Tumgik
#anybody else ever hung up on the fact that none of these boys ever gets a tan
xpeachesncream · 3 years
Text
bands | thirteen
Tumblr media
[ series masterlist ]
summary: jeon jungkook has it all: the looks, the fame, the money, the women. being considered the sexiest man in the industry, he finds no complaints about the way his life is going nor does he find any reason to apologize for the way he approaches it. he is a force to be reckoned with - until he meets you.
pairing: stripper!reader x idol!jjk
genre: (18+) strip club/nightlife au, post grad au | fluff, angst, smut
words: 3.9k
warnings: cussing, mature language/implied sexual content, slight degradation, trouble stirring behind the scenes if you squint, yeonjun and soobin (txt) make an appearance but also as reg 18 yr olds lol
tags: @brightcolorsoffendme​ @min-nicoleee​ @eggbutnotyolk​ @ra-mun-e @miinoongi​ @jimidol​ @ppeachyttae​ @thebeebi​ @bluesharksandfish​ @kooafraid​ @liriaus​ @thisartemisnevermisses​ @ggukkieland​ @preciouschimine​ @sunniejinnie​ @cypheruby​ @cyb3rbab3​ @masterlists101​ @awhnamjoon​ @redhedhoseok​ @wooya1224​ @taeismydeath @jikookiekosmos​ @un2-verse​ @aynsx​ @wearenot7withu​ (please message me if you would like to be added to the taglist!)
Tumblr media
"BTS' Jeon Jungkook rumored to be dating stripper from nightclub!"
"Jungkook is no longer single, ladies!"
"Jeon Jungkook is dating a stripper? Why the hell is he doing that?"
"Who the hell does she think she is? I bet she's not even pretty."
"Jungkook fell for a stripper? Out of all people? Damn, and I thought he was better than that."
Jungkook has been tired, the rumors constantly being spread day in and day out. But, it still didn't mean he was gonna say shit to prove himself to people out there. He didn't need to give anybody answers. Hell, this was strictly between you and him and that's how he wants to keep it.
Fuck every single one of you who didn't wanna be behind him and support him. Don't even think about calling yourself a fan of his if that's your mindset.
He could truly care less. He was happy and he felt ten times better than he has in a really long time. It's unfortunate how people love to stay narrow minded. The only thing that bothered him was the fact that it was so unfair for you - how they stuck to that stripper image, rather than really getting to know you beneath the surface.
But it's not like anyone else deserved to know the real you, not after all this shit. And he was gonna keep it that way, and protect you.
"Hey, don't listen to any of that shit, okay?" Jungkook says as he meets you in your car in the BigHit building garage. "None of that matters to me."
"I know, but Kook." You look at him. "Your career, BigHit literally might not even want me here and-and—"
"Then I'll make sure they understand it's not an issue, because it's really fucking not." He says, getting irritated only at the thought of the company giving him issues over you. He watches as you slightly frown, causing him to sigh and soften his own facial expression. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to get worked up like that. It's just annoying how people are narrow-minded. This has absolutely nothing to do with you." You give him a small smile. "Come on, I'll walk you." You silently nod and hop out of your car. You follow beside him, your stomach in knots having to meet with their performance director. This meant you'd also most likely run into the rest of Bangtan.
In which happens to turn true pretty quickly.
"Jungkookie!" Hoseok says loudly down the hallway as he approaches the both of you. He does nothing besides smile, curiosity definitely filling his eyes.
"This is Y/N. Y/N, Hoseok hyung." He holds out his hand for you to shake, his head tilting ever so slightly because you know he's familiar with your face. He's just trying to remember from where. Or, he has recognized you, but he's trying his hardest not to say anything.
Cause they have seen all of you, especially in that fishnet bodysuit.
"Hi! Nice to meet you! You can call me Hobi for short. Are you meeting with someone?" You nod.
"Yeah." Is all you can reply with as you shyly tuck a strand of hair behind your ear.
"Nice, goodluck!"
"Is everyone else here?" Jungkook asks, making Hobi nod.
"Yeah, but they're still running through some stuff in the dance studio. I just ran off to take a break."
"Okay." Jungkook looks at you. "Follow me, he's in one of the private studio rooms." You both part ways from Hoseok, the need to clutch onto Jungkook's arm immensely strong right now. You hold yourself off though, because even with passing a few female staff members, you catch them looking at you oddly with the way you're walking side by side with Jungkook.
Nope. Don't even think about it, Y/N. It doesn't matter.
Jungkook knocks softly on a door, the middle of it being made up of entirely frosted glass so it's difficult to see inside. Their performance director opens the door swiftly and welcomes you in with a warm smile, stepping aside to let you in.
"I've got it from here, Jungkookie. Thank you." Jungkook nods but tries to peek through the door to get one last glimpse of your face before he shuts it fully. "How are you doing, Y/N?" He sits in front of you, leaning onto his knees with his hands fully clasped together.
"I'm good. How are you?"
"Good, tired." He chuckles. "Thanks for taking my call earlier and for meeting at such short notice on a weekend. I had a couple of things come up and didn't want to push things off until later." You smile.
"It's no problem."
"Jungkook tells me a lot about you."
"Does he now?" You chuckle and tilt your head to the side.
"Says you're a really good person. Super hardworking. Told me a little bit about your situation with your brother."
"Mmyeah, it's a little complicated."
"It's alright, no need to get into the details." He smiles before letting out a small sigh. "It's incredibly rare for me to hear Jungkook speak like that. In general. He's usually very closed off, doesn't like to let people in much. He really respects you, you know? Cares about you a whole lot." You slightly blush.
"I'm still getting used to it." He chuckled.
"Look, I know you've been worrying because of where you've been and all that, but I want to reassure you that none of it matters. I don't like to focus on all that. You're here as you, not her." He says, putting another pronoun to your stripper persona.
"Thank you, I appreciate it." He nods. There's a small pause before he begins to speak again.
"I could really use some help around here if you're still interested? The boys are becoming a lot for me to handle."
"Ah-uh, yeah! Of course I am." You found yourself stuttering at the sudden offer. Was this fucking real?! "But, you are aware of where me and Jungkook are at, right?" You ask, trying to be completely transparent and honest about their relationship. He nods and waves his hand out.
"As long as you keep it professional here, right?" You nod.
"Right."
"Come, let me show you around really quickly and have you formally meet the boys." You swallowed the lump in your throat. Fucking great. He definitely didn't know they've all seen your titties and pussy out during Yoongi's birthday, and now here you were - about to meet them again in this environment. Hobi was awkward enough even though he tried not to be.
Surprisingly, Jungkook wasn't waiting outside in the hallway like you thought he would be, but the tour commences and the PD is taking you around pretty quickly. You feel even more awkward and somewhat alone [even though you weren't] without Jungkook nearby, but you chug along and say your hello's to the people you're introduced to. He finally brings you into the dance studio, where there's loud ass music blasting, Jungkook, the boys and some backup dancers in front of the mirrors fooling around.
"Aye boys, come here real quick." You and Jimin lock eyes and your body suddenly gets tense. The room feels 10x hotter than it already is, especially when he slowly walks over and clenches his jaw. He is literally seeping with hate right now, maybe actually disgust, and he doesn't even try to hide it. Most of them for sure recognize you, but they seem to brush it off and give you a big wave/smile anyway.
"Last, that's Jimin - Jimin, Y/N." You give Jimin a fake smile, and the only thing his ass can reciprocate is the smallest, tight-lipped smile you have ever seen. You've never even seen your mom do that when she got mad or upset with you.
"Hi." Is all you can say.
"Sup." He looks at you before turning on his heel and walking away.
"Ooookay?" Namjoon furrows his brows as he watches Jimin walk away so rudely. "The hell was that about?"
"I knew that was Kookie's girlfriend! Maybe Jiminie remembers seeing her titties and shit too, needs to walk away before he gets his ass beat by him." Yoongi says lowly behind Namjoon.
"Yeah, like you're any better." Namjoon says, looking at Yoongi weirdly.
"I mean, we did see her practically naked." Jin says, chiming into the discussion.
"I touched her." Yoongi's mouth slightly hangs down. "I touched her."
"Go ahead, say it louder so Kookie can hear you." Jin nods sarcastically. "Go, say it!"
"No, stop." Yoongi's cheeks turn red while shaking his head and laughing. "He'll literally launch me out the window with one hand."
"Good."
"You asked for her to sit on your lap too, bro!"
"I was joking, and it's not like she did it anyway!"
"Whatever, I'm keeping my birthday deep in my memory storage."
"Clean slate for her so it should be for you too, my guy." Namjoon says as he has enough of their conversation.
You look at Jungkook who is silently standing there, looking like a big dork with a huge smile on his face and his thumbs up. You give him the tiniest nod before proceeding to follow the PD out.
"So?!" Jungkook dashes to meet you in their waiting room area, where an abnormally large picture of Jimin posing oddly hung up.
"He said he'll send me all the info and papers and stuff!" You respond excitedly as Kook hugs you and quickly swings you around.
"See, I knew it would work out!" He puts you down. "Are you gonna tell Kai?" You shook your head.
"Not today at least, it's his birthday and I don't wanna take away from that. It's his day." Jungkook smiles at you.
"Text me when you've picked him up? I should be home by then."
"Okay." You blush and back away, making Jungkook look at you with confusion. "I have to keep it professional here, duh."
"Ah I see." He chuckles. "That won't last very long."
"Jungkook." You whine.
"There's a lot of private rooms here and—"
"I'm not listening, sorry. I think Kai is suddenly calling me." You cover your ears as you begin to walk away, giving him one last smile before leaving him to the rest of rehearsals and whatever else they're doing. He laughs to himself as he waves you off, excited to get through the day so he can just spend time with you and Kai.
As the hours go on and it's about time for you to pick Kai up, you quickly stop by the store because you're a procrastinator and didn't buy Kai's birthday gift any earlier. You felt bad you weren't able to find the shoes he wanted, but you at least snagged the video game he had been talking about for a couple of days now. Before walking into the arcade, you made sure to write your birthday card and slip some more money into it before shoving it in your bag to give to him later.
"Your pretty sister is here." Yeonjun grabs Kai by the shoulder as he finishes up a game.
"Yeah, and you're too young for her."
"Age is nothing but a number. It's only like.. 6 years apart."
"Besides, she's taken, dude. Sorry." Kai snorts as he watches Yeonjun's smile fade. "You would have never had the chance."
"You're mean."
"I'm mean, or you just have really high, unrealistic expectations?" The rest of their friends laugh as they follow Kai over to you.
"Hey!" You smile at all his friends.
"Hiiiiii Y/N." They all say in unison, some waving in awe, while the others shyly dug their hands into their pockets. "Birthday boy, you all good to go? Got some good Loco Moco waiting for you."
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Happy birthday again, Kai! Get online later!" Soobin yells out.
"Yeah, yeah." He says, waving them off as he follows you out to your car.
"You guys run through the entire arcade?" Kai laughs.
"Pretty much." He sinks into his seat, legs damn near touching the glove compartment with how long he is. "I'm honestly so excited for Loco Moco. It's been years!"
"It has not been that long." You laughed.
"You're right, it's been months." Kai looks out the window. "Wait, you're passing the road to get to our go-to shop though?"
"Cause I found a better place."
"How is there a better place when that one was already supreme?!"
"Hey, trust me on this okay?" You laugh. Kai starts telling you about his day and how so many people he knew from school had been messaging him happy birthday. He truly looked his happiest today and it was all you could ask for. Though at the same time, your heart slightly sank at the fact that he'd be going off to uni soon and staying at the dorms. He was just growing up way too fast, and you wanted to spend as much time as you could with him now before he was too occupied being a college boy.
You slipped yourself past Jungkook's security, parking in the one guest spot they have in the garage that's closest to the elevator. Kai doesn't really question it and hops out anyway, his hands in his pockets as he follows you into the elevator and onto Jungkook's floor.
"You ready, kid?"
"Is this some like, Michelin Star Loco Moco restaurant?"
"Ah, I guess you could say that." You knocked on the door, hearing music playing in the background. Jungkook opens the door and Kai's eyes widen.
"Oh shit, that's Jungkook?" Kook laughs and steps aside to let you both in. "Sis why—what—how come you didn't tell me we were seeing your boyfriend? I look like a mess!" He says lowly.
"You don't!"
"Hey Kai! Happy Birthday!" Jungkook says smiling, making Kai actually blush. He's cheeks are tinted with a rosy color and he suddenly gets all shy.
"Thanks."
"Your brother's tall." Jungkook looks at him up and down.
"Looking at an 18 year old 6 footer."
"Must be nice."
"Go sit." Kai silently nods as he sits awkwardly on Kook's couch, while you go and check in on him in the kitchen.
"Is he always that shy?"
"No. Just with you, apparently. He's not even that shy around girls." You chuckle as he places a quick kiss on your head. "Need my help?" You still ask even though the plates are neatly prepared already.
"Not really." He smiles down at you. "You hungry though?"
"Starving, actually." Your eyes light up at the plates. "Ouuuuuu, yum."
"Honestly, I think this batch might be better than my first."
"Still honored to be your guinea pig." You carry a plate over to Jungkook's coffee table in the living room.
"Oh shit, that looks amazing." Kai says, slipping himself down from the couch to the floor so he could get a good whiff of the plate. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jungkook hands you the remote before walking into his room. "Pick something."
"Here, birthday boy. Help me choose."
"Let's watch Soul on Disney+." At this point, Jungkook comes out of his room with a wrapped present, his eyes locked on the TV.
"Ooh, I keep seeing this everywhere! Niceeeee." Jungkook says, smiling with Kai nodding and already digging into his plate. "By the way, this is for you." You shoot him a look as he sits on the floor by you, watching as Kai unwraps the present. Kai's eyes light up as he sees a shoebox underneath the wrapping, quickly flipping the lid open to reveal those blue Air Jordans he wanted.
"Kook?!" You say lowly, making him smile at you and gently pinch your side.
"Holy shit!" He holds out a shoe, only for him to immediately shake his head and close the box again. "Jungkook, I can't take this." Kai says.
"No, it's your birthday."
"Yeah, but isn't this expensive? You've already done so much for me and my sister, I-I don't want to—"
"Kai, it's cool. If it's one thing you can do to repay me, it's to take my present." You literally want to cry at how sweet Jungkook is being with your brother. He had been good to you, no doubt, but this was one thing you didn't expect from him at all. Quite frankly, you had forgotten you mentioned the shoes to him. The fact that he actually remembered and kept his word.
"Okay." Kai says, gently setting the box down aside before looking at Jungkook with a small smile on his face. "Thank you. I really appreciate it. Like, even with the food and everything. It means a lot to me."
"You're welcome." You give him a soft smile before digging into your food while Soul was already off to a start. Kai and Jungkook devour their food together, with you following shortly behind as Jungkook brings over a small ice cream cake from his fridge for Kai to blow his candles on. After the boys had helped themselves to a good serving of the cake, they started getting hyper and pulled up Smash Bros on Kook's Nintendo Switch [as if Kai hadn't played enough games today]. It started to get intense; the boys jumping and yelling everywhere, bouncing off of the walls, with you getting pulled into the competition every now and then. Even though you knew you'd lost over and over again, you happily joined in anyway, seeing how excited your brother was - plus, it was always a bonus to hear Jungkook's loudly obnoxious, nerdy laugh.
"I WIN!"
"Hey, hey, hey. I let you win because it's your birthday." Jungkook said, making Kai laugh as he crashed to the floor.
"Sure." Kai huffed and puffed. "Crap, I'm tired. What time is it?"
"Almost midnight. We should start heading out, bubba." You patted Kai's chest gently.
"What? No, it's late. Why don't you two just stay here?" You suddenly remembered you've had Kai's shit in your trunk since you dropped him off at Yeonjun's this morning. You didn't have any change of clothes, but that could easily be fixed with Jungkook's closet.
"Only if the queen wants, she's driving."
"It's late, baby." Jungkook says to you softly. "No way I'm letting you two head out there."
"Okay." You give him a small smile before handing your keys. "Can you do me a favor?" He chuckles.
"What is it?"
"Kai's duffle bag is in my trunk." He nods and takes your keys.
"I got it. Kai, you can take the guest room or my office room." Jungkook says with his 3-bedroom apartment having ass. "I have my computer in my office room though, and a pull out bed. I don't know how comfy you'll be."
"It's cool, I'll just take your guest room. I always bring my laptop and switch whenever I sleep at my sister's." Kai says getting up. "Thank you."
"You're welcome." Jungkook says, toothlessly smiling at the both of you, completely endeared at how alike you two were - even down to the fact that you both said thank you for every little thing. If this was a result of Kai being close to you and having you as pretty much his mother figure, then Jungkook wouldn't know what to do with his feelings. He felt butterflies every time he thought about how cute and sweet you were, and he was always excited to be around you.
Jungkook does a quick jog to your car, grabbing Kai's Nike duffle from your trunk before jogging back to the elevator and back to his apartment. He walks in to see Kai helping you clean up the remaining dishes in the sink, tidying the rest of the things in his kitchen.
"Thank you." Jungkook says himself, a little unfamiliar with saying such a thing to be completely honest.
"You're welcome." You say softly, wiping your hands on his hand towel. "Off to bed, or are you gonna go online with your friends?"
"I'll see what they're up to, but I'm pretty beat. Today was fun." Kai smiles at the both of you. "I really appreciate it." You ruffle his hair a bit before gently pushing him towards his bedroom for the night.
"Bathroom's right over there, help yourself to anything you need."
"Don't stay up too late."
"Only if you aren't too loud." You gasp while Jungkook laughs out loud.
"Kai!"
"Hey, I'm just being honest. Please remember that I'm right in this room."
"Oh my god, go to bed." You shove him inside the room and shut his door. "Don't even say a word." You look at Jungkook shyly as you hurriedly brush past him to get into his room - even though Jungkook is literally right behind you with those long ass legs of his, making every stride so much easier for him to catch up to you.
"What's your outfit of choice tonight, pretty lady?" He shuts his door behind him as you start to make your way into his closet.
"Hm, I'll just wear this plain black--" You unfold it. "Balenciaga? Okay, I definitely can't just wear this to sleep."
"Why not?"
"Because this is like, name brand and everything."
"So?" He shrugs. "Just wear it, babygirl. It's not gonna make much of a difference, you're wearing it either way." You do a slight pout before you start to slip out of your clothes to get into his shirt. You make his way to his bathroom to take a little tinkle when you notice another toothbrush sitting next to his. A pink toothbrush, next to his blue one.
"Why do you have two toothbrushes?" You wash your hands as he comes in to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed.
"That's yours." Your eyes light up at his statement.
"Mine?"
"I figured since you'd be over more, it'd be easier for you." He furrows his brows lightly. "Unless.. you didn't want--" You press a kiss against his lips, his hands resting on your arms to keep you close.
"No, I did want that. Thank you."
"Of course, baby." He pecks your forehead.
"By the way, way to make me look like such a bad sister!" You say as you start getting your toothbrush ready.
"Why? The shoes?"
"The shoes, the Loco Moco, the games, the ice cream cake." You laughed. "I literally got him a video game and some money."
"I mean, he is turning 18. I wanted to help make it as memorable as possible."
"I appreciate you a lot. Really."
"I appreciate you too." Your eyes widen as you brush your teeth.
"Waaaaow, say thaht wun mohr tiyme." You say, pulling a Jungkook while brushing your teeth.
"Eye apprushiate yoh toh." You giggle. The both of you finish getting ready for bed before slipping into his warm sheets. Jungkook never goes to sleep early, however, he makes sure all the lights are off and that the show he's watching isn't too loud. You have no idea what's going on in his show, but you lay on his chest to watch for a little bit until you feel yourself getting a little more sleepy. He's holding you close, his hand brushing through your hair softly, causing tingles to ripple through your body.
"Kook."
"Yes, baby?"
"You make me happy." You say sleepily as you hung him tighter. He smiles down at you, your eyes now shut close as you slowly start to drift into a deep sleep. He presses a light kiss against your head, fingers still in your hair.
"You make me happy too, sweetheart."
556 notes · View notes
migilini · 3 years
Note
Could you please write one of those Tiktok "I tried to kiss my bestfriend / crush" challenge for either Charlie or Owen. Thanks!
Crushtok - Owen Patrick Joyner
Tumblr media
A/N: Yes ofc I can! I never wrote for Owen so let me know what you think! I hope you like it :)
Words: 1.9k
Warnings: tiktok and noise (so none really)
Requests are open!
MASTERLIST
--------‐--------------
The sun poked through curtains and you swore that you had heard birds the day before but it was loud, uncomfortably so. All you heard was the clacking of metal and the rattling of the machinery that the construction in front of Owens Appartement made. All the unpleasant noises woke you up in the early morning. Grumbling, you tried to block out the noise with a pillow pressed against your face.
"That's not gonna work sleepy beauty" a lower voice croaked, catching you completely off guard so you let out a quiet shriek. "Oweenn why do you have to scare me badly in the morning?" You whined and took the pillow away from your face.
He sat on the other side of the couch, just underneath your feet and looked absolutely tired. His blonde hair was standing up in every possible direction, his normally piercing blue eyes trying their best to stay open. By the way, he was looking at you with a little smirk on his lips, you figured that you didn't look any better.
"Because it's 6 am on a Saturday morning and I didn't want to suffer alone. So lucky you for visiting me this week!" Owen exclaimed and hit your leg in a joking manner.
"I've got thrown out by my landlord. I'm not here on my own terms..." this earned you a shocked gasp from the boy sitting in front of you. "And there I was, thinking this friendship meant something to you." You just rolled your eyes with a smirk.
"Do you want to come back to my bedroom? With some music playing it's much quieter than out here." Nodding tiredly, he held out a hand to help you stand up; you only noticed when you nuzzled into his bed that he didn't let go of your hand.
You woke up a couple of hours later, quiet pop music filled the darkroom and it was hot, your bare legs sticking to the duvet covers. You turned around and faced a back with broad shoulders that were just moments ago pressed against your back. Groaning, you stuck your legs out of the bed, the cold air cooling you down immediately. Owen stirred next to you and sat up slowly.
"Morning part 2." you chuckled and automatically pushed some of his hair out of his face.
"Mornin" he mumbled back.
"You were right it's much quieter in your room."
You stood up, stretching your limbs, before heading back into the living room where all your stuff was stored, quite impractically but it was stored.
You heard a shower running, that gave you the perfect time to change from your big shirt and little pants sleep attire to a more comfortable day outfit. After rummaging through your boxes, that you packed in a freezy, you choose some brown cotton pants with a white body and to top it off your favourite purple cardigan that Owen gifted you one Christmas. With some extra time, you put on your glasses and started to search for a new place to stay.
"So what do you wanna do today? I have nothing going on so..." you stopped listening as Owen walked into the living room shirtless. He wore some blue sweatpants that hung quite low on his hips, his chest still sparkling from the water.
You would have probably started to drool if he wouldn't have worn his hair in a towel bun.
You let out a laugh that made him stop in his tracks.
"What?" he stared at you intensely.
"Oh, nothing princess... nothing. We uh... could look at some apartments for me and just go for a drive?"
"Am I that bad of a roommate?" he said and plopped down next to you on the couch his arm resting on the top comfortably.
"No but I would really appreciate a place to store my stuff properly." you continued to scroll through places to stay.
"This one looks good." he pointed out and put his finger on the screen, you hadn't realised that he rested his arm just above your shoulders so it took you off guard when you suddenly felt his arm on your neck.
"Mhmm, but you cant look at it today... This one though has a viewing in the late afternoon."
"Then that's our plan for today."
++
"Y/N! Y/N!" Owen screamed loudly from the kitchen "Come here real quick."
With your phone still in one hand, you waddled over to your best friend. "What's the emergency?" you looked up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Do this TikTok with me." he pleaded and looked at you with a slight pout, shoving his phone in your face. Your eyes scanned the screen and then you scoffed, "First of all since when are you on lesbian TikTok? And secondly, that's a bit... explicit... don't you think?"
"W- Our lips don't have to touch! I don't have anybody else to do it with! Y/N Come On!" he yelled after your figure who left the kitchen with a shaking head and hot cheeks.
Your thought didn't stop racing for the rest of the day. Did Owen want to kiss you? Or was he just so comfortable with your friendship that he really didn't care? You hated that you were a cliche, falling in love with your childhood best friend. Growing up you were always the one rolling your eyes at your parents who thought that you and Owen would make just such a cute couple but here you were, sitting on his couch, your heart beating in your chest and extremely conscious of his presence.
Little did you know that Owen felt the exact same. Over the years and especially puberty, he started to develop feelings for you. At first, he tried to deny them, telling himself that it's just that he's used to you being around but then he left to pursue his acting career and he missed you more than everything in the world. Not a single day went by when he didn't think of you or tried to call you. Ever since then, he tried to be close to you in one way or the other, he didn't care if it was just his leg touching yours or your body heat warming him up.
Due to the fact that you were both anxious people, neither of you ever made a move. He missed your longing stares and you missed the way he was checking you out every time he looked at you.
His friends finally talked some confidence into him and so he took little steps into what should eventually lead to him confessing his love for you. He started to flirt more with you, give you loads of compliments and asked you if you wanted to do some TikTok or lives with him.
Tapping on your shoulder made you look up from your phone, the TikTok you've been watching looping on your screen. Owen stood next to you, his phone pointed to you, a mischievous smirk prominent on his face and whipped cream can in his other hand.
"No." you tried to be serious but a chuckle escaped your lips. Owen turned the camera to him and sprayed some cream into his mouth then stared at you with squinted eyes, the whipped cream flowing out of his mouth.
You stared at him for a couple of seconds, your brain in overdrive, hands sweaty and heart beating rapidly. An idea washed over you and you tilted your head before leaning in close. Owen's eyes went wide and he nearly choked on the cream. But you weren't gonna kiss him seconds before your lips would have met, you halted. Then you slowly took the can of whipped cream out of his hand and sprayed it all over his head.
"You didn't!" he gasped with a full mouth while you laid on the floor, holding your stomach in laughter. Something wet hit your face that stopped you from laughing further. Owen had a massive grin on his face, one hand dripping slightly and his hair, less creamy.
"Be cautious Joyner" you warned standing up on your tiptoes to be as close to him as possible, your pointer finger pressing into his chest "I know where your bed sleeps."
You tried to back out of the situation, knowing damn well that it can easily get out of hand with you two and a whipped cream match would make a lot of mess. But Owen being the child he is, didn't back out, instead, he ripped the can out of your hand and sprayed it down your back.
The war ended peacefully. The cans of whipped cream, yes you found more cans, laying somewhere in the living room both of you covered from head to toe, breathing heavily. Owen held his hands up in surrender and looked up to your position on the coffee table.
"Ha! I win! Told you I didn't want to do the TikTok." you smiled triumphantly. "I say loser cleans this up." before Owen could protest you sprinted to the shower. Lucky for you he actually started to clean up when you walked out of the bathroom, dressed in comfortable sweats and one of Owens hoodie, your damp hair falling over your shoulders.
"Hey Y/N?" Owen asked somehow nervously. "Yes darling?" you answered with a bad British accent.
"Can you come here for a second?"
"Owen I'm not doing that TikTok with you, you just saw how that ended," you argued but made your way over to him. He stood in the middle of the room, his phone propped up on a shelf.
"You have something on your face." you chuckled and whipped away some dried leftovers from your previous war.
"Can you react to this song? I don't remember where I know it from" he asked, his voice shaking slightly. You furrowed your eyebrows at his odd behaviour just moments ago he was normal and now he acted very strangely.
"Sure." he pulled you in front of him, his hands resting on your shoulders.
'Baby, you're like lightning in a bottle
I can't let you go now that I got it'
“Sounds like BORNS…” you whispered more to yourself than to him and continued to listen to the song “Are you sure you just haven't…” you turned around to face him.
Owen took this as his opportunity to cup your face with both of his hands, softly pressing his lips to yours.
Your breath hitched and it took you a second to realise what was happening. The confidence Owen had just moments ago vanished when you didn't kiss him back immediately. Why should you? You never gave a hint that you liked him like that as well.
Just as he was about to pull away and apologize profusely, you overcame your state of shock. Your arms grabbed his hips to pull him closer, deepening the kiss. You felt him smile against your lips. Your stomach erupted with butterflies, your whole body tingled and your cheeks felt hot.
He was the first one to pull away, resting his forehead on yours. Both breathing heavily, the filming camera was completely forgotten, you looked in each other's eyes.
“I wanted to do that for so long,” you admitted and unconsciously bit your lip. Owen gulped heavily, “Me too but, what the hell! I mean how crazy is that?!”
309 notes · View notes
e4rlgr3y · 3 years
Text
Tumblr media
for @ickyv29​ ‘s prompt: Claire taking Jack out of the bunker so Cas and Dean can set up a surprise party? Chaos ensues. 
here you go !! jack looks like he’s in his teens for this one, but he did that just to hang out w claire god bles <3 also falls into transnatural,, you’ll see why (^:
It’s always spooky seeing Jack age up in front of her very eyes. One second he’s practically just a step up from a toddler, and the next, Jack is taller than Claire and wearing the exact same goofy smile on his face.
She supposes the one good thing that comes out of it is that none of them have to guess at what he’ll look like in the future when he’s older. He still looks just the same as he does when he’s three feet tall or whatever, except that maybe he seems a little calmer, and Claire feels a little more comfortable talking to him as if they’re friends rather than...half...step...siblings? 
Which is why she agrees to take care of him for the day, with the intention of showing him her favorite “grown up” spots, though she promises Dean that everything they’re doing will be kosher.
It’s not.
“Okay Jack,” Claire claps a hand on his shoulder, much sturdier than the one she’s used to poking at when they’re playing with legos on the Bunker floor. “Are you ready to be a big kid now?”
He nods fervently and she smiles, pulling a little on his shirt sleeve so that he’ll follow her into the mall.
The grown up spots she intends to take Jack to are mild, at best. She just thinks he should be able to get the full teenage experience, even if she never really did, and he isn’t really a teen. 
The first place they stop at is Claire’s, rightfully so. Jack, like everyone else she has ever known, points at the sign and nudges her. She expects the usual comment about “they named you after the store,” but instead he says, “They named the store after you,” and she nods her head in agreement.
“Sure did,” she says, “how do you feel about getting your ears pierced?”
They step inside, and Jack takes in all the rows of merchandise. “Pierced? Won’t Dad and Dee and Sam get mad?” 
Claire shrugs, watching Jack’s eyes light up when he sees the over-the-top girly accessories. “No big deal, you can always just heal the holes right up with your super powers, can’t you?” 
She calls Jack’s nephil magic “super powers” to please him, under the guise that it makes more sense to passerby if she’s talking to a four year old about super powers rather than angel mojo. 
It does the job, so he agrees, and the next thing she knows, they’re walking out of Claire’s with a bag full of flowery headwear and Jack’s two pierced ears.
Claire would be lying if she said her heart wasn’t racing thinking about the potential lecture she’d receive from Jack’s dads. But it was worth it to see Jack look at her like she hung the moon, a hand constantly raising to touch tentatively at his ears. 
“Next up,” she announces, “mani-pedis.”
“What’s that?”
Claire holds out her hand, chipped with black nail polish. “Nail painting. You’re gonna love it.”
She’s not really the type to get a manicure—in fact, Claire’s probably only had one in her life when she was like eight—but half of these (all of these) activities are more so to cater to Jack on his birthday, and the stuff he’d enjoy (and also whatever would piss off Dean the most).
And she’s right—Jack loves the little foot bath with the fancy water jets, and giggles the whole time the lady is scrubbing at his feet and nails. He enthusiastically asks for rainbow colors (a different color on each finger and toe), and Claire has to explain that he’s gotta wait patiently for them to dry or else they’ll get messed up.
“Do you like the rainbows?” Jack asks, showing them to her when they leave. She gets a feeling there’s a certain importance to the question that she’s missing, but she nods and gives him a careful fist bump. “Rainbows are sick,” she says.
“Sick,” Jack repeats, “that’s not good. Do they need medicine? What do they have?”
Claire snorts and waves him off, “No, dummy. Sick like...’cool.’”
“Ohhh,” Jack visually internalizes that thought for safekeeping, “sick.”
Claire checks her phone while they stuff their faces with mall pizza, quickly answering Kaia’s messages with a smile, assuring Jody that all is well, and sending Dean snarky comments about their surprise party taking forever to set up.
She sets her phone down to pay attention to Jack again, only to find him staring at her already, a contemplative look in his face.
“Uh...do I have food on my face or something?”
Jack shakes his head. “I had a...question.”
Oh. She leans her elbows on the table, crossing her forearms. “Okay, shoot.”
“You like girls,” he starts, and she hides an amused smirk, “and Dad and Dee like each other...but. I don’t like anybody yet because I’m not old enough and I don’t know anyone my age.”
You’re also a four year old half-angel being that’s presenting like he’s eighteen, she wants to supply, but Claire only shrugs. “You don’t gotta like anybody kiddo. Sometimes people just want friends, and that’s fine.”
He nods seriously, eyebrows furrowed. “Okay. But what about... me?”
“What about you?”
“Well I’m...I like boy things,” he says, “but I like girl things too. Does that mean I’m like Dee?”
“Bisexual?” Claire supplies, and then scrunches her face up a little, “like you said, bud, I think you’re too young to tell--”
“I know,” he chirps, and then studies his nails. “I don’t mean like that. I mean...I like those things... for me. Like, tutus and capes and man-ee-cures, and cowboy hats.”
Claire takes a second to think it over, and then it all clicks. “Oh! You mean your gender, right?”
“I think so,” he says. 
“Well all that stuff you listed has to do with gender expression. And really, anyone can dress or look however they want, regardless of pronouns or orientation. But...put it this way, would it make you feel better if people referred to you as ‘she’ and ‘her?’“
Jack shakes his head. “No...”
“Do you like ‘he’ and ‘him’?” A nod. “What about ‘they’ and ‘them’?” There’s a pause, Jack mulling it over, before he nods.
“Is it okay to have more than one?” 
“Totally okay.”
“Then yes,” they sit straighter, “I like both.”
“Cool,” Claire smiles, holding up a fist for another fist bump. Jack knocks their knuckles against hers. 
“Sick,” he agrees. 
Just then her phone starts to buzz, lighting up with a text from Cas that says ‘we’re done. you can come back now (:’ 
She looks back up at Jack with their pierced ears and rainbow nail polish.
“On second thought,” she says, standing and offering her hand, “I think they’ll love it.”
137 notes · View notes
Text
Beautiful Boy (blurb) (comfort fluff)
Summary: Spencer feels insecure about his body, but reader cheers him up :)
CW: body image issues, talk of gaining weight, talk of not eating, crying, struggling to eat, kissing, comfort fluff <3
AN: Hello my loves! I hope you guys enjoy this one shot. I've been feeling bad about myself lately and I like to express my emotions through writing so I hope you enjoy this one shot! If you want me to do a one shot like this but y/n is insecure, let me know! (This one shot is kind of a blurb btw) You all are amazing, beautiful, smart, and talented and I love each and every one of you! If you need to talk to anyone, PLEASE message me and I'd be glad to talk. You are not alone, even if it may feel like you are. <33
note: i barely checked it for mistakes, so if there are any, please ignore them lol
Reader's POV:
Spencer was a such a beautiful being.
I loved everything about him.
His bright aura that beamed so brightly around him made it impossible not to see what a kind and caring type of man he was. He was amiable and well-liked when it came to the people he surrounded himself with.
Everything about him was beautiful. His personality, his smile, his whole entire face, his body and soul. He was so pure, yet he felt so damaged inside.
The fact that he thought so lowly of himself made my heart wrench in my chest.
--
Spencer had been out on a case in Arizona for two days before he got home one Tuesday evening.
I was drying off in the bathroom from just being in the shower when I heard the door to our apartment open and close. Quickly, I got into a purple sweater of Spencer's and some sleep shorts, as well as purple and blue mismatched socks.
Walking out into the living room to see where he was, I found no trace of him, only seeing his satchel hung up on the rack we had by the front door, his black converse stacked ontop of one another in the small wooden cubby under the rack his satchel hung on.
My eyebrows drew together as I called his name out before hearing small sniffles coming from our bedroom. Upon further inspection, I saw Spencer, his back turned away from the door as he sat on the edge of the bed in our room, hunched over slightly as his arms were wrapped around his waist.
"Spence?" I asked sweetly, my tone soft and tender. I walked over to him to see small tears falling from his eyes, my chest tightening at just the sight of him.
"The case must have ended poorly", I had thought to myself, getting on my knees in front of him as I tried to get a better look at him.
"Spence, what happened? Did the case end badly?"
Spencer made no effort to respond with words, only responding with a slight shake of his head.
"Then what's wrong baby?" I asked, bringing a hand up to his knee as I rubbed it soothingly, trying to pry an answer out from him. Instead, Spencer turned away slightly, trying his best to hide his tears from me. "Hm?" I hummed, combing my fingers through his hair before I stood up, sitting behind him on the bed. I softly kissed his back, getting on my knees as I pulled some hair back from his face, kissing his neck gingerly.
After a moment, Spencer turned to look at me, his eyes red and swollen; his tear-stained cheeks a light crimson. He sniffled some more, his lower lip quivering slightly before he wrapped his arms around me tightly, nuzzling his head in the crook of my neck. My shirt began to get damp with his salty tears as I shushed him, sobs breaking from his throat, his breathing shaky. I combed my fingers through his chestnut hair. I knew that he was probably seeking solace at the moment, so of course I gave it to him right away.
"I h-hate the way I look-- the w-way I am." he cried softly, his sniffling increasing.
My heart practically shattered at his words as I pulled his face away gently with my hands that cupped his cheeks.
He looked so broken.
"What happened?" I asked gently, feeling the corners of my eyes soften.
Spencer swallowed thickly before responding. "On the case I brought some work shirts with me, and I've worn them throughout the years.. I mean ever since I started at the BAU, but none of them fit me anymore. T-they were all tight on me."
I felt my heart sink as I sighed softly before bringing his head back to my shoulder, Spencer grasping the material of my sweater firmly.
"Spence, our bodies change all of the time. You've been working out and eating more," I whispered through his soft whimpers, guiding him with me to lie down on the pillows behind us. "Your body has changed. And you look amazing. You always have. You're the most beautiful person inside and out...but now that you are getting stronger, your body is acclimating to that."
I felt Spencer angle his head upward to lay a soft kiss on my neck before nuzzling back into it, my arms wrapped around him as I wove my fingers through his hair.
"I love you," I whispered.
"I love you," Spencer responded, his voice still cracking with emotions that had seeped through; his breathing still shaking as his sniffles lessened. However, I still felt some tears roll off his face and onto my neck, but I paid no mind to it, my only goal was to show Spencer how amazing he was and how much he meant to me. It was quiet for a few minutes, his breathing starting to become less rapid. "I-I haven't eaten much these past few days. I haven't felt like I deserve food." he murmured.
"Love, you deserve food.. Your body deserves food. Do you want to eat right now? I have some thai food I ordered for the two of us tonight." I suggested, feeling Spencer tug me towards his body, pulling me impossibly close to him.
"Can we sleep for a little first? I haven't gotten much rest either."
"Of course, love."
Spencer pulled away a little to look at me, his eyes no longer filled with tears, nor did they have the essence of stress that laced them like earlier. They were puffy and red, his lips swollen and a dark pink from his incessant biting, but he smiled lovingly at me, and I mirrored his look. He pulled me close again, kissing my lips gently and with so much care.
"Spence, you are so amazing, smart, and beautiful. You're perfect. And I know it may not help but I will love you no matter the circumstances. Even if you lose or gain weight, it doesn't matter to me. The only thing that matters is that you're healthy, safe, and happy." I whispered against his lips, peppering a small kisses on them.
I pulled away to see that his face had lit up with a small blush.
Spencer slotted his lips over mine, tugging me close to him as he littered my face and neck with small kisses. I didn't expect an answer or response from him. He didn't need to answer me. His affection seemed to have answered all the questions in the world.
--
Spence and I had fallen asleep, our limbs perfectly woven together as we breathed in each other's calming scents.
I missed this.
I missed him.
Of course I knew he had only been gone for a couple days, but I still couldn't help but feel emotional when he would get home from cases.
His job was extremely dangerous, and the fact that he had such an amazing team that kept him as safe as possible to come back to me made my heart happy.
I don't know what I would do without him.
It had been around two hours since he had made it home. Meaning we had slept for about an hour and a half. I gently pried myself from his deadly grasp, walking to the kitchen to heat up the thai food that had been sitting in the fridge for several hours now.
If he wanted to eat, that would be great.
However, if he didn't feel the need to eat anything I wasn't going to force him. I just knew that food is what he most definitely needed after all of this.
I set some water on the table, dishing the food out onto plates as I heard Spencer call my name sleepily from our room.
My heart fluttered in my chest, my stomach filling with so many butterflies it was nauseating.
I walked into our room, seeing Spencer half awake, his eyes barely open.
"C'mere," he croaked, making grabby-hands towards me as I giggled. I walked over to him, kissing his forehead as I sat on the bed. Spencer smiled lazily, "Thank you for being you and making me feel better."
"Of course, Spence. Although I'm not really sure how to be anybody else." I joked, kissing his lips softly, Spencer chasing mine as I pulled away. I kissed him again. "There's food on the table. If you don't want it you don't need to eat it, but I think it would make you feel less sleepy." I said, combing my fingers through his hair, Spencer nuzzling his head into my palm like a small kitten would with its owner.
He nodded softly, sitting up and taking my hand as we began to walk to the kitchen.
He sat down at the table, looking down at the food nervously.
"I-I don't know if I should eat," he frowned, shoving his food around on the plate in front of him.
"Okay, you don't need to eat. You can just have something tomorrow. But if you really are hungry but you feel like you don't deserve it, remember-- you do. Your body needs fuel, and you deserve to eat something delicious." I said, rubbing his hand under the table.
Spencer nodded, taking a bite of the chicken that sat in front of him. He chewed a few times before digging into his rice.
We began eating, Spencer only focused on eating his rice and vegetables and not his chicken. Which of course was fine by me as at least he was eating something.
After about twenty minutes, Spencer cleaned the table as I washed my dishes. He wrapped his arms around me as I finished washing out a ceramic bowl. Resting his head on my shoulder, he pulled my hair back from my neck and kissed the soft tissue. I smiled, drying my hands off and kissing his lips.
"Hey, you want to take a bath with me?" I asked, and Spencer nodded fervently, bending down to kiss me once more before following behind me to the bathroom.
The rest of the night was calm and filled with so much love. We sat in the bubble bath, saying our I love you's and sharing small touches and kisses.
I had so much love to give him that it felt almost impossible.
But I was going to try and gift it to him.
Because he deserved all the love in the world.
--
I think that one of the greatest misfortunes is that we, as humans, are unable to truly see our own beauty. We cannot see how we look when we have a genuine laugh. We cannot see how we look when we smile brightly around others. We can only see what we wished we looked like. We can only see what we look like in pictures and in videos. And since our cellular devices do not hold the ability to show what we look like in the eyes of a fellow human, we feel bad about ourselves when we look back at the picture or the video.
I like to think of it like this: Have you ever taken a picture of the moon with your phone?
If you have, the picture probably came out to be blurry, maybe sort of lackluster. But when we put away our devices and tilt our heads back to look at the beautiful craters that indent the white glow of the moon, we believe that it is one of the most mesmerizing things. That nothing can compare to the way the moon looks on a clear, dark night; the stars twinkling around the celestial body which makes it all the more ethereal.
Fact of the matter is: our eyes are sneaky little things. They make us think that we are looking into a funhouse mirror when we look at our reflection. We may think our head is too big or too small. Or that our teeth are crooked and yellow.
But I truly believe one thing, which is that our beauty 'flaws' is what makes us all the more beautiful. The stretch marks that lie paths on our skin make us look all the more beautiful, all the more grown. The skin dimples that rest so gently upon our soft tissue creates a look of realness, which is something I find so adornful.
Because in reality, our bodies are most beautiful when we show off our so-called flaws.
54 notes · View notes
heliads · 3 years
Text
Curiosities
You feel that life can be divided up into a select set of curiosities- rules by which you live and breathe, that explain away everything in your life as a mutant. You’re doing fine until a certain boy named Peter Maximoff throws everything into disarray.
masterlist
Tumblr media
If you try hard enough, everything that happens to you can be sorted out into a list of curiosities. You’re not sure how long you’d been thinking about it this way, but it made enough sense if you really thought about it. Your life was different, ever-changing, and if you kept it locked away within the list of curiosities, you could get a handle on it long enough to peek through the chest of memories that would otherwise fly open and swallow you whole.
Curiosity #1: You were a mutant.
This in itself was relatively easy to explain. When you were about ten, maybe twelve, you started to show the first signs of your power. A faint stirring in the shade in the corner of the room, the fact that you were never afraid of the dark. You waved to your shadow with your left hand, it responded by moving the ankle on its right. By the time you were about fourteen, your powers had fully come into being: you were able to control the shadows. You could bring them into existence, spooling black fog around your fingers and forcing it to your will. 
Curiosity #2: Even among mutants, you were an outcast.
You had come to Professor Xavier’s school when the building itself was fairly uninhabited. Xavier understood you; but then again, he was able to look past the dark furrow of your brow and into the sunny spaces of your head; he could tell that you didn’t wish to hurt anybody. None of the other students shared that same gift, except perhaps Jean, but she didn’t particularly wish to go probing into your skull.
When the school was still new and lacking in students, you were able to grow and flourish as a mutant. The Professor taught you how to use your powers himself, and you had full reign over the grounds. Then, more students started to appear, and they took up more and more of Xavier’s time. Before long, he barely saw you at all.
The other students didn’t know what to make of you. They could understand mutants with cool, interesting powers, like Storm with her weather manipulation or Mystique with her ability to change forms. Furry, blue teachers were acceptable; you were not. They were afraid of how you could control the shadows, how you seemed part darkness yourself. They drew away from you, huddling in the hallways and not making eye contact when you walked by. Slowly, a hated nickname surfaced: Suffocator. They were terrified that you would reach out a hand, call the darkness to you, make it cover their mouth and nose and choke out all air from their desperate lungs. You hated it, but it didn’t matter. Suffocator you were, and suffocator you would always be.
One night, a few of the mutants your age were bored and wanted to throw a party. Someone, maybe Jubilee, had heard of this thing called a masquerade party on one of her trips to the mall or somewhere outside of the school. She was desperate to try it out, and so Xavier’s School had posters everywhere across campus advertising the party.
When you first heard of it, you weren’t planning on going. Nobody wanted you there, not the girl who lurked in the shadows and didn’t speak to anyone. Then you realized that everyone would be wearing a mask and intentionally disguising their identity- nobody would know who you were. It almost seemed too good to be true.
A few days later, the day of the masquerade party arrived. You had donned a sapphire blue mask, one that shimmered like the lake just outside the school when the sun crossed its waves. The glittering, twinkling sea would hide your face from those who would otherwise distrust you. You had glanced at yourself in the mirror before you went; you did not look like yourself. You smiled in satisfaction, and headed out.
The party was being held in one of the empty halls of the school, and you blended in seamlessly with the other mutants. You talked and laughed with them, and they had no idea that they were speaking with the girl they’d avoided just a few hours earlier. You found yourself smiling and having more fun than you’d had in months.
Then, you became aware of one student heading towards you. Tall, overbearing Natalie: she had always hated you for some unknown reason. She glanced once at the group of friends you were speaking with, then folded her arms across her chest. “Do you know who you’re talking to?” She said, and the group looked from her to you and shook their heads. Natalie donned a gleeful smirk. “That’s Y/N. I’m not sure you really want to be spending that much time with her.”
The group of mutants cast you fearful looks once they realize it’s you, and start to walk away. Natalie is the only one who remains, and she crosses the final few feet to stand in front of you. Her voice comes in a loud hiss that seems to echo around the room. “Suffocator.”
A blur of silver flashes around you, and then a boy suddenly appears in front of you. “Those are strong words for someone who can’t even figure out empathy. I mean, come on- yesterday someone was crying in front of you and it took you half an hour to figure out they were sad.” Natalie draws back, angry. “Rude, Maximoff! Hasn’t Xavier told you not to make fun of people’s powers? Empathy is hard.” The silver-haired boy laughs. “Not making fun of people’s powers? I think you’re the one who needs to work on that, not me.”
Natalie rolls her eyes, trying to hide her annoyance at the fact that she’s losing this argument. “Whatever. I’m bored of this already.” She stomps away to hang out with her other friends, leaving you to stare at the boy who’d suddenly come to your defense. Of all the mutants, why would it be Peter?
Curiosity #3: Peter Maximoff.
Nobody at Xavier’s school trusted you. Nobody, it seemed, except for Peter. Ever since that day, he’d been relentless in his task to befriend you. You’re not sure why- everyone else had given up on you long ago. It’s not like you didn’t want friends, or that you were that strange a person. You were like everyone else: happy, laughing, friendly. It’s just the threat of your powers, so strange and unnatural, that forced everyone else away.
But not him. No, Peter refused to let your powers daunt him in the slightest. He’d be there after class, walking nonchalantly beside you. It didn’t seem like a friendship borne of pity- no, he teased you and made the same jokes as he would with everyone else. He even called you Suffocator once, that dreaded nickname, although it didn’t have that same barb as it did before. Maybe that’s because the other students used it as a knife to stab at you before running away. Instead, Peter tossed it like a paper plane, letting it float through the air as the two of you laughed from a joke. He didn’t want anything more than friendship, and so the two of you hung out after class, fighting mock battles with your powers and enjoying the time to be two simple teenagers in the otherwise strange world of mutants.
Curiosity #4: The quiet.
You’re not sure when you notice the silence at first. It’s just another day, ordinary in its dullness. You’re in the back of the grounds, away from the large groups of people in an attempt to study for a test you have later. You look up, once, fishing for a sticky note to mark the end of the chapter, but your eyes stay searching even after your hands close around the pad of paper.
You can’t hear anything. Well, that’s not entirely true. The birds still chirp, although with odd hesitation, as if afraid to sing too loudly. The wind still rustles the trees, but slowly, as if trying not to be noticed. The everlasting din of the students, though, that is gone. You push your books into your bag, standing up quietly. Even the zip of your backpack seems to echo in the silence.
This is strange. What happened to make the air so tense, the students shut their mouths for once to stand together in quiet? You sling your backpack over your shoulder, heading quickly to the front of the school to see what the fuss (or lack of, rather) is about.
There’s nothing at the front of the school, either. In fact, there aren’t that many people there. The only mutants out are Jean, Peter, Storm, Scott, and Nightcrawler. You watch as Jean presses her fingers to her temples, sending out a message that you only now pick up in your head. Go inside now. Don’t look out. Get the Professor. It echoes on a loop inside your brain, appearing only now that you’re close enough to the sender.
You glance around you, searching for some trouble that would cause Jean to send out such a message. Then, you see it- three large armored trucks headed your way, military logos emblazoned on the sides. This sort of thing happens every few years or so- some military higher-up decides that the mutants are too dangerous to be kept alive, and they attempt to round up everyone at the school. Xavier is usually there to put a stop to it, but today he’s out in some big city doing official business, so he’s not here to protect you. In fact, the only ones here to protect you are yourselves.
You watch as the trucks roll closer. Once they reach the gate, they stop, and soldiers start to stream out of it. Storm shouts over to Jean. “Are we doing anything about this?” Jean nods, her hair flicking out behind her like tongues of flame. “We’re stopping them. They want a fight, I can hear it. That’s just what they’ll get.” She says, and the mutants around her prepare themselves for a battle.
Curiosity #5: You stay to fight.
Why are you still here? Jean told everyone who wasn’t one of Xavier’s hand picked team to go inside, and yet you’re still cracking your knuckles out in front of the school just like everyone else. Maybe it’s because you want a taste for just how much damage your powers can deal out, or maybe it’s because you finally have a chance to prove yourself to be a hero, to fight like the others and make a name for yourself as someone who’s in it to protect the other students, even if they wouldn’t protect her. Regardless of the reason, the outcome stays the same. You’re here to fight.
When the men start running forward, you realize with sickening dread that they’ve brought guns, and dangerous ones at that. You’re not sure why they thought they’d need military grade rifles at a school, but they’re out and loaded nonetheless. They raise them towards you, launching a volley of bullets, but you throw up your arms and a wall of shadow appears in between the mutants and the guns, blocking the bullets and forcing them to the ground.
Jean turns to you, amazed. “Actually, I think it would be better if you stayed with us.” You grin slightly at that, turning your attention back to the soldiers. You and the other mutants fight in unison, powers working together as fluidly as a well oiled machine. You seem to compliment them, understanding their hurried motions as if you’d been working with them your entire life. 
Before you know it, the soldiers are hurrying back to the armored trucks, gesturing frantically at the drivers to get them out of here before they are killed by a bunch of kids with magic powers. The mutants look happily amongst yourselves, proud that you’d managed to defend the school against the soldiers. Together, you’d protected everyone here.
The night is starting to grow late, and everyone is out on the grounds in celebration. It’s not everyday that a bunch of teenagers fight back against the military and win, you know. You idle near a group of mutants, red plastic cup in hand just like them. Something feels odd, and it takes you a moment to notice what it is. Nobody’s scared of you. There aren’t any students huddled together, looking at you through nervous eyes that flick away when you catch sight of them. No pointed fingers, no hushed whispers. Maybe you’ve finally been accepted as one of them.
Jean approaches from across the field, stopping at a group of mutants only a few feet away from you. She leans towards Storm, tapping her on the shoulder. “Scott, Peter, Kurt, and I are hanging out in another corner of the woods. You know, victory party and all that? Come with us.” Her voice is a low whisper, but you can’t help smiling at it. You wait for her to nod at you, to ask you the same question, but strangely enough, she just slings an arm around Storm’s shoulder and the two of them walk away into the woods, leaving you behind.
She saw you. You know she saw you- her eyes glanced over you before they left. Her eyes weren’t glinting with hatred, some ill-concealed malice or anything. This wasn’t a plot to intentionally leave you out, she just didn’t see you as someone to invite, even though you’d been a key part of that victory group she seems so keen to celebrate. The realization hits you like a ton of bricks- no matter how hard you try, how many times you fight to protect them, they will never see you as a friend. All because they don’t understand your powers.
Dazedly, you leave the grounds where the rest of the mutants are celebrating. You find some quiet corner of the woods, a place that’s tucked away where nobody will notice you. The ‘victory party’ is on the opposite side of the grounds, so you know that you don’t have to fear anyone accidentally stumbling across you.
You slide to the ground, leaning back against the sturdy trunk of one of the many trees that stand tall and proud around the school’s forest. You cover your face in your hands, feeling all of your emotions finally catch up with you. You wish you could prove yourself in some way, that your powers may physically be dark but that you weren’t a monster, but it doesn’t matter how hard you try. You’ll never be anything more than a villain to them.
Silent tears course down your cheeks. You don’t think you’ve ever felt more alone than this night, even when things seemed impossible. No matter how bad things were before, this night manages to take the cake. There’s a cracking sound behind you, and you wipe your tears away hurriedly as you realize someone’s walking up to you.
“What are you doing all alone? Don’t you know we’re celebrating?” It’s Peter. Of course it is. You turn to face him, hoping the darkness will obscure the puffiness in your eyes. “Guess I was just tired.” You plaster on a smile, praying that he’ll get bored and go rejoin the others, but no such luck. He plops down in the grass next to you, arms stretched back behind him.
“Why aren’t you with Jean and the rest?” He says, and you frown at him. “What do you mean?” You ask. Peter furrows his brow. “You know, the victory party. You were there when the soldiers attacked, and you saved our skins like a dozen times over. Why aren’t you with them?” You look at him, willing him to be observant for just this once. “I just didn’t feel like going.” Peter rolls his eyes. “Oh, come on. Stop being your dramatic little self and just come on. The rest will be happy to see you.” 
He extends an arm as if to drag you there himself. You sigh frustratedly. “Fine, Peter. I’m not being dramatic. I know there’s a party, and I also know that they very much do not want me there. I was there when Jean asked Storm to hang out with Scott, Kurt, and the rest. She knew I was there, she saw me, and she didn’t ask the same of me.” Your voice breaks off. “It’s pretty obvious that no one here wants me to be there. Hell, no one here wants me to be at this school at all, and the only one who can’t see that is you.”
Peter’s silent for a second, and you curse inwardly. Now you’ve gone and made Peter, the one person who’s been here for you, feel bad about himself. You wouldn’t be surprised if he just gets up and leaves now. But he doesn’t. In fact, a smile flashes across his face. “That’s because they’re idiots.” You look at him, confused. “What?” He laughs. “They’re idiots, and you’re an idiot for listening to them.” 
He gestures absentmindedly at you. “Y/N, you’ve got one of the coolest powers I’ve ever seen, and for what, so you can be sad about it? Are you really telling me you’d rather be an empath than control the shadows? That’s like, the neatest thing ever.” His words, spoken with such conviction, bring a laugh to your face as well. Peter’s eyes light up when he sees it. “See, there you go. Come on, let’s have some fun. We don’t need them if they’re being weird.”
Your laugh dies off quietly as you look back at him. “Why are you doing this? Why are you taking the time to make me feel better? You make fun of your own friends and rob convenience stores when you’re bored. Since when has Quicksilver gone this far out of his way to make somebody laugh?” Peter smiles at you, then leans forward. His lips are on yours, suddenly, his hand gently cupped against your cheek. Just as you’ve realized what’s happening, he’s back in his spot a few feet away again. He smirks at you. “That’s why.”
You laugh in spite of yourself. “That’s why. Well, I guess that’s an acceptable reason.” Peter smiles. “Only acceptable? That’s not the best thing I’ve heard, but I suppose it’ll be okay for now.” He stands up, offering a hand to you. You take it. “So, are you coming with me or not? I intend to cause all sorts of chaos.” You look over at him, laughter dancing in your eyes. “Of course I am.”
Curiosity #6: Peter Maximoff loves you. And you love him.
peter maximoff tag list @amourtentiaa​
162 notes · View notes
linkspooky · 3 years
Text
Akutagawa’s Death
Tumblr media
The reveal that Akutagawa has known for a long time that even after escaping from the slums, he still hasn’t escaped the death that perpetually hung over him his entire life due to being born in the slums. Akutagawa’s entire character is written around death. An Akutagawa character analysis under the cut. 
1. Giving Meaning to Death
Tumblr media
Akutagawa’s origin is incredibly important to his character. The fact that he was orphaned and grew up alone in the slums has defined his whole life. His attitude towards both life and death comes from a place of knowing, practically his entire life, that he was most likely going to die a dog’s death in the slums, and nobody would even miss him or care when he was gone. 
His upbringing in the slums has clung to him his whole life, even in the form of the lung disease he acquired from breathing the terrible quality air. It’s not that Akutagawa was born believing that life is worthless, this is something he was taught. 
Not only has Akutagawa accepted the fact he was going to die young, he came to accept this fact when he was just a child. In his origin story he witnesses all of his friends he was surivving with die so easily, like their lives meant nothing at all. In response to this, Akutagawa tries to at least throw his life away and make his life mean something because he doesn’t want to be forgotten like that, to live miserable his entire life and die a miserable death. 
Tumblr media
Akutagawa gets so attached to Dazai, because Dazai is the first person in his life, and not only a person but an authority figure, to even acknowledge Akutagawa. If he was going to die for no reason, then Dazai’s acknowledgement is something it’s a reason. 
Tumblr media
What Akutagawa craves is a reason to keep on going, because so far for him life has been nothing but empty suffering. 
“In some ways suffering ceases to be suffering at the moment it finds a meaning, such as the meaning of a sacrifice.”
But, deep down what he wants is someone to tell him there’s more to life then just the bleak and empty existence in the slums. Not only that but, even someone like him born as a stray dog in the slums can live. He wants someone to tell him he can live, that there is something to live for, however, even if someone were to tell him that he probably wouldn’t be able to accept it. 
After all, even if he decides to live his lung disease is going to kill him in a few years. Even if he decides to live, he lives in the kill or be killed world of the mafia where his boss stops caring about his well being if he’s not useful.
Akutagawa wants to be told his life is worth something, but deep down he’s internalized the idea that it’s worth nothing. He wants to live but he’s come to accept death. 
All of Akutagawa’s harsher actions are in response to a harsh world. A world that has marked him for death. Even when he tries to reach out and help others, he doesn’t know how to show them how to live because he doesn’t know himself. The only way he knew how to make Kyouka survive was to turn her into a killer. 
Tumblr media
This is one of the many things that Atsushi misunderstands about Akutagawa. Atsushi often sees Akutagawa as a bully, killing people to prove how strong he is, because he believes he’s bettern than others. (We get it Atsushi baby, you have an inferiority complex.) When Autagawa is someone barely able to survive in this world. It’s not that Akutagawa believes that Kyouka’s life was worthless, it’s that he believes his own life was worthless. 
Tumblr media
And Akutagawa misunderstands something so simple, because it wasn’t told to him that he could live on his own. Because, the mafia, and even Dazai can keep him on a short leash if he’s continually fighting to live like a dog barking on the end of his chain. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
When Akutagawa does not see himself as powerful and respected, and he definitely does not see himself as secure in any way. He sees himself as frail, weak, always on the brink of death and desperately to prove his position and keep onto his standing in the world. It’s been made clear to him countless times because he was born a poor boy in the slums he’s not going to be given anything, he has to earn it. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
This is a recurring question asked about Akutagawa’s character. Is he struggling to survive, or is he preying on those weaker than him to secure his position in the world? I would say at least Akutagawa perceives it as the former. Deep down he views himself as weak and unworthy, so much so that no power he could possibly gain would ever be good enough. He views life as a compettition where he can die at any moment, and already having accepted his death, he goes all out against his opponents and expects his opponents to do the same to survive. However, Akutagawa is part of a predatory organization known as the port mafia, and the ideas that he’s inherited from that organization are all about the weak preying on the strong. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media
When fighting against scarlet letter his own body breaks on him, before he’s even able to continue the fight, and once again he demands his opponent fight him with everything he has. He keeps insisting they fight even struggling to breath, coughing up blood, with his body falling apart on him. 
Tumblr media Tumblr media Tumblr media
Akutagawa is a merciless killer, and yet he desires to live just like everybody else. He projects his own struggle onto everybody else as well, and believes they are all just like him, weak people struggling to survive even if that means eating others.That’s the paradox that’s always been at the center of his character, and there’s foiling with Dazai there. 
They have both lived their entire lives, shadowed by death, to the point where they’ve come to define themselves entirely around that idea. 
"Man fears death and yet, at the same time, man is drawn to death. Death is endlessly consumed by men in cities and in literature. It is a singular event in one's life that none may reverse. That is what I desire."
Akutagawa through his sickness and his life in the slums which has made it clear how worthless and cheap his own life is, and Dazai through his suicidal ideation and inability to relate to the others around him. 
“Even if one were to bathe in the enternal wind, and simply become foam in the great sea without ever knowing who they were - without even getting a farewell...” Akutagawa muttered facing the heavens as if he were reciting a poem, “... the heart shall not move, for it is nothing compared with the loneliness of passing... without you ever knowing.” 
Bungou Stray Dogs, 55 Minutes. 
However while Dazai’s tendency is to be alone, Akutagwa’s fear is one of dying alone, dying unacknowledged, dying unconnected to anybody in this world. Because it’s the death that’s been waiting for him his entire life. He was going to die a stranger that nobody cared about in the slums, and he’s been desperately fighting against that. He wants someone to know him. 
In other words Akutagawa can’t possibly live alone. In the most recent fight, Akutagawa confronts his own mortality again. This is another piece of yin and yang foiling between Akutagawa and Atsushi. Atsushi is young, full of life, and whenever he’s injured his injuries miraculously heal. 
Akutagawa is sickly, dying already of a lung disease, and no injury ever quite heals on his body, he just gets worse and worse. Atsushi only believes it’s okay for him to live if he saves people. Akutagawa is a dying man, struggling, to make his death mean something. 
Tumblr media
Akutagawa already believes, already knows he’s going to die. How he’s going to live from this point on isn’t even a question to him. He never had a future in the first place. 
However at the same time, no one has told Akutagawa that he can live.  That he doesn’t have to earn it. That he’s worthy of living just by being born. 
Tumblr media
At the beginning of this fight when Atsushi confronted what he was most afraid of, which was solitude, Akutagawa appeared to save him. Which is why now when Akutagawa is in jeapordy, facing his worst fear. 
Tumblr media
Dying alone and unacknowledged.  It will be Atsushi’s turn to remind Akutagawa that they are not alone. That the two of them are both struggling to live together. Those words they both want to hear that even people like them can live in this world, that it’s okay for them to live,  is something they can tell each other. 
Tumblr media
678 notes · View notes
avnkin · 4 years
Text
The Bet
Chapter 3 - Broken
JJ Maybank x Reader
Warnings: angst, mentions of abuse & mentions of underage drinking
Word count: 2k (kinda short but I needed to get this chapter out for the rest of the story to make sense)
Summary: John B bets JJ that he can’t get kook princess Y/N Y/L/N to fall in love with him and not one to turn down a challenge JJ takes the bet unaware of the repercussions it would have.
(A/N): I just wanna say that i’m not in any way trying to romanticize the horrible things JJ goes through with his dad so if it comes of that way i’m really sorry it’s not intent, i’m just trying to build the relationship with JJ and the reader❤️ and i wanna thank y’all for your continuing support, i love you so much <33
series masterlist
Tumblr media
There had been a kegger down at the beach that night but you’d somehow managed to convince Sarah that you’d be fine staying at home, not feeling like partying or getting drunk, being more than content with your chocolate and Disney movies.
Your eyes were slowly starting to flutter shut as you felt yourself beginning to fall asleep with Toy Story playing quietly in the background but a sudden knock on your window woke you up almost immediately. 
“What the hell” you muttered eyes snapping open and diverting to the window, you’d watched your fair share of horror movies and this felt like a scene straight out of one.
Carefully you lifted the white sheets that covered your body off of you and swung your legs over the edge of the bed, shivering as your feet met the cold ground. Carefully you made your way towards the window, your brows pulling in once you saw none other than your boyfriend huddled over there.
You thought he’d most likely be blackout drunk by now partying with John B and the rest of the gang but instead, he was here, his head hanging low as he waited for you to open the window, something was definitely wrong.
Worry consumed you as you rushed towards him, quickly pushing the window open allowing the blonde boy to crawl in. His head hung low as he climbed over your windowsill, once he made it through you quickly shut the window behind him and turned to face him but you were horrified at the sight before you, his entire face was covered in bruises, scrapes, and dried up blood.
You gasped your hands covering your mouth, “what happened” you finally managed to choke out, your eyes frantically scanning his body searching for any more damage, but thankfully you couldn't see any.
He didn’t answer, simply walking over to your bed plopping down on the edge of it. You slowly made your way towards him, kneeling down before him your fingers went up to his face carefully gliding over his usually smooth sun-kissed skin that was now bumpy and uneven.
“JJ what happened,” you asked once again, your voice soft. 
His eyes refused to meet yours staying glued on the floor below “it’s nothing Y/N” he muttered it was barely audible, his voice was hoarse and lacked the usual tone of confidence it always held “JJ why won’t you tell me what’s going on? You know you can trust me” you frowned as his eyes finally met yours and god he looked so broken.
“It’s my dad” he finally spoke filling the silence that had previously consumed the room, his eyes glossing over “sometimes he uh- drinks” he choked out “well it’s actually a lot more than sometimes” he feigned a smile shaking his head, he was obviously trying to hold back his emotions to the best of his ability. 
You swore you could feel your heart shatter at his words so slowly you pushed yourself up towards him, your arms wrapping tightly around his neck as his found your waist, engulfing him in a tight hug “I’m so so sorry, you don’t deserve this” you sniffled. 
Words couldn't describe how angry it made you that he had to go through with this with someone who was supposed to love and take care of him. 
He hated this, he hated the fact that you were seeing him like this, he hated being vulnerable, he didn’t want you to pity him, it was the single worst feeling he knew, having people feel bad for him and act as if he couldn’t take care of himself. 
He didn’t exactly know how he found himself at your house after what had happened, he just walked and before he knew it he was standing below your window. He also never expected to tell you any of this, but he couldn’t bring himself to lie to you even more, as you looked at him with more love than anyone in his life ever had, god he was a terrible person.
His head slowly came up from the crook of your neck as he rested his forehead against your own, his hand coming up to cup your cheek wiping the few tears that fell from your eyes with his thumb.
“You know you can always stay here, no matter what I’ll always be here for you, i- i” you cut yourself off before you could finish, maybe it was too soon to tell him that you loved him, but you really did, you really fucking did and you wanted to tell him, let him know that he had you and that you’d always be there if he needed you.
JJ wasn’t even thinking about the bet anymore, the words falling from his mouth almost instinctively “I love you” he finished for you, hand dropping from your cheek and back down to your waist “I love you too” you smiled letting out a teary laugh as you pulled him down into another hug.
“Let’s get you cleaned up” you comforted intertwining your fingers with his, you pulled him into the bathroom, grabbing the first aid kit you attended to his wounds before the two of you laid down in your bed, your arms wrapping around his waist as your head rested in the nape of his neck.
It had been almost two weeks since he showed up at your house that night and you felt your relationship growing even stronger after it, you hadn't told anybody about it, not even Sarah because you knew JJ didn't want people to know what happened behind closed doors at his home.
You managed to convince him to stay at your house almost every night after that, refusing to let him go back home to his pathetic excuse of a dad.
JJ knew he was falling in love with you, but he couldn't admit it to himself or anyone else for that matter, he didn't want to fall in love because every single person he'd ever loved before had always ended up leaving so he put up a barrier to protect himself from ever getting his heartbroken again.
John B and JJ were currently working, delivering groceries to the citizens of Figure Eight, the sun rays were extra warm today shining down on the pair of them. 
They had just finished a delivery near the golf course where Rafe and his friends would sometimes spend their afternoons, golfing, and drinking. 
The two boys were sitting on a bench near the dock where their boat was tied down gently swaying in the calm waves of the water "we should get going man I don’t feel like getting into a fight right now” John B worried looking over at JJ who only rolled his eyes.
JJ had insisted on smoking a blunt before they got back out on the water and continued their deliveries “don’t be such a pussy man we’re fine there’s no one here” JJ claimed gesturing towards the empty space around them.
“Whatever man if we get beat up it’s your fault”
Rafe, Topper, and Kelce we’re currently out on the golf course listening to Topper's constant whining about Sarah, why she wasn't answering his calls and why she was suddenly starting to spend so much time on the cut.
Rafe agreed with Topper that it was weird, but he knew exactly what his sister was doing even though he hadn't told Topper about it, he knew that you and Sarah had both chosen to be with some ‘dirty pogues’ instead of them and he hated it.
Rummaging through his stuff he quickly realized he’d forgotten one of his favorite golf clubs in the trunk of his car "fuck" Rafe muttered excusing himself from the guys as he jogged around the small building and towards the parking lot where his car was parked.
Once he reached his car he quickly unlocked it and made his way towards the trunk but hearing voices in the distance his head shot up, eyes quickly landing on the two boys who were seated near the dock with their backs facing him.
His blood boiled as he watched them, acting as if they didn't have a care in the world, he could almost immediately identify that it was JJ and John B since JJ's red cap that he wore almost every single day gave him away. He couldn’t describe the hatred he felt for that boy, he hated him before he dated you and hated him even more now that he had you and he didn’t.
Frantically he grabbed the golf club from the trunk of his car and in a haze made his way towards the two boys' hands tightening around the golf club his fingers turning almost white. 
As he neared them he slowly started to raise the metal object above his head ready to swing it at JJ but his movements abruptly stopped at the mention of your name.
Somehow they hadn’t noticed him and finding the conversation interesting he quickly hid behind one of the large trash cans that rested just in-ear sight of the two boys, his ears perking up as he listened intently to the conversation the two boys were engaged in.
“You guys have been together for almost a month and a half now and you’re seriously not starting to feel anything for her, like at all?” John B questioned, a blunt resting on the corner of his lips.
JJ’s brows pulled in simply shrugging at John B’s question “I don’t know” he lied, JJ knew he liked you hell he even thought that he loved you but he wouldn’t admit it to himself, knowing that as soon as he told someone he couldn't pretend anymore, pretend that he didn't love you.
“I still think we should call the bet off, if she finds out about it-" John B winced thinking of your reaction "god I don’t even wanna think about that” he finished hopeful that his second attempt of calling the bet off would work.
“That’s why she’s not going to find out, the only people that know about this are me and you, and I intend to keep it that way” JJ stated reaching his hand out and pulling the blunt from John B’s mouth, placing it into his own.
JJ had yet to tell John B that you’d already told him that you loved him because he knew that when he did he wouldn't have an excuse to be around you anymore, so he’d kept it to himself.
At first, Rafe didn't know what to make of the words he was hearing but it finally clicked, a bet you had been a bet. He let out an almost satisfied sigh, knowing he now had the upper hand, JJ didn’t even like you, he was only with you for money. 
This was perfect was all he could think as he scurried back to his car, frantically searching his pockets for his phone. When his fingers finally felt the metal object he hurriedly started dialing your number eager to tell you the news, being almost positive that you’d come crawling back to him when you did.
But as he tried to call you over and over again it always went straight to voicemail, so he tried texting you but it wouldn’t deliver, searched all your social media sites but couldn’t find them and that’s when it hit him, you’d blocked him on everything.
“Shit” he mumbled, knowing he couldn’t just show up at your house when your parents were there, he’d look like an actual psychopath, but that’s when he remembered that the outdoor movie theatre was only a couple of days away and he knew that you’d be there.
Even if he had to wait for a couple of days to tell you what he had just heard he knew it would be worth it, seeing the look on your face as he broke the news was all he could think about as he made his way back towards Kelce and Topper, a devilish smirk placed on his lips, he’d have you back in no time.
next part
tag list: @emerald-xcd @elisemurphy06 @tiredfeels @thepossesedoreo @tooavenueland @http-cherries @annedub @thelonelyumbrella @imsad05 @butterfliesinthenightsky @plantsarenice-love @artofashes @jjshottub @that-kind-of-beautifull @jj-maybank-stan @tangledinsparkles @sarahsmaybank @kaylinfayezink @tpwksunflower @jaazzzzz @sweetwatermelonsugar @obxwriterfan @shephard17895 @skater-gril1997 @andy299 @babyjayt @fashionlive15 @daygiowvibe @agirlthatisbi @styles-xoxo @arthiriticcricket @jolomez @i-do-not-really-know @jjmaybnks @thatshiscigar @nostalthicc @teamnick @always-bored01 @outer-bnks @poguesrforlife @maybe-maybanks @rretrophilee @downbytheouterbanks @harrysbbby @ssjiara @siouxfalls67 @fernweh-fangirl @katherine097 @flomical @lonelyromanc3 @classywaves @poguelifeeee @oceantostars @ilikebrowniess @blog-luvdance @millie-753 @kalyn021 @avashroom @josiesoffthewall @u-4-ia @i-mmunity @blahhhhhhhaaa @bonum-viatee @mdgrdians @mozz-are-lla @write-from-the-heart @timotaychalabae @avashroom @famousstarsandkelly @nicolefarley603 @awkwardnesshabitat @mossandmagnolias @elainiaaaa @everydayimfangirling @hiddleless @harringtonstudios @dolanfivsosxox @biatar @alexandra-x0 @antoouu @itsleilahenry @juxt4p0siti0n @xxxxxxxxxxxxxooooooooooooo @sunshinemadds @lonely-kermit @babebenhardy @heda-mikaelson @rretrophilee @freshprincessofwakanda @agirlthatisbi @skater-girl1997 @blueevelvt @hopelesswritingxd @ssjiara @distressedjess @masintahin @banksxreigns @elliesshitofablog @krazykatkay456 @yeahbutharrystyles @ellystone @wine-fine-like @amandaiscoolbeans @fandomobsessedlife @littlewavelayingbythesea @shreyaodedra06 @satan-of-fandoms @youre-a-good-man-theon @etherealtony @karinavictoria11 @obxwriterfan @ineedkpoptolive @prettyyboyspence @jeyramarie @ritasunflwr @softkidinlove @emptycanvasposts @hiddleless @anisiamoisa​ @ijustneedcollegemoney 
strikethrough means tumblr wouldn’t let me tag you :( if you want to be added to the tag list here’s the form,, also please let me know if i forgot to tag you<333
965 notes · View notes
plus-size-reader · 3 years
Text
Bad Day
Tumblr media
Peter Parker x Platonic Plus size!reader
Word Count: 1430 words
Warnings: none 
Summary: Peter is really stressed about school and avenging, so reader decides to cheer him up by giving him some hugs and cookies. Reader is like a mother figure to him.
——————————————————————————————————
Peter had a lot on his plate.
In general, being sixteen was hard for anyone, but Peter wasn't exactly anyone. While he was juggling homework, the social challenges that came with high school, crushes, and all those regular teen things, he was also now trying to become an avenger.
You knew those struggles rather well, having been on the arm of the billionaire playboy himself, Tony Stark for quite some time. You saw how much this lifestyle could take out of a person and Tony had been doing it a lot longer than Pete.
It was no wonder he was having a hard time.
Still, you knew better than to just shrug it off like everyone else seemed to do. They figured he would make the best of it like they all had in time, and would be fine before you knew it. It was probably true, to be fair, but you didn't want to risk it.
Since Peter had been staying at the Stark tower these last few days, the two of you had hung out quite a bit. It was bound to happen, with just you, Peter, and Tony in the huge building all the time. With Tony constantly working on more machines and mechanics in the basement, you had turned your focus to the young man.
He was a brilliant kid with a lot to offer and it was no wonder that Tony was so enthralled by him. He showed a lot of promise as both a hero and an engineer, not to mention he was just a cool guy.
Everything he did seemed to remind you of Tony when the two of you met, before his responsibilities and the state of the world got him down. Maybe that was why you wanted to take care of him when he came home, in a huff.
In any case, you didn't even ask any questions, immediately wrapping the young male in a gentle hug. "What's going on Hun?" You wondered, knowing it could have been any of a thousand things.
It was kind of a stupid question, you knew that, but you didn't care. Peter was the kind of person who liked to talk it out, especially when something was on his mind and you certainly didn't have a problem listening.
If anything, it would help take your mind off of all the things you were worrying about.
"There's just so much going on. I feel like everyone is counting on me and I keep letting them down" Peter huffed, pulling back from your hug after a few moments. You knew where he was coming from.
The worst part was that there was nothing you could really do for him. There was a lot on his shoulders right now, but there was only so much anyone could do to lessen the strain.
Even knowing that though, you had an idea.
Their intellect wasn't the only thing Peter and Tony shared. They also had a lot in common as far as snacks went and you knew just what to do.
Without missing a beat, you tossed Peter's bag on the floor by the couch, dragging the young man to the kitchen. It was huge, mostly unused for quite some time until you moved in. However, that wasn't the purpose of your rush today.
"You wanna know a secret about Tony?" You hummed, speaking in a hushed tone like a teenager with a secret. It wasn't that big of a deal, really, but you just felt like sharing something like this with Peter. Making it a little thing you two shared just made it more special.
...and you were right.
Even though Peter was still feeling that internal dread that he just couldn't seem to shake today, he nodded.
"When the big man had a bad day starting out, we would drop everything and make some chocolate chip cookies. Do you want to try that?" You suggested. It wasn't a perfect solution of course and wouldn't make everything better.
Though, a little bit of chocolate couldn't hurt.
"Then we can go to the game room and play some of that new stuff we got?" When Peter had moved in, you went with Happy to stock up on all those teen boy things he'd need.
You weren't a teenage boy, so it wasn't completely foolproof, but you'd done pretty well if you said so yourself.
You and Tony had yet to have children of your own but it was fair to say that you took the arrival of the boy as permission to take him in as your own. You had went a little overboard but it didn't hurt anybody.
If anything, Tony had teased you a little but had no problem letting you put in a whole game room in one of the guest bedrooms on the third floor. You'd gutted the whole thing, all in an effort to make Pete feel more at home.
...and you were glad for it now.
Maybe it seemed like a bit much on a good day but when he was struggling, the young man wanted nothing more than to just chill out some in a comfy recliner and a plate full of warm cookies.
In fact, there were few things that sounded better than that.
"That sounds good. We can do that" Peter agreed, hoping that would help, though even if he didn't, he doubted he'd be able to tell you that. There was just something about your light and supportive demeanor that he couldn't deny.
You had quickly become a part of his family and there was no going back from that now. You two had bonded past any sort of friendship he'd ever had.
He respected you and cared for you in the same way he did Tony, except you weren't as intimidating as your partner was. Maybe it had something to do with his aunt May raising him, but Peter found himself acquainting you to an almost mother figure.
He enjoyed your company and that once increased after the upcoming evening.
Tony spend most of the time after waking up in his garage, working on a few new prototypes until he could hardly feel his fingers but all in all, he felt good.
There were few things that thrilled the man as much as making things from idea to physical medium, as if he'd pulled it straight from his head. However, that was all gone from his mind when he heard that yelling upstairs.
He wasn't entirely sure what it was but it all became clear when he turned the corner after heading that way to find the you and Peter hidden away behind the door of the new game room.
The crew had just recently finished the whole install, and you didn't waste a moment before getting him in there to break in the new system.
"Knock it off! I almost had it" you scoffed, bumping the younger man with your shoulder gently, trying to get the upper hand. The two of you had been playing Mario kart since you'd finished baking, and he'd won almost every time.
Peter only laughed, holding his controlled just out of your reach, still somehow managing to clear the corner without bumping the wall.
Tony stood there for a few minutes, watching the two of you just mess around and have a good time before clearing his throat, knocking on the door frame to make himself known.
"Hey, I didn't hear you come up" you grinned, swiveling around to meet his eyes, before whipping back around to focus on your before objective. It wasn't until Peter beat you that you paused the game completely.
"Do you want a cookie, Mr.Stark? Y/N and I made them" Peter offered, holding out the plate to the older man, with a grin.
At the mention, Tony looked at you, his eyebrow cocked in question. You liked to bake, he knew that, but you hadn't done it in quite a while. At his look, you only shrugged.
"Speaking of, somebody left flour on the counter" you laughed, only half kidding. The two of you had gotten a little carried away, joking and messing around.
Tony briefly took a moment to decide if he cared or not before shrugging it of himself, taking the chocolate chip cookie Peter offered.
The kitchen was a disaster and you were a little salty about losing in Mario Kart but at least Peter was in a better mood. At the end of the day, that was all that really mattered.
291 notes · View notes
butgilinsky · 4 years
Text
blueberry pancakes // rc
part four | series masterlist 
warning; language, angst, fluff
summary; y/n goes to the wreck to meet sarah and kie, before her day takes a drastic turn with one simple question
word count; 3.1k
Tumblr media
after continuous days of kie and sarah begging her, y/n finally agreed to meet them at the wreck. she had been slightly avoiding the boys for the past few days, knowing that her attendance at a kook party was now public knowledge to them and they surely disapproved. 
she didn’t want to go through the lecture every time she hung out with the pogues. they were her best friends, but they weren’t hearing her out. she’d been left in the dark for the past few months anyways. with kie and jj, and john b and sarah, while pope focused heavily on his scholarship stuff and still got time with john b and jj alone at times. 
but she went to the wreck anyways, walking into the restaurant with a light smile on her face despite the hesitation coursing through her. she saw sarah and kie sitting in the far corner of the restaurant, and laughed when kie started waving her arms in the air. 
she walked over to them and gave both of them hugs before siding in beside kie and across from sarah. they caught up quickly, listening to sarah talk about the progression in her relationship along with how things at home were slightly rocky. y/n talked about babysitting and how both of the girls were doing, while kie rattled off different songs she’d been playing around with lately. 
y/n almost thought she’d make it out alive until the boys sauntered into the wreck, bright smiles on their faces. y/n rolled her eyes at kie’s insistent promises that she didn’t invite them, but told her it was fine. she couldn’t hide forever, despite the fact that she was still mad about sarah’s spying just a week prior. 
the boys slid in beside them, and y/n found herself focusing on the setting sun in order to relieve herself of some of the anxiety pumping through her. 
she hummed when her name was called, looking across the table towards jj who had a smirk plastered on his face. 
“how’s kook life?” y/n rolled her eyes at the question, trying to fight off the familiar feeling in her chest. 
“i don’t know, jj, ask a kook.” he scoffed in return, leaning back in his seat as he rolled his eyes. 
“i thought i did.” y/n let out a slightly bitter laugh before john b tried to cut the conversation short. 
“knock it off, jj.” the blond boy rolled his eyes again, letting out a heavy sigh at his friend’s attitude. 
“what, jb? we’ve all noticed her shift in behavior. she’s gone full kook now, and can’t even spend time with us anymore. she goes to kook parties, and hangs out with the three stooges every chance she gets! she might as well wear vineyard vines and start drinking mimosas at brunch.” y/n was staring at the table, trying to fight off the mix of emotions she was feeling. 
“y/n, why are you hanging out with them so much?” her eyes snapped up to meet sarah’s, narrowing ever so slightly before she started talking. 
“i don’t spend time with you guys as much because this is always what it turns into. you can’t handle the idea that any of us have friends outside of this group. i love you guys but whether you notice it or not, things aren’t the same as they used to be.” they all stared at her with confused expressions, but she just laughed. 
“see, you don’t even notice because you’re all in your own little bubble, but i’m always the one on the outskirts of it all. i’m the one that doesn’t quite fit into the mix anymore and-”
“so you go full kook on us?” jj spat bitterly, eyes narrowed as he tried to put the pieces together. there was no question that jj had the biggest vendetta against the kooks. his hatred ran the furthest, and y/n was one of his best friends, so it was inevitable that he’s be mad about it all. 
it didn’t feel worth it to y/n to tell jj why she started hanging out with rafe. it was the truth, that she’d felt disconnected from her friends for a while at this point, but it didn’t feel worth it to offer up the rest of her explanation. 
jj didn’t need to know that y/n had feelings for him. feelings that were now less than a thought in her mind, due to a certain kook. she didn’t need to tell the blond boy with a underlying kleptomaniac tendencies that he’d completely stole her heart, only to throw it in the ocean and give his own away to someone else. 
she didn’t want to tell jj about her feelings, even if she had forgotten about them lately, because she knew it wouldn’t end in a happy understanding amongst the friends sat around the table. she’d only have to explain herself five times over, and she didn’t want to do that right now, while a bright red flame burned inside of her. 
“hanging out with kooks doesn’t mean i went full kook, jj. i hang out with them because they make me feel like i’m important, not just another body on a boat or another person to share beer with.” jj was the only one still mad at this point, the other four trying to recount how different she had been, and for a while. 
“y/n, i’m sorry, we didn’t-”
“you didn’t notice? i know. you guys only ever notice each other.” she muttered softly before standing up, her chair scraping across the floor of the restaurant. “i knew i shouldn’t have come here. not a day goes by where one of you doesn’t make me feel like shit for enjoying myself.”
“y/n, please-”
“forget it, okay? if me hanging out with other people pisses you off so bad then stop calling me. i’ve hung out with all of you for years, and i’ve felt more myself in the past week than i have in months.” she grabbed her phone and keys off of the table, trying to round the table but kie grabbed her wrist. 
“y/n.” the girl looked down at her, eyes full of tears as she waited for kie to say something else, but it never came. 
so she ripped her wrist out of kie’s hand and took a few steps towards the door before spinning around one more time, chewing on her bottom lip as she looked at her friends that stared at her with solemn expressions. 
“and the next time i tell you where i’m going, don’t send someone to spy on me. it’s not hard for me to guess why sarah’s conveniently at a kook party the same night as me.” she turned once more and walked out of the restaurant, shoving the door harshly on her way out. the table stayed silent for a minute, before jj scoffed again. 
“what’s her problem?” john b sent him a harsh glare, fighting back the urge to punch the table or his best friend. 
“you! you’re her problem, jj! she only started hanging out with rafe because she fell for your sorry ass and you were too dumb to notice.” jj’s eyes blew wide at the confession, his heart dropping into his stomach at the information. 
“she what?” everyone at the table was staring at john b now, confused about how he knew something that none of them knew about. 
“yeah, idiot. she had feelings for you but all you ever did was talk about kiara all the fucking time, so she got sick of it. she reached her breaking point and i guess rafe gave her the opportunity to forget about it. so that’s why she hangs out with kooks, jj. she was trying to forget about you and started enjoying herself instead. so let her have fun for once.” 
the table fell silent again, kie drinking in the information as much as jj was. pope had been silent the whole time, not knowing which side he was on in this situation. he hated the kooks almost as much as jj, but he did notice y/n had been off for a while now, and if she found a way to be happy, why should they stop her?
“sarah, the other night...” kie tried to ask about y/n’s night at kelce’s house, but she was still shock ridden by john b’s confession.
“she looked the happiest i’ve probably ever seen her. rafe too, if i’m honest. rafe hasn’t smiled like that in years.” the table had mixed reactions to this, john b smiling softly since he knew y/n had been happy, but he couldn’t help the distaste he had for rafe. 
y/n had been driving for some time now, driving long enough for the sun to fall and the moon to shine. she wasn’t sure where to go until the sun set and it seemed so obvious to her. 
so she found herself at the diner, phone forgot in the car and hands gripping a cup of hot coffee. her hair was up, though multiple strands had fallen in the time she’d been there. she had been consumed in her thoughts for hours at this point, eyes bloodshot from tears and throat hoarse from yelling and sobbing. 
she had let everything sink in in the time she’d spent alone. she realized how long it had actually been since she’d been happy around all of the pogues. it’d seemed like forever since jj had been pining after kie, and sarah had joined the group, making john b’s head consistently reside up in the clouds. 
she couldn’t remember how long it’d been since she had to find comfort in pope, despite the two of them never being the closest. she loved pope, but she had been so used to having jj or john b to lean on, that both of them being swooped up into relationships left her at a loss. 
she didn’t know who she had anymore, and that was the hardest pill to swallow. she knew things would change when high school ended, most of them moving away to different colleges, but she didn’t expect it to happen while they were still in high school. 
she had been so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the truck pull up to the diner, nor the boy jumping out and walking towards the door. he would’ve sighed out in relief, but he wasn’t surprised to find her here. in fact, it was the first place he looked after he got the phone call. 
he slid into the seat across from her before she even noticed he was here. her head snapped up, the momentary fear leaving at the sight of him. though, he had a different reaction when she looked at him. 
his face fell, his heart slightly cracking. he could tell she had been crying, anybody with a set of eyes would’ve been able to tell. her lips were slightly chapped, and her fingers were slightly shaking, undoubtedly cold from the chill in the diner. 
her eyes were so red he had half a thought that she was high. they were glassy, yet dull and emotionless. his shoulders slumped at the sight, and he reached for her hand but flinched when he felt how cold they were. 
“jesus, y/n.” he mumbled softly before sliding out of the booth. “stay here.” he walked out of the diner, her eyes following him as he ran back to the truck, reaching into the backseat and pulling out a hoodie he had thrown back there months ago. 
he jogged back inside and slid back into his seat before holding the jacket out to her, silently telling her to take it. she did, and slid it on shortly after. it was a comfortable size, warmth engulfing her on impact. 
“thanks.” she said softly and rafe sent her a small smile. “how’d you even know i was here?” 
“sarah called me, asked if i’d seen you because you weren’t answering your phone and i guess they stopped by your house. i tried to call, just to see if you were ignoring them or everyone, and then i came here.” he shrugged, not thinking it was that big of a deal. 
but to her it was. the fact that he cared enough to look, on top of the fact that he knew exactly where she’d be, warmed her heart. it skipped a beat as she watched him smile at her, finding her intoxicating even in a time like this. 
“what happened?” she shrugged softly, eyes falling back to her coffee as she pulled the sleeves of the hoodie over her hands. 
“just the usual kook lecture. ‘why them’, ‘how’s kook life’, ‘you don’t hang out with us anymore’. you know, the usual stuff.” she shrugged again, but rafe was able to pick up on how much she actually did care and how much it bothered her that her friends were acting like this. 
she hated fighting with the pogues. it didn’t happen that often, but they couldn’t stop themselves when they felt like they were losing their best friend to the people they hated most. 
but they didn’t realize that she had felt that way for months at this point. she felt like they were all falling into new routines that didn’t include her, and while that would’ve been fine if she had school to focus on, or any other friends to distract herself with, the only thing she had were the two girls she babysat. it wasn’t easy to distract herself. 
until she started hanging out with rafe. 
spending time with rafe made her feel important. it made her feel like someone was actually thinking of her, wondering how she truly was doing or if she was having a good time in any given situation. 
rafe made her feel like someone took the time out of their day to check in on her, even if it was just a simple text, or a few hours at some old diner. rafe cameron made her feel important to someone, and that meant everything to her. 
“well, what if your favorite kook buys you a stack of blueberry pancakes and we go sing way too loud to songs we don’t know the words to? i’ll even let you eat the pancakes in the car.” she laughed gently as rafe leaned over the table, hands folded together and eyebrows in the air to further his suggestion. 
she leaned over the table to meet him halfway and pressed her lips to his softly, hearing him hum out in satisfaction. she started to pull away but was stopped when a hand wrapped around the back of her head and held her in place. 
rafe finally let them separate after another minute and smiled widely at her before waving over a waiter and asking for those pancakes. 
and they did sing along to songs way too loud in his car. she took bites of her pancakes every so often, feeding bites to rafe in between her own. she would laugh when he sang with his mouth full, doing just about anything he could to make sure that any tears slipping out of her eyes were from laughing too hard. 
he let her roll the windows down, hanging her head and arms out of the side until they turned around corners lined by cliffs. he’d laugh and put a hand on the waistband of her shorts, tugging her gently back inside of the car to assure she didn’t hit anything while hanging halfway out of his car. 
she’d lean over the center console, kissing his cheek and whispering things into his ear ever so often. she’d lean her head on his shoulder and sing softly to songs that hit a little deeper, pouring her heart into words that she felt like she had ghost written. 
there was a moment where her back pressed against the door, her seat belt stripped off despite rafe’s protests. her legs stretched out and feet planted in his lap. he had on hand on her ankle, gripping it softly and rubbing his thumb over the soft skin. 
he glanced at her, watching her smile wildly at him. she took a mental snapshot of the moment, rafe cameron smiling at her like she hung the moon. it seemed so intimate and almost domestic, the way they stole glances and shared affirmations. if there was a moment in her life that she would pause everything else and live in it forever, it was this moment right here. 
y/n’s face and stomach hurt by the end of the night, but she couldn’t think of a better way to spend her time. it still shocked her every once in a while that rafe cameron brought such a bright smile to her face, but she was starting to look forward to those smiles and the car rides that caused them. 
it was late, but neither of them had intentions of going home anytime soon. there was nothing for them there, and both of them swore that they would’ve stayed in that car for the rest of their lives if it was an acceptable way of living.
“i really like you, y/n. and it kind of freaks me out, but i can’t help it.” rafe glanced over to her periodically, keeping most of his attention on the dark roads ahead of him. 
“i really like you too.” she said softly, looking over at the boy that was now smiling widely. “despite you being a kook.” she scrunched her nose up and watched rafe laugh gently. 
“a pogue and a kook falling for each other. who would’ve thought?” y/n scoffed at the question, thinking of more than one instance where that’s been the case. 
“you mean a who would’ve thought rafe cameron would fall for a pogue?” rafe laughed again, which brought an inevitable smile to the girl’s face. 
“i’d fall for you in ten different lifetimes, even if you were a pogue in every single one of them.” her smile grew wider, and she let out a sigh. 
“i’d kiss the shit out of you if you weren’t driving right now.” rafe quickly pulled off to the side of the road at that, making y/n laugh as he pulled her into his lap. 
“well, would you look at that.” rafes words made her lightly roll her eyes, a bright smile spreading across her lips. she clicked her tongue softly but gripped either side of his face and sighed happily as she drank in the sight of him, baseball hat sitting backwards on his head while a bright smile graced his lips. 
“just kiss me, cameron.” and that’s exactly what he did. 
--
taglist; @queenofthebees003​ @extratragic​ @jjtheangel​ @drewstarkeyobx​ @starkeymarkey​ @ilovejjmaybank​​ @annedub​ @obx-j @sortagaysortahigh​ @stfukie​ @rae131415 @prejudic3​ @maybebanks​ @blueflame2778​ @fowler180​ @downbytheouterbanks​ @starlightstarkey​ @celestialmaybank​ @write-from-the-heart​ @beatement-l​ @ilikealotofpeople-younotsomuch​ @poguequeen​ @downbytheouterbanks​ @arieltwvdtohamflash​ @tiredfeels​ @loverofmineluke​ @hbooth0411​ @ashleyj27​ @dontjinx-it​ @pancakefancake​ @loveylangdon​ @copper-boom​ @wasted-on-5sos​ @junkiemuppettxx​ @love-chx​ @vindictive-hearts​ @mbma6457​
italics means it wouldn’t let me tag you): lmk if you want to be tagged!!
537 notes · View notes
misslilli · 3 years
Text
Felix Felicis
MSR. AU. PG-13. | tagging @today-in-fic | AO3
Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | Chapter 8 | Chapter 9 | Chapter 10 | Chapter 11 | Chapter 12 | Chapter 13
Chapter 14 - Last Chance For Spotting A Rainbow
If you know you know ;)
[ FM ]
The second Friday in school marks the end of the grace period for the first-grade parents where they can accompany their kids all the way to the classroom. From now on, we wait for them in front of the school with the other parents.
It also ends the grace period where I can “casually” bump into Miss Scully in front of her classroom and I’m a little disappointed, to say the least.
This morning though, I get lucky because when we enter the school, we run into her on the way from the teacher’s lounge to the classroom, a stack of books in her arms and a cup of coffee perched perilously on top of them.
Felix is ecstatic. “Good morning, Miss Scully!,” he yells from across the front hall and tugs me towards her.
She stops and waits for us, her coffee cup wobbling. “Good morning, Felix! Mr. Mulder!”
“Good morning! Do you need help with that?” I gesture towards her books but the shakes her head no.
“No, no, I’m fine, thanks. So Felix, you got any big plans for this weekend?” They’re walking in front of me and I’m proud of myself that I steal a glance at her ass only once. Okay and one at her legs. ‘Those heels, oh boy. Another pair to add to my inappropriate fantasies, in most of which she always wears heels. And nothing else.’
“Yeah, we’re going to the farmer’s market tomorrow! Have you ever been there Miss Scully?” Felix swigs his schoolbag along, his gaze never leaving her.
“Actually, me and my friends go there every Saturday, so maybe we’ll run into you guys there!” I somehow get the feeling that if Felix gets any say in this, we’ll be spending the whole day there until we run into her.
When we reach the classrooms, she finally lets me help her out. “Could you get my keys please? They’re in my back pocket. Just pull on the lanyard.” ‘Oh Lord. They’re in the freaking back pocket of her jeans. Of course they are. I just can’t seem to catch a break.’
Biting back a dirty joke – which I’m 100% positive she wouldn’t appreciate – I do as told and tug on the lanyard, unlocking her classroom door and opening the door for her. I briefly wonder if I should just put the keys back where they were, but the thought alone almost gives me a heart attack, so instead, I loop the lanyard with her keys around her neck and she smiles thankfully.
“Thanks. Have a good weekend, Mulder boys!”
After school, I don’t see her again because they’re, as Felix informs me, in the gym already. But I’m treated to a story about her in recess in the car.
“So I was sitting on the teacher’s bench again today and Miss Scully was talking to Miss Anderson and you know how they’re kind of weird and only ever use the first letters of their names? Miss Anderson always calls her “D” and I’ve been wondering forever what it stands for.” Yes I do know, I had to get him the book of first names from our library’s top shelf. Also, a kid’s definition of forever will never cease to amaze me. It’s been a few days, tops. I wait for him to continue.
“… and then, Miss Anderson said it, dad! She said: ‘Dana, I’m not sure this is gonna work!’ Now I finally know! …Dana.”
I nod, but on the inside, I sincerely hope that he hasn’t made the obvious connection, that her name is almost eerily similar to his mother’s first name. Just one letter.
---------
[ DS ]
That night, we order Chinese takeout, none of us particularly interested in cooking and we gather around the kitchen table. Sarah passes out the chopsticks while Holly opens a bottle of Shiraz, our classes clinking together for a toast. “Two weeks down! So girls, how was your week? Any juicy stories?,” Sarah asks, looking around at us expectantly.
“Well… I could tell you about that really awful date I had this week with Mark the banker, on which he made a move 10 minutes into the conversation buuuut I get the feeling someone else might have more interesting stories.” Holly points her chopsticks at me and grins, waggling her eyebrows. My own chopsticks pause halfway to my mouth.
“Me? Why?” I ask innocently, stuffing a piece of spring roll into my mouth.
“Very funny! You wanna tell me why I saw a very handsome dad leave your classroom all smiley faced on Tuesday?” ‘Busted.’
“What?! Mr. Mulder? How did I miss this?” Sarah looks at the both of us incredulously.
“Because your classroom isn’t across from D’s and you didn’t happen to look out through the window to see Dopey McSmileypants leave! So D, spill it, and don’t leave anything out!” I shrug nonchalantly.
“I asked a mom to help with read-alouds but her kid was sick, so since Mr. Mulder happened to stand there, I asked him if he could do it. Of course, the kids were all over him with questions, who are you, what are you doing here, you know how curious they are. He was a big hit with them, though, they absolutely loved him.” ‘They’re not the only ones though’
“Bet they weren’t the only ones who loved him, huh?” Damn Sarah for reading my mind! I laugh uncomfortably, shifting in my seat, but I nod. It was really nice to have him in my classroom. To cover for the fact that I’m not telling them the whole story, I help myself to some Kung-Pao Chicken. Sarah catches on anyway, of course she does.
“Wow, that’s mighty nice of him, to take an hour out of his workday to help you out! But I get the feeling that there’s more to the story, what aren’t you telling us, D?”
“Well… after he left, the kids had even more questions, they practically fell over each other, why are your cheeks so red Miss Scully, is he my boyfriend, or is he my husband? And… I caught myself thinking ‘Ya, I wish!’ …” I trail off, a little embarrassed at my admission.
“Man this is some serious Romeo and Juliet shit that’s going on here, D. So we’ve established that you like him, we suspect that he likes you too, judging by the glazed over look on his face when you walk by and he thinks no-one is watching. What’s the hold-up then?”
“Please don’t tell me we’re still hung up on the people talk – good reputation bs!” If I had hoped that the conversation would not take this turn, Holly quickly extinguishes it.
“I don’t know, guys… it’s not complete bs though, you know how I hate when people gossip about me behind my back, and dating the new guy in town puts me in a spotlight that I’m not particularly comfortable being in. I guess what’s worse however is that I’m scared. Like, terrified, of putting my heart out there again after that 2 year on-again-off-again shitshow with Steve last year.”
“That narcissistic asshole…,” Holly mutters under her breath and the others nod, remembering when I had finally hit emotional rock-bottom last year, after I realized that he’d gaslighted me over and over again, resulting in me having a mental breakdown curled up on the cold bathroom floor.
“My anxiety has been badever since, it’s getting better with therapy, but still… I just know I’ll screw it up. I’m damaged goods.” Alex, who hasn’t said anything yet, listening intently, finally speaks up.
“That’s not true, D. You’re getting help and you know we’re always there for you.” – “Yeah, we’ll kick anybody’s ass who dares to hurt you!” – “Don’t interrupt me, S. If he’d ask you out on a date, do you think you’ll say yes?” I consider this for a moment.
“I’m not sure. I don’t really know anything about him except that he seems to be a great dad and that he believes in aliens…” Holly bursts out laughing at the last part.
“What? Aliens?” I tell them the story that took place with the PTA parents in front of the school and the others join Holly’s laughter and I’m grateful that the conversation has taken a lighter turn.
“That’s too funny... You know, he could really learn a thing or two from his son, he asked us to his and his dad’s birthday party today at recess! It was so sweet, guys, I can’t even… We’re all invited, by the way – I think it’s going to be quite the event!” Felix had come up to Sarah and me today, holding out an official invitation and one that he had made himself, just for us.
“Yay, a party, I love me a good party! So, are we going to go?” Holly looks at us questioningly. Sarah only scoffs, rolling her eyes.
“Are you kidding? Of course we’re going to go!”
14 notes · View notes
yellowocaballero · 3 years
Text
Desolation Destroyed My P****: Web!Jon, Gertrude/Agnes Repressed Homoeroticism, and Gerry faking his own death
Another installment in the slowly complicating Web!Jon AU based off The Convention on Chronographer Lane/The Monster at the End of This Book. You don’t need to know anything about the other two installments, the main story, or the actual Web!Jon story that will get WRITTEN once I’m done with Space Cadet. Full story under the cut. GERTRUDE POV BABY LET’S GO DON’T BE A COWARD AND EMBRACE THE GERIATRIC LESBIANS. 
CW for body horror
2002
People did not call Gertrude for favors. 
Somehow most of the community had fallen under the impression that it was a bad idea to owe a favor to Gertrude Robinson, because she always came to collect. Gertrude had worked hard to enforce this. Most of those in her...field knew better than to ask an enemy for favors, and Gertrude made a habit of collecting enemies. She was not in the habit of collecting friends. 
Allies, maybe. She could count her allies on one aging hand and have fingers left over. Unfortunately, Agnes Montague was one of them. 
Also unfortunately, Agnes disliked and distrusted the Institute so severely she only ever called when she knew Gertrude would be in her own home - so, at one am, on a Saturday. The shrill blaring of Gertrude’s almost unused home phone startled her from her nightly reading, and she was forced to bookmark her place before picking up the phone. 
She never spoke first on the phone, and old precaution, but Agnes knew that. “Don’t worry. I’m only calling for business reasons. I need another favor.”
Gertrude’s lips thinned. “Agnes. It’s been a while.”
Six months and a week, not that Gertrude was counting. The last time Agnes had called her up asking for a favor was the first time they had ever spoken: a request for help escaping her cult. It had been a long, messy business. The burn scar had only just healed. 
They had a moment of sentimentality, then. A moment of sentimentality that had begun so many years ago as their lives were tied together in that forest, and stretched forward in time and space to culminate in a single mistake. It was a mistake Gertrude was afraid she was still making now. 
“I would have called, but it was still dangerous,” Agnes said cheerfully. She had been a morose and sulky woman, when Gertrude first met her. She had brightened considerably since they had won her freedom: like the turn of winter into spring. “It’s settled down quite a bit, which is why I need the favor.”
“You still haven’t paid me back for last time,” Gertrude said mildly. 
But Agnes just laughed, warm and soft, despite the cold welcome. “I feel like we both got something out of that arrangement, don’t you?”
They did. Gertrude wasn’t sure which arrangement Agnes was referring to. “Fine. What is it you need? Within reason, Agnes. I’m not sure I have another great escape in me.”
“I need three false identities,” Agnes said, shocking Gertrude deeply. People only tended to call Gertrude when they need something murdered or blown up. Not that she minded. “You know everybody, and I’ve been a bit cloistered these past few years. I have a source who knows some people, but the person that we’ve been avoiding also knows those resources, so they’re right out.”
“Running an underground railroad, are we, Agnes?” Gertrude asked archly. 
Agnes laughed again, and despite herself the sound still rang something buried and cold in Gertrude’s heart. “I figured I’d try my hand at the good guy thing. What can I say, Gertrude? You were a good influence on me.”
“Don’t mock me.” But Gertrude sighed anyway, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I’ll get you in touch with who I use. If you give me your email I can connect you.”
“...what’s -”
“Never mind. I’ll pass your phone number along. Goodnight, Agnes.”
But the line crackled and fuzzed, and Agnes didn’t hang up. Neither did Gertrude. When Agnes spoke again it was soft - not hesitant, Agnes was never hesitant, but gentle. Agnes, Gertrude had found, could be more gentle than anybody else. “We never visited that lake.”
“Those are just dreams, Agnes,” Gertrude said - harshly, maybe unkindly. She didn’t know how to be anything else. 
“Not to me. I - no, John, don’t eat that, you don’t know where it’s been!” Agnes sighed, sending a crackle of static over the line and catching Gertrude’s attention severely. “I have to go. Goodbye, Gertrude. Thank you for your help. Call me sometimes, will you? For personal reasons. I gave you my number for a reason.”
Gertrude hung up on her, deciding not to dignify any of that with a response. She hardly had the time to make - personal phone calls. 
 What foolishness. Agnes had infected her with such foolishness. 
Gertrude went back to her book, mind working furiously, trying to remember if she had ever read of a ‘John’. 
*****
Unfortunately, ‘John’ was about as common a name as they came. 
Gertrude herself scarcely had any time to follow-up. Judging from Agnes’ words and tone, John was a child of some sort - had Agnes kidnapped somebody else’s child? Her child? (Gertrude had a very ridiculous thought for a moment before dismissing it, before grudgingly accepting that Agnes was made out of wax and that nothing was technically impossible). She gave Agnes her guy’s phone number and wished she could wash her hands of the matter. What Agnes did from now on would hopefully be none of her business. 
Gertrude wished she could delude herself into believing that. 
But Gertrude’s work was picking up, the rituals coming in faster and faster, and she found herself running about much more than she should at her age. Emma was invaluable, Fiona worked hard in research, and Michael was...sweet, but she trusted them with little information and trusted them less to watch her back. She couldn’t dedicate the amount of time she wanted to a hunch.
To make matters worse, Mary Keay had seemed to misplace her child. She was torn up about it, in her...own way. Gertrude wasn’t concerned. The boy was seventeen. He’d be back in three months with another two piercings, a Grateful Dead shirt, and no money. Goodness knows Gertrude had done it enough at his age. Did kids still trail along at Grateful Dead concerts? What was Gerry always listening to these days, Green Day? Green Day concert. 
As such, it was two weeks before Gertrude even had time to follow up with her contact. It only took minimal application of her blackmail before he spilled what Agnes had him make, and the full details therein. Most importantly, her new listed address. That, at least, ought to be real. 
As Gertrude rode the Underground to the humble London neighborhood where Agnes had apparently escaped her followers, sneering at young men who tried to give her their seats, she flipped through the paperwork. Agnes Montague, twenty seven - my, wasn’t she vain - born in London, England. All of her details seemed fairly legitimate. New NIN, credit score, false history, the usual. So it wasn’t her she was trying to hide. 
The second file was more interesting. There was her mystery John. Jonathan, apparently. Jonathan Montague. 
Gertrude’s eyebrows crawled up. What was her game?
The announcement of her stop echoed smoothly through the train, and she quickly folded up the papers and stuffed them back in her purse. It was a short walk from the station to the flat complex where Agnes was now staying, and she found herself ridiculously wondering what Agnes would look like. 
Would her hair be the same color, the color of licks of fire straining into the night sky? Her eyes the same forest green, a rainforest any woman could drown in? Her skin rosy and soft, with full appearance of youth and longevity, never to age or decay? Gertrude was only barely sixty, but she was feeling her age with every year. Her living had been hard, and it was finally catching up with her.
What else would catch up with her, once she knocked on Agnes Montague’s door?
Apartment number 426,  1446 Frederick Street. The strange thing about it was the welcome mat set outside the door. There was a little smiley face. It was so incongruous with Agnes, yet so oddly fitting, that Gertrude found herself smiling. 
She knocked once, twice. Her lockpicks were up her sleeve. Hopefully Agnes wasn’t home and she could snoop, but - 
The door opened to reveal Gerard Keay, looking down at a loose crumple of bills in his hand. He was so busy counting them out that he didn’t see who was standing at his doorstep.
“Thanks, mate, we -” Gerard finally looked up, and his face whitened. “You aren’t pizza.”
“So I’ve been told,” Gertrude said dryly. “Are you going to let me in?”
He let her in. 
******
So that was where Gerard had gotten to. 
Agnes, who had been pulling soda out of the fridge in their small kitchenette, was much happier to see her than Gerard was. It was the first time anybody had been happy to see Gertrude suddenly turning up at their doorstep in a very long time, and it made Gertrude almost uncomfortable. 
“I’m here for business reasons,” Gertrude felt the need to tell her, as she glared Gerard into sulking miserably on the couch. He had dyed his beautiful hair some nasty black color, which was either for disguise purposes or for...what was the word...goth? Goth purposes? Gertrude was very thankful she did not have children. 
But Agnes just smiled at her, as if she saw straight through. Which was ridiculous. There was nothing to see straight through. “It would be pretty strange if you stalked me until you found my address and showed up at my home in the middle of the day holding lockpicks for business reasons, Gertrude!”
“It’s for personal reasons.”
“There we go. I would offer you some pizza, but it seems that it’s not here yet.”
“So it seems.” Gertrude turned her eyes on Gerard, who wilted. “I hope this is a valuable lesson in checking to see who is at the door before you answer it, young man.”
Gerard mumbled something. 
“I know for a fact your mother did not raise you to be this careless.”
“My mother barely raised me at all,” Gerard grumbled. 
“Fine. Then I did not teach you to be that careless.” That got an actual flinch out of him, and Gertrude sighed. “What is going on here, you two?”
“It’s a very long story,” Agnes said. 
“Containing very many events I am under pain of death not to tell you about,” Gerard added. “Are you going to tell Mum I’m here?”
Gertrude sighed. 
The flat was small, clearly newly rented. They had very little furniture, and what they did have was clearly liberated from charity shops and kerbs. Their living room held a battered television, one of those gaming consoles Gerard liked so much, a scuffed and thoroughly singed coffee table to match an equally singed couch, and a pair of overstuffed bookshelves. A cutaway wall revealed a small kitchen, with a nook that held a rickety kitchen table.  None of it seemed particularly out of the ordinary for two young people, strongly resembling Gertrude’s own first flat. 
She cautiously sniffed the air. No smell of candles. Hm. 
She was just about to push the matter of how exactly the Messiah of the Eternal Flame and a bookseller’s son met and became flatmates when a crash and a thump echoed from the hallway. Gerard jumped off the couch, and Agnes bit her lip. Another rattle echoed from the hallway, and something deep in Gertrude’s mind recognized the sounds as those of a caged animal. 
“What is that,” Gertrude said flatly. 
“I’ll check on him,” Gerard said quickly, fleeing into the hallway. He knocked on one of the doors - Gertrude noticed that there were two on each side, three bedrooms and a bathroom - and said something quietly against the door, before cracking the door open a few inches. Gertrude couldn’t see what was inside, and she couldn’t maneuver herself closer without alerting Agnes. 
There was another crash, and Gerard slammed the door shut quickly. He grinned broadly yet anxiously at Gertrude, tittering a laugh. “It’s nothing! Nothing to see here. Would you like a cuppa, Gertrude!”
“Hm,” Gertrude said. 
They gave her a cuppa. She sat on the couch, Agnes and Gerard anxiously standing in front of her wringing their hands, and pretended to sip the cuppa. 
“Promise there’s no human flesh in it,” Gerard said. Gertrude arched an eyebrow at him until he sighed, took it, took a small and exaggerated sip, and then passed it back. 
It was only then that Gertrude tried some. She couldn’t help but smile. Agnes’ tea was always perfect. 
“Can one of you tell me why, according to the government, you are now legally siblings?” Gertrude asked archly. She put one hand down on the cracks between the sofa cushions beside her, pretending it was for balance. “Without lying, please.”
Agnes shrugged helplessly. “Gerard didn’t want to live with his mother anymore and I wasn’t doing anything important.”
“We thought about faking a corpse but was afraid that would just excite her,” Gerard said, depressed. “Hopefully when I don’t turn up she’ll just assume I was eaten by a book.” He affected a faux-nasally tone that did, admittedly, sound a lot like Mary. “ ‘If he’s too incompetent to survive he’s no good to me as a son. Good riddance to bad rubbish, his whole line’.”
“Gerry won’t let me immolate her,” Agnes said seriously. 
“She’s my mum, Agnes!”
“Immolating parental figures is very therapeutic.” Agnes patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. “When I set everybody who ever loved me on fire, I felt great about it.”
“It seemed very cathartic,” Gertrude said dryly. She dug her fingers deeper into the crack between the cushions until something soft and thread-like rubbed between her fingers. Bingo. “Why the false identities? Why not simply let Gerard live with you until he turned 18?”
“We want him declared dead,” Agnes said simply. “And we want him to have an actual identity for when that happens. This is the best way to keep him away from his mum. Besides, Gerard Montague has his A Levels and a diploma for uni. ” She shrugged. “And hopefully he’ll be staying with me for quite a bit longer than a year.”
Interesting. They really did know each other. Maybe they were even really friends - although Gertrude was forced to wonder what a woman in her sixties and a teenager had in common. Gerard had mentioned wanting to go to university, but they had all known it was a pipe dream. Dreams like that often were. Gertrude neatly withdrew her hand from the cushion, folding her hands over each other in her lap. She rubbed the thread between her hands, satisfied when she felt its loose, sticky elasticity. 
 How interesting. 
“And Jonathan?”
Both of them froze. 
Gerard broke first, laughing nervously and high pitched. “Who’s that?”
Gertrude lifted her hand, showing both of them the thin strand of spider-silk pinched between two bony fingers. Both Agnes and Gerard whitened. “I imagine it’s whatever Avatar of the Web you have locked in the back room that is responsible for these.”
They winced simultaneously, glancing at each other. Doubtlessly trying to come up with a cover story. Gertrude sighed, standing up from the couch and straightening her skirts. Nothing for it then. Her Glock was still strapped to her thigh, and a hunting knife at her other. 
Gertrude knew very little about the Web. Just, she suspected, as it liked. It had no rituals, and held no explicit threat to the safety of the world. It was a threat, for sure. Even worse, a threat that Gertrude knew infuriatingly little about. But it was not the most immediate threat, and as Gertrude spent every day drowning under more and more immediate threats she held very little time for those which weren’t promising to end the world anytime soon.
Maybe that was why Gertrude was fully planning to leave this flat and never mention its inhabitants again - not to Mary, not to Dekker, and not to whatever scattered remnants of her cult that Agnes had left alive. Whatever Agnes wanted, it seemed to be closer to a normal life living with her friend than anything world-destroying. And whatever Gerard wanted...well, he was a good boy. He wouldn’t do anything dangerous to anybody other than himself. Mary didn’t have to know. Perhaps it was even for the best.
“You really don’t want to go in -”
“Gertrude, please, he’s in a rather delicate stage right now -”
Another thump against the door. As Gertrude left the living room, crisply walking down the thin and crowded hallway until she stood in front of a thin and battered-looking door, she could slowly begin to hear the faint but distinct sounds of...chittering. Skittering. It was a sound she had heard only once before, during a brush with the corruption.
Gertrude raised a hand to knock at the door. 
A hand shot out, pale and thin, and clasped Gertrude’s wrist in its grip firmly. Despite herself, Gertrude’s breath caught. Agnes’ touch still did that to her, it seemed. When she glanced to the side, she saw Agnes standing next to her, mouth stubbornly set firm. Her long and silky orange hair tumbled over her shoulder, glimmering under the soft lights.
“The world’s a cruel place, Gertrude,” Agnes said. “We’re just trying to look out for each other.”
“We all chose this life,” Gertrude said, voice tinged with reproach. 
But Agnes just set her jaw stubbornly. “We didn’t.”
It was a we that didn’t include Gertrude - but, of course, so little of Agnes’ life did. 
Gertrude let her hand drop to the doorknob, and she didn’t meet Agnes’ eyes as she twisted the knob and let herself in. 
Some part of her felt it very idiotic, to walk into what she knew was a spider’s lair. A ridiculous part of her mind couldn’t help but hum the little nursery rhyme she had learned as a girl. But if it was truly dangerous Agnes would have prevented her from going in, instead of asked her to. Some part of Gertrude trusted that, a part of Gertrude that somehow still survived despite everything. 
It wasn’t that Agnes appealed to the softer side of Gertrude. It was more that Agnes appealed to the hardest and cruellest parts of her, her tough outer shell, that ached for a reassurance that even a woman raised in utmost cruelty could make the choice to be kind. That there was still goodness in the world. If even a Messiah of the Eternal Flame could smile like that, could look at Gertrude with those deep and unfathomable eyes, then maybe all of Gertrude’s efforts weren’t for nothing. 
The room was white. No, not white - just covered in long, ropy strands of spider-web. Different shapes and sizes, different lengths and thicknesses. Some of it was wispy and gentle, like cotton fluff, while some of it was closer to rope. It wasn’t arranged in a spider’s beautiful pattern, an elegant nest: it was more like an explosion, as if it was thrown anywhere and everywhere without regard. 
The webs didn’t cover everything in the room. A bed was clearly visible, draped with webs as it was. There was a closet, and several boxes stacked in the corner with loose clothing draped over them. That was every piece of furniture and personal item in the room. It was a minor miracle that the living and dining rooms didn’t have more spidersilk in them - a testament to Agnes and Gerry’s tidiness, or a sign that the inhabitant rarely left the room. 
The inhabitant of the room was curled on the bed. It - he, perhaps? - was sitting upright against the wall, knees curled up against a chest, forehead resting on the knees. He was half-obscured by webs, but Gertrude could immediately tell that the figure wasn’t very old. Gerard’s age, or perhaps a bit younger. 
The webs did little to obscure the four arms - two flesh, two hinged and black and hairy - curled around the boy’s body. 
The boy didn’t look up when he saw her. Gertrude wondered if he even noticed. She was only just beginning to wonder what the thumps were when one of the spider arms lashed out and crashed against the wall, shaking the room. 
Hm. This was Gertrude’s first Web Avatar, but if they all looked and acted like this then she could only assume that they would be much more obvious than they are. New, then. Maybe as new as those identities Agnes had applied for. 
Normally she’d torch it and go home, but with both Agnes and Gerard in residence that option was out of the question. Her curiosity had been satisfied: she could turn around now and leave the room, knowing what it was Agnes and Gerard were protecting. She could let the inhabitants of this flat fade into obscurity, secure in the knowledge that none of them wished to harm her or the world. 
But Gertrude was a bit too curious for her own good, or perhaps a bit too soft, because she found herself stepping forward.
Her low-heeled boots didn’t slide on the web, but it did stick. When she lifted her feet they tracked up thin spiderweb, and she resolved to burn this outfit once she made her way back to the Archives. After a few breathless moments, Gertrude found herself standing in front of the boy, who hadn’t seemed to notice her yet. Poor situational awareness. He’d fit in well with Gerard. 
“Jonathan.”
The boy looked up at her, and anybody else would have bit back a scream. 
He had eight eyes - black, glistening, unreal. Bulbous and unsettling, they skittered and twitched in strange directions, as if uncertain how to work or how to see. New, brand-new. Uncontrolled. The boy’s mouth parted in slight surprise, but it was obviously difficult to read any sort of expression. 
He didn’t say anything. Gertrude found herself absently wondering if spiders had tongues. 
“Do you know what is happening to you?” 
The boy stared at her, long enough that Gertrude found herself wondering if he still clung to sentience, before slowly nodding his head. Good. 
“Then you know how to stop it,” Gertrude said sharply, and the boy sat up straighter. “Stop moping about, now. Look around. You’ve destroyed your room.” She gave the boy a moment to look around, expression still inscrutable, before she went back on the attack. “You’ve sulked long enough. Put away those arms, now. Go on.”
The boy stared at her, coarse black spider arms twitching and curling. 
“You know what’s happening,” Gertrude said firmly. “It’s your body. Not theirs. It’s your body, Jonathan. Bend it to your will. Not theirs.”
Slowly, disgustingly, the arms began to recede. They slid back inside his torso, sucking into his ribcage, shifting and clicking and chittering, until there was nothing left but an ordinary chest. Gertrude was even now able to recognize his shirt. It was one of Gerard’s. Green Day. 
“Your eyes now. Come on, hurry up. I haven’t got all day.”
The eyes pulsed and twitched, bubbling strangely. One of them whirred, glistening with a thousand fractals. 
The boy opened his mouth, and garbled speech came out. “I can’t...I can’t…”
“You have no choice. You must, so you will. Come on, Jonathan. Listen to me. It’s your body. It’s not theirs.”
The eyes melted back into Jonathan’s face, and that was so disgusting Gertrude politely looked up. She had seen worse, but no point in subjecting herself to it. When she looked back down she was shocked to see, for all appearances, a teenage boy. 
He had a thin, severe face, and large cloudy grey eyes. His hair was curly and matted, and despite his posture Gertrude could tell that he was the kind of short and built that was straining up against an imminent growth spurt. His skin was a light brown, with thin lips and features that suggested mixed ancestry. He looked very much like a regular, if somewhat striking, teenage boy. 
“There you go,” Gertrude said, “that wasn’t so hard, was it?”
“Who the fuck are you,” the rude child said. 
“Jon!”
She had been so focused on Jonathan, that she hadn’t noticed when Gerard and Agnes entered. Gerard practically jumped onto Jonathan’s bed, mindless of the spiderwebs, and folded him into a tight hug. Jonathan clung back desperately. 
“Don’t worry us like that,” Agnes said. She had appeared at Gertrude’s elbow, and moved forward to sit on Jon’s other side and give him a tight hug too that he returned just as fiercely. She looked up at Gertrude over Jon’s shoulder and mouthed ‘thank you’ to her, which she waved away. It had hardly been anything. 
“I think I’m rather owed a full explanation now,” Gertrude said pointedly. “And I think young Jonathan needs a bath.”
“What? No, I -” Jonathan separated from Gerard, and sniffed his shirt. He pulled a disgusted face. “Ew. Yeah, okay.”
******
They did not give her the full story. Gertrude wasn’t sure what she was expecting.
Oh, they gave her the broad strokes of it. All three of them were ‘old friends’, despite one of them being sixty and the other two being actual teeangers. Gerard and Agnes, especially, gave off the air of having known each other for years. They both seemed less familiar with Jon, though no less affectionate. Gertrude felt like she was trying to put together a puzzle with mittens and no idea what the final image would be. 
“I’ve been keeping an eye on Jon for a while,” Agnes said apologetically. They were all sitting around the rickety kitchen table now. Gertrude passed her teacup to reheat, which she did with a smile, and Gerard was at the door accepting the pizza from a confused deliveryman. Judging from the amount of takeaway containers, these two hadn’t been doing a lot of cooking. “He ran away from his grandmother’s a month ago. He made it to London and lived on the streets for a few weeks until I finally tracked him down. He’s been staying with us ever since.”
“When Agnes got in contact with me and told me that she found Jon, I figured it was time to bounce.” Gerard put some plates on the table and slid the pizza box into the center. Agnes eagerly grabbed the pizza and put a slice on her own plate. At Gerard’s look, Gertrude held up a hand in a ‘no thank you’ motion, and he shrugged. “Agnes has been trying to get me to stay with her since she lost her cult, but I figured I would just ditch Mum once I hit eighteen. Then...stuff happened...and I don’t really trust Agnes alone with a teenager anyway, so I left. Easy.”
“Thank goodness she’s only left alone with two teenagers now,” Gertrude said. She glanced at Agnes, who seemed unrepentant. “Is anybody looking for Jonathan?”
She shook her head. “Parents long dead. His Gran...she won’t look for him. Nobody will. I doubt any of them remember he exists. ”
“Did Jonathan make sure of that?”
Abruptly, Gerard looked very uncomfortable, but Agnes just nodded calmly. “Yes, likely.” At Gertrude’s ticked eyebrow, she continued, “She’s alive. But Jon...he’s convincing. We think. So far as we can tell. Nobody’s going to be looking for him, even the police.”
“Did we tell you how he was getting money while he was on the streets?” Gerard asked gleefully. “Apparently he can walk up to Canary Wharf bankers and convince them he’s their cousin visiting from out of state and ask them for spending money. They just believe him! Isn’t that wicked?”
“It’s easy. All you gotta do is make them feel guilty for forgetting you were coming.”
Jonathan, dripping wet from the shower and dressed in some cleaner hand-me-downs, appeared in the doorway. He walked forward until he was leaning against the kitchenette wall, accepting the pizza Gerard quickly passed to him. Clean and human, he looked like any other teenager. The only thing that revealed him for what he was were his eyes: empty, lifeless, and dull. 
“Hey, you’re still human!” Gerard said, perking up. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Yeah, tons.” Jonathan masticated his pizza, grease dripping down his chin. He locked eyes with Gertrude, who was careful not to blink as she stared back at him. “Who’re you?”
“The Head Archivist of the Magnus Institute,” Gertrude said crisply. “Gertrude Robinson.”
Jonathan’s mouth slowly fell open, revealing the primordial mass of globby cheese. Gerard was nearly bouncing in his seat, mouthing ‘It’s her!’ over and over again. 
“I told him about you,” Agnes said quickly - so quickly that it could have only been a lie. “Only good things, believe me!”
“I’m sure.”
“Wait,” Jonathan said, eyes darting back and forth between Agnes and Gertrude - who, Gertrude was somewhat embarrassed to find, were sitting somewhat close. “She’s the girl -”
“Girl who helped me get those new IDs for you guys,” Agnes said desperately. “Although she’s more of a woman. Say thank you, boys.”
Both boys mumbled thank-yous through mouthfuls of pizza. 
“How did it happen?” Gertrude asked Jonathan carefully. She was careful to keep that - pressure off her words. Very few reacted well to it, and she didn’t want to deal with a rampaging spider teenager again. “Your transformation. And don’t speak with your mouth full.”
Jonathan sassily made a show of swallowing the whole mouthful of pizza before he spoke. “I trapped my entire secondary school in a nightmare web where they all got turned into flies and eaten by spiders,” he drawled. “Oh, wait. I got bitten by a radioactive spider and ran away to London to fight crime.”
Gertrude gave him a very, very unimpressed stare. Jonathan smashed more pizza in his face. For a boy that must have been raised by his grandmother, he had no manners. 
A grandmother that he had likely done something to, to guarantee that she wouldn’t look for him. To ensure that an entire town wouldn’t search for him. Wiping a life off the map like that - what kind of teenager would do that without a second thought? 
A boy who found himself turning into a monster, fleeing the people he could hurt so he could reconvene with friends that understood?
Or a newly born monster that shed its old skin the minute it could?
Gertrude, as a younger woman, would have tended towards the latter. As an even younger woman, a child, she would have said the former. Now, she knew better than anyone how it could be both: a boy’s motivations propelled by a monster’s impulses, until even limbs of flesh were puppeted by silken threads. 
The Web was the fear of manipulation and being controlled, Gertrude repeated to herself, a mantra so familiar that it had worn grooves in her mind long ago. Jonathan had already proved adept at the art: swindling money to survive, erasing the imprints that a life left behind. 
Was she being controlled now? Was it any coincidence, that Jonathan ran into the arms of the one supernatural force in England that Gertrude wouldn’t shoot on sight? That he was lying in wait with the disappeared son of two people who had once been prominent in Gertrude’s life, a little boy she had seen grown up into a kind man despite all odds? 
Jonathan had inserted himself neatly, cleanly, and absolutely into Gertrude’s life. And he had done it almost even without her noticing. 
Of course, it was also the nature of the Web to make one ask these questions. It wasn’t just controlling - it was the fear of being controlled. By even thinking about this, Gertrude was playing straight into his hands -
“Gertrude.”
It was Agnes, sitting by her, looking at her with a softly sad expression. Her hands were in her lap, but they were twitching as if she wanted to reach out and take Gertrude’s hands in her own. They would be so different - they had always been different - but occasionally it felt as if whatever warmth they carried was the only heat that warmed Gertrude at all anymore. 
“If you don’t trust him, trust me.” Something flickered deep in Agnes’ eyes, like a hearth. Maybe that was Agnes: a hearth, house and home. “You can trust me.”
“Can I?” Gertrude asked, mouth unexpectedly dry. “How can someone like me trust someone like you, Agnes?”
Agnes smiled, baring teeth white and perfect as wax. “There’s nobody on Earth like you, Gertrude. You know that just as well as I do.”
Both boys had their hands slapped over their eyes, horrified. 
Maybe that was what convinced Gertrude: not Agnes’ promise of a safe place to rest in a tumultuous and dangerous world, but the fact that both these boys found that promise horrendously yucky. It wasn’t human - Gertrude had the feeling that no emotion from Jonathan could truly be human - but at least it was benign. In this world, sometimes that was the best you could ask for. 
“Fine. I put them in your charge, then, Agnes.” Gertrude drained the rest of her tea, eyeing the leaves critically in her cup as the boys whooped and Agnes exhaled heavily. Her tea leaves read a bad omen. That was comforting: she liked to know what was ahead of her. “If I hear any statements about a strange boy swindling businessmen out of their salaries then I’ll know exactly who is responsible. Am I understood?”
“They weren’t missing it,” Jonathan grumbled, before Gerard elbowed him in the side. “Fine! Fine, you won’t hear anything about it.”
Not what she had said, but she’d take it. The supernatural was at its least dangerous when it felt scared and hidden. Nothing was more dangerous than an Avatar who felt themself above human laws and rules. Or, at best, Gertrude. 
They never tended to live long. 
“Uh. Ms. Gertrude.” Gerard awkwardly creased his greasy napkin, expression tight. “Are you going to tell Mum?”
“Tell her what?” Gertrude asked archly. “I hardly think what Gerard Montague does is any of Mary Keay’s business.” As Gerard broke out into a relieved smile, Gertrude added, “Don’t give me any reason to charge after you, Gerard. You’re impulsive and reckless. Your mother’s kept you safe from yourself so far, but you’ve decided that you no longer need that protection. Don’t make me regret keeping my mouth shut.”
Jonathan snickered, ignoring Gerard’s flush. “Whipped.”
“I’ll speak to you outside, Jonathan.”
This time it was Gerard’s turn to snicker as Jonathan flushed and straightened away from the wall. “You’re in trou-ble!”
Good lord. This was why she hadn’t had children. 
But he followed her out the flat anyway. The flat complex was smaller, just a few buildings connected by sidewalks and catwalks, and the flats opened into the fresh air. As they emerged onto the first story, Gertrude let Jon lean against the railing and turn his head towards the sun. The wind blew softly, and Jon exhaled softly as he closed his eyes. Issues controlling a human form meant that he likely hadn’t been outside very often lately. 
“Tastes weird,” Jonathan decided finally, as if they had both been waiting solely for his judgement. “Air back home always tasted like salt. Everything was fresh and clean. It wasn’t anything like dirty, smoggy London.”
“Go back home, then.”
Jonathan snorted bitterly. He had turned his back to Gertrude, leaning on the railing to stick his head out. As if she wasn’t a threat. “Can’t. Gran doesn’t know I exist anymore. Trust me, nobody’s missing me back home.”
“How can that be? There must be school records, any kind of documentation. You must have known dozens of people.”
“Ah, that’s the genius of it.” Jon turned around, grinning lazily at her. He leaned against the railing, elbows back and resting on top of the metal frame. “All I needed to do was implant a few strategic suggestions. Just on the people who interacted with me the most, or the people most responsible for me. Gran, Mr. Heathcliff, Ms. Robbins, Dr. Yung.” He wriggled his fingers experimentally - like a magician doing a magic trick, or a puppeteer pulling strings. “Every time someone asks them where I am, they tell them that I never existed. And, you, know, wouldn’t they know? Jon’s Gran would know if Jon existed or not. So they doubt themselves too. Maybe Jon was never here, not really. Maybe he was just...a faint dream. The kind you forget the moment you wake up.”
“And the papers?”
Jon shrugged. “A person’s in charge of those papers. Ms. Hastings, school secretary. When she sees my student file, she’s going to ask my headmaster about it. And he’s going to say - who? And she’ll remember that I was nobody to remember at all. And those papers will become just so much garbage. When the cop, the government clerk, whoever, remembers that there’s no Jonathan to remember, that’s it.” Jon grinned at her, a proud kid showing her a perfect score on a report card.  “Anything is beatable, Ms. Gertrude, if there’s human error involved. You can build the most perfect machine in the world, but so long as a human’s involved in any step of that process then it can go wrong.”
 “Did the Web tell you that?”
“My Mother trades in lots of secrets, Ms. Gertrude,” Jonathan said, and in the turn of a second his eyes hardened into beetle-black shells, black and inhuman, before he forcibly pulled them back in again. Jonathan grimaced, gritting his teeth as he kept the transformation at bay. “Sorry. Sorry. I - I don’t want to hurt anyone. I won’t. Agnes and Gerry are going to help me. I’m going to choose what kind of mo - person I am. I’m going to choose right.”
“See to it that you do.” Gertrude stepped closer, and she knew that her face was stony and cold. Revealing nothing, with no weaknesses or cracks to exploit. She had lost every weakness long ago, save one. “I know where you live, Jonathan. I know what you’re capable of - even more, I suspect, than you yourself do. Mind yourself, and I won’t have to find a solution to your problem.” She let her eyes glint, just once. “I’m very good at finding solutions, Jonathan.”
Jonathan looked away first, of course. He swallowed heavily. “Mother told me about you.”
“All good things, I’m sure,” Gertrude said dryly. 
“She says I’m not ready yet. She said we have someone else for you, but I’m not ready yet. She says I’ll be the King one day, maybe, but not today. I’m...still hatching. It’s uncomfortable. It’s so -” Something haunted flashed through Jonathan’s lifeless grey eyes, and he shivered. “It hurts. So much.”
“So I hear,” Gertrude said, no trace of sympathy in her voice. “Good day, Jonathan.”
She left Jonathan there: shivering, alone, and human for now. 
She would see him again, she knew. A frightened teenage boy who promised her that he’d be king of the Web one day was a warning sign if she’d ever heard one. But if it was a warning sign, then it was one Gertrude was meant to hear. A shake of a rattlesnake’s tail: a creature that wants to go through the energy of biting you as little as you want to be bit, so save us both the trouble. 
And maybe Jonathan’s comment, so offhand he may not even have realized that he was making it, was a warning of its own: a spider in her own camp. Who?
Agnes was waiting for her, by the Underground station. She didn’t know she got there before her. Young people moved so fast these days. She smiled and waved when she saw Gertrude, as if they both had arranged to meet there. 
“What is it now?” Gertrude asked, exhausted. “Another favor?”
“Just a thank you for helping me keep the boys safe,” Agnes said cheekily. She stepped up, carefully, brushed a kiss to Gertrude’s cheek. Gertrude, idiotically, let her. “Call me, okay? For personal reasons.”
“Maybe,” Gertrude said, to the hearth that burned low in her heart, “if it’s for personal reasons.”
It wasn’t until she was halfway home on the Underground, thinking about noting down the address of Agnes’ apartment, that she found herself wondering what the address even was. Thomas Street...No, Jackson? 144...5?
What was she trying to remember?
No matter. Getting old again. Gertrude continued making notes in her notebook, reminding herself to search for a spider’s web, as the train rattled on for home, and the warmth of a kiss lingered on her cheek. 
86 notes · View notes
excellentexecution · 2 years
Text
Tumblr media
Anonymous asked: 🙊💬 + chyna
SEND 🙊💬 + A NAME, AND MY MUSE WILL SHARE THEIR TRUE, UNFILTERED OPINION OF THAT PERSON! NO SUGARCOATING! 
Winsome wasn’t how the trashy columns had described either of them, single spaced font that detailed every clash between the Hart Foundation and D-Generation X. Gangs who were at total and complete war with each other, ruthless in the mutual pursuit to keep the enemy down and out. Photos had captured the heartless throes of territorial revolution. A change, regardless of which philosophy the victor stood as part of. Conservative or honest delinquent - Bret wished, even for just a moment, that the disgusting papers would dedicate their energy to what was really happening, the truth. Considered such lies to be one of the worst sins he could possibly commit, it was getting hard to pretend. React like how he wouldn’t because of the career itself. A masquerade for the sake of appreciation toward a longtime boss, the fans and the boys. Never would the Hitman grow to respect the company she kept. Chyna and her misfit toys, skanky leather vests with their tights hung almost too low from the hip. Shawn and Hunter were two that would never be cared for. 
Not missed, whenever the two of them would actually decide to move on with their pathetic lives and rid the Federation of their presence. Untangle themselves from the mess that they created within Bret’s private and personal life, finally allow him and Joanie the peace that they deserved. Just like the magazines that boasted about having all the true facts, he couldn’t wait to be freed from it all. He wanted nothing more than for it to be over. No more fighting. No more pain. No more truces between himself and the woman he loved most, conflict finished. 
Bret replied, comfortable with sharing his opinion with that of a dearest friend. “Joanie, she’s unlike any other woman I’ve ever known, any other person. There’s none else like her in the entire world.”
“There’s nothing that she can’t do, and has proven time and time again just how great she is. She’s a powerhouse and doesn’t care who knows it. She could beat anybody with one hand tied behind her back and her eyes blindfolded. But, y’know, she’s just about the kindest, gentlest creature you could ever come across. I don’t think she could even hurt a fly. I know those little boys she hangs out with, the scum of the Earth, HBK and Hunter Hearst Helmsley, I know they like to have her seem all mean and gross. A lot more Chyna and a lot less Joanie. They use her for their own sick advantage. They enjoy putting her up against me or my brother just to make her feel bad, just to get to me. But, y’know, I couldn’t give a damn. Doesn’t matter what they try to do, because even with all of that, she’s still the person that I wanna be with. She’s still beautiful to me. Everybody tries to have us against each other, and even though I wish she’d just walk away from the jerks and come be with me in the Foundation, I still can’t stop my feelings toward her. I care about Joanie. She’s everything to me.”
He mumbled, soothing the back of his neck with the palm of his hand, “I just wish she wouldn’t lock the sleeper hold on so tight. Girl has a grip of steel.”
Tumblr media
3 notes · View notes
ambivalent-anarchy · 4 years
Text
You've Got Moves
Masterlist
Part 2
Gender: Female
Pairing: Peter Parker x reader
Warning: None
Summary- [Y/N] asks Peter to do some TikTok dances with her.
Bonus: Clueless Peter. FLUFFF. Also guy best friends are the best best friends to have lol
If you need a description for Asher, just think whatever your idea of a really hot guy is lol.
A/N- this is a repost because the first one was blocked from tags due to tiktok being weird about links😬
---------------------------------------
Tumblr media
"Oh my gosh bitch, just ask him."
Your best friend Asher glared at you with pure impatience in his eyes. You'd been going on about this in every gym class for literal weeks.
"Oh my God, doesn't that guy over there have such a classic 'tiktok guy' face?"
"Ooh, look he's flexible! He's probably a really good dancer too."
"You think he'd do a tiktok with me? Nah, that's dumb."
"I bet he's a tiktoker and I just haven't found his page yet."
It drove him crazy. He didn't know whether you had a crush on this guy or if you really were just that obsessed with tiktok to the point where you were finding random people who looked good to do them with, but at this point he didn't care. He just really wanted to stop having conversations every day that ended with him staring at some guy and wondering if he could throw it back.
You watched the boy in question occasionally. You'd practically studied his physique, his face, his little ticks. Everything. But you didn't even know his name. All you knew was:
You definitely wanted to do a tiktok with him.
"Nah, Ash. He's probably gonna think I'm weird. I mean, who just goes up to someone and says 'yo you wanna do a tiktok with me?"
Asher facepalmed and groaned. "Literally anybody that wants to do a tiktok with someone else, [Y/N]." He rolled his eyes with a chuckle as he ruffled your hair with his hand. "C'mon, stop being a wimp and go ask the guy. Cuz if you don't, and I have to keep hearing you going on about his 'classic tiktok boy look', I'm seriously gonna jump off a cliff."
"Fuck you," you snickered with a smile.
Asher gave you a smirk. "You wish."
"Ewww," you groaned. Rolling your eyes, you looked back to the boy you'd been thinking about. He was sitting with his friend on the other side of the gym. You bit your lip anxiously. "Nah, I'm not gonna do it." You looked again. "Okay I'm gonna do it." He was just sitting there minding his own business. "Uh-uh. Nope. Not gonna do it."
"Oh my God..." Asher shook his head. "Fucking lost cause- HEY YO PETER!," he yelled to the other side of the gym, waving his hand wildly and signaling a 'come here' motion when the brown haired boy looked towards him.
Gasping, you turned around and slapped Asher's arm harshly.
"What was that for?!," he asked, rubbing the spot lightly.
"You knew his name?!," you hissed. "You knew his name this whole time and you never told me?!"
He simply smirked in return. "You never asked," he said, earning a middle finger from you.
"You suck," you scolded.
"You swallow," he shot back with a smirk.
Looking back, it made sense that Asher would know his name. After all, he was the social butterfly of social butterflies. You were sure that the only way you had caught a friend like him was because you were already his best friend before he hit puberty. While with others it causes acne and insecurity, it made Asher a literal supermodel (along with a bit of acne, I mean c'mon it's high school). And the fact that he was athletic, being on both the basketball team and the tennis team didn't hurt either. He hung with practically every clique in school, dragging you along wherever he went, though he preferred to hang with the popular crowd the most.
You both looked back to where Peter sat to see that he hadn't moved yet. He was halfway standing up but seemed to be caught up in a deep, frantic, borderline-panicking conversation with his friend.
Asher cocked his head to the side. "Aw, I think he's shy," he snickered. "You got yourself a little shy tiktoker." He shook his head slightly and as he continued to laugh. "Hang on, I'll go get him."
"Just don't say anything weird," you said, pushing him away to go fight your battle.
You drew in a long breath as you watched them converse and you waved when you saw Peter's eyes following Asher's point in your direction.
Knowing your best friend he was probably saying something super embarrassing that you'd have to explain away later, that is, if Peter walked over there in the first place.
"You know he really likes you, right?"
You swung around and looked to the bleacher seats on your right to see a curly haired girl with a book in her hands staring at you with the most unamused face you've ever seen in your life.
"Who?," you asked, extremely confused as to why this girl who never talked to you was talking to you. "Trust me, Asher and I have already been down that road. We're good where we are."
"Not him. Parker," she said tilting her head in Peter's direction. "He stares at you alot. It's pretty weird if you ask me. But then again, you stare at him alot too," she noted rather blatantly. "You guys could probably work. You're both dorks." She smirked, satisfied with her observations and went back to her book as if nothing happened.
"I don't like him," you mumbled back. "I don't even know him."
She didn't raise her eyes from her book as she sighed loudly. "Well then why're you so obsessed with doing a video with him because he has a 'classic tiktok boy look' when you've got Asher -who arguably has more of a 'classic tiktok boy' look than Parker- right next to you, who would probably be more than willing to do some lame dance with you being that he's your best friend?," she asked (more accused than asked).
"Oookay, whatever...," you mumbled, figuring you didn't need to explain yourself to someone you didn't know, turning back to where you could see Asher walking back to you, Peter and his friend close behind. When they finally reached you, Asher put a hand on both you and Peter's shoulders with a smug grin on his face.
"Okay. [Y/N], meet Peter. Peter, meet my dear friend [Y/N]."
You plastered a smile on your face and waved, to which Peter nervously smiled and waved back. He shared a quick look with his friend and then spoke up. "So, uh, can I help you or something?," he asked, snapping you from your thoughts.
"Hmm?," you hummed.
"It's just that, I-i don't.. really know why I'm over here.
"You threw your hand over to the left of you, expecting to hit Asher in the chest. "Ugh, Ash you didn't even te-" You turned your head when you felt nothing but air. "Ash?"
"Hey [Y/N]!"
You turned your head towards his voice and saw that Asher had moved to sit next to the girl who spoke to you before.
"We should really read this book Michelle's reading together. It's called 'The Slaughterhouse Five'!"
You rolled your eyes. Asher hardly even read books unless they were required. Dumb flirter.
You tilted your head toward this "Michelle" girl, whose head was stuck in a book as she actively ignored Asher sitting next to her. You chuckled, mouthing a quick 'good luck' to your friend before turning back to the timid boy who was watching you expectantly.
Shaking out the anxiety in your head, you finally spoke to him. "Uh, I have this thing that I'm trying to do and I know you don't know me and I don't know you and we've never really talked at all and this is kinda weird, but I kinda think that you'd be awesome for it," you rambled, continuing when Peter nodded. "So would you maybe wanna do it with me?"
"Well, what is it exactly?," he asked.
You shrugged. "Just some tiktoks," you said. "I mean, it's totally fine if you don't wanna-"
"Um, sure. But question, and this is probably gonna sound really lame but," he started. He blushed as he looked down at his feet. "What is a tiktok?"
You slapped your hand over your mouth, trying to hide a laugh. You looked to Peter's friend who was still standing there beside him. "I-is he serious?"
His friend laughed too, nodding his head. He patted Peter (whose face was now beet red) on the back and whispered into his ear. Peter's face lit up. "Oh! Gotcha. Thanks, Ned."
"So will you?," you asked.
He scratched his head. "Well sure, but full warning. I'm not much of a dancer."
Michelle looked up from her book once again. "Shut up, loser. You pick up combinations faster than anyone I know."
Your face brightened. "I knew it!" You grabbed his arm and pulled him to the closest wall. "Okay so we'll just start off easy, alright?" Peter nodded in response. "Ummm, let's do this one."
Peter watched it about three times and handed your phone back to you, to which you gave it to Ned so that he could record it.
"Uh, we go right first, right?," Peter asked, going over the entire dance in his mind as he stood beside you while you checked with Ned to see if the shot was good.
"Yeah," you said, smiling as you got a thumbs-up from Ned. "Alright let's do this."
Peter would be lying if he said he had any idea what he was doing. Technically, he knew the dance. It wasn't hard at all and only took him watching it two times to get the hang of it.
But what was he really doing??? First, some really cool guy with the best haircut and chiseled jaw he's even seen who he never thought would be talking to him ever just walks up to him and Ned and practically demands (in a really cool, nonchalant, and non-aggressive way) that he goes to the other side of the gym to the girl that he's been secretly (well not so secret by the way Peter crushes) crushing on without giving him a clear reason. Then he gets there to find out that this totally hot girl picked him out of everyone in the entire gym to do dances with and he actually manages to suck up his nervousness enough to agree??
In a word, wild.
"Okay, that was pretty good," you said as you watched the video. Peter didn't know why, but he could feel a 'but' coming.
You gave a small smile. "But-"
Ah. There it was.
"Look dude," you sighed before pointing at his face. "You are, like really cute. You gotta own that and put it to use, man!"
Peter's eyes went wide and immediately he looked to Ned, who was also freaking out behind you.
You called him cute.
He liked you and you just called him cute.
You were one of the most popular girls in school, he liked you, and you just called him cute.
You continued. "You gotta put some false confidence on it! Bite your lip or something. Get into the music, man."
Peter's face was the reddest it'd ever been and you were sure that he was probably never used to getting a compliment by the way he was acting.
"U-uh, um. Wowww, heh, uh thanks," he mumbled, not really sure how to respond. His voice was wavering and he looked anywhere but you. "So, uh, you want to r-run it again?"
But of course, like all good things, it came it an end.
The gym coach came out clapping his hands together, demanding everyone's attention. "Okay everybody time for drills!"
You sighed. "Guess I'll just have to go with the first one. Thanks anyway, Peter," you said with a smile. "You've got some moves."
Once you turned away, immediately your face fell.That sucked.
You walked back to where Asher was getting up from his where he sat with MJ, and to your surprise, they were actually having conversation.
He waved and tilted his head to Peter in question. You shrugged in response, giving a 'kinda' motion with your hand.
"Hey [Y/N]!"
You turned back around and saw Peter with a cute and bashful smile on his face. "What up?"
"I-i was....I was wondering if m-maybe you'd...like to, um, maybe do this again tomorrow?"
On the insides, you were totally freaking out. This was great. You thought you'd scared him away but he wanted to do it again. "Yeah, totally! We can go to my house after school and-"
"I can't right after school," he rushed. "How about 6?"
"Sure. That's fine. 6 it is. I, uh, I need your number so I can send you my address." You whipped out your phone and gave it to him so that he could put his number in. Before sending your address, you paused. "You're not some psycho killer, are you, Peter?"
He laughed. "Nah, you've got nothing to worry about from me."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~that afternoon~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
---
KingAsh👑😎: he there yet?
[Y/N]: nope
[Y/N]: said he's on his way tho
[Y/N]: hes lucky hes cute otherwise I'd be mad that hes so late
KingAsh👑😎: pls don't tell me u fell in love after one tiktok🙄
[Y/N]: of course I didn't jeez man
[Y/N]: but i mean im not blind👀
[Y/N]: also...
[Y/N]: whats up with u and that Michelle girl?? did you get her number?
KingAsh👑😎: ...
KingAsh👑😎: Fuck u
[Y/N]: u wish
KingAsh👑😎: well only if you think you can handle me😏
[Y/N]: omg just stop talking forever
---
Your head popped up from your phone when you heard the doorbell ring. You sent a quick text to Asher and ran downstairs to open the door for Peter.
"Uh, hey!," he said with a smile. "Sorry for being so late."
"Hey Peter," you greeted. You paused. "Um, mind if I call you Pete?"
He blushed, scratching his head. "Nah I don't mind. I get that alot," he said, stepping into your home.
"M'kay, I got some pizza in my room if we end up getting hungry and ahh, let's go up," you said, leading Peter to your room.
Peter looked around and noticed how quiet it was. "Where are your parents?," he asked.
"Well that's a million dollar question," you chuckled. "I live with my uncle."
"Oh," Peter hummed. "I live with my aunt." He announced, a bit too strangely happily.
"So, it's a Friday evening," you said, shifting topics. "We've got all the time in the world! So let's get it! I'll teach you everything..."
What you didn't know was that Peter spent almost all of his time on patrol scrolling through all the popular trends of tiktok and even finding your page and practically obsessing over it for hours. He'd studied and prepared and he was determined to impress you. And hopefully, if everything went according to his plan, you'd think he was more than cute by the end of the day.
---
Part 2 here
131 notes · View notes
ediths · 4 years
Text
We Don’t Have To Be Ordinary
Tumblr media
Pairing: Best Friend!Harry Styles x Reader (yeth it’s completely platonic)
Word Count: 859
Summary: You’ve always told Harry everything, which is exactly why you’re comfortable telling him about your sexuality.
Warning(s): reader is bi (don’t read if you’re just going to gripe about it, I don’t allow hate in any form and biphobia is not tolerated here)
A/N: This is my submission for the bificathon presented by the lovelies ( @bopbopstyles​ and @harrysclementines​) I know it’s a little shortie but I liked the short and sweet idea jhfakljsd
Masterlist
Add yourself to my taglist here
Request anything you want here but be sure to check out my guidelines!
*
Harry had been your best friend for as long as you could remember. You had grown up with him, spending almost every possible moment with one another. You moved into the neighborhood at some point during elementary school. Was it third grade? Or no, maybe fourth? All you remember is that you were young and you were scared. Scared of leaving all your old friends behind and trying to make new ones. Scared of going to a new school that you could easily get lost in.
The day that you moved in, he walked right on over and asked if you wanted to come play with him. You obviously said yes, you weren’t a rude little kid. Plus, you thought that maybe he could be your first friend. He seemed cool, like he would be a good choice to be around.  You went out into his yard to play random games until it was dark and your parents were yelling for you to come in. 
And so started the friendship that was more important to you than all others. Which was a statement that you had proved many times, a plethora of which took place within the past few years.
There were times when you’d have friends that didn’t like him and you’d drop them the moment they started talking bad about him. You were a simple friend, and you made sure everyone knew it. Your only stipulation was that nobody could talk bad about anyone that you associate yourself with. In your opinion, there was no use in talking about someone in a rude way and you really didn’t like the drama of it all. So. If anyone did try to start something, they got blocked and you never even looked at them again.
Throughout your life, Harry had been the only person who had never said something out of the way to you. Sure, you had gotten into some arguments, but he had never judged you for the choices that you had made, or the people that you chose to associate yourself with. Even when the two of you got to high school and he started climbing to the top of the hierarchy known as popularity, he never once judged you for choosing to not tag along with him. 
He respected your choices, never pushed you too far out of your comfort zone. And he never, ever left you to fend for yourself. 
At one point, high school made you feel like the last fish in a pool full of sharks. All the boys had something to say about how there was no way you weren’t sleeping with Harry and that you probably opened your legs for him whenever he asked, which was bad enough by itself. But then, to top it off, all the girls hated you because, no matter what, he chose you over them. 
You tried to make high school as simple as possible. You went to class, did your work, and then either went home or hung out with Harry. Throughout the entirety of the four years, he was the only person that continuously stayed by your side.
Which is why, the day before you both move into your dorms, you feel like it’s time to tell him the thing that you’ve never told anybody. You hadn’t even told your parents yet. But honestly, you trusted H more than your parents so it made quite a bit of sense to tell him first.
*
You had been trying to find the perfect moment to tell him, but none really seemed to present themselves, so you just decided to go for it. What is it that he’s always telling you to do? Live in the moment?
“H, I’m bi.” You blurt, wincing. There was definitely a better way to go about that, but oh well. It’s out there now.
“Alright.” He says, still packing the boxes into the car.
“Alright?” He puts the box down in the trunk and turns toward you.
“I mean, it doesn't change how I look at you. I still love you, you’re still my best friend.” He rushes to get out, realizing that just saying alright probably wasn’t the best choice. “The only thing that'll really change is that we’ll be openly fighting over the same girls.”
You scoff, “How do you know we even have the same taste in girls, Styles?”
“Because you actually have taste.” He says, as if it’s obvious. “If you had none, you wouldn’t like the ones that I do, but that’s not the case.”
“Don’t flatter yourself, you’ve picked a few that weren’t amazing.” You chuckle, remembering all the girls that he’s gossiped to you about that were definitely not that great.
“Oh shush, I don’t want to hear it.” He groans, knowing for a fact that you’re correct.
You smile, choosing not to say anything else. You climb into the car, content with how the conversation panned out. Now, you’re on your way to college. Lectures, parties, and the boys and the girls are awaiting, and you’re ready to start this next chapter of your life with your best friend by your side.
*
Permanent Taglist - @spidey-reids-2003​ @jackiehollanderr​, @scarletsoldierrr​, @thewayilookatbacon​, @parker-barnes-af​, @lost-in-the-stars03​, @kisses-holland​, @josiemara​, @god-knows-what-am-i-doing​, @fanficscuziranout​, @akila-stilinski​, @babebenhardy​ @write-from-the-heart​, @slytherinambitious​, @miraclesoflove​ @tomshufflepuff​, @quaksonhehe​, @a-different-brand-of-beans​, @dummiesshort​, @sleepybesson​, @sunshine96love​, @itstaskeen​, @wotamelonsugar​ Harry Styles Taglist - @alwayshave-faith​, @hufflepuff-always-and-forever​, @sucker-09​ @just-chillin-out-in-me-box​, @macksmedicine​, @wendaiii​, @theresthingsthatwellneverknow​,
106 notes · View notes
gamerwoo · 4 years
Text
Junhui: Noodles
Tumblr media
Characters: Junhui x female reader
Genre/warnings: badboy au, strangers to friends to lovers, fluff, some crack-y moments, very slight angst, mentions of smoking, implied violence
Word count: 6,079
Summary: Junhui’s the kind of person parents warn their daughters to stay away from but you’ve never had the inclination to go near him anyway. But it’s not until he comes into the animal shelter looking for a kitten named Noodles that you start to learn more about the mysterious Wen Junhui.
a/n: I really felt like writing a badboy au and there aren’t a lot for Jun and I had this idea and @sadienita​ really liked it so this is kinda for her :] merry christmas 💕
You couldn’t care less about the boys that hung out outside the dive bar on the street corner. It seemed every girl was always squealing about how cute they were or every parent was warning their kid to not go near them. But you didn’t care. You didn’t wonder what they were like despite that being a hot topic with a lot of your friends -- seriously, it was like they never shut up once they got started, which was why you now hated when they wanted to go to that stupid bar but it was the only one in your stupid, dinky town.
Alternatively, Wen Junhui and his friends didn’t know shit about you nor did they recognize you. Wonwoo recognized one of your friends because she always seemed to stare at him whenever they’d pass by them, and Mingyu would wink at the one who would bite her lip and eye him up and down shamelessly. But you always rolled your eyes and minded your business, never sparing them even a passing glance. So none of them ever noticed you or thought anything of you.
Despite this, you still definitely knew who he was. At least, you’d heard the stories. The thirteen rowdy boys were always causing trouble. If they weren’t causing it, they were looking for it. Your parents had also jumped on the “stay away from those boys” bandwagon, and you listened without question because you didn’t have the desire to approach them anyway. You weren’t afraid, you just weren’t interested in knowing more. 
Besides, with the amount of cigarettes they smoked, you would’ve sooner strangled yourself than stand anywhere near them. Actually, strangling yourself would probably be the equivalent of being around that much smoke. 
However, your disinterest for the group of boys didn’t stop you from running into one of them. You had just decided to volunteer at the animal shelter on weekends because your parents refused to let an animal into the house despite the fact you insisted you would care for it solely and they wouldn’t have to lift a finger. Volunteering at the shelter was the next best thing. It was your first weekend there, and while you were excited, that excitement died down when you looked up as they front door opened.
Even if you weren’t interested in knowing the thirteen boys, it didn’t mean you didn’t recognize Wen Junhui.
“He’s so beautiful!” your friend, Mari had squealed so many times it made you want to jam scissors in your ears so you’d never have to hear it again.
But yes, Wen Junhui was beautiful. He, for some reason, dyed his hair a lilac color which brought out his brown eyes that looked up from the floor to you. Instead of a cigarette between his lips, he had a toothpick that hung out the left corner of his mouth. His classic leather jacket was looking as dingy as always, but it matched his ripped up black jeans and scuffed boots.
‘What could he possibly want at an animal shelter?’ you wondered to yourself.
You wanted to tell him to get lost, but you knew you weren’t supposed to do that -- even if this was Wen Junhui.
Junhui strolled up to the counter, his hands in his front pockets. He leaned up against the counter with one arm on the top of it, looking at you as he cocked his head to one side. You half expected him to say something about recognizing you even though you weren’t sure why he would recognize you anyway.
But instead, he asked, “Do you know if Noodles is here?”
You blinked at him a few times as you processed his question before finally asking, “...What?”
“You new?” he asked you instead.
“Yeah…?”
He sighed as if he were growing impatient with you, but his eyes were kind as he explained, “Noodles is a little orange tabby cat that was sent here a few weeks ago. Do you know if she’s still here?”
“O-oh, uh…” you looked down at the computer in front of you, typing in the name. “Yeah, she should still be in the cat room.”
“Cool, thanks,” he said simply before walking away toward the cat room.
That was your first encounter with Wen Junhui, and it definitely wasn’t what you were expecting from him.
-
On most Friday or Saturday nights, your friends liked to go down to the bar. You weren’t sure at this point if they genuinely enjoyed hanging out with each other every weekend or if they just did it in hopes of getting noticed by the boys who hung around out front, but with your new job at the shelter, you were thankful that you now had a reason to turn them down other than the usual responses that they stopped buying into.
“Sorry, I’m working at the shelter tomorrow.”
Nobody can call you out for that. What, do they expect you to just go into work drunk?
But it was that very next weekend that you saw Junhui again. You thought it was strange the first time he came in, but it was even more strange to you that he came back the very next weekend. He, again, walked over to the counter and asked you if Noodles was still there.
She was.
He went to the cat room.
You continued to stare at the door to the cat room until it closed and you couldn’t see Junhui anymore. What was his deal? Why did he want to see this cat so badly, and why did he even care? 
“What’re you staring at?” your coworker, Sam wondered as she came out from the back.
You turned to look at her, “Does a guy ever come in here asking you if Noodles is here?”
“Oh, you mean Jun?”
She knew Junhui? Actually, she knew Junhui enough to just call him Jun? Now you really had no idea what was going on. Was this some sort of alternate universe you were in?
“You know him?” you asked with surprise clear in your tone and on your face.
She chuckled, “Everybody at the shelter knows him. He come in every weekend, but lately, he comes just to visit Noodles. He really likes that kitten.”
Somehow, despite all this new information, you still couldn’t get passed the fact somebody named that poor kitten Noodles.
-
“You work too much, so you’re coming,” Rina decided.
Apparently the “I have work tomorrow” excuse could only work so many times before your friends decided it wasn’t good enough anymore. You really did have to work the next day at the shelter, but Rina already had a death grip on your wrist and was dragging you along behind her toward the shitty little bar that you really didn’t want to go to.
“Do you think they’re there?” Mia giggled.
‘I fuckin’ hope not,’ you wanted to say, but you just let them gush over the boys they hardly knew like you always did. ‘Man, what’s with girls and the badboy type?’
As you got closer to the dive bar, you could see about half of the boys standing under the same streetlight they always were. They were laughing so loudly that you heard them before you saw them, and when you did see them, you could see a few of their silhouettes shoving each other around as their laughter grew louder. 
Normally, the boys didn’t pay much attention to anybody who came by. They didn’t care about other people because they knew nobody else cared about them, so they paid them no mind and carried on with what they were doing.
But for some reason, Junhui felt inclined to look over to his right.
“Hey!” you heard him call out.
Your whole group stopped, looking at him like deer in headlights. Nobody from that group had ever said a word to any of you, and the fact that Wen Junhui had acknowledged them and stopped them to speak was sending your friends’ hearts into a frenzy.
You felt fine, even when his eyes locked on yours.
“Aren’t you the girl from the shelter?” he asked with a nod of his head.
You replied to his question with one of your own: “Aren’t you the Noodles guy?”
He chuckled, “She still there?”
“I didn’t work today, bud. Couldn’t tell ya.”
And then you brushed past your friends and led the way inside the bar. They all looked bewilderedly between you and Junhui as they shuffled in behind you like robots that were just doing what they were programmed and not really thinking for themselves.
“You know Wen Junhui?!” Elly gasped.
You shrugged, not seeing it as a big deal, “He comes into the shelter.”
“Is that why you’re so worried about work?” Mia giggled as she nudged your side with her elbow.
“No,” you sighed,” it’s because I actually don’t want to go into work hungover every single weekend and get written up four fucking times.”
You shot a pointed look to Rina who simply shrugged and said, “Party, dude.”
Most of the night consisted of you and your friends sitting at a table together while you drank and ate stale chips with shitty salsa and laughed at fat, drunk men playing darts very poorly. They hit the actual walls multiple times, and one even threw a dart while the other was over collecting his darts from the board, and it hit him right in the shoulder. There wasn’t any blood, but it was still fucking hilarious.
More patrons entered the bar, but you never paid any attention to them. Thankfully, your friends’ attention was gradually pulled away from the windows where they could see the seven boys outside, and you were actually able to have a good time with them.
Then again, maybe if they were staring out the windows and drooling like normal, you might’ve seen the handsome semi-stranger walk into the bar and walk up behind you, tapping your shoulder.
You sighed, figuring you already knew what this was about, so you didn’t even bother turning around. You figured it was some creep trying to hit on you, and you were not about to give any man in this place the time of day -- or night, rather.
“Listen, buddy,” you began as your hand tightened around your glass of beer, “I’m not interested. And if you’re gonna call me an ugly whore now instead, you can go fuck yourself.”
“At least you’re direct,” Junhui’s semi-familiar voice chuckled.
You whipped around, suddenly mortified by your words, “O-oh, I thought you were--”
“Yeah, I know,” he nodded, still laughing at your mistake. “But, I mean, you might tell me that after I say what I’m going to say.”
Your heartbeat picked up and you didn’t like it. What would Junhui say to you that would make you tell him to go fuck himself?
“My friend, Soonyoung thinks you’re really hot,” he told you, slightly sniggering about it. “He’s too big of a pussy to come in and ask for your number, though, so he made me do it since I kinda know you.”
You knew your friends had their jaws dropped at this, but you were looking at Junhui the whole time. Even as your face shifted to one of confusion.
“Who?” you asked.
He turned and pointed out the window, “Black hair, black shirt.”
“Dude, that’s like, three of them.”
“He’s the one with the cute cheeks!” Elly told you as if it was common knowledge. “And his eyes are really distinct.”
You were pretty sure you vaguely knew which one he was talking about. A somewhat fuzzy image of him came up in your head, and you recalled seeing him once eat a piece of gum off of the streetlamp just for five bucks and some laughs from his friends.
“No thanks,” you said flatly.
“_____!” Mia gasped like you were being rude.
But how could it be rude when you didn’t even know the guy and the only memory you had of him was eating ABC gum?
“Honestly, that’s a safe choice,” Junhui chuckled. “Don’t worry, I’ll break the bad news to him gently.”
You turned away from Junhui as soon as he began walking away from your table. Your ears were filled with your friends scolding, telling you that that was their only chance for an in with them. If you went out with Soonyoung, you could hook them up with Wonwoo and Mingyu -- which were also names you could not match to faces and you were sure you didn’t want to.
But above their whining, right as the door opened, you heard Junhui shout, “Yo, Soonyoung! She said to go fuck yourself!”
-
Where was he? You knew Junhui was going to come in like he did every weekend, and despite it only being your third weekend, you were sure he would be there because he said so when you left the bar.
“Girl from the shelter!” he called, catching your attention.
You really didn’t want to look toward his group because despite not knowing Soonyoung, you were embarrassed that Junhui told him you told him to go fuck himself. But still, you stopped and turned around to see what he wanted.
“See ya tomorrow!” he grinned cheekily.
You only nodded at him before leaving with your friends to go home and get as much rest as you could before you had to open the shelter.
But it was tomorrow, it was around the time Junhui usually showed up, and the boy in question was still nowhere to be seen. Now that you were more sober, you wanted to chew him out for passing along a message to a stranger that you didn’t even give.
“_____, could you give this pill pocket to Pepero?” one of the other workers asked as she handed the little treat over to you. “He needs his medication but Fishstick is being difficult getting his shots and I need to help out.”
As you took the pill pocket from her and began walking toward the cat room, all you could think was, ‘Who names these poor cats?’
You pushed the door open and searched all the cages in search for the one labeled ‘Pepero’. You couldn’t find it in the cages in the front, so you circled around to the back to see if maybe he was back there.
But instead of Pepero, you found the boy you’d been looking for.
“How the hell did you get in here?” you blurted.
Junhui jumped, startled by your sudden outburst. But his face melted into a smile as he laughed lightly and put a hand over his heart.
“You scared me!” the way he smiled and giggled was actually almost...cute -- which was weird since he came across as very cocky the previous night. He stood up from his crouched position and closed the cage he had opened while he played with the cat inside. “Liza let me in this morning. Sometimes I show up a little early.”
“For Noodles?” you guessed.
“Well, this time, yes. But I’ve done it before Noodles. I just like her a lot.”
You leaned over, peering down at the cage Junhui had opened. Sure enough, it said ‘Noodles’.
“Is that for Pepero?” he inquired, pointing to the pill pocket you were holding.
Not only were you shocked he guessed the cat you were giving medicine to, but he went over to Pepero’s cage without skipping a beat or needing to read the names, and opened it up for you.
“His ear infection is getting a lot better,” he told you as he pet from the cat’s head down to its tail. The fluffy, white-haired cat seemed to like it as he immediately started purring. Junhui plucked the pill pocket from your fingers and held it out to Pepero, who sniffed it for a second before eating it. “Yeah, you’d eat pill pockets just for fun, huh?”
“You know a lot about the cat room,” you noted dumbly.
Junhui chuckled with a shrug, “Just a little.”
“Do you come here often?”
“Every weekend.”
“Why don’t you just work here?”
Junhui scoffed, looking at you like you really were dumb, “Because if I worked here, a bunch of people would throw a fit or just wouldn’t come in. Business would go downhill which would mean a bunch of sweet animals would be fucked. It’s best I just come in to check on them.”
That did make sense. Wen Junhui was Wen Junhui, and people didn’t like him. He was a ‘bad person’. He was definitely a hit with the girls your age, but girls your age were also really into rebelling against their parents for some reason. That, and cute boys. Junhui was basically those two things thrown into one thing, and that meant that parents didn’t like him. If people from town came in and saw Junhui working here, the shelter would no doubt close down within weeks.
But you weren’t here to talk about that. You were waiting for Junhui to show up so you could chew him out for what he did. And now that you had him in front of you, you’d do just that. You didn’t care if he was some tough guy in a leather jacket and ripped jeans or if he still smelled like cigarette smoke. You weren’t afraid of him.
Okay, well, maybe a little afraid.
“Also, what the fuck was that last night?!” you demanded as you whacked him in the chest.
Okay, maybe not that afraid.
Junhui looked almost shocked that you did that, and even a little afraid of you as he put a hand over the spot you’d hit.
“You told Soonyoung I told him to fuck off, and now he’s gonna think I’m some rude bitch or something!”
Junhui only giggled as he grabbed his jacket on either side and gently tugged to adjust it, “Soonyoung doesn’t think anything, he hardly has a braincell.”
“But still!”
He smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest, shifting his weight to one foot so he was leaning into you, “Why do you care so much what Soonyoung thinks of you, hmm?”
You felt your cheeks heating up, leaning away from him, “I don’t care what he thinks specifically. I’d be mad no matter who you said it to.”
Junhui sighed as he closed Pepero’s cage before turning and letting his back rest up against the cages, “You wanna know why I said what I said to Soonyoung?”
You nodded vigorously.
Maybe you were seeing things, but Junhui looked...nervous. He looked down at his feet, taking in a deep breath as he thought over his next words. He ran a hand through his lilac hair before he closed his eyes. He lifted his head slowly, opening his eyes to meet yours.
“I’d say I’m a pretty good judge of character, and I think you’re a good person, shelter girl. I kinda like you,” he admitted, “and you deserve way better than Soonyoung.”
That only caused more questions. What did you do to make Junhui like you enough to protect you from somebody he claimed wasn’t good enough? Why was he friends with Soonyoung if he thought Soonyoung was too shitty to date? Wouldn’t he be similar to Soonyoung if they were close? What did he mean by ‘kinda like you’?
Despite all of those questions you could’ve asked and probably should’ve asked, you said, “My name is _____.”
-
You didn’t see Junhui all week but you knew you’d see him on Saturday. Who you didn’t think you’d see on Saturday was Mari. She smirked as she opened the doors and her little brother excitedly ran in, though it was clear he wasn’t really sure where he was going.
“Over here, dude!” Mari called as she walked up to the counter, her car keys swinging from the lanyard in her hand.
Her brother suddenly made a u-turn and ran right over to the counter, pressing his hands up against the side of it.
“What’re you doing here?” you asked her.
“Kid wants a dog but my parents didn’t want to be the ones to take him,” she explained as she glanced down at the child who was continuously hitting the side of the counter with both hands. “You can probably guess why.”
You just shrugged, deciding you would make the thumping sound that would soon be the tempo for the headache it would give you seem not as awful as it was, “He’s not so bad.”
“You wanna show us around the dog room then?” she asked with a toothy grin.
While there were other people working, it would be pointless to hand the task off to somebody else when you weren’t even busy. But you knew Junhui would be coming in soon and some part of you really wanted to see him when he came in. But you didn’t have an excuse so what could you do except say yes?
“I mean, I gue--”
Just on time, the door opened, and in shuffled Junhui with a toothpick in his mouth. Mari saw your eyes drift behind her, and she followed your gaze, her eyes landing on Junhui. She looked absolutely dumbfounded seeing the handsome boy casually walk into the shelter, his eyes finding you at the counter before anybody else. But it was after he saw you at the counter that his eyes flickered over to Mari, then down to her brother who was still banging the counter, and then back up at you.
“_____?” he spoke up.
‘Now’s my chance.’
“Um, I actually have to show Junhui something in the cat room,” you told Rina. “But Sam can take you to the dog room. C’mon, Junhui.”
You stepped out from behind the desk and began walking toward the cat room, leaving Sam alone with Mari and her brother despite the fact you felt guilty forcing her to deal with Mari’s annoying little brother. Not to mention your friend would have plenty of questions for you next time you saw her, but that was something you could deal with when you had to cross that bridge.
“What is it?” Junhui asked as the two of you entered the cat room, his voice laced with worry. “Was Noodles adopted?”
“No,” you sighed a breath of relief as you rested your forehead on the cool bars of one of the empty cages. “I just really didn’t want to deal with Mari today and needed an excuse to not help her brother pick out a pet dog.”
“_____!” Junhui whined. “You scared me!”
Why did Junhui genuinely sound upset? You turned around to see him rushing over to Noodles’s cage. He stuck his slender fingers through the bars, smiling softly as the orange kitten playfully batted at them with her paws. Just from the way Junhui looked at the cat, you could tell he absolutely adored her. Hell, he visited the place every weekend asking if she was still there so he must’ve loved her.
“Hey Junhui?”
He looked up from his playing, though the little smile stayed on his face even when he looked at you.
“Why don’t you just adopt Noodles?” you wondered.
“I took in a stray cat that hung out around my apartment like...two-ish months ago?” he replied, trying to remember how much time had gone by. “She’s still nervous around other animals and people. Honestly, she might not ever be used to other animals, and I don’t want to stress her out.” 
It seemed like the more Wen Junhui came around the shelter, the less like Wen Junhui he seemed. You were taught he would be scary and aggressive and rude and just overall bad. But he was funny and kind and caring and persistent. You wondered what made people think Junhui was a bad person if he seemed to be the opposite. Was it the people he hung out with? The way he dressed? Was that all it was?
Was Wen Junhui not the person you thought he was?
-
Junhui wasn’t outside the dive bar that night. You were dragged out by your friends once again, but this time without putting up a fight. Another few weeks had gone by, and you were hanging out with Junhui longer and longer when he’d come visit the shelter. The main reason for his visits was always Noodles who still had yet to be adopted, but it seemed he stopped coming in asking for Noodles and started coming in just saying “hey, _____”. 
But the one time you decided to go to the bar, hoping to see Junhui, he wasn’t there. None of his friends were there. The only sign that they had been there at all were their cigarette butts and the lingering smell of cigarette smoke that faintly burned your lungs.
“Boo,” Elly frowned as Rina opened the door to the bar and led the way in.
As you sat in the bar for the next few hours, drinking and laughing with your friends, you had almost forgotten about Junhui. You were so preoccupied with the stupid stories and loud giggles and dumb jokes that the fact you didn’t see him like you wanted to had completely slipped your mind. Even when Mia said she had to get home and left first, or when Mari said she had to get back before 11 because her parents were leaving and she had to babysit, or when Elly asked if you wanted her to walk home with you at 1am and you declined. You never once thought about Junhui.
Not until you saw him, at least.
You told Elly should could go without you. You were about to beat this guy at pool and you planned on sticking it out to the end. Sure enough, you ended up winning even if your friends weren’t there to celebrate your victory with you. But you decided that was a high enough note to end your night on, so you shuffled your way out of the bar with various patrons that you’d managed to befriend that night wishing you a good night and a safe trip home. Considering you were a girl walking home at night alone, you definitely valued those wishes.
However, your mind was veered away from your trek home as soon as you left the bar. In their usual spot, Junhui was clinging to the lamppost like it was the only thing holding him up. He sucked a sharp breath in through his teeth, and while he was facing away from you, you knew something wasn’t right.
“Junhui?” you asked as you walked over to him quickly.
“_____?” his voice was pained as he managed to turn himself around, keeping himself leaned up against the post.
As soon as he faced you, you sucked in a breath of your own. His clothes were torn up, his face was bruised and bloody, and his jacket was only hanging off one shoulder. His hair was a mess, sticking out in all directions while his eyes squinted at you like he was trying his hardest to keep them open. He clearly looked like he was in a lot of pain.
“What happened to you?” you gasped.
Despite how beat up he was, he managed to give you a small smirk, his eyes closing, “It’s nothing new. I just need to be cleaned up a bit.”
“A bit?” you scoffed. “Can I help you home?”
He hummed in response, his eyes staying closed. You walked closer, taking his weight off of the post and letting him put it on you. You put one of his arms around your shoulders while you held his waist and guided him in the direction he told you to go. It was a good thing he was at least coherent because otherwise you wouldn’t know where to bring him. You actually asked when you were almost to his apartment if you could bring him to a hospital because you completely forgot that that should be the first idea, but Junhui insisted he would be fine and he just wanted to go home.
His apartment wasn’t in a great part of town. It definitely could’ve been worse, but it wasn’t great. It was one of those places that still made you wary, especially with Junhui not really being himself. You were sure if you had come here with him any other day, you’d feel perfectly safe. But between the two of you, you were the strongest one at that moment. That definitely wasn’t reassuring.
He gave you the keys from his jeans pocket, and you managed to get him in the building. That definitely made you feel better, but it wasn’t until you were actually in Junhui’s apartment that you felt more relaxed. Then you could focus on just getting Junhui fixed up instead of worrying about who could be lurking in the shadows or secretly following behind you.
“Be quiet, though,” Junhui murmured as you led him over to the couch and set him down on the cushions. “I don’t want Minnie to get scared.”
“Is that your roommate or something?” you asked.
“My cat, Minnie.”
‘Right, the stray.’
You’d completely forgotten that Junhui had taken in a cat off the street. Honestly, considering the place he lived, you were happy for the cat -- even if it was hiding somewhere because it was afraid of you.
“Do you have a roommate that can help you?” you wondered.
“It’s cute that you think I could afford an apartment with more than one bedroom,” he smiled tiredly, his head falling back against the back of the couch as his eyes slid closed again.
“Alright, where do you keep your first aid stuff?”
“I don’t have any.”
“Seriously? No bandaids or cotton balls or anything?”
“I have a washcloth and warm water.”
You sighed, figuring that would have to do. So you went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel that was hanging off of the shower rod. You dampened a corner of it with warm water before going back to the living room. You sat beside Junhui on the couch and began dabbing away at the blood on his face. He hissed slightly at first but he started to get used to the stinging.
“Do you wanna talk about what happened now?” you mumbled.
“It’s just something that happens sometimes,” he shrugged. “Parents don’t warn their kids about us for nothing.”
“Did everybody else get beat up, too?”
“Just me. Wrong place at the wrong time. Happens a lot. Lotta people hate us.”
So maybe Junhui really was who you were told he was. Maybe he was violent and scary. Maybe he was somebody who wasn’t to be messed with. Maybe he was bad news.
“Do you need me to call somebody for you?” you wondered.
“Nah,” he replied. “Minnie’s more than enough company. She’ll come out after you leave and sleep on my chest -- she usually does when I come home like this. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be okay.”
But even if he was all that, he was still just like the Junhui you knew from the shelter.
“And ____?” he peeked one eye open to look at you.
“Yeah?”
One of his hands found yours that was pressed against the couch cushion to support yourself as you cleaned him up. His hand wrapped around yours, giving it a soft squeeze.
“Thank you for helping me tonight. I know this is cheesy to say but I’m glad I met you.”
-
Maybe you were silly. Maybe you were reading too much into it, but maybe it was worth the risk. Besides, worst case scenario was that he’d take it as a friend thing. But what would be so bad about that? Weren’t you already friends with Junhui anyway?
You finally realized that weird need to see Junhui was actually you having a crush on the guy. It was definitely weird, especially considering it had even persisted despite seeing the other side of Junhui last night, but you were just gonna go with it. You knew he wasn’t all bad, and you could make your own decisions anyway. And your decision was that Junhui was a good guy and you liked him and that was that.
So when Junhui walked into the shelter again on Saturday and your heart started racing, you knew why.
Well, there was also another reason.
“Hey, _____,” he grinned. His split lip had healed, but around one of his eyes was still a little yellow. “How’s it goin’?”
“It’s goin’,” you shrugged.
Usually, you would nod toward the cat room and say something like “she’s back there” or “you can go in” or whatever. Something that would let him know Noodles was still there. But when you stopped talking after your short response to his question, his eyes widened.
“I-is Noodles…?”
You shook your head slowly.
Junhui looked distraught, “R-really? ...W-well was the person at least nice? I hope she went to a good home because she’s such a sweet girl and--”
“You can judge for yourself,” you shrugged. “I mean, you did say you think I’m a good person, so…”
As Junhui’s brain tried to piece together what you’d said, you bent down behind the desk and lifted up the small carrier that the small, orange kitten was in. As you set her down on the counter and she saw Junhui, she meowed at him. 
His eyes flickered from Noodles to you to Noodles and back to you.
You grinned at him, “I am now a proud cat mom.”
Junhui’s look of confusion spread into a wide, toothy grin as he walked over and stuck two fingers between the bars and let Noodles paw at them, “Why’d you decide to adopt her?”
“Well, you said Minnie doesn’t like animals, and I know you wanted Noodles for yourself so…” you wanted to be bold about this but now that you had to say what you wanted to say to him, you felt shy and flustered, your cheeks starting to heat up. “I just kinda figured if I own her then you could like, visit or something… I mean, you already visit her at the shelter but now there’s no way she could be away from you, y’know? Like, you’ll always be guaranteed to see her now.”
You kept staring down at the counter and at Junhui’s fingers when you talked, but you finally gained the courage to look up at him. His cheeks were stained pink as he tried to hide a smile unsuccessfully.
“So you adopted her...b-because of me?” he asked with a flustered giggle.
“M-maybe…” you shrugged.
This time, he had to look away from you, keeping his eyes on Noodles in her cage instead. He just smiled at her -- or he was still smiling about what you said -- for a moment without saying anything, and it was absolutely torture. But then he finally looked over at you and took his fingers away from Noodles, stepping sideways so he was standing across from you at the desk.
“Do you wanna go out after work?” he asked bluntly, though his face was still flushed and he was still grinning like he was shy about asking.
“Yes,” you blurted, covering your mouth and clearing your throat before saying, “Um, that sounds cool.”
He giggled some more, running a hand through his purple hair, “I’ll pick you up here, then?”
You nodded, “I’ll see you then, Junhui.”
“Y’know, for as long as we’ve been talking, I figured you would’ve caught on to calling me Jun by now.”
“You still call me shelter girl have the time.”
“Touche. I’ll see you tonight.”
He walked out with his hands in his pockets, pulling out a pack of cigarettes before the door closed. But he suddenly spun around and looked at you, a playful smirk on his face now instead, “We should get some noodles in celebration, right?”
All you could think was how you couldn’t care less about Wen Junhui, and Wen Junhui didn’t know shit about you, nor did he recognize you. But now he made your heart feel warm whenever you were near him, and you were going to go on a date with him after work.
All because of a kitten named Noodles.
You nodded, “Right.”
1K notes · View notes
fairymadnessyeah · 3 years
Text
BNHA Ship to Finish the Year
FuyuSei (Todoroki Fuyumi x Iida Tensei)
Canon
I think that they would either meet by Shouto and Tenya or at the hospital.
If it was at the hospital, it would be a chance meeting. Fuyumi is visiting her mom, and Tensei is going to physical therapy. They meet in the lobby and start talking.
Present Mic and Nemuri are the ones who encourage him to ask her out. -PS: None of them knows she is the daughter of Enji yet.- After he does and they date for a few weeks, he shows them a picture, and the two almost have a heart attack. They don't know how to tell him, until Shouta comes along and says it.
If they meet by Shouto and Tenya, it probably would be at a Sport Festival or Cultural Festival. They would start talking, and Nemuri would ask Fuyumi out for him. She says yes, and they exchange numbers.
Imagine if Natsuo is there: "I got the snacks. What's that?" "Oh, a phone number. I have a date this Saturday," "I- I left for five minutes!"
I feel like he would stop by her school every time he can and her students know him as wheelchair boyfriend.
And speaking of wheelchairs, Tensei sometimes feels like he is not enough for Fuyumi. He can't take her dancing or ice-skating.
Fuyumi doesn't care about it. He loves Tensei for who he is, and that is enough for her.
On her birthday, he takes her to see the Winter Illumination events, and even takes her to see ice-sculptors at a festival.
He likes to carry her on his lap and then accelerate with his quirk. He especially does it when the sakura trees are blooming, so it's more romantic. 
Also, she sits on his lap when it's hot, since she is always cold.
I don't want to break anybody's bubble but these two one hell of an age gap.
Like Tensei is 31 and Fuyumi is 23.
He is eight years older than her. That's more than Shigaraki and Toga have on each other.
Am I the first one to notice this?
I feel like it should be a big deal. Like when Tensei was eighteen, Fuyumi was ten. 
I feel like his parents would make fun of him for that. Calling him a creepy old man.
I also feel, since Tensei appeared in vigilantes, that he has a lot of vigilante friends, and one time, they all meet Fuyumi.
I feel like they would like her more than her boyfriend.
Also, he likes her cooking much more than anything else he has ever eaten before. But don't tell his mom.
Family
There is only one rule that all Todoroki men share and respect: Fuyumi needs to be protected. They don't give a crap if the guy is a retired hero, or the brother of a friend, or in a wheelchair, they won't let him hurt Fuyumi.
The first months of dating, Tensei doesn't feel safe. Like someone is staring at his back with murderous intent. He can't pin-point which Todoroki is, but his money is on Endeavour.
Actually it's all of them. They take turns keeping watch. One time, they all ended doing it at the same time. It was awkward at first, but they found a way to make it work and not kill each other.
Every single Todoroki has threatened him.
Dabi, with the help of Toga, cornered him in an alley and placed him on the floor and stepped on him.
"If you hurt sister, I'm going to finish what Stain couldn't do..."
Natsuo did it during a family dinner. He smiled and at first appeared very polite, but when Fuyumi wasn't there, the smile was gone.
"I am a doctor, you think I don't know how to get rid of you and make it look like it happened naturally?"
Enji went to meet him at his apartment. He knocked on the door asked him a few question. Tensei went along, answering everything politely, and then got the message by the last question.
"How much heat will it take for that wheelchair to melt with you in it?"
Shouto was more surprising. He called Tensei with his brother's phone and only said one thing before he hung up.
"I don't care if you are Tenya's brother's, if you don't make my sister happy, I will end you," 
I feel like Rei wouldn't be okay with the idea until she sees that Tensei is defensless in a wheelchair. 
I know it's a bad thought, and Rei knows so, but after everything she went through, you can't blame the woman for it. Her daughter is with a HERO. At least, if he is in a wheelchair, she can do better to survive.
Tenya loves his new sister. He hasn't seen his brother so happy since the accident, and he always wanted a sister. 
The Iida's love her.
She is an angel in their eyes. Their son is in such good hands.
I feel like they would have two kids. First a girl Iida Fubuki, a girl, and then Iida Kaen, a boy.
Fubuki has blue hair with white highlights. Her name means blizzard in Japanese and her quirk is that she has engine pipes on her wrist that shoot dry ice.
Kaen has blue hair with red highlights. His name means Flame Thrower in Japanese and his quirk is that he has engine pipes on his ankles that shoot flames.
Neither of them become heroes. I feel like both families give them enough reasons not to follow that career.
Fubuki becomes an ice skater, using her quirk for presentations and speed.
Kaen becomes a musician. A hard, metal punk rocker and uses his quirk for shows. He was closer to Dabi than his sister. 
AU - Fantasy AU 
So, Fuyumi is a princess. Because, of course, she is. 
Tensei is a knight, and he comes from a long line of knights.
One day, her life is threatened by a new rogue called Stain, who is killing off noble families and royals.
Tensei is tasked with protecting the princess at all cost. But it's a harder task than he originally thought.
His job was to stick by the princess side as much as he could, but on his second day, he lost her. 
He found her later on a hut on the countryside, teaching young girls how to read and write and other basic knowledge. She wears a disguise, so others don't recognize her. With a tattered dress and a spell to make her hair black, she is unrecognizable.
Tensei doesn't stop her from doing it when he finds out and instead helps her sneak out and helps with the angry sexist man that come around.
It all goes well until Stain attacks.
He ambushes them on the road, and the only reason that they survive is that Fuyu shows Stain she is not like other royals.
As Tensei was trying to protect her and getting in the way, the rogue was going to kill him. But before he can, Fuyumi gets in the way, pleading that he lets Tensei live.
Stain leaves and Tensei and Fuyumi are alright.
When they return to the castle though, Tensei is looked down with dishonour by the rest of the court. He is fired from his job as a knight with the princess, but Fuyumi then hires him back again. 
The two continue to spend time together, and all seems happy. But then, Fuyumi is betrothed.
Tensei tries to handle it with dignity since he is only a knight and knew in the back of his mind, that Fuyumi would get married one day. But he is a jealous mess when the fiance arrives.
He follows them around, stops them whenever they get too close and intervenes whenever the man makes a move on her.
Fuyumi, though grateful, has to ask him to stop. Because even if she would prefer it was him, she is marrying, if he angers her fiance, they are going to behead him.
They don't have to worry about it though, because, before the wedding, the lost prince Touya returns and takes the throne. 
However, even if Dabi, now the new king, breaks her marriage off with her betrothed, Fuyumi doesn't like how much he is ruling.
The two get in a fight, and Dabi tells her that if she doesn't like it, then she can leave. He won't stop her.
The next day, Fuyumi starts packing. She tells Tensei that he can stay if he wants, he doesn't have to follow her.
Tensei confesses his feelings for her and then starts packing. 
They leave a week after and they settle on a farming land where Fuyumi opens a school for girls and Tensei hunts and collects stuff to sell.
Fanon Oponion
So, again, I can't see these two having sex.
I just can't.
I don't know why. And AO3 seems to agree with me since I found 3 where they have sex, and it's not just mentioned. 
One was a Fuyubowl, the other was a crackfic, and the last one traumatized me.
For the most part, they are a background couple.
And not in the way Hagakure and Ojiro are a couple where you might find more than 10 fics about them, but as 'we don't want Fuyumi to be alone, so in this fic she is with Tensei.'
I feel like they are underappreciated, especially Fuyumi.
Girl is still holding on after the shitty situation she is in. She is the only sane Todoroki in here. 
And poor Tensei. He didn't deserve what happened to him. Stain didn't have a very clear objective.
There's also the fact that not much is known about them.
Like Tensei has not been mentioned since the stain arc.
They are just there...
But people love making next-gen kids with them.
43 notes · View notes