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#and just now she went ‘I think you’ll like this dish better than your usual’
cinnajun · 10 months
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ᵕ̈ ೫˚∗: zb1 as your boyfriend
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a/n: these get progressively longer the more you go on and that’s my bad, i’m just insane over this group idk …
notes: long hair is implied in jiwoong’s, yujin is not included due to his age!, i did not proofread this so sorry for typos
wc | 3.5k
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jiwoong
i think this would be so much fun in the like adult way … like doing taxes together and watching tv shows
dating jiwoong means SETTLING DOWN!!! this is for the long run for real
in all seriousness i think being jiwoong’s s/o means you will feel very secure at all times
he isn’t interested in anyone but you … like seriously
looks at you like you’re the only person on the planet when you’re out and about
if anyone hits on him, he shuts it down SO fast that you’ll barely have time to process what happened
in terms of love languages, i’d say his is probably acts of service in both giving and receiving
there’s no better way to show him that you love him than taking care of little chores around the house (especially the ones he usually does) or picking up some toothpaste when he’s running low
in the same way, he loves to do those things for you—he really appreciates the way you smile when you find out he did the dishes for you <;<3
overall, a very sweet relationship, and a very very long-term one
IT’S ALMOST LAUGHABLE how gentle Jiwoong is as he braids your hair, pulling each strand off your head with such precision and cautiousness that you’d think he was braiding strands of pure gold. Weddings were long events, and you’d noticed that, every time you went to one, you ended up with a million knots in your hair that you had to spend extra time brushing out after.
So, Jiwoong had the bright idea to braid your hair—and insisted he do it for you, so that you wouldn’t have to keep your arms raised for so long, or something. You just didn’t think he’d try this hard at it.
“You can go a little faster, you know,” you said, painting your eyelashes with mascara. “If you go any slower, we’ll be late to the ceremony.”
“We can just sit in the back,” he mumbled, continuing to put one strand over the other. “I need to make sure it’s well-done so it doesn’t just knot your hair even worse than leaving it down does.”
You sighed, a little smile appearing on your face. “Whatever makes you happy,” you sighed, continuing to put on your mascara. “Who am I to say no?”
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zhang hao
i feel like the most prominent part of dating zhang hao is trying to figure out how you scored him LOL
i mean look at him … he's so perfect it’s almost painful
and he’s such a good boyfriend that literally all of your friends are so jealous … and he’s the only guy they haven’t called ugly so that’s a plus LOL
i will say though dating him has to mean you’re really comfortable with yourself because just about everyone shoots their shot with him
obviously he turns them down but he’s too nice to do it in a way where they’ll actually be scared off (cough jiwoong cough)
he’s very loving and very appreciative, and loves hearing about everything you do
tbh he just loves you
his love language is definitely physical touch, but in the like sweetest way possible
he holds your hand and swings it around when you’re out and about, he leans his head on your shoulder when you watch movies, he puts his head in your lap when you’re sitting on the couch…
and he always stares at you, which is super nerve-wracking, but he just loves you so much that he can’t help it
seriously has heart eyes for you
IT’S NOT ALWAYS that your mom calls, but you supposed today just had to be the day. As much as you love her, she tends to talk your ear off, which is something you’d rather not deal with at a random time in the middle of your day. Nevertheless, it was better to get it over with now rather than later.
Hao had been napping with his head on your lap when she called, and you’d hoped that would be a good excuse to hang up. Except, when you pleaded with your mom, telling her that Hao was sleeping and you didn’t want to wake him, she insisted that she needed to talk to you right then. So, for the past twenty minutes, you’d been listening to her talk about her knitting club while you ran your hand through his hair.
You’d also failed to notice that Hao had been awake since before she’d even called. Initially, he just wanted a few more seconds laying on you before you kicked him off (because your thighs were cramping and you needed to stretch), but he’d been pleasantly surprised when your attention was stolen by the phone call.
So, when you looked down and saw him staring at you oh-so-lovingly, you choked on air, causing your mom to frantically ask you what was wrong. All the while, he stared at you, wondering how he managed to find you (but shouldn’t you be asking that)?
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hanbin
if you’re feeling unloved, just date hanbin and he will fix it right up for you
he is an endless pit of love and is just waiting to give it to someone (that someone happens to be you)
you’re like 90% sure he popped out of a cheesy romance novel and wandered straight to your door but i digress
everything about this guy is so pleasant that it’s almost nauseating
his mom, how clean his bedroom is, how much he happens to enjoy cooking, how much he loves all the things you suggest as date ideas, it’s so much that your friends are suspicious that he’s hiding something incredibly unforgivable
he’s not, though, he’s just like that
and he just happened to be truly, madly, deeply in love with you so congrats on that one!!!
hanbin’s love language is also physical touch (shocker)
he’s super clingy, especially when you go out together, and has to have a hand on you at all times (if you get separated it will literally ruin his day)
really loves to cuddle with you…for example, if you decide to take a nap without him, you will wake up wrapped in his impossible to escape koala hug
he also loves kisses. forehead kisses, cheek kisses, all kisses … he especially loves it when you kiss his tattoos
he gets super enamored with you when you give him the same energy back, so try that out, too
EVERY DAY, YOU GET HOME from work around the time Hanbin’s decided to start dinner, and, every day, you attempt the same little prank. Slowly, you enter your home, trying to stay as quiet as possible.
The sound of the nightly news fills your ears, and the smell of whatever Hanbin decided to make attacks your nose. As subtly as possible, you put your bag and keys down on a dresser you have in the entryway, removing your shoes and tiptoeing through the house as quietly as possible.
As usual, Hanbin’s back is facing the doorway, and he’s hunched over the stove, fiddling with whatever he’s making. You tip-toe run up to him, bumping into him and wrapping your arms around his waist. He giggles, as usual, and puts his hands on your arms.
“Hi,” you say into his back, which prompts him to turn around in your embrace, staring down at you with the most loving expression he could muster up.
And, placing a kiss on the crown of your head, he says, “I missed you.”
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matthew
CUTE BOYFRIEND!!!
matthew is like so clueless in a relationship and he’s just kind of winging everything, which makes him about 70% funnier
you’ll be out shopping and he’ll pick something up, usually a trinket of sorts, look you dead in the eyes, and say, “is this something people get for their partners?”
if you say yes, it will magically appear in your bedroom like 4 days later and he’ll be oh-so proud of himself
your parents LOVE matthew, to the point where you begin to wonder if they like him more than they like you
it’s nice, though, because they’re more willing to help pay for your utility bill if they know matthew’s benefitting from it too LOL
he’s such a sweet boyfriend that sometimes you like need to stop and put your phone down
his love languages are words of affirmation on the receiving end and gift giving on the giving end
when you’re away from one another, he texts you selfies along with cute little summaries of what he’s doing and absolutely expects you to do the same
also sends good morning/good night texts if he can’t say it in person for whatever reason
also has some like tiktok-worthy beige flags (the comments say they’re all green flags)
like he asks you what your ring size is like once a month and then comes home with ring pops and goes “i had them custom made to fit your finger”
and you’re like “omg matthew i can’t believe you would do that for me!!!”
MATTHEW’S HANDS ARE poorly covering your eyes as he leads you to this mystery-location that he’d spent the entire day hyping up. He swore it was going to absolutely blow you away, and had even said that you’d be at a loss for words.
“We’re almost there,” he said, excitement dripping from his words. “Be careful, there’s a couple of steps here.”
You did your best to ascend without face planting, although it was a bit difficult given that Matthew was unknowingly rushing you due to his excitement. “Okay, are you ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be.”
In a flash, he removed his hands from your eyes, and it takes you a second to realize what you’re staring at. It’s a table cutely decorated for some sort of picnic, with string lights overhead and a candle burning on the table. You realize you’re in your parents backyard pretty quickly, but the thing that really has you confused is the teddy bear sitting on the edge. It looks exactly like the one you carried around as a kid, albeit much cleaner—but you’d lost it when you were 10.
“I tore apart your house looking for it,” Matthew said, putting his head on your shoulder. “Mr. Tumnus, right? Like the Narnia character? He was behind the couch. I got him cleaned, too. Do you like it?”
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taerae
swoon
UGHHHH taerae is so perfect
like he’s totally the boy next door, locker neighbor, church boy type of boyfriend
he asked you out on valentine’s day with a bouquet of your favorite flowers and a box of like really pretty chocolate-covered strawberries and you’ve been whipped since
you’re both wrapped around each other’s fingers in the most severe way possible
you’re also definitely like a married couple, specifically a couple of grandparents who’ve been retired for like 30 years
you probably share a friend group, and everyone in the group considers you two the parents of the group (you’re the dad)
almost always, you have a third wheel, but that’s fine because you and taerae are good at making sure it’s not awkward (which is why people always want to come on your dates)
taerae’s love language is definitely quality time
more often than not you’re both doing something completely separate from one another and he doesn’t care, he just likes knowing that you’re around
i don’t see him being the touchiest person, even in a relationship, so spending time together is the only thing taerae needs to feel loved. if you never blow him off and spend all of your free time just sitting next to him, he’ll be entirely pleased forever and ever
SOMETIMES, YOU FORGET that Taerae is in the room with you, which tends to be more embarrassing than you’d have wanted it to be.
Once, early in your relationship, he’d come over and you’d been spending time in your room. Except, hours had passed without you saying a word to each other, and you’d forgotten he was even there in the first place. You were so engrossed in your latest craft project, attempting to crochet, that he’d blended into the scenery of your bedroom.
So, when you kept messing up on a particular stitch, you found it fit to stand up and absolutely scream at the top of your lungs. When you got done, you planned to sit down and keep doing, but you heard Taerae laugh nervously behind you, causing you to freeze up.
“Uh, what was that?”
You turned around, staring at him with what could only be described as horror written on your face. You stared at one another in complete silence for what felt like hours, although in reality it must’ve been no more than five or six seconds.
“I forgot you were here,” you finally choked out, feeling heat rush to your cheeks. Taerae just laughed, and it only made you feel more miserable.
“You’re adorable, you know?”
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ricky
ricky is such a sweet boyfriend
even if he’s a bit awkward at times he’s so nice to be around
i think he just cares about you so much that he fluctuates in the same way that you do…if you’re happy, he’s happy, if you’re sad, he’s sad, etc…
at the same, he’s always completely panicked that he is not doing enough for you
he constantly checks in to make sure that you are getting what you need from him, and, while he wouldn’t say it aloud, he appreciates it when you do the same
he doesn’t like conflict so he pretty much does anything he can to get rid of the problem before it happens
as such, if he finds out anything upsetting, he will approach you about it instantaneously
i think ricky’s love language is gift giving, though, both on the receiving end and on the giving end
whether it’s an origami flower made out of a receipt you got or a pretty necklace you found while out and about with friends, ricky treasures it like it’s his child
almost every gift you’ve gotten him is displayed in his room somewhere, like he’s got a whole shelf dedicated to things that you gave him …
all of his gifts are incredibly well thought out too even if they’re last minute
he also tends to just give you anything that you express literally any interest in
you like the hat he’s wearing? okay it’s yours now
“no i mean that i like it on you!!”
he doesn’t care it’s yours now
THANKS TO A FAMILY VACATION, you hadn’t been able to see Ricky for a week, which had been the end of the world for both of you. So, the moment you got back home, you ditched the comfort of your room to head straight to his house.
The moment he opened his front door, you collapsed into his arms, taking in the scent of his cologne mixed with the smell of laundry detergent coming from his sweater. Then, you realized that the sweater he was wearing was new.
You leaned back to get a better look at it, taking it in. “I like it!” you exclaimed, smiling up at him. He tilted his head in confusion, staring back down at you.
“Like what?”
“The new sweater.”
Without even skipping a beat, Ricky tugged it over his head, causing your mouth to drop open a bit. “Wait, no—”
Before you could finish your sentence, he’d pulled it over your head, and was waiting for you to put your arms through the sleeves. He smiled, happy with his sudden attack. “I knew you would, so I got two.”
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gyuvin
dating gyuvin is so much fun
you were probably friends before you started dating, so when you start dating, it’s like your friendship amped up 200% along with like some kissing and stuff LOL
he knows you inside and out, to the point where you wonder if he knows you better than you know you
he also definitely had a crush on you for a loooong time before he acted on it so he remembers little details you shared in passing from years in the past
as such he’s constantly taking you out on the most lovely dates you could possibly imagine
you mentioned you like hot chocolate two years ago on a friend group outing? well good news! gyuvin remembered and he’s taking you to a world-renowned cafe that’s specifically noted for its hot chocolate
you like barbie movies???? every single one is downloaded onto his computer. every one. and he knows which one is your favorite
i think gyuvin’s love languages are acts of service + quality time
he just likes doing things for you and he likes doing things with you too … he just likes you tbh
he’d be heartbroken if you ever said no to one of his meticulously planned out dates so make sure to never do that (his friends would also hate you instantly and being hated by sung hanbin AND park gunwook is terrifying so don’t do that)
strangely enough, when you reciprocate the energy and plan out intense dates based on little tiny information, he gets super flustered, so try it out if you can
THE FIRST THING that comes out of Gyuvin’s mouth when he comes into your living room is, “You remembered?”
You’re almost taken aback by the question, eyes widening the moment the words leave his mouth. He was asking you that? After he remembered every little detail about you, from your favorite episode of your favorite show to your favorite breed of dog?
“Of course I remembered that you like soccer. How could I forget that you like soccer?”
You’d set up a little mini-party for the both of you to watch the World Cup, equipped with snacks and a jersey for his favorite team. And, somehow, he was a blushing mess, as if he didn’t expect you to remember something so basic about him.
“I don’t know,” he mumbled, turning away from you as he turned beet red. “I just…I don’t know, I wasn’t expecting it.”
“Well, expect it more often,” you said, linking your arm with his, a bright smile on your face. “Cause I love you. And I love doing things for you.”
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gunwook
yea gunwook is definitely your first love and you’re really hoping he’ll be the last
you probably had some sort of super dramatic lead-up to you actually getting into a relationship, so you’re also probably super attached to each other by the first day you’re calling him “boyfriend”
even though he’s young, gunwook feels a lot of responsibility for everything in his life, so being with you is essentially his wind-down time
as a result you have a lot of sleepovers, which include doing facemasks and going to bed at like 9pm because he’s so tired
and you just generally spend a lot of time together because you’re an oasis in the middle of the desert for him
gunwook feels really proud that he gets to have the title of “your boyfriend,” so be prepared for him to call himself that a lot
it makes him all giggly and happy, which makes you all giggly and happy, so you’re pretty much giggly and happy 24/7
gunwook’s love language is absolutely words of affirmation
he’s under a lot of pressure (student council vice president, class president, like good lord he is leading the people) so he just wants to hear that he’s doing well, especially from someone he cares so much about
even just telling him that he’s doing his best will make him melt in a pile of i-love-you putty
and he makes sure to do the same for you :)
IT’S NOT OFTEN THAT Gunwook breaks under the pressure, but when he does, it breaks your heart, too. It’s inevitable that he loses his balance sometimes, given the fact that he often takes on way more than he can handle, but you’re always there to pick up the pieces.
“You need to go to bed,” you say as warmly as possible, placing a hand on his shoulder. He continues to write a flurry of numbers onto his paper, trying to fulfill his plans of finishing all his weekend homework so he could spend the majority of it hanging out with you. “You can finish tomorrow morning, okay?”
Gunwook stops, finally, leaning back in his chair. He looks up at you, a frown on his face, and you can tell that he’s starting to unravel. You cup his face in your hands, looking down at him with the calmest smile you can muster.
“You did a good job, tonight. And calculus will be there for you in the morning, okay?”
“Okay, okay. I’ll stop.”
You smile, a feeling of triumph overtaking you. “Thank you very much!”
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thank you for reading!
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angelltheninth · 2 years
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Classic Odd Couple
Pairing: Della x Penumbra
Tags: developing relationship, alien dating and mating customs, cuddling, flirting, mild hurt/comfort, slight suggestive themes
Word count: 4.3k
Ao3
A/N: How is this over 4k words long? I don't know what happened with this one I just had to keep writing and writing and I couldn't help myself.
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Della spent five long years in solitude on the Moon. Eating Oxy-Chew gum, recording videos that she wasn’t even sure her family was receiving, trying every trick in the Woodchuck Scout book, battling Moonmites and trying to rebuild the spear of Selene all on her own.
Thankfully now she wasn’t alone anymore. She had the people of Tranquility, she could finally talk to someone and no go crazy for however long it takes her to rebuilt the rocket ship. Lunaris proved to be great help as well, especially since Della was the one to solve their Moonmite problem. And he had offered her a place to stay as well.
Her roommate though was less than thrilled about the news.
Penumbra was very rough around the edges and Della thinks she may have tried to kill her a few times since she arrived. Maybe she couldn’t prove it. At the very least the Moon warrior didn’t seem very happy to be sharing her home with Della. But they fell into a routine of sorts over the past few weeks.
“Morning roomie!” Della greeted Penumbra with her usual morning cheer. Penumbra sprung up from her small bed with a knife in her hand, scanning the room until her eyes feel on Della. She let out a loud groan. “I made us something to celebrate our one month roomieversary! Ta-da!”
Della didn’t exactly know what it was that she made, she got the recipe from the sweet couple next door that assured her that Penumbra would like it. She was pretty sure it was some kind of vegetable dish but hey she’s been eating gum for the past five years so she wasn’t about to question this.
“Our what? No, never mind, I don’t care.” Penumbra threw the sheets off the bed and sat up to do some stretches. She’d been feeling extremely hot lately.
“Oh wow.” She heard Della inhale. When she turned to look at the earthling she still had the small plate of food in her hands but was suddenly not very interested in it.
“What?”
“Nothing. It’s just... I don’t think I’ve ever seen you stretch before. How have I not noticed your guns before?”
Penumbra quirked an eyebrow, “What are you talking about, you’ve seen me try to shoot you... I mean use my gun many times before.”
Della laughed, “No I mean your muscles Penny. You’re absolutely ripped. I like it.”
“Then why did you call them guns?” Earth language was so confusing. “And I don’t care what you like I need to train. So if you’ll excuse me.” Penumbra attempted to sidestep Della but the duck blocked her way. “Della.”
“Awe come on! We should hang out! Get to know each other better. We can play one of those question games.” Della shimmied excitedly and grinned up at her... kind of friend.
“I do not have time for games. I am a mighty warrior of Planet Moon!” Penumbra brought her fist against her chest. “And as such must be ready for any threat to my people. Now if you will excuse me.” She picked Della up like she weighed nothing and put her to the side as she walked out the door, back straight and determination on her face.
“Helmet!” Della picked up Penumbra’s golden helmet and waived it toward the door. She heard Penumbra grumble before quickly walking back in, grabbing her helmet and walking back out as she placed it on her head. “You look better without it by the way!” Either Penumbra didn’t hear her or she didn’t care as she got no responce.
Della sighed. Well so much for getting closer to her roommate.
Della placed the plate of food on the table and hoped that Della would eat it later. She counted her losses and went to work on the ship again. Another day another step closer to going back to her family.
But Della wasn’t able to focus on the ship. She kept thinking about the morning with Penumbra. The Moon warrior was always tense but this morning she seemed even more so. Maybe is she could figure out why she could better their relationship. She knew Penumbra wasn’t gonna tell her anything. So the only person to go to was Lunaris.
“Lieutenant Penumbra? What about her? Did she try to spear you again?”
Della chuckled, “No. She just seemed a little... tense this morning. Like more than usual.”
“Penumbra is used to a routine, like a good soldier. She’s used to fighting the Moonmites and enjoyed knowing she was protecting the people. And there’s also...” Lunaris hummed and his expression turned very serious, “It could be that.”
“That? That what?” Was something up with her new potential bestie? Lunaris glanced toward her.
“There’s a... cycle that our people go through once a year. It’s meant to attract a life partner. But Penumbra never cared much about that, so she focused the extra energy and adrenaline towards fighting the Moonmites. I suspect she’s feeling under pressure and has no way to release it.”
Della nodded and listened. Once again got one answer but she had a million new questions, “Well what do your people usually do?”
“We find someone we to spend this time with. We court them in hopes they return our feelings and... provided we’re compatible in all other ways consummate the relationship.”
“Oh.” Della blushed at that last part, “So it’s like speed dating but taken to the extreme?”
“Dating? Is that what earthlings call courting?” Della nodded, “Our cycles last up to a month or more, of course things don’t always work out but for the most part individuals pick partners they already know feel something deeper than friendship. It’s not one sided. I’m not sure of Penumbra has anyone like that however.”
For some reason that news made Della happy, “So... what’ll she do then?”
Lunaris glanced at her before his eyes returned forward, looking at the twin statues, “She’ll probably be a bit more irritable than usual if she can’t find another way to release the building stress. Of course there have been cases where we take on temporary partners. Sometimes they turn into something more, if the individuals find themselves compatible.”
“Is that something that you...?” Della didn’t want to assume but she never saw the General talk about any significant other for the months that they knew each other. Surely it would come up at some point.
“Yes. I can’t afford to have a mate just yet. Too much responsibility. And I’d hate for them to stop loving me because of it. There’s few pains greater for us than losing our mate.” Now that was a feeling Della could relate to. Her previous partner, the boy’s father, wanted to bring her a big jewel to celebrate once he found out that Della was pregnant. But when Scrooge returned, he returned without him. It was then that Della vowed she’d be the worlds best mom. And here she is, on the Moon, already missing five years of her boys lives.
“What about fighting her? That’s what she did before and I know for a fact that Penny would love an excuse to fight me.”
Lunaris blinked at her before he burst out laughing, “Knowing her she probably would. Careful though Della Duck, impress her with her fighting skills and she just might decide to court you.”
A deep red blush spread across Della’s face, “What? No, no, Penny wouldn’t like me like that. Trust me, I pick up on these things pretty easily.” She does not. “I’m gonna go ask her if she wants to try and punch me.” Della ran toward the house in a better mood then before and missed the snarky, low chuckle from Lunaris.
Della expected to see Penumbra somewhere on the way home. After all she’d been keeping on eye on her for a while now. Della was on more than enough adventures to notice when she was being followed.
Penumbra however was nowhere to be found, and miraculously neither was the food Della left on the table, but there was a clean plate by drying by the sink. So she ate it after all. There was a muffled grunt from the other room, followed by a curse word.
Since she couldn’t be sure that her roommate wasn’t gonna try to blast her upon opening the door Della decided to knock.
There was a crash, followed by more curse words. Seconds latter the door wooshed open. Della was face to abs with Penny. She looked up to see warrior with her hair all wet, her body sweaty and muscles tense and bulging. “What?” Penumbra bit and glared down at her.
“Uhm...” What was Della here for again? Oh right. “Slap me.” The words came out a bit too high pitched, definitely not the tone she wanted to use and they were most definitely not the right words either. “I mean punch! Lunaris told me what you’re going through and I figured since you can’t fight the Moonmites anymore because of me, I could be your sparing partner!”
Penumbra chuckled, leaning on the doorframe with her forearm and a hand on her hip, “You?”
“Yeah me! I may not look it but I can hold my own.” Della made a few punching a jabbing motions.
“You’re not gonna let this go, are you?”
“Nope.” Della smiled brightly.
Panumbra sighed, “Fine. I suppose it’s better than nothing.” She pushed Della along into the living room so they could have more space.
An hour later both of them are sweaty and tired. Penumbra grinned and chuckled, running a hand through her hair and wiping sweat from her forehead.
“Not too bad Della Duck.” Even she had to admit that Della was a worthy sparring partner. She’s still pumping with adrenaline but her body no longer feels like its on fire, “You’re a better sparing partner than you are a cook.”
“Hey, I know you ate that, don’t pretend.” Della’s fists clenched and unclenched, her eyes following Penumbra’s movements for any sign of an attack.
Penumbra shrugged, “I was hungry. It takes a lot of energy to get through a cycle, although my lifetime of training helps.” Della has to bite her inner cheek to stop an noise of appreciation when she saw how Della’s muscles moved and flexed under her skin. If this keeps up she’s gonna chew through her cheek. “Are you tired? Your eyes seem to lack focus.”
“Huh?” And she just proved that she wasn’t focuses, “Yeah, no I’m good. I just need a little bit of a break. Sorry.”
“Don’t be.” Penumbra waive a hand dismissively, “I have yet to meet a mate who can keep up with me.” Only after the words left her mouth did Penumbra realize what she said. The words were accompanied by a choked cough from Della who was in the middle of sipping her drink, “Not that I think of you as such. You’d be so lucky.”
The Moon warrior’s face was flushed in a deep shade of purple as she crossed her arms almost defensively over her chest and looked away.
“Speaking of... do you have someone? I’m not trying to butt in, just let me know if I need to, you know, get out the way or whatever.”
“You’re not in anyone’s way.” Penumbra whispered, low and more to herself than Della. A self confession as her eyes met Della’s. She could see the way the earthling gulped and blushed.
“Uh, good, awesome. Wouldn’t want to intrude more than I already am.” Della awkwardly rubbed the back of her neck. This was the first time she acknowledge that Penumbra saw her as a nuisance in her home.
Penumbra sighed, “As long as you pull your weight, which is quite light by the way,” Penumbra smirked, “I might tolerate you more. At least wash the dishes every once in a while.”
“Dishes. Can do! No problem roomie.” Della gave Penumbra a thumbs up, “And maybe you can stop stalking me in return?” Penumbra’s eyes widened. “That’s right I noticed. I mean if you wanted to ask me out there are less creepy ways to do it.” She have the warrior a wink and much to her surprise, and delight, it made Penumbra blush again.
“That was not the reason. And I do not ask people out. It’s... not really needed.”
“Yeah Lunaris told me. Do you... do you ever get lonely? I spent five years alone and honestly? Even you manhandling me all the time and this sparing practice fills me with dopamine.” It was a bit embarrassing to admit but it was true.
“With what now?” Della could imagine a bunch of question marks around Penumbra’s head judging from the look she gave her.
“With happiness. It feels nice to finally have someone to spend time with.”
“Oh. I see. I don’t think I’ve ever felt lonely. I spent most of my cycles focusing on the Moonmites. I’d only seek out company in the last couple of days if I still felt the effects. I suppose I’ll have to figure out a new routine now that we’re living together.” Della blinked in astonishment. For the first time since she moved in Penumbra referred to them as living together, not Della mooching or inviting herself in. “I’m sure it won’t be that difficult. I’ve survived worse.” Penumbra let out a small laugh which Della returned. Their eyes met again and there was complete silence for a few blissful moments. “Ahem.” Penumbra coughed awkwardly, “Since our sparing session is done I will go take a shower.”
“Oh! Yeah, cool, totally cool dude.” Della will not think of Penumbra taking a shower. Nope. “I’ll make you something else to eat then.”
“At least try to make it edible this time.”
“No promises!” A small smile spread across Penumbra’s lips as she walked past her roommate.
Over the next three weeks the two settled into a routine of sorts. Penumbra was still a little standoffish but at least liked the sparing practice and in Della’s opinion increasingly flirtatious banter. The two also split some of the chores with Penumbra cooking breakfast and Della washing the dishes and Della cooking dinner while Penumbra does the dishes. They usually weren’t together for lunch due to their busy schedule but they always made time for a sparing session in the afternoon since it helped Penumbra relax a great deal.
However now she was reaching the end of her cycle and was more pent up than ever. It turned out that having someone in such close proximity only made her body ache more. What was even more annoying was that she caught herself staring at Della more than once.
It was dumb. They weren’t even from the same planet. Della had a family and her kids waiting for her at home. Penumbra couldn’t afford to be selfish just because of a purely biological and hormonal need.
“Lieutenant.” Lunaris snapped his fingers to catch her attention. He sighed when she looked at him confused, clearly not hearing a word he’d been saying for the past few minutes. “You’re distracted once again. It’s very unlike you Penumbra.”
“Sorry sir. My cycle is close to it’s end, I assure you I will be back to my old self by the end of the week if not sooner.” Penumbra straightened her back and stilled her arms firmly at her sides.
“Right. And Della?” The sound of the feisty earthling’s name made Penumbra lose her composure for a brief moment.
“What about her sir?”
“How has she taken your cycle? She asked me questions about it before but I haven’t heard her mention it since. Is everything going well?”
“Yes sir. She’s been a great help.” Lunaris smirked and Penumbra clarified further, “It turns out that she’s not the type to just charge into battle blindly. She’s a skilled warrior, sir.”
Lunaris hummed and turned back to face Earth. “Alright then. You may leave. Feel free to take the last few days to yourself if needed.”
Penumbra nodded before taking a slow walk back to her place. Normally she’d be happy to go home and sleep after a long day, especially during this time where her body worked overtime on top of her already working overtime.
Upon opening the door and stepping in she could hear Della humming. It was a familiar tune that she knew Della loved. And truth be told she was beginning to like it too.
“Food ready?” She walked up to Della who jumped and collided with her front. Penumbra only chuckled, “You still can’t knock me over.”
“That’s cause I ain’t trying. Just you wait, one of these days I’ll get you on your back.” Della sounded amused as she bent her neck back to look up at her friend.
“Not unless I let you.” Penumbra could sense the air between them getting tenser by the moment. She needed to stop, this wouldn’t end well for either of them. But when Della turned around, wrapped her arms around Penumbra’s waist and pushed while laughing Penumbra felt her insides melt. “That’s a pretty pathetic attempt.” She’ll just have to show her how it’s done. She scooped her up with ease, enticing a little yelp that tapered off into a laugh as she spun Della around her eyes finding the only available surface near by.
“Oof.” Della groaned as her back hit the hard table while Penumbra smirked triumphantly down at her, supporting herself on her hands which bracketed Della’s head. “Fuck Penny, buy a lady dinner first.”
This was flirting. Blatant, unapologetic flirting. Penumbra felt like she was losing the fight between her hormones and her reason. But for once, for the first time in her life, she was perfectly fine with losing. Especially if Della would keep looking at her like that.
“I already made you plenty of dinners.”
“I suppose you have.” Della smoothed her hands over Penumbra’s shoulders, feeling how tense her muscles were. She grinned, “Does this mean I finally get to sleep on a comfy bed?”
“Not if you keep annoying me. I’m not that far gone.” Despite her words she picked Della back up and carried her to her bedroom, Della jointing how she knew Penumbra would fall for her eventually.
And fall she did. Hard.
So much so that for the next five years later Della still lived with her, spent every morning and night with her, slowly chipping away at the hard walls around Penumbra’s heart until all it too for Penumbra to swoon was a smile.
Penumbra turned in her bed, half asleep, one arm under he pillow and the other searching for her absent mate. They haven’t actually discussed it before but Della seemed to be ok with Penumbra referring to her as such while in the the thorns of her cycle. Luckily another one just ended, which meant that Penumbra could focus her energy and thoughts toward something other than Della. Not that she minded terribly, or at all.
She put on a pair of shorts and her tight training bra as she patted out of the bedroom.
As was their routine she found Della making breakfast for her. She always did after Penumbra’s cycle finished and to her credit her cooking had gotten so much better over the years.
“Still stalking me? I thought we got past that five years ago.” Della chuckled as she felt Penumbra wrap her arms around her shoulders.
“I have to keep you vigilant.” Della hummed as she quietly made breakfast. Not that Penumbra didn’t enjoy it but it was odd that she had yet to hear any flirty remarks. They ate in silence too. In fact the only words that Della spoke was that she was gonna see her later before she kissed her and ran in the direction of her rocket ship.
The rocket ship. Della had been working on it for the past five years and while Penumbra didn’t know a lot about machinery she knew very well that it was almost time for Della to go. The thought made her insides turn.
“You’re leaving, aren’t you?” The question made Della stop running her hands though Penumbra’s soft hair.
“That obvious?”
“You were never a good liar. I think I gave you too much credit for it in the beginning. But you seemed a lot more... wild during my last cycle. Not that I’m complaining but it got me thinking. Well that and the fact that you weren’t nearly as chatty today.” As Penumbra’s hand smoothed over Della’s small back she felt her mate settle deeper into her embrace. “Is tonight our last one together?”
“No! No Penny, no! I...” Della sighed heavily, “You’re right, I am leaving. Tomorrow. I wanted to tell you, I did but... I thought if I didn’t it’d somehow made time go slower. I shouldn’t be thinking that should I? I have my boys to go back to and here I am being selfish.”
Penumbra reached down to cup Della’s cheek, “You aren’t. You’ve been trying and trying to get back to them for the past decade. You’re the least selfish person I know. And if anyone tells you any different just point me in their direction.” This made Della laugh and relax into Penumbra’s touch.
“I swear Penny we’ll see each other again. No matter what. Hey it might even be sooner than we both think. Once I tell Scrooge there’s gold on the Moon he’ll send ships here in no time. Then you and your people can come and visit. I’ll introduce you to the family and you can meet my kids. I’m sure they’re gonna love you as much as I do.” This was far from the first time Della told Penumbra she loved her but it never failed to make her blush.
“I love you too.” Penumbra pulled her into a sweet kiss. Kissing took some getting used to due to their different anatomy but they practiced enough to master the art by now.
As she watched Della take off she could already feel the aching pain in her chest. Which was somehow forgotten when Lunaris started talking about Della like she was a traitor to them all and talking about launching an invasion on Earth.
Penumbra followed Lunaris to his room, “Sir, why did you lie to them? Della would never betray us.”
“The people need a reason to wage war Lieutenant Penumbra. They need something to drive them, they need a reason to fight. So I gave them one. Betrayal.”
Penumbra mind started connecting the dots, “It was you. You stranded her here.” Lunaris didn’t answer but Penumbra didn’t need him too, “Why? Why pair her with me then?”
Lunaris turned to her and grinned. Penumbra took a step back. She didn’t like that look. “Honestly? It was the only way I could get her to move here. She liked you from the start. But I never expected you to start liking her back. Hmm, I guess mating cycles can make even you lose yourself.”
Her face paled, she was gonna be sick.
“Don’t tell me you thought you were keeping that a secret? Well no matter, now that she’s gone I trust you’re gonna clear her head and do what needs to be done. Do not disappoint me.” Penumbra was truly at a loss for words. She walked back home in daze, almost expecting to find Della in there once she opened the door.
But she wasn’t of course. Penumbra couldn’t take it anymore. She ran to the bathroom and puked. She felt gross. How could she let Lunaris manipulate her like this? How could she let him use her to manipulate Della?
Her chest ached all over again and she wondered if Della felt it too. She spent the rest of the night in bed, her face buried in the pillow that belonged to her ex... no to her mate. Della was still her mate. And as such it was Penumbra’s duty to protect her. Even from Lunaris. Even from her own people.
The weeks went by in a blur. She could barely stand being in Lunaris’s presence without wanting to spear him. Luckily thanks to Donald she was able to get a message out and send him safely back to Earth. Now she only needed a way to foil Lunaris once and for all.
It turned out that the plan involved flying her ship and crashing. It... seemed to have worked well enough. Good. What wasn’t as good was crashing into Della’s ship face first.
“Hey sweetheart!” Penumbra couldn’t help herself when she saw her.
“Penny! I told you we’d see each other again soon. Everyone this is my awesome Moon girlfriend! Penny this is my family, you know Donald-”
“Let me in!” As happy as Penumbra was to see her she was beginning to slide off the glass. Della apologized and quickly got her into the ship.
“Wait... girlfriend?” Donald looked at his sister quizzically.
“Gonna explain later, got a romantic reunion to get to bye!” Della ran to the back of the ship catching Penumbra right as she sighed and took off her helmet, “Penny!” Della jumped into Penumbra’s strong arms which encircled her and held her tight, the helmet falling to the floor with a clank.
Penumbra chuckled, “Hey there, earther.”
“Missed you.” Della whispered as she nuzzled closer.
“Missed you too Della.” The burning, torturous ache that Penumbra had been feeling since Della left was finally beginning to subside.
“Can someone please explain what the bloody bagpipes is going on here?” The two turned to see Scrooge staring at them with his hands on his hips, “Young lady, you have some explaining to do.”
Oh right. She never told Scrooge about her new relationship. She does indeed have explaining to do, “Aw Phooey.”
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itgirlwife · 1 year
Text
star treatment
summary: malcolm finds out that puck is sick.
ship: honeymoon suite | malcolm/puck
words: 834
notes: fluff, mentions of sickness + food
Tumblr media
Swallowing is a lot harder than usual this morning and rather painful. Breathing isn’t too easy either. There’s a lot more mucus in my nose than usual. For the first time in a while, I text Malcolm first. I only did it when we planned dates or there was something funny I wanted to share. If I text first, he’ll probably assume something’s wrong. I’ll keep it lighthearted.
good morning :)
Good morning sweetheart. Sleep good?
yes! i had a dream where i met taylor swift and she was really nice but these men in black came in and kidnapped me bc i “knew too much”
i talked to her for like an hour. we were at the beach. 
i’m sick btw lol
He called immediately after that message. I thought the “lol” would prevent that. I answered on the first ring.
“Yeah?”
“Everything ok? You’re sick?” He probably looks as cute as his concern is.
“Only a little. My throat’s just bothering me.” I sniffle a bit.
“And your nose isn’t bothering you?”
“I get runny noses in the morning.” It’s true. But I told him that to keep him from getting gray hairs over this.
“Right,” he doesn’t sound convinced. “Do you need anything? Medicine? Tea? Soup?”
“I’ll text you.”
“Please do. Get some rest. I’ll be there soon.” He sounded like he was halfway out the door. I thanked him and hung up.
Twenty or so minutes later, he shows up. I didn’t ask for much, only cough drops, tea, and soup. He got everything I asked for and some “just in case” items. He bought tissues, cold medicine (A.M. and P.M. variants), popsicles, and ingredients for tomato soup.  I sent him a picture of a canned soup I liked, but he protested.
“Canned soup don’t come from the heart.” He said.
Cute. I’ll let it slide.
When the afternoon came around, Malcolm prepared the soup. I went through 4 cough drops. I was advised not to leave the bed, but if I needed anything, I had to ask him. 
Hearing Malcolm move around my house was comforting. I liked hearing him do the dishes. The profanities that would ensue when he dropped said dishes. The floors creaking when his footsteps approached my bedroom. These served as reminders that I wasn’t alone.
The soup was finished and judging from what I smelt, the soup seemed worth the wait. Sat by my bed in a chair, Malcolm insisted I let him feed me the soup.
“I’m not on my deathbed Malcolm.”
“Well, one of us has to act like you are,” he adds soup to the spoon. “You’ll get better faster.”
“Did you really put your heart into this soup?”
“Every part of it.” He holds the spoon to my lips.
“That’s gross, Malcolm.” I slurp the soup. “I’m not Hannibal.” 
---
The soup was better than what I told him to get. It soothed my throat for the moment. The warmth in my chest when I swallowed each spoonful was something equivalent to the way I feel when Malcolm kisses me. Each spoonful made me smile. It made Malcolm smile too.
I complimented Malcolm on the sweater he wore today. When he stood, it would ride up. I’d get to see his waist and boxers. I thought of that as an added perk of him taking care of me. Navy and knit suited him.
“You look cozy in that sweater.”
He looked down at it like he’d forgotten he was wearing it. “I am. You want it?”
I blink stupidly. “...Like, right now?”
“You don’t want it tomorrow, do you?”
I don’t answer. However, I think Malcolm can read my mind. He takes off the sweater, and I scream inside. He hands it to me.
“Consider it part of the star treatment.”
---
Nighttime rolled around, and Malcolm and I spent most of it watching movies and eating popsicles. We knocked out Don’t Worry Darling but not without Malcolm scoffing whenever I got excited about seeing Harry Styles. During the movie, I took the P.M. medicine. The drowsiness was starting to kick in.
I opted for Malcolm to sleep in the living room because I'm contagious, but he pointed out that he’d been near me all day. Did it really matter now? I’m glad he pointed that out. Medicine be damned, I couldn’t sleep without him. 
My nose was still runny, so I couldn’t cuddle up with Malcolm how I wanted. So he cuddled up to me instead. He laid on my chest, curled up in the knit of the sweater he let me wear. I wonder if he can feel my heart’s unsteadiness.
“The sweater looks good on you.” He mumbles.
“Thanks. My boyfriend let me wear it.”
He chuckles, “Who’s your boyfriend?”
I yawn. My hand in his hair slows down the massage on his scalp. 
“Harry Styles.”
“Well, it was nice of him to let you borrow his sweater. Does he know you met Taylor at the beach?” 
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sparrowsingsstories · 2 years
Text
WIP Wednesday
Tagged by @adventuresofmeghatron
I DO have a WIP...it's growing and growing and growing...and growing...
From Cry Mercy - my FO4 fic with a poly crew of MacCready/Deacon/Sole Survivor/Jake Evans
The trip to USAF Olivia didn’t take overly long. A few hours of walking down the road and up a hill got them to the road near the station. The radio tower’s dish was visible from the road. Mercy crouched down in some bushes and looked up at it.
“There’s a walkway that goes up the dish, to a small building, then up some more and around the base of the dish. The walkway can be shot through to hit raiders, which is nice. On the flip side, they can shoot us so…evens out. There’s a shack at the base of the dish, and then the main building that has the trap door down. 
“Size of the raider group?” MacCready asked.
Mercy looked at Jake, who shrugged. “Enough to make me second guess going in alone.”
“So what, more than two?”
Mercy smacked MacCready’s arm. He chuckled, reaching out to tug one of her braids. “No hat today? Your head is too visible.”
“I can fix that. Be right back.” Jake shuffled from the bush and then jogged a short distance away. 
Mercy looked at MacCready, eyes narrowed, “Be nice.”
“I am. I just don’t know him. Or trust him. I know Deacon. At least enough to know he won’t leave you high and dry.”
Deacon looked put-out. “What? I mean, of course I wouldn’t but why trust me? I’m not trustworthy. I’m the opposite of trustworthy.”
MacCready and Mercy ignored Deacon. Mercy poked MacCready’s chest, “Just, be nice. Jake’s a good guy.”
“You assume,” said Deacon.
“I mean, I also assumed you weren’t going to drop me when you carried me away from those raiders. And I was right.”
“You should let me look into him,” Deacon said. “Seriously, Fox.”
She sighed, “Would it make you feel better?”
“Yeah. It would. At the very least, we could pull trouble to him. I’m not too worried about MacCready. He’s plenty of trouble himself. But Jake? I don’t know Jake.”
She rolled her eyes, “Fine.”
“He gets points for getting you to agree to bedrest if you get shot, though. Which is, frankly, better than I managed,” Deacon said.
“I didn’t want to stay in HQ. It’s…dark. And Carrington is there.”
Deacon and MacCready snickered. Quiet steps had both of them raising their guns, then relaxing when Jake reappeared with what appeared to be a modified batting helmet on his head. 
“Well Darlin, I have something for your head.” He plopped a helmet down on Mercy’s head. 
“Is this a…batting helmet?”
“Modified to withstand bullets. And super mutants punching it. I had a feral try to eat through mine and it couldn’t. I think you’ll be safe with it on.”
Deacon snickered more. “It suits you, Fox.”
“Fox, huh. I like it. Suits you, Darlin. Like that helmet. Now I know it’s faded something terrible and it’s not fashionable, but safety isn’t usually pretty.”
“It’s also pink.”
“No it isn’t!” Mercy pulled the helmet off her head and looked closely at it. “It’s…a lightish red.”
“Fox,” Deacon sounded pained. “That’s pink. Lightish red is pink.”
“I think she should keep it on no matter the color,” MacCready said. “It’s better than her knit cap.”
“I agree. No need to tempt fate. Might want to look at your chest armor later. You said you got shot in the chest? Might be time to replace it,” Jake said.
Mercy rolled her eyes so hard her vision went funny. She plunked the helmet back on, tucked her gun against her chest and crept forward, refusing to acknowledge the guys. She heard the softest movement of branches, meaning they were following her. After a few moments, her thoughts quieted and she was able to push aside all annoyance.
The satellite dish loomed over them as they reached the fence line. Above on the catwalk, stood a raider. Mercy settled onto her knees and fit her rifle against her shoulder. Next to her, MacCready did the same. Deacon had a rifle of his own that he slung from his back. 
The three of them watched the raider. Mercy counted the rise and fall of her breathing. Next to her, MacCready slowly lowered his rifle. Deacon followed. Mercy tilted her rifle up till she had the raider’s head in her crosshairs. She slowly inhaled, held her breath, and shot the raider between the eyes. 
The raider crumpled, catching on the catwalk’s railing. Mercy inhaled and began to track across the catwalk looking for her next target. Next to her, MacCready’s gun made a puff of noise. She heard something hit the catwalk. A man appeared at the base of the catwalk, looking up to find out what the clang was. Deacon took him within a breath. 
All three snipers sat still, barely moving, as they waited for an alarm to sound. When none did, Mercy nodded at the fence. Deacon and MacCready headed for an opening, climbing through the fence and moving across the open ground in opposite directions. 
Mercy swung her rifle over her shoulder and pulled out her laser pistol. “Okay. I’m going to let them snipe. I’ll stay with you. We’re going to head to the doorway. If somebody sees us, just shoot them.”
Jake nodded. “That was some shootin, Darlin. Real impressive. All of you.”
“Sweet talking will get you everywhere,” Mercy teased. 
“I’ll remember that,” Jake said. 
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arc-misadventures · 2 years
Text
Why You Fell
Blake: Hey, Sienna?
Sienna: Blake?
Blake: Why… Why are you dating, Jaune?
Sienna: You mean; Why would I, Sienna Khan, High Leader of the White Fang, date… a human, hmm~?
Blake: Yeah… It’s just, honestly I never saw you as someone who would go out on a date with anyone, let alone a human at that!
Sienna: Fair, quite fair.
Blake: But, you’ve two have been together for months! How is this a thing?!
Sienna: Is it that hard to believe I found someone I love?
Kali: I’m afraid so my dear.
Sienna: You too, Kali?
Kali: As your surrogate mother…
Sienna: No you’re not.
Kali: Don’t deny it I am.
Sienna: Grrr…!
Kali: Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy for you. You’ve always struggled alone, and I’ve always wanted to see you one day end up together with someone. To experience the same happiness that I feel with my, Ghira. But, I can’t help but ask, why are you dating him?
Sienna: Haa… Okay, okay, you deserve to know, Kali. Its… Its quite simple… Jaune just makes me feel… happy.
Kali: Happy?
Sienna: Jaune’s presence just has this calming aura about him that I find so soothing. I used to be so stressed out, and angry, because of everything I had to do with being the leader of the, White Fang. But, after I met him I could just feel all my worried just… disappear. But, that’s not the only thing; I feel like I can drop the mask, and be myself around him, and be happy.
Kali: I feel the same way with my, Ghira. To allow yourself to be yourself around another is a rare, and special thing. I am happy for you. You better make sure he doesn’t get away from you, Sienna.
Sienna: Ha… I’m not letting my man get away from me. I’ll gut anyone who tries! I’m looking at you, Blake.
Blake: W-What?! Why are you looking at me?!
Sienna: I’ve seen the way you look at him, especially when we went to the beach together. You can look, but don’t you dare even think about touching him!
Blake: But…!
Kali: You better do as she says, Blake. Us cat faunas are very… territorial. Don’t touch what’s ours…
Sienna: Or else!
Blake: O-Okay! I won’t!
~~~
Ghira: Ahh, Jaune do you have a moment?
Jaune: Sure, what do you need, Mr. Belladonna?
Ghira: You can, call me, Ghira, Jaune. I don’t mind.
Jaune: Sorry, force of habit.
Ghira: It’s okay. Now, as Sienna’s surrogate father. I have to…
Jaune: Test whether, or not I am worthy of dating your ‘daughter?’
Ghira: Precisely.
Jaune: I knew that this day would come eventually… Bring it on old man…
Ghira: Oh…? How bold you are, walking into the panthers den so willingly…
Jaune; Ha! You’ve got nothing on, Sienna, old man! Do your best! Because the best you can do, is the worse you can dish out!
Ghira: Very well… So, why are you dating, Sienna? I just don’t understand why you want to date her. I mean, she’s older than you, and a Faunas at that. Humans, and Faunas usually don’t date outside their species. So why her…?
Jaune: Eh? Oh that’s easy!
Ghira: It is?
Jaune: I saw her break a man’s neck between her thighs, and I just knew from that day, I wanted that woman in my life forever onward!
Ghira: …
Jaune: …
Ghira: That’s exactly how, and why I ended up with, Kali…
Jaune: Really?!
Ghira: Yeah… Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to relive some memories with my wife.
Jaune: Wait! What about me dating, Sienna?
Ghira: Hmm? Oh! Yeah, your fine; Just treat her right, and she won’t gut you.
Jaune: Nice!
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Text
Day 125: Accidental Bonding (Part One)
When Harry woke up, his head was pounding and his heart was racing, he thought he might vomit. He staggered over to the floo to firecall in to work.
Robards answered, "Junior Auror Potter, good morning."
"Hello, sir," he said before his stomach heaved and he had to turn away and take a few deep breaths to steady himself. "I need to call in sick, sir. I think I've got a virus."
"What are your symptoms?" he asked curiously.
"Really bad headache, it feels like my eyes are going to pop out of my head; elevated pulse; and nausea."
His brow furrowed, "Who was your training partner yesterday?"
"Malfoy, sir," he said, his gut twisting uncomfortably.
"Where did you go?"
"Excuse me-" he broke off and held up a hand, turning away from the fireplace to try to get his bearings as his stomach tried to eject itself through his esophagus. After a moment he turned back, "We were sent to that old antique shop, sir," he said as quickly as he could manage.
"You're going to need to go to St. Mungo's."
"I don't-"
"That's not a request, Potter. Go there now and I'll be sending Junior Auror Malfoy right along."
"But-" Harry started.
"No buts, Malfoy called in with the same symptoms and I'm not taking any chances," and without another word he ended their connection.
With a sigh and one more longing look at his bed, Harry headed to St. Mungos.
(Read more below the cut)
They ended up putting Malfoy in the same room as him since they were there at the Ministry's behest and with the same symptoms. Harry tried not to look at him, imagining that getting irritated would only worsen his ever growing headache. Malfoy must have felt the same because he was less annoying that usual.
Healer Kenner, a stern looking woman who reminded Harry very much of Professor McGonagall, ran diagnostic test after diagnostic test and then finally said, "Well, you're bonded."
"What?" Harry yelped.
Malfoy groaned, "You've got to be fucking kidding me."
"Language, Auror Malfoy," she tsked.
"Apologies."
With a short nod, she continued, "The good news is that most of your discomfort can be alleviate by simple physical contact."
"And the bad news?" Harry asked wryly.
"There's nothing we can do to break the bond."
"What?" Malfoy spat.
"Surely, there's something-" Harry started.
She shook her head, "I'm afraid not. But it's not permanent," Healer Kenner added. "It'll only last a month."
"A month?!" Harry asked incredulously.
"Well it's certainly better than forever," Malfoy snarked, rubbing his hands over his face.
Harry wondered if Malfoy's head hurt as much as his did. He certainly hoped so.
But before he could say anything, Healer Kenner raised her wand and cast a spell the dragged their beds across the floor to the other. "Hold hands," she instructed.
He crossed his arms over his chest and Malfoy let out a pitiful groan.
"The sooner you do it, the sooner you'll start to feel better," she chided. "Just be glad that this particular bond only wants prolonged physical contact."
Harry shuddered, he'd heard the stories about some of the more archaic bonds.
"Oh, for Circe's sake," Malfoy grumbled as he reached across the space between them and clasped Harry's forearm in his hand.
A sense of relief hit immediately, Harry groaned as a weight lifted off his chest and the headache started receding.
"It will be faster if you both actively participate."
At this point, as the waves of relief were rolling through him, Harry was willing to do anything. He flipped over his hand, offering it to Malfoy.
The other man slid his hand down Harry's arm, as though he was afraid to break contact with him, and clasped Harry's hand in his.
She was right, his world seemed to right itself as they sat there holding hands and he let his head drop back against the bed as he took full, deep breaths for what felt like the first time in ages.
"How long do we have before it starts to feel like that again?" Malfoy asked, which Harry could admit was a good question.
She hummed, "I'd say two hours maximum before the discomfort starts affecting the way you function." After a short pause, Healer Kenner added, "You're going to probably want to spend nights together."
"Can't we just see each other in the morning?" Malfoy asked.
And Harry couldn't help but agree, "This wasn't that bad," he added. "And now that we know-"
She shook her head, "Now that your bodies are acknowledging the bond, the effects will set in quicker."
"Great," Harry grumbled. "Just bloody fantastic."
This day just kept going from bad to worse. He had no idea how he was going to tell everyone that he had an accidental bonding with Draco sodding Malfoy.
----------------
They argued about whose house to stay in overnight and finally decided to flip a coin for it. Draco won.
And that was how Harry found himself standing with a duffel bag outside of a surprisingly cute little house, knocking and waiting to be let in.
"Potter," Malfoy greeted as he opened the door to let him in.
And Harry wondered if he was feeling the bond tugging at his skin, too, if the bond was making his gut clench and making him feel irritable and like there was something crawling under his skin. "Can I-?" he started through gritted teeth, reaching a hand toward Malfoy but stopping a few inches away.
Malfoy nodded and closed the distance between them.
The moment he touched the other man his body sagged with relief, swaying back against the doorway.
After a moment, Malfoy released his hand and gestured toward the rest of his house, "Come in," he said. "It's nothing fancy," Malfoy said, "But it's home and it's not something that my family owned."
Harry wasn't quite sure what to make of that statement, so he just focused on looking around the house as Malfoy gave him the tour. Malfoy was right, it wasn't anything fancy but it was surprisingly cozy. It was nothing like Harry had expected; he'd imagined black leather and green decor, dark and broody. But the house was the opposite, the closest anything got to Slytherin green was the sea form green accents in the bathroom. "You have a nice house," Harry said.
"You needn't sound surprised," Malfoy said with a sniff, "I have excellent taste," he added as he opened the door to the bedroom.
The bedroom had pale blue walls and cream bedding, the dresser and wardrobe were both a dark wood that Harry couldn't identify. All in all, it was a nice room, very relaxing.
"You can use this drawer," Malfoy said, flicking his wand at the second drawer to open it, "And I cleared a space for you in the closet."
"Err, thanks," Harry said.
He rolled his eyes, "Don't mention it. I know it's hard for you to believe but I can actually be considerate when the mood strikes."
Before Harry could reply, Malfoy left the room, calling over his shoulder, "I'm making salmon and rice for dinner. If you don't like it you can make something for yourself."
This wasn't quite what he'd expected, Malfoy wasn't quite what he expected, he thought as he put his clothes away. Maybe Malfoy wasn't who Harry thought he was.
------------
Nope. Malfoy was precisely who Harry thought he was. The two of them had spent the entire night arguing about literally everything: about using coasters (when they were wizards and removing water stains was no big deal), about which clothes Harry should have hung or left folded, about the proper way to do the dishes, about their friends and the kind of people they were, and dozens of other things that made Harry want to tear his hair out.
They were still bickering when they went to bed because Malfoy had the nerve to critique the way Harry brushed his teeth and to demand that Harry wash his face before he get into bed.
"I'm not letting the oil in your skin damage my pillowcases!"
"My skin doesn't damage pillowcases," Harry snapped. "I have pillowcases too, you know, and none of them have oil stains."
"Potter wash your fucking face or I am covering your pillow with a paper bag," Malfoy threatened. "It's not a fucking hard request. It will take you literally two minutes."
"Fine!" Harry shouted, throwing his hands in the air and returning to the bathroom.
When he came out, Malfoy was already on the left side of the bed, sitting with his back against the headboard, reading a book. "Was that so hard?" he drawled.
"Oh fuck off," Harry grumbled as took off his glasses and he threw himself down on the right side of the bed, punching a pillow for the sheer pleasure of punching something.
"You're such a bloody neanderthal," Malfoy grumbled without looking up at Harry.
"Shut up!" Harry finally erupted. "For Merlin's sake just shut up and I will, too."
Malfoy glanced over at him, looking unperturbed which honestly made Harry even more frustrated.
"It's going to take me ages to fall asleep because I'm so fucking irritated."
After a moment, Malfoy reached over and put his hand on Harry's shoulder. "It's the bond," he said quietly. "We're not touching often enough and it's making us lash out."
"I don't think we need any help in that department," Harry grumbled but he could admit that he was feeling better already.
Malfoy chuckled, "You're right about that, I suppose."
He shook his head and reached up to cover Malfoy's hand with his own and expedite the process. "This does help though," he said with a yawn.
The other man hummed, "I think we should agree now that whenever either of us wakes up over night that we'll reach out and touch the other so we can get as much sleep as possible."
Through a yawn Harry murmured, "Sounds reasonable." He closed his eyes, surprised at how tired he was feeling all of the sudden. "Merlin, I'm knackered."
"Do you mind if I leave the light on to read for a while?" Malfoy asked.
He opened one eye to look at Malfoy's blurry face, "That's nice of you to ask," he said. "I don't mind."
"Are you certain?"
He nodded. "Night."
"Good night," Malfoy replied, going back to his book but leaving his hand on Harry's shoulder.
Harry drifted off, asleep in minutes.
------------
When Harry woke up again, the sun was peaking in through the curtains and he felt fantastic. He blinked open his eyes and realized that at some point during the night he and Malfoy had shifted, drifting until Harry's front was pressed tight against Malfoy's back, his body curled around the other man's.
He really ought to move.
But he was just so comfortable and his body was warm and loose and he just couldn't bring himself to move away.
It wasn't long before Malfoy started to shift, waking up slowly and Harry panicked. He did the only thing that he could think of and feigned sleep.
Malfoy arched and stretched, pressing his body back against Harry's for a long, delicious moment before he jumped, seeming to realize what he was doing. Then he held very still like he was waiting for something and Harry wondered if he was waiting for him to say something. When Harry didn't move and continued pretending to sleep Malfoy carefully withdrew himself and climbed out of bed to head to the loo.
Harry laid there for a long moment, missing the warmth of the other man's body, missing the way they'd seemed to fit together already.
Just the bond, he assured himself. This was all just the bond.
Right?
-----------------
Ahhh friends, I'm sorry. I hate to leave you like this but this one's going to need a part two. This girl is exhausted and this fic(let) is taking way longer than anticipated to write. I'll get part two written and posted tomorrow. <3 Lots of love, C
Part 2
Day 124: Joke | Day 126: Arranged Marriage
302 notes · View notes
rent-a-bat · 3 years
Text
In the end, no
Drabble #5
Promt: #87 “Don't be scared, I’m right here”
Pairing: Jason Todd x Reader
Requested by: Anonymous
A/N: Thank you all who waited to see this one posted! and thanks to the one who requested it, im sorry it took this long but I had a serious case of procrastination. Hope you guys enjoy!
tw: character death
To say you were tired wasn't even close to how you felt.
You were exhausted. Mind, body and everything in between. You had been working nonstop for too long, you were starting to burn out. But as things started to ease out, you finally had time to relax. Today was the first time you'll be going home early and you no longer had to be the first one in the office to begin the day, which meant you'll finally enjoy your free time.
The trek from work to your home was long enough to allow you to list all the things you've stopped doing so far.
You haven't watched your favorite show, too tired at night to even look for it. You haven't read your book, started since the beginning of the year, and six months later still not even half finished. You haven't felt your bed, your body too tired to even feel how comfortable it was before sleeping. You haven't enjoyed your home, barely basked in its warmth and felt its love.
You haven't seen him.
That's what you missed the most. You would arrive too late to see him off before patrol, and your work was too early to say goodbye in the morning when he just came back.
A hand on your shoulder took you out of your trance. You jumped, your mind still somewhere in your thoughts. Your first reaction was to move away, but that only made them hold you closer, their grip on you too strong to break. Before you could panic, a laugh behind you made you react.
“Jason!” You shouted, getting out of his grasp as relief washed over you.
He smiled, clearly amused at your reaction.
“Hello, y/n.” His lips warmed you as he kissed your forehead. You rolled your eyes, not letting him get away with it.
Your fist collided with his arm as you scolded him. “Don't do that again.”
He laughed, holding you once more. Your body relaxing almost instantly.
“I won't do it again… maybe.”
“Hmm.” You answered, your arms circling his waist, pressing yourself more to him. It was an awkward position to walk, but you didn't care, it's been ages since you've been like this, and you weren't passing on the opportunity.
You walked for a few blocks in silence, taking your usual shortcut through the alley, Jason's presence enough to make you feel safe even in Gotham, before you talked again. “Hey, Jay?”
He made a questioning sound. “What?”
“Dick called.” You braced yourself for his reaction. Seeing as he was waiting for you to continue, you did. “He wants us to come for dinner tomorrow night.”
“He does now.” was his answer. You pushed yourself away to look at him, not leaving his arms.
“Yeah. He said, and I quote, ‘He misses his baby bird and wants to see him now that he's in town’” You said, your smile growing with his reaction.
He huffed, shaking his head, looking up at your building.
“Come on. Let's go for a little while and then we leave.” You tried to plead as you went inside.
“Are you sure?” He asked, already walking up the stairs, you followed him behind as he took the lead.
“Yeah. Besides, I like Dick.” He brushed against the walls as he turned to look at you, the hallway to your apartment barely wide enough for the two.
“Of course you do.” He gave you a smile that made you think he wasn't talking about his brother.
You turned away, not wanting to let him see you blush. ”And..., I want to say hi to Alfred”
You stopped at the open door, Jason moving aside to let you go first.
“I’ll think about it.” He finally said, your smile widening at his answer. With a kiss on his cheek you let the door close as you both were finally home.
Tomorrow came faster than you thought.
It was a nice dinner, even if Jason would rather eat his words than accept it.
You arrived at quarter past six, 15 minutes before you agreed, the nerves not letting you stay calm. Dick was already there before you could even knock, Alfred waiting by the door, as he came forward to hug you. You returned it just as earnestly, it had been a while since you last saw him and he definitely was your favorite of the brothers. Letting you go with a smile, he took you to the dining room, taking Jason with him by the shoulder in a half hug. Fighting to hold back your laughter, you followed, hugging Alfred as you passed him.
It was a surprise once you arrived, not expecting Bruce or Tim to be there as well, the two of them receiving you just as warmly.
Everything was great. Once in a while you would sneak a glance at Jason, the way he smiled and how he laughed told you he too liked these little moments with his family, when everything is simple, easy, and you loved seeing him like this, your heart a little warmer at the thought.
Bruce and Tim left after dinner, not waiting for dessert, saying they had business to attend to. Dick followed not long after, asking Jason to go with him. Which left you alone with Alfred, the two of you chatting over a cup of tea before cleaning up.
You helped Alfred wash the dishes and clear out the dinner before heading down to the cave.
You could hear a fight going on as you made your way down, shouts getting louder the closer you got. Jason was pacing as he talked, screamed, at Dick who remained silent, arms crossed while he looked at Jason, his troubled expression the only sign of his emotions.
"How's everything going, guys?" You asked as soon as you stepped out of the elevator, brow raised knowingly at them.
“It's going great” Jason's smile as he came towards you showing it was anything but. “Come on y/n, we're leaving”
“Jay, please, just think about it.”
“I said, no, Dick.” Jason said, taking your hand as he walked towards the elevator.
“What is he talking about?” you asked, pulling back to stop him.
“Nothing.” His answer was short, not looking at you.
"How is it nothing? I wouldn't ask you, beg you, if it were nothing." Dick sighed, pulling at his hair as he looked down, almost defeated.
"What is it?" You asked Dick, his head shooting up to look at you.
"It's this case we've been working on..."
"Don't tell her! She does-"
"No," You cut him off, "I want to know. What is it Dick?"
He shot a glance at Jason before he answered.
"We've been tracking an organization that's been involved in drugs for the most part, but as of lately, they've moved to weapons and human trafficking." He shook his head. "Guess they found a better way to make money."
"Those bastards." Jason said under his breath, huffing behind you.
"We've been following them in Gotham and Bludhaven for a while, but never got to the source." He looked at Jason, "that is, until Jason's last report."
You suck a breath. If they found the source then it means they could take them down forever. They could free not only Gotham and Bludhaven, but any other place they could have a base.
"We are going to the location. Take them by surprise, before they leave." Dick finished, crossing his arms.
You grabbed Jason's hand, feeling the heat of his body behind you. This was big, too important to let it pass and he knew too.
“When are they leaving?” you asked Dick, ignoring the look Jason was surely giving you.
“Right now.” he grimaced, “Bruce and Tim just left, they are on their way to the airport.”
You looked back at Jason, his eyes already on you. You could tell what he was thinking, you just got your time back, and now he was leaving, but you could also tell how much he wanted to help. That's why you knew what to say next.
“You should go, Jason.” The surprise on his face as you answered was one for the books.
“Y/n…” He began to say, still confused. You smiled in reassurance, taking his hand in yours.
“Even I know this is your best chance at getting them.” you squeezed his hand. “So, go.”
He stared at you for a while before he asked, “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. Go.” You patted his arm, giving him a little push towards his bike.
He stumbled back a few steps, his eyes never leaving you. He looked like a kicked puppy, and you couldn't help laughing a little.
“I’ll be fine , Jason." You fought for your smile to reach your eyes. "I'll be here when you get back."
“Okay.” was all he said after a long pause, barely a whisper, his eyes never leaving yours until he moved. He got into his bike, sending a quick message to Bruce to tell them he was going.
"I love you." He said before putting on the helmet, starting his bike before he left.
The sound of the engine almost covering your answer. "I love you too."
You watched him leave with Dick at your side, the cave suddenly too quiet for the two of you. Now that he had left you couldn't hold onto the smile anymore. You sighed, rubbing at your eyes to keep the tears threatening to come out at bay.
You paced the cave for a while, not wanting to stay still, too afraid of what would happen if you did until you finally stopped, letting your mind do the pacing.
You felt Dick at your side a moment after, his hand rubbing your shoulder to comfort you.
“Don't worry y/n. I'll stay here to monitor if there's any movement in Gotham”, his hand on you a comfortable weight, “I’ll also be in contact with them 24/7. If anything happens, you'll be the first to know.”
You sighed again, something you've been doing lately, tension leaving your body at his words. At least there'll be someone taking care of him.
“Thank you, Dick.” He flashed you a smile, offering his arm to you
“No problem. Come on, I'll take you home.” You smiled in response, taking his arm in yours.
Like that, hours became days, days became weeks, and before you knew it, 2 months had passed. Two months since he left. Two months since you've been alone. No. You weren't alone, he was still out there, working hard, saving people, and yet, you couldn't help feeling that way.
Dick was true to his word, letting you know everything as it happened, day by day, he would call to update you on the mission. Even when there was nothing to report he'd still call you, sometimes to talk, sometimes to listen, you knew he was trying to cheer you up, and you were grateful for that.
Other days you would go to the mansion, spending time with Alfred, letting him guide you through the mansion, telling you stories about Jason and the rest when they were young or chatting through a cup of tea, and with Dick down in the cave, as the two of you checked on them, how they were doing, if they were okay. It had become sort of a routine as you waited.
You were making your way home when your phone went off, your boss sending you home earlier and giving you the next day free after spending the last weeks working overtime, threatening to fire you if you came back without resting. You checked the id before answering, smiling when Dick's name showed on the screen.
"Hey Dick! How’s everything going?" You answered cheerfully, your good mood coming out.
"Hey y/n"
"I just saw Bruce giving an interview. Why didn't you tell me they were back?"
"Y/n…"
“And why hasn't my boy called to tell me? I swear if he tries another of his surprises…” you stopped mid sentence, Dick unusually quiet for a call like this. Anxiety building up inside you before you asked, ” Hey… what is it Dick?”
"Y/n…"
"What?"
"Is Jason.."
"What happened?" you said, dread gnawing on your insides
"I think it'll be better if you come to the mansion."
"I don't see how going there would be any different from telling me now."
“…” His silence became unbearable, your patience thinning with every second that passed.
The last of it breaking as you shouted, "Dick! Tell me!", worry more than clear in your voice.
He heaved a sigh before speaking. "They managed to get most of the men, but their leader managed to escape. He and another guy got into a plane and Jason followed them."
You breathed in sharply.
"He got onto the plane. It was loaded with weapons, mostly explosives. It took off before they could go with him"
No.
"A fight broke and there was a shooting"
No.
“A missing bullet must've hit one of those crates and” he took a deep breath, “the plane exploded.”
No!
"It fell into the sea"
You held onto the wall, your legs giving out, making you slide down to the floor
"Where is he?"
"They've been looking all through the ocean nonstop. So far, they've found two bodies. They’re still looking for hi.., him."
“Don't you have a way of knowing this!? A signal, something?” You were shouting, not caring for the looks people were giving you as they passed.
"The tracker was on his helmet, we believe it got destroyed in the explosion, that's why they haven't been able to find him yet."
It couldn't be. This isn't happening. Not- not again. Not to him.
“Y/n-”
“I'm going there” you cut him out, ending the call.
The next thing felt like a blur, each of his words ringing over and over inside your mind.
The plane exploded.
They are still looking for him.
There's still a chance.
You took a cab to the mansion, barely paying attention to the ride. You jumped out once you reached Wayne Manor, running as fast as you could to the entrance, Alfred already there before you could reach the door, so you went straight down to the cave, Dick waiting for you at the elevator.
“Hey y/n…”
“Please Dick. Tell me it isn't true” you shook him by the shoulders, trying to to stop yourself from crying. “Please tell me it isn't”, eyes burning as you pleaded
“I wish it was” he grabbed your wrists, rubbing circles, trying to comfort you as much as he could.
You shook your head, casting down your eyes, not wanting to see the truth you'd find in his. You didn't want to believe it.
“Please, please please please….” You could feel yourself falling down, your legs no longer holding you for a second time this day.
Dick hugged you, keeping you from reaching the floor. “I'm sorry y/n”
“No!” Tears blurred your vision. Your arms rounding his neck as you hug him back, his hold on you tightening.
It was your fault.
Maybe if you hadn't told him. If you had stopped him before he left, maybe then he'd still be here, still with you. Still alive.
No.
You wouldn't have changed a thing.
You knew Jason, you knew he thought the same. He wanted to help, that's all he's ever wanted. To give a meaning to his actions. He wanted to help those in need, to be useful, to be good. That's why he went, your words only helping to ease the worry of leaving you alone. That's why you said it, and you'd never regret it, and neither would he.
It wasn't your fault.
A sound from behind made you look back. Batman turned from the computer, taking a few steps before removing his cowl. He looked tired, defeated. So different from the looks he had for the cameras not long ago.
You ignored the way he looked, anger rising like a fire making you move away from Dick.
“It was you!” You shouted across the cave. Tears sliding down your cheeks as you made your way to Bruce
“You did this!” you hit him on the chest, your fists colliding with his armor. His face was tired, eyes filled with sadness. He had failed him again.
“You had to look out for him!” Another punch.
“You had to save him!” you said through your tears, your fists losing force.
“Why didn't you save him?” you finally sobed, pressing your forehead against him. The fire burning away, leaving only ashes, your body suddenly cold.
“I’m sorry” was all he said as he held your shaking body while you cried. His warmth and the feel of his arms on your back a comfort around you, but not the one you wanted, the one you may never have again.
You stayed at the mansion after that. Once you had calmed down Dick took you to one of the rooms, giving you a little briefing of what was going on. Tim had stayed on the island, looking over the search in case they found him. Meanwhile Bruce tried looking with the satellites, see if any of the old trackers in his body were still active. If what you knew was true, there was no point on doing that. Jason had taken them all out long ago, not wanting any of them keeping checks on him. Still, it was something, better than nothing.
You felt empty, and yet, hope remained in you, like embers of a fire not quite out, waiting for any kind of fuel to light up again.
You stayed for a week before deciding it was time to go back, those days barely spent doing the bare minimum, crying yourself to sleep every night, trying to console yourself as much as you could, after all you only had so much time off work, you still had to live your life, try to move on and wait.
So you did.
You kept working, doing as much to keep your mind from spiraling that way, from staying as far from your apartment as you could. Still your home but one that's grown colder with every passing day. It was hard, sadness and despair threatening to keep you from doing anything every day, and yet you pushed. For him. Moping around was not something he'd like for you, even if he wasn't here, but he could, if they haven't found a body yet you could still hope, you could still wait.
Hope was slipping down like water through your fingers. You tried to hold on to as much as you could, as long as there was even the tiniest possibility, you would, you could still believe he was coming back, coming home, coming to you.
What else was left?
The sound of your phone woke you up. You checked the clock on your stand. Not yet time for you to wake up, and barely one hour sleeping. Another night of tossing around, unable to sleep, the thoughts in your head too loud to let you rest.
You grabbed your phone, the name on the screen no longer making you smile. You sat up, moving your covers aside, letting your feet touch the floor, the coldness of it waking you up.
You took a deep a deep breath, steeling yourself before answering, getting ready for whatever was going to happen.
But nothing in the world could have prepared you for what was going to happen next.
"Hello Dick." You said, breathing deeply through your nose.
"Hello y/n. How are you?"
"What is it?" You ignored his question, going straight to the point. Whatever it was, you could take it.
You could hear Dick pacing around, almost hear the gears in his head trying to think a way of telling you the news
You could take it.
"There's been news on Jason"
You could.
"They found him"
You let out a breath you didn't know you were holding, a wave of relief washing over you.
"You did!?" you shouted, "How is he? Is he- ?" You tried to ask everything at once, barely able to contain yourself before he stopped you.
"We don't know, y/n. The body-"
Your heart went still.
"It's been too long. "
The body.
"We are waiting for it to arrive. Run some tests, dental records, DNA.."
Not him.
"Due to his legal status we can't let them know it's him. We have to wait until he's back with us in Gotham"
"You're sure it's him?" you felt yourself asking, no longer connected to your body.
"There was no one else on that plane they hadn't found"
The last ember of hope went off inside you, leaving smoke to fill its place.
"Y/n?"
"I have to go."
"Wait, y/n! Let me come get you-"
"Goodbye Dick."
You ended the call.
Your phone hitting the floor at the same time you did, hugging you legs tight to your chest, tears burning your eyes, wetting your cheeks. The lump in your throat making it hard to swallow.
And just like that, as if a switch had turned inside you.
You screamed.
Screamed with every fiber of your being, your body shaking every time you did. Your tears falling down like rivers you wanted to drown in. You weren't crying, crying meant sadness, sometimes even happiness, an emotion so big it couldn't be contained inside, whose only way out is like that. This was so much more.
It was pain, full, raw, unbounded. It was despair and sadness, all coming out at once. It was your soul breaking, its shards leaving you with every scream, with every tear, making your face wet, your eyes burn, leaving your throat raw and hurting.
You did it until the smoke inside you left, leaving you hollow. You had to calm down, sobbing thickly, your vision blurry with drying tears.
You tried to breath, the air suddenly becoming too thick, making you dizzy. You could feel the walls pressing on you, too tight, too cold.
You were breaking, your chest hurt, like it would collapse any time now, taking your heart with it.
You needed to leave.
You left your apartment, not bothering to take a coat, welcoming the freezing air, letting it's bite bring you alive.
The streets were empty, fitting for the occasion, like they knew you needed to be alone. You closed your eyes, letting your head fall back as you took a deep breath, and began to walk.
You didn't know how long you were out. Walking aimlessly around letting the pain take you whole, your mind no longer there, trying to escape the grief that consumed you.
You felt hollow, empty, and yet, so full at the same time. Full of fear, of sadness, of anger. Jason was gone, and you didn't know how you'll fill the hole he left inside you. You weren't sure you could. You could only hope you'd learn to live with it, learn to ignore the pain and maybe one day, heal. Just not today, right now you would mourn, let everything out, even if there was nothing left inside.
Your feet were hurting, cold biting your skin, making you shiver before you decided to head back home, taking your usual shortcut through the alley.
Your head was still somewhere else, not even stopping to think about the dangers of your actions. It was Gotham after all, and Jason was no longer here to protect you.
By the time you realized what you’d done, it was too late.
With your head down you made your way to your apartment, less of a home now that he was no longer here, hugging yourself tightly, trying to keep the warmth from leaving. The sole of your shoes echoed through the alley with every step, digging into your flesh, making it hard to walk. The sky rumbled in the distance, which meant you had to hurry if you didn't want to get caught in the rain.
A sound ahead of you took you out of your musings, a second pair of steps joining yours making you look up. A man appeared right at the entrance of the alley, hood up and hands tucked inside his pockets, he walked confidently, like the biggest fish in the pond. The faint light of a nearby post lighting up his face, you could see his eyes fixed on you, his mouth turning to a smirk, whistling as he looked at you.
“Hey pretty, what got you out so late at night?”
You lowered back your head, still moving forward.
“I have to say, I wasn't expecting such a beauty to be roaming here when I came to to see who’s coming, but am I glad it is” he kept talking, almost too close now, making you slow down a fraction as you tried to get out.
“Haha, what is it? Cat got your tongue?” you could fill him right in front of you, making you stop before you could collide with him.
“Is it because we're alone? You don't feel comfortable talking with me? Is it the street? Maybe you need to warm up a little, the street is too cold to be out like that. Don’t worry sugar, we can fix that right away.”
You began to panic. One you could take out, outrun him and lose him, but if he was bringing more. You tried to stay calm.
“Hey, boys! Why don’t we help them feel more comfortable.” You raised your head, fear almost taking over at his words.
From the same place the first one came, two other men joined him, each of them flanking you on either side, both just as big, and the three of them smiling, their eyes roaming your body like they could see what's underneath your clothes.
“Leave me alone.” you said, trying to sound as confident as you could.
“Heh, looks like you're not a mute after all.” He laughed, taking a hold of your arm in a vice grip
“Don't touch me.” he laughed again, turning to look at the others, both doing the same.
“Let me go!” you shouted, pulling at your arm, trying to hit him, kick him, anything to get you free.
“Feisty, we're gonna need to fix that. Can't have you misbehaving like that, can we?” He let you go with a push, making you fall to the ground, the three of them laughing down at you.
You shook yourself, wincing as you stood, your left foot probably hurt. Your mind was running a mile per hour, adrenaline pumping through your veins with every breath, trying to come up with a wayout, a way to escape. You tried to look at your surroundings, taking deep breaths to calm you down, nothing good comes out from being anxious.
You were surrounded by residential buildings, maybe you could scream, ask for help, but screaming in Gotham did the opposite, people ignoring it for the sake of remaining safe.
You could bolt it, turn around and run as fast as you could, go back to the street and hopefully they'll avoid going after you. The guy on your left seemed to think the same, his hand going for the gun on his hip.
You could try calling Dick, or Bruce, but something told you he'd shot you the moment you even tried to pull out your cell phone. Maybe they were already on their way, looking for you, seeing how distressed you were by the news, but maybe not, maybe they were trying to give you space, let you sort things out. Alone.
You were trapped.
“Don't worry, we’ll be leaving soon. Ride's almost here.” the man on your right said, his smirk getting wider.
So much for being calm. You began to panic, breaths coming short as the men in front of you laughed, snickering between them, watching you crumble.
The sound of tires screeching behind you had you covering your ears, the echoing almost deafening, freezing you on the spot.
No. Not like this. They can't take you away.
You closed your eyes, as if it could somehow block out the world, make it turn into a dream, a nightmare you would wake up from. The pounding of your heart too loud on your ears to hear anything else, almost missing the presence behind you.
Your body moved on its own, going backwards like you could escape from it. The sound of someone coming closer hitting like a bullet with every step. They walked with confidence, fast, like an animal who had caught its prey, sure they couldn't escape.
You could feel your heart fall as you collided with a body, stopping you from moving any further, making your eyes burn as you tried not to cry, not in front of them. You jumped as he held you, his chest shaking behind you as he laughed.
The way he laughed sent shivers down your spine, the hands on you too hot. Too wrong. He squeezed your shoulders once before you felt the air on your back, freezing you as he moved away, his hands sliding down your arms as he bent down, his face getting closer to your ear.
“Don't be scared” his breath felt hot, making you whimper, no longer able to hold it in, letting your tears fall freely as you cried. Closing your eyes tighter, not letting them open.
You could feel him move in front of you, his face still close, nuzzling your neck as he whispered, “I'm right here.” You let out a sob, the force of it bringing you down.
It had to be a dream, it had to. There was no way this could be real, for he voice that spoke just moments ago was supposed to be dead.
Your love.
Jason.
The men that held you captive went silent. Holding their breaths at the sight of him, the Red Hood. The deadliest vigilante in all of Gotham crouching in front of you.
He raised his hand to brush away your tears, kissing your forehead before he stood up
“Keep your eyes closed.” he said. You let out a huff, only he could sound amused in a situation like this.
The whole thing was over in seconds. The sound of flesh hitting flesh, bones cracking, the smell of gunpowder flooding your nose with each shot fired, all of it filling the silence. One by one, they all went down, their screams stopping as they each fell. Only when the last of the bodies hit the ground were you able to relax. Your eyes still closed for another reason entirely, now wishing it’d be anything but a dream.
How could you live if it turned out to be just that, if you opened your eyes just find yourself back at your apartment, your tears still fresh and Jason still gone, dead once more.
“Y/n.” You heard him call your name, his voice ever so soft, cautious not to scare you.
You heard him shuffle, crouching once more in front of you. His body blocking the cold air of the night.
“Y/n… Look at me.” he held your face like you were precious, delicate, capable of breaking at the slightest movement, the pads of his thumbs brushing your lashes, trying to coax your eyes to open.
You shook your head, feeling tears fall again, the hands on you catching them before they fell to the floor.
“Please.” he pleaded, his voice full of want, of longing, as he whispered the word, his forehead warm against yours as his hands fell to your neck, rubbing your chin and behind your ears trying to get you to open, to see.
You took in a couple of breaths, steeling yourself before opening your eyes, the faint lights blinding you after having them closed for so long.
The moment you could focus on the person in front of you making you sob. The sight of him threatening to make you cry for the third time this night. He looked just like the last time you saw him, a couple of scratches here and there, but the same nonetheless. The same face, the same smile, the same pair eyes full of warmth, full of love as they looked at you.
You raised your hand to his face, slowly, careful, still not believing this was real.
“Is it really you?” you asked, voice shaking as you looked into his eyes.
“It's me.” a faint smile drawing on his face as he answered, placing his hand over yours, keeping it in place.
You cast down down your eyes, head hanging low as you shook it, not sure if shaking away the tears or something else.
His other hand came up, his fingers hooking up under chin, warm and gentle as he made you stop, tilting up your head, guiding you to look at him.
“It's me.” he said again, his eyes filling up with tears as he held your stare.
You grabbed his hand, placing it against you like he did with yours as you let out a laugh, happiness bubbling inside you before exploding, flinging yourself to hug him. Your arms tight around him, trying to bring him as close as you could. The force of your hug almost made him fall back, losing his balance before he recovered, putting his arms around you as he returned the hug just as fiercely, careful not to hurt you.
“It's you.” you said it over and over like a prayer.
You stayed like that for a while, basking in each other's presence, finally together. You weren't sure how much it had passed before you both let go, a thunder rumbling in the distance reminded you of your situation. You had to hurry if you didn't want to get caught in the rain, and yet, none of you made the effort to move.
A thought came to you as you looked at him, a memory of a conversation that now feels from too long ago.
“You promised you wouldn't do it again.” You said, your fist colliding with his arm.
His hand went to the spot you hit, feigning hurt as he laughed. “I said maybe.”
You couldn’t help but laugh too, too happy to stay mad at him. Not when he was here, when this wasn’t a dream.
With that thought you held him again, nuzzling your face to his chest, inhaling his scent, his hands rubbing up and down your back before settling on your waist, drawing you closer to him.
“Thank you for coming back.” you whispered softly, not sure he would hear you.
“Thank you for waiting.” he said in the same way.
You kissed as you both embraced, your arms around his neck, pressing your bodies tight against each other, the warmth between the two enough to ignore the cold as it began to rain.
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theeslytherinslut · 3 years
Text
The Perpetual Freak (1/?)
Pairings: Sirius Black x reader, Marauders x reader
Warnings: Mention of bullying,
Word Count: 2,063
The Beginning
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“Twitch,
Just 4 days now--like I need to tell you, likely been counting down the days all bloody Holiday, haven’t you? We’ll be there Sept 1st at 10 on the dot, we should make it to King’s Cross by 11 that way. Be ready this time, won’t you? I think Padfoot just might actually hex your grandmother if he has to make small talk with her again, but can you blame him? Anyway, we’ll be there at 10. Don’t forget Jinx this time. I don’t fancy being attacked once he breaks out of your grandmother’s house.
P.S Sirius said he’ll be on his best behavior--does that make you nervous too?
See you soon,
Prongs (& Padfoot)
The letter lay in the same spot on your cracked cherrywood desk since you received it. Though short and to the point, you’d reread it many times, hoping somehow the more you read it, the faster the day would come.
Holidays were hell. Being a muggle-born, there was always a bit of an adjustment period after coming home from Hogwarts for a break--an adjustment period usually aided by parents and family--however, this could not have been further from the truth for you.
“Y/N!” As if on cue, your Grandmother's angry call shot up the stairs. Cringing, you held your breath as you walked down the stairs into the kitchen. She stood with her blue gingham apron covered in flour, as well as most of the floor and countertop.
“If this bloody bird scratches my window one-more-time,” she said the words through clenched teeth, glaring at you from across the room. Her stacked icy grey curls bobbled on her head as she shouted, her fist pressed against her hip. “I’ll have to drown it in the creek.”
Your Snowy Owl, Jinx, sat outside the baby-blue curtained window, his big orange eyes peering at you innocently through the glass.
Piecing together the situation, you’d guessed Jinx had arrived suddenly during your grandmother’s baking and had startled her, causing her to spill much of the contents of her bowl.
Suppressing a smile at the mess, you walked over to the window and opened it. Jinx’s peppered wings stretched out briefly before you felt his talons brush against your collarbone, and he perched onto your shoulder.
“Sorry, Grandmother,” you mumbled, catching your cousin smirking at you. A blush of anger lit up your face, and you made to disappear back into your room before anything got ugly; you’d gone all Holiday without a vicious row, and you weren’t about to start one just before you walked out the door.
“When does that school of yours start again, anyway? Aren’t you normally gone by now? Blakely’s school has already started, he’s been working so hard,” she doted, smoothing his hair as he ate his cereal, milk dribbling from his lips and onto the table. “We could all use a little peace and quiet around here, frankly.” she sniffed.
Jinx gave an annoyed hoot and ruffled his feathers unpleasantly as your grandmother glared at him from across the room.
“Train leaves September 1st at 11am like it always does. I’ll be leaving within the hour,” you said, struggling to control your voice.
“Train? There are enough of you--you, people, for an entire train?” Blakely said, dropping his spoon in his bowl, splattering more milk onto the table, evidently thoroughly shocked.
“Yes, oddly enough, it seems I’m not the only freak in England,” you said, using the word he often threw at you.
“Maybe not the only one, but definitely the biggest,” he said quietly, glaring up at you from his cereal. Grandmother, however, pretended as though she didn’t hear, merely clanged dishes loudly together as she turned back towards the sink.
“One day, I’ll hex you so terribly you’ll be lucky if someone calls you something so kind as freak,” you pushed the thought into his head and promptly stormed out of the kitchen, though savoring the terrified shock on his face.
“She-she did it again!” Blakely called, color draining his face. But you were already halfway up the staircase with Jinx balancing on your shoulder before her angry screech reached you.
You’d almost always been an utter freak in their eyes, and it all started when you were only a baby.
Your mother died while giving birth to you, and your father was never in the picture, so there was no one but your Grandmother to take you in; no one but you to blame for it all. You were, after all, the product of your mother’s insolence--having fallen pregnant at 15 by a man whom she’d never spoken of. And further, you were the reason she’d died; she wouldn’t have bled out if you hadn’t been conceived. To your Grandmother, it was as if you were the cause of every problem she had in life, a walking reminder of where it all went wrong--and she made sure you knew it.
Terrible as things already were, nothing was to be helped by the events that were to unfold. As the story had been told to you, you were a little over a year old, crying incessantly in your crib. You’d evidently been exceptionally whiny that day, crying non-stop, refusing to be consoled, and just when she’d for the first time seriously considered doing you in, you stopped. Relieved yet confused, your grandmother had come in to check on you.
“I’m hungry.”
She had heard the words clear as day, in a voice she didn’t recognize, but the words sounded funny. The voice almost echoed, somehow managing to sound crystal clear but miles away at the same time. Sure she was simply going mad from a lack of sleep, she stood rooted to her spot in shock.
“Did you hear me, Grandmother? I said I’m hungry.”
Seeing your bright Y/E/C eyes boring up into hers, she let out an ear-splitting scream when you grinned as recognition dawned on her face.
Obviously, no Muggle doctor could give any sort of explanation or help. At most, they’d give one of the two of you some kind of a crazy pill and a suggestion of seeing a family counselor.
Soon after, tragedy struck your grandmother’s side once more, and you were landed with a cousin, Blakely. Blakely, however, seemed to adopt a mindset closer to your grandmother’s about it all and would no sooner take a shine to you than get friendly with the rabies-infected alley cat.
But as the years went on, things began to get even stranger.
At the age of 3, your wailing cries caused all the lightbulbs around you to pop inexplicably (costing your grandmother a fortune, as she so loved to remind you).
At 5, you’d managed to levitate a ball Blakely was taunting you with out of his hands and into yours.
However, at age 9 is when it became harder to keep a secret; at age 9 is when your grandmother began truly resenting you.
Being a self-ascribed ‘freak,’ bullying was something you were no stranger to. A comment here, a hair tug there. However, this had been a particularly extreme case. Kylie Kippely and her best friends had backed you into a corner, each shooting off snarky comments at your scared state, and when that wasn’t enough, they began throwing things--anything they could get their hands on--cans, papers, pencils, erasers. All the while yelling how everyone would be much better off without such a freak in their midst, about how all their parents were scared to even send them to school anymore after your last incident.
Then, they began running out of rubbish and started picking up rocks instead. Before a single rock could leave their hands, however, the mulch around you began to shake, then chips slowly started rising into the air behind them. As your face went from scared to full of awe, they turned around to see what you were looking at and simultaneously dropped everything in their hands. The mulch then began pelting at all of them, causing everyone around you to scream and disperse, all batting away the pieces of mulch pelting at their running backsides.
Grandmother had pulled you out of the school before you could receive any other punishment, and from that moment on, you’d been stuck in the house with her.
With no outlet, with nothing but growing rage and resentment inside of you, things began to spiral even worse.
Just when Grandmother began researching distant reform schools, however, you received your Hogwarts letter, and everything made sense.
All the strange things you could do, all the bizarre things you made happen, had an explanation. Sure the explanation was that you were, in fact, a freak--but you weren’t the only freak. There was a whole school’s worth of freaks just like you--well, almost just like you.
Though paper cranes soared around you and magic burst from the tip of hundreds of wands, through your time at Hogwarts, you found you did have one unique gift: it was evidently called Telepathic Impression, a branch of complex magic known as Legillimens--no one else could push thoughts into other people’s heads like you could, not naturally anyway. Nobody could ask a question silently and have the Professor answer for all to hear. After you’d interjected into McGonagall’s head during your first Transfiguration class, she’d had you go straight off to Dumbledore’s office. After a brief discussion, it was found you possessed natural Legilimency skills--something that had only been seen once before. He’d been absolutely transfixed when you told him the first instance had been at the ripe age of 1, in fluent advanced English no less.
You smiled fondly at the memory of his laugh of delight as you’d repeated, ‘Did you hear me, Grandmother? I said I’m hungry.'
Never before had you told that story in any sort of positive light, never got a positive reaction either. Dumbledore had been absolutely enthralled with you from then on.
He had carefully explained the practice of Legilimency, how the mind was a layered thing and could not be ‘read’ simply, like a book. He’d explained how everyone learned it to some advantage of theirs, how no two Legilimens were the same.
After several years of private lessons, it seemed all you’d ever be able to do with your gift was push thoughts, images, and sounds of your own into other’s minds--but this was an incredible feat in itself, a private gift of yours. However, just the year before, it was found that with effort, you could twist the thought to become persuasive, convince the person the thought was their own, and to complete the idea you’d given them. During the first lesson which you found you could do so, you’d been practicing with Dumbledore. Though he was giving no effort at all to resist, you’d silently suggested his tea was abysmal and that he knock it off his desk in disgust. With a twitch of his wrist, the cup shattered onto the floor, shocking you both into silence. It was after this Dumbledore had insisted you promise to never use it for evil, never ever use it with ill intentions--for as a Legilimens himself, he would know. You quickly agreed, of course; you’d never once had the thought to use it with ill motives--aside from maybe having Blakely go for a nice long dip in the creek in the dead of January, but that was a fantasy you kept for yourself to get you through Holidays like these.
Shaking your head of past childhood memories, you turned to your trunk to make sure you did indeed have everything all packed up and ready. You didn’t want to stay a second longer than necessary.
Spotting your cloaks pushed into the depths of your closet, you plucked them from the dark and folded them into your trunk. It wasn’t a moment too soon either, because right as you closed the lid, you heard the boisterous arrival of your best friends as they pulled in the winding driveway driving the enchanted car James’ parents had lent him. You heard an enthusiastic barking whoop and smiled as Sirius’ bright eyes and smile filled your mind.
Your stomach bubbling with excitement, you hastily put Jinx in his cage as he looked around in interest. Picking up his cage, you bounded down the stairs to meet them.
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yhwhsdaughter · 3 years
Text
HQ!! Manager being protective when people insult their player
(ft. oikawa, hinata, tanaka, yachi, osamu, kuroo)
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Warnings: threats, physical altercations, bullying, public humiliation
I usually don’t condone the usage of violence, but I woke up mad today lmao
OIKAWA
the pretty setter was getting ready to serve, his fangirls screaming in support while the rest of the team took a break.
to the side were a couple of guys staring in jealousy, “heh, his weak ass gets a big ego just because—”
they continued their insults and while they didn’t reach oikawa, his team members certainly heard it all
teasing oikawa was different when it came from them because they genuinely cared about him,, but for someone else to continuously bully the setter without reason?? it was infuriating
before any of them could kick their asses, their manager approached them.
(name) was perhaps the most polite individual they’d met; always patient and kind despite their antics
“ah, i can see the misunderstanding that oikawa is a weakling. he’s got a broken knee and constantly pushes himself despite the excruciating pain.”
the aura surrounding them suddenly turned dark and cold as (name) clutched the shoulder of the main bully with an iron grip
“what about you? shall i break your knee so we can find out if you’re stronger than him?”
at that moment, their gentle mannered manager had the eyes of a beast, unyielding as the guy tried to escape their grip
when they left, the players approached (name) who still glared in that direction. “woah we didn’t know you could be so scary (name)”
now calmer, they replied, “you’re my team, i would kill anyone that tries harm you.”
it was such a matter-of-fact that the males couldn’t help but laugh “haha you’re funny too”
“am i laughing?”
that day they learned their precious manager would deadass commit murder for them
extra: when oikawa found you defended him, he ran with open arms, “(name)-channnnn marry me!” squeezing the life out of you
HINATA
competition hadn’t even started and people were already shit talking karasuno
“flightless crows” blah blah blah
as their third manager, you would be in the benches with yachi, supporting the team
however, hinata had gone to the bathroom and he wasn’t back. daichi had sent you to get him since the game was about to start
you found the team’s sunshine nearly corned by a tall player “aah you’re so short and you’re a middle blocker?? i’ll be looking down on you little shrimp!”
he didn’t get to say more because your leg swiftly hit the back of his knees, falling to the ground harshly.
no one and i mean no one messes with hinata without you getting a few hits in, regardless height
“oh look. you’re below him now”
mans was lucky y’all were in a competition, otherwise he wouldn’t have left unscathed
with that, you steered your baby hinata away from that asshole, throwing him a dirty look in case he wanted to try anything
if he did, you would not hold back. literally on sight
fyi hinata was totally not blushing the entire way back. everytime you approach him now he gets all flustered
everyone else is like ???
TANAKA
the ladies man, tanaka had encountered a group of attractive girls at the arcade so he decided to shoot his shot
when they declined, tanaka was prepared to leave them alone, respectful of a woman’s boundaries, but they decided to verbally attack him
“who’d wanna go out with you?” “yeah you’re so ugly, stupid baldie”
wrong move
unfortunately for them, you were also at the arcade, having heard how the entire conversation went down
you knew tanaka would never use violence against a girl, even if they were rude, but you would.
equal rights equal fights bitch
those girls never saw it coming, you grabbing the leader’s hair roughly and yanking it back, “you’re right, longer hair is much better”
you went feral; simultaneously slapping the others away when they tried to pull you off, your tight grip never faltering.
only when tanaka placed a gentle hand on your arm that you released her
“insult him again and you’ll be the baldie next time”
in short, tanaka now sees you as his personal deity. boy will adore you
YACHI
the third years were gone now
kiyoko had left the team in your and yachi’s hands, with you mainly taking charge as the now-third year manager
the team all sat together for lunch (yes, tsukki too), they were waiting for you since you’d been talking with a teacher
a girl in front of you side-eyed yachi, watching with envy as the blonde sweetheart spoke with the handsome volleyball players
plan brewing in that toxic mind of hers, the girl pretended to trip, spilling her lunch all over yachi. the team didn’t have time to react, watching in shock as food splatted on her lap
sis even had the audacity to say “oh sorry didn’t see you there” as if she didn’t just purposefully throw her food on someone else
worry not, because you returned the favor.
as soon as she gave her faux apology, your food was already making its way down her head to her shoes
there wasn’t a part of her left uncovered
“my bad, i thought you were the trash” you did not look sorry at all
half of the cafeteria watched this unfold—tsukki even making some snide remarks. you grabbed yachi’s hand, guiding her to the restroom to help her clean off
from that moment on, people got the message to never mess with the volleyball team lest they face the wrath of their manager
OSAMU
osamu was your best friend, the reason why you joined inarizaki as their manager
currently, you were in home ed, making the assigned dish but it wasn’t difficult so your movements were lax so much that you couldn’t help but overhear the conversation going on in front of your table
at the mention of osamu, your ears perked up
“he was SUCH a jerk. i kept asking hoping he would grow tired and say yes, but nooooo. apparently osamu thinks he’s better than me”
some of her friends looks uneasy at her inability to take ‘no’ for an answer but the girl continued on her rant
the teacher stepped out for a moment. “HAHAHAHHAHA” the class turned to look at you, laughing like a maniac while you chopped vegetables with scary precision and inhuman strength
“you sure got some nerve, harassing someone like that.. especially my best friend”
that was the moment the grew knew she’d fucked up. she couldn’t even answer back because the teacher was back.
you made a point to ask the teacher if you could be partners with that girl for the next lesson, making her gulp in fear as you ran a finger across your throat
to say the least, she stopped talking for the remainder of the class
KUROO
chemistry?? you and kuroo?? friends?? together in class???
a fucking chaos
just kidding. the two of you were actually really good students. the best, if you had to brag
despite being the teacher’s favorite, you were lowkey about it while kuroo liked to insert as many chem jokes as he could in presentations
it was kinda embarrassing and you subtly teased him, but never with malicious intent
during a lab, you got partnered with a bully. you tried to ignore him and continue working, but it kept getting worse.
the breaking point was dragging in kuroo to all of this. you’d rejected his offers of going on a date and when kuroo made a motion to ask if you were ok, the dude took it as a sign to talk shit
“seriously? him? he’s a fucking nerd. his jokes are lame and has shitty hair—”
your eye twitched. “oi you better stop if you don’t want me to burn your face off”
clueless in class, he didn’t know how to handle the material so you were doing all the work. he didn’t believe you
bringing in the acidic substance near his face is when he finally backed away, at which point you had already called the teacher and told them that he was playing around with dangerous chemicals
although it was the other way around, who do you think the teacher believed, their star student or the school bully??
lmao, bitch could ask his detention buddies out on a date now
kuroo: ??
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atlafan · 3 years
Text
Je T’aime - One Shot
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a/n: Bonsoir! I’m back on my French bullshit! Harry is the head chef at a five start restaurant, and he unfortunately has a new manager coming in: Ariel Bardin. They don’t start off on the right foot, and it just gets worse from there. How will they learn to work together? Read to find out! (not proofread) Support me here if you’re able! FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT IS HOLY PLEASE REBLOG, DON’T JUST LIKE, REBLOG REBLOG REBLOG! LEAVE ME LITTLE NOTES IN THE TAGS, GIVE ME FEEDBACK! I’M BEGGING YALL PLEASE THROW A BITCH A BONE I DO THIS ALL FOR YOU!
Warnings: light soft dom/sub themes within the smut, hate fucking (light degradation, but not really???) lots of swearing, plenty of angst, and a tiny bit of fluff, mild choking
Words: 12.9K
Pairing: Harry Styles x OC (Ariel Bardin)
Managing a five-star restaurant was no easy task. Ariel had to make sure all of the schedules for the waitstaff were up to date, double check that the cleaning crew left everything spotless, and make sure those that came in early had set up the tables as beautiful as can be. There were many headaches that came with all of it: drama with the waitstaff, customers trying to get in without reservations, large parties that couldn’t be turned away because it was for someone famous – it’s what made the previous lead manager of Je T’aime quit. The owner, who lived far away, was not happy about this news since the previous lead manager had been there for years. So, he sent in the only person he trusted to get the job done – his daughter, Ariel Bardin.
Ariel was only twenty-seven, but she was honored when her father asked her to take over. She had plenty of experience in the food service industry, and she watched her father run the place for years. It was always her dream to manage Je T’aime, and now she finally had the chance. Being a lead manager meant giving up a lot of personal time, having to step in when the kitchen got busy, running food, and a lot more. Ariel was more than up to the task.
The head chef of the restaurant wasn’t so thrilled with the change in personnel, though. He had a good relationship with the previous manager in that the manager let him run the kitchen how he liked. Chef Harry had never met Ariel, but he had a feeling things would be a lot different. He was very particular, and ran a tight ship. He didn’t want someone else coming in and thinking they could take command. He knew he needed to get ahead of things. He had emailed her to see if she wanted to meet for dinner to discuss things before her first day, but she declined. Ariel appreciated the initiative, but she explained that she wanted to meet the entire kitchen crew at the same time. Harry was already annoyed that his efforts were thwarted.
Ariel was excited for her first day. She made sure to get a new pair of no slip grip shoes that weren’t totally ugly. She put on a pair of black slacks and paired it with a baby blue blouse. Lastly, she put her hair up in a cute ponytail, and put on a little eye makeup before heading out. She had requested a tasting at the restaurant before it opened for dinner, and she wanted to leave the cooks plenty of time to get their prepping done. She also wanted to get their early enough to set up her new office.
Before entering the restaurant, she takes a deep breath. She smiles and waves to the people setting up the dining tables as she makes her way towards the kitchen. She remembers being a little girl and going to work with her father. She loved it when he’d sit her up on one of the counters because the cooks would always let her taste test their latest creations. They figured if a child liked the cuisine, then adults would too. Ariel goes right to her new office, and smiles. Arthur had kept up the family photo of Ariel’s parents. Her mother was pregnant with her when they opened Je T’aime. In fact, her father named it that because Ariel’s mother was French, and her father learned the language just for her. Ariel’s mother passed a few years back, and it was pretty devastating. She was a wonderful woman, and Ariel always hoped to have a romance like theirs.
She snaps herself out of her thoughts, and starts taking out the things she brought with her from the box she was carrying. This was going to be a great day, she could feel it. She takes out a notepad and pen, and heads back out to the kitchen towards the chef’s office. She taps on the door frame when she sees two men sitting inside chatting.
“Hello?” She says to them, and they both turn in their chairs to look at her. “I’m Ariel, the new lead manager. Which one of you is Chef Harry?”
“That would be me.” Harry stands up to shake her hand.
“It’s so nice to finally meet you. So, that makes you Chef Garrett, right?” She says to the other man.
“Correct, I’m the sous chef, it’s nice to meet you, Ariel.” He shakes her hand as well.
“Wonderful, is everything ready for the tasting? The menu’s changed a lot over the years, and I want to see if it needs anymore.”
“With all due respect,” Harry starts, “the menu’s more than perfect. It changes seasonally as is.” He crosses his arms.
“With all due respect, Chef, I don’t particularly care.” She smirks and crosses her own arms. “I’ve worked hard to get here, and my father finally trusts me to take care of this place. I’m not going to make him regret it. Now, if I like everything, then nothing will need to change. But I’ve got a couple of ideas I may like to try out, and you’ll have to deal with it when the time comes.” She smiles and leaves the office.
Harry and Garrett share a look, and follow her out. A few of the other cooks had already set up the plates for the tasting. Ariel greeted all of them warmly, and started tasting the food. She was impressed, for the most part, but she definitely had notes.
“These mashed potatoes could be whipped a bit more…possibly with more sour cream?” She says. “And this chicken…more seasoning could do it some good. The salmon is excellent, though, just delicious.”
“Chef Harry prepared that.” One of the cooks says, and Ariel looks back at Harry who had a smirk on his face.
Ariel narrows her eyes at him, and then turns her attention back to the food. She enjoyed the pasta dishes, but she makes a face when she gets to the steak frites.
“What…what are these?” Ariel asks as she points at the fries.
“French fries.” Garrett says.
“Mhm, yeah, they should be steak fries, freshly made. These look like they were frozen before.”
“Because they are.” Harry says. “They’re more cost effective. We season them after they’re fried, and they’re great for when kids come in.”
“Kids like steak fries just the same. I want fresh cut potatoes used. They’re more authentic. This isn’t a fast food restaurant. You already have to order potatoes for the mashed potatoes, right? I bet we’d get a discount if we order a larger quantity. We can talk it about it later.”
After tasting a few more things, and thanking the cooks, Ariel heads into the dining room to start greeting the waitstaff. Things felt a lot less hostile with them. Harry was fuming in his office with Garrett.
“It’s her first day and she already wants to change things! And the worst part is, she’s completely right about the bloody fries.” Harry huffs. “Steak fries would be ten times better!”
“Chill, Harry. She just needs to see how well you run things while it’s busy, and she’ll understand her place here. This is your kitchen.”  
“Right, good idea. Her real job is to manage the waitstaff.”
Ariel was on fire. It was a busy night because blackened salmon was the special. She was helping run food, and the waitstaff was extremely impressed. The previous manager rarely helped liked that. She was even running bread and water to tables, starting off orders, and helping seat. She even went behind the bar to help get drinks to tables, and help the bartenders catch up. It was a great first impression. She was exhausted by the time she got to sit in her office at the end of the night. She sat with the head hostess to go over the receipts before cutting her for the night. Her last task was to make sure the kitchen was closed down properly after locking up the safe.
“Ariel?” One of the cooks asks her as she steps out. “Would like anything for dinner before start to throw things away?”
“Throw things away?” She furrows her brows. “I have food at home, thank you, but don’t throw anything out. Surely we can start up a makeshift compost before getting a real one.”
“Oh, well, we don’t throw everything away, just-“
“Can you let me see all of the leftovers that usually get put in the trash?”
The cook nods, and she follows him. Harry was in his office checking over what the most popular orders of the night was, and getting some paperwork done. He notices Ariel speaking with Eddy, and he sighs. He gets up, and makes his way to where they are.
“Is there any particular reason your keeping Eddy from his sidework?” Harry asks her.
“I asked him to show me what usually gets thrown out. This could easily be donated or used for compost. I’ll be coming in early tomorrow to set up a new compost area, and I’ll be talking with the local food kitchens to see what they need. This is good food, and it shouldn’t be wasted.” She crosses her arms. “Is that going to be a problem?”
“Why,” he sucks his teeth, “Come to my office when you’re done telling my staff what to do, we need to talk.” Harry turns on his heel and goes into his office, nearly slamming the door.
Ariel helps the kitchen and dish crew clean a few things up, earning herself even more brownie points, before going into Harry’s office. He doesn’t look up at her until she clears her throat.
“You wanted to talk?” She says.
“Yeah, have a seat.”
“I’d prefer to stand, thanks.”
Harry turns in his seat, and looks up at her.
“Are you and I going to have a problem?” He asks, standing up, towering over her, but she stands her ground.
“I don’t know, are we? Are you seriously going to tell me that you never thought of composting?”
“It’s expensive. We find other ways to stay green, though. You would have known that if you had gone to dinner with me. I could have told you everything you needed to know. But no, you blew me off, and decided to find every possible way to embarrass me and undermine me in front of my staff.”
“Look, Chef, I’m sorry if you feel disrespected, that wasn’t my intention. I just think a lot of changes need to be made. I spoke with the dining staff just the same, it wasn’t just your staff. This place means a lot to me, and I just want to make sure it’s being run well. I…I didn’t think a dinner would be appropriate for us.”
“Why? It’s not like I was asking you out on a date.” He scoffs.
“No, but I just assumed you were going to try to schmooze me or something, and I didn’t want to deal with it. Am I wrong in thinking you were going to try to work me over?”
“It wasn’t to work you over, but the last manager and I sort of had an understanding.”
“Which was what?”
“I do my thing, he does his, and we don’t get into each other’s hair.”
“Well, that’s not how this is going to work.” She gestures between the two of them. “I don’t want things getting hostile between us, for the sake of the staff. I didn’t think we’d be best friends or anything…but I was hoping we’d at least get along.”
“I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Not a great first impression.” He crosses his arms.
“Same could be said to you.” She scoffs. “If you start doing things better, then I won’t have a reason to talk to you. So, do better, Chef.” She looks him up and down, and then leaves his office.
Harry wanted to pull his hair out. This woman was going to make his life a living hell, he could feel it.
//
“What kind of a name is Ariel, anyways?” Garrett scoffs a week or so later. He was in charge of the new composter, and he wasn’t thrilled about it.
“I know! We her parents big fans of The Little Mermaid?” Harry chuckles.
“It’s French.” Ariel says, entering Harry’s office. “And it’s a family name. My grandmother’s name was Ariel, and my mother named me after her.” She looks at both of them and smirks. “And, Ariel just so happens to be my favorite Disney princess, so it’s an honor on many accounts.”
“Did you need something?” Garrett asks her.
“Yes, actually. I wanted to talk about Passover, it’s coming up and we need to talk about a kosher menu.”
“Seems like something for just the two of you to discuss.” Garrett says, and leaves quickly. Ariel takes his seat.
“A kosher menu, huh? Don’t you need a separate kitchen for that?”
“Not necessarily. I was just sort of thinking we could offer some different specials throughout the week.”
“Like what?”
“I’ve got a killer brisket recipe, we could offer a matzah ball soup too. There’s lots of stuff we could whip up. Oh! Macaroons would be good, and maybe some matzah bark as well. I’ve got recipes for all of it if you’re game.”
“When’s Passover?” He sighs and looks at the calendar on the wall.
“At the end of March, plenty of time to order what we need.”
“You know we do a brunch on Easter, right?”
“Yes, I’m aware.” She nods. “If we do for one, we should do for others.”
“If you email me the recipes, I can work on them.”
“Alright, I can do that. I ask that you don’t tweak them. They’re family recipes and I promise they’re golden.”
“One of our cooks is Jewish, he can work on them. I’ll be focused on the brunch food.”
“Oh…well, great, okay.” She stands up. “Thanks for hearing me out. I think a lot of our customers will be excited, and it’ll being good attention.”
“Listen, uh…I’m sorry about Garrett and I before. We were just-“
“Don’t.” She shakes her head. “I know you both don’t like me. I’m a bossy bitch that’s come in and made things difficult, I get it. This isn’t my first male-led restaurant that I’ve managed.”
“Hey, I’ve got no problem with women in charge.” Harry stands up. “You just came in like a bull.”
“Aw, would you have preferred if I pouted my lips and batted my eyes at you, and asked pretty please?” She pouts her lips and bats her eyes at him, making his mouth fall open. She smirks at him and shakes her head. “It’s too easy.” She laughs and leaves his office.
If he couldn’t stand her before, he definitely couldn’t stand her now.
//
It really pissed Harry off at how much the Passover food was liked. The restaurant had never been busier, getting completely booked with reservations from patrons that had never been before, but heard about the diverse specials. Then there was the Easter brunch. Ariel walked in with her hair half pulled up, and the rest of it flowing. She was wearing this gorgeous pastel pink blouse along with some navy slacks. She was dolled up for the holiday. She pumped up the staff during the pre-meal chat, and then she started running around with coffee carafes to help out the busy staff.
It was an elegant brunch, and Harry was also dressed up because the head chef usually went around the dining room checking in with the patrons. He wore his nicest chef’s jacket, and made sure his hair wasn’t too out of sorts before he went into the dining room. Ariel had never seen him be so personable. He was genuinely laughing with people at their tables, she couldn’t believe it.
Ariel was tired, but her customers were happy, and she got to go home around four, which was a blessing in disguise. She couldn’t wait to get home and flop herself onto her bed. She just needed to put the cash in the safe, and check the receipts.
“Is there any lobster mac ‘n cheese left?” She asks as she walks over to the line.
“Got a pan of it right here.” Eddy smiles at her.
“Amazing, I’ve been looking forward to it all day.” She scoops some into a to-go container, and adds a couple of other things she wanted.
“Why is that you always like the food I make the best?” Harry smirks as he also fills up a container for himself.  
“I’m not too big to admit you’re a very talented chef, Harry.” She says and looks at him. “It’s your personality that could use some work, Happy Easter.” She smiles at him. “Great job today, everyone!” She exclaims before making her way back to her office.
“Man, did you see Ari’s tits in that shirt today?” One cook says to another.
“Her tits? I was too busy sneaking a peek at that ass of hers. Wouldn’t mind tapping it.”
“Oi.” Harry says to them. “None of that, alright? It’s rude.”
“C’mon, Chef.” One of the cooks says. “I know you don’t like her, but even you can admit she’s hot.”
“Do you all want to get out of here on time to see your families?!” Harry shouts. “Finish cleaning up.” He huffs, and goes back to his own office.
“He’s not wrong.” Garrett says to the cooks. “Don’t be disrespectful.”
“Yeah.” Eddy chimes in. “Don’t think your girlfriends would appreciate it very much if they knew you were talking about another woman like that.”
Harry was about to head out for the day. He was going to go home and cuddle up with cat, Luna, and veg out. He walks by Ariel’s office, and he stops short. He sees her sitting with her face in her hands. He looks around behind him, they were the last two people there.
“Hey, are you alright?” He says as he opens the door, and she jumps in her chair a bit, obviously startled.
“Yeah.” She wipes under eyes. “I’m fine, why?”
“You just…were you crying?”
“No, don’t be silly.” She wipes under eyes again. “I’m just a little sweaty, I ran around a ton today.”
“How was the mac ‘n cheese?”
“I haven’t eaten it yet, I’m bringing it home…”
“When are you headed out?”
“Soon.”
“I can wait for you, if you want…”
“I’m all set.”
“Ariel, if something’s wrong-“
“Nothing’s wrong! Go home, Harry! I’m just finishing some things up.”
“You know something, you are a bitch.” He puts his hands on his hips. “I was just trying to be nice, and you have to be so nasty about it!”
“Right, because I need a fuckwad like you checking on me.” She rolls her eyes. She takes her leftovers and puts them in the trash.
“What are you doing?!”
“I’ve lost my appetite.” She says, standing up, grabbing her purse, and brushing by him on her way out.
Harry was shocked Ariel hadn’t turned his hair white with how much she stressed him out. The interaction they had pissed him off to no end. He had defended her, told his staff not to talk about her a certain way. Then, when he sees her in distress, she’s as ungrateful as ever. He tried calming down in the shower, but that didn’t work. He tried watching TV with Luna, but he just wanted to know what she had been so upset about in the first place.
He takes out his phone, and searches her on Facebook. He figured she must have one, if not he would search Instagram. He rolls his eyes when he sees how gorgeous she looks in her profile picture. She had most of her privacy settings on, but his eyes widen when he sees her tagged in a post. It was written in French.
Il y a quinze ans aujourd'hui, nous avons perdu notre Nana Ariel. Comme elle nous manque tellement, et nos étés avec elle sur les plages françaises.
Harry only understood a few words, so he taps the translate button: Fifteen years ago today, we lost our Nana Ariel. How we miss her so, and our summers with her on the French beaches. He furrows his eyebrows at the photos. It must have been a cousin that tagged Ariel. Her nana looked like a lovely woman.
“Shit.” Harry sighs. Ariel was probably putting on a brave face all day. He knew her mother had passed, but he wasn’t sure about her grandmother. Her female figures were gone, and he called her a bitch to her face. He felt terrible. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
Harry gets off his couch and goes into his kitchen. An hour or so later, he’s driving to Ariel’s house to deliver a fresh lobster mac n’ cheese. He was lucky he knew her address. She lived in a quaint neighborhood. He pulls up out front, and goes up to her door, ringing the bell. After a few moments she opens the door. She was in a long robe, and slippers. Her hair was up in a bun on the top of her head.
“Harry?”
“Here, feel better.” He practically shoves the casserole dish into her arms. “And…I’m sorry I said that to you, okay?”
“What is this?”
“Lobster mac n’ cheese. You threw yours out because I was being an ass…but to be fair you snapped at me first.”
“What made you do this?”
“The Easter bunny came to me in a dream, alright? It doesn’t matter, just take it and eat it. M’sure you don’t feel like cooking after such a long day.”
“Well, you’re right.” She raises an eyebrow at him. “I’ll take it, thank you. I shouldn’t have been so short with you.”
“I shouldn’t have tried to pry. I’ll see you Tuesday.”
“Yeah….” She almost invited him to have some with her, but as nice as the gesture was, she didn’t really feel like spending anymore time with him today. So she lets him leave.
Harry was back on his couch in no time with Luna, feeling much better than he did before. He feels his phone buzz, and he looks down to check his notifications.
Ariel Bardin: I don’t know what makes me more furious, the fact that you’re an incredible cook, or the fact that such a simple dish could make me feel ten times better
Harry smirks down at the message. This didn’t change anything between the two of them, but Harry felt a little better knowing there was a bit of a common ground between them now. They didn’t have to like one another, but maybe there would be a bit more respect.
//
There was a respect between them, but the two still bickered and argued and made things difficult for one another. He’d call her a spoiled brat, and she’d call him a fat headed fuck, it was just their thing. No one in the kitchen seemed to mind, especially because if Harry was yelling at her, then he wasn’t yelling at them. Garrett had warmed up to Ariel considerably over the last few months. He was starting to see that she really did mean well, and over time the changes she made were for the better.
A lot of people understood why Ariel and Harry butted heads so much. They both had dominant personalities, and kitchens were hot. Usually one of them would go into the walk-in fridge, and come out much more cooled down. As the summer months started, it just got worse.
“I’m not sending out wilted lettuce!” Harry screamed at her.
“It’s not wilted!” Ariel screamed back.
“Did you go to culinary school?! You’re not the fucking expert, I am!”
“So, you’re just going to chuck perfectly good lettuce because you think it’s wilted! Put your fucking glasses on!”
“Enough!” Garrett yells. “We’ll double check the lettuce and make sure none of the dingier looking pieces get sent out. Take a break, the kids are getting scared.” He was referring to the kitchen staff, and to the few waitstaff that were in the kitchen.
They both growl and walk away from one another. They stayed away from each other for the rest of the night. Ariel was there late catching up on some paperwork. She jumped when she heard something fall on the ground. She thought everyone had gone home for the night. When she goes out to the kitchen to see Harry, she sighs with relief.
“Scared the shit out of me, what are you still doing here?” She storms over to him.
“Prepping the dinner roll dough so it’s ready to go for tomorrow. It’s been too hot to make it in the morning. The prep cooks can just come in and use the ovens while it’s still cool if the dough’s already set and proofed.” He says as he continues to knead the dough on the counter.
“Why not have someone else do it?”
“Why should I make someone else stay late?” He scoffs.
“Well…here, I’ll get an apron so I can help.”
“I’m all set.”
“Don’t be silly, it’ll help you get out of here faster.”
“What do you care about that?”
“God, you’re so stubborn.” She goes to wash her hands, and steps over to the dough, but he swats her hand away when she goes to reach for it.
“Go home, Ariel.”
“What the fuck is your problem?!”
“You! You’re my fucking problem! Cooking is supposed to be relaxing, this is my me time, and you’re ruining it!”
“Well, excuse me for offering to help!”
“I don’t need your help!” He slams a fist down on the counter, causing flour to splatter onto her chest and face. “Oops.” He smirks.
Ariel wipes her face off, gathers a bit of flour, and flicks it into Harry’s face. He takes a deep breath and looks at her.
“Oops.” She says in the same mocking tone he had.
“You know, for someone who hates wasting food, I’d think you’d be more careful.” He says, wiping his face off. “It was an accident when I did it.”
“Oh well.” She shrugs.
“You,” he starts walking towards her, backing her up to the opposite counter, “are one of the most infuriating people I have ever met.” They were practically chest to chest. She could feel his breath fanning over her face. “I wish you never started working here.”
“You know what they say, can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen.” She says, looking up at him with a searing gaze.
“It’s my kitchen, you get out.”
“Make me.”
Harry’s eyes widen, and his nostrils flare. He was about ready to boil over. He’s not sure what comes over him, but his flour covered hands reach up to cup her cheeks, and he leans down to kiss her roughly, pressing her further against the counter. She gasps as he does it, but she doesn’t fight him. She doesn’t push him away, she doesn’t do a thing to get him to stop. In fact, she reaches to tug at his shirt so he could be even closer to her. She could taste the mint from his gum, and his lips were insanely soft. He breaks the kiss first, but doesn’t move her hands from her face.
She opens her mouth to speak, possibly to question him on why he kissed her, but she doesn’t get the chance because he’s kissing her again, this time licking into her mouth. She pushes against him, backing him up to the opposite counter, and he grunts against her. Her arms move to wrap around his neck, and her fingers tug at his hair. Just as she was sucking on his tongue, he shoves her up against a nearby wall, and lifts her up. She wraps her legs around his waist, and he carries her over to a counter to sit her on.
Their lips hadn’t parted, and they both needed air, but neither could stop. Harry kisses sloppily towards her neck, and she bites on her bottom lip to suppress a whimper. She reaches down to untie the apron he had on, and she tugs it off. His hands work to undo her pants just as he bites down on the crook of her neck, making her gasp.
“Lift your hips ups.” He says into her ear before nibbling onto her lobe. She does as he says so he can tug her pants down. He places his hands on her thighs, and scratches his nails down them before looking at her. “You want this?” She nods yes at him. “Need you to actually say it. I’m not gonna do anything you don’t want.”
“I want it.” Her cheeks flush. “Happy now?”
“Very.” He growls, and bites down on her bottom lip before letting it snap back. He reaches between her legs, and he groans. “You’re soaked, did yelling at me rile you up?”
“No.” She blushes, and then tugs at his hair. “Stop talking before I change my mind.”
He tugs her panties to the side so he can get a real feel for how wet she is. He plunges two fingers inside of her, and her mouth falls open. Her head rolls back as he pumps them in and out of her.
“Christ, when was the last time someone fucked you?” He grunts. “You’re so tight.”
“Harry, please, shut the fuck up.” She grits her teeth and reaches for the button on his pants.
“Only cause you said please.” He smirks, and she flicks his forehead.
He sucks his teeth and reaches into his back pocket for his wallet, pulling out a condom. She rolls her eyes at the fact that he’s one of those guys that kept a condom in his wallet, but she wasn’t going to complain too much. She was glad he had one. He takes himself out of his pants, getting them down just enough, and rolls the condom on. He looks at her, just to make sure one more time that it was alright and she nods. He splays his hands on her back, pulling her closer as he pushes inside.
“Fucking, shit.” He grunts.
“Try to last longer than a minute there, sport.” She says, trying desperately not to wince at the stretch he was giving her.
“God, I fucking hate you so much.” He says as he starts to thrust in and out of her. She grips his shoulders to hold onto him.
“The feeling’s, ngh, mutual.” She bites down into his shoulder to suppress her moans, but he yanks her head back by her ponytail.
“If I’m gonna fuck you, you’re gonna let out every single little sound, do you understand?”
“You really like telling me what to do.” She grunts.
“And you’re shit at listening.”
“So are you!”
“Weren’t you just telling me to shut up?! Take your own fucking advice!”
She lets out an exasperated noise, and crashes her mouth back to his. He grips her hips as he pounds into her. Her legs wrap tighter around him to get him even closer. They’re both moaning into the other’s mouths. One of his hands leaves her hip, and he brings it over to rub at her clit. She whimpers, and starts panting. He nips at her lips, and works his way back to her neck.
“Fuck, ugh, that’s it.” She mewls. “I’m close, don’t stop.”
“Can feel you squeezing me, like the way I feel?” He licks up her neck back to her ear, and then slots his mouth over hers, not even giving her a chance to answer him before she’s crying out.
She lets her body rest against his as he picks up the pace. He was close himself, but he was trying to savor how good she felt. She was soaked between her legs because of him. He’d never let her live this down. A few more thrusts, and he’s spilling into the condom.
He rests his forehead against hers for a few moments as he catches his breath. He pulls out of her, and tugs her panties back into place before helping her off the counter. They both wordlessly work to get their clothes back on properly.
“So, uh, do you really not want help with the dough?” She asks, smoothing some hair away from her face.
“No, it shouldn’t take me too much longer…thank you.” He chews on his bottom lip. “Why don’t you wait, though, I’ll walk you to your car.”
“Sure…I was in the middle of some paperwork anyways. Just come get me when you’re done.”
Harry nods and goes to wash his hands before getting back to what he was doing. Ariel makes her way to the bathroom to properly clean herself up. They walk to the parking lot together later in silence. He makes sure her car starts before driving off and heading home to Luna.
//
Work was…awkward after that. Everyone was confused because the kitchen had never been more quiet. Ariel had mostly kept to herself and if she had something to say, she was less brash. Harry was the same towards her.
“Do you think we could add pudding pie to the summer dessert menu?” She asks him. “Like an Oreo thing?”
“Um, sure, yeah…should be easy enough to work into the rotation.” He says. “Good, uh, good suggestion.” He swallows.
“Thanks, Chef.” She nods and walks away from him.
“Dude, not that I’m complaining, but what’s up with you two?” Garrett whispers to him as they both work to chop vegetables.
“Nothing.” Harry shrugs a shoulder. “We’ve just…reached an understanding, is all. We, uh, hashed things out a week or so ago.” He clears his throat. “Just focus on the your beets for the borsht. I need to get started on that chilled melon soup.”
Harry heads into the walk-in fridge to grab the cantaloupe he had already cut up to make the soup with. He was essentially making a creamy smoothie, but this was one of their summer best sellers. He stops short when he sees Ariel trying to reach for something on the top shelf.
“Need a hand?” He asks, and it startles her.
“Y-yeah, could you get the, uh, shredded Brussels down for me?”
Harry nods and reaches above her to grab the pan. He hands it to her, and she thanks him before making her way towards the door.
“Ariel?”
“Yes?”
“How…how have you been since-“
“We can’t talk about it now.” She shakes her head. “Find me later if you want.”
And that’s what he does. At the end of the night, Harry goes into Ariel’s office and sits down at the spare chair she had.
“So…what’s up?” She asks him.
“I just wanted to see how you were since we, you know…” He looks away from her for a moment. “We haven’t talked about it.”
“I didn’t think you wanted to.” She shrugs. “It’s really not that big of a deal, it was a heat of the moment thing.”
“Yeah.” He swallows. “Nothing more to it than that. I can’t help but notice that things have been a tad more civil between us over the last week.”
“I just haven’t wanted to make waves, I guess. Sort of hard to yell at the guy that made me come as hard as I did.” She says shyly, and he smiles.
“Glad I could finally be of some use to you.” He smirks.
“Don’t get too cocky. I have things at home that make me feel even better.” She smirks and his face falls.
“It was good, though, right?”
“Yeah…nice way to get some frustration out.”
“I think…I think that’s how we make things work here.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, think of how peaceful everything’s been this week with us being nicer to each other. I think when we’re starting to get on each other’s nerves we should just fuck because clearly talking shit out doesn’t work too well.”
“Are you asking me to be your fuck buddy?”
“The word buddy implies that we’re friends, and we’re not. I still can’t stand you, Ariel.”
“Likewise.”
“But you’ve got a tight cunt that I wouldn’t mind fucking into again, so what do you say?”
“Harry, this is a five star restaurant. We can’t just fuck in the kitchen every time we get on each other’s nerves. That’s a major health code violation.”
“So we wait.” He shrugs. “We both have cars and houses. Lots of places to let out our frustrations.”
“I’ll think about it.”
“You do that.” He says, and stands up to leave.
“You didn’t tell anyone, did you?”
“Might have mentioned to my cat, but only because she was mad at me for getting home so late. I’m not one for bragging about intimate details.”
“Good.” She nods. “Thank you.”
Harry leaves her office and she sighs heavily. She wasn’t expecting the conversation to go that way at all. Ariel thought for sure Harry was going to say that it was a mistake and it never should have happened, but he didn’t. He wanted to fuck her s again, he said it himself. And he wasn’t wrong, the kitchen had been a much happier place to be over the last week. The only thing was, she didn’t know if she wanted to give into his request so easily. He was the one who admitted to wanting to do it again, not her. The ball was totally in her court! She also wasn’t too sure how smart it would be to start fucking her chef on the regular. It could do more harm than good.
//
“What do you mean you let a party of fifteen come in?!” Harry shouts at Ariel, who was now putting on an apron and gloves to help the cooks out.
“You heard me! We can either waste time arguing about it, or we can get to preparing their meals! It’s not you who’s gonna have to stay late, it’s me and my dining staff.”
“Why would you let a group of fifteen come in right before closing?!”
“Because they paid up front with cash for four bottles of $500 wine!”
“Holy shit.”
“Yeah, holy shit. They already gave us their order, so we just need to get everything out to them, and then everyone can clean up. Let’s move!”
Harry sighs heavily, but does as she says. He and Garrett get to work on the entrees while the cooks work with Ariel on the appetizers. She runs the food out so she can help out her dining staff that were trying to wrap up their sidework. Two hours after closing, the large party left, and luckily they left a huge tip. They apologized over and over again about coming in so late. Apparently they were in a production for something, and it closed so they wanted to celebrate. Ariel assured them it was fine. She sighs when she’s finally able to go back into her office. She still needed to go over all the receipts for the night.
“Need any help with that? I know your hostess usually gets this done with you…” Harry says as he walks into her office.
“No, thank you.” She says without looking at him. “You can go, I don’t need you to wait for me.”
“You’re such a hypocrite.” He shakes his head and sits down. “You tried to force yourself two weeks ago into helping me make some bread dough, and now here I am offering up some help and you won’t take it.”
“Guess the shoe’s on the other foot.” She still wouldn’t look at him, so he reaches forward to grab her chin, and turns her head in his direction.
“You’re, quite literally, the most annoying person I’ve ever met.”
“Yeah? Then why are you trying to fuck me right now?”
“Who said I was trying to do that?” He says, letting go of her and sitting back in the chair.
“Please, it’s so obvious.” She scoffs. “We’re the last two people here, you’re coming in here offering help. What’s wrong, hm? None of my waitresses wanted to suck you off?” She pouts at him, and his face hardens.
“I have never done anything like that with a member of the dining staff.”  
“No? They sure talk about you like you have.”
“You sound a little jealous.” He smirks.
“Don’t flatter yourself.” She deadpans.
“You know, when my cooks make crude remarks about you, I tell them it’s wrong and to stop. Do you even try to defend me when you hear them talking out there?”
“Sure I do, I tell them that this neither the time nor the place for any of that, and that they should have more respect for you. One of the bartenders, Jess, she seems to have a thing for you. Her eyes are glued to you every time you come out into the dining room. Why not go be her fuck buddy?”
“Because I don’t want to fuck her.”
“And you want to fuck me?” He nods yes at her. “Why?”
“Because despite how much I can’t stand you, it was a good fuck and I’d like to do it again. This isn’t news, we’ve talked about this already.”
“I smell like food.” She mutters as she gets back to checking the receipts.
“So do I.”
“So, go home and shower and meet me at my place in a little while. I’ll text you when I’m ready.” She looks at him. “Go feed your cat or whatever, I’m sure she’s missing you.”
Harry tries his best to bite back the smug look that was growing on his face. Wordlessly, he stands up and leaves her office. Ariel shakes her head and continues with their work.
“Far too easy.” She says to herself with a smirk.
//
Harry didn’t end up at Ariel’s place until nearly midnight. It took her a while to finish things up at work, and then she wanted to shower so she didn’t smell like food anymore. Her rings her doorbell, and she opens it wearing the same robe she had been wearing the first time he showed up at her place, only this time she wasn’t wearing her cute little slippers, and her eyes weren’t puffy from crying. She doesn’t say anything to him, she just steps aside to let him in.
He doesn’t look around, he doesn’t compliment her place, all he does is kick his sneakers off, cup her jaw, and shove her up against the wall. His mouth crashes to hers, and she sinks into it. She almost wanted to sigh with relief. It was amazing how simply kissing someone could make you forget all your troubles. She tugs him closer to her, and his hands brush down her body to lift her up.
“Where do you want it?” He breathes as she wraps her limbs around him.
“Bedroom, upstairs.” She says before kissing on his neck.
He grunts as he finds his way to the staircase, and carries her up. Of course, he makes a few pit stops to kiss her, smoosh her up against the wall and lick into her mouth. When he finally does make it to her room, he practically tosses her on the bed. He starts to rid himself of his clothes while she sits and watches.
“Aren’t you going to take yours off?” He asks after getting his shirt off.
“M’only wearing this.” She shrugs. “Thought you might like to take it off yourself.”
“Stand up.” He tells her and she does so, walking over to him.
His hands reach for the tie on her robe, and he undoes it. He pushes it off her shoulders, and licks his lips when he sees her naked body, the robe pooling at her feet. He wraps his arms around her waist, and pulls her close so he can kiss on her chest. He licks between the valley of her breasts before pulling one of her nipples into his mouth with his teeth. He sucks on it harshly, eliciting a soft moan from her. He walks them back towards the bed, and he pushes her onto it. He climbs on top of her, and goes back to kissing on her chest. He works his way down her stomach, nipping where he pleases, before he’s able to lay comfortably between her legs.
“You…you don’t have to.” She says to him, and he looks up at with a confused look.
“I know I don’t, I want to. Didn’t get to do it last time.” He rubs circles into her thighs with his thumbs. “Do you not want me to?”
“No, I just…I don’t know, it’s sort of intimate for what this is.” She chews on her already swollen bottom lip. “You really want to?”
“Yes.”
“I don’t wanna suck your dick.”
“I didn’t ask you to.”
“Okay.” She takes a deep breath and opens her legs for him.
He uses his thumbs to open her folds up a little more so he could better see what he was working with. Ariel always hated this part when a guy would go down on her. She always felt like she was at the doctor’s office getting a checkup. She stopped feeling like that the second his tongue licked around her clit. She sits up on her elbows to watch him. He continues to lick around her clit, watching it get a little more swollen each time and then he sucks on it.
“Ah!” She gasps, reaching for his hair to tug on.
His fingers soon replace his tongue on her clit so he lick around where she’s wet for him. He moans into her after he finally gets a real taste. She smelled sort of like cocoa butter, he assumed she moisturized after her shower. For a woman that couldn’t stand him, she sure was considerate. He licks into her, and she squeaks out a noise that she had never heard come out of her own mouth. Ariel tries to wrack her brain, but she can’t seem to recall a time where a guy had ever actually licked into her before, teasing her in such a way with their tongue. Harry was licking and sucking on her while his fingers were working magic on her clit. She had tears in her eyes from how good it felt. Her thighs were squeezing against his head, and her heels were digging into his back, but he didn’t care. He was too caught up with fucking her with his tongue.
“Shit, I…fuck, Harry, I’m gonna come!” She warns him, and all he does his moan into her, encouraging her to do so.
She tugs on his hair a little harder as she cries out, back arching and head rolling back. He sits up and licks his lips. She was speechless, she had no words. He reaches into his back pocket to pull out a condom before standing up to get his pants off. His cock slaps back against his stomach once it’s free, and her eyes widen. His tip was already leaking.
“You got that turned on just from eating me out?” She wasn’t being condescending, in fact, her tone was full of shock.
“Yeah.” He says as he rolls the condom on. He knees back onto the bed, and shuffles to sit up against the headboard. “Since you’re not gonna suck me off, the least you could do is ride me for a bit.”
Her mouth falls open at that. She wasn’t quite sure how he expected her to have the energy to ride his dick after what he just did to her. She furrows her brows, and moves herself onto his lap. When they make eye contact, she realizes that she doesn’t want to look at him, so she turns herself around to ride him reverse. She guides him in, and sighs into her ear once he hits bottom. She takes a moment just to get reacquainted with him before she starts to swivel her hips in little circles. He gets an arm around her, securing it between her breasts, and gripping her shoulder to help keep her close and steady. He nibbles on her earlobe, and she whimpers. He carefully thrusts up into her as she grinds on him. She couldn’t believe the restraint he had. Most guys would thrust up too far when she was on top and it would hurt. But this…this felt heavenly. She almost hated him more because he was so good.
His mouth moves to the crook of her neck, sucking a bruise into her skin. Her head rolls back, and his other hand snakes around to rub at her clit. She picks up the pace, bouncing a little more on him. The way he was grunting and moaning was giving her goosebumps, which was an odd sensation to feel while her skin also felt extremely hot. His tip starts to hit her g-spot in just the right away, and she loses all control of the noises she’s letting out.
“That’s it.” He groans. “Come all over my cock.”
“Oh my god.” She mewls.
Her fingernails sink into the meat of his thighs as she cries out. She arches into him, and looks up at him, almost distressed, so he licks into her mouth. One of her arms hooks around his head to tug at his hair as she rides out her orgasm. She squeezes around him so tightly that after one more thrust he’s spilling into the condom. She lets her body go slack against him as they both catch their breaths. He sponges open mouth kisses to her neck and jaw before lifting her off of him. She whimpers from the abrupt change.
“Sorry.” He says. “Know that stings a little.”
“Yeah, just a little.” She swallows.
She watches him get off the bed and throw the condom away. He walks right into her bathroom, he didn’t even ask first, and she wasn’t sure why that annoyed her so much, but it did. When he comes out, he grabs his clothes to put back on. She goes to the bathroom next and puts her robe back on when she comes out. She walks him down the stairs and to the door.
“Well, uh, have a good night.” He says, running his hand through his hair.
“You too.” She opens the door for him, and he quickly steps out. She closes it and sighs, resting her forehead against it. She hated him, she really did.
//
A pattern had started between them. After hooking up, things were usually cool for about a week, until they’d eventually fight over something. The cooks almost wanted to set up a bingo card of things they fought over.
“Why can’t we offer lentil pasta instead of just gluten free?!” She yells one day.
“Because lentil pasta is more expensive than standard gluten free pasta!”
“You’re such a cheap prick!”
“I’m sorry, I’m trying to save this restaurant some money!”
“We can splurge on some different options! It’s what the people want!”
“Oh, did your bloody survey results tell you that!”
“Yes, as a matter of fact!” His eyes were full of rage. They were both in his office going over the order sheet.  “Why can’t we just order it, try it out, and see how many people order it? If it’s a flop then we don’t have to order it again!”
“Fine!” He throws the clipboard with the order sheet onto his desk. “You’re coming to my place tonight.” He says lowly.
“M’allergic to cats.”
“Take a decongestant then.” He brushes by her to open his door, and he slams it behind him, leaving her standing in there.
Despite her gut telling her not to go, she follows him to his house after work. They say nothing to each other as they walk in. Luna comes over to greet Harry, and he picks her up. Ariel grimaces at the cat.
“You seriously don’t think she’s cute?” Harry asks.
“I’m not a cat person, they’re no fun.”
“You just haven’t met the right cat, then.” He snuggles Luna to his cheek for a moment before setting her down. “My room’s this way.” He nods towards the hall on the right, and she follows him. He walks straight into his bathroom and turns the shower on.
“What are you doing?”
“We’re doing this in the shower, I smell like steak.” He says, already taking his clothes off. She crosses her arms and huffs. “What?”
“I don’t want to shower right now. Just rinse off quick.”
“Ariel, I wasn’t asking. Get your ass in the bathroom, now.”
“Who the fuck do you think you are? What do you think this is? You can’t just – mmph!”
He had yanked her into him, kissing her to shut her up. She doesn’t fight him on it at all, and he walks them both into the now steamy bathroom, kicking the door closed. They both work quickly to get the other naked before stepping into the warm water.
“You better have a fucking spare towel.” She mumbles against his lips.
“Obviously.” He bites her bottom lip and then steps back from her. He reaches to grab his body wash.
“You’re seriously taking a shower?”
“Yeah.” He says as he lathers his body up. “I was balls deep in au jus today.” He steps in the water to rinse himself off. “Much rather be balls deep in something else, though.” He tugs her to him, licking into her mouth, and reaching between her legs to rub at her folds. His middle finger slips inside her, and she gasps. “Always so ready for me.” He grunts, and backs her up against one of the tile walls. “Can I hit it raw?”
“Are you, um, are you clean?” She asks.
“Yeah, are you?”
“Yeah.”
He grins, and hooks one of his arms under one of her legs to lift it up enough for him to have the room to thrust up into her. She grips his shoulders as he rocks in and out of her. He slots his mouth over hers and they both moan. Her nails rake down his torso and she grabs onto his love handles for dear life as he pounds in and out of her.
“You really fucking pissed me off today.” She says to him. “It’s just pasta.”
“You like spending money left and right.” He grunts.
“If people like it, then it’ll bring in more business. It could pay for itself.”
“The more people that want it, the more we’ll have to, shit, buy.”
“I’m aware of how supply and demand works, you asshole.”
Harry growls at her and presses his other hand to her throat.
“Do us both a favor, and just shut the fuck up, yeah?”
She nods at him and he lets go of her throat, but she pulls his hand back to keep it there. He groans because, quite frankly, it was one of the hottest things he had ever seen someone do. He wasn’t going to last very long, and he had no way of rubbing her clit.
“Touch yourself, rub your clit.” He says into her ear, his breath hot on her.
She snakes a hand between the two of them, and she whimpers when she touches her throbbing clit. She presses on it and rubs circles into the little bud.
“Ah, oh fuck.” She starts panting. “Just like that, Harry, shit.” She wanted to cry she was so close. She bites down on his shoulder as she comes to her release. She didn’t want her noises to scare his cat.
He pulls out of her quickly and comes on her stomach. He steps away from her and grabs his shampoo. She stands there awkwardly while he scrubs his head.
“You can use my body wash if you want.” He says, nodding to it. Ariel doesn’t say anything. She starts to tear up. “Hey, whoa, are you alright?”
“I…um…” She blinks a few times, but can’t really form a sentence.
He’s not sure what’s going on, but it he takes it upon himself to guide her back into the water to rinse her off. He gets his body wash on a spare cloth to wash her with, and then he turns the water off. He grabs a towel to wrap around her, and then gets one around himself. He picks her up and sits her on the sink counter to get a better looks at her.
“Talk to me, what happened?”
“I’ve never, um, let someone, uh…choke me before.” She looks up at him, and he sighs.
“Did I hurt you?” He asks softly.
“No.” She shakes her head. “Just felt a little…floaty for a second, like, lightheaded.” She swallows. “M’fine, I think it was just the steam. I have asthma and it can act up after a particularly hot shower.”
“If I had known I wouldn’t have-“
“I put your hand back on me, it’s okay.” She takes a deep breath and hops off your counter.
“Do you…wanna just crash here?”
“No.” She laughs. “Not at all.”
“You can’t drive if you’re all lightheaded.”
“I’m fine now.” She says as she puts her clothes back on. “I need to get going, I have a busy day tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow’s your day off.”
“Yeah, and I have things to do.” She leaves his bathroom, and he follows her out to his front door.
“Just…could you at least text me when you get home?”
“Sure.” She nods. “Bye.”
“Bye.”
She’s out the door in a flash. Harry didn’t quite understand why things were always so awkward with them afterwards. It was like neither of them ever knew what to say because they just didn’t really know how to be soft with one another. Harry scoops up Luna and brings her to bed with him. About twenty minutes later his phone buzzes.
Ariel Bardin: I’m home
Harry Styles: thanks for letting me know, you made me nervous for a second there
Ariel Bardin: I’m fine, you can go back to not giving a fuck now
Harry Styles: will do, goodnight!
Every time he was nice to her, she had to reject it. He hated her, he really did.
//
“You’re really liking it, you’re not just saying that?” Ariel’s father, Frank, says to her.
“Yes, Papa, I swear.” She smiles. “It’s better than I thought.”
“Good.” He sips on some lemonade. “You look awfully tired.”
“It was a long night.” She shrugs.
“How are things going with the head chef, Harry is it?”
“Yeah, um, I mean, we butt heads from time to time, but it’s fine.”
“It wouldn’t be a normal kitchen if the manager and chef didn’t butt heads.” He chuckles. “I used to fight with the chef all the time.”
“Papa…Uncle Matthew was the head chef when you were there.”
“Don’t I know it. We fought constantly, stubborn old bastard.” He shakes his head. “We still argue about recipes to this day.” He laughs. “Tell me, are you still planning to do the staff appreciation shindig at the end of the summer?”
“Course I am. Hotel’s booked and everything. It’s going to be a fabulous evening.” Ariel smiles. “The dining staff are really excited.”
“Good, good.” He nods. “Do you think you’ll bring a date?”
“Papa.” She groans. “I’d have to be seeing someone in order to bring a date.”
“You work too much, you don’t make time for yourself. Your mother and I were married with a kid by the time we were your age, you know?”
“Yeah, I’m the kid.” Ariel laughs. “I just have other priorities right now.”
“There’s really no one you’re talking to? No one that you like?”
“No.” She takes a sip of her own lemonade. “Don’t worry about me so much, I’m perfectly content, alright?”
“Okay, okay.” He raises his hands in defense. “I won’t ever stop worrying about you, though, that’s the curse of being a parent. At least let me pay for a new dress for the party, hm?”
“You know your money’s no good. I’ll send you pictures, though.”
“Please do, you always look so pretty when you get all dressed up. Spitting image of Mama.” He smiles.
“Thanks, Papa.” She gives his hand a squeeze. “Maybe, um, when I feel like I can take a vacation we can go to France? We haven’t been in so long, and I think it would be good to see our cousins.”
“If you plan the whole thing, sure.” He shrugs. “I think it would be a blast.”
//
Ariel was feeling a little nervous for the staff party. Not only was the restaurant closed for the weekend, but her staff had never seen her in a dress before. She was second guessing everything. Her hair was down and wavy, and she had on this gorgeous navy blue, lace mini dress paired with white heels. When she walked down the hall to the elevators she heard someone suck their teeth. She turns to see it’s Harry.
“Oh, hi.” She blushes.
“Hi.” He looks her up and down. “You look nice.”
“Thank you, so do you.” She swallows and steps inside the elevator once the doors open. Harry steps inside as well, and presses the button for the floor they need to get to with the small ballroom. “Should be a fun night, huh?”
“I’m hoping so.”
“It’s usually a good time.”
“I remember coming with my parents when I was little, it was great. They let me drink all the Shirley Temples I could stomach.”
Harry chuckles slightly at that. In that moment she wasn’t sure if she had ever genuinely made him laugh before. They had hooked up a few more times since the night in his shower. It was always the same, hot and heavy, and then awkward when they were done.
“Wait until you see Garrett on the dancefloor after a few drinks, he can breakdance.”
“No shit, really? I’ll have to keep an eye out.” The elevator dings and they both get off and head towards the ballroom. They both could hear the music the DJ was playing. “Well, have a good time tonight.” Ariel makes her way over to some of the dining staff members that were closer to her age. She had become friendly with a few of them.
Harry migrates over to where his staff was, and buys them all a round of drinks. Ariel stayed nursing on the same vodka-tonic for a bit. She didn’t want to get trashed. She was talking with a couple of the hostesses, having a good time.
“Alright, ladies, I’ve had a couple of drinks, I’m gonna go talk to Harry.” Erica says to them. “My mistake last year was waiting until the end of the night to talk to him. I’m starting earlier this year.”
“And what’s the end goal here, exactly?” Ariel smirks.
“To see what his hotel room looks like, of course.” Erica winks and walks over to where Harry was. “Evening, Chef.” She smiles.
“Hi, uh…”
“Erica.”
“Erica! Right, I knew that. You still working behind the bar?”
“I hostess too.” She smiles.
“Good for you.”
“Are you having a good time?”
“I am.” He nods, and sips from his drink. His eyes flash to Ariel and then back to Erica. “Are you?”
“Yeah. Must be nice that you have the whole weekend off for a change.”
“It’s definitely a nice break.” He smiles, and looks at Ariel again. “Could you excuse me for a moment? I just remembered something I needed to tell Ariel, and I don’t wanna forget again.”
“Oh, um, sure.”
Harry walks away from Erica, and she pouts.
“Don’t take it personally.” Garrett says to her. “Personally, I think he has a thing for Ari, but I have very little proof.”
“Are you kidding? They can’t stand each other.”
“Maybe so.” Garrett shrugs.
Harry makes his way over to Ariel, and clears his throat to get her attention.
“Yes?” She asks, eyebrows raised.
“Come dance with me.”
“Very funny.” She scoffs.
“M’serious. I think it would be good if everyone saw us palling around. Show them the squabbles we have are purely work related.”
“Harry, I have a feeling I’d hate your guts no matter the setting.”
“Just humor me, will you?” He says, visibly annoyed.
“Fine.” She rolls her eyes, and finishes her drinks before following him to the dance floor. A slower song was playing, so she figured it wouldn’t kill her to dance with him.
Once they’re on the dancefloor, his hands go on her waist, and she puts her hands on his shoulders. They sway back and forth for a bit, and it just feels awkward…
“This is weird.” She giggles, and he can’t help but laugh too.
“Why is that the only things we’re good at doing with each other is fighting and fucking?” He smirks.
“Been wondering the same thing myself.” She smirks back at him. “Things would be so much easier if you didn’t question every little thing I wanted to do.”
“Someone’s gotta play Devil’s advocate.”
“You’re not the advocate, you’re the Devil himself.” She rolls her eyes, and it makes him laugh.
“I happen to be a very nice person, you just tend to bring out the worst in me.”
“I suppose a guy who named his cat Luna has to have a soft side.”
“Oi, leave her out of this.” He pouts at her. “You’ve warmed up to her.”
“She’s alright.” Ariel shrugs.
“Those are, uh, really beautiful earrings you’re wearing.” He blushes slightly.
“Oh! Thanks, they were my mother’s. She left me all her good stuff.”
“You must miss her a lot.”
“Yeah.” Ariel sighs. “But it’s nice having these little pieces of her.”
“You know, I’ve never asked, can you speak French fluently, like, are you bilingual?”
“Je ne sais pas, dites-moi.” I don't know, you tell me. She grins at him.
“Okay, I know you said I don’t know…something…me…” He narrows his eyes in thought.
“Dites is tell, it’s the past tense of ditre, which is say.”
“Ah, right, it’s been a while since I conjugated a French verb.” He chuckles. “Remind me, how do you say fuck in French?”
“Merde.”
“I thought that was shit.”
“It works for both.” Ariel shrugs. “There are a lot of variations and translations, like, if I wanted to say I want to fuck you, I’d say Je veux te baiser, but baiser translates to kiss.”
“French is so confusing.” Harry shakes his head. “But it sounds nice while you’re speaking it.” The song ends and she tries to step back from him, but he keeps his grip on her waist. He leans in to whisper in her ear, “Tu veux coucher avec moi ce soir?” Do you want to sleep with me tonight?
“You could have at least used the formal voulez-vous.” She sighs.
“Just answer the question.” He rolls his eyes.
“Oui.” She nods. “But I wanna do it in my room so I can hang my dress up. I don’t want it getting wrinkled.”
“Do you wanna head up now? Think I’m done hanging out with everyone else.”
“Yeah, let’s go. Uh…go ahead of me, I’ll meet you at the elevator.”
Harry nods and makes his way off the dancefloor. Ariel counts to ten Mississippi before making her way out. Harry was leaning up against the wall waiting for her. The elevator dings and they both head inside. Before she knows it, she’s being shoved against the wall, and Harry’s tongue is down her throat. She wraps her arms around his neck, and she groans when he presses himself against her hip. When the elevator dings on their floor, he steps back from her, and they both quickly walk to her room. The second she’s inside, she kicks her heels off, and jumps up for Harry. He carries her over to the bed, and they both fall onto it. They’re both being sloppy with their kisses, but neither cares. The need to be close is overpowering. She starts unbuttoning his shirt while his lips stay on hers. She imagines they’ll still be red and puffy by morning.
He flips them both over so he’s on his back, and she grinds herself against his growing erection. He grips her hips and helps her rock back and forth. She kisses on his neck, and sucks on the area just below his ear. His hands squeeze and knead her ass as a bruise starts to form where her lips are.
“Fuck, need you naked.” He grunts, sitting up to tug on the hem of her dress.
“Hold on, you’re gonna rip it! There’s a fucking zipper on the back.” She huffs.
In the next second, he’s shoving her down onto her stomach so he can undo the zipper of her dress. He pulls her up by the hips so she can free her arms, and then she’s being moved into her back so he can get it the rest of the way off.
“Take your underwear off.” He says as he undoes his pants.
“No.” She smirks at him.
“What do you mean ‘no’?”
“You do it.”
“Ariel.” He says firmly. “Have you not learned how this works by now?” He moves to hover over her, kissing her slowly. “I talk, and you listen.” She shakes her head no, and his eyebrows raise.
“What makes you think you’re always in charge, hm? I let you do all of these things, you know?” Her smiles grows wider. She pecks his lips before speaking again. “Now, tell me you hate me and take my bra off.”
He sits back, and yanks her into his lap. He works to undo her bra, and tosses it across the room. He kisses on her chest, and sucks on the plushier areas before taking a nipple into his mouth. He pops off with a smirk.
“I don’t just hate you, Ariel, I absolutely loathe you.” He pushes her down onto her back and yanks her underwear off. He finishes taking his own clothes off, and he reaches for a condom, but she grabs his wrist. She shakes her head no. “You sure?” She nods her head yes, and he moves back over her.
He kisses on her neck while one of his hands roams down her body and between her legs. He slides two fingers inside her, and she moans softly. He pumps them in and out slowly before curling them up inside her, and rubbing his thumb on her clit. She grips at the comforter on the bed.
“Like that?” He says into her ear.
“Yes, fuck.” She bucks her hips up to grind against his fingers easier. He pulls them out and she whines.
“Would you relax, I was just gonna flip you over.”
“Oh.” She blushes and rolls onto her stomach. Harry yanks to her to her knees, and slides his fingers back in. Ariel sighs with relief.
“There we go.” He rubs his other hand up her back, and scratches back down before giving her ass a smack. He squeezes the supple flesh and leaves his hand there as he continues to work his fingers in and out of her.
“Oh, oh! Right there!” She gasps and starts rubbing her clit.
“M’I hitting it?” He grunts.
“Y-yeah, you’re right on it, don’t stop, please!”
She can hear him grunting and groaning behind her. He got so much pleasure making sure she got off, it astounded her. She cries out as she comes around his fingers, and he pulls them out slowly. He rubs her back as she catches her breath, and he sucks her slick off his fingers.
“Good?” He asks.
“Yeah, thanks.” She turns onto her side. “Wanna hit it from the side?” She wiggles her eyebrows at him, and he chuckles.
“Sure, if that’s how you want it.”
“It is…for now.”
He gets into position, and gets one of her legs over his shoulder. He pushes inside and watch as her mouth falls open. That was always his favorite part. She’d had him so many times at this point, and she still seemed so shocked at how he stretched her out. He rocks in and out of her slowly before really getting a groove going.
“H-Harry?”
“Yeah?”
“Could you like, go behind me, like, we’re both on our sides? Do you know what I mean?”
He nods and pulls out of her so he can lay down behind her on his side. He lifts one of her legs a little so he can slide back inside of her. She hooks one of her arms around his head so she can get her fingers in his hair, and he kisses on her shoulder while his hand presses on her lower tummy. They were grinding against each other in the most perfect way. His fingers start to work her clit and she whines.
“Sensitive?” He asks her.
“Mhm.”
“Fight through it, know you can come again.”
“Need something to bite on.” She pants.
He gets his other arm around her neck so he can get his fingers in his mouth. She moans around them, and her eyes roll back.
“M’not gonna last, Ariel.” He rubs her clit harder, and she just moans louder around his fingers. “I’m gonna have to pull out soon.”
“No! Come inside me!” She shouts around his fingers.
“Fuck!” He cries out as he comes inside her. It pushes her over the edge, and she comes with him, milking him for everything he’s got. She kisses the palm of his hand before he pulls out of her.
“Could you, uh, bring me to the bathroom?” She asks, looking over her shoulder. “I don’t wanna sleep on sticky sheets.”
“Yeah.” He breathes, and scoops her up, bringing her into the bathroom. He sits her down on the toilet, and leaves to give her some privacy. When she comes out, he’s laying in his boxers on the bed.
“What are you doing?” She asks, going to her suitcase to look for her nightshirt.
“Figured we could fuck again in a bit, it’s not like we have to worry about getting up early, right?” He says, not looking up from his phone. “Or did I tucker you out.”
“No, um, we could…we could do it again in a little while.” She knees onto the bed and lays down. “I just need some time to cool down.”
“Yeah, no worries.”
“Harry?” She asks, turning on her side to face him.
“Hm?”
“Do you really loathe me?”
He looks up from his phone at that and turns on his side to face her.
“No…just sort of said it to keep us in the mood.”
“Do you think, like, we keep fighting as an excuse to fuck?”
“No, I mean, I genuinely can’t fucking stand you sometimes and doing this helps.”
“But what happens when one of us meets someone and we can’t just fuck it out?”
“Oh, please.” He scoffs. “Do you have time to meet someone else?”
“No, I’m just saying-“
“Besides that, who’s gonna fuck you better than me? Gimme a break, Ariel.” He laughs and rolls onto his back again, going back to his phone.
“Harry…eventually I’m going to want more than just fucking someone on the down low. I want certain things.”
“Yeah? So do I. You act like I’m going somewhere.”
“I’m…very confused right now.”
“Come here.” He pats his thighs and she shifts to straddle him. He tucks her hair behind her ears, and then pulls her down to kiss him. “You really think I’d like you run off to be with someone else? If that’s what you think, then you’re even crazier than I thought.”
“Harry, you don’t want me, stop messing around.”
“I’m being completely serious. I’ll get you the big house, the white picket fence, we’ll fill it with babies, and then they’ll have a romantic story to think about just like you did with your parents.” He kisses her again. “What’s cuter than mum and dad meeting in the kitchen at work, right? We can leave out the rest.”
“What makes you think that I…that I want any of that with you?” She was trembling.
“Because you wouldn’t have fucked me a second time if you didn’t like me, Ariel.”
“Harry, stop it, you’re gonna make me cry.” Her bottom lip quivers. “This isn’t funny.”
“I know it’s not, I’m not joking around.”
“But I don’t want us…I don’t want us to always be at each other’s throats. I don’t want that to be the only reason there’s a passion between us.”
He caresses her cheek and rub away a stray tear.
“It won’t be like that. I mean, I certainly know how to make you shut the fuck up, but I think we really have this weird connection. Things always get so awkward after we hook up because I think we’re both sort of soft people, and we don’t know if it’s okay to be soft with one another, but…I wanna be soft with you, I think. I want to sleep over, and cuddle, and all that other shit.” She blinks at him. “Do you want all of that…with me?” She nods yes at him. “Alright then, quit your blubbering and come here.” He tugs her down to him all the way so he can hold her properly. “Je t’aime.” He says softly as he strokes her hair.
“Je t’aime aussi.” I love you too.
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ladydimitrescuspet · 3 years
Text
A Nightmare Dressed Like A Daydream - Chapter 1
ao3 link! a fic based on two taylor swift songs, you belong with me and blank space! enjoy and tell me what you think!
prompt from @thepokyone's soulmate prompts list
47. You have your soulmate’s name on one wrist and your enemy’s on the other, and have no idea which one is which
***
It always pained you to see Lady Dimitrescu dote on Esmeralda the way that she did. Doing whatever she was told to do, caught up in every word Esmeralda said, she was hopelessly in love with someone who treated her like a servant. Which struck you as odd since Esmeralda was a mortal much like yourself.
You never thought you could dislike Lady Bucur, but you let the meaning of her last name fool you when you first arrived at the castle. The smile she presented to you the night you arrived had been the kindest smile you’d seen in a while and you knew instantly that you would take a liking to working for her. Or at least you thought you would.
“Y/N, I am so pleased to see that you’ve arrived safe and sound. I hope the trip was good.” Esmeralda said as she pulled you into a quick hug.
You smiled back at her when she pulled away. “I’m grateful to be here. Thank you for considering me for this position.” You replied.
Esmeralda clapped her hands together. “Well, let’s get you settled in, my dear. Alcina’s expecting you to join us for dinner and I know she’ll be just delighted to see you.” Esmeralda turned on her heels and heading up the stairs, you trailed behind her with your luggage.
“Oh, I was just going to ask if I was meeting Alcina tonight, Esmeralda. It’s like you read my mind.” You said with a small laugh.
Esmeralda turned abruptly, a stern look on her face. “You will refer to the Lady as Lady Dimitrescu, Mistress, or My Lady. And you will refer to me as those last two titles and Lady Bucur, understand?” Esmeralda asked.
You nodded your head. “I understand, My Lady, I apologise.” You replied.
Esmeralda huffed, but continued the trek to your chambers. “You’ll be residing in the room across from Alcina’s since you are her personal handmaiden. You’ll find the rules and your daily tasks when you enter. See that you memorise what is expected of you and if you fail to obey them then myself or Alcina will punish you as we see fit. Understand?” You nodded your head again. “Good. Now, wash yourself up, I’ll send a maid up to escort you down when dinner is ready.”
“Thank you, My Lady.” You replied quietly before heading into your room and closing the door. You put your luggage by the door and then plopped onto the bed. You let out a small sigh, staring at the wall for a moment before pushing yourself up to get ready. You roamed around the room that you were given as you waited for the maid Esme- Lady Bucur said she’d send up for you when you heard a soft knock. “Come in.” You said.
“I was sent up by Lady Bucur to escort you downstairs.” The girl said. You gave her a small nod and soft smile. “My name’s Alexandra, I’m Lady Bucur’s personal handmaiden.” Alexandra said.
“A pleasure to meet you.” You replied. You noticed her staring at something. “Is something wrong?” You asked.
“Your wrists. You should cover them up, the Lady’s won’t appreciate what you have on them.” You looked down at the A and D on your right wrist and the E and B on your left. “If the Lady’s were to see that you have their initials on your wrists, they won’t take kindly to you, Y/N.” You nodded your head and found your wrist bracelets that you usually wore to cover the initials up. “Much better. Come along, they don’t take kindly to tardiness either.”
You followed after her. You hadn’t put two and two together that the initials on your wrists belonged to the two Head Lady’s of the Castle. So, which one was your soulmate, and which one was your enemy? You asked yourself.
“Oh, it seems we’ve arrived a tad bit earlier than everyone. You’re more than welcome to sit at the table, on Lady Dimitrescu’s left side of course.” Alexandra said, gesturing to a chair. “I will see if dinner will be out soon.” She gave you a smile before disappearing. You sat in silence until you heard voices.
“Alcina, what an absolute fuck up you are. I gave you one simple task and you couldn’t even do it right!” Esmeralda exclaimed; you’d know her voice anywhere. You felt a little awkward being able to hear her. You heard a resounding sound and then a small whimper, presumably from Lady Dimitrescu. “You will do it over and over again until you get it right, but we’ve a guest tonight so straighten yourself up.” Esmeralda said before entering the dining area. “Oh, Y/N, you’re here! Where’s Alexandra?”
“She went to go check on dinner, My Lady.” You replied. Esmeralda hummed as she sat down in the chair closest to the door as Lady Dimitrescu came into the room. You stood up. “My Lady, a pleasure to meet you.” You bowed your head a bit.
Lady Dimitrescu smiled. “Well, you’re a charming one, I see.” Lady Dimitrescu said. “Please, sit, you’re our guest, no need for formalities right now, draga mea.” You nodded your head but didn’t sit down instead you pulled out Lady Dimitrescu’s chair. “Oh, I see my love didn’t inform you that your duties won’t start for a few more days.”
You flushed. “Oh, no, I wasn’t aware. Apologies, My Lady.” You said before taking your own seat. You could feel Lady Bucur’s eyes on you, but you didn’t dare look at her.
“Alcina, where are your daughters? You know how I am about them being late for dinner.” Esmeralda said to break the silence in the room.
“They’re not here. I told you that they were going to Heisenberg’s.” Lady Dimitrescu replied.
The three of you fell into an awkward silence once more until you heard the door open and the clattering of plates. You thanked the servant that served you your food. The three of you ate in that awkward silence that fell over the table until you heard someone clear their throat.
“I will be in my chambers if you need me.” Lady Bucur said as she stood up from the table. “Alexandra! My chambers. Now!” Lady Bucur shouted at the handmaiden who quickly appeared by her side to follow her upstairs.
You set your fork down, feeling rather full yourself. You turned your gaze to look up Lady Dimitrescu who was staring back at you. “I, um, how are you, My Lady?” You asked. She raised her eyebrow at the question. “I heard a, um, noise before the two of you came in.” You said quietly.
She hummed. “I’m quite alright, darling, I can take care of myself.” She replied quite defensively. “I’m sorry, Y/N. Thank you for asking.” She stood up from her chair. “I should head up to my own chambers. I bid you goodnight, draga mea.” The Lady gave you the biggest smile she could muster before taking her leave, leaving you at the table by yourself.
You waited until you could no longer hear her heels before getting up from the table yourself and gathering the plates and glasses from the table to bring them to the kitchen. You knew you didn’t start your work for a few more days, but you decided to wash the dishes before heading upstairs. You noticed the door to Lady Dimitrescu’s room was cracked open a bit and decided that you’d knock on the door once you readied yourself for bed if it was still cracked open. The door wasn’t cracked anymore when you went back out, but you still knocked and waited for a reply.
“Y/N, what are you doing?” You jumped at the question to see the Lady you’d been waiting on behind you. “Apologies, little one, how may I help you?” Lady Dimitrescu asked.
You scratched the back of your head. “I, um, I, well, you see…” You trailed off and she gave you an amusing smile. “Oh, I wanted to thank you for this job, My Lady.” You said.
“You’re welcome, dear. Is that all?” She asked. You nodded your head. “Well then, you’d better be off to sleep. Wouldn’t want you out and about in the halls when it’s dark.” Lady Dimitrescu said. As she grabbed your hand. “What’s this?”
“Um, it’s nothing.” You replied. She raised her eyebrows and you let out a sigh. “They’re initials. Something about one wrist having the ones of my enemy and the other one has my soulmates.” You explained. Lady Dimitrescu hummed. “And the just so happen to be yours and Lady Bucur’s initials.”
“Most interesting, my dear. And dare I ask which one I am? Your soulmate or your enemy?” You opened your mouth to say something, but no words came out. The Lady chuckled to herself. “Choose wisely, draga mea, your choice could cost you dearly. Good night.” Lady Dimitrescu said as she opened the room to her door and closed it.
You entered your own room and closed the door softly, leaning and sliding down it. How were you supposed to know if which of the Lady’s was your soulmate? Little did you know that Lady Dimitrescu had initials of her own, but she only had one pair, on the back of her neck. A pair of initials that just so happened to be yours.
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waitimcomingtoo · 3 years
Text
The Proposal ~ T.H
chapter three: the family
series masterlist
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After eating a late lunch with Toms family in their backyard, you silently listened to them catch up for the next few hours. You couldn’t help but feel guilty every time someone mentioned how long it had been since he’d been home. It was your fault that he was always busy, and you made a mental note to give him more vacation days if everything worked out.
“Well, we’re pretty beat.” Tom said suddenly as he patted your knee. “We should get some sleep.”
“Right.” You stood up and collected some dishes. “Thank you for the food. It was delicious.”
“I cooked it.” Sam piped up and caught a plate that you almost dropped. “I got this.”
“Thanks.” You smiled at him and followed him into the kitchen.
“Look at her.” Nikki gushed. “She has better manners than Paddy.”
“Yeah.” Tom watched you and Sam interact with a small smile. “Shes great.”
Once you helped clean the plates, you followed Tom back to his childhood bedroom.
“Sorry about cutting the day short.” He said once the door was closed. “I figured you needed a break from pretending to like me.”
You stopped looking around his room and looked at him curiously. It hadn’t occurred to you that he was just saying he was tired to save you from any more social interaction. You wanted to thank him for it, but decided against it and looked away.
“Hm.” You hummed as you looked around.
“What?” He wondered.
“Well judging by the decor, you were clearly a loser in high school.” You said simply. “I don’t see any trophies or medals.”
“You’re so sweet.” He said sarcastically. “I can’t wait to make you my wife.”
“Yeah. Lucky you.” You smirked at him. “That story you told was really good, by the way. The one about our first kiss.”
You may be a little mean, but you always have credit when it was due. And he had saved the two of you earlier that day by making up that story.
“Thanks.” He shrugged. “I just came up with it on the spot. I was so worried they wouldn’t believe it.”
“Well they did.” You smiled a little. “And I’m not surprised. You’ve always been an excellent story teller.”
“How would you know?” Tom wondered.
“I read the manuscript you sent in.” You told him like it was no big deal. “Where We Start Again, right? It was actually really good. The main girl is a little annoying, though.”
“What?” His eyes widened. “I sent that in under a pseudonym. How’d you know it was me?”
“You’ve been taking notes for me for two years. I know how you write. Your essence was all over that story.”
“Oh.” His lips twitched into a smile. “Did you...did you like it?”
“I did.” You shrugged. “But I was never going to publish it.”
“Oh.” His face fell.
“I was going to wait until you were promoted to editor.” You continued. “And then I was going to come into the office all grouchy and bossy tell you I had a new manuscript for you to look at. And it was going to be yours.”
“Oh.” He said again, with a smile this time. “That’s really nice of you.”
“Don’t act so surprised.” You said harshly.
“Sorry.” He apologized. “I’m just not used to you being nice to me.”
“I’m not totally evil, you know.” You said quietly. “I know what people say about me at the office. I know they call me the wicked witch of the west.”
“What? No one calls you that.” Tom lied as his eyes darted to the side.
“Don’t lie.” You sighed. “I know they do. But I have to act like that. It’s a lot harder to command respect when people think you’re nice. I may be a bitch, but I can get people listen to me.”
“I can’t.” Tom chuckled. “I can’t even get Tess to listen to me.”
“You just need a little confidence.” You told him. “You’ve let me boss you around for two years and I never heard a word of back talk. If I were you, I would have snapped at me a long time ago.”
“Well I wanted to keep my job and you’re notorious for firing people.”
“I fire lazy people. And untalented people.” You corrected him. “You’re neither of those things. Why else would I keep you around?”
“Why are you telling me all of this?” Tom eyed you skeptically.
“Because if this doesn’t work and I get deported and you get fired, I wanted you to know that someone read your work. And someone liked it.” You admitted without meeting his eyes.
“Oh.” Tom straightened up. “Thank you.”
“I know I’m not nice. But I’m trying, okay? I’m trying for you.” You said while keeping your eyes down. “No one else in the world would have done this for me. And it’s really hard for me to talk about my feelings, but I wanted you to know that I appreciate this. I appreciate you.”
Tom smiled proudly at your confession, even though you weren’t looking at him. He always knew you had a soft spot for him, and it was finally coming out.
“You’re welcome.” He said sincerely. “I’m happy to help you.”
You finally looked up at him and gave him a shy smile, to which he smiled back.
“We, um, we should get some sleep.” You changed the subject and got your pajamas out of your suitcase. You looked around his room again and noticed a problem.
“There’s only one bed.” You realized.
“Yes.” Tom nodded. “Because I only have one body.”
“Where will you sleep?” You asked him.
“In my bed. In my room. Where my sheets and pillows are.”
“So you expect us to sleep together?” You raised an eyebrow.
“Do you see another bed in here?” He replied.
“Can’t you just sleep on the couch?” You whined.
“We came here as a “couple”.” He reminded you. “How would I explain why I’m sleeping on the couch and not with you?”
“Do I have to think of everything?” You groaned. “You’ll figure it out.”
“Fine.” Tom sighed. “If it makes you uncomfortable, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
“Okay.” You stopped whining. “That’s better.”
“For the record, you were supposed to say “no thats okay” and let me sleep in the bed.” He said dully as he got something out of his closet.
“Well I like to change things up.” You shot back.
“Here.” Tom said as he handed you a pair of old sneakers.
“Whats this?” You looked at them in disgust.
“You said your feet hurt and I’m willing to bet all you brought were high heels.” He guessed, and he was right. “You can wear these tomorrow. They’re my old pair.”
“I can’t believe we’re the same shoe size.” You teased him as you set the shoes on the ground.
“Shut up.” He chuckled as he got pajamas out of his drawer.
“Excuse me?” You blinked. “You can’t speak to me like that. Did you forget that I’m your boss?
“Not while we’re here. When we’re here, we’re equals.” He stated. “You need to start treating me with respect. That means calling me by my name and making eye contact and no more bossing me around. Do you understand?”
You quieted down when Tom asserted himself, liking the change from his normally submissive behavior.
“Yes.” You said softly. “I understand.”
“Good girl.” He smirked, making you raise an eyebrow at him.
“Sorry.” He quickly followed. “I just always wanted to say that.”
“Weirdo.” You chuckled as you looked him up and down. “Good night, Tom.”
“Good night, Y/n.” Since you overemphasized his name, he did the same to yours.
~
The next morning, you stepped over Toms sleeping body on the floor and went into the kitchen. You were greeted by Sam, who was whisking something in a bowl.
“Morning, Y/n.” He smiled. “Wanna help me make breakfast?”
“Sure.” You reluctantly agreed. You didn’t want to be rude and say no, but you didn’t really want to spend your morning with this stranger.
“I’m gonna finish the batter for these muffins.” He said. “Can you get started on the scrambled eggs?”
“Yeah.” You nodded and got the eggs out of the refrigerator. Eggs were fast and easy, so you hoped you’d be done soon.
“The key is to not add the salt too early.” Sam instructed as you started the eggs. “It’ll make the eggs watery and they’ll never come together.”
“Oh.” You put the salt shaker down and continued to whisk. “Thats a good tip. Thanks.”
“No problem. Could you taste this for me?” He held a spoon to your lips and fed you some of the batter.
“Hm.” You thought. “It needs more cinnamon.”
“Yeah.” He sighed. “It’s still too bland.”
“Do you have powdered sugar?”
“Yeah.” He said as he added more cinnamon to the batter. “Top cabinet on the left.”
“I usually mix powered sugar and water to make a glaze once the muffins are cooled.” You told him. “That would help with the blandness.”
“That’s perfect.” He grinned. “Thank you. How are the eggs?”
“Ready.” You said as you plated what was in your pan on to two plates.
“My batter needs to set.” Sam decided. “We can eat these now.”
“Oh. Okay.” You grabbed one of the plates and sat down with him at the table. You weren’t expecting to eat breakfast with him, but you couldn’t get out of it now.
Much to your relief, Sam did all the talking. He told you about his cooking journey and all his favorite recipes to make. He even told you about the time Tom put a cake in the oven for a full hour before realizing he never turned the oven on. You had an unexpectedly good time talking to him, and it made you wonder when the last time you had a non work related conversation with someone. Having friends was something you hadn’t realized you missed until that morning.
“I’ll get your plate, madame.” Sam said once you were finished eating. As he washed the plates, you carefully spooned batter into 12 muffin tins.
“Beautiful.” He said once he saw your work. “The muffins should be done in about 20 minutes. I’ll see you back here when they’re ready.”
“All right.” You nodded. You were surprised at how much you enjoyed cooking with Sam. Since Tom was still asleep and you had 20 minutes to kill, you wandered into the backyard.
Dom was already outside, hitting golf balls into a hole. He noticed you coming out and stopped swinging.
“Good morning, Y/n.” He said cheerfully.
“Good morning, Mr. Holland.” You smiled at him. You wanted to go back inside, but you didn’t know how to excuse yourself without it being awkward.
“Please. You’re about to be my daughter in law. You can call me dad.” He said, making your heart stop. You had never called someone “dad” before, and you didn’t want to start with this stranger.
“All right.” You said politely. “What are you doing?”
“Just getting some swings in before work. Would you like to play?”
“Oh, no. That’s okay.” You shook your head. “I’ve never played before. I won’t be any good.”
“Nonsense.” He didn’t get the hint that you wanted to leave. “I’ll teach you.”
“Okay.” You reluctantly walked over to him and picked up a club. He told you how to stand properly and once you hit the ball, it went right into the hole.
“See? You’re a natural. I’m proud of you.” He patted your back and got another ball. You smiled proudly at yourself, missing the way it felt to have someone be proud of what you had done.
“Can I try again?” You asked and he happily set down another ball. You didn’t like golf, or any sport, but you liked winning.
“Go ahead. Let’s see if you can get another hole in one.” He challenged you. You accepted his challenge and hit the ball again, getting it in the hole in one swing.
“Look at you!” Dom cheered. “You might be better than me.”
“No, I’m not.” You insisted. “Let me see how you are.”
You handed him the club back and he set another ball down. He swung and got the ball close to the hole, but it didn’t go in.
“Oh, I guess you were right. I am better.” You joked, making him laugh loudly.
“Tom didn’t tell me you were funny.” He laughed. “You know, I’m a comedian myself.”
“He told me.” You tried to remember what exactly Tom had said about his dad. “I’ll have to see a routine some day. But I have to warn you, very few people can make me laugh.”
“I’ll take that as a challenge.” Dom said. “Next show I have, you’re sitting in the front row. If I can’t get you to laugh, I’ll pay for your honeymoon.”
Your smile fell when he mentioned the honeymoon. There wasn’t going to be a wedding, let alone a honeymoon. You had grown to like Tom’s dad in the short time you spent with him, and you didn’t want to break his heart by telling him your “wedding” was going to be ten minutes at city hall.
“We’ll see.” You lied. “I should go check on Sam. He and I were baking muffins.”
“Oo, save me some.” Dom said as you went back inside. You walked back into the kitchen just as Sam was taking the muffins out of the oven.
“Muffins are done and they look perfect.” Sam grinned as you came back into the kitchen. “Could you get Harry for me? He’s in the billiard room. I want him to try them before Paddy eats them all.”
“Sure.” You said and followed his finger to the room he was pointing to.
“There she is.” Harry grinned when you walked into the room. “How are you this morning, Mrs. Holland?”
“Ooo.” You blew out a breath when you saw the pool table in front of him. “I’m feeling a little competitive this morning.”
“Do you play?”
“Undefeated.” You bragged.
“Good.” He smirked. “I can’t keep playing against Paddy. He always loses and it’s starting to effect his self esteem.”
“Nothing effects my self esteem.” You rubbed your hands together. “Hand me a cue”.
You played a quick game with Harry, knowing the muffins had to cool anyway. By the end, you both had all your balls in and just needed the black ball. He hit it in first, making you lose your winning streak.
“Damn it.” You laughed. “So close.”
“Nicely done.” He high fived you. “You put up a good fight. You fit right into this family. They can’t beat me either.”
“Whatever.” You scoffed playfully. “Come on. Sam and I made muffins.”
“Ugh, bless you. You’re my favorite member of the family now.” He said as he slung an arm around you. You walked into the kitchen like that, surprising Tom who was now sitting at the kitchen table.
“Good morning.” He eyed you suspiciously as you sat down next to him. “Sam told me you helped him make muffins?”
“I did.” You replied smugly. “And then I played some golf with your dad and some pool with Harry. All while you were sleeping.”
You knew Tom was shocked at how well you were playing your part of his girlfriend, and that just fueled your competitive side. If you couldn’t boss Tom around anymore, you could at least school him in how to fake a relationship.
“Wow. Aren’t you just the perfect fiancé?” He challenged you, knowing exactly what you were thinking.
“I am.” You agreed. “Thank you for noticing.”
“Of course.” A fire lit up behind Tom’s eyes. If you were going to get competitive, so was he.
“Since you left so early, I didn’t get to kiss you good morning.” Tom said sweetly, wiping the smile right off your face. “Come here, darling. I know how much you love your morning kisses.”
“Tom. Sweetheart.” You said through gritted teeth. “Not in front of your brothers.”
“I’m sure they don’t mind.” Tom said as he pulled you towards him. “Come on. Just kiss me like you always do.”
You gave him an angry look while he stared back with a smug face. Finally, you rolled your eyes and leaned in to kiss him.
“There.” You pulled away after a few seconds. “Good morning, my love.”
Tom blinked a few times as he collected himself. He didn’t think you were actually going to kiss him. He just wanted to get a rise out of you. You noticed how quiet Tom got from the kiss and smirked to yourself.
“Oh, shoot.” Sam said suddenly. “I forgot about Paddy.”
“Y/n, why don’t you go get him?” Tom asked you, still flustered from the kiss. He knew sitting next to you was only going to lead to more trouble. You gave Tom a tight smile before going into the hallway and finding the door that said “Paddy” on the outside.
“Paddy?” You asked as you knocked at the door. “Mind if I come in?”
“Yeah.” You heard Paddy’s soft voice from the other side of the door. You walked in and saw Paddy sitting glumly on his bed, surrounded by clothes.
“What’s wrong?” You asked politely. You had no idea how to console a child, but you knew it would be too awkward to leave now.
“I invited the girl I like to my party tomorrow.” He told you. “Now I’m freaking out because I have no idea what to wear. All my clothes are awful.”
“They’re not awful.” You said as you glanced at his closet. You grimaced a little at his clothing options but quickly threw on a smile.
“Do you know what Tom and I do for a living?” You asked as you went to his closet.
“Harry said he’s your coffee bitch.” Paddy said in the same solum tone, making your jaw drop a little.
“Um, close.” You said weakly. “We read stories. And the most important part of a story is the main character.”
Paddy watched your curiously and you selected some shirts and pants from his closet. Finally, you held up a light green button up and a dark green sweater vest.
“This is what Noah would wear.” You said as you held up the outfit. “He’s kinda quiet but he always has his hand up in class. He loves science, especially marine biology. He wants to explore the ocean floor one day.”
Paddy smiled a little as you set the outfit down on his bed. You went back into his closet and pulled out a soft, dark blue shirt and some pattered pants.
“This is one is Lucas.” You told him. “He has three sisters and they drive him crazy. But if anyone ever messes with them, he defends them like it’s his job. He looks out for them but he would never tell them that.”
You handed Paddy the outfit before going back into his closet. This time, you pulled out a blue t shirt and a navy blazer.
“This ones Peter.” You smiled. “He’s the life of the party. If his friend falls down, he falls too so his friend isn’t embarrassed. He always has a funny story to tell and he has two dogs.”
“I like Peter.” Peter said quietly.
“Me too. You should go with this one.” You said as you handed him the outfit. Paddy took it from you and disappeared into the bathroom, coming out shorty after in the clothes you had picked out.
“That looks super cool.” You nodded in approval.
“You think?” He asked hopefully.
“Absolutely.” You concurred. “I’d hire you.”
You jumped a little when you heard a knock at the door. You and Paddy looked at the door and saw Tom in the door way.
“Hey.” Tom eyed Paddys outfit skeptically. “What’s going on in here?”
“Y/n helped me pick my outfit for tomorrow.” Paddy answered with excitement.
“Oh, nice.” Tom smiled at the unexpected answer. “We made muffins, by the way.”
“I made muffins.” You corrected.
“Yeah, whatever.” Tom rolled his eyes. “There are muffins made. And I wanted to ask what movies you wanted to watch tonight.”
“Right. The tradition.” You remembered.
“I haven’t seen Monster House in a while. Can we watch that?” Paddy asked.
“Sure.” Tom agreed. “I think we still have the DVD somewhere.”
“Can Y/n watch with us?” Paddy asked, making Tom look at you.
“Oh, she wouldn’t want to-“
“Yeah.” You cut him off with a smile. “Thanks for the invite.”
“Cool.” Paddy grinned. “Muffin time.”
Paddy moved past Tom and ran into the kitchen, leaving you and Tom alone in the room.
“It’s 10 in the morning and you have managed to make all the men in my family fall in love with you.” Tom shook his head. “One by one.”
“What can I say?” You shrugged. “I’m that good.”
“I can see that.” Tom looked at you fondly. “This might just work.”
“I hope so.” You said honestly. “I really like your family.”
“They like you too.” He smiled. “My mum has already told all her lady friends about you. They think the world of you and they haven’t even met you.”
Your face fell when you heard this and you looked at the ground. Tom noticed your sudden indifference and walked closer to you.
“This is really gonna crush them if they find out the truth.” You said quietly without looking up.
“So we make sure they never find out.”
“But what about when we get divorced?” You looked up at him sadly. “They’re already treating me like I’m a part of the family and it’s only my first day.”
“We said we’d cross that bridge when we get to it.” He said as he rested his hands on your shoulders.
“What if we don’t even get to that bridge?” You feared. “What if we get caught before we can even get married? How am I supposed to look them in the eyes if I send you to prison?”
Tom could tell you were deeply bothered by your own thoughts, so he rubbed your arms to comfort you.
“It’s okay.” He assured you. “We won’t get caught. We’re gonna be okay.”
You looked at him suddenly before your eyes shifted to the hands on your arms. He quickly took them away as he remembered where he stood with you.
“Um, I should go.” He stammered as he backed away.
“Yeah. Me too.” You nodded profusely. “I have things to do.”
“Yeah.” He was halfway out the door now. “Um, bye.”
“Bye”. You called back, shutting your eyes in embarrassment once he was gone. You weren’t sure what was happening between you and Tom, but you knew it wouldn’t end well.
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gashinabts · 4 years
Text
Ask Me Out (m)
Words: 5k
Pairing: Taehyung x Reader, Idiots to lovers
Genre: Angst, Smut, Fluff, Mature
Summary: You and Taehyung get in a fight because you were allegedly cheating, the only problem is, who are you dating and who are you cheating on.
Warnings: Teasing, spitting, oral (f/receiving), fingering, DomTae, slapping, jealously sex
A/N: Just a small one shot, hope you enjoy!! This is my work no reposting this and my other works on any other platforms.
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Holding the letter tight to your chest you breathe out a heavy sigh before giving the letter to Eunha. Taehyung texted her that he will meet with her across the administration building, instead here you are standing in front of her, counting the seconds of when this interaction will end. She opens the letter and you cringe at every second she reads it, you look off at a distance to see if Taehyung could be watching this scene unfold. “ What the hell is this Y/N? Where’s Taehyung?,” she crumbles the letter and there’s irritation evident on her angelic face.
The one con of being Taehyung’s friend is that you have to break up with his girlfriends since he doesn’t like confrontation, to see them yell at him or worst cry in front of them.
In middle school Taehyung told you to break up with Soojin for him on Valentine's day, that was the first time you got bitch slapped by someone at school. Taehyung went to visit you at the nurse office with a red rose. “ Where did you get that?,” you asked him as you pressed the ice pack closer to your cheek. “ I stole it from Jungkook’s valentine’s gift,” he says, as he hands you the rose and sits next to you. His hands gently take off the ice pack inspecting your pink slap mark. “ Ouch. This will be the last time I let you do this for me,” he gives you a boxy smile. Another con of being his friend, Taehyung could be quite the liar.
“ Well as it says on the letter, he wants to break up with you…” you trail off taking a centimeter back. You don’t think she’ll do anything crazy, Eunha was nice when she was with Taehyung, however break ups can change a person.
Eunha takes a step closer and takes the lid of her ice coffee and throws it on your sweatshirt. The cup is empty and the ice cold coffee makes you flinch, “ I knew you guys were sleeping behind my back. Tell him, ‘ The next time he wants to break up with someone, he should be a man and tell them in person,’” she bumps her shoulder against you hard as she walks past you. You groan at her comment and walk towards the center of the campus where the water fountain is, there are students who briefly look at your coffee stain white sweatshirt. “ Well she got you good?,” Taehyung bites his lip and you glare at him. He stands tall right next to you, with his neutral tone baggy pants and sweatshirt.  “ Hey I’m sorry I didn’t know she’ll react that way. Take my sweater,” he pulls his already oversized sweater and hands it to you.
You pull off your soaked sweater, “ That’s what you always say Tae,” then you put on his ugly dark green sweater. “ When are you ever going to have the guts to ask the girls you like out and also break up with them?” There’s also another thing he has a problem with, he needs to have someone, you, to ask the girls he likes out. It’s always awkward for you to tell them that Taehyung, the guy that you have a slight crush on, likes them.
“ Y/N, I can’t do that! Just imagine if I ask someone out and they straight out reject me. I would be traumatized for my whole life,” he takes your dirty sweater and walks with you to the apartment.
“ Nope. I can’t possibly see that. You are attractive and funny so I don’t see how you’ll be rejected,” you smell yourself and groan at the scent of ice americano. “ Look, ask me out right now,” you joke around while laughing to yourself. The short laugh becomes a gasp when Taehyung pushes you against a wall with his arm caging you in. His face is close to yours, you could almost count all the long dark eyelashes. Time feels like it slows down because the wind started to lessen along with chirping sounds from the birds.
“ Y/N. Go out with me,” he looks at you dead in the eye, his black curls slightly cover them. Without thinking much you let out a small okay and he backs up giving you space.
His face returns back to his bubbly self smiling, “ Do you want to order fried chicken and beer or pizza?,” he asked you while adjusting the straps of his backpack. The question takes you back and you pinch yourself just to see if this is a dream or an alternative universel. “ Fried chicken and beer,” you tell him, walking alongside him. There is silence between you two as he orders the food on his phone, he gives you the phone so you can review the order, you smile as he orders an extra order of spicy chicken since you are the only one that likes it. “ Looks good,” you say while handing it back.
You and Taehyung are watching a movie while eating the fried chicken peacefully until Jungkook barges in the living room from the front door, “ BAHAHA...Y/N you’re like all over everyone's snapchat. I even saw this video on my fyp on tiktok. Look it almost has one million likes,” he hands his phone while sitting down on the couch. ‘It’s the cheating for me’ you groan as you read the description. “ What the hell? Did you at least comment and tell them that I wasn’t the other woman?,” you ask Jungkook, the video plays and Eunha throws the coffee at you and your face grimaces.
“Yeah but like my comment got lost through the thousands of comments that are there,” he grabs a beer from the table, “ just live through your fifteen minutes of fame,” he chugs the beer. “ Ohh spicy chicken, my favorite,” his hands grab your chicken eating it with gusto.
You toss the phone on the couch, “ Y/N-” you ignore Taehyung’s voice as you go to your room. You take solace in your warm comforter hugging your stuffed penguin and taking a nap. The feeling of Taehyung’s warm hands wakes you up, he’s spooning you, hugging you tightly against his chest. You are used to Taehyung's skin ship at home, he typically does this when he sees a scary movie and has nightmares so he crawls into your bed or when the apartment is too cold and he doesn’t want to spend money on the heater. “ Are you okay?,” he asked carefully.
“ Yeah, I just hate how people don’t know the real story but it’s whatever I have you to make me feel better,” you sigh as you hug your penguin tighter.
He laughs and grabs the stuffed animal, “ You still have this raggedy thing?”
“ I’m not gonna throw him away. It was a present,” you take it back in your arms. Yeah, it looks beaten down but it was something special you cherished.
“ Man, I still can’t believe you dated Jungkook in high school. Doesn’t it feel weird to have that since you guys are not dating?,” he hugs you closer to him, you feel his warm breath against your neck.
“ Nah, we are still good friends even if he is kind of an asshole,” one of your hands reaches back raking your fingers against his curls. He hums deeply, “ Are you jealous of Mr. Penguin?,” you teased him with the question.
“ Kind of,” he mutters and snuggles into your hair. That wasn’t the answer you were expecting but you ignore it going back to sleep.
---
You grab an ice coffee for Taehyung and add sugar but a light tap halts you, turning you see a girl holding a phone zooming onto your face, “ Is this you?,” she asked you, eyes peering for a reaction. It was that stupid video from tiktok.
You laugh lightly, “ No, that is my twin,” you lie eaisly, you ignore her calls as you continue walking. You wait outside Taehyung’s office since he is talking to one of his students. The student adorably bows multiple times and thanks him, as she exits his room. “ She’s cute,” you comment as you enter his office with his coffee. He has his glasses on, along with his usual comfy aesthetic, there are a bunch of papers on the desk, and he looks the part as professor but clearly isn’t because he is a TA.
“ You are cute,” his large hand holds your hand giving it a quick kiss, while grabbing the coffee with his other hand and starts to gulp it. Today you were far from cute, you had no makeup, and you feel bloated because you were on your period.  “ There’s an essay due about the elements of Gothic architecture and she was having a hard time about what to write,” he moves his hand as he talks, he finally sits down on his desk.
“ That sounds fun,” you sarcastically state. Sitting down on the chair you look on his desk and there’s a picture of you and him at the Louvre, it was two years ago that you guys spontaneously took a trip to Paris.
“ Sorry you aren’t a fan of art history,” he nudges you with his leg, “ Anyways let’s go to this new hotpot restaurant,” he gets up putting his laptop away along with his papers. “ Should we invite Jungkook?,” you asked while putting your seatbelt on in Taehyung's car.
“ No. It’s Y/N and Taehyung time,” he firmly states but his sparkly teeth show as he smiles.
---
“ You guys look closer than ever, which is weird because how can you guys possibly get closer,” Jungkook comments as you wash the dishes. It’s obvious that he is talking about Taehyung. Taehyung had been more clingy with you, almost every night sleeping in your bed and taking you to random restaurants without Jungkook.
“ What do you mean? We are always like that, you are just jealous that we don’t take you out anymore and pay for you,” you finish washing the last plate, you put the gloves away to dry. Jungkook crosses his arms which cause his biceps to bulge and you throw your head back with a laugh, “ Is that supposed to intimidate me?,” you lean against the counter.
He walks closer, “ Kinda, I’ve been working out,” he flexes it more. You roll your eyes and he stands right in front of you, “ So friends just invade other people’s personal space?,” his face comes closer to you, making eye contact with you. He’s provoking you and you just want to slap his smirk off his face. Jungkook lays his head against your neck, rubbing his nose against your neck, his body is against yours. “ This kind of reminds me of our first time, we did it in my parent’s kitchen when they weren’t home,” his hands gripped your waist.
You decided to play at his game, your hands reach his nape pulling his hair, “ But then you came the minute you put it in,” you whisper against his ear. You laugh as his face flush with embarrassment, you push him against his chest so he can give you space.
“ C’mon Y/N that wasn’t nice,” he groans, he tugs his situation in his grey sweatpants to not make it obvious that he has a boner. You stop laughing when you see Taehyung standing near the entrance of the kitchen, he has a blank face and goes to the fridge. Jungkook turned around looking at Taehyung as he quietly grabbed a coke, “ Hey Hyung, have you eaten? Y/N made dinner.”
Taehyung looks at Jungkook, “ I’m good,” he doesn’t even acknowledge you, walking away from the kitchen and you hear his door shut.
It’s quiet as you eat dinner alone and it is even quieter when you go to sleep by yourself. The bed feels more bigger and you might think it’s more comfortable but it’s not since you don’t have Taehyung hugging you like a pillow. The next morning you wake up late, Taehyung usually wakes you up and cooks you burnt toast with a shitload of jam but this time he’s already gone.
After class, you get his favorite coffee drink, and go to his office, there is another cute student talking to him. You peer through the window and see how happily he exchanges words with her. You wait until their session is done and she thanks him and he waves goodbye, you walk into his office. He looks at you but quickly reverts his gaze back at his laptop screen typing mindlessly. Placing the coffee on his desk, “ She’s cute,” you comment.
“ Yeah,” he says and continues typing, your heart lurches not expecting him to agree with you. There’s so much tension you feel like you are walking on eggshells.
“ Umm...are you okay?,” you ask timidly. You aren’t sure if he heard you since a minute goes by and he looks through his paper and then again types. There is sweat coming off your hands and wipe them down against your jeans,“ Taehyung?,” you speak just a decibel louder.
He closes his laptop, packing up his papers, throwing them harpazidly in his backpack, throwing the ice coffee that he hasn’t even got a sip of into the trash. “ I’m meeting with someone,” he brushes past you trying to exit his office. You grab his wrist before he can leave, “ Tae, are you mad at me?,” is the only question you can think of.
This is the first time he looks at you, it’s the first time he has ever shown anger at you, he yanks his hand back to himself and the feeling of the subtle warmth is gone from the palms of your hand. “ I just didn’t think you were the type of girl to cheat and try to fuck their ex in the kitchen,” he says seriously.
Cheating? Who were you cheating on? “ I wasn’t- Jungkook and I-,” you try to explain yourself but he wasn’t hearing any of it. He interrupts you, “ I don’t care anymore...I don’t want to see your face,” he jabs at you with a disgusted face one last time before leaving. There’s tears coming out and you quickly wipe them but they still stream down your cheeks. This is the first time in your friendship that you had a fight with Taehyung and it looks like it will be the last time you grab the tissue of his desk blowing your nose. The picture of you and Taehyung gleefully smiling in Paris is mocking you, you grab the picture and take it with you before he can also throw it away as easily as he did with the ice coffee.
You usually don’t like going to your parent’s house but this time you accept their invitation, planning to stay with them for a week, you already submitted all the assignments for classes and you could always look at the podcast lectures. There’s not much clothes you have to pack up since you hardly buy any new clothes and you usually borrow Taehyung's infinite amount of clothes, well used to. “ I’ll see you in a week,” you hug Jungkook goodbye.
“ Make sure you get some rest,” he walks you to the car, you nod and smile at him, waving him goodbye.
This is the last time you will ever visit your family, they make you do chores and take care of your nephews and nieces. It doesn’t even feel like you got any rest, you found a box under your bed and it’s filled with pictures of you and Taehyung, some of Jungkook but mostly of Taehyung. The more you shuffle through the pictures it gets harder to hold your tears. You have the urge to call him but you are afraid that he has you blocked.
---
It feels and sounds quiet in the apartment, Taehyung thinks to himself. Jungkook isn’t even making noise either which is odd since he is loud. He hasn’t seen you in three days, he was sure that he was going to eventually bump into around the house while you cook or get out of the shower but nothing, he hasn’t even seen light peek out of your door. He hears the door opening expecting it was you but it was Jungkook. Jungkook goes straight to the kitchen taking out a pan and vegetables out of the fridge, “ You want some Kimchi fried rice?,” Jungkook asks as he cuts some kimchi.
“ No,” Taehyung shakes his head and scrolls down on his instagram.
Jungkook sighs loudly, “ Wow this is going to suck. I have to start learning how to cook better since Y/N moved out.”
Taehyung drops his phone on the ground, “ What?,” he asked while walking towards the kitchen to where Jungkook is at.
Jungkook puts oil in the pan and adds onions, “ Yeah she moved out three days ago. She looked really sad, took everything she had and left.” Taehyung doesn’t believe him and enters her room, the bed looks empty, there are no comforters or pillows, he opens your drawers and is met with nothing, there are some skincare products on the table but those can easily be left behind. However there are pictures of you and Taehyung on the dresser, and he easily spots the one that he kept in his office. He walks back out and Jungkook looks like he is almost done cooking. “ You could be a real asshole Taehyung. Y/N would never do anything with me since she already whipped for you. The things you make her do and how she always does it because your Taehyung,” Jungkook says and finally turns off the stove.
“ What are talking about?,” Taehyung asked with hesitance.
“ Ask Y/N, why does she break up with people for you despite the many times she gets hurt from it. Ask her why does she spend so much money on your dumb ice americano? Ask her why she broke up with me in high school?,” Jungkook didn’t mean for the last question to come out but he’s tired of his two best friends being idiots. “ I’m going to eat in my room,” he leaves with a plate of Kimchi fried rice.
Taehyung sits in silence in his room thinking about your last conversation with him, and how he didn’t let you explain. How he yelled at you, how he threw his coffee, and how you looked like you wanted to cry. He hugged his pillow tightly desperately wishing that it was you and maybe if he thought hard enough you would appear.
---
“ Are you sure you don’t want to stay the whole week?,” your Mom asked while she helped you put your suitcase in your car. It’s the fourth day, six in the morning, and you don’t think you can last another day with her yelling at you to stop taking naps and to go grocery shopping with her.
Getting in your small car you sigh,“ Yeah, I have to go back. I forgot to turn something in for class,” you make up a lie.
“ What? Are you serious? Why didn’t you do that before when you came here, that’s very irresponsible-” Maybe on another day you can take her lecturing but not today.
“ Okay, bye Mom. Love you!,” you close your door waving at her as you leave the driveway.
It is expected for the apartment to be quiet since it’s early in the morning, you drag the suitcase quietly hoping that you won’t wake them up. Opening the door slowly, you are shocked to see a sleeping figure in your bed, your hand let’s go of the suitcase and you yelp trying to get it but it comes down crashing loudly on the wooden floor. Taehyung's head pops up from his small blanket, looking at you with wide eyes. “ I umm- I’m sorry. I’ll leave right now,” you pathetically try to excuse yourself. Taehyung said he didn’t want to see your face anymore so you hurry to pick up your things. Your shaky hands try to grab your suitcase but you are tackled into a hug, Taehyung’s arms engulf you trying to make you part of his body.
“ You came...I was scared that you were gone forever,” he whispers. “ I’m sorry for what I said. I was an asshole and didn’t let you speak. I hurt you in many ways that I never expected. Then Jungkook said you moved out…” he trailed off you couldn’t clearly hear him since his voice muffled in your hair.
“ Taehyung, let’s sit down and talk, okay?,” you asked him and brushed some of the strands of hair out of his face. He nods and sits down beside you and your bed, “ I wasn’t going to move out, I just went to visit my parents hoping that would relax me but it didn’t so I came back early,” you smile at him. “ Okay good,” he smiles back and scoots closer to you. “ Taehyung, I need to ask you something?,” you look away nervously.
“ Ask me,” he encourages and grabs your chin to look at you.
You swallow nervously, “ Are we together? I mean were we together? Since you said I cheated on you and I was kind of confused…” you trail off playing with your fingers.
He grabs your hands gently squeezing them “ Of course we were together. I mean we still are. Remember when you told me to ask you out?,” he asked, you nodded remembering it vividly, “ Well since that day we’ve been dating.” You didn’t think that was serious but it did make sense because of all the skinship he was doing and the places he would take out to eat. He did take you to the Han river and had a picnic during the night which you found oddly romantic but you didn’t think much into it.  “ Y/N, I’m sorry,”  he asked, kissing your hands.
“ It’s okay there was a misunderstanding. Next time, let’s talk before we act out on our emotions,” you tell him softly, before pecking him on his cheek. Turning quickly away so he won’t see you blushing in the morning sun.  “ Help me set up comforters,” you get up, grabbing the comforters off the floor. He helps you set it up while complaining about how he missed you while you were gone, crying in your bed until Jungkook told him to shut up. You place Mr. Penguin on the bed and lay down hugging it.
Taehyung turns your body easily around so you're facing him, “ I actually didn’t know we were dating, I thought we were joking around,��� your hand caresses his sharp jawline.
“ Idiot. I would never joke around about dating you,” he scoffs and takes the hand you were caressing him with, bringing it to his lips, kissing it softly.  His lips move to your wrist, trailing up your forearm, arising goosebumps and leaving a giggly response from you, making him smile. Taehyung scoots closer to your neck so he can leave kisses there and you hug him closer when he kisses a particular spot that makes you squirm. The kisses trail upwards to your jaw, going closer to the area you wanted. He looks at you seeking permission and you pull him to feel your lips against his. It’s soft as you expected and you sigh happily at the feeling of his warmth. He pulls aways looking at you, “ That was nice,” he says as he moves over to hover you.
“ Yeah, it was,” you pull him down for another kiss, this time it’s more needier. Lips smacking at each other can be heard along with some heavy breathing. Your hands leave his tousled hair and go under his baggy sleeping shirt, feeling his naked back. You never thought you could feel Taehyung this way, but here are lightly trailing your fingers up and down his back. His mouth leaves yours kissing your neck and leaving marks here and there, he pulls the collar of your shirt down trying to get more access but gets frustrated. Laughing at him, you pull your shirt off, laying back down so he can kiss wherever he desires. His eyes sparkle at the sight of the swell of your breast, immediately leaving open mouth kisses that make you shudder with excitement. His large hands pull the cups of bra and his mouth envelopes your nipple, sucking while his other fondles with your other breast. Your pants are being louder and you can’t take anymore of the teasing. Your hands pull his hair as he lightly bites your nipple leaving you with pleasure and pain, “ Touch me Taehyung,” moaning at the end of the sentence.
“ Baby, I am touching you,” his lips leave your abused nipple and go to the other one giving it the same treatment. It looks like he enjoys you getting impatient since he is smiling at your frustration as you try to grind against him. “ No no no, touch me somewhere else,” you tell him shyly, you are never this coy with your partners but Taehyung just screams out dominance. His eyes darken and his mouth leave your nipple along with a string of salvia, his hand wipes his spit all over your chest. He sits up pulling off his shirt, his eyebrow arched, “ Where does my baby want to be touched?,” he asked, looking down on you. Your hand trails down to the button of your jeans, slightly tugging at it, refusing to tell him in words. His index finger tugs at the belt loop, “ You want me to touch your pussy?” Blushing at his words you nod, he takes off your jeans and looks at your panties, smirking at your evident arousal. He bends down and kisses above the hem of your panties before tugging them down your legs.
“ Please Tae,” you whine as he teasingly kisses the inside of your thighs, Taehyung finally listens to your words and eats you out like his favorite dessert, his hands holding your thighs up trying to taste more of you. Crying out in pleasure, as his tongue pays special attention to your clit and his two fingers slowly inched his way into your seeping hole. Afraid that you are making too much noise, you moan into your palm, his head lifts up and you whine at the loss of his tongue. “ Who told you you can cover your pretty mouth?,” Taehyung slaps your cunt, making you moan louder.  “ Sorry,” you meekly let out but you desperately want to be punished again. He chuckles at your apology, rubbing your cunt to soothe the pain, “ Do you want me to fuck this needy pussy?”
“ Yes, I want you so bad,” you drawl at your words, hips rising and riding his long fingers. His fingers withdraw from you, quickly taking off his sweats and boxers, as you finally discard your bra. “ Spit,” he commands, his hand is below your mouth. Following his command, his large hand wraps around his impressive dick and you can’t wait for it to stretch you. Reaching to your drawer, you give him a condom and he puts it on. Taehyung slowly enters you and you feel an immediate stretch, your nails scratch his back at the slight pain. He kisses you to relax you and smile at his encouraging words. Moaning at the slow thrusting, the pain is completely gone, wanting to feel him deeper you tell him to fuck you harder. His hips move at fast pace and you can feel him in your stomach, “ You’re so fucking tight, I’m gonna have to fuck you everyday,” he moans out. “ Gonna have to fuck you everywhere too, so Jungkook can no longer flirt with you,” he thrust deeper hitting that particular spot that makes your toes curl. Nodding deliriously you meet his thrust, eyes rolling back at the euphoric feeling of Taehyung fucking you good. Moaning his name louder, as he grabs your jaw forcing you to look at him, “ I’m the only one that makes you feel this good, right?,” he asked but he already knows the answer.
“ Only you, only Taehyung,” you scream out feeling his other hand rubbing your clit. “ No one else,” you confirm once more, pulling him down for a messy kiss. Your approach is coming, clenching around him harder, “ I’m gonna cum,” you claw his back more, “ Can I please cum?,” begging him.
Rubbing your clit faster, “ Yeah, fucking cum for me, scream out my name,” he gives your clit you couple smacks. Crying out his name you come loudly with your body shaking in pleasure. Taehyung's pace falters, groaning at your tight cunt swallowing him in, holding your body closer as he orgasms. Kissing you softly Taehyung pulls out, tossing the condom in the trash bin. “ How’s my baby?,” he asked while stroking your flush cheeks.
“ Good but kinda tired,” giving him a tired smile. “ Taehyung I like you so much,” you confess, holding his warm hand against your cheek. High school you would be so proud that you finally confessed to him.
Taehyung grabs your hand and kisses it, “ I like you so much more. I liked you since high school but I was afraid to tell you and then you started dating Jungkook. So I thought I can never be your type. But then you told me to ask you out, joke or not, I thought that was finally my chance to have you be my girl,” he softly speaks but there’s an underlying insecurity in voice. Your hands pull him close to your body causing him to squeal, his head is on top of your breast listening to your heartbeat, as one of your hands comb his hair.
“ I guess we are both idiots, I liked you since high school too. But here we are now in each other's arms, better late than never right?,” you sigh. His fingers trace shapes your stomach, “ Just gotta make up for the lost time,” he agrees and his hand trails down.
“ Yes but not now because I’m tired,” you grab his hand before it can go any further. He laughs and kisses your breast tenderly.
“ I’m just glad that Mr. Penguin got to see me fuck my girl,” he snuggles more into you with heavy eyelids.
You sleepy smile at his words, “ You are so weird.”
——————————————————————————
Do not repost, translate, or alternate my work in any way, onto any platform. I do not take plagiarism lightly.
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forever-rogue · 3 years
Note
Hello! Just read your Boba x pregnant reader fic and oh boy, if you've got the time and the inclination, I'd love another installment! Maybe expand on your line: "If you thought he was protective over you before, then you were in for something else." Protectiveness is my jam and I'd really enjoy seeing what Boba might do if someone threatened/kidnapped/endangered the person carrying his child... You're the best! ❤️❤️
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Oh, I love, love, love the idea of protective Boba 🥺 I hope you enjoy! 
Boba Fett x Fem!Reader ; warnings: pregnancy
Can be read as a standalone or a companion piece to these -> Part 1, Part 2
Star Wars Masterlist 
»»————- ♡ ————-««
"Boba," you turned on your heel and huffed at your husband, finding him underfoot once again. You'd asked him about a million times to give you space and alone time, but apparently your Mandalorian didn't know what either of those things were. All you had wanted to do was make some cookies in peace and quiet, "I think I can handle making cookies. Alone."
"I just think it's better for you to have someone around," he said gruffly, a little smirk tugging on the corners of his mouth, "what if something happened?"
"Oh, you silly man," you huffed at him before taking your dish towel and swatting him away, "what in the maker forsaken galaxy is going to happen? I'm baking - not chasing after some sort of quarry!"
"The baby-"
"If anything were to happen," you finished mixing the dough before raising a brow as Boba tried to dip a finger in and take a scoop, "someone would be close by and I could call out to them. It wouldn't be a problem and nothing will go wrong if I'm alone for ten minutes. Now stop eating all of my dough."
"Cyare," he quickly pulled out his hand and instead settled it on your small bump. You had seemingly popped overnight, your pregnancy not easily noticeable before. But now? It was clearly evident and Boba seemed to have only become more protective, "I want to keep you both safe."
"I know," you whispered as you put your hand on top of his, giving it a gentle squeeze, "and you've done an amazing job. But you have so much to think about already, don't let this worry you too."
"I lost you once and I am not letting it happen again," he whispered softly, pressing a kiss to your forehead. You sighed contentedly before resting your hand on his cheek, "if that means staying by your side, I will do it."
"I understand that," you promised him, "but I need some room to breathe too. And, on top of that, no one is going to mess with Boba Fett's wife. They know better."
"I-"
"Boba," you took a step back and slowly started to push him away and out of the kitchen, "give me some space and let me finish the cookies. That's all I'm asking for right now...if I need you, I'll call. Please?"
"Fine," he huffed lightly as he pressed a kiss to your lips before reluctantly leaving, "I call dibs on the cookies!"
 »»————- ♡ ————-««
You might have gotten some alone time that day, finishing off your cookies in peace but after that...it wasn't much better. At least on Boba’s end; maker, you loved every man she was amazing in every way, but he was borderline over protective. In reality, you didn't mind - the fact that your husband was fawning over you and your unborn child was endearing. 
You'd only snapped at him a few times here and there when the hormones got to be too much, and you couldn't help but explode. Luckily, Boba was a smart enough man to give you some spaces during those moments. He always tried to make it up to you with some sort of treat, usually whatever you were craving at the moment.
But as you progressed in your pregnancy and your belly continued to grow and swell, he only got worse. Some days you weren’t sure how you even managed to go to the ‘fresher alone. Some days you wondered why he got so intensely protective; there had been no issues throughout your pregnancy and the baby was healthy and active. Oh so active, sometimes it felt like they were doing somersaults in your belly, restless and therefore causing you to be restless as well. One thing you did know was that the movement always increased when Boba was around. 
As soon as the baby seemed to hear Boba’s voice, the excited kicking and moving started. The first time it had taken you by surprise, but now you were well prepared for it. The look on Boba’s face when you had grabbed his hand and pressed it to your belly so he could experience the sensation had been priceless. At first he had been taken aback, shock and awe crept into his features, before the biggest and brightest smile ever tugged on his lips. It was nothing short of pure adoration as his dark eyes softened and he gently kissed you, whispering words of love into your ear.  
It was after that he made it a practice, when you were tucked and laying together in bed, to keep a hand on your belly as he spoke and sang softly to your unborn child. It easily became one of your favorite parts of the day - your whole world was there, tucked safely under warm, plush blankets.
You knew why he got like this, why he was so careful and protective over you. For how gruff and tough he could appear, he was a gentle, calm man underneath it all. He was a good man, he only wanted the best for his people - you and your unborn children first and foremost. 
Boba Fett had lost everything that mattered to him multiple times in his life, having to start over and pick up the pieces more than once. First it was when he lost his father as a boy, then when he lost you and almost his life, and now? He was never going to let it happen again. He would do whatever it took to keep you safe, healthy, and happy. And you loved that about him, because you would do the same for him. Just as he’d lost you - you’d lost him too. And you weren’t leaving his side ever again. 
»»————- ♡ ————-««
It was a warm summer day, nearing the end of your pregnancy, when you’d decided to go and check out one of the open air markets to see what kind of wares and exotic fruits and treats were available.
Boba, of course, accompanied you, further flanked by his own retinue. His hand was on the small of your back or wrapped around your waist almost the entire time as you examined everything. Despite his protective nature, he was able to enjoy himself as well, a smile almost never leaving his face.
At one point, as he busied him with talking to one of the stall owners, you grew thirsty and hungry. Boba was so enraptured in his own conversation that he didn't notice you slip from his side as you wandered back to one of the stalls you had spotted earlier. 
The market was busy and bustling, and there were a few times you had to side step people to pass by. Most people were kind enough to make room for you, but of course, as always, there were some people that didn't care and just remained rooted in their spots.
"Excuse me," you kept your voice polite and calm as you tried to pass by a particularly gruff looking man. If he heard you he didn't do anything to indicate and remained turned away from you as he carried on in his conversation. A sigh escaped your lips as you tried not to grow irritated - but you were hungry, tired and pregnant. You tapped his arm, this time deciding to be more bold, "excuse me."
"Kriff off," he jerked out of your touch and almost knocked you over from the force of his movement, "go around girl."
"I can't," you huffed, indicating all the people around you before pointing at your belly, "I just need to slip by real quick."
"Too bad," he reached over and to try and push you back out of the way, but before he could get too far, and a hand wrapped tightly around his wrist, twisting his arm sharply.
"Don't even think about it," Boba’s voice was laced with venom as he stared the man down. He was in his full armor, presenting a menacing picture as the dark T of his helmet was trained on the man, "touch her and it will be the last thing you ever do."
A look of pure horror crossed the man's face as he realized who Boba was. He opened and closed his mouth a few times, like a fish out of water, trying to figure out what to say that could get him out of this situation.
"I-I-I didn't mean to," he stammered nervously as you just offered him a small smile, "I didn't know she was…"
"My wife? It does not matter who she is- you will never touch her again, nor will you ever touch anyone else," Boba's voice was low and predatory as he tilted his head in question at the man. He quickly nodded before mumbling out a few incoherent words, "now leave and don't let me see your face again."
"Y-yes," as soon as he could pull his arm out of Boba’s grasp, he started to quickly run away, wearing his way through the crowd.
You turned to look at him, an amused and thankful expression on your own face. He put his hands on either side of your face as he looked you over to make sure you were safe and sound. Nodding at his silent question, you pressed your forehead against his helmet, "I'm okay….you came just in time."
"You were supposed to stay by my side, Cyare," he whispered so only you could hear as you gave him a sheepish smile, "what if something had happened and I wasn't there?"
"Thank the Maker you were," you said softly, "you were so into your conversation and I didn't want to interrupt and I got so thirsty and hungry so I just...went."
"Oh my sweet girl," he sighed softly, "please just be careful. If something had happened-"
"But it didn't," you reassured him, "and it won't. I know you'll always protect me, Boba - protect us."
"Always," he promised, "come on - let's get you out of here and find you something to eat and drink."
"That sounds perfect," you agreed, as he slipped your hand into his, a warmth washing over you as he laced your fingers together. Almost as if the baby could feel what you were sensing, the fluttering and movement in your belly picking up. You halted for a moment as Boba gave you a concerned look that you quickly shut down as put his hand on your help, “the baby’s happy too. Happy that they’ve got the best father - you.”
“I am the lucky one,” he insisted softly, “for I have the two best things in the galaxy right here, and that is more than I could ever deserve.”
“Don’t say that Boba,” you hushed him, “you deserve everything in the galaxy, and I am lucky to be loved by you and at your side. Don’t ever doubt that.”
“How could I?” he whispered gently, “you always remind me. I love you, Cyare.”
“We love you too, Boba,” you reached over and gently lifted his helmet to reveal his lips, giving him a soft kiss as he smiled against you, “always and forever.”
“Always and forever.”
»»————- ♡ ————-««
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wienerbarnes · 3 years
Text
A Certain Romance (5/6)
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Pairing: Bucky x Reader 
Word Count: 2,039
Warnings: bit of angst
A/N: 👀👀👀 lol
MAIN MASTERLIST | A CERTAIN ROMANCE MASTERLIST
While he’s strapped into the same suit he keeps finding himself stuck in, the night doesn’t seem to be going as bad as he imagined.
He’s waiting for you to finish getting ready, you did your hair and makeup already, you just need to put on your shoes and jewelry, you’d told him.
He remembers how you weren’t one for fancy, over-the-top restaurants; you made it clear that very first date. It comforts him that while you’re always happy to see friends, you’re not exactly thrilled and he can rely on you if he wants to leave earlier rather than later.
He hears clicks down the hall get closer and closer and he glances over to look at you, a pocket of air catching in his throat that he holds back.
You’re wearing white and Bucky thinks you look like an angel. The sleeves are long and poofy at the shoulders, a tight neckline highlighting your cleavage, and a cinched waist that makes the dress look a little shorter than it is above your knees. Your skin is glowy from moisturizing after the shower you took earlier and images of what Bucky imagines you look like rubbing lotion on your smooth legs flash in his mind.
He hopes he’s not drooling.
“Take a picture, it’ll last longer, stud.” You adjust a small strap at your ankle and he’s still trying to find something to respond, anything to stop him from gaping like a fish.
“You look beautiful.” Is all that comes out, and he knows it doesn’t do nearly enough justice to describe how you look.
“Thanks, Buck.” You tell him, visibly taken back at the lack of snark. You were expecting a little teasing, a bit of flirting to dip your toes into what the rest of the night will consist of. While Bucky’s never not complimented you, he does it often, as he does to all of his friends, but this was very… sincere. More sincere than usual.
He finally clears his throat to compose himself a little, “Are you ready to head out?”
You give him a nod and a gentle smile, walking with him to the door to exit. The walk to his car a block down isn’t far, and you laugh when Bucky offers you a piggyback ride, not knowing how you can walk in those - referring to your heels.
You can sense Bucky get a bit nervous in the car when the restaurant enters both of your lines of sight. You wrap an arm through the loop his own arm creates with his forearm resting on the middle console, your hand sliding up to gently squeeze his thick bicep, your other arm resting on top of the curve of his elbow.
“Don’t worry, if the place is too lame, I’ll say my heel’s busted and we can try and leave early.”
“Yeah, you’ll cut through that little stick on the bottom of your shoe with the butter knife?”
“Mhm,” You hum, “And leave Sam with the bill.”
He laughs at that, and laughs more when you follow up with, “I forgot my wallet by the way.”
It’s sooner rather than later that the car is parked and you two arrive outside the Italian restaurant Sam picked. He made sure to look it up this time beforehand, with your help, of course, and sees that while the restaurant is still a bit too fancy for his taste, it’s not nearly as bad as the last one he went to where he met you.
“I know you can’t get drunk, but I’m going to play a little game where I drink every time someone in here does something embarrassingly snooty.” You whisper to him, still holding onto his arm, as the waiter leads you two to the table where Sam and his date are waiting.
“You’ll blackout before the appetizer, I wouldn’t try it.” Bucky begins, but after a second thought, “Actually, maybe if you’re drunk we can leave sooner, drinks for you will be on me.”
You giggle quietly into his arm and shut yourself up as you finally arrive at the table, Sam and his date standing to greet you both.
Kisses are planted on everyone's cheeks and introductions are given out as everyone takes their seat. You sit across from Sam on Bucky’s right, his hand holding yours on your thigh. He’s not sure if he’s holding it for show, if Sam and his date can even see them holding hands, or if he’s holding your hand because he likes the feeling of your skin under his hand.
He knows the answer.
The calamari and salads are Bucky’s friend as it makes less time for talking, everyone enjoying the food. While waiting on the main dishes, though, Sam’s date, a very kind and beautiful woman, asks him the question he’s been dreading.
“So, how are you guys? Sam tells me you guys are a new couple, I love all the gushy details.”
The gushy details, she’s perfect for Sam.
“We met on one of Sam’s set-up dates, actually, and just hit it off pretty well. Nothing more to tell.” You answer, thankfully, and keep it short and sweet, hopefully enough information to change the subject.
“Oh, c’mon, y’all can do better than that.” Sam teases, a sly smile on his face.
To him, he’s teasing his friends about finally finding love after swearing against it. But, to you and Bucky, you’re being forced to tell a story you don’t know. You and Bucky should’ve hashed out some details before this, you think.
Bucky’s not the greatest liar, so he just decides to be honest.
“Well, when we met, neither of us were really looking to date anybody. We were both in a place where we didn’t feel ready for a relationship yet, but we gave it a try with each other anyway. And…” He pauses, putting his thoughts together.
“I was surprised. By her kindness, by her humor, by the way she comforts me, by the way she understands me. I expected another failed relationship, another person that either got tired of me or got fed up with who I am and the baggage I come with. But the failure never came.
“Instead I got this amazing girl, who has just as much baggage as I do and I get to accept it with open arms. I got someone who’s healed me a lot more than she knows.”
He’s sweating, and he reaches for the glass of wine at his side, fixing to do something with his hands and his mouth. Your hand is still in his on your lap, grip a bit looser now, though, and he feels your eyes on him. He’s too scared to look.
“See? That’s the kinda lovey-dovey shit I’m talking about.” Sam jokes, a bright smile on his face at the sight of his two friends, raising his glass towards the middle of the table, everyone else’s joining in a second after.
“That’s real sweet,” His date chirps, “You guys really do look in love. I’m happy for y’all.”
The entrees arrive but Bucky’s no longer hungry.
The drive home has been silent. You’ve been quiet since leaving the restaurant and bidding goodbye to Sam and his date, only holding onto his arm until the two of you were out of their sight. Unlike the walk to the restaurant, where you were whispering in his ear, clutching onto his arm, you didn’t even glance his way.
He feels like he’s about to suffocate in the car.
“Are you okay?” His voice breaks the silence.
You’re quiet for a moment before answering his question with one of your own, “What… what was that back there?”
“It was eggplant ravioli, that’s why it looked a little -”
“Bucky.”
He realizes playing dumb isn’t going to work in this situation. Of course it wouldn’t, you’re way too smart for that.
“What you said… seemed a little too... real.” You finally get out.
His mouth opens and closes again when he realizes he doesn’t have a response. It seemed real because it was real. His face appears to give away his thoughts because the second you look over at him, he’s caught. You sigh and raise your hands to cover your face in frustration.
“Bucky, the whole reason we did this in the first place was because we didn’t want a relationship! That was the whole point!” You say, your voice rising.
“I know that was the whole point,” He says, voice calmer than yours, but his resolve quickly fading as embarrassment floods his body.
“Then?!”
“Then, I didn’t do it on purpose! I didn’t mean to catch feelings, but I did!” He yells.
“Bucky, I -”
“Yeah, I know you don’t want a relationship and don’t feel the same. Don’t worry, I’ll get over it.” He snaps, voice harsh, harsher than he’s ever used on you before.
More silence.
He wants to cry. He feels so embarrassed, and so angry at himself. Why did he say that at dinner? He could’ve lied, he could’ve downplayed it a little more, he could’ve not said anything at all and let you take the reins. Instead he all but confessed his feelings for you in front of your friends.
And if that’s not enough, the argument in the car only makes him feel more embarrassed, the conversation playing over and over in his head as a reminder of much you don’t want him; of how much nobody wants him.
His jaw clenches as he swallows the lump in his throat and he sees you in his peripheries sneak a glance at him.
He couldn’t have pulled up outside your apartment building sooner.
“I’m sorry,” He says after clearing his throat. He uses the last bit of dignity he has left to try and mend at least a few of the pieces.
“Can - can we just forget about it? Please?” He asks, his heart begging for you to agree. He can deal with the unrequited feelings as long as you stick around.
“Bucky, I… I just need some time. To think. About all of this. I just - I can’t be around you knowing you’re in love with me. I’m sorry.” You step out of the car before he can respond, and his eyes close as the door shuts, leaving him alone in the car.
He hears the beeps of the buttons at your door and then a distant click, and he doesn’t have to look up from his hands in his lap to know you made it inside.
He doesn’t drive away yet, though. He looks up at the roof of his car to try and stop the watering of his eyes and lets out a harsh sigh.
He eventually puts the car in drive again and roughly grabs the wheel, taking himself home, unaware that you watched him from the apartment building lobby.
The first thing he sees when he steps into his own apartment is a small plant that you brought him a few days ago. It sits on a small table he has by the door next to a dish for both sets of his keys.
In a moment of anger he grabs the potted plant and throws it as hard as he can across the room, shattering against a cabinet door in his kitchen in front of him.
“Shit,” He curses, going quickly to the kitchen to begin picking up the broken ceramic.
He separates the pieces of ceramic and cups his hands around the dirt to try and put it into a pile for him to transfer into another cup of some kind. A tear hits the side of his palm and he scoffs, annoyed at himself.
“Why the fuck are you crying, it’s just a fucking stupid plant,” He mumbles, voice cracking.
He sees the roots untangled from one another and ripped in some places. The plant is going to die, regardless if he puts it in another pot or gives it all the water in the world. No amount of care will save it.
He sniffs and drops the plant back on the ground, slumping back and leaning against the bottom cabinet under his sink.
“Fuck.” He says to himself, hand coming up to his face to wipe away stray tears.
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theshelbyclan · 4 years
Text
Family Secrets
Summary: Polly finally lets slip what the real Shelby curse is and as the youngest Shelby, with a little encouragement from John, you feel obligated to use it to your own advantage
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(Gif by @mistress-gif​) A/N: I wrote this one when I couldn’t sleep, a long time ago, fuelled by my own frustration of being picked on as the youngest. This has been a headcanon of mine for ages and I finally put it to paper. I never had any intention of posting it, but because I’ve reached the 500 followers mark, I decided to share. It’s short, fluffy and a lot lighter than the actual series. Enjoy!
Words: 3220
*** 
“Give me the fucking book, John!” you bellowed through the kitchen. Your aunt was adamant that you’d all eat together, one day a week, on Sunday. These dinners were great and important, but they always ended in chaos. Tommy usually left early to get on with work, so he was never part of the sibling banter that ensued.
You had just finished eating and while Aunt Polly was busy clearing the dishes, you thought you could read a little. How wrong you were.
Holding the book out of your reach, the most annoying brother in the world was grinning broadly at you. “I will punch you in the fucking throat…” you threatened. This only made John laugh harder and he threw the book over your head towards Arthur who caught it nimbly. “How about me, little sister,” Arthur said playfully, “Are you going to cut me?” With a sigh you turned around and made another failed attempt at grabbing the book. Arthur threw the book back at John and a little game had started that you had no energy for. Still, you wanted that fucking book. “Forget the book, Y/N,” Ada commented from behind her own book, “Let them have their fun.”
But you were too stubborn for your own good, “I’ll be damned if I let them win…” which gave rise to more laughter from your brothers. So you grabbed the nearest tea towel and threw it in Arthur’s face. Before he could remove it, you pounced and actually felt the book beneath your fingers now. Polly paused her work and watched the scene with interest, partially because it was sweet, in a very Shelby manner, and partially because she wanted to put a stop to it before her kitchen got destroyed. You were so close, but Arthur grabbed you around your waist and managed to get the book back to John. Now you were well and truly stuck. “Right, what now?” he teased in a low voice. “Get the fuck off!” you screamed, when John walked over to you and dangled the book in front of you. Stretching out your arms as much as you could, you could almost reach it. But John, evil as he was, used his other hand to tickle your ribs and you immediately crumpled down in Arthur’s arms. The second brother soon joined in and now you were being attacked by two pairs of hands. You dissolved in a mess of giggles within seconds and there was nothing you could do. Sliding down onto the floor, with very little hope of rescue from your sister or aunt, you were at their mercy completely. And then, like some miracle, Ada intervened. She grabbed John by the collar and pulled him back. You gasped for breath as soon as you could. “She’s had enough, John,” Ada said sternly, “Back off, or you’re next.” Arthur looked down on you with a huge grin on his face, “Ada, we both know she can take much more than that…” “Noo!” you whined and without waiting for him to finish his sentence, you rolled away on your stomach across the kitchen until you bumped into your aunt. “Should’ve punched him in the throat,” she said softly to you. “Don’t be a baby!” John called out, “It’s your own fault.” “How the fuck is it my fault?” you replied indignantly from the floor. “For being so fucking sensitive,” John grinned. Arthur joined in, “That’s right. Just turn it off.” You rolled your eyes almost audibly. 
John scoffed and pushed Ada away, “You’re fourteen now, Y/N. Time to learn.”
Polly turned around swiftly, “Oh, like you ever did!”
“What?” your head shot up.
Ada looked at you with a smirk, “What, you thought you were the only one?”
As you got to your feet, Polly helped you up and said meaningfully, “That’s the real family curse, sweetheart.”
Years of them pinning you down and teasing you bubbled up in frustration, “Are you saying that I’ve been going through torture for all these years, thinking that it was just me, when all this time…”
Arthur shrugged, “You’re the youngest and smallest. Comes with the territory.” 
“Besides, we’re stronger,” John added smugly. He was right of course, which made it all the more annoying.
Polly threw down the washing cloth and theatrically said, “Welcome to the Shelby family, feared by all in Birmingham and where everyone is ticklish as fuck!” Your entire worldview had been altered in seconds. Apparently this wasn’t news to your siblings, because they all looked completely unimpressed by this bit of information, while you stood there with your mouth hanging open in surprise. After thinking about all of this for a while, you asked, “Even Tommy?” “When we were kids we used to make fun of him,” John recalled with a glint in his eyes, “It’s just his ribs, but if you poke him suddenly, he literally jumps.” “He went absolutely feral,” Arthur nodded. An idea was taking shape in your head, “Would that still work, you think?” “You’ll only get yourself killed,” Ada commented in her usual bored tone of voice. “Do it!” John urged, “Come Ada, you know she’ll get away with it.” You and John had always been the most mischievous in the family and you shared a look with a similar twinkle in your eyes. You finally knew something Tommy didn’t know. This was your one chance to catch Thomas Shelby by surprise. ***
For the next couple of days, you tried to get your brother alone. It was strange, because on the one hand you couldn’t wait to try out your plan. Envisioning how he would react was brilliant already, but the feeling of power you had was even greater. However, you also feared his reaction. Thomas Shelby was a busy man and he had very little time for anyone these days. When he did spend time with you, it was short and it often involved him reprimanding you. In all honesty, you were a little scared of him, but not scared enough to let a prank like this one go to waste. You’d deal with the consequences, whatever they were.
John might’ve been even more excited than you were and whenever Tommy left to go somewhere on his own, he motioned you frantically to follow him. Finding the right time proved almost impossible though. So you decided just to get on with it. This was the day you would find out if your brother shared the family curse. Unfortunately, he’d been in a bad mood all day. He’d called a family meeting at breakfast and had left quickly after that. They’d all reconvene in the evening. Dodging all your other responsibilities, you shadowed Tommy for most of the day, but he had one business meeting after the other. His mood was getting darker and darker, and you began to wonder if you were actually suicidal. But then, unexpectedly, you found yourself alone with him outside. “Y/N,” he said strictly, “Tell me what’s going on.” You’d come outside for some peace, because today was one of the busiest days at the shop and you’d had enough of the noise. Outside, you planned on reading your book and you’d forgotten about Tommy for a minute. Until he had appeared suddenly. “Nothing,” you said, looking up.
“Then why have you been following me all day, eh?” He sounded annoyed almost and all courage left you.
Improvising quickly, you said, “Missed you at dinner last Sunday.” “I was there,” he lit a cigarette and sat down next to you on the stone steps.
“For five whole minutes…”
“There was business to attend to.” “And there’s family to attend to as well,” you replied, without missing a beat. Silently, he side-eyed you and a small smirk played around his lips, “You’re right, I’ll do better next week. Am I forgiven?” “No,” you feigned anger. He turned his head towards you and he smiled, and you couldn’t help but smile back.
The bond you had with Tommy was a complicated one. In many ways you were very similar, but the war had changed him the most. Sometimes you felt like you’d lost him completely, when you thought of how you used to talk and laugh with him when you were younger. These moments were so rare now. And these exact thoughts did the trick and you decided that you had to be the one to make that old Tommy come back, if only a little. So you said a silent prayer, decided not to overthink it and poked him in the ribs once. The effect was immediate. Thomas Shelby shot up and nearly rocketed himself off the steps. With a wild look of betrayal he turned his eyes on you and you almost burst out laughing.   “Are you okay? What’s wrong?” you asked innocently.
He cleared his throat, ran a hand through his hair and sat back down. Apparently, we’re pretending this never happened, you thought. 
A few seconds of awkward silence later, you poked him again. This time, a small yelp escaped him. The most feared gangster in Birmingham yelped, and you couldn’t stop yourself from laughing any longer. 
As you were still trying to regain composure, Tommy pointed at you with a menacing finger, “Do that again and you will not live to tell the fucking tale.” You could only snort in reply. He was trying so hard to act all scary and while that had an effect on most people, you just couldn’t be bothered right now: It was too funny. Besides, you thought you could detect just a hint of mirth behind those pale blue eyes and decided to risk everything on just that.
“I mean it, Y/N,” he repeated, raising his eyebrows, “Do it again, I fucking dare you, and see what happens.” So you did it again. 
In a flash, he was up and dove for you. But you were faster and jumped out of the way. Like the two of you were a part of a bad play, you started circling each other around the small yard. Neither said a word and seconds felt like hours. Then Arthur called from inside the house, “Tom!”
“You called a family meeting,” you reminded him, while relaxing a little at the prospect of escape.
Tommy’s eyes stayed on you and he cleared his throat again, “Fuck, alright. You’re coming with me.” And he lifted you up and threw you over one shoulder. Your shrieks filled the house as he walked through the betting den, over to the table where the family was already gathered, with you still on his shoulder. Without blinking, the leader of the Peaky Blinders announced, “Right, well you’re all here. Let’s talk business quickly…” Aunt Polly pointed vaguely at your arse, which was sticking up in the air, “You do realise you have my niece in your arms?” “Well aware, Poll,” Tommy continued, like it was the most normal thing in the world, “Business! We’ve done well this week. John’s shown me the books and we’re making more money than ever. Next week, we’re buying a new horse and I’m going to race her.” Flabbergasted, the family stared at Tommy. You could see the million questions on their faces, but they decided to wait until he was done talking. You had also refrained from protesting by now. “Poll, as treasurer I need your permission to buy the horse.” She blinked a few times and mumbled, “Buy the horse. Y/N‘s still…” Tommy held up a hand, “Not finished,” and everyone closed their mouths again, “John, I need you to talk to that old widow down the road. She’s recently lost her son and she should become part of our fund. Arthur, for fucks sake, get the books from the Garrison in order.” “It’s those bloody numbers, Tom…” Arthur grumbled in reply. “Are we all clear on what to do?” Tommy finished off in a hurry. When no one replied, he answered for them, “Good!” With this he plucked you down from his shoulder and held you in his arms bridal style. With a grave and business-like tone he announced, “As you all know, this is Y/N Shelby, youngest member of the family. While we were away in France, she kept the fort and she has often provided us with some relief in times of stress ever since we’ve come back. But not anymore.” John started to get nervous and looked from you to Tommy. Had they gone too far this time? But then he saw Arthur grinning and even Ada had a small smile on her face, so he knew Tommy was only playing. “Gentlemen,” Tommy continued, “This is the day that Y/N Shelby dies. Say goodbye to your sister.”
And that’s when you decided not to await your fate, so you made a sudden movement and jumped out of Tommy’s arms. Dashing past the table, you sought refuge behind Polly’s back. 
“Told you this would happen, Y/N,” Ada said, not helping at all.
For some reason, Polly got up and left the room, while stating triumphantly, “The secret’s out, Thomas. Deal with it.” Now you just had an empty chair for protection. Tommy pointed at you directly and practically growled, “And it’s going back in.” With three of the largest steps he was at your side once again.
So you held up your hands, “Okay, wait, I can explain.”
“Too late, little sister,” Tommy said in a low voice, “These are family secrets that are not spoken of.”
“You’re such a drama queen, Tommy,” your sister commented, while getting up to leave. And all you could think was: why would you leave me alone with these mad bastards?
You really should’ve known better but decided to go for the cocky approach, “There’s no point in trying to scare me now, Tommy, knowing what I know.” You raised your eyebrows in an attempt to show him you were still in control. You weren’t. In a flash he’d tackled you to the floor and had you pinned down, while whispering ominously, “You picked the wrong brother to fuck with, Y/N Shelby.”
And for the second time in a week, you cursed your own sensitive skin as dexterous hands attacked your sides. Incapable of little but laughing and screaming, you flailed around hopelessly. Tommy’s face was slowly softening into a smile as well.
“Tommy!” you pleaded between giggles, “It was John, not me!” “Was it now?” he taunted without stilling his fingers, “And who was the fool to listen to his ideas, eh?” He moved up to your ribs, which made the pitch of your laughter increase. “Toohoohoom! Wait!”
Now, it was no secret that your major weakness in life was your sensitivity. Usually it was John who took the most advantage of it, being the mad joker that he was, but he often got Finn or Arthur to join in. Arthur on his own could be absolutely brutal, which was due to his strength as well, so there was no hope for you at all. Ada didn’t bother much, but when she did, she was merciless, much like Polly. But Tommy, he was a whole other story. You didn’t have many moments like this with him anymore, but when he did play and did get his hands on you, it was hell. He knew exactly how to reduce you to a small heap of giggles, pleading for your life and regretting all life choices up to that point. And this was happening right now. His smile was widening and he shook his head, “You thought you could beat me, eh?” “Yeheeeheees,” you admitted. Then he stopped for a second, allowing you to breathe, “Alright, you little devil, I’ll give you one a chance to speak.”
Residual giggles were pouring from your mouth, “Never… listen… to… John.” Tommy looked up at his younger brother who was showing zero remorse on his face, and he nodded slowly, “Good. What else?” “I’ve learned that Thomas Shelby sounds like a girl when…” but you never got to finish that sentence, as he continued his assault.
“Wrong answer. And you are way to ticklish to have an attitude like that, Y/N,” he said calmly. 
As he dragged your arms up and dug his hands under your arms, you squeezed your eyes shut, “NOOOO, I’M SOOHOORYYY!” “Are you?” he asked, now smiling broadly at your reaction, “Then tell me what you’ve fucking learned from this, eh?” “YOU DON’T FUCK WITH THE PEAKY BLINDERS!” you managed to shout out between laughs. “That’s right,” Arthur commented, watching the scene while sitting back in his chair, “Finally, she gets it.” Tommy paused and looked at both of his brothers, as if he was waiting for their verdict. “Nah,” John decided to cause more trouble, “I don’t think she has…” Still struggling unsuccessfully to get out of Tommy’s grasp, you shouted, “John, shut your fucking mouth or I swear to God…” Tommy rolled his eyes and interrupted you, “Get her, boys,” he called out, “Let’s teach our sister some respect for her brothers.” So now there were three brothers trying to keep you in place, while you were being tickled from all sides. Why did you listen to John? Why did you not know better than to challenge Tommy? Spluttering, kicking and fighting like crazy, you managed to kick them a little bit at least, but the fact that they were all grinning down on you still meant that it didn’t help much. 
Tears leaking out of your eyes, you shrieked, “YOOOUAAHAHAH AHAHAHALL SUAHAHACK!”
Then Tommy stopped them and crossed his arms in front of him. The amusement was twinkling in his eyes, “Had enough?” “Yep,” you said quickly, wiping the tears from your eyes. “Whatever Polly has told you,” he widened his eyes and brought his face close to yours, “Family secrets are not spoken of.” “Fine!” you called out, “They’re not spoken of.” His smile grew again, “Remember this, Y/N. And remember this was nothing compared to what we can do and what I will do, if you ever feel the need to cross Thomas fucking Shelby again.” You got up, again, and brushed yourself off while sending a death-stare to each of your brothers. But when Tommy smiled at you, there was a certain warmth to it that you hadn’t seen in ages.
“Wankers…” you mumbled carefully. Tommy smirked slightly, “You brought this upon yourself, Y/N. Now you know what happens…” “…when you fuck with the Peaky Blinders. Bladibladibla…” you finished his sentence. Making your way to the door, you turned back for a moment, “To be fair, Tommy, I did just saw you jump up about a foot because you’re actually fucking ticklish. So much for the whole gangster act, I should say.” Tommy’s eyes narrowed, John burst out laughing and Arthur managed to shout out a quick “Oi!” And before anyone could react, you sprinted away. Somehow, this still felt like a victory. Sure, you were the youngest and probably the most sensitive in the family, but you had discovered your own weapon now. John would be next, just for setting you up. Arthur would involve more planning. But finding Tommy’s weakness, that was the real triumph. Behind you, you could hear Tommy sit down and sigh, “Well, boys, we’re well and truly fucked now…”
And you grinned to yourself. The game was on.
***
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