#and keeps getting kicked until something collapses and they see the chance to fully privatize an industry

[awkward-teabag]

Love (cannot emphasis how much sarcasm there is in that word) that an official Canadian government response to high cellphone rates is to switch carriers.

Switch it to what? We basically have three companies since one was allowed to eat the forth (with the government saying it wasn't anti-competition and the company eating the other pinky promising they wouldn't jack rates up). Even the smaller companies have to rent infrastructure from the Big Three so there's only so much they can do if that rent costs an arm and a leg.

And that's not touching on how many "small companies" are actually just subsidiaries of the Big Three. You may save $5 but you're still with Telus/Rogers/Bell.

Or that the actual small companies tend to have shit coverage because they don't have the infrastructure available to them and are prevented from getting it. Or their traffic is throttled in favour of the Big Three's customers. Or both.

Or that they're extremely regional thus aren't an option for a huge chunk of Canada's population.

We have no true options and the government has shown time and again that they're fine with monopolies, in multiple industries, and don't care when said monopolies jack up prices to make shareholders and the c-suite more money at the expense of everyone else. At most there will be a verbal slap on the wrist and a giftcard for $25 that people have to register for, for a decade and a half of price gouging.

It's not talked a whole lot about outside the country from what I've seen and heard but Canada is a country of monopolies. A handful of companies own nearly everything, every province has a family or two that owns a hell of a lot (Nova Scotia is basically owned by one family at this point), and our government ignores it. Even the branch that is supposed to be against monopolies is fine with mergers and takeovers in most cases.

Because, you know, the company said it totally wouldn't use consumers' lack of options to increase prices.

#canada #so much of our infrastructure and critical construction such as housing #has been pawned off for decades to private companies #and i forgot to mention one (1) family owns the bridge that is a major international corridor between canada and the us #which is apparently fine even though they fought tooth and nail to stop a bridge they don't own from being built #like our housing crisis can be traced back to the government deciding to stop building public housing in the 90s #because they figured private developers would pick up the slack #affordable apartments don't bring in much money so we got decades of cheap-ass 'luxury condos' instead #and once airbnb became a thing we got entire buildings with units <300sqft #and of course when the party in charge rotates between conservatives and neolibs nothing changes and that can gets kicked down the road #and keeps getting kicked until something collapses and they see the chance to fully privatize an industry #something similar is happening to our healthcare system too #it has been left to languish for years/decades with funding freezes and cuts #and private companies are quick to jump in and get the government stamp of approval to do [thing] that the public system clearly can't do #when [thing] would absolutely be possible if it was actually funded and/or staffed #so many communities were cut off when greyhound closed up shop because there's no government inter-city transportation #we lost internet/banking/cell service/etc nation-wide because one of the big three decided to push an update to live without redundancies #and it bugged and took the entire company's network down #even the government agency that demands major companies have a backup on a different network was taken down because they ignored that #and they got a deal if they kept their backup with rogers while their main network was also rogers #so they couldn't even make an emergency statement or anything about it #half my province also lost all digital infrastructure because it's a private company and making a redundancy line would mean smaller bonuse #it's just so bad #joke all you want about how canada is nice and friendly #but you are wrong and it's hell if you actually live here #the only reason canada is seen as nice is because it's hard to not seem like the better option when the us is your neighbour #and because of decades of pr work to make canada seem friendly and nice and not at all problematic #in some countries you actually have to try to hide you're canadian because of how much we colonize and the damage we do to other countries #yes these tags have derailed from the post but ugh #i take major issue with people who insist canada is nice and has never done anything wrong

[afairytalestray]

Cassandra (ft. Casslonzo)

It’s me, back on my Cats precanon hc nonsense (masterpost here). Today I come bearing Part 10(a) - Cassandra (ft, Casslonzo). I’ve spoken about Alonzo before in previous posts, so this one is more focussed on my girl Cassandra, who deserves more love. It’s Part 10(a) because it originally led into some tuggoffelees stuff, but it was getting far too long to be acceptable, so I split it in two, but they’re still kinda linked. That second part will be coming soon (possibly tomorrow)! Pls enjoy my Cassandra thoughts!

Cassandra arrives in the Junkyard after Bombalurina, Demeter, and Mistoffelees, but before Mungojerrie and Rumpleteazer. Before that, she was alone. She was born a housecat, but was abandoned by her owners when they moved. Being left to fend for herself on the streets was terrifying, and she had to dramatically adapt to survive. She had been a rather pampered pet, but after she grew tough and cold. She learned how to fight, and she learned quickly and thoroughly. Her aloof demeanour and fighting prowess ensured that other street Cats left her well alone, and that’s how she wanted it. At one point she was approached by Macavity’s gang, but swiftly sent the two henchcats packing with some nice new scars. 

Her abandonment shattered her ability to trust. She wouldn’t let anyone approach her, and would hiss and swipe at them if they did. That said, she felt so lonely all the time. She wanted friends, but she was terrified to reach out, to make herself vulnerable again. She ended up joining the Jellicles almost by accident.

Alonzo was out for a stroll one day when he saw an elegant brown Queen locked in confrontation with two much larger Toms. He immediately moved to help her, but she angrily yelled at him to back off. Alonzo faltered, but then watched in awe as Cass fought them off. He approached her afterwards, but was roughly snapped at again - Cass snarls that she doesn’t need his help and he’d better leave her alone. Unfortunately, Alonzo was already fairly infatuated, and returned to her patch the next three days in a row to see her and try to talk to her. To this day, she can’t remember how he managed to get her name. Cass figured that he was just stubborn - there was no way he would actually care for real. However, Alonzo’s insistent presence turned out to be a lifesaver. During her fight, one of the other Cats managed to get a bite in, which then got infected. Cass grew fevery and weak, and on the fourth day of Alonzo’s visits, she collapsed while yelling at him.

Alonzo didn’t hesitate in running her to Jellylorum and Jennyanydots - the Jellicle tribe healers. They were able to fight off the infection and clean the wound on her leg, but Cass was a very difficult patient - withdrawn and untrusting. She was sentenced to bedrest, but continually tried to escape - but she never got very far before her leg would give out. The longer she stayed, the more fond of Jelly and Jenny she grew, but still couldn’t trust them. Eventually, when she was able to leave, Alonzo knew he couldn't stop her, but he asked her to stay anyway; he’d been to visit her every day in the medical den, and despite herself she’d come to enjoy his company. But the thought of trusting the tribe (and him) was too much for her, and she left. That was, until one day when she overheard two of Macavity’s henchcats plotting to invade the Junkyard. She let them leave, reluctantly convincing herself that the Jellicles would be just fine, until she couldn’t. She returned to the Junkyard under the guise of making sure the Cats who were kind to her were alright, but then she saw one of the henchcats injure Alonzo, who was on patrol, and she went absolutely ape shitt. 

Afterwards, she hung around to see him properly taken care of - during which Alonzo, on a painkiller-induced high, told her he loved her, and then immediately proceeded to forget he’d done so, of course. It was actually Munkustrap who convinced her to give the Jellicles a chance. As Alonzo’s best friend, he visited him a lot while he was recovering, and had lots of chances to try and talk with the mysterious Queen Alonzo was so taken with. Although he didn’t know her past, he correctly assumed that she distanced herself because she’d been hurt, and he knows what it’s like to be abandoned by someone you care about. He told her the Junkyard would always be open to her no questions asked, should she want it - they owed her one for saving Alonzo, and that she’d always be welcome/have a place there, and actually if she wanted to stay and be a protector then that would be great because they were rather short-staffed, so she’d more than earn her keep. He emphasised that the Jellicles look after their own, they’re a family, which spoke to her lonely soul. He also dropped some mega hints that Alonzo very much meant what he said. He gave Cass the push she needed to (tentatively) decide to stay.

Alonzo helped Cassandra to settle into the Junkyard, and assisted her when she decided to start protector training. Although Cassandra could easily kick his ass, she allowed it because he’s actually quite sweet and helpful and not condescending about it. (Alonzo is also very aware of this, but uses it as an excuse to be close). Cassandra had been on her own for a while, and was unaccustomed to the amount of kindness the Jellicles showed her. It takes her a while to settle in fully. She’s still quite a solitary and private Cat, but becomes fiercely loyal to her new tribe, once she’s convinced they’d never abandon her. She’s closest with Jenny, Jelly, Munk, Victoria and Misto, and of course Alonzo. Victoria and Misto are two of her favourite Cats due to their quieter nature compared to that of the more boisterous Jellicles. Actually, surprisingly, she gets really excited about Misto’s magic, like, out-of-character kind of excitement. Her whole face lights up like a kitten’s when he does anything. Later on, when Misto is more comfortable using his magic around other Cats, Cass is always keen to help out. Alonzo melts inside at how pure it all is. Cassandra doesn’t let on, but she worked really hard to build a relationship with Alonzo’s siblings, as she knows how much he loves them.

Her relationship with Alonzo is something of a slow burn. Alonzo has a tendency to (unintentionally) bring out her softer side, which is something that freaks her out at first. However, she can’t help but like him. He’s always genuine when he speaks to her. Sure, he puffs himself up sometimes like a peacock, but it’s usually to try and make her laugh (she doesn’t laugh often enough in his opinion). The two of them never really have a whole confession/ask each other out type thing, they kind of just fall into it and wake up one day and realise they’re in a relationship. Alonzo is the first Cat Cassandra trusts, enough to tell him about her abandonment. He opens up to her as well, confiding to her his fears that he’ll never be able to salvage a relationship with his younger half brother Mistoffelees. She helps him work through some of his guilt, and he helps her open up to the others more.

To Alonzo’s dismay, Cassandra is very fond of Tugger. She jokes that it’s for purely shallow reasons, but the truth is that Tugger always goes out of his way to make her feel included and wanted, like she’s a real part of the group. This is still something she struggles with a bit, and she tends to hang back at times, unsure. Neither of them ever talk about it, but when Tugger comes to her for help, she jumps at the chance to repay him.

#my headcanons #cats the musical #cassandra #casslonzo #alonzo #Munkustrap #a better wingman than you might have thought

[when-they-write-stuff]

How about 34?

34. “Now I know where half my wardrobe went.”

- -

The thing is, Stiles was missing clothes.

It took him a long time to figure that out but when he did, he was pretty sure he was losing his mind. Because he wasn’t just missing a shirt or two; he was missing clothes. Like, lots of clothes. Like, a shirt every other day and sometimes a handful of his pants on the stray weekend.

By the time Stiles opened his closet and realized that he only had three shirts, two long sleeves, and three pairs of pants left, Stiles was sure something was going wrong. He wasn’t losing his mind. He most certainly wasn’t imagining anything.

Someone was stealing his clothes.

Stiles’s first assumption was Scott because the boy used to wear his t-shirts all the time when he came over for the weekend or from lacrosse practice. But Scott had been so busy with Allison lately, Stiles didn’t think he would’ve had the chance. 

Which really narrowed the list down to… well, Stiles didn’t really know who else. The betas maybe, but he didn’t think anyone of them would be caught dead wearing his clothes. He’d already learned first hand that Derek didn’t fit into any of his clothes and Peter… well, Stiles didn’t even want to think about that.

He’d kill the man for a second time if Peter was laying a clawed finger on any of his clothes.

Someone was stealing his clothes, Stiles knew that for sure. He just didn’t know who. Or why. And it was starting to drive him crazy.

When Derek ducked through his bedroom that night, Stiles was sitting cross-legged on his bed playing video games. He startled so hard when the man came swinging through his window that he collapsed sideways and went sprawling to the floor, a sharp screaming noise coming from his x-box as his character was slain by zombies.

Derek moved across the room slowly and gazed down at him, arching a brow. Stiles glowered right back up.

“Enjoying the view, Sourwolf?”

“What are you doing.”

“Oh, you know,” Stiles said, waving his video game controller through the air. “Sometimes I get a little surprised when angry-browed werewolves come streaking through my window like Shadow the Hedgehog. Seriously, dude, do you not know how to use a door? My dad’s going to walk in on us one day and suspect some very inappropriate things.”

Derek’s face turned bright red and he stepped back. Stiles pushed himself up with a groan and brushed off his bare chest before leveling the man with a flat glare.

“So, can I help you? Or did you just come here to scare me out of my wits and make me lose in my game? I was setting a new high score by the way.”

“... You’re not wearing any pants.”

“And astounding observation, Sherlock. Do you have anything else to say or can I return to kicking some zombie ass?”

“Stiles, you’re not wearing any clothes.”

Stiles looked at him for a long moment. Then he glanced back down at himself; bare-chested, no pants, just his super awesome Batman boxers. He thought maybe he should be a little embarrassed but Derek had raided his private space, not the other way around. Stiles was not embarrassed at all. 

“Yeah,” he said, shrugging. “So?”

“Why.”

“Cause someone keeps stealing my clothes.”

Derek’s eyes rounded. Stiles thought he looked a little shocked… and maybe a little scared? But that was Derek Hale, ladies and gentlemen. The man was an enigma. Stiles didn’t know what the hell was going on in his head half the time.

“Someone is stealing your clothes?”

“Yup,” Stiles said, launching himself back into bed. He restarted his game and continued to ignore the Alpha werewolf that was currently staring at him.

“And you’re not bothered by that?”

“Oh, I’m pissed,” Stiles said. “But it’s a Friday night and that means I’m not worrying about anything except setting a new high score in Call of Duty: Zombies this weekend. Now either go downstairs and get me a snack, or make yourself scarce, because you’re harshing my vibe, dude.”

Derek blinked at him a few times. Then he shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable and Stiles paused his game, glancing sideways.

“Uh, Sourwolf? You good?”

“I’ll just go.”

Stiles raised an eyebrow. Derek started to turn away but then he glanced back, shrugging off his leather jacket and throwing it in Stiles’s face. Stiles squawked and his game made another screeching noise as he died for the second time that night.

“Dude, what the hell?”

“Wear that.”

“No!”

“Stiles,” Derek said, a bit of red in his eyes. “Wear that.”

Stiles glowered at him, but the man didn’t wait for another answer. Before Stiles could even say a word, Derek was ducking back out his window and, just like that, he was gone again. 

Stiles blinked at his open window for a moment before glancing back at the jacket in his lap. For a moment, he debated pulling it on, but then he only shrugged and went back to his game.

Werewolves, he thought, didn’t make sense. None of them.

Especially Derek Hale.

-

Long after Stiles had beat his game and his bedtime had come and gone, he was still awake. Stiles had been spending the past week taking exams and he was determined to enjoy his weekend for every second that he could.

So when Derek came ducking back through his window for the second time that night, Stiles wasn’t exactly taken off guard because he was asleep or anything. But he was taken off guard because what the hell. How did the man not know how to knock?

“Dude!” Stiles said, rammed against the headboard with his baseball bat gripped tightly in his hands. “Use the door, knock, come on!”

Derek shifted nervously and Stiles realized the man had something in his hands. He blinked at it a few times and then lowered his bat, hoping off his bed and crossing the room.

Derek held a plastic bag, he realized. One full of t-shirts and pants.

Not Stiles’s t-shirts or pants. Derek’s t-shirts and pants.

“Dude,” Stiles said, blinking at them. Slowly, he raised his eyes back up and Derek was trying very hard to look anywhere but his face. “Derek, I’m not sure what you want me to do with these, but I’m not trying to bankrupt you of your clothes either. We can’t both go running around Beacon Hills in our boxers.”

“They’re for you,” Derek said. “To wear.”

“Why.”

“Because, Stiles,” Derek said. It looked like he was gritting his teeth. “You aren’t wearing any clothes.”

Stiles blinked dumbly at him a few times. Then a slow smile crept across his face and he tilted his head, splaying one hand across his chest. His very bare chest. Derek’s face turned even brighter red. “Oh, Sourwolf. Are you trying to preserve my dignity?”

“Keep that up and you won’t have any more dignity to preserve.”

Stiles didn’t think that was an actual threat but his heart still leaped into his throat all the same. Derek’s face turned bright red as he seemed to hear his own words too, and he clenched his jaw, shoving the plastic bag into Stiles’s hands.

“Go put something on.”

“Dude,” Stiles said. “I’m not planning on leaving my house all weekend. The only person who might see my half-naked presence is my father and he saw me fully naked when I first came into this world, so I really don’t think that’ll be a problem.”

Derek actually looked like he could rip Stiles’s throat out. That also shouldn’t have made his heart skip a beat. “Stiles, wear the clothes.”

“I don’t wanna wear the clothes.”

“Wear the clothes.

“I don’t want to wear the clothes!”

Derek gave him a red-eyed look and Stiles’s stomach flipped. Before his lower body could decide to take on a life of its own, Stiles covered himself with the bag of clothes and turned, ducking out of the bedroom. 

He could only thank god his dad was on a shift, because he didn’t know how he’d even begin to explain any of this if the Sheriff had seen.

Five minutes later, Stiles came out in one of Derek’s giant henleys and sweatpants that were rolled around his waist three times. He stalked back to his room and threw the rest of Derek’s clothes onto his bed, giving the man a dark look.

“There, are you happy?”

Derek actually did look a little pleased.

“Now, I don’t know what kind of agenda this is backing, but I was trying to play some video games for the next twelve hours,” Stiles said, grabbing his console and launching himself back into bed. “As I let you know earlier, which was clearly ignored. Now, unless you want to join in, you can get your little werewolf ass back out the window or I’m going to take a baseball bat to your face.”

Derek blinked at him. Then he turned and pulled himself out the window, gone like Shadow the Hedgehog for the second time that day.

Stiles didn’t understand anything sometimes.

-

Two weeks later, Stiles finally decided it was time to stop eyeing Derek’s forgotten leather jacket on the edge of his bed and bring it back to the loft. He’d been tempted more than once to give it a wear, but he’d chickened out every time.

He was slightly terrified Derek would hunt him down rip his throat out for ever tainting his jacket. Or the man would get all weird again— like he had been for every day that led up until the one Stiles had convinced his dad to take him out clothes shopping.

When he showed up at the loft though, it was startling quiet. And seemingly empty.

Stiles poked around in each room until he plodded into Derek’s. Then he froze to see the man fast asleep in his bed, buried underneath a pile of blankets and…

No way.

Stiles blinked at the mound of his own clothes. His plaid t-shirts, an occasional pair of jeans. Stiles realized his mouth was hanging open and he closed it with a snap; and Derek startled awake so hard, this time it was the man rolling straight out of bed.

Stiles crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow. 

Grey-green eyes flicked up and Derek looked like a deer caught in headlights. His eyes were round and his face was pale. Stiles thought it would be the most amusing thing he’d ever seen if not for the fact that the man was sleeping surrounded by his clothes.

His clothes.

This was going to be such a long conversation. 

“So,” Stiles said, leaning against the doorway and kind of enjoying the fear in Derek’s eyes. “I guess now I know where half my wardrobe went.”

Derek stayed frozen on the floor. Stiles smiled.

“Let’s have a talk, Sourwolf.”

- -

This one was so much fun! I just love the idea of sharing clothes/scents with Sterek, I dunno why. Thanks for the prompt, my friend!

(if you enjoy my writing, consider supporting your underpaid student writer? You can also request a prompt if you’d like!). https://ko-fi.com/rh27writer

#sterek #teen wolf #derek hale #stiles stilinski #clothes sharing #scenting #all the fluff and humor #prompts #ice-mage

[nunukibebe]

Solid

WARNING: swear words and alcoholic beverages, oh my!

Jooheon/Reader

Yes! My first Monsta X story... Thing. (Idk what you call these). I love them as much as I love Ateez, so I had to share this with y'all. Just something cute and fluffy while I'm sicker than a dog and hacking up a lung.

For @one-hunnit

-_-_-_-_-

8:57 PM: "Joojoo, can I crash at your place tonight pls?"

9:22 PM: " yaeh ill be in l8tr"

9:30 PM: "Same code?"

10:12 PM: "duh."

10:15 PM: "Brat."

10:48 PM: "loser."

SIX HOURS LATER

Staring in silence as your friend stumbled into his apartment, not bothering to hide the huge yawn that split his face in two, you held a hand to your mouth to keep from laughing out loud as he dropped his duffel bag on the floor. Shoulders drooping as he let out a sigh, he sagged slightly before shaking his head and straightening up. 

Not for the first time, you could see the circles under his eyes and the pinched look to his mouth that he hid well. Hand resting on your upturned knee, TV remote dangling from your fingers, the show you'd been watching paused the second you'd heard the locks beeping open, your eyes followed his figure as he kicked off his shoes and shrugged out of his jacket. As he slipped on the ridiculously orange slippers he loved, you tilted your head, waiting for him to realize you were there.

You'd been expecting him to be late, but 4 am had rolled around with no sign of him, so you'd gotten comfy on the couch, sneaking in a chance to burrow in his hoodie, the item already large on him, it swamped you. It was a much needed security blanket at the moment, and you snuggled deeper into it as you fought a grin when a stumble from your friend had him finally coming back to reality. The second his eyes landed on you, he lept backwards as a scream of fright left his lips, a leg in the air as he faked a kick.

Unable to help the snort of laughter that escaped, you waved a sleeve covered hand at him as he waved his hands in front of him like the ninja he most definitely was not. Cheeks twitching slightly as you tried to keep your laughter in check, you couldn't help the teasing tone from your voice when you spoke.

"You forgot I was gonna be here, didn't you?"

"Jesus FUCK, you scared the shit out of me!" Jooheon panted, a large hand clutching his chest, fingers digging for his heart as his other arm supported his weight from where he leaned on the arm chair, knees still recovering from the scare.

"I'll take that as a big, fat no." You snickered, batting away the glare your friend sent your way, blue hair falling messily in front of his eyes, which were dull with exhaustion.

When he finally decided to just collapse into the armchair, you wrapped your arms around your knee, other leg crossed underneath you and the blanket you'd dragged from Jooheon's bedroom. His eyes latching onto the familiar black hoodie, a tired eyebrow was raised and you shrugged, taking the opportunity to flap your sweater-paws at him. His snort of amusement used his whole body, and you flipped him your middle finger, sinking back into the couch cushions as Jooheon sighed again.

"I am sorry I forgot though." Jooheon apologized, a hand brushing through his hair tiredly before he brought both hands down his face. "We had to get a dance practice video out." He explained and you shrugged again, cutting him off when he tried to apologize more, ever the kind hearted person.

"It's ok." You assured him with a small smile. "I knew what I signed up for when I became the best-friend of an Idol."

"Best-friend? You sure about that?"

Ignoring the muttered comment you caught coming from your friends mouth, you decided to be the more mature one and settled for sticking your tongue out, kicking the blanket off as you stood up. Legs instantly breaking out into goosebumps as the fall weather gave the air a crisp bite to it, you shivered and padded barefoot to his kitchen, calling out over your shoulder as you went.

"Need a drink?"

"Yes please!" 

Rolling your eyes at the vehement reply, your hand switched direction mid course, fingers grabbing a beer can instead of a bottle of water, instinctively knowing that it was what he was wanting. Pausing as you straightened up from the fridge, you glanced at the beer in hand and then back to the five that remained before grabbing one for yourself.

After the week you'd had, a beer at 4 am with Jooheon was just what you needed.

"Hands up." You called as you walked back towards the living room, and when a hand appeared over the back of the arm chair, you didn't hesitate, tossing one of the beer cans without a second glance.

The snap, hiss and crack of the beer can opening was enough to let you know he'd caught it and you sniggered under your breath as you sank back down on the couch, drawing the blanket back over your legs. Opening your own beer, you took your first swallow of the strong beverage, wincing as the aftertaste hit your tongue, exaggerating your expression on purpose.

At that Jooheon had to laugh, his first belly laugh since he'd stepped into his apartment and you felt a spark of joy light up inside you as your friend perked up a little. You knew his job was draining, even though he loved it, so when he actually made the effort to carve out time to see you, you tried to be like a human battery, transferring your energy to him via stupid jokes and silliness. And in some way, he repaid you by being a solid presence when your foundations felt weak.

And they definitely felt weak tonight. Work had been brutal, co-workers had been bitchy and people you'd thought were friends had turned out to be backstabbers. You needed the solidity he offered.

"Yah, why the frown?" Jooheon called softly, breaking the small moment of silence. Shaking your head, bringing yourself out of the brief trip down unpleasant memory lane, you forced a smile on your face as you looked up from where you'd been staring at the beer can. Fingertips fiddling with the tab, you caught the concerned dip of his eyebrows.

"It's been a rough week is all." You really didn't want to talk about it, and Jooheon knew it. He could tell by the way your shoulders tightened and how your knuckles went white as your grip on the can tightened. So he shrugged it off and decided to wait until you brought it up.

"Well, I'm going to take my beer to the bathroom and take a quick shower." He announced instead, groaning slightly as he picked himself up off the armchair, plush mouth pulling taut as his muscled pulled, and you frowned again, this time in worry over your friend.

"4 am shower beer?" You questioned with a snort as Jooheon smirked at you, raising his beer in a silent cheer, to which you raised yours in return, calling out after him. "Classy!"

Smiling as you took a sip from your drink, Jooheon's laughter echoed down the hallway before the sound of his bedroom door shutting ended it and you sunk deeper into the cushions, pulling your knees up as your free hand brought the blanket up around you, eyes staring blankly at the space between you and the TV. Mind rehashing the previous week, flashes of arguments flashing across your memory relentlessly, the phantom pain of being backstabbed was ever present and it demanded to be felt.

And that was how Jooheon found you, staring at the still paused TV screen, fingers sliding around the rim of the beer can, the small muscle in your jaw jumping as your mind raced behind your eyes, and not for the first time he found himself entranced as your face reflected your thoughts. Knowing of no other way to help you other than to distract you, he leapt over the back of the couch and settled himself on the cushions, damp head resting in your lap.

"Pet me." He whined with a pout, tone firm as though he wouldn't take no for an answer, and when you raised an eyebrow at him, he poked a finger into his dimple and you slapped a hand over his mouth before he could pull out the baby voice. "Mmph!" His voice muffled, you snickered as you knew he'd just cursed at you.

"You're such a child." You muttered under your breath, not bothering to hide the smile as your fingers complied with his request, burying themselves into his hair, fingernails lightly scratching at his scalp. Your friend simply stuck his tongue out at you before turning his attention to whatever show you'd been watching, now long forgotten.

As Jooheon started to visibly relax, you could see his eyes start to droop as you ran your fingers through his hair, eyes stuck on watching the blue strands brush over your skin. If Jooheon was a cat, you were pretty sure he'd be purring right about now, and you stifled the chuckle that rose in your throat with a swig of beer. For as long as you'd known Jooheon, he'd always needed to have some form attention at all times, and while at first it had annoyed you down to your last nerve, it had grown on you.

So much so that it wasn't at all uncommon to see him lounging just like he was now whenever you were at his apartment. Or whenever you were simply around. If he met you for coffee, he'd drag you to the most private part he could find and sweep you up in a bone crushing hug before draping himself across your shoulders.  Smiling to yourself as you remembered how you used to hate his bear hugs, you had to admit that you loved them now. No day was fully complete without a hug from Jooheon.

Blinking in surprise at the sudden thought, you couldn't help but recall all the times you'd fight against the hug and Jooheon would just hold on, that damn smirk playing on his lips. Of course, you always ended up leaning into the hug, grumbling and muttering under your breath as Jooheon laughed, squeezing you tighter, arms stuck to your sides so you couldn't swat at him.

Stuck in the memory, a pleasant one for a change, you let it play on, the familiar bubble of some unnamed emotion that always grew in your chest when you were around Jooheon spreading a giddy warmth through your body. 

Of course, as soon as Jooheon did let you, you were right there with a solid punch to the shoulder, grumbling under your breath when it always seemed to hurt you more than it hurt him. And Jooheon always reacted, pretending it hurt even though you knew it didn't. The scene was vivid in your mind, it occured so often that it was like watching a movie that only you could see. 

So when the memory of Jooheon smirking at you, that puckish glint in his eyes as he uttered the one line he always said after he'd annoyed you, the one you'd never really payed attention to because you were so busy being frustrated with him, came up in your mind, it was crystal clear and you finally heard the words.

"You know you love me."

Feeling those words like a punch to the tit, your chest felt like it caved inwards as they echoed in your ears and you swore your heart stopped beating for a minute. Closing your eyes as you sucked in a breath through lungs that didn't seem to be working, you pressed a hand to your chest, surprised at the rapid beat as literal lights went off in your heads, points finally connecting in a heart shaped pattern.

A soft sigh broke the silence that had engulfed the two of you, and unable to help it, you looked down and swallowed, hard. Jooheon was staring up at you, the flashing TV light throwing odd shadows dancing across his face, and a little voice inside your head, sounding more and more familiar, remarked that you'd never seen him look so handsome.

"You would suck so bad at poker." His words were soft, affectionate even.

Sitting rigid as though your spine had turned into a rod of steel, you couldn't bring yourself to look away as ,slowly, the emotions crossing his face started to make sense.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Brain tripping over your tongue, you forced your vocal cords to work, hating that all you could manage was a whisper. 

And then Jooheon smirked as he reached out to tug on one of the hoodie strings, eyes roaming across your face like he was reading his favorite book.

"Watching you think is more entertaining than television. Every thought you have plays across your face when you get lost in your head. It's like you have your own little language in facial expressions."

Words dying on the tip of your tongue, you watched, frozen, as he reached up to trail the back of his fingers down your cheek, his touch leaving a blazing trail his eyes followed. You knew Jooheon well enough to know that he wasn't done speaking, and you were proved right, a little burst of pride in your gut, when he spoke again.

"I'm glad you finally figured it out." He muttered, eyes hooded as he looked back up to your eyes, still keeping his head in your lap.

Almost as if he knew that as soon as he moved you'd be up and running.

"Figured what out?" Happy that the words came out clear, you bit your tongue to keep from making a sound when Jooheon chuckled low in his throat, the real version of the one he did on stage and was in his sexy persona.

"That you love me, you idiot. I was waiting for you to catch up."

#monsta x #monsta x fic #monsta x fluff #jooheon #jooheon fluff #jooheon monsta x #christeewrites #fluff #jooheon fic

[airquietworks]

Expecting! (IzuOcha)(Part 1)

Summary: “In other news today, pro heroes Deku and Uravity made a big announcement: they are having a baby! The two heroes appeared on a special cover of Hero Life, which featured the couple posing nude. The pair are expecting….”

The world may never be the same. Izuku and Ochako have to answer for their choice to have a child. Navigating pregnancy and heroics is no small task, but together, they are determined to succeed.

———————————————————————————————————–

Chapter 1: Love, work and burdens

———————————————————————————————————–

“Alright. Comfortable? How about we just start with your names for the recording?”

A brief pause. Her subjects subtly squeezed each other’s hands. She jotted that down into her notepad. Every detail mattered.

“Ochako Midoriya.”

“Izuku Midoriya.”

Hearing their names said aloud made the whole situation seem all the more real. She was actually doing this. She was actually interviewing Deku and Uravity, the most famous hero couple on the planet! She felt a strong urge to gush and squeal about this opportunity.

But she would not do that, of course. She was Kyoko Chijie. She was a professional. She had gotten her awe and fangirling out of the way prior to the interview. She was ready. Ready to cut straight to the hearts of these two heroes – in due time.

“Now, let’s start from the beginning. What was your reaction when you found out you were pregnant?”

Her subjects’ faces remained calm, but their nerves were evident. Neither of them was quite willing to look directly at her. There was a mild flush staining Uravity’s cheeks at the question, as she gingerly ran her fingers on her enlarged belly.

“Umm…well…” Uravity began weakly, voice barely above a whisper. “I was pretty…pretty happy.”

“Definitely happy,” Deku echoed, only marginally louder. He did not elaborate.

There was an awkward pause after that. Kyoko watched Uravity’s eyes stay glued to her lap. She was so unlike the indomitable person who appeared on television. It was strange; Kyoko had seen her ace plenty of interviews before.

But this was different. Uravity rarely, if ever, talked about her personal life. The two heroes were notoriously private about their relationship.

That was what made this opportunity so magnificent. They were giving her a glimpse into the world behind their heroics, in an effort to control the message about their future child. It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to understand how these professionals functioned. More importantly, it was a chance to expose the difficulties and dramas that heroes experienced behind the scenes.

That was her angle, anyway. She hoped she could get there in time. If all went well, she could push herself to the very top of the journalism world. She would be fair, but she fully intended to get the answers she needed to write the story of her career.

Kyoko could feel her pulse rising from the thrill of it all. She thrummed the six fingers on her right hand across the page – a plain Quirk which paled in comparison to the mighty paragons she was talking to.

Indeed, their physical presence and wholesome good looks were intimidating. She was built to be as unnoticeable as a fly on the wall; they were just plain built, truly at the pinnacle of humanity.

But she could work against those anxieties. She had the skills to intimidate them too, she knew.

For that, she put on a soft, wide smile. She would have to pull out all the stops, lest the interview go awry.

“Hey, take all the time you need. We can take a break any time,” she suggested, finally managing to attract the rescue hero’s eyes. “We can take this nice and slow. I’m not going to hit you with anything too surprising. I just want to share your story the best I can. And it will honestly reflect what you share with me.”

The heroic couple exchanged another meaningful look. Without a word, they nodded to one another, reaffirming some unspoken commitment. Their shoulders relaxed a little. It was not much, but it was a start.

“So then…” Kyoko began anew, hoping to stir a little bit more comment. “Let’s try this: describe for me the moment when you found out you were pregnant.”

Uravity took a deep breath. She squeezed her partner’s hand again.

“Well, we had been trying for a while. A few months. But it hadn’t really worked out.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah,” Deku supplied. “In our line of work…well…it’s tough.”

“Why is it tough?”

The two flushed at the question. Kyoko smiled knowingly. She could not resist the prod.

“Well…you know…it…” Uravity stuttered, trying to find the right response.

“It can be tough to find opportunities, I imagine?” Kyoko offered, saving the two of them from further anguish.

The two nodded with energy, red fully engulfing both their cheeks now. Kyoko laughed a bit at their expressions.

“Sorry if that was a little awkward. Let’s move on. So, you had been going for a while. When did you know?”

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

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Ochako swung her hand out wildly to stop the blaring of her 6 a.m. alarm. Her head was pounding, far more than it usually would in the early hour.

She struggled to disentangle herself from Izuku and climb out of bed. He was recovering from a night shift, and there was no way she would wake him up early if she could help it. Sleep was too precious - and rare - a thing for them both.

Unfortunately, she had an early morning briefing to attend to, even if her work ran late the day before. Such was the life of a pro hero.

Queasiness rose sharply within her as soon as she stood up and made her way to the bathroom. She stumbled into it in a fugue, missing the light switch on her first two tries. When it finally flickered on, she collapsed onto the floor in front of the toilet, preparing for the worst.

She waited, hoping the lump in her throat would pass without her hurling up. She had already puked for the past two days, and she did not need this right now. Or ever. There was already too much she had to worry about without wasting this time in the morning.

The churning in her stomach and throat started to wane, miraculously without her vomiting. With the illness abated, she stood up and searched the medicine cabinet hanging over the sink to find anything for nausea.

Her eyes stopped when they saw the home pregnancy test sitting on one of the shelves. She gingerly reached out to grab it, her mind twisting at the possibilities it held.

She thought her nausea might be due to overuse of her Quirk, perhaps because she was getting older. But she had never been sick in the mornings like this before.

Could it be something else…?

Her hazy head tried to think. When was her last period? It seemed so long ago.

Ochako went about pulling the kit apart. They had been trying for months, but she had neglected to keep testing without any early success. Her heavy eyelids were wide now, pried open by a burst of energy from the prospect of life-changing news.

When she finished, she laid the stick out, frantically reading through the instructions for how long it might take. She groaned a little at the recommendation – ten minutes.

She might find out she was going to be a mother in ten minutes.

Ochako took a bracing breath, trying to cool her expectations. She had done this song and dance before. She did not need to get her hopes up, not until she confirmed it.

It was no good for her schedule, but she could not bring herself to do much beyond waiting idly for the test to finish. The minutes seemed to drag on forever. Her stomach started to churn again, kicking around painfully.

Thoughts of a child started to dance through her mind. For months, she had dreamed of what it would be like. To raise a child of her own. To hold them in her arms. To see them grow and change. To watch Izuku be a dad.

Even through her pain, she could smile at that.

The stick on the counter started to change. A second pink line appeared on its surface. She was pregnant – or at least 99 percent likely to be pregnant.

In spite of her pounding head and painful stomach, she could not stop the burst of happiness exploding within her. She grabbed the stick with a shaky hand, feeling the tears beginning to well up at the corners of her eyes.

She looked back into the darkened bedroom. With a deep breath, she walked back inside, moving over to their shared bed. She flicked on a bedside lamp and leaned over him, watching over his peaceful features.

Ochako sat down on the bed next to him, smiling down on the man she called her husband. She loved seeing him like this – at ease, with none of the worries of the world weighing him down. It was a rare sight to behold. The chiselled lines of the face looked beautiful in the low light.

She reached a hand out, stroking along the edge of his hair.

He had made her promise. No matter what, she needed to tell him as soon as she knew.

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

“We’re partners, after all.”

Kyoko watched the dreamy look the pair exchanged. She grinned, scribbling the image away into her notes.

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

Ochako leaned down and gently pressed her lips into his, trying to awaken the sleeping beauty.

She followed that with a light pinch to his side, a more surefire way of getting him to wake up. He could be a heavy sleeper, but she did not want to frighten him out of slumber with a loud noise.

“Mmmhm,” he groaned, cracking his eyes open slowly. “…Ochako? What time is it?”

She could not stop herself from giggling at his dozy face. He could be so cute when he was waking up.

“It’s 6:30. Sorry, I know it’s early, but you made me promise.”

“Promise…what?” He interrupted himself with a yawn, his eyes blinking back closed.

She decided it was best to be blunt. She hardly had the energy or patience to be anything but.

“Izuku, I’m pregnant.”

That got him awake. His eyes flew open, staring at her intensely. He blinked at her and reached a hand out to rub the dreams away from his eyes. “Come again?”

“I’m pregnant,” she repeated, a little more slowly, beaming down at him and holding up her precious colored stick.

“You're…you're…” he sat up quickly, staring down at her, his eyes alight with a passionate flame. “Am I dreaming?”

“If you are, I am too.” She leaned a hand down to pinch his arm again, in case he was still doubtful. “You’re going to be a dad, Izuku.”

The radiant, weepy expression that exploded across his face made all of her fatigue melt away. He cried without shame, fat tears streaming as he hugged her tightly against himself.

“Thank you,” he whispered next to her ear. It was quiet enough to make her doubt if she was meant to hear it. She responded anyway.

“For what?”

“For making my life so wonderful.”

She did not have long; she had work to get to. But she gave herself ten minutes to bask in the bliss of the moment with him. Ten minutes of tear-soaked kisses, love-filled murmurings, and idle strokes across each other’s skin.

It was more than enough to get her through the long day.

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

The memory sent a warm glow through the pair. They visibly relaxed, their eyes much more focused on each other and on the bump large on Uraraka’s belly.

The memory was important for the story, but it was not exactly juicy. It was sweet, certainly. But it was surprisingly mundane. No fretting, no accidents, no catastrophes getting in the way: just two people in love enjoying the process of creating a new life together.

It was a start, but Kyoko was determined to go deeper. They were two of the greatest heroes of this generation. There had to be more to it than that.

“That’s really sweet,” Kyoko said earnestly, flashing a toothy grin their way. “But I have to ask, since I guess it was planned: why did you decide to have a child? Especially considering the field you work in.”

Embedded in the question were the underlying facts that would make this story explode, no matter how it was delivered. Women pro heroes did not commonly have children, let alone in their late 20s. It was considered too big a hurdle in an extremely competitive field. A hero stood to lose millions of yen. Time off would mean a big ranking hit, at least when they were a top pro like Uravity.

Hero culture also tended to idolize youth, or at least the appearance of it. Pregnancy tended to work against the idealized images women heroes needed to cultivate. Sexism could be a pain that way.

Male heroes could get away more easily with parenting. As long as their partners were not famous, information on their children was kept pretty under wraps. Most media outlets respected that. Nobody wanted to lead villains to attack the children of heroes.

But generally, extraordinary people were not supposed to do ordinary things like having kids. They were taking a wrecking ball to their own myths. People would feel betrayed. There would be outrage.

There would be clicks.

“Well, it wasn’t an easy decision to make.”

Uravity’s voice snapped Kyoko from her internal musings. She chided herself for letting her mind wander. She had to focus on the now. On getting the answers.

“Neither of us had really imagined being parents growing up,” Deku added. “We were both set on being heroes from when we were young. But over time, the idea became more…appealing.”

There was passion in the tone of his voice. Kyoko seized on it.

“I’m sure you both interacted with plenty of children during rescues, right?”

“We have,” Uravity answered steadily, adorned with a wistful smile. “We both ended up spending time helping to take care of children. And I guess we slowly kind of fell in love with it.”

“Kids can be a lot of work. But they have this incredible spark in them. Every child I’ve met has given me hope for the future.” Deku’s eyes were on the horizon, looking beyond anything in their cozy room. “I just…I wanted the chance to have my own. Really raise someone.”

“And I want the same thing,” Uraravity chimed in, her hand tensing to squeeze his. The two shared a significant look, exchanging the unspoken language of lovers.

It was, again, cute. But their feelings surely had to be more complicated than that.

“So, getting ready for a child is a lot of work and you two certainly lead pretty busy lives. How are you feeling now, with the child getting closer?”

The two glanced at one another again. Deku’s face fell a little bit as he pinched his chin in consideration of the question.

He glanced back up at Kyoko, the prior warmth in his face gone. His expression was one of the utmost seriousness. Too serious. “Scared.”

The room filled with Uraravity’s ringing laughter. Deku looked back, flashing a grin. Kyoko quirked an eyebrow up, starting to feel a little like a third wheel.

“He ain’t wrong!” Uravity exclaimed between chortles, her notoriously rare country accent coming through. She took a couple of deep breaths and brought a hand to her face, seeming to realize she committed a personal faux pas.

Kyoko waited patiently. She wrote down the strange exchange – and tried to wrap her mind around them taking their fears so lightly.

“Sorry, it’s kind of an inside joke,” Uravity muttered, bowing her head slightly. Deku did the same. “We’ve been running ragged worrying about it. We needed to find humour in it all.”

“It’s a frightening concept,” the green hero added, reaching out to take his wife’s hand once again. Kyoko furiously scribbled in the detail. “Us being parents, especially in a line of work where we put our lives on the line every day.”

She watched Uravity squeeze his hand back tightly. Their casual intimacy was a sight to behold, stringent as they tended to be in public.

“But at the same time, it’s very exciting!” Deku continued with enthusiasm. “It makes us want to work harder to protect our future generation.”

The two smiled at one another, any trace of nerves completely dissipated. Kyoko watched the two in rapture, the love in their eyes plain for all to see. She held her breath, unwilling to do anything that might disrupt them.

“If there’s one thing I know, it’s that Deku and I can get through anything together. We make an unstoppable team!”

Uraraka punctuated her statement with a cocksure grin and a raised fist, her right hand thrusting outward. Her partner followed suit, laughing all the while.

At that moment, Kyoko wished desperately she had thought to film this. She was scared to push her luck, but now regretted not trying.

It was certainly bracing, seeing two of the generation’s greatest heroes so lost in the throes of casual romance. They were far more different in private than she might have expected.

This was not exactly the anxiety she had thought she might pull out of them. She needed to find that, the worries that Deku and Uravity would have for their futures.

Kyoko’s mouth set into a hard line.

“Well, that’s great,” she replied softly. The words seemed to snap the pair to attention as if they just remembered she was even there, which was not necessarily a bad thing. “You two really seem like you got this down.”

“Well, I don’t know about that,” Uravity responded sheepishly, withdrawing her outstretched hand. “It’s been pretty difficult to adjust.”

“I imagine for you especially.” Kyoko eyed Uravity’s swollen belly, impossible to disguise under her large shirt. “So how have you managed your pregnancy while still doing hero work these past few months?”

The gravity hero’s face fell, her upbeat demeanour rushing away quickly. She took a deep breath and folded her hands together in front of her.

Kyoko leaned forward, almost reaching the end of her seat. She kept her eyes narrowly zoomed in on every bit of body language playing out on Uravity. She prayed this question would yield the drama she wanted, the truth behind all the smiles.

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

“GRAVITY-!”

“NO! NO PLEASE DON’T PLEASE, JUST LET ME-”

“PILEDRIVER!”

Uravity let go of the gargantuan villain just 20 feet above the ground, arms sore from the act of holding him to her. She released her Quirk just before letting go of him, causing him to plummet to the earth headfirst, the air filling with his screams before he crashed into the concrete. The blow instantly sent him unconscious. It was a heavy-handed move, but somewhat necessary to halt the eight-foot-tall beast from continuing his rampage through the downtown shopping district.

Uravity caught herself with her Quirk, causing her to jerk upwards from her own rapid descent. She felt her stomach churn at the maneuver, but she was no worse for the wear otherwise. With the villain down and out, she let herself gently float down.

She was conscious of all the snaps of cellphone cameras as the civilians started to crowd around the felled villain, the jewelry he had stolen sparkling under the bright sun.

Right. Time to nail it for the crowd.

She landed gracefully onto the pavement next to him and turned to face the lights. She stared into a camera held in the trembling hands of a teenage girl.

Uravity gave her a bubbly grin and a thumbs up.

“Sometimes, you gotta bring these villains down to earth!”

The crowd ate it up, letting out a thunderous roar of approval. She waved, soaking it in, trying to stand tall for all the future newspaper photos being taken.

She kept beaming to the people, even as the bile rose up in her throat.

“Well, you certainly handled this one quickly. Didn’t even have a chance to lend a hand.”

Uravity jumped a bit, turning slightly to see her boss and mentor, the draconic shapeshifter Ryukyu, approach. She breathed a sigh of relief as the dragon hero draped an arm over her protégé. Despite Ryukyu’s tall, imposing figure - even in her human form - her presence was a comfort.

“I can take it from here. You can float out if you want to,” Ryukyu whispered into her ear, peeking an eye out from behind her blonde bangs.

Ochako was actively fighting back her own queasiness. She could see television cameras starting to make their way through the crowd.

“Thanks,” Ochako whispered back. She turned to address the crowd, giving one last parting wave. “Sorry, folks, but I got another mission to attend to. Stay safe!”

With that, she triggered her Quirk on herself and leaped high into the air, her stomach rumbling deeply in protest.

The rush of the wind did little to aid her raging gut. Ochako floated until she found an empty rooftop. She did not land gracefully this time, stumbling as she released her Quirk, before immediately hurling her stomach’s contents onto the cold stone.

When the puking finally subsided, she stumbled over to a raised area around the rooftop door and sat down to rest her back onto it. She panted deeply, breath short, throwing her helmet off and wiping the sweat from her brow.

She unzipped the back of her costume, letting the fabric loosen around her to give much-needed relief for her skin. The outfit felt tight, even without the added padding to disguise her protruding belly. The disguise worked, for the most part, other than the odd tabloid accusing her of getting fat.

“Damn it,” Ochako muttered under her breath, stroking her belly through her suit, feeling the raised flesh.

She really was getting fat at this point. She thought she had mentally prepared for it, but experiencing it was something else entirely. One simple fight was enough to completely knock the wind out of her. Her complicated maneuvers sent her puking to a degree she had not experienced since high school. Being pregnant completely made her out-of-sync in her hero work.

She buried her face into her palms.

“This sucks.”

“So why are you doing this?”

Ochako snapped to attention. “Doing what?” Her tongue slipped on instinct as the question shot lightning down her spine. She hurriedly turned, her mind whirring in preparation.

The piercing stare of a human-sized Ryuko kept her in place. Ochako sat there for a moment, staring back at the dragon hero like frozen prey. She was struck by how out-of-it she must have been not to have noticed Ryuko follow her, using the massive wings of her dragon form.

Ochako finally moved, scrambling to stand back up. The heat from the sun suddenly felt far more pronounced, the sweat prickling at the skin on her forehead. She put on a carefree smile, hoping she could manage to fool her mentor.

“So…what’s happening with the scene?”

“I’ve got Neijre on it. Thug’s knocked out cold and on his way to the hospital, but should be alright. Everything is being returned.”

“That’s a relief. I thought I might have overdone it.” She had been so desperate to end the encounter quickly. She did not know how well she could have held her Quirk if she had just settled on keeping the villain afloat to wait for help.

“It seems you didn’t.” With that, Ryuko stepped forward, shifting to lean on the same wall. She tilted her head down to Ochako, leaving little room to look away. “So again – why are you still doing this? You’re pregnant. You can take it a little easier.”

Ochako did her best to keep on a bubbly mask before the astute eyes of her boss.

Ryuko was one of the few Ochako had confided in about her pregnancy. Thankfully, she was endlessly supportive and oddly enthusiastic about it. But Ochako could feel the tension between them rise as the pregnancy progressed and Ryuko asked more and more frequently about her well-being.

But Ochako refused to back down. She was not going to show any weakness. She was going to follow her plan and stay in the field for as long as she could.

“Well, it’s my job, after all. And we’re still pretty busy.” Ochako took a couple of steps forward and stared out into the sprawling metropolis before them. “They still need me. And I’m still doing fine.”

She turned to give Ryuko an enthusiastic thumbs up, much like the one she had given the crowd earlier.

“You don’t have to worry about me!”

There as an awkward pause at that point. The heat started to make Ochako’s head throb, a wooziness overcoming her. Ryuko went a little fuzzy in her vision and she could feel her thumb start to shake. She shook her head to clear it. She had to keep it together.

With a fearful jolt, Ochako realized she had completely zoned out while Ryuko had started talking. She refocused, hanging onto each word as the hero approached.

“…I’m just worried. I haven’t seen you get this worn out since your internship days. Maybe we should dial your load back a little…”

“NO!” The offer was like a slap in the face. “No, please, it’s alright. I’m fine. Maybe let me call it early today and I promise I’ll be alright tomorrow.”

She punched upward awkwardly, hoping to sell the act despite the pulsing beat of her head. She had promised herself she was not going to let her pregnancy impact her workload before it was absolutely necessary. She had scheduled everything out and it was way too early to be thinking about reducing her workload. There was a budget to keep, after all.

Ryuko quirked up an eyebrow. Her narrow eyes squinted at Ochako, judging the performance. Ochako tried to maintain the façade, keeping a wavering smile on her face.

A headrush came over her. She stumbled to the right, walking forward to rest against the wall. She narrowly avoided tumbling to the ground.

“Ochako!” her teacher cried out, shifting forward to place a pair of comforting hands on her. Ochako feebly tried to wave her away, but found that she could not summon much energy.

“I’m just…a little…woozy, that’s all.”

The world was spinning. She could feel her trademark queasiness start to claw up her throat again.

“Not too warm…I can carry you to the ground, but I want to try to secure you properly first.”

The words were muted as if going through a filter. She lost track of Ryuko’s hands.

Ochako blinked hard. The face in front of her stopped swimming, Ryuko’s concern coming back into focus.

“I'm…fine. Just give me a bit.” She closed her eyes. It was a relief to let the world fade away for a moment. Her throbbing head pulsed, but she managed to rein in her upset stomach for the time being.

There was a brief, merciful, quiet lull. She was glad she had loosened up her oft-tight costume. She heard her boss take a deep breath. Something pleasantly cool pressed into her hand.

“Water, if you need it.”

Eyes still closed, she wrapped her hand around the bottle, lifting it up and chugging it down. She finished by splashing the water on her face, a slap to set the world back straight.

Ochako opened her eyes to see Ryukyo still hovering over her. Her small lips wavered, words dying before being uttered.

“I trust you to know your health best, Ochako. But…can I ask you a question?”

“Sure.” Her headrush was fading, but she still could not bring forth more energy in her reply. There was no use disguising her own exhaustion at this point.

“How long do you plan to keep this up?”

Ochako took a moment to consider her response. She had to be careful, but an irritating migraine made it hard to think.

“As long as I can. Another month or two, at least.” That was a question she could answer with practiced ease, at least. Izuku asked her about it constantly.

“Are you really willing to keep risking the wellbeing of yourself and your child? Even when you start fainting after one tough fight?”

Ochako balled her fists at the question. She bit her lip as she tried to rein in a desire to blurt out a more crabby response. Ryuko was just looking out for her. She could not get too upset if she was going to be convincing.

“This is a one-time thing. I’m going to be okay.” She glanced upward, noting Ryuko’s crossed arms and a deep frown. “The world still needs me.”

“And what about what you need?” Ryuko glared down with a cold rage Ochako had only seen directed at villains. A shiver went down her spine. She had not imagined she would ever be on the other side of this. “The world will be fine. You can take a break.”

Ochako could not take it. She was actually starting to shake as she tried to control her boiling blood. She shakily stood up, intent on proving her continued strength to the woman who had helped shape it.

“I can still do this. I’ve been through worse. I may be pregnant, but I can still fight!”

She was almost panting trying to keep herself steady. Her head and stomach throbbed in protest at her movements, but she did not heed them. She could battle through the pain. She had to.

Her last stand appeared to be working. The anger on Ryuko’s face melted away. Her eyes narrowed and she tilted her head, as if befuddled by the hero before her.

“Does you think your pregnancy makes you…weaker?”

Ochako blinked rapidly at the bizarre question, immediately regretting it after the corresponding pulse in her head. Why did Ryuko have to ask something so weird right now? She just wanted to rest without an interrogation.

She shook her head again to clear it. Her tongue let loose, no longer caring for eloquence.

“Maybe,” Ochako murmured. She momentarily closed her eyes, remembering all the aches and pains her belly kept giving her as she tried to do her job. “But it doesn’t matter. I can work through-”

“Why would you ever think that?”

Ochako’s eyes widened as she stared forward. What kind of question was that? Ryuko was completely unreadable, her face drawn into a hard line.

It was hard to think through her aching head. “I…it does make this tougher than it used to be. It…it hurts more than it should. But I-”

“What else?” Ryuko prodded, stepping a little closer, staring down pointedly at the visible baby bump.

Ochako gulped, rubbing a hand down the front of her outfit. “It…I can’t move as much as I’d like to. And I…” She winced as her head pulsed again. Why could she not control it? It made it so hard to think. “It’s fine. I can do this.”

Her stomach rumbled again and she cursed as she was forced to lean against the nearby wall. “I can do this. I’m fine,” she repeated, more for herself at this point. The world went fuzzy again. She blinked hard, hoping she could stay in control. “She did this. I’m strong. I’m stronger than this.”

A pair of mighty arms wrapped around her. Face to face with a warm shoulder, Ochako found herself unable to fight against the raging waters within her. The dam burst open.

The sobs ripped her apart, making her quake into Ryuko. It was ugly and she lamented it, but could not find it in her to stop anymore. She was worn down and her head was in pain and she could not muster the strength she wanted. The strength she needed.

“Being pregnant doesn’t make you weak,” Ryuko said in a gentle whisper, usually reserved for when she spoke to a frightened child. “Needing time, managing your workload, taking rest – none of these things make you weak.”

Ochako closed her eyes. The faces of her parents drifted through her vision. Whatever injury, setback, or obstacle they faced, they worked through it. They could scarcely afford not to. Her mother had told her she had even worked right up until the final months of her pregnancy. It was their lot in life – and probably why she never got any siblings.

“I want to be able to do this,” she whispered, as frustrating, hot tears poured forth from her. She disentangled herself from the embrace and leaned herself against the wall. She furiously massaged her temples, trying to get a grip again.

“…I don’t know who she is, but…”

Ochako buried her watery eyes into her palm. Nothing slipped by the dragon hero.

“I doubt she would want you to do this,” she continued, closer, taking a place on the wall next to her. “I know how important managing your money is to you. But you have the privilege of being a hero. Take advantage of that.”

The gravity hero let her hands fall to her sides. She struggled to blink back the tears in her eyes. Ryuko was smiling now, gently, any trace of anger completely gone. She had an amazing ability to switch on the fly – an ability Ochako had tried hard to mimic.

“You give your all to the world every day. It’s okay to be a little selfish once in a while. You especially.”

Ochako took a deep, shuddering breath. She wished she had the energy to protest. But selfish sounded nice right about now. She wanted nothing more than to curl up next to Izuku in bed and take a load off. For a week.

“My mom never got a chance like I did,” Ochako muttered lowly. She swallowed right afterward, trying to find her voice. She had worked so hard to give her parents the life they deserved. It was hard to talk about the old days now.

“And she gave you what you needed to get this chance. You earned it. She would want you to take it.”

Ryuko poured a hero’s confidence into the gentle words. Ochako wiped away at the fresh round of tears trying to leak their way out from her. She wanted to be done with crying already.

They stood in silence for a few moments. Ryuko did not impose, but hovered over Ochako as she rested, as powerful a guardian as there ever was.

When the aching subsided, Ochako stepped forward. She turned with a defiant glare, uncaring of the wetness on her cheeks. She was ready to challenge Ryuko again.

“Four more weeks.”

Ryuko had the gall to laugh before she flashed Ochako a sharp-toothed grin.

“Two. I’ll give you more office work than you’ll know what to do with after that.”

“Three.” Ochako kept her eyes steady. She would not falter.

“Fine, but no more solo patrols. And you watch yourself better than you did today. Lay off the advanced moves.”

Ochako nodded and extended a hand outward. “Deal.”

Ryuko smiled, her lips getting more lizardly as she extended a claw to answer the handshake. The partial transformation was not enough to phase Ochako, although it made the grip extra hard.

“You’re unbelievable.” Ryuko shook her head as she withdrew her claw, morphing back into her gargantuan dragon form. The pink dragon was always a sight to behold, her large claws loud against the rooftop. “Your kid’s going to get some of the fire in that belly.”

Ochako flashed her best heroic grin upward, gently running a hand across the life forming within her.

“For him, I have to be at my best.”

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

This was the gold Kyoko was looking for. A real story of the struggle in balancing a hero career with pregnancy.

“So then what happened?” she asked quietly, knowing Uravity needed little prodding at this point.

“I lasted those three weeks before getting forced into office duty,” she answered while absentmindedly rubbing her belly. “I didn’t want my pregnancy to be a burden for anyone else, so I only told a few close people by that time.”

“What did you do to keep it a secret around the workplace?”

“My office is pretty private. Being popular has its perks. Otherwise, a lot of sneaking around and baggy clothing. I got a lot of weird looks.”

“What kind of reaction are you expecting when your colleagues find out?” Kyoko paused in thought, directing a glance toward Deku, who had been quiet. “For both of you.”

“Well, we’ve told quite a few of our friends already…” Deku trailed off, eyes rolling skyward toward the past. “Todoroki…Yaoyorozu…Tsu…they’ve all been quite supportive so far.”

The names floated through Kyoko’s head. It took her a moment to process the heroes matching them; it was strange to see them referred to so casually.

“And Ground Zero?” She parsed a missing name of someone close to them. Someone who always delivered big reactions.

Deku chuckled a bit at that. “Kacchan was…supportive in his own way.”

“Oh?”

“He would never let you know it, but he can be a big softie about kids,” Uravity added, smiling all the while.

The thought of Ground Zero, of all heroes, being a “softie” in any context boggled the mind. Sure, he was popular around kids, but he was always on edge even around them.

“Err…wait, are you going to quote me on that?” Uravity suddenly looked nervous, staring down at the recorder sitting on the table between them. “I’ll never hear the end of it if that goes into print.”

Kyoko could not stop the smirk which arose on her face. “I’ll keep your concerns in mind, but you know I can’t make any promises on that one.”

Uravity sighed. “I knew you were going to say that.”

“Let’s get back on track,” Kyoko suggested, quietly flipping through the notes she had made and the questions she had prepared. “…you talked about how happy you were when you found out you were having a child. But we all know pregnancy can get messy. How has it impacted your relationship?”

It was a neutral question – Kyoko tried not to lead her subjects when she could help it. Still, she knew the emotional highs and lows of pregnancy could run roughshod over even the strongest relationship. She hoped the question would garner some rare intrigue about the inner workings of the power couple, maybe even the struggle they must go through to keep their relationship together, given the strain of their careers.

But to her surprise, Uravity actually smiled brightly at the question as she glanced over and squeezed her partner’s hand.

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

“I don’t know how I’m going to do it, Izuku.”

She let her weary head fall onto the papers in front of her. The charts, numbers, and letters splayed out on pages that seemed to float in the air, surrounding her like a cluster of bugs. There was so much to try and process; it was completely overwhelming.

Raising a baby was going to be so much work. The hit it would take on their pocketbooks was no small calculation. Even with their substantial wealth, Ochako made sure every penny was accounted for carefully, with a mind toward the future. There would be a strain, between providing for themselves, for their parents, and for the multiple funds she wanted in place for their child.

But that was the least of her worries. No matter how she sliced it, she could not figure out how they were going to manage a new work-life balance. They knew they were going to have to hire help if she was ever getting back into the field. But the thought of that made her heart churn with guilt and shame.

Her parents had always been there for her, even as they worked themselves to the bone, without being able to hire anyone to help look after her. Why couldn’t she do the same?

“How we’re going to do it.”

The correction startled her from her thoughts. She lifted her head but stopped moving when a familiar set of fingers started digging into her shoulders. She tensed for a moment, but then Izuku hit just the right spot and she turned to jelly, slouching into her chair.

“Better?”

“Mmhyeah.” She let out a breath and closed her eyes. She wished she could just fall asleep like this, but the thoughts rattling around in her mind refused to let her. “I need…to figure this out.”

His fingers stopped for a moment, instead gently drumming along her skin.

“I know you’re worried. I am, too. When I think about everything that could go wrong…” his voice trailed off into the distance. She could practically hear his mind turning over the same possibilities hers had.

“But then I just remember something.” His voice was bright and airy again, floating to happy heights she could not fathom at the moment.

“And what’s that?”

One of his hands left her back, reaching forward to grasp onto one of her hands. He gently laced his fingers through hers, her fist loosening to allow it. The clasping was such a practiced movement between them at this point, hardly worth considering. It was as natural as breathing.

“Somehow, I’m with you,” he whispered lovingly into her ear, her body reacting with an instinctive shiver.

“And you’ve got me. And together, we haven’t lost yet. That’s how I know we’ll get through this.” Those words came on with more fire, the passionate warmth that rarely failed to stir her to her core. It was in large part what made her fall in love with him, after all.

She shook her head, before letting it fall into her own arms. For once, the words did not move her in the same way.

Ochako sighed, closing her eyes again to the collage of papers in front of her. “You’re crazy.”

The barbed words pricked her tongue as they left. She realized they were a little mean-spirited, wrapped up in her frustrations and exhaustion. His words were sweet, after all, even if they seemed naïve.

“Sorry,” he said quickly, his hands leaving her, much to her annoyance. He shuffled over to sit down beside her, grabbing a chair and moving it close. She cracked open her eyes, met again with an overbearing wall of white.

“What can I do to help?”

His question was so darned earnest. That was Deku, to a tee. Always trying to find a way to make her feel better. To make the world feel better. Somehow, it annoyed her that he was not as miserable as she was.

“You can make your son less hard to carry,” she grumbled into her arms, not daring to turn to look into his face as she let loose a torrent of steam. “You can make our budget less complicated.”

He did not say anything in response. It was quiet, but not foreboding. There was calmness to his silence.

She heard the ruffle of papers, quite a few of them. That finally made her lift her head to see his eyes running rapidly across their mutual work on the pages.

“How…how much have you been working on this since Monday? I thought we were saving more of this for the weekend,” he murmured, scratching at his chin. “Where did you even find the time?”

“I managed to squeeze it in.” She did not meet his eyes, trying to sound casual about it. It really was not a big deal, in her eyes. They had to be ready for this baby. What were a couple of late nights and skipped lunches to do that?

“Ochako, we’ve talked about this.”

His voice took a harder edge. Gone was the naivety, replaced with the stony tone he’d used on missions.

She balled her fingers inward. The last thing she needed was a confrontation.

“Deku, I’m fine,” she assured him, throwing up a smile on her face. His own expression remained stoic and unphased, clearly seeing through it. “I can handle this.”

“We can handle it if we do it-”

“There are some things you can’t do, Deku.”

That finally got him to budge, his steely gaze melting under her fiery words. He shrunk into himself, his eyes roaming her form, down to the swollen gut.

It was a burden he could not bear.

“I'm…I need to do this, Deku. I can at least do this much. You…we’ll have a lot on our plates when the baby comes. I just won’t rest easy if I can’t manage this.”

She busied her hands and eyes with the papers in front of her, pulling them close to her. Already, guilt started to gnaw at the edges of her mind. But she pushed it away easily with all the other emotions competing for attention.

Numbers, plans, babies, work. Just focus on what was in front of her. She could do that. She could manage that. She would do her best for her son.

A dark splotch bloomed onto the page. Then another. It was getting harder and harder to read now. Perfect. Could she not even handle this?

“Ochako…”

She did not react when he put a hand on her shoulder. She went limp as he put a hand to her face and brought her eyes to meet his, thumbing a tear off her cheek. Despite her hard words, he handled her with extraordinary gentleness. His own eyes were soft, speaking of his love without words.

She let him embrace her, enfold her into the familiar warmth and comfort of his arms. She cried quietly, her breath hitching as she tried to calm herself.

“I hate this,” she murmured, closing her eyes and trying to steady herself against him.

“I know.”

“I hate that I can’t stop crying.”

“It’s completely normal, Ochako. There’s nothing wrong with it. Pregnancy affects people’s emotions, and has been shown to increase a woman’s likelihood for depress-”

“Deku.”

“Sorry.”

He did not say anything for a time, letting her ride out the storm as best she could, providing a solid surface for her to hang on to. In time, her weepiness did recede. But the moment could do little against the overwhelming anxiety and stress hanging over her head, ready to swoop in and claw at any moment of weakness from her.

“What’s this really about, Ochako?”

She took a deep breath. She could not find it in her to summon up her walls. Not that they could ever withstand him, anyway.

“Do you think we…we might be bad parents?”

His arms clenched a bit around her back. He did not answer right away, settling on rubbing soothing circles.

“Err…what makes you ask that?” His voice was shaky, losing some of the certainty he had in embracing her.

“It’s just…with us being heroes and all, I’m having a hard time finding a way for us to handle a kid, too. We’re going to have to be away so much. I’m just…worried we won’t be there for him as much as he needs us. That we’ll miss things.”

She disentangled herself from him to regard him properly. His arms went limp around her as he put on his thinking face. He could see her nerves reflected in him, too.

His eyelids stole away his eyes from her. His silence was an answer.

He took a deep breath before muttering out.

“Do you remember that time in Osaka?” Izuku asked as he finally opened his eyes. They no longer reflected her fears; there were steel and fire inside them now.

She blinked at the question. Her mind conjured up images of the scene. Multiple collapsing buildings from a surprise villain attack, while they were still in third-year on a school trip. They had both leapt into the fray, working in tandem to lift rubble and pull people to safety. It was their first real mission together, and despite their inexperience in live rescue operations, they had passed with flying colors.

“How could I forget?”

“And that time right after we moved in together? When I got hurt.”

She frowned at that. After a joyous unpacking, they had gone out for a night on the town. But an enterprising villain had managed to stalk them to their new hideaway and pierce an unsuspecting Deku through his chest. She had to fight back in an instant, punching out the foe before turning her full attention toward first aid.

Ochako traced a finger along his chest, in the spot where she knew there was still a scar.

“Yes,” she replied softly, the memory stirring unpleasant things within her.

“…And that time we both got called to do that big raid in Tokyo?”

“What are you getting at, exactly?” She interrupted him. The spirals down memory lane were not happy ones. They were full of hardship, of sadness, and in her current state, they were not helping.

“Whenever I start thinking about how things could go wrong,” he paused to grab one of her hands, gently rubbing his thumb along her palm. “I just think about everything we’ve already done together. I think about how often we were really unprepared.”

Izuku beamed at her.

“But I think about how we got through it. Every time.”

He let his other arm fall, grasped her other hand, and brought them both up. He held them aloft, gently rubbing her fingers – and atop the band of gold that bound her to him.

His words froze her in place for the moment. She waited, hanging onto him.

“All the times I saw you out there, never giving up. They made me want to do better. And together, well…we got through a lot when I really think about it.” His smile radiated incredible warmth. It was hard to look at him with how brightly he blazed.

“When I think about what we’ve been through…a child doesn’t seem like it’ll be so hard.”

How could he always warm her heart so? She laughed because she could not think of much else to do, before grabbing onto him tightly.

“Do you remember what you said when we had our first joint interview?”

Her mind conjured the memory. A brawl in the midst of a bank robbery. The pair leaping into action. A knock-out combo move caught on tape. A couple of reporters attaching themselves as the heroic couple tried to sort out handing the matter off to the police.

A barrage of questions. Deku, bless him, suddenly nervous at the recognition. Herself, less abashed and more media-savvy, taking the plunge.

“Remember, Deku and Uravity are unstoppable together.” She quoted herself and laughed into his chest as she recalled the childishness of her own early heroics. She had been so high on adrenaline.

“It’s still true,” he murmured, pressing a kiss to her forehead. Her skin tingled pleasantly at the point of contact.

“Thank you,” she whispered, closing her eyes and just letting herself enjoy being close to him. Here, at least, the world’s worries seemed so much farther away. No matter what lay on the horizon, she would have him to lift her up. Just as she would do for him.

He held her close, stroking a hand along her arm. He eventually let it wander down her form, pointedly rubbing her pronounced belly.

“It’s the least I can do.”

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

It was moments like this which made Kyoko want to be a journalist.

It hardly took much prodding to get them through the story. Eventually, they let out a full dose of what the world only saw in glimpses. They were completely in-sync, filling in the story, bouncing off of one another masterfully. Behind their masks, their relationship was rock solid.

It was easy to see why they worked so well together in the field. And just how much they loved one another.

They were not just heroes. They were so much more beneath that surface.

“…And we’ve been doing better since then,” Uravity continued, beaming at her husband. “Well, mostly fine. It’s still pretty hectic, and I’ve gotten a bit stir-crazy now that I’m starting desk work. I’ve had my bad days.”

“Me too. I find myself getting so worried when in the field thinking about our child. And he hasn’t even been born yet!”

Their bond was something to behold. The gossip-rags would have a field day if they ever got this kind of interview. Kyoko had gone into this hoping for more salaciousness around their baby as it related to their profession. She certainly got enough to work with that angle, but…

Well, that seemed dull compared to the radiance of their love and the bizarreness of seeing these two paragons of justice work through pregnancy like any other parents might.

In this, their humanity truly shined. They were so much more than their costumes. That was what she would have to write about.

She smiled to herself, thrumming her six-fingered right hand on the page again. Perhaps they were not as far from her as she thought.

“Well, I think that’s everything I wanted to ask you.” She flipped a page in her notebook, hoping to get one last kernel. “Was there anything else you wanted to say?”

“Just that we really appreciate all the support we’ve gotten from friends and family so far,” Ochako said with gusto, pink cheeks rising under the weight of her smile.

“Got it,” Kyoko replied, jotting down the notes quickly. It might be hard to squeeze the line in under her word count, but she would try. “Thank you both so much for taking the time to talk with me.”

Ochako stood up, followed quickly by her husband. “It was our pleasure. That went a lot better than I thought it might.”

“Thank you for doing this,” Izuku said, giving a smile her way. It was a refrain she had heard often in her career, but coming from him, it was enough to make her blush like a schoolgirl.

“Don't…uh…don’t mention it. Just doing my job.” She idly grabbed her phone to give herself something else to focus on. Seeing the time, she sighed, knowing what was coming next.

“Well, I have to turn you over to one of our freelancers who will be handling the-”

The doors slammed open behind her, causing the two heroes to jump slightly in surprise. Kyoko saw the familiar flash of short blonde hair, marked against a bombastic pink dress.

“I HAVE ARRIVED AND YOU TWO ARE FABULOUS!”

Kyoko slammed her palm into her face.

———————————————————————————————————–

AN: Special thanks to Mika, whose artwork inspired this fic, and to Neon Pixel for commissioning the original art piece. Link to it here: https://stirredbrew.tumblr.com/post/183727397704/art-commission-done-by-the

Thank you to thatguy99998 and Deadliest Sin Bin on the IzuOcha Discord for editing this!

Yes, I’m alive; sorry about the gap between works. Hope you all enjoyed the fic! There will be four chapters, which I hope to release every Sunday. Please leave a like and a reblog if you liked it. ^_^

#my hero academia #izuocha #fanfiction #midoriya izuku #uraraka ochako #romance #shipping #pregnancy #fluff #so much fluff #boko no hero academia

[theundergrounddrabbles]

MogiSaho (request)

“Hey!” Mogi called out as the woman turned from her chair.

“Mogi-kun, what are you doing here?” She asked.

“Iwatate-sensei... I wanted to walk you home.” He announced. “It’s quite dark outside.”

“Mogi... it is fine. I can get home fine by myself.” The teacher nodded when he took the seat next to her. “You can go home.”

“I... don’t want you to go home by yourself, you know? At least it wouldn’t be bad if someone was by you since...” Mogi explained when she stared at him.

“Whatever is my business, is my business. Since we live close to each other doesn’t mean you can ply into it.” She growled, pounding into the keyboard. “You have a girlfriend who is willing to give you whatever, right?”

Mogi bit his tongue upon the thought. The bitterness wasn’t something he had expected but he wanted to not show that he had loved his neighbor than his current girlfriend. Although he had sought Mion as someone who was needy and agreed to it but found out more of the position that he had taken. People knew that was the case however he had seen it himself in the point blank range and nodded.

Mion had cram school while he could some activities after school but in the sense of clarifying the position, he had revealed the truth and left for home.

Upon the move, he had never been alone for long periods but the school required students to move into the nearby apartments and paid a small fee for it. The amenities were basic with a shared shower on certain floors while others had a private bathroom. He had the shared floor until his roof collapsed from above while he was at school.

Mogi had a temporary spot for the time being when he had met Iwatate by chance and talked to her when she leaned in for a kiss. He felt torn by it since she was his teacher but kept it in secret until Mion had approached him to be with her. Mogi had explained it and although understood it was still human to feel scorned.

As a teacher, she was still fair to him but never reached out to seek a resolution to the matter. He sat in the room when he heard a click at the door. Mogi stepped out to find the place wide open as he took a few steps inside to find Iwatate undressing in the living room and walked back to the door to close it.

“What are you doing here?” She snarled. “This is intrusion.”

“I need to talk to you.” Mogi sighed.

“How about Mion? She is only all chest and you could be slamming her at the moment.” The teacher snapped when he stepped up and grabbed her wrist. “Let go of me!”

“I know all of that but the reason was to hide this. You can do your best to deflect but you were the one to come onto me.” Mogi lowered his eyes.

She lowered her hands and closed her eyes as Mogi pulled her into his grasp. The soft skin was what he remembered from previous with the chance to see where he stood but it was with the sense of guilt before he released her.

“Where are you going?” She asked.

“I hear buzzing sometimes from your apartment.” He answered as Mogi walked into the room where a bag was on the table.

He wasn’t sure why he sought over to the room where Iwatate was given him to release her stress but the one item she had appreciated since Mion was out on the bed when she lowered the bra from the body.

She stared out blankly across the room with his body coming closer and brushed the lips across the peach-colored chest. Holding the one side, the shrill escaped from her as she collapsed on the bed when the slight touch around the tips aroused the teacher.

“Mogi... I hate you.” She roared. “You still have Mion. That needy whore.”

“It is the reason why I still love you.” He whispered back. “She only gives when she wants it and you are free to approach.”

She let out the cry as his hand turned to between her legs. He never used her first name out of respect although if the chance had come it was easily murmured into her ear. The hand slid under the material as the fingertips parted her slit, working down to the core.

“How about the massager, Saho?” He suggested when she nodded.

Plugging it into the outlet, she placed the pillow over her face as the full buzzing sound came. The vibration pressed up as her feet planted into the mattress. He observed her from the side as she pounded the surface with her hand. He ran it down the exterior of her sex as the hips jerked upwards and released the pillow for a breath. The loud screeching cry exploded in the room as he removed the massager from her body.

“Mion... does she allow this?” The teacher asked.

He shook his head. “It is just straight sex.”

“Punish me as you please. I have other toys in the closet. You are good to go.” She moaned as he walked off to the closet with the bag.

The first item he pulled gathered his attention and gave himself a chuckle over it. It was as long as her forearm and saw it in front of her. Saho pulled down the last piece as the light gleamed down to the wet area. He glanced over to the drawer where a bottle of clear liquid was placed and squeezed a bit on it before rubbing it the entire length.

He gripped the handle with his dry hand with the other side wiping off the residue. Mogi lined it up and brushed the tip across the slit.

“It’s rather big.” He smiled. “Bigger than me.”

“Mogi-kun is more real than it but it is hopeless to explain it now. Just push it in.” She moaned. “I’m in love with my student.”

He noted how it slipped in like butter into the teacher. Mogi accepted it as Saho was usually tight and Mion had been acceptive of his manhood as well. Thrusting it within the canal, Saho wailed out into the room as she pulled the hand over to the chest. She was like a meat bun size compared to his current girlfriend. However, it was something he hadn’t clearly view since the start with the flood escaping out into the open.

“Mogi I need it now.” She called as he yanked down the pants. “Let me take care this and whatever floats your boat.”

The vague answer was abnormal. The view of her sex was a bright neon pink. She took to the other end as a carnivore with her mouth taking the whole length. He placed his mouth over the opening and drew out the lust from the body. Mogi parted it further as the warmth from the fingertips attracted it further when a squeal escaped as the teacher snapped back.

“Something wrong?” He asked.

“Just... just... I’m excited. Would you mind pushing it further in?” She smirked back. “In the back hole.”

He nodded as the weird request caught him by surprise. Mogi viewed the other hole and accepted the challenge with the finger pressing against the foreign entry. It was strained against the intrusion before a scream allowed it fully as he felt the instant warmth from it.

The digit was like a plug as he continued to test the area with his tongue until she turned back and moved her hips over to the prick. Saho kicked the toy off with her body sinking upon the large item and planted her hands upon the body.

Mogi wrapped his hands around the hips as she slowly began to move up and down on the erect member. The loud gushing sound matched up to her deafening cries as she withdrew and moved to her fours.

Behind her body, the organ took back to the canal as he picked up the pace from behind before falling forward onto the elbows. He didn’t have to compare but Saho was different in perspective of sex and the experience was like night and day when he reached over and massaged the chest.

He sensed the fear from her as the time went along, the loud cries were exaggerated in his mind as he stepped back briefly. Saho laid upon her back as the prick took its place and slammed into the body like large waved into the rocks.

Her voice cracked continuously upon the thrusts before she climbed up and pulled the head into the chest. He yielded his power when the excitement drew upon the love juice spraying upon her body. She pushed him back and took every last drop from the pipe before slipping next to him with the member firmly in her possession again.

“Nee~ Mogi-kun is good.” She smiled.

“Why is that?” He smiled.

“Saho isn’t young...” she pouted. “I always wanted kids earlier.”

“Not from me.” He snickered.

“If it does happen, I want you to keep feeding it your love as well.” She grinned, pressing her lips upon his cheek. “Go home. I feel better now.”

The night had given a different perspective as she felt the pep in her step although the days after, he found himself in a possession of pictures that had triggered the breakup and the continuation of the romance between teacher and student.

#iwatate saho #mogi shinobu #smut #request #boy/girl

[taakofromtaz]

wrong side of reality

Summary: 

taako has an imaginary friend named lup

Notes: (transposed from AO3)

For pyrrhlc.

this is my secret santa fic for tumblr user defcnestrate! (sorry if this was a little late. i had unforseen events impede my plans to write before the deadline)

(i had to do some investigating but i think i tagged the right person. if this isnt you, let me know, pyrrhlc!!)

happy candlenights!!!!

title from "young and meanace" by fall out boy

(did a little beta work. fixed some typos, added a few words)

[character study, introspective, vignette style sorta, trans taako]

Word count: 2256

[writing tag] | [Archive of Our Own] | [fic index] | [please consider donating!]

Ever since Taako was little, he had an imaginary friend. She was an elf like him and trans like him and looked just like him with the mismatched eyes and blonde hair except it was like a mirror. She knew everything he was going through because she was going through it too.

He’s too old for that now, but sometimes, in his weakest moments, he likes to pretend she’s still with him.

Her name was Lup and he liked to pretend he was a twin.

 Something about the Umbra Staff makes him think of his childhood imaginary friend. She would use something this ridiculous, he thinks one night when trancing is impossible. He wraps his arms around the staff and closes his eyes.

This is weird, he thinks. She isn’t real. The staff is warm and he likes to think that imaginary Lup would like fire. Useful fire for those cold and sleepless nights on the road. Useful fire for keeping raiders off his back it the scariest, darkest nights. Useful fire to cook something just right even without a professional kitchen.

Lup would play with fire and Taako would change the world to match.

 Taako doesn’t remember the last time he had a room to himself. A normal kind of remembering this time, instead of the weirdly huge gaps in his mind that made him sick and sad and lonely. The first thing he does is throw himself on the bed that’s big enough for at least three of him and roll around on top of the comforter until he can get over the fact that it’s perfect.

The next thing he does is scatter his belongings all over the room, followed by an incredibly brief bout of panic wherein he picks it all back up and leaves it in a heap beside the bed instead. The bathroom is next on his inspection tour. It’s a simple affair but fairly elegant. Taako is impressed and a little awed. (He learns over the next several days that the bathroom is his and his alone and he has a hard time not rubbing it into Magnus and Merle’s faces.)

When he finally collapses on the clean bedspread, still coming down from the high of having such nice new digs, he allows himself to think about Goldcliff, about Sloane and Hurley, about the truly massive fireball he’d managed that ended that fight.

His breath hitches and he shoves his fists against his eyes.

This isn’t what he wants to think about. He doesn’t want to think about the looks Hurley and Sloane gave each other all the way to the end, he doesn’t want to think about the hug that Hurley gave him, doesn’t want to think about how he melted so completely in her hold that he didn’t even notice that she was giving him her harness, doesn’t want to think about the way the silverpoint crept through their veins and turned their blood to ash right in front of him.

The thought sends a cold jolt down his spine and the irrational thought that he needs to find the Umbra Staff now.

He finds it hooked around the footboard and he snatches it quickly, pulling it closer before scrambling his way under the covers, still fully dressed. He wraps himself around the staff and presses his forehead against it. It’s warm, almost hot, and suddenly Taako’s reminded of how filthy he is, covered in a layer of sweat and grim from the battlewagon race and the battle with Sloane afterward.

(After the three of them finished their customary post-mission trip to the Fantasy Costco, they’d been stopped by Avi and escorted down to their new rooms, a private suite with its own elevator and a common room featuring a portal to hell—aka a giant floor window—overlooking the planet below. There’s a bedroom for each of them, already assigned, and a bathroom at one end of the hallway, opposite and excluding Taako’s en-suite. There’s a fairly large kitchen attached to the common room, separated only by an island bar with three stools. All in all, it’s pretty tight, but they hadn’t had the chance to clean up before being left to their new digs.)

Taako can’t bring himself to care that he’s getting the new sheets dirty. He’s already a disaster, what’s it matter what he gets up to in the comforts of his own room (and isn’t that just wild? His own room. Wow.).

“You did good today,” he says out loud, keeping his voice down just in case there’s someone standing outside his room. “You cast some bombass spells and saved a shitton of people today.” He sighs and moves the umbrella back to smack himself in the forehead with it. “But gods, Taako, you’re still a fucking idiot.”

The Umbra Staff quivers and Taako squeezes it tighter. For a moment, he imagines it’s a neck in his hands and he stares at his white knuckled grip. He takes a shaky breath and closes his eyes.

“You’re not real, Lup. You’re just something I made up because I can’t stand to be alone.” His eyes sting behind his lids and he struggles to keep his breathing steady. “But gods I wish you were.”

Taako lays long enough to almost fall asleep. He moves to curl into a ball and his ribs ache his clothes pull weird and he sighs, reluctant to leave his warm cocoon. He forces himself to get up and peel off the dusty, sweat soaked shirt and jacket and binder and he kicks his shoes and pants to the side with a growl. Luckily, whoever it was that set their rooms up managed to stock the dresser with his clothes.

Donning an oversized sweater and a pair of shorts, Taako crawls back into bed and tries not to think about Sloane and Hurley’s dying faces.

Taako’s never loved someone that much.

 L-U-P.

Taako tries so hard to pretend the letters on the wall mean nothing to him, tries so hard to pretend that L-U-P is a string of letters he’s never seen before, never uttered like a prayer in a moment of weakness, never crossed his mind or passed his lips or stuck with him as his only companion against horror and heartbreak and crushing loneliness.

No. The word means nothing to Taako. It’s not a name. It’s just a word.

There’s no mystery here, he wants to say. He wants to shake the boy detective, wants to turn him away from the letters, from the thought, the idea of Lup as an entity. She’s mine, he wants to say. You can’t have her. The words not again linger in his mind for far longer than they should.

 Madame Director calls Taako to her office the day after L-U-P. Taako tries really hard to ignore how worried he is that something’s going to go terribly wrong and forces himself to act as casual and put-off as he possibly can. He wants to pretend that this is just an annoying formality. He can’t. He doesn’t want Madame Director, please, dear gods, anyone but Lucretia.

She has her stern “I know you did something so don’t lie to me” face on and Taako feels his skin crawl with irritation. He hates her holier-than-thou attitude sometimes. Just because she has a magic jellyfish that can unmake entire lives doesn’t make her better than the rest of them.

“Taako,” she says, and sometimes he hates the way she says his name, too. He hates the way the syllables sound familiar coming from her mouth, the gentle way her lips wrap around it, like a suffocating hug from a bear that wants to eat him.

“Director,” he says back, just to be petulant. He knows why he’s here and he refuses to break. He’s allowed his secrets, his privacy. Sure this is the best gig he’s ever had, but by the gods does he feel trapped here more than some of the time.

“Care to explain what happened yesterday?” She quirks a brow at him and he gives her a deadpan stare, unimpressed.

“Oops,” he says with a careless shrug, entirely unapologetic.

“This wasn’t on purpose, was it? It wasn’t an act of petty vandalism?” She’s the picture of calm and grace and as much as Taako wants to keep poking this lion, the longer he sits under her stare, the more anxious he gets.

“Listen, I dunno what the whole deal with this ‘luhp’ thing is, but I have other things I’d rather be doing,” he says, forcing himself to mispronounce Lup’s name. The further away from her he can paint himself, the better the situation will turn out. Experience has taught him this time and time again.

Lucretia looks exhausted and for a moment he feels concerned. Smug satisfaction quickly takes its place and he moves as if to stand when she remains silently for a solid minute.

“Look, are we done here? Can I go?” Taako gestures to the door with the Umbra Staff.

The Director’s eyes lock onto the staff and Taako can see her shoulders tense. He moves the umbrella his other hand and crosses his arms in front of it. “Just tell me why.”

Taako purses his lips and considers his answer. He turns and strides for the door, uncrossing his arms to grab the handle. “Look, Director,” he begins, fighting back the urge to call her Creesh for reasons he’s not entirely sure of. “Whatever happened yesterday? That wasn’t me.” He twists the knob, pulls the door open, takes a step out. “And Lup is just something I made up as a kid. Don’t worry about it.”

He closes the door and leaves. He doesn’t look back.

 For only a second, Taako thinks he see Lup with him, there in that white space. When he turns to look, all he can see is the red dirt of Refuge and he doesn’t think about her again until he dies. I hope she’s not dying, too, he thinks, and then, but dying’s never stopped her before.

Every subsequent death, he finds himself searching for a glimpse of her. One time it’s a flash of blonde hair. Another time it’s the tips of pointed ears. Yet another is a ghost of a smirk.

The color red follows her and when he looks, it’s dirt and he’s in Refuge again.

Lup would have liked Roswell, probably, and definitely Ren. He hopes they can meet one day. He forgets he ever had the thought.

 The Umbra Staff tries to kill Kravitz and that’s just fucking rude. Why does it have to act up like this? Why can’t it just be like any other cool staff? (Taako thinks that if he could ever make a staff it would have a blade on the end. Not because he would use it like a sword, but it would look super intimidating and maybe an enemy will think it’s a melee weapon and assume he’s weak when he’s anything but.)

The whole thing about something undead makes Taako’s skin crawl. He doesn’t like the feeling of not being able to trust the Umbra Staff. He’s come to rely on its steady presence to ground him during his lowest points and he doesn’t want anything to come between that. Fuck the rest of the base if it means sacrificing personal comfort.

Why would a dark spirit risk being discovered to save Taako’s life so many times? If there is a lich—and gods, maybe there is and he just never knew because they used to own the staff before him—then the only thing he can do is hope it won’t escape and try to murder him. But, again, why save his life and help him get stronger? Why not just kill him immediately?

Kravitz may be hot, and he may be right about an undead spirit, but he’s wrong about it being a danger to him.

(Lup would never hurt him.)

 The fireball that Angus shoots out is huge, bigger than the little boy is capable of casting or even handling. When he speaks up, babbling excuses about how he couldn’t possibly have cast that spell, something clicks in Taako.

“I know, I know,” he says, and he hopes he doesn’t sound like a weirdo because honestly? He wasn’t listening.

He’s too busy thinking about how to free Lup from the Umbra Staff.

Why didn’t he think of this before? It’s a miracle it never happened on accident even, but here, and now, Taako realizes that he has to break her prison to set her free.

From the moment he drank the baby’s ichor to the second he snaps the Umbra Staff over his knee, he had managed to convince himself that Lup was still a candy-coated dream. She seemed too good to be true, too good to be real, she had to be fake, she could only exist in the imagination of Taako’s intense, lonely need to never be alone. There was no way she was real and somehow he’d managed to convince the others that she was.

But now she is. She’s real and wonderful and phantasmal and resplendent and—

Taako feels like he can breathe for the first time in over a decade.

Thank the gods, he thinks, eyes burning and tears rolling down his face faster than he can think to stop them. She’s real. Thank the gods.

And then she puts him on blast but he’s laughing and he’s happy.

She’s real.

#taz #tazb #thezonecast #taz fic #trans taako #kiera writes fics #taako #lup #twins #i spent over an hour in the tazscripts looking for a description of their new suite #bc thats how i do #apparently #qiera

[t0mat0-pot4to]

#JayDickWeek2017 Day 2: Confession Under Fire

            Everyone is wondering how Dick and Jason got together.

How could they mess up so bad? The plan was simple. They will use the jet to get to the Watchtower, beat up the bad guys then get out. No talking with the other heroes. No distractions were available. And still they messed up. Instead of having a fight in the tower, they managed to get chased on the jets. So now they were avoiding everything that was thrown at them, try to stay far from the Earth's atmosphere so direct shots didn't get to land.

There was no back-up free. Everyone was busy with their own plans. They could keep the chase for a little longer, until things lighten up.

But things went wrong again. Someone got inside, then two then three more. They fought, breaking so many things inside. The main parts on the outside were hit and broken. Oxygen was running out. Wires everywhere. The control panel didn't work anymore. Red lights bathed them.

From their seats, they saw the outside. The galaxy was sure a big thing and how insignificant they were compared to other planets.

"Hey, Grayson?"

"I'm listening Jay." Dick replied kicking his feet on top of the broken panel.

"Since we are in this situation. I think it's the right time to tell you that I admire you." Jason commented imitating Dick's actions. His arms rested on the sides of the chair, while his head looked forward.

"Same here." He answered, looking at Jason with a smirk. "I wanted to ask you this long ago but I thought that I shouldn't. But, right now I don't even think I have a tomorrow for it so...I like you and all."

"Way to go Golden Boy." They laughed. "Yeah, I kind of like you too. Especially when you don't talk at all. It's nice, really."

"That's the nicest thing you've said to me today, thank you."

"So...do we kiss or what?"

"I got this."

Dick stood up, facing Jason. He stepped closer to Jay's right, leaning forward. He couldn't help himself but to laugh at what they were about to do. Slowly he kissed him, holding his left cheek. The kiss lasted a few seconds before they separated, to chuckle.

"This is probably the gayest thing Imma be saying today but, gee, your lips are so good." Jason expressed, blushing a bit, causing more soft laughter from his partner. Then they both laughed.

"Yep, gayest thing I've heard today."

Well, they were so far from Earth now. It looked like a tennis ball from the distance. Neither of them said it directly but they knew that it was the end for them. All because of a mission that didn't go as planned. They started to wonder how everyone else what doing, since communication collapsed.

They didn't say anything for a solid minute. Then Dick leaned to kiss Jason again. A few quick kisses on his lips then in the corner, slowly walking in front of him. Jason sat properly not sure what was happening but, boy, he couldn't resist it. One of Dick's knees rested right between his legs, while the kisses had started lowering to his jaw.

Knock. Knock.

Dick was forced to hold back to find out were the noise came from. From the window with many scratches, he could clearly see Hal Jordan. He grunted before walking towards the window. He wrote something on the window as some dusk and steam was there.

'What?'

Dick saw Hal laugh as some writing in green glowed from his ring.

'Am I interrupting something? I mean, I could rescue both of you later.'

'Just get us home. Not a word.'

'Yes, sir.'

"Oh my goodness Stephanie!" Barbara cried holding back her laughter. The others did laugh, well, only those who understood the last part. "We have kids here, you know?"

"I didn't tell them to listen tho'!" She excused herself, with a big grin in her face. "Plus, they are Dick and Jason! I'm sure it happened at some point."

"Dick would've told me if he did." Wally said as he chewed chips. "Plus, they've been together for only three months. Dick isn't that type of guy."

"Is it jealousy a sense?" Kate looked at him with a playful grin making him blush. Everybody else exploited in laugh.

"Like hell I am! He's my best friend." He mumbled grabbing another bag of chips fro himself. "And I have Artemis. I don't want him."

"Sure you don't babe." Artemis kissed him in the head. "Anyone to take another guess? Which doesn't involved any mature content?"

"We'll take a guess." Said Kate with Babs leaning against her.

After a long night patrol, Jason was walking in the empty streets. He was too busy to notice someone behind him. Next hing he knew was that he was tied to a chair and pretended he was doomed. He quickly noticed Arsenal, Roy Harper, and Starfire, Koriand'r, tied up too. Since they didn't move, he assume they were knocked unconscious.

"Look who decided to finally join us."

"I don't like crushing private parties." He rolled his eyes. He needed a way to free himself fast and keep his friends safe so they wouldn't harm them. "So, what's the deal? Do I owe you money?"

"Oh no. You owe me more than money. A whole company to be precise. If it wasn't for you, I would have gotten the deal of a lifetime!"

"You might not be able to see it but I'm silently laughing under my helmet."

"You think you are funny, but not today! Today I'll make you a deal. You'll get rid of my enemies and I'll give you your loved ones in exchange."

He went quiet. Now there was no way he could free them. Like, he didn't mind the killing but he wasn't sure what they will think of him after finding out he killed people for them.

"Why so quiet, Red Hood? Wasn't expecting that?"

"Of course I wasn't! I lost you went you said you couldn't kill your enemies so you needed me! What kind of thug are you? Even my dog could be better."

"So funny. But, will your friend Arsenal like a wake up bullet? Or Starfire? It's so hard to decide who should laugh with us tonight."

Now is when Jason started to try to free himself. However it didn't last long as guns were out pointing at him. It was suicide if he continues.

"I died once but a crowbar in the head by a clown. Satan will be disappointed if I go to hell with you as my killer."

Quiet. Jason needed to think fast.

"I'm so sorry to interrupt this little meeting of yours but, I can't let you kill my precious fugitive. So, what do you say if we all lower our guns and talk?" That voice was familiar to everyone in the room. And Jason didn't know if he was grateful or not for the new-comer. "Oh, come on! You know my name!"

Nightwing jumped from the pillars holding the ceiling above them. A smoke bomb was dropped and the bad guys knew it was done for them. The sound of heavy things falling, some breaking, gave Jason an idea of what was happening in there. Once the smoke curtain fully vanished, Nightwing was in the middle of the room with unconscious  thugs around him. Some were shot by their own mates and some still growled in hurt.

"Oh my! What a mess I've made. Let me make it up to you." He turned to the leader, who held a gun pointing at him. "Put the gun down or else I'll be force to knock you out."

"No chance pretty boy."

"My pretty boy is still tied up, so you better make it fast." He challenged before dropping his weapons on the floor. The sound of it echoed in the room and the blast of a bullet broke it. First shot and missed. Nightwing avoided it easily. He moved closer as bullets flew by him, none close to hit him.

...

"Pretty boy." He called Jason, standing in front of him with a bright smile. He didn't say anything else while he untied him. "Got anything sharp?"

"My looks count?" Jason joked trying not to swear out loud.

"See, I could leave you here but I'm too nice. So better help or else..." Dick whispered something in Jason, with a playful smile.

"Fine. Left pocket." He replied turning away from the oldest.

Dick gave a triumphant smile then went to search the pocket. His left hand ran from Jason's knee to his thigh, 'looking' for the pocket knife. With his right hand, and without permission, he took Jason's helmet off. And made him look at him directly.

"The hell are you doing?"

"Take a guess." He whispered back before taking out the sharp object and cutting the ropes. He stayed with the knife a bit longer, just watching Jason's reaction with a smile. 

"Oh my! Oh my!" Zatanna interrupted so they wouldn't continue. "That is not family friendly!" She joked as they laughed.

"Fine. Maybe we went a bit overboard." Babs said faking innocence. She did a little fistbumbed with Kate.

"I can assure you that did not happen!" Roy said out loud, pointing at the girls with his drink in hand.

"Me too. I don't recall that happening." Kori was a bit confused about said story but was completely sure it didn't happened.

"Ok, ok. Maybe Roy and Kori weren't there at all but it could have happened anyways." Kate defended.

"Anyone else?" Zatanna asked taking a slice of pizza from the box.

"Since everyone is making things up, I'll have a go!" Wally accepted.

Both Jason and Dick were being chased by some super-villains and the police. The reasons were a robbery and a murder. Neither of them were caused by them but they just couldn't stop for anything. It happened in the middle of Gotham as cars passed and people walked to late dinner shops. The moon was bright above their heads and no sign of the other members were present.

"So, what are you up to?" Dick asked as they jumped from one building to another. He seemed to be enjoying the chase somehow.

"Well, I don't know right now but it's not good at all." He responded, half turning to shot the man shooting at them in a helicopter.

"Excuse me, serial killer. Will you kindly not shot him?"

"Then?"

"Don't jump." He said as he rolled down in between two building. Jason reacted a bit late causing him to tripped down losing his balance. A hand caught his to swung him to a balcony in front of them. "Hold yourself up for a second." He pleaded before letting go and landing on top of a air conditioner box, without ripping it off the building.

...

They stayed on lower grounds for a bit, following their chasers close. Their spy skills kicked in but were soon put away as they escaped. Now they were underground, in the sewerage, following a track send by the Red Robin.

"Tim said that we'll be able to reach the bat-cave if we follow this." Dick commented showing his phone screen to his partner. "If we are lucky, Killercroc won't be roaming this place right now."

"Now that's a stereotype." Dick giggled at the comment said. "It's true. Just because he is a big-ugly-ass crocodile doesn't mean he'd at the sewerage."

"Maybe you could show me movies were it doesn't happen. I'd like to find one." He offered lending his phone to Jason.

"It's said then. Tomorrow night in my place."

"Oh boy, you are so gonna regret doing this."

"Then you should be grateful you are pretty. If you weren't, then you'll be doomed in society."

"I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you." He elevated his hands to the back of his neck, smiling. "It's been so long since we had a decent talk."

"Last week, when I told you that my apartment wasn't a safe place."

"And then you let me sleep in your bed. Yeah, good talk."

"It wasn't a good talk." He said and suddenly noise coming from their right side made them stop. "Great, now what?"

"We are going up if anything happens. Head East if there's anyone chasing you. I'll go West. Loose then. Beat them up. I don't care but we will meet outside the manor. Understood?"

"Loud and clear boss."

The noise was coming closer so they ran forward. Then the noise ran towards them too. There was no way to loose them so their plan was to be followed.

"Hey," Dick stop Jason once they were out. Not much time left. "Be careful, ok? I know you can do just fine but be careful."

"Same to you Golden boy."

Dick quickly kissed Jason in the lips. Then they were off.

"That was beautiful!" M'gann spoke happily. The other girls had the same reaction and the boys just stared in confusion.

"That's from a movie. Isn't it?" Tim questioned first, not wanting to believe that Wally just said what he said.

"Of course! Or a book. I don't remember." He answered, making the guys sighed in relief. Even some of the girls did.

"I don't see it. Both Jason and Dick are too proud to run from a fight, but I'll give you a seven out of ten." Raven replied, with the others nodding to her statement which was partially true. Especially from Jason.

"C'mon Rae! Even you know this could've happened...at some point." Garfield stated not truly sure himself.

"Indeed Beast Boy, but she is also right." Kaldur'ahm, Aqualad, affirmed.

"They would not retrieve if it was not an order." Cass mentioned. "It's clear on the battleground."

"Ok ok. My turn!" Kara declared.

The 'original' bat-bros were almost falling asleep on their way home from a special mission. Almost not making it home, especially the younger ones. So the older ones decided to carry them. Once they were in safe zone, with Alfred helping with some wounds from the younger ones. The Justice League was also there, in a special meeting with the Bat.

Neither group was surprise to see the other. It had happened so many times it became a tradition whenever they were over in the batcave.

Dick and Jason stayed back to join the meeting, while Tim and Damian were forced to get some rest. Again, it had happened so many times before no one was really surprise.

"So, the Secret Society is at it again? Gee, don't they ever get tired of losing?" Dick expressed while he typed something on his phone, although he wasn't really paying attention to the screen, they knew he was probably the one who absorbed all the information.

"We are afraid so." Martian replied, as the images of the Secret Society appeared with all their information. Then there was a second of silence before he talked again. "We will be busy dealing with an abnormally on the other side of Earth. Nightwing and Red Hood, you'll recruit the Young Justice and the Teen Titans for the job. We know you and the others are more than capable but we only want you to slow them down until we come back."

"Understood boss." Dick answered, putting his phone aside to concentrate on the new mission that was given to him.

"Any new information or dates will be send to you. Anything important must be send to us instantly. That will be all for now." Marian concluded, given the others a glance to see if they had anything to add.

"Ok. Jason and me will be out. Meta-humans are attacking central Gotham." Dick informed before heading to the exit with Jason behind. "Good night everyone. Don't worry about us too much."

...

"Got the what we wanted?" Dick asked, still looking back at the direction of the manor. Not a good idea when riding a motorbike, but he is the Nightwing. He was more than capable to do that and more.

"Yup. Being a street rat pays off in situations like this." His partner responded, holding a bag over his head. As much as they tried to be responsible on the road, they couldn't do it. "You know we are gonna get in hella trouble when they find out, right?"

"It will be worth the laughs."

...

Now they were off the roads, on top a building. The lights from the city hugged them away from the darkness of the night. Both excited to see the precious thing inside the leather bag. Jason took out Diana's Lasso of Truth, then threw the bag to a side. It glowed in golden magic, fascinating both.

"It's more magestic than I thought...It's just...Wow."

"It's an Amazon weapon. Created and used by Gods." Jason mumbled still holding it before giving it to Dick, who just admired the golden colour. "Who you wanna try it on first?"

"I don't care. We have, we use it. We don't have much time before Wonder Woman finds out."

"We could use it on the meta-humans, since we have to take them out anyways." Jason suggested with a smile on his face, Dick's reaction was priceless for him. He could have swore his partner didn't even noticed.

...

"Ok, so the bad guys escaped and now we are tied up. In the Lasso of Truth. In the middle of the night. We are a mess." Dick sided look at his weapons on the floor next to them. Near those were Jason's guns with empty bullets and fresh smoke coming out of the guns' muzzles. It was quite a hard fight.

"So...hum...Mind finding a way to free ourselves." Jason pleaded clearly uncomfortable by their closeness. Although they were back to back, he knew Dick was so calm about it.

"I could try leaning back and see if I could free my hands." His partner suggested as he inclined his head on Jay's shoulder, giving away his smile. As much as he tried to see Jay, his position wouldn't allow him. "Ok, I need you to stand still while I do this. If you don't, we are gonna fall and that's gonna be really bad for us."

"Yeah, yeah. I know. Hurry up."

Dick pressed himself against Jason's back, leaving just enough space for him to slide his arms in from. When he made it, he could finally let his breath go. Jason relaxed while he sighed, like Dick did. Before he could say anything, Dick was doing the exact same thing again as he tried to untie the knot. But didn't last long before giving up and wailing.

"I can't. Try twisting the rope from your side or something." He finally stated.

Jason couldn't even reach the rope with his fingers so he shrugged his shoulders. His action was enough for Dick to sigh again. Dick giggled.

"Want to ask me some burning question?" He asked and the rope glowed in a bright golden, so he figured out it was doing it's magic.

Jason gulped. He was clearly fighting the need to tell the truth.

"Come on little wing. You know neither of us can lie in this situation." He teased while leaning his head back in Jay's shoulder.

"I hate you. And yes, I do want to ask you something."

"Awww, what is it?"

"Since you been out with many people. And you are currently not dating anyone. What are your types?"

"Man, that's some silly question. However, because you are asking me, I'm gonna tell you." He gave a quit pause before answering. "I don't really have a type but I tend to fall for people who...I tend to fall for people who I have rescued once and vice versa. Yeah, I know, it's weird."

"Why?" Came out quickly out of Jay's mouth.

"Why? Oh, I don't really know. Something to do with trust. If they could save me, I could trust them with my life. If I can save them once, I can do it twice. Three times...I could protect them..." Dick went quiet all of the sudden. Still mumbling nonsense under his breath.

It was quiet.

"Who do you like?" "You."  They both asked and answered at the same time. Their guards were down so they didn't notice until they heard the answer.

"Oh my goodness! You like me? Really? Red Hood likes Nightwing? Oh my gosh!" Dick teased surprised. Then the next thing he did was letting the rope go, freeing them. He basically pulled the Lasso and picked his weapons up, rushing away from Jason. "I'm so telling everyone about this!"

"You...You! You come back here now! Nightwing!" He tried processing what happened before picking his guns up and lifting them. Both guns pointing at a near Nightwing, fingers pressed against the trigger.

"Come on! Let's get moving pretty!" He screamed picking up the leather bag from the beginning, then putting the Lasso in it. "You could try shooting me babe, but that be such a mean thing to do! It's nearly midnight and Bats will be out soon! You coming or not?!"

"That did happened once. The Lasso thing but not with those questions." Duke pointed out, while the bat-fam laughed at that memory.

"Yeah, it was bad." Luke continued. "They were forced to stay away from each other so they wouldn't kill the other one."

"Yeah...I've been there...Not good." Conner rested his head on his hand, half-closing his eyes to Tim who just smiled 'innocently'. "Don't trust them. Especially a guy called Tim who will force you to deal with it."

"Really?" Kara questioned with eyes filled with hope. "What happened?"

Before Conner could answer that question, two familiar voices caught everyone's attention and tried finding were they were coming from.

"Oh! Wow. Why are all of you here? Wait! You guys didn't call me? Oh my gosh. I fell so disappointed." Dick dramatised with a funny look in his face. They all laughed at his reaction. "My friends and my family, together. In the same room. Not fighting...Who are all of you?! Where are my loved ones?! No. Don't tell me. Just...Just leave!"

"Shhh, they are safe." Kate winked at him, holding her finger in her lips telling him to stay quiet.

"Oh my! Jason! They have our family! And friends! And...and..." He pulled Jason's arm, who rolled his eyes as he was pulled towards his boyfriend.

"You guys, I hate all of you." He said, pointing at everyone in the room.

"We love you too Jaybird." Babs winked at him, taking a sip from a coke can.

"Gee, like, excuse me? Pretty girl, he is mine." Dick released Jay's arm before walking up to his ex-girlfriend, almost face to face with her. He just looked at her, quietly. Then he took one of the cans in the table, blowing a kiss to the redhead. "We are going out. See you on patrol. Lots of love!"

"Wait..." Tim called right before Dick and Jason walked out of the living room. When they both turned to see, the younger one made a sign to come closer. "We have a question. And we really want answers."

"Oh...What is it?" The oldest was the only one who looked worried, although Jay didn't looked at the conversation, he was pretty aware of his surroundings.

"This is dumb. They want to know how you and Todd got together." Damian finally talked, looking away from his phone. Jon, who was next to him, lowered his headphones to listen to the conversation.

"Well. It is kind of dumb but I guess, we could..." The oldest glanced at his partner for help as he didn't know what to do or say. They both shrugged not knowing exactly. "I mean, it was really stupid." He tried joking it off, so they will forget about it but he knew they wouldn't let it go.

"We were talking about it." Jon gave a little explanation, while looking at the others who kept their gaze on Dick.

"Well...there's two times, same day." Dick sat on the back of the couch, looking above his head as he tried remembering that day. Jay forced himself to stand next to his partner, with his hands on his hips.

It was early morning when Dick found Jason overlooking Gotham. They didn't talk straight away but soon loosen up and started talking about their day. As much as they tried looking away from each other, there's was always something that drew them to look back.

"Wanna go eat something?" Dick offered with a smile. It was early, too early to be seen by anyone they knew so it was perfect timing.

"You are paying."

...

They fought over the place, but since Dick was too nice, he let Jason choose. At the end they went to a Chinese restaurant, which kindly serve them anything they wanted. They have saved so many places, they don't remember all of them. Despite the time, they got some lunch instead of breakfast.

"This place is nice." Dick whispered, drinking his tea like Jason did. They weren't talking too much, just casual comments and responses. "We should come here more often."

"We?" He was surprised, almost shocked to hear that pronoun.

"Um...Yeah..." He was saved as their food came. He shook his head, attacking his food and this told Jason to not talk about it anymore.

The more time they were together, things lighten up a bit. Dick grabbed the fortune-cookie, breaking it to read the tiny paper folded inside. Soft chuckling came out his mouth, which drew Jason's attention.

"It says 'You should date the person next to you'. So, wanna date? It says on the paper." He declared, leaving the note on the table, eyes locked on Jay's.

"What?"

"Um...Maybe I could win you over with food...Yeah, that could work."

>>>

Since they spend the morning together, Dick managed to get Jason to be with him for the rest of the day. Of course out of their 'work' suits, to change in normal clothes. It didn't take long for them until they visited many places.

"Stay here, okay? I'll just get something for Tim and Damian."

"I'm not five years old anymore, Grayson."

A few minutes later, a lady walked up to Jason with a flirty look on her face. Jason was clearly uncomfortable but tried to play it cool.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hello?"

"Why are you so lonely? No girl with you?"

"What? Madam, please, I'm waiting for someone."

"Oh, it is a young girl? I could wait with you, make you some company."

"I'm with someone." He mumbled loud enough for her to hear, who looked shocked. "So please, leave me. Or else..."

"Oh! Hey babe!" Dick came rushing with a bag with some sweets inside. He quickly hooked his arms with Jason's, slowly pulling him back. "I'm sorry madam but we need to get going now. Enjoy your evening!"

When they were away, the oldest was laughing quite loudly. The youngest only looked down, still embarrassed about what had just happened back there.

"Sooo, babe?" Dick muttered turning to softly kiss his left cheek, making him blush. No answer came so Dick kept talking. "Are you okay? If you want me to stop...I-I will do it..."

"It's okay." He murmured, half turning to face him. "Thank you...You know, back there...With the women...Arg...You know what I mean..."

"Yeah..." He side-hugged Jay's waist, pulling him closer. "Want to go home? I could take you. Then..."

"Shut up. Just shut up Dick."

"Wow, that's so nice of you." He replied, resting his head on Jay's shoulder. "So, do you want to date me?"

"You guys disgust me!" Damian focused on his phone again, pulling his headphones down covering his ears resuming whatever he was doing before.

The others just laughed it off before turning to see the couple again.

"Yup." Dick stood up before looking at Jason, who just shrugged his shoulders once more. "We are out then. See you around later?" Everybody else agreed with nods, so they both went out.

...

"Are you happy about embarrassing me?" Jason moaned pulling himself away from his partner. The afternoon light bathed them, with just few minutes to the night. Neither talked until the night came.

"I'm sorry..." Dick apologised felling a bit weird. "I just couldn't tell them the real thing...Hum...You know...That day..." He sighed.

Jason looked away.

"Come on Jay. You know neither of us wants to remember that especific day." The oldest stood in the edge of the building, overlooking the city. "Forget it, okay? It's better that way..."

"Yeah...Let's get going Golden boy." They both laughed.

#jaydickweek #jaydick #jaydickweek2017 #jason todd #richard grayson #batfam #batfamily #my writing sucks

[equalstrashflavoredtrash]

The Mighty Pine - 3

PART 1 - PART 2

a/n: sorry for the hiatus, i hope you enjoy! please leave a comment if you liked or with your thoughts

@beautifulramblingbrains @frecklefaceb @vitaevandal @anditcametopass @pathybo @mimigemrose @abfoster1s @jojuarez26 @purple-hime @audreyfulquard @sharknadoslut @societalfailure @fadetoboom @insertamazingwords @megnificent07 @roslea @captstefanbrandt @ombrophiliax @lauraaan182 @ariwolff14 @jaihardy @socktrollqueen  @di-in-al  @loveimnotafraidtodie [[lleave a reply if you wan be tagged in future updates]]

Warning: Nothing too serious, just some mackin

Captain Boomerang X OFC // Suicide Squad // Lumberjack AU

word count: 3,300

Digger guided you down the hall of the stables, his fingers laced with yours until the pair of you were just out of sight from Jean-Claude, who was busy putting the horse back before heading to his cabin to settle in for the evening. Quickly stepping to the side, Digger spun you around, pushing you against the wooden boards that made up the wall next to the door.

You could see the steam of both his and your breath billowing from your lips in the cold night air as he moved in closer, his hands resting on your hips. "Come back to me cabin."

"I can't," you replied in a soft voice as you lifted your hands to his shoulders, wrapping your fingers around the elastic of his suspenders. Giving a slight tug, he followed your urging and closed the space between you.

Since the moment when he stole your first kiss a little over a week ago, you had come to very much enjoy making out with Digger. In fact, it was all you wanted to do and it was constantly on your mind. The next day you would find yourself with far more nicks and burns on your fingers than usual, all due to your thoughts drifting to him while chopping vegetables or near the stove.

After that carriage ride, you knew that you did want to join Digger in his cabin, but you also knew that you shouldn't wait to tell him the news of your impending betrothal.

Raising his arm, he slid his fingertips along your jawbone, bringing his palm to cup your face as he kissed you, his form engulfing yours as he kept you pressed against the wooden boards.

"Come back to me cabin with me," he whispered again without moving away so his lips brushed against yours as he spoke. In an instant your last meager bit of resolve collapsed and you agreed.

Swiftly, Digger turned around, urging you to climb onto his back. Gripping his shoulders, you hopped up, wrapping your legs around his hips as he linked his elbows under your knees, keeping you in place. Circling your arms around his neck, you tugged yourself closer, holding on tight as he headed into the night.

"Don't want te get yer hem all muddy," he explained as he stomped through the wet soil, most of the freshly fallen snow already gone.

Entering the cabin, Digger quickly crossed the single room to the old bed before turning and releasing your legs so you fell onto the mattress. You laughed lightly when you bounced on the creaking springs, your brain still heavily influenced by the wine from earlier. Lifting your hands, you tried to hide your smile as Digger strode to the small stove in the corner, the cast iron door creaking as he swung it open.

While he was busy loading the logs and kindling, you took the opportunity to take in the small room and see what his private space looked like. The room was pretty messy with his various personal effects scattered aimlessly across the floor. On the wall was a pennant for a sports team you never heard of and you couldn't help but notice his bed, which you were sitting on, was unmade; the blankets still balled up from when he'd kicked them to the side before rising that morning, leaving the sheets exposed.

Once the fire was started, Digger stood up, hoisting his arms up and clasping his hands above his head as he stretched. Waiting on the mattress, with your feet tucked under your bottom, you watched as he turned around, yawning before he slid his thumbs under his suspenders, guiding them off his shoulders. You bit your lip as you stared at him, watching how he deftly kicked his boots to the side while unbuttoning his flannel shirt. Shrugging off the garment, he threw it to the floor and stepped towards you. Bending forward he brought his lips to yours, his moustache tickling the skin on your face as he tugged at your blouse, freeing it from your skirt's waist band.

You could feel a jittery excitement beginning to boil somewhere behind your stomach as he untucked your shirt. Unsure of how to respond, you brought your hands to his shoulders before leaning back into the pillows. He followed, staying close as he climbed to rest between your knees, continuing to suck on your bottom lip.

Shifting, he lowered his head, tracing his mouth down your neck while nipping along your jugular. Each of his slow kisses elicited a verbal response from you. You wiggled against him as his steady movements became sluggish. Then, after a moment you realized he wasn't moving at all.

"Digger?" you asked, shaking his shoulder while his face remained buried in the crook of your neck. His only response was a loud snore.

He'd fallen asleep.

Rolling your eyes in disbelief, you attempted to maneuver from underneath him, but even with your best efforts, his broad and heavy form kept you pinned to the mattress. You did your best to get somewhat comfortable despite the weight on top of you and try to sleep, but it didn't work.

The second time you were able to free yourself. Not wanting to bother trudging all the way back to the dingle alone in the dark, you chose to curl up next to him. You lifted his arm so it rested along your side before pulling the blanket up to cover the pair of you.

When you woke up the following morning you were uncomfortably warm and a little sweaty. With a yawn you stretched and took in your surroundings, recalling the events from hours earlier. Sitting up you found yourself fully clothed and next to the human furnace known as Digger. He began to stir as you shifted to climb over him. Without a glance he grabbed your waist, bringing you down so you laid on top of him.

"Don't go," he mumbled, wrapping his arms tighter around your middle, immobilizing you.

Relaxing, you let your chin rest on his chest, feeling the rhythmic rise and fall as he took deep, slow breaths while you contemplated your next move.

"I have to tell you something," you stated, breaking the calm silence of the morning.

"Oh?" Digger asked, finally cracking his eyelid to look at you, "What's that?"

You hesitated for a minute, trying to think of a way to play it off, but it was too late to change the subject. "I'm supposed to get married to this banker from Boston. His grandmother and my Aunt Jo are friends," you explain with a somber tone.

"So it's an arranged thing?" Digger questioned as he slid one hand from your waist to tuck under his head. Biting your lip you nodded, waiting for his response as his gaze drifted to the rafters. You grew uneasy with his silence.

"What are you thinking?" you probed in a tense voice, obviously nervous.

"I was thinkin'," Digger sighed as he lowered his chin, his gaze reconnecting with yours, "That this bloke probably wouldn't marry yeh if I knocked yeh up." Your eyes went wide at his admission while he smirked at your expression.

Moving quickly, he shifted his position, rolling over to pin you into the mattress. One of his hands drifted to your thigh, snaking its way under the hem of your skirt as he leaned in for a kiss. You could feel the burning excitement in your abdomen begin to spark with his touches but you didn't plan on giving in that easily. At the last second you turned your head away before he made contact, his lips colliding with your cheek instead.

"No!" you yelped as he moved to kiss your neck, undeterred. "You had your chance last night and you fell asleep!" Digger responded with actions, lifting your leg to his side as he pushed his hips into yours.

"Come on, luv," he pleaded, keeping his mouth against your skin while you wriggled, fighting to get out from underneath him. He relented his grip, allowing you to get away, tumbling from the bed onto the hardwood floor. Standing up, you straightened your skirt as you glared at him. Digger laid on his side, watching you move as you tucked in your blouse. Wanting to check your appearance, you glanced around the small cabin for a mirror and found none. Unsurprised, you moved on to search instead for your shoes. Finding them in opposite corners, you sat on the edge of bed to pull them on.

Quietly Digger reached up, running his fingers down your spine, causing you to shiver as you tied your laces. Once finished, you rested your hands on the lip of the mattress before turning your head to look at Digger over your shoulder.

"Do you want to marry the bloke?" he asked as he lounged against the pillows, his hand drifting to play with the small bit of lace on your cuff.

"Not really, no," you admitted with a gulp. "I've never even met him."

Without speaking Digger sat up. Sliding his palm along the nape of your neck, he guided you towards him until his lips locked with yours.

Entering the dingle, you quickly pulled an apron from the nail in the wall and secured the band around your waist with a knot before settling next to your aunt at the counter.

"You seem tired," she mused, barely glancing at the bags under your eyes.

"Oh, well, I didn't sleep too good last night," you murmured, grabbing the paring knife and beginning to help slice the carrots.

"Ah? And what kept you up?" Rosemary asked, never lifting her gaze from the butcher block, "Or should I say 'who' instead of 'what'?"

"Auntie," you sighed, resting your hands flat on the surface as you faced her, "Nothing happened, I swear. I was just a little drunk and-,"

You were interrupted by her raised palm, a sign you learned at a very young age mean 'shut your mouth and listen'. "I don't want to know the details," she punctuated as she turned to study you. Even though the usually jovial woman was a bit shorter than you (and had been since that growth spurt when you were 14) when she needed to, she could make even the largest men in camp freeze mid step with one glare. Your theory was that the rarity of her temper made it all the worse.

"You are a grown woman now," she began once she was positive she had your obedient attention. "You can make your own choices. But," she held up a single finger to keep you from responding, "I want to be certain that you are thinking about these choices and you are not making a mistake." She raised her eyebrows as she looked at you, dropping her fist to rest on her hip so her elbow jutted out while the other sat on the counter, supporting her weight with her elbow locked before she finished, "Because I do think you're making a mistake. A big mistake, and one that could affect the rest of your life. How well do you even know him?"

With a huff of air leaving your nose you crossed your arms and rested a hip against the butcher block before you scoffed, "I told you, nothing happened, and I know him better than the dip Aunt Jo wants me to marry."

Rosemary's expression dropped at the news. "And who is that?"

"Her friend Mrs. Pottings' grandson, I think his name was David or something, I don't remember," you replied with a shrug as you lifted the knife.

Your aunt tutted with a small shake of her head before turning back to the cooking while mumbling, "Mildred was alway such a stuck up ass. Numb as a hake I tell you, but her dad had money from running a hotel down the river in Bangor, so everyone loved her."

"How did she and Aunt Jo meet?" you probed while gliding the knife alone the end-grain of the butcher block, pushing the remnants from slicing into the compost bucket by your feet before grabbing at an onion to start peeling.

"Oh, at some church function, or maybe a social at the grange, I don't really remember. But they got along as thick as thieves from the first second," your aunt grumbled as she also grabbed an onion. "But I didn't complain much at the time, that was around when I first met your Uncle. He worked at the camp while your grand dad was still running things and all I wanted to do was-," she cut herself off, pausing for a second as she reflected on the truth of what she'd almost said.

Spying her distracted expression out of the corner of your vision, you nudged her with your elbow, bring her back to earth with the question, "What were you saying about Uncle John?"

"Oh never mind that," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. Scanning over her shoulder she eyed the cast iron stove before instructing you, "The pot of coffee should be ready now. Go make some for cups for the men. Jean-Claude and the McInerneys are in the stables, Digger's chopping wood out back."

Gripping the four handles of the tin mugs, two in each hand, you walked carefully through the mud, cautious to not slip and fall, pouring hot coffee all over yourself. Using your hip to push open the door, you entered the barn. Almost instantly you spotted the brothers across the way, Peter was mucking out a stall while James was brushing down the horse. Kicking the door shut, you hurried over the floor boards towards them.

"Morning," you called as you approached James and he took one of the mugs from your grasp. You set the other on the ledge of the stall's half wall for Peter before turning around. "Is Jean around?" you asked as you walked forward, carefully placing an open palm on the horse's snout as James sipped at his drink.

"Ayuh, up in the hayloft," he nodded towards the stairs as his brother set down the pitchfork and lifted his own mug from where it rested. With a smile you turn around and climbed the steps to the second level of the barn.

"Bonjour!" you announced your presence as you entered the loft, noticing the Jean-Claude had his back turned.

Standing up straight, he glanced over his shoulder at the interruption. You could see the smile spread across his face as he realized who had come to call. "Mignon! Salut," he replied as he dropped the bale he was holding onto the stack.

"Café pour toi," you offered as you shifted the mugs in your hand to hand one to him.

He readily accepted the cup sighed as he took a sip, "C'est magnifique." He took a second gulp before looking at you and raising his eyebrows, "Alors, tu-as amusé la nuit dernière?"

"Uh, what?" you asked, not understanding, your grasp on french was still quite limited.

"Did you have fun with Digger?" he elaborated, switching languages, "You two weren't exactly quiet in the back of the carriage last night."

You could feel the blush burning as it rushed from your ears to your cheeks while you stood there wide eyed at his comment. Jean-Claude smiled as his brought the the mug of coffee to his mouth.

"I have to go," you stammered, quickly spinning and scurrying to the stairs.

"Merci, Mignon," Jean-Claude shouted at your retreating form. You could hear him fighting the urge to laugh.

"Bienvenue," you responded automatically with the expected polite return as you continued to retreat in embarrassment.

Exiting the barn, you couldn't help but sigh as the cool air sooth the flame in your cheeks. Clutching the last cup in both hands, you took a deep breath to calm yourself before rounding the building to where you could hear Digger splitting logs.

Peaking around the corner you saw him. He had shed his flannel, which laid discarded on the log pile with his ribbed undershirt. He stood barechested, his muscles in his back flexing as he held the axe raised above his head. With a grunt he swung the blade forward. There was a loud crack upon impact as the axe wedged its way into the log before the wood split apart along the natural grain. One of the two halves fell into the mud as Digger repositioned the other on the stump, readying it to be chopped.

Slowly you crept up behind him, careful not to disturb while he had a sharp, heavy tool in his hands. You watched him raise and drop the axe one more time before speaking up, "Hey, I brought you some coffee."

Digger quirked his eyebrow before looking over his shoulder to you after burying the blade in the stump. The axe stayed stationary as he let go, turning around to face you. The corner of his mouth quirked into his crooked grin as he stepped nearer, letting his hands linger on yours when accepting the cup.

"Thanks, luv," he spoke with a nod, entertained by your flushed expression. Biting your lip you fought the urge to stare openly at his bare chest. "Enjoying the view, darl'?" Digger teased as he moved towards you, resting his palm on your waist while you anxiously played with your fingers in attempt to keep your hands to yourself. "Be happy ta show you the rest latah."

You gasped slightly in embarrassment, quickly raising your arms you cover your open mouth with your fingers. Digger couldn't help but laugh as he brought you closer, wrapping his arm around your middle, holding you against him.

"Digger!" you squeaked, pushing him away before leaning back and twisting out of his grip. You barely moved an inch when his fingers latched onto the back of your skirt, halting you from moving any further. The coffee cup long since discarded in the mud, Digger brought his other hand forward, lightly ghosting his touch along your sides to tickle you. You tried to worm your way out of his grasp as you fought back the giggles bubbling inside you. Digger shifted, pushing one of his legs between yours as he let go of your skirt. He snagged your wrist, pinning your other arm against your chest with his forearm and immobilizing you with one hand, as you continued to gasp for air from laughing.

His facial hair tickled tickled your neck in a different way as he buried his face somewhere between your shoulder and neck, peppering kisses along the exposed skin. His hand at your side stalled once you let out a moan instead of a laugh. Sliding his arm around your waist he held your back flush against his chest while he focused on nipping that spot just underneath your ear. Letting out a sigh, you unconsciously rolled your hips back against his. You could almost feel the smirk on Digger's lips as he lifted his head.

Bringing your chin to your shoulder, you looked up to his clear blue eyes before letting your own lids flutter shut as you shifted closer, pressing your lips to his. You felt content as he returned your affection, his strong arms holding you tighter as he kissed you back.

Unbeknownst to either of you, the tender moment did not go unseen. Your Aunt Ro had been returning from the compost pile when she noticed the pair of you. She watched the way he teased as you attempted to play keep away. It wasn't until you finally kissed that she sighed to herself and decided it was due time she paid her sister a visit.

I hope you enjoyed! please leave a reply with your thoughts!!

PART 1 - PART 2

#Captain Boomerang #captain boomerang imagine #captain boomerang fanfiction #suicide squad imagine #suicide squad fan fiction #my writing #fanfic #digger harkness #mighty pine

[syubits]

arm wrestling ∞ boxer!jungkook

“Choose your fate,” Taehyung sticks out the cup full of crumpled paper, eyes darkly intense and sounding all too-serious for a simple punishment game, which you remind him with a roll of your eyes.

It was game night, after what seemed like ages of practice exam papers and study sessions for finals that ended the day before. You were sure everyone would be as sapped of energy as you are, but that is obviously not the case seeing you had spent the last 12 hours, ass glued to the floor as the controller is to your hand trying to beat the boys. Seokjin had retreated to the kitchens after absolutely smashing everyone at Mario Kart and Cooking Mama, and you had already lost to Hoseok and Jimin at Just Dance since Namjoon was unfortunately out of the question, being away with Yoongi at the studio to work on some new music. You were slightly more confident at Tekken, but Jungkook was ruthless as usual and had dropkicked your character along with your dignity out the window, ultimately making you the biggest loser of the night. 

Which brings you to your current position. You unfold the yellow paper, hoping to god it wasn’t an absurd penalty, like licking a shoe (suggested by Taehyung, and executed by Seokjin who lost at bowling the last time around) or shaving off part of your brows (suggested and carried out by Taehyung. He never left the house for a whole month).

“Arm wrestling with Kookie.” You mentally make a note to punch Jimin in the nose later, who has the at least has the conscience to look guilty while staring at the words scribbled in his handwriting, which seem to be staring back at you. Huh. You shrug, an odd, light sense of something between indifference and acceptance about your fate washing over you. You guessed spraining some fingers, or like, breaking your entire hand wouldn’t be too bad. 

“You sure about this?” Jungkook says, throwing a look towards his snickering, evil older brothers. 

“Let’s just get this over with, Jeon,” you beckon him over, sliding over to the coffee table. “Nothing happens if one of us loses right?”

“If you lose, you have to pick out another punishment,” Taehyung smirks, plopping on the couch for the front-seat view of the arm wrestling match.

“The – what? That’s not fair! No one wins against Jungkook!”

“Yeah, Taehyung…” Jimin says softly, fidgeting in his seat. “He’s a boxer, for fuck’s sake.” In his soft grey pullover, Jimin looks fluffy and small for his heart that is too big for his own good, the one that had saved you from the boys’ wrath more than you could ever thank him for. Even if he was the one who wrote the punishment. Taehyung just shushes his best friend, setting down the cup of penalties right in front of you with a big, fat, Chesire cat grin.

You’re about to flip him the finger when you feel a hand overlapping yours, and you turn to see Jungkook at the ready, sleeves rolled up his just over the taut muscle of his bicep. Your eyes travel up the veins lining his arm that disappears under the fabric of his white, supposedly loose-fitting shirt until you lock eyes with the smirking boy.

Showoff.

“Ready?” The competitive glint is back in eyes, bright and wide and unsure just seconds ago when he was hesitant about going against you. He’s prepared to add another win to his record of beating everyone he’s known and all the other boys at the boxing studio, including Jackson.

“Fuck no,” your groan ends in a whine of some sort, and Jungkook almost feels bad. Almost. In his mind, he blesses the person who created arm wrestling. A contest of strength and the chance to hold your hand? He makes a mental note to suggest more of this game in the near future, especially on game nights when you were around. 

Jungkook curls his fingers more securely over yours, his hand warm and large enough to fully envelop yours. He stares at your hand in his, inwardly marvelling the way it fits. It would’ve been romantic if he wasn’t going to slam it down in a couple of mere seconds, but oh well.

He begins the match without giving you a countdown or warning of any sort, triggering a spew of expletives from you.

“This is so unfair!” you yell, your other hand flying to clasp onto the edge of the table for some leverage, almost going white-knuckled while you find yourself struggling to hold up against Jungkook. 

“Yeah, you said that already,” you hear the other boys chuckle above you, and you make a mental note to throw all their underwear, including and especially eveything Gucci from Taehyung’s possessions out the window later.

For now, you had to focus on winning this obviously unfair and unscrupulously-planned-against-you game, even if it meant foul play. The gears in your mind shifted quickly, sifting through ideas to bring Jeon Cena down.

Kicking him from under the table? That would probably just hurt your foot. Tickling him would take too much effort, not to mention he’d probably take the chance to knock you down the moment you stop holding on to the table to steady yourself. At the moment, Jungkook’s just delaying the inevitable, both of you knowing that he could’ve claimed his win within the first 5 seconds tops. 

You furrow your brow, running out of time and ideas while Jungkook looks almost bored, chewing his lip out of habit. The action reveals the hidden freckle under his lip, though you find your attention more drawn to the latter. Jungkook’s lips weren’t as plump or as full as Seokjin’s or Jimin’s, but still cute and pink and soft-looking all around, seeing how religiously he puts on lipbalm. His favourite was the Fruity Shine line, in Strawberry or Peach. You wondered which one he put on today.

An idea sprouts in your mind, where a private smile blooms. 

There was only one way to find out.

Before you can second guess yourself, you’re leaning across the table and eliminating the distance between you and Jungkook to slant your lips over his. Fragments of chatter and laughter in the background died down at once, and for a second all you can feel is Jungkook’s lips.  It parts slightly under yours, a little damp from where he keeps rolling it with his teeth but still silky and smooth and– 

Strawberry. He had gone for the strawberry-flavoured lipbalm today.

Jungkook had stiffened under your surprise attack, eyes somehow going wider, his brain short-circuiting on him and leaving him on his own to stare at your closed eyes and the way your lashes fan out prettily under, the lights above casting shadows on your cheeks. It takes him another second to react, but Jungkook finally relaxes under your touch, grip loosening, tempted to let his eyes flutter to a shut and –

You don’t waste another second in slamming his arm down hard enough for his knuckles to knock against the table loudly, and Jungkook responds more to the sharp sound than the pain. He snaps out of it just in time to see you yell in victory, flopping onto your back. 

“That’s cheating!” Taehyung hollers from the couch, suddenly babbling away and being adamant about the importance of following the rules of a game. Jimin’s collapsed in a bubble of giggles over the unexpected outcome, and Hoseok has settled for sitting back and looking between everyone in amusement.

“Technically, I did follow the rules of the game. Didn’t say no kissing,” you shrug, holding up a trademark V sign, just to piss the boy off more. “Come on Jungkook, pick your penalty.”

Jungkook cringes at the strips of yellow held out in front of him, quite aware of the boys getting their phones out to document this. Jungkook was good at everything, and it was a rare occasion that he got the short end of the stick.

He reads the messy scrawl of black ink over yellow creases again. And again.

Kiss Jimin.

“Who writes these things?!” Jungkook holds up the piece of paper, looking scandalised as Taehyung howls with laughter, clicking away on his camera while Jimin lights up like a Christmas Tree. He’d been demanding Jungkook for one since his birthday last year, had been pestering how he owed him one even on their Vlives. Fuck his life. The others would probably never let him live it down and would have the pictures saved, uploaded and backed up on every device they owned.

“Hey, I volunteeer.” Jungkook’s head turns to the sound of your voice, sees your hand sticking up from the carpet where you’re currently sprawled out on your back. The casual comment had ignited hoots from the noisier pair of boys, and Jungkook spots a twins spots of pink blooming on the apples of Jimin’s cheeks.

Jungkook feels something crawl under his skin, up his neck to where his jaw ticks. For some reason, he’s annoyed about the notion of you kissing Jimin. 

He watches you indolently rise from your position on the floor, leaning back on the heels of your palms, oversized sweatshirt dropping over the curve of one shoulder, a lazy smile curving at your lips as you watch how everything plays out.  Who would turn down a kiss from you? Not him. Definitely not him after he’s gotten a taste of how soft your lips are and even if it meant kissing Jimin-–

A loud, final exasperated huff is the only warning everyone gets as Jungkook purses his lips before swooping down to press them lightly on Jimin’s cheek, making the boy squeak. 

“Aw, that’s too bad. I wouldn’t have minded replacing you,” your words are drowned under all the ‘Kookie, kiss me too!’s and the older boys tackling Jungkook onto the ground, clambering onto him and puckering their lips at the poor boy who has his arms up as a shield from their attempts to land a smooch.  

“What’s going on here?” Seokjin appears, wide shoulders taking up the whole width of the kitchen entryway, a ceramic baking tray in each mitten-wrapped hand and Jungkook has never felt so thankful of the oldest boy’s presence that has saved his sorry ass from the others countless of times. Taehyung and Hoseok are dragged away by their collars in no time to help set up the dining table, leaving Jungkook to catch his breath. 

But Seokjin’s calling the both of you for dinner in no time, and Jungkook turns to see you hefting yourself up and heading towards the dinner table, where you hear the boys yelling for you to hurry. As if suddenly remembering about Jungkook, you turn towards the boy who’s already staring back at you, looking disconcerted.

Jungkook feels himself flush under your gaze, and his mouth feels dry all of a sudden.

You raise a brow at him curiously. “Coming?” 

“Y-yeah.” Fuck. He just had to stutter.

“Hey! Jin’s apron says ‘Kiss the Cook’! Where’s Jungkook to-–”

Jungkook groans aloud, rolling onto his stomach and smooshing his cheek on the floor, wishing the ground would swallow him whole.

“–Ow!”

“That’s hyung to you,” Seokjin knocks the top of Taehyung’s head with a ladle that he then sets on the table, before disappearing into the kitchen to get more dishes. 

Fuck it. He’d kiss Seokjin, he’d kiss the rest of Bangtan as long as you didn’t have to do it. Or if it meant getting another kiss from you.

“Jungkook?”

He peeks open an eye to see you still waiting on him, head cocked to one side and.. you look too cute doing that he wants to die. 

 “…Coming.”

#jungkook fluff #bts fluff #bts drabbles #jungkook drabbles #jungkook scenario #writing

[lolainblue]

Wishing It Was You

Shannon Leto oneshot / Inspired by the K.Flay song “Wishing it was You”

Warning: Angst/Drunken Smut

The amber liquid no longer burned as it went down. Unfortunately, the only things that were becoming number were my taste buds and maybe, a little bit my face, but none of the feelings I was trying to drown. Certainly not the voice in my head that repeated his name over and over like an incantation, an arcane attempt to summon him to me, to make him finally see me, to make him mine.

As I watched him grinding against her on the dance floor, jealousy threatened to bubble over. I think this one's name was Siobhan, she was the third girlfriend I had watched him go through since meeting him, not even mentioning his hook ups and near misses. Of course, she was fucking perfect, drop dead gorgeous, toned and tanned just enough, dressed exactly on point, not a hair out of place even as she writhed against him. I didn't know her. She probably rescued puppies and orphans every day, pulling them from the debris of collapsed buildings while the wind blew her hair just so and her mascara never ran. I hated her.

I ordered another drink. The bartender gave me a long look. “I'm not driving I promise.” She continued to look at me for a minute then poured what was left of the bottle into a fresh glass. “Whoever he is he's not worth it,” she said as she cleared the empties away. I didn't reply, but I turned my back to the dancers, hoping if I quit staring at him my misery level would drop a notch or two. It did not. I stared into the whiskey and thought about how much it looked like Shannon's eyes when the light hit them. Fuck.

I was so deep in my own private hell I didn't realize the song had ended until I felt a strong pair of arms around my waist. Shannon's scent engulfed me as he swung me around with a laugh. “Why aren't you out there dancing Jelly Bean?” He slipped between me and the bar and took a sniff of my nearly empty glass. “How many of these have you polished off tonight? Am I going to have to pour you into a cab?”

I snatched the glass out of his hand. “You don't have to do anything. I can take care of myself. I'm not your damn kid sister.” I knew he was only trying to be his sweet, caring self but something in me had reached a breaking point. I saw the confusion on his face. I wanted to say more but then Siobhan was snuggling him and kissing his cheek and that angry little voice in my head turned into a scream and I couldn't stand there for one more minute. I grabbed my things and headed out of the party.

I had the car stop at the liquor store on the way home so I could buy a bottle of Jim Beam to keep me company on my wallow into self-pity. I had become a pathetic, lovesick mess, a complete cliché. I barely ate or slept anymore, my work was slipping, all I did was daydream about him. Sometimes I thought he felt something too, but he never treated me as anything other than a friend. “So glad I have you Jelly Bean,” he would tell me as he wrapped me one of his trademark Shannon bear hugs. Not that being his friend was a bad thing. He was a wonderful guy to have in your corner. I just wished it were enough.

Once inside my apartment, I cranked my favorite brooding playlist, kicked off my heels and headed to the kitchen to grab a glass before deciding to just open the damn bottle. I was about to unzip my dress when the doorbell rang. I figured it was the neighbors about the music. I was stunned to open the door and find Shannon on the other side of the threshold.

“Jelly Bean....”

“Stop calling me that.” I was In no mood for his infantilizing nicknames. I didn't need sweet, cuddly Shannon. I needed the Shannon of the wicked grins and dirty jokes. Mischievous Shannon. Shannon who might be willing to take a chance. Not big brother Shannon. I sighed. Abashedly, he started over.

“Juliet. I'm sorry to just barge in on you but you kind of had me worried back there. You've been so off lately.” His face filled with concern and something else I couldn't quite read. “Is everything okay with you?”

“And if it isn't?” I headed back towards the living room and the comfort of my whiskey. Shannon followed, closing the door softly behind him.

“I'm here if you need someone. I wish you'd talk to me.” I turned around to see him standing uncertainly in the hall. “Did I do something? You never talk to me anymore.”

I knew he was right. I had been pushing him away for a while now, desperately trying to gain some even footing while I watched him parade girl after girl past. He had been my confidante and now I was treating him like he had betrayed my trust when he hadn't done anything wrong. It wasn't his fault he didn't see me the way I saw him. I couldn't seem to stop lashing out tonight though. “Where is Siobhan? Is she waiting in the car while you come up here and soothe your conscience? Or did she head back to your place to warm your bed up for you?”

Shannon took a breath before responding. “Juliet, I don't know what's going on with you exactly, but...”

“Really? You really have no idea, Shannon? Not one clue?” I grabbed the bottle and started to take a swig but Shannon grabbed my hand. “Hey! Mine, not yours!”

“Please don't drink any more of that.” He took the bottle and sat it on the coffee table. I saw the troubled look on his face but I was so over his protective streak. I blundered on.

“Why? Why shouldn't I get as fucked up as I want to be? What's it to you anyway?” Instead of drowning my feelings the bourbon seemed to have stirred all my emotions up, loosening my tongue along with them. “Jesus, you just cannot stop, can you? You've made it perfectly clear at this point that I'm just your buddy to look out for. So hooray. You checked up on me. I'm fine. You did your duty. Go have your fun with this week's blonde.”

I could practically see the gears turning in his head, but I was wholly unprepared for what came next. “I'm asking you not to drink any more of that because if you get any more intoxicated I'm going to feel like I'm taking advantage of you,” he placed his warm, broad palm against my cheek, “and that's the last way I'd want this to start my Jelly Bean.” He brushed his lips against mine, the barest hint of a kiss. “Or am I completely off base here?”

Blood rushing in my ears, not daring to breathe, I shook my head. “What about Siobhan?”

Shannon smiled softly. “Probably still back at the party.”

“But she...”

“Is a woman I spend a lot of time with, sure. It's not more than that. Which you would know if you hadn't been shutting me out.” He brushed his lips over mine again, teasing. “Are you sure this is what you want Juliet? You won't sober up tomorrow and decide you've made a terrible mistake?”

“If I do it's my mistake to make,” I tried to sound bold and fearless but my voice was as shaky as I felt. The bourbon bravado had gone out of me. I couldn't believe I was finally in his arms. I couldn't believe he finally saw me as something other than a friend, that he seemed to want me in the same way I had been wanting him for so long. “It's not like I just decided this tonight. I've thought of this sober a hundred times.”

Shannon placed a soft kiss right below my hairline, then another slightly lower, and then a third on my cheekbone. “You only have to say stop. If you don't want this,” His voice was low and husky with need now as his calloused thumb traced my lips. “Please want this.”

Finally, he kissed me like he meant it, lips parting as his tongue pressed into me, searching, claiming, pushing me into a tumble of sensation as he pulled me against him. I was too stunned still to fully respond, afraid I was imaging all this or that he would come to his senses and realize where he was. Maybe I hadn't been kidding myself when I thought he felt it too.

“I thought that... that you didn't...” Somewhat foggy from the large quantities of whiskey I'd been consuming all evening, my brain struggled to catch up with this change of direction. “I thought I was just your buddy.”

“I'm sorry Jelly Bean.” Shannon continued, kissing my face. “I've been so unbelievably dense. I thought you were pushing me away because you figured out I wanted more.” He was kissing my neck now, small nibbles that traced their way up my jawline until I felt his warm breath at my ear. “And I want so much more.”

That was all it took. I finally gave myself permission to fall. Knotting my fingers into his hair I kissed him with everything in me, pouring into him every ounce of desire I had swallowed over the last year. He responded as voraciously, probing deeply with his tongue, pulling my lower lip into his mouth to nibble. It was still not enough. I had wanted for too long, and judging from his reaction, he had too. I slipped my hands under his shirt, my fingertips gliding over the firm muscles on his sides and felt him groan into my mouth in response. Shannon's hands had begun an exploration of their own, one palm sliding slowly over my breast as the other made it's way under the hem of my dress, teasing the flushed skin of my thigh. The need was overwhelming, a burning knot deep in my core that that radiated out to every nerve ending with each breath. Still, I was unprepared for the ferocious tug as he whispered breathlessly in my ear, “So Juliet, do you want to move this to the bedroom or am I just going to take you right here?”

We stumbled our way across the apartment never breaking contact, discarding articles of clothing as we went. By the time we had reached my bedroom my dress and bra were gone and Shannon was in nothing but an unzipped pair of jeans riding scandalously low on his hips. I hooked my fingers into their belt loops and fell back onto the bed, pulling him with me. His mouth claimed me again as soon as we struck the mattress, moving down my chest with tiny little licks and nibbles until it found a taut nipple. Whether an artifact of passion or alcohol, my vision blurred as I arched into his touch as if the lust was lighting the bourbon in my blood on fire, filling me with a heat that bubbled under his tongue and pooled in my sex.

With a soft moan, he moved his kisses lower, slipping away my panties so that he could anchor his mouth at my slick core. “My God, Jelly Bean, you do taste just like candy.” His rough hands pressed my thighs open, exposing my every secret as he bit his lower lip and grinned appreciatively. A broad stroke of his flattened tongue, a nibble that set goosebumps across my skin, agonizingly intense pressure as he sucked my hard nub into his mouth, everything blurred and collided as the pleasure claimed me, leaving me gasping his name. Still, months of want drew me further on.

I slipped from under him to come up to my knees and began removing his jeans. As I freed him from the fabric I couldn't resist trailing kisses down his firm stomach. When I finally brought my tongue against the underside of his broad shaft, I was rewarded with an appreciative groan. Voraciously I set upon him, laving and kneading with my tongue, feeling him thicken in response as he twisted his fingers into my hair. I looked up at Shannon as I worked. His eyes were heavy, the full lips I had so often dreamed of kissing were slightly parted, his powerful chest moving in time with his ragged breaths. I thought I had never seen anything more beautiful. I would have stayed on my knees like that for him for hours but he softly pulled me off of him. I started to protest but he stopped me with a quick kiss. “Fuck Juliet. As amazing as that felt, I am not ready to be done with you yet. And if you kept that up for one more minute I would have been.”

He turned away to rustle through the clothing we had discarded and I realized he was retrieving a condom. I watched as he palmed himself for a few before rolling on the protective sheath. Then he was quickly on me again, settling his hips over mine as he stretched me out beneath him. Shifting against him so that his impressive cock pressed firmly against my own engorged and aching sex I ground against him, completely undone by my own profound craving for him.

“Please Shannon,” I panted into his ear, “please. Now. I want you so much. Please.”

He crashed his mouth against mine, a bruising kiss that stole that last of my thoughts. I attempted to reach for him but he pinned my wrists at my head. Caught in his powerful grip all I could do was wrap my legs around him, writhing as his length slid teasingly against my soaking folds. My body pleaded. Shannon looked down on me with that fiendish smirk of his, clearly enjoying my torment. I could see the keen desire in his own eyes though and I knew that whatever game he was playing now, it wouldn't be long before he would have to give in to his own appetite. I closed my eyes, sliding my body beneath him, and concentrated on the sensations – the firm press of his grip as he shifted my wrists to a single hand, his fingertips as they trailed down the tender underside of my arm, the heavy press of his firm abdomen, the brush of his broad chest against the hardened buds of my nipples, the tiny shocks from his touch that seemed to settle directly behind my clit, the powerful muscles of his thighs, pulled taught as he anchored me where he wanted me no matter how greedily I strained for him. I opened my eyes again to see the smirk was gone, a dark need in its place.

“Please...”

Shannon lowered his head to me again but instead of the kiss, I was expecting I was met with the sharp bite of his teeth sinking into the tender curve of my neck. Crying out, I arched sharply into him only to impale myself onto his waiting shaft. I gave a hungry mewl of surprise. Shannon's large hands slid rapidly to my hips, steadying them in place as he surged forward. I found myself trembling as my body struggled to accommodate the sudden onslaught. He didn't spare me a minute to adjust, withdrawing and then diving in again. He was clearly going to waste no time in claiming what was finally his. If only I had known. We had both been so blind. Had wasted who knows how much time. I wrapped my limbs around him, pulling him into me as he continued his feverish pace. The sheer brutal strength of his passion left me in awe. I drew whatever bits of flesh I could reach into my mouth, covering him in kisses, reveling in the salty taste of his skin on my tongue. A graze of my teeth on his shoulder elicited a moan from him that vibrated my every nerve. I had never wanted anyone the way I wanted him. Each brush of his lips, each sigh, each groan, every touch, every thrust fueled rather than satiated. I was in a reverie. Need, lust, desire, these had all become molten things, surging through my veins and pushing me up and up until I shattered completely, my center convulsing tightly around him as I shouted his name.

“Juliet...” Shannon purred my name as he lurched forward. I felt him swell as his own release rushed upon him, his hazel eyes closing as he spilled into the thin sheath encasing him, a soft string of swear words stumbling from his lips. We gripped each other tightly as we finally stilled. As reality started edging back in, I felt a moment of panic that he would bolt, that he hadn't really wanted this the way I had, that maybe I was just another hookup. When Shannon moved away from me to leave the bed I felt tears starting to form behind my eyes and rolled over, turning my back to him. But he quickly returned, pressing into the curve of my back, his arm crossing my chest to pull me against him. Placing small kisses along my color bone, he nuzzled against me softly before settling in with a sigh.

“My Jelly Bean.”

I relaxed into him. “I always have been.   

#shannon leto fanfiction #shannon leto fic #thirty seconds to mars #30stm #30 seconds to mars fanfiction #wishing it was you

[huffleshufflin]

Love is not lost, just not found, yet: Chapter 2

AN: I'm going to apologise for any errors, if you find them tell me. I'm writing on a iPhone 4 and it's terrible. I've finished this story so if anyone wants updates just tell me XD Regina sat on the floor of her bathroom. The floor was cold against her hands and her tears began to fall fast and think. She tried everything to calm herself down. Taking deep breaths, counting to ten, count backwards from ten. She just couldn't stop her erratic heart from beating fat. She decided to lie her forehead on the floor in hopes that it would cool her down. The test kept pouring from her face. “Why was I so stupid to think she would care about me, I had to ruin the best relationship I've had with someone just because I couldn't control myself.” She said blaming her self for being so impulsive. She just wanted to wrap herself up in a duvet and cry/eat ice cream and binge watch her tv shows. She heard foot steps following her and Emma sat outside the door. Regina tried to keep herself calm by listening to Emma's breathing but even her breathing was fast. It was silent for a while while the pair tried to work ok what to say to each other. Emma began. “ I'm so sorry Regina I didn't mean to embarrass you, you just shocked me that's all. I wasn't expecting you to like me to be honest. I'm a loud mouth who doesn't know when to shut up so when someone likes me I don't really get it.” Emma tried to explain in the best way she could think of. Regina stayed quite trying to calm herself down before talking. “ No in sorry Emma, your about to marry Hook in a few days and I just kissed you, I wasn't thinking sorry I should of just told you before that I liked you but I guess it's hard for me to show people how I feel about them. The only person in really open with is Henry.” Regina said her voice cracking now and again. “ you like me, that's fine Regina. I am marrying Hook,but that doesn't change us but of its to hard for you I'd understand. I mean you just lost Robin and here I am flaunting my marriage in front of you and me and you haven't really talked about him, you know, going. Maybe your just confused about how you are feeling at the moment.” Emma said. She suddenly felt sad not being there as much as she should of for Regina. She didn't want her to feel like she didn't want to know her now she was with Hook. In fact since she and Hook got together she had just wanted to be around Regina more. She tried everything she could to spend time with her. She didn't know why but her and Regina since fighting pan to save Henry have gotten a lot closer. At first it was just a mutual agreement that they would get along for Henry's sake but after a while they discovered that they had a lot more in common that they expected. Emma started to stand up for Regina when everyone started to turn on her. Regina had been the one person Emma trusted with the dark one’s knife. Their mutual agreement had turned into a fully fledged friendship. Emma was no longer sure that Hook was the one for her every thing since he told her he was leave had left doubts in her head. Sure he never meant to leave but he still wanted to leave at the beginning. Which made Emma reluctant to trust him. She saw that he wasn't ready to give up a pirates life and all she wanted to do was settle down and maybe save a few live now and am again with the help of her fairytale family. “Regina still hadn't opened the door an Emma started to panic that he woman would never give her a chance to say how she felt. “ Emma I would really appreciate some time alone at the moment, I clearly have some issues I need to get over and I don't think it would be smart for you to be around when I work on them” Regina said reluctant to see the blond leave but knowing that if she stayed it would ply make things harder for Regina to accept what was happening with the only person who has spent time enough to get to know Regina and actually still want to stick around. Emma was shocked that the brunette wouldn't talk to her but he understood. Emma was marrying Hook and Regina felt left out or throw by everything that had happened in the last eat. She had found her soak mate, fell in love and almost became a family until someone ripped it from her grasp. “Ok I'll leave but just know in here when you need me” Emma said. “ that half the problem” Regina whispered. She hadn't wants Emma to hear we but she had. Confused Emma got up and left the brunette in the bathroom. Once Regina heard the front door close she stood up and walked into we bedroom. She collapsed on the bed and started to cry. She left the escaping water from her eyes drain her physical as well as emotionally. She was tired of fighting for something that she could never have. Maybe it was time she just went out and took what she wanted, but Regina never knew how to show her emotions well. As she tried to plan a way to tell Emma she liked her she fell asleep. Emma was extremely confused as she left Regina’s house. She tried to think of reasons why Regina had been so upset but then Robin being gone she couldn't think about why the brunette sounded so broken. Their day had started as usual Regina had met her and Henry for lunch and dropped him off at Snows. They they hung out. Emma wouldn't call it a routine but it happened often enough that her and Regina started to actually enjoy hanging out together. Emma decided she need to speak to Snow about it. She walked to her mother's apartment. She walked through the door to find Henry and Charming still practicing. That had moved all of the furniture to the sides and we're almost sparing like pro’s. Henry was no longer the little boy with no idea and jut wanton to play. His moves were precise and calculated. He managed to one up David every time and it ended up with charming lay flat on his back with a training sword pointed at his throat. “Told ya Gramps I've been practicing. I've gotten pretty good, even mum said” He gloated. “Which one” Charming asked in a cocky manner. “ Both of them” Henry smiled widely at him. He lifted the swords rom his throat and took a step back noticing Emma for the first time. “Hey mum I was just kicking Grandpa’s butt with a sword.” He said walking over to put his sword away.Yeah kid I think your better than he is now. “ I don't think so” Snow said as she walked into tears kitchen area. “Well I think so he did just have dad pinned to the floor.” Emma laughed. “Yeah watch out Three Musketeer’s your three is about to become a four” Henry said grinning like an idiot. Emma ruffed his hair and Henry tried to duck and avoid it, embarrassed by Emma's gesture. “Hey Mom could I talk to you in private for a second” Emma asked trying to sound casual. “Sure, let's go for a walk in the woods, it's out of ear shot and it's a lovely walk.” Snow said smiling and grabbing her coat. She led Emma out of the apartment and walked to the edge of town. They kept their conversation casual as they walked. Emma a how she was doing with Neil and David. Snow told her she had been struggling to get Neil to sleep and that David was enjoying being a father. They talked about their jobs and What the had for lunch. Until they reached the forest where Snow changed the conversation. “Ok so what is it you want to talk about?” She asked her daughter who suddenly looked nervous and fidgety.Ema was a little reluctant to talk at first not knowing how to say what she wanted without ringing alarm bells. “ I had lunch with Regina this afternoon, she looked a bit of when I saw her come in, until she saw Henry. I was telling her a story about a foster family I had been with and her face changed. She kept laughing for Henry but I could tell the story has gotten to her somehow. I confronted her and we had a huge heart to heart. We went to hers to relax a little watching movies but the conversation got a little more serious. In the end Regina kissed me…” Emma explained her mother interrupted her. “She did what, why would she do that to you, just before you are going to marry Hook.” Snow asked clearly now quite grasping why Emma had told her the story. “I think it's because she's lonely. Ever since Robin died. She just needed to know someone gave a crap. I think she just wanted to reach out to me and she didn't know how else to do it.” Emma tried to explain.She couldn't consider Regina actually having feelings for her because she knew she wasn't the Queens type. There was still a small piece of her that wanted Regina to like her back though. “That's still no excuse to kiss you” Snow said clearly irritated at the ‘Evil’ queen had kissed her Daughter. “Look it's not about the kiss ok” Emma said getting annoyed that her mum still saw her best friend as a monster. “ after she away and locked herself in the bathroom, she wouldn't even come out to talk to me mum, I think she's really upset about something but I can't work out what” Emma said her voice getting slightly louder because she was become in irritated by her confusion and inability to help Regina. “Have you even considered it's because she might like you more than a friend, I mean I've seen how you two look T each other, it's like you both know what the other one is saying with out even saying a word, your father and me are in love but sometimes we find it hard to understand the other one, but you and Regina just seem to get each other” Snow said even though picturing her Daughter with the woman who had tried to kill her was hard. Emma took a deep breath, her mother's words had stunned her she never realised how close her and Regina had gotten. Her mother was right they could both be in a room full of people and have a conversation with their faces across the room. “ I don't think someone like Regina would go for someone like me we could literally from two different worlds.” Emma said saddened by her words. She looked down at her shoes not wanting to show Snow her insecurities. “ look you may not think she likes you, but I'm tell you she does Emma, if you just opened your eyes a little more you’d see the way she looks at yo. It's the same way you sneak glances at her. Don't try and palm me off with an excuse either. I'm not blind Emma I can see it you are just to scared to face up to it” Snow said. Emma tried to stand up for herself but Snow’s words kept her quite. They pair were quite for a while. “Even if we did like each other. I'm marrying Hook. I already said I would. I can't break his heart after he fought so hard to get back to me” Emma said tears started to pool in her eyes.Snow lay a hand on her shoulder and turn her around to face her. She grabbed her daughters hands because they were shaking. “Look never put someone one else's ideals in front of yours. That's how you get into a bad marriage. If it's not what you want, then stop it as soon as you can it will hurt you and him more to pretend everything is ok.. Just know Emma you might fight for Regina but she might be to broken to fight back.” Snow said am trying to calm her daughter. “What if I'm meant to fix her?” Emma said. The sentence had just revealed what her and Regina do best, fix each other. “ Then you should get over to her house right away and help her.”Snow said. “What right now” Emma said startled her Mather would give up time with her for Regina. The pair had been get if along better but now and again there conversations got really tense. “ there is not better time than the present” Snow smiled. “ Ok thank you Mum, I love you make sure you give my love to Neil and Dad too” Emma said running back from where they came. He feet pounded the path as she ran as fast as she could to Regina’s house. Out of breath and sweating Emma knocked heavily on the door. She stood still to see if she would get an answer. No one came. She knocked again. Still nothing. She gave it one last tap but no body came to the door. Emma walked backwards to look at the bedroom window s. The lights were all turned off and the curtains drawn.Panicked Emma ran round the back of the house. She found a spare key that Regina left for Henry when he came over. She opened the door and walks in. The house didn't look any different that it had before, but now there was and eery silence and a horrible uneasy feeling in the pit of Emma stomach. She walked slowly around looking for signs of Regina. She couldn't see anything or hear anything. She climbed the stairs hoping to see her in her bedroom still. But as she opens the door she couldn't notice that the bed was empty and the draws where only half full. Had Regina ran away from her. Had the woman been that upset with Emma that she no longer wanted to see her. Emma felt her heart shatter. She looked around the room uncertain of what to do. Everything inside her was fighting the tears that threatened to break the fan, but she couldn't fight it. She began to weep. She couldn't understand why Regina had gone. Emma needed to find her but the problem was, if Regina didn't want to be found, she wouldn't be. Emma felt we self fall to her knees no longer strong enough to stand. She looked around the room. Tears still pouring down her face. Why couldn't the pair of them be like any other ordinary friends and not fall for each other. If Snows mother was right she had just lost a shot with her one true love. That was something she was going to have to face everyday. She had to marry Hook now because with out Regina’s help to explain, Emma didn't think she had the guts or mental capacity to tell someone that she didn't love them and couldn't marry them, right before the wedding. She had never been one for romance, she was the type of person to see someone smooching on a street corner and tell them to get a room. Slowly with Regina around and her mother she started to realise love isn't something you can look for, its something that has to come naturally to you. Maybe that's why Hook is the one she is with, he did fight of the Lost boys to get back to her. Maybe her and Regina were never meant to be just fantasised about. Emma wasn't sure she was happy with that conclusion but with out Regina there to talk it over, it was the only one she could come up with that made sense to her. She sat on the floor of Regina’s bedroom lost in her sadness not know what to do. Even when Hook had gone it hadn't hurt her this much. She felt numb, broken and lonely. The one person who understood her was gone. Her foolish reaction to not kiss back had chased away her chances with Regina. Even though she knew it would almost be impossible to find Regina she was going to do everything in her power to get the beautiful Queen back to her. She stubbornly stopped the tears from falling and stood up on her shaking legs. Her entire body felt drained and she decided to call her mother and ask if Henry could stay at theirs for the night. Her night had just been booked up with plans to find the boys adopted mother. She grabbed her phone and rang Snow, who picked up instantly. “She's gone mum” Emma said sadly, she could feel her voice crack as the tear started to fall again. She tried to wipe them off, but every time she cleaned her face they just reappeared at the corners of her eyes. “Oh sweetie, I can't believe it. She might come back darling you never know Regina is unpredictable. She doesn't give up easily. Just come home and I'll make you a coffee and we can talk.” Snow said trying to calm her almost hysterical daughter. Who's sobs she could hear down the phone. “No it's ok Mum, Regina is somewhere. I jut we'd to find her. Could you look after Henry for me tonight.” She asks slowly trying to get her tears under control. “Yeah that fine sweetie, just make sure to look after yourself, don't push your self so much you end up on the floor so tired you can barely move” Snow said know what Emma was like. “No promises us Mum I'm going to find her if it kills me” Emma said putting the phone down unable to speak anymore, her throat felt like sand paper and she was trying her best to hold back her tears. Her phone began to ring. She answered it with out looking thinking it would be her mother. Instead on the other side of the phone she could hear the deep shallow hitched breaths or Regina crying. “Hello Regina are you there, please talk to me I'm so sorry, I have something I need to say and I have to say it to your face other wise it won't mean anything” Emma said, her voice horse and tired. She heard Regina sob on the other side of the phone. “I know what your going to say Emma, everyone I've ever loved had disappeared and I know that's what you are going to do. Your going to marry Hook because it's the right thing to do, just know I will keep fighting for you. Right up to the last second I can.” Regina said the. Put the phone down. “Why does she over complicate everything” Emma said. She tried to ring back but the call went straight to answer phone. Emma hung her head in disappointment. She suddenly stood up and walked from her friends house carrying one of Regina’s shirts with her hoping it could help her. She cleaned her face up and walked into the diner. She walked over to granny who was arranging the cake on the counter. “ Hey Granny, I was wondering if your wolf nose plus help me find Regina.” She asked hopefully even though she knew the answer. “I'm sorry darling but if Regina magic’ed herself away there is no trail for me to follow. To save you time also. Regina knows how to block tracking spells.” Granny said seeing he distressed the sheriff looked. “Thank you Granny, is it ok if I get a coffee and couple of bear claws to go. I'm going to try find her my way.” Emma said done part of her wishing that Granny would suddenly think of something that could help her, but no such luck. “Anything for you darling” The older lady said smiling sweetly at Emma. Emma thanked her and began to search the town for Regina. She checked the clock tower. Her lair and even the library. There weren't any traces of her being there. She continues to search for clue but nothing reared it head. She continued late into the night the last place she looked was at the lake. She took a seat and looked up at the stairs. They looked beautiful and made the dark sky seem less intimidating. The moon was bright and shone down on the lake leaving a pale white glow on the surface making the waters sparkle. She stared at the moon for a long time wishing that Regina would come along and they could both comfort each other. She stayed awake as long as she could, almost like she was expecting Regina to turn up. Obviously she didn't and Enna woke up the next day on the floor near the lake. What was strange to her was there was a coat lay over hers and it unmistakable smelt like Regina. Quick standing up hoping the woman had changed her mind and came to talk to her. But Emma saw there was no one around. She looked at her phone as saw she had a lot of missed calls from her Mum and Dad. She got up and started her walk back to the town. Her legs were heavy with sleep and her back ached from lying on the floor all night . She flung Regina’s coat around Hershey stopping the extra cold morning air from freezing her insides. It smelt just like her. It invaded her mistrals and made it almost impossible to concentrate. Everyone and again she breath a little deeps so the smell lingered longer. It made her happy that even when she was in hiding Regina was still liking out for Emma. After a long walk she got back to the town. She called Snow to tell her she wasn't coming over until she needed to pick Henry up because she needed sleep. “So you did end up sleeping on the forest floor” Snow said conserved for her first born. “Yes I did but she came to see me, or at least she put her coat on me, Mum she hasn't left completely, she is around some where. I just need to find her” Emma said her voice becoming panicked thinking of Regina hiding out by herself and blaming herself for Emma's reaction. “Yes that is nice if her but for now Emma the best thing you can do for Regina is look after yourself” Snow encouraged her daughter. “ go get some sleep and when you come over tonight to pick He et up I'll cook us dinner to take your mind off finding her for a few hours” Snow said, understanding her daughter needed to find Regina but not wanting her to hurt herself in the process. “Ok Mum I'll be over tonight, I love you mum, see you later” Emma said, after her mother told her good bye she hung ip. She had made it to her house. She trudged upstairs and entered her bedroom. There lay in her bed was Hook. She had forgotten about him. “You forget about me or something love?” He said teasingly, what he didn't know was at that point she had forgotten about Hook. “No I'm sorry, me and Regina kind of fell out yesterday and she ran off. I spent the night looking for her in the woods. I fell asleep.” She said trying to put on a happier front. She didn't want to tell Hook what was going on because he would argue with her and she was in no mood to deal with a Pirate tantrum. “Oh ok, what are you doing now?” He wakes a little put out by Emma's story expecting it to be more serious than her and her friend falling out and running of. Hook couldn't think of any one other that Emma he would search for. Emma reluctantly took her trousers off and slipped underneath the covers. “Sleeping like I've been but under a curse” she said as she rolled away from him to fall asleep. He lay a heavy arm around her waist and cuddled her from behind. The gesture felt uncomfortable to her. His skin was course and dirty. It was to heavy and felt as though she was trapped. She tried to calm her self down. It wasn't until half an hour later when Hook turned over that she could fall asleep. In her dreams she saw Regina wearing a breath taking dress and yet looking dishevelled. It was a good look for the major of Storybrooke. Her nightmares weren't that hard to handle when Regina was in them.