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#i am constantly in motion. my cells one day are not the same as the next. i will never be this young again ever
shemarmooresfedora · 3 years
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Rebuilding Family
Summary: Y/N and Spencer were college sweethearts at Cal-Tech but once Spencer got accepted to the FBI Academy, he ended things deciding it was not fair to make Y/N wait for him. When they meet again years later, he discovers something unexpected.
Pairing: Spencer Reid x Fem!Reader
Warnings: vomiting, light angst due to body image issues (pregnant!reader)
A/N: i have been working on a WIP all day! it’s going to be my longest one-shot by far. if you would like a hint, click here (another hint: it’s not a retelling of the episode)
Masterlist
Chapter 28
Gradually over the summer, your bump started to peek out just a little bit. The bottom of your belly would poke out of your tank tops slightly.
Spencer loved it because it gave him better skin-to-skin contact. He would constantly be rubbing and kissing your tummy while whispering softly to the baby.
He would often visit you in your office for lunch so he could bring whatever you were currently craving. You learned this the hard way once when you packed a chicken caesar wrap for lunch one morning and by the time it got to noon, it made you nauseous just looking at it. Spencer brought you watermelon that day because it was the only thing that sounded good.
You were just finishing up an email when there was a knock at the door.
“It’s open,” you announced.
“Hi, love. How are we doing today?” Spencer inquired.
“Better now that you’re here,” you looked up from your computer to give him a kiss.
“I brought you your fruit salad with extra watermelon and your prenatal vitamins. Also, I don’t know how your stomach is feeling but I would like you to try to have some protein because fruit does not have much sustenance for you and little one. I brought tofu, peanut butter crackers, or a protein bar, whatever you think you can get down,” Spencer unloaded his bag.
“I finished the whole 64 ounce water bottle before noon. Aren’t you proud of me, babe?” you beamed, proudly displaying your empty bottle.
“So proud, I’ll go refill it right now so you can take your vitamins,” Spencer lifted your blouse up and placed a gentle kiss right on your belly button, “Daddy will be right back, little one.”
-
You awoke to the sickly twisting feeling in your stomach and you carefully rose from the bed in an attempt to not upset your stomach any more.
Spencer was up and out of the bed as soon as he heard the first retch. He grabbed a hair elastic and tied your hair back, rubbing soothing circles on your back.
“Spence, I can’t be sick today,” you cried.
“Jo will understand, love. I’ll tell her you are taking care of little one.”
“I don’t want to miss her first day of first grade,” you sobbed into his chest.
“I will facetime you and take so many videos and pictures, you won’t miss a thing,” he promised you.
“I’m going to call you out of work. Then, I’m going to get you some tea, plain crackers, and iced water,” he kissed the top of your head.
“Will you be okay in here by yourself for a little?” he asked quietly.
You sniffled and nodded.
“Okay, shout if you need me. I’m going to go get that stuff for you and wake Jo up.”
“I want to at least say bye to her. I want to see her in her first day outfit,” you insisted.
“Of course, we’ll be back up in a little,” he assured you.
About 15 minutes later, Spencer returned with a tray of just about every drink and food you had been craving for the past week.
“I love you,” you smiled.
“I love you more,” he replied, setting the tray down on your nightstand.
“Mommy, brother or sister is being bad?” Jo asked.
“No, baby,” you motioned for her to climb up on the bed with you, “They are just growing and it is making Mommy a little sick but it’s okay. I’m sorry I can’t drop you off with Daddy today. But luckily, I heard your new teacher is super nice and you have Henry in your class again this year.”
“Bye, Mommy. I’ll miss you,” she hugged you, “Bye, brother or sister,” she waved to your belly.
“Bye, Baby J. I am expecting a full report on everything that happened as soon as you get home,” you smiled.
“I’ll be back in 30,” Spencer helped Jo off the bed, looking at you worriedly.
“Spence, I’ll be fine, don’t worry,” you assured him.
“Call me if anything happens like even if you just think you’re about to throw up, call me,” he insisted.
You nodded, “Have fun!”
-
“There’s my big first grader!” you smiled with open arms.
You were waiting on the couch for Jo and Spencer to come home from pick up time.
“Mommy!” she ran into your arms, “Ms. Moore is so nice. She let us color whatever we wanted for an hour during craft time today and she had a whole bin of dinosaur books in the library. And, me and Henry played on the big kid swings at recess today and I jumped off into the air!” she exclaimed.
“Oh my gosh! What a fun day you had!” you smiled.
“And you didn’t even hear the best news yet, Daddy signed up to be a classroom helper,” she beamed.
“Did he now?” you grinned, turning your attention to Spencer.
“Ms. Moore had the sign-up sheet out at pick-up time. How can I resist spending more time with Jo? I’m going to get lonely when both my girls are at work and school,” he plopped down on the couch and squeezed you both.
-
You couldn’t find a single cute blouse that still fit you that morning. You had to wear an ugly wrinkly gray one from the back of your closet that you bought a while back and hated but never got around to returning. You brushed through your hair quickly and forwent any makeup because you already felt like utter crap.
You would have called out sick but you had an important department meeting today that you had to sit through. Luckily, that meant little to no talking but you just had to pray that your stomach would settle.
At the end of the long day, you went home and changed into sweats. In an attempt to cheer yourself up, you drove to Jo’s school to see Spencer in action. It was his first day as class assistant.
You approached the classroom to see Spencer surrounded by a group of moms. They were all over him, practically swarming him like bees to honey. These were the exact moms that were horrible to you last year. They were all dressed in high heels and skinny jeans, stuff you couldn’t wear anymore.
You turned around and headed back out to the car.
-
Spencer immediately noticed your car wasn’t in the driveway when they got home.
“Love?” Spencer called out, setting his keys on the table when they entered the front door.
No response.
Spencer tried your cell but it rang out.
He immediately had Garcia on the phone next, “Penelope, I need you to track Y/N. She’s not home yet and not answering her cell and I’m worried.”
“Oh, McDonald’s? Okay, yeah thanks. That’s been one of her cravings recently,” Spencer hung up the phone.
“Why did Mommy leave school and now she’s not here?” Jo questioned.
“Mommy wasn’t at school today, Princess. I think you are confused,” Spencer furrowed his brow.
“Daddy, I saw her,” Jo stated.
“Okay, I believe you,” he picked the little girl up and exited the house once again.
-
You didn’t want to be the crazy pregnant lady in a McDonald’s crying with a chocolate milkshake and a large fry but that is who you had become.
You heard the bell chime but you didn’t look up, dipping your next fry into your milkshake.
“Love, what’s wrong?”
Spencer was standing over you, looking very concerned and carrying Jo on his hip.
He set her down and whispered, “How about you go play in the play place for a little, Princess. Daddy will order you a happy meal.”
Jo looked at you with the same amount of concern in her eyes before deciding it was best to just follow what Spencer said. She ran off and Spencer took the seat across from you.
“Do you want to talk about it?” he spoke softly.
“Not particularly,” you took a long sip of your milkshake.
“Jo said she saw you at the school today,” Spencer stated.
It didn’t take a profiler to see the way your face sank even more and you stopped sipping your shake.
“What upset you so much, love? I need to know if I’m going to fix it,” he grabbed your hand and kissed it.
“Nothing fits,” you stated.
“We’ll buy you more maternity clothes,” he replied quickly.
“I look ugly,” you protested.
“Completely and unequivocally false,” he answered sincerely.
“Those moms are going to steal you away from me,” another tear slid down your face.
Spencer’s face softened, he moved from the seat across from you to right next to you.
“You are probably feeling some residual feelings of abandonment because you had to do this alone last time,” Spencer stated softly.
You buried your face into his shoulder as confirmation.
“Love, I am never leaving you or Jo or little one ever again. There’s nowhere else I want to be. This is what makes me happy,” Spencer looked around, “I’d gladly stay in this crusty McDonald’s forever if you and Jo are here.”
Your giggle was muffled by his cardigan.
“That’s what I like to hear,” Spencer smiled, wrapping his arms around you.
A/N: i named Jo’s teacher ‘Ms. Moore’ as a little shoutout to @homoose !!! moore...moose, close enough. she was one of the writers who inspired me to start writing my own fics
taglist: (just ask to be added or removed!): @samuel-de-champagne-problems @g0lden-cth @spencerreid9 @averyhotchner @coldlilheart @k-k0129 @ickleronniekinsemotionalrange
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klbwriting · 3 years
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Unexpected Allies - Chapter 1
Fandom: Six of Crows/Shadow and Bone
Pairing: eventually will be Kaz/female!Reader but for now nothing
Warnings: I mean, Kaz Brekker is involved, someone is getting maimed
Summary:  The Darkling won the Ravka civil war, defeating the Sun Summoner and taking command of Ravka. Then he went looking for ways to make his Grisha more powerful. Kaz Brekker knew this but took the job at the Ice Court anyway, getting himself and Jesper Fahey thrown into a Ravkan prison for his efforts. After getting broken out by the Darkling's second in command the trio has to find their way to the Permafrost and the resistance gathering there. And then Kaz has to figure out a way to get his crew out of this whole mess. But how can he get himself out of the mess of feelings he has for the Grisha with all the powers?
Note: Hello!  I am alive!  I have found motivation for something else!  As much as I loved the Shadow and Bone show I have found more love in the Six of Crows books so this fic is an AU based on both.  In this the Darkling won out over Alina and then Six of Crows happened like it does, except the Darkling showed up to ruin things as he does. Also going to address the Inej sized elephant in the room, in this Kaz’s feelings were less strong towards her because I ship the fuck out of Kaz and Inej but I also ship the shit out of Kaz and myself too and I needed some self-insert.  I hope you like it, I missed writing and I’m glad to find some inspiration again.  
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Kaz Brekker was known even in prison as the guy who didn't need a reason. He wanted his infamy to spread even behind bars, the better to keep those looking for a pigeon to harass away. On his first day in this hellscape he had stolen a fork from the dining hall and used it when his cellmate attempted to take the makeshift cane that he had been provided from his hand. Now he no longer had a cellmate and his old cellmate no longer had his eyes, and word spread quick of the young man willing to kill to be left alone. That had given him the time and space to start to plan his escape.
First, get Jesper as his cellmate. That was accomplished with ease. Anyone else they put in with him would be blind or deaf or crippled within 24 hours so it came down the guards asking him straight out who he wouldn't maim. He said Jesper Fahey and they allowed it if only to have a night's peace. Jesper didn't look like he was faring well. In a cell at Hellgate Jesper would have been alright but here in a West Ravkan prison near Os Alta where his Zemeni features made him stand out he had become a target. When he entered Kaz's cell rage filled the young crime lord. Jesper was thinner than ever, dark circles under his eyes and hands fidgeting constantly, almost like he needed a drug but Kaz knew it was just because he couldn't focus his energy.
"Jesper," Kaz whispered after the guard had left and his sharpshooter sat on the cot. "What do you need?" Jesper looked at him slowly and gave half a smile.
"Just my friend, s'all ok now," he said. Kaz felt the side of his mouth twitch up just a little. "But I could also use a way out of this damned place." Kaz nodded, gripping the wooden walking stick a little tighter. He wanted to put a comforting hand on Jesper's shoulder but he could not, Jordie's body, cold and wet and dead flooded his mind, and he couldn't bring himself to reach out. He hated that this place seemed to be tearing his friend apart slowly. It was even taking a toll on him. Everyday was the same, waked up with the sun, eat a breakfast of stodgy porridge and soggy bread, washed down with possibly the grimiest coffee ever made. The prisoners were then sent outside to work on either the large farm for the prison and surrounding towns or they were forced to be target practice for the Grisha guards. Normally only the worst of the worst were reserved for practice, or those that pissed off the guards. Kaz had avoided this so far but he knew Jesper had run his mouth one day, getting snarky with the yard guard and he had almost been drowned by a Tidemaker the next morning. Lunches were non-existant most days. They were shuffled from work to 'free time' which meant sitting in the hot afternoon sun either playing cards, or, if they were lucky, sitting under one of the shady trees that scattered the yard. Evening was the only decent time at this hellhole, it was dinner, and then back to the cells. Kaz enjoyed this time, he was normally alone to plan, and now that Jesper was here they could plan together. He had the beginning, how to get out of the cell, but the rest he was still working on.
"I have been planning this since we got in here, you were the first part of my plan," Kaz said, watching as another set of guards walked by. He checked the small window above their heads. "She's coming any minute now." Jesper looked at him confused for a moment before the cell door opened and a guard told Kaz to get up. Kaz nodded and stood, Jesper rising as well.
"This one should come too, he was at the Ice Court with me on that night," Kaz said to the guard. The guard looked between them and shrugged, motioning for another guard, a Grisha Corpolaki judging from the kefta he wore. They led Kaz and Jesper out of the cells and into one of the small interrogation rooms. Kaz was familiar with the room at this point, having been there several times in the past few months speaking with the Grisha Infernei who was seated at one of the two chairs in the room. She looked up as they entered and he noticed that she seemed relieved, something she hadn't shown before.
"Are there anymore of your comrades from the Ice Court in this prison?" she asked, motioning for another chair to be brought in. Jesper sat down hard while Kaz stood still, leaning on the walking stick and once again studying the Infernei. She wore a red kefta with black stitching, something different from the others and he was still not sure why. He supposed it was because she was high in the ranks. After the Darkling defeated Alina Starkov and her followers he had gone back to using his true name, Aleksander Morosova, and became king of Ravka. He used the power that he had sucked from the Sun Summoner to control the Fold now, moving and reshaping it to whatever he needed and on the night of Kaz's jurda parem heist he apparently needed the jurda parem also. Kaz and Jesper had been taken but the others had escaped.
"No, no more of us, just we two were involved," he said. The Grisha looked between them, assessing them. Kaz took another moment to look over her while she studied Jesper. He always liked to measure who he was up against, and he didn't mind studying her. She was curvy, seeming to like waffles more than Nina did, with hair a deep auburn and eyes the color of dark chocolate. The first time he saw them they reminded him of Inej's eyes except her's were more hopeful than he had ever seen Inej. This Grisha fully believed that something good could still happen in the world. Kaz was almost jealous of this, but of course, this Grisha had seen her side win the Ravka civil war. His eyes now met hers and he saw that while he was studying her she had been doing the same to him. He could tell she knew he was lying but he didn't care. He had spent the last 4 months keeping his answers vague, giving just enough information so that she would feed him information back about the current situation at the Little Palace, now the true royal home since the Grand Palace lay in ruin. King Aleksander left it as a reminder to those who would attempt to assassinate him, bodies still left scattered around the rubble, Alina Starkov's kefta in tatters on the front steps. Kaz hadn't seen it but from the way this Grisha described it, he believed it was terrifying.
"Mr. Brekker, we both know the heist you were attempting could never be accomplished with just two people," she said, a knowing smile on her face. This seeming infatuation the Grisha had with him was a plus for Kaz. He often wondered if he could possibly seduce his way out of the situation but his mind couldn't fathom the interactions involved, so he would wait. Perhaps this woman had a inclination towards criminals, she might be seduced by anyone, Jesper could do it easily, Kaz just had to get the ball rolling so to speak.
"I don't know, I think Jesper and I can accomplish anything we put out mind to," he answered, bringing himself to nudge his partner in crime with his elbow. The Grisha nodded and opened her notebook as she did at every meeting and began to write.
Y/N had noticed the look on Kaz Brekker's face when he elbowed Jesper Fahey. She could see his hesitation, she noticed the look in his storm gray eyes. He was bracing himself for impact as if the touch would somehow hurt him. Jesper's face was surprised at the touch, and he physically turned towards Kaz with shock. She opened her notebook and pretended to jot down something important as she did every day, but she mentally notated this interaction. She had been listening to others in the prison and despite his limp Kaz never let anyone see him as weak, however, this aversion to touch was never mentioned. He hid it well out in the general population but she could see something about touch bothered him immensely, that information could be useful later. Kaz Brekker was a tough nut to crack she had to admit, but eventually she would get to where she needed to be with him, hopefully sooner rather than later. Aleksander was having a tough time buying her excuses and she had to become even more convincing for him, continuing to keep his trust after the betrayal of the Sun Summoner was an arduous task. She hoped soon she could drop her facade and begin her true purpose, breaking Kaz Brekker and his cohorts out of this prison and find the gathering resistance in the Permafrost.
"Alright Mr. Brekker, we left off yesterday with you explaining to me how you came to know about jurda parem and what the Fjerdans were doing with Bo Yul-Bayor and his son Kuwei?" she said. It had taken months for Kaz to even start explaining anything to her. She had hoped that agreeing to allow his friend to be his cellmate would open him up. Luckily the gamble had worked at their last interrogation. His answers had still been too vague to really make an impact but it was a start. She hated to make him desperate but she needed the information, something to feed to Aleksander and send him on a chase for more jurda parem. Kuwei Yol-Bo had escaped from the Ice Court and that knowledge was keeping Bo from cooperating with the Second Army. He had recreated exactly one vial of jurda parem and refused to create another until his son was returned safely to him. Kaz Brekker and Jesper Fahey had been the last people to see Kuwei alive and she needed something to tell Aleksander before he decided to come here and do the interrogations himself.
"Yes, I believe I told you that a rumor had gone around Ketterdam and that I just happened to hear it," he said, making sure he was as convincing as he could be. Once again Y/N pretended to write something down, pretending to believe his lie. He was a very good liar, she could see that in the way his eyes held truth, his body language said honest, even his pulse was calm, however, the blood in his veins moved just a milisecond faster during his falsehoods. It had taken nearly a month to figure out the tell in his body but she had done it and now she used this against him.
"Must have been quite a rumor to make you put your friends in the line of fire of Fjerdans and of King Aleksander," she said, keeping her voice light, leaning a little closer to him. She couldn't lie, she was enraptured by the young man from the Barrel of Ketterdam, but she wasn't foolish enough to believe that he would ever see her as anything other than another Ravkan Grisha blindly serving her king, but she could pretend that she hoped to lure him in, get him feeling confident about her.
"Jesper will tell you, he was eager to join me to find this new drug, imagine the kruge we could make from such a thing," Kaz said, standing suddenly and poking Jesper towards Y/N with his cane. He moved towards the wall, leaning against it. Y/N watched him for a few moments before turning her attention to Jesper. He wanted to push someone else at her? Why? She could tell he liked the attention she gave him, maybe not in a way most men did, but he liked it all the same. Jesper barked a laugh.
"Eager? You came back and acted like we were going to be rolling in kruge, become kings of Kerch," Jesper said. He was also a practiced liar, following the lead of his boss as it were. Y/N smiled at Jesper then, making sure her brown eyes looked intrigued and enraptured. She noticed the Zemeni man leaned back in his chair then, clearly not interested in the attentions of a Grisha like herself. "But ya, I mean, I wanted the kruge and I was having a good run that night at the tables, felt lady luck was on my side." She saw him fidgeting near his waist, where his guns should be. She had those stored in her private quarters, along with a certain crow headed cane, waiting for the right moment. She had been watching Kaz and Jesper since they arrived, having her spies give her information on them. They were the only link she had to Kuwei and Inej Ghafa and she needed to know all she could before she continued her plan.
She tried to pry more out of the two for several minutes before one of her people, a young Squallor entered.
"The hour is late Korovsa, the king is finished waiting," she whispered. Y/N’s jaw tightened. Her eyes flashed to Kaz and she saw him take notice of the slight change in her features. Her fears were starting to come to pass. She needed to end this charade now.
"Guard, please escort Mr. Fahey back to his new cell. Mr. Brekker and I have more to discuss," she ordered. The guard grabbed Jesper's arm, hauling him from the seat. Y/N wanted to say something, tell them to lay off the guy, but knew she couldn't appear as if she cared. Once he was gone she made a motion for Kaz to sit. He still stood. "Sit, now," she insisted, hoping he heard the urgency in her voice. He eyed for another moment before he moved to sit. She leaned closer, all of her coy attitude gone.
"What's happened?" Kaz asked casually, working the top of the walking stick with his hands, the only sign of his concern. Y/N let out a breath.
"My time is up, tomorrow night expect there to be a riot, stay in your cell with Jesper, don't leave until you hear 2 bells, then leave the cell and go to your left, the door will be ajar due to the last guard through it mistakenly knocking over mop. Once you are in the corridor go right and follow it to the deserted morgue. I will join you and lead you and Jesper out, do not leave without me," she said.
"Why should I believe any of this? That you're just going to help up walk out of there?" Kaz asked, trying to read her, seeing if she was lying. She groaned annoyed. Why was it that her only hope was as distrustful as her current king?
"Because I want to see the king's body burn before he destroys all of us," she whispered, voice dripping with venom. Kaz looked a little surprised at her viciousness and he nodded. She sat back, knowing that by now the guard had returned.
"Well Mr. Brekker, you've once again been no help, tomorrow the king will be coming to personally interrogate you, I hope you are looking forward to it," she said. "Guard take him back to his cell." The guard nodded and yanked him out of the chair. "Careful, the king won't like it if he can't inflict the pain himself," she warned, more to Kaz than the guard. She hoped Kaz believed her enough, that she had shown her hand to him enough that he would do as she asked. If he didn't they were all screwed.
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jishyucks · 3 years
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Eight Count ‣ lmh
‣ genre: fluff, enemies-to-lovers, hogwarts!au, I think it's a slow burn
‣ wc: 10.8k
‣ summary: "There's honestly no way Minho would like me. And me of all people would know that." ; in which fate decides to be an ass and make you and Minho dance partners
‣ an: I'm sosososo sorry @ whoever requested this bc of how long it took. I didn't mean for it to be so long but it kept going and uni is to blame bc all of the work :(( but anyways enjoy !!
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i.
You feel the beat of your heart quicken as you maneuver through the maze of corridors that you had begun to approach. Time was ticking. The first classes of the day had already started about half an hour ago, and here you were, racing down the stone hallways, tardy and a bit dazed.
It had only been a mere five minutes since you had woken up in the dormitories in pure panic, the realization that everyone had left and you were still cuddled up against one of the pillows in your bed driving you to act quick. You could accuse your housemates of not even bothering to check if you were alive, but you soon decided to place the blame on your body's restlessness and inability to go to sleep when you wished. You wouldn't call it insomnia, but your sleeping patterns weren't normal either.
Approaching the dance room with a quiet sigh of relief, you tug at the wooden door and peek in, hoping that you weren't barging in at such a humiliating time.
Scattered around the rather room, students were paired in twos. Each couple's bodies had been facing each other, hands sitting awkwardly in the other's while their faces were turned towards the dance instructors, Professor Shin and Professor Na. By the look on Professor Shin's face, it was evident that she was about to continue speaking, but the door swinging open had caught her attention.
"Ahh Y/N, nice of you to finally join us," she clasped her hands in genuine excitement, passion towards dance obviously bubbling up inside of her.
You grinned crudely and bowed your head, "W-what should I do, Professor?" Spotting your best friend Felix within the group of students, he tried his best to send you a look of 'we were supposed to be partners'. You shot him an apologetic expression back before turning your attention back to both professors.
After a brief pause in thought, Professor Na's face lit up, "Ah yes! Lee Minho lacks a partner as of now!" Following the eyes of your teacher, they brought your line of sight to the far corner of the room where Minho had been sitting. At the mention of his name, he raised his head to see that everyone had been gaping back at him in what seemed like total silence.
A sharp intake of air through your nose had replicated a gasp, eyes growing wide, "P-pardon?" Out of all the boys in the class, an amount you couldn't keep track of with your fingers, you had to end up with Lee Minho? The human embodiment of a wet sock?
Minho was… unbearable, to say the least. It wasn't that he had done something for you to hate him, which made you seem like a bad person, but in all honesty, your guys' personalities didn't seem to match. He was too arrogant, in your opinion. He has this energy that he carries that really didn't sit well with you, and by the looks of it, the feeling was mutual. It was as if you both ended up on the opposite bc end of everything.
It really doesn't help that you're a Hufflepuff, and he's a Slytherin. For some unknown reason, they always loved teasing the people from your house, though Hufflepuffs chose not to return their actions.
"Mr. Lee is the only student remaining with no partner."
You gulped and slowly approached him, only because your professors had motioned you over to him. If you could protest, you would, but what was holding you back was the attention given by the entire class and the teacher's who seemed too excited for their own good.
Minho pressed his tongue against his inner cheek, eyes lighting up in wrongly-fueled happiness. He hopped from the upper bench and down across from you. You blinked back at him dryly, maintaining calm yet trying to speak to him with your eyes.
Crossing his arms, he leaned forward and smirked, "Why the bitter face? You should relish in your luck for ending up with me."
"Stop talking, dead cells are coming out of your mouth… Luck my as–"
"Now! That everyone has a partner, I'd like you all to stick with these individuals until these classes are finished," Professor Shin had announced. It was quickly followed by groans and whining from many of your classmates. Though you hated your partner and wished you had arrived earlier and paired with Felix, you stood quiet, isolating the anger within your chest.
"And before we begin once again," Professor Na added, "I'd like to point out that this is still a class. We will be holding a class particularly focused on evaluation and your grade will be heavily based on participation over the length of this course." Once again, a chorus of grumbles had flooded the room.
You hear Minho curse under his breath, only because he was now two steps too far into your bubble, "This is utter bullshit."
This time it was your turn to taunt, "Why? Are you scared or something? Can't dance? Can't keep up with everyone?"
Narrowing his eyes, he scoffs, "Oh, shut your mouth, bumblebee. Just wait and see."
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ii.
"Get up!" Felix tugged at your arm, voice sounding louder than it actually was. When you hadn't shifted at all in your bed, he sighed and tugged once more, "Y/N!"
"Wha– Felix you're not allowed in here!" You kicked at your blanket and sat up.
"We need to get to dance class," he clicked his tongue, "Let's go~"
"I really don't want to go," you whined, "I'd rather fail a class than hold hands with Lee Minho for an hour and a half." Felix dragged you out of your bed to see that you were already dressed in your robe, only your yellow and black tie had been carelessly tied.
"Wait, did you not change out your clothes from yesterday?" Felix jumped back in exaggeration, alarmed and slightly grossed out. His nose scrunched while he judged you through his eyes.
You glared at him and scoff, "Of course I did, you idiot. And don't act like you haven't done that." You take this as your victory as it was true, Felix had gone two days without changing, and it was a bit nasty considering all the places he's gone to in a day.
This time it was his turn to glare at you, "You shut your mouth! Now let's leave before Snape sees us roaming the halls once class starts."
Minho winced slightly, trying not to let your feet ruin the simple waltz routine that the class had finally run through, "If you step on my foot one more time, I'm shoving yours up your arse." His teeth were gritted in frustration, looking down at you with narrowed eyes.
"Then stop stepping on my feet," you muttered back, hoping that no one else, especially the professors, were hearing you two bicker.
It had only been about two lessons into the class and that amount of times that Minho had purposefully disrupted the routine… as if it were good, to begin with.
The two of you found it difficult to fall in sync with each other. It was always either going too fast or too slow, someone making an 'accidental' mistake, and Minho's favourite, holding your hand and hip with a tight and stubborn grip. It wasn't evident whether he was doing it on purpose, either, but you had pointed it out plenty of times, and he never seemed to loosen them.
"I'm not stepping on them," he pushed you back a little too early in the dance, causing you to stumble on your own feet. This caught the attention of those around you, though they carried on almost immediately after.
"Tell that to my bruised toe," you argued back.
As if you were being blessed, the music had finally come to an end. You promptly retracting your arms and to your body and taking a step back from Minho. He had done the same, going an extra mile to turn away from you and to the professors.
"Perfect! Perfect!" Professor Na's face lit up from excitement, "Now that we have learned this simple routine, next class we are moving on to one of the actual dances done in the Yule Ball as tradition. I hope you all are excited as I am!" Very few students had taken time to let out a "whoop" while everyone else, including you, chose to retrieve their books at the seats.
Felix approached you with a pitiful smile. He already knew what you were going to say, patting your back gently, "So how was it?"
Exhausted, you just shook your head and shrugged. Being partners with Minho honestly had been completely draining for you, mentally and physically, which was unusual as you could often live through such situations without feeling the need to scream.
"What else do you think?"
Felix nodded apologetically and puffed out his cheeks, "Is it as bad as the potions exam we had in fourth year?" He shuddered subtly and led you out of the classroom. Just thinking about that exam made Felix want to claw at his brain. If there was a way to take a particular memory and make it disappear from the chamber of long term memories, he would. Maybe then he'd be able to get a few more hours of sleep.
"Yes," you replied simply. The test was equally as horrible for you, but a test didn't force you to 'create chemistry' with a certain Slytherin.
"You're lying… can't be that bad," Felix laughed lightly.
"Easy for you to say," you sighed.
From behind, you feel someone bump your shoulder and pass by you, "Oops," he snickered, walking backwards to watch your reaction. The only thing he was missing was popcorn.
You turned to see Minho and rolled your eyes, "Ha-Ha, you're so funny, Lee Minho." Such a childish joke and you guys were almost leaving Hogwarts.
Though your reply had been dripping in sarcasm, Minho's wit had dodged it entirely, "Well thank you very much," he bowed, more like a manly curtsy, before he ran off, leaving Felix slightly puzzled at what just happened.
"Don't you see how much of a dingbat he is? He constantly chooses to pick on me just to get a reaction out of me," you utter, "He should be glad I was raised to be patient, if not I'd be hexing him like the world was near its end."
"I see a pattern," Felix hummed. The expression on his face looked as if he had come to an incredible epiphany.
Making a face, you click your tongue, "What do you even mean by that?" What pattern? Green, white, green, white? Minho and his constant need to be the crow to your crops?
Felix patted your head, "You're slow sometimes, you know that right?" He puffed his cheeks up and raised his brows as he looked down at you as if you were a kid.
"Can you just spit it out?" you narrowed your eyes at him before you physically pried his hand off your head.
"Minho does all of that just to get a reaction out of you," Felix presses his lips into a thin line, slowly forming a smile.
Finally arriving at the next classroom, you groaned, "You basically repeated what I said earlier…"
"If you didn't know this already, boys love getting attention from someone they are attracted to," Felix plopped into his seat. You followed right after, "I should know… I'm a boy."
You almost laugh at the tone of his voice. The confidence and the look he gave you to emphasize his statement; was all too funny, "So what you're saying is… Lee Minho has a – and god forbid– crush on me?" Felix nods like a young child, with eyes wide and a tight-lipped smile.
"Bollocks," You burst out laughing, "Felix, I love you, don't get me wrong, but you've never said anything more rubbish in the years I've known you."
"The chances are never zero," Felix put his index finger as if he were saying it in 'a matter of fact'.
You lean forward and sit your chin at your folded forearms. You eyed the teacher as she made her way into the room, "You're right there, Lix, but there's honestly no way Minho would like me. And me of all people would know that." You locked that statement in, feeling your words and emotions contradict.
Right?
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iii.
"And then Y/N had the audacity to step on my foot," Minho kicked at the bench across from him, frustration released after what seemed to Seungmin was years of ranting. He didn't mind though, in years of being in the same house as him, he learned how to block him out yet still know what was going on when Minho asked for some sort of reply.
Minho tapped the end of his pencil against his textbook, eyes drifting off elsewhere in the grand hall. Students were clumped at their respective tables, studying for whatever class they had. Minho was trying to do the same, but his state of mind was not in the mood. But he was trying, he was pushing himself, that's what mattered in his opinion.
Turning his attention to Seungmin, who was seated next to him, he jumped, seeing that Seungmin's eyes were wide and directed at him, "What the hell!?"
"What?" Seungmin shifted back forward, facing his own books. In a sense, the scene was hysterical. He acted as if he hadn't done anything wrong or out of the ordinary, but Minho still tried to push an explanation out of him through looks.
"What do you mean what? Why were you looking at me like that?" Minho put his pencil down and closed his book on it.
"I was trying to see something," the boy shrugged and got back to his own work.
Again, Minho furrowed his brows at Seungmin's lack of detail in his response. What in the world was he even trying to do? "Trying to see what? If you don't answer me properly–"
"Okay! Okay!" Seungmin exclaimed a little too loudly, earning looks from other wizards in the room, "You know that saying that if you're in love, you start to glow?"
"No? What type of nonsense are you saying?" Minho scoffed, "Love? Are you sick or something?" Roughly, Minho brought the back of his hand to Seungmin's forehead, which Seungmin had thrown off almost right away.
"You've been talking about Y/N this entire period, you haven't stopped until moments ago," wiggling his eyebrows, Seungmin whispered his reply to Minho, making sure no one would be able to hear him this time.
Minho's face had contorted into one of disgust and confusion, "And?" Where was Seungmin even going with this? He was just relieving stress. It's not that deep.
"My point is that they're the only thing you've been talking about lately," Seungmin scribbles his pen at the top of his paper to get it to work, "Even if I start the conversation, it somehow just shifts to Y/N. Normally I'd be mad, but since you're in love, I'll let it pass."
"In love?" Minho's jaw dropped, a mixture of emotions swimming around inside of him, "In love!?" Trying to find words to perfectly reflect what he was saying, he fails, shoving Seungmin off the bench. Actions spoke louder than words, right?
Seungmin smirked and chuckled, unfazed, "What? Cat got your tongue?" He gets up, dusting his robe off before sitting back down, "It's because I'm right, aren't I?"
Minho gulps, "Will you quit it? You're…"
"I'm…?"
"You're confusing me. Quit it," Minho huffs, gathering all his things as he was planning to return to the dormitories. This was a different way of playing with emotions. There was a zero per cent chance that he liked you, or worse, loved you. That word was way too strong, dangerous like amortentia.
"I take that as a yes!" Seungmin stood his ground, just letting out a genuine laugh.
Minho held a finger up at Seungmin, who still laughed, unbothered. He didn't like you. And if he did, it wasn't wrong to do so. It was an ordinary mortal thing to have feelings. But that didn't matter right now because he didn't like you, not even a tiny crush.
But that slight state of unfamiliar panic in his heart says otherwise.
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iv.
The muscles in your arm were aching from the horrible fact that Minho had been purposefully letting his arm go limp while he was holding your hand, which somehow led to you holding up his arm with your arm. You frowned at him, tempted to let your arm fall in the middle of the routine.
"Can you actually put in some effort?" you whispered through gritted teeth. Squeezing Minnho's hand, you directed a look of annoyance that only returned with an amused look. Underneath his robe, you could tell he had been intentionally dragging his feet, causing the both of you to slowly hold those partnerships behind you up.
"I'm not wasting energy on this," he shrugs quietly, "It's ridiculous."
"What don't you find ridiculous?" you rolled your eyes, "You Slytherins and the lack of interest in anything but yourselves. Where's the excitement in that?" No, you didn't want to generalize the entire Slytherin population, especially since you had family members from that house, but you knew exactly how to rev up Minho's engine. Just by the way his face twisted, you knew damn well you hit the right spot.
"Shut your mouth before I spin you a little too hard…" he said a little bit louder, "I don't find it ridiculous, I just find that us being partners is ridiculous… who in this entire school would want to be partners with you?" Before you could even reply, he had caught you, "That's not from your house."
"Jokes on you, I know plenty of people who would be partners with me," you scoffed, and it was true. There was Jisung who had somehow been sorted into Gryffindor, Hyunjin and their seniors, Bang Chan and Changbin. And there was Jeongin, who was a Ravenclaw. You could list a handful more, but that's beside the point.
"Silence is deadly," he stifled a laugh which had driven you to 'accidentally' stumble over your own feet. This caused him to stumble himself, only he wasn't prepared for it, "I'm blaming you for ending up being my partner. I was hoping someone else would've entered the room. But no, it had to be you."
"You're blaming me? For this?" You shake your head out of disbelief, not noticing that your voice had gone louder. You were catching the attention of those around you and the professors at the front of the room, "You could have found a partner you wanted in the first place but you probably decided to stay back and wait for someone to go up to you. No one wanted to be partners with you, which is why you ended up alone in the first place."
Minho's eyebrows furrowed, eyes almost on fire at what you had just said, "You know what?!"
Before he had been able to continue the banter, Professor Shin had cleared her throat. The glares that they both were sending your way had caused the both of you to stop with the squabbling, "Y/N, Minho, I know we've never talked to the two of you about your constant bickering, but it is simply interrupting the atmosphere of my classroom."
Taken aback, the both of you had stumbled over each other's feet, falling to the ground and causing a domino effect among the rest of the students.
Flustered, you turn to Minho, "That was all your fault, Lee Minho." You huffed and attempted to get up, failing once you noticed that Minho was practically lying on your leg.
"Oh be quiet," he rolled his eyes and dusted himself off, "That was all you! You and your two left feet." The rest of the room was silent, regardless of the incident. All ears and eyes were on the 'love birds,' not entirely sure whether or not they should blame you both on what had just happened.
Sliding out from underneath him, you scoffed, "Don't speak so highly of yourself, Minho."
Minho cackled, "Highly? Of myself?!"
"Stop this instant!" Professor Na had finally mustered up the courage to intervene, anger bubbling in his stomach, "Enough!" The two professors began helping the students up, scolding both of you as they did.
"Five points deducted from your respective houses," Professor Shin said sharply, "And you both are now in charge of polishing the floor every Friday for the following three weeks."
"But professor–"
Minho was cut off, "That, or ten points off for your houses…" And without another word, you both chose to polish the floors after all classes were done for the day.
Day one of polishing the floors was practically the most difficult. Not only did the professors restrict using magic to finish the chore, but the overall idea of doing something alongside Minho aggravated you, which was why you hated dancing with him so much. The comments he'd make, the taunting looks he'd give you, the jokes that were obviously uncalled for, they all were honestly bringing you to the point of near insanity.
At first, both of you had decided to start off on the same side, almost the same corner. But the moment you noticed Minho constantly glancing your way in the corner of your eye, you decided against it, "How about I start at that end."
"Whatever floats your boat," he mumbles, "I don't care."
The tone in his voice hadn't matched yours, which you assumed was polite enough not to spark some type of that energy in him, but it did.
"Whatever," you make your way to the other end, sliding your robe off on the way. You let it hang off one of the benches, making sure it wasn't touching the floor. You rolled up your sleeves and started polishing the further end of the room, a bit relieved that Minho wasn't hovering anywhere within your line of sight. It was better that way.
The second day, you were hoping that you could get through a period of cleaning without hearing Minho's ungodly voice. He had been moving back and forth from one corner to the other, feet squeaking seemingly endlessly against the floor. You wished that the volume of the music could be turned up louder.
"I'm doing more than you are," Minho pointed out. You turned to find that he was standing in the middle of the room, hair messy and beads of sweat lining his hairline. His collar was out of place, and his sleeves were rolled up to his elbows just as yours were. Did he, for some reason, look attractive, or was it the lack of light in the room? Probably the latter.
"What do you mean you're doing more than I am?" you feel your eyebrows knit together in confusion, "I'm doing the same amount of work as you." And you were, but you were working just a bit slower than he was. He had probably sped through his area with the idea that the sooner you both finished, the sooner you were able to leave.
"Just hurry up," he groaned. Minho dragged his feet over to a lone stool, pushing it against the wall before plopping into it. The music continued to play, drowning out the shuffle noises of his feet.
"No," you replied, keeping your speed consistent. It wasn't like you wanted to stay longer. It was the fact that Minho couldn't leave until you were finished that was making you act this way. Maybe if he did his job well, he wouldn't be sitting around doing nothing.
Tile by tile, you continued to carry out the chore given to you, not paying mind to the pair of eyes that were burning holes into your back. You ensured that the areas you had worked on were basically spotless, reflection or not, you assumed that shiny meant clean.
Minho had been humming along to the somewhat catchy tune, foot tapping to pass the precious time he believed you were wasting. Nonetheless, he leaned back and sighed, hoping you could finish in time, so he had time to nap before dinner.
"Why do they even need classes for dancing?" He sighed out. At first, you weren't quite sure if he was speaking to you or if he was just thinking out loud, "I feel like we'd be fine either way…" You turn to look at him, seeing that he was already staring at you down.
"I mean it's going to look nice at the Yule Ball,"
You replied.
"Yeah but not everyone's going… it's a waste of time," Minho had a point, yet you still found it somewhat amusing that the school would want to organize such things.
"I don't see why you don't just skip class if you find it a waste of time," you moved onto another spot and sighed, "No one's stopping you."
"Yeah but who'd be your partner then?"
Not knowing how to react to his question, you keep quiet. Minho decided not to follow up on the problem, thinking that he had said something out of the ordinary.
The sun had reached the horizon when you finished your portion of the room. You stood up to stretch, hearing the joints of your knees and back pop out of exhaustion. It was satisfying to see the difference between the used, scruffy floor and the clean, polished floor.
"Okay Lee Minho I'm finished," without taking a glance at the boy, you made your way over to the record player. You lifted the needle off and picked the record up, slipping it into its sleeve. It didn't occur to you that Minho hadn't shifted in the past thirty minutes, silence filling the room because you turned the music off.
"Minho?" Finally turning to him, you found him sleeping with his head sat back against the wall. His mouth was wide open, practically becoming a makeshift trap for bugs that happened to be flying around. The rest of his body was limp, legs spread out beneath him. It was surprising that he hadn't fallen off yet.
You walked up to his sleeping figure and laughed lightly, wishing you had a camera to capture this moment. It would've been great blackmail. Maybe then he'd start being nice to you. Naturally, your eyes followed the slope of his nose, then to the two front teeth that stuck out from underneath his top lip.
He had bunny-like features, and you didn't mean that in a wrong way. His face was still sculpted nonetheless. Anyone with eyes would have to admit that he was attractive.
"Done staring at me yet?"
You screamed and jumped back, pressing your hand up to your chest as if to calm you down. Looking back at Minho, you find that his eyes were still closed, yet a smirk had replaced his gaping mouth. The number of curse words that threatened to leave your mouth was countless, the embarrassment creeping up to your cheeks. He finally lifted his head to look at you, eyes still a bit droopy from his nap.
"I-I wasn't staring at you," you denied, shaking your head a bit too aggressively, "Well I was… but because I was laughing at how foolish you just looked."
An offended look surfaced Minho's face, scowling at you as he stood, "I have this feeling that you're lying, bumblebee… Anyways, this is where I leave. Finally, after years." He shook his rolled-up sleeves so that the cuffs slid back to his wrists. You let him leave without another word from the two of you, still in a bit of shock at what just happened. You knew he was never going to let you forget that.
You slumped next to Felix as dinner was being served, an expression almost as heavy as your posture. He looked down at you, debating whether or not he should interrupt the mini montage you were probably playing through your head.
"I want to ask you how the cleaning today was but I think I already know just by looking at you," he stated, sliding a piece of roasted chicken your way, "Unless you do want to speak about it. Just eat and the day's over."
You gave him a grateful smile and gestured for him to eat too, eyes lighting up slightly, "I'm actually not tired from cleaning that stupid dance room, but it's just… this thing that happened. It was beyond embarrassing."
Felix snorts and stuffs his cheeks with food. His words came out muffled as he still chose to reply with a full mouth, "What happened this time?"
You glanced towards the Slytherin table, eyes scanning it quickly to get one quick look at Minho before you whispered, "Minho fell asleep waiting for me to finish cleaning. He looked idiotic as he did so I sorta just—how do I say this— stared at him? But it wasn't like I was admiring him, it was more like I didn't want that stupid look on his face to go away. It was amusing."
"And?"
"In the middle of that he went, 'are you done staring yet?' It was like he had a sixth sense or something," you muttered, "Now I feel like he's making fun of me."
"Doesn't he always make fun of you," Felix had yet again stuffed his mouth, so his words were still muffled, "Why does it matter this time?"
"It's different. It's not some useless situation… it was genuinely embarrassing," you poke the food before taking a bite of your own, "He's going to it against me, I already know."
"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure he'll forget it sooner than you will."
"Hey remember when I caught you staring at me?" Minho's voice echoed faintly throughout the room. He stood up to stretch before he crouched back down.
"I never stared at you," you sneered, "And why are you talking about that as if it happened years ago. That was literally last week."
"That's long enough in my book," he retorted, "Good times." A small reminiscing type smile appearing on his lips.
"Can you not start? I sorta want today to be stress-free and you're literally ruining it," you roll your eyes and move onto the next tile on your side. Minho had decided to choose a different record to play today, one the professors had never played in class. It had been hidden behind all the other records being used, and it took Minho a good five minutes to rake through all of them just to get to it.
The songs were more upbeat than the waltz music you were forced to listen to, which was actually much more perfect for cleaning to. It made it a bit more bearable than the last two times you had to clean.
Minho didn't reply, though you didn't see how he switched glances between you and the mechanical polisher in hand. The track had shifted into a faster song, something that was easy to dance to. From where he stood, he could see your knitted eyebrows, eyes dropping from the slight fatigue blanketing over you after a long school day.
Upon awareness that his shoulders were slumped, he straightened himself and sighed. This week had indeed been a long week, and it was evident in some way in both of you. This was the last of the week's labour before he could go and relax while mindlessly saving his homework for Sunday.
The music had been tempting to let go earlier than he should for the week, the steady beat and the catchy melody filling the room.
Putting the polisher and the rag down, he took a few steps towards you, still contemplating whether he should do what he was thinking or not. He was unsure whether it was bizarre for him to pull such a thing. But you did say you wanted a stress-free day, so he thought he should switch up a bit.
He started moving his body to the rhythm of the music, head bobbing as it took over him naturally. It was easier dancing alone than with a partner, that's for sure, but he wanted to invite you.
"Y/N!" He was freestyling, arms flailing and legs bringing him across the room with a swift movement.
You sighed, "What now?" Turning to Minho, you find him in the middle of the dance room, doing what the room was made for. He had a foreign smile on his face, not the usual smirk you'd find him sporting.
"What the–"
"Join me!"
You went through several different emotions in seconds, confusion, amusement, joy, contemplation… how were you supposed to react to a goofy Minho?
"Join me!" He repeated. This time he approached you, hands out in invitation, "C'mon it's fun!"
"Minho, we have to finish this so we can leave, remember?" You tried to keep a stern look on your face, yet you couldn't hold back the smile that had been forcing itself out. Minho suited this look; It was happier and carefree. You didn't know that his eyes would light up when he smiled a somewhat gummy smile.
"I know, but let's take a break," being the impatient boy he was, he took hold of your hands and pulled you up. He led you in a dance that probably wasn't considered a partner dance. He just pushed your arms back and forth like those scenes in the movies.
"Minho!" You finally let out a laugh, feet unable to keep up with his. He was sidestepping left, then sidestepping right, then back and forth, all unplanned. You stumbled, letting out joyful laughter that was rare around Minho. He laughed along with you, eyes disappearing the bigger his smile got.
When your legs had gotten worn out from constant movement, you tripped over one of them, sending you and your dance partner to the ground. Instead of erupting anger that would have usually washed over you, fits of laughter fell in its place, echoing throughout the room.
Before you could ask if he was okay, you hear footsteps enter the room, a confused Professor Shin staring the both of you down, "What are you two doing?! This is not polishing the floors!" The exasperation changed the normal hue of her skin into a shade of crimson.
Quickly apologizing, you get up and return to your so-called 'stations,' not being able to say another word about what had just happened to each other.
You wouldn't admit it out loud, not in front of Minho at least… but that was the most fun you've had in weeks.
Little did you know, Minho felt the same way.
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v.
There was a part of you who had gotten used to Minho's horrible dancing after two weeks of dancing classes. After what happened last week, there was a tiny sliver of toleration that had surfaced from both of you. It was mutual. But obviously, neither of you were going to admit it.
Though Minho was starting to get somewhat bearable, there were still days when he'd begin to act up, smirk pinned tightly on his lips while he mischievously pranced about in the dance room. Today was one of those days.
When Professor had slipped the record onto the play, dropping the needle onto the very edge and starting it, Minho had chosen to let his body go heavy, relying on you to haul him around like a giant, weighted ragdoll. You knew he wasn't tired, just judging by the look in his eyes.
"Give it up," you tugged him roughly in one direction, then again towards another, feet hardly following the steps the class was taught the past few weeks. If Minho let his body grow just a bit limper than it already was, his head would have fallen directly onto your shoulder. If you were being honest, you didn't want any attention from anyone else in the room, "Lee Minho, I'm not in the mood for this today, okay?"
Minho's ears perked at the foreign tone that had slipped from your lips, sensing that you were being serious. You would tell him to quit it most days, but never with that tone; It was no fun if you weren't fighting back. Sighing quietly, he had picked his body up and started to follow the eight-count that Professor Shin was practically yelling out.
This minor change didn't go unnoticed by you, feeling his body grow lighter just moments after you'd ask him to quit it. Did he just…?
Other students in the room were surprised that you two were going more than thirty seconds without arguing like a married couple. Many sets of eyes didn't bother leaving the both of you, watching what would happen next in the twist of events.
Minho's feet carried his body swiftly; for the first time, he was guiding you like he was supposed to, but his eyes were glued to his feet, not wanting it to become weird if he were to make accidental eye contact with you. He didn't like how quiet it was between the both of you. The music didn't even do its purpose by filling the silence.
"Are you going to the Yule Ball?" Minho asked awkwardly. He twirled you as part of the dance. He recognized that look on your face which was basically a wordless reply, "That was probably a dumb question." Shaking his head, Minho mentally slapped himself. Never in his life did he fail with words.
"Of course I'm going," you replied rather expressionless, "Why would I not?" You were almost as confused as earlier. Minho trying to make a civilized conversation. Who the fuck was this? It wasn't Minho.
He shrugs, "I don't know… I guess you have a date…?" Minho, what the fuck. He squeezed his eyes shut as if the stone floor would swallow him wholly to take him away from this situation.
As puzzled as you were, you still decided to keep the conversation as it was, "Nope… I think I'm just going with Felix for fun." You tried to keep your tone calm when really you were freaking out. The only thing was you had no idea why you were freaking out, "Y-you?" Facepalm.
"No one."
None of you chose to speak after, not knowing where the conversation was going. The song was slowly reaching the end, which you had wished came sooner. Minho's hands were growing sweaty, and you wanted nothing more than to wipe your hand off. It was getting hot in the room too. Your collar was growing tight, throat itching for water.
Minho's heart was beating a bit too fast for his liking, but it was probably because he was growing tired from the moving. He wondered if you could feel how sweaty his hands were getting. Embarrassing.
"Final counts!" Professor Na called out before the static of the record player replaced the music. The two of the professors had clapped in adoration, overlooking all the students in the room.
Professor Shin had a broad smile on her face, "Beautiful! Gorgeous! Best one so far!" She twirled in place, "Thank you everyone! The Yule ball is in two weeks so I am very pleased with the effort you all are putting into this class! Remember we still have the final class in which you are graded, which I'm sure you all will ace."
"I couldn't care less," Minho mumbled, only so you could hear.
You turn to him, squinting your eyes and tilting your head to express your slight frustration, "You know I'm your partner right?"
"Oh no~ really?," he stuffed his hands into his pockets, "And?"
"And? I don't want to fail this class, even though I'm forced to dance with you," you stated, "So don't you fucking dare fail us both." That tone in your voice was evident once again, catching Minho off guard. The only reason that it had this effect on him was that he was so used to you choosing to fight back. It was like some sort of reminder that everyone around him was getting old, and soon all those around him were expected to be serious.
Nevertheless, Minho shrugs to annoy you, "Whatever."
Instead of answering, you eyed him once more. Your dancing just a few moments ago says otherwise.
You had practically sighed out the total capacity of your lungs as you hung onto Felix's arms on the way out the door.
"What are you sighing about?" He chuckled.
"You already know," you elbowed him.
Felix rolled his eyes and sang, "I saw you guys dancing earlier~."
You pushed him away gently, shock littering your face and posture, "What the bloody hell are you on about now, Lee?"
"You guys actually look cute together when you aren't babbling and all," he grinned innocently. Your heart had the audacity to skip a beat, startling you just as much as Felix did.
"Cute?" You scoffed, "First you said you think he liked me, now this? Are you his wingman or something? Are you trying to get me to like him?"
Felix skipped in his step, "I don't even talk to Minho, Y/N, don't be ridiculous… wait… did you basically just say you're starting to like him?" He gasped, hand slapping over his mouth, which had fallen in shock.
"No," you say flatly.
"Liar," Felix poked at your rib, "Liar. At least confess that you find him less bad."
"Sure, whatever makes you happy, Felix."
When you had fallen out of Felix's line of sight, you let the corner of your mouths turn up slightly. He said we looked cute, you think, only followed by you flicking yourself in the temple.
-
"I thought you were staying here until it closed?" you frown at Felix, who started gathering his stuff. You both had planned on cramming everything in for a test the next day, but plans didn't go as planned when Felix was eager to go back to the dormitories to sleep until the morning.
"My eyes are going to fall out of their sockets if I don't go and sleep, Y/N," he pats your head as if he were talking to a young child, "You can stay if you want. I know how much you hate studying in the common room." He double-checks his area to ensure he hadn't forgotten any of his belongings before patting your head once more. He grins and turns towards the door of the library, leaving you sitting alone at the table.
"Felix ~" You called out quietly, only for him to wave with his back facing you. You sighed and slumped back in your chair, resting your arms on the handles. Libraries were so much better when you had company.
The words in the textbook were starting to turn into blobs of ink, and for a second, you were thinking about following in Felix's footsteps. After moments of consideration, you shook your head and sat up. You'll stay, even if it was against the will of your fatigue self that had been prompting you to leave. This was all your fault anyway. Procrastination was a cruel thing.
Hunching forward, you let your eyes trace over the words, trying to process the information. You rewrote the info you wished to remember carelessly. Your notes resembled chicken scratch, but at this point, you didn't care because it was simply supplementary to your studying. The sun was close to its horizon, and the library was close to empty. It was somewhat more motivating.
Slowly the information had started to get more interesting. It was easier to run through the key terms and ideas listed in the textbook, and you could feel the exhaustion simply leaving your body. I'll finish this one last chapter and then save the rest for lunch tomorrow.
Your focus on the book had hindered your peripheral vision that the presence of another wizard floating over your shoulder went unnoticed. It was only until they had sat down next to you when you finally noticed.
You jumped in your seat, eyes growing wide. You had luckily suppressed your scream with your hand, which you had, out of defense, swung forward, slapping the person in the chest.
"Ow! What was that for?"
"You don't sneak up on people like that, Minho," you rolled your eyes at the Slytherin, shifting away from him before turning your attention back towards the textbook. He scooches closer with intentions of irritating you, pushing his face towards your book, "What are you doing?"
You push him away and stick one of the thicker books between you both, "What does it look like?"
"Studying?"
"You're smarter than I thought, Lee Minho," sarcasm dripped from your voice as you glared at him. Attempting to continue with the final chapter, you miserably fail when Minho interrupts your concentration by tapping his fingers loudly against the wooden table.
"Don't you have anything better to do?" you say numbly, voice muffled by your robe, "I was literally just sitting here and you decide to do this."
Minho shrugs and uses his arms as a makeshift pillow, "I was bored, saw you, here I am, I'm here to stay."
Your eyebrows furrowed at the fact that Minho decided to 'spend time with you upon seeing you. You had no idea whether to feel flattered or irritated, but you knew you were confused. He could've just gone back to the Slytherin dungeons to sit with his housemates, but he saw you and decided to sit with you.
Staring blankly at the bookshelves across from you, you huffed out the corner of your mouth, blowing a stray strand of hair by your cheek. You did say you wanted company. You just weren't sure if it was Minho's company that you wanted. Glancing down briefly at him, and looked back up to the bookshelves.
"Fine," you say after pondering about the idea.
Minho's ears perked up, raising his brows, "Fine?"
"Just don't be loud."
Minho's head tilts in confusion, though he still complies, sitting next to you patiently. You continued to read through the final chapter, which you had underestimated in length. The chapter was a good half a centimetre in thickness. Though it didn't seem as much at first glance, the pages were practically dipped in ink, words covering it from one corner to the other.
You could feel your eyes grow heavy as you delve deeper into the chapter. Your bed was calling for you, but there was no way you were going to give. Not until this chapter was finished.
The library had been silent except for the occasional click of the pen from the librarian's desk. You had been mentally counting down the number of pages left to skim over, eager to feel that feeling of satisfaction you usually get once you finish a task. It was the same feeling as crossing or checking off a chore on a to-do list.
Minho had settled his eyes on the centre of your book, keeping them steady even as you flipped the pages. He felt the lids of eyes gradually get heavier as each page went by, and by the time you shut the book in delight, he had fallen asleep.
"Again?" You furrowed your eyebrows, remembering the last time he had fallen asleep in your presence. You darted your eyes away from his dormant figure, not making that same mistake twice, "Minho, wake up."
He stirs right away, head rising from his arms. This time he says nothing, pushing himself off of the library's chair before stumbling over his own feet as he makes his way to your side. He looked like a toddler, and it was admittedly adorable.
"Why didn't you just go straight to the dorms if you were tired," you snorted at his dumbassery. Some students still littered the halls even if curfew was nearing. Instead of parting from your side at the library's entrance, Minho stuck by your side.
"I wanted to spend time with you outside of class," he grumbles. He blinks at the long corridor in front of you two, eyes barely staying open from exhaustion.
Feeling your heart skip a beat, you tried to pick out if he was joking or not, but his tone screamed, 'I'm tired.' Any other emotion was hard to comb out, so you sighed and shook your head, pressing your lips into a smile, "Sleep that cheesiness off, Lee Minho."
Minho continued to walk next to you, silent and confused about what you just had said. It wasn't like he was drunk. He was well aware of what he just said. Nonetheless, he subtly walked you to the kitchen corridor, parting ways with you with an uttered 'goodbye.'
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vi.
Sitting against the stone wall, you watched the rest of the class carry out the dance routine, formation changes and all. You ran through it with them, only mentally as your partner was nowhere to be found, and the class was halfway done.
There were barely any classes left before the final graded run through, and Minho really thought it'd be funny to skip? You would have let it pass if you guys weren't the worst duo in the room, but you guys are the worst duo in the room, which made the situation different.
"Professor Na," You asked quietly, "Has Lee Minho been excused from today's class. Is he ill?" You didn't want to jump to conclusions, keeping in mind that people did have their own reasons. Maybe he had caught a cold or was doing a missed exam that was far more important than dancing.
"No word from Minho, Y/N," the professor hummed back.
You frowned and thanked him, turning back to the main dance floor, students moving in sync. Where was he?
Just as you had finished your train of thought, the door had swung open just like it probably did on the first day of class. Minho stumbled in, hair a mess and a rather sheepish smile stamped on his lips.
"I apologize Professors," he bowed deeply, following the perimeter of the room. He bowed again as he reached the two instructors at the front of the room.
Professor Shin stopped her counting, "No need to apologize to us, apologize to your partner." She gestured towards you, already looking back. Minho nodded and approached you, though when he did reach you, he didn't apologize.
"And?"
"And what?" Minho ridiculed.
"Aren't you going to apologize like what the Professor asked?" You tried not to laugh at how Minho had been acting.
Minho let out a cackle, “No? Why should I? Can you stand up so we can start dancing or something?" His hand was itching to reach out for yours, feeling like he should pull you towards him, but he hindered himself from doing so, stuffing his hands into his pockets.
Instead of pushing the apology out of him, you decided against it, not wanting to waste any of your time, "Why are you even late?"
The two of you followed the crowd, joining in at the perfect time. Minho smirked, "Worried about me or something? I know I'm in your head twenty-four seven, but I didn't expect you to be so obvious about it."
Tightening your grip around his hand, you gritted your teeth, "I wasn't worried about you, nitwit."
"Then why are you asking?"
"Because you made me sit, doing nothing for nearly forty-five minutes?" You reply as if you were pointing out the obvious, "So why are you late and coming to class looking like a mountain troll?"
"Wow, ouch," he sighed, "I slept in. Am I going to hell for doing so? Because I can recall you did the same the first day and got us into this mess."
"This is about you, not me," you applied pressure onto his hands, causing him to stumble back slightly, ruining the rhythm he had built up. He furrowed his brows at you and did the same, only you were somehow ready for it.
"Oh please," Minho rolls his eyes, "You've done the same so you shouldn't even be mad at me."
"I'm only frustrated, not mad, there's a difference," you point out, "And I'm frustrated because we have that graded dance next week. If we fail, it's going to be your fault."
"It takes two to tango," he quoted, "And you already know where I stand on that. I don't ca-"
"Shut up, the professors are looking," you warned, flashbacks to the three weeks you had to polish the floors.
Minho laughed slightly, letting air blow out of his nose. He let his eyes drift down at you, keeping them there for a little too long.
"What?"
"Nothing," he shrugged, spinning you along with the other students, "You just looked way too terrified." The next move had the two of you closer than the initial space between you.
"I don't want to be spending an extra three hours with you after classes polishing the floor," you retort sharply. Instead of holding eye contact with him, you stared at the Slytherin crest on his uniform.
"I know you liked spending time with me, don't lie," he rolled his eyes teasingly.
"I'm not lying."
"You staring at me says otherwise."
"Oh hush about that already, I literally told you that I wasn't staring at you," Inwardly cringing, you felt relief once the music had stopped. You stepped back and eyed down the boy in front of you, "Why do keep bringing that up?"
Before Minho could give reasoning, Professor Na had spoken up from across the room, reminding everyone that the next class was the graded class. Though they wouldn't be strict with grading, he still wanted to see the students' effort 'flowing'. After a chorus of groans, class ended, allowing you to avoid Minho and find your way to Felix.
-
Someone tapping your shoulder had woken you up, head jolting up as if you were frightened.
"Oh I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Chaeryeong gasped sheepishly. She was hovering over you slightly, eyes wide. She was changed into her nightwear.
You sat up, only now realizing you had fallen asleep in the common room, "It's alright. What time is it?" You didn't even remember how you fell asleep, but you sure did have a good sleep.
"It's almost midnight," she replied, "I needed to grab water from the kitchen, then I saw you here and figured it'd be more comfortable for you to go to sleep in your own bed rather than this tiny couch."
You grinned, "Thanks Chae… I'll probably get something from the kitchen as well."
She nods and mumbles out a quick goodnight before disappearing to the girls' dorms. You return her farewell before standing up, eyes drawn to the wrinkles your nap had made on your robe. Attempting to straighten the robe and yourself out, you stumbled towards the Hufflepuff house entrance, exiting promptly.
The fireplace had been lit, a few house elves roaming about and carrying out their own duties. They paid no mind to you, as midnight snacks weren't out of the ordinary for Hufflepuffs.
You asked for what you needed, then was given it with no delay, "Thank you." The house elf nods before turning away with a grunt.
You sit at one of the tables, zoning out as you stared at the blazing fire across from you. School was getting a bit more stressful than it usually has, which was probably the reason why you had fallen asleep without knowing. You remember coming back from a long library visit. Maybe you collapsed on the couch once you did.
You made mental notes on the work still yet to be done before the following week, spontaneously creating a headache. Standing up, you figured it was best for you to go back to sleep. Slipping the dish into the sink, you started making your way back to the dorms.
You rubbed your temples and shook your head as you closed your eyes. It probably hadn't been a good idea to be wandering with your eyes closed as you had immediately bumped into something firm.
"Y/N?"
Looking up, you came face to face with Lee Minho, who was just as shocked as you were. He had been dressed down in a knitted Slytherin sweater and pyjama pants.
"Minho? What in the world?"
He backs up after noticing how close you were to each other, "Could say the same 'bout you."
"My dorms are right there," you point just down the corridor, "While yours is in the dungeon…"
Minho blinks before he tries to move around you, eyes avoiding yours.
"What are you doing here?" you grab his wrist, eager to find out why he was roaming the halls. It wasn't unusual for students to be breaking the rules, especially Minho, who loved living up to the stereotypes of a Slytherin. He smirks at the skinship, which prompts you to let go of him, heat rising up to your cheeks without warning. You're suddenly glad it's dim around the two of you.
"I was… taking a walk," he successfully pushes past you and into the kitchen, a glass of water already there for him. He thanks the house elf, leaving the glass, before turning back to you. By the looks of it, it seems like he's been doing this before, like a routine.
Rolling your eyes, you scoffed, "Taking a walk? You're painfully awful at lying." And the pause in his speaking gave that away. You followed behind him, expecting an honest answer as if you deserved to know.
"Weren't you just leaving?"
"But my question is unanswered," you shrugged.
"I answered you, I was taking a walk," he pushed the answer. Putting the cup down, he turned to you, "I have… sleeping problems."
"You just lied again," you nonchalantly, "Just tell me the truth. No judgment. A Hufflepuff's promise." You weren't usually one to push an answer out of someone, but this situation was different.
"You say no judgment but I already know how you're going to react to the truth," he takes another sip of water.
"So you were lying!" You raised your brows, "I knew it!"
"You don't deserve the truth," he sighs. Finishing the cup of water, he starts to make his way out, not even turning to look back.
"Lee Minho!" You groaned. Maybe it was your fatigue self or the fact this felt like some sort of game, but you weren't holding yourself back, "When I said I wouldn't judge, I won't. My mind's open to whatever you're going to say."
Minho spins around to face you, stumbling backward a few more steps before he halts, "I was practicing the dance steps."
No judgment.
The flat expression on Minho's face indicated that he had no intentions of lying this time. He had his hands hiding behind his back, eyeing you just to see if you would live up to your promise. Instead of his expected reaction, he finds you smiling, something he'd only see when you were around your friends.
"Wipe that smile off of your face, bumblebee," he mutters.
"Didn't you say you didn't care about that class?" you quoted, a smirk slowly replacing your smile, "Why are you practicing the steps?"
Minho licked his lips. He was at a loss of words, nothing but the truth occupying his mind… Why the hell not?
"Because you care."
You blinked back at him, lips parting and meeting several times as you tried to find the right words to say. The silence was deafening. "What?"
"Because you care," Minho repeated. He kept his expression still, eyeing you, trying to figure out how you were taking this in.
How would he further explain it? He didn't know. All he knew was that ever since that specific moment between the both of you the other day, he took it upon himself to better his partner dancing. He didn't want anyone else knowing, not you, and especially not his housemates, which was why he chose to stay up late to do this; it was the real reason why he had shown up late to class.
You weren't sure if it was because it was quiet, but you could easily hear your heartbeat as it quickened. You try to cover up the fact that you wanted to freak out, "I don't know whether I should laugh or–"
"Yeah, whatever, shouldn't have told you in the first place," he mumbles. For some reason, he felt his heart lub-dub in a way that it shouldn't. He frowned and sighed, "Just forget it."
"Wait, Minho," you call quietly. He stopped in his tracks and turned, partially facing the wall and facing you. He stared back at you with a vacant look, waiting for you to say something. If you weren't going to be saying something nice, he didn't want to hear it after exposing himself like that.
"'Because you care?'" you frowned, "You can't just say that and leave." You already made up a possible answer to the countless questions through your mind, but it was still unclear whether or not that was it.
"What else do you want me to say?" Minho stuffs his hands into his pockets.
"I just want you to explain it," you reply quietly.
Minho glanced out the window sitting by you both before sitting down on its pane, "Remember that other day… when I told you I didn't care?" You nod and move closer to where he sat, unsure whether or not you should sit next to him or not, "I don't know… you were really serious back then… I guess I wasn't used to that. So I figured…"
There was a quick moment of silence before he huffs, almost sounding defeated.
"Did you know that I genuinely don't dislike you as much as you think I do?" He says out of the blue, throwing you off. You wanted to tell him to sleep it off again—why did moments like this always happen at night?
"I don't either," you say back, "At first I did… but I matured."
"I only ever argued with you out of amusement. You're the only person outside of Slytherin that could out-talk me and it bothered me for some reason," he laughed as if he recalled a memory.
"Me intimidating a Slytherin? Just wait til the others hear about this," you joke. He glanced towards your direction and saw a clever glint in your eye.
"Don't you dare," he holds back a smile before standing up to face you directly, "Or…"
"Or what?" You challenged, "Imagine how Seungmin would react! Donghyuck and Renjun? What about Yeosang and Wooyoung?" You start listing the other well-known Slytherins off of the top of your head, holding back a laugh as you watch Minho's face crumble into an expression that looks far too close to fear.
Minho recollects himself and shakes some sense into himself, "Or I'll make you go to the Yule Ball with me." He hadn't planned on asking you today, but the timing was perfect. It fit with the situation. If you were to react unfavourably, then he could just joke about it.
His question shut you up. Your eyes widened at him as you processed what he had used as a threat, "What if I want to go to the Yule Ball with you?"
Minho takes a step towards you, a smirk appearing on his lips. His confidence was skyrocketing, and you can tell, "Then I guess it's a date?"
Rolling your eyes, you let a smile grace softly onto your lips, nodding, "It's a date."
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Bonus:
"I told you to wear something with gold," you whined jokingly as you were greeted with Minho, who had completely dodged your request. Instead of the black and gold look you were going for, he decided to wear a black suit that had traces of emerald. As much you wanted to match with your date, you had to admit that he still looked as handsome as ever in the attire. He looked like a prince.
"And look like a Hufflepuff? No thanks," he scoffed teasingly. He pulls out a corsage, one that matches the clothes he wore, tying it gently around your wrist, "You look very beautiful."
"Well, you look very handsome."
Minho laughed as he sticks out his forearm, a brow raised in your direction. Music being played by the live band had been spilling out of the ballroom; the voices of everyone attending gave the ball more life. It was exciting.
"Minho!" Seungmin had called. Felix, who had slipped from your side the moment Minho approached you, was standing by Seungmin, smiling brightly. He had been hyping you up the entire night, telling you that there should be nothing to worry about.
He was right.
"Shall we?" Minho asked. It was cheesy, but it worked.
"We shall."
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Hope you enjoyed it! A like would be appreciated <3
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remmushound · 3 years
Text
Beyond the Bay Chapter 10: Whats up with Yoshi?
Summary: While Raphael tries to calm down with the help of Splinter, Donnie has a talk with Leonardo about Yoshi.
Tags: @selfindulgenz @digitl-art-monstr @ilo-artistry @brightlotusmoon @rottmnt-addict
Leonardo stood up just as suddenly as Raphael had, leaving his plate at the table as he stormed out of the kitchen.
“Leo!” Donatello was the next to stand, hurrying after his brother.
Michelangelo didn't react. He just as stiff and speechless as his guests were. His expression broke. His lip began quivering as he tucked into himself and started to cry. Tears came heavy and fast; Raph was the quickest out of his seat and ushered to the box turtle’s comfort, wrapping Michelangelo in arms as big as he was. Michelangelo leaned into the hug, resting his head against Raph’s neck and curling his body into a tight ball that the older shinobi could easily embrace.
“Perhaps we… overstepped our bounds…” Splinter said slowly, his eyes holding nothing but patient understanding toward the young teen. “I apologize for causing such emotional distress…”
Michelangelo wanted to respond, but the tears wouldn’t stop to let the words through. Instead, he just leaned his weight further into his friend to hide away from the world.
***
Raphael needed to calm down. He needed to breathe and think somewhere away from questions, even the ones left unsaid. His hands were shaking too badly for the accuracy needed to knit, and when he had tried all he succeeded in doing was clacking the needles together and making nothing more than a tangled wad of yarn. Busywork always seemed to help, so that’s what he fell to doing. He settled on making up Michelangelo’s room for the brotherly sleepover that Michelangelo was so excited for. It would be cramped quarters, but he was sure they could all fit in Michelangelo’s race car bed with a little maneuvering; Raphael even had his own rubber sleeper shell so his spikes wouldn’t hurt them in the night! The bed had been a birthday gift from Donatello the previous year, and Michelangelo himself had handled the decorations of the wooden frame. As one would expect, it was just as vibrant as Mikey was.
There came a gentle knock at the open door.
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Splinter said in that soft, humble voice of his.
“Uh… n-no, just some... “ Raphael let out a long breath and motioned vaguely toward the blankets and pillows he had assembled into a comfortable nest. He couldn’t find the words, so he melted away into low mumbles.
“I see.” Splinter nodded, “It looks very comfortable. Are you sure you don’t mind sharing your rooms?”
Raphael shrugged. “Eh, it’s whatever. Mikey loves sleepovers, so…” Raphael bit his lip out of habit and rubbed his arm.
“Still, I appreciate your generosity.” He approached Raphael at a slow gait and held out his paw near Raphael, but not quite touching him, allowing Raphael to take that final reach if he so choosed; and he did. Splinter ran a finger carefully across the far-larger hand, his expression a splitting smile. “I’m sorry if my family overstepped our boundaries at supper. Leonardo is simply… eager to get back home, as we all are.”
“No no no, it’s not your fault!” Raphael quickly reassured. “I know how Leo’s can get when they’re antsy.
Splinter gave a cheerful laugh. “Yes; I suppose my son and your brother are more alike than we initially realized.”
“Yeah, especially recently...” Raphael caught himself. He growled, swiping at his face trying to clear the cloud in his mind. “Sorry. Just a lot on my mind right now.”
“Of course.” Splinter nodded, “I understand completely.”
Raphael sat down with enough force to shake the room; Splinter sat down beside him.
“Your father is… unwell?” Splinter asked cautiously.
“Erm…” Raphael pursed his lips and gave a thoughtful grunt. “Uh. Physically he’s as well as he can be— Leo and Don make sure of that.”
“But mentally?” Splinter prompted.
Raphael couldn’t answer. It was all he could do to shake his head and give a weak, gasping sob, though no tears came to match. Almost out of habit, Raphael pressed his weight into Splinter and rested his head on the old rat’s shoulders; Splinter carried the burden of Raphael with little trouble, carefully shushing the mutant's sobs while stroking his carapace.
“There there, it is alright.” Splinter soothed. “I can imagine how difficult it is to care for your father while maintaining your duties at the same time.”
“It is.” Raphael shook his broad head. “And… and I try to balance things so we can do both, but Leo’s just making it so hard! We’re yelling at each other all the time, Donnie holes up in his bedroom, and Mikey is just so sad. I don’t know what to do…”
“Hey, easy…” Splinter stroked the unscarred side of Raphael’s face, “You will figure it out. Would I be overzealous to ask about…?”
“Uh.” Raphael took a deep breath to think. “We took him to a yokai specialist that uh… said LBD or something like that. Protein deposits in the brain or nerve cells or whatever. I… kinda blanked out.”
“Of course.” Splinter nodded, “It is only natural.”
“Leo handles all of that medical stuff anyway.” Raphael waved a dismissive hand, “Doctor appointments, physical therapy, stuff like that…”
“You’re awfully lucky you have all those options.” Splinter said, “Perhaps we could get Michelangelo checked out— my son, I mean. Donatello is wonderful with him, but internet searches and medical books can only go so far.”
There was no verbal response, but Raphael grunted and nodded with eyes averted. Splinter frowned and lowered his head to meet the snapping turtle’s gaze, smile just as patient.
“Do you agree, Raphael?”
Raphael shrugged. “I dunno. I mean— it’s worked so far for us. I get that Leo wants dad to have all these specialists and these caregivers and—and I understand that dad needs the care, but it’s expensive and we can do half that stuff by ourselves! If dad really needs something then it’s not an issue, but Leo keeps wasting all this time and money to get the same exact answer! It’s stupid!”
“I see.” Splinter nodded, “I understand that pride may be a difficult thing to overcome with something so personal…”
“And it’s not just the appointments!” It was nice to have someone to talk to, an unbiased source, so Raphael just kept talking. He could feel a weight lifting off of his shoulders and chest. “Leo’s has it in his head that dad needs a full-time nurse!”
“You don’t think so?”
“I don’t know…” Raphael shook his head, “I mean, I can’t really stand the thought of some stranger coming here and… trusting someone we don’t know with taking care of dad.”
“You’re untrusting of strangers…”
“Well, yeah. We’ve been pretty sheltered most of our lives. All of this… out in the open stuff is really new to us.”
“It is a valid worry.” Splinter reassured, “Is there any alternative?”
“I don’t see why we can’t do what we’ve been doing! You know— take turns staying behind to take care of dad.”
“You would split up the team…”
“I mean… it’s for dad! And it’s what we’ve been doing for the past two months, and it’s worked out great! Leo just doesn’t want to put in the work…”
“I’m certain that’s not what it is at all!” Splinter insisted, “You said Leonardo was taking your father to all of these appointments! That doesn’t seem lazy to me!”
“It’s lazy when it gets him out of training and patrol constantly.” Raphael said bitterly.
“Ah.” Splinter understood, “Well, why not take turns accompanying Yoshi?”
“I tried that; Leo’s the only one who knows enough about this stuff to fill in the doctor's.”
“Your Donatello isn’t of help?”
“Not with medical science. He’s more of a tech nerd.”
“My Donatello is much of a… jack of all trades, if you would. Perhaps during our stay he could help out.”
“You think he would?” Raphael had a hopeful glint in his eyes.
“I don’t see why not. I will ask him about it in the morning.”
“Thanks.” Raphael breathed, his smile coming back with a more genuine emotion, “Gee, we really owe you for everything you’ve done for us.”
“We didn't help you boys just to get something owed.” Splinter stated, “It was just the right thing to do.”
“I know!” Raphael insisted, “And helping you guys is the right thing for us to do!
“You are a very kind soul, Raphael, and I am so thankful that me and my sons had this place to turn to in our hour of need. Friends to rely on.”
Raphael took Splinter’s hands in his. “You’re always welcome here! We would have visited sooner but… life happened.”
“Do not be guilty, young Raphael. Guilt does not suit those eyes well.”
Raphael rumbled a laugh. “I’ll try to remember that.”
~~~
“Hey.” Donnie opened the closet to find Leonardo sitting inside; he closed the door and joined Leonardo, having to pull his knees tight to his chest to cram all seven feet of him inside.
“Hey.” Leonardo muttered, hardly acknowledging Donnie’s presence.
“Your Donnie’s looking for you, you know.”
“How’d you find me first, then?”
Donnie shrugged. “I’m a ninja. Do you… wanna talk about what happened?”
“What’s there to talk about?” Leonardo scoffed, almost laughing, “You saw what went down. There’s nothing more to it.”
“Oh, I think there is.” Donnie said; when Leonardo looked in the box turtles eyes, he was met with the cold, cobra stare that Donnie was known for. “I’m curious. Enlighten me.”
Leonardo gulped. “Just… the past six months have been an… all-round crap fest. Just one thing after the other— it’s exhausting! And arguing with Raph doesn’t make things any better.”
“Haven’t you and your Raph always butted heads?”
“Not like this!  Not every day— and not so violent! Not over something as important as this… as important as dad.”
“Do you know what caused it?” Donnie asked vaguely, but he trusted in Leonardo to know what he was talking about.
“It’s LBD.” Leonardo shook his head, “Doc says so.”
Donnie frowned. “LBD shouldn’t have progressed so quickly. You said it’s only been six months?”
“Five months, and that’s since he was diagnosed, not since it developed.” Leonardo corrected, “He’s had it for a long time we just… didn't notice. Little things like… forgetting our names and mixing up who was who…”
“That would have been around the same time as your injury, right?” Donnie asked, “I mean, I can only estimate given how much you’ve healed.”
“Yeah, right after it.” Leonardo took a shaky breath.
“That must have been… difficult to handle?”
“Raph… struggled a lot.” Leonardo’s voice began to waver, “I… let’s just say I was MIA for a while. I… wasn’t there when… But he got through it. We’ll get through this too. Always do.”
“You have access to doctor's, don’t you?” Donnie said, “Neurologists, geriatricians, physicians?”
Leonardo nodded, “All of those. And I’ve been looking into palliative care, but it’s… hard to find all this stuff in the Hidden City. Yokai illness and human aren’t the same and… and dad’s isn’t either of those.” 
“It sounds like you’re doing everything right to me.” Donnie assured.
“Try telling that to Raph! I told him that we needed a nurse to help us stay on top of this whole thing, and he nearly blew a gasket. He’s too proud to admit that we need help.”
“Pride is a dangerous thing.” Donnie agreed, “How can I help?”
“No.” Leonardo shook his head, “This is personal business. You don’t need to get involved.”
“Leon.” Donnie’s voice dripped with venom.
“D-don’t you do it.”
“Leon.” Donnie leaned closer to Leonardo, his eyes wide and slitted  as he hissed out the words in a slow voice, “How... can I... help…?”
“You can start by not looking at me like that!” Leonardo shoved Donnie away and shivered.
Donnie blinked and his eyes were back to normal. “You’re not in this alone, Leon, and I won’t let you think that you are. Just know that.”
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theredsuzuran · 3 years
Text
Muzan x reader ~ Lily [pt 2]
Took me forever to complete this song fanfiction, wouldn't have been possible if my friend didn't help, thanks to him. Please check out the first part to understand it better. Here.
Warning : abusive themes, mention of blood and gore.
Enjoy
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She knew she was hypnotized.
The sound of a loud slap echoed throughout the room, your father who was furious about your escape have just hit you hard on your face infront of everyone, including the servants. On other hand your mother holding your father's arm tightly to prevent him from hitting you any further.
"Get away, you callous women, it is for you that she tried to run away, you should be ashamed of yourself", he shouted, shoving off your mother roughly onto the tatami floor.
"This is wrong, the Gods will punish us", she murmured under her breath making muffle sounds, your father dissatisfied by her futile attempts of protests turns his attention away from you to hit her right in the stomach with his bare fist in pure fury, making her scream in agony coughing out mucus. Your mother being a fragile women of timid personality, rarely talked to anyone let alone protest or stand up against vile play, always seen behind the shoji doors praying to the gods and chanting prayers, constantly intimidated. Witnessing your father abusing her inhumanely infront of her children, family members as well as the servants, evoked a sense of rebellion inside of you.
"Don't hit my mother, you are angry because of me hit me instead, as much as you like, but not her", you growled furiously at your father, making your mother jolt towards your direction as she shook her head violently.
"Stay away from this brat", he said apatheticly, disappointment hinted in his voice turning his head away from you once again in utter disgust. Receiving such cold treatments from your father made your heart shattered in pieces. Then, your uncle step up.
"Take her to the room and increase the guards, this shall not happen again", your father ordered the servants which was immediately followed without any hesitation or delay before you could protest you were taken away. However you wonder why did your mother reacted that way?
__
As the time passed by, you grew up to be an elegant lady mostly within the confinement of four walls, while pushing down all the jovial moments deep into the unconsciousness... your mind engulfed with the thoughts of your demise. It was getting harder and harder each day for you to keep your sanity intact. A constant state of melancholy always prevailed within your aura, even your own shadow seem deceitful.
Walking on cold thin nights
Then the night of that cursed full moon occurred. You glanced at the starry night from the now open window of your cell with your souless (e/c) eyes. Succumbing towards the void of eternal darkness. Heaven knows what grave sin you might have committed to receive such heavy punishments. As you were busy getting drowned in your own thoughts the shoji door slightly opened and the maids rushed inside your room one by one with cloths and accessories in their arm.
"It's time m'lady" the head maid bowed respectfully infront of you, then motioned the other maids to help you get ready. You could feel them pitying you, sympathizing the miserable state you're in. You simply nodded and get up to dress for your deathbed. At this point you didn't care much you just want it to get over soon, trailing off in the sea of your own distorted thoughts.
You approached your family to bid farewell before heading towards the palanquin. Everyone wishpering behind your back something that they are not allowed to speak infront of you. That didn't bother you anways but you wish you could atleast see your mother for the last time. Is it that hard for a mother to witness her daughter's departure that she needs to constantly hide indoors avoiding her like plague?
A herd of maids accompany you as your bridesmaid to mount Akakura. The norimono stopped infront of a shrine. The bitter cold outside and the solemn atmosphere made it difficult for you to enter through the main gates. All of them left at once after escorting you inside the shrine. While you sat there facing the kami observing the interior, The light of the lamp beside you flickering slowly. The shrine was enormous filled with shofisticated designs, paintings and detail descriptions of the great folklore of Japan. Gods like susanoo killing Yamamoto no orochi in order to restore peace, you were completely lost admiring the aesthetics of the shrine.
But then it broke,
Did she awoke again?
"This is not what we were expecting", you felt a strong gust of wind behind your back as if something was breathing behind your back, you could feel saliva dripping over your expensive uchikake and to your exact horror was standing your living nightmare, a disfigured seven headed monster signifying those of a dragon and a serpent hovering on top of you covering almost the entire shrine glancing directly at your fragile figure with pure malice and hunger.
"Nay, certainly not, she's not one of them, fufu", another head cooed grinning creepily. You looked at them with utter confusion, raising your head slightly to look over that hideous thing above you.
"What do you mean?", Asking almost frustrated, your voice still shaking.
"Oh", the head at the centre replied, his voice calm and steady, facing you with it's long wide neck, his eyes glowing dangerously, inches away from your face, breath stinking of something you'd probably not keen to know as he opened his mouth to speak.
"I fear mortal, but you are not blood-related to any of the seven maidens we have devoured so far", you were taken aback. Not related? You were bewildered, unable to process the new set of information displayed before you, fresh stream of tear forming in the corner of your eyes.
"No, you are lying", You snapped at them angrily.
"What a clueless human, what do we gain by that?", The head in the left hissed irritatedly.
The ground beneath you seem to slide open whereas the sky above began to crumble. For eighteen years you have been raised by people who are not even blood related to you but most importantly they were using you to save themselves, you stood their perplexed, overwhelmed with the new reality. How cruel can people become? An urge to confront your parents came in demanding for an explanation, about their selfish lies, for hiding your true identity, stealing your childhood and a chance to live a normal life. Now that perfectly made sense why your mother always prayed to the Gods for forgiveness, barely talking to you or look in your eyes and why your father is so detached towards you and not your siblings. They were never your own and you were never there's.
"Those human thought they could deceive us, we will kill them", head to the left spoke.
"No, not so soon, they might have deceived us but the girl lying below us is a marechi, no no no we cannot let her go" the main head chuckled darkly, showing its true nature all of them at once looked at you with their protruding eyes, as you shut your eyelids for the worse accepting your misfortune, a heated argument broke among the seven heads.
"You have eaten all the seven women previously, I will have this one" the right head hissed, accompanied by other heads, all of them screaming and cursing at each other. You notice the unlocked gate it must have been open since the demon arrived. It was your golden chance to escape, as they were busy fighting, you took advantage of the situation, slowly crawling your way towards the entrance of the shrine . They seem to not notice you trailing off their sight.
"Stop fighting with one another, we all are literally the same, anyone of us eating her would be enough to make us stronger and please that man", the head at the center erupted fuming with anger.
"She's gone, she's gone", one of the head shouted. Indeed you were missing the only thing left was the wataboshi you wore on top.
Then she ran faster than-
You ran through the dense forest lifting your kimono, the smell of fresh air hitting your nostrils, the feeling of nostalgia came back as you can finally taste that long lost freedom you constantly craved for since forever but unfortunately that didn't last long. As you were running blindly you could feel something gigantic chasing from behind. Being too frantic you stumble and fell onto the ground your leg getting caught in the fabric of your kimono in the process.
Start screaming, "Is there someone out there?"
Please help me
Come get me
"You thought you can ran away from us? What a foolish human", the sound of loud laughter resonated through out the woods. The demon wrapped its tale around your waist squeezing you tightly in attempt to crush your defenseless body lifting you up opening its mouth to shove you inside.
Behind her she can hear it say-
"Let go of me!" You screamed on top of your lungs, a last desperate attempt to exist. When out of the blue a large mascular tentacles flew towards your direction cutting the tail swiftly in a blink of an eye, releasing you from its bone breaking grip but instead of crashing against the ground, you were caught by a pair of strong masculine arm. You looked up in disbelief. A familiar fair male in texudo emerged, his flawless features shining underneath the moonlight coming through the branches.
"Muzan..."
"We met again (y/n), I hope am not too late", he smiled at you gazing softly. Tears came rolling down your cheeks as you cannot believe was it real or just a dream.
History always seem to find it's way of repeating itself.
His previous soft look instantly changed to that of a menacing one as he trailed his glance towards the disfigured monster.
"Crouch down and lower your heads", all the seven heads bow down infront of the demon lord, Cowering with fear at once as if they were struck by lightning.
"Pardon my lord, we didn't realize you have arrived before us or else-", the demon yelped immediately like a lost puppy.
"Who gave you the permission to speak?" Muzan replied indignantly, his eyes glowing threateningly at the petrified creature. You knew he was a demon but you were unaware that he held such authority making a powerful demon like Akai that supposedly haunts the mountain for centuries to lower his head in terror on his command. What was unknown to you that he infact was the progenitor of these morbid creatures.
How ironic being saved by none other but a demon.. being first of his kind.
"Have mercy, my lord" the demon begged, while one of his head thought why's he saving that human girl?
"Why am I saving that human girl? Go ahead, continue", muzan narrowed his eyes making the demon quivered with shock. He can read my mind?
"What makes you answer my authority?" The demon lord demanded furiously, veins popping out from his head.
"Beings like you should not be allowed to exist" with that said, his one arm stretched, injecting a sharp blade into the creature allowing his blood to overflow, creating chaos in the demonic cells of that creature eventually turing it into a pile of molten flesh.
It's over, the nightmares. Fresh tears rolled down your face, mixed with all sorts of emotions, the tables have turned, the heavens seems to have listen to your prayers. A pair of large hands cupped your face breaking you from the chain of thoughts
Follow everywhere I go
"Why are you still crying, dear?" Muzan replied with his smooth, monotonous voice, removing his hand as he placed you gently on the surface. His mood changed in a matter of seconds, you wonder how much more he was capable of doing beside that but brushing aside those feelings of negativity you moved closer.
"Took you long enough" engulfing him in a tight hug, startling him in the process. The idea of being intimate with a lowly creature was good enough to make him puke in disgust. How can a mortal like you have the audacity to touch the all mighty kibutsuji Muzan? He believed himself to be above everything even viewing his own subordinates as puppets of his play. His twisted sense of morality speaks that affection holds a person from attaining superiority and is a sign of weakness, the more ruthless and cold hearted the more close you are to perfection. He shows no value to people who possess such emotions which he is foreign to. Your vulnerability makes him want to ripped you to shreds, torment you and break your mind, yet he finds himself at ease. It was hard for him to admit that his pride was hurted against someone so delicate and somehow he felt those feelings of warmth to be tolerable with you, even to the extent of craving it.
After a while, a sudden realization hit your senses as you parted from the tight embrace, your (s/c) countenance painted with dark shades of red, averting your gaze from the demon. The moon shone brightly above you exhibiting your breathtaking beauty just like a piece of art. The way your shiny (h/c) locks fell over your smooth skin, the way your pulm lips parted to speak and the way your eyes sparked with adoration, was enough to drive him insane. From the very moment he laid his eyes upon you, he knew a masterpiece like you belonged only to the epitome of perfection. He will do anything to keep you to himself.
Top over the mountains or valley low.
"(Y/n), you have a very rare blood, a marechi" said muzan, as you recall the conversation you had with the demon in the shrine saying something similar on this note.
Give you everything you been dreaming of
"What's with that muzan?" You asked curiously, to which muzan's tone changed into that of a viscous one.
"Its a great meal for demons", silence broke out as you were too shock to say anything. Muzan knew he can take advantage of that situation and mould you the way he desires.
"(Y/n) are you scared of me?"
"No", you replied almost immediately with no hesitation.
"Do you trust me?" He questioned again looking at you directly with his glowing ruby orbs. Beginning his sick games of manipulation.
"Yes I do, with all my life, you are the only one who saved my life not once but twice, you cared so much for me when no one did" you paused.
"Beside my mother"
Just let me in, ooh
"Your family abandoned you, when you needed them the most" he replied creating doubts about inside of you, making you back off a little towards a tree.
"My mother was helpless" you answered.
"They used you for their own benefit", pinning you against the tree, he whispered venom into your ears. The proximity between you two, send shivers down your spine. Seeing you helpless excited him, making him determined to claim you even more.
Everything you want in gold, I'll be the magic story you have been told.
"How do you k-know?" You trembled, gasping your mouth and before you could lift your hands to cover your face muzan held your hands into his bigger ones looking directly in your eyes.
"Tell me (y/n) am I wrong?", you knew he wasn't although it didn't make sense.
"No.." is all you replied, satisfied with your answers muzan proceeded into the next step.
And you will safe under my control.
"I want to keep you safe, (y/n)", he moved closer to your face.
"You and I shall rule the world"
"I don't know muzan"
"No one can harm you ever again"
"But-"
"Don't you want to be free?"
Free? That's what you have been wanting for so long, freedom. He made you believe that you can be a boundless bird stretching its wings in the infinite magnitude. All of your doubts stopped growing from then and there, muzan knew he has struck the right cord, creating a ray of false hope about your vision of a perfect free world, thereby controlling your perception just like a predator luring his victims with lies. Seems as if you were destined to be deceived.
"Yes" you replied hypnotized by his convincing.
"Then become a demon"
Just let me in, ohh
Muzan moved his hand across your face caressing it gently, his face inches apart from yours, as his lips crashed against yours. For someone who recoiled from physical touch, to be felt loved by something that isn't supposed to be God's creation. A warm feeling crept inside of your chest as it was pressed against his. Feeling your joint heartbeats.
I never bothered to feel my chest for a heart beat, now I do. As I looked down to see my hand moving towards my face, the slimy red droplet broke away, disconnecting our lips. Demon? This man who gave me this new life? His eyes, so calm and fiery, How can I feel such duality? I lifted my other hand, without knowing it went to his chest, On his chiseled chest, there. You thought.
"A demon?" You replied with your now quivering lips turning your face away with embarrassment, realizing your lips connected with burning passion. Your eyes teared up you know not why, to be embraced by one who was supposed to be cold, to be embraced by someone who stood against armies through out time, you wanted to be with him.
"you will be", said muzan, as you felt your consciousness fading away, you know now why... Why all of them follow him, despite the abuse..Despite the sacrifices... you know now why your body moved craving for his touch although you could feel your throat burning yet it didn't matter, the warm embrace is all that you wanted.
That night you abandoned your humanity.
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outrightelm · 3 years
Text
Darkest Elements Chapter Four:
*Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter of Darkest Elements. This is published on August 26, 2021. If you like this chapter, don't be afraid to vote and spam the comment section. That would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for taking the time to read this chapter and have a great day. Warning: blood, nudity, and pain. The ‘Keep Reading’ Tag will be there if you want to read further. Enjoy!*
Buster was...back?
His blue suit was on his body while his eyes were opened. The koala realized that he's in his office in the theater. For a moment, he had no idea what's going on.
"Good morning, Mr. Moon."
Buster turned to the old familiar iguana ambling her way into his office. "Ms. Crawly?" He recognized her happily as if she hadn't gotten a clue that he disappeared.
"I brought you some coffee," Ms. Crawly replied sweetly as she handed him an empty mug.
Believe it or not, but Buster missed the old iguana's clumsiness. He didn't bother to ask where the coffee was since it didn't matter to him.
"Top of the morning, Mr. Moon!"
Buster gasped as he turned his head to notice the familiar young gorilla climbing through his office window. The koala's smile grew wide instantly.
"Johnny!" Buster quickly got up from his seat and hugged Johnny, who apparently was confused at this motion.
"I got you some coffee," Johnny informed while setting the coffee down. "I thought you would get on my case about not using the front doors."
Buster began to tear up as he knew he would usually get on Johnny for not using the front doors. And Johnny was used to it. Today felt different.
However, everything glitched around him, causing Buster to lost his grip on Johnny. The koala opened his eyes to see Eddie sitting across from him at the familiar fancy restaurant.
"Eddie?" Buster uttered with more tears coming to his eyes.
Eddie peeked over the menu to find the koala in tears. "Uh...are you okay, buddy?"
Buster blinked, unleashing tears, and let them stream down his cheeks. Before he could say anything, Eddie glitched away along with the restaurant. He's back in his theater but backstage.
"Okay, Mr. Moon, I'm able to get all the lights working."
Buster quickly turned to see the familiar teenage elephant walking up to him. "M-Meena?"
Meena tilted her head. "Uh...yeah. I think Mike is performing first."
Buster glanced at the stage to see Mike in a nice purple suit, singing his heart out. "Mike--"
"Is everything okay, Moon?"
Buster quickly turned to see Ash, the porcupine, gazing up at her boss in confusion. The koala didn't think twice as he hugged Ash, burying his face into her quills. He knew Ash wasn't the hugging type, so he wasn't surprised that she didn't hug back.
"Are you okay, Mr. Moon?" Buster was able to glance up and see Rosita and Gunter.
Buster went and hugged both of the pigs, swearing he'll never ever take anyone in the theater for granted again. He's too scared to let them go now.
"Get up!"
He heard a voice from out of nowhere but Buster didn't want to let go of Rosita and Gunter. He shook his head while holding on.
"Get him!"
He felt hands grabbing all over his small body, causing him to open his eyes. He was yanked off of Rosita and Gunter, as he's pulled into the darkness while he reached his hand out for his friends with a cry for help.
~.~
Buster gasped while snapping his eyes open, realizing that the cult members were the ones grabbing him. The koala began to fight them off, kicking them away. His blue eyes glanced up at the tally marks he marked with white chalkboard, knowing that it's been days since Zorc passed away.
"No! Don't do this! Let me go!!" Buster cried as the members forced Buster up on his feet from the ground. He struggled in their holds as tears were on his face. "Please! Let me go! Please!"
He was taken out of solitary confinement. He hated his reality. Every day, he knew he was going to be put through a torture device, causing him to scream. Sadly, no one...not even his theater family...will ever hear him scream.
"Just kill me!" Buster sobbed while being dragged into the lab, with the prisoners watching him and pitying him. "Please!"
No one would listen to his plea as the hooded figures strapping the koala down on the machine.
Buster began to breathe heavily while tears were streaming down his face. "Please...make this stop."
Electrocution zapped him in his small body, causing him to scream in pain. His eyes were shut tightly as memories of his friends and his theater family was the only things comforting him through the pain.
He wanted to scream out their names, just in the hope that he could be heard by any of them. But...either they might've forgotten or they haven't known where to find him yet. The torture lasted longer as it finally ended, letting the koala's body convulsed a couple of times for being used to the electricity.
Buster's vision was fading in and out of reality again, as always. He was unstrapped from the torture device as he's carried back into his own solitary confinement as punishment for attempting to escape.
The koala was thrown back onto the hard ground, his body getting weaker and weaker. Buster knew he couldn't last long. He's going to die. The koala crawled towards the corner of the wall, trying to find comfort in the space.
He heard the door screeched open as the koala gazed up to see the cult leader, Scalio, entering with a whip in his hands.
Buster had his eyes widened while curling himself into a ball to bear the pain. However, before the lizard cult leader could use the whip, the turtle priest came up beside the lizard.
"Scalio, this is going too far," the turtle priest growled at the lizard leader.
"Out of my way and do your bidding to preach about the gods."
"I will not if you continue to hurt this innocent koala."
"You call this koala innocent?!" Scalio yelled at the priest while demonstrating his whip, hitting Buster's back in a flash and leaving a gash on his back.
Buster yelped in pain as he breathed heavily and shielded himself from any more whipping.
"He's trying to escape with one of our stronger animals. He's a weak, sniffling little animal and he deserved to be erased. The gods would look down on the man like that," Scalio snarled at the priest.
Buster peeked to see the conversation happening between the priest and the cult leader.
"You're blinded by rage and hurt. You hurt an innocent animal the same way your father hurt you--"
The lizard grabbed the priest by the throat before the priest could continue on. "Don't you dare bring up my father. Got it?"
The turtle priest could only nod as the cult leader let go of his throat.
"Now, get out of my way," the cult leader growled.
The turtle priest stood there for a moment, thinking as he held out his hand. "Give me the whip. I will punish this koala myself."
Buster gasped in horror as the lizard gruffed and handed the priest the whip.
"Make sure he suffers," the cult leader snarled and stepped out of the confinement, shutting the door.
The turtle priest turned to Buster, holding a whip. Buster's chest heaved as his blue eyes were looking up at the priest in terror. There's a brief pause as the turtle priest smiled softly again.
"Worthy," the priest uttered as he dropped the whip beside his feet.
The word 'worthy' used to comfort Buster but now it triggered him into anger and venom.
"Worthy for what?! To suffer?!" Buster screamed, angry tears coming down on his cheeks and his fists clenched. "Worthy to watch my own friend die?! Worthy for me to be torture here every day?! Worthy for me to be dead?! What am I worthy for?!"
The priest frowned as he was taking something out of his cloak. He stepped closer to Buster, who lost his angry glare and gain some form of confusion written in the way his brow raised up.
The priest kneeled down to meet Buster's eye level. "Worthy to live. Just like the rest of them."
Buster had his eyes widened as he felt a needle poking through his neck, causing him to yelp in pain. He felt something going in as his body began to shake. "W-What are you putting in me?"
"Something to protect you. You will still feel pain but you'll heal in good time."
Buster blinked in confusion. "Why? Why me? What do you mean but just like the rest of them?"
The priest frowned. "I mean that everyone here is worthy to live since they're all captors like you."
"Then why did you call them unworthy w-when you were baptizing us? Why am I the only one worthy that day?"
The priest looked around the cell while gazing at the koala. "It's all a game, Mr. Moon. Do you remember when I got in trouble for calling you worthy?"
Buster nodded his head.
"Well, I'm not supposed to say that to you. But I had a vision. And I know that my vision was more important than this cult's desire. I can't tell you what it is since I'm not supposed to share with anyone but I can say that I was supposed to call someone worthy."
Buster breathed deeply as his body began to tremble more. The koala glanced up to see a needle stuck on his neck as the turtle priest took it out.
"You are worthy to live," The turtle priest uttered as he picked up the whip and the needle and exited out of the solitary confinement.
Buster laid there on the cold ground, his eyes fluttering open and close. He passed out, sleeping in the dark.
~.~
Buster could no longer keep track of the days and the nights. He could no longer keep track of the dates and the moons since he could never see the sky. His reality danced between his torture and his memories of when times were easier.
He's constantly seeing his theater family in his dreams but they don't last in his mind. He never forgot about them but he's afraid that they forgot about him. Maybe it's for the better. That way those maniacs torturing him daily, stripping him of his dignity, his identity, and his clothes, wouldn't torture them the same way they tortured Buster.
One day, something changed.
He's carried back on the machine without fighting. He lets the cult members strap him up and electrocute him until he passed out. The machine turned on as Buster's body tensed from the electricity running through his body. His eyes watered from the pain while he clenched his teeth to keep himself from screaming again. It was sudden that he felt something boiling up inside of him, causing him to gasp and scream.
Buster's body shook while he felt everything around him shaking like his body. He shut his eyes closed as the pain increased in his body.
"EDDIE!!!!" Buster cried out without meaning to. Unbeknownst to him, his voice echoed through the hide-out and outside of it.
~.~
It's been a month and they still haven't found Buster. Eddie, Johnny, Ash, Meena, Rosita, Gunter, Ms. Crawly, and Mike explored the city more in the afternoon, trying to find places where they hadn't looked but there's no sign of Buster.
"There has to be a clue as to where Moon is," Ash said with a groan.
"We tried the observatory and that was a bust," Mike added while looking around the city. "We've looked everywhere!"
"Ve have to try harder!" Gunter encouraged his group.
"Yeah, you'll never know if he's kidnapped somewhere we haven't found yet," Rosita responded as the group felt a little shake under their feet.
The group froze as Mike glanced up at the tall theater gang.
"Am I the only one who felt a little shake?" Mike questioned his group.
Johnny bit his lips. "No. No, you're not."
"Wh-Where did that come from?" Ash uttered as she messed with her quills.
"Maybe it came from a city nearby that received a major earthquake," Meena theorized shyly.
Ms. Crawly had an idea clicked in her old brain. "Speaking of cities nearby, we haven't looked at the edge of Catalonia. I think we can search there for any signs of Mr. Moon."
Johnny nodded his head in agreement. "Yeah, I think it's a great idea to start with."
Ash smiled brightly. "I know a way to get to the edge of the city. It's right through the subway."
"Have you used it?" Mike questioned.
"Yeah, I used it to get home from the theater to my house every day. I'm sure we'll get to the edge of the town quicker through the subway," Ash determined.
"Let's go!" Eddie responded urgently while striding forward.
The group made their way down the stairs that led into the subway underground. The theater group approached the subway station as they waited for the train to arrive.
"EDDIE!!!"
Everyone froze up to hear someone screaming Eddie's name. Eddie was shocked out of everyone as he turned to the group.
"Please tell me that I'm not the only one who heard someone scream out my name," Eddie uttered nervously.
Meena perked her big ears while everyone else turned to Eddie.
"Uh...I don't know about you but either that's Mr. Moon or somebody completely different," Mike responded.
Ms. Crawly's lip trembled. "That sounded a lot like Mr. Moon."
Meena walked away from the group to hear something else completely different and the group noticed.
"Meena?" Ash called as the elephant shushed the group. She pressed her ear up against the wall with a gasp.
"Guys...It is Mr. Moon," Meena uttered in fear.
"What?!" Everyone shouted.
"Yeah! And...He's screaming...in pain!" Meena responded loudly while everyone came beside her.
"Oh no, he's in trouble!" Gunter yelled in fear.
Everyone began to peek into the deep dark subway cave as Johnny quickly found the door that blended into the wall perfectly. He gasped when he saw the same symbol for the Council of the Elementals.
"Bloody Mary!" Johnny shouted as everyone turned to see his discovery.
"We found it!" Mike pointed out happily.
"We need to get through the door," Eddie uttered as Johnny shook the doorknob.
"Bugger, it's locked," Johnny replied as he took out the pins to lockpick. "Desperate times call for desperate measures."
Johnny lockpicked the lock and unlocked the door effortlessly. He pushed the door slightly ajar as everyone peeked in to see a dark hallway. The gorilla took out his pistol while turning to everyone, who's surprised that the gorilla had a weapon.
"Stay behind me," Johnny instructed quietly as he snuck through the doorway with everyone else following him warily.
~.~
Meanwhile, the electricity ceased as Buster felt his limbs going numb. He fluttered his eyes open to see the cult leader smiling evilly at the koala.
"He's ready," the cult leader replied while ordering the members of the cult to untie Buster. Buster noticed the four large predators, the lion, the bull, the leopard, and the rhino surrounding him as the koala began to shake.
He let them guide him to whatever awaited him. The turtle priest was there, watching him sympathetically as the koala was shaking in his being. To this day, Buster still didn't understand what's inside of him that kept him alive this whole time. But there wasn't any time since he's guided towards a dark place near the hallways that he remembered taking to get out of this place with Zorc.
Zorc was still lingering in his mind. What could Buster have done to save the zebra from the tragic fate? Buster felt pressure on his shoulder as he realized to see that the place they were at was some kind of an altar with stairs leading up to it. The place was cold as he saw the five stones glowing right up the stairs.
"Since you can't perish so easily," he heard the cult leader hissed into his ear. "The gods will tear your weak heart to shreds. Your weak desire will be overlooked by the gods."
Buster gazed up at the stones and taking deep breaths.
"Never let fear stop you from doing the thing you love"
Buster's father's voice came through his head as he wanted to break down crying. He's going to die. This was it for Buster Moon. He's now only a shell of a person he once was. Determined, optimistic, and encouraging. All that was gone now. Buster was slightly nudged forward as if he's being told to go up the stairs.
He had no choice. He had to climb up the stairs. What Buster didn't know was that he's in line behind the hippo, who gazed at the stones with some form of determination. He's clothed since he's the stronger ones as he grabbed one of the stones out of randomness.
"I want power," the hippo stated firmly. However, instantly, the hippo began to burn up from the inside, burning him up in flames. His body suddenly became ashes, scaring Buster behind him.
Buster wanted to run back down the stairs until he's met with more growls from the predators below him. The koala turned back up to the stones.
Buster felt his heart-stirring in fear. He knew he's going to die. He's going to die and there's nothing he could do to prevent it. Buster's eyes stung with tears as the memories of his friends, his family, lingered in his mind.
Buster took a deep breath as he climbed up the stairs and approached the center of the altar. His blue eyes tired from his body tortured through nights, crying and begging for somebody to save him. The gods...those imposters...were never going to save him. He wanted to say his desire like it was meant to be but his tongue was tied. Those gods, those idols, were murderous. There will be no sympathy as he took a deep breath and stood there in front of the stones. He closed his eyes and let death do the rest.
However, something glowed, catching his attention. Buster's blue eyes fluttered open and saw the stones glowing simultaneously. His eyes went wide when he saw a white glow above them. What's going on? Why wasn't he burning up and turning into ashes? Buster gasped as he saw someone descending. He squinted to see a young zebra girl, appearing to be a pre-teen. Buster gasped to remember Zorc's story about how his daughter was sacrificed to the gods when she's only a month old.
"T-Tabitha?" Buster recognized as the little zebra girl approached him. Buster began to tear up. "I'm--I'm so sorry about your father."
Am I seeing things?
Tabitha didn't say any words, holding out her hoof for him to grab. Buster gasped as he gazed into her green eyes. She didn't look away from him as the koala grabbed her hoof gently. She opened his palm as he felt something flowing into him. If this was death, it had been very gentle with Buster.
Buster's body began to still as something was flowing inside of him. His gaze was moved up towards the ceiling as his feet were lifted off the ground.
What's happening?
Buster breathed as his vision was interfered with by the different colored lights all around him. The koala couldn't move his limbs as his eyes drifted off and his vision was nothing but colors. His memories flowed through his head of his friends. Having lunch with Eddie at Les Calamars while they both shared laughter about their childhood memories. Listening to Johnny playing the piano every day with Ms. Crawly teaching him excitedly with a wave of her finger. Mike singing beautifully like Frank Sinatra while the spotlight shined on his purple suit. Meena singing her heart out and conquering her stage fright. Ash rocking out to her new song while strumming her chords on her guitar.
Buster could only thank them for all the memories. He fluttered his eyes closed peacefully while getting ready for death.
And death had come for him...or so he thought.
It felt like forever as he stopped breathing for just a second. Then, Buster heard voices.
"What happened?!"
"That's not fair! We're worthy! Not him!"
"He must perish!"
Buster felt hands on him, causing him to gasp, and snapped his eyes open to see the four predators surrounding him. The lion gripped Buster's throat, choking him. Buster didn't know what's going on. He-He should've been dead.
The leopard scratched his side, earning a scream from Buster.
"Give it back!!!" the lion bellowed as Buster breathed heavily. He didn't have any idea what he's talking about or what's going on.
Buster's body began to tremble without any explanation as to what's happening.
What's happening to me?
Buster was ready to give in to the darkness awaited, fearing that death was at his doorstep-
"OI!!!!"
A familiar British accent echoed into the room as a bullet crashed through the lion's shoulder.
An arm looped around the lion's neck and the lion was pulled back off of Buster.
"Hey! Get off of him!" A familiar snarly voice as footsteps approached the animals choking Buster. Buster closed his eyes, passing out from being choked.
Meanwhile, The theater group entered the altar room while Johnny was manhandling the lion away from the passed-out koala. Mike was able to crawl on the leopard's body just to get him away from his old boss. Rosita and Gunter joined in the fight as they were able to get the bull and the rhino away from the naked koala.
Meena, Ms. Crawly, and Ash stood there and watched in shock while Eddie ran up to Buster.
"Buster! Buster!" Eddie shook the naked koala awake, not even noting that his friend was naked.
"Pick him up! Pick him up!" Mike shouted as he's thrown at the sheep.
Eddie cradled his friend's body as he kept Buster close to his chest. The animals were able to get the predators away from them.
Johnny was able to knock the lion down as he heard an alarm going off. "Go! Go!"
The theater animals sprinted away from the altar without thinking about the stones no longer glowing.
The theater animals ran through the hallways with Eddie carrying Buster ahead of them while Johnny was staying behind to cover the group. Rosita, Gunter, Meena, and Ms. Crawly scurried beside Eddie as Ash was falling behind along with Mike. Johnny scooped Mike up from the ground and placed the mouse on his shoulder, who just held onto his dark leather jacket.
Johnny then scooped Ash up in his arms as Ash immediately blushed at the instant contact.
Eddie took a sharp left, followed by the theater animals and the assassins chasing them. Mike noticed the assassins not letting up as he groaned deeply.
"If only there's something we can do to block this hallway!" Mike pleaded dramatically, not intending on it to be heard.
Suddenly, on cue, a group of debris fell right between the assassins and the theater animals.
Mike had his eyes widened while glancing up.
However, more debris collapsed as it chased the animals through the hallways.
"Go! Go!" Johnny urged the others as everyone made their way back towards the subway. However, the subway was on the verge of a collapse as everyone ran up the stairs as quickly as they could with Eddie bolting ahead of everyone with Buster cradled in his arms. Everything started to fall apart as Eddie was able to reach the city with everyone behind him. Everything stopped collapsing as the theater gang turned to see a sinkhole that swallowed up the train station.
Their gazes shifted towards the right to notice the cult members crawling out of the debris with vengeance. Luckily, they didn't see the theater gang.
"We have to get out of here," Rosita uttered as everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
"I know a place that's safe for now. Let's go!" Johnny replied urgently as he led them through the city, hurrying away before the cult could ever see them.
To Be Continued...
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fanficshiddles · 3 years
Text
Trust, Chapter 8
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The team decided within twenty-four hours that there was no reason to keep Loki locked up. They knew they weren’t going to get any other information out of him. And Darcy kept going on at them for having him locked up like a criminal.
‘He is a criminal, Darcy. Or have you forgotten?’ Steve said.
‘No, I haven’t forgotten. But he’s not right now.’ She said as she stuffed a Jaffa cake in her mouth.
Tony rolled his eyes. ‘Just tell her.’
‘Tell me what?’ Darcy asked with her mouth full.
-
‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ Darcy shook her head as she walked towards Loki in his cell.
He looked up and smirked when he saw her. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ He stood up and walked over towards her.
‘Apparently, you’re allowed out of your cell.’ She shrugged and went over to the control panel, putting in the code that Stark had given her, making a glass panel at the front slide open.
‘So soon? What’s the catch?’ He frowned, stepping out cautiously.
‘Well, I am supposed to be your babysitter. Keep you out of trouble. But let’s face it, that’s not gonna happen.’ Darcy put her hands on her hips and watched as he strolled towards her.
‘Why not?’ He frowned, stopping right on front of her.
‘You can just poof away whenever you want. Like I’d be able to stop you.’ She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, making Loki smirk. ‘And second, I don’t really care what you do. As long as you don’t kill anyone. Besides, I think having you around the Avengers will liven things up around here.’ She shrugged.
Loki rolled his shoulders and looked around with a big smirk. ‘Well, I can most definitely make things more interesting around here.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ Darcy started walking to the door. ‘Just don’t blow the place up, ok?’
‘I make no promises.’ He chuckled and quickly followed her.
‘Well, make sure I get some warning beforehand.’
Darcy walked into the lounge and stopped when the team all ceased talking between them and turned to face her. Eyes widening when Loki strutted in and stood right behind her, towering over her.
‘Well then…’ Loki looked around, grinning wickedly. Everyone felt uneasy. But then rolled their eyes with what he came out with. ‘Where’s the Jaffa cakes?’
Darcy snorted and motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen.
‘They are suspicious of me.’ Loki said flatly as he sat down at the island counter, while Darcy raided the cupboards.
‘Well, yeah. They will be. Can you blame them though?’ She looked over her shoulder at him briefly.
‘I suppose not.’ Loki sighed, looking around, taking in the place.
‘They’ll get used to you. Just bore them with your chess knowledge.’ She teased.
‘Stop pretending you didn’t enjoy it.’
‘Yeah, because it was totally the best time of my life. Chess is even better than sex... Aha, yes!’ She finally found what she was looking for.
‘Chess is like exercise for the brain. And some would say that sex is a form of exercise, so therefore chess is like sex for the brain.’ Loki said.
‘Pfft. Don’t make it weird and confusing. Besides, I can’t just lie there during exercise, so I beg to differ.’ Darcy slid a packet of Jaffa cakes across the counter towards him.
‘Doesn’t sound like you’ve had very fun sex in that case.’ Loki commented as he cautiously picked up the packet, opening them slowly as if they were going to explode.
‘These look… interesting.’ He examined one closely.
Darcy walked around the counter and sat down next to him, grabbing one too. ‘They taste amazing. Just try it.’
Natasha, Steve, Thor and Jane wandered to the kitchen, to make sure Loki wasn’t going to try any funny business. They were all at the door, peeping in. They couldn��t quite hear what Loki and Darcy were conversing about.
‘This is weird.’ Jane whispered.
‘What are they doing?’ Steve asked, confused.
‘Just eating Jaffa cakes.’ Natasha said.
‘Yeah… but why? Why is she so calm around him?’ Steve said.
‘Well, if you think about it. They’ve spent a lot of time together. Just the two of them. Loki didn’t hurt her, so she has no reason to fear him. And I know my brother can be… difficult.’
‘That’s an understatement.’ Jane scoffed.
‘But he does have a good side, too. Perhaps Darcy sees that in him.’ Thor continued, ignoring his girlfriend’s remark.
But they all panicked and went running into the kitchen when Loki suddenly grabbed Darcy and vanished right on front of their eyes.
‘SHIT!’ Natasha gasped, she was about to raise the alarm when there was laughter from behind them.
The four turned around, surprised to see Loki and Darcy behind them.
‘Ah, you still fall for that trick, Thor.’ Loki smirked. ‘We could hear you, you know. You’re not exactly quiet.’
Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘Darcy, come on. I have work to do in the lab.’
‘So… Why do you need me?’ Darcy asked, folding her arms over her chest.
‘Because you’re my assistant.’ Jane said matter of factly.
‘You mean you just need someone to get you coffee and snacks.’
‘Darcy.’ Jane grumbled.
‘I thought that Darcy’s job right now was to keep an eye on me?’ Loki asked innocently, putting his hands behind his back. ‘I mean, I certainly wouldn’t mind looking around on my own. Picking out my room.’
‘NO!’ Natasha and Steve said at the same time.
‘Fury gave you a job, Darcy… Jane, you’ll need to do without her for now.’ Steve said, making the decision.
Darcy was internally celebrating. At least babysitting Loki would be far more interesting than fetching coffee for Jane, that would be left to go cold so she would just be constantly running back and fore from the lab to the kitchen all bloody day.
‘So… I better go show Loki his new living arrangements then.’ Darcy said and pointed to the door, then quickly made her escape.
Loki just had a grin plastered on his face as he followed her out.
‘Is it just me, or does she seem happy with her new job?’ Thor asked, looking at the others.
They just shook their heads and left Thor in the kitchen, looking slightly baffled.
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badmcuposts · 4 years
Text
Mini-Tony
For: @friendly-neighborhood-exchange
Gifted to: @floweryfran
Warnings: none?
-
“Tones, drop the act.” Rhodey ordered vaguely, storming into the lab as if he owned the place.
“What act?” Tony asked, less confused and more dismissive about the assertion that he would dare put up an act. That would take a lot of work he didn’t want to put in. The man kind of had a planet to constantly defend, you know.
Rhodey sighed, sitting down and putting on his serious face. “We all know you cloned yourself.” He spoke.
At the moment, Tony thought it had been a joke, since it so obviously had to be. But, his friend only continued until it all became far too alarming for Tony to ignore.
“I mean, really, Tony? This is a major federal crime! You know you could get the FBI called on you for this? Why would you be so reckless? How could you? It’s... it’s mad! You’ve really lost it, man. Come on, just let it go!”
Tony stared at his former MIT roommate, dazed and confused as he contemplated the sanity of the man before him. What was Rhodey on?
“Okay,” he began, “not entirely sure how I’m supposed to break this to you, but I have absolutely no idea what you’re talking about.”
In a shock, Rhodey’s body twitched, a visceral reaction to what Tony saw as a completely normal response to being accused of human cloning. “You... you didn’t clone yourself?” He questioned idiotically.
“No, I didn’t fucking clone myself!” Tony relented as he began to sardonically laugh, “What would make you honestly believe that I would do such a thing?”
At that, his friend went quiet. Tony watched the shy blush creep onto Rhodey’s cheeks, a deep and red tint running down his neck like a historically accurate thanksgiving. The colonel’s brown eyes looked up into the sky, as if searching for a way out of the situation on the celling.
Abruptly, he mumbled something incoherent under his breath.
“What?” The billionaire in the room tentatively asked, still laughing at the absurdity of the situation. Was he okay?
“Peter...” Rhodey murmured again, now audible, whether he wanted to be or not. That’s it, Tony thought, he’s lost it.
“Did... did you say Peter?” He asked again, more to himself than the other man. There was no way, absolutions no way, that Rhodey had actually just said the kid’s name.
“Yes! Peter, okay?”
Tony stood, shell shocked. “What... what does m-the kid have to do with you accusing me of breaking federal law and cloning myself in my private lab without shame?”
“It’s just- god it sounds so stupid now- he’s like... a mini-Tony.” Rhodey relented, his blush deepening quickly under the scrutinizing gaze of his best friend.
“A mini-Tony?” The man repeated, monotonic and blank in the face.
“Yes!” Rhodey shouted, “Stop tormenting me, you doofus. It’s a perfectly reasonable concern.” At the zenith of his mockery, Tony dies down, suddenly more interested in the how.
“You... you noticed that the kid and I have a few vague similarities and decided it meant I had cloned myself? Are you okay?” He asked.
Rhodey gasped, and initiated a debate nor mortal could ever be prepared to wage.
“It is not a few vague similarities and you know it! He’s exactly like you. The curly brown hair, the deep eyes, the general figure, the-”
“You’re describing every American male of Italian descent within a five-hundred mile radius.”
“It’s not just the looks, though. He acts just like you! I mean, his IQ has to be-”
“If you dare accuse my intellect of being equal to that of a sixteen year old child I am going to lose it.”
“Oh, stop being so grumpy about it! You know I’m right.”
“Boss,” FRIDAY finally interrupted, saving them from their fall from grace over such a trivial disagreement, “It appears that Captain Rogers is attempting to enter the lab. Should I approve him access or would you prefer some mid-afternoon entertainment by allowing him to attempt to break the cap-proof glass?”
“Eh, let him in.” Tony motioned, watching as the sleek, modern doors of the lab slid open to reveal a red-faced Captain America.
The man almost seemed... livid? Loathsome? Whatever emotion it was, it wasn’t good. “Old man probably broke his hip or something if he’s this interested in getting into my one room of peace and quiet.”
Steve entered, snarling in his elderly fashion. “Tony, I’m going to ask this once and pray to mother Mary that your answer is a resounding no.” “Ooooo, threatening. What’s up, buttercup?” Tony jested, a resoundingly low-effort reaction as the genius felt as though he no longer could be phased by his teammates’ quarrels.
“Did you give Sam my shield?” Steve asked, his eyebrows quirking subjectively.
Tony was confused. “What? No. Why would I give Sam your... oh god.” Suddenly, all at once, pieces in Tony’s mind began to place themselves together in one all too real puzzle of comprehension.
Steve grew worried at his own lack of context, as Rhodey followed suit in the paranoia. “What? What did you do, Tony?”
The man squeaked. “I- I think the kid might have done it.”
And that was it, he’d sealed his fate in Rhodey’s eyes. The other man began to seethe, smoke nearly bellowing out of his ears as his chance at glory was redeemed.
“DO YOU SEE WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT, TONY? DO YOU?”
“He said he wanted to play a prank, he didn’t say anything about giving Capsicle over there’s shield to the one person that would almost definitely try to destroy it for fun.” Tony shrugged, hoping to move the attention away from himself for the moment being.
Steve looked estranged. “Wait- what were you talking about?” “The kid!” Rhodey earned him in, “Isn’t he just like Tony? It’s like he cloned himself!” “I didn’t fucking clone myself, platypus.” Tony interrupted, only to be cut off by an extra presence in the room.
“Hey guys, what’s going on?” Peter asked, jovial as ever in his youthful stride. Of course, that didn’t last too long, as the boy was quickly stopped dead in his tracks by an onslaught of demands.
“Did you give my shield to Sam?”
“What’s your IQ, kid?”
“Pete, run!”
Peter stood still, confused and dazed by the screaming in his face. “Oooookkkaaayyyyyy. I’m gonna take this as my sign to kindly remove myself from the situ-”
“No! No you don’t, Parker.” Rhodey interjected, “You’re gonna entertain us for a little while, alright?”
Peter’s eyes grew wide. “Mr. Colonel Rhodes Sir, I have no idea why I’m being interrogated but if this is about the shield thing I can-”
“No, no, Peter. We just want to talk.” Rhodey said, unconvincingly, “Come on, sit down. It’ll be fun, some nice little bonding time with the newest addition to the team.”
Peter looked back to his mentor for support, only to find a blank face of fear and desperation. He knew there was no escape. “Okay.” The teen agreed.
“Great, now, where are you thinking about attending college?”
“What?” Peter asked.
Tony shrugged his shoulders at it all. “Just answer their questions, Pete. He won’t give up.”
Peter quickly accepted that as as much of an explanation as he was going to get any time soon, and lamented. “Uhhh MIT?”
“Good, good. And how’s your sleep schedule?” Rhodey continued.
Peter scoffed. “It’s there, I guess.��
Steve’s eyes began to grow. Oh god, Tony thought, he’s being indoctrinated. Rhodey kept it up. “Vague. I like it. Do you have any friends at school?
Peter made an off kilter face at that. “Just my best friend, Ned, and my girlfriend. I’m not much of a people person.”
“And you’re an orphan, right?”
Suddenly, Peter grew completely tense, obviously uncomfortable with the question. “Woah, dude. Not cool.”
“It’s not personal, I’m just curious.” Rhodey quelled, “You can not answer if that’s more comfortable.”
Peter calmed a bit at that. “No, no, no, no, no. I’m fine, it’s just- yeah. Yeah. I’m an orphan. Whatever. Keep going.”
Rhodey leaned in on the new path of questioning. “And what all do you know about that- the murder, that is?”
Peter laughed a little, switching into a jokind manner. “Is this a police thing? Do you think I killed my parents?” “If I give you context, it will sway your answers.” Rhodey joked back, but he wasn’t joking.
“Plane crash.” Peter said. “Some kind of set up. The- uh- SHIELD people said it was HYDRA but that’s still sort of up in the air. Cold case and all.”
“Okay, thank you. And what about-”
“Nope, stop torturing him.” Tony interrupted, “Kid, run for it.”
Peter laughed as he got up and began to walk away from the colonel. “I’m still so confused.” He expressed.
Tony felt like it was necessary to key the boy into the situation. “Rhodey over there that thinks I cloned myself and that you’re secretly an illegal recreation of my DNA sequences.” He explained.
At that, Peter looked the other man over, before leaning in towards his mentor to quietly whisper “Is... is he okay?”
Tony breathed out in relief at the boy’s nonchalance. “I have no idea.”
Steve caught into the conversation, adding his own two cents. “For the record, I’m on Rhodes’ side now. You too are the same person.”
“He’s sixteen!” Tony complained:
“Yeah!” The boy agreed, quick as lighting, almost as if by reflex. “And he’s, like, thirty.” “Oh, god, I am so happy you just called me thirty.” Tony gasped.
Rhodey mused in his small sextor of the complete bliss one should find when faced witn a minor victory. “Point is, same person.”
Tony rolled his eyes. “You two are exhausting. I had one night stands back in my partying days that had more sense than you guys do. Come on, Peter, let’s go get ice cream.”
“Can we get Burger King, instead?” The teenager chirped.
The man perked up at the notion. “I love Burger King!” “Yes! Let’s go, Mr. Stark, I have no idea what they’re talking about.”
“Polar opposites, you and me.”
“Yep! Polar opposites!”
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Text
Humans are Space Orcs “To Deep Space.”
I am finished with university, had my last final yesterday, so we will be moving back to the normal writing schedule, yay! 
I have no idea where this arc is going tbh, but it is going to be good and I am excited. I hope you guys will enjoy it as well! 
“Dr. Adric, Dr. Adric please report to the bridge.”
He stepped from his office wondering what they could possibly need him for there. He had just been trying to get his office situated when the call came out. He set down his papers on the desk and made his way into the ship looking around as he made his tentative way towards the bridge. The ship was roomier than he thought it might be, but still rather small, he wondered how that affected the people on the ship.
He knew that they had to keep plants aboard the ship for the crew’s mental health, but he honestly wondered how much that help. Overhead he was assured the lights were UV in nature to mimic the sun and stave off depression after long months of being trapped inside a metal tin can hurtling through space. Not one was really sure what the effects of deep space on a person.
They knew that being lost in space could result in mass hysteria as demonstrated by the Commander’s own crew and malfunctioned civilian transport, the likes of which had apparently driven themselves to cannibalism in their panic and confusion.
He had read the reports, it was both disgusting and fascinating.
He paused just inside the bridge turning to stare with wide eyed at the men and women positioned at their consuls arrayed in a semicircular pattern against the outside edge of the room. A second tier comprised another smaller set of consoles for about four people, and just above that was a single raised chair.
The captain’s seat.
The room had been designed with both hierarchy and function in mind in that the captain’s chair could look down on all the other chairs with the ability to see what his crew was doing at all times.
And right now they were prepping for launch.
“Engines.”
“Engine one through six online and reporting no malfunctioning cells Commander.”
“Check them one more time. Crew manifest.”
“Four hundred and eighty six confirmed crewmen, sir.”
“What does the manifest say?”
“The same.”
Dr Adric tilted his head watching as the crew worked, but specifically watching the commander. The man spun this way and that, giving orders, taking information, and all the while making quick check-marks in a little black book he held in one hand. He seemed at east in his chair.
The chief weapons officer, the Drev named Sunny, sat at her station despite not really needing her at the moment, and he could see over her shoulder that she was also doing a weapons check for the ship.
The commander turned in his chair spotting the doctor and motioning him over.
He came confused not sure what he would be needed for.
“Commander?”
The man smiled, an expression that fit well on his face. Despite his youth, the doctor could already see laugh lines, faint and barely visible beginning to form around his eyes…. This was a man used to smiling.
“Take a seat doctor, and strap yourself in. This will be an uncomfortable assent.”
“What do you mean?” He wondered in confusion.
“I generally let all new recruits sit on the bridge for at least one launch or warp. I feel it makes the experience real for them instead of just expecting them to use their imagination. Besides, who doesn’t want to watch a ship launch.”
He was a bit surprised but of course he nodded walking over to the indicated seats and strapping himself in with the five point harness. He continued to watch the crew work. The bridge itself seemed to run rather smoothly under the direction of the commander, and from what he could tell the crew seemed very excited to be off.
“Engines ready, commander.”
“Fuel cells engaged.”
Commander Vir reached for his microphone broadcasting his voice throughout the ship, “Alright you beautiful hooligans launch begins in T minus one minute. Please strap yourself and any loose items down and keep your hands and feet inside the ship for the duration of the ride.” He cut off his mic smiling.
Dr Adric watched closely.
“Ground control this is Harbinger preparing to liftoff in T minus 55, do you copy.”
“Copy harbinger. Launch is ready for go standby on grid line trajectory Alpha two niner one one preparing for liftoff over.”
“Thirty seconds.”
He gripped the seatbelt hard teeth gritted watching as the rest of the crew braced themselves as well. The commander flexed his hands sliding his fingers into the flight gloves and hooking his toes onto the pedals. The holographic shield popped up to cover his eyes.
“launch in 10, 9 ,8, 7, 6, 5.”
He gripped tighter.
“4, 3, 2, 1, “
“Launch.”
The force of the rising ship slammed him back into his seat as they were born skyward. All around them the ship seemed to vibrate and rattle. His chest felt like it had a carton of bricks stacked on top of it and a little black circle was beginning to encroach at the edges of his vision.
Somewhere, someone in the room was cheering. Past his vibrating eyes, he could see the commander valiantly fighting to bring the ship into the sky despite it’s immense bulk which had never been designed for gravity. Eyes wide he watched as the eggshell blue of a perfect day morphed before them and grew darker until space stretched out before them like a pair of waiting arms.
“Prepare core for warp. Navigations.”
“Yes commander?”
“Warp Coarse.”
“Sagittarius A. But not to close! Keep to the coordinates the smart guys gave us” he repeated very suddenly looking very nervous all things told.
“What’s in Sagittarius A?” He wondered
The commander turned in his chair one eyebrow raised looking almost incredulous, “you don’t know?”
The rest of the crew shifted very nervously, he could see it on them though there were hints of excitement.”
He shook his head.
“Our primary directive on this ship is deep space exploration. We are a military vessel, but we hold trillions of dollars in scientific equipment aboard this ship, as such we have been tasked by the UNSC in accordance with the NASA foundation to head to Sagittarius A and take the first close space images of the supermassive black hole at the center of the milky way.”
He felt his hands and feet go suddenly cold.
“B but how can you take a picture of something that sucks in light.”
“The accretion disk of course and then the massive black spot at the middle.”
“But if we get to close….”
“Yes yes doctor, I have been flying in space long enough to know what happens if you run amuck of a black hole. We get sucked in and suspended forever in a slow spiral of doom as time slows down and our bodies are slowly ripped apart atom by atom. Please we aren’t getting THAT close. Even I’m pissing myself just thinking about it, but also super excited to be honest. No mess ups this time which is why the ship has been checked to hell and back to make sure it’s working.”
Not for the first time, he was beginning to wonder if he was psychologically stable enough to be on this mission as it seemed you hat to be just a little crazy to want to do this. Maybe that is why a high percentage of people on the ship had presented with psychological anomalies, least of all the commander himself.
How he hadn’t gone mad with fear regarding the eminent death that surrounded them constantly was a mystery.
“Warp core?”
“Ready for ignition sir.”
“How far out are we.”
“Almost to the warp zone sir,”
Dr Adric rubbed his temples. He wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to see a black hole. What kind of psychological effects does something that powerful have on someone, knowing that if you are caught in its gravity well you are done for in the most horrible way possible, and just looking at it from a distance he imagined would be like watching a bear or tiger out in the wild accept for this was different since the bear could now swallow stares whole and the tiger ad gravity so immense that not even light can escape it’s center.
“Preparing for warp in ten.”
He closed his eyes
But they didn’t stay closed as the countdown continued opening for a moment as he felt the space around him go strange. When he did he nearly lost it as his vision seemed to be looking through a glass fish bowl all warped out to the sides and stretched, far things looking close, close things looking far. Outside the window a massive spot appeared before him and around it the stars were morphing and repeating.
The ship reflected back a thousand times in fractal images.
He yelled in shock clenching his seat, and then, it was over.
He was breathing hard, outside there was nothing but blackness, and the emergency lights had flicked on over the crew.
The captain unbuckled his seat-belt and stepped down onto the floor.
He turned to look at Adric who was gripping the seat so hard his knuckles had gone white, “Nice work, first time I warped I definitely pissed myself so, good constitution.” He patted Adric on the shoulder. The blue Drev stood, and the commander grabbed her by the shoulder hauling himself up onto her back.
Adric watched as the two of them walked away.
How strange.
He was in for seeing a lot of strange things in the next few days. The commander and the blue drev spent a lot of time together, and often he rode on her back. At one point he walked in on the crew having a jousting contest where two drev ran full tilt at the other while the two crewmen brandished brooms.
He walked out of his room more than once to find the commander heelieing down the hall at the head of the bridge crew giving orders.
When that wasn’t happening he had run amuck of a freaky group of spider creatures being taken care of by a dog and a very strange humanoid creature who claimed he could read minds. He hadn’t believed it until it started repeating his inner thoughts back to himself.
Instead of being freaked out he found himself almost envious. If he had that kind of power imagine the sort of things he could do to help his patients.
Everywhere he went it seemed as if something strange was happening.
One day they were playing an aggressive game of keep the balloon off the floor and the next they were using window markers to drawn on the viewing field. As expected from a group of soldiers it turned into a heard of inappropriate doodles until it looked as if their ship was cruising past a heard of winged space dicks.
And he himself kept a close eye on the crew. None of them seemed bothered by the fact they were in deep space, but many of them had strange habits.
The commander and the Drev named Sunny spent an excessive amount of time together, or so he thought, the little doctor never relaxed, and couldn’t to save his life even when he tried. Conn, the mind reader, did his best to get attention by pissing everyone off, and the spiderlings, as he had come to know them, were constantly acting up as well.
He would need more time to get used to the crew, but it seemed as if he had his work cut out for him.
If he could hold himself together that is.
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currywaifu · 4 years
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𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐥𝐞: that’s pretty knit 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩: rurikawa yuki/reader 𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠: sfw 𝐰𝐜: 1.9k words, 1 image
𝐚𝐧: yuki birthday month, yuki fic. ahaha i am very direct with my titles again. what’s new? because of the research i did, i’m probably gonna go order some knitting materials online now
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Perhaps you spent too much time at the nearest arts and crafts store. For a dozen or so minutes you stood in one spot, unmoving unless someone needed to pass by you, your eyes flitting up and down, left and right as you debated over the different assortments of yarn.
You already had an inkling the different colours would overwhelm you— with so many different colours and different shades each, how could you possibly limit yourself to just one? You didn’t expect to be this troubled with choosing among different yarn weights, too. Why did the store give you 7 different choices? How were you supposed to know if choosing light yarn was better than choosing bulky yarn?
… you seriously should have done more research, but the prospect of finally having free time to visit the shop overshadowed any semblance of rationality you previously possessed.
Look at you now.
Alright, Plan A— scope out the area for the friendliest looking employee and muster up the courage to ask for help, plain and simple.
Except things don’t always go as planned.
When you hear your name come from a voice behind you, it was impossible not to figure out who it was that caught you. You’re just a little bit upset and a little bit tense because of all people to come across at this moment, it had to be Yuki? It’s not that you dislike him, rather it’s because the opposite is true that you found yourself more pressed than you should be.
It was like buying a surprise gift for someone and that exact someone seeing you buy that gift… actually, that was pretty much the situation— the only differing variable being that the gift hasn’t even been created yet.
Seriously, you just had to come across the very person you were planning on making something for?
“Yuki-kun! What are you doing here?”
He gave you a blank stare, as if waiting for you to realise how dumb your question was. Rurikawa Yuki? In a crafts store? Unless you wanted something specific, the answer should have been plenty obvious.
“Hah? I want to buy materials to make clothes, obviously,” he replied, tilting his head to gesture towards his shopping basket filled with various beads, lace, and… were those feathers? Was he just replenishing stock and were those all for one outfit? Curiosity was getting the better of you, mouth already poised to ask a follow-up question before he interrupted you.
“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you?”
To any deities out there, grant you a smidge of acting prowess, or at the very least the ability to make some half-truths and get away with it.
You awkwardly let out a laugh, your eyes leaving Yuki as they dragged themselves back towards the shelves.
“I’m supposed to make a scarf for someone,” an omission of information, but technically the truth, “but I don’t know which yarn to pick?”
For a few seconds Yuki stared at you with narrowed eyes, ultimately letting out a sigh as he placed his own items on the tiled floor, facing the same direction as you.
“Any colour you want?”
Taking the opportunity to resolve one of your main problems, you quickly told him that he could choose any colour he wanted. Haha, you were so slick getting Yuki to choose the material he’d like the most. If you somehow screwed up the knitting process, at least he’d like the colour, right?
“Didn’t you do any research?” Yuki asked, sifting through the pale pink yarns to look for the appropriate weight.
“Not really,” you admitted sheepishly, “I mean, I just saw the steps were easy enough and decided to give it a try.”
“I-di-ot~” he said in a sing-song voice, but despite the nickname you knew there was underlying affection there somewhere, “one skein of super-bulky yarn would be the easiest to work with, then you probably need a crochet hook and 9 mm knitting needles too…”
You follow the green-haired boy as he moves to a different aisle, picking up the supplies you inevitably would have had trouble choosing between.
“Really, you could have just asked me, if you’re so clueless. I’d help you out.”
“No way!” you suddenly exclaimed, earning yourself front row tickets to Yuki’s look of confusion, “I can do it myself!”
You hoped your sudden outburst didn’t come off as rude, but he seemed to just push the matter away nonchalantly.
“Suddenly getting so loud, what’s with you…” he muttered, dropping the things he picked up for you atop your waiting hands, “but that’s fine. The scarf won’t be as cute as if I helped you, but maybe it’ll turn out decent at least.”
You clutched the materials to your chest, already anticipating being able to prove Yuki wrong. How would he react the moment he knew the person you were knitting something for was him?
“I’ll show it to you when I’m done!” you promised, “I need your seal of approval, after all!”
He’d probably point out any issues regardless, so you just had to make sure you did your absolute best!
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Knitting took a lot more effort than you anticipated. First of all, you had to do something called a cast on around the needle? Apparently the wrap cast on was great for beginners, but you weren’t gonna lie— it did take you one whole article from some “The Queen of Yarn” blogspot and one 5 minute YouTube tutorial just to make sure you were on the right track.
One. Slip knot: loop the yarn around your fingers clockwise, the yarn attached to the ball going under the loop, slid off your fingers and slipped onto the needle.
It wasn’t that the steps were particularly difficult. Rather, it was constantly making sure you weren’t accidentally skipping any steps or areas due to not paying too much attention.
Two. Open the loop to make a stitch: hold the empty needle with your dominant hand, and the needle with the slip knot in the other. Slip the empty needle into the first loop— from front to back.
Still, it was difficult to stop your thoughts from wandering— perhaps you should have chosen to listen to some kind of tea spill or podcast or comedy routine or anything with words instead of the LoFi ChillHop live stream playing from your phone. You were going to give Yuki a scarf— then what?
Three. Wrap the yarn: go counter-clockwise, the working yarn sliding between both of the needles.
You had a crush on Yuki, plain and simple, but it’d be embarrassing to just admit it! The amount of courage you had still needed replenishing, what with the amount you used up to just go up to him and try befriending him a couple of months back. What if you confessed, and he decided not only was your scarf ugly, he wouldn’t be friends with you anymore as well?
Four. Turn the stitch: slide the dominant-hand needle from the back to the front of the other needle.
But would it be enough to just pass off the garment as a, “thank you for being my friend” gift? Especially when there was no real occasion, and the hours you put in into making him something— would he question it?
Five. Finish the stitch: slide the dominant-hand needle up so that the first loop on the other needle slides off. Move on to the next loop, do the same thing, repeating until you are out of stitches.
Well, even with all of Yuki’s bluntness, he was still kind so he’d probably still be your friend! It’d still really hurt if he rejected you though, so maybe you should put off implying anything more than platonic between you two for… a while. Maybe it was too soon?
Looking at the progress you made, you were unable to hold in a groan of defeat. The pale pink yarn against the bamboo needle looked pretty and neat; there was an issue though.
One row. You were only able to do one row so far.
Your phone clock said it was still pretty early into the afternoon. Well, a few more hours wouldn’t hurt anything except your hands, right?
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A hand therapy site told you that pain brought by needlework was probably due to repetition of motion, bad posture, and or general fatigue. Not gonna lie, you probably fit into all three— the last one maybe more so than others.
How long one took to knit varied— some dedicating days, while others were able to crank out 5 scarves a day. A part of you was proud to be able to procure something presentable and wearable in one sitting.
You’re just choosing to omit the fact that that one sitting lasted until 3 am, but what Yuki doesn’t know? Won’t hurt him.
Thanking your singular brain cell right now that you decided to do this project over the weekend instead of during a school day— you’re unsure if you’d even be able to survive at all if you actually had to do maths and stuff the day after.
Deciding to just go with the flow, you found yourself folding the scarf as neatly as you could, gingerly placing it inside a paper bag. After all, you agreed to “have him judge” your creation today.
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In all honesty, you thought you had built up the confidence to confess your crush to Yuki. If he reciprocated, good for you! If he didn’t, well, either you take it cooly or go ‘I said I liked you as a friend thing, silly!”
Standing in front of him though, his orange eyes scrutinising the pale pink scarf, made you lose your words, hesitation standing in its stead.
“Garter stitch…”
“What do you think, Yuki-kun?” you asked, peering at the green haired boy curiously as you impatiently awaited his verdict.
“I’m honestly surprised you made something nice,”
“Hey—“
“But for beginner, it’s pretty good,” he complimented, “actually, I can see myself wearing it when it gets colder—“
Even with such simple words, you felt your heart swell in happiness. Not only did he say he liked it, but he even went as far as to say he’d wear it? There were so many ways to get your gratitude across, to tell Yuki your true intentions in ‘asking for his approval’. With all of your options, you went with
“If you like it, it’s yours!”
“Hey, you…”
He looked like he didn’t know how to respond. Actually, you can relate to that because even you’re befuddled by your wording. Didn’t it make it seem like you gifted it to him as an afterthought?
“I mean, well that’s not what I meant,” you hurriedly followed up, “I wanted to give it to you from the start? I didn’t know if it’d be nice though so if you said it was ugly I would’ve hidden it from the world? You said you would wear it though so—“
“This won’t do…” Yuki replied, interrupting your impending rambling. Before you could ask him what he meant, he pulls your hand to lead you inside the dormitories.
Unbeknownst to you, pink the same shade of your... his scarf painted his cheeks. If only the weather was fit for the garment you gave, he’d be able to blame the sudden colour on the cold.
“Come on, I need to get your measurements.”
It was difficult to keep the silly grin off of your face afterwards.
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want to order again?
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heliads · 3 years
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Chapter 3: Infiltration
Bucky Barnes is constantly haunted by his past, but the memories of his days as a Winter Soldier will come into a new light in the form of the Watching Hawk, his old HYDRA partner. Will he be able to trust her, and will she be able to move on from his mistakes?
previous / series masterlist / next
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They’re leaning over the table together, studying the files on the HYDRA base. Bucky still can’t believe that Y/N agreed to work with them- by doing so, she’d be turning her back on HYDRA forever. He knows how it feels to accept HYDRA as your enemy, and so his respect for Y/N grows even more.
Speaking of which, Y/N is a great asset in terms of planning the infiltration of HYDRA. She’s telling the group key details about the HYDRA complex that not even S.H.I.E.L.D.’s files have in store. Bucky was, admittedly, more than a little hesitant to trust Y/N at first, but she’s now proved herself a trustworthy ally. 
Once the planning session is done, Bucky makes his way to the training center. The infiltration of the HYDRA base won’t take place for another week, so he wants to distract himself by exercising. The sound of his fists hitting the punching bag is music to his ears, and Bucky finds himself so caught up in the repetition of the drill that he doesn’t hear the door opening.
“Quite the practice you’ve got going on. Are you trying to kill the punching bag or just dismember it?” Y/N’s voice cuts across the training room, and Bucky stops his restless blows to dry the sweat from his brow and turn to look at her. She’s leaning on a railing by the door, smiling teasingly down at him. She’s also dressed in workout gear, and starts to make her way towards him. “Just trying to practice.” Bucky mutters, grabbing a drink of water.
“What do you say we practice together? One-on-one, just like the old days. I won’t use my wings, you won’t use your knives. Just two soldiers fighting like usual.” Bucky can’t help the reluctant smile creeping across his face. “Let’s go.”
Y/N steps onto the mat across from him, and the two fighters circle each other warily. Bucky is brought back to years long gone, when they were training in the HYDRA facilities. This time, there are no armed guards or cunning operatives to watch them, but Bucky still feels the tension creeping up his spine. He attacks first- he always did- with a punch to her jaw. Y/N dodges it easily- she always did- and retaliates with two jabs to his abdomen in quick succession. Bucky simply kicks her legs out from under her, pinning her to the ground. He doesn’t realize the fist of his metal arm is in the air again, ready to strike, until he sees the worry in her eyes. Bucky blinks, taking in the situation. She’s already pinned. No need to hit again. 
Bucky quickly gets off of the ground, releasing Y/N and taking a few steps back. He struggles to clear his head, but all Bucky can see is the same training ground. 
‘Hit her again.’ Bucky looks up at the uniformed operative, but says nothing. Soldiers say nothing unless asked. The Hawk is on the ground, clawing at the metal arm pinning her by her throat. ‘Hit her again. You should only stop if she’s unconscious.’ At the sound of the operative’s command, the Hawk flings her legs up and over Bucky’s head, pushing him back. She manages to release his grip, but Bucky just pins her again. The Hawk has only been with HYDRA for a short while. She needs to learn. The operative repeats his command again and again. When the operative stops speaking, Bucky stares at the blood coating his hand. The Hawk is motionless on the ground. Bucky is dragged back to his cell.
“Barnes. Barnes!” He can hear a voice from somewhere in the distance. It feels like Bucky’s drowning, too far under to swim and only sinking further from the voice. As the sound of the voice grows louder, Bucky does his best to claw his way to the surface. There’s the sensation of a hand on his arm, pulling him up from the depths of his tortured mind.
“Barnes!” There’s a face in front of him. The Hawk’s- no, Y/N’s. Her hand is on his shoulder, and she’s planted herself in front of him. There’s worry in her eyes, worry he hasn’t seen in a long time. Since before he left her side. “Can you hear me?”
Bucky nods slowly. “What-what happened?” Y/N shakes her head confusedly. “I don’t know. We were fighting, and then you got this emotionless look in your eyes, like you were still the Winter Soldier. It was like you were still under their control.” Bucky sighs, running a hand desperately through his hair to clear his ragged thoughts. “It was when we were fighting. I had a memory of when we first started to train. It was like I was there, and I was forced to keep fighting you even though you were pinned. For a while, I thought I was still there.”
Y/N’s eyes clear, and she tilts her head back. “The fight triggered the memory. Come, sit down.” She leads him to a bench, gentle in her movements lest she bring him back to the fighting ground at HYDRA. Her arm around him feels like the only solid thing in the world. “I’m not surprised it happened. You’re not undergoing the constant memory wipes, so your memories will start returning. The issue is, most of them will be dark and torturous, and you will have to bear them once more.” Bucky slowly lifts his head to face her. “Why are you doing this? Why are you helping me?” Y/N drops her eyes away for just a second, as if asking herself the same questions, but looks back to him once more.
“We are both survivors. When we were still at HYDRA, you helped me live with what I’d done. That’s one consequence of keeping your memories- every second of the day I am left to face the blood on my hands. There were some days I thought I would drown in it, but you helped pull me out. When you left, the HYDRA higher-ups knew I would try to follow you, so they did everything in their power to stop me from returning to your side. I wasn’t- I’m still not sure how to apologize, but this is the only way I know. Kindness begets kindness, and I have no way to repay you for all the times you taught me to heal.”
Bucky nods slowly. “I still can’t remember everything from that time. Some days, I’m glad of it, but most days I just wish I had more memories. There are gaping holes in my mind, and I have nothing with which to fill them.”
Y/N lets his words sink in. Suddenly, she turns to him, as if she’s been fighting back a question but can’t help asking it. “How did it feel to have the mind control lifted from your head?  To know you were your own person once again?” Bucky can’t help a small, slightly sad laugh. “I didn’t quite know what to make of it. I thought I’d feel free, like I finally had control over my own life, but it just felt more empty. Maybe it was my own mind once more, but it had been someone else’s for so long that I didn’t know what I should feel like once it wasn’t.”
Y/N nods at that. Quietly, she leans her head on his shoulder. Bucky is flung back into memories once more, but they come slowly and they are finally pleasant. After the two of them returned from missions, they would often stay like this. The reassurance of another’s heartbeat was always enough to stave off whatever demons lurked in the corners of their minds.
Before Bucky knows it, it’s time to break into the HYDRA base. He’s been tense all morning, but surprisingly, his nerves clear once the building comes in sight. He supposes it’s an old habit, that being afraid was simply a habit broken when he was with HYDRA, but he’s glad of it now. Bucky allows himself to fall into the motions, distancing himself emotionally from the upcoming attack. 
The five of them will split up to enter the building. Natasha, Sam, and Steve will enter from a side door. Bucky and Y/N will take an entrance on the other side of the building. There are guards stationed outside, of course, but they are taken down easily by the two Winter Soldiers. Bucky finds odd comfort in fighting alongside Y/N- they move seamlessly together as if they had forever been by each other’s side. 
Once inside the building, Y/N rushes over to a control panel, shutting down alarm systems and security cameras. Natasha, Sam, and Steve radio in to confirm their entry, so Y/N and Bucky quickly move on to the center of the building. Most of the files will be in the central communications area, so that becomes their target destination. Although Bucky and Y/N have to take out the occasional guard, they are grateful that most of the HYDRA occupants are out at a conference. Finally, Bucky and Y/N are only a few halls away from the destination of the communications center, but that’s where their luck runs out.
Once they round a corner, Bucky quickly motions for Y/N to get back. The halls are filled with guards, who are stationed in tight formations. Bucky looks over at Y/N, suddenly feeling the pressure of the mission. “There are two many guards. I don’t know if we can get past them.” Oddly enough, Y/N doesn’t look worried. In fact, she looks almost regretful. “What is it?” Bucky asks, but Y/N just shakes her head sadly. “He’s here.” She says to her earpiece, and Bucky can hear the sound of many footsteps converging on their location.
Bucky stares at Y/N in betrayal. “What are you doing?” He hisses, and pain fills her eyes. “I’ve always had the illusion of free will. There will always be HYDRA protocols burned into my mind that I cannot break.” The guards finally reach the former allies, too many for Bucky to fight. As he is forced to his knees, restraints tied tightly around his wrists and arms, Y/N speaks one last time, almost too quietly for him to hear. “I wish I could make different choices. I wish it more than anything. But I will always be HYDRA’s puppet.” She walks away briskly towards another operative, leaving Bucky stunned and in the company of dozens of guards.
The HYDRA soldiers eventually lead Bucky to a cell deep within the complex. He is tethered to a chair, arms and legs restrained with heavy-duty bonds. He doesn’t think he could break them even if he tried. A while after that, Bucky is informed that Natasha, Sam, and Steve have also been captured. After the operatives leave, Bucky is alone with the realization of Y/N’s betrayal. Had she meant anything she had said to him? Bucky remembers the look in Y/N’s eyes when the soldiers arrived, as if she truly hated herself for what she’d done. I will always be HYDRA’s puppet. Bucky doesn’t know whether Y/N truly regretted betraying him or not, just that the pain of her turning against him feels as if it’s almost too much to bear.
tag list: @soleil-dor​
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captainscanadian · 4 years
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Love Me Blue | Bucky Barnes x Reader (Janmashtami)
My Masterlist
Series Masterlist
Summary: When you were younger, you had always dreamed of falling in love with someone who would love you like Lord Krishna loved Radha. A dream that once felt as though it was silly no longer felt that way. 
Word Count: 4400+
Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Tamilian!Hindu!Reader
Warnings: MINIMAL TAMIL SONG LYRICS (I’m more than happy to translate!) & TAMIL CULTURE, References to Hinduism, PTSD, Insomnia, Endgame References.
A/N: This is my entry for @bucky-smiles​‘s 3K Diversity Writing Challenge! My prompt was to write a fic with a Hindu reader. I decided to write this fic with a Tamilian reader because I am Tamilian. I was born in Sri Lanka and my mother’s side of the family are Hindu. Although I consider myself an agnostic theist, I do enjoy reading the epics of Mahabharata and Ramayana. I hope everyone had a wonderful Janmashtami. Along with Lord Krishna himself, it’s also @jalapenobarnes​‘ birthday this weekend so please go shower Saran with all the love. This one’s for you, my chellam! <3 Pics are off of Pinterest! 
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Bucky Barnes watched curiously as he sat cross-legged on the tiled floor of your living quarters, splashing a handful of water on the bright green banana leaf that you had laid out in front of him. 
Even though your apartment had a designated dining room with an oak wood table and chairs, he wondered why you preferred to be eating on the living room floor. Not to mention the way you had chosen to serve him on a banana leaf than a plate. 
As much as he found it bizarre, he was also curious about the traditions that you seemed to follow. Not just through the way you ate your meals, but also the way you honored your dead best friend and the way you had filled your apartment with idols and paintings of your Hindu God. It came as a surprise to him that someone as young and well-educated as yourself could even hold onto the traditions that you had been raised with despite having settled away from your home for years. 
Bucky had been surprised to find that as the decades had progressed, traditions had evolved with the emergence of a post-modern society. The way people had practiced religion had also evolved with time, but the way you practiced yours seemed to be the same as the way his own mother had practiced hers back in the day. 
You did not conform to modern life for the sake of it, and he found that inspiring. The old Bucky who had always been fascinated by all that science had to offer would probably disagree with you. But having lived a whole century as one of HYDRA’s science experiments made him wish that he could return to the pre-modern society that he had been born into. He hated confirming with the status quo as much as the next guy, but seeing you made him realize that he did not need to force himself to confirm either. He could be himself, as long as he could figure out who exactly he was meant to be. 
“According to my grandmother, eating off of a banana leaf is a lot more healthier than eating off of a plate. Apparently the nutrients in the leaf can mix with the food.” You explained to him as you served him some of the rice, careful not to overcrowd the banana leaf. You knew that he was unfamiliar with the dishes, but also appreciated that he was willing to try out a new cuisine at this witching hour. “She said that it’s good for the immune system, prevents intestinal ulcers, skin diseases… soothes the stomach, helps with digestion and prevents kidney stones.” 
He nodded, understandably. “Right…” He agreed, not having the heart to tell you that the super soldier serum in his body ensured that his cells would constantly regenerate and prevent him from falling ill. Nevertheless, he found your endearment quite refreshing. You really did treat him like he was Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th and not the Winter Soldier, and he was grateful for that. 
“We’re used to eating off of the leaf during special occasions or when we have guests.” You added. “There’s a Buddhist and Hindu philosophy... Atithi Devo Bhava. It literally means that the guests must be given the same respect as you would give to your Gods. And since you’re my guest tonight, you get the banana leaf.” 
“I’m no God, Y/N.” Bucky clarified, sighing as he ran his metal hand through his greasy hair. “I’m a human being, a brainwashed assassin, a weapon of destruction who brought so much pain in people’s lives. I don’t deserve to be treated with so much respect.” 
“Bucky…” You frowned at his words before shaking your head. “As the one who spent most of my life studying the life of Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th, I beg to differ. I know that you have a lot of internalized guilt about those days and I don’t blame you for that. But you can’t let the Winter Soldier define who you are. You’re more than who you used to be when you were brainwashed. It wasn’t who you were.” 
“To be honest, I don’t even think I know who I am anymore…” He admitted, a truth that he hadn’t told anyone else at the compound but felt that he could trust you with.. “But I know for sure that I don’t deserve to be respected like you respect your God.” 
“You should let me be the judge of that. My concept of God is actually quite different from the Abrahamic religions that you happen to be familiar with.” You protested with a soft chuckle, crossing your legs to sit across from him. “My grandmother once told me that Lord Krishna… being the God of love and compassion, he’s always present in one’s heart. Wherever there’s love, he’s always there. If there’s love in your heart, he’s there. And that makes you just as Godly as anyone else.”  
“I’m the world’s longest prisoner of war who spent most of my life imprisoned in a cryofreezer. There’s nothing Godly about the life that I’ve had to live.” He shook his head. “If anything, I’m a symbol of pain and suffering.” 
“Well, Lord Krishna was born in prison.” You remarked. “His life was meant to be filled with so much love… It started on Janmashtami, in a prison cell where his parents were locked up by his own maternal uncle. Even in all that pain and suffering, the betrayal that Lord Krishna’s parents had to face… they were blessed with a child who was the incarnate of the supreme God himself. All that pain and suffering led to some kind of reward, and I’m sure you’ll get yours in due time. Sri Krishna never discriminates, and he forgives those who are truly remorseful of their sins. He’s the God of compassion after all.” 
Bucky could not help but chuckle softly at your words. For every word of self-hatred that came out of his mouth, you had your own rebuttal that was rooted in your faith. He was left with no choice but to accept his defeat and give in to being treated as your guest for the night. It was the least he could do other than make use of that computer he had been given to catch up with the world by looking up Lord Krishna. “So, what’s on the menu for tonight?”
“Okay!” You exclaimed, pointing to the rice dish that you had placed in the center of the leaf. “Ven pongal, basically made from rice and yellow lentils. It’s also got some peppercorns, cumin, turmeric, ginger, curry leaves and cashews that I fried in some clarified butter. That’s why it smells so good. Don’t worry about the spices though. This is probably the mildest dish I’ve ever eaten in my life.” 
Bucky nodded as he looked up at you. “Do you make this often?”
“It’s a traditional breakfast food in South India, but it also makes for the ultimate comfort food when I’m missing home.” You replied with a shrug of your shoulders before grabbing the bowl of sambar and pouring it over the rice. “Now this might be a little spicy for you. But it’s the side dish of all side dishes. Sambar, basically a mixed vegetable stew with lentils and spices. Great with most South Indian breakfast foods.” 
“And what about the rest?” He asked as he eyed the remainder of the delicacies that you had laid out before him. He could not deny that the warm aroma that wafted up his nostrils made them much more appetizing. Despite it being past midnight, he was starved. 
“Medhu vada… deep fried lentil fritters, coconut chutney to dip ‘em in… and kesari, dessert made from semolina.” You pointed to the items as you placed them on the banana leaf. “I hope you don’t mind eating with your hand. We don’t really use utensils and I kind of forgot to pick some up. If it makes you feel any better, the right hand is commonly used to eat so…” You motioned towards his hand. “Dig in?”
He raised his eyebrow at your words. “I guess that was very convenient for me.” He joked before looking down at the food and back at you. “Aren’t you going to eat with me?”
You chuckled softly before shrugging at his question. “It’s alright, Bucky. I can eat after you. It’s not polite to eat before the guest.”
“Y/N, come on… you just said that you made all of this food because you were feeling homesick. I can’t eat all of this without you.” He clarified with a smile. 
You looked down at your lap in embarrassment as you felt your cheeks heat up. “I kind of only bought one banana leaf because I thought I would be the one eating all of this food.” You told him, shamelessly. “I didn't think I would have company, not that I don’t want you here or anything. I invited you to eat but… my grandmother says it’s rude to eat right out of the serving bowls if you’re going to be serving the food to someone else. I don’t mind waiting until you’re done and helping myself to your leftovers.” 
A part of him could not believe how bound you were to your grandmother’s words, especially when it came to your dining etiquette. Despite the fact that your grandmother had been someone to hold you back from your potential, he admired that you still respected her enough to follow through with the culture that she had taught you. 
“Fine, then if you don’t mind…” He reached down to grab a dollop of the pongal and sambar with his thumb and two fingers, carefully holding his hand up towards your mouth. “Let me at least feed you.”
Your eyes grew wide at his gesture and you found your cheeks heating up in embarrassment once again. “Um…” You gulped, not knowing how to react to that. A part of you wanted to accept his offer, but the pitter patter against your heart mimicked the rain against your window and caused you to become very nervous. 
As much as you had denied it when you were around the rest of the team, you knew that you did have a slight crush on Sergeant James Barnes of the 107th Infantry Regiment when you had first watched through the archival footage from the war. After all, who wouldn’t. At that time, you had believed that he was dead so it didn’t mean much. But now he was very much alive and sitting right before you. He was certainly a good looking man who’s smile could light up the world, and unbeknownst to you he had just lit up yours. 
You had spent years studying his life, along with the rest of The Howling Commandos, in the name of academic curiosity. But you could not deny that now seeing him in person changed how you really felt about this man. Not many people who studied historical figures had the chance to see them face to face. But this had happened to you twice now, and it still felt surreal. Bucky Barnes really was sitting on the floor of your living quarters, about to feed you a bite of your most favourite South Indian comfort food. What kind of idiot would you be not to accept it? 
You accepted the bite of food that Bucky had offered you, bringing your hand over to cover your mouth as you chewed. Your lips curling into a small smile as your eyes glazed over, you looked down at your lap. 
For some reason, eating from this man’s hand had made you miss your father quite so much. Seven years it had been since he had passed away. You never even got to say goodbye, the last time you had spoken on the phone being an argument that you had ended abruptly by hanging up on him. Had you known what was going to happen just hours later, you would have done things differently. You would have cherished the last moments you got to share with your father. Hell, you would have even prevented him from dying the way he did. But it was all too late now. 
Perhaps you suffered from internalized guilt just as much as the super soldier who sat before you, for you did feel partially responsible for your father’s death. Being an agent who was meant to save the world and all, you couldn’t even manage to save your own father. While this did once make you doubt your skills as an agent, you could not deny that you would give anything to be able to do right by the man who had raised you to be anything more than a typical Indian farm girl. But for now, all you had to do was exist for the sake of existing and accept the position that you had been given. Do the right thing, just as your father had taught you. 
When you had been five years old, your grandmother had told you the story of how Lord Krishna was married to more than sixteen thousand women. She had told you that he married every woman who loved him. He loved them back just as much too, being the God of love after all. But the woman he loved the most, he hadn’t even been married to her. Radha Rani was the love of his life. She was his soulmate. Despite not being married, their love for each other was so pure and eternal. 
It was then you told your father, in your childish little voice, “Appa, I want someone to love me like Lord Krishna loved Radha.” 
Now as you swallowed the bite that Bucky Barnes had fed you, you couldn't help but look over his broad shoulders. Up on the wall behind him you had hung one of the many paintings of Radha and Krishna that you owned. But in that particular one, Radha and Krishna were affectionately gazing into each other’s eyes while feeding each other. 
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It didn’t seem like a sign to you then, but you prayed for some things to be made clearer in due time. After all, you were going to be here for a while. If Lord Krishna was really going to bless you with the kind of love that makes you blue after all of that pain and suffering, then you might as well accept it like you had just accepted that bite of food from Bucky. 
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“Tell me the truth, Bucky.” You looked over at the man who sat next to you on the couch, his legs crossed as he leaned against the armrest. “Why are you even up at this hour?” 
Bucky Barnes looked over at you and let out a sigh, not knowing if lying to you about his insomnia would sell. After all, you seemed to know him better than he knew himself despite the fact that you had met just yesterday. While he feared that admitting the truth would cause you to become weary of him, he knew better than to lie to the woman who was in a position of authority. He had to be transparent with you, mainly because he didn’t have the heart to lie to you. 
“I can’t sleep.” He admitted, biting down on his bottom lip as he sat up straight, his elbows resting against his thighs as he covered his face with his hands. “I haven’t slept properly in a while, ever since I moved into the compound really. Every night I go to bed at a reasonable time. But I still end up waking up at this strange hour because of some nightmare.” 
Leaning over to rest your hand on his shoulder, you wanted to give him a squeeze. But you were quick to realize that his left shoulder was vibranium, so instead you moved your hand to rub his back. “Have you talked to Sam about it?” 
Not that you would assume that his friendship with Sam was anything like his friendship with Steve. As someone who had your own demons, you knew that it was not that easy to confide in someone about something like this. But you were well aware that Sam had some experience offering support groups to veterans who suffered from PTSD during his time working at the VA back in DC. He seemed to be much more equipped to handle something like this than you were, no doubt about that. But since you were now the boss around here, you knew that something needed to be done to address the mental health of your heroes.  
Bucky shook his head. “He’s always been weary of me, Y/N. I don’t think I should worry him about this. The last thing I want is for anyone to think that the Winter Soldier is still in me when he’s not.” 
“Sam can be an asshole at times… but he means well. He cares a lot about his friends, and that includes you and me.” You admitted. “But I know what you mean. What you’re going through, it’s not easy. You’ve had to deal with a lifetime’s worth of torture under HYDRA, along with the whole thing with the blip. The world has changed so much that it’s not all that easy to keep up with anymore.” 
He looked up at you and frowned. “I feel so lost, you know? Like I don’t know where I should start. I’ve missed out on seventy years of… life. The life that I knew before the war is gone and the life that I had since then… is full of torture and bloodshed. I’m just lost in the midst of it all.”
“Bucky, you do know that… if you ever want to talk about anything that has to do with history or what happened in the world during those seventy years, you can just talk to me about it, right? I may have a Master’s degree on The Howling Commandos but I do know a thing or two about what happened in the world after the war.” You offered, finally cracking a smile. “I can definitely help you out with catching up with times.” 
He chuckled softly at your words. “Is that how you and Steve… became friends?” 
You felt your cheeks heat up in embarrassment at the mention of Captain America, a man whom you had respected and aided in the recovery of until Natasha had decided to set the two of you up on a date. It was a brief fling while the two of you had worked together in DC. But once you had realized it wasn’t going to work, you had ended things amicably. While you had remained friends and you had helped him catch up with the world, things had changed so much around you. 
“Yeah, I guess.” You admitted with a shrug. “He needed someone to catch him up to the world and Fury realized that he hired a history major. I think it worked out for all of us.” Looking back now, you only felt blessed to have known Steve Rogers. He was not only an inspiration, but also one of your closest friends. “And that’s why I’m offering to help.”
“But how could you help me, Y/N?” He asked. “What can you possibly do to help me come to terms with who I am?”
“Well, I had Steve read through the Internet a lot and make a list of all the things he wanted to try… like Thai food and Sherlock Holmes. I know that you’re not going on any missions right now. You’re just hanging around the compound and trying to kill time, right? I’d say… make use of the computers we have here, learn as much as you can. We can talk about it. But don’t ever think that you’re alone in this.” 
The Internet was a great place to start learning, right? Surely, Bucky had been apprehensive about taking that step. But he needed to be given a little push. Thankfully, he now had you for that. “I guess I can do that.” He gave in, for he was starting to get bored of the facility’s gym. 
“There is something that needs to be done about your nightmares though.” You pointed out. “This compound needs an on-site therapist. I need one. You need one. Wanda needs one. We all need one after all this crap that we’ve had to deal with.” You made a mental note to make some calls in the morning, but for now you knew that your attention should be on the super soldier. “But right now, you really need to get some sleep.” 
Bucky shook his head in defeat. “I can’t seem to fall asleep in my bed, Y/N. Believe me, I’ve tried… for many nights. I guess I just have to suck it up and kill time until the morning.” 
You raised your eyebrow at his words before crossing your arms against your chest. “What? Do you need me to sing you a lullaby or something?” You asked him, teasingly. 
He laughed at your question before shaking his head. “As if that’s ever going to work on me…” 
“Is that a challenge, Sergeant Barnes?” 
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Bucky Barnes had no clue how it even happened. Just twenty-four hours ago, the two of you had been strangers who had nothing in common except for the fact that you both shared a past that had been perfectly entwined somehow. But now you were sitting against the headboard of his queen sized bed in the living quarters adjacent to yours, his head resting against your lap as he shut his eyes. 
Your soft hands running through his silky dark hair, you sang the words that you had pretty much memorized by now. It was a lullaby that your grandmother had sung to you when you were younger, written about how Lord Krishna himself had fallen asleep after a long day of playing around his village. 
Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil
Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol
Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo
Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil
Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol
Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo
Avan Vaai Niraiya Mannai Undu
Mandalathai Kaattiya Pin
Oiveduthu Thoongugindraan, Aaraaro
Oiveduthu Thoongugindraan, Aaraaro
Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil
Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol
Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo
Pinnalitta Gopiyarin Kannathile Kannam Ittu
Mannavan Pol Leelai Seidhaan Thaalelo
Pinnalitta Gopiyarin Kannathile Kannam Ittu
Mannavan Pol Leelai Seidhaan Thaalelo
Andha Mandhirathil Avar Uranga
Mayakkathile Ivan Uranga
Mandalame Urangudhammaa Aaraaro
Mandalame Urangudhammaa Aaraaro
Ayarpadi Maaligaiyil
Thaai Madiyil Kandrinai Pol
Maaya Kannan Thoongugindraan, Thaalelo
Bucky Barnes had no clue how it even happened. But as he listened to the melody of your lullaby, he had drifted off into a deep slumber. When he woke up the next day, he found that you were gone. But he knew that you were the one to thank for helping him sleep after many months of waking up from nightmares. 
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As the weeks went by, you and Bucky had become quite close. As most of the team were gone for days at a time because of their respective missions, the two of you often found yourselves being the only ones remaining at the compound. Despite your loneliness, you somehow found comfort in each other. 
Your free time was usually spent cooking up a storm in the common kitchen, and Bucky found himself frequently joining you for your meals. He had taken quite the liking to South Indian cuisine, but he had also kept his promise of making you a completely vegetarian Wakandan meal - something that he apparently prepared by video-calling the Queen Mother of Wakanda herself and asking her for recipes. 
“Does this mean you have diplomatic immunity? Being the adoptive child of Queen Ramonda and all…” You had joked. “They call you the White Wolf, don’t they?” 
“Did you ever have to use your diplomatic immunity?” He had asked you mockingly. “Being the daughter of an Indian diplomat after all.” 
“Bucky, could you please give Queen Ramonda my regards? Let her know that Agent Y/L/N, the daughter of Ambassador Y/L/N, sends her regards and thanks the royal family for all of their help.” You hadn’t been all that familiar with the Wakandan royal family during the reign of King T’Chaka, but it was only after his death did you have the chance to work closely with them. After all, you understood the pain that they had been dealing with all too well. 
Bucky was not familiar with why you seemed to know them so well. He had just assumed it must be because of your career in diplomacy before you became an agent. He did not think much of it though, at least not until he had told Shuri that you gave their family your regards. 
While the truth behind your relationship with the Wakandan royal family had certainly shaken him to his core, he did not make it known that he knew about it. After all, it was a huge part of your own personal life and you were just his boss. He did not feel the need to let you know that he knew something about you that you might not have wanted you to know. But instead, he continued to learn more about you and the culture that you were raised in. 
The Internet was a great place when it came to catching up with the world. He had read just about everything he could get his hands on, from history to literature and science. While he tried to keep up with how much the world had changed, he had also read as much as he could about your religion. 
He often joined you on your visits to the temple in the city after noticing that you made it a habit to go there every Friday. When Janmashtami came around, Bucky had offered to help you paint footprints from your front door to your shrine of Lord Krishna. 
According to your grandmother, the tradition of painting baby footprints was done believing that Lord Krishna would follow them and enter your home. You had been doing that every single year on Janmashtami for as long as you could remember. But that year, you just knew. It was the first year that Krishna had entered your home for real.
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imagine-loki · 3 years
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Trust, Chapter 8
TITLE: Trust CHAPTER NO./ONE SHOT: Chapter 8 AUTHOR: fanficshiddles ORIGINAL IMAGINE: Imagine Loki kidnaps Darcy Lewis, in hopes of getting the tesseract in return for her. Imagine his surprise when he grows rather fond of the mortal, finding that she understands him better than anyone else ever has.  RATING: M
The team decided within twenty-four hours that there was no reason to keep Loki locked up. They knew they weren’t going to get any other information out of him. And Darcy kept going on at them for having him locked up like a criminal.
‘He is a criminal, Darcy. Or have you forgotten?’ Steve said.
‘No, I haven’t forgotten. But he’s not right now.’ She said as she stuffed a Jaffa cake in her mouth.
Tony rolled his eyes. ‘Just tell her.’
‘Tell me what?’ Darcy asked with her mouth full.
-
‘I can’t believe this is happening.’ Darcy shook her head as she walked towards Loki in his cell.
He looked up and smirked when he saw her. ‘To what do I owe the pleasure?’ He stood up and walked over towards her.
‘Apparently, you’re allowed out of your cell.’ She shrugged and went over to the control panel, putting in the code that Stark had given her, making a glass panel at the front slide open.
‘So soon? What’s the catch?’ He frowned, stepping out cautiously.
‘Well, I am supposed to be your babysitter. Keep you out of trouble. But let’s face it, that’s not gonna happen.’ Darcy put her hands on her hips and watched as he strolled towards her.
‘Why not?’ He frowned, stopping right on front of her.
‘You can just poof away whenever you want. Like I’d be able to stop you.’ She said as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, making Loki smirk. ‘And second, I don’t really care what you do. As long as you don’t kill anyone. Besides, I think having you around the Avengers will liven things up around here.’ She shrugged.
Loki rolled his shoulders and looked around with a big smirk. ‘Well, I can most definitely make things more interesting around here.’
‘Glad to hear it.’ Darcy started walking to the door. ‘Just don’t blow the place up, ok?’
‘I make no promises.’ He chuckled and quickly followed her.
‘Well, make sure I get some warning beforehand.’
Darcy walked into the lounge and stopped when the team all ceased talking between them and turned to face her. Eyes widening when Loki strutted in and stood right behind her, towering over her.
‘Well then…’ Loki looked around, grinning wickedly. Everyone felt uneasy. But then rolled their eyes with what he came out with. ‘Where’s the Jaffa cakes?’
Darcy snorted and motioned for him to follow her to the kitchen.
‘They are suspicious of me.’ Loki said flatly as he sat down at the island counter, while Darcy raided the cupboards.
‘Well, yeah. They will be. Can you blame them though?’ She looked over her shoulder at him briefly.
‘I suppose not.’ Loki sighed, looking around, taking in the place.
‘They’ll get used to you. Just bore them with your chess knowledge.’ She teased.
‘Stop pretending you didn’t enjoy it.’
‘Yeah, because it was totally the best time of my life. Chess is even better than sex… Aha, yes!’ She finally found what she was looking for.
‘Chess is like exercise for the brain. And some would say that sex is a form of exercise, so therefore chess is like sex for the brain.’ Loki said.
‘Pfft. Don’t make it weird and confusing. Besides, I can’t just lie there during exercise, so I beg to differ.’ Darcy slid a packet of Jaffa cakes across the counter towards him.
‘Doesn’t sound like you’ve had very fun sex in that case.’ Loki commented as he cautiously picked up the packet, opening them slowly as if they were going to explode.
‘These look… interesting.’ He examined one closely.
Darcy walked around the counter and sat down next to him, grabbing one too. ‘They taste amazing. Just try it.’
Natasha, Steve, Thor and Jane wandered to the kitchen, to make sure Loki wasn’t going to try any funny business. They were all at the door, peeping in. They couldn’t quite hear what Loki and Darcy were conversing about.
‘This is weird.’ Jane whispered.
‘What are they doing?’ Steve asked, confused.
‘Just eating Jaffa cakes.’ Natasha said.
‘Yeah… but why? Why is she so calm around him?’ Steve said.
‘Well, if you think about it. They’ve spent a lot of time together. Just the two of them. Loki didn’t hurt her, so she has no reason to fear him. And I know my brother can be… difficult.’
‘That’s an understatement.’ Jane scoffed.
‘But he does have a good side, too. Perhaps Darcy sees that in him.’ Thor continued, ignoring his girlfriend’s remark.
But they all panicked and went running into the kitchen when Loki suddenly grabbed Darcy and vanished right on front of their eyes.
‘SHIT!’ Natasha gasped, she was about to raise the alarm when there was laughter from behind them.
The four turned around, surprised to see Loki and Darcy behind them.
‘Ah, you still fall for that trick, Thor.’ Loki smirked. ‘We could hear you, you know. You’re not exactly quiet.’
Jane sighed and rolled her eyes. ‘Darcy, come on. I have work to do in the lab.’
‘So… Why do you need me?’ Darcy asked, folding her arms over her chest.
‘Because you’re my assistant.’ Jane said matter of factly.
‘You mean you just need someone to get you coffee and snacks.’
‘Darcy.’ Jane grumbled.
‘I thought that Darcy’s job right now was to keep an eye on me?’ Loki asked innocently, putting his hands behind his back. ‘I mean, I certainly wouldn’t mind looking around on my own. Picking out my room.’
‘NO!’ Natasha and Steve said at the same time.
‘Fury gave you a job, Darcy… Jane, you’ll need to do without her for now.’ Steve said, making the decision.
Darcy was internally celebrating. At least babysitting Loki would be far more interesting than fetching coffee for Jane, that would be left to go cold so she would just be constantly running back and fore from the lab to the kitchen all bloody day.
‘So… I better go show Loki his new living arrangements then.’ Darcy said and pointed to the door, then quickly made her escape.
Loki just had a grin plastered on his face as he followed her out.
‘Is it just me, or does she seem happy with her new job?’ Thor asked, looking at the others.
They just shook their heads and left Thor in the kitchen, looking slightly baffled.
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locallyloathed · 3 years
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Hey, anyone want a long story about how I realized I’m a useless lesbian? No? Good thing I’m terrible at listening to people’s advice, let’s go!
Ever since I started working fast food, it has always been creepy dudes, none of whom looked to be under 50, that would flirt with me. I’d have Pride pins on my hat and they STILL never got the hint. After one day where 5 different creepy old guys flirted with me, it became a running gag in the restaurant that if I became the mascot, we could triple sales just by selling to this very diverse market of old perverts who hit on young girls in drive-thru windows.
I often would melodramatically wax poetic about how “Woe is me, why is it never pretty girls who hit on me? Why hath the gods cursed me?” I learnt to just accept it after a while, but it always lurked in the back of my mind... until today, when the gods got fed up with me constantly questioning them and sent me the answer twice in a single day.
The first time happened in the lunch rush, where I was working in view of the dining room to make food and take the occasional order. As I do my job, 3 girls walk into the restaurant, and all of them are just absolutely amazing. Dorky, fun, friendly, just all in all the best kinds of people to be around. They each place to-go orders, and as I hand the first order out, she comments about one of the Pride pins on my hat. I laugh nervously before hurrying back to line to avoid being awkward. Second girl kept giggling as I handed out her food, which I gotta say did NOT ease the anxiety. The third one is the kicker, since all three girls are standing together talking when I hand her her food. I do my usual “Thanks, have a very nice day!” routine as they walk out the door, and the last one yells “Just so you know, she thinks you’re super cute!” while pointing at the first girl I served. The girl gets nervous as hell and laughs awkwardly before forcing the other two out the door, leaving me sitting there, utterly baffled, trying to remember how to move.
For the rest of the rush, I was basically running on autopilot as my last few brain cells were busy wondering “Should I have asked her number? What was her name again? Did she mean it or was it just a joke she was pulling on her friend? Are they coming back at some point so I can ask? Would I be ABLE to ask?” I told my best friend at work about it and she laughed and teased me about it until I was back to the normal, soulless drone that fast-food restaurants like to see.
Until two hours later when I was placed in the drive-thru taking orders on the headset. Now, everyone has a different way of answering the headset, and I personally like to be super upbeat, because the customers are more likely to be patient and friendly to someone who does the same for them. When I answer the headset, my go to is “Hi, welcome to Taco Bell! How are you doin’ today?” to gauge their mood and personality to know how to act accordingly. When they sound tired or say “I’m alright, I guess,” I will tone down the energy and stay polite and calm. On the other hand, if a customer sounds super cheerful, I like to keep the energy going and typically start making puns about our food, because that’s the best way to stay cheerful in a job that isn’t exactly conductive to fun.
As I’m going through the motions, a car pulls in. “Hi, welcome to Taco Bell! How are you doin’ today?” I chirp out as per usual. “We are just awesome! What about you?!” responds a very cheery girls voice. “Aw shit, here we go again,” reply the braincells. The girls in the car are talking to me like we’ve all been friends for years and I’m just coasting on the energy and going with it. When they finish up their order, the driver hastily starts apologizing saying she has another order. I tell her it’s not a problem, and that, I quote “I just gotta tap a few buttons and bada bing, bada boom, we back in business, go on ahead with the order!” I overhear the one in the passenger seat giggle and say “I really like her,” and just like that, my brain cell count is cut in half. I take the order, send ‘em up to the window, and start taking the orders of the car behind them. I never got the chance to talk directly to them, but I did look up from my screen to see two cute girls looking at me. When they saw me notice them, they grinned and started waving frantically, to which I smiled awkwardly and waved back before continuing to do my job. After the brief line of cars is gone, the guy paying out the orders turns to me and says “By the way, the two blonde chicks from earlier wanted me to tell you that they think you’re cute.”
And just like that, I stopped being able to function for the rest of my shift, because once again the Gay Panic™ had set in and I didn’t know how to process the information. My friend teased me even more relentlessly for this one because she had a headset on too and had heard the whole exchange between me and the girls, including the “I really like her” comment and the subsequent anxiety you could apparently hear in my voice afterward.
So, to make a long fucking story short, creepy guys can hit on me because I understand how to write them off and go about my business, but cute girls cannot hit on me because I am an inherently useless lesbian who is incapable of processing normal thoughts after being complimented by girls.
Thank you for coming to my TED Talk.
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If There’s a Place I Could Be - Chapter Fifteen
If There’s a Place I Could Be Tag
July 13th, 1985
Remy watched the man panhandling on the island in the middle of the street with a frown. “Why’s he asking for money?” he asked.
“Because he’s homeless, or close to it, probably,” Toby told him, nudging him in the middle of the sedan.
“What does homeless mean? Like, doesn’t he have a place to live?” Remy asked.
“Not everyone does,” Toby told him.
Remy stared at Toby in shock. “Why not?!”
“Because some people are just lazy and can’t hold down a job,” his mother said from the front of the car.
Remy was stunned into silence. People would actually live...on the street, or wherever? They would be...without a house? He didn’t understand. Wouldn’t people on the street not be lazy, and want to find a place to stay?
As their car moved on, Remy sat forward again and supposed that this had to be one of those adult things that he just didn’t understand yet. He was finding a lot of those recently.
  December 25th, 2000
Remy would never admit it to anyone, and especially not Emile, but he was feeling lonely. This would be his first year celebrating Christmas without his family...well, ever. And he had no idea how bone-crushing the feeling of being alone would become.
He wanted to get up, to do something, to keep busy, but most places, if not every place, was closed today because it was Christmas. He had cut off contact entirely with his parents when he moved, so he wasn’t about to call them, or even explain why he wasn’t there. Toby had a cell phone, but his number must have changed, because the voicemail on what used to be his number now sounded like a teenage girl had recorded it. In Spanish. To make matters worse, Toby hadn’t gotten Remy’s new address yet. Remy had called him the day they had finally finished the move, only to hear that infernal message in Spanish. He had called the number once or twice since, but the voicemail remained the same.
Today, feeling particularly lonely, he called up the phone once more out of curiosity, but instead of getting that voicemail, he actually got someone picking up. “Hello?” the girl asked, accent thick. “Who is this?”
“Oh, nobody,” Remy sighed. “I thought this was my brother’s number.”
“I only got this number the beginning of the month,” the girl said. “It must have belonged to your brother before.”
“Must have,” Remy echoed hollowly.
“I am sorry,” she said. “I wish I could help you more.”
“I don’t suppose you’ve heard of a Toby Picani?” Remy asked.
“No. Is that your brother’s name?” she asked.
“Yeah, that’s my brother.”
“There was a woman constantly calling me when I first got the number. Speaking about how she was meant to be with your Toby. After I answered her calls instead of letting it go to voicemail, she stopped calling. But he must have changed his number because of her,” the girl paused. “I hope you have a Merry Christmas.”
Remy choked on a laugh. “Yeah, you too. Merry Christmas.”
The girl hung up and Remy did the same. He pressed his phone against his forehead. His number had changed after he got off his parents’ plan. It wasn’t like Toby could call him, and he didn’t have Toby’s number, and he didn’t know where Toby was going to school. He hadn’t thought to ask for the address at Thanksgiving.
Tears burned his eyes like fire and he silently sobbed. All he wanted to do was talk to his brother, was that too much to ask? Apparently. He stood up abruptly and went to his room, screaming into a pillow as tears scorched down his face. He took a deep breath, and then another. He looked around his room, desperate for something, anything, to do.
Emile must have gotten his gift last night; he told Remy that his family opened presents on Christmas Eve. What he didn’t realize was that Remy had saved up a little extra money, enough to afford a crappy old TV and a slightly newer VHS reader. Well, not immediately. He’d be able to afford them tomorrow, when the after-Christmas sales started. But when Emile came back, January second, he’d be able to watch She-Ra to his heart’s content.
Despite himself, Remy smiled. Emile was adorable when he got excited about something. He sincerely hoped that Emile never lost that enthusiasm, even if it had to be over something as dorky as cartoons. But Remy would be able to watch sports whenever the mood struck, and Emile would get to watch his cartoons, and everything would be okay in the end. Or at least, as okay as anything could be. He still couldn’t call Toby, and he couldn’t write, and asking his parents would be completely pointless. Vanessa would undoubtedly just tell his parents where Remy now lived and what he was doing, so she wasn’t an option.
Wow, he really should have gone to hang out with Emile, even if he knew absolutely none of Emile’s family. That would have been less depressing than this. How pathetic was he, sitting alone in his bedroom, in his empty apartment, crying over the fact that he had lost contact with his brother?
He stood up, grabbing his jacket, putting his cell phone in his pocket, and headed out on a walk after locking the apartment. He had no idea where he was going, but he couldn’t sit still any longer.
The weather was freezing, most likely in the literal sense. Remy shivered, despite wearing the coat that had actual insulation rather than his typical leather jacket. And Emile could mock him for wearing that thing all he wanted, but that would not stop Remy from wearing it. It was a comfort, in addition to fitting in exactly with his preferred aesthetic. What he would have loved, though, was a leather jacket with actual insulation, like fleece or something, on the inside, for when winter came around. He couldn’t just keep on like this and not be able to wear his favorite jacket when the snow started falling. It wasn’t fair that he had to drop his aesthetic for practicality.
As he continued to walk, he noticed he was approaching the local homeless shelter. He rolled his shoulders and sighed. Sure, it wasn't exactly what he had planned when he woke up this morning, but it had to be something, didn’t it? Helping other people always made Emile happy, and maybe it could do the same thing to Remy.
He walked into the shelter, finding a majority of the tables full of people, in various stages of disarray. “Can I help you?” an unfamiliar voice asked him.
Remy turned to find an older man looking him over. “Uh, maybe?” Remy asked. “I was wondering if there was...um...any way for me to help out today? I was...I was kinda walking around, and I saw this place, and I figured, well, maybe I could help in some way, you know?”
The man smiled at him. “Well, we could use one or two people in the kitchen. Most of our volunteers are out of town.”
“Okay,” Remy said. “What do you need me to do?”
The old man motioned for Remy to follow him, and Remy did so. “All I need you to do is pass out meals to the people who come in and ask for them. We haven’t quite gotten to when we give away lunch, most of the people in here are waiting for it. I can have someone else cook the meals, so you don't have to worry about burning anything.”
“Uh...thanks,” Remy laughed. “I’m afraid I’m not much of an enthusiastic cook on the best of days. Too much work, most of the time.”
The old man smiled at him. “I don’t suppose you’ve ever volunteered at a place like this before?”
“Uh, no. Not really,” Remy admitted.
“I thought not,” the old man said. “But that’s okay, we all have to start somewhere.”
“Yeah...” Remy said.
The old man looked him over. “Not much of a talker, are you?”
“Not usually, no,” Remy said. “Not around people I’m not familiar with.”
“Well, a lot of the volunteers here would press you to talk, but if you tell them you’re not comfortable talking, most of them should leave you alone. As always, there are a few persistent people, but if you tell them to back off enough times, they will,” the man said.
“Not always,” Remy laughed. “I live with my best friend, and the only reason he’s my best friend is because he wouldn’t leave me alone for a while after we first met.”
“Huh,” the old man said. “There’s a regular volunteer here, Emile, who has a similar story, from the other perspective. You wouldn’t happen to be Remy?”
“That’s me,” Remy said. “Emile volunteers here?”
“He helps the kids with their homework sometimes. It started usually when his best friend was busy with work, and he couldn’t stand an empty apartment. But once a week became twice, and twice became three times, and now he usually comes around some time between when school lets out and seven or so, to help the kids who are struggling,” the old man said. “He said that he thought you’d never be caught dead here.”
Remy turned red. “Usually, he’d be right,” Remy said, ducking his head. “I didn’t have any plans to come here. I just couldn’t stand the empty apartment, like he couldn’t, and I started walking, and I wound up here.”
The old man stopped at a back door and smiled at Remy. “Well, I am very glad you did. If you don’t mind working here, you might even find yourself coming back.”
Remy shrugged. “I really don’t know. I don’t know what any of this entails, so I don’t know if it’s for me or not.”
“Well, you’ll find out soon enough,” the man said, pushing open the door and walking in to a kitchen. “Put on a hair net and gloves,” he instructed. “I can show you the ropes from there.”
“Bernie!” a young woman called. “Are we starting up lunch yet?”
“Five minutes!” Bernie called back. “We have a new volunteer, and he needs to get ready!”
“A new...on Christmas?! We never get new volunteers on Christmas!” she said, walking over.
Remy snapped a hair net over his head and tugged on gloves.
“We do today,” Bernie said. “You know Emile’s friend?”
“Yeah, the one who he’s always saying would never show up here, even if he needed the help instead of giving it?” she asked, cocking a hip.
“Well, he was wrong,” Bernie said. “Remy, this is Amelia. She’ll teach you the song and dance of passing out food.”
“Okay,” Remy said, following her to the front of the kitchen, where plates and food were stacking up. “Okay, confession time...I have never done this before in my life, what do I do?” he asked her.
“Just make plates based on what each person wants. Sometimes they’ll tell you, sometimes they’ll point if English isn’t their first language. One main dish for each person, and two sides, plus a desert, if they want it,” Amelia said.
Remy looked at the food waiting for them, and looked over to where two guys were joking as they cooked more. “Do you really have enough food for that?”
“We scrape by,” Amelia said. “It’s first-come first-served. Usually we have just enough to last the hour and a half we offer lunch.”
Remy cleared his throat. “That sounds...difficult,” he said.
“It is,” she said. “But we manage. You’ll catch on fast enough, if you’re anything like Emile says you are, you’re a quick study.”
“I mean I guess...?” Remy said.
“Well, we’re about to find out,” Amelia said. She rang a bell that was resting on top of the display, and people started rushing over to get food.
Remy found himself busy enough that all thoughts of his family and his current situation left his mind. But he also found himself busy enough that he was barely scraping by to get everyone their food, and he was a barista two times over! Everyone was civil enough, but he barely had enough time to pass out one plate before the next person was already ordering.
When lunch was over, the volunteers all left the kitchen, but Bernie stopped Remy before he could follow the others to wherever they were headed. “Emile was asking me to keep something here,” he told Remy. “He said it was a surprise for you, and he said that if on the off-chance you did show up here, I could give it to you before he got back.”
Confused, Remy followed Bernie to a back office. He was handed a package covered in Peanuts wrapping paper, and Remy muttered, “Of course,” with an eye roll and a smile. He tore into it to find...a new jacket. It was similar to the leather one he had at home, but this one was lined with thick fleece. “Unbelievable,” he said. “How did he know?!”
“He said you mentioned it in passing while the two of you were walking around town,” Bernie said. “He picks up on details like that.”
Remy held the jacket close and could feel himself getting weepy. “I don’t know how to thank him,” he muttered.
“And that’s his Christmas present to you,” Bernie said. “He said he had a surprise for your birthday planned, as well.”
“I...what?!” Remy asked in shock.
“He said your birthday was New Year’s Eve?” Bernie asked. At Remy’s nod, he said, “Well, I know he had something planned for that. Don’t know what it is, but keep an eye out.”
Remy was shocked. Yeah, Emile was generous, he supposed, but this almost seemed like too much. He had no idea what that surprise was, but he knew he’d be lucky, whatever it was. Emile would make sure he felt special. That’s just what he did. Remy really didn’t deserve him.
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Valentine's Day | Shawn Mendes
“Valentine’s Day is always hard for some people that are single, but it’s harder you have a loved one that’s on another country, but lucky you, he always had his ways of making everything better”
Hiiii! I’m going to try to post this weekend other to Valentine’s Day oneshot, but the other two will be  one with Raul and the other with Peter, they’ll all be called the same {Valentine’s Day} and that’s it, hope you guys like it!
                                         Peter  |  Raul (coming soon)
Word Count: 3.7K+
Warnings: cursing, mentions of sex and a lot of fluffy boyfriend material Shawn.
Posted: February 15th, 2020.
                                                        -*-
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  You love Shawn with every single cell in your body. I mean, how could you not? He’s everything anyone could possibly ever want. He’s the kindest, sweetest and most loving person you’ve ever met, he would literally run a marathon barefoot just to put a smile on your face and he would say that to anyone who was close enough to hear it. You’ve met him three years ago and been together practically all these time. You two met at a common friend’s birthday party and he couldn’t stop talking to you or trying so ridiculously hard to make you giggle just to hear it, at the end of the night, you had a date on the next day. And you couldn’t stop seeing him ever since and it was magical, for the first two months.
I mean, not that he changed or something, he’s still the same doofus cheesy 6’3 guy I fell for, it’s just that he’s not just Shawn, he’s Shawn fucking Mendes, a sweetheart with two identical brothers and a rockstar for a living.
The only thing that makes it hard is when he’s away. He tries his best to compensate with FaceTime calls and sending me surprise gifts and stuff, but that doesn’t make things easier. He also suffers from it, even though he doesn’t want me to see that or to think that, I know he does, his parents and friends told me that sometimes it gets harder for him and he just spends the hold day in a bad mood. But still, whenever he’s back from the road, everything’s better and it’s lime he never left. He clings to me like a giant teddy bear and follows me around like a lost puppy and I’d do anything he asks me with those hazel orbits and when he holds me, I just know things are going to be okay.
But right now, things don’t seem to be okay. 
I mean, between us, things are great, he’s been as present as he could as he was working his ass off in LA on his next album. But on the rest, it was all just a big mess. My parents are constantly screaming at each other due to a family thing on dad’s side, my brother left the house for college recently and wasn’t actually talking to anyone and work and college were trying to kill me, and the cherry on top was this  stupid project I had to finish and publish that was a huge part of my final grade. Everything’s falling apart and I haven’t been able to talk to my boyfriend for real for like, two days. I know it’s ridiculous, but I needed so bad just to hear him saying “you’re going to be okay, honey, you’re the smartest person I know”. But I can’t call him and stuff his head with my shitty problems, I don’t want to keep his mind away from his work. So I called his brothers instead.
Peter told me he could stop by at the end of the night if I felt like I needed help, and Raul offered to take me out to dinner to relax a bit since I’ve been going mad over this. And I love them for trying, but it’s simply not the same thing. So that’s why I’m sitting in Shawn’s living room (since he asked me to move in the past month and I did) surrounded by papers, textbooks and my computer on my lap, running my temples and trying to get some work going when my phone started ringing and my computer screen stopped working, Shawn’s face appeared all over it as he called me on FaceTime.
“Hey” I said as soon as I picked it up.
“Hey, baby, God, I missed your pretty face”
“You called me two days ago, weirdo”
“Still missed you tough”
“Okay, so... what’s up?”
“Hm, nothing, just got back to the apartment and I’m so tired and I miss you”
“I miss you too, kinda wish you were here”
“I’ll be back soon, I promise”
“I know” I said sighing and placing a few strands that fell of my messy bun behind my ear.
“What are you doing?”
“Just some stupid project”
“Apparently not that nice”
“No, it sucks, I have to submit it until noon”
“Tomorrow?”
“Uh, yeah”
“Oh shit, am I interrupting? Shit, I’m sorry, baby, I didn’t even considered the possibility of you being busy or something, I just needed to see you”
“No, hey, it’s okay, I was about to take a break, it’s okay”
“Sorry, I’m so sorry”
“Hey, bubs, it’s okay”
“Okay, so what are you doing tomorrow after submitting it?”
“I’m gonna go grab lunch with Peter and then work, probably later than I should, but you know my boss and his lovely situation with his ex, so he’ll probably keep us late due to Valentine’s Day to keep his mind busy, but after that, Raul is coming over for dinner since he’s single and you’re not here, Pete’s got a date”
“With that girl he likes?”
“Yeah, that’s the one”
“I think he’ll actually have something with her”
“So do I! He’s very happy whenever he talks to her or about her”
“He’s Peter”
“That’s true, what about you?”
“Me? Oh, just work stuff, I was curious about you to see if I could call you or something, but you seem to have way to many plans”
“No, you can call me after I leave work, I can text you, letting you know when I park or leave work so you can call me, Raul wouldn’t mind”
“I doubt that, but I don’t really care about what he thinks about it, text me when you leave work and I’ll call you”
“Okay, any new songs to show me?”
“Not yet, I want you to see only the finished product”
“Boring”
“You still love me” he sang song and I couldn’t stop myself from giggling at his boyish side.
“Bubs, I’m so sorry, but I gotta hang up, Kate’s calling me to help out with a thing I’m struggling with” I said sighing as my phone started ringing again.
“Hey, it’s okay, I should probably try to get some sleep, I have to be up early due to a meeting”
“Yeah, so should I but... Not finished, no sleeping” I said motioning to the paper on my lap.
“You should really try to sleep, honey, it’s late and I’m pretty sure the project is practically done, you’re just attached to details”
“Oh, you know me so well”
“Of course I do, I’m your boyfriend after all”
“That’s true, okay, I really gotta go now, Shawn, I’m so sorry”
“Don’t apologize, there’s nothing wrong, now stop worrying, add your finishing touches and go to bed”
“Okay, sir, goodnight”
“Goodnight, baby, I love you” he said chuckling.
“I love you too” I said smiling at the camera before hanging up, trying to call Kate back to get some help with some of the things I was not happy about before I could fall asleep.
                                                       -*-
Waking up on the other day was torturous since of the lack of sleep, but stepping outside was worse. I don’t get bitter on seeing other people happy, I really don’t, but seeing couples with flowers and holding hands broke my heart into a million pieces, because that was just a reminder that I wasn’t going to see Shawn for another week, which meant he was away for a month already. And it was everywhere.
When I was able to just hand my teachers a copy of the project and leave, it was like a thousand pounds left my shoulders and I could finally breath again, so I fished my phone from my pocket to text Shawn, but finding out he had already texted me early in the morning. This paper was eating me alive and I didn’t even noticed ‘till now.
“Hey, can you talk?” I said as soon as Shawn picked up the phone.
“Yeah, anything wrong?”
“No, everything went smooth apparently, I just left college and I’m going to meet up with Pete now”
“That’s great! Are you feeling better now?”
“So much better, I just called you to thank you for... I don’t know, being so supportive, I guess, and for texting me ‘good luck’ this morning”
“Oh, sure, that’s my job!”
“No it’s not, you’re just perfect and I fucking love you”
“Love you too, baby, but I gotta run now, I’m sorry”
“No, it’s okay, I’m sorry, I won’t hold you back”
“You don’t, relax for a bit, and thank you for calling me, I love hearing your voice, and soon I’ll hear it again personally”
“You’re too cheesy for your own goo, Mendes, goodbye” I said and I head his laugh through the phone, making me smile almost instantaneously.
“Bye, honey” he said hanging up.
                                                       -*-
The rest of the day was fine. Lunch with Peter is always amazing, he always now crazy and random facts about everything and he is way too sweet. Going to work sucked a bit cause my boss was being a bitch the whole day and just finding flaws were there weren’t any, but nothing that I couldn’t handle. When I left, I went to a grocery shop to buy some stuff for my dinner with Raul that he asked and sent a message to Shawn telling him I was going to be home in thirty minutes, and he replied with a simple ‘kay, baby, talk to you later’, which I found weird but tried not to read too much into it. He was probably busy anyways.
But what sucked was parking at the garage and calling Raul, only to find out he was not going to make it.
“Hey, Raul, I just got home and I can start the food if you want”
“Oh shit, I completely forgot to tell you”
“Tell me what?”
“Shit, I’m so sorry, Y/N, but this kid come into work today and his situation is pretty bad, I can’t leave him alone, I’m so damn sorry, I... shit, I don’t even know what to say!”
“Hey, hey, it’s okay, it’s not your fault and I’m not mad, you’re not bailing to go drink or something, you’re working and saving a child’s life, Raul, chill, dude, I’m not mad!”
“Thank you so much, you’re the best, I gotta go now, Y/N, again, I’m so incredibly sorry, thank you so much, bye” he said hanging up.
“Bye” I said into the empty lot and opening the door to grab my bags.
I pressed the button of the elevator and got in, holding the bags with one hand to text Shawn with the other one a quick ‘hey, Raul’s not coming, I’m at the elevator, you can call me anytime you can now xx’. When I got to my floor, my phone started ringing and it was Kate calling, so I picked it up.
“Hey, Y/N, are you busy?”
“No, it’s okay, how are you? By the way, thank you so much for the help yesterday, I really appreciate it” I said as I placed the phone between my cheek/ear and my shoulder to fish the keys in my bag.
“Oh, I’m fine, thanks, so... I’m calling you exactly because of the project”
“Oh really” I felt my heart going to a stop “something wrong?”
“The only think wrong with your project is in your extremely perfectionist brain, dummy”
“What do you mean, Kate?” I said finally being able to place the key on the lock and turn it.
“Bitch, you got an A, YOU GOT AN A, do you know what that means?! Your project is perfect! You don’t even need to do the test if you don’t want to! God, I hate you so much right now”
“Holy shit, Kate! Are you kidding me?! How do you know that?!”
“Mr. Saltzman just published the grades”
“I can’t believe it!”
“I know! And you know what happens to people who get an A on this thing?! YOUR ARTICLE IS GOING TO BE PUBLISHED! I’m so damn proud of you”
“I can’t believe it” I said finally getting out of my trance with a wide smile on my face as I got into the condo, closing the door right behind me, still trying to balance everything I was holding and lock the damn door.
“I know, I mean...”
“Wait a second, Kate” I interrupted her as soon as I heard a noise coming from the empty apartment “I think I heard something.
“Is everything okay? Where are you?”
“I just got home and I heard something, but the door was locked, so I don’t know, it’s probably nothing, I’m just overreacting” I said as I paced to the kitchen to get rid of the grocery bags, my heels echoing on the empty rooms.
“Are you sure? Do you want me to come over?”
“No, it’s oka... shit” I said as I almost dropped my phone and I suddenly felt the bags being pulled from my arms  from behind, I was at the verge of losing my shit when I saw his reflex on the big window on his kitchen
Standing behind me was the 6’3 rockstar teddy bear that I got to call mine holding the bags that were almost falling from my arms for me as I just stared at him completely shocked. He just grinned at me through the reflection and I almost lost it, but kept frozen in place.
“Y/N? What’s going on?” Kate’s voice sounded clear now through the phone.
“Oh shit, sorry, Kate, I almost dropped my phone and I... I gotta go, I just found out Shawn’s home, I, I’ll talk to you later, bye” I said as I hung up, turning around in shock as I stared at him.
“Hi” he said barely louder then a whisper, placing the bags on the counter and picking up the bouquet of tulips that he picked up from the counter.
I couldn’t even understand what was happening, but my body decided to take the natural lead and jump on him, wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face on his neck. He quickly wrapped his arms around me to keep me off the ground and in his embrace. I wrapped my legs around his torso and just took my time to process the information that he was actually here, with me. When I finally pulled back from his neck, I could only stare at his eyes that were already on me, with a look of pure love and adoration, so I just did what felt right, I crashed my lips on his. And all was right in the world again. The kiss was so passionate and so in sync that only made the fuzzy warm feeling I always have when I’m around him intensify a million times. I only noticed that I was crying when I felt his hand coming up to caress my cheek softly while his other arm kept me tightly in place.
“What the hell, Shawn?” I asked as soon as I pulled back for air.
“Hi, lover, I love you too and missed you lots”
“You do know I love you and you also know I missed you so bad, but what the hell? Weren’t you supposed to come home only in a week?”
“Well, that’s what everybody told you cause I asked them, you really thought I was going to leave you here alone in Valentine’s Day?!”
“Wait a second, Mendes, everybody knew you’re coming home today?!”
“Uh yeah?”
“So Raul wasn’t going to be with me at all?!”
“Nope” he said popping the ‘P’.
“Did he lie to me about being at work?”
“No, but he also never cancelled his shift today to be with you”
“So why the heck did he sent me grocery... is that why I have all the ingredients for chocolate chip muffins?!”
“Uh, maybe?” Shawn said with a sheepish smile on his face “don’t get mad at me, I wanted to surprise you”
“Mad at you? How could I be mad at you, bubs?”
“I don’t know, I can do some pretty stupid things”
“That’s true”
“Outch, you weren’t supposed to agree to that”
“Sorry, but I thought we didn’t lie to each other”
“Okay, I’m going back to LA” he said threatening to let me go.
“No! I’m kidding, I love you and you know I can never get mad at you, cause even though you make same stupid things, they’re never harmful and always innocent, so no, I’m not mad at you”
“Good, cause I have a whole night planned”
“Oh, really?”
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t like to go out, so I grabbed your favorite Italian dish, you bought the wine, I’ve set up our room, we can take a bath and then cuddle while we watch Harry Potter or Grey’s Anatomy and eat our food, then we’ll go to bed and I’ll cuddle the fuck out of you”
“You’re so weird, dude” I said and he chuckled, placing me on the ground again, but still not letting go of me.
“Yeah? Then why are still with me?”
“Because you’re the Shawn Mendes” I said and he laughed holding me tighter.
“Is that all?”
“Well, pretty much, of course, you’re pretty and stuff, but yeah, your career is all that matters to me”
“Thought it was my bank account... so if I go ugly and my voice disappears you’ll dump me?”
“Obviously” I said tapping his strong chest playfully and he held my wrists, bringing my hands up to kiss they’re back, so I took the opportunity to cup his jaw gently “but for real now, I don’t care if you loose your career, bank account and all your hair, it wouldn’t change a thing for me. Of course it’s amazing to be dating someone who gets to play in sold out arenas and travel around the world with a guitar case in his hands, you’re really talented and I’ve told you a million times that you always mesmerize me with everything you put on, you’re fascinating for sure”
“Thank you” he mouthed in the middle of my speech and I couldn’t contain myself from standing on the tippy toes of my shoes to place a sweet peck on his lips.
“Where was I?” I asked as soon as I pulled away “oh yeah, but honestly? That’s not what’s best about you. You’ve got the kindest soul I’ve ever met, you’re so caring and loving, you always put everyone that matters first and always makes me feel special, even on the toughest days, you do not measure consequences when it comes to pleasing someone you love and also, you’re the best person I’ve ever met and I’m so lucky to able to call you love of my life, I love you, Shawn Mendes, not only for the fame and the amazing...”
“...sex?” he suggested with a smirk on his face.
“Well, no, but that’s actually right as well. Anyone, and the amazing music you make, but for the real Shawn, the guy the grew up in Pickering and that watches rom-coms for a living” I said and he smiled softly, attaching his lips to mine again in a sweet kiss.
“I was the one supposed to make you a speech, I was not expecting that but thank you” he said kissing my forehead “ and also, thank you for being patient with me and allowing this relationship to work out”
“You don’t have to thank me for anything” I said softly as I caressed his cheek with my thumb “thank YOU, Shawn”
He smiled down at me and kissed me again, this time, deepening the kiss faster than before, quickly grabbing the back of my thighs and picking me up as he licked into my mouth, making my head go dizzy with the sensations.
                                                       -*-
After the bath, pretend to watch whatever we picked to put on the TV while we made up for the lost time on his couch and then ate or food to recover, we finally decided to head back to our room, cause after all, he got on a plane today to see me and my work was exhausting. We were laying in bed, Shawn in his underwear, and me in only his shirt laying half on top of him. He was gently running his fingers through my hair as I drew mindless circles on his bare abs, minds far away as we laid close just enjoying each other’s warmth and company.
“I forgot to get your present, it’s on my suitcase” he said more to himself then to me.
“You shouldn’t have”
“Ooh, shush, I like to buy you presents and spoil you, and you never allow me to do so, I just have to grab every opportunity I have”
“Fair enough, yours are on the closet”
“We can do that tomorrow when I’m making you breakfast”
“You?”
“Yeah, learned how to do pancakes!”
“Really?! I��m so proud of you, bubs” I said and he smiled, kissing my forehead.
“Thank you”
“Hey, Shawn” I said lowly after a while, breaking the silence again “thank you so much for coming home and doing all of this, it means the world to me, every single detail was perfect, and I can’t believe you actually bought me tulips! They mean...”
“They mean ‘declaration of love’” he said complementing what I was going to say “yeah, I know, Peter helped out on that one, not gonna lie”
“Just the fact that you took your time on asking what each flower meant it’s enough to make me love you even more” I said pecking his soft lips delicately.
“You should sleep, honey, you seemed tired when you arrived”
“I am”
“So sleep, I’ll still be home when you wake up”
“Do you promise?” I asked nuzzling my face further on his collarbone.
“I promise” he said softly “I promise I’ll always come home to you, happy valentine’s day, honey” were the last words I heard before I drifted off to dreamland, in the arms of the man I love with every single cell of my body.
                                                       -*-
Happy belated Valentine's Day!
*Please reblog or like this post if you liked it so I’ll know.
*I’m sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, I had to finish this in rush to post it on time.
*Please do not repost this without giving me the credit, this is a completely original piece and I do not give permission to copy this!
*Hope you guys enjoyed it!
*xoxo
-🌙
... : @fivefeetapartt
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