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stellar-constellations · 3 months

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(Very late) Christmas special! Yuri Briar

Yuri Briar x Fem! Reader

Beware! This fic DOES contain SPOILERS for the manga and for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1)!

This can be read with or without reading my Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series: An Alliance (part 1).

Series information: Setting is AFTER the reader rejoined WISE (so Yuri and [Y/N] are married and [Y/N] becomes an official double-spy).

This is NOT a replacement or part 10 for the Yuri Briar x Fem! Spy! Reader series!

The city air smelt like hot chocolate and roasted chestnuts. The town’s street lamps were decorated with yellow christmas lights and green wreaths. Children squished their faces against the cold windows of toy stores, gazing at what they want on their Christmas lists. Candies filled with marshmallows and peppermint advertised at the local grocery store. Yuri and I strolled through the town hand-in-hand, looking for gifts for the Forger family.

“Do you have any idea what they’d want for Christmas?” I questioned, looking into store windows for anything that caught my eye.

“I’m not sure. Yor said that she was fine with anything.” Yuri spoke, just as lost as me.

“Well what about Loid and Anya?” I asked, turning my head to look at Yuri.

“Do we have to buy them gifts?” Yuri grimaced.

“They’re family.” I huffed. “Don’t be mean. And don’t even think about going to the Christmas party with an attitude to Loid. I’ll whack you.” I threatened.

“I don’t even know what we’d give Loid. He’s so… reserved?” Yuri spoke. “He doesn’t talk much about himself other than work.”

“I see what you mean.” I hummed. “So work is obviously an important thing in his life.”

“His main priority should be caring for Yor…” Yuri huffed.

“We can talk about this later. The shops will close early because it's Christmas Eve, so we have no time to be complaining about stuff like that.” I pointed out. "Loid values work, we could get him something for work. Like, maybe a new journal to write notes? He is a psychiatrist after all.” I suggested.

At least his public cover is. I thought to myself.

I tried to think more deeply on what Twilight likes without accidentally revealing to Yuri that I know him more than just his sister's husband. Of course I know things about him that Yuri and Yor won't, I did basically grow up with him almost my entire life, so I consider him like a brother and my best friend. The more I thought about it, the more I realized I basically knew nothing of Twilight's interests or hobbies. He's always been so work-oriented compared to my laid-back nature.

My realization led me to questioning everything I knew about Twilight. Is the personality I've associated with him almost my whole life a cover personality? Am I such a bad sister and best friend that I don't even know his favorite damn color? What he likes to do in his free time?

While I had an internal existential crisis, Yuri dragged me out of my thoughts.

"Hey, there's a bookstore over there. We can go find Loid's journal there?" Yuri suggested, pointing his finger at a small bookstore.

"Yeah, okay." I nodded, dragging Yuri into the store with me. "Along with a journal, we can get Loid a book too. I'm just unsure of what types of books he'd enjoy."

"We have to get him more than one gift?" Yuri sighed, obviously displeased at the idea.

"Just wait till we get to Anya." I hummed. "She's a child, so she should get the most presents."

"When I was a kid, I didn't celebrate Christmas." Yuri pointed out.

I did. Growing up as a West spy, the Handler would put time aside and host a Christmas party at HQ. She made sure to give small gifts to all spies (most likely to avoid promotions). Since I was a kid and the youngest on the team, she made sure my gifts were a little more special than my fellow spies. I remember the first year I joined WISE, she gifted me a warm sweater with comfortable short fur inside and the exterior was soft and gray, along with a raspberry candy cane. I cried so hard that day because I was so touched she bothered getting me something despite our relationship being something of a teacher and student. Now a days, I see her more of the closest thing I have to a mother in my life, and I make sure to give her a present every year too.

Speaking of the Handler, I need to find a gift for her too. I might be able to sneak out later and buy something while Yuri is sleeping. I thought to myself.

"Maybe a book on psychology?" Yuri questioned.

"No. I wanna get him something for him to enjoy that's not all work-related." I spoke.

Besides, me and him already know quite a bit of psychology as it is. I thought.

Maybe something like mystery? No, he'd figure out the mystery too quick. Suspense? No, he'd just get mad at the character's decisions for being stupid. Romance? Nope, he seems to have little interest in the subject. Maybe something dystopian? Eh, we've faced a war together and live under oppressed governments with the possibility of war, we have our own silent dystopian going on. Maybe something involving self-help, like how not to be robotic. It'd be a good gag gift, but like I said, I want him to enjoy it. Historical? No, we know just about everything in history.

"Ah! Science fiction!" I exclaimed loudly.

"Like... robots?" Yuri questioned.

"I dunno, maybe. I think Loid would enjoy the genre." I spoke.

"How so?" Yuri questioned.

"He's smart, he is a psychiatrist after all. He'll probably like something that's mixed with reality but still have hints of fiction in it. Smart people like smart things like science! It'd be something to get his brain working and still enjoy it." I spoke.

"Pssh, anyone can listen to a person's problems and give out solutions." Yuri huffed.

"That's not all they do, Yuri. They also—" I paused, deciding it wasn't worth going in depth. "Ah, never mind. Let's just find something good for him to read."

Me and Yuri walked to the science fiction section, looking for anything that caught our eyes. Yuri didn’t exactly do much of the searching since it included being “too buddy-buddy with Loi-Loi” so I did the searching myself.

“Oh, what about 1984? I heard that was good.” I spoke. “I remember hearing it was featured in the newspaper, it’s relatively new, published in 1948.”

I might steal this after Twilight finishes reading it. I thought to myself.

“Yeah, sure.” Yuri spoke.

“Hm… what do you think Yor would like? I was thinking of giving her a new set of earrings as my gift. What’s on your mind?” I questioned.

“Well… she likes apples, specifically this Whistle Candy we had as kids, the apple flavored ones.” Yuri explained.

“That’s a good start. We can go to the market and buy those.” I smiled. “I want to stop by a jewelry store and buy her a set of gold earrings, I noticed her jewelry was gold so I figured she’d might appreciate it.”

“You noticed.” Yuri spoke, tears in his eyes.

“Why are you tearing up?” I questioned, a little confused.

“Just… you’re so thoughtful of her too. She loves you so much as her sister-in-law so it’d make her so happy to know you paid attention to her interests.” Yuri cried, wiping his nose.

I resisted the urge to tell him I was observing her to make sure she wasn’t an obstacle in STRIX’s mission or a hazard to Twilight’s mental health (now that I’ve spent time with her, I’m aware she’s a wonderful person, but I was on my guard when we first met, especially knowing how hard she can hit someone).

“Of course I care, Yuri. She’s family to me, just like Anya and Loid are.” I smiled.

The names of his sister’s husband and daughter leaving my lips immediately dried his eyes and made him grimace. “Blegh…”

“Wow. I should use that more against you when you’re upset if it makes you forget what you were crying about in the first place.” I smiled, a little impressed.

“Don’t you use those two… imbeciles... against me.” Yuri threatened, a glint in his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah.” I hummed. “Let’s find an empty notebook now. I'm thinking something blue, or blue and white."

Yuri nodded as we walked together, looking around to find a journal. I've seen empty journals in bookstores before, so surely this bookstore can't be an exception. I took Yuri to the front of the bookstore where there would usually be little souvenirs or many pens. I found a plain midnight blue journal and held it up to Yuri.

"What do you think?" I questioned.

"Looks like a journal." Yuri spoke.

"Helpful." I hummed sarcastically, before opening the journal.

I felt the texture of the pages and the cover, along with the page colors, the spacing and colors of the lines, and the sturdiness of the spine before deeming it acceptable.

"Okay, Yuri. Let's go pay for these then we can go for Yor's presents." I spoke.

Yuri nodded, grabbing my hand as we walked to the cash register together.

"How about you pay for Loid's and Anya's gifts, and I'll pay for Yor's? Her earrings will probably be expensive." Yuri spoke.

"I mean, I have certain earrings I'm looking for, so I can buy them." I explained.

"No. I got them. Loid's and Anya's gifts will probably tally up to around the earrings price." Yuri explained.

"And you wanna buy your sister's presents yourself?" I smiled.

"Yes." Yuri admitted quickly.

"Well, if you really insist." I sighed, deciding it wasn't worth fighting him.

When we got to the cashier, I took out my wallet from my purse and handed the cashier the amount of dalc they wanted from me. The bagged the books and handed it to me, telling us "happy holidays" as we left.

"Okay. Let's go to the jewelry store first, then the grocery store for that whistle candy you were talking about." I hummed, rearranging the fluffy red scarf wrapped around my neck.

Yuri nodded as I grabbed his red mitten, having him follow me. During our walk, I looked around at the shop windows to see if I could find any present for Yuri. I wasn't exactly sure what to get him; he was a pretty simple guy who'd love just about everything I'd give him, but I wanted to give him something that was actually meaningful and something he could really enjoy. The problem is Yuri doesn't have many interests besides Yor and work, so I'm really limited with potential gift ideas.

"Why are you glaring at me like that?" Yuri questioned, confused.

"I'm cold." I lied.

I'm glaring at you because you're a troublesome brat to make happy. I thought.

"Even in all those layers? We'll be at the store soon enough, so don't worry." Yuri spoke.

I nodded, thinking of what I could get him. Maybe he likes whistle candy like Yor? But that's so boring, not to mention unoriginal since we're getting Yor it. I could get him something like a candle? But that's not long lasting, and I have no idea what his favorite scents are.

"Yuri, I'm thinking of changing my perfume sometime soon. What do you think I should go with?" I questioned.

"I don't know? Something floral or citrus like most perfumes? It's your perfume." Yuri hummed.

"Yeah, but I want your input. You're my husband so I don't want to get a scent you don't like." I explained.

"I doubt there's a perfume that I don't like. Just don't have it too strong?" Yuri spoke.

Sometimes I wanna punch his stupid face for being so damn hard to shop for. Seriously, how can someone simple be such a challenge to shop for? Even Twilight is easier to shop for!

Yuri and I walked to the store to get the whistle candy Yuri said Yor liked. During the time, I thought of what good gifts Anya would have. I wanted to spoil the kid and give her a good Christmas. I've always wanted to be a cool aunt but now that I lost my entire family I can't do that anymore.

No, I didn't lose my entire family, only a part of it. I still have Twilight and the Handler, and Yuri and Yor and Anya. My mother is still out there too, somewhere in this world. The thought left me feeling a little better from the other sudden intrusive depressing thought I had.

Anya likes peanuts and stuffed toys, I know that. She likes that one spy tv show too, whatever it was called. The episodes I watched with her are a little interesting, I might watch it myself to be honest (perhaps I can learn a thing or two I'm unaware of). I briefly thought about getting her a coat or a cute dress, but then I remembered being a kid and disliked getting clothes as gifts. She does like sweets too.

Oh! They have dog too! I remember Twilight telling me about that, trying to train it to attack on command. Apparently the dog is a rescue from Project Apple, where he was trained along with many other dogs to become highly intelligent military animals. I wonder if the dog is huge and scary, like a German Shepard or a Pit Bull with that kind of reputation? Hey, maybe I can convince Yuri to get a dog or a cat!

Wait, focus. We're here for gifts.

"Yuri, when we get the candy let's go to the toy section next." I spoke.

"Aren't you a bit old for toys?" Yuri smirked, earning him a glare from me.

"Shut it." I huffed. "It's for Anya, I wanna see if there's any good toys around here she might like. I always wanna get her peanuts and stuffed animals."

"Peanuts?" Yuri spoke, making a face. "What kid wants peanuts for Christmas?"

"Apparently Anya." I shrugged. "Don't question it, kids are weird and have weird Christmas lists. Besides, it's better than like, I dunno, a 20 dalc dolly or something."

"I guess that's true." Yuri hummed, grabbing a bag of candy from the shelves.

It was the whistle candy Yuri was talking about. It's comes in a pack of eight circular candies with a hole in the middle. Yuri grabbed two apple flavored packs, holding them in his hands since we didn't grab a cart.

"Hey, it looks like the American candy Life Savers!" I pointed out. "This whistle candy you speak of, does it actually make you whistle?" I questioned, glancing at the candies.

"Yeah. You can whistle through them." He nodded.

"That's cool." I smiled.

I took a look at all the candies, grabbing a few chocolate peanut candy bars and other candies like gummy bears, Fun Dips, marshmallow Circus Peanuts, and Jolly Ranchers before my eyes spotted a familiar and bittersweet candy—M&M's.

"Oh hey, I remember these!" I spoke, grabbing a tube. "Hey Yuri, do you know how these were invented? Or more specifically why?"

"Wasn't it something about the war?" Yuri questioned.

"Yeah. During the war, normal chocolate bars couldn't be transported or eaten because it'd melt in the heat, so Ostanian soldiers couldn't eat them. Forrest Mars Sr copied the idea of Rowntree's Smarties, a British-made sweet small chocolate candies covered in hardened sugar syrup, when he saw soldiers from the Spanish Civil War eating them." I explained. "I had a buddy who would eat these like no tomorrow." I chuckled, before frowning.

Well, I guess he did eat them like no tomorrow, cause he's not alive anymore.

I remember infiltrating a small town and killing a couple Ostanian soldiers. Rancher was looting the bodies to see if there was anything interesting or see if there's any extra ammo that matched his gun model. While he didn't find ammo that could be shot with his gun, he did find a small brown and tan tube with the title "M&M's" on the tube. He opened it and ate one of the small candies, then he became hooked and popped them in his mouth like a pill junkie. Sometimes, I think he killed soldiers just to see if he could find some of that candy on them.

Yuri noticed how my smile faded and patted my shoulder, an attempt to console me. While it didn't quite work, I was happy to know he was trying, especially considering that war was where he potentially lost his parents and started his hate for the West. He doesn't talk about them, but I can naturally assume he lost them in the war considering Yor was the one who raised him.

"Do you have a favorite flavor?" I questioned, breaking the silence.

His hand left my shoulder as he thought, before speaking, "Maybe cherry?"

I nodded, making a mental note in my head for later.

"Well, we got the candy. Let's head to the toy section and see what's there." I smiled, keeping the M&M's in my hand along with the other candies I grabbed.

We both walked to the toys as I tried and figured out what toys I wanted to buy for Anya. I didn't want something lame or boring, and I didn't want to give her something too generic that every other kid has. Knowing Twilight, he probably got her stuff that's popular with the other kids along with things she liked, I wanna give her something meaningful other than snacks.

I noticed the toy guns and thought about getting her a toy cap gun, a small toy that made a small bang to represent a bullet and came with it's own bang roll cap refill that even made a smell, before I realized that not only would they have to purchase more paper roll caps every time it ran out, but I also didn't want to influence her with violence and guns (especially after I heard about her punching Donovan Desmond's son, Damian). I thought about those toy handcuffs, before realizing how boring they were since she couldn't really do anything with that when playing alone. Maybe snap-its? Nah, I don't want her throwing it at her parents or other kids, not to mention the hassle it is to clean them up. Maybe I can code a little morse robot for her to learn morse code (by me coding, I mean Franky).

I decided to ditch the entire idea of spy things in general, she's too young for such things, and I don't want her to start getting suspicious of Twilight and I's second-lives, children have an insane ability of calling out bullshit and having some damn accurate hunches. Maybe if I find pajamas or a jacket of her spy show, I'll buy it.

I grabbed multiple different teddy bears, a blue one (Twilight), a pink one (Anya), a red and white one (Yor), a red and black one (Yuri), a white one (their dog Bond) and a grey one (me) to represent her family. You can't do much with stuffed animals, so I grabbed other toys too such as a rainbow slinky, a Candy Land board game, silly putty, dominoes, and some coloring books.

"Does a kid really need that much toys?" Yuri questioned.

"Yes. Yes she does." I nodded. "This is her first Christmas with us! Christmas is a day that kids are always thinking about, she deserves a good one."

"Well, if you think so." Yuri sighed, deciding not to fight on the matter.

Yuri carried most of the toys while I carried most of the candy. I noticed the struggle between us and mentally scolded ourselves for not getting a basket, it sure would've made this whole process easier.

"Why don't we get a wagon?" I questioned. "Like a toy wagon for Anya?"

"That's stupid. What would she use that for?" Yuri questioned.

"Don't call it stupid without hearing what I gotta say." I huffed. "It can be used to carry her toys around the house, or when she's out and about with Loid and Yor, she can sit in the wagon as they roll her around—it's cute and convenient." I explained.

"Sure, whatever you want." Yuri waved off.

Yuri just doesn't understand the importance of Christmas. For an energetic and cheerful kid like Anya, Christmas probably means a lot to her. I remember when I was a little kid and still had the income, I was excited for Christmas too; Yuri probably stopped caring for Christmas when Yor started raising him instead since they would need to direct their funds to something nonessential that doesn't include food or shelter, so I can see his perspective on this matter.

Even though he doesn't quite care about Christmas, I still want to be able to buy a gift for him, I mean, I have some festive spirit this year and I'm excited to spend Christmas in a place that's not Wise HQ with people I have genuine attachment to outside of work.

Me and Yuri grabbed a red toy Radio Wagon, placing all of Anya's (and Yor's) candies and toys inside of it. I also grabbed a classical music and a IIse Werner vinyl record for Loid. I thought and decided that I'll come back to the store later when searching for Yuri's gifts, that way I can get Franky and The Handler a gift too. We grabbed red and white striped wrapping paper (Yuri’s choice) and white snowflake wrapping paper (my choice, along with green and blue ribbons. We also grabbed Bond some treats, I heard he was a big dog so I got him large bones and chew toys.

Yuri rolled the wagon to the receptionist as I followed, paying for all the gifts and gift paper. We paid and left the store, heading to the jewelry store next. I wanted to get Yor a set of earrings. I noticed she wore gold spike-like earrings (the only set I've seen her wear really), so I wanted to get her a different pair instead, a pair where me and her match together so that the gift is meaningful. Yuri rolled the wagon down the streets as I guided him to a jewelry store, opening the door for him so he can walk in with the wagon as I advanced.

"Do you have a set of earrings in mind?" Yuri questioned.

"Yep. I have a perfect vision for what I want." I nodded.

I spent three days going to every jewelry shop to try and find the perfect set of earrings for Yor that I actually liked and that would match her taste. It took some work and searching, but I found The Set. I lead Yuri to the jewelry shop I wanted to go to called "Himmlischer Ketten."

"The wagon is probably going to be troublesome inside of the shop, so you just wait outside with it, okay?" I spoke.

Yuri looked at me with a blank face, thinking, before making a pout.

"But I wanna see what you're buying for Yor." He whined.

"I'll show you after I pay for it. I'll be in and out in a flash, you'll barely know I left." I smiled.

Yuri sighed, his pout still relevant on his face but it had decreased, "Fine. Just hurry up."

I nodded and walked into the store, looking around to find the set of earrings again. I found the ones I was looking for and told the jeweler, grabbing my wallet from my purse and payed for the price. I also got the second set of earrings so Yor and I could match together. She handed me the two boxes of jewelry inside, handing them to me in a small bag. I walked back out to Yuri and placed the bag of jewelry inside the wagon where the rest of the gifts were.

"How much did it cost?" Yuri questioned.

"One hundred dalc in total." I answered.

Yuri reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, handing me a bit over 100 dalc.

"Whaddya doing?" I questioned as he took my hand, placing the currency in my palm.

"I told you earlier that I'd pay for the jewelry." He spoke.

"Yeah, but it's my gift to Yor." I pointed out. "Besides, I got a set for myself too."

I can very well pay for it too since I'm working two government jobs...

"Consider it one of your Christmas presents." He reasoned. "Besides, you spent enough at the store for Anya and Loid."

"Wow, you actually said his real name without much thought." I chuckled, causing him to glare at me.

"Shut up. It just came out of my mouth before I could stop it." He huffed.

"Sure, hon." I smiled.

"Doesn't matter, let's get home and get these presents wrapped." He spoke quickly, changing the subject as he rushed ahead of me, dragging the wagon with him.

He can be such a tsundere at times... I thought. Though I guess it's a little endearing in its own stupid way.

I followed Yuri back to our apartment, getting home and wrapping the presents in our chosen gift papers we bought. Yuri did the wrapping while I placed bows and ribbons on the boxes since it turns out, I'm terrible at wrapping presents. I wrote the names of who the presents belonged too (most belonging to Anya, but it's still fun to write the names).

Yuri and I conversed as we did our own assigned roles together.

"You sure like going out for Christmas, huh?" He commented.

I hummed, thinking of the comment and what to say to that.

Perhaps I'm making up for loss time? I don't have a family I can spoil, so I should spoil this one while it lasts. I might not live long being this double-agent, whether I get backstabbed from one of my jobs (most likely the SSS), or whether I die on a mission, or even just some sickness or such, I want to die knowing I at least meant something to someone, or die someone I can be semi-proud of. It's not like there's much I can ask for in life after all I've done, or even deserve much really. Sometimes I wonder if I should even be allowed to enjoy myself with this family, even if it'll potentially be my death.

Oh well, I guess it's a bridge I'll cross (or jump off) when the time comes.

"I like Christmas. I like the pretty lights, the snow, and buying presents for people I care about." I spoke, deciding to go for a simple answer.

It's not technically a lie or anything, so I'll go with it.

Yuri nodded, cutting wrapping paper for one of Anya's stuffed animals to wrap with. "Well, I think it's kinda endearing. You seem very excited when you were choosing the gifts, and I could tell that you were putting much thought into it."

I blinked, surprised at his sudden adoring words.

"Are you tryna get something outta me? Like a hint for your gift or a kiss?" I joked teasingly, choosing to ignore how my heartbeat sped up at his words.

"I don't got any ulterior motives. I was just pointing out an observation of mine." He huffed, his face turning red.

"Well, thanks." I chuckled. "I guess I just like Christmas so much since I didn't really experience much of it as a kid."

That's true, even when I still had my parents, Christmas wasn't much except a few toys and candy. Buying presents for five kids a lower-class town like Luwen, it was hard to find money to spoil my siblings and I with when we had to pay for necessities like food or water.

"Well, you can experience it more now." Yuri smiled. "Besides, Chihuahua Girl will probably appreciate the gifts, even if she is spoiled enough just being in Yor's presence." He huffed, envious of his niece's everyday life.

"You're weird." I sighed, placing a blue bow on one of the white snowflake-wrapped gifts. "But I guess that's kinda my fault for agreeing to marry you." I chuckled, writing Anya's name onto the present.

"I'm not that bad." He huffed. "I think I'm a pretty good husband."

"Whatever floats your boat." I teased, causing him to send a pouting glare at me. "I'm just messing with you, honey." I laughed.

"I know that." He lied defensively.

"Sure." I hummed. "Let's finish this up so that we can make some desserts for tomorrow. I don't want Loid and Yor to do all the cooking."

He nodded, agreeing. "Yeah, I'm ready to get all this done and go to bed so we can see Yor." He smiled.

"And Loid and Anya." I added.

"Ugh..." He groaned, his face contorting into disgust. "Yeah... those two."

We continued finishing up wrapping the gifts until we finally finished, heading to the kitchen and preparing sweets and appetizers together. When we finished, we put them in containers and aluminum foil, calling it a night. While Yuri slept, I carefully snuck out of bed and changed clothes, sneaking out of the apartment to go get gifts for Franky and the Handler. I got the Handler red camellias and dutch chocolates with a red envelope that has a thank you card and 100 dalc. I got Franky the same thing too, except I gave him an extra 100 dalc so he could have extra money for his inventions.

Speaking of Franky's inventions, I decided to go to Franky's place to give him his gifts (and get a favor out of him). After spending the whole day with Yuri and trying to figure out what to get him for Christmas, I finally came up with the perfect gift idea. I walked to Franky's apartment and knocked on his door, waiting a minute or two before he opened the door.

Franky looked surprisingly awake for it being two in the morning.

"Oh? I didn't expect you to be awake." I spoke, a bit surprised.

"I'm working on some new inventions. Did you need something?" Franky questioned.

"Actually, I have something for you..." I spoke, handing him yellow roses.

"Oh? Really? Thanks!" he smiled, accepting the bouquet. "What's the occasion?"

"Merry Christmas." I cheered. "Did you forget or something?"

His face paled as he turned his attention to the calendar on his wall. "It's Christmas Eve already?!" he exclaimed.

"What?! You didn't know?!" I shouted back, surprised. "How long have you been cooped up here working your ass off?!"

"I don't know?! Maybe the 14th? Or... or like the end of November?" He spoke, his brain looked to be scrambled.

"Sheesh man, take a break from work." I suggested (more so demanded).

"Yeah... Good idea..." He sighed. "Uh, you wanna come in?"

"Yeah, I got a favor to ask anyways." I accepted as Franky opened his door wider, allowing me to slip in.

"Just don't mind the mess." He spoke, having no embarrassment.

It's not the first time I've seen his place like this. I've known him since the war, and we rekindled when I joined WISE, so I've seen him in this pitiful state many times. A good inventor is always has a scrambled brain (or workspace).

"So, what's the favor? Do you need me to get intel or something?" he questioned, sitting down on his blueprint map-scattered couch.

"I actually need help learning something." I spoke. "You know how to weld, right?"

"Of course I do. I've invented all sorts of powerful and useful machines and inventions." He smiled pridefully, glad to boast.

"Can you teach me how to weld? I wanna make something for my husband for Christmas, and I wanna do it myself so that it's more meaningful." I explained.

"Huh... So Twilight was lying when he said you and Briar's marriage was fake?" Franky commented.

"Oh..." I paused, thinking.

Well, shit. I kinda completely forgot about that.

"Well... we got recently engaged, however it's best not to tell Twilight. You know how he is, 'don't form attachments' and yada yada." I spoke quickly.

"Yeah, that's Twilight there." He spoke, before smirking pridefully. "Once again, you and Twilight come to me for help, pleading for my assistance."

"Dude, don't start it." I sighed. "I don't got time for this. I gotta get this done in at least six hours, so I need you to help me get it done as quickly and as perfect as possible."

"Six hours?!" he spluttered. "How do you believe that I can teach you all about welding in six hours?!"

"Don't teach me everything! Just what I need to know to get this done!" I retorted.

"Fine. Fine. Let's hurry up, I wanna get back to my inventions as fast as possible." He sighed. "Do you have an idea on what you're trying to make?"

"I got the perfect thing." I nodded.

Franky helped me create the perfect gift I had in mind. Surprisingly, it ended with not much cuts or burns, so I feel happy about that. I only needed three band-aids for my fingers! I gave Franky an extra 200 dalc for all the trouble. In total he's received 400 dalc from me for Christmas, so I don't ever want him to complain about helping me again. I also convinced Franky to give my gifts to the Handler since I wasn't going to WISE's HQ anytime soon (and I didn't want to be stuck giving an update on what's going on with the SSS. I want to enjoy the holidays, not think about work).

I made it back home to Yuri and I's apartment, deciding to ditch sleep since Yuri will be awaking soon; I don't want him to know I snuck out while he was sleeping and if I sleep now then I certainly won't wake up in time for the Christmas party. I changed back into my pajamas so that it looked like I never went anywhere, and I used some light makeup to hide the evidence of no sleep under my eyes. I decided to get started on breakfast since I wouldn't be sleeping, making apple pancakes, sausage, and coffee.

Yuri came out of our room in his pajamas and bedhead, looking a bit tired but refreshed (compared to how I currently feel).

"Morning." He yawned.

"Morning, hon." I smiled, placing breakfast on the table. "How'd you sleep?"

"Slept good, though it felt a little cold last night..." He spoke. "Must be cause of the winter weather."

"Yeah, I thought the same thing too." I agreed, ignoring the fact he was so in tune with my body heat that he subconsciously knew I was missing during his slumber.

"What are you doing up so early? It's unlike you to be awake in the morning." Yuri questioned, taking his seat at the dinner table.

"I was so excited for the Christmas party, I couldn't sleep." I lied, taking my own seat at the table.

Yuri and I ate our breakfast, Yuri doing the dishes afterwards since I cooked. To pass the time, we did our own things such as reading and watching TV in the living room together, waiting until it was time to get ready and leave.

When it was time to leave, I changed out of my pajamas and grabbed a grey coat and red scarf to protect myself against the cold. Yuri and I grabbed the sweets and appetizers we made together yesterday; pfannkuchen, bethmännchen, and bratkartoffeln.

Yuri and I walked to the apartment, Yuri dragging Anya's wagon filled with all the gifts while I carried all the food, my gift for Yuri inside of my purse. We made it to the apartment and I watched Yuri struggle to find a good angle to pick up the wagon and carry it up the steps (no, I didn't help him, I wanted him to suffer a little since it was so hard trying to find the perfect Christmas gift for him). When we got to the Forger's front door, Yuri knocked for us, being greeted by Twilight and Yor.

"Yuri! (Y/N)! Welcome back! Always good to see you!" Yor greeted, a big smile on her face.

"Hi-ya, sis!" Yuri cheered.

"Thank you for coming. Come in." Twilight spoke, opening the door further, causing Yuri to glare at him once he realized Twilight was present.

I placed the food down on the table as Yuri placed the wagon near the Christmas tree in the living room. Anya was sitting on the ground near the TV watching her spy cartoon while the Forger's dog laid next to her.

"Hi, buddy." I smiled, crouching down and slowly placing my hand near his nose so he could sniff me. "You're a good boy, huh?" I spoke, petting his head as he let out a 'borf!' "Hi, Anya." I greeted, sitting down on the couch as Yuri took a seat next to me.

"Hi, Auntie." Anya spoke, keeping her eyes on the TV screen.

Yuri looked disinterested in the show while I stared at it every now and then. Yor joined us on the couch and talked with us as Twilight was in the kitchen cooking, jumping into the conversation easily whenever he pleased. After an hour, all the food was done and ready, allowing us to eat Christmas dinner together and converse with each other. Twilight and Yuri talked about business together (Yuri sending him his infamous glares) while Yor and I talked with Anya about her cartoons and how school was for her.

We finally got to presents and watched Anya open her gifts, each one she unwrapped having a big smile on her face and her voice getting to loud enough volumes to potentially disturb other residents.

Yuri and I gave Twilight his gifts. He seemed appreciative of them, mentioning how he'd put them to good use. Twilight gave me a book and Yuri an expensive bottle of wine (to repay him for the expensive wine Yuri bought the first time we came over).

I gave Yor the set of earrings I picked out, a set of golden suns, and showed her the golden moons I bought and told her the symbolism of us matching and being sisters now. It was enough to make her cry and earn one of her death hugs. I'm almost 99% positive that she would've broken my rib if Twilight didn't calmly tell her to not squeeze so hard. Yuri also gave her the apple whistle candy along with some other gifts he bought her. In return, she gave me a fruity perfume and Yuri a comfortable sweater.

Anya was happy about all of her toys and candies, excited and hyper about it all. It was like it was her first time celebrating Christmas. Even Bond was happy, showing his joy by jumping up and down with Anya and barking (borfing). Bond seems like a surprisingly emotionally intelligent dog, though I supposed that's probably expecting considering it's Twilight (and because Twilight got him from the Project Apple situation).

We all stayed and talked more before it was time for Yuri and I to go home, considering how late it was getting. Yuri and I walked back home, getting to our apartment before I gave him his gift.

"I got you something. I made it myself." I spoke, reaching into my purse and handing him a small wrapped up box.

Yuri opened it, revealing a small square card, made out of pure silver (just like our wedding rings) and a small poem on the card

Your eyes shine like the twinkle of mars, How I wish to claim and explore every part of you as if you were a new constellation. Your lips are like warm pillows, How I wish to forever rest my own against yours. Your voice could never compare to the delicate silk of Asia, the waves of the Pacific, or the luminous of the Aurora Borealis. How you make me lose my voice to utter sweet delicacies in your ears, so let me express it to you in another way: I love you, Yuri Briar... - Love, (Y/N) Briar

"I just found a stupid poem for you..." I muttered, suddenly feeling a little flustered for how stupid and cheesy the writing sounds now.

"You liar." He smirked, a noticeable fondness in his eyes. "Thank you. You said you made it yourself?"

"Yeah." I nodded. "It took some time, but I made it from scratch. I welded the silver together and welded the words... Of course words from a poem in a book." I coughed the last part out.

"You don't gotta be shy~" He teased.

"Whatever..." I chuckled. "But I figured I'd get you something you can always have with you. You can put it in your wallet or pocket or something."

"Thank you. Really." Yuri smiled, grabbing his wallet and placing it inside gently. "You really beat me this year in presents." He chuckled. "I kept tryna think for a while what I should get you, you're surprisingly difficult to shop for even though you're so expressive."

"I'm a little eccentric." I smirked.

"That's an understatement." He smiled. "But, here."

He walked to our room and I heard him rummaging through drawers, before walking out with a large heart-shaped chocolate box, candies I enjoy, some books he noticed I've been eyeing over the months, and some fake flowers.

"it's definitely not anything compared to what you got me." He spoke.

"Nonsense." I smiled. "I love all of it. I really do."

"Yeah, I knew how much you liked sweets and books." He reasoned. "And I figured it must be a bit annoying replacing the flower bouquets whenever they die, so I decided to get some fake flowers, to make it easier to tend to, and to show permanency in our relationship since we're married."

"How romantic~" I teased. "Thank you, Hon."

"Merry Christmas, darling." He smiled.

"Merry Christmas, love." I hummed, kissing his cheek.

"You know, you didn't have to get me anything. You're the best gift for me, (Y/N)!" He spoke, a light blush dusting his face.

"Yuri please, never say such sappy words again." I sighed.

I apologize sincerely for the huge delay! I had a hard time trying to figure out what I want, and I got busy indulging myself in reading about German foods and such, and I had little time to write due to work so the only time I had to write was when I was supposed to be sleeping or relaxing, but I finally got this done! Better late than never!

I honestly do feel a little silly writing that poem since it's my first time ever writing poetry/a love note, so I do hope it wasn't too bad or cringy!

Want more Yuri content? Check out the Yuri Briar x reader masterlist!

My inbox is OPEN

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aziraphales-library · 5 months

Note

Hello! Thank you all for your generous work in the community! after s2 I need some really fluffy fanfic because I ache,

I need something very very fluffy, totally non-explicit, asexual, I love some fat aziraphale related fluff, maybe a length of 4k-50k? It can be more or less. I have read everything from ineffablefool. human au are preferable, but if it isn’t it’s also fine.

Anyway, thank you very much for your time, I appreciate all you do <3 :)

Hi! We have tags for all this: #fluff, #asexual, #chubby aziraphale, #human au. Here are some fics that may or may not have already been recommended...

with the help of a cat, or two by whicorzoo (G)

In which the cat in the window of the flat right across from Crowley's is unfairly perfect, so on a particularly whimsical night, he decides to put up a sign in his window to tell his neighbor as much. By morning, he's forgotten about it, until he sees it in his window and regrets the decision entirely. He expects to have his cool, intimidating facade never taken seriously again. He does not expect a response.

The Art of Human Nature by IneffableDoll (T)

Crowley is a painter who has only ever had an eye for nature. That is, until a client named Aziraphale commissions her for a painting to boost her self-confidence, and Crowley discovers that her client is as beautiful as the Earth itself. Then she goes and catches feelings, because she’s a disaster.

Therein Lies The Beauty by BlackUnicorn (NR)

After receiving an unexpected invitation to his brother’s wedding, an unfortunate realisation about his old suit, and the inconvenient news that his trusted tailor had closed down, Azra Fell finds himself in Devil’s Wear and his world turned upside down. OR Two trans tragedies accidentally steal each other's hearts and then simply never give them back.

Around the World in 80 Cakes by cookie_full_of_arsenic (T)

This is a queerplatonic love story between Aziraphale and Crowley. Or possibly between Aziraphale and cake. There will be recipes because I'm extra.

Across the Line by hope_in_the_dark (T)

Ezra is a student in his final year at University College London, and he’s in love with a man he’s never spoken to. For months, Ezra has been tipping (and pining after) a musician named Crowley every time he sees him. He thinks that Crowley hasn’t noticed him, but Crowley has. A love story that begins with, of all things, the saving and handing over of a book.

Do I wanna know? by KissMyAsthma (M)

Aziraphale and Anathema are both closeted queer people, and they decide to do what any sensible closeted queer people do - they form a fake relationship, to shut the mouths of their families and shoo away unwanted suitors. Their comfortable arrangement is put into question when a school reunion makes Aziraphale reconnect - or connect, really - with his school crush, Anthony Crowley. But past is past, and now that they’re both adults, Aziraphale is just glad to make a friend. If the friend finds himself interested in Aziraphale… Well, there’s nothing for him to do since Aziraphale is taken, right?

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #ineffable wives #fluff #human au #asexual #asexual relationship #chubby aziraphale #mod d

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wyattjohnston · 1 year

Text

you always did feel just like home - nathan mackinnon

summary: valorie hadn't meant to be away from nova scotia for so long, and she hadn't meant to immediately insert herself back into nate's life. mysterious how the universe works.

word count: 11,365

warning: not exactly healthy alcohol consumption

note: it is finally time for me to put my money where my mouth is and post my exchange fic instead of just bothering everybody else! this is written for the winter fic exchange 2k23 and i wrote it for cait (hey @blueskrugs that's you)! i hope you like it! thanks to @matthewtkachuk, @comphy-and-cozy @farbutnevergone & @laurenairay who have all provided feedback as this grew to be a lot longer than anticipated.

Valorie hadn’t intended to be late and it meant that she was immediately the centre of attention when she walked into the café. She spotted the table of her friends that was discretely to the side and out of the way, though that discretion flew out the window when Amber and Valorie squealed as they saw each other.

They rushed to close the distance, throwing their arms around one another in a hug that only remained upright because Mike was standing close enough by to keep them that way. Valorie, after pulling away from Amber, greeted Mike with a more subdued but no less friendly hug.

Neither Mike nor Amber were who she’d noticed first, though, because the third person at the table was Nathan MacKinnon and he was a man who was impossible to miss.

Despite how much she wanted to step forward and greet him in the exact same way, Valorie wasn’t sure where the boundaries were, so she opted for saying, “I would have thought you’d be far too good to hang out with us lowly commoners.”

Nate smirked, looking as if he’d been expecting it, but it wasn’t him who spoke next.

“We haven’t seen you half as much as him in the last seven years,” Mike said, thumping his hand across Nate’s broad chest. Valorie was momentarily distracted by just how broad it was; those years had been very good to him.

Mike continued, “Dogg knows where he came from.”

“Yes, yes, I’m the worst,” Valorie said with an eyeroll as she pushed everyone back to their seats. Nate paused for long enough that Valorie greeted him with a hug and a lingering kiss on his cheek.

Valorie sat opposite Nate, tucking her legs underneath her own chair to avoid accidentally entangling them with his—the length of his was a memory firmly engrained in her mind.

Immediately it became clear that the conversation was not going to trend towards the Cup like she’d been hoping. It was far and away the most exciting thing she could think of for any of them to talk about, but she supposed that everyone had had the same thought since Nate arrived back in Nova Scotia.

Instead, Amber lifted Valorie’s wrist to get a closer inspection of the bracelet she was wearing and the boys leant in, too.

“Got to keep the jewellery, I see,” Amber said, her voice slightly awed. Valorie couldn’t blame her.

“Everything but the car,” Valorie said. “It would have been useless up here anyway. Definitely not meant for winter tyres.”

“You should have kept it and flipped it,” Mike said, tapping against the table in thought. “An Audi, wasn’t it?”

“Porsche.”

Mike whistled low and impressed, Nate’s eyebrow twitched—Valorie almost missed it—and he leaned back in his seat. Valorie could only imagine what cars Nate was driving around Colorado or Nova Scotia. As nice as her Porsche was, she was sure it paled in comparison.

Valorie pulled back her hand, hiding it away under the table to stop Amber playing with it any longer.

“You still wear what he bought you?” Nate asked, his voice curiously tight as his eyes flicked between her face and where the bracelet was hidden under the table.

Valorie thought for a moment, cataloguing everything she had put on that morning. “I think everything I’m wearing was a gift from him. It wasn’t a bad break up; no bad memories associated with any of it.”

Until that moment, Valorie had been perfectly comfortable with the idea of it—her entire wardrobe had been bought by her ex so she didn’t have much choice anyway, but under Nate’s careful gaze every inch of fabric felt suffocatingly heavy.

“Why did you break up?” Amber asked. “It sounds perfect.”

“I wanted to come home,” Valorie answered simply, one shoulder rising in a shrug as she tried to casually avoid eye contact with her friends.

“He had enough money; you could have come home whenever you wanted.”

“What? You think I’ve been back, like, twice in seven years because that’s what I wanted?” Valorie asked, somewhat viciously, directing her words and the accompanying glare at Mike. “There was always someone to meet, something to do, somewhere to be and I couldn’t ever get away. I missed home.”

Mike, rightfully chastened, lowered himself down in his chair just enough to let Valorie know he regretted what he’d said. Nate and Amber were sitting in an awkward silence and Valorie had to speak just to move them along.

She continued, “And I was bored as hell. I was asked if I’d be interested in the Real Housewives of Miami reboot and if I stayed much longer I would have said yes just to have something to do.”

Amber’s laugh was raucous, eliciting the same from Valorie, and she said, “You’re too young to be on that show.”

“That’s most of the reason I said no!” Valorie shrieked, still laughing. “That and I was actually a housewife? The other women on that show have, like, careers and are important and aren’t just sitting at home complaining about doing yoga.”

“I’d watch a show that was you doing yoga.”

Three heads turned to Nate, all barking out surprised laughs at his deadpan voice accompanied by the casual expression that remained on his face—almost as if he hadn’t said anything at all.

Mike thumped Nate across the chest, as he’d done earlier, and said, “We all know you would, Nate.”

“That’s really it, though?” Nate pressed on, not even looking at Mike as he thumped him back, “You couldn’t come up with a schedule where you got to come home more?”

“It wasn’t going to work,” Valorie said firmly. Nate tilted his head but was kind enough to not press her any further.

Despite all the talk of Valorie living a lavish lifestyle, when it came to ordering food she was conservative with her money. She didn’t have a choice when that money was coming out of her own, not very large bank account. It didn’t matter in the end, because Nate quickly took over and promised that he’d pay after ordering a ludicrous amount of food all the while flicking his gaze to Valorie every few seconds.

After they’d finished eating—having spent so long that it was clear they were only being allowed to stay because they were with Nate—Mike and Amber hurried off before they were late to see Amber’s parents, leaving Nate and Valorie on the sidewalk out the front.

“Where are you living?” Nate asked, his keys twirling in his hands. “Do you want a ride?”

Valorie nodded, surprised but please, “Oh, yeah, thank you. I’m staying with my parents. They haven’t moved.”

He didn’t say anything as he started moving towards the parking lot behind the café. It hadn’t changed much since they were 16, slowly walking back to Nate’s second-hand truck after a date neither of them really wanted to end.

“You’re back with your parents?”

“I haven’t had a job in seven years, nobody will hire me, and nobody will let me lease a house without pay cheques so…”

“That’s rough.”

“It’s fine,” she insisted. Nate’s face screwed up, so she added, “I still get on with my parents so it’s really fine.”

The Porsche Cayenne he led her to wasn’t so much a surprise, given the dealership that would have jumped at the chance to have one of their vehicles driven by Stanley Cup Champion Nathan MacKinnon—it was, however, a reminder of the 911 she’d left behind in Miami.

Of everything she’d left behind in Miami.

They were sitting in the Cayenne out the front of Valorie’s parents’ house, her hand on the door handle, when Nate said, “I’ve got room at my place if you want it.”

“That’s really sweet of you, Nate,” she smiled back at him, appreciative, “but I don’t have any money to pay rent.”

Valorie opened the door and looked back into the car when she was standing upright, to thank Nate for dropping her off.

“I don’t need rent from you.”

“Nate.”

“Just say the word, Val.”

Moving into one of Nate’s spare bedrooms was easier than Valorie had anticipated; Nate picked her up a few days after he dropped her at her parents’ home in Crichton Park, loaded some bags into the trunk and unloaded them into a bedroom with a lake front view in Grand Lake.

He’d declared that everything in the house was hers if she wanted it and raised a challenging eyebrow when she walked into the wine room and declared that she’d start with the most expensive bottle and work her way down—she knew exactly which one it was, too, even with a cursory glance at the bottles lining the walls.

“It’s probably not as nice where you lived in Miami,” Nate said as he finished the tour.

Valorie laughed, “The lovely Mediterranean Revival home that he gutted and turned into a Hypermodern nightmare so the inside and the outside clashed? The one that didn’t even have a view of the beach? I’ll miss a lot of things about Miami but that house is not one of them.”

“I didn’t know you cared about that stuff.”

“Architecture?” she clarified, waiting for Nate’s slow nod before she shrugged. “I had a lot of time to kill.”

Valorie spent most of that first day on the deck overlooking Grand Lake, it wasn’t quite warm enough for her to venture into the pool, but it was perfect to just sit and watch the water and the occasional jet-skier zip past.

Nate left her to her own devices for what might have been a few hours before he joined her and started asking questions about what she’d like for dinner so that he could head to the store.

“You gonna cook for me, Dogg?” Valorie asked, tilting her head over the back of the chair so that she could see Nate properly. “What if I want risotto?”

There was a brief moment where it looked like Nate’s brain short-circuited before he collected himself and said, “I can offer you steak or chicken breast. Salad or vegetables.”

“So many options,” Valorie said, a small laugh in her voice, as she pushed herself off the chair. “If you cook the steak, I’ll make the salad.”

“Sorry, there aren’t more options.”

“Two more than I’d be able to offer.”

The admission didn’t seem to surprise Nate, who just accepted what Valorie had said without question—Mike and Amber had surely passed on a few things about Valorie’s time in Miami and the chef she had was one of their favourite thing to bring up.

Valorie used Nate going to the store as an opportunity to wander through the house. It wasn’t as large as she was expecting, so it didn’t take very long at all—especially not when she avoided Nate’s bedroom out of respect for his privacy. She opened every cupboard in the kitchen, just to make sure she knew where everything was kept, and then unloaded the dishwasher when it beeped at her incessantly. In the fridge was an open bottle of sparkling red wine, so Valorie helped herself to a glass on the balcony while she waited for Nate to return.

The calmness of Nova Scotia was something Valorie had forgotten she’d missed until she was back; even in the height of summer, with the excitement of the Cup coming back, she was more relaxed than she’d ever been in Miami.

When Nate returned Valorie greeted him with a big smile as she raised the wine she’d poured herself—her second of the afternoon—and he returned it without hesitation.

She continued to drink as they made dinner, her easy and boring salad taking no time at all, and Nate cracked a beer while he grilled and then opened a new bottle of wine for them as they ate on the balcony overlooking the lake as the sun slowly began to set.

Despite the view she had—she’d been staring at it all day, after all—Valorie couldn’t help but watch Nate as he ate, mostly scrutinising the lines of his face that were so much different to what she once knew.

“You keep looking at me like you don’t believe I exist,” Nate said. Valorie didn’t even flinch; another two glasses of wine making her particularly carefree.

“I don’t know if I do,” she admitted, sighing as she realised that even his voice had changed. “I’ve seen you on the TV and in photos and everything but for the past seven years the image of you in my head has always been you the last summer I saw you. You were a kid and now you’re a man and I really don’t know how to deal with that.”

“Yeah,” Nate agreed, his voice a lot softer and more serious than it had been. “I know. I get it.”

Amber and Mike came over to spend time on the lake not too long into Valorie’s time with Nate. It was a perfect day, which Valorie had come to expect, and being out on the Sea Doos was the perfect way to spend it.

It was nice to have company.

Nate had taken to visiting his parents’ house if he was going to see them. He always offered for Valorie to join him, but that felt like it was encroaching on boundaries she wasn’t even sure they’d set. She’d tried, though, to get him to invite them over only to be met with a shake of the head—maybe he was worried about different boundaries being breached. Valorie didn’t know.

Amber and Mike were good company, at least. Valorie was always happy that Amber had stuck by her even when she wasn’t around. Mike… Mike she could take or leave depending on the day.

“Why’d you really leave what’s-his-face?” Mike asked, apropos of nothing and a few beers deep.

Amber glared at him, though it went unnoticed. Nate sat up a little straighter and Valorie couldn’t work out if it was Mike-related or Nick-related.

“I already told you,” Valorie said, forcing a polite twinge into her voice even if she was dreading whatever might come next.

“Yeah, but there’s gotta be more to it,” Mike argued.

“Why?”

“I love this place, but if Amber wanted to move to, I don’t know, LA and never come back I’d do it in a heartbeat. And with the money you had? Easiest decision I’ll ever make.”

“He doesn’t want kids,” she relented, though it was not without steeliness as she tried to put a definitive end to the topic. “No amount of money was worth not being a mom.”

“That’s some serious self-control,” Mike said, shaking his head almost as if he was in awe. “I can think of a lot of things I’d give up for the life you were living.”

“It’s all Valorie ever wanted,” Nate said, his voice deep and low. “She was born to be a mom.”

Valorie’s gaze moved slowly to Nate as she replayed the words in her mind. He hadn’t moved from how he’d been sitting at the start of the conversation, hadn’t even looked away from Mike. She wanted him to look at her, to make eye contact to be able to get a read on him; to see if the skip it caused in her heartbeat was for an actual reason.

“It took you seven years with this guy to work out you were on a different page?” Mike asked incredulously, earning a half-hearted shrug from Valorie who looked back to him with hesitation.

“He said he was undecided. I loved him, you know? I was willing to wait it out in the hopes that kids would be on the table.”

Mike then agreed, “I’d wait seven years if I spent the entire time being a trophy wife.”

“It wasn’t about all the material possessions,” she snapped. “I know that’s what it looked like, but I’m upset you all think I’m a gold digger.”

“If the Louboutins fit,” Mike said with an eyebrow waggle.

“We know you aren’t a gold digger,” Amber said, finally, and firmly, contributing to the conversation, “or you wouldn’t have come back.”

Mike leaned back in his chair, pointed up at Nate’s house watching over them and said, rather loudly, “Right into Nate’s sweet digs.”

His loudness was met with silence, thick and tense, and the three people that stared at him didn’t seem to bother him at all.

“Do you even like me, Mike?” Valorie asked, tired.

“Come on, Val. I’m just joking around.” He added, after a hearty hunk across the back of the head courtesy of Nate, “I’ll cool it.”

The weather had turned quite quickly and quite dramatically—what had been the perfect weather the week prior had turned so miserable that Valorie was looking out the floor to ceiling windows as if her death stare could part the black clouds.

Nate was somewhere on the island doing something hockey related that he’d told Valorie about the night before while she was half asleep on the couch, so she was, once again, left in the house to her own devices.

A second car had appeared in the garage a couple of days after her arrival and Nate had assured her that she could drive it whenever she needed; Valorie was going to avoid driving it as long as she could.

The wine room was taking more of a hit than Valorie had expected when she’d joked with Nate about drinking it all; she had very few places to go, and her mother was more than happy to drive to Grand Lake to pick her up if there were family plans so she rarely had to drive, so the day drinking was getting more out of hand than she wanted to admit. It was a similar problem to Miami, she was realising, but Nate’s house wasn’t filled with quite so many time-wasting objects and there was only so much baking she could do when Nate rarely had any visitors.

Her response to the door opening had become Pavlovian, especially since being confined inside by the rain. Valorie was on her feet, pretending to walk to the kitchen to refill her glass of red, so that she’d be able to start a conversation with Nate when he walked in.

Only, it wasn’t Nate.

“Uh… Sidney. Hi. Nate’s not here. I’m Valorie—Val,” she said, all in a rush, putting her glass on the counter and desperately hoping she didn’t have red teeth.

“Nice to see you again, Val,” Sidney said, polite and friendly. “Nate told me to let myself in; he’ll be back soon.”

The shock and awe Valorie felt being around Sidney—Sid—had disappeared after exactly one summer of learning that he was nowhere near as cool as she had built him up to be. That being said, she had not expected him to remember her for a second.

“Do you want some cookies?” she asked, quickly, noticing that Sid was hovering uncertainly. “I made way too many.”

Sid smiled, nodded, and sat down at one of the bar stools on the other side of the counter while Valorie plated up an assortment of ginger snaps, Florentines, sugar cookies and Afghan biscuits all while trying not to let the wine she’d been drinking rattle her.

“Killing the boredom of being stuck inside all day?” Sid asked, drawing the plate towards him and inspecting his choices as if she was going to stop him at one.

“It’s what I do and what I’ve done for years now.” Valorie shrugged. “I drink and I bake.”

“I hope you don’t mind if I say that sounds… underwhelming.”

“Oh, no!” Valorie gasped instantly. “I mean, I got really into yoga and reading, too. I wasn’t just some boozy housewife. I love to bake, though. I could do it all day. Wine?”

Sid agreed to a glass, and Valorie pretended that she didn’t know he was doing it so she wouldn’t be drinking alone.

“Are you happy to be back here? Back home?” Sid asked around a not-yet-finished mouthful of ginger snap. “You’ve been gone a long time.”

It was, to say the least, unnerving to have Sidney Crosby—anybody, really—sitting across from her and calling her out for being gone. They weren’t friends, like Amber and Mike, or whatever else, like Nate, and she couldn’t wrap her head around why he would care to bring it up.

She took a healthy sip of her wine, savouring the taste for longer than was strictly necessary and said, “I was always trying to get back. It just never… It was hard to get away. I’m glad to be back.”

“I’m sure the island is happy to have you back,” he said, removing the unease in Valorie’s stomach flawlessly as he looked out over the deck to the lake. “Sorry the weather didn’t hold up for you.”

“It was nice for a while,” she conceded, following Sid’s eyes, “and at least it’s the same all day. I was really not impressed by Miami deciding there was a torrential downpour every afternoon after the perfect morning. Seven years there and I never got used to it.”

Valorie moved their conversation to the couch, carrying the wine with her while Sid carried the cookies he was slowly making his way through. She let Sid talk about his off-season plans, to what he’d already done since returning to Nova Scotia, noting that he was absolutely downplaying the vacation he and Kathy had taken and skipping over the extraordinarily nice or expensive parts. She loved Antigua, knew it inside and out, but was happy to let Sid tell her what he thought was appropriate—he may have been happy to ask her why she’d been gone so long but it was clear not much more information than that had made it his way.

By the time Nate was home—his definition of ‘soon’ stretching Valorie’s just a little—she was desperate to just be anywhere that wasn’t near anyone, not just Sid and the way he knew too much yet absolutely nothing. She excused herself within moments to use the bathroom, heading downstairs to her ensuite.

On her way down the staircase, she heard, the beginning of their conversation:

“Val was just filling me in on her time in Miami.”

“She really enjoyed it, right? It sounds great.”

“That’s… one way to put it.”

Walking through Halifax with Nate by her side was an experience. He’d mentioned it in passing, that people were more interested in him than normal, but Valorie hadn’t taken it to mean it was quite so relentless.

Kids wanted their jerseys autographed, everyone wanted a photo and every other person wanted to stand there on the street with Nate and listen to him recount his entire career from Bantam to what training he’d been doing since he got back to Nova Scotia.

Their trip into Halifax had been for no reason other than the sudden realisation by Nate that Valorie hadn’t left the house in an alarming amount of time outside of her new part-time job at one of the local hobby stores, so it wasn’t like the constant stopping was preventing them from doing anything in particular.

It was, however, resulting in Valorie entering a lot of stores that she otherwise had no intention of going into just so that people could gush over Nate. And at least one purchase of a dress she didn’t need.

One person who stopped them was a classmate from high school who stopped them to question Valorie about her disappearance just as much as she stopped to gush over Nate. Valorie didn’t even remember her name and the woman hadn’t taken the time to introduce herself.

“It’s so cute that you’re back for Nate, though,” she said. “I always knew you guys would end up in the same place.”

“Well, that place is home for us, so.”

“Oh, I know, but I heard all about you in Miami and obviously Nate’s making magic in Denver so it’s just nice to see you two in the same place again.”

“Yeah, it’s great,” Nate said, nodding even as he was subtly moving out of her way and directing Valorie in the same direction. “We’ve gotta head off, though. It was great to see you again.”

“Of course, sorry! You must be so busy! We should definitely catch up!”

There was more nodding and agreeing as they walked past her, Valorie checking back over her shoulder quickly in one last attempt to help her remember?”

“What was her name?” she asked Nate when they were well out of earshot.

Nate admitted easily, his face lighting up with a guilty smile, “No fucking idea.”

Valorie walked into him as she laughed, unable to control herself as it erupted from her mouth. Nate laughed, too, the guilt shifting from his face and they were holding each other up on the sidewalk as they struggled to breath.

The laughter continued, albeit subdued, as they made their way to the one thing they’d agreed upon getting: ice cream. It was an otherwise peaceful work, seemingly already having run into everyone who wanted a few minutes of Nate’s time.

Being out in public with Nate was different to being alone with him at home, Valorie noticed, and it was different to how they’d been as teenagers. He always carried himself with a confidence that was beyond him in years, almost a quiet arrogance as he always knew where he was going to end up—Valorie would have given anything to know when the arrogance disappeared. Was it because of the Cup win? His accomplishment proof enough that he was everything he ever said he was going to be. Was it seasons earlier when it didn’t look as clear?

At the ice cream shop, Nate ordered Butterscotch ripple and then laughed under his breath as Valorie ordered Maple Walnut.

“Why is that funny?”

“You’re so Canadian.”

Noting the children around, Valorie glared at him, mouthing ‘fuck you’ before she continued out loud, “I’m going to enjoy all the maple flavoured things. You can’t stop me.”

“I wouldn’t dare. I will laugh at you, though.”

They sat on a table out the front, Nate saying hello to a few starstruck kids as they did so.

“What are you staring at?” Valorie asked, her cheeks warming up under Nate’s watchful eye.

“Just wanted to see if you were still a psycho who bites their ice cream.”

Valorie made direct eye contact with him and bit into the top of her ice cream, causing Nate to shudder dramatically.

Halifax was bustling in a way that Valorie had never seen. The decision to not have the parade in Cole Harbor was purposeful, a clear differentiation from Sid’s parades and a nice thank you to Halifax for his time with the Mooseheads.

She made her way through the crowd unimpeded, even as she headed towards the rooftop she’d been told to head to near the end of the parade route, overlooking City Hall.

Nate had let Valorie know that it was where Sid would be, hidden out of sight—a decision he’d made himself. He hadn’t even relented when Nate, drunkenly, begged him to be beside him; Valorie was grateful that Sid had the awareness to decline.

Sid was already at the rooftop with Kathy, set up with a table, chairs and some food and drink to get them through the parade and the speech Nate was going to give after.

“I hope it’s okay that I’m here,” Valorie said sheepishly, unsure if Nate had told them she’d be there. “This is where they sent me.”

“More than okay.” Sid pulled up a chair from the group of them nearby. “You didn’t want to be down there with him?”

Valorie stepped to the edge of the roof, taking in the swathes of people lined along the streets. Sid and Kathy were both watching her curiously as she turned back to them and took a seat, putting Sid in the middle.

“It wouldn’t feel right. Nate and I aren’t anything, you know.”

“That’s not true, though, is it?” Sid asked. “Or you’d be in the crowd, not up here.”

Valorie froze in her seat, only her eyes moving to follow Sid’s hand as it disappeared beside him and came back with a cooler bag that he pulled wine from.

“Do you moonlight as a shrink?”

“For Nate, yeah, I feel like I do.” He carried on, no beats missed, “I don’t have red, will white do?”

It played in her mind as she drank her wine and ate from the platter that had been set up. Nate hadn’t offered for her to be by his side—she would have turned it down immediately even if he had—and when he’d suggested she sit with Sid it felt, to her, that was the next best thing.

She wasn’t overly talkative during the wait, choosing to just stare out over the edge of the roof at the other side of the street and the people who were in nearly chaotically good spirits. She was hearing vague parts of the conversations Sid and Kathy were having, and answering questions when asked, but for the most part she was lost in the magic of the Stanley Cup being back in Nova Scotia.

Valorie had been in Cole Harbour for Sid’s 2009 Cup Parade as a small and spindly 13-year-old, watching the Cup from a distance.

That morning she’d been able to run her fingers across the engraved names.

“Is it the happiest you’ve ever been?” Valorie asked, not even bothering to quieten her voice so that Kathy wouldn’t hear. “He doesn’t talk about it as much as I thought he would.”

Sid shifted his entire body to face her and Valorie immediately felt like she was about to get a talking to; she forced herself not to shrink.

“If you want him to talk about it you have to let him know he can. I promise you he won’t shut up about it.”

“Oh. Does he think I don’t care? That’s not true,” she said, worried. “I don’t want him to think I don’t care.”

The timing was on point for the parade to enter their vision, no longer just the distant sound of the band. Even as Valorie continued to think about the possibility that Nate didn’t know how much she cared about what he’d achieved, she couldn’t help but be delighted by the sight of Gabe and Cogs very, very drunk in the first carriage that came through.

When Nate came clearly into view, the Cup held high above his head, Valorie felt her heart swell and tears prick the corners of her eyes.

“It is,” Sid said, barely audible over the band and the crowd. “The happiest I’ve ever been.”

Nate had a million things planned for the rest of his day; had a lot of people to introduce the Cup to. Long after he had disappeared from the parade and after the streets of Halifax started to clear, Valorie remained on the roof with Sid and Kathy, swapping stories until their skin was turning pink.

The fact that Sid remembered her, let alone willing to talk with her like an old friend, was still very much blowing Valorie’s mind but it wasn’t something she was going to draw attention to lest it ruin the chill vibe they’d settled into.

They walked to the bar where the party would really kick off, Sid easily blending into the small crowds still milling around Halifax—the occasional person shouting at him, at everyone near them, at the wind. The excitement felt like it was never going to leave.

Waiting for Nate felt like an age, somehow felt even longer than all seven years Valorie had been away. Maybe it was sitting beside an already very drunk Mike, or maybe it was the intense anticipation coursing through her because she knew that Nate could walk through the doors with the Stanley Cup at any moment.

Maybe it was that she was pulled into a conversation with Gabe Landeskog who looked only marginally more sober than he had in the carriage; the beers he was double fisting were sure to fix that.

“Long time no see, Valorie,” he said, his tone giving no indication whether that was good or bad. “All the way back at Nate’s first game, right?”

Valorie was hesitant to respond, and opted for an honest, “That was the only one I got to, yes.”

“He missed you a lot that year.” Gabe paused to drink from one of his beers and Valorie waited for the rest of the thought. “The year after, too, but different.”

“I missed him, too,” Valorie admitted readily; that wasn’t something she’d ever been shy about.

Gabe nodded at her, then raised his chin to say hello to someone who had just walked into the room—it wasn’t Nate, Val checked—and then put his beers down on the table between them so that he could collapse into the empty seat.

“It’s good you’re back together. He’s really happy about it.”

“We’re not—he’s happy because he’s done the one thing you guys aim to do. He’s beaten the final boss. The Elite Four were no match for you guys.”

“No, no, sure he’s happy about that.” Gabe insisted, “It’s a different happy now. A more complete happy.”

“I don’t think you’re making any sense. You should go drink some water.”

Gabe protested, downing one of the beers in a matter of seconds as if that would prove he didn’t need water. Her lip quirked up at the action, both from amusement and bemusement.

Nate finally walked in, well after everyone else was a few drinks in and getting rowdy. His arrival increased the already loud bar enough to make Valorie cover one of her ears while raising the other into the air as she joined the hollering.

Nate finally walked in, well after everyone else was a few drinks in and getting rowdy. His arrival made it worse in that the noise levels were high enough to make Valorie cover one of her ears while raising the other into the air as she joined the hollering.

He and the Cup were moved around the room like he was in a pinball machine, from person to person, from shot glass to shot glass, until at last he was in front of her. The Cup had been deposited somewhere else in the room and Valorie didn’t care enough to locate it; after all, she wasn’t there to see the Stanley Cup.

With a lack of hesitation that couldn’t even be passed off on any drinking she’d been doing, Valorie threw herself at Nate, overcome by the need to make sure he knew she cared about what he’d achieved.

Nate wasn’t immediately ready for it, Valorie’s arms around his neck as she pulled him closer, but he soon realised what was happening and moved his arms around her waist to pull her off the ground.

“I’m so proud of you,” she said, breathless and rushed into his ear. “You’re so good at—at hockey and at knowing me and at taking care of me. But hockey, Nate. I want to hear all about it, okay? Probably tomorrow so I can appreciate it, but I do. I watched it. All six games. I cried I was so proud of you. I am so proud of you. You’re so good.”

“You watched?” he asked back, his warm breath brushing over her own ear and causing her to pull back with her head tilted and her face contorted.

“Yes, Nate. Of course. I thought you knew. I didn’t think I had to tell you.”

Nate pulled her back in, his face buried in her neck. The room may as well have been empty with the way all of Valorie’s senses honed in on Nate—he’d showered before coming, put on cologne that made her head spin, and his warm breath fanned across her neck which made the spinning worse.

If a loud, roaring round of applause hadn’t broken out, Valorie could have stayed pressed against him all night. As it were, though, she pulled back in a dramatic fashion and put a reasonable distance between them before contributing to the clapping—putting gross enthusiasm into it.

Nate laughed, then made a few embarrassed gestures of acknowledgement, before accepting a beer that was being handed to him.

Valorie disappeared, leaving Nate to be bounced around the room again, and hid away with Amber and Mike. They were good and spoke to their other high school friends, all of whom were surprised to see Valorie in the flesh. Luckily for her, the Cup was more than enough of a distraction from any of them asking her what she’d been up to while she was gone.

As the night grew later, it became very clear that Nate’s long day was catching up with him. He was trying, valiantly, to be the last person kicking at the bar, though his demeanour was getting progressively testier as time passed.

“I’m gonna head out. Do you want to come or stay?” she asked, brushing her hand gently over Nate’s shoulders.

“You’re leaving?” he asked, sullen, his arm snaking around her waist and pulling her towards his chair. “You should stay.”

“Amber’s driving me home—if I leave you here can you get home?”

“You should stay,” he repeated, eliciting a laugh from the group he was sitting with.

Valorie laughed with them and ran her hand over his head, insisting that she was leaving whether or not he was coming with her. He hummed, resigned, but let her go so that she could follow Amber outside.

Valorie waited against the wall outside, her head resting back against the cool brick, while Amber went to get her car—Mike went with Amber, mostly because Valorie refused to be the one responsible for him keeping to the sidewalk and off the road.

The door opened and Valorie turned her head, expecting to just wave to somebody as they left, and was surprised to see Nate stepping out.

“Everything alright? You coming home?” she asked, reaching out to him without a second thought. Nate went to her easily.

“I’m going to stay for a bit longer,” he said, standing in front of her. He wasn’t boxing her into the bricks but he was definitely close enough that it wouldn’t take much at all to get there—Valorie thought it would be nice if he did.

“Why are you out here, then?” she asked, her fingers resting in his belt loops.

“I need to…”

Nate didn’t finish his sentence, just lowered his head little by little. Valorie tilted her chin up, pushing back against the wall to get a bit more height.

He wasn’t the same Nate she’d kissed at eighteen—he was broader, bigger in every sense and it was intoxicating to be pressed against the wall by the Nate she’d come to learn. In her mind she was expecting desperation, a need to make up for lost time. It didn’t come, though, and yet Valorie still felt lightheaded when he broke their kiss.

“Will you be in my bed when I get home?”

Valorie scoffed, a little disappointed, “Nate.”

“Not for like—I just want you there. I always want you there.”

She breathed out an “okay”, and kissed him again before sending him back inside to be with his lingering friends.

When he was gone and her head was clearer, Valorie opened her eyes and jumped off the wall at the sight of Amber’s car in front of her and Mike hanging out the passenger’s window.

She pushed Mike back into the car on her way to the backseat, asking before she even sat down, “How long were you there for?”

“Saw it all, babe,” Amber said, beaming into the rear-view mirror. “Never been happier to roll up on two people hooking up outside a bar.”

Valorie knew the second she woke up that things were different. The most immediately apparent difference was the snoring coming from beside her, accompanied by the warmth of an arm over her waist and a chest pressed against her back. Even the mattress underneath her felt different.

Then there was the fact that Nate had kissed her the night before, the catalyst for the other changes she supposed.

It wasn’t a bad different was her first major takeaway, and she relaxed back into the mattress. She couldn’t just lay there forever but she could for a little longer and enjoy the all-encompassing presence of Nate.

She had a fair idea of what time he usually woke up but couldn’t translate that into what might happen when he was hungover—which he was sure to be, and she couldn’t begrudge him that—so after lying in long enough that an ache started to settle in her sides, Valorie pulled herself out of Nate’s embrace and decided to start making breakfast.

Nothing fancy, of course, but she could whip up bacon and eggs and put some pods in a Nespresso machine without too much hassle. She hoped that the smell of food would wake him up, whether he was up to eating it or not and her hope was fulfilled when he wandered out while she was eating her own plate.

“You told me you couldn’t cook,” Nate said, dropping an easy kiss onto Valorie’s head as he passed her to the kitchen.

“I can use a fry pan.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Eating across from Nate, with him smiling at her in a way he hadn’t since her return, was exactly what Valorie had been after and hadn’t known. Listening to him tell her all about the things she’d missed when he was off doing Stanley Cup things and filling him in in return. Everything he said was perfect and when he moved into telling her about the Cup win itself—“You have to do it again so I can be there.”

“I’ll give it my best go.”

Valorie grinned, picturing it all in her head. She held the image in her mind as she cleared the table and it all came crashing back down when she looked at Nate over the kitchen counter as she realised that their future relied on them talking about the new state of their relationship.

“We probably need to have a conversation or two,” Valorie said hesitantly, eyeing Nate over her coffee to check for any reaction at all. When he didn’t so much as blink, she added, “It’s just been like… six weeks and I don’t actually know what we are to each other.”

He wasn’t pleased, mumbling, “Do we have to have that conversation?”

“If we’re going where I want us to, then yeah, Nate.”

That caught his attention enough to have him properly look at her, no longer buried in his coffee. His question came slow and unsure, yet simultaneously hopeful, “Where do you want us to go?”

“I want us to be together again.”

His previously wary face transformed into a smile, small and barely noticeable. Valorie smiled back at him as she continued to drink her coffee. She didn’t know how to start whatever conversation it was that they needed to have—conversations were one of their strong suits as teenagers, Valorie was able to frame things in the perfect way or ask just the right questions to get Nate talking.

Just as she was trying to come up with a way to get him talking, Nate was the one who spoke first.

“Why’d you move to Miami with him?”

Valorie froze. It made sense, in hindsight, that Nate would be the one leading the conversation when she was the one who’d left, and yet it was still like being doused in cold water to have the question asked of her so directly.

She swallowed the sudden lump in her throat, and provided the simplest explanation she had, “I thought I was going to marry him.”

“I thought you were going to marry me.”

“Obviously that didn’t happen, Nate.”

“Yeah,” he said, because it was entirely obvious that it hadn’t happened and the look on his face showed that he didn’t like to be reminded of it. “And I’m still trying to work out why.”

“Nate, it was seven years ago.” She added, stressed, “We were kids.”

“I still don’t know why you broke up with me, Valorie.”

“Valorie?” she all but screeched, her full name coming from his lips sending a horrible quake down her spine and through her body.

Nate powered on, “You broke up with me and you left and to this day I don’t know why that was.”

“I wasn’t happy, Nate.”

The abrupt silence was worse than the conversation. Valorie sat there, wishing she could take back those four little words—she would if she’d known just how instantly Nate would close up.

His entire face, which had at least been showing his unhappiness and discomfort, was no longer telling her a single thing about how he was feeling. Except with that, she knew exactly how he was feeling.

She opened her mouth, ready to try and do damage control, to try to take it back so that he wouldn’t look like that, except not a single word came out.

Nate beat her to it, though, the sadness gone from his face but still very present in his voice. “Why didn’t you talk to me? I know that the long distance wasn’t great—why didn’t you talk to me?”

“None of it was your fault, Nate,” Valorie stressed, reaching across the table towards him even though he was out of reach. “You were the best thing I had going at the time. I couldn’t keep a job and I couldn’t continue with college because I kept failing the classes and I needed to leave so that I could work on all of that and not drag you down with me.”

“Did it work?”

“Yeah, over the next twelve months I learnt a lot, I grew a lot. I actually was going to ask if you wanted to try again when we were both back here the next summer, but you brought a girlfriend.”

“Rachel.”

“She was lovely,” Valorie said, truthfully.

“Why didn’t you talk to me?”

“And fuck up the thin hold you had on your mental health by dragging you down with my problems?”

“Breaking up with me and then ghosting me did a pretty good job of that.”

Valorie finally pulled her hands back to her lap, knowing that that one sentence was a sure sign that Nate wasn’t going to hold them. Him leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed over his chest made it even clearer.

She didn’t know what to say, no amount of explaining was going to be enough and she didn’t want him to think she was making excuses. At the time it had felt like the right thing to do, breaking up with him without any real reason, in the years that had past she’d come to her own realisations that maybe it wasn’t.

Nate’s voice was gruff when he asked, “When did you meet Nick?”

“The first year I was gone…” Valorie said with a sigh. “Sometime in early 2015. Before I came back that summer. We weren’t together at that point because I thought… I thought we—” she gestured between herself and Nate “—could try again. But you know…”

“Rachel,” Nate filled in, uncrossing his arms.

“Rachel. So I went back to Miami, I found Nick because he’d been good to me while I was there but we’re here now anyway. You and me.”

He nodded, still expressionless. Valorie’s leg twitched under the table, up and down repetitively, as she tried to will herself to let Nate be the next person to speak.

“You and me?” he asked, after a long silence.

“If you still want me.”

Nate sighed, pushing his chair back and standing. Valorie watched him, worried that he was going to walk away from the table—from their conversation. He walked around the table towards her, though, and Valorie didn’t have to be told to stand and meet him halfway.

Nate didn’t have anything special planned for his birthday, much to Valorie’s horror. He was going to see his family for lunch—with an invite extended to Valorie which she was more than happy to accept. She couldn’t help but laugh when she arrived and saw Sid and Kathy sitting at the table on the back porch.

“You’re almost like a second father,” Valorie joked, in lieu of a proper greeting. “You’re just everywhere. All Nate’s big moments.”

“I’m really not that old,” Sid argued.

“I was thirteen when I watched you bring the Cup to Cole Harbour. That makes you pretty old.”

He scoffed, “I turned 22 that year.”

Valorie hummed and nodded knowingly, “Old.”

She watched him roll his eyes, noting the affection on his face, and moved on to greet Kathy properly.

It was, otherwise, an uneventful lunch. Valorie was appreciative of the invite, more than pleased to finally be with Nate’s family—back with Nate’s family, and being treated as if she’d never left in the first place. Her smile was ever present, only growing as she watched Nate shift uncomfortably while Happy Birthday was sung at him. Especially when she knew she was going to sing it at him again that evening.

They stayed there until late in the afternoon and Valorie tried not to let her impatience show because she liked spending time with his family, with Sid and Kathy, but she had plans for dinner that she didn’t want to mess up. Nate knew, though, at least vaguely, so they left early enough that Valorie could relax.

When they got home, she banished him to his bedroom so that she could start to cook and set the table with the fancy table setting she’d bought the day before. She was meticulous about their dinner, returning to the recipe far more than was probably necessary to ensure that it was exactly how it needed to be, and felt a true sense of pride as it all came together.

“Can I come back out?” Nate asked, still hidden behind the wall.

Valorie looked around her, taking in the pan she was using and the cleanliness of the kitchen before she told him that he could.

He bypassed the set table, walked straight towards her, and peered over her shoulder to see what she was cooking. His laugh was gentle and sincere.

“Are you making me risotto?”

“I’ve been practising,” she admitted. “When I went to Amber’s the other day we did a test run and it was actually pretty good!”

She giggled as Nate pulled her back from the stove and turned her around, kissing her so sweetly that she nearly melted into a puddle at his feet.

The whole shop stood still, except for the large bouquet of roses that was being walked to the counter; a deep red expertly pruned and assembled. Valorie knew exactly who they were from before they had even reached her.

Everyone huddled around the vase, customers included, as it was set down on the counter in front of Valorie. She knew who they were from without even looking at the note they came with, but there was a sudden hush when her co-worker read out the note on the card: Happy Birthday, mi amor. Love always, Nick.

“You sure that says Nick?” one of their customers asked—Valorie vaguely recognised her from school, though she was positive they hadn’t been in the same year. “Not Nate?”

“I mean—”

Valorie snatched the note more aggressively than she’d intended, saying, “Nick is a friend.”

The side eyes she got from both the customer and her co-worker were far from subtle but Valorie just buried the note in her pocket and carried the vase into the back room.

They—like everything Nick bought her—were gorgeous. He had somehow managed to send her the most perfect roses from Florida and she didn’t want to think about how much money had gone into them. Every day with Nick was filled with unnecessary luxuries and that only increased tenfold on her birthday.

Until the roses came along, Valorie’s day had been uneventful. She woke up early enough for her half-day shift at the hobby store—granted to her by her boss who was horrified that she hadn’t already asked for the whole day—and discovered that Nate was already awake and making her breakfast, and he planned on driving her into Halifax.

It was the most thoughtful gift she’d received in years.

He picked her up after her shift—and after her co-worker tried not so slyly to ask more questions about the roses—and Valorie was met with a bouquet of flowers as she opened the passenger’s side door. She rushed to sit in the car, pushing the vase of roses between her feet on the floor and reaching for the pink hydrangeas Nate held.

“Oh, they’re beautiful,” she gushed, hugging them to her chest as she inhaled. “Did you have to ask someone about my favourite flower or did you just remember?”

Nate mumbled, “Remembered.”

“I can’t believe it, that’s incredible.” She leaned across the centre console to kiss him and got his cheek when he turned his head but she was too distracted by the flowers to notice. “Should I look into the meaning behind these or are they just beautiful?”

Nate started the engine, keeping his eyes firmly on the road in front of him, and Valorie tried not to read into his tense jaw. Or the way he moved his hand to the steering wheel when she tried to hold it over the gearshift.

“Who did the roses come from?” he asked as they pulled into his garage after a painfully silent car ride.

She answered, cautiously, “Nick.”

“How does he know where you work?”

“I don’t know? Insta? I don’t care about the roses, you bought me hydrangeas.”

Nate only said, “okay” before he got out of the car and left Valorie sitting in it by herself. She watched him walk into the house with slumped shoulders and an aching chest before she tried to manoeuvre herself out of the car with the vase of roses and the very large bouquet of hydrangeas.

She put the roses on the kitchen counter and then scoured Nate’s cupboards for a vase so she could put the hydrangeas at the centre of the dining table. She passed Nate on the couch as she walked to the stairs, leaning down to kiss the top of his head and thank him as she did so.

Valorie tried to put it to the back of her mind as she got ready for her birthday plans—Amber had planned a whole afternoon and evening for her and Valorie had been planning her outfit for a week. It wasn’t going to be as extravagant as anything she’d done in Miami, which she’d assured Amber was more than fine, but it was her first birthday in Nova Scotia in years and her first birthday back with her best friend so she was going to make the most of it.

Putting it to the back of her mind worked well until she ascended the stairs and saw that Nate hadn’t moved from his position on the couch.

“Amber and Mike will be here soon—are you ready?”

Nate sunk further into the couch, his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his chin nearly buried into them which led to a mumbled, “I’m not really feeling it; you have fun.”

“You’re not feeling it?” she asked, hating the way her voice cracked in time with the crack in her heart. “It’s my birthday?”

“You go have fun,” he said, still into his arms. “Don’t worry about me.”

Valorie had never felt more pathetic, standing behind Nate when he wouldn’t even look at her, dressed up in one of the nicest she’d brought with her from Miami and had taken so much care with her make-up—not dressed up entirely for Nate but she definitely wanted him to at least look at her. Maybe even appreciate the effort she had gone to.

“Nate, I—I want you there,” Valorie said weakly, moving closer to him to see if she could get him to turn around. “What’s wrong?”

“Nothing. I just don’t want to go out again today.”

Valorie gave up with one last desperate look at Nate and she walked immediately through the front door to wait on the doorstep for Amber and Mike. She wasn’t going to cry about it, even if the furious blinking was barely stopping her—before Amber and Mike pulled up she pulled on her sunglasses and took some deep, centring breaths.

When Amber and Mike did pull up, this time with Amber hanging out the passenger’s side window and jumping out to pull Valorie into a tight hug as she screamed Happy Birthday in her ear, Valorie’s smile was genuine.

At least, it was until she climbed into the passenger’s seat at Amber’s insistence and they sat in the car for a few moments in silence.

“We can go,” she said, hoping that the crack in her voice wasn’t noticeable to anyone but herself.

“What about Nate?”

“I don’t want to talk about Nate.”

“I’ll fight him if you want me to,” Mike offered, completely sincerely, reaching down to unbuckle his seatbelt. “Can’t promise I’ll win but I’ll give it a go.”

“I don’t know what’s gotten into him and I don’t want to think about it for the rest of the day.”

Not thinking about it for the rest of the day was much easier said than done. It put a clear damper on the mood despite the smile Valorie was forcing into her face. For a few blissful moments she did forget, was able to just enjoy the company she was with and the drinks in front of her—and then it all came crashing back down on her with a heartbreaking thud.

Amber tried to talk about, to get an explanation as to why Valorie was upset and Nate wasn’t around and each time she was shut down by Valorie repeating that she didn’t want to talk about it and that she just wanted to enjoy her birthday.

There wasn’t much enjoyment happening, though, with Valorie staring morosely into every rum and coke she was drinking. They’d had Happy Hour cocktails, eaten some of the best steaks Valorie had ever come across and moved on to another bar to continue their night—it was everything Valorie hadn’t realised she missed and it was still being ruined by Nate.

Amber tried again, waiting until Valorie’s glass was empty, and Valorie reacted by standing up and saying that she needed some fresh air. When Amber tried to follow her, Valorie insisted that she was going alone.

Although Valorie had decided to go outside just to get away from any more questions, the fresh air did help. She hadn’t quite realised just how much the alcohol had gone to her head until she was confronted by the breeze coming off the river.

She rested her forehead against the cool bricks of the external walls, her arms crossed above her head, and counted her breaths in and out.

“Val?”

Valorie whipped around, her forehead and forearms scraping against the bricks, and was met with Nate’s concerned face.

“Thought you didn’t want to come out again today,” she said tersely, inspecting her forearms quickly and cringing at the grazes.

“I’m sorry,” he said, readily, without prompting. “That’s pretty up there with the most asshole things I’ve ever done.”

“You made me feel like shit.”

“I know. I didn’t—I’m sorry. I don’t have any excuse that’s good or justified.”

Valorie shuffled her feet, getting to the point where she was regretting her heels, and lifted one shoulder in a half-hearted shrug.

“I’d like to make the rest of your birthday better,” Nate said, visibly shrinking in and making himself smaller and less intimidating. “If you’ll let me.”

“I really don’t feel like I should forgive you, you know?” she huffed, throwing her hands in the air.

“Okay, that’s fair. I can go home.”

She sighed, “No, I don’t want you to go home. I—I’m really happy you’re here even if you weren’t before.”

The corner of Nate’s mouth lifted tentatively, “Yeah?”

Valorie nodded, and broke the rest of the tension between them by stepping into his space and wrapping her arms around his shoulders. She relaxed into him, at the feel of his arms around her and the smell of his cologne filling her head. It was going to warrant a conversation, she knew that, but if she could enjoy the rest of her night she would do just that.

She led him back into the bar by the hand, having already been subjected to a brief twirl as Nate told her how good she looked, much happier and lighter than she had been when she’d walked outside.

Valorie, never one to be held down by a hangover, woke bright and early the next morning. Nate was still dead to the world beside her, a pillow pulled over his head to block out whatever noises he’d heard that she hadn’t.

It was bright outside when she left his room with her clothes bundled in her arms, unable to lie there and wait for him to stir, though the clock near the staircase told her it wasn’t even seven.

She had a quick shower—the hot water tap barely turned—and changed before she went in search of her bag, keys and phone and left a note on the kitchen counter for Nate that she was heading out but wouldn’t be long.

The roses had never left her mind, not with the weirdness they’d caused, and seeing them standing tall and proud on the kitchen counter made her know that she was making the right decision.

She wrote another note, tucking it into the flowers and made her way to her parents’ house to leave the roses and the note on their doorstep.

Mom, I think you can take better care of these than I can. Love you xxx

The round trip didn’t take overly long, so Nate wasn’t moving about the house when Valorie returned. She made herself a coffee and sat on the balcony, the caffeine working in combination with the slight breeze to keep any hangover symptoms at bay.

“Where are the roses?” Nate asked, startling Valorie when she hadn’t even heard the door slide open.

She waited until Nate was sitting sidewards on the recliner beside her before she said slowly, “With my mom. She loves roses.”

“You didn’t have to get rid of them.”

“I’m not attached to them… They were clearly making you uncomfortable, so it’s fine.”

Nate hummed, then said softly, “Thank you.”

Valorie smiled at him, grateful for the admission no matter how vague. She stood up, only to sit back down on Nate’s recliner after moving him so she could sit between his legs and relax back into him. She reached for his hands and wrapped his arms around her body.

She didn’t expect him to say anything else, happy to push the conversation they had to have to later in the day and just enjoy a quiet morning. Nate didn’t have the same desire, though.

“A guy doesn’t just send you roses on your birthday if he’s not trying to get you back.” He was speaking into her hair and if he hadn’t been so close Valorie wouldn’t have heard him at all.

She squeezed his arms and said, “If I was going back to him, I would have any of the half dozen times he’s already asked.”

She hadn’t mentioned it to Nate—to anyone—that Nick was sending things to her parents house, not many, but enough that she’d had to call him to put her foot down. The earrings he’d sent that matched the bracelet she’d been wearing the first time she’d seen Nate back in Nova Scotia were the final straw there. She’d never worn them and hadn’t put the bracelet back on, even though it was her favourite piece of jewellery.

Nate’s hesitation was evidence enough of his worry and was only amplified by the way he was holding her close and still speaking into her hair. “He’s not wearing you down?”

“Not in a good way. He seems to think that if he throws more money at me and reminds me of the life we had together and the future we could have; that I’ll just forget that I want kids.”

“Promise?”

“Remember that conversation we had? After the Cup Day? It’s you and me. I’m not going back to him.”

Nate’s forehead came to rest against the back of her head; Valorie could feel his relieved sigh.

The summer was dangerously close to ending. Valorie was counting down the days until she and Nate got on a plane to Denver, excitement and trepidation filling every ounce of her body and only getting more and more intense whenever she saw him.

There was something on her mind, though, the cause of the trepidation. A question she’d been holding onto for far longer than she intended and a question she knew she needed to ask before they left for their new life together—it couldn’t be another conversation that happened after the fallout.

Nate had just finished up his last training session with Andy, and Valorie smiled at him and only briefly cringed when he leant down to kiss her despite the sweat rolling off his body.

Andy followed Nate in, greeting her happily, none the wiser to her inner turmoil—though how could Andy be if Nate didn’t have a clue? He said goodbye to Valorie, that he’d see her when Nate was back in Canada, and she waved at him as he left.

She sat on the couch, staring blankly at the television, and listened to the shower in Nate’s ensuite turn on. With a quick inhale and in an unexpected moment of courage, she decided to join him.

“What a surprise,” Nate smirked, watching Valorie drop her clothes as she entered the bathroom.

The water was nearly unbearably hot though she didn’t falter, immediately wrapping her arms around Nate. He followed suit without missing a beat and Valorie relished in being able to rest her head against his chest and hear his steady heartbeat over the water.

“What’s brought this on?”

“You did an interview a few years ago and I can’t forget it,” Valorie said, taking a deep breath. She was thankful that the shower was hiding the wetness in her voice. “That you don’t like kids? And I—I need to know if that’s still true before… I don’t know.”

“I was never sure about having kids, I’ll be honest,” Nate said, slow, measured, and most definitely confused. “But I always knew that if I was going to have kids it was only going to be with you.”

“Okay. That’s—okay.”

Her relief was immeasurable—she had known it was causing her a lot of inner stress but to have it roll off her shoulders was nicer than she ever could have imagined.

“I love you.”

Valorie pulled away from Nate’s chest, blinking through the fall of water over her face, another sigh leaving her body. She pressed up on her toes to kiss him, unable to express herself in any other way.

Please consider leaving feedback—reblog and write in the tags or send an ask, I’m not fussed. I just want to know what you’re thinking!

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#nathan mackinnon fic #nathan mackinnon imagine #hockey fic #hockey imagine #nhl fic #nhl imagine #homemade fic #the winter fic exchange 2k23 #fic: Avs #one shot

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cha-melodius · 8 months

Note

This is very exciting I can’t wait to read what you come up with.

For me?

Firstprince. A corner office.

(HELLO LOVELY thank you for this prompt, and I hope you enjoy the finished product. 💕)

chamel’s fandom fest info | read all the fics

Step Into My Office, Baby

(firstprince, 2.4k, E; read it below or on AO3)

Henry is staring out the window at the southern end of Central Park when he hears a very familiar cadence of footsteps entering the office behind him. A moment later, Alex gives a low whistle.

“Look at you, Mr Fancy Pants with the corner office,” he says, his voice low and teasing and shot through with fondness.

Henry still winces slightly. “I did try to turn it down.”

“Yeah, ‘cause you’re an idiot,” Alex says. He’s leaning up against the door frame, his legs crossed at the ankle and arms folded in front of his chest. It’s late in the day, and he’s shed his jacket and rolled his shirt sleeves to the elbow, revealing muscular forearms that Henry can’t keep his gaze from lingering on. When he manages to force his eyes up, Alex is smirking at him. “You earned it, H. Fair and square.”

If anyone had told Henry two years ago that this moment would happen, he would have laughed in their face. To say he and Alex did not get along at first would be putting it mildly. Or rather, Alex resented Henry and everything he embodied, and Henry saw the benefit of keeping Alex at a distance even as they were forced to share an office. Then, getting accidentally locked in the building overnight together yielded a tentative truce, and a fast friendship had bloomed in its wake. It’s been lovely and also dreadful, because now Henry is constantly forced to weather his warm smiles and his teasing smirks and his bloody forearms.

The owner of which is currently flopping bodily onto Henry’s new couch and wiggling his hips in a completely obscene manner as he gets comfortable.

“Don’t worry, I’m gonna fucking live in here,” Alex tells him as he stretches his arms up and tucks his hands behind his head.

Yes, nothing to worry about at all.

~~~~~

The corner office comes with promotion and a whole heap of new responsibilities, and Henry quite quickly finds himself drowning in work beyond the long hours he’s used to spending with Alex at the office. He’s in the middle of a particularly terrible stretch at the moment, the looming deadline somehow simultaneously the light at the end of the tunnel and the headlamp of an oncoming train. Alex has been in the thick of it too, working late nights beside him, though that apparently doesn’t include tonight.

Henry loves him—truly, to his endless misery—but he needs to work, not listen to Alex chattering aimlessly while he sits on Henry’s couch tossing M&Ms into the air and catching them in his mouth.

“I was thinking about Thai,” he says, as if it isn’t gone one in the morning. “D’you think Noodies is still open?”

“No,” Henry huffs. They’ve been closed for three hours, and Alex knows this. “Why are you still here, anyway?” he snaps without meaning to, immediately regretting it when Alex’s face falls.

“Well, I was keeping you company and making sure you don’t collapse into an endless spiral of work like a fucking black hole, but I guess Mr Corner Office is too important to need anyone’s help,” Alex sneers, pushing himself angrily to his feet.

Christ, they haven’t spoken to each other like this since that horrible first year, and even more than the work, that’s what finally breaks Henry. Alex is halfway to the door by the time Henry catches him by the elbow, and he jerks out of Henry’s grasp immediately. Thankfully, he does stop, though the glare he levels at Henry does a poor job at masking the hurt written on his face.

“Alex, wait,” Henry pleads. He lets out a heavy sigh, dragging a hand over his face. Christ, he’s too bloody exhausted for this. “I’m sorry. It’s just this project is driving me batty. I shouldn’t have taken it out on you.”

“Well,” Alex says, fidgeting as he frowns down at the ground. “You’re right, you shouldn’t have.” He sighs as he looks up again. “But I get it. They’re putting too much on you.”

Henry reaches out and puts a tentative hand on his elbow again; this time, he’s not shrugged off. “Can you forgive the stuck up prick in the corner office who takes everyone else for granted?”

“That guy?” Alex snorts. “No. But you’re not that guy, H.”

“I feel like him sometimes.”

“C’mere,” Alex mumbles, and the next thing Henry knows he’s being tugged into a tight hug.

It’s not the first time they’ve hugged, but it’s the first time it’s been so fierce, and it feels like it fundamentally shifts something inside Henry. Alex winds his fingers into Henry’s collar and buries his face in his neck, and it’s all Henry can do to hang on like he’s clinging to a life preserver in a storm.

Except somehow, Alex is both the life preserver and the storm.

~~~~~

When the project finally wraps up, it’s a big deal, and the whole office celebrates accordingly.

“Work hard, play hard,” Alex sing-songs with a wink as he fills Henry’s champagne flute again.

He’s been ricocheting around the room, putting that patented Claremont-Diaz charm to good use. There’s almost certainly a promotion with his name on it after all of this, so he has more than enough reason to celebrate. He’s already been teasing Henry about stealing his office. Henry feels jubilant, effervescent like the bubbles bursting in his glass, and he forgets to be self-conscious about the way he watches Alex. Forgets to school his expression. Forgets not to smile too broadly when Alex hooks an arm around his neck and hangs off him like a monkey.

“Hey, hey, c’mere,” Alex says all at once, tugging him toward the door of the massive conference room that’s serving as the party hub.

“You quite literally just poured me a new drink,” Henry points out.

“So bring it with you. C’mon,” he almost whines, which should not be as endearing as it is. He’s unleashing his most devastating giant brown puppy dog eyes. Henry never stood a chance.

“Where are we going?”

“I just need a breather,” Alex sighs heavily. He drags Henry down the office corridors at nearly a jog, until the sounds of chatter and clinking glasses fade away, all the way to the open door of Henry’s office. At Henry’s cocked eyebrow, he laughs. “Best view in the building.”

He doesn’t walk over to the bank of windows, though. Once Henry’s inside the door, he pushes it shut, sealing them off from the rest of the office. Then he returns to Henry’s side and plucks the champagne flute from his hand. He downs half of it in one go, laughs at Henry’s affronted “hey!” as he deposits the glass on the desk, and grabs the fronts of Henry’s jacket before he starts walking backward across the office. Henry can’t help but laugh helplessly at Alex’s chaotic manhandling, at least until Alex stumbles into the couch and he’s dragged down by Alex’s dead weight dropping out from under him. They land in a giggling heap, and Christ, he’s in Alex’s lap, but when he tries to disentangle himself, he feels Alex’s grip go tight at his hip. An arm slides around his waist, loose enough not to be demanding, but firm enough to prevent him from moving away.

Oh.

Startled, he looks down at Alex, whose cheeks are flushed a dusty rose from the champagne and the exertion, who’s breathing heavily through pink lips temptingly parted as he stares back up with his bottomless dark eyes. He isn’t laughing anymore.

“I like this office,” Alex murmurs. “Something about it settles me. When I’m here.” His grip shifts on Henry’s hip, fingers tightening. “With you.”

“Alex,” Henry whispers, barely daring to breathe.

One corner of Alex’s mouth twitches. “Maybe it’s not the office.”

It’s impossible to tell which of them moves first to close the narrow gap between them, lips meeting in a fierce, hungry press that quickly deepens. Alex nearly bites at his lips, dragging his teeth along their inner edges, and it shouldn’t work for him but fuck, it really does. Henry finds himself pressing closer, revelling in the way that Alex’s arms tighten to bring their bodies together as he sinks his fingers into Alex’s curls.

“Christ, I never thought you’d want—” Henry starts, though he doesn’t manage to finish that train or thought before he’s diving in to kiss the corner of Alex’s jaw.

“Yeah,” Alex breathes as he tips his head back to give him better access, “me neither.”

“What?” Henry asks, huffing a soft laugh against his skin.

“I mean, does anyone expect to fall in love with their work nemesis?”

That makes Henry pull back and stare down at him in shock. “You’re—”

“In love with you?” Alex finishes. There’s an impossibly soft look on his face, but it’s undercut by a flicker of nervousness. “Yeah, baby. Head over fucking heels.”

Henry feels himself tremble at baby, which is an entirely novel experience, though perhaps not unexpected given how his usual reaction when Alex teasingly calls him sweetheart. He’s so fucking overwhelmed that the only thing he can manage to do is lean in and kiss Alex again, slow and tender and full of all the words and emotions threatening to choke him. He presses his forehead to Alex’s when they part, and for a moment they just breathe together—unconsciously, perfectly, in sync. It’s everything he never let himself imagine, all those late nights together, all those meetings and emails and coffees delivered with sunny smiles that he refused to read into. Alex is warm and solid under him now, grabbing his waist as they kiss and kiss and it becomes heated again, until he’s rocking his hips up eagerly to meet Henry’s in a way that is rapidly going to become a problem.

Especially since Alex seems to find it not a problem at all.

“Wait, Alex, we can’t—” Henry tries, biting down on a groan when Alex palms over his hardening cock before making quick work of his belt and the fastening of his trousers, “—the windows.”

As if that’s the most troubling thing about them having sex in Henry’s office while half the company is just down the hall.

“We’re on the fiftieth floor, baby, no one’s gonna see,” Alex says, undeterred, grinning wickedly as he slips a hand into Henry’s boxers.

Right, then, that’s… good enough, actually. Henry’s been waiting for this for two and a half bloody years and he’s not really inclined to wait any longer. He kisses the smile off Alex’s face as he sets to work on the buttons of Alex’s shirt, rapidly pulling them open so he can get his hands on more of Alex’s skin. And Christ, he’d known Alex was fit—it’s hard not to know, with how ridiculously tightly cut he wears his suits—but it’s another thing altogether to drag his palms over the swell of his pecs and the hard lines of his stomach. Alex bites down hard on his lower lip when Henry tweaks one of his nipples, then retaliates by twisting his palm with just the right amount of pressure over the head of Henry’s cock. Henry moans as his hips buck up into Alex’s grip, chasing the friction that borders on just this side of too much.

“What do you want, baby?” Alex murmurs against his lips, and ‘everything’ feels like too big a concept in the moment, so Henry chokes out, “Just this, just you—” and lets himself get lost in the feeling of Alex’s hands on his skin. He’s so unbelievably worked up that it’s not long before the tension building in his groin is reaching a breaking point, but it’s looking down that finally does him in—watching the head of his cock appear and disappear within the tight circle of Alex’s long fingers, brown skin against dark pink. He tumbles over the edge with a choked off laugh, clinging desperately to Alex as he works him through it, until he’s hissing at the point of oversensitivity.

For a moment he just breathes, his face buried in Alex’s shoulder, mindful of Alex shifting slightly beneath him even if he’s trying not to be obvious about it.

“Not trying to harsh your afterglow here, but d’ya think you could move so I could get a tissue or something?” Alex asks eventually.

“I’ve got a better idea,” Henry rasps, dropping his hands to the fastenings of Alex’s trousers. He shifts back to get a better angle and tugs Alex’s boxers down enough to release his cock, long and rock hard and leaking at the tip, then takes Alex’s hand covered in his come and wraps it around his shaft with his own, weaving their fingers together.

“Oh,” Alex gasps, his hips immediately rocking up into their combined grip, Henry’s come slicking the way and filling the silence of the office with some of the most obscene sounds Henry’s ever heard.

He lets Alex set the pace, which starts out as a slow drag and rapidly picks up tempo, until Alex is quivering under him and swearing in at least two languages. Alex tips his head back against the couch, and Henry can’t resist ducking down to scrape his teeth along the long column of muscle so temptingly laid bare before him. The movement seems to make every muscle in Alex’s body tense up, and then he’s coming with a “Fuck, baby,” that has Henry groaning along with him.

They clean up quietly, trading soft kisses that they occasionally get lost in, setting each other to rights enough so that they can— well, perhaps not return to the party, but at least leave the building. Henry doubts that their absence has been noticed, anyway.

“Jesus, I’ve been wanting to do that since you got this office,” Alex groans once they’re done, pushing a hand through curls as he stretches slightly where he sits on the couch.

“What, that specifically?” Henry asks, furrowing his brow at him.

“I mean, more or less,” Alex admits. One side of his mouth tugs upward into a smirk. “To be fair I think I’ve imagined every possible way of taking you apart on this couch.”

“Christ, Alex.”

Alex grins broadly and shifts over to press his lips to the corner of Henry’s mouth. “You wanna hear the list?”

“You’re an incorrigible delinquent,” Henry protests, letting himself be drawn into another kiss. Then he leans in, lips brushing the shell of Alex’s ear, and whispers, “Tell me at home.”

#rwrb #red white and royal blue #firstprince #alex claremont diaz #henry fox mountchristen windsor #rwrb fic #rwrb fanfic #firstprince fic #firstprince fanfic #chamel's fandom fest #my fic

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swimmingwolf59 · 7 months

Note

Spones - 001

when I started shipping it if I did: this is a great question that I wish I remembered! I first started watching tos as a little kid with my mom, and I always loved the spones dynamic, but I don't think I shipped them back then. And then I was kinda moderately interested in trek for close to 15 years and then one day I woke up and my brain was like "what if you wrote this spones fic" and the next thing I knew they'd completely taken over my life LMAO. So I guess they kinda snuck up on me 🤣

my thoughts: my thoughts???? I've probably written over 100k words of my thoughts about spones LMAO. Their dynamic is endlessly interesting though, by far the most compelling part of tos imo. The way they care about each other but also stretch each other's thinking and spur each other on scientifically is the BEST. Their playful banter is so fun, the emotions they get across from just their expressions GOD. I could watch them forever.

What makes me happy about them: I love the way they playfully tease one another, like spock being amused by mccoy spluttering his way through a conversation and mccoy being amused when spock's trying to show off and fails, I LOVE seeing that.

What makes me sad about them: since this is shippy, the fact that they'd deny they like each other for like 20+ years because they can't communicate meaningfully for shit LOL

things done in fanfic that annoys me: if bones is insecure about everything because of kirk I want to throw my phone out the window it makes me so mad ugh. Obviously people can write whatever they want but it frustrates me that it's so prevalent in spones fics, please tag spirk if you wanna write spirk 😭

things I look for in fanfic: I'm not super picky! I love fake dating, accidental bonding, accidental baby acquisition, banter as a tag LOL, lots of other stuff. Also makes me happy when people write tos and I can read about bones' pretty blue eyes :3 but other than a few nope tropes for me I'll read just about anything!

Who I’d be comfortable them ending up with, if not each other: hmmm this is an interesting question since they live in my head constantly lol. I guess for Spock I usually headcanon him as aroace when I'm not shipping him, but if I had to put him with someone, maybe scotty? or like a platonic relationship with uhura would be really nice. For McCoy, Kirk 😄

My happily ever after for them: they serve on the enterprise together as captain and chief medical officer and then move to Vulcan, where Spock becomes a diplomat and mccoy becomes a pediatrician/researcher at the VSA. They live in the desert near the mountains with their giant sehlat cub and they grow old together and nothing bad ever happens 😊

who is the big spoon/little spoon: I think I usually picture them as either one on their back and the other with their head on their arm/shoulder lol. If they did spoon tho, I like to think mccoy would be the big spoon because spock likes to be enclosed :3

what is their favorite non-sexual activity: bantering or discovering a new species together

#spones #ask meme #thanks for the ask!

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ihaveathingforwomen · 1 year

Text

Universes Away - PT. 11

WandaNat x OC

Masterlist a/n: Sorry it took so long to update! I thought the fic was getting long and wanted to make a plan!

Warnings: Angst, tension, drinking, touching - If I missed anything, let me know!

Word Count: 6.9k

Summary: Adrian & Wanda go on their first date, Wanda receives a gift.

Their day of errands ran long, but the rain had let up and a gray sky lingered. Wanda went with them to pick up snacks and drinks to put in the cooler for the game tomorrow. This was a level of domesticity that Wanda thought she'd never be able to experience in her life. Her favorite part, though, was Adrian’s mindless and natural attraction. In the grocery aisles they would stand and look at different items and Adrian would slide their arm around her waist, pulling her close. If she went ahead of them to find something, they would catch up and come behind her, kissing her head or cheek as they approached. They would hold her hand while they walked and rub the small of her back while she pushed the cart. When they walked from the car to the bakery and butcher, they would put their hand in her back pocket or link arms with her. The more they touched her, the more she realized the behavior was natural for them, they were magnetized to her.

When they arrived home, the drizzle of rain returned and lightly tapped on their windows. Wanda took the bags from the car and Adrian insisted they take the heavier items from the trunk and they ran to the front door, giggling through the rain. Wanda snagged the keys from Adrian's coat pocket and unlocked the door, holding it for Adrian as they came in. They did not pause to take off their shoes and instead went straight to the island as they set down the heavy cooler. They let out an exasperated sigh as they helped Wanda set the bags on the counters. Once everything was out of their hands the pair moved back to the front door to remove their shoes. Wanda leaned her back against the door, untying her boots and yanking them from her ankles. Adrian stepped on the heel of their canvas slip-on shoes and slid their feet from them. They were finished much sooner than Wanda and approached her as she struggled with her second shoe.

Chuckling at her struggles, Adrian bent a leg at the knee and motioned for Wanda to move forward. "Let me help, baby," they offered and gently grabbed the heel of her shoe as she made a face of confusion. They rested her foot on their thigh and untied the knot that she'd accidentally made with the laces. The knot was more difficult to untie because the laces had gotten wet and slid roughly from their fingers. Wanda pressed her hands to the door and blushed, embarrassed that she was unable to take care of her own shoes.

Finally, Adrian managed to untie the laces and pulled them loose, sliding the boot from Wanda's foot with ease. Once managed, Wanda took her foot off of their thigh and stood straight against the door. Adrian took the shoe they'd undone and picked up the other shoe, keeping them as a pair in their hands as they stood straight and allowed their gaze to linger on Wanda. Upon straightening themselves they caught a glimpse at Wanda's face. Her eyes were soft, pupils dilated, and her cheeks were rosy from the cold. Her smile spoke of tenderness, light and gently curved lips that were reddening as they warmed from the bitter wind outside. Her hair, the portion that was free, trickled past her shoulders, still damp from the rain of the day.

"Um, thank you," Wanda told them with a chuckle. She had also been studying their face, adoring their pointed features that had been softened with love. They blushed at her words and turned their head, quietly inching closer.

"You're welcome," they whispered as they looked up past the top of their eyes and grinned sheepishly. They turned, setting down the shoes, and then came closer to her with a sudden confident attitude. She smiled as she looked up to them in their now steady stature. Raising their finger, they brushed her wet strands from her shoulder and tucked it behind her ear. In her attention to their movements, she realized how long their fingers were. They were strong and slender, but not spindly. Instead, their maneuvers were dextrous and thoughtful as they now caressed her cheek, vibrations sliding down her spine at their touch. They trailed down her jawline, stepping forward with their fingers as they piqued at her chin, tilting it upwards with the tips of their middle and ring finger.

They no longer were looking at Wanda and instead focused on her lips, observing everything below them as they smoothly took their bottom lip between their lips. "You're beautiful," they exhaled, their swelling eyes not moving from her lips. Out of their periphery Wanda was blushing and she became aware of the warmth radiating from her skin as their fingers lingered hear her throat. She felt her lips tingle as she willed them to kiss her as they had the night before. At the mere thought, she felt the ghost of their lips along her neck, their breath against her ear, their teeth and tongue lingering over her pulse at the base of her neck. A fire began in the small of her back, exploding up her spine and down to her thighs.

Catching her eye, they shocked her from the mists of their encounter. They smirked, swiftly withdrawing their hand and making their way back towards the kitchen. She blinked and in a sharp breath she drew herself back to reality, following them as they began taking items out of the bags and putting them in their appropriate spots. They acted as though nothing had happened, as though they hadn't felt the same electricity between them, which Wanda now insisted was an electrical fire as it burned and buzzed throughout her body. Though she was no longer in a trance, she still felt the ghosts all over her skin - their hands now at her hips and making their way up her spine. The ghost made contact with the scratches along her spine and they burned the more she thought, but it wasn't painful. Instead, the burning lingered as if repeating the motion from the top of her shoulders and down her spine, the memories delivering warmth to her core.

She'd been standing at the island, toying with an empty plastic bag as she stared into empty space. Adrian watched her for a moment as they continued their task, "Wands, I can take that bag for you," pulling her from the ghosts. They smiled as she'd jumped, shaking her head and offering the bag towards them. She took a seat at the island and Adrian put away the last of the plastic bags, ready to be used again for miscellaneous things. They started to ask her if she was alright but thought that it'd be better to just distract her from whatever she was stuck in. "So, do you want to go to Rita's tonight? We can go somewhere else if you'd like, I'm not sure..." her eyes slowly made their way to Adrian who was now leaned against the island. Their feet were planted shoulder width apart and their hands clasped together, elbows bent against the countertop holding their torso as they studied at her.

"I'm not sure what you like," they finished, hesitant as she still appeared in a haze. She looked down in thought, forcing herself out of the haze.

"Um, we can still go to Rita's. But...the rain..." She questioned, and they closed their eyes with a nod of agreement.

"Right, that would make Rita's a bit more difficult. Well," they started and thought to themselves for a moment. "I have another place we could go to, it's more bar than it is restaurant though." Their tone unsure as they studied Wanda's face for even an ounce of disagreement.

"That's okay with me," she replied, tone lightened with excitement. "Do I have to get super dressed up?" A nervous laugh erupted from her chest and Adrian smiled widely, laughing back.

"Um, well, no. But, if it's okay with you," they began, hope and fear blended in their tone as they prepared for complete decline of their offer. "I could pick your outfit for you..." silence followed and panic began nibbling at their psyche. "I know that first dates can be really stressful and I mean- this is-this-it's, um, a whole different life and you might not be sure what is expected of you and I just wanted to make that easier..." Their stuttering had gotten louder as they continued but as they observed Wanda's face they became quiet. She had a beaming smile as she watched their nervousness, she hadn't thought of them as the nervous type. They've been calm since the start, a typical strong-but-silent type, she thought. Seeing them act the way that she felt eased her anxiety.

Finally she spoke, "I would really appreciate that, Adrian. That's thoughtful of you," she reassured them, a deep breath and release came from their lungs and they pursed their lips, trying to deter a huge smile from spreading across their lips. She remembered the night before and their nervousness surrounding the date, she was trying to determine if it was anxiety or excitement running the show.

"Um," they started with a whisper before piping up, "good, I'm glad. I just..." they bit their lip, "I want to make you happy." A sheepish grin played on their face as they diverted their eyes from their wife who was beaming at them, admiring their nervousness around her. In their diversion, they glanced at their watch and took a deep breath, releasing a spell of anxiety, "I'm actually going to go get started on that, so um," a swallow halted their words but spurred their thoughts. They bit their lip and screwed their eyes, trying to decide what Wanda could be doing while they chose her outfit for the evening.

Wanda watched their expression with a careful eye, wishing she could read their mind. Were they caught by the same ghosts she was? Were they dreaming about her lips? Her mind drifted as she pictured their exchange just moment ago - how their eyes were trained on her lips, their fingertips leaking strength as they sent warmth over her body. A spark kicked her mind out of its daydream and whispered a thought, she realized Adrian wasn't sure what to do with her at this point. She reached her hand over the island and set it on their clasped hands, squeezing gently.

"I"ll stay here, it won't take you too long to pick an outfit. I'll wait for your word," a soft and reassuring smile played on her face as their tongue darted past their lips while they curled upwards.

"Are you sure?" They whispered, eyes carefully watching Wanda's expression. She nodded softly, squeezing their hands again, and they slowly retracted their hands as they stood. "Okay, um, I won't take too long, just let me know if you need anything," as they spoke they came around the island. As they passed behind Wanda, their hand hooked on her hip, turning to kiss her head and then lips before bounding up the stairs.

At the top, they swung into their bedroom and went straight to the closet. She was right, it really wouldn't take them very long as they already had a picture of the outfit in their mind. Rifling through their closet, they made their way to the very back and retrieved a dress that their Wanda had seldom worn, especially since her interactions with the Darkhold. The dress is a sleek, thin fabric with daisies scattered across the entirety. Thin straps to hold the thin fabric over Wanda's shoulders as the back dipped in a 'V' shape towards the small of her back, secured with small laces that will rest on her waist.

Adrian held the dress up to the light, gently patting fuzzes off while images danced across their mind. They laid the dress gently on the bed, a smile forming on their lips as they turned back to the closet and chose a pair of simple black heels. The final touch burst into their mind and they slid into the bathroom, grabbing their toiletry bag and sifting through. They found a pair of earrings, simple silver slivers that would dangle, just down to Wanda's jaw. They continued sifting, wondering if there was anything else that would suit this date of theirs. Just when they'd decided that they'd stop searching, their fingers came across a ring. They weaved it out of the bag and held it closer to their eyes, their smile melting off of their face as memories flashed in their mind.

The ring is Wanda's, her wedding ring. They'd removed it in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, along with other jewelry, and placed it in a bag to give to Wanda's next of kin in the event of death. The day they left the hospital, as Adrian was walking the boys to the car, the nurse had paused them and gave them the bag, explaining that they'd forgotten and apologizing for the mistake. Life had been so confusing the last few days that they'd just left the ring in their toiletry bag, not thinking anything of it. A tear had welled up in their eyes, the back of their mind replaying their nightmare on repeat. They closed their hand over the ring and held it close to their chest, wondering what to do with it.

Upon leaving the bathroom and setting the earrings with the dress, an idea arose in their mind. They snapped a picture of the ring and sent it to Natasha, asking for her opinion. Within a couple of moments, their phone pinged with a response, and a smile spread across their face as they read the message. They plunged the ring into their pocket and hurried back to the closet to choose their own outfit.

Once their outfit was chosen they took all of their belongings to the guest room and set them on the bed, closing the door quietly behind them as they made their way towards the stairs. They made their way downstairs to find Wanda resting on the couch. Her back was leaned against the arm of the couch, knees bent and propping up a book. It seems she'd been wandering about and found a book in Adrian's study at the back of the house. Their books that they'd accumulated in their days of travel were bent and worn from the backpacks and suitcases they'd been left in during their travels.

They beamed at her, noticing the book as one that their Wanda had put them on. She'd gifted it to them for their first birthday while they were dating, they'd kept it ever since. They snuck behind her, slipping their hands over her shoulders, just barely touching her chest before turning into each other and gently hugging around her neck, cradling her head in their arms.

"Are you ready, love?" They whispered into her ear, the vibrations returning to her spine as she lapped up their accent, replaying the simple words in her mind.

She fluttered her eyes closed, turning her head into her arms as their smell filtered into her senses. They smelled like bed sheets the morning after a warm shower, comforting and fresh, willing her back into safety. "Yes," she whispered back as she smiled at them, placing a finger between the pages of her book, the other hand wandering to their cheek. She pulled them down and they fell into it, kissing her softly, smiling into her lips.

Adrian pulled away when they felt their mind falling into its desires, gently tapping her cheek. "C'mon then," they told her, slipping their arms away. She popped up from the couch and set the book on the side table as she followed them up the stairs as they couldn't contain their excitement. At the top of the stairs, they spun before she could reach the top, catching her when she did. They held her hips, keeping her gaze from the open door of their bedroom.

"Hey, I'm gonna go get changed in the guest room." They told her, a matter-of-fact tone gaining her full attention.

"Okay," she nodded as she sensed more coming from them.

"I..." they drew out their words, lost in her eyes and grinning at her, "I will meet you downstairs whenever you're done, okay?" She beamed back at them as they took their bottom lip between their teeth, eyes wide and attentive. She nodded again and popped up on her toes, kissing their lips gently before tearing away to the bedroom. She gently closed the door, waving to them as she did. Her eyes scoured the room, landing on the clothes laid neatly on the side of the bed.

A breath escaped her lips as she took in the dress, admiring the balance between light and darkness. As she came closer she further admired the simplicity of the outfit, remembering the complex outfits she often felt like she had to wear for Vision. The dress itself was simple, but its beauty was amplified with the silver earrings and the black heels that were to be secured by straps.

Once she'd finished assembling the outfit, she took a step in front of their long mirror next to the bedroom door. Her hands slid down her ribs and paused at her hips as she half turned, noticing a slit at the bottom of the dress, exposing her knee downward. She took a deep breath, confidence starting to ease its way into her mind. She bit her lip as she took one last look at herself, heated images making their way to the forefront of her mind. She pushed them back as she opened the bedroom door, making her way downstairs.

About halfway down the stairs, she caught a glimpse of her counterpart and their outfit for the evening. Her cheeks flushed and her mind spun, the heated images she'd pushed away, now lit up her core. They wore black slacks with sleek combat boots that they could easily pass as business casual. She took another step downwards and the outfit got better - a pressed white button up, loose black tie, and their sleeves were unbuttoned and turned up to their elbows, revealing the sleek watch from the other day. She stared, taking in the veins that were prominent in their arms as they studied their phone, hair down and falling over their shoulders. She swallowed, taking a deep breath and made her way down the stairs.

They'd heard her steps from the top but chose to ignore them, wanting to be completely surprised when she made it to the bottom. The time finally came, running a hand through their hair as they turned towards the stairs, looking up as they'd caught her on the last couple of steps. Their eyes widened, moving back and forth as they took in every detail. The dress looked even better than they'd remembered, gaping their mouth slightly, letting their tongue run over their lips slowly, collecting the imaginary drool that they'd felt upon seeing her.

She finally came to meet their gaze and her cheeks became rosy as she watched their mouth gape, their eyes dilating as they took in the sight. She chuckled at them, brushing the hair from her eyes. "Are you trying to catch flies?" She joked as she came to the landing, they had shoved their phone in their pocket by now and their hands immediately went to her hips, pulling her in as they admired her beauty. They were now the same height, their boots making up for the extra inch her heels had on them.

They stuttered, "N-no, you just," they gave her a once over, biting their lip as they did. "You look stunning, that's all," they chuckled and stood back. The electricity danced between them, and Adrian fought the desire to lift her onto the island and start adorning her body with kisses. Little to their knowledge, Wanda's mind was in a similar place as she pictured their hands wandering over her ribs, their lips down her chest and her hands weaved in their hair.

Wanda closed her eyes and gently shook her head, removing the cobwebs as she tried to speak. "Well, should we get going?"

"Uh, yea, of course," they told her, making their way towards the door. The closer they got the more Wanda felt the draft from outside, bitter air attacking her bare shoulders and chest. She stood back from the door, Adrian grabbing their suit jacket from the hook nearest the door. They turned, noticing she was farther than they would've liked, tilting their head in confusion.

"Ads...Is it rude of me to point out that it's a bit...cold, for this particular outfit?"

They grinned as they released a chuckle, "No, but I have a final piece for you to help with that." They then moved to the second hook and removed a long, tan coat with a collar and down insides. They came towards her, draping it over her bare shoulders. An enamored expression took over her face as they draped it and adjusted it to be sure it kept her warm. When they finally looked up from their focus, they realized she was staring. "What? Did I do something?"

She sighed, diverting her eyes and adjusting their tie, "no, you're just sweet." They displayed a gentle expression, smile playing on their lips, and turned towards the door, opening it without a word. The rain had stopped, but the concrete was just as soaked as the earth, tires squeaking as cars drove by. Wanda stepped out of the threshold first waiting, as Adrian followed, quietly locking the doors. They came beside Wanda and laced their arm behind her back, hand resting on her hip as they guided her down the steps and to the car, opening her door. They couldn't see it but Wanda blushed at their politeness, trying to contain the flutters as they begged to burst from her body in a delighted scream in the quiet of the car as they walked around to the driver's side.

They hopped into the car and immediately turned the ignition and then the heater, feeling confident that Wanda had to be chilly. Once the car began to warm up, Adrian began their journey to the surprise they'd chosen for Wanda. As the drive progressed so did their conversation with Wanda. Their discussion was lighthearted - favorite color, preferred music, hobbies, and interests. While there were sure differences between their Wanda, there were plenty of similarities as well, allowing for Adrian to feel more comfortable with her.

For Wanda, she was intrigued. She hadn't had the opportunity to truly get to know someone new and someone with a real past. For so long she'd been privileged enough to have the Avengers as her family. Vision was intriguing but he didn't have much of a past, and we all know about Agatha. The more she got to know them the more she adored them - their kindness, their tendency to be considerate of the needs of others and to prioritize them, their humor and interest in the fine details of life. She wondered what the other Wanda would have to be so cruel to them about.

Finally they'd arrived, pulling into a spot along the curb. Once the car was safely parked, they popped out of the car and darted to Wanda's side, opening the door for her. She giggled, thanking them as they bowed, "Anything for you, darling," they told her as they straightened out and slid their hand into hers. The lights were warm, littered up and down the street as they reflected in the puddles along the road, lighting up Wanda's features. She wondered where they could be going, noticing a string of restaurants down the sidewalk.

Adding to her confusion, Adrian stopped and stood at a locked glass door, a vandalized sign plastered on the front stating "NO TRESPASSING," blocking the view of a staircase. "Is this the door you meant to use, dear?" Wanda asked them, her brows furrowed as she studied their expression in hopes they'd chosen the wrong door.

"No, just wait," they told her as their hand gripped the door handle. Wanda hadn't noticed the strategic placing of their thumb until the door buzzed and Adrian pulled the door forward, nudging Wanda in first. She went forward apprehensively, immediately turning back towards Adrian as they closed the door. Once the door was shut, she latched onto their arm, refusing to let go as her mind wandered with fear and curiosity. They laid their hand on top of hers, keeping their arms laced together as they guided her down the stairs, and into a speakeasy. They pushed through a restaurant kitchen style door and were welcomed to a dimly lit room with deep blue lights and music quietly pulsing in the background. Wanda's eyes took the time to observe the walls that were plastered with posters, news clippings, and paparazzi photos of superheroes. Upon a closer look, she noticed that most of them had been vandalized, jokes left in various sharpie colors.

They guided her past the bar and to a booth on the side of the room. It wasn't busy but it certainly wasn't dead as a group of friends played pool in the center of the room, a couple of military-type men sat at the bar and cracked jokes with each other, a group of casually dressed women sat in the back corner, taking up a circular booth - a burst of laughter startling Wanda from her observations. Adrian motioned for her to take a seat in the booth, sitting next to her.

"I hope this is okay," they told her with sorry eyes as they watched her expression closely. They'd angled their body towards her, resting an arm on the table and the other on the back of the booth.

"It's totally okay," she reassured them, still taken aback and unable to focus until she'd observed the entire room.

Adrian had started to respond but was interrupted by a pair of military personnel tapping their shoulder. They turned, upset at first, but their attitude smoothed over when she recognized the pair. "Hey, guys," they shouted, standing to give them a hug. "I haven't seen you guys in weeks, how was your mission?" Wanda sat still, confusedly observing their interactions with the gorgeously tanned man bearing long dark hair that was slicked back into a ponytail and what appeared to be his counterpart, a woman with a shaved head, designs that had been carefully and strategically trimmed around her head.

"It was great, kicked some ass!" She responded, enveloping Adrian in a hug and patting their back. When they pulled apart she glanced at Adrian and her eyes widened - "We heard about the accident when we got back, how are you doing? Are you okay?" Wanda hadn't expected strangers to address her so she put on her best smile and honest expression as she geared up to respond.

"I'm totally fine, it was near miraculous but everyone is okay," she told her before letting out a nervous giggle. Adrian, who'd been watching her closely, prepared to respond for her, beamed.

"That's great to hear," the man spoke up, "how about you - our favorite Avenger fanatic?" He teased Adrian and they gave a disbelieving smile, scoffing at them. "I can't believe you brought her here, I thought she'd been here before?"

"She has-" Adrian was quick to answer as Wanda turned to them, waiting for their response. "But it's our anniversary," their tone betrayed to Wanda that they were improvising as they made direct eye contact with her, widening them to signal she should go along with their improvisations. "So I wanted to bring her back to indulge in our favorite anti-hero burgers," they joked. Though Wanda thought it to be a stretch, it landed with the pair and they chuckled with Adrian.

"Well," he began, looking to his counterpart in silent agreement, which Wanda heard whispered in their minds. "Tell Nat we said hi, it was nice to see you again Wanda," he looked to her and they waved, "you need to come around more, Ads. I know you've got kids, but you've also got two wives - surely you can slip away." He laughed a bit more and enveloped Adrian in a hug as well.

"It's teamwork, I'm happy to be there for our sons. But," Adrian started, "I will try to slip away, if that's okay with you my love?" They turned to Wanda, nodding for approval.

Her mind was hooked on their response to him, our sons replayed in her mind, but she took their cue and nodded for them. Adrian waved goodbye and watched the pair wander off to the bar, taking seats and ordering. They let out a deep breath as they took a seat next to Wanda, a hand running through their hair as they shook off the anxiety. "I'm sorry baby, I didn't think we'd see anyone," they were breathless as the anxiety melted from their demeanor, giving Wanda a look that reminded her that she made them nervous.

"it's okay, I..." she closed her eyes and rolled them in thought, opening them with a flutter, "I'm confused though," she giggled and bit her lip.

They sighed with a smile, "Let's order first and then I'll explain." They scoured the menu together and Wanda asked them if they'd order for her. Of course they agreed, taking the task when the waitress came by and beamed at them. She recognized them and knew most of what they wanted but still listened as they spoke. In reading her mind, Wanda knew she was just being kind and happy to see one of her favorite customers, but for a moment Wanda felt a piercing jealousy rear its head in her chest. While they spoke, Wanda made sure to put her hand on Adrian's thigh, the other around their shoulders, and her lips close to their ear. She wanted to make sure this woman knew who Adrian belonged to.

When she walked away, Adrian turned to Wanda with apprehensive eyes as it seemed that Wanda had forgotten that Adrian could hear her thoughts just fine. Their eyes scanned Wanda as she backed up nervously. She noticed their eyes pausing at her chest and their lip being bitten for a moment before their eyes returned to hers and yanked her in. "What was that, hm?"

She'd thought they hadn't noticed her touching but it finally clicked in her mind that they'd heard her thoughts, "I just wanted to touch you..." she tried to reason, batting her eyes and lightly grinning, her hand still firm on their thigh.

They gave a gruff "Hmph," and looked away in thought. Wanda thought to herself that they must feel very confident she doesn't know what they're thinking but their face betrays them every time. For a split second she had the impulse to grab their chin and pull them in for a bruising kiss but she decided against it.

"So, are you going to explain?"

"Oh, yea," they started and their daydreams retreated from their face and to the back of their mind. "So, this bar is for people who work for Shield who aren't on, um..." they paused, considering their words carefully. "On hero status. We don't hate the heroes, or most of us don't, but we do like to tease about them. Hence the walls," they gestured around the room and turned back to Wanda, whose eyes hadn't left their expression.

"And what about 'Avenger fanatic'?" She tilted her head, awaiting the snarky explanation of the term.

They bared their teeth, pushing air through them as they thought. "Well, considering I'm married to two Avengers and I'm apart of Shield, they think of me as a bit of a traitor," they laughed at the thought, biting their lip. Wanda nodded as she bit back her snarky comments, "You and Nat are the only Avengers allowed because..." They paused in thought and Wanda scrunched her nose at them.

"Go on," she taunted them, retracting her hand from their thigh and crossing her arms as she waited for further explanation.

They bit their lip once more and shook their head, "No," they mumbled through a chortle. "So, Wands, I have a question for you."

"Nice diversion," she bit the inside of her cheek and looked past them as the waitress brought their drinks, a Negroni for Wanda and a whiskey & coke for Adrian. "Go ahead, baby." She hadn't realized but the pet names just tumbled from her mouth with ease, as though they rolled out of a gum-ball machine.

"How have you been processing all of this? Do you feel okay? More settled in?" They wondered, laying a hand gently on her thigh as they took a sip of their drink, attentively waiting for a response.

She hadn't expected that question and her mind was sent to deep thought as she considered her response. She took a deep breath, releasing as she prepared to respond, unintentionally refusing to look at them. "I feel fine. My bruises have healed pretty well, and you both have been so kind. There's not a lot that I could've expected from this situation, but everyone has been really... calm." Her eyes finally fluttered to Adrian who nodded as they listened.

"Do you feel like this is a dream?" Adrian asked, a skeptical tone and thoughtful eyes catching Wanda's mind.

She wondered why they used that wording but answered the question regardless, "A little bit." Thoughts were spilling from her mind, pouring into her mouth as they tugged to be released. "Before this...I was fighting, basically killing myself, to have the life that this version was just given." She wore a thousand yard stare as she spoke with her hands, Adrian seeing the haunted look in her face as she remembered her life before. "I feel like I died and went to Shangri-la," she giggled, "I hope I never wake up."

Adrian smiled, feeling similarly. They feel like the pieces are finally starting to fit and they can't help but feel like it's too good to be true. "Do you feel like you fit here?" They asked, staring into the distance as they swirled the straw in their drink.

"Do you think I fit here?" Wanda asked, the curiosity in her tone pulling them from their dance with space. When their gazes met, Adrian's expression softened and Wanda could feel compassion radiating from their gaze.

They diverted their eyes once more as a smile rose to their lips, "I think you are the last puzzle piece, Wands. Everything feels like it's settled into place, that's why we've been so calm. The situation is odd, yes, but the feeling is right. I don't know what life was like for you before, but it led you here, and you're meant to be here." Wanda's cheeks burned as they spoke and she felt a corner of her mouth turn, a tear tugging to meet her lips. She slowly moved her hand towards their face which they turned into, their soft eyes overtaking her being as she pulled them towards her. Her soft lips landed on theirs and she lost herself in the moment, kissing them deeply, both hands now cupping their face. Their hands moved towards her, one on her thigh and the other hovered fingertips over her jaw.

They pulled apart, pressing their foreheads together and Adrian took a nervous deep breath. "Actually, the feeling isn't quite right," they pull further from her, still grinning as her expression turned solemn.

"What do you mean?" She practically whimpered, her hands having left their face and now in her lap, guarding her soul.

They chuckled, feeling bad for making her nervous but knowing their plan would bring a reaction. They began beaming at her, scratching the bridge of their nose and running their hand through their hair, gripping the back of their neck as they laughed. They turned and looked around at the bar, no body was paying attention as they scooted out of the booth and discretely got down on one knee as they pulled their fist from their pocket.

"Wanda, this belongs to you," their fist unfolded and a ring arose between their fingertips. Wanda, who'd been frozen to her seat while they moved, blinked and pulled herself forward, a nervous swallow quietly creeping down her now tight throat. She wasn't sure what to do but her body took charge, reaching her left hand out towards them. They gently slid the ring on her finger and, without thoughtful intention, hooked her fingers on either side of their jaw and pulled them into a bruising kiss. They came apart and back together and in between the parts, Adrian whispered, "I love you."

They started to stand, finalizing their last kiss, and scooted back into the booth, quickly placing another kiss on her lips. Wanda was still speechless and that was perfectly okay with Adrian as her thoughts flooded their mind. She was giddy, astounded, begging for more, wanting to shower them with affection but afraid of their environment, shocked at the surprise. Their moment was briefly interrupted when the waitress returned to their table bringing food and a bottle of wine.

"Congratulations," she whispered as she made eye contact with Wanda, beaming, "this is on the house." She set the bottle down in the center of the table and a glass in front of each of them.

"Thank you," Adrian whispered back to her, "It's a re-proposal. We're married already, but it's a special day," they looked back to Wanda, still beaming with excitement at her reaction.

"Oh that's so sweet of you!!" She told them, her eyes bouncing between the pair. "Do you want pictures?"

Wanda nodded, still stuck to the booth, "Yes, please, we'll send them to our wife, Natasha, she's with friends tonight." The girl's eyes widened, smiling as she stood back to let them from the booth. Adrian stood first and reached their hand out for Wanda to use.

"Awh, you are too sweet. How's Nat doing? I haven't seen her in a while." She stood further back as Adrian & Wanda moved to their places. Wanda stood to the right of Adrian, sliding her arm behind their back and her other hand, bearing the ring, placed in the center of their chest. They turned to her and planted a kiss on her cheek.

"She's doing really well! It's been busy between work and the boys' school. They're in soccer now," Adrian mused and the girl gasped, Wanda saw that she'd known them for as long as the boys have been born, at minimum.

Adrian's hand slid in their pocket, the other around Wanda's back and hooked at her waist. "Ready?" Adrian and Wanda nodded, smiling for the camera. A couple of snaps later, the girl spoke again, "how about a kissing one? I'm sure Natasha would love it," she suggested.

Adrian smiled and glanced at Wanda, their eyes asking for permission which she nodded in agreement. She brushed their hair over their shoulder, revealing the side of their face that would be seen by the camera. She slid the ring bearing hand over their cheek and they moved into a kiss, gripping her hips and pulling her close. A couple of seconds passed and they parted, gazing into each other's eyes for a moment, letting themselves feel the electricity between them.

In Adrian's periphery, just past Wanda, they saw a ghost of their past. He stood ominously in the background, glaring at Adrian like a hawk. Adrian's gaze with Wanda had broken as they look past her, staring at him. His presence sent a nervous chill down their spine, their heart started racing as memories flashed in their mind. People walked past him and in a blur he'd disappeared. The scars along their back burned as the anxiety pulsated in their body.

"That was stunning, she's going to love those!" The girl told them as she handed Adrian's phone back, grinning. Adrian shook their head, eyes fluttering as they looked back to her, calmly taking their phone and thanking her. Wanda, who'd been staring at their expression as they looked past her, wondered what was going on in their mind and what drew their attention away.

"Thank you, Adelaide!" Adrian shouted, taking a quick look at the pictures, "they look amazing!" Adelaide muttered a thank you and made her way back behind the bar before making her rounds. They took their time getting back into the booth, ignoring what had happened and Adrian sent the pictures to Natasha immediately, telling her that their surprise went perfectly. Wanda and Adrian ate in harmony, engaging in conversation about each other’s past. They opened the wine bottle, finishing it off by the end. Adrian only took a glass or two over the course of their meal and Wanda, feeding her freedom, had more than a couple of glasses. The more she drank, the more physical she became - gripping their thighs and biceps, kissing their neck, subtly tugging at the hem of their trousers.

#wanda maximoff #wanda maximoff au #wanda maximoff fluff #wandanat #wandanat x reader #wanda maximoff x reader #wanda x reader #mcu #mcu fandom #mcu fanfiction #angst #scarlet witch #scarlet witch x reader #elizabeth olsen #jodie comer #elizabeth olsen x reader #Universes Away

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lilylilyloly · 10 months

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hi hi hello

i saw your headcanon post and wondered if you have more? (about nature wives btw)

ask and you shall receive!

-tortoise doesn’t really like anyone else but shelby at first but he gets really attached to katherine

-if you’ve read my fic “a very long night” you might remember how katherine’s curse turned her hand dead and numb. after it happened, kath starts wearing gloves to hide her cursed hand, but she takes them off around people she trusts (aka shelby)

-kath teaches shelby to dance

-skulkby (skulked shelby) is used to intimidating and scaring everyone away. the only person this doesn’t work against is katherine and it very much confuses her

-adding onto the last one, shulkby is all like idk really creepy shit and kath just does not care because that is her best friend right there and she’s not just gonna leave her like this and skulby is like ??? because she’s not used to being cared for

-dunno if i alr said this or not, but katherine embroidered the little flowers on shelby’s overalls and hat because she thought they’d look cute

-kath’s favorite thing is to pick shelby up and spin her around

-once when kath was monster hunting she got hurt very badly and shelby’s empire was the closest, so that’s were she went and found out that shelby is really good at stitching up wounds or whatever

-and now whenever she’s monster hunting and close to the evermoore (or if she just misses shelby) she’ll stop by with whatever excuse and shelby never complains because she’s usually pretty bored anyway and it gives her an excuse to take a break from whatever she’s doing

-also shelby is regularly up really late at night doing literally anything. maybe she’s studying for a test, maybe she’s rushing on an assignment she forgot about until the night before the due date, or maybe she has nothing to do so she busies herself with stupid shit like randomly deciding to build a mini house for tortoise or learning to bake or reorganizing her entire room. whatever it is, it’s usually not sleeping

-they go on little picnic dates

-remember when i said they’re each other’s first best friends? so like they both never really had a lot of friends as kids and they probably missed out on a lot of the kind of fun things you do as kids with your friends. yk, sleepovers, pillow fights, makeovers, late night talks, and whatever you do as stupid kids idk i didn’t have friends either

-so obviously they do all of it together. kath comes to shelby’s house with popcorn or whatever and they do each other’s makeup and laugh at stupid shit until the sun comes up and it’s super silly

-kath prefers reading shelby’s books because she likes seeing the little doodles and colorful annotations shelby puts in the margins

-shelby, being a witch, was one of the only people who didn’t shy away upon hearing about katherine’s curse when they first met and it didn’t seem like a big deal to her at the time but kath nearly cried right then and there

-katherine’s parents are probably really strict so they do the little cliché thing where shelby’s throwing rocks at kath’s window to get her attention and they run off together in the forest at night

-i’ve heard this one a couple times before, but kath is scared of heights and is super scared of riding with shelby is her broom at first. shelby lightly teases her about it and finds it so so cute

-in my last headcanon post i said before they started dating kath kept accidentally making shelby flustered and didn’t realize. i think after they started dating shelby starts making katherine flustered more with little surprises and sweet words and surprise kisses and it’s super sweet

-kath’s curse is easier to manage on some days and harder to manage on others and on the really bad days she asks shelby to come over so she’ll bring tortoise and make them tea and let kath lay her head on her lap and hold tortoise (because according to shelby cuddles with tortoise makes everything better) and they’ll just chill together and maybe watch a movie or read a book or whatever

-katherine talks pretty much nonstop about literally anything and shelby’s favorite sound in the world is her voice

-remember the sleepover thing ok so whenever kath sleeps over at shelby’s house she takes shelby’s sweaters because they’re warm and comfy and smell like her

i think i have a couple more of these so lmk if y’all want another headcanon post like this

#nature wives #empires smp #empires shubble #empiresblr #empires smp season 2 #empires fanfic #empires s2 #esmp 2 #shelby shubble #katherine elizabeth #empires katherine #empires shelby

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greypetrel · 10 months

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✨Self-Rec Tag Game ✨

Thank you very much @shivunin! ✨✨✨

Rules: Share five of your own fanworks (fic, art, etc.). Then, tag five more people to share the things they've made. e.g.: 1. Something you absolutely adore 2. Something that was challenging to create 3. Something that makes you laugh (or smile, if that fits more comfortably) 4. Something that surprised you (in how it turned out, how much other people liked it, etc.) 5. Something you want other people to see

Soooo... I'm actually one of those people who can't just tell you ONE favourite thing. If you ask me about my favourite movie, I'll shorten the list to ten and will cry because I left something I love outside. Oops, I guess.

And I also really love colour coordination. 🌈

1. Something I absolutely adore.

I don't absolutely adore any of my works ahahahahahahah.

Beside some self-deprecation, I'm still very please with this fanart of Aisling and Dorian looking outside the window.

I know you don't appreciate much Crossovers, Mo and way too many people around, but the chance to put together two things I love... I would never tackle fanfiction if I didn't have something mine to put it (that's why I started writing fic with Dragon Age, which is based on the "Create your own character" basic), so this was my chance at tackling Tolkien lore which I absolutely adore and has been part of my life ever since I was a little bean.

There's also a fic which is basically LOTR... But with Dragon Age Characters (taking advantage of the fact that in the book nothing much is seen of Mordor... I slipped everyone there and I promise it makes more sense x°D)

2. Something that was challenging to create

Everything concerning Raina, which you can now find in this convenient folder I'll fill little by little on AO3.

I... Accidentally tackled too many things that strikes close to home with her, and writing her is basically something similar to a therapy session. The current thing I'm working on is proving difficult.

But I'll say this official portrait of her, just for the fact that I tried a new way of colouring (thanks to @ndostairlyrium forever and ever for the tips and tricks) and everything was new and challenging. The amount of times I cursed myself for putting a background! xD

3. Something that makes you laugh

You see, Mo, I am very unable to choose just one thing. If you ask me what's my favourite movie, I can shorten my list to 10. I'll give you three.

The Bi Cullen series. I should do another one, I just have to finish it, but this is close to my heart. Because bi panic and science bros.

This little exploration in the Mythal Temple, full with very necessary Indiana Jones and Emperor's New Groove quotes.

And last but not least, the one and only Haunting Queen, Doris the Rage Demon who lives in Cullen and Aisling's stove and is deeply in love with Cullen... And also very jealous. It's jealousy, it's not Aisling that doesn't know how to cook.

4. Something that surprised you (in how it turned out, how much other people liked it, etc.)

Ok, for this I have 2:

Home Was Never on the Ground aka the Monster fic. It's my first attempt at fanfiction and the first prose I had written in YEARS. I thought of an anthology of moments missed in game, or expansions of scenes I liked. I am honestly surprised by the amount of hits it got and even if I see flaws, I like my baby.

One for the Road. Aka. Fenris/Lavellan 2 chapter fic. I wrote it as a divertissement, it ended up to be extra angsty... And I sincerely thought I had totally misinterpreted Fenris here. I remember being so nervous when posting it that I actually considered keeping it for myself. And instead, it was received well?

5. Something you want other people to see

On this I'm more sure! (well.)

My little joy is the DadWolf AU which you can find here. Basically, a Modern AU following the events of DA2 and Inquisition... With something changed.

Namely, Solas woke up 30 years before, and he and Varric were roommates. And they co-parent my Inquisitor, Aisling, and Dorian who are actually science bros. It's something that brings me joy in doing, there's nothing written as per yet save some prompts but it will be!

Also one fanart I'm very very attached to is this one which was done in collaboration with @ndostairlyrium (I drew it, she coloured it), and which now guards me from my wall when I work in my studio.

In case you all were still wondering yes, I'm wordy. I know it's a surprise.

I reckon that I forgot to tag, OOPS. @rosella-writes @oxygenforthewicked @cullenvhenan @cao-the-dreamer @transprincecaspian and for the rest I think everyone was already tagged...? Send me a word if you were not and would like to!

#self-rec tag game #tagged #dragon age fic #da fic #dragon age #da fanart #that's such a sweet thought ;_;

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seospicybin · 1 year

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SEOSPICY’S TOP POSTS IN 2022

Author's note: Thank you everyone for reading, liking, reblogging and sharing my writings. I appreciate all of the feedbacks you sent through asks and messages. Thank you for a wonderful year! (Ps. It comes as a no surprise to me that 4 out of 5 are Bangchan fics.)

GLASS.

Han x reader. (s)

Author's note: Just Jisung being a pervy neighbor :)

Content warning: Infidelity.

People should fall in love with their eyes closed.

But Han falls in love with his eyes wide open, through the looking glass.

After traveling to a few countries for his photography exhibitions, he decided to get back and got someplace to settle for a little while until new ideas struck his head and the cycle starts all over again.

When his eyes first landed on you, it was accidental.

He went out to the balcony one morning, trying to capture a picture of the gargoyle of the building. He took a few shots then dragged his camera while kept looking through the viewer and eventually found you.

He looked through the window and saw you were staring at your own reflection in the mirror while sitting on a stool and gracefully combing your hair with so much care.

It wasn't every day he saw women brushing their hair yet it also wasn't something as extraordinary as jumping off a plane for skydiving but peculiarly, he found it very interesting.

He took a few pictures of you just sitting against your vanity, combing your hair, and once in a while raking it with your fingers.

Then you put the hairbrush down and just stared at your own reflection like you haven't seen it for a long, long time.

You were looking for something in the reflection of yourself as it looks back at you.

Then from out of nowhere, another person entered the frame. A man came behind you and put his hands around your shoulders.

You talked to each other through the reflection in the mirror then he kissed the top of your head before left.

The smile that you put on your face for him faded like the day turned to night.

And you faced your reflection again with eyes that were still searching for something in it.

Han couldn't help himself.

Not when your apartment was right across from him and he could see everything like your life is a living miniature except that he couldn't play with the person in it.

In the morning, he woke up around 7 because he knew you would wake up around that time.

He had put on a tripod for his camera that was set just behind the window of his balcony.

As he waited for the coffee machine to finish, he looked through the camera with squinted eyes.

You were awake but didn't get up from your bed yet.

You had one hand under your head and your eyes were looking at the void of your bedroom, out of your head, out of this world.

He always took this moment to adore you, how you looked so beautiful by just being awake.

Then your boyfriend came into the frame again, shattering your bubble of thoughts and saying bye to you for he was going to work or whatever business he has to do outside, Han couldn't care less.

Having him out of the house felt like his least favorite movie character was absent from the scene, it was when Han felt the most triumphant.

That was because he can have you for himself.

See the full post

958 notes - Posted August 1, 2022

STARS ALIGNED.

PART I

Bangchan x reader. (s,f)

Chapters: Part II / Part III / Final

Author's Note: Advance warning! Prepare your delulu ass and embrace the cuteness, like it or not.

Chan was deep in his thoughts when the elevator dinged open, or he was too sleepy to barely function.

He waited until the door slid open to get in, then pushed the button to his apartment floor, when the elevator was about to slide shut, he saw someone coming his way.

Chan hurriedly pushed any button to halt the elevator door from closing as he watched you half-jogged into the elevator, carrying a coat and bag in one hand.

"Thank you," you muttered when you got in, then stood on the opposite corner as the elevator began riding up the building. Chan rubbed his eyes to take a look at you, he glanced at you, up and down.

You were wearing a skin-tight dress in the color he likes so much, black. The dress dipped low at the cleavage and hung low, right on the mid-thighs, Chan guessed that you must have been coming back from a night out.

Then you bent over to fix the strap of your shoes, and Chan's eyes flicked to the exposed skin on the back of your thighs, then down to where your hands worked open the straps, then strapped it back again, properly.

You yelped when you almost tripped, and Chan was ready to help you, but fortunately, you gripped the handlebar on time.

Chan almost forgot that he was in the elevator and his floor was one level away, stood up and looked straight ahead.

The elevator dinged again, signaling that it had arrived on his floor, and Chan caught a whiff of your nice-smelling perfume when he walked past you.

Chan didn't want to creep on you, but he was also curious about which floor you lived on.

When he looked back though, you were also getting out of the elevator and were walking behind him, but went in the opposite direction of the hall that leads to the other unit on his floor.

You walked up to the door and unlocked it. And that was the first time Chan saw the neighbor of his new apartment.

He got excited thinking that this wouldn't be the last time he saw you if you're neighbors.

"This is a really nice apartment," Jeongin beamed as he looked around Chan's new and still lack of furniture apartment.

Chan poured a glass of juice for himself and then took a canned soda for Jeongin, "I should thank you for telling me about it," he said, then handed Jeongin his drink.

Jeongin popped open the soda, "it was actually my aunt, she recommended it to me," he replied, then gulped his drink.

He gasped after he swallowed the drink and then sat on the sofa, "she lives in the next unit, by the way," he informed.

Chan thought he misheard him, so he didn't think about it that much. "I planned on giving this to my little cousin," he muttered while holding a paper bag, "but they're not at home right now," he sighed.

Jeongin placed the paper bag on the glass table, "can you give it to them instead?"

"Huh? Me?" He asked in utter confusion.

Jeongin nodded, "my aunt knows all of you," he assured him, "she'll recognize you,"

Chan pursed his lips, "but is your aunt really living in the next unit?" Jeongin nodded again as he sipped his carbonated drink.

"Why?" He asked.

"I've seen the person who lives in the next unit, and I don't think it's your aunt," he explained.

See the full post

971 notes - Posted May 12, 2022

HAVEN.

Bangchan x reader. (s,f)

Author's note: I am aware that I haven't written a Bangchan fic that is heavy on the fluff side, so here you go!

"I'm really, really, really sorry," Chan muttered the moment he got out of the elevator.

He saw you were sitting on your suitcase, next to the door of his apartment, reading a book.

"I was working on something, and I lost track of time," he explained, then punched in the pass code to unlock the door, "I'm sorry for making you wait for hours," he apologized again.

When the door beeped open, he swung the door wide to let you in.

"It's okay, it's about time I finish this book anyway," you assured him.

He let you get in first then helped you by dragging your suitcases inside.

"If it wasn't because my mom kept calling me, I'd have forgotten about it. I am so sorry," he apologized for the umpteenth time.

You softly laughed at him, "it's okay, Chris!"

He heavily sighed then turned the lights on, "Still, I feel so bad! I made you wait for more than two hours!"

"It's okay, Chris! It's all good now," you comforted him.

Then it got quiet, you looked into each other and realized you haven't really properly greeted each other.

"It feels weird isn't it?" You asked him with eyebrows raised, "we haven't met in years, and here we are," you added.

He nodded with a grin that made his dimples prominent.

You went in for a hug and he returned the hug by looping an arm around you, rubbing your back a few times before pulling away.

"How are you, Chris?" You asked him.

He sucked air through his teeth, then smiled, "I think I'm good," he answered.

"How about you?" He asked.

"I'm doing good," you replied, "and thank you for letting me stay in your apartment,"

"Oh please, letting an old friend stay for a week is nothing," he said then crossed his arms on his chest.

"I'm not like... intruding your private space, right?"

He quickly shook his head, "No, I rarely stay at home anyway," he said the pulled the handle of your suitcase.

"Your room is this way," he led you to the guest room and pushed the door open

"As you see, I haven't really bought much furniture for the house, but I hope the bed is comfortable enough for you," he explained, then set your suitcase next to the dresser.

"This is more than enough," you sauntered to the empty table facing the window and put down your bags on it, you peeked through the curtains to see the view and sighed at how beautiful the afternoon sky was.

"But do tell me if you need anything," he added, leaning one side of his body against the door frame.

You nodded at him, "sure, will do," you replied.

"I'll leave you to tidy up," he said then left the room.

See the full post

1,161 notes - Posted February 26, 2022

THINNING.

Bangchan x reader. (s,f)

Author's note: No angst this time. Just a good ole friends to lovers fluff! :)

"I'm so busy I don't have time to be sad about my break-up!" You said as you fixed your eye make-up with the visor down while Chan was driving your car.

"Or maybe because it's your second break-up in this month alone, you're probably immune to it," Chan playfully remarked.

You pinched his arm but because of his firm biceps, you could only pinch just enough skin and inflicted a little pain.

"Ouch!" He yelped.

"Oh, shut up! It's not even that hurt!" You sneered at him and continued fixing your make-up.

You leaned in close to him as the car arrived at the destination.

"How's my make-up?" You asked, batting your eyelashes at him.

He went to examine it with a laser focus and tapped your cheek, "You look horrible!"

You lightly punched him on the chest now, but he also got a nice firm pec there.

"How do you have muscles everywhere?" You nagged with so much frustration while he could only laugh.

The club was in full swing when you arrived. Chan doesn't like going to this kind of place, but since you were the one who insisted on him going, he had no choice but to surrender. It was that or you dragged him there yourself.

"This is my friend, Chan!" You introduced him to your friends from university and took the tequila shot on the table, gulped it down your throat.

You gasped as the alcohol burned down your throat.

Your friends stared at you and they were probably pissed because it was supposed to be girls' night out. No bros allowed.

"I know, I know. But he's leaving tomorrow," you quickly explained to them, "so I thought why not celebrate two things at once!"

You grabbed the drink in your friend's hand and took a little sip.

Yet your friends still stared at you, "oh come on!" You stomped your foot on the floor.

"Cute me some slack!" You whined, "he'll be away for three months!"

But it seemed like they doubted your words.

"It's not that," one of your friends finally spoke up.

"Are you sure he's just a friend?" The other chimed in, while the rest gulped at how blunt her question was.

You sighed and gave your friend her drink back, "Look!" You began speaking.

You pulled Chan by his elbow to your side and linked your arm with his, "you can be friends with anyone with dicks and not hop on them, okay?" You sneered.

"You guys should know that better!" You rolled your eyes at them, slightly annoyed.

Chan let out a dry laugh, he agreed with the point you tried to utter but not so much with how your word it.

"We're just friends. And we've been friends for like..." you glanced at him and tried to get a hint of the answer.

"We're just friends!" Chan stated, putting an end to the conversation and the doubts your friends have about you and him.

See the full post

1,388 notes - Posted July 16, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

THREE OF A KIND.

PART I

Bangchan x reader x Hyunjin. (s)

Chapters: Part II / PART III

Author's note: pls let me know if they should do it again!

"Let's play a game!" Chan announced, grinning from ear to ear that his dimples sunken in his cheeks.

With his red cheeks and silly laughs, you were sure he was slightly drunk. You turned your head to the other side to look at Hyunjin and exchanged a knowing glance.

"Is he drunk?" You whispered.

Hyunjin giggled, "I think so," he whispered back and took a sip of his drink.

The three of you were sitting on the sofa, facing the table that was filled with an array of snacks and a few cans of drinks from juice to the half-empty bottle of liquor.

You were surprised to have them visiting your place for a spontaneous little get-together that led to you pulling out the bottle of rum you have in your alcohol stash.

"I'm pretty sure I put a lot more coke than the rum," you said to Hyunjin.

Hyunjin shrugged, he took a bag of chips from the table, "you know he's bad at drinking," he commented, then shoves chips into your mouth in which you voluntarily took and ate.

Chan scooted close to you on the sofa, "Come on! Let's play!" He announced again, along with a toddler-like whine.

When you were about to speak, Hyunjin fed you with more potato chips which you reluctantly took and ate again. You glared at Hyunjin, and he responded with a giggle.

"What are we going to play, Hyung?" Hyunjin asked, put down the bag of chips then dusted off the food crumbs on his lap.

Chan pulled out something from behind him and made it seem like a magic trick, you chuckled at how silly he looked when he did that.

He slammed the thing and took it out of the box that turned out to be a deck of cards.

"Have you been hiding it behind you the whole time?" You asked him.

Chan laughed, he pushed his curly dark hair to the back and took the deck of cards in his hands, "I always come prepared," he said.

"Hyung, you haven't told us what we are going to play," he reminded him of his unanswered question.

Chan held up his hand, "We're going to play suck and blow,"

"Oh!" You exclaimed at the mention of the game name you haven't played since your last college party.

"You know it?" Hyunjin asked from behind you.

You nodded because the answer was obvious, "yes,"

"How do you play it?" He asked.

At first, you thought he asked you that to make sure you knew, but it was actually the other way around.

"You don't know?" You asked him back.

He shook his head.

"I'll give these cards a good shuffle while you explain how the game works to Hyunjin," Chan said, then began shuffling the cards even though it was no use to do that.

See the full post

1,606 notes - Posted January 15, 2022

Check all of my writings on my MASTERLIST!

#tumblr2022 #year in review #my 2022 tumblr year in review #your tumblr year in review #stray kids smut #skz smut #skz x reader #stray kids scenarios #stray kids imagines #stray kids fics #stray kids fanfics #kpop smut #kpop fics #kpop fanfics #seospicy smut #seospicy top 5 post

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thefatiguedfatale · 2 years

Text

Hot Springs

DnD AU

Portgas D. Ace x OC

Word Count: 2.7k

Warnings: Mentions of death

Summary: The truth comes out from the steam of the hot spring.

A/N: Hi, this is my second entry for the @onepiece-bingo event (Category: demons) and also my first fic with an OC! This is very loosely based off of DnD and I say loosely because if I had to explain why I made Ace a half demon tiefling, the explanation would be as long as the fic itself lol. ANYWHO please enjoy! (For context Nyota (she/they) is a dhampir that feeds off of other’s emotions through touch.)

“Oh wow look at that!”

Nyota pointed ahead to a small open area between the trees and the forest brush. Ace looked up from fixing his large cloth bags over his shoulder. He squinted a bit to see what Nyota was pointing at. It didn't take too long for him to see it. In front of them was a cleaning with a hot spring deeply set into the heavy stone of the mountain they were climbing on. Even from their vantage point which was still a little bit away from the hot spring, they could both see the steam radiating off the water.

Both Ace and Nyota glanced at each other in silence, with a grin slowly growing on both of their faces. They both bolted in a full sprint the rest of the way to the hot spring.

Ace without hesitation drops his bags full of stolen goods off his shoulder at a nearby tree. He takes no time stripping off his clothes and cannonballs into the hot spring with a loud splash. Unluckily for Nyota she didn't have the ease of being a tiefling to jump into an extremely hot spring like it was a regular pool of water. She was, after all, still partly human.

She stopped at the edge of the pool and watched as Ace swam around care free in the water. Nyota bit her bottom lip in hesitation.

This for Nyota was also somewhat of a big step. It would be one of the few times that she would be around someone so closely without an exorbitant amount of clothing on. She would be without her shield. She was somewhat used to being around others without the long layers of clothing, but that was only specifically when she was about to feed. That was not the case. Now this would just be her by herself with someone she didn't want to feed from with only her own sheer will to keep her thirst at bay. It did cross Nyota’s mind of just not going inside the water and just trying to be content with watching Ace, but that thought immediately went out the window. There was no way she was passing this up.

Why couldn’t she have been with someone else, anyone else besides Ace? Why couldn’t she care a little bit less if she accidentally killed Ace? Nyota didn’t notice that she had hesitated for so long until Ace had recognized her absence. He swam over to where she stood and crossed his arms over the edge to give her a questioning look.

With their hands behind their back, Nyota tugged at the sleeve of their shirt. Nyota looked Ace with the absolute most serious look she could muster.

“Ace, you have to promise me that you won’t touch me.”

Nyota knew a sly comment was about to slip from his lips just from the smile he gave her and immediately interrupted him.

“I’m serious. Do not touch me.”

Ace noticed the serious look in their eyes and put his hand up in surrender.

“No touching. Got it.”

Nyota smiled and dropped her own bag of stolen goods to the side and began stripping off her clothes without any further hesitation. Her rich dark skin glowing almost golden in the sunlight. Ace lowered himself back into the pool, but kept his eyes on Nyota. They had stripped everything but the underwear still on their body. Nyota also folded those away under their own bag. He couldn't pull his eyes away as he watched her prep her things. He was too eager to drink in every curve of her that he didn't have the privilege of seeing normally(if ever). Ace didn’t realize how thirsty he was until now. The tiefling sank down lower into the pool, only the top half of his face and his horns showing with his eyes still on her as she wrapped her locs up into a large bun at the top of her head.

Nyota had her back turned to Ace, hiding away her items at the base of a nearby tree. It wasn’t until she had taken a quick glance back while taking off some of her jewelry when she noticed him staring her down. She huffed out a laugh and turned her head back around focusing on her jewelry again.

“Like what you see firefly?”

His head moved up and out of the water and grinned, his sharp canines gleaming.

“I think this is the least amount of clothes that I’ve ever seen you in.” His grin grew larger. “So yes, I do.”

She was lucky that she turned around the flush on her face hidden from him. She could hear the grin in his voice.

“You said don’t touch. You didn’t say anything about not looking.”

She clicked her teeth against her tongue as he laughed, throwing himself back into the center of the pool on his back. Nyota turned around and made their way into the spring, a lot more calmly than their partner.

A quiet sigh escaped their lips at the first touch of hot water against their skin. They sank down even further until the only thing that wasn't submerged was their head. When Nyota sat down at the end of the pool, Ace resumed his swimming. Though it wasn't as much swimming and more just floating around with his wings gently steering every once in a while so he wouldn’t bump against the edges.

Moments of peace like that rarely came to the two of them much. Ever since they had agreed to become partners for the time being, they had constantly been on the run. They were either committing crimes for themselves or some mysterious benefactor. Each of them on their own were versions of chaos, but their agreement to join forces was like a clash of thunder. They were the fuel to each other’s fire and together that fire turned into a large and heavy pyre of flames that no one was quite sure they could ever extinguish. The light of their fire had them constantly on the run, so rare moments like these were very appreciated by the both of them.

After a little while, Ace had stopped his floating and sat nearby Nyota who had their eyes closed and was soaking in as much of the hot water as they could. It had been a little over 3 months since they had joined forces. Those months seemed to speed by in a flash. They were good together, they both knew that. It had helped that each of them also really liked the time that they had spent together. They were the key to each other’s complicated puzzle. Yet, something irked at Ace’s spirit. He had tried to keep a polite distance from the topic, but he knew that if they were going to spend more time together, this was something that he needed to get out of the way sooner rather than later. He knew that she would be upset, but this was too important to ignore any longer.

“What are you?”

An overly dramatic sigh escaped her lips. Did he really have to do this now of all times?

“I’m human.”

“No youre not.”

“Yes. I am actually.”

Nyota cracked one of their eyes open and saw Ace deadpanning her.

Damn.

They thought that they could keep their secret to themselves for as long as possible. Nyota thought they still had some time before the topic came up again(though Nyota did hope that after the first time, it would just never come up again at all). But they knew the facade was fading away. Both of them saw the cracks in the truth growing larger as time passed. Nyota could only explain away so many things as just being odd or sick.

“I’m being serious Nyota.”

Time is up I guess.

Another sigh escaped her, though quieter this time in defeat.

“Fine.” She closed her eyes again and took in a deep breath hoping that maybe some of the steam would soften the blows of her memory. Nyota then proceeded to confess. Confess that she was human at some point in time until she was turned into a dhampir. She recounted her story of starvation and heavy hunger that clouded all her senses including her sense of judgment. That she drank from the pool of water meant only for some goddess that was unknown to her to stave away her thirst. That the goddess was angry and in her anger sealed Nyota’s fate of never being able to quench that thirst again.

She confessed that her thirst was only staved away by the heavy emotions that leaked out from everyone around her. She expressed the difficulties of how all she needed to do was to touch them to sap anyone of their emotions which is why she wore so many layers of clothing. She told him how constantly she felt the emotions over everyone around her at all times and how overwhelming it could get.

She confessed about how long it took her to be back in the public again after draining someone so much that it almost killed them. She told him how after that she never wanted to feed again. To the point where now she will starve herself to the almost brink of death to stave off the most damage. That she had been taking as little as she needed from others just to get by.

She explained that she had learned how to control the curse for the most part. Her constant layering of clothing was just extra protection for others at that point. A shield against what was always looming inside her.

They didn’t know how long they sat in that water while Nyota spoke, but by the time she finished the sun was already beginning it’s decent into the horizon.

“And that’s everything."

A heavy silence lingered.

“I see.” was the only thing that escaped his lips.

“That’s all you have to say? I see?”

Ace shrugged “I mean yea, I kind of suspected it. You used to leave in the middle of the night looking like you were moments away from death and come back in the morning looking healthier than ever. Something was off. I thought you were just a full vampire off to suck people’s blood or something.”

Nyota was surprised that he wasnt that off, but she still rolled her eyes at him anyway.

“No blood, just emotions.”

“So which ones taste the best?” He joked.

Nyota kicked her foot out of the water without hesitation and splashed him while she snorted.

“They don't really have a taste per say. There’s no real physical sense attached to it. It’s more so that they feel different psychically I guess. It’s difficult to describe. It took me years to figure out which emotion was which, and even still there are some that are still too complex for me to figure out.”

Nyota hesitated on bringing it up, but they knew they had to, now that Ace understood what they were to the fullest.

“Actually,” another pause, “you're the reason I know what sadness feels like.”

Ace looked down into the swirling pool of water. He couldn't meet her gaze, even with the calm and understanding look she tried to offer him. They didn't talk about it much, but the minute Nyota explained herself, Ace understood why they were so attracted to one another. Why they found themselves coincidentally around each other so often in the beginning. His pain and sadness came off his body in heavy rolling waves, and she, before she knew it, gravitated towards him with hunger pains.

He laughed to himself softly.

“No wonder I would always feel drained after our meetups. I always thought you were just too obnoxious of a person to deal with.”

Another splash of water. "I was trying asshole! I just didn't have it completely under control yet.”

“And you do now?” The sarcasm shot right through the clouds of steam

“Shut the fuck up.”

They both looked at each other and started laughing. Nyota surprisingly enough was glad that she had gotten all of that off of her chest. She had felt lighter not having to carry the heavy burden alone anymore. Ace after a moment swam closer to her now only a few feet away from her.

“But…what if you didn't have to?”

“Didn't have to do what?”

“You're always holding yourself back from feeding off of people till the point of starvation right? You cant do that forever. So what if instead you take a little bit from me just all the time.

“Ace…”

“Wait, hear me out. You did say my emotions were extremely strong right?”

She nodded.

“When we first started interacting with each other, I noticed that I did feel drained after we talked, but I also felt a lot better. The pain I felt, felt a lot more distant and that felt good. If it didnt I probably wouldn’t be as nice to you as I am now.”

Nyota rolled her eyes.

"So why don't we try this way out instead? It'll benefit both of us.”

Nyota considered her options. She had never tried that before. Just taking small amounts from someone. She was so used to starving constantly over the years that the thought never occurred to her. Having just a constant snack. It sounded interesting. She was intrigued. Any way that she could find not having to hurt people who didn't deserve it was all the better to her.

“Fine. Let’s try it right now.”

Ace grinned. “Ok I’m all yours” he lingered at the end of the spring with his arms thrown open over the edge. He threw his head back dramatically, a smug smile tugging at his lips.

“Gods you are so irritating.” Nyota muttered

“What?”

“Nothing, just stay still."

She glided her way closer to where he sat.

“Remember what I said?”

“No touchy."

Calm calm calm.

She was used to this. She has had years of practice. Nothing was going to go wrong. She was fine. She shouldn’t be worried at all.

Nyota hovered in front of him and taking in a deep breath wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled herself in closer to him. When, after a moment, nothing did happen she smiled and leaned into him, taking his head in both of her hands.

Ace wasn’t really sure what to do in those moments. Regardless, even if he did know what to do, he found that the softness and plushness of her thighs wrapped around him were extremely distracting. Even under the heat of the water he could feel the warmth of her body very clearly. His hands twitched as he tried so desperately not to dig his fingers into her. To touch her for himself.

Ace was so distracted about their skin to skin contact that he almost didn't notice Nyota pulling his head forward towards her. Almost.

She gently leaned his head in and placed her lips against his forehead and kept them there. Her eyes fluttered closed as she put all of her focus and attention on her lips and began her methodical process. His eyes closed as well, almost immediately feeling her lips against his skin.

Only a few moments had passed before she pulled her lips away from his head and pulled his face away from hers. He had opened his eyes and had given her a hazy stare. She quickly looked for any sign that she had gone too far, but all he did was look back at her with a lazy smile. Nyota unwrapped her legs from around him and pushed herself away back to her corner of the small pool. Ace stopped himself from pulling her back into him once more.

He didn't say anything for a moment, she started to get worried.

“Are you feeling ok?”

Ace smiled and nodded the hazy look slowly fading away. His smile looked easier.

That suited him a lot better.

“So…” he asked "what did my emotions taste like?”

“Horny.”

Ace’s mouth dropped “There is no way you can tell that!”

“So I was right!”

Ace’s entire face flushed as Nyota cackled and pulled themselves up out of the spring and back to her things.

“Alright, let’s go firefly. This stuff isn’t going to make it to our benefactor by itself and we still have a little while more to walk before we can start making camp."

Ace started pulling himself out of the pool, shaking the water off of his wings.

“You want to share a tent now that I’m your personal midnight snack now?”

“No.”

#portgas d. ace #portgas d ace x oc #dungeons and dragons #one piece #one piece fanfiction

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sapphosvioletts · 3 years

Text

Ignorance

Natasha and Bucky x Autistic Teen Daughter

Summary: Natasha and Bucky, who were sent to interrogate a girl but ended up taking her in as their own, loved their daughter and would protect her with their lives, even if that's only from ignorant people - When they have to attend a dinner with some new agents and the agents are being ignorant about autistic people, Bucky and Nat stand up for their daughter. When one of the agents just can't seem to stay out of their business, she goes to their daughters room and tries to talk to her, resulting in her having a meltdown. Natasha and Bucky are good parents basically

Word count: 3,464

Warnings: Ableism, meltdown/description of meltdown, infantilization of autistic people, and potentially offensive language.

Note: Not every autistic person experiences autism the same. I'm autistic and I am writing from my perspective of how I personally experience autism, but not everyone feels the same as me or has the same perspective as I do.

Side note - With the sia movie, autism awareness month, and just stuff in general (especially on twitter) i've gotten pretty fed up over the past little while with neurotypicals thinking they know everything, so that's how this fic came to be. It's annoying seeing so many people that think they are being nice and sweet to autistic people, but really just infantilize and ignore what they actually say. It feels like no one listens to us, instead they get their info from other neurotypicals and organizations like autism speaks that only harm autistic people.

This can be read as Bucky and Nat being in a romantic relationship or not. I didn't write this with the intention of having them date, but you can interpret it however you want.

.oOo.

I'm currently at my desk, working on some school work that I need to finish up for the week. It's a Friday evening and usually I have my work done by now, but I accidentally got a little off track this week so now I need to make up the work. The little slip in my schedule has stressed me out all week, despite the work not even being due until Sunday night.

To others it might not seem like a big deal, but I rely so heavily on schedules and consistency, so being thrown off even by just a couple assignments has made me really anxious and just put my whole mood off.

Natasha and Bucky, who immediately took me under their wing as their own, understand my need for schedules thankfully. They know because of it I've been anxious and just not feeling well these past couple of days, so they've tried their best to help me out in whatever little ways that they can, like making a list of what I need to do so it makes the tasks seem less overwhelming for example.

However, they couldn't cancel the dinner with a couple of new Shield agents this evening. They feel terrible, knowing I'm already on the verge of a shutdown any moment by now and didn't want to have my schedule messed up any more than it already was. But Fury made the decision that they are having dinner at the compound, and Natasha and Bucky couldn't get out of it.

From the living room and dining room, there are a set of stairs that lead up to the next floor, which is where my room is. The other Avengers have their own floors that connect to the living room as well, some even share a floor. Bucky and Natasha felt more comfortable being the closest to the living room and kitchen so if they had a nightmare they could come down without waking anyone. I also like it because I love to garden, and my little garden is visible right outside of my window, so it's perfect for me.

I love living on this floor, except for when there's a lot of people over because sometimes I can hear them from my room. Especially when I am already overwhelmed, the loud voices, clinking of silverware, loud TV, and chairs being scraped across the floor; they are all too much.

I jump when I hear the loud knock on the front door, and a loud greeting from Steve to the Shield agent. I close my eyes and put my hands over my ears while I lean my elbows on my desk, trying to block out the noises while I calm down. I just focus on my breathing for a while until I feel slightly better.

I pull out my phone and turn on some music to drown out some of the noise as I continue with my work. I end up getting sucked into my work, almost like the world had disappeared around me for a second, and before I knew it was finished. Granted, it didn't take very long as there wasn't much to do. I sigh and lean back in my chair, stretching my back.

I jump when there's a soft knock on my door. I tell them to come in, knowing it has to be either Natasha or Bucky with how gentle the knock was. Natasha pops her head in and I turn around in my chair to look at her. She comes all the way in and quietly closes the door.

"Here, I thought I'd bring you some food because you haven't had dinner yet." I smile at her thoughtfulness. She places the plate on my desk and kisses the top of my head. Her hand runs through my hair as she peers over at my desk. "You finished?" I happily nod. She smiles brightly at me and gives me a hug from behind.

"I'm proud of you bubs! I know how hard it was on you with your schedule changing, but you did such a good job." I smile even wider and my cheeks flush at her praise. I lean into her arms and wrap mine around her forearms. "How's dinner?" I ask, not moving from her warm embrace.

"You know, the usual Steve kindness, Tony's sarcasm and snark, Sam borderline between making fun of them and being the nice therapist." I laugh, kind of feeling bad for the new agents. "Well I should get back down, text me if you need anything. Love you." She kisses my forehead and starts to walk away. "Love you too"

.oOo.

Natasha walks back downstairs and takes her seat next to Bucky. "She good?" He asks, hushed. "Yep. She finished her work already." Bucky smiles and nods, both of them going back to their plates of food

Eventually the topic turned to family somehow, and everyone was going around talking about their families. "Do you have any kids Natasha? Or any plans in the future for them?" An agent asks Natasha. Nat hides her scoff, tired of people always assuming women will have kids or want to have kids in the future.

"Yes actually, she's 15." Natasha says kindly. The agents all smile and some urge her to go on about her, asking questions. "Well, she was being experimented on by an organization, and Steve found her when he broke into the base. He took her back to Shield and I was sent in to interrogate her, not knowing anything about her beforehand. After I found out she was only 14, Bucky and I decided to take her in instead of handing her off to CPS."

Natasha was usually more than happy to talk about her daughter, loving to brag to others about how great she is, but she doesn't know these new agents very well and doesn't want to give out too much information. "Oh! I think I read that case file when I was studying to become an agent. It's really sweet you guys would take her in, with her special needs and all."

Bucky and Natasha looked at each other, both internally sighing at the agents words. Their daughter has told them all about the misconceptions and harm that is caused by people thinking they are being nice, but really aren't. They both listened to their daughter, educated themselves, as well as read all of the ressources that their daughter has shown them herself, resources from other autistic people, not neurotypicals speaking for autistic people.

Before Natasha or Bucky could even speak, the other agents started speaking up. "She's special needs? That must be really difficult for you guys, it was really nice if you to take her in!" There's a chorus and coos of different variations of that. Natasha and Bucky are stunned for a moment by all of the agents speaking, but they quickly sober up.

Bucky and Natasha silently communicated that he could take this one, so he raises his hand to quite everyone before speaking up. "She actually prefers if you'd just say disabled instead of special needs, most disabled people do actually. It's not offensive to say disabled. And her being autistic doesn't make us 'sweet' or 'kind' for taking her in. We took her in because we love her and we knew after meeting her that we felt something with her."

The agents all look a little confused, not knowing where Bucky is going with this. Sam is smirking out of the corner of his mouth, content to see the agents getting scolded for their words. "But taking care of a child with autism is a lot of work, my sister works with kids with autism, and other special needs kids, and they can be a handful. I would think that you would be appreciative for the recognition of what you guys go through to deal with a child with autism."

This time Natasha speaks up, her eyes holding a piercing glare. "We don't 'deal' with her, and we don't need recognition for being a parent. We don't 'go through' anything, it isn't a big deal. Just because you know someone who works with autistic children doesn't mean you know what it's like to actually be autistic, or the parent of an autistic kid. If your sister is complaining about it being too difficult, maybe she should educate herself more so she can be better at her job."

The agents are stunned into silence. Natasha is smirking, more than happy to go off on ignorant people. "I bet if she understood how the kids brains work she would know that they aren't having a meltdown or being difficult for no reason, and she could actually be a helpful and responsible adult in charge and help to make accommodations for the child." The agent is about the speak but Bucky cuts her off.

"And again with the special needs, I thought I just told you not to say that. Everyone has 'special needs' it's what makes us individuals with our own feelings and personalities. It's just that because they are autistic you have a different view of their needs. Because you want them to act like neurotypicals so bad, you think it's inconvenient to accommodate them. But really if a neurotypical kid asked for the same exact thing, you would be more than happy to provide it." Bucky rants.

Natasha picks it up again now. "Our daughter is not difficult or something that we have to 'deal' with. When you actually listen to autistic people, it's really easy to know what they need. Our daughter is not a burden, and her being autistic only makes us love her even more. Because that's who she is, and her autistic traits are beautiful and we wouldn't change them for the world. What we would change, is how ignorant people can be."

Natasha huffs and sits back down in her chair. Bucky rubs her back comfortingly to calm her down, despite him being quite angry himself. Everyone is stunned into silence, until Sam speaks up. "It really isn't that hard to just listen to autistic people you know. I know that you think you're being nice, but by cooing at the parents of autistic people for being so 'sweet' and trying to make it seem like you're being understanding by saying you get how difficult they can be, all you're really doing is infantilizing them. And it's wrong." Natasha and Bucky both smile at Sam, silently thanking him.

Steve breaks the tension filled silence by trying to change the topic. Bucky and Nat let out a sigh of relief once they had moved on, not liking the tension but more than willing to keep telling them off if necessary. A couple minutes later it's like nothing even happened, but Nat and Bucky really hoped they at least gave them something to think about.

When it's time for dessert Bucky fills an extra plate for his daughter, the desserts being some of her favorites. He puts on a little bit of everything that's chocolate, already knowing his daughter will devour anything chocolate. "Who's the extra plate for?" One of the agents asks. For some reason these damn agents just can't keep out of everyone else's business.

"My daughter." Is all Bucky says before walking away and up the stairs. As predicted, his daughter squealed happily once seeing the chocolate mountain and hugged him tightly. Her excitement and happiness calmed him down from the confrontation earlier. He stared at her lovingly, absolutely loving to see her happy.

He gave her a kiss on the top of her head, laughing as she shoves a brownie in her mouth. He reluctantly left his daughter, wanting nothing more than to just stay with her. Maybe even stuff brownies in his mouth and brag about how he many he could fit while listening to her contagious laughter.

When he sat back down at the table one of the agents was missing, the one with the sister. He didn't think much of it, assuming she had maybe just gone to the bathroom.

.oOo.

I watch a TV show on my laptop, propped up in front of me on my desk while I boredly doodle on a scrap piece of paper. I dont hear the knock on my door over the sound of my laptop, but when there's a second, more forceful knock I jump in surprise. It can't be Natasha or Bucky, they wouldn't knock like that. I pause my laptop so I could be more alert.

I feel my throat close up as I anxiously look around at the door. Then the door opens and some unknown woman peeks her head in. "Ah, I knew you were in here, I heard the noise." She just steps in and closed the door behind her, casually strolling into my room and sitting on my bed like it's completely normal.

I don't know who this woman is and now she is just invading my space? All of my personal things and comfort items are in here, this is the one place that I feel comfortable. I'm too anxious and shocked to speak, I only stare at her.

"Hey! My name is agent Smith, and I just wanted to say that I'm super supportive of your autism, and I'm glad you found a family to take you in and take care of all your needs." She talks very condescending to me, like she thinks she's being nice and considerate, but she's really just being extremely disrespectful.

"My sister works with kids like you, you know. I've heard a lot about kids like you." She smiles at me and I pull my knees up to my chest, curling up into a ball on my chair, not liking the woman. "Oh, is this yours? It's so pretty, you're such a good artist!" She stands up and picks up my doodle.

I furrow my eyebrows in confusion. How old does she think I am? She's treating me like i'm five, but unfortunately I'm too anxious to speak to say anything about it. "You know, I'm sure the others would like to meet you, they're all just downstairs."

I feel tears come to my eyes. I feel so helpless, I can't speak, I don't have a say in anything right now, I don't know who this woman is, and she is treating me like I'm a child who doesn't understand anything. I just want her to leave and get out of my room, but I can't even say anything.

"The kids my sister works with don't like to hang out or meet new people either. But the most important thing is that we slowly adapt them to it, teach them that they don't have to be alone and they are more capable of doing things than they think." I am so beyond frustrated at this woman. We aren't an animal being introduced to a new home, our brains just work differently, we don't just slowly adapt to things. We put up with those things because neurotypicals force us too, not caring about the harm it actually does to us.

And who is she to say that I'm more capable than I realize? I know my own capabilities, and they are sure as hell more than what she assumes I can do.

I'm frozen to my seat for a second, before my instincts kick in and I bolt out of my chair. I run to Natasha's room and lock the door behind me. I run around to the opposite side of the room and hide between her bed and bedside table. I stuff my face in my knees and sob, feeling so overwhelmed but also numb at the same time. A meltdown was a long time coming given the past couple of days, and given that I've already been on edge, that woman only made it even worse.

I don't know how long I'm sat in the small space, crying while rocking back and forth, not even knowing what I'm feeling but not liking it. It's a feeling that I can't explain to anyone else, I am so overwhelmed but under stimulated at the same time, it's like my body is too still and calm for the emotions that I am feeling inside. This causes me to scratch at my body, trying to find some sensory stimulation.

Eventually, I hear Natasha and Bucky calling out my name down the hall. The door handle to Natasha's room jiggles and she realizes that it's locked. They both give each other worried glances before Natasha quickly picks the lock. When she opens the door she takes note of the sniffles and quietly searches around her room.

When she spots me she waves Bucky over silently. She kneels in front of me and slowly puts her hands out for me. "Honey, it's just me, Natasha. Everyone has left now, it's just me, you, and Bucky in the room right now." She speaks softly, not wanting to overwhelm me.

I hesitantly look up and meet her green eyes. I then look at her hands and without thinking I pull mine out and slot them into hers. She smiles gently at me. "Can I sit closer to you?" I nod in response. She comes closer and sits in front of me, leaving a little bit of space for Bucky to join as well.

Bucky sits next to her and keeps quiet. He hands me a fidget toy and after a second of staring at it I grab it from him. After a minute or two of comfortable silence, just me fidgeting with the toy while trying to calm down, Natasha finally speaks up again. "Can I ask you some yes or no questions? Just shake your head head yes or no?" I nod, indicating to continue.

"Are you nonverbal?" I nod. "Okay, that's perfectly okay honey. Did something happen earlier?" Another nod. "Do you feel that you need to tell us what happened right now, or later? Shake you head yes if you want to tell us now, and shake no for later." I shake my head no. "Okay bubs, that's alright. I'm almost done just two more questions. Do you want to get in bed?" I nod my head yes and she smiles. "Good, last question. Do you want to be touched?" I nod again, wanting their comfort and the pleasant pressure.

"Alright, thank you honey." She squeezes my hand softly and stands up, Bucky following. I use her hands to help me stand up and she leads me to sit on her bed. "Do you want me to get your blankets?" I nod my head, so she kisses the top of my head and leaves to go grab them from my room.

I then hold my arms out to Bucky, wanting his strong, comforting hugs. He smiles and sits on the bed next to me, wrapping me in his arms. He pulls me into his lap and somehow maneuvers himself so he's leaning back against the headboard with me in his lap. He rocks us side to side, aware of how much I love the motion.

By now my sobs have turned into silent tears and sniffles here and there. I feel better, but still nonverbal and tired. Natasha comes back and closes her door behind her. She joins us on the bed and tucks the blanket around me. I contently snuggle into Bucky and the blankets.

Natasha hands me the remote to the TV in her room. I take it and start scrolling through netflix to find something to watch. I eventually settle on One Day at a Time and turn the volume down for my sensitive ears, as well as turning on the captions.

I shift off of Bucky's lap and instead settle in between the two. I lean my head on Natasha's chest and snuggle into my blanket. My hand find it's way to Bucky's metal arm and he happily lets me bring his hand over into my lap so I can fidget with it.

I love stimming with his metal hand and just feeling the plates move, it's really relaxing to me. I play with his fingers as my attention is given to the TV, bending and straightening them or running my fingers over his metal ones.

I feel warm and content in the arms of my two parents. The love that they have for me almost radiates off of them, and I can't help but feel so unbelievably happy and appreciative to have them in my life. Even in little moments of only watching TV and cuddling, they manage to make me feel like the most loved person in the world.

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shigarakis-cumdump · 3 years

Text

An Unhealthy Obsession- Shigaraki x reader

https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shigarakiscumdump/works

(If you like what you read, consider supporting me on Ao3!)

Summary: Short yandere fic based off the song “An Unhealthy Obsession,” by The Blake Robinson Synth. Orchestra.

Cw: yandere and stalker tendencies

Word count: 1.9k

.✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.☆.*｡･ﾟ✫*..✫*ﾟ･ﾟ｡.★.*｡･ﾟ✫*.

Many people would call Shigarki the creepy type if they saw him on the street. Slouched over, face always buried in his phone with his hoodie covering the rest. He looked like your local creep who hung around popular stores and malls by himself. He would go to one mall in particular, even more so after he realized they had a Game Stop there. He would frequently go in to browse, and while he was checking out one day, he met you behind the counter.

“Will this be all?” you ask in your sweet customer service voice, with your head slightly tilted. Shigaraki froze in place. No one this pretty has ever talked to him before.

“Um, yeah, that’s all.” he says quickly, looking down to the ground while you're bagging his games.

“This one’s my favorite; I’ve been playing non-stop since it came out, have fun with it!” you say as you hand the bag back. And you play games? Could it get any more perfect?!

“Thanks,” he managed before walking out of the store and finding the closest bathroom. He locked the stall door and sat down. With his heartbeat in his cock, he couldn’t stop thinking of how innocent your voice sounded, and how pretty you looked. He decided from then on you were his next obsession.

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

Shigaraki visited the store so often he learned your schedule. He would watch others make small talk with you, and it made him want to steal you for himself. His blood boiled when someone else would make you laugh. Soon enough, seeing you at your work wasn’t enough. He wanted to know more about you. So he followed you home one day. He kept his distance, being too scared of appearing creepy to people around him. You lived a few blocks away from him, who knew!This made it very easy for Shigaraki to stake out across the street and just watch you for hours. You always kept your windows open, maybe for the natural light? He appreciated it though; in his eyes, you left your blinds open for him. So he could watch as you dance around your room with your dog, and then relax and watch tv, hugging a pillow as you accidentally fall asleep. You were precious, and he realized all you wanted, all you needed, was someone like him to cuddle up into, to make sure you were safe. After all, there were too many creeps who could hurt you- he was just making sure they didn't get to you.

Shigaraki made it back to his place, but you never left his head. He went from sitting in the bushes, to sitting hunched over his desk, looking up your name on every search engine imaginable. “Bingo!” he says once he finds your socials. He scrolls down your page, seeing your stories about going to conventions earlier in the summer, spending time with your friends and- oh? What’s this? You were hugging a boy in this picture. Shigaraki zoomed in to get a good look at his face. “Why would you want a bastard like him?” he grunted angrily. He clicked on his profile and saw a post of you two eating at “your favorite restaurant” together for his birthday. The post was from the beginning of this year, so maybe you weren’t still with the guy. I mean Shigaraki didn’t see anyone while he was stalking you, which was a good sign.

Over time, his camera roll would fill up with screenshots of you off of your profile, shaky pictures he snapped of you while you were working, etc. He was in the store just when you worked now, because any other time he was following paces behind you to wherever your pretty feet were taking you. Stepping up to the counter with a few games, you began checking him out. His voice low and quiet as he asked, “Do you play games often?”

“Oh sure! Whenever I have free time, really. But lately I’ve been too busy. We should totally play together sometime!” you beam. Play together? He wanted to do a lot more than that .

“C-Cool, then I’ll see you through a screen next time,” Shigaraki scratches his neck awkwardly. You give him that practiced smile you show to all the customers. “Oh, what time do you get out?” he asks, and you give him a confused look. “S-so I know when to hop on! Just in case..” he drifts off, trying to keep cool. You tell him around 8, and he leaves. That’s perfect. Gives him just enough time to run some errands.

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Shigaraki went to the hardware store and got the smallest cameras he would find. He hurried over to your place, and prayed the key was still under the rug where you left it. And it was! He unlocked your door, and your small dog ran up to him, jumping on his leg. “You’re a friendly little guy, aren’t you?” he says, leaning down to pet the dog. Don’t get distracted ! He reminded himself. He began by setting a few cameras up in your room, one facing each corner. This gave him a perfect view of your bed, desk, and closet. While he was in there, he picked up a piece of thin red fabric off the ground. He inhaled deeply, to smell a sweet and salty scent. He shoved them into his pockets for later, and finished placing the cameras.

Back out in the living room, your dog was following him around. Shigaraki knelt down and gave him a pat. He read the dog's collar; apparently his name was Shiro. Cute. “You want something, Shiro? You need some food?” he asked, looking around for his dog dish. He found it and filled it up and then sat on the couch. He took your panties out of his pocket, giving them another whiff. The smell shot straight down to his groin, heating him up. He pulled his phone out and went to his album just for you and scrolled through the pictures. He loved you so dearly, and one day you would know just how much he cherished you. He played back the small interactions the two of you had, and all the memories you’d have together in the future. He palmed his hardening cock, head leaning back on the couch.

It was 6:30, he still had a few more hours before you were back. He revealed his dick from his sweatpants, his tip leaking pre. He put your red panties in his hand, and started to jerk himself off- the soft lace brushing against the underside of his dick. His breathing became hitched and sporadic at the thought of you underneath him making the same noises. No, he wasn’t experienced, but you would teach him everything he needed to know!

“Y/N… god you’re so tight..” he groaned. His hips thrusting up into you as you let out lewd noises for him. He grabbed your face and whispered sweet nothings into your ear.

“God please- fuck, I’m close, Shiggy!” you whined under him, twitching with your back arched and a tit in his mouth. The thoughts that filled his mind went directly to his cock. Shigaraki humped his hand, wishing it could be you, waiting for when it was you. Maybe you’d even fuck on this couch, who knows. He quickly finished and made sure to leave nothing behind before heading out and staking out behind the bushes again.

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You throw yourself on the couch as always, sitting where he sat just an hour ago. You made yourself some tea as you turned the tv on. It wasn’t too late, meaning Shigaraki could watch you for a bit.

A little later, you make yourself dinner. You take the trash out and leave it by the road. Shigaraki, being the weirdo he is, makes his way across the street, dangerously close to your front window, to snoop through your trash. There had to be something good in there. . He rummaged through your trash to find empty take out containers, some paper, and- chapstick? He wasn’t big on using it himself, but if it was yours, it was automatically going on his lips. He thought of it like an indirect kiss from his one and only. It had a taste of sweet strawberries, probably what you would taste like if he ever had the chance to kiss you. One day, he keeps telling himself. He pulls out his phone to check your room cameras and he sees you starting up your pc. Right! You asked to game with him earlier! Shigaraki raced back home to load his game, praying he would find you in one of the local servers. There was FlameThrower2050 , TheRadicalDude , SuckItRight , and Shiro’sCloud online. You had to be the last one. He shot you a direct message, asking if you were up for a game, and you said yes. You actually said yes! Of course, you didn’t know it was him. You went into a private lobby and you turned on your headset. “Hey, can you hear me?” you asked innocently. Your pure voice went right through his heart. “Uh yeah, you sound great,” he blurts out. “Oh, Shigaraki?” you remembered his name?! This left him ecstatic. The game starts and you play a few rounds, Shigaraki being in heaven. You ended up beating him. In every. Single. Round. A bit embarrassing for him, but you laughed it off and didn’t make fun of him for it. Oddly, that stuck with him. You were so nice the whole time- he couldn’t wait to talk to you at work tomorrow!

It was getting late, which is why you had to go, which also meant Shigaraki got to watch you on the cameras. He pulled out his phone, switching to the view of your bed. You crawled in with just panties and an oversized shirt on, how cute. You scrolled on your phone for a little, until it dropped on your chest and you fell asleep. Your phone battery is gunna die, silly… Shigaraki thinks to himself. He could always go over and plug it in for you. No! That was too dangerous!! What if you wake up when he’s standing over you? Certainly that’s not a good impression to leave. He argues with himself for a bit before he’s out of the house, running down the street. His feet carry him all the way back to your place. He grabs the key and goes for the door. It was unlocked. You left it unlocked for him? How nice of you! He sneaks in and Shiro is quick to jump on him. Shiro took quite a liking to him. He tiptoed over to your room, looking at your sleeping body through the door crack. He opened the door slightly, going in and looming over you. He pried the phone from out of your hands and plugged it in for you. You would thank him later; tomorrow! When you’d see him next. Shigaraki zoned out, watching you sleep soundly for a good hour, stealing pictures of you while you were snoring, and getting a quick sniff of your hair. He had stayed there a lot longer than intended, the sun starting to rise. He snuck out of your room and locked the door on his way out.

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“Oh, hey!” Shigaraki hears your pleasant voice call out to him from the counter. “Last night was a lot of fun; how about we play again tonight?” you ask him. He immediately says yes, his heart doing flips in his chest. This was the start of something good.

#shigaraki #shigaraki x you #shigaraki x reader #shigaraki smut #yandere shigaraki #yandere shigaraki x reader #yandere #stalker shigaraki #an unhealthy obsession #no smut #drabble #shigarakithirst

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chloegong · 3 years

Text

that semi-AU romajuliette + benmars fic

i need a permanent place to store this after dumping a random google doc on twitter so here it is, the author writing fic for her own book because people gave me headcanons and they were too good not to make use of

the one where juliette and marshall go out for a night out on the town and roma and ben have to go along to supervise because one time they accidentally committed arson —headcanon from twitter user @leonidasvaldz

a semi AU where Benedikt and Marshall were hanging out with Roma and Juliette in those happy months R&J had together in 1922 before everything went wrong (aka you can take this as canon because it will fit the timeline but the characters won’t have memory of this in the actual published books)

Disclaimer: i wrote this in one go inside a starbucks please expect ao3 user chloegong and not Author Chloe Gong who does multiple rounds of edits on her books

Second Disclaimer: nobody go putting this on goodreads before someone on my publishing team kicks my ass (rightfully so, i’m on deadline rn and i’m writing fanfic instead of my real contracted manuscript)

Mandatory reminder that Our Violent Ends is available for preorder with all links here :)

It wasn’t supposed to happen again. And yet, somehow, Benedikt was watching fire curl around the side of the building, the roof beams giving a loud groan before shuddering and caving in on itself.

He turned a look onto Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”

Five hours earlier...

Juliette climbed in through the window of Roma’s bedroom, careful to hug the burlap bag close to her chest as she landed on his carpet. The howling wind outside drowned out some of the clinking, but the glass bottles were still making a racket no matter how carefully she hugged the bag. She had gone full throttle for tonight; when no one was watching and her relatives were downstairs crowing over a game of cards, she had snuck around and robbed the liquor cabinets at the Scarlet mansion quite generously. Now she dropped the bag onto Roma’s floor with a huff, brushing a curl of hair out of her eyes.

“Where’s Marshall?”

Roma looked up from where he was reading, putting his book down and rising from the bed smoothly.

“Well, hello.” He strode toward her, stopping before her with his arms crossed. “Lovely to see you too. You do know it is my bedroom you just snuck into, right?”

Juliette pretended to jump in surprise, looking around wildly. “Do you jest? Oh, bother. Let me climb back out and go find my real lover. Marshall! Where are—”

With a huff that seemed to double as a laugh, Roma grabbed her wrist before she could turn around and leave through the window again.

“You’re hilarious,” he said dryly.

“I know.” Juliette reached up with her free hand, clasping her cold fingers right onto his neck. Though her palm was freezing from the bitter temperatures outside, Roma hardly flinched, he only shrugged his shoulder up to keep her hand there. He couldn’t fight back the grin. For several seconds, the two of them only stood there, looking like a pair of idiots smiling at each other.

Then his door opened.

“Are we interrupting something?”

Marshall bounded into the room, throwing the door wide open. With a horrified expression, Benedikt hurried in after him and closed the door quickly, listening for movement on the other side.

“Yes, leave the door wide open,” Benedikt said. “While any White Flower strolling the corridor can peer in and see the Scarlet heir standing there in a silly coat.”

Juliette stepped away from Roma, peering down at herself as if she had forgotten what she put on. “I didn’t think it was that silly. It’s my disguise.”

“You do look a little like a housewife,” Marshall said, considering the coat.

“A fifteen-year-old housewife?”

“I suppose that is exactly why you look a little silly.”

Juliette pulled a face, but refrained from arguing further. She was here tonight because Marshall wanted to see the new Scarlet club that opened along Thibet Road, and she had promised she could sneak him in. Unfortunately, Marshall was bad at keeping secrets, and the worst at keeping secrets from Benedikt. The moment that Benedikt heard Marshall was planning on entering Scarlet territory, he had decided that he would come in accompaniment.

Juliette supposed it was only fair. Benedikt didn’t entirely trust her, but he was nice enough. He tolerated her presence and always kept an eye over his shoulder to make sure she wasn’t spotted on their territory if she poked her head in to see Roma. While Juliette didn’t know much about Marshall either, he was far warmer than his best friend, and for the first time last week, they had even enjoyed an outing with just the two of them. Juliette Cai and Marshall Seo—out and about in the border territories on a quaint evening.

That outing had ended with accidental arson though, so it was rather possible that exacerbated Benedikt’s desire to play chaperone. And of course, if Benedikt was coming along, Roma wanted to tag along too.

The arson was hardly their fault, Juliette and Marshall had maintained when the Montagovs asked questions. What kind of person left a stack of hay out beside a bar? And what kind of hay was that easily flammable just from accidentally whacking one of the lanterns on the awning onto the stack?

“All right.” Juliette hauled the bag up again. “Are we ready to sneak onto Scarlet territory?”

“Absolutely not,” Benedikt muttered, strolling past her for Roma’s window. “But is that going to stop either of you?”

Before anyone could answer him, Benedikt had already hopped the small gap between windows, climbing into their neighboring building for their route out unspotted.

“Great!” Juliette said. She passed the bag to Roma so he could do the carrying. What was the point of converting a rival gang enemy into a lover if not to lug around her heavy things? “Glad we’re all so enthusiastic.”

Roma sighed, clambering onto his sill and making the climb too. “The things I do for you, dorogaya.”

Marshall hurried after him. “I would argue you’re actually doing this for me, dearest Roma!”

With a snort, Juliette climbed out last, and pulled the window after her.

The Scarlet club had been a bust. Of course, Benedikt had figured that would be the case from the get-go, especially if they were sneaking in at such a late hour to avoid being seen by anyone important in the Scarlet Gang. At least Juliette had provided good alcohol, and now he squinted at the label of the wine bottle under the street lamps while they walked, taking the smaller main roads along the periphery of the city.

Up ahead, Roma and Juliette were whispering to each other, though they didn’t sound like they were talking in full sentences. Those two always communicated in looks and gestures, swapping languages whenever they felt like it and ending up with some incoherent tangle of words that no one else could comprehend.

“Is there anything left in that?”

Benedikt glanced to his side, shaking the bottle to show Marshall. “One last swig. All yours.”

Marshall took the bottle. He put it to his lips and swung up, his head tipped to the sky and the line of his throat bared to the night. Benedikt shivered suddenly, a line of goosebumps rising at the back of his neck. The season had turned cold and the wind that blew onto his face was biting. He wrote off his shudder to the chill, to the temperature dropping with the longer they spent outside at such an hour.

Suddenly, Marshall was squinting into the distance. “Hey.” His call summoned Roma and Juliette’s attention from ahead, who both turned around to see what the matter was.

Marshall pointed to the dark shape off the end of the road. “Isn’t that the abandoned factory we lost to the Scarlets?”

“Is it?” Juliette asked, a sudden glee in her face.

“Why would you say that?” Roma bemoaned. He didn’t bother trying to stop her as Juliette hurried ahead, eager to explore the factory. “Look what you’ve done.”

But Marshall was wearing a similar expression, his eyes scanning the factory as they approached closer and closer. Wordlessly, he handed the bottle back to Benedikt, and though Benedikt’s head was spinning from the drink, he still recognized the exact face that Marshall made before he was going to get himself into trouble.

“Mars—”

“I’ll keep an eye on her,” he insisted, tipping his chin forward. Juliette had disappeared into the factory. “You two be look-out. We wouldn’t want someone finding us here, right?”

Benedikt scarcely had a second to argue back. Marshall was already hurrying off.

Inside the factory, Juliette trailed her hands along the dark walls, her eyes wide. The machines looked strange in the moonlight, but stranger while sitting so idle. She was used to seeing rows and rows of workers in the daytime, trailing after her father as he ran inspections on the work of their trade partners. It might have been the wine in her system, but everything seemed to sway: sitting so inactive in movement that her eyes were imagining movement.

“Pst.”

Juliette almost jumped out of her skin.

“Christ,” she muttered, whirling around with a hand on her heart. Marshall slunk out from the shadows, both his hands in his pockets. “You gave me a fright.”

“Me? Frightening?” Marshall picked up a strange object on the table, inspected it for several seconds, then set it back down. “I am the least frightening person on the planet.”

“Yes, well, when it’s so dark, even a cuddly teddy bear would be terrifying.” Juliette felt around her dress. She thought she had tucked her lighter in here somewhere. There were little pockets sewn around the sleeves and armholes that she kept all her weapons, though if anyone asked, she would say she had the ability to materialize them out of thin air.

“Do you scream often at teddy bears?”

“Only when they sneak up on me.”

“I don’t see you screaming at Roma.”

“He gets a special pass. He’s only a teddy bear on the inside.”

Marshall snorted. He leaned down, trying to read the paper taped down to the table. At last, Juliette found her lighter—it was actually in her sock—and she brought it close, thumbing down the sparkwheel for a flame.

“Do not touch—for demolishing,” Marshall read under the new light. “Are the Scarlets going to build something new here?”

“I wouldn’t know,” Juliette replied. “My father doesn’t include me in his business meetings yet.”

“Hmm.” The shadows of the factory danced. Juliette thought she saw someone darting in her periphery, and she whirled around, but it was only Marshall’s shadow. Unfortunately, she had scared Marshall with her movement, and he bumped into her, asking, “What? What is it?”

The lighter flew out of her hands, landing on the paper.

“Nothing, nothing!” Juliette assured. “I was seeing things.”

But Marshall wasn’t convinced. He swiveled around. Peered hard into a corner. “Was it ghosts? I know this city has ghosts. All that death creates so many ghosts.”

Juliette tried to look where he was looking. She couldn’t see anything except the dark.

“There is no such thing as ghosts.”

“Just last week, I felt something walk by me and then there was no one when I looked. I swear to you, if it wasn’t ghosts then I—” Marshall stopped suddenly, turning around to look at the table. “Uh… is that supposed to happen?”

Juliette whirled around too. The whole table was on fire. “Oh, God.”

With a sudden pop, the fire sprung up and licked up to the walls. There had to be something sprayed inside the factory already to prepare for demolition, or else the flames would not be traveling with such intensive speed.

“Marshall,” Juliette said simply.

“Yes?”

She looked at him. “When the Montagovs ask, we blame the factory and say we have no idea what happened. Run!”

Benedikt and Roma kept watch in relative silence. Benedikt’s head was spinning, and his cousin looked like his head was doing the same if his swaying was any indication. Roma was humming softly under his breath, toeing the grass that grew around the abandoned factory.

Then, there was a sudden sound from inside, and the first tendrils of flames blew out from the topmost windows.

“Roma,” Benedikt said plainly. “I’m willing to bet my life savings that Juliette Cai just committed arson.”

Roma tilted his head up, his jaw dropping agape. At first, he could only stare at the growing fire, eating up the roof beams. Then, he said: “To be fair, it could have been Marshall.”

Benedikt threw his arms into the air. “Who looks more like the arson type, Juliette or Marshall?”

“Is that a trick question?”

“The answer was Juliette!”

Benedikt pinched the bridge of his nose. He was rapidly growing concerned, but before he could suggest they go in to search for the two, Juliette and Marshall ran out from the factory—laughing. The factory was burning down, and they were laughing, grasping at each other and spinning in circles right in front of the factory. They looked a sight: seconds away from collapsing atop of each other in utter delirium.

Benedikt turned to Roma. “Your girlfriend is a maniac.”

Roma was struggling to hold back his laugh watching her with Marshall. “I think she’s magnificent.”

Marshall stumbled, and Juliette squealed, reaching out to grab his arm before he could trip and land flat on his face. Benedikt almost—almost—let a smile slip. Before Roma could sight it and tease him for enjoying himself after all, he cleared his throat.

“What happened?” he bellowed.

“Faulty factory!” Marshall called back.

Benedikt shook his head, turning on his heel. They needed to get out of here before someone reported the fire.

“Come on!” he called back to the three. “Let’s go before the Municipal Police arrive.”

Upon Benedikt’s summons, Marshall left Juliette’s side and hurried to catch up. He slowed to a stroll once he was beside Benedikt, but Benedikt could feel Marshall watching him.

“What?” Benedikt asked. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure his cousin was following too. Thankfully he was, though it was mostly Juliette hauling him along, their hands clasped together and swinging while Roma kept looking at the fire.

“I think you enjoyed yourself,” Marshall replied smugly. “After all that complaining about sneaking into Scarlet territory.”

Benedikt reached out and rapped his knuckles on Marshall’s skull. With a shriek, Marshall darted ahead.

“You want me to enjoy myself?” Benedikt shouted after him, breaking into a run too. “Come back then! Let me throttle you!”

FIN.

#these violent delights #romajuliette #benediktmarshall #how am i out here using my own book tags this feels weird FKJDHSDKJFH #should i tag my own name too #chloe gong #now i've gone and done it #bookblr #yabooks

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absolutepokemontrash · 3 years

Text

MC’s Date With The Brothers Goes Terribly… Then it Starts to Rain.

Side Characters ver.

Hello my dearest degenerates, there’s nothing I love more than ridiculous crack fics, but I wanted to do some fluff, so here we go!

Lucifer

This just had to happen on Lucifer’s one day off… didn’t it? He had the entire day planned out, his brothers would be out doing their own thing, which left him and MC to have the entire day together.

The two of them would have gone to Ristorante 6, watched a movie, and simply enjoyed each other’s company. But no, Lucifer can’t have nice things.

It certainly started off that way, MC and Lucifer held hands as they made their way over to Ristorante 6, and the Avatar of Pride was reminded for the thousandth time exactly why he adored this human so much.

The human was both one of the most stress inducing parts of his life, and one of the few things that made him feel completely at peace. He would move mountains for them if they asked him too…

While Lucifer was in the middle of staring incredibly lovingly at his beloved MC, the human stopped suddenly and pointed ahead of them.

“I think Ristorante 6 may be… closed today.” “What do you mean, MC- oh.”

Apparently, two demons got into a very nasty fight inside, and one slammed the other through a wall. The restaurant was in the middle of scheduling repairs and would be closed until the hole in the wall was fixed. Lucifer developed the tiniest of tics in his right eye, but all MC had to do was squeeze his hand and give him that perfect smile of theirs… *sigh* they were right… there were other good places to eat.

Well, the cafe they wanted to go to was closed that day and they both walked over there for nothing… the second restaurant they went to was full on account of Ristorante 6 closing earlier…

Finally, the two practically trudged to Hell’s Kitchen, but Beel was there an hour earlier and cleared the entire place out…

Lucifer told MC not to fret, they’d just head to the movies and buy some snacks, sure it wasn’t the fancy dinner they planned but… at least it was food.

Oh… the movie they planned on seeing was… not running that night…

“Did you check online before we left?” “…damn.”

Their date was going decidedly terrible, MC and Lucifer were eating movie theatre popcorn outside, in outfits that were way too formal, and were rapidly becoming more and more convinced that the day was just… cursed.

Then… a crack of lightning, then it began to completely pour.

Lucifer winced the moment he heard the lightning, of course… of course it would start to rain… as the rain began to pour down on the two, he simply stared straight ahead, completely and utterly defeated.

The Morning Star, the right hand to the Crown Prince of The Devildom, The Avatar of Pride himself, was defeated by a simple thunderstorm. He took a deep breath in, prepared to shout, scream, throw a tantrum of the highest degree, then just visibly deflated. He turned to MC, who looked just as defeated and drained.

Lucifer wordlessly used his magic to put up a small shield above them, sheltering the two from the torrential downpour.

“You know,” MC mumbled, resting their head against Lucifer’s arm. “The movies make getting caught in the rain seem much more romantic…”

That comment elicited a quiet chuckle from Lucifer as he pulled MC into a hug. The two were already drenched, what did it matter if Lucifer got cheap popcorn butter all over the front of his outfit? Nothing else mattered when he was with the one person in the world who could make his heart swell with this much love and adoration.

“How about we head home, MC? I think I still have some of Barbatos’ cake hidden in the kitchen, we can enjoy that and listen to some music.”

Lucifer felt MC sigh against his front, then look up with that bright sparkling smile that never failed to make him blush.

“I’d like nothing more.”

Mammon

Okay, Mammon had this whole day planned, by the end of it, his human would be swooning! He had gotten paid big bucks from his latest modelling gigs, and he was going to treat MC to a full day with their first man.

First, they were going to spend the morning shopping, then they were going to eat lunch at this new restaurant that had just opened up, after lunch they were going to just kill time until dinner, then eat dinner at Hell’s Kitchen, then they were going to go home, get changed, then head out to The Fall, party, then head home again where MC would most definitely shower the Great Mammon with all the praise and affection he deserved!

Of course, MC would be given all the love and adoration they deserved and more! Mammon’s human was the best, and they deserved the best! The Avatar of Greed was ready!

Or so he thought. The day began with Mammon deciding that he was going to make himself and MC breakfast. It was going fine until Mammon got lost in an intense daydream and by the time he snapped out of it, Beel had eaten the pancake batter and there was no time to make anything else.

Mammon’s surprise breakfast ended up being toast and cut up fruit. It wasn’t so bad, but everyone knows that fruit is very unreliable. Sometimes it’s good… sometimes it’s squishy and unappetizing…

The morning shopping trip was ruined when Mammon went to withdraw money from his account and it turned out that the money from his shoot wasn’t in the account.

Apparently his paycheque was being held back because one of the modelling agencies was being sued.

“…MC?” “Come here, silly.”

After having his face peppered with kisses, Mammon was completely rejuvenated. His human had magic kisses, after all! They never failed to make him feel better!

The two decided that instead of a shopping spree they’d spend a couple hours of window shopping, after that when the two stopped for lunch at the new restaurant. Twenty minutes after eating there, Mammon was dry heaving over a trashcan while MC chugged a bottle of water to try and settle the awful nausea that had completely taken over. Perhaps a bad review would be necessary…

The time that was meant to be spent just wandering around the Devildom was completely ruined when those damn witches showed up! Mammon was not about to forfeit his time with MC to play servant to those three, so he grabbed his human and sprinted away.

That cat and mouse game with the witches lasted for literal hours and ended with Mammon and MC hiding behind a random alley dumpster…

Finally, Hell’s Kitchen, it turned out that they didn’t take too kindly to dine and dashers, so Mammon ended up spending the time he was supposed to be spending eating with MC waiting tables to pay off his tab.

After that, Mammon was too exhausted to even think about partying, so MC suggested that they just head home and watch some fun action movies.

The moment they began their walk home however…

A single drop of water tapped against Mammon’s sunglasses, he looked up and pointed a finger at the sky.

“No.”

Another drop of water hit the rim of his sunglasses.

“No!”

I’m a matter of seconds, it had begun to completely pour, Mammon dug his hands into his hair and shouted in frustration.

“NO! NO! NO! WHY RIGHT NOW?! Why… why right now..?” His outburst had quickly petered out into Mammon physically drooping and quietly taking off his jacket. He held it over MC so they would be spared the brunt of the rain and looked down at his now soaked shoes. “I… I’m sorry… MC…”

“Mammon, what are you sorry for?” MC said gently, lacing their fingers with his.

What kind of a question was that? Mammon had fucked up the date he had planned and made himself look like a complete idiot in front of the one person who showed him any amount of love and affection.

His heart sank as he managed to drag his gaze over to MC. They were worried about an idiot like him… maybe they’d be better off without needing to constantly babysit him…

“Today… everything… I dunno…” Mammon mumbled, MC looped their arms around him, being careful not to drop his jacket onto the wet ground.

“Are you kidding? You planned this entire nice day for the two of us,” when Mammon didn’t respond, MC took on a more firm tone. “Listen, sometimes dates don’t turn out good, that doesn’t mean you have to mope in the rain. Let’s go home, order some food, and watch a movie or some dumb show, whatever makes you happy.”

Though the constant patter of the rain made it difficult to hear, Mammon sniffled and finally returned the hug. His human really was the best.

“You’re too nice to me… ya know that?” Mammon whispered.

MC pressed a soft kiss to his lips and smiled. “Get used to it, because I don’t plan on stopping.”

Leviathan

Levi had to psyche himself up for months in order to do this… he had seen and swooned over cliche TV show dates thousands of times and now, he wanted to take MC on one.

Simply asking them was a Herculean task all on its own… Levi tried to kabedon them, and failed miserably and ended up head butting MC by accident. The Avatar of Envy could have shrivelled up and died of embarrassment right then and there, but MC let out the sweet laugh that never failed to make Levi’s heart swell. They accepted the date request.

When the day came, the two left the HOL, and Levi began his checklist of things that needed to happen to make this a perfect date. First! Dinner!

Dinner… did not pan out well to say the least. The place they had decided to go to was incredibly crowded and the two of them got seated in just the worst spot. They ended up needing to end their meal early and eat outside because Levi was getting hit with a bad case of sensory overload.

Eating outside wouldn’t have been so bad if it weren’t for the fact that it was cold and windy as hell… Levi was cold blooded… not figuratively, but mostly literally, he did not do well in overly cold environments. He ended up cuddling closer to MC, which would have been really romantic if he hadn’t accidentally spilled their drink all over them.

Okay… that didn’t turn out good… well, after dinner they were supposed to go do some karaoke! Levi loved karaoke! He could sing something cute and sappy for MC, that was a romance staple!

And the karaoke place was closed for renovations… ugh…

Levi wanted to just go home and abandon the whole date idea, but MC looped their arm around him and pulled him away from the closed karaoke place.

“Remember the arcade we went to a few months ago? I saw it on the way here, let’s go there instead.” “Are you sure you want to keep this date with me going..?” “Positive.”

The arcade was fun until Levi spotted the DDR (Devil Dance Revolution) game that he and MC got the high score on last time. Levi wanted to see what other noobs had tried and failed to beat him and MC.

It turned out… someone beat them…

It seemed like Baphomet and Azazel made a good DDR team because they had managed to knock Levi and MC down to second place by a lot, that wasn’t all, apparently someone was salty after not getting past Levi and MC and put “are dumb” under their names!

Levi was practically frothing at the mouth when he pulled MC to the DDR machine to restore their lost honour. They… did not restore their lost honour. Levi ended up getting so upset he tried to unplug the machine, which somehow ended up permanently freezing the high scores onto the screen. It seemed that the entire Devildom would know that Baphomet and Azazel were better than Levi and MC, and that they were both dumb…

There was still one more thing Levi had planned on doing during his date with MC, he wanted to take them to a cherry blossom tree and suavely kiss them under it. Sadly, there were no cherry blossom trees in the Devildom, but there was a pretty decent substitute that was in bloom during that time of year. Levi and MC made their way to a spot where Levi knew there was a tree, and stood under it.

That was when Levi suddenly realized he had no clue how to be suave and began to stutter-spiral. MC patiently waited for Levi to properly articulate what he wanted to say, when they spotted a unicorn in the distance! MC excitedly pointed it out to Levi, who immediately went pale. Apparently Devildom unicorns are very territorial and very aggressive. They are Satan’s familiar for a reason…

Booking it from a unicorn was not how Levi wanted to end the date… it really wasn’t… but the final straw that broke the camel’s back had arrived in the form of a single raindrop. Then another… then another…

“Levi, please get out of the pond…”

“Leave me, find someone better.”

After the rain had started, Levi had taken off his jacket, handed it to MC, then proceeded to float face down in full demon form in the middle of a pond. The Avatar of Envy was so tired and embarrassed that he just wanted the pond to consume him.

“Levi,” MC tutted. “You’re going to get struck by lightning.”

“Good.”

“Leviathan!”

MC’s sudden shout caused Levi to flail in the water for a brief moment before he was able to use his tail to stabilize himself as managed to tread water.

“Get out of the pond right now! The Lord of Shadows would never abandon Henry like this!”

“The Lord of Shadows is cool, I’m not…” Levi crossed his arms and sunk ever so slightly deeper into the water.

“What the hell are you talking about?” MC asked. “Did we watch the same show? The Lord of Shadows is a huge dork, like you, now get out of the pond so we can go home and not get struck by lightning.”

Defeated by the power of friendship/love/fandom brotherhood, Levi made his way back to shore and was given a quick whack to the back of the head.

“Ow!”

“That’s for being a sulky dummy!” MC then yanked Levi forward by the front of his shirt and kissed him. Levi nearly gasped and began to fanboy right then and there in the middle of the kiss. A rain kiss! A dramatic kiss in the rain! That was one of the best tropes ever! “And that, was for trying to take me on a sweet date.”

“M-marry me…” Levi whispered before he could stop himself. MC giggled and patted one of his now bright red cheeks.

“Maybe someday.”

Satan

Going on fun spontaneous dates really wasn’t Satan’s forte, he preferred a schedule, but both he and MC had the afternoon free and Satan didn’t feel like bumming around at home when the two of them could do that any other day.

Oh-so charmingly taking his beloved MC by the hand and leading them to the nearest cat-cafe was the first thing Satan could think to do. He loves cats, he loves MC, what could possibly ruin a nice afternoon with both?

When the two reached the cafe, they were met with an employee closing the place early, claiming that all the cats had actually gotten adopted and they were waiting for more rescues to come in.

Satan couldn’t decide whether to be upset about the lack of cats, or happy that the cats got adopted into loving homes like they deserved. Satan settled on being aggressively happy.

It was no big deal, there were other things they could do together, like go to a library, or bookstore, or a museum, the possibilities were endless!

Well, it would have been endless if it wasn’t for the world conspiring to make Satan loose his cool. First, the line for his favourite book store was looped around the block because of a new book release. Inconveniencing, sure, but nothing too awful, there was a nice park nearby, the two decided to relax on one of the benches.

Problem number two arose when some idiot threw a Fangol ball a little too far and it ended up hitting Satan, then bouncing off his head and hitting the tree that the bench was under, normally, this would be rude and annoying but nothing that would activate Satan’s volcanic temper, except for the tiny issue that there was a wasp nest in that tree that decided Satan’s drink was enemy #1.

After being stung approximately eight times in the hand, Satan wasn’t doing too good, MC could tell and offered to go to the doctor’s with him. As Satan led them out of the park and towards the sidewalk he assured MC that there was nothing to worry about…

But MC, holder of Satan’s heart, went to go get him ice anyway.

The third and final thing to make Satan blow his top, the rain… the cold… depressing… rain…

“Oh…” MC mumbled as they looked up at the rain, then at Satan, whose hands were balled into fists so tight that his palms began to bleed. “Satan are you-”

Completely silent, Satan strode toward a nearby dumpster and slammed his foot into the metal, sending the entire thing into the back of the dead-end alley. The entire dumpster practically compressed and folded in on itself from the sheer force of the kick.

“Do you want to go home?” MC asked gently, taking a few steps towards him, Satan slowly nodded.

“Y-yes. I think that’d be the smart thing to do.” Satan massaged his forehead and took the ice from MC. “It seems that spontaneity isn’t our strong suit as a couple.”

MC sighed and nodded. “Yeah, we should go back to planning this stuff beforehand, and… you know,” They gestured around the two of them. “check what’s open and what the weather’s going to be before we head out.”

Only MC could soothe Satan’s temper as quickly as it flared up, and MC was getting covered with rainwater. That just wouldn’t do. He turned to MC and offered them his jacket. “I don’t want you to get cold.”

“Isn’t your line supposed to be ‘here, take this, you might catch a cold’?” MC lightly teased as they took the jacket. “Like a classic romantic lead?”

Satan shook his head and laughed softly. “No, that’s a common misconception. You can’t actually get the common cold or flu from being out in the rain. The real danger is hypothermia or frostbite.”

“Ah,” MC looped their arm around Satan’s and held his non swollen hand. “So smart, tell me more about the dangers of hypothermia.”

“Don’t tease, dearest, or I’ll take back my jacket.”

Asmodeus

Asmo had just the most stressful day… and decided that he and his sweet MC just had to go on a nice date together to fix it!

Most dates with Asmo had a sort of three act structure, first they would coordinate their outfits together for the actual date activity, then they’d do whatever they set out to do, then they’d go home and either snuggle, or do the Devil’s tango, whichever MC was feeling up for.

But on this particular day, the three act structure was being ruined. It started with the outfit coordination, somehow everything Asmo had that would match with what MC was wearing was in the laundry, he had to be convinced by MC that this wasn’t that big of a deal and the two of them would look radiant whether they matched or not.

Since that was settled, Asmo and MC made their way to Asmo’s all time favourite spa, which was not closed, no no no, it was actively on fire.

“How… how did this happen?” “Well, there were a lot of candles burning in that place, I guess we’ll just have to save the spa trip for another date.”

Everyone was fine by the way

Oh well, it would take more than a raging inferno to ruin Asmo’s date, he was determined to have a good time, so he cheerily took MC’s hand and led them away from the fire. He also casually mentioned that being so close to danger was a total turn-on.

MC very quickly ended that comment with a kiss, Asmo can’t make inappropriate sex jokes when he’s kissing his favourite person. It was truly a testament to his complete and utter adoration of MC that Asmo was willing to share the top spot of his list of favourite people with them!

While on their merry way to find something else to do, Asmo’s fan club caught wind that he and MC were on a date and decided to make their appearance. Now Asmo’s groupies are normally very sweet, but they can also be incredibly unaware of boundaries.

Everywhere Asmo and MC looked, one or two of Asmo’s fans would be half hiding and half spying on how the date was going. It was common knowledge that Asmo x MC was the OTP of the entire club, and some of the members wanted to get a peak of their ship doing something romantic.

As much as Asmo loved attention, it was getting kind of… creepy. He began to usher MC away from certain areas and tried to find a suitably nice place to get away from prying eyes.

The pair ended up in this absolutely gorgeous public garden that was thankfully quite empty. Though, all it took was one awkward step with the kind of shoes he was wearing and Asmo fell straight into a rose bush.

MC had to quickly get to work kissing Asmo’s cut up face better before he started to cry and ruined his mascara. What was even worse was that the fall messed up Asmo’s shoe and he’d have to walk back to the house like an uncoordinated baby deer.

Everything was fine… just fine… no need to worry… everything was… cloudy…

The moment the first drop of rain landed in front of Asmo he stood completely stiff and still.

“Don’t.” He growled. “I just got my hair fixed.”

The rain didn’t listen, and began pouring down, absolutely drenching Asmo and MC in a matter of minutes. MC tried to pull Asmo towards an alcove or a covered patio so they could call a cab home, but the Avatar of Lust refused to move. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, smiled serenely to himself, then looked back up to the sky and screamed with the hatred of a thousand suns:

“FUCK YOU TOO FATHER!”

It was quite a scene for MC to witness, Asmo rarely fully lost his cool, especially not enough to swear like an ‘uncouth barbarian’, combine that with his running mascara, scratched up face, and dirty clothes, he looked more like a feral movie star that was just rescued from the woods than the solid ten out of ten MC normally knew him as.

“Momo?” MC gently patted his back. “Come on, we should go home.”

Asmo finally turned to look at his sweet MC, the poor thing shouldn’t have seen him act like this… the day had gone completely horribly and he just had to drag MC into this, didn’t he? He felt his heart drop right into his gut as he practically collapsed into his human’s arms.

“Oh MC, I’m so sorry I dragged you out today… we should have just stayed home…”

“Asmo,” MC weighed their options, before settling on just rubbing his back. “There there.”

The awkward sniffling and snorting continued for the next couple of minutes while MC called a ride service to come pick the two of them up.

“Thank you, MC,” Asmo sniffled. “You’re the sweetest thing in the universe…”

“You’re sweet too, Asmo. It’s a shame today didn’t work out.”

“Mhm…”

“We can still save this date, you know? When we get back home we can take a bath and snuggle.”

“That…” Asmo sniffed. “That sounds really nice, MC.”

“Anytime spent with you is nice, Asmo.” MC then rolled their eyes while Asmo giggled. “Man that was corny…”

Beelzebub

Beel had come back from one hell of a Fangol game, and he was in an amazing mood! He wanted to take MC out to celebrate!

Between-meal snacks were packed, and they set off to the carnival. Nothing could beat the nice smell of fried dough, Carmel apples, popcorn, and spending time with MC.

Of course, the food wasn’t the only thing Beel wanted to enjoy with MC, there were rides and games to try while they enjoyed their snacks. First they made their way to the teacup ride.

In theory, having big strong Beel to spin the big wheel in the middle to make the teacup move would be a good thing, but even though it was the first ride, MC had eaten quite a lot of carnival snacks.

Beel only had to spin the centre disc once for the disc to both break and make the teacup to whirl around at a speed that practically threw them into Beel’s side. MC then… well… vomited. Everywhere.

Since Beel accidentally ripped the centre disc off, he couldn’t slow the teacup down manually to stop the puke-tornado, so it took a little while before the ride operator realized that something was wrong and stopped the ride.

The walk off the ride was both embarrassing and completely nauseating, MC needed to stumble to the nearest trashcan and hurl. Beel did his best to comfort his poor human and mumbled quite a lot of apologies.

“I’m sorry MC…” “Beel, it’s okay… I’d uh, kiss you but the… vomit.”

Both Beel and MC decreed that maybe rides weren’t the best idea after that, and went over to check out the carnival games.

After a few unsuccessful tries at a few games, a plushie caught MC’s eye and they were absolutely smitten with it. Beel vowed to win it for them, and lined himself up to try the pitching game.

Well, something good came out of that… Beel threw so fast it may have broken a record, the bad thing was that the ball tore through the tent and caused the whole thing to collapse.

The tent then caught fire after landing on some of the candles that were set up… the plushie went up in flames…

Beel turned to MC, who wordlessly patted him on the back. At… at least they still had their snacks…

As Beel and MC made their way to the exit, a group of kids rushed past the pair, Beel, not wanting to step on or bump into any of them, awkwardly wobbled, then fell and dropped all of his emergency snacks.

And then came the rain…

“Oh…” Beel mumbled as he stared down his spilled food, MC quickly wrapped their arms around him, looking up at him with a half-hearted smile.

“We can buy some more, or wait until we get home, it’s okay, Beel.”

The Avatar of Gluttony slowly nodded, tearing his gaze away from the wasted snacks. Thunder sounded above the two and the cold rain began to beat against them.

When Beel looked down at MC, he felt his heart flutter in his chest, they weren’t upset at him, they weren’t angry… they just wanted to make him feel better… Beel nodded resolutely to himself, he was going to make MC feel better too! He picked MC up bridal-style and began to walk away from the rapidly emptying carnival.

“B-Beel?” MC sputtered.

“Let’s go home, MC, I have cookies hidden in one of the cabinets that we can share.”

MC looked up at their sweet cinnamon roll, then buried their face in his chest. Their shoulders shook slightly as they looped their arms around Beel’s neck.

“M-MC?” Beel asked, he tried to shift MC in his arms to see if they were crying, but MC looked up at him with a sweet smile.

“You’re just the best, Beel. Never forget that.”

Belphegor

The Avatar of Sloth doesn’t exactly “do” traditional dates, but even he could tell that MC wanted to do something a little more exciting than “lay in bed and make out until Belphie falls asleep”.

Since Belphie is a totally wonderful brat boyfriend, he decided to take MC out to the best possible place in the human world for some stargazing… and napping.

He even put together a picnic basket so he and MC could eat while watching the sunset before the stars came out!

The favourite blanket was packed, the picnic basket was ready, and Lucifer gave the two permission to visit the human world for the evening. Belphie took a mental note to avoid doing any pranks for a week as a thank-you to his older brother.

Well, the first problem came when the two spread out the blanket and opened up the basket to find… nothing. Belphie immediately thought that Beel must have eaten their food, but then the memory of the food clearly sitting in the fridge entered his mind. He had forgotten to put the food in the basket… and he was too lazy to check why the basket was so light…

Oh well… no big deal, MC had a big lunch. The second problem came in the form of a swarm of mosquitoes. Gross, bloodsucking mosquitos.

“MC?” “Yeah?” “Did you happen to pack bug spray before I took you out on this surprise picnic?” “No…”

Belphie’s solution was to use his tail to bat the bugs away, but that proved to be quite useless. It didn’t help that while both MC and Belphie were being eaten alive, Belphie would end up accidentally thwacking MC with his tail.

Well, at least the sunset was nice, or it would have been if Belphie hadn’t slept through it by accident.

It was classic Belphie to manage to sleep through anything interesting, and apparently he also missed out on a shooting star which soured his mood even more.

The only little bright spot of the date so far was that MC did say that they wished for something for him on that shooting star… hopefully wish magic might salvage the date…

After being awoken by MC to look up at the sky, the two realized that something was… missing. Where were the stars?

MC and Belphie were laying on their backs facing the clouded over sky when they both had the dawning realization of what was to come.

Rain.

Of course… mosquitoes are extra active and crazy before a storm… that’s why they were coming at them…

Belphie let out a dejected sigh as the first raindrop of many hit the tip of his nose. MC scratched at their arms and began to pack up the blanket into the empty picnic basket. At least the blanket wouldn’t get too wet.

Well, he fucked this up royally. The Avatar of Sloth almost never put any actual work into something that didn’t benefit himself, but MC had managed to make themselves the exception. He wanted to make them happy, he wanted to see that cute little face they made when he’d crack a joke or make a quip about something, but now, lying flat on his back staring up at a coming rainstorm, Belphie had come to the crippling realization that all his work went to waste.

“You know, MC, the outdoors is going to lose my patronage.” Belphie murmured, blinking a few raindrops out of his eyes as the rain began to patter down with more ferocity. “I think the two of us should stick to indoor dates.”

“Couldn’t agree more.” MC sighed as they used the picnic basket as a makeshift umbrella.

“I’m um…” Belphie began, guilt twisting in his gut. “I’m sorry this turned out so shitty.”

“It’s okay, Belphie.” MC pressed a quick kiss to his cheek. “If by some miracle the food that was supposed to be in the fridge hasn’t gotten eaten by the time we get back home, we’ll eat a late dinner, cuddle, and then sleep till noon.”

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