggs]

PERCEPTION OF DOORS

Was reminded by a conversation yesterday about the art of the club door person, and dug this out, which I wrote for the Amsterdam Dance Event annual back in 2014. 

---

If you want a clear view of how clubland operates, why not ask its guardians? The men and women who stand at the doors – whether to take money, pick and choose who gets in, or act as enforcers of rules – are the first and last people clubbers will see in their night out, and are uniquely placed to assess what makes the clubbers themselves tick. They are the interface between club, clubber and promoter, and able to provide a (more-or-less) sober overview of what goes on. But frequently, too, they are the filter: they are the one person more than anyone whom by their choices, defines the nature of the crowd on a given night. As such, they are not just list-tickers, cash-till operators or hired muscle, but are a vital cog in the club's cultural machine, a part of the club's personality. And plenty of them are as big a music lovers as the promoters or DJs too. So from London to New York, Glasgow to Pretoria to L.A., we present the past, present and future of these essential sentinels and unsung heroes of the night.

BIG FRANK

Big Frank, aka Faafaga Samuelu, is a true Los Angeles legend. The imposing Samoan-American was a school friend of underground hip hop DJ/producer Kevin “Daddy Kev” Moo, and they threw parties together from Junior High onwards (“I was the muscle, he was the brain,” laughs Frank; “a perfect combination”). But Frank was also a hardcore gangbanger in his late 1980s / early 90s adolescence: “I remember him showing me a sawed-off shotgun in 8th grade while we were riding the bus to school,” says Kev, nonchalantly. Frank served serious jail time in the late 90s, but when he came out, Kev was there, happy to team up again.

Kev founded the legendary Low End Theory – hub of the psychedelic, electronic “L.A. beat scene” that spawned artists like Flying Lotus, Gaslamp Killer and co – in 2006, but by 2011 it had become so popular, hosting the likes of Thom York and Erykah Badu, that their host venue's bouncers were shaking down clubbers for bribes to get in. This was the moment when Frank's demeanour, reputation and willingness to turn up with an AR-15 assault rifle came into their own, and perhaps unsurprisingly the previous security stepped aside without any trouble to make way for him to take over on LET's Wednesday nights.

Since then, LET's reputation as a friendly spot has only grown. “Being the familiar face of the club,” says Frank, “is great fun and oftentimes just lots of funny. And if you're coming to us, you'll be more comfortable if you feel like you know the guy at the door – and a cool farewell at the end of the night helps as well!” Now in his 40s, he is happy to be a cool head, mainly in the background: “I have different reasons for being in the scene still,” he says; “What's still there is the love for music, but now my desire to be in the crowd is gone. The times of getting fucked up and bumping rap at a back yard party is long gone. What makes me happy, though, is the presence of the forty-somethings and even older folks that attend our club. It helps me feel like our push to progress the music is appreciated. As if all this time in the scene produced something that my generation can be proud of – not just slangin' and gang bangin'.”

JR

In South Africa, house music means more to people than almost anywhere else on earth. And Tebogo “JR” Modiba knows this more than most – his laid-back House 22 parties in Pretoria are an oasis of sophistication and unity in a society still riven with violence and harsh divisions. He ended up working the door there by default: “House 22 started an purely by-invite-only underground deep house joint,” he explains; “so as the founder, I had to work the door in order to overlook the invitations myself. Over time, we have opened up to the general public, but we still keep a close eye on disruptive elements who might not understand and appreciate the underground deep house culture.”

Like all the best doormen, though, he's not just there to filter people out. “The door is the most important part of the business,” he insists. “That's where punters, especially first timers, should start experiencing what the atmosphere of the club is like. All of that depends on how the doorman welcomes them and treat them.” In fact, his biggest problems are cops (“those fellas have serious anger issues, especially when they see people having fun while they are working – and they're the biggest tax collectors too, [taking money] to allow you to operate without interrupting your business with constant inspections, or to protect your patrons from being harassed”) and the weather. One time the mainly-outdoor House 22 venue was hit by tennis ball-sized hailstones, causing a near stampede for cover, which JR was able to only just keep from becoming mass panic.

All his efforts lead to a club where passion for music rules – and so it should, when JR's own love for house still drives everything. At the drop of a hat, he will reel off favourite DJs' names– Vinny Da Vinci, Christos, Glen Lewis, Jimpster, Atjazz, Ralf Gum, Andre Lodemann, Andy Compton & The Rurals, Lars Behrenroth, and Louie Vega – and those of beloved festivals that inspire him like Sónar, ADE and Southport Weekender. And you just know there's no bullshit when he says: “I don't think I am ready to live without my house music, the club life and the people I have met and we became one house music family. Not any time soon.”

JAY CLOTH

London gay scene institution Duckie is more than just a club – as “Purveyors of Progressive Working Class Entertainment”, its team have created a multi-headed beast with art events, talks and exhibitions worldwide. But Duckie's soul resides in its bacchanals every Saturday night at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, still presided over by the same team that founded it 19 years ago: producer Simon Casson, radically eclectic DJ duo The London Readers Wifes, compere Amy Lamé and “box office artistes” Father Cloth and Jay Cloth. Jay is extraordinarily proud to be on the door - “Duckie is unlike any other London Club and IS gay culture to me,” he says, though cites inspiration from a motley lineage of misfit clubs past like The Bell, Marvellous, Daisy Chain, Lippy and anything involving cabaret monster David Hoyle (née The Divine David).

“I am very proud that Duckie is a very friendly club,” says Jay, “and the team of 'Cloths' that work the door set the tone by being as welcoming as possible to all.” As anyone who's been to the club knows, though, they may be welcoming, but you have to step up to the mark and contribute to the wild energy. Jay will turn away “stag and hen parties, anyone too obviously drunk, too obviously high, anyone rude, anyone wearing fur” and only welcome celebrity guests “as long as they are willing to pay the same as everyone else – we are very egalitarian.” “What makes me really happy,” he says, “is when the mix of people is so extreme I wouldn't want to be anywhere else on earth.” His only fear is that “around 1am some nights when the Wifes announce they are about to play their favourite record of all time, I worry the floor might give in!”

ANGELO FABARA

Anyone who thinks that garish clubwear and superstar DJ culture started with EDM should look back to early 90s New York – which truly was the best of times, and the worst of times. Clubbing was a performance then, with the self-proclaimed Club Kids creating atmospheres so decadent and sights so eye-popping that it could feel like the last days of Rome. The Limelight was the heart of all of this, and bringing some kind of order to the chaos was Angelo Fabara. Angelo was an out-of-towner, drawn as a teenager to NYC's clubs like moth to flame by the “idea of community foremost, but then the escapism it offers to young people to safely experiment with.”

He was soon part of that community. In high school he went to the Limelight every weekend, but after getting into NYU, this quickly switched to going nightly. As a face on the scene, he says, “eventually was asked to promote some nights which led to my being hired as a junior door / guestlist person under the guidance of the more veteran door people at the Limelight. I worked there for about a year and a half after which I worked at Twilo for another year at the height of rave / club music coming to NYC.” New York can be a scary city, and Angelo had to learn fast how to turn away the crazies who might later follow or lay in wait for someone who had offended them: “I worked out I needed to give them a bigger reason they couldn't come in,” he says, “like 'the venue's at capacity', rather than quipping slights at their character which I may have done when I first started.”

As a doorman, though, he didn't just have to keep the badasses out: he had to help create atmosphere. “I let in anyone I knew was a great dancer,” he says, “or had a great look: people who made the dancefloor flourish or were nice eye candy. You also had to educate people who came to the clubs to make an effort because everyone else was taking the time to look impeccably chic or coming up with a look that just added to the design and visual language of the scene at that time. If you were a suit, I wouldn't let you in, if you came as a group of guys I wouldn't let you in, if you didn't look the part you would have a harder time at the door. Much later in life, I compare it to Walt Disney who always started his stories off by making his characters literally step through a door into a fantasy world, transported to another place. I wanted to be that person that showed you through that door.”

The scene famously turned bad. “A lot of people died from drugs,” recalls Angelo sadly. “Heroin became big in the 90s, and Michael Alig murdered his club kid friend Angel, which ended the reign of Peter Gatien's clubs like USA, Palladium, Limelight, Tunnel which were the best clubs in NYC history, places with a creativity you just don't see nowadays.” Angelo stepped away from the scene, moving into culture reporting with Microsoft's 'Sidewalk' site – but he never lost his love for what had first inspired him as a kid. “I still think about how easily I made friends on the dancefloor and how so many of us are still friends today 22 years later.”

BOB WONG

Glasgow is one of the most beloved, yet notorious, clubbing centres of the world, known for the utter lunacy, in both the good and bad senses, of its crowds. So it's nice to know that its scene has a calm centre in the affable and unflappable Bob Wong, the head of security (“I prefer 'doorman' or 'steward' but that confuses people, so I usually end up saying 'bouncer',” he laughs) at the Glasgow School Of Art – a venue that has hosted everything from the most manaical techno to the heaviest dub to avant garde noise events.

Bob is a true lover of and participant in Glasgow's underground scene – indeed, in researching this article, his was the first name mentioned by every Glaswegian we spoke to. “Scots know how to party!” he says simply as explanation of why he loves the scene. “You can't beat seeing likeminded people – people of all ages, race, colour, sexuality, social background etc etc etc – switch off from their daily grind of the working week and completely lose themselves, intoxicated with their poison of choice, in the music they love and really go for it on the dancefloor.”

This no-nonsense attitude and affection for the crowds runs through everything he does. “I, and the rest of my team are there to ensure the punters have a great night, and more importantly a safe one: safe from themselves and each other when they inevitably get carried away.” And to do this he insists on a friendly culture: “I hated working with macho 'bouncers',” he continues, “who could only brag about how many fights they'd won or how many girls they've slept with – so when I finally became head steward, I made a point of having only people with a similar mindset to mine on the team, and it makes a difference to everyone.”

Has he ever been scared, surrounded by punters when they “inevitably get carried away”? “You're probably expecting a mad story here,” he smiles, “about some kinda riot or a scenario where I've been stabbed or shot at – but no... if I ever get into a situation where I'm in a fight where my life is being seriously threatened then I can honestly say I'll have failed at my job. My scariest moments have to be the occasions where drunken punters have thought it was a great idea to slide down the banister of the stairs from the cloakroom on the top floor of the Artschool – a 4 level building – and have fallen over the edge and down between the flights of stairs... Thankfully no-one ever fell past the next floor but, all the same, hearing the thud and seeing them hit the floor you automatically assume the worst when they go limp and unresponsive! Thankfully and surprisingly there have never been any fatalities in my time (don't jinx it Bob haha!), just a few fractured vertebrae...”

#clubs #doorpersons #los angeles #new york #club kids #glasgow #ravers #low end theory #gay clubs #hip hop #johannesburg #house music

[kimjongdaely]

Till Death Do Us Part

Soulmate!AU

Pairing: Yixing x Reader

Genre: Angst

Warnings: language, character death

Summary: You always thought you would have a happily ever after with your soulmate. Unfortunately, your soulmate doesn’t only bring you happiness, but also great sadness.

One of the most prominent memories you have is when you were merely six years old. A little girl playing tag with the other children, only to trip and scrape her knee.

You remembered it hurt a lot. For a child, at least. Your knee was bloody and you suppose it’s possible you were crying more because it looked scary rather than because it actually hurt.

The other kids gathered around you in panic, wondering what to do and how to help. Someone tried to pull you up, but you couldn’t stand. You just sat there on the ground crying like it was the end of the world.

And then a little boy pushes his way through the crowd of onlookers. He couldn’t have been older than you by much, with gentle eyes and an even gentler smile. When he comes near you, you stop crying immediately, washed over by a sense of immense calm. The pain is almost unnoticeable.

He kneels next to you, examining your scraped knees. “You’ll be ok. Don’t be scared.” He takes out a napkin from his pocket, wiping off the blood from your skin and you wince, sinking your teeth into your lip to stop yourself from screaming.

Once most of the blood is gone, he presses his hand over your knee and a warm green glow appears, your eyes widening when you feel your skin knit together. The sensation is odd and itchy, but in seconds the wounds are gone. Healed together, leaving no traces of ever existing.

You look at the boy in awe, wondering if you just met a fairy.

He smiles at you, and you notice dimples on the either side of his lips. Your eyes drop further and you gasp, recognizing the tattoo of a unicorn on the side of his neck. A tattoo that matches yours.

He’s no fairy.

He’s your soulmate.

“Are you sure you’re not going?” Your best friend since college asks with her hands on her hips, looking at you with narrowed eyes. “I swear you don’t know how to have fun.”

You laugh, waving her off. “I do know how to have fun. I just don’t find going to parties fun. And I have work today.”

She rolls her eyes. “You’re so boring sometimes. Alright, I’m going now. Don’t overwork yourself, okay? I don’t want to take care of you.” You stick your tongue out as she grins, waving you goodbye before leaving.

You get ready for work, humming to yourself as you do so. The weather feels nice today, a cool breeze ruffling your hair.

As you round the corner of the block, a body bumps into yours, causing you to lose your balance and fall backwards, scraping your hand when you try to break your fall. “Ow!”

“I’m so sorry!” A man apologizes quickly, holding out his hand and helping you up.

You seethe in pain, taking his hand and letting him pull you up. You clutch your bleeding hand, searching for a tissue in your pockets, though it proves difficult to find something with only one hand.

“Oh, let me help you…” The man says, grabbing your hand gently and he presses his other hand over your wound. Your eyes widen as an all too familiar feeling returns, a sensation you haven’t felt in twelve years.

He removes his hand and you gulp when you see not a scratch left.

You look up for the first time.

Tracing over his features, noting how much he’s changed. His face is sharper, older, more mature. But his eyes are the same, and so are his dimples like two parentheses by his lips.

You feel tears well up in your eyes. You’ve waited so long for this moment. “Yixing?”

He seems to recognize you as well, his eyes widening as they flit between your face and the mark on your neck, the same place as his.

“I—No, you have the wrong person…” He takes a step backwards, as if afraid.

You take one step forward, puzzled. “Yixing—”

“I’m sorry!” He quickly blurts, turning around and bolting the other way. You pause for only a second, too confused to process what just happened.

Your soulmate is running away from you like his life depends on it.

“What the—” You yell, beginning to chase after him. “Wait! Yixing!”

“You have the wrong person!” He yells back, turning around the next corner and you follow, surprised at how amazingly quick he is. Don’t tell me he runs away from people a lot.

“Argh!” You push your legs further, trying to get as close to him as possible. Knowing you hardly exercise normally, you feel your body getting tired quickly, getting slower and slower.

You feel frustrated tears well up in your eyes. You can’t let this chance go. You’ve waited twelve years for the opportunity to meet your soulmate again, and you can’t just give up now.

And then you trip on yourself, falling face-first on the concrete.

Fucking great.

Swallowing the defeat and pain, you take a mental note to exercise more often from now on. After all, you never know when you’ll need to chase after your insanely quick soulmate again.

You slowly sit up, embarrassed for falling so ungracefully in public. You sniff a few times trying hard not to cry at your failure.

What the fuck. Why are you humiliating yourself like this because of some stupid soulmate—

“Are you okay?”

You glare at Yixing, wondering why the hell he came back. If he was trying so hard to get away from you, he should’ve taken this opportunity to get away. You suddenly feel very bitter towards him, having the sudden urge to strangle him. “No, I am definitely not okay.”

He looks at you guiltily, holding out his hand for you again.

You slap it away, standing up yourself. You angrily shove your hands against his chest, making him stumble back a bit in surprise. “You! Why did you run?”

“I-I—” He starts, but you don’t let him as you keep going.

“You’re obviously the Yixing I met as a child! You have the same healing powers! The same soulmate mark! Who are you trying to fool? Huh?” You shove him again, putting all your energy into the action to show him how angry you are.

“I—” He grabs your wrists, holding them in place. “Ok, ok. Yes, I’m Zhang Yixing. We met as a child. I’m your…soulmate.” His face falls then, making your face crumple in confusion.

And then it hits you.

“You don’t…” You choke, wiggling your wrists free and taking a stumbling step backwards. “You don’t want to be my soulmate.”

His eyes widen, looking shocked. “No!” He blurts before quickly saying, “I mean, yes. Yes, exactly. I don’t…I don’t want to be your soulmate. I’m sorry. Just…let me go.”

You feel another set of tears prick your eyes. All your life you never once thought your soulmate didn’t want you. As a child, he was your best friend. Ever since that day he healed you, you went to the playground everyday in hopes you could see him again. When he moved away, you were crushed despite being so young and naïve. And boy, were you naïve.

You aren’t getting the happily ever after you see everyone around you have.

Your soulmate doesn’t want you.

You take a staggering step backwards, taking another long look at him. His eyes are downcast, almost guilty, which makes your heart clench harder. “I-I didn’t—” You choke on your words, unable to say anymore. You feel like the world is crashing against you and you can’t do anything about it.

“I’m sorry.” Yixing whispers. “Really.” And then he turns away without another glance.

You stumble out of the bar in a fit of giggles. When you told your best friend you wanted to join her to one of her ‘parties,’ she was surprised. Surprised is an understatement.

She literally stared at you with her jaw on the floor as if you had just grown two heads. She asked you frantically if something was wrong, if you were even still you and you just laughed her off, saying she was right and that you needed to get out once in a while.

But maybe going to one of her parties wasn’t the best decision.

It’s barely been a week since you met Yixing again, heard his crushing rejection. The fact that your own soulmate didn’t want you tore you apart. You never really had a boyfriend because you knew who your soulmate was. You waited for him. Knew that Fate paired him for you because he was the only person in the world who was perfect for you.

But no.

Soulmates is just one big stupid lie.

And so you did what any reasonable adult would do.

You drank yourself silly.

“Do you need a ride home?” You vaguely hear your best friend ask, her tone laced with concern, but you merely giggle and wave her off, mumbling about how you can get home yourself.

She looks skeptical, but you’re already walking down the street.

“Hey!” She calls after you, making you groan as you turn, the world spinning around you. “Call me when you get home, okay? If you don’t call me in an hour, I’m calling the cops!”

“Okaaay.” You slur out, laughing again as you wave sluggishly.

Okay, maybe you should’ve really taken your friend’s suggestion.

You don’t even make it two blocks before you bump into someone, nearly falling backwards if not for the stranger catching you. “Oops, sorry.”

“Are you okay?” The person asks, his face blurry from your unfocused eyes. His voice sounds oddly familiar for some reason.

“Yesss, I’m totally fine.” You slur, letting out another fit of giggles for no reason at all. The man is still holding your arm, steadying you.

“Do you need me to take you home?” He asks, concerned. “I’ll take you home.”

“It’s okay.” You say, rubbing your eyes. You’re starting to get sleepy. “I can go home my-myself.”

“I don’t think so.”

You frown, trying to shake his hold off you. “I’m not a-a child!”

“No, but you’re drunk.” The man chuckles lightly, a sound that sends pleasant shivers down your spine. “So you’re almost a child.”

You whine. “No I’m not!”

“Come on,” he interlaces your fingers with his, pulling you forward. “Is your house close? Which way?”

“Hmm.” You think hard, trying to make out the streets in your drunk state. “That way.”

“Are you sure?” He asks, stifling a laugh.

“Um…maybe it’s that way…” You furrow your brows, the roads blending together and you can’t make out what is what. The man is laughing now, and for some reason you want to hear it forever.

“You’re not very helpful.” He says. “How about we just go to my place?”

“That works.” You find yourself nodding, though the rational part of you is setting off all kinds of alarms. You don’t even know this man, why are you following him to his house?

But you don’t fight when he pulls you along. You’ll definitely, definitely regret this in the morning.

If you’re still alive, that is.

It isn’t long before you find yourself in the lobby of an apartment building, heading towards the elevator. You lean against the man who is still holding your hand, your vision blurring in and out and it’s hard to focus on anything.

“Almost there.” The man whispers and you nod, letting out a soft yawn as exhaustion catches up to you.

“Do you have more alcohol?” You slur, wanting to feel that high again. To get even more drunk until you can’t remember your own name. Only then can you forget the heartache of losing your soulmate.

“No,” he answers. “No more drinking for you.”

You whine, your lower lip jutting out in a pout as you look up at him, hoping you can convince him otherwise. He merely shakes his head, before the elevator door dings open.

He leads you down the hall, keys jingling as he unlocks his door. You enter first, trying hard to focus on the interior of the place, but your mind is foggy and you just end up collapsing on the couch.

“I didn’t think you were such a heavy drinker.” The man says, his voice getting farther away before he comes back, pressing something into your hands. A glass of water.

You chug it down, realizing how parched you were. You mumble a thanks, trying to answer his last statement. “I don’t usually drink.”

“Oh?” He sounds surprised.

“I’m just very, very sad.” You find yourself saying, tears filling your eyes as you hastily try to wipe them away. “Do you know? My soulmate said he didn’t want me. My soulmate! I thought soulmates were supposed to be made for each other…that they would love each other no matter what.” You sniff, trying hard to keep your tears in.

“I—” The couch dips under his weight as he sits next to you. His arm is awkwardly around your shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Why?” You hiccup. “It’s all his fault! Stupid, stupid soulmate! I want to just burn this mark off—”

You’re suddenly very aware of his lips on yours. Heat surges through your body like fireworks, your vision exploding with light until you can’t keep them open anymore. You wrap your arms around his neck, pulling him closer to you.

This feels so, so right.

He pushes you back until you’re lying on the couch, his body sprawled on top of yours. His warm lips trail across your jaw, sucking the spot below your earlobe and you moan, hands tangled in his soft hair.

He feels so good. For some reason you want to cry.

“Shh…” He cups your cheeks, pressing another kiss against your lips. “I’m here.”

And that’s all the matters right now.

You groan, burying yourself deeper into the blankets to block out the sunlight streaming in. Your head hurts so terribly, like someone is continuously hammering a nail into your skull.

You slowly open your eyes, hissing as you adjust to the bright light. You blink, taking in the scene before you.

Wait.

This is not your room.

You sit up, suddenly in panic and you shiver. Looking down, you realize you’re not wearing any clothes. “Oh hell no—”

“You’re awake.”

You snap your head up to meet the man you must’ve spent the night with and your body freezes.

No way.

No fucking way.

“Yixing?” You gasp, pulling the covers up to your chin to shield yourself from him. He looks terribly guilty, his lips pursed and eyes downcast. “We didn’t—”

“We did.” He answers simply, a sigh escaping his lips. “It was my fault. I’m sorry I let this happen—”

There it is again, the rejection. You feel your throat close in on itself, and it’s hard to form words. You try to swallow the lump in your throat, but it’s useless. “I should go.”

Yixing’s head snaps up, eyes wide. You see a flash of panic on his face. “Wait. Um, you can wear my shirt.” He hurries to his closet, plucking out a large t-shirt and sets it on the foot of the bed. His face is flushed, obviously embarrassed. “Please meet me in the living room…I think we should talk.”

With that, he leaves, closing the door shut softly behind him.

You slip the t-shirt over your head, the shirt hanging off your frame since it’s too big. It feels nice though, and smells like him—

Stop.

You take in a deep breath, trying to calm yourself down. He’s your soulmate…or he’s supposedly your soulmate. Is sleeping with your soulmate really that big of a deal?

Yes, since he doesn’t want you.

You shake away the thought desperately, suddenly scared to go out. What could he possibly want to talk about? About how he wants to go separate ways? That last night was a mistake and he really hates you?

You don’t think you can handle any more of this.

For a moment, you consider crawling out the window, but he lives way to high up so there’s no way out but through the living room.

You sigh.

You suppose it’s better to just get it over with. You steel yourself for what’s to come as you turn the knob of the bedroom door, walking slowly out to the living room.

Yixing is sitting on his couch—it looks very familiar, by the way, though you don’t remember what happened last night—sipping on some coffee. The sight looks so domestic you almost don’t know how to react.

He notices you, and you see the way he sucks in a sharp breath, his eyes roaming over your form for just a second. “Come, sit.”

You tentatively sit opposite to him, fidgeting with the hem of the shirt that barely goes over your mid-thigh.

You watch Yixing hesitate, his expression conflicted. Then he sighs, setting down his coffee cup and leaning back against the couch. “I should probably start from the beginning.”

“The beginning of what?” You blurt out, not exactly sure what is happening at the moment.

He gives you a tight smile. “Why I ran when I saw you last week.”

Oh yes, you definitely want to know why.

He pauses, as if trying to find the right words. “You know I can heal, right?”

“Yes.” You answer, cocking your head and wondering what it had to do with anything.

“This power…” he clasps his hands together, “is rare. Very. But a few years ago I realized that this power comes with a price.” His face becomes grim, his lips pursed together tightly. “Every time I heal someone, I lose a bit of my life.”

You gasp then, eyes becoming wide at the revelation. “What?”

He nods, solemn. “Yes. I didn’t…” He squeezes his eyes shut tightly. “I didn’t want you to have a soulmate like me. Someone with such short lifespan. You deserve better and—” He chokes, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. “And I can’t give you that.”

You think back to the time you were little, how he healed your wounds. And when you bumped into him a week ago, he healed you again. From the look of things, he isn’t exactly using his powers carefully. Which means he probably has a much shorter lifespan now.

You find yourself standing, making your way to him. He looks at you with confusion, and he’s stiff when you cup his face tenderly, leaning down to press a kiss against his lips. He shudders, breath shaky, eyes blown wide.

“It doesn’t matter.” You whisper, eyes softening. “Even if you only have a day left, it’s ok. You’re my soulmate. We are made for each other. No matter what happens, we’ll face it together.”

He sucks in a sharp breath, shaking his head, though you see his resolve beginning to crack. “No…I-I don’t want you to be sad.”

“Being without you makes me saddest.” You say, kissing his temple. “From now on, let’s be together.”

He wraps his arms around your waist, pulling you close. He’s trembling, and you wonder if he’s crying. “I’m sorry, I’m so, so sorry. I’m sorry you ended up with me—”

“Hey,” you bring his face to yours again, leaning your forehead against his. “I’m happy. I’m happy that it’s you, Yixing. Back when we were children I already loved you. I waited so long for you. Please don’t run anymore.”

He hesitates, but nods, pulling you in close again. He presses a kiss against your jaw, whispering, “Thank you.”

You feel like you’re going to throw up. You’re so nervous and excited and impatient at the same time that you’re bouncing on the soles of your feet—which isn’t too smart since you’re wearing high-heels and you suck in heels.

“Someone’s excited.” Your best friend—who is your bridesmaid today—chuckles as she straightens the veil over your head. “I can’t believe you’re getting married before me.”

You laugh, pulling her in for a hug. “Well, I did meet my soulmate as a child. I had a head start.”

“True, true.” She grins only to gasp upon seeing the time. “It’s almost time! Quick, get ready!”

And then you are rushed into a beautifully decorated car that would take you to the wedding venue.

To think that on the other side of the aisle is your soulmate. It’s so hard to believe it’s actually happening.

When the doors slide open, you see Yixing smile, his eyes crinkling and dimples showing and he looks so incredibly happy that you can’t help but let out a wide smile of your own.

As you make your way towards him, you resist the urge to run up to him and just kiss him. So badly you want to be his wife already.

When he takes your hand and slips the ring onto your finger, you think you might cry. You always believed you would have a happy ending with him, but it just feels so surreal. You see his eyes glisten with tears as he holds you so tenderly.

He leans in, brushes his lips against yours, capturing them in the sweetest kiss ever.

“Till death do us part.”

“I need you to push, miss.”

You heard that phrase at least twenty times now, but you just don’t have the strength. You find it hard to even keep your eyes open, the pain unbearable.

“Hold on, please hold on.” You vaguely hear Yixing mumble beside you, his hand wrapped around your arm in attempt to bring you comfort, though nothing’s working.

“It doesn’t look good.” The nurse tells the doctor urgently, doing everything they can to get the baby out of you before you both end up dying. “She’s losing too much blood.”

You hear Yixing choke, eyes brimmed with tears. “No, no. Please be okay. You can do it, love.”

You try to keep your eyes open, trying to focus on his face but it’s hard. It’s too difficult. You feel yourself slipping away.

His sobs fill your ears and you want to wipe away his tears. To hold him close and kiss him and see him smile. “Yi…”

“It’s okay.” He whispers, brushing hair away from your face. “It’s going to be okay.”

But you know it’s not.

He knows it too as he watches the nurses and doctors rush about in the delivery room, trying to help you any way they can.

“I love you.” Yixing says. “I love you so, so much. I can’t let anything happen to you.”

There’s something wrong with the tone he’s using. You try to say something, to stop him, but he leans in and presses his lips against yours and you feel a wave of energy wash over you, suddenly it feels easier to push.

You try to pull away from Yixing, but he doesn’t move as he continues to press his lips against yours, healing you with all the energy he has left within him.

In seconds, you hear the baby cry.

“It’s out!” The doctor and nurses cry out in relief, picking up your baby and showing it to you. You let out a relieved, breathy laugh, so glad you made it through. “Yixing…look…”

But he doesn’t answer.

“Yixing?”

There’s a thump as his body hits the cold tiled floor, and your mind goes blank.

“Look, it’s daddy.” You point to show your daughter where he is.

“Daddy!” She squeals, running over and wrapping her arms around him. You chuckle, ruffling her hair as you set down a bouquet of flowers in front of him.

“Yixing,” you run your finger over the picture of him smiling widely, his happiness preserved. “I miss you.”

You choke up again, like you always do whenever you come visit him. You miss him so, so much. He couldn’t even see his daughter. He gave everything to save you, to protect you.

“Mommy, look!” Your baby girl holds out a flower bud to you, though once she presents it to you, it starts to open and bloom.

“It’s beautiful.” You smile, taking the flower from her and putting it in your hair as she laughs happily. “You’re just like your daddy.”

You press your forehead against his picture, imagining him still here, sitting right next to you. “I love you so much.”

A/N: I’m sorry it’s angsty and I’m sorry I made him die 😣This idea just popped up one day and I got a lot of feels from it so I hope you felt the same way too. Love you guys! 💛

©kimjongdaely

Talk to me!

#exo #exo-l #exosnet #exowritersnet #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #exo fic #lay fanfiction #lay #lay fanfic #lay fic #yixing fanfiction #yixing fanfic #yixing fic #one-shot #soulmate #soulmate!au #exo!soulmate #yixing!soulmate #lay!soulmate #till death do us part #kimjongdaely #jongdaely

[bananban-feature]

Why Do I Like BTS

I wrote this on my other blog before I decided to make this special feature blog where I would put all of my interests. 

On 31st October 2020:

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It’s been exactly one month since I became a BTS fan. And my obsession has just become crazy recently, despite deliberately trying to avoid thinking about them. So I wanted to dig deep on why this group had this much effect on me, despite being an unlikely music choice against my taste.

I absolutely did not expect for this post to be so long! I guess I just had a lot to say, and I have to let it all out. That’s why I’m going crazy. Hope my brain gets better after writing.

How I Got Interested

I will never forget this video because this is the one that got me really interested in BTS (and Kpop after): Live performance of Dynamite - Bedroom Remix (https://youtu.be/liyn48Amjdw). I was just so impressed by a few things in this that I watched it so many times!

First of all, it was my first time listening to this song as a whole. First time listening to it live, too. It’s a very catchy song! This is my jam.

Jungkook’s whole intro - 1) His stable voice while doing the moonwalk and all that dancing. I knew Kpop artists can sing, I knew Kpop artists can dance, but to do both at the same time that well? It was very obvious that this was live singing, and yet his voice was so clean while dancing, and easy to listen to. (Tbh, I wasn’t all that impressed by the vocal line’s singing aside from him and Jimin, and surprisingly - Jhope, who is actually not part of the vocal line.) And 2) His stage presence. I really enjoyed watching him go through his whole part because it really seemed like he was having SO MUCH FUN!!! It just changed my view of kpop idols that screamed they are manufactured and they are stressed. Jungkook just really seemed to genuinely enjoy performing. Maybe his smile, as a handsome person, was also a slight factor, but I really think it was the energy he gave off. Tbh, this goes for all of them!

Subsequently after that, the members stood up one by one. RM impressed me with a rap that’s well done, particularly the way he said “this beat chaching like money” with a wink. (He’s was charismatic!) I don’t know, it could be just the song writing. Or it could be him. Again, the fun energy!

J-hope was next, and I was impressed by the way he delivered his part, especially the high pitch in “I’m diamond” and the riff in “you know I glow up.” I thought, wow, they’re all doing their parts so well, I did not expect this. (Also, RM’s “hey, so let’s go!” idk it’s so good.)

In fact, as the video progressed, you can see that it was not just Jungkook who was enjoying but all of them. All of the members did (except for SUGA and his constant poker face, even though I’m now a big SUGA stan). The way the members looked at whoever was performing was a look of great delight. And they supported each other’s lines with nice adlibs. It’s such a very positive fun, friendly, and brotherly energy.

Jimin’s solemn part came and it was just simply angelic. I have another note on this - Jimin. He was the only BTS member I knew of before this! I know him because I once saw a video on a guy spending thousands of dollars to look like him, saying he had the most perfect face of all. I was like, “Huh? He’s not even that handsome!” I also know him because he was mentioned in a TwoSet violin reaction video (me as an absolute TwoSet fan). Eddie is a Jimin fan! Anyway, Jimin’s part was absolutely angelic, and I didn’t expect it. I used to dislike the idea of being a fan of Jimin, cause he was being idolized for his visuals when he actually wasn’t the best in it (this was me before becoming a BTS fan), but I suddenly understood when I saw him perform. He was ADORABLE. It’s hard to hate him. Plus, his cute dance at the end.

The video just kept getting better with Jungkook’s high note. (I gotta say, Dynamite was really JK era.)

Anyway, I was so impressed by this performance. The caption of the friend who posted this was about “Taehyung” and I wanted to know what part of the video she was talking about. Who is Taehyung? On top of that, I wanted to know what Jungkook’s name was (and they look incredibly alike if you don’t know them), cause he was obviously my favorite in this video, so I tried to know all their names!

I googled all of them and Jin and V’s visuals were making me blush!!! That’s when I started to really try to get to know them by reading “BTS 101″ articles and watching more performances/music videos. SUGA’s part in the article was interesting, seeing how he went through financial struggles, and how he’s very vocal about society’s issues and his mental illnesses. It struck a chord in my heart.

I also looked out for their dance moves (in true kpop fashion) in their performances, and I was just blown away by the fact that it’s so well choreographed and well-performed, and they’re singing live on top of that. “ON” in Grand Central Terminal? Crazy! I personally liked Mic Drop too because it was my favorite from Sunny Funny Fitness’s Zumba (even though I didn’t know who BTS was). Also knew Boy With Luv from Zumba, so it wasn’t hard to listen to the song. And Spring Day was just familiar (probably from TwoSet violin).

Oh, I forgot, I’ve already seen their Carpool Karaoke with James Corden (as a carpool karaoke fan) a few times way before I knew them. I watched it more than once cause they’re so funny and it’s just interesting to see a kpop group in there.

Now that I’m looking back, I’m surprised to know I still remember this much detail about that fateful hour that got me into BTS mode.

It’s crazy cause now, I’m less focused on their performances, but on videos that show their personality and relationships.

Having Biases

My bias keeps changing: Jungkook (a charismatic performer) > V (as a good-looking cool kid, who apparently is an actual baby) > Jin (the good-looking, loving/kind, and crazy hyung who is also a fake maknae) > Maknae line (crackheads, fun and talented/aesthetically-pleasing bunch, including Jin) > Jungkook (idk he’s just cute, and considered golden maknae) > Suga (cool rap lines, wonderful opennes, hard work, talent, wisdom, etc) > RM (genius and best leader of kpop) > Rap Line (the OG writers that give depth to BTS songs), OT7 (they are all special in their own way), etc

Overall, I personally relate the most to Suga and Jungkook. Suga in his openness about mental issues and being a tired old man. Jungkook in having many interests and hobbies, also shyness. I am also not sure why but I definitely resonate with Jin’s personality too (definitely not the looks though, I’m not that gorgeous.)

The Effect

I want to talk about the effect of BTS on me, healthy and unhealthy:

The good thing they’ve brought me is my interest in exercise the week I became a fan. Suddenly, exercise became fun because it was dancing to their songs (Zumba) and listening to their songs while jogging.

Me comparing myself to them, but with a more positive effect - Seeing how they’ve achieved so much despite being young, I keep telling myself, I want to achieve more, too, and work hard like them. The truth is, I also think that if BTS meets me and sees my situation as a bum who just keeps watching videos all day long, it sounds really pathetic.

I am so inspired by their personality and friendship. Everybody appreciates and genuinely loves the others, with no competition. They’re all very humble, very honest, and very caring. It makes me want to be kind and love other people like that too.

I just keep watching their clips and Youtube videos about them. As I said, I love watching things showing their character and relationships. It’s a waste of time, really, but I can’t help it. I want to watch all of Run BTS, but now I’m trying not to. There came a point where I can’t work if I’m not also watching their clips in the background.

The obsession - I have been thinking about them a lot these days, especially Jungkook. It’s very weird. “What would Jungkook like?” It’s a very weird situation in my head. I started thinking what kind of girl he and the rest of BTS would like, and would like to ship them with the best and most talented girls in the world, if not me lol.

The negative side of comparing myself to them is wanting to be as talented as them or noticed by them, and focusing my thoughts around that, I guess. This includes wanting to live in a first world country like Korea, where life seems better and easier.

The Unlikely Music Choice

I’m not a Hip Hop fan! Anyone can tell, my vibe is mostly on the acoustic side. I am very much impressed by Suga’s rap and I love him for that, but the truth is, I don’t exactly know what good rap sounds like, because I barely heard any rap. The sound of BTS songs (both old and new) isn’t exactly the type that I would intentionally listen to (aside from the non-hiphop sounding ones). In fact, I only began to like Hip hop because of BTS.

I am also not a typical Kpop and dance fan. As I said, I’m more of an acoustic gal. I don’t value dancing skills as much as other people. I would put kpop in the lower part of my “upbeat songs” folder, which I would listen to for jogging. Again, I would never have intentionally listened to songs like Black Swan, Fire, and BST. Not my jam. But look at me now, impressed with them and I just don’t know why.

I said all these gaps in my interest, but now I started to genuinely enjoy the hip hop and kpop genre. I’ve even explored other groups.

Vocals - I am saying I don’t give a lot of value to dance, so I look at singing. But even in singing, they aren’t the best either. I don’t like Jin and V’s voices to be honest, I really mistook them for visuals who were just forced to sing. (It’s true for Jin. Hearing V’s opera voice changed this view, but I still don’t like his ordinary singing voice cause it sounds so muffled.) Jungkook is a great singer, but there are also guys better than him or at the same level as him in other groups, also good-looking, also good in dance. (Not sure about the dance part, cause I haven’t really seen other people’s performances, but I’m sure there are a lot more power vocals out there, like Exo guys or something.)

Talent (Instruments) - I’m totally an instruments person! I am always most impressed by singers/performers who are multi-talented, and play their own instruments - like Henry Lau (talent genius, I love him), and I know there are a lot more who aren’t noticed. But none of BTS are really all that great in instruments, though they’re starting to learn. Suga plays the piano, but he never really uses it in performances, so it is yet to truly impress me.

In terms of friendship, I haven’t seen other groups, but I heard they’re also close. IDK.

So why do I like them?

The Possible Reasons

I guess it’s that they are my first serious exposure to excellent dance performances in kpop. (I know now there are also other groups with synchronized and difficult dances, but back then, kpop groups’ dances that I know of did not make my jaw drop). Seriously, ON was so good. I guess it’s also the type of music they have that accentuates their incredible choreography and intense performance.

Their relationships with each other - Their brotherly love for each other is just so cute. From friendly banters, crackhead crazy moments, supporting each other (physically, mentally and emotionally) and even showing all their affection physically and verbally - it’s all very heartwarming. They truly love and appreciate one another and their togetherness.

They are crackheads and they all are genuinely nice people. I just love their stupid antics, Jin’s dad jokes, Jungkook’s banter, Maknae line’s mischief, and all their BTS craziness even from the hyung rap line.

On top of this, as it manifests in their relationships, they are really good-hearted men. They care about others, and are humble enough to talk issues through. Their synergy is really cool, seeing how they are all different people, but they work so well together, and I personally believe it’s because of their character.

Songwriting - I am a fan of actual artists - performers who make their own music, write and produce their own songs. Suga and RM’s (especially RM) writing makes BTS songs deep and speak volumes to people. The others have learned to create music too, so that’s nice. Honestly, I didn’t realize this until I heard people talk about this in the many comments I read. I didn’t know their songs had a lot of meaning. And I didn’t know they had that much involvement in their outputs. I just appreciate the idea that it has a lot of meaning, especially that they apparently speak about social issues that other kpop groups won’t talk about.

They’re good at other things too, like sports. Jungkook is just so fit. Suga is good in basketball. Jin is good in cooking. RM has a high IQ.

I guess they’re just so charismatic! Both on stage and off-stage!

Other people’s good word. A lot of promotions. Their personalities are also easily accessible. IDK.

Thinking about this and considering the possibility (and the fact) that there are many kpop groups and other musicians that are more handsome than them, more talented than them, and are also friendly with each other, I don’t know why I’m just that interested in checking them out. I guess I’ve filled my cup with a stan. Or maybe BTS has become too familiar, that they’ve become my comfort. Maybe getting to know other groups seems like another wave of extreme efforts, especially after seeing the effect it has on me.

I am a natural fan girl and addict. But I don’t think many musicians have impacted me like BTS did. (Even CN Blue, who fits the talent checklist in terms of instrument and songwriting, didn’t make me this obsessed.)

Oh well. It must be the promo being done by Big Hit. (I still like Bang PD for being a great CEO, giving the artists musical freedom and having more loose conditions for the idols than other companies.)

I sincerely hope writing all this quiets down my brain.

Nov Update: I’ve began to realize that the power of ARMYs are that strong because they are so effective in building a deep emotional connection to them. They have shown a lot of themselves in their different reality shows, and even in the way they are interviewed. Bighit really knows how to highlight one strong point about them - their great personalities. Getting to know them is both like becoming closer to friends and getting inspiration and learnings from icons. You get to have access to their inner thoughts and creative space. The way they speak and the message they put out also touches the hearts of many. On top of this, because they now work on a big budget, all their performances and productions are next level! Our jaw just drop because of the stage set ups and all that.

Additional observation: Upon watching other groups’ clips, I feel like BTS has a different kind of relationship with each other compared to them. While other groups obviously have fun and are very close, BTS are like family. They also have fun, but they are very expressive of their affection towards each other, not just verbally but also physically. They hug and touch each other randomly all the time, but I haven’t exactly seen other groups do that. So I guess there’s that.

Seven members is a good number - there is enough variety in personalities, but not too many that you don’t get to know each one enough/deeper. I feel like BTS members are a perfect fit for each other, each person has their own type of appeal. Other groups tend to have members that have similar vibes. But in BTS, there’s no duplicate, each one is so unique. RM is the charismatic, intelligent, socially-relevant leader, well-respected by everyone. Suga is the cool swag rapper with tsundere vibes, who also acts like a tired old man. Jhope is the fashionable dancer knows all the latest trends, who also brings a different flavor of rap. Jimin is the petite, “effeminate”, loving, angelic character with intense performance duality. V is the 4D personality who acts like a baby but gives a high fashion smize on stage/photo shoots. Jin is the super handsome and incredibly funny guy, but also acts like a mom to them. Jungkook is the youngest who beats his hyungs physically and is good at everything. There’s no duplicate! And what can I say, they really have the visuals!

#BTS #kpop #music

[nctinfo]

[TRANS] NCT DREAM Interview for Grazia September 2017 Issue!

It’s nice to meet you. You are having your comeback next week, please give a slight hint about your title song ‘We Young’. Mark: personally, we are very happy with the title song this time. It’s an energetic and liberal song that fits the team, it will probably give you a feeling that we have matured once you hear the song. 

Come to think of it, I think every grew taller between you. Mark: Jisung grew taller the most. 

Do you check your heights with each other? Mark: Yes (laughs). Jisung always says “The big kids are tall~”. Jisung: I was joking (laughs). Renjun: Although we sleep late and don’t drink milk, we still grow. 

The first concert for Dream was SM Town Live Stage. How are you feeling after performing alongside Sunbaes on a large size stage? Renjun: The feeling was new compared to other stages. Sunbaes always look cool, I was hoping I would become like that too so together on a stage seems like it’s a dream. Mark: We showed an appearance that is of vast energy of a Maknae group. It was an honour to just climb on such a big stage, we were more touched by watching our usually-respected Sunbaes’ stages closely. 

You did a remake of Lee Seung Hwan's, your big Sunbae, 'Dunk Shot’, which song that you would remake amongst your Sunbae’s songs? Mark: H.O.T.’s ‘Candy’. Haechan: All of TVXQ’s songs! Jeno: Personally, I like NCT U’s ‘The 7th Sense’. I really like the song, I practiced the dance a lot too with Jisung. Taeyong looks so cool (laughs). 

Who are each of your role models? Mark: Although there are many, if I must say one then Justin Bieber! Justin Bieber is still growing, so his music and image are growing as well, which is different from others. I want to resemble that image. Jisung: Dean. (His) music is very sophisticated which is really cool Haechan: Michael Jackson! He’s my forever wannabe. Jeno: I want to be like Bruno Mars since my trainee days. I was charmed the first time I heard ‘Marry You’. I envy the fact that he can dance well and write songs well too. Renjun and Chenle: It’s hard to just say one since there are so many. We would like to absorb a variety of merits from the musicians that we admire. 

The concept for today’s poster was ‘Dreamers who are dreaming’. Is there a recent dream that you remember? Jisung: When it comes to dreams, it’s very vivid while I’m dreaming, strangely I can’t remember it when I wake up. Mark: When I was young, I dreamt a lot of fantasy dreams, these days I seem to dream very mundane and real dreams. Renjun: I saw my father in my dream last night. Since I can’t see him very often as he lives in China, I cried because it was so nice to meet him, when I woke up my pillow was wet. So I immediately video called him. I want to meet him soon. Jeno: I had reoccurring dreams when I was young. The person who wrote the fox tale really bothers me, I seem to dream when I am stressed. I’ve dreamt this for three consecutive days. Chenle: I dreamt a lot about fighting like the movie ‘Avengers’ when I wake up from the dream I felt relieved. Haechan: These days I tend to lose consciousness just as I touch the pillow (laughs). I sleep soundly to the point where I can’t dream. 

How long does every sleep for? Jisung: There are days when I don’t sleep at all. Then I regret not sleeping (laughs). If I sleep a lot then 8 hours? Chenle: When we don’t have activities, I can sleep for about 10 hours. Jeno: members usually don’t sleep at night. Rather, we become lively at night. Instead we sleep a lot in the morning. 

Then who is the member that sleeps the most? Renjun: I think Haechan. Haechan: If nobody turns on the lights in the room, I can sleep to no end. 

Average age 16.6. It’s an age where there’s a lot that you want to do and dreams to achieve. Do you know how precious this time is? Mark: Of course. We can run around and laugh a lot, it’s free time. Even when I grow older I want to keep this heart, like Peter Pan, forever. Renjun: Although there were times when I wish to become an adult as soon as possible, when I think about how there are things that only people my age can do, I feel everyday is very precious. 

Your friendship is very strong when I look at you closely today. Mark: Since we live in separate dorms, most of the times we are apart. So, I contacted them more often than before. Should I be worried (laughs)? Jisung: That’s why the days when we practice together as a group or like this shooting posters, we atmosphere is really good. 

When members meet together like this what do you do and play? Haechan: We eat chicken and play games. If not, basketball or football! Renjun: Jisung is very good at gaming. 

If you have to point out the wackiest member out of the team? Jisung: Haechan. Jeno: Jisung. Probably everybody would agree? He laughs at anything he can think of when he’s alone and still (laughs). Jisung: That’s true. Mark: Honestly, Jisung! Seriously 4D, it’s cute.  Renjun: I choose Jisung too. Haechan: I think it’s Renjun though. Chenle: I choose Renjun too. 

Jisung and Renjun has the most votes. Then which member is the most rational? Jisung: That is seriously Mark! Renjun, Haechan: I choose Mark too. Mark: In my opinion, I think it’s Jeno.  Jeno: Mark is the sanest one. Jisung: It’s not you. 

Renjun and Chenle’s Korean is very good. Renjun: Still, sometimes, I still make mistakes when translating Chinese into Korean. 

What kind of mistakes? Renjun: Ah, when I say (literally in Korean) skin when I mean ‘skin’, everyone bursts.  Chenle: That’s right. Me too, when I ask, ‘Did you buy skin?’, Hyungs all laugh. (laughs). 

In ‘Highschool Rapper’, the oldest member, Mark’s act was really something. Are there any individual activities that other members would like to do if given the chance? Jisung: I want to form another NCT unit, when I can do solo activities I would like to do that. Ah! I most definitely want to shoot my favorite Chicken advertisement (laughs).  Chenle: For me, CF (laughs)! I haven’t thought about doing any individual activities. Mark: There are many things I would like to do regarding music. Since I like guitar performances, I would like to show me performing if I get the chance. Jeno: I would like to try acting like D.O. sunbae. I also think it would be fun to form a hip-hop unit with Mark. Haechan: My dream since I was young is to be a singer song writer. I wish the day I listen to the song I made would come soon. Renjun: I would like to do global activities. I would also like to try acting and variety if I get a chance. 

You are called SM’s futures. What kind of future does NCT Dream dream of? Mark: I think our biggest weapon is our possibilities. We wish to show our, although yet young, but still growing appearances, and become a group that is cool physically, mentally and musically who listens to our friends’ stories.  Haechan: NCT Dream’s original goal was to become ‘Healing-ers to older brothers and sisters. Group that gives friends and younger ones, hope.’ We always aim for this goal and work hard while doing so.  Jeno: I wish to show those who are look after us, our growth. To become a group who can bring gifts of hope, friendship, happiness, and emotion.

Translation:  Teddy @ FY! NCT (NCTINFO) | Source: Grazia

Take out with full credits!

#nct #nct dream #mark #renjun #jeno #haechan #chenle #jisung #t:trans #t:interview #grazia #grazia: september 2017

[scientifically-strange]

Opportunity part 2

Submitted by: God of the Challenge on fanfiction.net

--------

Clint was startled by the ringing that suddenly echoed throughout the living room, looking around, confusion spread across his face. Danny, sitting on the other side of the couch, thought it was amusing.

When the Avengers said he was under their protection, he was thankful for that. It meant he could mend his wounds and be in the skies in a few days, but when they told him he could stay, that he could become a part of the team after they saw what he could do, well, he would have been a fool to turn them down. It's been almost a year now, and some days when he woke up he still couldn't believe he was fighting along side his childhood heroes. And now he wasn't the youngest one anymore, either. Spider-Man had just officially accepted a spot on the team. A part time job, but he was just happy he got to hang out with his friend more often.

"That's a doorbell, Clint," Tony said teasingly, making Clint stick out his tongue.

"Since when does this place have a doorbell?" Wanda asked. Jan and another new member, Carol Danvers, nodded in agreement.

"Since Friday got tired of telling me there were people at the door. Jarvis was so much better," Tony replied.

"I heard that," Friday said, her disembodied voice ringing with irritation. Tony just waved her off and walked down the hall to open the doors. The voice that Danny heard next sent chills down his spine, but nobody seemed to notice as he was the only one in the room with super hearing.

"Mr. Stark," Maddie Fenton bit.

"It would be wise for you to leave, Mrs. Fenton," Tony spat. He remembered what they did to Danny. He's seen the scars and the trauma. He knows Danny still gets up in the middle of the night to make himself the hot cocoa. He knows that Danny really dying was their fault, too, what with their stupid ghost portal. He was going to make sure Danny stayed safe, even if that meant from his own parents.

He hears Danny's screams from down the hall when he sleeps.

"You can't stop me from seeing my son. He;s only sixteen, meaning that I still have custody over him. Tell him to come here."

Danny had been so focused on listening to the argument that he hadn't noticed Jan, Wanda, and Carol standing up to go see what was happening. Clint was still distracted by the fact that they had a doorbell. Once Danny realized the absence of the three women he quickly followed.

"Danny is my son and has to listen to me! I am his mother!" Maddie was yelling at them now. Danny went invisible and moved closer.

"With all due respect," Natasha (when had she gotten there?) said, not hiding the venom in her voice from the shorter red head, "you gave up being his mother when you shot at him."

"Get off our lawn," Carol said, punching one glowing fist into her other glowing palm threateningly. Maddie scoffed.

"You think I'm afraid of you? You're just a bunch of kids in Halloween costumes pretending to be heroes. Now give me my son!"

This was about to get really out of hand, Danny realized. His mom was stubborn and pissed, and that was a horrible combination to see her in. It almost scared him a little.

"You're trespassing. And also lucky I haven't called security," Tony replied. He was tense, and Danny saw how he was trying to hard not to lose his cool. His jaw was tight and his fingers were white from pinching his jacket to tightly. Natasha seemed cool and collected, but he had grown to know her signs of anger as well. Her hip jutted out as she took a sort of power stance, placing her hand on her hip and looking Maddie dead in the eye. Carol her muscular arms crossed over her chest, glaring at the shorter woman. Wanda was seething, tossing a red energy ball back and forth in a threatening matter that, though silent, screamed I dare you.

"He is my son and you will not keep me from him," his mother spoke in a dangerously low tone that Danny knew meant they had three seconds to let her pass or she would try and make them pass. He was preparing to make himself known, to tell her to leave. That she wasn't welcome. But Natasha beat him to it.

"A mother doesn't experiment on their own son, whether he has powers or not. A mother doesn't kill her son. A mother doesn't hunt them down with big guns and glowing nets. A mother doesn't call her son scum. Danny is the best kid I have ever met, and if you even so much as look at him funny your neck will be twisted six ways from Sunday. Do I make myself clear?" As she spoke Natasha had moved closer, getting right in Maddie's face. Her tone stayed a level monotone, but her eyes told them all that she wasn't kidding when she said she'd kill Maddie if she tried anything.

"You don't scare me," Maddie stated, not backing down. "Now move out of my way so I can see my son."

"He does not want to see you," Wanda spat.

That's right, Danny thought. She's a telepath and an empath. She can feel my emotions. She's probably the only one that knows I'm right here.

You don't know my Danny like I do."

"We know him well enough to know he'd be better off without you," Carol stepped in. Maddie, seething with rage now, stepped forward, pulling her hand back. But Danny got there before she could do much else.

He stepped in front of Carol and caught the punch before dropping his invisibility. His blue eyes glared daggers at his birth giver.

"Danny!" Maddie cheered, dropping her hands and bringing him into a hug. Instead of returning the gesture, he gripped her shoulders and pulled him back.

"Stop," he told her. "Go back to Amity." Despite all Maddie had done to him, it still hurt to see her face fall. It still hurt him to break her heart. But it was better this way.

"But-but you're my son. You are going to come home with me this instant, young man!" Maddie said, reaching for his ear. He caught her wrist and put it in a death grip. He felt his anger spike, and judging by the look on her face he guessed that his eyes weren't blue anymore. He snarled and threw her wrist away, making her body turn with it.

"Get lost, Maddie," he said. That seemed to make it more real for her, that he wanted nothing more to do with her. her lips pressed into a thin line as she eyes him for a couple more moments before turning and leaving. Tony put a comforting hand on his shoulder, but he just shrugged it off and went inside.

Maddie looked back to her son one last time.

Danny didn't.

[lotsofdogs]

Celebrating 14 Years (+ 14 Things You Might Not Expect)

After Ryan and I got engaged, I remember discussing whether or not we’d continue celebrating our dating anniversary now that we’d have a wedding anniversary to celebrate instead. To quote Ryan, “YES! We’re not just going to lose those SIX years!” So here we are, fourteen years later, still celebrating the night we went on our very first date back in 2004.

It’s crazy for me to think back on the people we were when we met – so carefree and young! – and everything that happened to those two crazy college lovebirds since our first date at The Cheesecake Factory.

Sometimes I look at Ryan and still picture him as the shaggy-haired college junior I met but then I realize he’s no longer 19 and he’s so much more to me than just the hot guy I saw at the gym. I’m so proud to be married to someone who always makes feel like a priority and there’s truly no one else in this world I’d rather have by my side every day. I feel incredibly lucky to have a husband I consider not only the love of my life but a true partner in every sense of the word.

Whoa! I didn’t mean to turn today’s blog post into a mushy-gushy love fest, but sometimes I feel like in the craziness of day-to-day life it’s a GOOD thing to sit back and count our blessings and Ryan is certainly one of mine.

When we were driving back home from Florida after Christmas, Ryan and I got into quite the comical discussion about little things we know about each other that we think might surprise those who don’t know us very well. I thought this discussion might make a fun blog post and so Ryan and I turned our random car conversation into today’s blog post.

We’re each sharing seven things we think those who don’t know us very well might be surprised to know about the other person. We each brainstormed seven things about the other person – 14 total, in honor of our 14 year anniversary because we’re cheesy, but hopefully this doesn’t come as a huge surprise to you guys by now. I also threw in some throw back pictures for your amusement!

Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Ryan

In Julie’s words…

He owns “A Little Bit of Mambo,” the Lou Bega album that came out along with his first (and only?) hit, Mambo Number 5. I think we’ve all owned semi-embarrassing CDs in our past that make us laugh but here’s the thing with this one… Ryan STILL maintains that this album is a GOOD one. He still owns it, plays it and sings along with nearly every word. Oh and his first concert was Up in Smoke with Dr. Dre, Wyclef, Eminem, Snoop Dogg and Warren G. He also maintains that this concert was a great one, but that one I will give him.

His all-time favorite breakfast (from anywhere, ever) is McDonald’s hotcakes and sausage. His dad used to take him out for hotcakes and sausage when he was a kid, so I think Ryan’s love for this meal is wrapped up in nostalgia, grease and sugary sweet syrup. When McDonald’s began offering breakfast all day, it was a very good day for Ryan.

He plays the drums. Ryan has serious rhythm. He’s always noticing beats and creating his own beats to songs. I always thought this was cool and then the cool-factor went WAAAY up when I learned he used to be in a band in high school called… wait for it… “The Bandits.” You should probably know something about Ryan in high school. He was very far from a rebel and a pretty squeaky-clean soccer-playing kid, so this band name choice made me laugh so hard when he first told me about it. My little bandit.

Little repetitive things easily annoy him. Ryan is an up-for-anything kind of guy which might lead you to initially believe he’s laid back… but he’s also very easily annoyed by certain things, especially repetitive things like someone shaking their leg or tapping a pen on their desk, scrolling through their phone right next to him, a clock ticking, etc. Before I stopped biting my nails, we got in a heated fight or two because he couldn’t handle me going to town on a rogue nail out of the corner of his eye. Also, after 14 years together, I’ve finally come to realize that it’s better for our relationship if I don’t drive when we’re together because the man cannot handle keeping his mouth shut when I am behind the wheel.

He hates spiders. When we lived in Florida, Ryan was our designated roach killer but if a big ol’ spider somehow made it into our house, I had to step up to the plate. (Is it just me, or are cockroaches WAY worse than spiders!?) Also, whenever we go hiking, if Ryan happens to walk through a spider web, he does this spastic Matrix-like move to try to avoid getting any more of the web on him and it freaks the heck out of me every time.

He had shaggy highlighted blonde hair when I met him. He also wore a puka shell necklace and I thought he looked like some kind of a hot Abercrombie surfer model.

He’s an amazing dog dad to Sadie. This one might not be all that shocking because I talk about our obsession with Sadie on this blog a lot, but Ryan’s love for her truly is on another level and it makes my heart so happy. He wants to take Sadie everywhere with us, researches drivable vacation destinations that include her, gets the most overwhelming dog-guilt if something happens and Sadie misses a walk one day, etc. Before Chase was born, I remember thinking to myself that if Ryan loved our first child half as much as he loves Sadie, we’d be in good shape. (Good news: I was right. He’s the best father and Chase wants to be and do everything “just like Dad.”)

Seven Things You Might Not Expect About Julie

Okay, before I copy/paste Ryan’s seven things, I feel like I need to preface his bullet points a bit. I asked him to text or email me his seven things and sent him mine so he could see my formatting. When he sent over his seven things, he said “don’t change or delete anything… unless I spelled something wrong” and I had MAJOR flashbacks to our wedding!

Our pastor asked us to submit five things we love most about each other to him that he planned to read aloud on our wedding day and I sent mine to him directly fairly quickly. A few days later, Ryan emailed me his five things to pass along and I found myself sobbing at my desk at work. I instantly emailed our pastor telling him to throw my five things away and re-wrote everything because Ryan brought the heat and I felt like mine seemed silly and dumpy by comparison. So that’s kind of how I feel about the things he shared below. There were a couple of bullet points he sent my way that made me laugh out loud and a few that made me smile so big that I instantly I wanted to go back and make my bullet points way better. But time limited me so, Ryan, you win this one. And I love you.

In Ryan’s words…

She’s very competitive during Game Nights. Day in and day out Julie is a fun loving, relaxed person but the minute a game comes out during Game Night, she becomes the most competitive person I’ve ever met. Seriously. No where else in life is she competitive, but bust out Catch Phrase and I think she would sell her soul to win. Numerous times she opts to not have me on her team because I’m not the best. What the heck!?

She can’t dip to the right. Julie is a great dancer and we’ve been known to get our boogie on at a wedding or two. So as we prepared for our own wedding we laughed away the idea of taking dance lessons for our first dance. Who needs that? We’re pros! Well, come to find that the we are not. The weekend before our wedding we decided to practice our jig at home. It started great. A little box step, a slow turn, we even threw in a twirl or two. We were feeling confident, smiling and enjoying our practice. But then I tired to dip her right. I planted my foot, she pivoted her hips, but when she bent over her right side she turned into a tree. Stiff as wood, couldn’t bend more than two degrees. Literally she went no where towards a dip. So we tried again. And again. Well, after a couple of the same awkward misses we tried to dip left and she nailed it. We consider this her Zoolander trait and still have fun dancing in our kitchen and trying to dip to the right to this day.

Her driving terrifies me. This one speaks for itself. If you see Julie driving, you should probably drive the other direction. Julie gets nervous going fast and she is easily distracted by her thoughts, the radio, the wind… I often fear for my life when a passenger in Julie’s car and feel my heart rate rising and my butt clenching as I jab my foot relentlessly at the non-existent brake pedal that should be on the passenger side. Julie makes it clear that she doesn’t enjoy my ‘color commentary’ to her driving and therefore this cycle makes for a less than ideal family experience. Needless to say, I drive almost everywhere we go together.

She really is that energetic. Julie is simply the most energetic person filled with positive intent I’ve ever been around. She has a aura of infectious positive energy. She’s the kind of person that you find you are instantly in a better mood after spending time together (unless she’s driving, see bullet above). It’s a joy to see her with Chase and the excitement and love she brings to being a parent. I admire this quality and hope that I bring her as much joy and positive energy as she brings me.

She could eat Ice cream forever. Have you ever played the game where you ask someone what they would choose to eat if they were stranded on a desert island? Julie’s answer is “ice cream.” I’m here to confirm to everyone that I truly believe Julie would happily sustain on ice cream any day, any meal, any flavor. If it weren’t for lactose intolerance (She’s not lactose intolerant medically, simply we all have some intolerance to lactose at high enough quantities. Google “The Milk Challenge.”) she could clearly sustain on ice cream without end. Some of you might say…I’m like this too! Let me assure you that you are not. Just this past Saturday she polished off half of a half gallon of Moose Tracks in one sitting. Yup, this is why we generally don’t keep ice cream in the house.

She’s a Super Mario champion. This one is truly random and goes back to a moment in time from our early dating years. Our first spring break together, Julie’s high school friends came to Florida to hang out. One of those nights we all went out to dinner then decided to just relax and have a few drinks at home. We made some hunch punch and a cup or two later everyone was being silly. My college roommate and I schemed up a plan to have some fun with Julie. He recently found his Super Nintendo and we were nostalgically playing classic games of yore. We plotted to convince Julie that we had agreed on a bet that needed her to get past level 3 in Super Mario or I would lose some astronomical sum of money. (Mind you we were in college and I think the “astronomical” sum was $25.) Needless to say Julie was a bit tipsy and reacted as nervous and bashful as expected when we told her she needed to play. Well, what happened next defied our minds and lives with me to this day. Julie jumps on the controller and proceeds to pilot Mario like Drain-o through a clogged drain. She literally went 14 levels without dying. But here’s the thing:I’m pretty sure she never stopped sprinting and jumping little Mario’s heart out. (Mario literally never stopped moving. Our jaws hit the floor and we have been in awe to this day. So, long story short, never bet against Julie on Super Mario.

She’s incredibly kind. This one may not be a shocker but it’s our anniversary and I’m allowed to be a little mushy today. Julie is exceptionally kind and thoughtful. It’s not just the authenticity of her kindness but also the intentional way she goes out of her way to brighten another person’s day. This is another quality I admire and have learned to emulate. It’s the little things here and there that are special. From something as trivial and passing as an informal compliment to a stranger to going out of her way to help others, her authenticity and intent is subconscious. The cliché statement is “she makes me want to be a better man,” but in this case it fits. She makes me want to be a better person to others. Kinder. More intentional with positivity.

Question of the Day

What is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about you?

For those in a relationship, what is one thing you think people would be surprised to know about your partner?

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