#and thanks to it i met amazing peps

[navybrat817]

Sundresses and Leather

Pairing: Tattoo Artist!Bucky Barnes x Baker!Female Reader Summary: Your first date with Bucky doesn't go as planned, but that makes it all the more special. Word Count: Over 4.7k Warnings: First date, tension, flirting, brief moments of insecurity, slight feels (it's me), Bucky Barnes (he's a warning, okay?). Graphics talent and thanks: Banner by @sgt-seabass. Divider by @firefly-graphics. Bucky edit by Nix. Moodboard by yours truly. Previous Part of AU: Sweet and Strong A/N: More Hottie and Sugar from our Sin on Skin AU. ❤️ Beta read by the lovely @whisperlullaby (thank you for spitballing), but any and all mistakes are my own. Please follow @navybrat817-sideblog for new fics and notifications. Comments, reblogs, feedback are loved and appreciated!

Tonight was the night. You were going out with Bucky Barnes. Excited for the date was a bit of an understatement. You may have told a few customers you had a date when they wished you a good day.

Thank God they were mostly regulars and seemed happy on my behalf.

"Maybe a sundress isn't nice enough," you told Tess, regretting the words the moment they left your mouth. She didn’t need to deal with you and your overthinking. Again.

"It's plenty nice. You’re going to look amazing,” she argued, going to check on the next batch of cookies. “And he can lift the skirt and bury his-"

"I thought you said I didn't have to get laid on my first date with him," you cut her off.

"You don't have to, but the visual alone will give him something for his spank bank later."

"Thank you for the vote of confidence," you smiled, but it quickly faltered.

You weren’t sure why a cloud drifted over your sunny disposition. Bucky was a good guy, a far cry from Richard. Gorgeous, kind, hardworking, the whole package. There was chemistry between the two of you that went beyond mere attraction. Maybe it was the fact that you were falling hard and fast for him that suddenly made you so nervous. You didn’t want to scare him away.

But he said he couldn’t stop thinking about me and he wouldn’t say that if he didn’t mean it.

Tess gave you a pointed look. “Stop overthinking. I’m begging you.”

“I’m not trying to,” you sighed, your nerves almost tempting you to grab a treat from the case. “What if I fall on my face?”

“Like Bucky would let you hit the ground. Even if you do stumble, that’s life. It isn’t going to change the fact that he likes you,” she said as you helped her with the cookies. You still had work to do. “The guy said he can’t get you off his mind and to text him whenever you want. He does not strike me as the type to just say those things and I know he doesn’t strike you as that type either.”

It took a moment, but your smile came back. She was right. Life wasn’t perfect and you were far from it, but Bucky liked you just as you are. Tonight would be unforgettable no matter what.

“I appreciate the pep talk,” you said, thankful that she told you what you needed to hear. “I’ll even tell you the dirty details if anything happens.”

“Hell yeah, you will. Remember, at this point, I’m living vicariously through you until I find my own hunk,” she winked. “But I mean it. Have fun tonight and get your man.”

I will.

After your shift, you rushed to change for your date. You somehow managed to arrive a few minutes early outside of Bucky's shop and took a deep breath to get yourself under control. Catching your reflection in the window, you smiled before you turned away. Since Bucky hadn’t given you any hint for what you were doing, you chose your nicest sundress and kept your makeup minimal. You looked and felt beautiful, though you wished you would’ve brought a jacket with you.

Maybe Bucky will let me borrow his if he has one.

“Holy shit.”

You spun around when you heard Bucky’s voice behind you, your heart fluttering as he met you on the sidewalk. Instead of the jeans you usually saw him in, he wore khakis, a button up shirt, and a blue blazer that matched his eyes. He had his hair down, perfectly parted on the right side. You were so busy staring at the broad, handsome man that it took you a moment to realize he was trying to hand you something.

Flowers.

“Sorry. You just… wow,” he said as you took the small bouquet, sweeping his gaze over you as your cheeks grew warm. “You look so beautiful.”

You giggled and quickly covered your mouth with your hand, butterflies in your stomach when he gently smiled. “Don’t apologize,” you smiled back, taking a moment to smell the flowers. “You look pretty ‘holy shit’ yourself.”

His nose scrunched as he laughed and offered you his hand. “So, you’re telling me I clean up well. Steve insisted on the blazer when I said I wanted to bring my leather jacket.”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying. Though I wouldn’t have minded the leather jacket,” you said. He would’ve looked gorgeous, as always. “And thank you for suggesting we meet here. We had a last minute order and I was scrambling."

"It's no problem. One of my clients was running a few minutes late and I almost had to take you out in jeans."

"I wouldn't have minded," you said. You both worked hard and understood that things would come up from time to time. "So, where are we headed?"

He cleared his throat as he led you to his car. “Well, do you want the good news or the bad news?”

Your stomach dropped a little. “Mmm. Bad news first,” you said after a moment. “Always better to end on a high note.”

“Bad news was I had planned to take you out on my motorcycle so we could have a picnic in the park. There was going to be live music and I would’ve asked you to dance,” he explained, looking up at the sky. “But…”

“The weather called for a storm tonight, didn’t it?” you mused, a wistful smile on your face when he nodded. The image of being in his arms under the stars as music drifted through the air made your heart skip a beat. It sounded like the perfect evening.

“Yeah. The band is rescheduling,” he said, tucking his hair behind his ear as he looked at the ground. “Then I thought I could take you to this art gallery nearby. They normally have these stunning paintings of landscapes and various statues, but the current exhibit is on human sexuality and reproduction. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but maybe it was too much for a first date.”

“Oh, come on. It couldn’t have been that bad,” you argued as he stopped and took out his phone.

“No?” he asked, tapping his screen before he showed you what you assumed was the page for the gallery.

“…That’s a giant dick,” you said before you could stop yourself, tilting your head as you stared at the phone. “And does that say BALLS?”

An older woman crossing in the opposite direction gave you an amused stare before you and Bucky burst into a fit of laughter. You had to hold on his arm to keep from collapsing on the ground. It was the funniest thing you had seen since you could remember and to think you almost saw it in person.

This date is off to a great start.

“Maybe I wanted to see a giant dick and balls,” you said once you caught your breath, pointing at him when he opened his mouth. “And don’t say ‘all I have to do is pull down my pants’ or something like that.”

But I know he has a big dick. I know.

He smirked as he started walking again. “Only if you ask me nicely, Sugar.”

He’s going to kill my ovaries.

“I’ll ask you very nicely, Hottie,” you teased, wondering exactly where you were going then. “If that was the bad news, what’s the good news?”

“I managed to get us a reservation at one of the nicest restaurants in town,” he said, standing a bit taller.

He’s trying to impress me.

“That's really nice. And I’m sure dinner will be amazing,” you assured him, hoping he didn’t beat himself up over having to change his plans. It wasn’t his fault it was going to rain. He could’ve taken you to a fast food place and it would’ve been fine because you were with him.

“Speaking of, I better get us there so we aren’t late,” he said, opening the door for you to get in. “Maybe if you agree to a second date, I can take you out on my bike and have that picnic.”

“I’d love that,” you smiled, carefully putting the flowers in your lap and trying not to appear too eager that he was already thinking of a second date. You glanced around the car when he got in and drove off, noticing it was cleaner than when he took you home days prior.

Did he clean it for me?

You grinned as he hummed along to the radio, watching as he drummed his fingers along the steering wheel. “You could’ve made it as a musician if you weren’t a tattoo artist.”

“Now you’re just flattering me, Sugar,” he said. “Believe it or not, if I wasn’t a tattoo artist, I would’ve liked to be a science teacher. I loved science and everything space related growing up.”

“Really?” you asked. He would’ve been a wonderful teacher, no matter what age group he taught. “Okay. That’s another date night.”

“What? Playing teacher?” he joked, taking his eyes off the road for a second to wink at you.

“No,” you giggled, carefully shoving his arm since he was driving. “We’re going to a science museum. That's our third date. I’m going to watch you happily geek out over everything.”

“Yeah?” he asked, glancing at you after he parked the car. “You’d do that?”

“Yeah, I would. I think it would be a blast.”

I just want to spend time with you.

A soft expression took over his features when he took your hand and brought it to his mouth. His lips lightly brushed your skin, heat pooling in your gut as he made eye contact with you. The look alone made you want to skip dinner and go right to dessert. Why not throw caution to the wind?

“I’ll make it worth your while,” he promised before he got out.

You exhaled slowly and mentally told your libido to calm down. At the very least, you had to get through dinner. He went through the trouble of getting a reservation at a nice place and you weren’t about to take that away from him.

“Oh, wow. I haven’t been here before,” you said once you got a look at the name. Richard used to brag about the place, but never actually took you. From what you remember, he said the food was supposed to be expensive. You didn’t want Bucky to splurge on you.

“I haven’t either,” Bucky admitted. A fancy place didn’t seem like his style. “But it looked romantic.”

You bit your lip as he opened the door, the flickering candlelight in the entryway alone providing an intimate ambience. The date may not have been what he planned, but he clearly did his research and put thought into doing something nice for you. When was the last time someone tried to do something nice for you? When did anyone go out of their way to make you feel special?

“Hello,” Bucky said as the hostess greeted you. “Reservation for two under James.”

James?

The hostess scanned her screen before she looked up. “I’m sorry. That name isn’t coming up.”

Bucky’s cheeks turned pink when you glanced at him. “It should be under James, miss. James Barnes. Reservation for two for 7pm. I spoke with Charles. He confirmed it.”

You moved closer to Bucky when the hostess searched through her screen again. As calm as he sounded, you sensed he was anything but inside. You hoped he wasn’t embarrassed. Maybe she skipped over his name. A simple mistake.

“Charles did make a reservation for you, but he entered it for 7pm next Friday,” she said as she looked between the two of you. “We’re fully booked tonight. I'm sorry, James.”

Oh, no.

There was a tick in Bucky’s jaw before he shook his head and you wanted nothing more than to hug him. “No, that’s… It’s for tonight.”

“I’m so sorry. I can see if we can squeeze a table in for you, but it’ll be at least an hour,” she said, shifting uncomfortably on her feet. She probably expected one or both of you to make a scene. "I can get my manager?"

Bucky swallowed when he looked at you, his cheeks still pink. The candlelight danced in his eyes, but all you saw was sadness. No. You wouldn't allow that. This was your first date and it was going to be amazing.

You put a hand on his arm, his muscles relaxing under your touch. "It's okay. I know this amazing place that’s right around the corner."

"Are you sure?" he asked, the hostess visibly relaxing when you nodded.

"You have a good evening," you said to the hostess and tugged Bucky back toward the door. "I'm sure. Trust me. We may even beat the rain if we walk now."

“Okay,” he said, avoiding your gaze as you left. “Fuck. This is the worst first date, isn’t it?”

Your heart broke for him. All he wanted was to give you a nice evening and everything he tried fell through. “Not even close. And you have nothing to apologize for. Charles messed up the reservation, Hottie, not you.”

“Yeah, he did,” he said, his lip tugging like he wanted to smile. “I just really wanted tonight to be special and since I couldn’t give you the date I planned, I wanted to at least give you something nice. I couldn't even do that.”

Hearing that made you stop, even when you felt the first raindrop. "Tonight is special because you're spending time with me. That's all I wanted," you promised, squeezing his hand for good measure.

"That's really all?" he asked as he squeezed your hand in return.

"Well, not completely," you teased as another raindrop landed on your shoulder. "Maybe a kiss at the end of our date."

A wide smile formed on his face as he leaned in, not quite kissing you. "Whatever you want, Sugar."

As romantic as it was to stand on the sidewalk with him, the rain began to come down harder and had you rushing with him around the corner. “If you're still disappointed, you’ll feel much better when we eat. Antonia’s has the best food,” you said, holding out your hand in a grand gesture as you arrived. “Tada!”

Antonia's was a bit of a hole-in-the-wall kind of place. Not extraordinary on the outside, but lively and bright on the inside. The food and service were top notch. It was one of your favorite places.

“Wait, Antonia's?” he asked, a twinkle in his eyes. “This is where you’re taking me?”

“Yeah,” you replied, suddenly nervous as you faced him. Did he not like it? “Is this okay?”

“This is one of my new favorite restaurants,” he said.

No way.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I designed one of Antonia's tattoos. And I decided to check out the place."

He's full of surprises.

"Then you know you're in for a treat," you winked.

The hearty aroma of the restaurant filled the air as you went inside and wiped some of the rain off your dress. Antonia was speaking with the hostess as you went up to the stand. The owner was involved in virtually every part of her restaurant.

"Welcome to…" Antonia began as she looked at you, then at Bucky, then back at you. "Oh! You two… it's a date!"

Antonia looks so happy.

"Hi. And yes. We're on a date," you giggled when Bucky sheepishly smiled. It was sweet. "You wouldn't happen to have a table for two available, would you?"

Antonia put her hand over her heart and flagged down a waiter with the other. "Lover's special for these two. Go."

You exchanged a look with Bucky, who appeared just as confused as you were. "Lover's special?"

"Yes, yes. Come with me," she said, patting Bucky's cheek before she took you through the restaurant. You expected her to seat you at one of the few empty tables, but she passed them to take you to a door in the back. "Tonight is special and that means a special dinner."

Your eyes widened at the sight before you once she opened the door. There was a lone table in the middle of the room, flowers similar to the bouquet Bucky gave you sat in the center. Unlike the bright main room, the dimmed lights gave the room a romantic glow.

Perfect.

"Peter will serve you. And if you need anything, just ask, okay?" Antonia asked, putting her hand over her heart again. Were there tears in her eyes? "Two of my favorite customers. Together! Enjoy!"

You had to pause and swallow the lump in your throat once she left you alone. A restaurant owner showed more enthusiasm for your date than your mom did for anything that involved you. She likely never would.

"You okay?" Bucky asked, pulling out your chair.

"I'm fine," you replied, refusing to let the thought of your mom damper the evening. "A little chilly. I should've brought a sweater with me."

Bucky removed his blazer and put it around you, tenderness in his blue eyes as he rubbed your arms. "I can't wait to see you in my leather jacket," he said, helping you take your seat before he took his.

Oh, he's going to give me his jacket? Am I going to only wear his jacket? Fuck.

"Thank you," you said, inhaling as he rolled up one of his sleeves beneath the elbow and then the other. You reached across the table to lightly trace one of the tattoos on his right arm. "It was nice of Antonia to put us back here."

"Then why did you look so sad when she left?"

He caught that?

"She just looked so happy to see us together and I didn't expect that. It's nice that someone is rooting for us," you said, tracing your finger along his wrist before you stopped. "I'm sorry. I should've asked before I started touching."

"Don't apologize. I like your touch," he said in a low voice.

You lifted your gaze, seeing fire in his eyes that had nothing to do with the dim lighting. When he turned his hand over to hold yours, you made no move to pull away. You wished you could put your hands all over him.

"Hi! I'm Peter!" The waiter greeted as he brought water to the table. Bucky didn't let go of your hand. "I'll be taking care of you tonight."

"Only one taking care of my girl tonight is me," Bucky said. As much as you loved hearing that, you were glad he gave poor Peter a tiny smile so he could relax. "I'm kidding. It's good to see you, Peter."

"Y-You, too, Mr. Barnes. And you, Miss. You have the best cupcakes in town."

"Thanks," you smiled, quickly putting in your order before you gazed at Bucky. "So, James. Tell me more about you. How long have you been friends with Steve?"

"James is my first name. Everyone calls me Bucky," he chuckled before he shook his head. "And that punk."

You smiled softly as you listened to Bucky, not at all surprised by how easily the conversation went. Steve was his best friend since childhood and they served together before they went into business together. It was evident that he took pride in his shop and respected everyone who worked there. He carried the same affection in his tone when he spoke about his sister, Rebecca. He liked to frequent art galleries with Steve, but also enjoyed riding his bike, reading, and everything science in his spare time.

I could listen to him talk for hours.

"You know, you haven't said much about yourself," he pointed out as he set his napkin on his empty plate.

"I haven't?" You asked.

"No, you haven't and I don't want to monopolize the conversation," he said, leaning forward to give you his full attention. "I want to know more about you."

You tightened the blazer around you, unsure of what to say. "My life isn't exactly exciting," you said, wishing you could think of something clever or fun to discuss.

"Doesn't have to be exciting. I just want to know you," he said before Peter showed back up.

"Would you like to look at the desert menu?" he asked as he took your plates away.

"I think you can bring the check. We're going to skip dessert," you answered, giving Bucky an assuring smile when he frowned. "Let's go to my shop instead."

If Bucky wanted to really know you, you had to tell him more of your story. Your bakery was the only place to do it. And it would be the perfect way to end the evening.

After you left the restaurant, with Antonia asking you to come back again, Bucky drove as safely as he could to the bakery. The rain didn't let up at all. You shrieked as you struggled to get the keys out of your purse, Bucky's blazer now soaked the longer you stood there. "Why didn't I get these out when I was still in your car?!" You shouted over the downpour.

"Why didn't I bring an umbrella?!" He yelled back, putting his hands over your head as if they would protect you.

The two of you practically fell through the door once you unlocked it and shut off the alarm. "We made it," you laughed, careful not to slip on the floor. He had his arm around you just in case. Tess was right, He wouldn't let you fall. "I'll get us some towels and you have your pick of any dessert I have in the fridge."

"You have any cupcakes?" He asked.

Your breath caught in your throat when you stepped back and caught the outline of multiple tattoos through his soaked shirt. "Yeah."

"See something you like?" he smirked, running a hand through his wet hair.

Fuck me.

"I do," you said, glancing down at yourself. "But I'm freezing and I owe you dessert."

Tess might also have words if I let Bucky ravage me by the front door.

You took Bucky to the kitchen and grabbed a few towels. It wouldn't dry you off completely, but it would help. You also put on some soft music. Not to set the mood necessarily, but just in case.

"So, this is where the magic happens," Bucky said, running the towel along his exposed skin.

"It is," you said, placing your hand on the counter. "You said you wanted to know me. It starts here."

"In the kitchen?"

"In the kitchen," you repeated, going to the fridge to take a container of cupcakes out. "I used to visit my grandparents every weekend when I was growing up. My dad wasn't around and my mom said it was for family quality time, but she never stuck around. The reality was that I cramped her style and she passed me off to them because she knew they wouldn't say no."

Bucky's jaw clenched as you let him take a cupcake. "I'm sorry."

"It's not your fault," you said, gripping the lid tightly before you closed the container. "I remember crying because I wanted to take dance classes and try and make friends. My mom said I would be a terrible dancer and that it would be a waste of time and money. A great thing for a kid to hear, right?"

"Jesus," he whispered.

It wasn't exactly the happiest conversation to have, but you wanted to show Bucky a part of you that you didn't show to most people. "My grandma wiped my tears away and brought me into her kitchen. Said she had the perfect cure for the blues. Baking. And that's what we did every weekend until I got old enough to look after myself."

"Your grandma sounds amazing," he said, carefully examining the cupcake in his hand. "And baking became your passion."

"It did. She taught me to pour love into every creation I make. And that's what Tess and I do for others. If someone is having a bad day, at least they can have a treat and feel a little better," you said, pride in your eyes as you looked around. "My grandma supported my dream, but my mom almost disowned me for wanting to run this place. It isn't good enough in her eyes."

I'm not good enough.

Bucky's nostrils flared as he set the dessert down. "Your business isn't good enough for her? What the hell? It's flourishing. I can barely find a lull to come in to get some undivided attention. And your customers love you. She should be proud of you."

His defense of you was heartwarming. "Doesn't matter how successful my business is. She wanted me to marry rich, probably so she could get money from me, but I didn't. She berated me when I broke up with Richard. No matter what I do, I'm never going to be good enough in her eyes," you told him, patting the counter with your hand. "But this makes me happy and that's enough."

"That's why you were sad that Antonia was so happy about our date, wasn't it? Because your mom either doesn't or wouldn't support it," he guessed, reaching for you and pulling you into his arms. "She'll probably hate me. I'm not rich. Covered in tattoos."

"I don't care what she thinks of you. I don't need a rich guy or fancy dates. I just want someone who can provide companionship and support. Someone who respects and cares for me," you said, wrapping your arms around him. "A good, hard-working guy like you deserves the same."

It was too soon to voice it, but Bucky was the kind of man you needed in your life. Someone you could share parts of yourself with and know he wouldn't judge. A man who made your heart race beyond lust.

A partnership.

He stared deeply into your eyes and you had no idea what was going through his head, but his gaze told you so much. How could a pair of eyes be so expressive? "You're perfect, Sugar, and more than enough. You hear me?"

Tears welled up in your eyes before you blinked them away. He sounded sincere and unashamed at his declaration. You hadn't done anything to deserve such praise. "No, I'm not," you whispered.

"You are to me. You took a chance and asked me out. Soothed me when tonight didn't go the way I thought it would," he said, gripping your chin to recapture your gaze. "And you trusted me enough to share something vulnerable with me when you didn't have to. It means everything."

"I feel like I can open up to you," you said as the two of you slowly swayed to the beat. You couldn't remember why you were nervous about your date to begin with.

"And I'll take care of you. I mean it."

I hope he knows I'll take care of him, too.

"You know," you began with a soft smile. "Our first kiss was in your shop."

"It was," he smiled.

"So I think it's only fair that we have our second kiss in my shop," you said.

"You did say you wanted a kiss to end our date," he said, bringing a hand to the back of your neck, but giving you a chance to stop him.

You didn't.

Even though you expected it, you still gasped when he molded his mouth against yours. Your heart pounded furiously in your chest, making you both eager and pliant as he licked his way across your lips. When he brushed his tongue against yours and took possession of your mouth, you mewled. Desire nearly blinded you from the taste of him.

I want more.

"I don't want our date to end," you breathed, clutching his arms to steady yourself.

"It doesn't have to," he said, resting a hand on your hip. His eyes were dark and full of want. To have him look at you that way, how could you possibly end the evening with one kiss? Why deny yourself what you both wanted?

"No, it doesn't," you agreed with a coy smile. "So. My place or yours?"

So. How do we think the evening will go? Love and thanks for reading! 💙

Masterlist ⚓ Bucky Barnes Masterlist ⚓ Ko-Fi

#navybrat writes #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x female!reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes #tattoo artist!bucky barnes #tattoo artist!bucky barnes x reader #tattoo artist!bucky barnes x baker!reader #hottie and sugar #sin on skin au #tattoo!bucky barnes #tattoo!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes imagine #bucky barnes fanfiction #bucky barnes fanfic #bucky barnes au #tattoo artist au #james buchanan barnes #james buchanan barnes x reader #sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan x female reader #sebastian stan x female!reader #sebastian stan x you

[waywardcrow]

All eyes on us.

Summary: This wedding needs to happen, it's the only way you can protect the ones you love, the only problem is that you're in love with your husband-to-be and he would never love you back.

Pairing: Mob!Bucky x Stark!reader.

TW: Really not so many, talks of murder but very lightly, mentions of mysogyny, implications of mafia kind of stuff, death of parents, mention of future smut, curvy!reader, no mention of y/n and reader's nickname is Bells (context coming soon), kind of enemies to lovers but not really enemies, arranged marriage, this will be a +18 story so minors dni.

Disclaimer: English is not my first language, please tell me if I make grammar mistakes.

Part of the Yours to lose series.

Pictures from pinterest and graphic and dividers by the amazing @ firefly-graphics so all credits to the creators.

Everyone was waiting for her but she kept looking at herself in the mirror.

The wedding dress was beautiful, Pepper told her it was what Maria Stark –her mother- wore in her own wedding day and she loved it, the silk was too soft, hugging her curves with an ethereal touch and it had a subtle scent that she assumed belonged to the mother she couldn't remember.

Tony swore their mother loved her, their father too, the young bride couldn’t help but doubt it, they would not love her if they could see her now about to get married to a man who didn’t love her back, a man who humiliated her once for his pride, someone who probably only wanted what this arrangement could give him back.

How would she survive this marriage when it was impossible to leave the room and get to the Cathedral?

A knock in the door pulled her out of her mind, finding Natasha smiling at her in the reflection of the mirror.

“Are you ready, dear?” her friend knew the real answer but still gave her the chance to speak.

“I was about to go” she lied and the redhead gave her a knowing look “everyone it’s waiting, isn’t it?”

“You’re the bride, honey, they can wait” Natasha walked to her, looking like a goddess in her silver dress and put her arms around the bride’s body “you can say no, we can fight Russo’s father, hell, Billy would love having one more excuse to kill him.”

She was sure Billy would do it, not only for her but for his sister, for Madani and for himself but it wasn’t time yet, the alliances needed to be settled, Stark and Barnes had to fight alongside to kill Pierce and Carlo Russo. She made all that mess before getting her family back and nobody would take them from her, never again.

“It has to be done, Nat” she put the veil in her head and took the beautiful bouquet Becca left for her earlier “let’s go.”

Her friend must have seen something in her eyes that made her nod.

“Alright, Bells. Let’s do this” her nickname, the one Yelena gave her when they met years ago, made her smile, who could ever thought that knocking someone out with Christmas bells will change her life?

Natasha guided her trough the corridors to the waiting room where Tony was talking in a hushed tone with Pepper, her sister-in-law radiant with her baby bump, reminding her why this alliance needed to happen.

“I’d be waiting outside, dear” Nat kissed her cheek and went to take her place with the other bridesmaids.

Tony was staring at her, pale like a ghost, whispering his sister's name. It wasn’t the first time in the last months Bells was told how much alike she was with his mother, their mother but this time Tony didn’t say anything, just looked at her eyes to find determination that matched his concern.

“Everything it’s beautiful, Peps, thank you” the bride said and the ginger smiled with a hint of sadness barely visible.

“It’s the least I could do for you, topolina. You deserve beautiful things” she never had a mother, not that she could remember, but with Pepper there she could feel like she did.

Pepper gave her husband a gentle squeeze in the arm and went to join the rest of the guest.

“I have Frank ready to go, say the word and we leave” his first words almost made her chuckle, he spent the last fifteen days planning ways to get her out of this but Bells always refused, a small and stupid part of her happy because she would marry the man she loved.

“I want to do this, Tony, for all of us” that part it was true, this marriage was the only way she could protect him and Pepper and the baby, Billy and Dinah, Frank and Maria and the kids, the family she dreamed about since she was a kid and that she finally had. It also would save her from Carlo Russo’s greedy hands.

Bells knew one or two things about the mob, mostly from movies and for that she was sure the respect from his brother to her choices were more part of his good soul, she heard some stories from Maria that made her want to kill Carlo Russo even more.

True to the man she met not too long ago Tony didn’t fight her, instead he straightened his bow tie and extended an arm out for her to take it.

“Then allow me to walk you down the aisle, signorina, it will be my honour” the charm went back to his eyes and Bells could breathe, if she could count on them, she could do anything.

The music started playing when the wedding planner gave the signal and every one of her friends smiled at her or blew kisses at her before marching down the aisle. From where she was she could see Maria walk with confidence, not sparing a glance to her father who unfortunately was sited next to her brother Billy and Dinah.

Natasha was the last one, looking at her with reassurance one last time before following the others, then it was their turn.

“I love you, topolina”

“Love you too, Tony”

The crowd of guest was an unfocused picture, she only had eyes for the man waiting for her at the altar, wearing a black tux with a new haircut, his long chestnut locks were gone, sending a silly wave of sorrow through her veins.

She loved his hair, in an embarrassing impulse she remembered pulling his long hair to get him to kiss her again when-

Bells stopped herself.

It was dangerous to think about those times, they were gone the minute he saw her as one of his properties and decided to punish her for something she never did.

Bucky’s eyes never left her the whole way to him, drinking her like he was dying of thirst. Steve must have noticed too because he gave him a subtle bump to get him to blink and stop looking like he would commit sacrilege in the middle of the church.

The beautiful glass windows projected a million colors around her when Tony lifted the veil and with a barely visible hesitance put her hand in Bucky’s.

“I’m confident you will protect her with your life, Barnes” was all he said, dead serious when Bucky gave him a solemn nod and her brother kissed her forehead.

With her eyes watching her step, Bells avoided looking at him until it was impossible to keep going.

A soft smile, one she thought she lost forever, resurfaced when their eyes locked and the bride could read what he was thinking.

She was his, always was and always would be and he would never let her go.

I'd do bad things with you >>>

Hiya! I'm super happy to post this story even if I don't know what I'm doing, to be honest I'm not fluent in italian, so here's the translation of the pet names I used:

-topolina: Little mouse.

-signorina: Miss.

If I made a mistake with that, feel free to correct me and tell me what you think! What do you think it will happen?

Love, Lily.

#bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes x f!reader #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x curvy!reader #mob!bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes angst

[satellitespinner]

˗ˏˋsidelines - one ´ˎ˗

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˗ˏˋ finally the first chapter!!! we’re so excited to give you this fic.. so much time went into it but it’s so worth ittt :33 ´ˎ˗

synopsis: you've been going to saltwitch beach every summer for as long as you can remember, it's home to you. and you wouldn't change that for the world...

cw: MDNI!! cursing, use of weed, age gap (2-3 years?), nicknames (cherry), ellie calls reader a slut, ellie is straight up cruel. hurt/comfort, flashbacks, slightly edited, breif mention of hair (being washed.) brief mentions of masturbation (e), abby and reader are awk..

wc : (6.4k)

the usual feeling of pure excitement that you felt upon arrival at the summer house wasn't as prominent as the odd and unusual anxiety that you couldn't seem to push down. you told yourself that it was just nerves, you hadn’t seen ellie for almost two years and so far, your first impression of being hesitant to get out of the car wasn't so great. you decided not to dwell on the feeling because you were tired. you knew that interacting with her was inevitable so why not get it over with?

the difference in your appearance didn't go unnoticed by the two girls, you chatted with your brother as you made your way over to them. ellie eyed you as you still had that cheerful aura, and that childlike pep in your step. you were the definition of glowing, and ellie was a little jealous.

“since when did she have tits?” ellie looked over at abby before receiving an elbow to the chest from her. “weirdo.” the blonde commented before ellie jumps to defend herself. “i was just sayin-!” before she could finish shes cut off by an oh-so familiar voice.

“abby, hey!” you greeted with a pleasant smile on your face, slightly jogging up to her and quickly embracing her in a hug, her bulky arm wrapped around your torso like it belonged there. the thick tension in the air was felt by all but stayed unrecognized.

“hey kid, how are you?” she asks as you pull away, your eyes meet ellie’s for just a moment before turning back to abby. “I'm good! you look amazing, by the way” before abby could respond ellie interjects “you look different.” she states blankly. you shoot her a glare. “yeah, that’s what two summers does to a person. you of all people should know that, right?” you sass back, taking notice of her new look. she looked hot? no, nevermind. you push past, making your way into the house and up to your room, leaving everyone behind.

unpacking had to be your least favorite part of going away each summer especially when you were exhausted, annoyed and sweaty. while unpacking you had fleetwood mac bursting in your eardrums, music had always helped calm your nerves in any situation. your favorite playlist and a few deep breaths worked wonders.

a few summers ago, ellie showed you a song she had been practicing on joel's guitar. “ wha’dya think, cherry?” she would ask with a smile on her face. “i love it!” you would always respond. reminiscing on that memory carved a genuine grin on your face, however that smile was quickly replaced by a look of terror and a slight jump.

“jesus fuck!” you screamed, being met with ellie and abby leaning against your door on either side like this was some dramatic romcom was not what you expected when you turned around to put a couple shirts in your wardrobe. ripping one headphone of your ear, you expect them to say something, but instead they stay silent.

“what do you want?” you give them a wary look. abby starts by pointing out your new look. “you look uh- pretty?” she scratches her neck awkwardly. you feel your cheeks heat up at the compliment. “thanks.” you reply. you try to avoid ellie’s harsh gaze burning into you. “so.. how’s school?” she continues, trying to keep the conversation flowing. “good, good” you nod in unison. you decide to ease the tension by focusing yourself on unpacking. you and abby chat for awhile, paying ellie little to no mind.

abby’s eyes respectfully followed you as you buzzed around the room, ellie however was straight up gawking at you without word. you finished up your conversation abby fairly quickly when the uncomfortable air eased away after a few words. soon enough your sitting on your bed as you two converse innocently from opposite sides of the room. you cracked a couple jokes with abby but couldn't quite understand why ellie was still standing there.

“ellie did you need something too?” you ask with a smile, finally making eye contact with the other girl in the frame. “nope.” she answered calmly before taking a hit from her vape. “just noticed how much of a slut you’ve turned into.” she crosses her arms, her eyes challenge yours. abby’s face drops, oblivious to ellie’s obvious intentions.

“excuse me?” your eyes widen at the comment, the audacity that this girl had! two summers gone and all she can say is that you look like a slut?

“i mean- go off, you look great but like.. how much skin you gotta show for some attention?” she chuckles lowly. you thought she was done but apparently she wasn't. “are you trying to look more mature or something? so you can finally be taken seriously?”

oh.

“alright,” you stand up from your bed, running a hand through your hair. “i would love to listen to you critique me, but really i haven't changed that much. you would know that if you didn't miss two summers.” you bite back before shooing them out of your room so you could finally get at least a little bit of rest. even though abby didn’t really do anything, you simply didn’t feel like being around anyone after ellie’s embarrassing comment.

you were exhausted. finally deciding to give unpacking a break for now and lay down. you slide under your blue and white covers that welcomed you after every long drive and closed your eyes.. you fall asleep instantly when your head hits the pillow.

you’re peacefully asleep, dreaming about how this summer will go when you’re interrupted by your phone going off. usually, you would close your eyes and ignore it. but the caller was persistent and kept calling after you lay your head down once again. you grab your phone with an annoyed scoff but your mood sweetens when you see dina’s name displayed brightly on the screen.

you quickly tap the green answer button and are about to speak when you’re spooked by the sound of dina’s voice blaring through your phone.

“bitch! why didn’t you tell me you were back?!” she scolds you playfully.

“in my defense-“ you start but are interrupted by cat’s voice coming through, “no excuses babe, we need to see you and we need to see you now!” you laugh at their orders and push the sheets off of you in a hurry.

“okay. i’m coming!” shuffling through your room like a madman with your phone pressed to your ear, the dedication your friends had was real! “how did you even know i was back?”

“we ran into your brother just now,” dina explains “we’re parked outside to take you out, hurry up!”

“fuck dina, way to give me some time to look presentable” you roll your eyes behind the phone as you multitask brushing your hair and triple checking you look presentable.

“get out here!” you hear jesse demand “i’m coming out now, chill!” you confirm, stumbling down the stairs and seeing that nobody is home, weird. you see the parked car and are quick to wave while hanging up the phone.

“dina, i awoke from my beauty sleep for you guys.” you say as you jump into the backseat of cats white jeep, right beside jesse, saying your hello’s.

“anddd yet you still love us!” she smiles back at you and winks, you don’t deny it.

you guys drive around for awhile, blasting your favorite songs from cats phone and catching up on whatever you weren’t able to talk about on call. you were genuinely excited, you finally had your people.

when you finally arrive at your destination you’re in awe, i mean your summer house is big, but this? this was luxurious.

“holy fuck cat, you live here?!” you plant your feet on the floor of the car and pull yourself through the open sunroof to get an better look at the home. cat giggled before grabbing your calf. “get in here you crazy bitch!” you smack your lips and sit back down. she closes the sun roof and you all make your way inside.

the hangout was fun, you guys made ice cream sundaes and watched the sunset while being occupied by a game of volleyball.

you and cat absolutely destroyed dina and jesse, obviously!

you were able to get a ride home from cat while the couple stayed at her house, the ride home was comfortable, not too long with good music and conversation.

“how much you wanna bet that dina n’ jesse are fucking in my parents room right now?” she asks with a smile.

“your guess is better than mine, but i’d say $10.” you look over at her and she laughs. the open windows are breezing her short, black hair around, her earrings dangling along.

you two pull into your driveway after cracking joke after joke, she puts the car in park before turning to you.

“did you want me to walk you up?” she asks with a soft smirk, reaching for her keys.

“no, no!” you brush her off, “i’m fine by myself.” you smile.

“if you say so!” she turns the car back on and gently reaches over and pats your thigh. “see you around, yeah?” you place your hand atop hers and reach for your door with the other.

“of course!” you clarify. before getting out of the car and shutting the door. just as you’re about to walk away she rolls down the passenger window.

“goodnight!” she waves you off and makes sure to stay until you get into the house. you wave to her once more before closing the door and she drives away.

you drag yourself through the house, tired.

you were definitely going back to bed.

˚ · . TIME SKIP!

SUMMER ‘15

you smack your lips at the sweet yet tangy flavor that the cherries left in your mouth. not hesitating to pick up another handful as you admire abby on her surf-board while ellie and your brother built a sand castle in the sand, just a few feet away from you.

you were happy.

“hey!” ellie calls out to you, before running up to your spot and plopping herself down next to you. she reaches out her cupped hand in front of you, you shoot her a confused look. “give me some too!” she demands jokingly. “oh, sorry!” you giggle before placing four almost perfect cherries in her palm. “thanks, cherry” she chuckles at the newfound nickname. you two snack on them for a little while before ellie finishes hers. “d’ya want more?” you ask, reaching for the bag one the opposite side of you. “no, im okay” she responds, you place the bag back down.

“yeah im done too.” you insist before poorly zip locking the bag shut and smiling up at ellie with a wide, toothy smile. she laughs at the look on your face. “why’re you laughing at me?” you fake a slight frown. “you're covered in cherry juice, lemme help” she wipes the excess juice from your lips with her thumb, her tongue slightly poking outside her mouth. “done!” she cheers, the sun making the tiny brown freckles on her face shine. her own toothy smile making you melt more than the hot sun.

“do you wanna come build a sand castle with us?” she asks. but before you could answer you hear your brother yell at her. “ellie no! don't let her! she’s just gonna mess it up!” “fuck you!” ellie responds before taking your hand in her own and leading you over there.

your brother groans but lets you, mostly because your dad was watching, at least you're being included one way or another. “whats up, cherry” your brother mocks.

“hey! only i can call her that!” ellie shouts. “whatever” she earns an annoyed eye roll from your brother. “come on cherry, sit down” ellie pats the sand next to her.

your sleep is disturbed by a dip in the mattress before you can feel a heavy hand shaking you awake. the weight of sleep lifted off your eyes when subtle gusts of wind blow your curtains into your room. you let out a guttural groan, you need water. you sit up slightly in your bed, your arms slightly behind you holding you up as you meet abby's eyes.

“whats up, abs?” you whisper in a slightly raspy voice, she removes her hand from your shoulder and smiles while answering “just wanted to make sure you're awake, you won’t be able to sleep tonight if you keep going any longer.” you force down a smile at her consideration. she gently lifts herself off of your bed before making her way to the door. “thank you, abby” you rub your eyes with your palm, trying to wake yourself up. shivering slightly as you take the covers off of your body.

you walk over to the window to shut it when you notice the sky, almost completely dark. it was late, but not too late. in your opinion it was the perfect time for a swim.

you quickly discard your clothes and replace them with your favorite bathing suit and the towel.

when you slide open the sliding glass door you notice the smell of weed as you walk out into the back yard. you slide the door shut and walk over to the pool. you're spooked at the sight of ellie and abby sitting on the edge of the pool, smoking a joint. they were whispering about something but abruptly stopped when they noticed your presence.

“that’s quite the bathing suit, cherry. you’re kinda proving my point here, don't you think?” she passes the joint to abby, who takes a hit immediately. you feel a sudden confidence within yourself as you walk over to the pair, ignoring ellie’s comment and take a seat right next to abby. without thinking you delicately take the joint from abby’s hand and take a hit from it as well. you slightly dip your head back as you exhale the smoke from your lungs. looking over at abby when you pass it back, a confused but ultimately impressed look crossing her face. ellie only chuckles before abby asks; “when did you start smoking? miss ‘goodie two shoes.’” you scoff before standing up, placing your towel down and descending into the lit up water.

“you can't really tell me you weren't smoking weed when you were 18, can you?” you joke before dipping your head under the water and swimming a few laps. when you resurface you notice ellie’s pink, glossy eyes on you. you two share a look for a moment before you speak. “you should take a picture, it’ll last longer.” you tell her off. but her reply wasn't what you expected. “i might.” her voice cracking slightly from staying silent for so long. you cover up how flustered that comment made you with a scoff and an eye roll, you continue swimming.

some time passes before you resurface again. ellie was gone, abby was smoking alone, so you swim over to her. you rest your arms on the outside of the pool. “where’s ellie run off to?” you ask, looking around the yard. “do you actually care? cause all day you've been hating each other hard. the tensions so thick i could cut it with a knife.” she inhales another hit from the almost finished joint.

“that’s not fair, she’s been gone for two summers. my grudge is justified.” you state argumentatively. abby puts out the joint on the concrete, pressing it into the ground to make sure its out. “do you know why?” you look up at her. “not a clue, none of you ever tell me anything.” you pry “why didn't she come?”

“not my place to tell you.” she sighs. “are you fucking kidding me? it’s been two years and i haven't been told shit!” she throws you a weak smile. you knew she wouldn’t tell you, so you give up with a sarcastic chuckle. “you’ll find out eventually.”

“okay.” you mutter before you lift yourself off the edge and duck under the water for a few more laps, when you emerge from the water next, abby is still sitting there. feet gently paddling the water. “do you want to.. come in with me?” you ask kind of shyly. swimming with abby was always something you looked forward to every summer without fail.

“i probably shouldn't.” she declined politely, own thoughts rushing to her head. “im gonna- head inside.” she shot you a tight lipped smile and stood up. “sorry, kid” and with that she was already missing, leaving you in the pool as you close your eyes and frustratingly flop back underwater once again, completely relaxing your muscles and letting it overtake you.

SUMMER ‘19

“they're pre-occupied” abby tells you as she walks out of the house, towel in hand. you roll your eyes “look what mario kart is doing to our generation!” you shake your head jokingly. “rainbow road is destroying families.” abby adds on and you both laugh.

the two of you make your way down to the beach, abby's surfboard under her arm as your padded feet burn from the sand. you were so excited! everytime the group made their way down to the beach you would giddily watch abby on her surfboard, just waiting for the day she would cave and teach you.

“you excited?” she elbows you with a smirk, based on your body language she already her answer. “i am! im gonna be a pro surfer by tomorrow, watch me.” you laugh, the feeling of excitement coursing throughout your body.

you and abby walk side by side until you reach the beach. she teaches you how to wax the board, as well as where to get the best waxes. she tells you which brands make the best wet suits and you guys practice a bit of balance on the sand before you finally slap the board down on the water.

“before you’re gonna even try standing you're gonna practice on your knees. got it?” you nod eagerly and sit on your knees, abby’s hands guiding you easily. you wobble slightly after getting on and abby places her hands on your hip to steady you. “i got you, i got you.” she reassures.

abby was a good teacher, and had you standing on that board in no time.

“i’m doing it!” you beam and abby couldn't help but smile at you.

“you're doing amazing!” she cups her hands around her mouth so the praise could reach your ears.

when you turn around to look at her for approval, you fail to notice a wave coming straight for you. “wait! Turn back arou-!” abby attempts to warn you, but the wave has already hit, knocking you off straight off of her surfboard and into the salty sea water. she panics, quickly swimming over to you as you break the water’s surface and frantically spin your head around to try and find her. when you do finally spot her, the blonde thinks you’re on the verge of tears before you break out into a smile and begin to laugh. she stares at you in shock for a moment, swimming closer and briefly inspecting you for any possible injuries (as well as ensuring the laugh isn't a possible cover up for an incoming sob), eventually coming to the conclusion that you’re fine. but your laugh, your laugh is just so contagious she cant help but join in on it.

“you looked so fucking worried!” you manage to say in between giggles, she jokingly shakes her head in disappointment. “of course i was! you just got fucking slammed underwater!” she exclaims, teasingly splashing even more water onto your face. your jaw now starting to hurt from just how wide you were smiling.

“c’mon. let’s head back to shore, i think that’s enough practice for the day.” abby concludes, gently grabbing your arm and pulling you forward back onto the surfboard as she pushes you to shore, sun setting behind the both of you.

present day

gasping for air as you surge up from the water once again, you decide it's finally time to get out of the pool and begin to get ready for dinner. grabbing the nearest towel on one of the pool chairs, you quickly wrap it around your body before sliding open the plexi-glass door as ellie and abby previously had, making your way inside the house.

“hey kiddo!” jerry calls out to you from the oven, supposedly taking something out of it as he places it on the counter, removing the colorful oven mitts from his hands. “hey, jerry” you smile at him, you were able to get a quick greeting with him in before, but you had missed him the year you were gone. moving over to the kitchen island and leaning against it to have a quick look at what he and your father have prepared for dinner. “all of this looks absolutely delicious” you comment, noticing one of your favorite dishes tucked away to the side.

“why thank you! it’s almost done if you wanna take a quick shower before meeting everyone else down here?” jerry suggests, you stand back up properly “yeah that would be great. speaking of, where is everyone?” you question, you haven't seen your brother or father since you arrived, and abby and ellie were nowhere to be found.

“your father and brother went out a while ago to get some more groceries for the next couple nights, abby went along with them i’m pretty sure. as for ellie… i have no idea.” he sighs, leaning on the opposite side of the counter as you. “alright, well im gonna go take that shower and i’ll come back down here to help set the table!” you smile at him, returning back to a standing position before making your way to the stairs, jerry simply nods his head, retreating back to cooking.

you exhale while walking up the stairs, removing the towel from your body to gently dry your hair so you dont cause the floors to become even wetter than they already are from the pool. upon making your way to the bathroom, you discover where ellie had been – showering.

as she walks out in only a sports bra and basketball shorts, you're rendered speechless, the opposite to how you've been acting around ellie so far.

“hey cherry” she casually greets you while leaning up against the bathroom wall, towel loosely hanging around her shoulders “hey ellie.” you respond with the same energy as you previously had “where’d you disappear to before?” you ask, kicking yourself immediately after for such a stupid question.

“thought you would prefer to keep anderson’s company rather than look at me for one more second,” she quips back "how was it? your swim, i mean.”

you stay quiet for a moment, “it was nice. i lost track of time, she left shortly after you did.” you explain, ellie purses her lips, lifting herself off of the doorframe and walking away from you, you contemplate your next words for a moment. “wait, ellie!” you call out, turning your body to face her. she stops in her tracks, spinning her head around and waiting for you to continue with your sentence “i was trying to ask abby but she wouldn’t tell me. why weren't you here for two summers?” you cut straight to the point. all you wanted was an answer. the auburn haired girl simply looks down and away from you before turning the opposite direction and entering her bedroom.

looking down at your own feet, you accept defeat and wander into the bathroom. removing your bikini, and stepping into the shower, letting the stream of water overtake your senses once again.

after a while of sitting in the steam, you decide to wash your hair, doing a shitty job of detangling it caused from the chlorine. you grab your bottle of shampoo and squirt some into your hand before sloppily rubbing the gooey substance around your head and rinsing. you repeat with your conditioner before finishing up with washing your body - berry scented body wash, obviously.

while you lather your body wash onto yourself, your mind wanders to ellie. the way she looked at you, all the things she said to you. no. absolutely not. she called you a slut for gods sake! maybe she was right? you hadn't even had your first kiss yet though. you shake away any incoming thoughts on the subject for now when you decide to finish up in the shower. reaching over to the tap and gently twisting it until the warm water faded away and you were left shivering behind the curtain. you water no time grabbing your soft towel and wrap it around your dripping body in hopes of warming yourself up again.

realizing that upon your shock of seeing ellie exit the bathroom, you had completely forgotten to bring your clothes to the bathroom. which meant you had two options – one, call for your brother who probably wasn't even home yet and risk him bringing you the worst clothes known to mankind. or two, run out to your bedroom in just your towel and pray nobody sees you.

option two it is!

quickly ensuring your towel was tight enough to not fall off, you crack open the bathroom door, making sure there’s nobody you can see who could see you. with the coast seemingly being clear, you make a run for it. opening the bathroom door fully and fast-walking to the familiar pale blue door you had spent many summers sleeping in. everything was going to plan, nobody was upstairs! you close the door with a weary breath and rush to the soft clothes splayed across your bed. you pull your cotton panties up your legs and shimmy into your silk sleep shorts. you decide against your sleep shirt for now, instead opting for a thick hoodie with your soon to be university name displayed proudly across the chest.

you take a seat at your desk and apply some light makeup, nothing too fancy. some minimal skincare, a bit of mascara and the tiniest bit of blush. afterwards, reaching over to your jewelry case and putting your earrings back in.

cute! you think before you tiptoe out of your room with intentions of quietly going downstairs but are met with ellie in the hallway.

“hey.” you mutter with a polite smile, she doesn’t respond. instead retreats downstairs quickly.

why do you even bother?

you follow behind ever so slightly, taking notice of how her nonchalant facade has died down quite a bit.

you looked her up and down as she went over to your brother at the kitchen island. her hair was dry and combed back into its normal up-down style. she had also returned her rings to their original places and put on a chained necklace.

abby had freshened up as well, her usual messy braid tightened around her scalp, and her black wife pleaser hugged her torso well. along with her plaid pajama pants, she was conversing with your father.

everyone else looked good, obviously. it was tradition to at least try to clean up for the first dinner, after that, nobody cared. you quickly gazed over the group and took note of one person's absence in particular.

you pay it no mind for now and watched everyone in friendly chatter, enveloped in their own conversations. this was home. as you walk closer, you take the opportunity to set the table discreetly. grabbing the silverware and plethora of plates, gently bringing them over to the oak table and accidentally making a – very loud –clatter from dropping the silverware. everybody's heads immediately turn to look at you

“oops?” you say, but it comes out more as a question, shooting them a smile in order to diffuse some of the tension that had been created from your hunched figure over the table.

“here, let me help.” abby insists, making her way towards you to help. you don't object, letting her come forward and grab the fallen silver. you shoot her a thankful smile and continue setting the table as everybody returns to their previous conversations.

“that’s one way to make an entrance” abby whispers as she she trails just behind you, putting the forks, spoons and knives just after you place the woven placemats down. “oh hush,” you groan, she continuous to lay the utensils “as if im any less clumsy then you.” she nudges you harshly, reminiscing on all the past time she’s completely stacked it in front of you.

“hey, by the way, are you wearing a hoodie because of ellie’s… dumb comments?” abby asks as you return any leftover dining material to the kitchen counters and start grabbing food to place down, you ignore her. “dinner is ready folks!” you announce, putting your hands up party style and allowing everyone to take their seats while you go ahead and grab a glass of water for yourself.

when you turn back around to take your own seat, you realize the only spot left is right between abby and ellie. they are lost in their own chatter with each other when you come to sit in between with them.

you don’t speak to either of them when you sit down, instead opting to quietly grab whatever food looked most appealing to you to stuff onto your plate – then later into your stomach.

you zone out as everyone continues with their previous conversations, head racing with many, many thoughts. why was ellie gone for two summers? where’s joel? why does everything feel different?

“where's joel?” you speak up, not even realizing the words had left your mouth until you look up to find everyone staring at you, faces gloomy. “what? I haven’t seen him in awhile, i wanna know how he’s doin’” you drop your fork, scanning the faces around the table to show your putting all your focus into this conversation.

“you’re fucking with us, right?” your brothers scoffs, face disappointed.

“Language.” your father interrupts, staring down at his plate. you chuckle at that. “father of the year award goes to you.” you mock under your breath. “and no! i’m not messing with you!” you answer honestly, “i don't get told anything around here. all i want is an answer.” your brother scoffs at this. “what, i’m serious! can you guys just tell me where he is? and ellie, where the hell were you for two summers? i didn’t hear anything from you for two years. hell, i was starting to think you and joel had died!”

everyone falls silent.

ellie abruptly stands up from her seat at the table “i’m not hungry.” she declares, before moving around you and rushing up the stairs. her fast paced footsteps are heard before the harsh slam of her door.

“what’s her deal?” you ask the table, nobody answers. too focused staring down at their plates. “are you guys serious right now? i’m old enough to know these things. and sure, i know joel doesn’t come every summer but i thought he would at least come to this one.” your eyes start to well up with tears, you just wanted to be treated like an adult.

your dad sighs and finally draws his eyes back to yours. you both silently stare at each other for a short moment, couldn't have been more than a few seconds but it felt like forever. “you should go talk to ellie.” your dad finally speaks up, jerry hums in agreement. you nod at them and politely excuse yourself. you pause yourself and turn to the table of your almost-family.

“thanks for dinner.” you shoot the group a sarcastic smile and continue to drag yourself away from the kitchen and up the stairs, towards ellie’s room. in the short distance you walked your thoughts started to eat away at you.

maybe joel was dead?

no. he couldn't be!

he was notorious for missing summers, and there’s no way they would keep that from you, right?

your thought were cut short when you find yourself in front of ellies door, the run down “ellies cave! do not enter!” sign that was still there made you smile. you brace yourself by taking a few deep breaths and then gently cracking the door open. you spot ellie sitting on the edge of her bed, back to you.

“knock knock” you softly welcome yourself into her room and close the door behind you. ellie doesn't greet you, instead keeping to herself. you stroll around the bed and sit next to her, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. her red, glossy eyes stayed glued to the ground. you squeeze your eyes shut as you try and find what you want to say to her.

“listen, ellie.. if i did anything to upset you or if i made you uncomfortable-” “stop,” she whispers, her voice slightly cracking which alludes her to clear her throat, interrupting your rambling. “i just-” you sigh. “im sorry if i did.” you clarify with a slight breath of relief, like you had been holding it in forever. the feeling didn't last long, the longer she stayed silent the more anxious you got.

what was up with you? why did you suddenly care so much?

ellie, for once didn’t know what to say. she fiddled with the rings on her fingers, they felt encapsulating. a habit you knew all to well. you placed a hand atop of her own two.

“can you look at me? please?” you knew you sounded pathetic, you knew you would probably regret this later, but you wanted to help her. eventually your pleas pulled through and she averted her gaze from the floor to you. tears stained her freckled cheeks, the whites of her eyes colored pink, drastically clashing with her green ideas.

she doesn't say anything, instead throwing herself into your arms and letting her emotions take over. “fuck, cherry i’m so sorry.” she sobs into your chest. “i didn't mean what i said” she declares as she squeezes the back of your tear soaked hoodie. you slowly start raking your fingers through her soft auburn locks.

“shh, shh. its okay.” you whisper gently into her head, placing a few gentle kisses to her forehead. you slowly rock the two of you from side to side and rub circles to her back. her sobs eventually subside as you lull her to sleep.

you didn't leave straight away, you sat there with her to ensure that she would stay asleep, when she did you gently laid her down across her bed and cover her up with a blanket that was thrown over a nearby chair. you smile at her tranquil state.

you leave ellie’s room feeling hopeful, maybe things would go back to the way they were, maybe things could be normal again.

While your closing the door to ellie’s bedroom is when you run into abigail once again, you both stop in your tracks.

“hey, abby.” your voice trembles as you say those two simple words.

“hey,” she replies warily “are you okay?” she cautiously makes her way towards you as you tilt your head up in hopes of not spilling your tears.

“oh im doing great,” you joke, laughing to cover up the incoming wave of tears “just peachy!” abby can sense the incoming tears and is quick to envelop you in a tight hug, just in time as the tears well over your eyes and onto your face. you shove your neck into her shoulder, wishing that you could disappear.

first day back, and you're already crying? right after you argued about wanting to be treated like an adult? grow up.

“hey.. what’s wrong?” she softly asks, you lift your head up from her neck and look up at her. “i don’t know.” is all you can muster out when the waterworks reappear, and abby tenderly places your head back into her shoulder.

“it’s okay… its okay…” she reassures, carefully making her way to your bedroom as to not disturb your sensitive state.

when she delicately places you on your bed, you stay sitting up. She doesn’t say anything, but begins to make her way back to your bedroom door, assuming you wanted to be alone.

“stay.” is all you say, smoothly grabbing her arm, forcing her to stop in her tracks.

“oh, uh-”

“please.” your grip on her arm becomes a little tighter, it’s only then she realizes the last thing you need right now is to be alone.

she lets out a heavy breath and turns back around to you. “okay,” she complies, “okay, i’ll stay.”

“thank you.” is all you can squeeze out, releasing her arm and laying down, facing the opposite direction of her.

she goes to turn off your lightswitch, allowing the moon shining through your drapes to be your only source of light from your open windows and goes to lay down beside you hesitantly, trying to not take up too much space on your bed.

“abby,” you whisper, “my bed is big enough to fit both of us, it’s okay.” you reassure her “oh,” she says awkwardly “are you sure?”

you let out a soft giggle, opposite to the state of your currently tear stained face “yes, im sure.”

you fall asleep together, laying side by side in your white seashell printed bed. a thin blanket covering the two of you as the wind blew inside the walls you had missed so dearly, the walls you had grown up in, the walls you hoped would stay engraved into your memory forever.

this summer was going to be different, it was going to be good.

ellie couldn't stop thinking about you. your new persona plagued her mind, awake and asleep. she couldn't stop thinking about you and it had taken effect. she woke up drenched. she groans as she shifts in her bed, trying desperately to fall back asleep. when that didn't work she turned to sleeping pills, which in this case didn’t help either.

she slowly slid her slender fingers to the waistband of her sweats she tried to imagine you in that bathing suit, god that bathing suit. her fingers met her aching clit, she slowly began rubbing circles on the bundle of nerves, she imagined you in the pool, your body drenched in water. she impatiently slid her fingers down to her slick covered slit,

god she was so fucked..

#ellie williams x reader #ellie tlou #ellie williams #tlou #tlou fanfiction #tlou2 #ellie x reader #ellie williams fluff #₊˚ʚ ᗢ₊˚✧ ﾟizzie writes!? #abby anderson x reader #abby x fem!reader #abby tlou x reader #abby the last of us #abby x reader #abby tlou #abby anderson #ellabs #ellabs x reader #lesbian #ellabs x fem!reader #⋆·˚ ༘ * sidelines! 🔆 #the one and only aria <3

[maggiemoomoo]

Matt Sturniolo x Reader

Summary - Dr. Matthew Sturniolo is a world-renowned scientist best known for his experiments that are deranged, grotesque and just downright insane. Due to his contributions that stemmed from his research, he has successfully obtained the title "The Mad Scientist". Y/n L/n became so enamored by Dr. Sturniolo's crazy experiments and his eccentric nature that she worked her way through her connections in the scientific community to become his personal apprentice. Unfortunately, his insatiable appetite for the unnatural and the impossible has reared it's head towards her direction and it seems to want her to satisfy it.

Warnings! - smut, spit, praise, fingering (f receiving), oral (m receiving), doctor/professor/boss kink, dumbification, dirty talking, a little bit of power play?, mentions reader being injected with a needle but is very brief, mentions reader passing out, talks about using a body for experiments however none of that actually takes place!!!, descriptions of strange experiments and decor, I truly don't think y'all have anything to worry about even if you're squeamish but I just thought I would mention it anyway, slight aftercare

I race across the university campus straining to pull on my pristine white lab coat over my pajamas. It's a few minutes past two in the morning as I make my way to Dr. Sturniolo's laboratory. Along with the amazing opportunities that this job encompasses, it also requires frequent late-night calls to his lab once he makes progress with an experiment.

Although he gets plenty of good press applauding him for his advancements, he also has many people in the world who condemn him for his heinous acts. To most, his experiments that push the boundaries of the world that we know today are disgusting and he should be locked away for just his thoughts alone. Thank God the university donors funnel enough money into the program to keep him going, albeit in a secret lab away from the general public so he can continue to pursue his passion without interference.

I enter the building where his lab is held and begin to descend the stairways into the basement where he is currently holed up. I always find myself having a little pep in my step when he calls me up to come to the lab. Excited to see his newest creation but also to see his gorgeous eyes that had a glint of insanity in them paired with those delectably plump lips and adorable undereye bags that were gifted from the many sleepless nights he spent down there.

I definitely consider myself lucky considering I bagged one of the most unique and exciting jobs on the Earth. Well, lucky for the most part. Thanks to getting top marks in school and already having quite a knack for the weird and unusual parts of science. Always bouncing off the walls at being able to dissect frogs in biology, being first in line to sign up for forensic classes, or even just enjoying the art of making something that was once thought impossible, possible. I'm sure the doctor saw my potential and that I also possess, even if it's just a fraction, some of the craziness that he holds in his pretty head.

The doctor and I have a unique but close relationship, spending a lot of time in closed quarters, hours in the lab theorizing and experimenting, mostly me just following him around like a lost puppy and watching him work his magic. It hasn't gone unnoticed that the breathable tension that flows between us is getting stronger.

The past few weeks have been hugs, slight touches and him leaning over my shoulder breathing in the same air as me while I scribble notes for him. Him giving me pet names that make me subtly clench my thighs and him flashing me dangerous smiles that really make me question if I should cross the boundaries between a boss and his apprentice.

I finally pass the last threshold after scanning my university badge numerous times to get through the security checkpoints. I throw open the door to the lab and am met with an almost pitch-black room except for a slight cobalt blue hue that illuminates the space coming from a large tank that is holding one of his latest experiments that lies toward the center of the lab.

It's freezing cold as per usual but due to my rushing I didn't bother to put on a long sleeve or even pants on. Being donned in a tank top, pajama shorts, fuzzy socks, and my lab shoes, I realize I look incredibly disheveled and utterly ridiculous. I didn't even comb my hair before running over here and honestly, the doctor would be the last person to worry about that.

He almost lives in his lab as he spends all his time here. He has seen me in my best and worst state as I am often called to come to the lab in the late hours of the night when I am asleep or trying to continue to finish my research notes.

Due to the chill, I try rubbing my hands over my covered arms to try and generate some heat from the friction. I don't hear any noise and I don't see the doctor anywhere working.

"Doctor?", I ask slowly walking around the lab and pausing at the tank.

The bright blue liquid contains a single chimp who looks to be in a deep sleep state. He floats around slowly alongside the tiny bubbles that accompany him. The doctor's latest experiment features one of the things that humanity has always wanted to figure out - cloning. He has successfully cloned several species such as rats, bunnies, and even raccoons and we are slowly working our way up getting closer and closer to human cloning.

This has been a top-secret operation that has consumed all of our time and effort and I would be a liar if I were to say that all this time spent together in close proximity hasn't made my attraction for him grow ten-fold. Getting a front-row seat to him working constantly, watching him lick his lips and bite them in concentration, push his luscious hair back when he's stressed, and even his arms and hands that become covered in veins when he's been notetaking a little too long. I am utterly surprised at the amount of self-control I've accumulated from trying to resist throwing him on the lab counter and defacing it completely.

"Sir? I'm here, where'd ya go?", I called out again turning away from the tank. I hear slight rustling and look towards to lining of shelves at the back of the lab. Matt moves around one of shelves holding a small box of empty petri dishes in one hand and in the other is holding a beaker with a strange purple liquid. He's looking at his feet and mumbling to himself inaudibly as he moves closer to me.

"There's my smart girl!", he exclaims when he looks up and sees me. I can't contain the slight blush that crawls on my cheeks and warms my face. This has been the newest nickname he's been fixated on lately and I definitely don't mind it.

He takes a swig from the beaker with the strange liquid and quickly presses a slight kiss on the crown of my head before heading towards one of the lab counters. "I sincerely hope that what you're drinking isn't dangerous to humans?", I quip with a raised eyebrow. "It's just juice I promise", he flashes me a smile and then holds out the beaker for me to inspect it myself. I meet him from across the counter and sniff the top of the beaker which he is still holding up for me. Hm, grape, another fixation of his recently since the local store ran out of apple juice one time a couple weeks ago when I went on a grocery run.

I give him a nod of approval and he sets down the beaker. While he messes with some of the items already set on the counter I take in his appearance. He looks more of the same, red juicy lips from licking and biting them too much, his hair messy and disheveled, and his undereye bags still present. I trail my eyes down his chest and see his grayish button-down is slightly unbuttoned at the top revealing his collarbones that I so desperately want to lick and suck on while he-

"Come here Y/n."

I'm shaken from my thoughts and move around the counter too abruptly and bump into the corner when I approach him. I let out a small hiss and stopped before him when he grabbed my hip with his warm hand under my lab coat and gently rubbed it to help soothe the pain. He pushes the microscope toward me with his other hand, and gestures for me to look through the lens. "This is what I wanted to show you." He says in a hushed voice looking at the side of my face, his hand still rubbing my hip soothingly.

I lean forward and grab a hold of the microscope, I have to adjust the lens slightly to see what is on the slide that is already inserted. When I lean forward some of my hair falls in front of my shoulder and Matt catches it with his hand that's not on my hip and gently pushes it back behind my shoulder with a soft pet to the back of my neck after to hold it in place. All these lingering touches and with how close I am to him right now are greatly breaking down my resolve quickly and I don't know if I can conjure up any self-control this time.

Once I direct my focus away from him and his gentle touches I am astounded by what I can see on the slide. I gasp lightly, "Is that...", I pause my question in shock. "An embryo? Yes it is.", he finishes my question for me. I look away from the scope into his eyes next to me and I feel a broad smile crawl onto my face. He matches my expression and we both just stare into each other's eyes in silence.

"Does this mean we are finally capable of replicating it?", I ask excitedly. He nods his head and my eyes move down to his lips when he licks them slightly. "We're getting closer and closer to the best part, all thanks to you.", he squeezes his hands that are still on my hip and the back of my neck in an affectionate manner. "Anything for you sir.", I whisper leaning closer to him.

"Hmm, anything for me huh?", he stresses as he uses his grip on me to completely close the distance between us and press me against him. I can feel a slight hardness in his pants against my pelvis and I clench my thighs at the feeling. I run my hands up his chest grasping the collar of his dress shirt that is under his own lab coat and I lean my face closer to his while using my grip on him and raising on my tiptoes.

"Yes sir, anything."

He lets out a low growl before he completely consumes my lips in a breathtaking kiss. His hand on my hip slides to my lower back under my tank top caressing the skin there. Using my hips I push even further into his bulge and when he opens his mouth emitting a groan I slide my tongue into his mouth. I can taste the grape juice he was just sipping on and in the moment it feels as if it's the most delicious thing I've ever tasted in my life.

Using the grip he has on my back to push his hips back and forth against me grinding against my lower half while he keeps my head in place with his other hand. He massages my tongue with his passionately which makes me let out whiny moans and a dripping wetness spreads into my panties.

He then turns and pushes me into the counter in front of us while still kissing me. He withdraws his tongue from my mouth and starts to kiss from the side of my lips down to my neck.

Matt is still grinding his hips into me and he starts sucking next to where his fingertips are keeping my head still. I'm moaning into the air now and my hands begin to unbutton his shirt as quickly as I can manage with how little space there is between us. Once I make it to the bottom of his shirt I untuck it completely from his dress pants.

My neck is sore at this point from the love bites he's blessed me with. He moves both of his hands to the bottom of my tank top and yanks it up and over my breasts quickly. He leans back to inspect them, moving his hands to cup each breast and feel the weight in his hands.

I'm gripping his belt tightly and holding his hips against mine keeping them from moving. I'm subconsciously afraid that I'm still in bed dreaming about him instead of being here. Present with the famous Dr. Sturniolo while his hard-on is against me and him admiring my tits in his hands.

His entire focus is drawn to them, my breathing heavy, my ribs contracting and expanding pressing against his hands. Matt's breathing is just as heavy as mine as he gently squeezes and moves his thumbs to softly circle over my areolas. My hands grip his belt tighter as he begins to pinch and twist my nipples while groping my breasts affectionately. My eyes slide closed and my head tips slightly forward at the pleasure I'm feeling.

"Look at me Y/n.", he whispers to me.

I open my eyes, half-lidded, and meet his captivating ones already looking at my own. He slowly leans down while maintaining eye contact and kitten licks my right nipple while giving me a harsh grind at the same time. He goes back to squeezing and grinding against me, sucking, licking and practically making out with my breast. Moving back and forth between them leaving kisses in his path when he moves to each one.

Matt and I were just staring at each other only breaking eye contact to blink. The intenseness of his stare increased my arousal for him and I could physically feel the admiration radiating off of his eyes. We both had a mutual psychic understanding that we both wanted and waited forever for this moment but we were grateful it was finally happening.

While he stained my skin with his kissing and licking I felt inclined to move things faster and quickly started unbuckling his belt. He felt the movement and leaned back, his hands moving slowly up from my chest to cup my neck from the back, his thumbs caressing my cheeks. I didn't remove his belt as I felt a little too turned on to bother with the specifics of getting completely naked. I just unbuttoned and unzipped his dress pants and started to pull them down just enough to palm his dick through his boxers.

He finally broke eye contact by looking down at my hand with a groan, his grip tightening on my neck and pulling my face to his to where our lips were ghosting each other and our noses were touching. "You wanna make me feel good, huh?", he asked me and bucked his dick into my hand. I squeezed him and he hissed against my lips. "Yes, sir I wanna make you proud of me.", he sees my innocent stare and growls sucking my bottom lip into his mouth quickly biting it and releasing it with a pop.

He uses the hold he has on my neck and pushes me to the ground on my knees in front of him. He removes his right hand and pushes his pants and his boxers down enough for his cock to heavily bob into the air. It's so big and beautiful and looks so delectable, my thighs pulse against each other becoming tight against my pussy.

He grips his cock and strokes it slowly, squeezing his tip hard to push a little precum out of his slit. He then rubs his tip against my lips spreading his precum around my mouth and I stick out my tongue to touch his dick and lick up the residue. He tilts my chin up a little to look into my eyes again, "Open up for me sweet girl.", he commands and I immediately part my lips enough for him to slide his dick into my mouth. He moves his right hand to the side of my head holding back some of my hair away from my face.

He pushes his hips back and forth to guide the way that he wants me to suck him. I use my tongue to smooth up and down each side and on the bottom as best as I can to heighten his pleasure, which proves difficult with how thick his cock is. Matt's moaning out loud while he uses my mouth and I feel so much satisfaction knowing that I can make my mentor feel this way. That it's me who is sucking his dick right now and letting him push himself into me.

He slides his hand on the side of my head to the back and grips my hair to pull me and press my head against the side of the table. His hand protected my head from hitting the side. Matt adjusts his position so he's leaning even more over me now, my hands move to his thighs and dig my nails into them. This new angle allows him to plow into my mouth more aggressively, fucking my face. He thrusts faster, groaning even louder and holding onto my hair tighter.

I'm gagging loudly, spit bubbles pouring out of my mouth falling down the sides of my mouth and dripping onto my chest. Trying my hardest to hold onto his thighs for leverage and pull in breaths when I can every time he trusts out. "Such a good girl letting me fuck your throat.", he groans out, I moan in response looking at him with my teary eyes.

"Deep breath baby", he says quickly pulling out to his tip for only a second while I suck in a deep inhale. He then quickly pushes all the way to the hilt my nose smashing against his pubic hair at the base of his pelvis. "Aw fuck yes, so fucking good." He moans out grinding against my lips. Tears have left my eyes and are sliding down my cheeks, my nails dig into his thighs even harder ensuring some deep crescent shapes in them. I'm not able to gag so my chest just contracts and I try to stay still to please him.

He then quickly pulls out all the way a fat dribble of spit leaves my mouth attached to the tip of his cock and falls onto my neck and chest. I let out an aggressive cough and took multiple breaths to catch up. His hold still keeping my head against the table he repeats this action over and over. Pushing in, holding and grinding, praising me, and pulling out to let me breathe. As I'm getting used to the feeling he's pulling out less and less and gradually just fucking my throat against the side of the table.

"Yes, yes, yes baby, so close just hold on f'me." His groans increase in volume along with his thrusting. I'm pushing down the feeling to gag as much as I can to satisfy him and get him to finish. Looking into his eyes I grab my tits, squeezing and pulling at my nipples to give him visuals to help him reach his finish.

He pushes all the way into my throat with the loudest and deepest moan he has expressed and spills his seed. It's impossible for me to swallow so I just close my eyes tight and pray that he'll allow me to breathe soon. He slowly pushes back and forth, his length still pulsing and pushing his cum into the back of my throat while he rides his high.

He pulls out one last time with a deep sigh and admires his work. I'm completely drenched, my eyes still leaking tears that are running down my cheeks, from the bottom of my nose to my chest is covered in a layer of spit making me shiny. He kneels down in front of me, my hands moving to the tops of his thighs and holding myself up on them to keep from toppling over.

"So proud of you baby, did so so good for me.", He sucks my lips into his own and kisses me passionately moving his hands to cup my wet cheeks. He presses kisses from my forehead to my nose to each cheek and then finally back on my lips. "My good girl, my smart, beautiful, and talented apprentice." He pets my hair smoothing it down from his hands pushing and pulling it making it messy.

Matt puts his hand on my lower back to pull me against him and reaches around me to take off my lab shoes pushing them under the table. He then stands up pulling me with him and picks me up fully to set my thighs on the counter. He grips my hips pulling me to the edge and nuzzles his nose against mine. He slides the microscope to the side and out of the way.

His hands grab my shorts and panties and pull them off in one fell swoop and drop them to the floor leaving me in just my tanktop, still sitting above my breasts, socks, and lab coat. Matt is clothed the most between us with only his shirt and pants unbuttoned. His cock still hangs heavily between us and presses against my right thigh.

He reaches between my thighs to touch my pussy which has been soaked since before I even got on my knees. His fingers circle my clit and I grind into his hand to get more friction. "You gonna let me finger this pretty pussy?" He asks with a grin on his face while his fingers speed up their circular motions. I nod my head with a loud "uh-huh" and spread my legs more to give him more room.

I lean all the way back until I'm flush with the table and Matt pushes my left thigh up to my side so he can look at his hand touching my pussy. He trails a single finger down slowly and slides it inside my entrance and I bite my lip at finally getting some inner relief. He guides it in and out slowly to prep me for his cock.

"So dirty letting me use your pretty mouth, you gonna let me use you're body?" He quips as his finger speeds up.

My head is against the table with my eyes squeezed shut and my lip between my teeth in lost pleasure. He takes his hand that's not defiling me and moves up to my face. Matt uses his thumb to pull my lip from between my teeth and press the sides of my cheeks into a slight pout. I open my eyes to find he's already watching me and when I do he slides a second finger beside the one already inside me.

"Answer me, Y/n." He finds that point within me that draws a moan from my lips. "Yes, please I'll let you do whatever you want sir!" I squeal when he roughly pushes into my cunt. I grip his torso, my hands balling up his shirt while I try to grind myself into his hand.

"You'll let me use you, huh? Use your beautiful body for my experiments?" He questions with a grin as I convulse under him.

"Yes! Yes! Use me, sir, god, please!" The pleasure is consuming me rapidly the more his words slip past his lips and into the warm air. "Always so fucking obedient Y/n. Turns me on so much when you obey me." I mewl back at his praises and slip my hands from his chest back to my tits to squish them to amplify my pleasure.

Our eyes are entranced with each other as if a tether keeps us from straying away. When he moans, I moan back in satisfaction. When his fingers curl into that delicious spot within me again, I buck my hips in tandem. We've created a rhythm with each other that's as if it's an erotic dance and I've become mesmerized by him. He's put me in bliss that has me hypnotized through his eyes, words, and fingers alone. I couldn't have been more willing to try to impress the doctor by giving him whatever he desired.

He speeds up even more as his hand moves from my cheeks to my jaw to keep me still in his hand. He leans his torso closer to mine his nose flush with mine making our stare at each other more intense. His cock still rubbing against my thigh aching to replace the spot where his fingers are currently occupied. I can feel the muscles in my abdomen tightening and my eyes are beginning to flutter at the feeling. My legs are locking up trying to push to my climax.

"Relax sweet girl, I got you." He assures me when he notices this and I immediately adhere to his command. Relaxing my muscles allows him to push his hand flush against my cunt constantly putting pressure on the spongy part inside me. Over and over he runs his fingers over that spot and when I finally orgasm, his grip on my jaw never loosens letting him see exactly what my face looks like when I cum.

He brings his lips to mine in a deep kiss, both of us breathing heavily into each other's mouths. I move my hands onto the back of his neck and his shoulder to keep him against me. He takes his soaked fingers and rubs them onto his cock as an extra lubricant, not that he needs any more as his dick is already slick from my mouth.

The kiss is sloppy, messy, and extremely dirty. Months of pining and secret looks just poured in between our lips. My admiration for my boss and his love for his little assistant has broken all boundaries and made itself known.

I feel his dick sliding through my folds hoping for more. He leans away only mere inches and a look of joy and content adorns his face. I smile back and my hands move to his cheeks and stroke them slightly. He hums as his eyes move around my face scanning me and then down towards my body as if he's memorizing how I look when I'm exasperated.

"What?" I ask with a slight giggle, "Nothing just committing you to memory." He makes eye contact with me again. I then hear a slight clink next to my head, not even realizing his hand moved away from me. I try to turn my head but his hand on my jaw is keeping me still and aligned with his face.

He pecks my lips quickly and his hold on me tightens, "Thank you, smart girl, you're so useful." Matt then turns my head to the side quickly and I feel a puncture to the side of my neck. I let out a yelp of pain as a fire spreads through my neck.

"Matt what-" I shout when the thing in my neck is removed and he turns my head back towards him. He shuses me with a finger against my lips when I start whimpering in fear. "You wanted me to use you baby and I will I promise. Just go to sleep you're okay," he says tenderly kissing my face and petting my side.

I'm crying from the spreading pain in my neck and my hands move to his shoulders trying to push him away from me but my hands begin to feel so heavy. My muscles are relaxing too much and my brain feels foggy, too drunk without any alcohol. "Hurts...please-" I'm slurring, my eyes slightly closing.

Matt is still staring sweetly at me, so much love in his eyes, his hand moves from my jaw to my hair stroking it affectionately. "I know it hurts baby, just sleep it's okay. I'm right here love." He kisses my lips again.

I'm trying to fight this feeling of succumbing and try turning my head to the side and seeing a large syringe. Whatever was in it is now inside of me and I'm cursing myself for not noticing before or maybe just not caring. My lust for my mentor overshadowed everything in front of me. Through the haze, I'm still trying to piece my thoughts together of what just happened. I realize that he really did mean what he said when he wanted to use me, just in a different way than what I had assumed.

I flop my head back into his hand that was stroking my hair and whimper more as the unbearable feeling of sleepiness clouds my head. "No.... nu-uh ple" broken words are escaping me and my hands fall onto my chest no longer being able to move them.

"Shh, it's okay Y/n. Soon enough I'll have more than one of you around to satisfy me." His eyes have moved from giving me adoring stares to having a glint of insanity. "You were always the next step my love, I was just waiting until you were ready. You are going to do so well for me I just know it." He praises me in a way that doesn't feel like a compliment.

I guess I just assumed that Matt's experiments wouldn't get to a point where I would fear for my life. That we wouldn't cross the line of ever potentially being a subject in one of his experiments. But I was wrong, I got too comfortable, too clouded and entranced by his prowess and his beauty that I am now paying for it.

The last thing my eyes could make out in front of me was Matt's face, illuminated by the soft blue light of the tank. Excited for the future and what using me and my body could mean for the world. My mind finally makes one with the darkness overwhelming me and I succumb to what my idol and mentor wanted me to be all along.

A/N - i actually really really really hate this........ i hope you all enjoy reading it maybe my writing will get better lol this seems all over the place to me. also im sorry i disappeared i was silently active on here just liking peoples posts but ill try to post more myself. i know this one was a little fucked up but i started writing it a month ago and i cant start another project unless i finish one all the way through. i have way better ideas that i want to execute for oneshots so i hope that you guys at least develop a little faith in me lol. also don't worry i will be uploading the chris series i started i just am extremely shy and not confident in my work so i posted and then chickened out ig? i dunno but anyway i love this fandom and the tumblr side of it everyone seems to be so nice and supportive and im excited to be more active in it eventually. :3 <3333333333 ᡣ˶ᵔ ᵕ ᵔ˶𐭩 ♡

#chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #nick sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo smut #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo imagine #chris x reader #matt x reader #nick x reader #matt imagine #chris imagine #nick imagine #chris sturniolo x you #matt sturniolo imagine #chris sturniolo imagine #nick sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo x you #nick sturniolo x you #nick sturniolo x reader #chris sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo x reader

[comics-and-fanworks]

Hi! I found this Drabble and was curious on how you’d write your own story around it because of how amazing you are! So, if it’s not too much trouble, do you think you could write a Maribat story around this prompt please? Thank you!

“It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.  Of course these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.  

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty apartment living room.  It had been another dream of something that was impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality.

It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying them was that in every one it was the same boy.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment.”

Hi! So sorry for taking so long! I’m currently in college and it’s killing me slowly, there’s been a lotta ups and downs, and my mental health is realistically not where it should be. Thank you so much for being patient with me, I really should have gotten this done sooner. Also I didn't know which batboi you wanted so I put them all on a wheel and spun it. I also rewrote some of the scenes in Miraculous like Lila's first appearance to make her a bit craftier and such.

I love this prompt! Thank you for suggesting it to me and for your sweet words! I hope you like this super cute Soulmate AU!

Also heads up this is super long and only loosely adheres to canon! The thing is so long because it took so long for me to get this done, one thing led to another and here we are. This thing is pages long and has 23,741 words. P. S, some of this was written on my phone sorry if the formatting is inconsistent! Also, let me know if I miscalculated ticket prices or made mistakes, and I’ll fix it! How I did the math was I googled a Disneyland Paris ticket price, took the highest value, multiplied that by the number of students going (They had a pass for ages 3-17 that I used for the students), and then did adult ticket prices for the two teachers. I multiplied those by seven days and added the results. My result came up to about 9,667 not including tax, so I chucked on a few extra thousand to account for Lila pocketing some of the money. 

TW: swearing, mentions of bullying, and minor violence, hints of PTSD, mentions of death

~~~~~~~~

Marinette knew the minute she had her first dream about him. She was sitting on a couch in a library working on her designs. A faceless man approached her, holding two mugs, and set one down in front of her, gently kissing her head. Despite her inability to identify this man, she felt safe with him and could feel love and affection swelling in her chest. He set his mug down and sat beside her, chuckling as she snuggled up. In comfortable silence, they worked on their own projects, not a care in the world.

When Marinette woke up that Saturday, she immediately called Alya. "Girl guess what? I just had my first soulmate dream!" She quickly removed the phone from her ear, correctly predicting the excited shriek from Alya. "Oh my gosh, Marinette! This is amazing! Did you see his face? Was it a guy? Was it Adrien?" Marinette jumped out of bed, an extra bit of pep in her step. It was going to be a great day, she knew it! "Yes, it was a guy. I couldn't see his face though... so that rules out Adrien." She hadn't even thought of that. Everyone knew that you wouldn't see your soulmate's face in your dreams until you met them! She would have to face the reality that Adrien was not meant to be hers. Alya heard her tone change, and thought quickly, "That doesn't necessarily mean that! People are reporting that they haven't seen their soulmate's face even though they had already met them in real life because the time wasn't right! Maybe Adrien is your soulmate but now isn't the right time because his supervillain of a father who could make Hawkmoth look like a saint won't let him date. Or girl have you considered that your soulmate could be a superhero? Lois Lane stated that she knew her soulmate before she saw his face in her dreams because he had a secret identity that obscured it! Your soulmate could be Chat Noir," Marinette made a face as she styled her hair, " or one of the vigilantes from Gotham! The way I see it is that you have three options. 1. It is Adrien, it just isn't the right time. 2. You haven't met them yet. 3. It's a superhero." Marinette laughed, "What if they're a supervillain?" "No way girl. You’re too sweet and pure for a villain. Anyways-" An Akuma alarm sounded, cutting their conversation short. "Welp, that's my cue. I gotta go Mari, duty calls!" And with that, Alya hung up to chase down the Akuma, while Marinette shouted out, "Tikki! Spots on!"

There she was, hiking through the woods with her soulmate. She still couldn't see his face, but she immediately knew why they were there. He wanted to show her someplace special, somewhere he'd never taken anyone before. Eventually, they found a stream, and she turned to see her partner rolling up his pant legs and taking off of his boots. "Throw a stick in the water to see how strong the current is. If it's too strong we'll have to turn pack." His voice was slightly garbled so she couldn't identify it, but she could clearly hear what he said. Picking up a stick she tossed it far out into the creek, watching as it lazily floated away. With that, she took off her own hiking boots, and the two made their way into the creek. The water was cold and she almost lost her footing, only to be caught by strong arms and pulled against her soulmate's broad chest. Marinette couldn't help the blush rising to her face as he held her. She could feel his gentle breath by her ear, along with the steady rise and fall of his chest. She could fall asleep listening to his heartbeat. He whispered, "Careful love. I don't want you getting hurt." He helped her stabilize and the two continued to make their way up the creek until-

Marinette woke with a start to the sound of her alarm clock. She cursed the thing, of course, it had to go off when she was getting to the good part. She realized as she rushed to get ready for school that she was able to identify something about her soulmate, they were both adults in this dream. She had been having them for a few months now, but this was the first time she could figure out any detail about when they would meet. It also didn't rule out any of Alya's theories either. She kissed her Maman and Papa and sprinted to school, thanking her lucky stars that she wasn't late. However, she was in for a surprise when she arrived at Mrs. Bustier's classroom. There was a new girl sitting in her seat, while the whole class gathered around her. Alya noticed her and waved her over. "Marinette! This is Lila Rossi! She just transferred here and she's from Italy! Guess what girl? She knows Jagged Stone and Clara Nightingale too! She saved Jagged's cat and he wrote a song for her, and she taught Clara some of her most famous dance moves! She also works with Prince Ali on environmental charities!! She's so amazing!" Marinette paused. Jagged Stone doesn't have a cat, he has Fang the alligator, and Prince Ali focuses on charities for children, not the environment. She could also remember Clara doing all of her own choreography, so her suspicions were already raised. She had serious doubts about the girl in front of her, and despite wanting to voice them she held her tongue. "It's very nice to meet you, Lila! I'm Marinette the class president, welcome to Dupont." Lila looked her up and down and gave her a saccharine smile which only raised Marinette's suspicions even more. "Hello, Marinette! I hope we can be good friends! Alya tells me you like fashion, I happen to be a personal friend of Hubert de Givenchy, so maybe I can introduce you to him!" Marinette's eyes narrowed, Hubert de Givenchy had passed away in 2018, and if Lila really knew him she would have known that. Her classmates looked on with bated breath, clearly believing Lila knew these famous people.

"Oh, you knew him?" Lila nodded, "I was so sad to hear when he passed away in 2018. He really was an inspiration of mine," Marinette said, watching as Lila's eyes widened, but was impressed with how quickly she recovered, "Oh I know! I misspoke earlier, I meant his nephew!" Before Marinette could reply, the bell rang. Alya turned to her and said, "Marinette I hope you don't mind. Lila has really bad tinnitus from when she saved Jagged's cat from getting run over by a plane. She struggles to hear so we gave her your seat." Marinette looked around and noticed no one was in their normal seats. If Lila had her seat, it meant the only place left to sit was alone in the back. "Please don't take this the wrong way, but I really would have appreciated it if you waited for me to get here. I have no problem with Lila sitting there if she needs it I just wish you would have-" Lila cut her off with fake tears, "Oh I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to cause problems I just wanted to be able to hear the lessons! I can move to the back if that makes things better." Shit, she was good. Marinette looked around at her classmates who were now glaring at her. Did they not hear what she said? She had no problem with Lila sitting there if she needed it, she just wished someone would've let her know! "Don't worry Lila, you can stay there it's not your fault. I guess Marinette has decided to have an attitude today," Alix said, glaring at Marinette. "I just said I wished someone would have let me know!" Marinette shouted. "Girl it's just a seat it's no big deal. Why are you acting like a child about this?" Alya crossed her arms looking at her. "It's not even about the seat," Marinette started, "It's about you making a decision that affects me without talking to me about it!" "Well, we figured that since you're our Everyday Ladybug you'd have no problem with it. Come on Mari, you're supposed to be nice." Adrien scolded, and before she could defend herself the second bell rang, signaling the start of class.

She dreamed of walking down the streets of Paris, her soulmate nowhere in sight. However, she felt happy, it was a good day. She was going to her favorite bulk fabric supply store and texting some friends about the project ideas that danced in her head. She wasn't paying attention to where she was going, she knew this path by heart. She was planning on buying fabric to make a new spring line when she ran straight into someone, how embarrassing. Looking up, there was her soulmate, with his clouded face. He chuckled and asked where she was going in such a rush, and she stuttered out an apology. He offered to walk with her, making Marinette smile, they must have done this before many times.

The next few months were rough. Later that first day she had gone to talk to Alya and had presented evidence to prove Lila was a liar, but her best friend had simply shaken her head and told Marinette that jealousy was not a good look on her. Marinette had been stunned, she had nothing to be jealous about until Alya told her that everyone could see Lila had a crush on Adrien. Alya's words still burned in her brain, "I can't believe you Marinette. To try and ruin another girl's reputation because of a crush. You need to take a good look in the mirror." Marinette couldn't fathom why her best friend wouldn't listen to her and decided to go for a patrol as Ladybug. Then while she had been passing by the park, she had overheard Lila telling Adrien that she was the fox hero, Volpina. She had to say something, Lila might not realize how much danger she was putting herself in by making those claims. So she swung down, (and tried her best to keep her cool) and explained to Lila that there was no fox hero and that if Hawkmoth had overheard her she could be in danger. Of course, that caused Lila to get akumatized. To make things worse, a couple of days later Lila had cornered her and threatened her! Despite everything, she still believed her classmates would come around and see the truth.

That was exactly five years ago. Marinette really should have had less faith in the people around her. Lila got her expelled, Alya disavowed their friendship, and Adrien betrayed her worst of all. In his endless quest to avoid any confrontation, he pressured her to keep quiet, and when she didn't he turned his back on her. Marinette had quit trying to expose Lila years ago, but the brunette had kept her promise. Adrien just watched as their class left her out of their plans, destroyed her things, and ripped up her work, among other things. When she confronted him about why he was allowing this to happen, he just shook his head and told her it never would have if she had done what he said. Her heart shattered, and she prayed that her soulmate wasn't Adrien. The only people she had in her corner were her parents, Luka, and Kagami (who had quickly seen through Lila's bullshit after she'd tried to lie her way into Marinette's room), Nino, and Kim (they snapped out of it after Lila accused Marinette of pushing her down the stairs), and she had the newfound support of Nathaniel, Juleka, and Rose. The last three didn't want to rock the boat or have Lila's wrath directed towards them but had expressed seven months ago that they figured out Lila was lying, but after Marinette was nearly knocked into the path of an oncoming car, they began to be more vocal in their opposition. Chloe had also stepped back from tormenting Marinette, the two girls never talked, but were never hostile. Her friends couldn't do much while they were in school, and since they were busy with their own lives, Marinette truly felt alone. Even under the mask as Ladybug she was alone, witch Chat Noir had gotten so frustrated with her constantly refusing his feelings, that he'd almost completely stopped showing up two years ago. Her only solace was that Paris seemed to be on her side with that one, and whenever Chat Noir did emerge he was met with anger from the citizens he'd broken his oath to. On top of all that, Marinette hadn't had a soulmate dream in years, which terrified her to her core. Did her soulmate die?

"Tikki, I haven't dreamt of him in years! What's wrong with me!?" Marinette sobbed, holding onto a pillow on her bed. Most of her days ended like this, with tears. The Kwami were kind enough to protect her from akumas during these times, after realizing that Marinette was only putting herself at risk by bottling up her emotions. Her room had changed since the Lila Era began. She had taken down all of her photos, save a few, her bright pink walls seemed to lose their hue, and she only ever designed for commissions, simply because she knew she needed a portfolio for college. Tom and Sabine had tried their hardest to get their little girl out of Dupont, but her transfer papers kept getting "lost." They tried to get her into therapy, but with Hawkmoth around every therapist had a waitlist that was beginning to enter into years. Tikki was growing more concerned with each passing day, her Chosen was close to breaking. "Oh baby bug, there's nothing wrong with you! Soulmate dreams are different than regular dreams because they're tied to real people in this world. The interesting thing about them is that they show up when you need them." "But I've needed them! I need to know I'm not alone, that I haven't been abandoned, and that the universe doesn't hate me enough to take away everything," Marinette just sobbed harder before she froze, "What if Adrien really is my soulmate and that's why I'm not having dreams? I'm unlucky as it is, so this would be on par for me," Tikki was horrified that Marinette would even think that, and before she could say anything, a new voice cut her off. "No. That brat is not your soulmate, I won't allow it." There was Plagg, in her room, holding a familiar silver ring in his paws. "Pigtails after what he's done to you, as Adrien and Chat Noir," Marinette and the other Kwami gasped, "I won't let him. I won't let him hurt you anymore! Marinette I am so sorry, I should have done this a long time ago, but I let my gluttony and my pity for the kid cloud my judgment. I let him fail you inside and outside of the mask, Kitten I promise you I will never let a black cat holder hurt you again." Plagg nuzzled against her cheek, gratefully accepting Marinette gently kissing his head letting him know all was forgiven. "Besides! His karma is coming for him, but I have to warn you too. He's going to try and pursue you romantically because he doesn't like who his soulmate is." Marinette perked up at that, "Adrien knows who his soulmate is?" Plagg nodded, "Yep. One Lila Rossi. A liar and an enabler, how fitting. He had rejected her because at the time he was still convinced that Ladybug was his soulmate, but now that that's not true, he's turning his attention toward you. He found out from Alya that you had a crush on him, and so even though he knows you aren't his soulmate he's going to try and pursue you anyways." Marinette's brows furrowed, deep in thought. No wonder Lila was so obsessed with Adrien, and it explained why she wanted to get close to him. What Marinette needed was a plan, so she hopped out of her bed and made her way down to the kitchen where her parents were talking. "Maman, Papa. Would it be alright if I took a mental health day tomorrow?" Her parents seemed to light up at the thought, seeing this as an opportunity to give their child a break from her tormentors. "Of course! In fact, why don't you take the whole week off? You're ahead on your work and haven't missed any school this year. We'll call the school tomorrow and take care of everything." Sabine said, right before she and Tom were tackled by their daughter for a hug. With time to plan, Marinette made her way upstairs to begin her work.

It was gentle moments like this that made her life worth it.  Of course, these moments were few and far between, but they were there, and that’s what mattered.  She leaned into the gentle touch, the loving way his fingers ran through her hair.  The rise and fall of his chest.  The warm, beautiful sound of his heartbeat against her ear.  It was wonderful, so wonderful she knew that it wasn’t real.

She opened her eyes, letting the tears slip down her cheeks as she looked around her cold empty room.  It had been another dream of something impossible.  She had been alone for so long, going outside as little as possible so that her curse of misfortune would not spread.  But she longed to make that dream a reality. It was strange though, she had similar dreams before, but from what she could tell after studying it was that it was the same boy she had dreamed of before.  Despite never seeing his face even once, despite never once meeting them, she longed for them.  Longed for the gentle love that they showed her, even if it was only for a moment. Marinette quickly snapped out of her sorrow when she had a realization: She had dreamt of her soulmate again! She couldn't help the smile that crept onto her face. A knocking on her trapdoor snapped her out of her thoughts, and her mother's voice brought her back to reality, "Marinette sweetie? Are you up? I have some news. We couldn't have timed this better, it's your spring break, so we don't need to worry about problems from Damocles or Bustier! Also, your class has left for their trip, so there's no way you'll bump into them! Alright, that's all I've got, go back to sleep." Marinette couldn't sleep, not after hearing that great news! The kwami were already waking up and grabbing their food from the minifridge she kept in her room, while Marinette dashed to her wardrobe. She had made herself an outfit a while ago but was too afraid her classmates would ruin it. It was a short light pink sundress, perfect for today's weather. She was going to spend the day out on the town enjoying her life. She had a considerable chunk of fun money saved up from her commissions and decided that she deserved a self-care day.

She had just left her favorite brunch spot and was making her way to her fabric shop of choice, texting her friends who had gone on the class trip. Marinette was the only one who was purposely excluded from it, and while her friends tried to drop the trip, Mrs. Bustier made them go because if that many people dropped there would be no way the class would hit their fundraising goal. Marinette was pretty sure some of that money was going straight into Lila's pocket, but she wasn't class president and had no way to get her hands on the class's records. Marinette didn't know the average price of sending 13 students plus two teachers to Disneyland Paris, but 12,000 euros seemed like a lot. And the worst part: she was still expected to contribute! Marinette was so wrapped up in the sheer ridiculousness of it all, that she didn't realize where she was going until she ran right into someone! As she began to fall, she felt a strong arm grab her by the waist and suddenly she was standing upright and looking up at the man she had just run into. He was stunning, at least 6'2 with medium-length dark hair he kept neatly styled. His tan skin radiated warmth, and his muscles were clearly defined by the dress shirt he was wearing. As her eyes trailed up from his sharp jawline, she froze when she saw his eyes. They were a rich green, held a deep, almost mysterious gleam, and were as sharp as a panther's. Like the cat, there was something wild about his eyes, hidden just below the surface. The only thought running through her head was a simple, 'He should be Plagg's next holder.' Suddenly the man staring at her let out a deep chuckle that rumbled in his broad chest, "What's the rush little Lily?" His voice was deep, with a sort of sharpness to it, like this kind of conversation was new to him.

"I, I am SO sorry sir! I wasn't paying attention to where I was going and ran into you! I hope I didn't mess up your outfit!" Marinette was in full panic mode, the most attractive man she'd ever seen in her life and she just made a fool of herself. Instead of the rage she expected and was used to, he only smiled, "No harm done. I don't have anywhere I have to be, and besides you only bumped into me, you didn't spill anything on me. Can I ask where you're going? My family has just arrived from the U.S. and I was exploring the city." Marinette blushed, he looked so intimidating, but so far he'd been nothing but kind. Still, she had learned never to drop her guard, but... If he wasn't from here she supposed it wouldn't hurt to be polite. "I'm going to some of my favorite fabric shops in the fashion district... I'm a clothing designer and I was going to pick up some to start working on a spring and summer collection," She decided to take a gamble, "If you have nothing to do I can show you around." He smiled, "I would love that Ms...," "Marinette, and you are?" "Damian." Marinette smiled as the two began to walk toward the fashion district together, "Well it's very nice to meet you, Damian, even if it was in interesting circumstances."

When Damian heard his father talking about going to Paris to investigate the Hawkmoth situation, he quickly volunteered to go along as well. His official pitch was that he was closest in age to the young heroes of Paris, and would have an easier time getting them to talk. He also said it would look good to add a bit of international travel and education abroad to his resume. However, he had a secret reason for wanting to go to Paris: to meet his soulmate. Younger him would have scoffed at the thought, but he was not the same person he was when he first came to his father. Thanks to his brothers and Jon (mostly Jon), he had grown as a person, and now that he was close to graduating high school, he was beginning to think about the rest of his life and how he wanted to spend it. Of course, there were the staples, going to college, starting at least 5 charities for animals, and inheriting the cowl, but a part of him wanted more. A part of him didn't want to be alone. So he started looking back at all the soulmate dreams he'd been having since he was thirteen. Even though he'd dismissed it at that age, he at least had the foresight to write everything down, and using his Batfamily-honed detective skills, he deduced his soulmate was somewhere in Paris. One dream stood out to him, he was standing on a sidewalk in Paris when his soulmate crashed into him. From the way she spoke in the dream, he deduced that this was when they would meet. So there he was, standing on the exact sidewalk in the exact spot. He knew how ridiculous he must've looked as he texted his family, his official story being that he was going to look for clues about the heroes. Right as he was about to reply to a snarky text from Tim, he felt a small mass crash into him with way more force than it should have. He quickly spun around and caught the woman, and as he stabilized her he was able to get a good look at her. The first thing Damian noticed was how small she was, at least compared to him, however, she did have quite a bit of lean muscle. Her skin was pale, with a slight pink undertone to contrast her shoulder-length ebony hair. Her cheeks were lightly dusted pink with small patches of freckles, and her lips were ruby red. She almost resembled a porcelain doll. She was gorgeous, but what really took his breath away was her eyes. Framed in long dark lashes they were a beautiful deep blue. They reminded him of an ocean, deep and rich and sparkling under the sunlight. This had to be his soulmate. He learned her name, Marinette, and she invited him to go with her to the fashion district. Damian was content, while she may not recognize him as her soulmate yet, it was undeniable that she felt the same pull towards him that he felt towards her.

Before she knew it, Marinette had spent her entire spring break with Damian. She couldn't help it, she felt drawn to him, like she needed him to breathe. What surprised her the most, was the dream she had the night after she met him. She was sitting atop a building as Ladybug, watching the sunset, and next to her with the black cat Miraculous, was Damian. They watched the sun sink below the horizon, and suddenly the sky erupted into fireworks of all colors. The show ended with a sentence spelled out in fireworks "Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit." She knew the moment she opened her eyes that Damian was her soulmate, and from the texts, she'd received, he knew it too. The two of them agreed to take it slow, they were still very young and had just met. However, as the mini vacation went on, the pit of dread in her stomach began to grow, and she would have to return to school. She had told Damian what was happening with Lila, Adrien, everything. Needless to say, Marinette was surprised when he told her he would be in her class, and that he wouldn't let them do anything to her (Little did they know Tom and Sabine heard them, and Damian had just won their approval). So when he arrived to pick her up, he made sure they got to Dupont early. Marinette gave him a tour, and as they were walking he stopped to talk to people. "Don't you normally hate talking to people?" "Normally I do my Lily, but in this case, I do not mind. However, I do have an ulterior motive. By talking to these people, I've created an alibi. Look over there," Marinette looked over and saw Sabrina and Alix watching them and whispering, "Those are two of that liar's sycophants right? Well now that they've seen that you spent your time before class giving me, a new student, a tour, if Lila claims that you did something to her, two of her own followers have seen evidence disproving it. So either they mention that there's no way you could've done it because they saw with their own eyes that you have not even interacted with her, or they say nothing and you know what kind of people they are." It was brilliant. Marinette was a little miffed she hadn't thought of it before. The two walked to class, and Marinette whispered, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you. Adrien will give you the most problems. I heard from a friend that he was interested in me, even though he already knows who his soulmate is." "Is it Lila?" "Yes. I know enough about her to know that she's incredibly selfish, she hated it whenever Adrien gave me any attention, because-" "Because he was her ticket to fame and fortune, and if he had picked you she would be locked out." "Exactly. I do not doubt that the second she hears your last name, she won't give a shit about Adrien and will focus her full attention on breaking us apart." Marinette was shocked when Damian told her his last name, she may be oblivious but even she knew who the Waynes were. Plagg joked that it was the Universe trying to make up for how shitty it had been to her. She was not expecting the wicked grin Damian gave her as they arrived at their classroom. "I would like to see her try."

Before the two could reach their seats in the back of the room, Marinette was yanked away from Damian by Kim and Nino, "We don't know who you are but you don't deserve her!" Kim shouted, holding onto Marinette. "Yeah! Mari's the nicest dudette the world has ever seen, if you hurt her we'll kick your ass!" Nino said as he put himself between Damian and Marinette. There was a small moment of awkward silence before the group laughed. Marinette had warned him that her two best friends would try something like this, especially after she told them that he was her soulmate. Taking their seats at the back of the class, the group chatted about their spring break, until Lila walked in with the rest of the class. She readied a fresh accusation to fling at the ravenette but caught herself just in time. WHO was that gorgeous man sitting with Marinette? He put Adrien, a freaking model, to shame. Everyone else seemed to share that sentiment, and Alya was about to start demanding answers when they were spotted. The temperature in the room seemed to drop a few degrees as the man glared at them. Marinette waved to Rose, Juleka, and Nathaniel, who quickly took their seats near the group of outcasts while Damian Batglared the rest of the class. "Can I help you?" He asked in an icy tone, one that demanded immediate answers. Alya balked, "We, we were just curious about you, since you're, um, a new student here." Damian pinched the bridge of his nose, and sighed, "My name is Damian Wayne, yes, from that family. I came to Paris with my father for a business trip, and to find my soulmate, Marinette," Little mutterings of "no way," "That's impossible," and "I didn't think that bitch would have a soulmate," filled the room. "I plan on staying until graduation, and from there I will be going to college with Marinette. Let me make one thing clear: I will not hesitate to retaliate against anyone who tries to hurt my soulmate in any shape or form." Nathaniel could be heard whispering, "Oooh, I like him," To the rest of their little group, who nodded in agreement. After waiting for a second for anyone to challenge him, Damian turned back to Marinette, and almost like a switch flipped, began showing her pictures of his cat.

Lila couldn't believe what she'd just heard. Damian Wayne was in her class, the richest, most eligible bachelor in the world was in her class... and his soulmate was fucking Dupain-Cheng! She swore this had to be some sick joke. There was no way that THE Damian Wayne (whom she had instantly recognized because she had seen him once at a charity ball her mother had taken her to and committed his face to memory) had someone as pathetic as Marinette as his soulmate. The universe truly was cruel. She'd thought she was lucky when she found out Adrien was her soulmate and was devastated when he told her over the break he was going to pursue Marinette. But now? Now Lila knew she must be the luckiest girl in history! Glancing over at Adrien confirmed her belief, the dumbass pushover glared at his rival, and she knew he wasn't going to back down. This was perfect. All she would have to do is separate Marinette and Damian, use the mountain of evidence against Marinette that she made over the years to convince her future husband that his soulmate was no good, and then bam! In a few short years, her name would be Delilah Wayne! Adrien's persistence would only help her case, especially with Marinette's former crush on the blond it would be so easy to frame her for cheating. She would have to be careful though, just from the look in his eyes she could tell he would be much sharper than the rest of her classmates had been: he would be her greatest challenge yet. For now, she would bide her time, and perfect her plan.

Lila made her first move at lunch. She and Alya were sitting at a table, observing Marinette and her friends talking with Damian. "He's so kind to them, why is he such an asshole to us?" Alya muttered. Ah, an opening. "Well, I don't think it's really his fault. I mean he did say that he had come to Paris to find his soulmate, and well, Marinette IS a pathological liar," Lila said as she picked at her food. Alya nodded, "I just can't understand why they still hang out with her! They know what she does to you, they know she's a bitch!" "I think it's a mix of sunk cost fallacy and denial Alya. Nino and Kim have known her since they were little, so I think the reality of Marinette being a bully just can't compute for them. As for Juleka, Rose, and Nathaniel, I think they feel indebted to her or something," Alya nodded, agreeing with her logic. "Girl you're so in tune with people it's crazy!" 'Yes I am,' Lila thought, 'You have to be able to read people to trick them.' "Alya... Can I tell you something? Something bad happened between Adrien and me over the trip." The reporter's head snapped around to her, "What did that bastard do?" Lila began to channel the sorrow she felt when Adrien confronted her over the break, "He... He told me he didn't want me!" She wailed, just loud enough for Damian to overhear, "He called me a liar and all of these awful names, and he told me he was in love with Marinette and that he knew she felt the same for him! He told me if I told anyone about this he'd ruin me!" She cried. It was amazing that Adrien had just handed her this opportunity, completely unaware that he'd done so. As Alya promised revenge against Adrien and the whore who stole him from Lila, the girl in question carefully glanced over to see Damian looking right at her. Perfect. When Lila had decided on this plan, she decided the initial bonding point would be that they had both been betrayed by their soulmates. If Damian was emotionally vulnerable he would be that much easier to manipulate, it would also be the perfect story to pitch to the media as well, they were both betrayed by their soulmates and fell in love!

Lila was quiet for the rest of the day, waiting eagerly for their classes to end. She had a feeling that Adrien would make a move and wanted to be there to see what she'd have to work with. She made an excuse to leave class early and quickly hid behind the stairs. She had to wait a bit for them to leave and spent the time doing research about Damian on her phone. So he loved animals, was passionate about the arts, and was a master swordsman and martial artist. He also spoke seven languages including Italian!! Lila sighed, he was perfect. Finally, the bell rang, and students began making their way out of the building. Lila knew Marinette usually spent some time helping the art teacher before she left, so she was certain Adrien would wait for the girl. Risking discovery, she poked her head out and saw her plan falling into place. Adrien was standing at the top of the stairs, clearly waiting for Marinette. He was muttering to himself, about how it wasn’t fair, about how he couldn’t understand how Marinette could trust a stranger she’d just met. Lila had to keep herself from letting out an amused snort. Isn’t that rich considering their class’s track record? 

She had to wait for about fifteen minutes before she heard laughter coming towards the entrance of the school, it was Marinette, laughing at something Damian had told her, “Oh my gosh, are all your brothers on crack?” she gasped for air, “Sometimes it feels like it,” Damian chuckled. The two were about to walk down the stairs when Adrien stepped in front of them. “Hi, Mari. Can I talk to you, please? Alone.” Wow. Lila didn’t know Sunshine Boy could have such venom, she figured he must’ve been directing that at Damian. Lila could only imagine the glares between the two boys, not daring to poke her head out now and get caught, however, when she thought she heard footsteps back into the school she took out her phone and pressed record. “Why? So you can pressure me into silence again? If you need to tell me something, say it now because Damian and I have plans.” Lila had known about Adrien’s high road advice, and that Marinette had been so in love that she listened. She doubted the ravenette would fall for that now. Lila waited with bated breath to see what Adrien would do, and could not believe what she heard. “I think you should stay away from him. You only just met him, he’s probably lying about who he is Mari. You saw how he treated our friends-” “He has been nothing but kind to MY friends. That’s so rich coming from you Adrien. Lila comes along and lies about everything and it’s totally fine, I meet my soulmate and now suddenly you care about honesty?” “It’s a different situation and you know it Marinette. Lila’s not hurting anyone and if you expose her she could be akumatized.” “What about me Adrien? What if I’m akumatized because of the lies that have ruined my reputation, my belongings are destroyed, when I’m being excluded from practically everything? Do I not matter to you?” “What- no Marinette you matter to me! Besides it’s not that bad and you’re our Everyday Ladybug so-” “SO WHAT? So I’m supposed to accept being mistreated and abused? What are you even here for Adrien?” Lila could tell that Marinette was losing her patience and for a moment, she genuinely wondered if this would be what got her rival akumatized. Adrien took a deep breath, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend.” Perfect! Adrien had given her just what she needed. Lila kept recording because even if Marinette didn’t respond how she wanted, she might say something Lila could doctor later. And it would seem that Marinette was finally shaking off her shock, “Are you crazy? Adrien, I haven’t loved you since we were thirteen, since you made it clear that not rocking the boat was more important to you than me. Besides, I’ve met my soulmate, and yeah we haven’t known each other long, I want to focus on getting to know him.” Adrien did not back down, “Come on Marinette! I know we haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I know we’re meant for each other. The reason I know he’s not good for you is that you’re MY soulmate!” Wow. Lila wasn’t expecting such a bold lie from the blond, he must have been banking on the fact that Marinette had no way of knowing that Adrien was HER soulmate. Now that she had what she needed, she carefully snuck through the bushes and as soon as she turned a corner, she booked it for home. She wasn’t going to risk slowing down to look behind her, she figured since the two were still arguing that she’d successfully completed her mission. Soon it would be all over the media, ‘Model Adrien Agreste Ditches Soulmate for Useless Nobody: How Lila Rossi Saved the Day and Won Damian Wayne’s Heart.’ Lila knew she had a lot of work to do, and couldn’t wait to get started.  

After a long day, Damian returned to the upscale apartment his father was renting during their time in Paris. Marinette hadn’t been joking, her class was a nightmare! Damian had been skeptical at first, no way people could be that ignorant, but after what he saw today, he realized it ran deeper. They looked at Lila the same way people looked at him: They wanted something. Marinette had told him that Lila lied and faked evidence conveniently showing she knew famous people in their fields of interest, so it was likely they followed her because they wanted her to boost their careers. The Ladyblogger, someone who should have known to fact-check followed Lila like a sycophant, either knew she was lying or was really bad at her job. Then there was the other big problem in the class, Adrien Agreste. He seemed to believe he was entitled to Marinette’s love, despite his soulmate making it clear she wanted nothing to do with the blond. He had texted Nino about the Adrien-Marinette situation, and the DJ had filled him in. Marinette used to have a crush on and did some very crazy things to get his attention (Nino had also admitted the class had pushed her into some of the crazier situations), but Adrien either ignored her or was oblivious. At the time this was going on, he had a massive crush on Ladybug and still had a crush on her until recently. Googling the Parisian hero, he found a few things that made his blood run cold. First,  Ladybug had stated that she would never date a civilian (smart) in an interview. Second, the videos he’d seen from when Chat Noir was acting showed the hero displaying the same entitled behavior Adrien did, along with a couple of the same speech patterns and body language. Finally, Ladybug and Marinette looked very similar. There were some differences, but he couldn’t deny that the two could be sisters. A theory was forming in his head, Adrien had been Chat Noir, and after being rejected constantly by Ladybug, decided to set his sights on someone who looked similar to Ladybug. It was clear he still believed Marinette was a sweet, naive girl who would never say no to him, so he potentially thought he could pressure her into accepting his feelings.

  Damian was so lost in thought that he didn’t notice that his father and Tim had returned home, however, they certainly noticed. Bruce decided that this was one of those moments where Damian might need some fatherly advice, and Tim decided he wanted to hear whatever was giving Demon-Spawn trouble. It must be interesting. “How was your day Damian? I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen you lost in thought,” yes he could. It was right after Damian had been brought back from the dead. He watched his son’s head snap up, “I… I’m fine. My day was fine.” “No, you’re not fine. Something’s been on your mind since B mentioned going to Paris, so you can either tell us what’s up or I’ll hack your phone.” Dammit, Tim not now. Damian sighed, surprising both that he wasn’t putting up more of a fight. “The reason I wanted to come to Paris was that I had figured out my soulmate was here.” 

Tim dropped the coffee mug he was filling, and Bruce stared at his son in shock. “Oh my gosh! Did you meet them yet? What are they like? When will we meet them? How did you meet them-” “Tim.” “Sorry B,” “Start from the beginning Damian.” “I met her last week. She was going to buy fabric and bumped into me. We spent every day of her spring break hanging out and getting to know each other, and I was lucky enough to be in her class at the school you enrolled me in. I also found out she had been having trouble with some of her classmates,” “Is she drama-prone?” “Tim let him talk,” “Not necessarily. She’s being bullied and has been for the past few years. Her classmates are the typical users we encounter at Galas and believed her bully because she promised them she had connections. My main concern isn’t the bully, I can deal with her, but a boy in her class has begun to show some alarming behavior... From what I’ve figured out, he was the hero Chat Noir, and I think he’s become obsessed with Mari- my soulmate because of how similar she looks to Ladybug. From my information, I know that he has never shown any interest in her before and that when they were younger she used to have a crush on him. I also know that for whatever reason he’s no longer active as Chat Noir.” “So your theory is that because he no longer has access to his obsession that he’s shifted targets to someone he thinks he still has power over in order to pressure her into fulfilling his fantasy?” “Yes. However, I don’t think he’s realized that. I think a part of him genuinely believes he has feelings for her. I did some research on him, and he grew up with a very controlling and sheltering father, so he’s still incredibly naive, that or he’s so deep in denial he’s become delusional. He still seems to believe that staying silent about my soulmate’s tormentor purposely lying to ruin her reputation and all the physical torment she’s receiving is the right thing to do.” Bruce raised an eyebrow and Tim clutched at his pearls. “So how do you plan on handling this?” Bruce was worried, they needed to find out why Chat Noir was no longer active, if Damian’s theory was true and the former Hero of Paris got akumatized he could still be a massive threat. However, Damian was his father’s son, “I looked into some of the old posts on the Ladyblog before it… strayed. From some clips, I think my soulmate might actually have a connection to Ladybug.” Tim raised his eyebrow, “Damian it’s not that I don’t want you to be happy, but she sounds a little too good to be true. An amazing talented woman who just happens to know celebrities and heroes? Isn’t that the same thing that girl with the weird hair on the Ladyblog claims?” “Well, my soulmate can actually back up her claims.  Her class has had the most akumatizations minus the pigeon man, so it wouldn’t surprise me if Ladybug noticed, and my soulmate is connected to one of the most popular boulangeries in Paris that Ladybug has been seen stopping by. I was going to go out on patrol, and if I couldn’t meet Ladybug that way I’d find a way to see if my soulmate could get her attention.” Bruce nodded. The spotted heroine had been incredibly elusive, and he was beginning to suspect magic was involved. He gave Damian his blessing, and as his youngest son left to get ready for patrol he and Tim turned their attention to a new mystery: Figuring out who his son’s soulmate was.

Paris was beautiful at night. Damian stood atop the Eiffel Tower, looking out over the city. He could almost run the path between his classmates’ homes by muscle memory alone. While he may not like them for their treatment of Marinette, he knew his soulmate still cared about them to some degree, and if anything happened to them it would kill her. He was debating swinging by Marinette’s home but decided against it. While he felt like he could trust her with his life, their relationship was still too young to bring the baggage of a hero into it. He almost didn’t pick up on the gentle thud behind him, and when he turned to snap at Tim for bothering him, he froze. “Mari? My Lily?” He couldn’t believe his eyes. Standing in front of him was Ladybug… who looked exactly like Marinette. Her costume had changed since her initial debut, but there was no doubt who the woman in front of him was. This whole time his soulmate was also the hero they were trying to contact. “Damian? You’re Robin?!” “And you’re Ladybug.” That seemed to snap Mari out of her stupor, “I can explain! Please don’t be mad!” He would address that last bit later, but for now, he just leaned against the railing and watched as she began pacing back and forth. He’d wait all night if that’s what Mari needed to get her thoughts together. “I became Ladybug when I was thirteen. I was chosen by the Guardian of the Miraculous, and he snuck the Ladybug Miraculous into my bag.” “Forgive me but what’s Miraculous?” “Oh right,” He watched as Marinette took off the red and black earrings, “Miraculous are magical objects that are often worn as jewelry. Each Miraculous is connected to a Kwamii, and each Kwamii is the embodiment of a fundamental force of the universe,” A bright red flash came from the Miraculous, and next to Marinette was a floating Ladybug-like creature. The little Kawaii-thing flew up to him, and he carefully held up a hand to allow it to land. “Hello! Damian Wayne, Robin, Son of Bruce Wayne, Grandson of the Demon, and Heir to the Cowl. I am Tikki, the Kwamii of Creation! I am bound to the Ladybug Miraculous that my Chosen uses, and am the source of her powers! If you’ll excuse me I’m going to refuse with Marinette, it’s awfully chilly up here.” With that Tikki zipped back to Marinette, as soon as the two touched a bright red flash appeared and Ladybug stood before him again. “The previous Guardian, well long before he left and left the title and other Miraculous to me, lost two Miraculi, the peacock and the butterfly.” “Which are being used by Hawkmoth and Mayaura.” “Exactly.” Damian nodded, their theory was correct, magic was involved with the Paris situation. 

“Lily, didn’t you used to have a partner?” He watched his soulmate huddle into herself and immediately got off the railing to comfort her. “I did. Chat Noir wielded the Black Cat Miraculous of Destruction. He was my other half, my balance. Over time he got it into our head that because our Miraculi were complimentary, that meant we were soulmates. He began flirting with me constantly, calling me these embarrassing nicknames even when I asked him to stop, and would needlessly throw himself into danger to try and impress me. Eventually, he got tired of me turning him down, and he started missing battles and patrols. When he did show up he’d just get in the way, saying he’d help me again if I admitted we were soulmates. It got so bad his own Kwamii took the Miraculous back from him and brought it to me. I used to have temporary heroes I could count on, but they’re out of the question because their identities were exposed or they’ve chosen Lila’s side.” Damian hugged her tightly, he wasn’t one for physical affection but she was the exception. “So you’ve been alone this whole time? Oh my, Lily I’m so sorry,” he sighed, “Does Adrien know you’re Ladybug?” Marionette’s eyes widened, amazed he knew who Chat was. “Not that I’m aware of. He thinks we look really similar, but he’s seen Ladybug and I in a room together so I doubt he thinks we’re the same.” Damian nodded, “Mari I promise you I’ll help you through this, I just need you to trust me. My brother Red Robin and my father Batman are here-“ “BATMAN IS HERE?!?!” “- yes love. We’re here to help you take down Hawkmoth. I’ll help you take down Lila and figure out how to deal with Adrien, and then as soon as we graduate I’ll steal you away to Gotham.” He looked into her eyes and watched as a hopeful spark began to reignite. 

It was time for phase two of Lila’s plan. She was going to paint herself as Damian’s ideal woman, not by exactly mirroring his interests, he’d catch on to that. A good idea would be to lean into his love of animals. She had researched some well-known animal charities, and even though she really hated getting dirty, she had gone to a volunteer event the other day. Sure, the puppies were super cute, but Lila would rather spend her time working on her manicure. But now she has photos, timestamped photos. She took extra care to make sure her hair and make-up were absolutely perfect, checking on her secret weapon one last time before she left. She was going to save it until she absolutely had to, it would be either her killing blow or her final saving play. As she walked to school, she mentally mapped out her plan for today. She would brag to her class about her volunteer work, and show them the photos on her phone, then she would spread a rumor about seeing Marinette talking and being affectionate towards some random guy. ‘Lila Rossi!’ she thought, ‘You can do better than that! He would see through that in a heartbeat, they spend all of their time together.’ She decided to settle on making Marinette look bad. She’d have to be sneaky, Damian was clearly aware of her tricks and would be on guard, but Lila still thought she had a window of opportunity to convince him Marinette was the evil one. She went into a coffee shop and ordered an iced coffee, Lila wasn’t going to drink it, it was simply a prop she’d spill on herself as a direct result of Dupain-Cheng. She hated to sacrifice her favorite outfit but consoled herself with the knowledge that this would be rags compared to the luxury she’d wear as the girlfriend of a Wayne. Now she just had to decide how she’d spill the coffee, would she make it look like Marinette shoved her? No… too complicated. How about tripping? That won’t work, the little brat’s gotten too smart and now specifically looks for it. She would make it look like Marinette ran into her, and while it wouldn’t do as much damage as she’d like it to, it would be good to show Damian that his soulmate was WAY too clumsy to represent the Wayne Family. She was excitedly daydreaming about all the galas and events she’d go to, hell maybe she would start an acting career! Lila was so caught up in her fantasies that she almost ran into Alya! “Hey, girl! Don’t you look lovely today!” Lila smiled, “Hey Alya! I think you’ve got me beat today! Have you seen Damian? I’m worried Marinette might have said some things about me… and I wanted to talk to him and show him I’m not the person she says I am.” Alya scowled at Marinette’s name, “Ugh I bet she did! But she’s not here today. Her parents called and said she’d gotten sick over the weekend. Damian called in sick as well, and come to think of it, Adrien isn’t here either! Today should be an easy day for you!” Lila had to force a smile, this screwed up her plan damn it! Oh well, maybe if she got the chance, she could poke around Marinette and Damian’s lockers to see if there was anything she could find, it would also be a good chance to strengthen her hold on the class. If Lila is anything, it’s flexible, and she would never let an opportunity slip by.

Damian was looking around Marinette’s room, marveling at just how much his soulmate had accomplished. It looked less like a bedroom and more like a design studio, with mannequins adorned with projects ranging from just starting to fully complete, the walls papered with designs, and the occasional photo of friends or loved ones. Just underneath the papers, he could see the faint hint of a light pink painted wall. Bolts of fabric were arranged against another wall, organized by color and material, as well as a massive piece of wall art made to conveniently store different yarns. There was a closet filled with cases of embroidery floss and other art supplies. Under Marinette’s loft bed was a table with two sewing machines, a modern one able to do large-scale embroidery and Esme. Esme was Marinette’s pride and joy, a vintage singer sewing machine that was practically indestructible. Esme has been through everything, leather, denim, silk, you name it she’s sewn it. When she wasn’t in use, she was kept on her own table, in a place of honor within the room. Beside Esme was a vase of white lilies he’d given her, and a massive book. This was Marinette’s logbook, in which she kept meticulous records of everything: Who commissioned her, how much they paid, what they wanted, how much of each material she had, where it was, and other expenses. It seemed like wherever Damian looked, he saw something new. She made clothing, shoes, hats, jewelry, accessories, and the evidence of that was in her controlled chaos. Even though it was smaller than the Manor, he loved it, he loved everything about Marinette’s home and her family. They were warm and inviting, and it was reflected in their home, and in the daughter Tom and Sabine had raised. Marinette’s room was like her, bright and full of unique colors and energy. She was currently moving Esme to her spot of honor, and opening a special compartment in her desk. From the compartment, she pulled out a vintage sewing box that looked almost ancient (I’m sorry but they made the Miraculous box an EGG when they could have done something that could blend in). 

As soon as Marinette opened the box, sixteen bright lights shot out of it, flying around the room. “Alright everyone listen up!” Mari clapped her hands together to get the light’s attention. They eventually came to a stop in front of her, and Damian looked at them in shock. There were… SO many Kwamii, and apparently there was supposed to be more his soulmate had to recover from around the world. “This is Damian, my soulmate. He’s-” Marinette was cut off by the excited shriek of some of the Kwamii, “He’s going to help us take down Hawkmoth and Mayaura and rescue Duusu and Nooroo. He and his family are superheroes from Gotham and-” “He’s going to be the next Cat,” Plagg interrupted, the seriousness of his tone taking everyone by surprise. The cat Kwamii flew over to Damian, holding a small ring. “The Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous are connected. One cannot be active for long without the other.” Damian’s eyes met Plagg’s, “And how do you know I am compatible with the Miraculous? I am Marinette’s soulmate but that doesn’t mean I am a match for you.” Plagg cackled, flying around Damian, who stood with his arms crossed, “You’ll do just fine! Much more serious than my last holder for sure! You are more compatible than Adrien was for the simple reason that you are deeply connected with Destruction itself. You come from a tragedy on both sides, a father driven to fight an endless war to avenge his parents’ murder, a mother who needed a pawn and heir to an empire of assassins. Not to mention, the Lazarus Pit.” Damian froze at the mention of the pits, and for a moment, he could almost feel the blazing fire of twisted life rushing through his veins. “Damian? Are you alright? Plagg? What did you do?” Marinette gently rested a hand on Damian’s cheek, she could tell he was reliving something… Plagg simply flew back towards the box. “I’m doing things differently this time Pigtails. I had some time to think… I need to be more responsible for you and for future cats and bugs. Nothing should be hidden between partners, and I know you love him, I know he loves you, but there are people in his life who will not approve. I think he should be the one to tell you when he’s ready. It’s a conversation that needs to be had for both of you. There can be no more secrets.” And with that, the Kwamii flew back over to Damian and gently placed the ring in his hand. The weight of it seemed to snap him out of his flashback, and he looked down at the ring in his hand. He remembered what he’d seen from the videos, he knew the basics of the Black Cat’s powers, and combined with his training, he would be formidable. “I’ll do it. What do I have to say to transform?” Plagg smirked, “Alright kid, all you’ve gotta say is, Plagg claws out!”

Alya was out with her class, chilling in the park after school. They had stopped and gotten smoothies and were working on their own projects in comfortable silence. Alya was busy chasing two leads: What were the Waynes doing in Paris, and where was Chat Noir? Sure, he didn’t do much in most Akuma fights, but he was still one of the heroes of Paris! Come to think of it, no new heroes had been called up since Hawkmoth discovered their identities. She had to take a little bit of pride in that, they were so good that Ladybug couldn’t find any good replacements. She thought about asking Lila for the inside scoop, but with how stressed her bestie had been lately due to Adrien and Marinette’s actions she decided against it. That was another mystery: Marinette. When had the switch flipped? What caused the switch to flip? Was she always like this and Lila was just the first to uncover it? She was also curious about Damian, why would nobody Marinette have such an impressive soulmate? She figured his bad attitude was Marinette’s fault, although, from the articles on her laptop, he’d never been the most approachable or friendly. ‘An asshole for an asshole,’ she thought. Although she’d noticed Lila had been eying Damian since he arrived, maybe she was giving him the benefit of the doubt? Alya shook her head and went back to her research. Something had happened to Chat Noir and Ladybug has been silent about it. She had her theories, and normally she’d run them by Nino, but since the two had broken up all those years ago… Alya sighed. Marinette split the class in two and nothing has been the same since. The Girl Squad was disbanded, she and Nino broke up, and class events rarely hit their goals because if the bully wasn’t invited, her supporters wouldn’t go either. Alya groaned and shifted positions, she NEEDED to finish her research about Chat Noir's disappearance. It’s been forever since she uploaded  Ladybug and Chat Noir content to the Ladyblog, even Alya would admit her blog had started to shift towards Lila content only. Just as she was beginning to give up, a message popped up on her screen.

Hello Ladyblogger. I have some information you might be interested in.

Alya stared at her screen. Was this a scam? She tried to click off the message, but it stayed. She should close her computer, and ask Max to take a look at it, but… what if this person was an inside source!? Carefully she typed out a reply.

Who is this? Why should I trust you? 

Her elusive new friend was quick to respond.

That’s funny. You were so quick to trust before. What changed?

She didn’t know if she should be freaked out or offended, but her curiosity would get the best of her.

I got betrayed by someone I thought I could trust. Now what do you want?

Oh, you got betrayed alright, or to be more exact, you’re currently being betrayed, you’re just too deep in denial to realize it.

‘What?! What could they possibly mean by that?’ Alya thought as her eyes narrowed and she looked around at her friends.

Look if this is you Marinette I don’t want any of your bullshit.

My name isn’t Marinette. It’s Red, and I happen to know about Chat Noir’s whereabouts or his lack thereof. But, if you want the file, you’re going to have to do me a favor.

Oh shit. There were many things Alya was willing to do for a lead, but she had a couple of lines that she refused to cross.

Oh Yeah? And what kind of favor is this? 

I need you to look into your class’s multiple akumatizations.

The feeling of wielding a Miraculous was exhilarating. Domain’s whole body was practically vibrating with an energy he’d never known. It felt like everything was amplified, he wanted to, no he needed to run, and could feel his senses sharpening and his emotions, or at least how he felt them, intensify. ‘This must be what Starfire feels like,’ He thought as he admired his new suit. It was all black with acid-green accents and made from the same material as his Robin suit. Instead of a belt tail and ears, he wore a long cloak with a hood, and two tiny bits poked up to form the ears. The cloak was lined in gold and the ears were tipped in gold as well. A solid black domino mask hid his identity, and his eyes were a bright shade of acid green to match the accents on his suit. The suit itself was made of a similar material as his Robin suit and was solid black, but if you looked at it in the right light, leopard spots were visible. He’d said to hell with the bell, and holding his cloak on and the sash-belt that doubled as a tail were held in place by a deep green cat’s eye gemstone His boots and gloves were solid black, and fitted with braces for extra support when landing. At the tips of his gloves were retractable claws that glistened in the light, and they were slightly curved so he could use them to grab onto buildings and climb. He still had the baton, but a sword was really more his style, but even still he marveled at the magical weapon. “Before you make your debut, you should come up with a name so you aren’t put on the spot like I was,” Mari said as she looked him up and down in the new suit. Damian thought for a moment, “Panthère de Nuit. Night Panther.” his soulmate let out a pleased hum, “Letting Hawkmoth know he faces a more dangerous apex predator?” “Indeed my Lily,” Marinette smiled, and with a quick, “Spots on,” the two were ready to begin Damian’s first patrol as Paris’s new hero.

The two heroes raced along the rooftops, with Panthère de Nuit easily keeping up, a credit to Damian’s training and time as Robin. The two finally came to a stop on a rooftop near the Eiffel Tower, they could see their class in the park below. “Okay, the second Alya sees us, she’s going to try and flag us down for an interview. Do you want to speak with her?” Damian thought for a moment and shook his head. “No. Since Lila has taken over her blog, I don’t think she is a reliable source of information. I do not trust your local news here as well, they seem to lean into rumors. Is there anyone reliable we can talk to?” Ladybug looked around and spotted a familiar parasol. Aurore. The two had gotten to know each other better since Marinette distanced herself from her classmates, and she found out that the blonde ran her own Ladybug-themed blog called On the Spot. While Aurore didn’t get the close-up Akuma footage that Alya had, she was far more accurate in her reports. She recorded information such as the time of akumatization, rough location, and the direction the akumas had been seen traveling from. She had meant to begin working with Aurore and decided this would be the perfect opportunity to start. “See that girl over there? The blonde one? She runs her own blog, On the Spot, and while it’s less popular than the Ladyblog, it is more accurate. We can talk to her, but we need to make it look natural, so our class doesn’t think we ignored them. 

As luck would have it, an Akuma decided to make an appearance. Frozer was back and seemed to be determined to turn Paris into a winter wonderland. “He has ice powers similar to Mr. Freeze, and the Akuma is in his ice skates,” Marinette said as the two rushed into battle. “The easiest way to get the skates would be to immobilize him. If we could somehow trip him, you could cataclysm the skates and release the Akuma.” Damian nodded, “Not my first time dealing with ice-themed villains. I can distract him, while you try to use your yoyo to catch him off guard. Do you want Batman and Red Robin to help with this?” “No. If Hawkmoth finds out they’re in Paris, he’ll for sure try to target them. Please be careful,” Damian gave her a reassuring smile. “Darling I promise I’m not the type to pick fights I can’t win.” With that, he leaped into action. Frozer had sent a blast of ice towards his classmates, which Panthère de Nuit skillfully blocked with his blade. The world around them seemed to, well, freeze as everyone took a moment to process what just happened. “And who are you?” Frozer asked as Hawkmoth’s signature mask appeared over his face. “Panthère de Nuit, the new black cat.” Frozer laughed, “Oh? So Ladybug’s finally replaced that mangy feline? Well no matter, you’ll be just as easy to defeat!” With that, several more blasts of ice were thrown at Damian, who easily dodged, blocked, and reflected. Frozer seemed to pale, if that was even possible, and began to back up for a hasty retreat. Damian couldn’t help himself, “What’s wrong? Not used to fighting a competent Cat Miraculous holder? Too bad.” His eyes met Ladybug’s and he nodded, the sound of her yoyo zipping through the air, and the thud from Frozer hitting the ground confirmed their plan had worked. Damian simply waltzed up to Frozer, and one Cataclysm later, a dark butterfly made a break for it, only to be caught and purified by Ladybug. “That was amazing! I didn’t even have to use my Lucky Charm! Well, I still have to reverse the damage but, you know!” Ladybug exclaimed as she did just that. Damian looked at his ring to check how much time he had before he transformed back and noticed the little pawprint was still full. Weird, he’ll have to ask about that later. A crowd of people had begun to gather, including their classmates and Aurore, Ladybug noticed her and smiled, which encouraged the blonde to ask her questions. “Hello, Ladybug! Great job with the Akuma, that has to be a record!” “Thank you! Aurore is it? Of On the Spot?” The blonde nodded excitedly, “Although, I can’t take all the credit. My new partner was amazing!” Damian sensed this was his cue, and stepped up to answer Aurore’s next question, “Who are you, and what happened to Chat Noir?” With one last glance at Ladybug, Damian spoke, “My name is Panthère de Nuit, and I am Ladybug’s new partner. Chat Noir, as well as some of the temporary heroes, have been permanently retired. The Black Cat Miraculous was taken from him by his Kwamii, who felt he was no longer worthy to wield it,” This was met with cheers from the surrounding civilians. “I promise to do a better job and be a reliable and competent hero that Ladybug and all of Paris can count on. All I can say to Hawkmoth and Mayaura is that your days are numbered.” And with that, the two heroes left to roaring applause. 

Adrien was watching his TV in horror. Plagg, not Ladybug, not the Guardian, PLAGG had taken his Miraculous. His own kwamii had betrayed him, did Plagg even have the power or right to take the ring from him? And now, he was seriously in a bind. If Plagg took the ring, it was safe to say that Ladybug had no idea who he was, and most likely had no idea who her new partner was so he couldn’t ask her to get it back for him. Not to mention the last time they spoke, they weren’t exactly on good terms. Yeah in retrospect skipping patrol and all those akuma battles wasn’t his best idea, especially because that soured his relationship with the people of Paris. If his dad had taught him anything, it was that public opinion mattered a lot, and now he couldn’t exactly count on the public’s support for Chat Noir. As much as he didn’t want to admit it, his best chance of EVER getting a Miraculous again was to pretend to support this new cat, and hope that gets him Ladybug’s attention. Adrien let out a groan and flopped on his bed, his whole life was a mess. Plagg had taken his ring and hadn’t even given him a chance to fix his mistakes (He’d been given many chances), Lila was his soulmate and causing trouble in the class, and then Marinette shows up one day with Damian Wayne claiming to be her soulmate! He’d looked it up, and it really was Damian Wayne, and not some imposter using his name, but it was still so frustrating! He couldn’t figure out just why Marinette was so smitten with the man when he seemed like such a terrible fit for her! Marinette was kind, compassionate, and warm while Damian was cold, selfish, and quite mean. Adrien had been nursing a small crush on Marinette for a while and had known about her crush on him before Alya told him. He still loved Ladybug but realized after a while that she really might not feel the same way, and he couldn’t help it when a brilliant girl like Marinette was in his class. It didn’t hurt that she and Ladybug could be sisters, but he just figured he had a type. What he couldn’t figure out was why she was so focused on Damian when she’d been in love with him for years! “Calm down Adrien,” he muttered to himself, “Mari’s always been a hopeless romantic, so it’s probably just the fact he’s claiming he’s her soulmate.” He also needed to do something about Lila. Sure, he still believed the high road was the best way to go, but he had never expected things to escalate to the point Lila and their class were physically harming Marinette. Walking over to his closet and pulling out a whiteboard and some markers, he began to work on Operation Win Back Marinette.

Across Paris, another student was working on a plan: Alya. She had been working on her newest lead, and chatting with her new friend, Red. True to his word, Red had given Alya information about Chat Noir and Panthère de Nuit. What she knew so far was that Chat Noir’s behavior had gone on longer than anyone in Paris had realized, and that this was not Panthère de Nuit’s first time as a hero. In return, she had compiled a list of all her class’s akumatizations, and why they were akumatized. She slowly began to notice four outliers in their class: Marinette, Damian, Adrien, and Lila. Damian she could explain away easily, he had just gotten to Paris and hadn’t had the chance to be akumatized yet, but that was where easy ended. Marinette had a few failed akumatizations, in which she was always able to break out of Hawkmoth’s control. Alya chalked it up to Gina teaching her some meditation methods she used, but what was harder to explain was why Marinette was almost akumatized. The first time made sense, she had just been expelled, but the others were a complete mystery. Adrien hasn’t been akumatized (I’m not counting Cat Blanc or Ephemeral), but it almost seemed like the akumas never targeted him. She had seen him express negative emotions before. Then there was Lila Rossi, who had been akumatized into Volpina a scarily high number of times. Drawing from her own experience as Rena Rouge, Alya knew that the Fox Miraculous was all about illusions, and an Akuma based off of a Miraculous will share its powers, but in a weaker state. Come to think of it, there were times Lila was akumatized into Volpina that didn’t fit. She would be crying because Marinette had bullied her, and still turn into Volpina. Alya knew that you would only turn into an akuma twice if you felt the same emotions both times, such as Mr. Pigeon, so something wasn’t adding up. Opening her laptop, she typed out:

Red? Are you on? I have a few Questions.

She waited nervously, tapping her fingers on the desk as she checked her phone.

Yeah. What’s up Ladyblogger?

Alya could’ve kissed her computer, she felt like she was closer than she’d ever been to uncovering something big.

I was going back through the list of my class’ akumatizations and noticed a couple of outliers. Do you have any information on Marinette Dupain-Cheng, Adrien Agreste, and Lila Rossi?

I never thought you’d ask. Here’s what I have.

Red sent over a bunch of files, with a ton on Adrien and Lila, and very few on Marinette.

Why does Marinette only have like, three things?

She isn’t a public figure like the other two, well at least under that name. Ever heard of MDC? That’s her. You aren’t a true celebrity if you don’t have an MDC original. 

Marinette was MDC?! This was news to Alya, but she guessed it would make sense. Marinette had stopped making them things a few years ago, saying she was too busy. If she was covertly running a fashion empire that would explain it. However, one last thing still haunted Alya, especially as she began to click through the files on Adrien and Lila. She paused for a moment, Red had sent her camera footage from the day Marinette was expelled, but why was it labeled as Lila’s file? As she pressed play and began watching, she began noting some inconsistencies. Before returning to the video, she typed out one last message. 

Red? I’m starting to think I’ve been lied to. 

For the next week or so, all anyone would talk about was Panthère de Nuit, and the hype was justified. He’d been spotted a few more times since Frozer, at Akuma fights and on patrol, and was just as skilled as his first fight. Videos were made speculating about his powers if he had any new ones, and where he could have possibly gotten the skills he used in his fight. The most popular theory came from Aurore, who hypothesized that Panthère de Nuit was not new to being a hero. The public was still a little apprehensive, since they remembered what they’d been through under Chat Noir, but were rapidly warming up to the man. Of course, a certain someone claimed to have more info than she did. Marinette sat in her spot with Damian by her side and rolled her eyes as Lila went on and on, “I’m so happy I was finally able to convince Ladybug to replace Chat Noir! I’ve been telling her for years that he isn’t a good partner, but she’s so sweet and sentimental, so she was hesitant to get rid of the partner she’s had since the beginning. Maybe now that he’s not around to get jealous, I can convince her to give you all your Miraculous again! Well, some people might not be worthy of wielding one, but that’s their own fault.” The class snickered and shot looks at Marinette and her friends, who simply ignored them. Lila had no way of knowing that some of the class would never wield any Miraculous again, their identities had been exposed and it was too much of a risk. Lila went on and on, even when Ms. Bustier came in and tried to start class. However, someone caught Marinette’s attention: Alya. Her former best friend was sitting with her laptop open to the Ladyblog analytics page, and she was watching Lila with narrowed eyes. She would occasionally stop and type something out. Her concentration seemed to stop when Adrien walked into the room, and Marinette quickly looked away to avoid eye contact with either. Damian shot a glare at the blond who was trying to get Mari’s attention, and the ravenette paid him no mind. Nino (Who still had connections in the Adrien fan club) had informed her that the model talks about her at his shoots, and when people ask if they’re dating he never denies it. “He’s trying to create a public narrative,” Damian had explained, “If the media picks up the story and the public catches on, it could spread like wildfire. Remember how everyone thought Ladybug and Chat Noir were in love and destined for each other? That resulted in people pressuring Ladybug to admit feelings she didn’t have.” The group nodded, clearly understanding that Damian was worried the same thing would happen to Marinette.

Adrien made his next move at lunch. Marinette and Damian, along with their friend group were going to spend their lunch at a nearby cafe. The group didn’t want to deal with Lila, and wanted to be able to discuss their topic privately: Reopening an investigation into who Hawkmoth is. Marinette had a theory board about it that she had made with Alya when they were younger, but the two stopped when they had their falling out. As they were leaving, Adrien approached them. “Hey, Mari! So where are we going for lunch?” I know a great place-” “We? Dude, you haven’t been caught dead anywhere near us since middle school,” Nino practically growled and crossed his arms. The ending of their friendship had been… explosive. Nino had gone to Adrien after he figured out Lila was lying, hoping to gather support to expose Lila and save his childhood friend’s reputation, and was horrified to find out that Adrien knew and pressured Mari to keep quiet. The following argument resulted in Nino being akumatized into Maskless, who was determined to “remove the masks” and expose people for who they truly are. It was a difficult fight for Ladybug, and after it was over, Nino disavowed the two boys’ friendship for good, the last thing he’d spoken to Adrien before now was, “I just can’t be friends with someone who would sacrifice a friend to avoid having to deal with a little discomfort. Talk to me when you grow a spine and maybe I’ll forgive you.” And the future director had kept his promise. This was the first time he’d spoken to Adrien in years. The callout seemed to catch the blond off guard, and he stumbled out, “Well uh, my father wanted me to talk to Marinette about an internship, so I was going to do that today at lunch. So Mari where do you want to go eat?” And with that Adrien made a move to grab Mari’s wrist, but was blocked by an angry Kim and pissed Damian. “Didn’t your dad teach you it’s rude to grab someone without consent?” Kim snarked. Nathaniel, Rose, and Juleka nodded, with Juleka working up the courage to add, “You’re forgetting that you aren’t the only model in the class anymore. I’m in the same gossip circles you are now, and I know you’re trying to make people think that Adrienette is a thing.” “That’s not true I-,” “Enough,” Marinette cut in, Adrien gave her a hopeful smile, while the others snickered. “Adrien, I already have plans with my friends and it would be rude of me to cancel at the last minute. Plus I seem to remember two very important things you’re conveniently forgetting: First, the conversation in which I very clearly told you I wasn’t interested, and second, the letter I received in the middle of class a year ago from your father telling me I’ve been blacklisted from the company. And from the looks on both your and Lila’s faces I can conclude you both had something to do with that. If Gabriel wants me to work for him, he needs to start by addressing the elephant in the room and the damage he’s done to my career before I could even graduate. Come on guys, we need to actually get something to eat before lunch is over,” and with that, Marinette and her group sidestepped a disappointed Adrien and made their way toward a cafe.

After they’d gotten their food, they got to work on their theory of who Hawkmoth was. “Here’s the list of people I considered before I knew for sure he had a partner,” Marinette set a stack of papers down, “And here’s the list of suspects after I had to start over once Mayura came onto the scene.” That list was twice as long and seemed to radiate an aura of frustration. The others each took papers and began crossing out people that they knew couldn’t be Hawkmoth. “Soooo… I think we can rule out some people based on the fact they don’t have time to be Hawkmoth or Mayura. Like we know they aren’t any of our parents because they’re too busy with work,” Rose chirped as she crossed off names with her sparkly pink Pom Pom pen. “So I hate to be that person but are we sure Mayura is Hawky’s only partner?” Nathaniel asked, playing with a pencil. Damian nodded, “Surely he has to have someone else. He can’t guarantee that someone in Paris is going to feel upset enough to attract an akuma even though Paris is a big city. It would make more sense if he had someone working to actively cause akumas,” the group seemed to be stuck for a moment after the obviously innocent people have been ruled out. The problem with Akumatizations is how little solid evidence is left behind. Hawkmoth can emotionally hijack someone and leave behind no DNA or fingerprints, or really anything. 

Damian had (and none of them except Marinette knew this) checked the databases the Justice League and Batfamily kept on the various super criminals of the world only to have it turn up empty, so the group was stuck… until a new voice cut in, “You’re assuming he’s smarter than he really is. I should know, I’ve helped him before.” Chloe and Sabrina stood in front of their table, with the heiress making a point to sit herself down at the head of the table and continued, “Be honest with yourselves, I’m not the only person with an attitude problem in Paris who didn’t care how many akumas I caused. There are many more who don’t care, and those people are the backbone of Hawkmoth’s operation whether they realize it or not. Unless you and Ladybug have a plan to make everyone in Paris act as sweet as pie, you need to stop acting like Hawkmoth is a genius. He thrives off dumb luck and takes advantage of problems others cause.” Marinette froze at the mention of her alter ego, “Why do you think I know Ladybug?” Chloe snorted and gave Marinette a look, “Dupain-Cheng you got that wannabe reporter an interview with her! Despite your family’s lack of financial wealth, you have connections coming out of your pigtails. If anyone in this hellhole keeps regular contact with Ladybug it would be you. Anyways, Hawkmoth isn’t the brains of the operation, that could be Mayura if she would stop going along with all his ridiculous schemes and grow a backbone. In the few times I’ve willingly helped him, it was clear that his plan was only cobbled together at best and completely on the fly at worst.” “Why did you help him in the first place?” Rose blurted out, and realizing her mistake she quickly covered her mouth. 

Chloe simply sighed, “I guess I do owe you all an explanation since I was responsible for most of your akumatizations. When I agreed to help him, I was at my lowest. He prays on weakness in any form it comes in. I was always taught that I was born lucky, and everyone else was just lucky to be born- yes Kim I know what show I’m referencing- and for the longest time I believed it. I believed I had the right to act the way I did, and my parents encouraged it, but as I started getting older, it became clear that I didn’t inherit my mother’s talent so she started distancing herself from me. My father tried to fill the void by just giving in to everything I wanted. I know he loves me, but he wanted to be my friend instead of my parent, and that whole dynamic messed me up even more. Then I met Marinette fucking Dupain-Cheng, a girl who my parents taught me to consider less than dirt beneath my feet… but she somehow had everything I wanted,” Chloe clutched the smoothie in her hand, and couldn’t meet Marinette’s eyes, “Your parents love you so much, and are so involved. They made it to every event our class had, while mine couldn’t be bothered, they encouraged you when you failed and promised to help you, while my mother would scream at me and tell me I was a waste of her time. They helped you learn how to deal with your problems instead of paying them to go away. I was and still am, so jealous of you Marinette. I’d give anything in a heartbeat to trade places with you, but instead, I did the only thing I knew how to do: I lashed out. I made your life hell for years, long before Lila came around, in fact, I’m surprised that you didn’t dump our class sooner. In all the years I bullied you, not a single one of them helped you, they avoided you, and the second you stood up to me they tried to act like all those years just disappeared,” Damian, who was mainly focusing on how Marinette was reacting, quickly noticed the shame on the faces of their friends. While he wanted to rage at them for what they’d done to his soulmate, he stopped himself, he knew he couldn’t now that he was Panthère de Nuit if Hawkmoth found an opening… He focused back in on Chloe’s story to try and calm down, “Anyways, when Ladybug came onto the scene, I immediately latched onto this idea that if she was my friend, all my problems would be fixed. I would have an amazing friend who would get my parent’s attention and make all my problems go away, but I screwed it up royally. When I found the Bee Miraculous, I thought it was a chance to redeem myself. I should have just returned it to Ladybug instead of causing that train accident, I thought if I showed her that I could be a hero then maybe she’d accept me. She kept giving me chance after chance, and I kept fucking up because I would let my ego get the better of me. When I lost the Bee Miraculous, when I realized Ladybug wanted nothing to do with me, and when I realized it was all my fault, I broke. I was convinced that I was destined to destroy anything good in my life, and that was when Hawkmoth approached me about becoming Miracle Queen. I was so emotional that I forgot who I was talking to, and gave him everything he needed to convince me to join him. After that… I was bitter, bitter at the world, Ladybug, Zoe, you name it I was upset at it because something had occurred to me during that time. I realized that I was never born lucky, that’s you Marinette, I was actually the one lucky to be born- shut up Kim let me have this- even though you were going through hell, you still had people in your corner who support you unconditionally. I know Ladybug hates me, I know you do too, but if she really wants to defeat Hawkmoth all she needs to do is get him at his lowest, and Mayura will follow him down.” With her speech over, Chloe and Sabrina simply got up and left, leaving a stunned table in their wake. “Get him at his lowest…” Marinette murmured to herself, and she kept muttering it all the way back to school. 

As the school day neared the end, Marinette had gone to the restroom, promising to meet Damian by her locker. As the Wayne heir waited, he heard a gentle, ‘ahem,’ and turned, expecting to see his soulmate. Instead, he felt his blood pressure spike as he was face to face with the ravenous wolf that looked at him as if he were a gullible lamb, a.k.a, Lila. She looked a mess with puffy red eyes and mascara streaks down her face reaching her chin, it was clear to anyone she had been crying. Damian narrowed his eyes, this might not be one of her fake crying episodes, but it clearly was still a carefully laid trap. They were alone, with no witnesses to watch what was about to go down. Lila hesitantly held her phone out to Damian, and tears began rolling down her cheeks again, “I… I thought you should know,” she sniffed, pressing the play button. Damian listened with a raised eyebrow to the conversation Lila had supposedly recorded, “Marinette you are an amazing woman, what I wanted to tell you was that I accept your feelings and will be your boyfriend,” Adrien’s voice could be heard loud, and clear through the recording, Damian opened his mouth but Lila cut him off, “There’s more hang on,” Soon after, his Lily’s voice could be heard, “Adrien, I have loved you since we were thirteen-” With that Lila stopped the recording and began to cry, “I know Marinette’s probably told you all these nasty things about me… but it felt wrong to say nothing and let her keep manipulating you like this when I know what I heard.” With that, Lila went back to sobbing and wailing about how her bully ‘stole’ her soulmate and was a filthy cheater. If anyone else was around, they would have caught the Bat Glare Lila herself was too wrapped up in her act to see. Damian wasn’t surprised Lila stooped this low, in fact, he wasn’t surprised she didn’t stoop lower and try to fake a pregnancy or something, but it dawned on him that this was the perfect opportunity to end Marinette’s torment and he decided to take it. “Oh, you were there for that conversation too?” Lila froze, and looked up at him with fresh tears still rolling down her cheeks, “E-excuse me?” A deep laugh that rumbled like thunder cut through the tension. “Do you seriously think I would have let Adrien speak to my Lily alone when I knew he would try to pull something? And do you seriously think I wouldn’t consider the possibility someone could have been listening in,” With that, Damian pulled out his own phone, shooting Lila a vicious smirk. “Let me fill you in on what you conveniently missed,” As he pressed play, the smirk only grew as he watched the color drain from Lila’s face and his voice played from the speaker, “Agreste there is no way you are her soulmate. I saw Marinette in my dreams, and she saw me in hers. Besides, I know your soulmate is Rossi. She was determined to make a scene today at lunch, and it tipped me off that you would try something like this. I suggest you listen well Agreste because this is the only time I will be kind enough to give you some advice. Leave Marinette alone. All you have done is hurt her and allow others to hurt her. You have stood by and watched as a petty ectoparasite burrowed into Marinette’s class and allowed her to spread her manipulative disease. Even if by chance you have somehow seen the light and exposed the truth tomorrow, which we both know you will not do because you are too much of a coward and care more about what other people think of you, it’s too late. You have blown all your chances, and Marinette is far too good for you, someone who will throw her to the wolves to avoid a minor inconvenience. So stay away Adrien, if you know what is best for you.” With that, Damian placed his phone in his pocket and looked back at Lila. 

“You know, I really ought to thank you, Rossi, you tipped me off to Agreste’s plan and allowed me to collect evidence to foil your own. I have that entire conversation recorded from the moment he approached my Lily, and I have already been recording this one too,” Lila’s eyes widened and she looked like she was about to faint, so Damian moved in for the kill, “Do you really think you’re the first one to try and pull a stunt like this? I am from one of the wealthiest and most influential families in the world, did you really think you would be the first to lie about my soulmate? How convenient, you happen to have a recording of Marinette supposedly accepting a confession from Adrien, and that you finally worked up the ‘courage’ to tell me the first moment I am alone and Marinette is not here to defend herself. I will give you some credit though, your editing skills could fool someone who is not looking for signs of manipulation, and could have definitely fooled our gullible classmates, which brings me to my next point,” Damian channeled his rage into a calm, icy glare, “You will cease tormenting my soulmate immediately. I am not afraid to expose your lies and underhanded tactics to our class, but let me give you some more incentive. Before, Marinette did not have the… legal resources to handle you properly, but I have my family’s lawyers on speed dial Rossi. Marinette is not my wife yet, but the same protections that cover the Wayne family extend to her. So if you know what is good for you, you will shut your mouth and never speak ill of my soulmate again, or my lawyers will see what other secrets you have been hiding.” Taking that as her queue to leave, Lila booked it toward the exit like the devil was on her heels. Operation: Lila Wayne was clearly dead in the water, and Damian would be sure it stayed that way. Once she was gone he took a deep breath and got his emotions in check, just in time to see the love of his life jogging towards him. “Sorry! I realized while I was in the bathroom that I left some stuff in the art room!” He smiled as the familiar feeling of warmth returned to him. It was wonderful, being in love.

Alya just got finished pacing around her room for what felt like the hundredth time. She stared at her computer, open to the video she had yet to publish, and the one that would be the final nail in the coffin for her career. She knew deep down she had to do this, it was the only way to atone for all she’d done. A chat popped up on the screen from Red:

Are you okay Ladyblogger? I know this is a tough decision, and I’m here for you. 

Alya smiled, over their many late-night conversations, Red had become a good friend and close confidant. She’d never meet up with him in person, that was online safety 101, but he’d helped her come to some difficult conclusions.

Yeah. Just trying to settle my nerves a bit. I know I have to do this, it’s the right thing to do, and lately, I’ve struggled with that.

You’ve got this. I think it will go over better than you think it will. 

With that, Alya closed her eyes, counted to ten, and pressed the upload button. A video titled after one of the worst things she’d ever said was now on the front page of the Ladyblog, a video she could never take back.

Marinette and Damian were in her room, munching on a variety of cookies and discussing their plan to end Hawkmoth’s reign of terror once and for all. Their brainstorming was interrupted when a notification popped up on Marinette’s phone, and a new video had been posted to the Ladyblog. The two shared a look and a shrug, sure, why not? It wouldn’t hurt to see what Lila was saying now, instead, they were met with a thumbnail of Alya sitting at her desk, and a video called ‘A Good Reporter Always Fact Checks’ was staring back at them. Damian pressed play, and the two sat back to see what this was about. 

“Hey everyone, it’s the Ladyblogger. This video is VERY different from what I normally post, and it needs to be because I have a lot I need to say. Many years ago, when I was just starting out I posted a video about a girl named Lila Rossi who claimed that she was Ladybug’s best friend. That video has been removed, but at the time I thought nothing of it. A girl who was my friend confronted me about it, and rightly, called me on the fact I had no evidence to prove anything Lila had said. Instead of fixing my mistake, I told her that a good reporter always fact-checks, but that wasn’t what I did. I am here today to apologize to her and to all of you for failing you. I neglected to do the right thing and gave a liar a platform to spread dangerous misinformation, but I also took that liar’s side and turned against the best friend I’ve ever had. 

I met Lila Rossi when I was thirteen, and I along with most of my classmates naively believed every word that came out of her mouth like it was gospel. She told us that because her mother was a diplomat, she had gotten to meet and work with all these famous people and that she could talk with them and help our careers. We were so excited, there was someone who could help us reach our dreams and she was doing it out of the kindness of her heart. Hindsight really is 20/20, and looking back there was no way any celebrity in their right mind would be that deeply involved working with a teenage girl to the extent Lila claimed. I can’t speak for my classmates but I know a part of me kept believing her because the fear of pissing her off and then it all turning out to be true kept me loyal to her. I was a coward and afraid that if I questioned her I would lose out, and that later turned into fearing what I’d done in her name if it turns out she was lying. This resulted in me interviewing her and publicizing her lies and misinformation, giving her a platform to fuel her own ego. To put it simply: I didn’t fact-check, and now everyone is paying the price. I’m sorry. I’m so, so, so, sorry. Taking her videos down doesn’t fix the damage she caused, and just saying I’m sorry won’t either. It sounds cringy but I promise to do better, but I don’t expect you all to stick with me now that I’ve proven not to be a reliable source. For accurate, truthful information, check out Aurore’s blog On the Spot. She’s a great reporter and has done a much better job than I did. I would also like to apologize to Ladybug, and not just for giving Lila Rossi a platform. I want to apologize for all those shitty things I did to try to figure out her identity and push LadyNoir even after she clearly expressed multiple times that she was uncomfortable. Most importantly, I want to apologize to my former friend and ex-boyfriend,” Marinette’s eyebrow raised a bit, “They caught on to Lila’s bullshit years before I did and tried to snap me out of it because they cared about me. But instead, I dug my heels in and participated in icing them out from the class, and stood by while they were harassed. I broke up with my boyfriend over this whole mess because I was appalled he’d take Lila’s “Bully’s” side when the truth was that they were the ones being bullied. All I can say to them is that I’m sorry and that they don’t have to forgive me. My teacher taught us that we always need to forgive and be the bigger person, but forgiveness isn’t something owed, it's earned. I’ve acknowledged my wrongdoings but I haven’t yet begun to work to make things right. So to that girl who was my best friend and one of the best people I’ve met: I should have trusted you. This isn’t your fault, it’s mine, and I am so sorry for what I’ve done.” Marinette sat and stared, stunned at Alya’s admission and watching in awe as the blogger exposed Lila’s lies to the world. Out of all the people to do it, she never thought it would be Alya, Lila’s self-proclaimed BFF. However, it also meant the last variable in her plan was taken care of, so walking over to the Miraculous box, she took what she needed and gave a variety of Miraculous to Damian. Standing on her toes she kissed his cheek and whispered, “Text Red Robin and Batman, tell them to meet us at the Eiffel Tower at Midnight. And if you would be so kind, please take these Miraculous to their most recent holders. I know I said I retired the old heroes, but we’ll need most of them again. I have one errand to run, and I’ll meet you there.” Damian nodded, and kissed Mari’s forehead, “Be careful my Lily.” and She hesitantly broke away from his embrace, transformed, and snuck out through her balcony. 

Alya was scrolling through the comments on her apology/Lila Rossi exposè video, it was a habit she never could break. Yes, there were quite a few harshly criticizing her, and a couple were straight-up name-calling, but the majority of people were happy she’d seen the light and were encouraging her not to give up on her dream. Her phone was blowing up with texts and calls from her classmates (and quite a few angry voicemails from Lila), but she couldn’t bring herself to care. A part of her felt at peace, even though she mourned the loss of her dream. A knock on her door snapped her out of her spiral, it was probably her mom coming to give her a pep talk and reassure her she did the right thing. But as she opened the door to her room, a familiar set of pigtails nearly made her jump out of her skin. “Hi… I came to talk,” Marinette said, and Alya moved back to let her in. This felt so right, but wrong. It called back to the many sleepovers they had, laughing about boys and reading superhero comics, but this time it was like two opposing soldiers laying down their arms in a tentative truce. Marinette decided to break the awkward silence, “So I saw the video. I have to admit, I certainly wasn’t expecting you to expose Lila like that.” Alya gave a half-hearted chuckle. “Neither did she. She’s been blowing up my phone with voicemails calling me every name she can think of and promising to ruin me. Well, she’s too late 'cause I already did that.” Marinette looked over at the comments, skimming through them. “Not necessarily. You apologized, admitted you were wrong, and have already begun working to undo some of her damage,” “But that doesn’t excuse what I did to you, to Nino, and your friends.” “No, it doesn’t, but you’ve owned up to it which is admirable. What snapped you out of it?” Alya smiled softly, “I made a friend who got me to stop and think… and also got me access to the school’s cameras. I don’t know how much of the video you watched but I played the video from the day you got expelled and it showed Lila framing you so Damocles and Bustier are in some hot water right now.” Marinette laughed, genuinely, it felt so strange for Alya to hear, “About time! I can’t help but wonder how many other people they messed up, besides us.” “Oh, a lot. I plan on exposing more, but that’s a problem to take out another day.” Marinette perked up a bit, “Speaking of taking out problems, I need your help with a big one.” Alya nodded eagerly, ready to make up for her years of inaction. “I asked Aurore to post this too, but I need you to post this article,” Marinette handed her a piece of paper to read, as she read, her brow furrowed a bit, “You’re not planning on taking on Hawkmoth, are you? Oh my god, you are. I don’t know what secret weapons stash the Waynes have but-” “Tikki spots on,” Standing there, in her room, was Ladybug, where her former best friend once stood. Before Alya could find her words Maribug, no, Ladynette, no, Ladybug cut her off, “I have a plan but I’m going to need Hawkmoth to panic thinking the Miraculi are slipping out of his grasp. We need this to bait him out.” Alya was stunned, and began to stammer, “Of course! I-” “You said you wanted to work to make things right, so if you’re willing,” Marinette held out an oh-so-familiar fox necklace, “I’ll need Rena Rouge’s help too.”

Chloe was sitting in her room with Sabrina, pretending to be invested in whatever show they were watching. In her mind she kept replaying that day she spotted Marinette and her group in her favorite cafe. The conversation she had… she had never expected to spill her heart out like that. Her mother always told her that she could never be vulnerable, she could never let others see any weakness, and yet there she sat pouring out her heart. Eventually, Sabrina had to leave, they did have school tomorrow, and the heiress was left alone. Alone was something familiar to Chloe, especially since her Icarus Moment, as she called it, was something she dreaded. She knew her parents would leave her out to dry in a heartbeat, she knew Zoe had her own life and that the two sisters would never be close, and she knew all her daddy’s employees would quit the moment they found something better. All she had left was Sabrina, so she clung on for dear life. She’d stopped treating her friend like a servant a long time ago, and even when she was at her worst, Sabrina stuck by her. Initially, it was out of fear, Sabrina knew that if she was going to swim with sharks it was better to be a remora. She had many chances to leave but stuck around time and time again and Chloe realized that maybe Sabrina really did care for her. Then there was the hot mess that was Adrien. He’d tried to give Chloe the “Her lies aren’t hurting anybody” speech a while ago, but the heiress wasn’t having it. This girl had humiliated her and needed to pay. She and Sabrina decided to gather information, and that was how they overheard Adrien making Marinette agree not to do anything and later Lila threatening Marinette. 

Chloe had always felt a little bad for the baker’s daughter, she was madly in love with Adrien but had no idea what he was really like, he could be incredibly manipulative if it meant avoiding an uncomfortable situation. She knew that Marinette wouldn’t trust her to outright accept help from the heiress, so she decided to back off entirely, a cease-fire of sorts. It helped that this coincided with her revelation that she was jealous of Marinette and her family. When Damian Wayne joined the class and declared himself Dupain-Cheng’s soulmate, Chloe thought, ‘About damn time.’ She’d seen how the former class president was treated and knew she most likely had another major stressor (Chloe theorized she was Ladybug’s woman in the chair, working behind the scenes), so she was a bit relieved to see the universe finally being kind to the ravenette. Unfortunately, it also marked the turn for Adrien to go off the deep end. He had confessed to Chloe before that he knew about Marinette’s crush, but that he was pretty sure his soulmate was Ladybug, and he’d also said that she’d be his second pick if that didn’t work out, and she certainly got an earful when he found out his soulmate was Lila. After she and Sabrina returned to school after their run-in with the Mari Squad, Adrien stopped her and asked her to help him win back Marinette. “Agreste,” She remembered snapping, not bothering with any nicknames, “You’ve lost your mind. Dupain-Cheng finally, FINALLY has something positive working out for her and you, one of the main sources of all her anguish think you can just waltz back in? You don’t really love her Adrien, you said it yourself she’d always be your second choice, and when your first choice fell through and your soulmate turned out to be Lila you sought out your consolation prize. Let me give you some advice: Life isn’t a fairytale, you can’t expect Marinette to wait for you forever or to completely throw away her life for you.” She doubted Adrien would get the message, but at least she tried. If she was naïve, Chloe would wonder if this marked the start of the end of their rivalry and the beginning of a new friendship, but the logical part of her knew that the damage she did was too great. She was snapped out of her thoughts by a sound coming from her balcony. She groaned and got up, thinking a pigeon had crashed into the door and was now stunned on the floor. But when she opened the door, she was shocked, there was Ladybug and Rena Rouge on her balcony. Ladybug smiled gently, and in almost a whisper asked, “Is Queen Bee available?”

The three women arrived at the Eiffel Tower just before midnight. Their arrival was acknowledged by a majority of the Miraculous team and Red Robin. Batman stood back, silently observing. Marinette could feel the nerves rising in her stomach. There was Batman, in person, and he was here to help her. Alya seemed to be going through a similar mental process, trying desperately to act professional and not fangirl, until Red Robin greeted her, “Well, well, well. Gotta say I wasn’t expecting to see you here Ladyblogger!” Alya’s jaw dropped, “Red??” Tim threw his head back and laughed, “Yep! I needed some information for our investigation, and figured I’d help you off the sinking ship in the process.” Before Alya could reply, Batman spoke, “Speaking of information, we were able to figure out That Hawkmoth and Mayura are Gabriel Agreste and his assistant Nathalie Sancoeur by hacking into various cameras to track the akumas, and from there we monitored his activity through his security system,” “For the record I’ve seen better security from Rogues like Crazy Quilt,” Red Robin interjected, Batman sighed and continued, “We have solid evidence that will hold up in court, so our main objective will be to catch him,” the Dark Knight turned to Ladybug, “So I’m assuming you called us here because you have the plan to do that.” Ladybug nodded and stepped forward to begin to tell the team her plan, “So as most of you know Hawkmoth and Mayura get their powers from the Kwamii within their Miraculous, that’s the same thing that gives us our powers,” She clarified for the Gotham heroes, “All we have to do is remove the Miraculous from them, and their transformation will be dropped and they’ll be powerless. However, the tricky part is actually getting them to come to the fight themselves. The nature of their Miraculous allows them to create minions to fight for them, hence the Akumas and Sentimonsters, so it’s very likely that they’ll try and distract us so they can escape. We have a mostly full Miraculous team, minus the mouse, rabbit, ox, and horse, but those can easily be given to other holders to fill that void,” The group felt a mix of emotions at the realization that some of their classmates had still yet to try and make amends for what they did, but knew that it was for the better until they could fully trust the former team members again. “So in order to get them out, we need to get them to their lowest, a point in which they’ll be so desperate that they’ll feel like they have no choice but to face us themselves, and we’ll do that by making them think that everything is slipping out of their grasp.”

Adrien had just gotten home from school, and turned on the TV in his room, flopping down on his bed. His day was AWFUL because the night before Alya had made a video on the Ladyblog exposing Lila completely out of the blue. Needless to say, the class was furious, and then their fury was directed at him when they found out he’d known the whole time and the things he did to keep Marinette from exposing Lila. He’d tried to argue that yeah he’d made a mistake, but no major damage had been done and that the small stuff could be fixed, so they should all just move on and be friends again. That had only added fuel to the fire, and all of this was before Marinette and Damian walked in. Adrien could practically feel his blood pressure rising at the thought of his rival’s name. He’d changed Marinette, encouraged her to stand up for herself, and in Adrien’s opinion was shaping her into a toxic person, but it seemed like he was the only one who could see it! More and more people gravitated to Mari like moths to a flame, and she was enjoying quite the popularity spike while he and Lila were seemingly deemed the school’s outcasts. If he still had his ring he would go to her as Chat Noir and demand that she stop the bullshit and fix everything, but he couldn’t even do that. Lila had contacted him, screaming that he’d ruined her plan to split up Dupain-Cheng and Wayne, and if he’d just followed her lead, he’d have what he wanted and she’d have what she wanted. For once he wished he listened to Lila, especially when she told him that Damian had a recording of his confrontation with Marinette and her rejection. His lawyers explained that there was nothing he could do,  the Wayne family was a legal juggernaut so even if they did have a valid case, they would simply be able to drag it out until the Agrestes had no choice but to drop it, the same thing Gabriel had done to countless people before. They drilled into his head that any move he made against Damian Wayne would bring the wrath of his lawyers and that for once, Adrien was in a position of weakness. 

He was brainstorming ideas on how to convince Marinette to leave her soulmate when the TV switched over to breaking news. “Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit will be meeting with members of the Justice League and Justice League Dark today in order to transfer over the Miraculous to the hero teams. According to statements from Ladybug posted to the Ladyblog and On the Spot, ‘Hawkmoth’s attacks have become far more brazen, and in order to assure the safety of Paris, I felt it was necessary to entrust the Miraculi, including the Ladybug and Black Cat Miraculous, to people who can properly protect them,’” The screen cut to Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit handing over what was supposedly the Miracle Box to the superheroes Batman, Red Robin, Zatanna, and Doctor Fate, The box was almost in Zatanna’s hands when a loud boom caught the attention of the heroes, and as the camera turned to show what they saw, Adrien gasped. There were Hawkmoth and Mayura on the back of a massive multi-headed dragon Sentimonster, with an army of akumas and amoks floating around them, ready to turn at least half of Paris into their own army. A burst of fire was shot from one of the heads of the dragon, with Ladybug, Panthère de Nuit, Batman, and Red Robin easily dodging. Zatanna and Doctor Fate, along with the Miracle Box disappeared in the familiar smoke of an illusion from the Fox Miraculous breaking, in fact, the whole area seemed to disappear, and when the smoke settled, it showed the heroes and villains trapped in a large Shell-ter. It struck Adrien that this was never a poorly executed plan that Hawkmoth discovered, this was an ambush. Realistically, he knew he shouldn’t get involved, he didn’t have a Miraculous and would be putting himself in great danger. However, he was convinced that if he showed Ladybug that he could still be a hero, she would have to give him a MIraculous, and he could prove to Marinette that he was the best match for her. So he left for the battlefield.

Everything so far was going according to plan. Hawkmoth and Mayura had taken the bait and were now trapped in the Shell-ter with the Heroes. Rena Rouge was working overtime, creating illusion after illusion to confuse the devious duo. Carapace’s Shell-ter was holding strong, preventing anyone from entering and potentially getting akumatized. Vipereon was given the rabbit miraculous as well and was currently hopping between dimensions and using Second Chance to reset the fight and figure out the next moves they should make. King Monkey (with help from the Mouse Miraculous), Pigella, and Caprikid were using their respective powers to work with Batman and Red Robin to try and throw off Hawkmoth and Mayura’s concentration. Meanwhile, Ryuko, Panthère de Nuit, Purple Tigeress (also using the Ox Miraculous), and Rooster Bold were handling the massive dragon Sentimonster. Ladybug herself was along the outskirts of the battle, with Miss Hound and the “new” Bee hero Swarm. Ladybug was using her yo-yo to get her allies out of the way of various attacks, and waiting for the signal from Vipereon to use Lucky Charm. Swarm was waiting for an opportunity to use Venom to stun either Hawkmoth or Mayura, while Miss Hound was using the Horse Miraculous to teleport around to take shots at hitting the villains’ Miraculous. All of the heroes were connected with earpieces so they could communicate and monitor how each other was doing, and so far everything was going smoothly. 

For the first time in forever, Ladybug was beginning to feel hopeful that this nightmare would be over soon, when Miss Hound caught everyone’s attention, “Ummm… Why is Adrien trying to get in? Does he know that Hawkmoth is his dad?” Red Robin dodged an attack from an enraged Mayura, and quickly answered, “Not that we’re aware of. Although we did find out that he was Chat Noir, so maybe he thinks he can help,” Ladybug sighed and declared she would handle it, swinging off to the border. Sure enough, there was Adrien, banging on the Shell-ter, and he perked up as soon as he saw her. The only thing standing between the former partners was a magical green wall. “What are you doing here Adrien? It’s not safe!” Ladybug crossed her arms and glared, she did NOT have time for this! “I’m here to help My Lady! So tell Carapace to drop Shell-ter and let me in,” The blond boy shot her his best Chat Noir smile, while Ladybug simply raised an eyebrow, “I can’t do that Adrien. Lifting the shelter would allow thousands of akumas to escape and terrorize Paris. It would be too much of a risk and put too many people in danger. Besides you don’t have a way to fight, so you wouldn’t be any help.” She hoped that would put an end to it, but she was wrong, “But I can help! If you give me a Miraculous I can help you defeat Hawkmoth. Please Ladybug we’re partners, we’re soulmates! I should be there fighting with you!” Adrien was persistent she’d give him that, but there was no way she’d let him in, potentially ruining everything when they worked so hard. “No Adrien, I will not be giving you a Miraculous! Every single one of them is in use right now and to take one away from someone would put them in danger. Besides, you already blew your chance when you were Chat Noir! You proved that you were never in it to protect people, and you were barely a decent partner! There were several times Hawkmoth almost won because you were goofing off or just didn’t even show up. Finally, you aren’t my soulmate, you never were. Just go home, go home, and sit this one out,” That seemed to cause him to only get more upset, “This is because of the new cat isn’t it?! He’s convinced you I’m some awful person so you’d give him the Cat Miraculous instead of me! It’s mine, not his! Master Fu chose me! I am the real holder of the Cat Miraculous, so you have to do what’s right and give it back if you’re such a ‘real hero’!” Ladybug sighed, “And Plagg, the Kwamii of the Cat Miraculous took it away from you because he felt you were unworthy to wield it. Why would I give it back to you then? Leave Adrien.” With that, she turned away, ready to rejoin the battle, but stopped dead in her tracks, “I should have known all along Ladybug, you aren’t a real hero. You’re just a narcissistic, pathetic, lonely girl pretending to be this great, benevolent hero because, in your real life, nobody loves you. Nobody wants you. I used to think I was your soulmate, and it’s clear I’m not because there’s no way such a vile person like you could ever have one. This is the only way you can get attention, and you strung me along in the process! If anything, you’re just as bad as Hawkmoth!” Adrien spat, before storming off. Ladybug took a deep breath, fighting back tears. It hurt to have someone she cared about, and used to love say such vile things about her, but now was not the time to lose focus, she had a battle to win. 

Diving back into the fray, she quickly tugged Caprikid out of the way as Hawkmoth tried to strike him. “You good,” He asked as the two regained their footing on a building, “You left your earpiece on so we kinda heard all of that. Panthère de Nuit looked ready to kill him at one point, and the rest of us would back him up if you want.” Ladybug chuckled a bit, “Thanks but the Miraculous Team is adopting the Bat’s no-killing rule. I’ll be okay, no, I’ll be amazing once we end this!” “Then I’m happy to inform you that it’s time for Lucky Charm,” Vipereon chimed in, “Swarm! Miss Hound! Take the shot! Lucky Charm!” Panthère de Nuit Cataclysmed the Sentimonster, causing cracks to form, destabilizing Hawkmoth and Mayura, with some help, the Amokized pendant was caught and quickly broken. Swarm hit Mayura with Venom, and her Miraculous was taken with Miss Hound’s fetch, leaving a defeated Nathalie, and Hawkmoth standing alone. Ladybug would have to move quickly so Hawkmoth couldn’t Akumatize Nathalie, and looked down at the Lucky Charm in her hand: A lily. Looking around, she quickly developed a plan, Grabbing a few supplies, she made her way to the tallest point within the Shell-ter, and set a trap for the Akumas. Sure enough, the allure of a flower overpowered Hawkmoth’s control over the butterflies, and as a result, they left the villain powerless. The heroes were quick to surround Hawkmoth, and with no Akuma and nowhere to ruin, it looked like his reign of terror was over. “You’re done Hawkmoth, you lost,” Ladybug declared as she jumped down to meet the villain. His cane, which contained a small blade, was ripped out of his hands by Batman, who did not want to risk the former villain attempting to stab Ladybug out of desperation. Seeing as he had no way out, all Hawkmoth could do was sigh in defeat and remove his Miraculous. Once it was securely in Ladybug’s hand, Carapace let the shelter down, and one Miraculous Ladybug later, the destruction of the battle seemed like a distant memory. 

It was like waking up from a dream. For a moment, no one said anything, what was left to be said? News helicopters were now flying overhead, as people began to gather around. A few stunned police officers made their way to the front of the crowd to arrest Gabriel and Nathalie, and as they were marched away the crowd erupted in a roar of jubilation. The Miraculous heroes were quick to leave the scene, and not a moment too soon, since their transformations dropped shortly after they landed on a distant roof. As the rest of her team celebrated, Marinette turned to look at the Eiffel Tower, where it all started five years ago. It didn’t feel real, Marinette looked down at the celebrating crowd below,  she was happy, but she also felt lost in a way. Being Ladybug had been such a huge part of her life, and she hadn’t really planned what she’d do once Hawkmoth was defeated. She was snapped out of her thoughts when a familiar arm wrapped around her waist, “Hey,” Damian murmured. She could feel a smile growing on her face, “Are you doing okay my Lily? I thought you would’ve been celebrating as well,” Marinette leaned into his side, “I feel like I won the lottery… but I’m not sure where to go from here. I’ve been Ladybug for a good chunk of my life, all the plans I made revolved around being Ladybug and responding to Akumas. Now I don’t really know what to do with myself,” “Come to Gotham,” Tim shouted at the pair, effectively ruining the moment. Damian turned, shooting Tim a glare over his shoulder. “He’s not wrong you know,” Batman started, getting everyone’s attention, “You’ve proven yourself to be incredibly capable, and now that the Butterfly and Peacock Miraculous are back in your possession, the threat they pose has been taken care of. We would be honored to have you join us and the rest of the Gotham Knights.” Marinette was stunned, she stammered over her words trying to piece together a sentence, “I, I don’t know what to say-” “How about yes?” Damian asked as he leaned in for a kiss. “Alright then. yes. “ Marinette responded as her eyes fluttered closed. Before their lips could meet, the moment was ruined, “Get a room!” Tim called, resulting in a groan from the couple, and laughter from their friends. 

Marinette took one last look around her bare room, almost everything was gone except for her bed and a change of clothes. This was her last night in Paris for a while, maybe forever unless she came back to visit. In the month since Hawkmoth’s defeat, all of Paris had been in a state of constant celebration, and tonight there was supposed to be the biggest party of all: to wish Ladybug good luck and farewell as she joined the Batfam and by extension the Justice League. She would be the only hero moving up to the big leagues, with the rest of the Miraculous holders involved in the final battle releasing a statement that they would be permanently retired until further notice. They cited that it would be too dangerous to have so many Miraculous out and active on a permanent basis, potentially giving supervillains multiple targets to go after, and the potential danger each Miraculous could pose if they were to fall into the wrong hands. They wished Ladybug well and stated that they’d always be ready if she needed them again. Panthère de Nuit was publicly revealed to be Robin, the vigilante from Gotham, along with a slightly watered-down version of why the Bats were in Paris in the first place. No one really cared about the schematics, Hawkmoth was gone, and people could live their normal lives again. Marinette plopped down on her bed, sighing as she watched the Kwamii fly about the room. There really was nothing left for her in Paris, Hawkmoth and Mayura were gone, the rest of her class finally apologized, Lila was exposed and she’d just graduated high school alongside her soulmate. All she had to do now was go to college in Gotham, build her fashion empire, and help defend the world whenever she was needed. She was excited, who wouldn’t be? That excitement was dampened by a sense of melancholy, Paris was her home and she had so many good memories here, some she could remember vividly, like her soulmate dreams. “Hey Tikki?” The little Kwamii paused, floating over to her champion, “Now that I’ve met Damian, am I going to stop having soulmate dreams? I mean I’ve never had them consistently before… but it would be weird for them to suddenly stop right?” Tikki sat for a moment in Marinette’s hand, pondering her chosen’s question. “Well, it depends. Soulmate dreams work differently for different people, but you primarily seem to get them when you’re in a situation relating to hope. When you’re either full of hope or desperately need it, that’s when your dreams seem to come to you. They act like a promise, a promise that all will be well. So I imagine that you may occasionally have one when you need it most or when you feel particularly hopeful. Anyways, I hope you’re ready, it’s almost time for the party to start!” Tikki cheered as the Kwamii surrounded the two. 

Damian sat atop the Eiffel Tower as Panthère de Nuit, he watched Ladybug (It’s Lady Miracle now, he reminded himself) as she made her way across the rooftops to him. She was followed by cheering from the crowd of people, who all seemed to surge forward towards the celebration. Occasionally she would stop to pull a few people out of the crowd who looked like they were having trouble, but nonetheless, she was making good progress. She landed next to him gracefully, and he stood to meet her. “Hello my Lily,” he whispered as he pulled her into an embrace. “How was your last day in Paris?” She hummed contentedly as she kissed him, pausing a moment to snuggle closer. “It was good. I finally got apologies from the rest of the class, and anyone else who believed Lila. I only had to deal with Adrien for a few minutes, he tried to convince me to stay in Paris and go to college with him instead of leaving for Gotham. Papa showed him the door. And I also finished up the last of my packing! I’ve never seen the room so empty, it’s kinda scary.” Damian sighed, It seemed like Adrien would always be a pain in their sides, he couldn’t do much, but he seemed determined to be a constant presence in their lives. The two decided they wouldn’t focus on it now, they had a celebration to attend to. 

The heroes wove their way through the crowds, talking to people, and occasionally stopping at vendors to purchase some snacks or merch. Eventually, the two made their way to where the old Ladybug and Chat Noir statue stood. There were plans to take it down and replace it. “It should just be a statue of Ladybug, I only came to help defeat Hawkmoth, but she has been fighting him the whole time,” Panthère de Nuit explained to the mayor and various sculptors and architects that were discussing it. Ladybug was munching on a chocolate croissant from her parents’ booth, when someone spoke, “So this is it huh? You won and now you’re just packing up and leaving?” She turned to see Lila standing there, arms crossed and looking a mix between furious and annoyed. ‘Annoyed Hawkmoth didn’t drag me down with him,’ Marinette thought, swallowing the bite of croissant. “Hello, Lila. Yes, I got invited to join the Justice League, so I’ll be spending a few years in Gotham training with Batman. How about you? Got any plans?” It was a bit of an antagonistic question. Since Gabriel Agreste was exposed, the brand Gabriel had been in a perpetual death spiral. Adrien, with the help of the board of directors and some lawyers, was able to stabilize the company, but it was going through a serious rebrand and may have to downsize. So Lila’s future as a model was shaky at best. Lila however, did not show any uncertainty, “Oh I’m probably going to continue modeling, after I finish college that is. Who knows, maybe I’ll leave that behind and branch into acting. Now,” her gaze hardened, “Let’s drop the pleasantries shall we? Hawkmoth is gone, so I expect I won’t be having any more trouble with you-” “Unless you decide to work with a terrorist again. The only reason you haven’t been arrested is because there isn’t enough evidence Lila.” “And it's going to stay that way. You have no reason to go snooping around my life anymore, and besides,” Lila shot her a smirk, “I’m sure the Justice League wouldn’t like it if it got out that their newest member was stalking an innocent model, accusing her of outlandish crimes.” Ladybug laughed, “Considering some recent revelations about you I don’t think I’ll have a problem convincing them you’re anything but trustworthy. So stay out of trouble, because you’ll certainly end up getting in over your head, and someday no one will be around to bail you out.” Lila made a sound similar to an outraged chicken, and placing a hand over her heart she cried, “Is that a threat?” an obvious attempt to make a scene. Ladybug simply shrugged, “Nope. It’s a warning. Do with it what you will,” and with that, she walked over to Panthère de Nuit, and the two swung back up to the Eiffel Tower to watch the fireworks. The show was amazing, the symbols of all the Parisian heroes lit up the sky, and Marinette contentedly sighed as she leaned into Damian’s side. Life was good. After a couple of minutes, the grand finale began, with the final fireworks spelling out: Thank you Ladybug and Panthère de Nuit.

#marinette deserves better #adrien salt #lila salt #maribat #class salt #chat noir salt #adrien salt prompts #bustier salt #daminette #gabriel salt

[alwritey-aphrodite]

Paint The Town Blue

Chapter Five of There’s Nothing Like This

Series Masterlist

Pairing: Jamie Tartt x fem!footballer!reader

Warnings: drinking

Word Count: 2.9k

Author’s Note: I love how every Ted Lasso fic series has a gala chapter, we’re so cute like that

The rest of the week passes in a blur of glittering gowns and sweaty training sessions, face masks and bruises. It was surprisingly easy to find a dress for the gala, and you settle on something simple enough so you can hopefully wear it again after looking at the price tag. Training is rough, and you leave every day wondering how you’re able to walk, but your mood had improved considerably after Monday’s episode.

By the time Thursday morning rolls around, you’re nothing more than a bundle of nerves, terrified for the match and the gala and what everyone is going to think of you. You’d always assumed that people’s opinions of you wouldn’t affect you as much as what you think about yourself, but now that seemingly everyone has something negative to say, it’s starting to wear you down. It’s like there are two different forces propelling you forward: one that wants to win and one that needs to prove everyone wrong.

You know your teammates feel the same way.

The dressing room is thrumming with energy and tension about to snap, all of you primed and ready for the match ahead. Your nervous energy has peaked and dissipated after spending time in the dressing room, laughing and smiling with your teammates while you prepare, securing your hair back and waiting for one of the coaches to give the pre-match pep talk even though you’re paying more attention to readying yourself mentally than anything that comes out of their mouths, and you leave the dressing room feeling ready for whatever happens on the pitch.

When you return to the dressing room ninety minutes later, it’s to the jubilant singing of your teammates. It’d been a harsh fight, but you managed to score in the seventieth minute to secure a 1-0 win, pushing you higher in the standings.

“Oi!” Roy breaks through the revelry, “Don’t get too shit-faced tonight, you still have training tomorrow.”

“And free drinks tomorrow night!” Keeley adds as she enters the dressing room, causing another wave of fanfare to erupt, more for the woman herself than her statement.

“So maybe we push off the celebration?” Elena offers, and even though she’s met with a chorus of booing, you all eventually agree that tonight will be for resting and tomorrow can be for celebrating while bringing attention to whatever charity is at the center of the gala.

As much as you want to bask in the glow of the win, you change out of your kit as fast as possible, already dreaming about the warm shower waiting for you at home. Maybe you’ll treat yourself to some takeout instead of whatever leftover meal prep is sitting in your fridge. You say your goodbyes to the girls, congratulating Naomi, your goalkeeper, on all her amazing saves as you leave the dressing room to wait for Mackie in the hallway, where it’s cooler and less crowded and you can breathe deeply for the first time in ninety minutes.

Checking your phone, you see a text from Jamie and are a little embarrassed at how quickly you open it.

Congrats on the win!! You played great today, might have to ask you for some pointers

You hate the way you smile down at your phone as you type a response, reminding yourself that Jamie is your friend and a new one at that.

Thanks! Are you sure you could even handle any more training?

The three little dots appear as Mackie leaves the dressing room, so you close your phone and slip it into your pocket as quickly as possible. Knowing Mackie, she would make everything into a big deal, and you didn’t want to ruin one of your first friendships in Richmond outside of the team just because Mackie loves jumping to conclusions.

Driving home with Mackie is always the perfect way to end your evenings, she always knows if you want quiet or talking or hype music or relaxing music, and even when you don’t talk it’s wonderful to know you have someone next to you. Today, she’s a chatterbox, going on and on about all the calls she thought should have been fouls or yellow cards.

By the time she’s dropping you off, you’re laughing so hard there are tears pouring out of your eyes and you never want to spend a moment apart from her ever again.

“Alright, get out, I wanna go to bed,” Mackie says through the remnants of her laughter, pushing at your shoulder until you leave the car.

Your evening plans are very similar to Mackie’s, and you order takeout before you take a long, hot shower to relax your muscles that had gone into overdrive before you slip into your bed and turn on mind numbing television while you scroll through your phone. You text back and forth with Jamie for a while, confirming that he’s coming to the charity event Keeley has planned for Friday and he tells you that he’s pretty sure Keeley stuck you at the same table as him.

It’s terrifying how nervous that makes you feel, nervous like you’re about to hit the peak of a roller coaster or walk down the aisle in a white gown.

When you wake in the morning, it’s after a solid eight hours of sleep where you were plagued by the strangest dreams of weddings and fancy dresses and cars driven by Jamie Tartt. As odd as your dreams were, it was the best sleep you’d gotten since you arrived in Richmond and you’re finally starting to feel less keyed up.

Training is easy as well, and most of your day is spent reviewing game footage and reevaluating certain tactics and laughing so much you’re a little bit worried you’re going to pee yourself. As serious as you all can be, as anxious as everyone is on match day, it’s hard to feel anything but joy when you’re surrounded by your team and you’re riding high on the win from yesterday and the promise of free booze later.

As everyone’s packing up and showing pictures of dresses and shoes and hairstyles, Keeley pops in, clearly looking frazzled.

“Remember to be on our best behavior, yeah? At least until all the old people get tired and go home,” she smiles then, and you just wish you could tell her that tonight will be perfect and have her believe you.

Your training ended at the same time as the men’s team, giving everyone ample time to get ready for the gala, and you pretend to ignore the way Mackie stares at you when you wave goodbye to Jamie. She drops you off, promising to pick you up at seven and you know she’s refraining from making a joke about you finding a “better date” with a certain striker and you’re grateful for her self control.

When you finally make your way inside, all the stress and pressure from the week, from the month, come crashing down around you but you do your best to work through it, knowing you have a weekend full of absolutely nothing to look forward to. You take your time getting ready, luxuriating in the shower and spending longer than you ever have on your hair and makeup, the threat of a red carpet and paparazzi making bile rise in your throat.

Still, you manage to finish getting ready before Mackie arrives, giving you plenty of time to marinate in your own self doubt and anxiety. Never in your life have you needed to attend an event like this, let alone an event when most of the attention will be on you and your teammates. All you hope is that everything goes smoothly, for your sake and for Keeley’s. You know it’s eating at her how poorly received the women’s team has been, and you know she needs a win from the press.

Hopefully tonight goes well and she raises lots of money for charity before getting absolutely shitfaced with the Greyhounds.

As expected, Mackie arrives right on time, looking absolutely stunning in the suit you’d picked out together on Tuesday. She gives a wolf whistle as you lock your front door and make your way to the car, pausing to give her a little spin so she could see the dress, and you, in all its glory. You’ve never been one for fancy dresses, but Mackie’s reaction makes you think you should dress up more.

The drive to the venue only serves to give your anxiety time to grow, despite the gentle way Mackie tries to distract you with her talks of nonsense. Throughout your years of friendship, she’s always done her best to support you through events and nights like these, even though standing in the spotlight has always come naturally to her. By the time you slip out of the car and spot the photographers and the carpet and the rest of your teammates, you’re on the verge of throwing up and considering making a run for it when Mackie grabs you gently by the arm and steers you towards the carpet.

Finding your team waiting to get their pictures taken, you’re met with excited shouts and whistles and expletives as you and Mackie approach, as if they’re not also dressed to the nines and looking more beautiful than anyone you’ve ever seen. There are a few of the men’s players hanging around and chatting with your teammates, but they usher you forward onto the carpet, letting your team bask in the spotlight for once.

Mackie, as if sensing the anxiety radiating off of you in waves, grabs your hand and pulls you forward, stopping and posing with you until you make it safely to the other side of the carpet. Already overwhelmed, you simply squeeze her hand in silent thanks before dropping it as you make your way inside, dazzled by Keeley’s hard work and dedication.

The entire space is transformed, and what was before an empty, boring ballroom is covered in silver twinkling stars and ambient lighting and a sea of tables complete with numbers and place cards. Keeley truly never ceases to amaze you, and the fact that she could pull all of this off while working at her own PR company and helping to run the Greyhounds’ social media is mind boggling to you. As much as you want to tell her how great of a job she’s done, you can see her bouncing around from table to table and you can’t even imagine the stress she’s under, so you promise yourself you’ll tell her later.

When you finally find your table in the sea of others, Jamie, Colin, and Isaac are already sitting down, and the way Jamie smiles when he notices you makes you feel a little bit dizzy.

“Well, now it’s a party!” Colin says when he glances up and sees Mackie after noticing the spaced-out look that had appeared on Jamie’s face, and he stands to get everyone a drink. Your seat, apparently, is right next to Jamie, and you have to wonder if Keeley had planned it that way or if someone might have meddled.

By the forced look of nonchalance on Isaac’s face, you’re guessing it’s the second one.

“You look really nice,” Jamie says as he scrambles to pull your chair out, and you shamelessly let your eyes rove up and down his body, taking in the way his dark trousers hug his thighs and the exposed skin of his chest underneath his mostly unbuttoned shirt. Friends are allowed to admire how their friends look, you tell yourself, forcing the word ‘friend’ into your brain over and over again.

“So do you,” you tell him truthfully as you take a seat, and your heart flutters a little as his cheeks redden slightly.

The chatter throughout the room and the music playing softly creates a gentle hum in the background, but you’re not paying attention to anything except your table. Colin’s boyfriend, Micheal, was giving you all an earful about all the pains of dating a footballer, and between the way he’s cracking jokes and the drink you’d all but pounded to calm your nerves, you’re laughing harder than you have in ages. Lucky for you, your entire table seems to be in a similar position and the tables around you are so wrapped up in their own conversations that no one notices your rambunctious group.

After the food is served, though, you all manage to calm down to respectable levels, preparing yourselves for the long, drawn out auction that’s to come. Keeley is still fluttering around, and she stops by your table shortly after the entrees. She’s grinning, but you can tell she’s more than anxious from the way she keeps asking if everyone’s having a good time.

“Everything’s great, it’s beautiful in here,” you tell her, casting a glance around the room to look at the decor again.

“You guys look beautiful!” She counters, a genuine smile taking over her face and you just hope that the charity portion of the event is over soon so she can enjoy herself.

“Go eat!” You shoo her away, and you see Rebecca send you a wink out of the corner of her eye when she comes to steer Keeley back to her table.

Almost as soon as the plates are cleared away, Rebecca is thanking everyone for coming and thanking Keeley for planning such a beautiful night before beginning to auction off signed kits and match balls and VIP tickets for the rest of the season. You’re not sure if everyone’s been making good use out of the open bar or if the event is always this successful, but those items go for more money than you would have ever imagined.

While a few other guests continue to chat and sit by the bar to savor one last free drink, much of the remaining crowd works at Nelson Road in some capacity, and by the way Keeley glances around the room from her spot by the door, thanking everyone for coming as they leave, she’s clearly waiting for something.

Once it looks like the last guest has left, leaving behind the Greyhounds, Keeley takes to the stage, finally looking relaxed and bouncy and ready to party.

“Thank you guys for your good behavior,” she says to the crowd, and you all cheer back at her, “now let’s fucking party!”

If everyone had cheered for the first part of her sentence, then everyone was going crazy now, yelling so loud your ears hurt a little. The tables were all pushed away and some apparently famous DJ took the stage, and then it was time for a night of drinks and dancing with your friends, the perfect way to celebrate your win from yesterday and Keeley’s successful charity event.

Despite never being one for the club scene, the drinks and the company were making you feel like you could conquer anything, so you join the mass of swaying bodies, finding space to dance near Mackie and Amelia. You can’t remember ever feeling this loose, this carefree, so you intend to savor it.

After a few songs, though, your feet start killing you and you navigate your way out of the crowd to find a seat at the bar. Luckily for you, Jamie was sitting at the bar, watching the crowd with a beer bottle in his hand, and you know you light up when you see him. With all the drinks coursing through your body, you forget to be nervous around him, forget to remind yourself that he’s just a friend.

Plopping down next to him and unbuckling the tiny straps on your shoes, you sigh in relief once you can feel your toes again, giving yourself a little break before going back out to dance.

“Want a drink?” Jamie asks with a little nod back to the bar, an amused smile on his face as he watches you staring at your feet, willing them to feel better.

“Sure!” You chirp, talking louder than you normally would to be heard over the music. Jamie, ever the observer, remembers your drink of choice from early in the evening and slides one to you from across the bar.

“Why aren’t you dancing?” You ask him after taking a healthy swig from your drink.

“Don’t wanna,” he shrugs, looking from the crowd to you to the bottle in his hand, “someone here should be responsible, yeah?” Instead of a response, you just clink your glasses together with a smile.

Soon, you’re so wrapped up in Jamie that your mission to get back on the dance floor is completely forgotten. The two of you make your way outside, to hear each other better, and your heart ticks up when Jamie carries your shoes out for you, making no comment on you being barefoot in London.

He takes a seat on the steps and you follow suit, sitting closer than you normally would. You talk for what must be hours, trading stories from training and old clubs and your childhood determination to make it to the top, and much too soon for your liking, Elena is coming outside with Mackie on her arm.

“I promised I’d bring these two home,” she says, Mackie immediately pouting at the older woman.

“I guess it’s time for me to leave,” you sigh, gathering your shoes and standing as Elena attempts to get Mackie down the stairs, “thanks for talking with me.” You lean back down to plant a kiss on his cheek without a second thought.

You turn to leave, and you don’t notice the way Jamie tenderly touches the faint lipstick mark left behind on his cheek.

Tags: @andr0medafallen @buckychristwrites @benedictscanvas @whimsical-roasting @sokkigarden @guccilongboard @onceuponaoneshot @presidential-facts @yepyeahuhhuh @loveslide @allthefandomtherapy @gibby31 @buddyjuststop @ellietartt @cancvr @brianandthemays @sonyume @aiyaiy @captainfrisbee @dalebo3 @theloud-yet-quietone @imsoluckyeverythingworksoutforme @rockchickrebel @legobatmans9thab @curlypeter @lostinwonderland314 @yokolesbianism @jamietarttdodo @fan-goddess @innocentbi-stander @skewedcherries

#jamie tartt #jamie tartt x reader #jamie tartt x you #jamie tartt fanfiction #jamie tartt fic #jamie tartt fluff #jamie tartt imagine #ted lasso #ted lasso fanfiction

[togrowoldinv]

A Good Person

Florence Pugh x Reader

You watch your best friend get ready for her movie premiere. Feelings come to light when you least expect it

Note: Florence just looked too good tonight I had to continue my tradition of writing fics about her premieres. Enjoy this one!

Florence Pugh Masterlist, Main Masterlist

Soft music fills the room as you watch Florence’s hair and makeup artists work their magic. You think she’s even more beautiful without all of the fixing up.

You’re definitely in love with her.

“How do I look, darling?” Florence asks you.

“Absolutely perfect,” you reply with no hesitation.

Florence smiles and the artists finish up. Her stylist will be in soon to give her her outfit, but this moment is with just the two of you.

“I wish you could come with me,” Flo says.

“I know,” you say. “But Granzo Pat will be a great red carpet companion.”

Florence chuckles at that. “They should’ve given me two passes and then I could take my best friend too.”

“I’ll still be in the crowd, just not on the carpet,” you say, trying to cheer her up.

“Yay!” She says with her typical cute smile. She brushes her shoulder against yours and nods to the arrangement on the table. “Thank you for the flowers by the way.”

“Of course. Every movie star needs flowers for their big premiere.”

Flo smiles so widely that her cheeks hurt. You always send her flowers for her premieres no matter where in the world she is. No one has ever been as kind to her as you have been.

She leans in closer to you and is only inches from your lips when the door opens. Florence stands up quickly and greets her stylist. They go into the other room for Flo to get dressed. You sit there wondering if maybe you dreamed that that had just happened.

Had Florence wanted to kiss you or was the just caught up in the moment?

About ten minutes pass before Florence emerges from the other room. Her outfit practically makes your jaw hit the floor.

“What do you think?” She asks.

She does a little twirl so you can get the full view of her look.

“You look amazing,” you say. You notice her cheeks flush as you look her up and down. Nothing in you can help the way your eyes are drawn to how her breasts spill out of the side of her top. You’re probably staring a little too long.

Florence’s team tells her it’s time to go to the car and you gather your things.

“We’ll catch up,” Flo tells them and she grabs your hand before you can leave the room.

“What’s up? Are you nervous?” You ask her. Sometimes you have to get her a pep talk before these events.

“No it’s just- that moment we had earlier,” she says.

“Oh, no that was just- well I don’t know but we don’t need to worry about it. You have a premiere to get to,” you say.

She seems to think for a minute before she abruptly pulls you by the hips against her body. Her lips crash into yours. You kiss her back with everything you have.

You break away and laugh at the way her lipstick is smeared. “Sorry about that.” You wipe the corner of her mouth with your thumb.

“I love you,” Florence says. “I’ve loved you since the day I met you.”

“I love you too, Flossie. I love you like I’ve never loved anyone before,” you say.

The two of you kiss again before you’re interrupted by her stylist knocking on the door.

“I really don’t want to go,” Florence says, breathless from kissing you.

“You go on and shine, baby. Call me tonight?”

“How about I come over tonight?” She asks, a mischievous grin on her face.

“Absolutely,” you agree maybe a little too quickly but she does an excited dance and it makes it worth it.

You two leave the hotel room and get in the elevator with the rest of the team.

“What happened to your lipstick, Flo?” Her makeup artist asks.

Florence just giggles and you steal a glance at her. She winks at you and you smile to yourself.

You are so happy that you can finally be with her.

#florence pugh x reader #florence pugh fluff #florence pugh comfort #a good person #florence pugh #i love you flo

[xspeter]

TIME AFTER TIME

Chapter one ❣︎ Uh oh, i’m fallin’ in love

uh oh, i’m fallin’ in love

i thought the plane was goin’ down (how’d you turn it right around?)

❧ warnings: none!

❧ wc: 2.8k

❧ Note: first chapter is outtt! I hope you guys enjoy and are as excited for this story as I am! if things seem to be going a little fast i do apologize, but i am going straight off of the book! like all this happens in literally the first chapter

❧ masterlist

♥︎

The day started out completely terrible.

First, you’d woken up late and threw on the first thing you saw. And you only realized the massive coffee stain on it once you’d reached school.

Then you realized you’d completely forgotten about Mrs. Clicks homework and had barely managed to scribble down random answers on it before the bell, and even then the disappointed look she gave you as she collected it made you want the floor to swallow you whole.

The only good part of the day had to be the prom posters that had been thrown up around the school over the weekend. You couldn’t help the pride that filled your chest when you saw your own design looking right back at you.

The prom committee had let you have complete and total free range over them, and you liked to think they turned out pretty well.

You’d gone with a dark blue base with white sprinkles thrown across it, the words “A Night Under The Stars, Senior Prom, 8:00, April 5th, 1985” sprawled across it in baby blue letters.

“The posters came out super nice!” You don’t have to look behind you to know the voice belongs to your best friend, Robin Buckley.

You bit your lip, arms crossed over your chest, “Do you think so? I feel like I should’ve made the letters white or something.”

Robin shakes her head, “It looks fine to me.”

You gave her a grateful smile, “Shouldn't you be getting ready for the pep rally?” You asked. The school would be having a seniors only pep rally at the end of the day to celebrate your final semester of highschool, and you were honestly excited for it.

It was silly, but you couldn’t help the thought in the back of your mind that this could be it. Maybe you’d meet the guy you were meant to end up with there, even though you already knew practically everyone in your grade. You still couldn’t help but hope.

Robin threw her head back with a groan, “Please don’t remind me.” She whined. You snorted.

You knew the real reason Robin didn’t want to go was because of her new crush. It was cute, honestly. And you understood why Robin is so hesitant to make any moves, but you’re positive Vickie is the right girl.

She looks disgusted every time she’s with her boyfriend and you swear you catch her gazing at Robin more often then what should be considered normal.

“If you never make a move you’ll never know, and then you’ll regret it for the rest of your life.” You tsk, lips thinning out into a sharp line.

Robin rolls her eyes, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever.” She sighs, “Look, I don’t wanna be any later for band then I already am so i’m gonna run, but nice dress!” She yells out as she jogs away, and you grin and yell back a thank you.

You turn around to head to your next class but are met with something rock solid. You nearly tumble to the floor, but are caught by a hand around your waist.

“Shit,” The wall says, “Are you okay?”

You looked up, arms tight across your chest to hold your books in place. The sight you’re met with is one you hadn’t been prepared for at all.

Jonathon Byers stood before you in all his glory. He was still as handsome as you had remembered.

Jonathon had lived across the street from you practically your entire childhood, and you’d harbored a massive crush on him the entire time.

How could you not? He was kind and such a gentleman, and he had an amazing family. (Apart from his dad, but you liked to pretend he didn’t exist.)

He smelled so-so good, and you wanted to catalogue every part of this moment in your mind. It was the perfect meet-cute, even if this wasn’t your first time meeting.

“Jonathon?” You stuttered out, carefully finding your footing as he slipped his hand away from your waist and back to his side.

He gave a weak smile, “Hey, Y/N.”

You couldn’t help but throw an arm around him, the other holding your books in place. “Oh my god, I haven’t seen you in years! When-when did you get back from California? Why are you back?” You asked, thoughts going a mile a minute.

Jonathon had moved to California at the end of your eighth grade year. His mom, Joyce, had been offered a well paying job that she couldn’t turn down.

It had been a teary goodbye, but you chose not to dwell on the fact that Jonathon would never know how you really felt.

Now, you couldn’t help but think that maybe you’d be able to turn that around.

Jonathon shrugged, hand rubbing at the back of his neck. “Mom lost her job and she was offered a managing position at her old one back at the store, so we came back.” He explains.

You frown, Joyce losing her job must’ve sucked, but you can’t help but be the tiniest bit thankful that it brought Jonathon back to you again.

“I’m sorry to hear that.” You murmured, laying a gentle hand on his bicep. He just shrugs, hands shoved into his pockets, “It’s okay. At least we didn’t have to move somewhere completely new again, right?”

You nodded in agreement, and you both stood in silence for a moment. You held your breath, you had to do it. You were going to ask Jonathon to prom. Was it a little hasty? Sure, but chances are he doesn’t have a date to prom yet, and there was no harm in asking, right? You were friends, or at least you had been, so it only made sense.

You swallow, “Hey, do you think you’d want to-” But you were cut off by someone knocking into you from behind and shoving you away from Jonathon.

“Holy shit, man! I didn’t know you were back!”

Your eye nearly twitches at the voice. Steve Harrington. The very bane of your existence.

You’d grown up with Steve as well, he only lived two houses down from you, but it’d been nowhere near as romantic as it had with Jonathon.

Steve was obnoxious. He was what your parents considered “troubled.” He would tease you for the dresses you wore, refused to play any of the games you wanted to, and was just an overall punk.

You grit your teeth, “Um, maybe watch where you’re going?”

Steve blinked, once, then twice, before finally he turned to you. “Oh, so sorry. I didn’t even see you. Which is strange, because that dress is seriously an eye-catcher.”

The tone that he says it lets you know it’s anything but a compliment, and you cross your arms over your chest, subconsciously hiding the light brows stain on it. “Hm, it’s weird, Even with your hair being nearly half your height, I still didn’t see you coming.”

Steve goes to bark back a retort, but Jonathon’s chuckle stops him. “It’s nice to see you two haven’t changed a bit.”

You force a smile, “Yep. You know. Same ol’, same ol’.”

Steve glared at you, “More like she hasn’t stopped being annoying.”

Jonathon furrowed his brows, “She’s not annoying. She’s just spunky, it’s my favorite thing about her.”

Your jaw nearly drops at Jonathon’s words, and your cheeks begin to flush a pretty pink. You stutter out a thank you, and Steve leans in and whispers, “Careful, you’re drooling.”

You stomp on his foot with your heel, causing him to hiss and pull away from you. He swatted at you before he turned back to Jonathon, “You remember Tommy Hagan?” He asks.

Jonathon nods hesitantly, “I think so, yeah. First Baseman right?”

Steve snaps his fingers, “That’s the one. Look, he’s having a party this Saturday and you should totally come.”

You do your best to keep your expression neutral as you listen to Steve invite your Jonathon to a party. What right did he have? What if you were gonna invite Jonathon somewhere on saturday?

Jonathon glances at you, “Sure man,” He says. “Sounds fun.”

Steve grins and claps him on the back, “ Party starts at eight, i’ll see you there!” He turned and jogged to his next class with a shout of, “Later guys!”

You and Jonathon watched as Steve disappeared into the crowd of people. He turned to you, “Are you going?” He asks.

Your mouth dries a bit at the question, though you aren’t sure if it’s because Jonathon’s looking at you with those wide, chestnut brown eyes like you move the sun and the moon, or if it’s because you, in fact, weren’t invited.

“Oh, um, I don’t know. I think I have to work.” You stammer out the excuse, hoping he doesn’t catch the nervous way you pick at your chipped nail polish.

He doesn’t, instead he gives you a weak smile and lazily says, “Alright. Look, i’ve gotta run, but let’s catch up soon, yeah?”

You smile girlishly, “Okay.”

His arm brushes against your own as he leaves, and the touch nearly leaves you dizzy.

Finally, things were working out for you.

🝮

Once the pep rally ends you immediately shoot for Robin. You find her next to the bleachers, staring longingly at an unaware Vickie.

You can’t help but roll your eyes, “You look like a kicked puppy!” You yell at her.

She nearly jumps out of her skin at the sound of your voice, but she’s quick to collect herself and throw you a glare. “I do not.”

You shrug, “Fine, keep telling yourself that. But, anyway, you are not going to believe who’s here!” You nearly squeal, fingers playing with the hem of your dress.

Robin thinks for a moment, “Who?”

Your grin grows impossibly larger, “Jonathon Byers.”

“I know.”

Your smile immediately drops, “You do?”

Robin furrows her brows, “Uh, yeah? Was it a secret?”

You scoff, “I mean, no, but - look, this is really good for me.”

Robin squints at you, leg kicking up onto the wall she’s leaning against. “And why is that?”

Your grin returns as you shift back and forth on your feet, “Jonathon is gonna be my date to prom. We already had our meet-cute, now I just have to win him over.”

She nods, eyes lidded, “Right. And how do you plan to do that?” She asks, crossing her arms over her chest.

You shush her and roll your eyes, “Don’t question me. Just trust that I'll make it work.” You begin to walk away, gesturing for Robin to follow. She does so with a groan.

“Steve invited Jonathon to this party. Which, might I add, he did right in front of me and didn’t even ask me if I wanted to go!”

Robin snorts, “Don’t you guys not like each other? Why would he invite you?”

While what she said may be true, it was still just basic manners to not do something like that right in front of people. But, Steve was constantly tiptoeing the line between person and barbarian so you wouldn’t be surprised if he didn’t know basic human decency.

“That’s besides the point,” You grumbled. “I just need to get into this party and then boom! Me and Jonathon will be married in no time.”

“Tommy’s parties are always just beer pong, fireball, and truth-or-dare immature bullshit. Honestly, I'm glad we didn’t get invited.“ Robin murmurs.

The both of you approach your car and you hop into the front seat with an annoyed dent in your brows.

“And…” Robin bites her lip, “I guess Jonathon moved a couple houses down from Nancy Wheeler and they’ve been talking for a while now.”

Your heart plummets. Nancy Wheeler? Is this a joke?

Sure, you didn’t know Nancy very well, but that didn’t stop you from despising her very being. She always played the image of the perfect girl. Smart, pretty. You could see right through her though.

It’d started in kindergarten, when you’d gotten a bloody nose and shrieked an Ewwww right in your toddler face, making the entire class join her.

In first grade she exposed your box of love letters you’d made for Bryce Waterson, and he’d called you gross. It was humiliating.

In fifth grade, not long after your mom died you’d been forced to sit next to her at lunch. And it wasn’t the perfect cookie cutter sandwiches that bothered you, no, it was the notes.

Everyday she’d pull out a handwritten note from her mom. It always said something different and had colorful hearts and doodles. You’d get so sad you couldn’t even eat.

While Nancy could play the part for everyone else, you saw right through her.

And besides, Nancy always got everything she could ever want. She couldn’t have him. You wouldn’t let her.

And Nancy didn’t have the history with Jonathon that you did. She didn’t grow up in love with him, always watching in admiration as he played around with your nemesis.

Your mom said it was the most adorable thing she’d ever seen, though your dad couldn’t help but disagree.

Robin looks at you like she knows exactly what you’re thinking, “Jonathon Byers is not your perfect oh-we’re-so-in-love guy, okay?”

He could be, you wanted to retort, but you held your tongue. Instead you just shrugged as you began to drive your car out of the parking lot, “In all actuality they aren’t even together yet, so I still have a chance..”

“Don’t be that girl!” Robin scolds, “Whatever happened with him was not your meet-cute.”

You couldn’t help but buzz a little at the thought of your interaction with him. The way his arm had ever so gently bridled your own.. that wasn’t coincidence.

“But maybe it was.”

She throws her head back against the seat, “Pull yourself together, woman! You barely even know him anymore.”

His eyes flash in your mind, those beautiful dark eyes. “I know everything I need to know.”

🝮

Jonathon was back.

You propped your feet up onto the kitchen table and dug into your container of ice cream.

After Jonathon had moved, you’d daydreamed about him for what honestly was probably years.

You came up with so many different scenarios in your head for him, but there was one that always seemed to stick.

It was December, Christmas Eve. You were sitting outside in your cutest winter outfit just staring at the snow, and you get the sudden urge to turn your head. When you do, you’re met with the sight of him. He runs to you, holds you in his warm embrace and tells you every thing you’d ever wanted to hear. Some would call it delusional, you just called it perfect.

It took you forever to get over him. And at some point you’d accepted that he was never coming back.

But now he’d returned.

The smile on your face grows wider at the thought.

You didn’t have any classes with him and you were no longer neighbors, which sucked so badly, but you were anything if not persistent, and the one thing in your corner was your expertise on love. Not to call yourself a love expert, but, well…

Love was practically in your genes. Your mom lived and burned for it, and she had luckily given the very same passion to you.

Thanks to this, you were more then certain you had to get to Tommy’s party.

Honestly, the party scene had never really been your thing. A house filled with the distasteful smell of sweaty jocks and booze along with people who didn’t even know you wasn’t your idea of a good time.

But, you were running on a tight schedule here, so party here you come.

Lightning shoots across the sky and illuminates Steve’s car, and you’re reminded of the days events.

There was a parking spot right outside your house, and it was sacred.

If you wanted to be able to comfortably get to your house without having to walk all the way up the street, you’d have to park in this spot, which should be no problem right?

Wrong.

Steve knows about this spot, and unfortunately he wants it just as bad as you. And he’d tailgated you as soon as you’d dropped Robin off at her house and he’d snagged it away from you, forcing you to park a block over and walk all the way to your house in the rain.

You licked off a spoonful of ice cream and daydreamed that Jonathon lived there instead of Steve.

And that’s when it hit you.

Steve was the key.

He was your in. Steve, who’d invited Jonathon in the first place, would be attending this party.

But, there was only one world where Steve Harrington would be willing to help you, and honestly, you were willing to live in it. Even if you had to be drenched in rain everyday.

♥︎

#steve harrington #steve harrington x reader #joe keery #stranger things #jonathon byers #jonathon byers x reader #stranger things x reader #robin buckley #jonathon byers x nancy wheeler #nancy wheeler #xspeter #time after time xspeter #better than the movies au

[ggukkiedae]

miya

[1:42pm kst, 231212, wc: 783]

(content warning: jimin and kookie’s enlistment)

conversations written in italics are in english

The bustling of the crowd sounded like a blur to her. All she could do was watch the last two of her members get ready for their entrance ceremony. She watched as Yoongi and Hoseok gave them some last pre-enlistment pep talks and as Seokjin approached them with a joking serious attitude before breaking into a large grin and a fit of giggles.

The internal fight of keeping a smile on her face for pictures was one of the hardest things she had done in recent times, yet she pushed herself to do it for her members. Not only was it the last of her members today, it was also her Busan boys.

“I’m gonna miss you,” she gave Jimin the tightest hug she could muster while rubbing her hand against his buzzcut. “Message me when you can. I know it’ll be at least five weeks, but send me proof of life.”

“I promise, Aegi,” he kissed the side of her head before letting go and bending down to look her in the eye. “You just keep messaging me like we agreed, okay? Everything that happens, I want to know. I’ll catch up right when I’m allowed to check my phone again. Got it?”

She nodded, lips pressed into a tight smile. He straightened himself before giving her a salute, the way he did to his family earlier. She bowed to him, muttering a thank you for looking over her and their country before she was pulled into his arms again.

“One more hug before I go,” he gave her a tight squeeze before letting her go. “I love you, my Busan baby.”

“I love you, too,” she grinned. “For the record, your haircut looks amazing on you.”

If the smallest increase of his smile came from her comment, she was proud

“Makdung-ah,” Hoseok called to her, “come wish Jungkookie good luck.”

Yoonmi took a deep breath as she slowly but steadily walked over to them. This was probably the goodbye (although temporary) that she was least ready for.

She made it to them, looking at her feet, not knowing what would happen if she met Jungkook’s eyes.

“Hey,” Jungkook laughed, “stop being a coward, and look me in the eye, Mimi.”

She rolled her eyes at him and looked at Hoseok with an accusatory expression. Hoseok simply laughed and gestured to look at Jungkook. She did, which she almost immediately regretted.

Twelve years of friendship and being by each other’s side almost every single day flew through her mind at such a rapid pace that she almost got whiplash.

This person standing in front of her has been her number one ride or die best friend for more than half her life. The longest they had been apart from each other that she could remember was two weeks, but they’d usually spend every day or every other day together for the past four years.

And there he was, getting ready to enter military camp where they wouldn’t be able to talk for a while and wouldn’t be able to freely meet each other as often for an even longer time.

She knew these thoughts weren’t just hers, his eyes were watering as well.

“Come here,” he pulled her into a hug, letting her wrap her arms around his neck while he enveloped her around her waist, lifting her up off the ground just the slightest bit.

“You take care of yourself and Jiminie oppa in there, okay?” she mumbled into his clothes, not wanting to look up because tears were threatening to escape her eyes already.

“Only if you remind Haechan that he’ll never beat me on your best friend tier even when I’m away for over a year,” he chuckled, squeezing her tight.

She laughed, though it was strained by her starting to cry, “Of course. It’s you and me, best friends in the entire universe.”

She didn’t bring attention to how she could feel warmth drip onto her neck, just under where his eyes were. It was another two minutes of them just basking in each other’s company before Seokjin approached them, tapping their shoulders.

“As much as I don’t want to do this,” Seokjin gave them an apologetic smile, “we have to separate you two babies. They have to go in now.”

The two maknaes reluctantly released each other.

Yoonmi reached up to wipe Jungkook’s already barely noticeable tears away. “Go and intimidate all those military people with your muscles and tattoos.”

“You know it,” he laughed and violently ruffled her hair, making her laugh. “I love you. See you on the other side, Mimi.”

“See you on the other side,” she smiled at him. “I love you, too.”

taglist: @sunflower-0180 @seaoffangirling @yourwonderbelle @1-800-enhypennabi @kamiiyou @strwberrydinosaur @uraveragefangirlsposts @caratinylyfe @1-800-minji @one16core @kimhyejin3108 @chansols @akshverse @toriluvsfics @billboard-singer @stopeatread @allthings-fandoms

drop an ask or a dm if you wanna be added or taken out of the taglist 🥰 requests are also open!

#yoonmi.timestamp #yoonmi.minmi #yoonmi.jungmi #bts 8th member #bts female member #bts female addition #miya #yoonmi #kim yoonmi

[macravishedbymactavish]

Someone to You (Kyle "Gaz" Garrick x GN!Reader mostly Platonic)

| Blog HQ | Modern Warfare 2019 / 2022 Masterlist |

Kyle comforts you after you get stood up on a date

TW for some light angst, being stood up, swearing

“You look amazing.” Kyle commented from his spot on your bed. Taking in your outfit as you smiled at him from in the mirror.

“Hope so, I'm nervous. I need this to go well.” You sighed, rubbing your palms over your thighs as you turned to face your best friend. Wiggling your shoulders as he chuckled, standing up and wrapping an arm around your shoulders. Leading you toward the front foyer.

“Now, if you need anything, you give good ol’ Kyle a call. A ride, an escape, an alibi, or a pep talk. I'm a phone call away.” He explained, releasing you momentarily so you could put your shoes and jacket on. “You look drop dead gorgeous. Nothing to worry about.”

Smiling widely, you pulled the man into a tight hug. Thanking him before walking out the door, hands shaking as you walked to the restaurant. 

Tears poured down your cheeks as you walked home. Shoulders slumped forward as you wiped your face, inhaling deeply to keep from sobbing. 

You felt like a fool.

Silently stepping through the threshold, you heard Kyle laughing in the otherwise silent livingroom. Signaling that he was playing online with his friends.

“One sec, mates. Gotta see how date night went, I'll be back on shortly.” You grimaced at his words, squeezing your eyes closed as you slumped on the couch beside him. “So, when are you and Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome going out again?”

Kyle's demeanor shifted when he saw the tracks of tears covering your cheeks. Shoulders now tense as a frown pulled on his mouth.

“What happened?” He asked bluntly. Waiting quietly as you shook your head, sniffling as you finally made eye contact.

“He was so handsome and charming when we met.” You sniffled, shaking your head as your frown deepened. “I just don't know what I did wrong. He didn't even show up tonight.”

You felt the couch beside your shift, as your best friend was now up. Walking into the kitchen with heavy foot falls. Leaving you to cry on the couch, wondering why you just couldn't find a romantic connection with anyone. 

Kyle returned a moment later, placing a large bowl of ice cream on the table in front of you before returning to his seat. Both of you eating in silence for a minute before he spoke up.

“You know what, fuck that. Charming is overrated. You know who was charming? Ted Bundy.” Kyle scoffed, flicking his spoon.

“Ted Bundy is a whole ass serial killer. If you ask me, you dodged a bullet.” He continued, shifting so his body was facing you.

“Kyle!” You snorted, wiping your cheeks once more as he stood. Bowl disregarded on the table as he began pacing the room.

“What vehicle does he drive?” The man asked, laughing after a second when you didn't answer. Too busy giggling and wiping your cheeks on the couch. “Really, what vehicle?”

“Does it matter?” You asked, voice distorted by your laughter. Stomach and cheeks both aching as he slammed his hands flat on the coffee table.

“Yes! It matters!” Kyle, holding back his own laughter now stared at you. Leaned over the table as he kept his expression serious.

Clearing his throat, he looked at you. The tactical stare as you once called it. “Now, we need to know what vehicle he drives. If it's a Volkswagen, we have a copy cat killer on the loose.”

A beat of silence passed between you two, before both of you broke into laughter.

“Kyle! That's horrible.” Fresh tears still poured down your cheeks, long forgotten now as your best friend continued to tease.

“Killing people is horrible!” He yelled back, “you dodging a bullet with Mr. Fred BundtPan isn't though. “

He watched as you fell back into the cushions, shoulders shaking with laughter. Silently, he once again made his way over to where you sat once the shaking transitioned from laughter to pain.

“I really liked him, he seemed like such a good guy.” You whispered, wiping your cheeks once more as you played the embarrassment of sitting alone at the resturaunt over in your head.

“I know. He's a daft cunt for giving you up.” Kyle whispered, pulling you into his side as he rested his cheek atop your head. Listening to you pour all your emotions out, not once letting you go.

“At least I didn't get murdered by Fred Bundtpan.” You whispered toward the end of the night. Now leaning fully against your best friend as grogginess overtook your mind.

“That's very true. Fuck Fred Bundtpan.” Kyle nodded, thumb rubbing circles in your forearm as you sleepily echoed the end of his sentence. A smile tugging at the corners of his lips when you fell asleep against him. 

“Fuck Mr. Bundtpan indeed.” Kyle whispered into the dark. Wondering how mindless a man would have to be to give you of all people up.

A mistake he wouldn't be caught dead doing.

Taglist: @bloodonmyhands-1221 @v1naco @bowtruckleninja

#call of duty modern warfare 2 #cod mw2 #call of duty #kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle gaz garrick fluff #kyle gaz garrick #kyle garrick #cod gaz #kyle gaz garrick x gn!reader #CODFICS

[footygirl114]

Sorpresa (Barca x Reader)

This is a special birthday post for @redhairedwolfwitch who has way too many favourite players to pick just one, that I left this special birthday ficlet open for which ever player you want it to be. Happy birthday friend, I hope you have an amazing day!!! 

Waking up you had this sense of excitement, and when you rolled over in bed and were met with empty sheets and not the warm body of your girlfriend you were immediately disappointed. Rolling back over to your side of the bed to reach for your phone you see the red rose, and ice coffee and a note. You smile to your self feeling the excitement rise in you again, you sit up and grab the rose bringing it up to your nose for a sniff as you read the note.

“Hermosa, I had to go in for an early session with the physio. See you soon Mi amor” 

Smiling at the cute note, you also feel a little disappointed that she would forget your birthday. Reaching over for your phone you see the messages from your family who are still back home in the states, but the Timezone mean they messaged you at midnight. Reading through the messages you notice not a single one of your teammates had reached out. 

Shrugging it off you remember it wasn’t a special birthday, it wasn’t a milestone or anything, who really cared it was just another day. Deciding to get out of bed and shower and get ready to head to training you mentally prepare yourself for the disappointed that was inevitable to set in. 

After breakfast and catching up on trashy Spanish reality tv, you loved to watch to help with your english but also for the drama. You are ready to face your day and head into the field for your session. Before you leave you stop and see yourself in the mirror and you give your reflection a sad smile and think about how you just needed to get through the day, and your parents would FaceTime you later and sing to you. 

Pulling up to the field you take a moment in the car again and pump yourself up for the disappointment. You are so distracted giving yourself a pep talk you fail to notice how full the parking lot is, as most of the team was normally late, but also the faces of your girlfriend and teammates in the window waiting for you to come in. 

With your head down you walk in and still do not notice how quiet it is, or how there is no one around. You are so lost in thought you don't even notice the one lone birthday balloon they forgot to hide and was floating in the hallway outside the change room. 

When you open the change room door you finally notice the quiet and the lights being off. Confused you check your phone and know the timing is correct, you reach over to where the light switch is and when you flick them on you immediately surprised as your team stands there and they yell.

“SURPRISE!! FELIZ CUMPLEANOS Y/N!!!!”

Immediately you feel your heart rate speed up, your hands go to your mouth and you can feel the tears running down your cheeks. You are fully speechless as your girlfriend steps up and places her hands on your cheeks as she says “Mi amor, I am sorry but we wanted to surprise you.” 

You smile at her as you shake your head too stunned to speak. She leans forward and presses a kiss to your lips and when she pulls back she says “feliz cumpleaños Mi amor” 

“thank you babe” you reply and before you can say anything else you feel the rest of the team surround you and offer their birthday wishes as well. As you are surrounded by your teammates and the love of your life you cant help but to feel the love of them all. You know that no matter how far you end up you have these goofballs who will always have your back. 

#woso imagine #woso imagines #woso x reader #woso #espwnt x reader #barca femeni

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Some Blight twins thoughts because though they were side characters, I have way too many thoughts on how the Blight parents impacted them.

While Amity seems to have the toughest time under Odalia, I think her control of them was a different subtle kind.

The kind where she would turn them against Amity, encouraging the competition so they'd rat each other out and stay ontop. You could see how well that worked in Lost in Language with that cruel prank and the implication that Amity throws them under the bus by tattling to Alador and Odalia.

So even though Ed and Emira would never rat each other out and they wouldn't rat out their sister, they still resented her because she was the one who could abominations (not that they liked abominations), guarenteeing a bulk of their parents' attention. That they'd have to attend abomination conventions for their father/Amity's work. But nothing related to their own track.

That's partially because of the stigma around illusions. Odalia was okay with it as she saw them occupying her role as a salesperson and she could appreciate the more underhanded nature of illusions but I could see Alador being dismissive of it. Sorta like if it's not as hard as abominations, they're being lazy/superficial choosing the illusion track.

Still they were expected to get good grades. They got good grades but never the praise. They were just met with warnings not to let their grades slip, ruining the Blight standards. Not to be so proud of getting an A, it's expected. That sort of talk.

Of course, Odalia saved all the praise for the grades to Amity who always had to hear how the twins maintained their work without training wands.

Still Odalia would sometimes nudge the twins into turning on each other. Nothing overt but little comments of you don't want to the burdensome one, stop holding your twin back etc.

Which was completely at odds with how she always treated them as a unit. Like she wanted them to be competitive enough to outperform the other but also be each other's matching keeper.

I also think Odalia gave them more leeway because they do seem the most like her, green-haired, confident, extroverted, and with their illusions they do seem to maintain the Blight image while Amity was constantly messing up in their eyes. So yes, favoritism is a factor in the family.

These comments primarily got to Edric as we saw in Reaching Out, feeling like the useless Blight sibling. He's very smart, he's just more creative which wasn't encouraged in the household. He's an out of the box thinker, a wild witch!

But before his pep talk with Eda, he was insecure about this. I feel like under his confident facade, Edric had anxiety over constantly maintaining the cool guy image and how he'll eventually mess it up. This led him to depending on Emira a lot as she's the only one he could tell his feelings too without being told to suck it up like a Blight (thanks parents).

So even though Alador and Odalia weren't the best, Edric was eager in his own way to keep their attention. Sorta like that scrapped episode where he was jealous of an abomination Odalia entered into a competition instead of him. As the only boy he had some "specialness" if you want to use terms like that but also felt like he had to prove himself compared to his sisters. Had to deal with a lot of comments that he wasn't focusing enough, too dependent on Emira, just feeling not smart.

That bled to personal relationships where he felt like he had to be extra attentive, most amazing boyfriend ever. Like sending poems to his date before the actual date. Very extra. But that extraness could spiral to clinginess if he thought they were getting bored which for someone who was trying to be the cool kid all the time, makes him anxious and so he spirals more to make them stay. Yeah, I feel like he wears his emotions more on his sleeve. He gets attached easily and then feels the heartbreak.

It's a bit of a codependent cycle where he's scared to lose someone and clings harder which makes them distant and he clings even harder because he feels he has to earn their worth.

It also hurts in the few times he struck out of the illusion track with potions or beast-keeping, even making his own illusion-potion gun and his parents automatically dismissed it as not their brand. Maybe if he could do one with abominations if he worked harder. It crushed him that he was still told he wasn't working hard enough just because he didn't do abominations.

He got into illusions because his imagination could sour. You could create anything with illusions. You could be anything if you're good enough like an abomination master (the abominations are all illusions but still) or construction or anything. Partially fueled by a subconscious desire to be the person other people want him to be, to belong. He specialized in illusions of grand scope similar to Gus's labriynth that it can coast over miles, one can get lost in his illusions. After he becomes a multi-track witch, he experiments more not with weapon-making but fireworks, and other special effects.

Emira's speciality is realistic illusions. It's why she got into it because she liked the idea of immersing the five senses, making the illusions so real, one can forget where they are, who they are. She liked the spectacle that made you enjoy the fantasy of it for a little while. Maybe it's part of her secret desire to be somewhere else from all the responsbilities she has and the reputation attached to the Blight name, being a twin etc. She was actually interested in visual merchendising but that interest was quickly squashed because it was too unambitious for a Blight to be persuing.

Emira was the one who most often stood up for him, reminding him that he was smart, incredibly creative, just as good a witch as anyone else. But that sort of emotional support did take a toll on Emira. With his anxiety attacks and empathy, she didn't feel comfortable sharing her feelings because then his anxiety might be triggered thinking about her. She sorta internalized the idea that "He can't handle it" and won't give him the chance. And there was a little fear that he would make it about him, and how bad he felt that he didn't notice and she didn't want to know he could be selfish.

So there were complicated feelings of resentment and affection there. Like she loves him but she didn't want to be stuck shouldering all the emotional burden for the family. She knows he can be great but he's scared and she's not going to push him but will that day ever come?

But I don't think she would share her feelings easily in general. As the oldest, she is so used to being considered the adult, the mature one that she takes a sort of pride in that. Pride dampened by the fact that Odalia still controls their every move. All their rebellion is in the limited box that their parents can never find out so it's not even rebellion.

And Odalia does treat them like kids. She may not verbally abuse them like Amity but she expects them to wear matching outfits, follow her plans, anything out of the deviation is met with "You're children. You don't really know." Their pranks or instances of trying to burn the factory. Them playing around. She won't treat them like actual people with autonomy.

Which infruriates Emira who wants to be her own person. Who knows she shoulders a lot caring for Edric and Amity, physically and emotionally. And the few times she's angry enough to put a voice to those feelings, Odalia dismisses her again. She's not really being a parent, Odalia is the parent and Emira is being overdramatic about the few times she gave them soup during bone flu or whatever.

So Emira is the adult in a household where no one else parents, and though she has her own moments where she wants to let everything go, let someone else take over, she knows she can't because no else is there.

So when she dates, it is extremely casually because there is a fear that if its a serious relationship, she'll end up dealing with her partner's emotional health too and she doesn't want to have take care of another person and end up resenting them. So her dates are very superficial, maybe it's only physical and its fine because she doesn't have to care for them like she does for her siblings and titan, doesn't she deserve to just have some fun with no strings attached.

It still means she has no emotional support. She doesn't know how to make boundaries for this sort of thing. It's either the caretaker or nothing.

And even if the other person was there, I think Emira would have a hard time accepting it. There's a fear that people say they want you to open up but they'll run away when its too much/too clingy. Plus so much of what being an adult is percieved as being in control, keeping things together and handling it. If she starts to break down and cry, it would be childish. Like she doesn't have enough will power to handle it.

That's not what adulthood is, but she's a teenager who's adultified yet has no autonomy from her parent so overcompensates by acting what she thinks is an adult.

Also bit leftover favoritism that she was praised as the only one who never caused a scene like her siblings did and subconsciously she still holds herself to it.

A soft hc that she does have moments of depression. At least burn-out with the awful idea of the abyss that nothing is ever going to change. Her mom is going to always act like this, they're always going to have arrange their lives and rebellions around her, she's always going to be stuck with Edric, she's always going to be the emotionally support, nothing will change and if nothing's going to change, why should she try anymore. It leads to nothing but the same.

A happier hc is that I always imagined her as a good singer (bc of her VA) and she loves karoke night as a result as it's one of the few times she can solo. Though she never persued a bard track because it's too unlucretive/bohemian for a Blight, she did briefly had opera lessons as it was classy/rich thing.

She quickly quit because she found it sucked the fun out of singing having to practice and focus on technique.

Kinda dovetails my other hc that Bard and Illusion have a slight rivalry with each other as Illusionists focus on the razzle dazzle of performing while Bards care more about their craft and technique.

But Emira finds she doesn't have the interest in Bard in a serious way as Edric does with his potion/beastkeeping. Nor does she find any interest in healing beyond the practical bits that keep her siblings safe. She did try Oracle once or twice simply so she'd have the upper hand over Odalia if the time came but no interest. She just finds freedom in dabbling a bit of everything just to express herself. Maybe get into visual merchendising again.

I think they'd both have their own moments before the show when they realized their parents just aren't going to change or be better and so they should stop trying to gain their approval. Edric, idk but it would be some situation where he literally does check off all the boxes they'd want in a kid but is still met with criticism where he realizes the endpoint is an ever-moving goal. Emira, not sure either, but at some point she just sees she's never going to earn the autonomy she wants from her parents and that she'll be reduced to a mini-version of Odalia and she just refuses.

And I think they do have illusions to thank for that surprisingly. Illusions are all about making a fantasy/deception to fool others. Necessitating that the illusionists are more grounded in reality cuz how foolish would it be to be tricked by your own illusion or someone else's when they knock the tricks of the track. So, they're able to get past the desperate hope that their parents will get better and see the reality of the situation. Still hurts like hell but they see it.

And where's Alador in all of this? Again, I just feel he is so hyperfixated on abominations that he ignores them. Illusions are beneath him, and holds the same view that they don't have much to contribute since they're intangible. So the twins have come to ignore their father whose advice to them is be less lazy, more ambitious (so opposite everything that their choice in illusions represents to him).

Okay, they do resent him a little because they see his disinterest and yet he still has the nerve to agree with Odalia when she makes decisions about their behavior like he's been paying attention/knows them when he doesn't.

Yet I think in a weird way that it makes them tiny bit closer to Odalia. I say TINY cuz they still know she's a controlling, narcissistic of a mother. But at least she shows some appreciation for their illusions as a track and their more sociable personalities.

They're a bit more like her in not only socialibility, but they can be persuasive, charming, mean at times like if you fall for a trick or a lie, you deserve it for being so dumb. They also share "the ends justify the means" mindset like their cruel prank to Amity. Humiliating will be worth it if it gets her to be less mean and cold. Tough love and all that. Emira might have inherited her more controlling nature a tad but that might stem more from being the adult of the trio and that if she can prevent problems/accidents from happening, then there's less clean-up for her afterwards.

See this other thing I made: https://www.tumblr.com/cartoonfangirl1218/722729067370233856/cartoonfangirl1218-ill-admit-i-was-inspired-by

#the owl house #toh #blight family #odalia blight #alador blight #edric blight #emira blight #my hcs #my headcanons

[gale-gentlepenguin]

ML Reboot: Miraculous: Heroes of Miracles: Origin Marinette

-So similar to Origins, Marinette has been in Chloe’s same class several years in a row. But the beef is more personal as they are Ex-Friends

-Marinette used to be one of Chloe’s friends. And by friends, basically underlings. Marinette realized that Chloe treated her that way and confronted her about it. Asking to be treated better.

-Chloe took offense to this and told her that she needed to apologize for such an insult. (What that insult was is up to the viewer) and Marinette refused.

-Marinette’s best friend, Sabrina, stayed with Chloé despite what Marinette asked. It was heartbreaking. Marinette’s friend group was basically gone.��

(That’s why Chloe has such a distaste for Marinette)

-Marinette was thankful that most of Chloe’s friends weren’t in her class this year, but unfortunately Chloe and Sabrina were.

-Tom and Sabine offered to have Marinette go to a different school. But Marinette declined, she knows how much more it would cost her parents to do that. Plus Marinette was sure she could make new friends… maybe.

- Marinette ends up helping Fu much like in origins. Even though it cost her the macaroons. Fu apologized but Marinette assured it was fine, she had tucked a few away just in case. “It helps to be prepared” giving one to the old man. And heading off. (This shows Marinette is caring, and clever)

-Marinette met Alya before class, and as they entered Chloe and Sabrina swept in to take her away. Marinette felt devastated. She ended up sitting in that seat by herself while Alya sat with Chloe and Sabrina. The rest of the class was doing their own thing.

-A lot of this will be covered later, but Long story short. Alya figures out that Chloe is trying to keep Marinette from having friends, is disgusted by that, and stands up for Marinette. This makes Alya the first person to publicly stand up to Chloe. And Marinette sees her as amazing. Thus Marinette and Alya do become friends.

-Marinette still becomes Ladybug, and Saves Kim and Alya (the later went to check out the akuma). From stoneheart.

-So like in canon, Adrien shows up at school and Chloe basically sweeps him up in her pace. But because of this it Has her ignore Marinette and Alya. Which Marinette calls a blessing.

-It isn’t until she gets Adrien involved in a prank that ruins Marinette’s sketch book, that leaves Marinette disgusted by Adrien. Because it looks like he set up the whole thing. (More elaborate than gum on the seat)

-Marinette has her doubtful arc and sure enough proves herself ready as Ladybug. Thanks to chat noir pep talk

-Adrien does apologize to Marinette during the umbrella scene. Explaining what happened and how he never intended to hurt anyone. Explanation on backstory, he told Chloe the prank went to far and wasn’t funny. And he got her a new sketchbook and a book of fabric Swatches to try and make up for it, asking if they could be friends. “My Dad always said it helped having references to fabrics. And after I saw it was a design book…”

-Marinette agreed and cue the cute umbrella close and laugh.

-So yea, Marinette is smitten. But it’s less over the top. (It isn’t even pointed out officially until a third of the way in.) but it’s still there.

___________________________________________

A few additions!

-Chloe had Marinette as her number one underling basically. Always pairing up for projects and fixing up things. Chloe even had Marinette make her accessories (which she then took credit for). Marinette would get some gifts (usually things Chloe was bored of)

-Sabrina was Marinette’s best friend before Chloe came into the picture, and Sabrina was jealous of Chloe favoring Marinette. And when Marinette told Sabrina they were being taken advantage of, Sabrina ignored it, using it as a chance to move up in the social standing

-Marinette is coordinated, but trips over herself when nervous or distracted. Which is why she seems clumsy.

-Marinette has a semi photographic memory.

-Marinette is not gifted in languages, something she wishes she was.

-Marinette has the same eye color as her mother. Only getting blue eyes when she is Ladybug as an effect of Tikki.

-Marinette’s least favorite thing to design are hats.

-Marinette does have a habit of making puns when nervous. Something Adrien finds cute.

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ml reboot #miraculous: heroes of miracles #ladybug #marinette dupain cheng

[daughterofthereaper02]

Honorable Discharge

Pairing(s): Hangman x Rooster x Bob x F! Veteran! Teacher! Reader

Summary: After being honorably discharged, you began to teach at the high school near TOP GUN. Your soulmates were gone for a bit but your students were happy to listen, they were even happier to meet them with everyone else.

Warnings: Inappropriate jokes, PTSD and depression mentioned, cursing

You walked into your class room, your students sitting in their desks giggling. You looked at the bored, "Oh Jesus! I'm going to throw up! Get this math off my board! Eraser, quick!" You called.

A few students laughed, one tossing you the eraser. You wiped it down, "This is a history classroom! Keep that shit outta here!" You joked to your Juniors. "Mr. Keller had to teach here last period, Ms. L/n," one of your students said. "Well, they never informed me. Tell Mr. Keller he almost gave me a heart attack, Jason," you grinned. You and Andrew Keller were friends and it was well known, they all knew he wouldn't mind.

"So, today is the pep rally, we leave this room early. I don't want to do work, you don't want to do work, so let's talk. Get to know each other a little better, yeah?" You smiled. Your U.S. History 2 class cheered, they were your last period and only U.S. 2 so you didn't mind.

“Okay, go around the room and say what you want to do when your graduate high school. Just remember, even if you chose it and it falls through, all that matters is you tried to make a plan,” You smiled, a lot of them looking more relaxed. So many people judged others when they no longer went through with it or they couldn’t, your students felt comfortable with you because you didn’t pressure them.

You listened to each student, making a little input and tips for them. The last student came up and he was cocky, looking down on you practically, “I plan to become a Naval Aviator ma’am, just like my father,” he said smugly. You grinned, “That’s a great career. I saw so much when I was one. As many know, I was honorably discharged,” you said, smiling sadly. “WHAT!?” your class shouted, making you jerk back in shock. “Shh!” You said, “Yes, I was a Naval Aviator, my call sign was Sparky. You don’t get a name you like, mine was from constantly electrocuting myself,” you chuckled, “I had bad luck then,” you told them. You moved to sit on top of your desk, “Obviously I have been teaching for two years but I went down on a mission and hit my head. Due to my injury I was honorable discharged as I could no longer fly a jet. For my safety and others,” You told them. “I will never regret it though, I met my soulmates in the military!” You grinned.

“Can we circle back to the fact you’re a badass, Ms. L/n!?” one of your female students said, making you blush. “Thank you Cassidy,” You told her, “Yes, I had an amazing career. On my downtime I did schooling to get my degree, I had it as a backup,” you shrugged. “But, my soulmates are naval aviators as well. They have been gone six months for a mission currently,” You sighed, glancing at the photo you had of them. Your students begged you to tell them stories as they looked at the photo of you four.

“Obviously you know I can’t tell you all classified information, right?” You asked and they nodded, some looking sad, “Good, just wanted to managed expectations,” you joked. You thought back to appropriate ones, telling them about the time you had a WSO and made them throw up from too many tricks, flying with each of your soulmates and Jake being the only one to scream along happily, the bet of 200 pushups from the Uranium mission.

“ATTENTION! All third floor students report to the auditorium for the pep rally,” The Principle said over the loud speaker, “That’s us kids! Go on down!” you smiled, “Can’t we stay here to hear more stories?” The future aviator said, “Nope, maybe if you all behave next week,” you smiled.

You went downstairs, your heart constricting painfully as you thought about your old career, you missed it every single day. You kept well in shape though, easily keeping up with your soulmates still. You felt so out of touch when you hung out at The Hard Deck with your friends without your soulmates, they all barely talked to you except for Maverick. You thought back to the jokes you used to crack with Phoenix, your best friend, and now she could barely look at you.

“In other news, the sex position 69 will now be 96 due to the increase costs in the economy,” She joked, you smirked, leaning over, “My vagina tried to clean its self at a inappropriate time, that's what I call a dishonorable discharge!” you joked back. You both fell over laughing and winced as Maverick smacked you both on the back of the head before laughing all over again.

You snapped yourself out of it and went by Keller, sighing, “Can this be over? I hate these things,” you grumbled. He snorted, “Yeah, but today should be better, we get to leave right after the kids, some before,” he grinned, neither of you had to stay late. “Want to come to The Hard Deck with me?” you asked, he shook his head, “Can’t, Miranda wants to go shopping for baby clothes,” he chuckled. “Enjoy it,” you told your friend, a big smile on your face that still didn’t reach your eyes. He knew you have been struggling lately with PTSD, your friends not talking to you, your soulmates being gone, and your depression, “Chin up, it will get better,” he told you softly.

You sighed as the pep rally began, your head pounding from the band as they played off key. You watched as the students began to do the games and activities, confetti cannons going off, t-shirt being thrown and teachers being pulled into them.

“We’re going to have our two veteran teachers compete against each other!” The gym teacher, Mrs. Grims said, a smirk on her face as she thought she could get you to lose against the other, “Ms. Ln and Mr. Wilks! Ms. Ln is former Naval Aviator and Mr. Wilks is former Military police!” she smiled. “Each with try to do as many pushups as possible,” and you turned to Alexander, “What the fuck? I didn’t agree!” you hissed, he looked equally as mad.

You went over and shook his hand, glad you were in flexible clothes as it was dress down day. You wouldn’t be seen sweating either like Mr. Wilks who also looked upset, who wore light grey.

You started and everyone cheered loud for you both, by 50 he started to shake, you were just breathing harder. He wasn’t keeping form at 100, “Army strong?” you joked tightly to him, and he groaned, just continuing until he collapsed. You got in more after you were told to keep going, little did you know they were getting your soulmates in and wanted people distracted. Finally, you hit 200, it was easier without being under the sun on the tarmac.

Everyone cheered and Wilks helped you up, “Good job sailor,” he joked, “Aviator to be more accurate,” you joked back.

“NOW! We have a surprise for our champion!” The superintendent said, making you look surprised. You turned and saw Jake, Bradley, and Robert standing there in their dress uniforms. You teared up and ran straight to them, throwing yourself into their arms. “For those who don’t know, Lts. Bradshaw, Floyd, and Seresin are Ms. L/n’s soulmates. They have been overseas for six months now, serving this country. Welcome home, aviators!” The superintendent cheered.

You were trying to not cry but smelling their colognes made you feel like all that emotions from before were silly, you had them now. “Welcome home!” You smiled, looking up at them with love. “You can go home early, Y/n,” the Superintendent told you and you nodded, you grabbed your stuff from next to Alexander, “Have fun, Y/n!” he grinned. You smiled brightly and once you got them to your car, you kissed each of them deeply, “I missed you all so much!”: you told them. “Phone calls weren’t enough...” you smiled, knowing you couldn’t ask them to not go anymore, you would never hold them back.

Let’s just say, once you got home after giving them a good welcome home, you cuddled them and were held for a long time. You were feeling better already.

Taglist:

@peaches-and-sunshine

@natasharomanoffisbaebby​

@sweetheartlizzie07​

@lollypop90907

@jamiedontbeacracko

@fandomstanner24

@casperlikej 

@lyn07 

@luckyladycreator2 

@spidermankenobi 

@fangirlofallthings22

@18crazybutcutealsopsycho

@teti-menchon0604

@lisedanie

#top gun #top gun maverick #bradley bradshaw fanfiction #bradley bradshaw #bradley bradshaw imagines #bradley bradshaw x reader #bradley 'rooster' bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw #bradley rooster bradshaw x reader #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin #hangman #hangman x y/n #hangman x reader #jake hangman seresin x reader #jake seresin x reader #robert bob floyd x reader #robert bob floyd #robert floyd #robert floyd x reader

[svechnikovvv]

crashing down

pairing: quinn hughes x fem!reader

warnings: profanity

summary: nothing lasts forever

a/n: this was another request and by far one of my favorites i’ve written yet. also had strange by celeste on repeat while writing this 😍

masterlist: here

quinn and i met when i first moved to vancouver a year ago.

***

i was running late to my job interview. what an amazing way to present myself. i left the coffee shop with my drink in hand, checking my phone to see how much time i had until my interview. ten minutes. better put some pep in my damn step. my phone rings and i see my brother's name across the screen. i press answer.

"make it quick," i say and he scoffs.

"i missed you too, sis."

"listen, i'm running late to my interview for my new job. can this wait?" he sighs on the other end

"i suppose it can." we say our goodbyes and hang up. i see the building come into view and i quicken my pace. i open the glass door, walking up to the front desk. i check my phone. five minutes left to spare.

"name please," the receptionist says in a monotone voice.

"uh, y/n l/n. here to see mr. santiago" she types away on her keyboard and points to an elevator.

"top floor. when you get there, go down to the end of the hall. he's ready for you." i nod and thank her, walking to the elvator. i press the highest number button there is. the doors close and i feel the elevator jerk as it takes me where i need to. the elevator then dings, and the doors open. i do as the lady instructed and walk all the way down the hall to a clear door. i knock on it and an old man looks up from his desk, waving me in.

"please, take a seat." he takes his glasses off and rubs at his eyes, gesturing to the two seats in front of his mahogany desk and i sit in one. he puts his glasses back on and grabs a file from his left.

"y/n right?"

"yes sir"

"you're here for the photographer position, yes?"

"that would be correct." he opens the file and takes a look through it.

"no criminal history, great student in college, amazing recommendations, and your photos you submitted are just... wow."

"thank you, sir" he continues to skim through the file and hums to himself. he then looks at me.

"you do realize you'll be the department's lead photographer? can you handle that responsibility?"

"yes sir. i can handle anything." he pauses

"when can you start?" i smile in relief

"as soon as you'll have me." he smiles

"great. can't wait to see you wednesday." i nod and thank him for giving me this job. i head to the elevator and head back down to the main floor. not even the receptionist with her god-awful monotone voice can ruin my now chipper mood.

it was finally wednesday and i packed my camera and everything and was off my way to work. i see mr. santiago at the desk as soon as i walk through the glass doors and he turns around. a smile blooms across his face and he raises his arms.

"there she is. you ready for your first day?" i nod

"let me show you to your office." i get an office? for myself? we step into the elvator and head to the fourth floor. he leads me to an office with glass windows and on the door, i see my name in white lettering.

y/n l/n

department photographer

i feel confetti go off in my head and i can't wait to call my brother later to tell him. mr. santiago opens my door and gestures to the office.

"she's all yours. if you need anything, i'm on line three. around 6, you're needed to go to the ice rink and take pictures of the canucks' hockey game. someone should be stopping by to bring you your pass." i nod, taking everything in. he waves me bye and i take a seat in my rolly chair and set my camera and equipment on my very own mahogany desk. i could get used to this.

i take some time to edit some pictures and hear a knock on my door. i see mr. santiago and he walks in.

"here ya go. make sure you have this or they won't let you in." i nod and take the lanyard from him, slipping it over my neck already.

"getting some work done?" he asks me, gesturing to my laptop.

"something like that. just editing some wedding photos for a client of mine."

"a client?"

"yes sir. i have a side business that i run. just in case i ever need something to fall back on." he nods

"well i'll leave ya' to it." i thank him for my pass and he leaves.

six comes sooner than expected and i leave my office. i set up my gps on my phone so i know where to go to take these pictures and it takes me a minute, but i get there. i grab my equipment and walk to the doors. i see people all around me dressed in different numbered jerseys. i find a security officer and walk up to him.

"hi, uh, i'm here to take pictures of the game?" i flash him my badge and he nods, leading me somewhere. he takes me to a nice seat up close to the ice and i wish i brought a jacket because it's a bit chilly. i thank the man and unzip my bag, grabbing my camera. i set it through the little hole in the glass wall and start snapping away.

i manage to get some good shots during the game of the players when they celebrate. i even get a couple videos, reminding myself to put them in slowmo later.

after the game, i'm allowed access on the ice and i start taking any picture i can. when i got a decent amount, i stepped off the ice. the stands were just about bare now. with a canucks win of 4-2, the players were very cheery. which gave me better photo content.

i set my camera back in it's bag, zipping it closed. now, to figure out how to get out of this place. i take a couple turns and now i'm lost. i hear a soft chuckle behind me and i turn to see a brunette man walking to me.

"you lost?" i nod

"that obvious?" he shrugs

“where are you trying to go?”

“to my car. so the parking lot.” he nods and we start to walk.

“who you here for?”

“what do you mean?” i ask and he smiles

“what player? i see your pass” he gestures his head at the pass around my neck and i shake my head.

“ohhhh. nobody. i’m a photographer” he nods

“is it okay if i take a look at some of the pictures?”

“sure,” we stop and i unzip my bag, pulling out my camera. i go to the gallery and go to the first picture i took tonight. i hand him the camera and he looks through all the photos.

“these are really good. you sure do have a good eye.” i thank him and i see him looking at a picture for a minute too long.

“what is it?” i ask, trying to get a peek at which one had him transfixed. i see my favorite picture i took tonight. it was of this guy and he had a big smile on his face.

“that’s my favorite one i took tonight. he looks so happy and care-free. i aspire to feel that way one day.” i see him smile and he looks at me.

“y’know, i don’t usually like my picture taken, but you’re starting to make me like it.” my eyes widen slightly

“that- that’s you?” he smiles

“sure is. is there any way you can send this to me?”

“yeah. uh, email. i have to go back by my office after this anyways if you want to swing by and watch the amazing editing process.” he shrugs

“sure. why not.”

“i never caught your name,” he says

“y/n”

“well y/n, it’s nice to meet you. i’m quinn”

***

a month or two after that, quinn and i started dating. the first few months of our relationship are what you would call the”honeymoon phase.” we were around six months in our relationship when i noticed the change.

first it was the distance. we stopped hanging out more and more. and i understand that dating a pro-athlete comes with obstacles and one of them being the constant traveling and distance. i would always just tell myself it was because he’s getting deeper into the season. i would constantly try and find some sort of hope, to maybe gaslight myself into thinking the inevitable wasn’t as close as i thought it was.

next it was the lack of communication. whenever quinn went on roadies when we first started dating, we would call every night and see how the other’s day was, etc. that changed into once every couple of days, which then changed into once every week (or however long the roadie lasted). i pushed through and just told myself that he was stressed or busy.

then it was plan cancellations. quinn was a man of his word. anyone you asked would confirm that. but then he started to cancel on me last minute. more and more, he would do it. like always, i just brushed it off and made an excuse.

the breaking point for me? the constant excuses. quinn was also a very honest person, so he would just tell you straight up yes or no. or if he didn’t like a certain outfit someone was wearing. so for him to constantly make up reasons why he couldn’t go out with me or go to some restaurant every now and then? it was my reality check.

for example, my birthday dinner. he cancelled last minute and said he had some “dinner” for his team to attend. i knew he was lying because a couple of the guys and their significant others showed up to my dinner. that was a real kick in the gut to me.

quinn was smart, i’ll give him that. because he slowly would start to cancel plans. he would slowly start to make up excuses. he would slowly start to cut himself off from me. he did everything in a slow, subtle manner that when i finally realized it, it hurt more than it should.

it was draining. constantly missing what once was while you were in the now. a couple of quinn’s teammates even reached out and asked what was going on. wouldn’t they like to know? i myself had no clue what was going on. i had a gut feeling, though, that this relationship was starting to become 90/10. that he was losing feelings.

everything started to take a toll on me as well. my productivity at work started to decrease. mr. santiago even pulled me in his office and sat me down to ask what was wrong. i broke down that day. just sobbing and letting everything out to him. he sent me home for the day.

i was tired of it. the pitiful looks people would give me. the constant walking on eggshells around me. it made me feel like some fragile, porcelain doll.

i was sitting on my couch when knocking sounded through my house. i get up and trudge over to the door, looking through the peep hole to see quinn. right. i texted him to come over so i can talk to him about something important.

i open the door and quinn walks by me, taking a seat on the couch.

“what’d you need?” he sounded like he wasn’t there. which, technically he wasn’t. the quinn i fell for wasn’t the quinn that was sitting in front of me.

“i think we need a break, quinn.” his brows slightly furrow.

“what?”

“i just… i don’t think it’s working. i think we both got together thinking we would be this awesome, super power-couple. and now it’s biting us back in the ass.”

“but why?” i scoff, looking up at the ceiling.

“why? quinn, can’t you see it?” i look at him and he’s silent. i stand up and start to pace.

“you’re just not here anymore. you barely talk to me. we don’t ever see each other anymore. i cant even remember the last time i saw you smile around me. do you know how much that fucking hurts, quinn? i’ve lost you, yet you’re sitting right in front of me! and i get it, you okay hockey, you’re busy, but you aren’t even trying to make an effort anymore!” he stands up as well and i can see the slight anger that he barely showed around me making it’s way through.

“y/n, are you forgetting what i do for a living?” he raises his voice.

“no, quinn! god damnit, did you not listen to a single word i just said?” i pause, pulling at my hair. “it doesn’t feel like you care.” i see his jaw clench

“if i didn’t care, i wouldn’t be here in the first place!”

“then maybe you shouldn’t be here!” he looks a bit taken back, but it quickly fades.

“i just can’t do it anymore, quinn. i hope you find someone who makes you happier.” my tone is more quiet, and he nods his head, face void of any emotion as he walks out my house door, slamming it. i slightly flinch at the sound and i take a seat on my couch, processing everything.

all good things must come to an end, right?

tags: @goldenbrokenheart @woodruff-edwards @sumqtuous

a/n: oh yeah, angst to get us through the night

#quinn hughes x reader #quinn hughes #nhl hockey #nhl #vancouver canucks

[breezybrii]

˚- ୨୧ lets give it a try ♡ ⤷ Niki

「genre: fluff, strangers - friends - lovers, he fell she fell harder」

ʚ₊˚ high school AU! Fem!Y/N band AU! 📻

𝙬𝙖𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨: swearing, rude humor, kissing?, didn't proof read

this is made to entertain! please enjoy! if you have any suggestions feel free to let me know! thank you!

Note: I just realized i put niki instead of riki but tbh i'm just going to make it so his team and the other enhypen members call him niki and y/n and her friends call him riki.

✎ 》 𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙏𝙬𝙤 ⌨️

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»Niki's POV:

"yeah yeah hurry, i'll see you there!" she's coming! let's go! I waved at her before leaving, i'm so happy. to be honest.. i really admire her. she's so pretty and talented. i've seen her concerts multiple times, since freshman year in fact, and she's always been so amazing.

i was walking towards the locker rooms when i heard someone call my name, "niki! wait up!" it was jake. "hey jake, what's up?" he smirked. "i saw you talking to y/n, what's that about huh," jake teased. "nothing, i ran into her this morning and i thought she was cool so i invited her to our game, that's it, why?" he smiled. "well she happens to be one of my best friends and you know, if you're ever interested.." i stopped him there. "we just met, i think she'll be freaked out about that." jake pursed his lips together. "whatever you say man."

after we all met in the locker room, the coach gave us a quick pep talk and after that, we headed onto the bus. when we were all situated, the bus began pulling out. i leaned my head against the window, it wasn't going to be a short ride as the stadium is quite far.

while i was staring out the mirror, i noticed we past the student parking lot where i saw what looked like y/n. i lifted my head up to get a closer look and sure enough, it was her, getting into the passenger seat of a car. thinking about her just coming to our game made me nervous, i hardly get nervous.

"niki wake up, we're here." i opened my eyes then rubbed them. when my vision became clear, i noticed we were at the stadium. i wonder if she's here.

everyone unloaded the bus and started heading to the locker room to change out of our warm ups and put our bags down. "yeah she's coming, why do you ask?" i heard jake talking to leehan (boynextdoor). who was he talking about? "i wanted to ask her for her number, you know shoot my shot." i pretended to fix the laces on my cleat and scooted a bit closer to them to hear better. "honestly man, you don't have a chance with y/n," jake laughed, "she isn't really the dating type." no way leehan likes y/n, i've never seen them talk before. "oh come on, i'm a handsome guy, she will fall for me as soon as she sees me, right niki?" i rolled my eyes. "sure, whatever you say."

"okay everyone, make even lines and begin warming up!" jake yelled. we all followed what he said and i got in line behind him. we started with knee hugs. "so niki, what did you think about what leehan said?" jake asked. "well i mean he can go for it, it's not like it's any of my business," i continued stretching. "it didn't even make you a little jealous?" is he being for real? "i told you i just met her, if she gets with someone that's not my problem." jake sighed "come on i know you've had a hallway crush on her since AT LEAST sophomore year." i shrugged, "i don't know what you're talking about."

"alright guys, let's go out there and show them who we are," jake hyped us up. "1, 2 ,3 HYBE." we all then stepped onto the field and got into our positions. i looked towards the stands, y/n wasn't there. i'm kind of disappointed. hopefully she comes.

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»Your POV:

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

"hurry we're late!" i told ash. "girl you wanted mcdonalds." i put some fries in my mouth. "we have to sit through a game in the HUMIDITY, i need some food with it." ash shook her head. "i know you want to see your little friend but chill, we're like 5 minutes away." the game literally started 10 minutes ago.

"you ladies enjoy," the ticket salesman said as he scanned our tickets. we walked up the ramp and found a place around the middle to sit. it was almost 20 minutes into the first half and the score was still 0-0 but from the looks of it, our team had the ball the majority of the time.

"why do you keep dragging me to games i don't understand y/n," ash sighed and layed in between the bleachers. "well i always buy you food whenever we go so i think that's pretty fair." ash hummed. "look your "friend" pushed someone and has the ball now." i looked over to the field and yeah, riki had the ball. he was actually good at handling the ball and had good passing. he’s actually good.

the buzzer rang. the first half ended and the boys walked out and headed to the locker room. "hey i'm hungry, let's get snacks," i said to ash. "okay yeah i could go for some nachos."

after we got our snacks, we headed back to our seats. the second half already started because of the huge line we had to wait in but we made it back before anything drastic happened.

as we sat down, it was a corner kick for our team. "do you think they'll score now?" ash asked. "well this is their chance, there's only 30 minutes left so they're going to start scoring now and hold onto it until the end and possibly score more." ash shook her head, now focused on the game. the guy kicked the ball, it made it's way to the middle. i noticed someone jump, it was riki. he headed the ball and it went inside the goal. "OH MY GOD!" "that was so cool!" the fans yelled. "i would actually die if that was me that was impressive," i told ash. "girl me too, my head would get blown off".

the final whilst blew, the score 1-0, our school won. "that was a good game, i actually enjoyed it," ash said to me. "well it was pretty interesting, i'm glad you don't regret coming with me this time."

we started heading out when i suddenly heard my name. it was a guy. "uh yeah?" i said, walking up to the fence, where he was on the other side. "hey y/n, i'm leehan and to be straight, i want to get to know you." he smiled. i was shocked. how does this guy know me? "what i'm basically asking is if i could get your number," he continued.

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»Niki's POV:

◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦

i saw him talking to her. was he actually doing it? "i wouldn't let that slide if that was me niki," jake instigated. "oh shut up." i looked back at y/n and leehan. she looked awkward. should i go over there? i felt a hand on my shoulder. "go see what's happening," it was jake. "gosh youre so nosy," i told him.

i walked up to them, what was i going to say? "oh hey y/n, leehan." i said. "hey riki! you did really good out there, your goal was really good," she smiled at me. she looked so pretty. "what are you guys talking about?" i said looking at leehan. "oh i was just asking her a question," he said. "so y/n, what's it gonna be?" y/n moved her eyes side to side, looked at me, and looked at him. "honestly, you seem sweet, but i'm kind of not wanting anything right now, sorry." leehan sighed and shook his head. "alright, that's fine, thanks for being honest." he looked back. "i'll see ya around then." leehan walked away.

"so what was that about," i asked y/n as we walked to the front of the stadium. "oh nothing really, he just asked for my number," she turned to me. "it was kind of weird but once you came i felt a bit more confident." i'm glad i went up to them then. "hey, if you aren't busy, do you maybe want to get ice cream or something? i'll take you home right after." she smiled. "yeah of course, just let me call ash."

"alright, yeah, uh huh, thanks ash, bye bye." she hung up the phone. "i told ash! let's go?" i can't believe we were going to hang out. "my car is a bit messy so don't mind it," i said opening the door for her. i headed to the drivers side and sat down. "i also kind of smell so i hope that won't bother you." she shook her head. "not at all it's okay, i've probably smelt worse," she laughed. "well lets head on our way then!" i started driving. "where do you want to get ice cream?" she furrowed her eyebrows. "hmm... let's go to mcdonalds! fries with ice cream is so good!" i gave her a confused look. "fries and ice cream?" she nodded. "it's actually so good!" i looked ahead and smiled. "okay i believe you, let's get you some." she smiled even harder. she's amazing.

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Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry I took so long! I kind of didn't know what to write and got distracted while writing. I've also been grinding on minecraft with my friends so I haven't been writing. Also sorry for the short part and it kind of sucks so i apologize! Thank you so much for all the love on the last post!

#niki imagines #niki #niki x reader #enhypen #jake #jay #heesung #jungwon #sunghoon #sunoo #x reader #fanfiction #ff #enhypen imagines