#i just like. had some chips and sweets and plums and it was good but. if only i could just. get it all out haha

[pizzapizzadickz]

.

#diary #personal #drugs tw #high #hm. so it seems 10 mg really doesnt get me where i want anymore (aka absolutely obliterated). it just sorta lifts me up a bit #and like make me feel a bit more fuzzy. i can still think quite well but i just dont care so much. like. i am still definitely high. #but i retain all reasoning and just feel a bit better. maybe that was for the best. when i lose all reasoning its not always good. #suicidal ideation #...not that im doing all that good now. im so fucking tired. i dont know whats happened but i just. dont wanna be alive rn. #like. idk. i just. wanna sleep forever again ig. haha. not that this is unexpected. i pushed myseld too far yesterday #so im likely tired and such. which then causes me to get bored bc i dont wanna undertake anything big #and when im bored i often get depressed. or maybe its bc of the sader games i was playing. #self harm #disordered eating #i like. sorta still wanna hurt myself. like. even while sober ive been holding back the last couple days. i wanna give up. #i just like. had some chips and sweets and plums and it was good but. if only i could just. get it all out haha #im terrfied of vomiting tho. its quite scary and sorta dangerous for me as i have large tonsils... #...im a bit scared of working later this week.... #i hope i can keep it all together... i really do. #its gonna be painful again tho. not that i can help it. #i hope i can maybe find a therapist soon or something. or maybe i dont need it afterall... #...i dont know if i should see one while im still like this... but i dont know if i can really figure out how to make shit normal again tbh #haaah im tired. im just gonna chill and then sleep. like i wanted. #...i feel very alone sometimes. like. nothing exists. like i dont exist. i feel like im watching through a screen. #depersonalization #derealization #if nothings real nothing mattwrs. if im not real i dont matter. #just. id rather sleep. thats all. im tired of this fake real world. id rather be in the fake world of my own creation #things arent nessisarily better than here. but id rather be anywhere but here. #if only i could sleep forever. to be silent forever.

[thessalian]

Thess vs Experimentation

I went and had a look at the fruit that I had to see what the best way of approaching it all would be. I didn’t buy many raspberries, and they only filled one tray on my five-tray dehydrator, and just drying one tray of things seemed like a waste of electricity - no joke when energy bills are skyrocketing like they are. So I dug around for things that might be ready at about the same time.

The thing is, with so many different types of dehydrator on the market, and people’s own preferences, and thickness of fruit and so on, there’s not just one way of dehydrating anything. Different temperatures, different times, etc etc etc. So I decided that a little bit of research and experimentation was in order.

I went for the berries first, in the end. I was going to go for the mango, but it turns out that mine is just slightly too ripe to be good for this kind of thing. I thought about the plums, but they turned out to be not quite ripe enough, ironically. But I figured, with the way the trays in my dehydrator stack, I could put the raspberries (which take forever, basically) at the bottom, and then fill the other trays so that the things that will be ready first are at the top, and so on. So the top two trays have strawberries, the middle two trays have cherries, and the bottom two trays have raspberries. Thankfully my dehydrator switches off automatically when it’s done, because it’s going to run for awhile.

Once those are ready, I’ll move on to bananas and kiwis. Bananas should be particularly interesting because I found a recipe for peanut butter banana chips, and I was also pondering the potential for adding some Nutella to the peanut butter when coating the banana slices. That could be nice. Apples, pears, and plums will go last.

And then ... I move on to vegetables. I found some tips for how to flavour veggie chips for the dehydrator, and I plan to make carrot chips, courgette chips (zucchini, whatever), and the ubiquitous potato chips, of course. Sweet and savoury snacks, all produced by me. Huzzah!

Also I need to dry some mint leaves. I plan to make mint tea. And once I’ve got that done, I will study up on fruit leather.

Was the dehydrator expensive? Yes. Will I make it worth it? Also yes. Snacks of this kind are hella expensive, and while it’s a lot of effort to make at home (such a long time spent pitting cherries and hulling strawberries holy fuck), it’s going to be worth it. Besides, now the entire flat smells like warm raspberries. It’s nice.

#Thess cooks

[faussemagie]

What's the worst flavor of sweet? and best? In your opinion, anyways.

Ales folded his arms over his chest, sticking his nose into the air and looking a bit chuffed, “Finally,” he hummed, “Someone who recognizes there's a difference! You'd be surprised how few people actually take the time to think critically about their desserts.” he rolled his eyes and added, “Those uncultured oafs,” under his breath.

Despite rather rude comments, Ales considered the question and his opinions carefully. He placed a hand to his chin, and made a light pondering sound.

“You want my opinion, huh? Personally, I find myself leaning towards the  fluffier sweets, such as cakes!” he chuckled lightly, “Naturally. I’m only making them all of the time. I even enjoy sweet breads. Have you ever had zucchini bread? We’ll be making that tomorrow, you know. You ought to come by then, as well!” he cleared his throat, “Whipped cream is my preferred frosting to eat, however I do make a very good buttercream. Grifol has always been envious of that.”

“However, on the further end of the sweets, I find myself disliking fondant, and greatly at that. It's easy to work with for sculpted cakes, but not very pleasant to eat. Additionally, carbonated drinks are a bit much for my taste, and they’re even worse when you have a massive nose, what with that stupid fizz.” he scrunched up his large snout to show his disgust, “Too much straight sugar, and the flavorings often used are so fake.”

“Ah, yes–gummy candies are definitely not my preferred candy. They're often too sticky and overcompensate with sweetness and the worst kind of fake flavors! Fake flavors are a shame on confectioners everywhere! I hate making jelly candies anyway, I’d rather just make regular jelly. Speaking of, someone I know makes the best plum jam. I’ve yet to nick the recipe off him, but… I’m certain it’d be better when he makes it.” he shook his head and got back on track, “Jellies and jams are good, but by the Protoon do some use a lot of sugar. It’s a preserve, I get it, but there’s enough in the fruit, don’t you think!!”

“As for typical candy, I usually go for something like a peanut brittle; crack hard candy to be more specific. It’s not my go-to, however. It’s pure sugar with no additives other than flavor–I usually avoid that sort of thing. You know my opinion on that. Another treat that some are eager to overcompensate the sugar for… But I find candy floss alright. Easy to eat, and is nice and fluffy. Melts in your mouth, almost like a cake. Pretty great!”

“Oddly, I don’t care for donuts. Too dense, yet too airy, and often too sweet with multiple coatings of sugars and frostings… And the filling! Ugh!” he paused, “…Although, I admit, I do appreciate a good Boston cream… Oh, and not to mention the sprinkles, eugh! The only good sprinkle is in a funfetti cake, in my opinion! But cookies are fine, with the right recipe. Oftentimes just a cake, but with more flour… Making them pretty dense. Never liked harder cookies, so any you’ll find in this shop will be the soft, chewy kind. I take pride in that. Anyway, can’t beat a classic chocolate chip cookie, eh?”

“... Lastly, fruits are also pretty good in the sweet department… They’re very refreshing and feel better in the stomach, but I often find myself preferring them with a shortcake or even an angel food cake! Or at the very least, whipped cream… Strawberries and cream, a match made in heaven.”

Ales rolled his eyes, and waved his hands dismissively, “Bubble me, you got me talking. That’s enough rambling. Now buy something from the bakery, wouldja!”

#Dare Accepted #Trickster Teensie #IC

[mouthfulloftoothpasterry]

A day at the farm

summary: Harry and Y/n live in a cozy cottage with their two children and take care of a big garden along with some animals. :) cottagecore!harry

warnings: smut, unprotected sex, possible swearing. 

“Want to work in the garden today, my love?” Harry asks, giving his little girl a butterfly kiss, squatting down in front of her and holding onto her waist. “You can sneak strawberries and feed the cows” Harry coos, petting her hair, the girl only wearing a diaper and some patchwork overalls. 

Harry and his wife, Y/n, had moved out to this beautiful cottage after having their first born. They wanted their dream life together, farm animals, a garden for the kiddies to run in, and a flower patch to tend to. 

They live in a big ol’ cottage with flowers planted all along the rock pathway up to their home. Roses, baby breath, and dandelions dancing in flower beds and raised in big bushes by their gate. In the backyard they have a patio area with some chairs for the family to lay out in and sunbathe. A huge seven acre yard for their little ones to toddle around in, a play set and tree house built just for them that their daddy built when their first baby was only three months. They have many farm animals, a pond off to the side for some ducks, some small brown and black&white cows, some oinking piglets along with their big momma pig, a couple goats, some chickens that grace them with their yummy eggs, and lastly their little kitties, but they mainly stay in the cottage. 

“Don’t have to, just got to take good care of everything, hm’?” He asks, violet, pulling her up on his hip and kissing her cheek. She loops her arms around her daddy’s neck, resting her head on his shoulder ever so softly. Harry smiles, petting through the girls honey colored curls. “I take that as a yes, sweet pea?” He softly chuckles, the little girl nodding. 

He smiles, opening the back door to the cottage, the matcha green door letting out a squeak, Harry noting that he needs to oil the old chipped door. Harry grabs the big pile of tin silver buckets, thumping over to the leaky spigot and filling one of the beat up buckets a quarter of the way full with water. “Go on over to the fruits, sugar plum” Harry says, setting down his toddler and letting her slap her chubby bare toes down into the grassy ground, making her way over to their large garden like a baby deer. Harry grabs the buckets, singing an old Fleet wood Mac tune while he walks over to the blooming fruits and veggies. 

He smiles at his little one, seeing violet set in one of the rows of fruits, already collecting a bushel of dark colored berries in the pocket of her overalls. “Here,” Harry whispers, plucking one of her berry's and cleaning it in the bucket, washing it free of dirt. He holds it up to her pink lips, the little girl eating the dark berry out of her daddy’s hands. “Yummy!” She smiles, Harry’s dimples carving out softly, making a dip in his round cheeks. 

“Yeah?” He asks, the almost two year old nodding. He smiles, setting a bucket next to her, “put the berries in there, sweet pea” Harry simpers, licking his lips before eating a berry of his own. 

Y/n pads out of the cottage, holding their baby boy to her chest, dressed in a light yellow sun dress with lilac and violets sprinkled all over it. One of her thick straps is slipped down, their baby boy, Forest, nursing from her breasts. She has tortoise shell colored glasses perched on her nose, a circle lens(that are actually Harry’s). A long hair clip to finish the look, light green and gold rimmed. “Hello, my lovely’s ” Harry hums, Y/n smiling up at him, folding her book closed that was sat in her free hand, a copy of one of Harry’s favorites- Yesterday I was the Moon. “Hello,” she hums, a smile on her lips. 

“How’s my boy?” Harry asks, Y/n bending down next to the rest of her family. “He’s doing well, I gave him a bath and used my breast milk soap, it cleared his eczema rash right up.” She says, stealing a strawberry from the bucket her husband was working on, rinsing it off and pushing it between her heart shaped lips, the juice running down her chin making her husband quickly swipe his fingers past her dimpled chin. 

“Good, I knew that was bothering my boy” he says, softly petting his head, making sure not to pass over the soft spot on his head. “Yeah,” she coos, pushing her glasses up a bit. 

Y/n stands back up, setting her boy in the travel bassinet they have set out next to some of the chairs and letting him nap, slipping her strap back up to cover herself. She walks back inside the cottage, grabbing a few buckets and walking down to the cows, petting them before feeding them a piece of honeydew melon. “Hello” she hums, scratching the top of the small calf’s head. She continues to feed the cows, finishing feeding them and moving on to feeding the goats. 

Violet toddles over to her mumma, fisting her dress making Y/n look down. Y/n smiles happily at her little girl, pulling her up. “Hello, my darling. How have you been today?” She asks, puckering her lips, her daughter giving her a peck. “Good!” She cheers, Y/n smiling and feeding the goats an apple. 

“Good! Do you like your overalls?” She asks, fixing the strap. She had hand stitched the overalls for her last weekend over a cup of honey lemon tea, she had poked herself several times but she enjoyed making the cute pair of overalls for her daughter, she always enjoys making something for her little ones. It’s rewarding to see them wearing it, especially when they want to wear it until they grow out of it. “Yes!” She cheers, Y/n smiling. “Good,” 

**

“Here’s your tea,” Harry says, handing Y/n her tea while their newborn boy sleeps on his tummy on her calf, their toddler running around naked in the yard trying to play in the sprinklers that is watering their grass, many bright yellow sprinklers set up to water their gardens and all the flowers they have. “Thank you,” she whispers, grabbing the vintage teacup and saucer from his hands. He nods, walking over to his daughter, “let’s go get you in a bath, can’t stay out forever, sweet pea, you will get sick.” Harry explains, pulling his toddler up and walking to the creaky cottage door to talk his toddler up to the bath and giving her a good scrubbin’ after a long day of working in the garden and tending to the animals needs. 

He quickly gives his toddler a bath, using the handmade breast milk soap Y/n had made for the baby’s, (even though Harry uses it sometimes- he reads lots about how it’s good for your skin) she’s a crafty kinda gal. Then tending back downstairs, working on the butternut squash soup that they had made from fresh ingredients straight from their garden. 

“Yummy!” Violet says, shoving spoonfuls of the rich and creamy soup into her mouth, orange colored liquid covering her chin. Y/n giggles, sitting at the wooden table, lazily playing footsies under the table with her husband. “Gonna have to put a bib back on you” Y/n hums, making the girl pout, drinking out of her little sippy cup that’s actually just a small mason jar with a sippy cup lid attached to the top of it. 

“Eat up and then it’s time for night night, little one” Harry says, their little boy already upstairs asleep on his bassinet that is next to Y/n and Harry’s shared bed. A baby monitor clipped to Harry's shirt so he can hear if anything is disturbing his precious creature of a newborn boy. 

The girl whines, making Harry kiss her forehead, grabbing her bowl and taking it to the old green rustic sink, rinsing it out before making a mental note to wash them before he goes to bed tonight. “C’mon, m’ little monsta’ let’s get you into bed!” He coos, pulling his toddler into his arms and letting her mumma say a goodnight, kissing her cheeks and giving her a big hug before she goes off to bed. 

“And this little piggy went ‘wee wee wee!’ All the way home!” Harry says, pinching violets toes- or as he likes to call them “toesies”. “Goodnight, my baby, I’ll see you in the morning.” He says, giving her a kiss on the forehead before tucking her in, violet waving goodnight with her chubby hand. 

Harry thumps his way downstairs, seeing his wife drying the clean dishes and pulling out two glasses and pouring some wine(that they had made themselves). “Let’s have a walk in the garden” Y/n hums lowly, handing him his mason jar of wine, he smiles, pushing his glasses up on the bridge of his nose, “let’s” he says, swinging an arm around her shoulder, opening the creaky door that he still didn’t oil, walking out to the garden. 

They breathe in the night air, smiling at the crisp smell. “Your flowers are blooming beautifully” Harry says, making Y/n smile, leaning her head on her husband's shoulder. “They are,” she says, her feet getting wet from the damp grass. They continue to sip their wine, looking over all their plants and animals, making sure the day has stirred down well. 

“Guess it’s time to go in?” Y/n asks, grabbing a bucket and stacking it with the others. 

“Yeah, I’ve got a book to finish” Harry says, his wife nodding along with every word- but not paying much mind. “I’ve got a book to finish too” Y/n says, making Harry laugh. Y/n is a writer- she’s always loved writing. So she’s very thankful that she was able to get this job- especially since she still gets to live her… isolated life and be home with her family for the most part and not have to work an office job like most. A regular nine to five is just not her deal. 

“Well, I’ll start a fire and we can get down to work” Harry sighs, setting his glass down on the kitchen counter after coming inside, pouting more for his wife. He grabs his book, starting a fire with some old newspaper, matches and a log he got from the knickknack shop just a few miles up the road. 

Harry yawns, holding his book over his face, squinting his eyes even though he has his glasses on. Y/n has been telling him to go to the eye doctor so he can get his perscription changed but he never listens. She leans on him, typing on her laptop, her eyes falling closed while she tries to finish her chapter. “I need to send this to my editor in the morning” Y/n sighs, pulling the hair clip out of her hair and letting it fall down her back. 

Harry hums at her words, hooking his arm around her thigh and letting his hand rest between her inner thigh. Y/n raises an eyebrow, continuing to type the words that rush through her brain. “Whatcha writing, lovie?” Harry asks, Y/n slapping on the keys of her laptop. “Finishing my chapter” she says, Harry’s hand rubbing the inside of her thigh. “M’” he hums, sighing. 

Harry closes his book, placing it next behind him and kissing up her arm, placing wet pecks over her shoulder. “I’m writing, H” Y/n says, crossing her ankles. Harry shrugs, “M’ not doing anything” Harry says, kissing up her neck. Y/n rolls her eyes, continuing to type. She opens another tab, starting an email, and scheduling it for tomorrow morning. 

Harry smiles seeing her close her laptop, kissing her neck. He pulls her into him, making her giggle. Harry pushes her down onto the fur rug in front of the stone fireplace, making a home from himself between her legs. He smiles, finally kissing her lips and pushing her sun dress up her legs. Y/n resting her hands on her husband's shoulders after  grabbing his glasses to pull them off and reaching over, setting them down on the coffee table sat before them.

Y/n unbuttons his mustard colored corduroy flare pants that she had stitched flowers on the bottom of just for him, a little garden dressing his flares. Harry pushes his pants down the rest of the way while he presses small pecks to her neck, his nose rubbing up and down her jaw 

Y/n resting her hands on one of his cheeks, pulling his hot mouth into hers, smearing their needy lips together. Harry's hands blindly shuffle under her disheveled dress, pushing his fingers under the lace trimming of her panties, sliding them down her thick creamy thighs. Y/n’s breath stutters feeling the cool air against her core, Harry’s own bulge too close to her to be covered. 

Harry pulls away, leaving Y/n’s mouth wet and needy for her husband's lips. He pulls at his silk boxers, the boxers feeling like they could rip at the seams from how plump he has grown. Y/n whimpers seeing her husband's length after what had felt like hours of being hungry, needy for the slight- the feeling of him. Harry places heated kisses on Y/n’s neck, “Are you ready, honeysuckle?” Harry asks, tucking a hair behind her ear. She nods, her chest rising and sinking as she breathes heavy. Harry nods, softly smiling down at her lovingly while he lines himself up with her begging hole, slowly sinking in. The couple lets out satisfied sighs, Harry’s head tips  back with a large blissful smile on his lips. 

He bottoms out, Y/n now tangling their hands together. The heat of the fireplace burns them, feeling the same heat in the bottom of their tummies, hungry and desperate for each other. As much as they hate the burning feeling it makes the scene that much more romantic.“I love you,” Harry says, holding strong eye contact with her while he pushes through her silky pink walls. Y/n smiles up at him, holding the same eye contact as he does. “I love you too,” she pants, her legs looping around him. 

The only thing that is heard in the room is the crackle of the fire and the huffs coming out of their mouths, keeping their sounds of pleasure quiet so they don’t wake up their babies. 

Y/n squeezes his hand, squirming on the fur rug under her while she tries to get more, a chorus of “Harry, Harry, Harry,” pounding through her head, leaving her head in shambles. Harry kisses her, swallowing every whine and whimper that bubbles out from her throat, tasting each and every one on his own tongue while he silences himself- spewing his moans into her mouth. 

They beg for their releases, hips smashing together while the crackle of the fire becomes a background noise while their love making and panting outweighs the loud pops. The burning in their belly only grows, chasing their highs as Harry snaps his hips into her, needy like two teenagers. “Please,” Y/n begs, desperately wanting to reach that euphoric feeling and cum over her husband's cock. 

“I know, I know,” Harry quietly whimpers, nodding his head as if she has said more words then she did- but she didn’t need to say much for him to know. She clenched around him, getting that familiar feeling before she loses it. Harry continues with his nodding, the same feeling making his whole body tingle. 

Y/n finally let’s go, her body unwinding as she reaches her high, her eyes closing and mouth dropping open. Her lover follows soon behind, chasing a few more thrusts before he releases into her, his sticky hot cum coating her plushy pink walls. 

They both rest for a beat, not words shared between the two, only soft pants as they regulate their breathing. Harry slowly pulls out, Y/n wincing as the sudden movement. “Sorry,” Harry softly coos, pulling her dress back down to cover her. She nods, waving him off and resting her eyes. 

“Could just sleep here,” Harry offers jokingly, his wife rolling her eyes and shaking her head while she continues to rest her heavy limbs, completely relaxing onto the floor while Harry knees the floor above her. She ignores him for a while longer, basking in the warmth and comfort of the fire, tired and ready to sleep the long day off.

“Carry me up.” 

Hiiiii!!!! Sorry if this was bad! Its my first time posting any of my writing so I hope whoever happens to read it enjoys it! I write a lot and wanted to share it with everyone. Enjoy! Let me know what you thinks and how I could make it better if you would like. Thank you! OH! And I might make this into a little mini series if anyone likes it! Thanks again! <3<3<3

#Dad!Harry #smut #Harry styles one shot #Harry styles #writing #Harry writing #harry blurb #fanfiction #fic #harry styles au #dadrry #fineline #Harry styles smut #Harry styles x reader

[falcqns]

he's gone for good.

pairing: sub!Bucky x Reader

summary: Bucky informs you about Steve leaving.

warnings: angst, sub!Bucky, crying Bucky, mentions of violence.

a/n: hope you enjoy!

when you opened the door, and was greeted with a crying Bucky, you had no idea what to do.

you may had known Bucky for many years, but he was never open emotionally with you. in front of you, at least.

you two had met when you were studying abroad in Bucharest, and ended up moving in right beside him. you knew who he was right away, and you also knew that he was most likely on the run from HYDRA and S.H.I.E.L.D., so you never revealed that you knew who he was.

a week into living there, you found out he had nightmares, but it wasn't until a month later that you found the perfect cure for them, home cooked food.

you were up late doing some research for a paper, when you heard the beginnings of a nightmare. you usually heard the terror and scream filled ends, not the beginnings, but you listened anyways.

he was calling out for someone. it took you a few seconds to decode what and who he was calling out for, but when you realized, your heart broke for him. he was calling out for his mom. his calls became louder and more desperate, before coming to a head with a shout, then sobs of heartbreak. it made you think of your mom, hundreds of miles away. it wasn't until you remembered that he was born in 1917, so his mom was definitely dead, that you moved from your bed.

you ran into the kitchen and pulled out all the ingredients for some chocolate chip cookies. eating homemade cookies always soothed all your pain when you were little, and you didn't want to think about the kind of food HYDRA fed him on a daily basis, if they fed him at all. you also knew he most likely wasn't eating properly here, as you’d see him come back everyday with plums, along with some type of street food that he found.

didn't matter what the street food was, he always had plums accompanying it. a quick google search told you that plums helped improve memory, so that was that question answered. an hour later, and the cookies were done, and loaded into a spare Tupperware that you had lying around, with a note on top letting hi know that if he ever needed to talk, you were there.

you placed it outside his door, knocked, and retreated to your unit just in time. thanks to an abandoned body mirror that sat opposite the wall that separated the two units, you got to see the smile that spread on his face when he saw the cookies and read the letter.

after that day, it became tradition.

every time he would have a nightmare, you would give him some type of food. whether it was chicken parm, French onion soup, cookies, cake, donuts, or even chicken nuggets and fries that you Uber Eat’d from McDonalds, you always made sure he was comforted.

it wasn't until a month before you were due to move back to your home country that you saw him face to face for the first time. you were bringing him some white chocolate macadamia nut cookies when he opened the door. he had a coat, hat, and leather gloves on, indicating he was going out.

he smiled and blushed, before speaking. “so you're the lovely lady that cooks for me,” he said, and you laughed before handing him the container with cookies.

“yes I am. I just made some more, actually.” you said with a smile as he took the box from you, and looked inside.

“well, thank you doll. these look absolutely delicious, I can't wait to try them.” he said with a smile and you felt your cheeks heat up.

he placed the box down on the table next to the door, and turned back to you.

“well, I'll let you get on with your day,” you said, as you turned to head back to your unit.

“actually,” he said, and you turned to face him. “I was just going to go on a walk since it was my day off today. do you maybe want to come with me?” he asked, and you felt butterflies form in your stomach as you nodded.

“sure! just let me grab my coat.” you said.

then, just like the cooking, the afternoon walk became tradition. you two would walk and talk about anything. whether it be work, school, or building drama, you always had something to talk about.

on a certain walk through a quiet little park, he confessed who he was, and was surprised when all you said was “I know.” he’d asked if you were afraid, and you said no. he’d asked if you were planning on turning him in, and you also said no.

you’d explained that it was obvious that HYDRA had control of him, and that everyone deserved a second chance. after your little speech, he’d kissed you, and asked you out on a date. you'd accepted, and started dating after your first date.

then, he was captured by S.H.I.E.L.D.. the two of you had been at the market together when he saw a newspaper saying that he had killed King T’Chaka with a bomb at the UN. he swore, and dragged you home. the two of you blew past your unit, and headed into his where you were faced with Steve Rogers. this didn't surprise you, he'd told you what he could remember about Steve, and you were expecting him to show up eventually, you just weren't expecting it to be so soon.

you could hear someone else, Sam, over Steve’s comm, and realized that there were police here, to capture Bucky. upon hearing this, Bucky shoved you out of the apartment, and down the hallway, with Steve following. he’d led you to a back entrance that you didn't even know was there, and told you tp leave the building until everything was over.

he gave you one last hug and kiss, and your first ‘I love you’, and he was gone.

you hadn't heard from him for 2 years, when you got a letter from him. according to the letter he had been seeking refuge in Wakanda, and had been freed of the Winter Soldier. he invited you to come and visit, and you did. you got to watch him tend to his goats (which he named after every avenger, even Tony) and interact with the Wakandan people, and the children. who knew a former brainwashed HYDRA assassin could be so sweet with young children? definitely not you.

then, just as you were preparing to leave and look for a farm where Bucky could continue to raise his goats and be with you, King T’Challa came to Bucky and gifted him a new arm, and informed him of a new fight. Bucky had begged you to leave, but you wouldn't have it. you had been working out and training since the day that you watched him and Steve fight against the police in Bucharest, wanting nothing more than to run in there and protect him.

so, you fought. it felt surreal to you to be fighting with the Avengers beside you, although there was no place you’d rather be. in that moment, as you were racing towards those “space dogs”, as Rocket had called them at one point, you didn't care if you lived or died, won or lost. you only cared about fighting beside the love of your life.

watching that same love of your life fade away to dust in a beautiful Wakandan forest broke you in two. you had just gotten him back, and you’d lost him again. you were trapped in your own head for days, wishing to dust away like him, just to be with him.

before you knew it, 5 years had passed, and you had joined the remaining Avengers. how you went from studying abroad in Bucharest, to being an Avenger, you had no idea, but you were grateful nonetheless. when Steve, Natasha, and Scott approached you with the possibility that you would be able to get Bucky back, you instantly accepted.

you joined Tony, Steve and Scott, and helped Steve in the fight against himself. when Tony failed to get the Tesseract the first time, you joined them on their journey into 1970, and was blown away. it wasn't exactly the time that Bucky and Steve were from, but it kind of felt like it in a way, and you instantly felt closer to Bucky, although Steve had to stop you from going to find Bucky, who was coincidentally only a few kilometres away at that point in time.

you fought with Steve and the rest of the Avengers against Thanos, and almost fainted from happiness when you saw your Bucky walk through the portal and run into your arms. you, once again, fought with the Avengers and Bucky to defeat Thanos once and for all.

then, Tony snapped his fingers, and your whole world changed. you didn't know it at that particular moment, but it did.

you attended Tony's funeral, and you and Bucky went home. a few days later, Bucky and Sam went to see Steve off to return the stones. you had no idea why, according to Bruce it would take about 5 seconds, but Bucky insisted that he needed to go, and said that he was sorry he couldn't join you on an afternoon walk, your first one with him in over seven years.

but, then he showed up at the door, tears streaming from his steel blue eyes, his cheeks puffy, and the smallest of sobs escaping from his rosy lips, and you knew something went wrong.

you pulled him into your apartment, and wrapped your arms around him. he nuzzled his face into your neck, and sobbed freely.

“what happened?” you asked. “did something happen to Steve?” at the mention of his best friend, Bucky sobbed harder, and your question was answered, albeit silently.

you pulled him into the bedroom, and stripped him from his clothes. you’d never dealt with a sobbing and heartbroken Bucky in person before, so you just went with what felt right.

you instructed him softly to go lay on the bed, and he nodded. you laid down on your side, and pulled him to lay on your chest. as your hands ran through his hair that was starting to curl slightly, you tried again.

“can you tell me what happened, honey?”

Bucky sniffled a few times and sat up. you did the same, and he fiddled with his metal fingers while he talked.

“y’know yesterday when Steve and I went out for lunch?” he asked, and you nodded. “well, he told me about your journey back to the 1970′s with him.”

you furrowed your brow in confusion, but nodded. “I-i guess he was dodging some workers or something because he hid in an office, an office that happened to belong to Peggy Carter. he said that he saw her through the glass, and that he realized that he could have the life with her that he’d always wanted, the Pym Particles safe in his pocket. he knew that he had to come back and bring everyone back, but then he was going to go back.” you didn't know what to think. that wasn't the Steve that you knew, the Steve that you had become family with over those horrible and painful five years.

“when he told me, I didn't really think he was going to do it.” Bucky said, his voice shaking. you wrapped your arms around his shoulders, and he rested his head against your chest.

“even when I watched him disappear on the tunnel platform I didn't believe it. then, he showed up again.” he said, almost whispering.

“he was old. like grey hair, wrinkles, all of it.” he managed to get out in between sobs that were growing louder. “t-thats when it hit me. that he left me, for he-” he tried to say, before his sobs started full force again, and you pulled him to lay on you. he had his head on your chest, and his body in between your legs.

his cries continued, and you knew there was no stopping them. he was heartbroken, and he had to work through his feelings, not ignore them.

he swallowed, and continued to explain. “he left me for the girl he kissed once. which is great, he deserves to be happy, but I need him. I'm finally completely free, and I don't have my childhood best friend anymore.” he sobbed out, and you started to rock your body slowly to soothe him.

you wanted to cry too. cry about the friend that you’d never get to see again, but you couldn't, not yet. Bucky was hurting way more than you were, and you could push your pain down until Bucky was okay. you cuddled him closer to you, and spoke into his hair.

“its okay, baby boy.” you said, and he nuzzled deeper into you, the stress and sadness melting away from his body. it would return later, but it was gone for the time being. he sighed in contentedness, and his tears slowly stopped. you kissed his forehead, and felt him smile.

you ran your hands through his locks for the millionth time, and hummed a slow tune to him to soothe him further. you felt his breathing even out, ad light snores escape his mouth, and you smiled.

at least for a while, he was at peace, a peace he hadn't had in a while.

#bucky barnes #bucky x female reader #fatws bucky #bucky fic #bucky imagine #bucky fanfic #bucky x you #bucky barnes x female reader #bucky barnes x y/n #bucky barnes x reader #bucky barnes fic #bucky barnes au #bucky barnes reader insert #bucky barnes fluff #sub!bucky

[honey-milk-depresso]

Meanie (Azul Ashengrotto x Reader)

SORRY TWST COMMUNTITY TRYING TO GET AS MANY DRAFT ELIMINATED AS POSSIBLE SORRY FOR BLASTING SHIT IN YOUR FACE BUT LIKE HOPE YOU ENJOY PLEASE DON’T KILL ME-

Based on a manga I think you know when you read it-

I suck I know-

Warning: Slight under aged drinking but it’s purely fluff, nothing serious.

Part 1

part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8 (END)

“Sevens, y/n. What do you want?”

“A hang out! At the VIP room!”

“You know how much that’s going to cost you right? You don’t have much on you.”

“Yeah, yeah I know but, I spend it on my friend!”

“You’re paying me.”

“Exactly!”

Azul sighed in irritation. He can never get enough of you, can he?

“Fine.”

“YES!! I’ll bring some things along!”

=====================================================

“You got to be kidding me..”

Lying on the table, there were an assortment of chips, soft drinks, sweet snacks and to top it all off, a bottle of plum wine.

“Y/n, you shouldn’t be drinking. You’re under aged.”

You laughed heartily. “Don’t worry! It’s only once in a while! Besides, I really like plum wine! I’m not drinking it for the sake of looking cool! Ahehehe~!”

He sighed, putting his hat and jacket suit by the table and plopping himself on the couch, leaving him with his white collared shirt with his sleeves rolled up and pants.

He cringed slightly as all the snacks were unhealthy.

“Couldn’t you have bring snacks of healthier options?”

“Azul, you should treat yourself every once in a while. Being healthy is good, but you can eat junk just once! Besides, it’s a happy occasion!”

“You do this at least twice a week.”

“Not at night or with snacks.”

“True..”

He saw you stuff chips in your mouth in one goal, like a rapid animal.

“Geez, y/n eat slowly. You might choke.”

“Awww, does Azul care for me~?”

“I don’t want a dead body filled with chips in the VIP lounge.”

“So mean!!”

He smiled a little. Your outgoing and cheerful attitude annoyed him at times, but he still couldn’t help but smile at how endearing you could be.

“Geez, you eat like it’s the end of your world.”

Ah.

You took out a pack of poker cards and slam it on the table.

“LET’S PLAY!”

“SEVENS, Y/N! JUST PUT IT DOWN LIKE A NORMAL HUMAN AND NOT TREAT YOUR CARDS LIKE A HAMMER-”

“Well geez, sorry.”

You took the cards out and began shuffling them, clearing the snacks to one side and spreading the cards in a circle.

“Alright, the rules are simple: You can’t quit in the middle!”

“Well, obviously.”

You had always bring about weird games to play. Like the time you played with 2 chess boards for no reason. One to play chess and one to play checkers, then if you get to take one chess or checker piece away, you had to do math question on your assignment, both of which you lost, and had to do the homework yourself. So this isn’t new to him. Maybe you’ll pull out your magic history homework.

“Alright just pick a card!”

“I got the twelve of spades.”

“HAH! QUEEN OF HEARTS!!”

“You don’t have to yell.”

“Now, since I have the larger number, I’ll ask you truth or dare!”

“So, truth or dare??”

“Truth.”

“So~ Do you think Idia or Jade is more handsome to you?~”

He nearly spit out the canned grape juice he was drinking.

“W-what type of question is that?!”

“Those are the rules! If you don’t want to answer a question you pick “dare”! And with “dare”, I’ll make you do something and you can’t quit or complain!”

This is the game of the devil, he thought. What is worse? Answering your ridiculous question or doing you ridiculous “dare”?

Screw it. Better answer than do it, right?

“I’ll stick with truth...”

“Okay! So.. Idia or Jade is handsome to you??”

“......Idia..?”

“Oooh, really ? I thought Jade was pretty handsome himself though. Ah well!”

For some reason, he felt a little irritated when you said Jade was handsome.

“Moving along!”

You two pick your cards.

“Hmm~ five of diamonds? I got twelve of clovers!~~”

“Oh goodness..”

How is he having this much of bad luck today? He’s thinking you shuffled the cards in your favor.

A little flustered due to the plum wine, you slurred a little with the next question.

“Truth or dare??”

“Truth.”

“If Idia was a girl, and she’d be the prettiest girl in NRC, and everyone else are girls, where would I be ranked in looks?”

“What?”

“ANSWER MEEEE~”

“Second.”

“H-heh???” Now you were very flustered.

“So I am pretty to you??? Aww you’re so sweet, Azul!!”

“That’s because I can never imagine NRC being a girls’ school.”

“I-”

=====================================================

“Huh??? Aw man I got two of spades!”

“Twelve of hearts.”

“Oh no..”

Well looks like the tables have finally turned. 

After answering your many ridiculous dares, it’s finally his turn. By now he can tell you’re very drunk. You weren’t think straight and you were slurring and getting flustered a lot.

“Truth or dare.”

“TRUTH!”

He paused to think for a while on what he wanted to ask you.

“Have you ever had a first kiss?”

“HuH?? WHAT? ”

“Silence fool.”

“MEANIE!!”

“But... No I haven’t. Wonder who would wanna kiss me~~?”

“Your lips would reek plum wine, I don’t think anyone would.”

“HEY AZULLL I THOUGHT WE WERE FREINDSSS!!!”

He smiled.

“I’m just joking.”

=============================================================

“Hehehehe~ Truth or dare??~~”

“...dare.”

He said hesitantly. It’s been what? 9 to 11 rounds already and you only had truths, while you complained all his questions were like job interview questions.

“Ohohoho~ Well then,” you spread your arms open, “carry meee to beddd~~”

He blanked. His face was unreadable.

“Hey! Carry-”

Suddenly, you felt your entire body being lifted from the couch. Azul was carrying you bridal style close to his chest. You felt his steady heartbeat and you couldn’t help but blush at the sudden contact.

He went over to the secret guest bedroom and plopped you down on the bed.

“I’ll make sure you’ll go back to Ramshackle tomorrow. It’s a weekend anyways.”

You buried your face in your hands as you squirmed, giggling.

“Ehehehehe~~ That really surprised me! Thank you, Azul!~~”

“Okay, Azul! Pick a card for me.”

“It’s getting very late.”

“But like what you said tomorrow is the weekend!!!!”

“Still. You should be sleeping.”

“Okay! One last dare! I promise!”

He sighed. “Fine.”

He picked a card.

“What did I get??”

“King of Spades.”

“Oooh~ What did you get???”

He picked a card. “Three clovers.”

“Hmmm~ My turn then! This one would be truth only!”

You paused and he heard the blankets being ruffled as you shifted to a different position.

“If I said.. I was really scared of dying, what would you do?”

He swerved his head to look at you, his eyes scanning you.

You were completely calm that it scared him.

“Nonsense, you aren’t going to die.”

Right?

“Aheheheh~ Well I’m super tired! You should go to sleep too!”

He off the lights, the only light shining now was the lamp beside your bed on the night stand.

“Call me when you wake up. I’ll be in my room.”

“Got it~!”

And he closed the door.

To be continued..

=========================

HEYA FOLKS WANT ME TO DO PART 2??? Just reblog or request I don’t know I-

I died.

#twst #twisted wonderland #twst x reader #azul ashengrotto #azul ashengrotto x reader #twisted wonderland x reader #twisted wonderland azul #twst azul #twst azul x reader #twisted wonderland azul x reader #octavinelle #octavinelle x reader

[abovethesmokestacks]

Hidden Love

Title: Hidden Love

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word count: 2.2k

Rating: All audiences

Warnings: None. Or me, probably butchering the Victorian era. Also, you know, slight angst, because I can’t help myself

This story sparked from a moodboard I made a while back, of Victorian King!Bucky and maid!reader, and it kinda got away from me, as everything tends to do these days. And listen... I know. The term Victorian really only relates to the history of the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, but please bear with me on this and suspend belief and step into a world where during this era, Bucky is king, and enjoy the stay.

The sounds of crystal clinking together should be like silver bells carrying over the din of hushed conversation, but to his ears, it's like nails on a chalkboard. The food before him is rich and each bite seems to swell in his mouth, forced down in thick swallows and gulps of wine. His cheeks hurt from smiling, and his feet itch to leave, to stand up and walk out. He could.

"More wine, your highness?"

He could, he is king.

The server's voice is low, bowed down appropriately to only be heard by him. He shouldn't have another glass, for the sake of his mental faculties. He should, to keep up appearances. He can already sense his mother's eyes on him, the calculating gaze he has known his entire life. The dowager queen, a mother only as it serves her image in the kingdom than anything else.

"Everything all right, James?" she asks, and oh, that tone is deceptive. Kind on the surface, but weighed just so with the barest hint of concern to draw the attention of the other guests.

He wants to grimace, his name sounding contrived and wrong in his ears, granted with the weight of legacy, set aside for a few blessed years of childhood and then thrust back upon him when illness took his father and forced him back into a mold he would much rather escape. The coronation had his stomach in knots, a chill persisting in his bones and a simmering dread as he was crowned - anointed by God, what god would place their faith in someone so flawed as man? - His Majesty James, by the Grace of God, King of the Nation, Defender of the Faith.

"Nothing, mother. Pondering my choice of drink."

He tries for amicable, jovial. It is the annual Christmas feast, why shouldn't he be happy? His mother quirks an eyebrow, holding his gaze just long enough for the hairs on the back of his head to stand on end before her eyes glide from him to take up the conversation she left.

Some defender of the faith he is, he doesn't even have faith in himself.

An eternity seems to pass as dishes pass before him, plate after plate until he feels nauseous. Around him, the atmosphere has relaxed, emboldened by wine and spirits, and even his mother is no longer sparing him a glance to keep track of him. Somehow, he would have thought being king would have meant finally being free of her shadow, but she is still there. No longer a shadow, but a presence right behind him, a metaphorical foot on his robe to remind him of his place, and hers. He wonders if anyone has noticed that his glass of wine has not been refilled in a long time, that he has been nursing it steadily and that his boisterous laughs have all been hollow.

He could leave, but not without drawing attention. Just a little while longer. He glances at the opulent grandfather clock, feels its ticking like a heartbeat. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

Each tick of the clock is an endless journey. Through rigid traditions, glasses of brandy, sweet sugarplums and fragrant pines, all he can feel is the passing of time, one second after another without an end in sight. Gifts are exchanged, crackers pulled with cloying glee and he feels more like a fool than a king when one of the footmen is coaxed into slipping the thin paper crown on his head. His mother bows out with effortless grace, sparking hope that maybe, just maybe, he can make his escape.

"Let me accompany you, mother," he asks, begs, voice low as he stands up to offer his arm for her.

Take it. Please, for the love of all things good and holy, take it.

Her smile is not exactly smug, but it hides a kind of joy that he thinks must be sour.

"Nonsense, my dear. Don't leave on my account, stay, be merry."

It's loud enough to be heard, for plenty of people to hear her deny him his exit under the guise of a mother not wanting to spoil her son's fun. He tries not to let his gaze harden or his forced smile to weaken, instead kissing his mother's hand and bidding her good night. Propriety will keep him here another hour at least. The clock ticks, chipping away at the span of time before he can have his freedom.

He thinks he might finally be going out of his mind when the clock strikes midnight. His other guests are either half-asleep, lulled by brandy and the late hour, or eagerly playing cards for the trinkets they received in their crackers. Enough. He takes his leave, wanting to roll his eyes at the hasty displays of respect and deference. No matter. He is free. A quick trip to fill up a plate from the abandoned dinner table, something for the road, as he jests with his escort. The palace is quiet when they traverse the corridors to his private chambers, their footsteps echoing ominously with nothing but a candelabra to light their way.

"I think I'll manage myself tonight," he tells his escort when they're outside his door. "Go sleep, I won't tell on you."

They put up the token protest, but still leave, hastening down the dark hallway while he lets himself in. The world feels more manageable inside. It's still a constant reminder of his privilege, of the opulence of his station, but it's his. No one can enter without his permission, no one can disturb him without just cause. Sometimes he wishes this was his entire kingdom.

Setting down the plate on his bed, he loosens the ascot, glad to be rid of the strangle-like hold around his neck. Off with the tailcoat, unbutton the waistcoat. Breathe.

Thunk.

He whips around, gaze falling on the large armoire in the corner. The silence that follows is deafening, but he knows what he heard. With a smile curling his lips, he swipes a treat off the plate, hiding it behind his back while he closes the distance, pulling the doors open in a rush, only for his ears to ring with a piercing shriek.

"Hush! Good god, you'll wake the entire wing, calm down! It's just me!"

The girl cowering into the corner of the armoire claps her hands over her mouth, eyes that had only moments ago been wide with fear now glaring at him as she breathes  through her nose to calm down. It’s strange, how his heart beats quicker, how the heaviness of his mind lightens under her fierce gaze. Years ago, they met by accident, he was still prince, young and cocksure, and she was, as she is now, a maid in the vast household that served his father the king. It wasn’t prudent, but he enjoyed giving her his attention, little flirtatious exchanges that somehow grew into a tender love with stolen kisses in hidden nooks. She has never asked for anything, much as he has offered to help her. She has declined promotions, slapped him for trying to sneak a small pouch of coins into her apron, made him promise not to do anything that would change her status in or outside the court.

He extends his hand to her, helping her up and out, twirling her around the room, making the skirt of her black dress flare around her, and his soul soars at the way her face settles into a sweet smile. With an exaggerated bow, he holds out his hand with the hidden treat, a sugar plum. She plucks it from her hand, delight colouring her features as she takes a small bite. 

“I thought you were…” she begins, swallowing before dropping her gaze, slipping the rest of the sugarplum into her apron pocket. “I wasn’t sure you were alone. I wasn’t… I wasn’t sure if you would come.”

They come to a halt by the window of his room, and instinctively, he positions his back to the window, protecting her presence with the frame of his body. This may be his private quarters, but the palace has eager eyes and ears.

“My mother.” 

It’s answer enough. Their love lives in the shadows, in the small kingdom of his room, in the hidden passages of the palace and with notes tucked into cracks only they know about. His heart aches, because she deserves so much more, wishes the world knew about this generous soul that holds his heart in her palms, whose smile lights up his presence even during his darkest days, who will take nothing but the reassurances of his affections and the kisses he bestows freely.

“I came as quickly as I could,” he adds, bringing up her hands to kiss her knuckles. They’re cold, worn from hard work, but he loves them as dearly as the rest of her.

“She knows.”

It’s simple. A statement, not a question, and her hands slide from his grip as she takes a step back.

“We don’t know that. She enjoys tormenting me, we’ve known that for quite some time. And even if she knows…” He closes the space between them again, wraps her up in his embrace, and nudges her chin to make her look at him. “Even if she knows, she won’t do anything overt. She can’t.”

“She’s the-” his love starts, eyebrows knit together, mouth set in a way that he knows she won’t let this go.

“She thinks she owns me. She thinks she controls me. In her eyes, I am as much a servant to her as anyone on staff. And I’m happy to let her keep her delusion, if it means I get to be with you, if it gives me time to…”

“To what?” she asks, tilting her head. “If it gives you time to do what, Bucky?”

To fight for that, he wants to say. His nickname, falling sweet from her lips and making him feel like a person. It’s a treasure from those happy childhood years, when he’d only hear it from his string of governesses and teachers, a concession to play pretend at a normal life. It felt like stepping out of a pleasant dream when he had to leave it behind, had to step into the heavy legacy of James, into the title of king. He looks at her, the only one to call him Bucky these days, and feels courage rise with the beating of his heart.

“To figure out a way for us to be together,” he tells her resolutely, continuing on his next breath. “We’ll go away, I’ll make sure we’ll have means to live until we can settle down. We’ll go far away, we’ll cross the sea if we have to.”

He twirls them around in a dance, away from the window, away from vulnerability of unseen eyes. Away. Gone. Together.

“Bucky…”

“We’ll live in a cottage, you and I. I’ll… I’ll learn a trade. I can tend horses. I can hunt. We’ll have a life that’s… that’s ours.”

“Buc- Your highness!”

The title cuts him down, poleaxes him and pulls him out of the dreams like someone has poured a vat of cold water on him. She’s no longer in his arms, once again removed, three solid paces between them, and she looks so small, so despairing, hands folded in front of her. This time, she finds her voice before he can find his.

“I can’t ask you to do that. You’re king. You… You have responsibilities. You have a realm that depends on you for guidance and rule. You can’t just… I’m no one. I’m not important. I’m- You are king, and kings marry queens and live happily ever after. I don’t fit into that story, your highness.”

He takes a step forward, she takes another step backwards. Even so, it hurts more to hear the way she talks about herself, makes herself small while he grows to something fabled and grand, when truth be told, he feels like all this time, he’s been walking on stilts and wearing a costume to hide the person he really is.

“Neither do I,” he starts, winces inwardly at how trite it sounds. “I didn’t want this. To be king, I mean. It’s not for me. I don’t care for politics and mind games, I don’t care for frivolousness and rigid customs. This is a prison to me. It’s beautiful, and grand, but it’s a gilded cage nonetheless. Outside this room, away from you, I am not myself. I am weak. I am a pawn in a game. My desires don't matter. You…” He takes a careful step forward, hope springing when she stays where she stands, “are everything I want. Everything I need.” Another step. “And I will do anything to be with you, anything to make this my story. I’ll bide my time, I’ll weigh my options, I’ll make every preparation, but one day…”

Another step. He’s back in front of her, and though she avoids his eyes, she’s not running, not putting distance back between them.

"Your highness…"

“My love,” he interrupts, offering her the depth and width of his affection, his voice low and ardent as he kneels before her, prostrating before the only person worthy of him. “My sweet, my… my everything. One day, I’ll find a way for us to be together.”

#Hidden Love #Bucky x reader #Bucky Barnes x reader #Victorian king!Bucky #maid!reader

[dancingthesambaa]

The Smell Of Plum Blossom Tea Ch 5

Summary: Just like a butterfly wing, a single act of kindness can change the course of the future, it certainly did for MK as a black-furred monkey put out a hand towards him.

Rating: Teen and up

Chapter 5: By Your Side

“Next is the bag of chips, why he likes pizza flavor I will never know,” Mac muttered as he pushed his cart through the aisles.

The two teenagers in his care, at this point Mei might as well be one of his, had opted out of the grocery trip and decided to do their own thing on the other side of town. Still well perfectly within hearing distance, but he smartly decided not to eavesdrop on their conversations, he would rather not have two very creative, and vengeful, kids out to get him.

After he had grabbed the bag of chips and placed it in with all the many, many items in the cart, some of them were not even for him and the two kids as his friends tend to make themselves at home at times. He feels like he should be charging his friends for the amount of stuff he gets for them no matter how rich he may be.

‘Who even needs this many ghost peppers, 3 bundles of apples, a bag of soft sponges, industrial nail filer, and a goddamn indestructible chew ball,’ he internally ranted in his head as he went through another aisle, ‘What am I, their parent?’ They have their own damn jobs!’ He then looked through some of their teas available and his nose scrunched up as he picked up a box of passion fruit tea. “Who the fuck even likes passion fruit tea? That shit is way too sweet,” he grumbled to himself.

“Well store bought ones usually don’t have that same ‘Oomph’ as homemade ones,” a deep voice said.

“You’re telling me,” Mac agreed as he side glance at the man who was reaching for one of the teas on the top shelf as he couldn’t contain his eye twitch. ‘Okay, been in this city for gods knows how long, and in the span of less than a year I managed to find ones that are descendants or reincarnation of most of the fucking crew. What the actual fuck is this sort of luck?! I know that there are historians willing to sell their soul for even a trace of this, so what kind of fucked up luck am I getting that I just stumbled upon them.’

“Hm,” he, the overgrown beast of a demon that shared too much resemblance to Sha Wujing, titled his head to him. “Is there something the matter?” His eyes widen as he tries to look over his body and pants, “Do I have cat hair on me?! I thought I managed to clean the last of it off before I left.”

“No, no,” he waved him off, “just thought you looked familiar, that’s all.”

“Oh well in that case,” the large man shifted his basket to his other hand and stuck out his right, “my name is Sandy, it’s nice to meet a fellow tea lover.”

Macaque stared at the hand for a bit before giving a small smirk and shaking it, “Name Macaque and right back at ya big lug.”

“Personally I like the Biluochun Tea,” Sandy said as he plucked up a box of Chamomile, “but unfortunately they have yet to fully bloom in my garden so I am making do with a substitute,” he joked.

“Then how about Kuding?” Mac recommended.

“I may like the taste of bitter, but I don’t want that to be my only taste,” he admitted.

“Well I think it’s pretty good.”

“Let me take a wild guess and say that you don’t like sweet things.”

“I only tolerate for my kiddos,” he mumbled as he put the box of Junshan Yinzhen Tea, he already had a batch of Kuding growing out in the garden, so there is little point in grabbing a weak ass store brand tea that held not even the same resemblance to how it truly tastes. He tried a box out of sheer curiosity and immediately chuck that so far away, that thing that called itself Kuding tea is a disgrace to the true masterpiece.

“You have kids,” the demon piped up as he walked alongside the monkey.

“Technically one, but with the number of times she stays over, I might as well claim that hellion,” he grumbled as the two goes out of the aisle and towards the meat.

“Awww, that’s sweet,” he put his hand to his very muscular chest, “the only little ones I have are my adorable cats,” he then proudly showed off his wallet which had an assortment of different kinds of cats.

“Cute,” he admitted as he took in the collection of cats, “was this an all at once thing or more of a gradual.”

“Oh some were gradual, others were in groups, and some was just picked up,” he said as he put up his wallet, “Like one day I come home and find Mimi, one of my older ones, carrying the most adorable blue kitten,” he began to tell his tale of Mo as the two continued their shopping together.

“I’ll be with you in just a moment,” Pigsy yelled out as he served a tray full of steaming hot noodles to his other customers.

“Man, this place is packed today,” Mac said as he took the only seat on the counter, which was by the entrance. The place was brimming with customers, either loitering outside waiting for their order or just chatting amicably inside.

“Yeah, lunch hour kicks my as-butt each time,” he had to suppress a groan and put on a customer service grin as he watched another group stroll in. “Be with you in a minute!”

“I thought you had some staff? I know the last time we came in, we saw a driver leaving with the food,” he asked as he straightened out his lavender dress covered with floral print.

“Well,” Pigsy said after he finished taking orders and began making the food, “I had to fire that lazy bum after he called off so many times, a few I get, but how does 4 out of the five days you work help?! And you still expect me to pay you for a full two weeks of service?” He grumbled harshly as he then took a few of the clean bowls out.

“Yikes,” Mac grimaced, “…want some help?”

The owner paused and sharply looked towards the monkey, “you offering?”

“Yeah, don’t really have anything better to do, besides,” he showed off two more clones, which barely made people bat an eye as they were too engrossed in their meals and phones, “I am basically a one man army.”

Pigsy looked so wistfully at that power and quickly asked, “are you any good at customer service?”

“I volunteer at a theater,” he raised an eyebrow.

“You're hired,” the shorter demon threw an apron at him, “you’ll get paid by the end of the day.”

“Instead of that, how bout next time I drop by, food is on the house?” He bargained as he put on the apron.

“Deal,” he instantly agreed and he could feel a wave of relief wash over him as he now could focus on cooking instead of everything at once. “Next time why don’t you talk to Tang about how free meals work, maybe then his lazy butt can finally start paying me.”

“Why don’t you just not give him free food?” Macaque smirked as he saw a faint blush on the pig’s face.

“Shut up,” he muttered.

The monkey said nothing more as he put the apron on, turned to the group of people that was just seated, took out a notepad, and gave his most theatrical smile “Welcome to Pigsy Noodles, what can I get started for you?”

“So anyway, I have been looking through some of the books that I saw in an antique store, and let me tell you that I scored the motherload!” Tang excitedly said as he talked beside the lake. “Guess what I happened to find.”

“What?” The creature prompted him as he casually floated in the water.

“You have money? You actually have a job,” the other being questioned, “and you still let Pigsy pay for your food?”

“It’s a journal that tells the tale of someone who got trapped in the spiritual world after a failed ritual!” He exclaimed as he steadfastly ignored the previous question.

“Pffftt,” he sputtered out a laugh.

“I don’t know about you but isn’t it usually a bad thing when someone gets trapped somewhere,” Macaque drawled out as he chewed on a plum as he stretched out on the grass with a baby monkey clinging onto him. Ní, who decided to chill in her rabbit form for some reason, also nodded as she laid down on the sunlight grass. “Also, you haven’t answered my question.”

“Well she obviously is alright since she wrote this book and all,” the historian tried to defend himself as he still didn’t answer.

“Surrree.”

“It’s true, you agree with me right Shu,” he turned to the water demon.

“Absolutely,” the Shui Gui cheekily said.

Tang shot a smirk at him.

“He agrees with anything he finds funny,” he rolled his eyes.

“Well anyway,” he took out the book and showed it to them, “this book illustrates how Chi-Chi journey through the treacherous parts of the realm, tricked many dangerous beings, gazed upon the beauty of the uncharted, and met so many spirits and immortals along the way!”

“Is that so,” Mac hummed.

“I would give an arm and a leg to meet an immortal or even a spirit,” he said unblinkingly then he went back to his fanboy mode, “I would have so many questions to ask them!”

The 2 immortal beings shared a look at each other as the monkey then put a hand over the spirit’s mouth to stop him from saying anything.

“Don’t you even think about it Kappa,” he warned him.

The drowned spirit just gave him a cheeky grin as he raised his webbed hands in the air.

“I swear,” Macaque grumbled as he put down his hand, “how the hell did the two of you even become friends?”

“He fed me some beef jerky,” he happily explained, “and that was the start of a beautiful friendship.”

“And he never once comments on why you always hang around the lake and not anywhere else?” He incredulously said.

“Nope!”

“Adrenaline junkie I swear.”

“You say something?” Tang called out as he paused his fanboy mode.

“Just talking about your obvious crush on Pigsy,” Mac facepalmed when the spirit just had to say that of all things.

“It’s not a crush!” Tang marched up to him with his ears redder than an apple, “Can’t someone just appreciate another person's attractive qualities?”

“Yes, yes you can,” he agreed.

“Good,” the fanatic crossed his arms, “then you can safely assume that-.”

“Butttt you have a fancy for the pig,” the spirit ended.

“NO I DO NOT!”

“The sheer irony is actually ridiculous,” Mac said to himself as he slowly petted the infant.

“Ooo oo,” the baby macaque cooed.

“No, you cannot eat my tail.”

“You know, I’m getting real tired of those idiots' constant fighting,” Macaque grumbled as he petted a very fat and very fluffy cat.

“Tell me about it,” Sandy nodded his head as he drank some tea. “They have been at it for almost the second they met each other.”

“I swear I am so close to just shoving them both in a closet alone and letting them deal with it.”

“Yeahhh, that might not work so well,” Sandy drawled out as he set down his cup.

“Why? Cause it won’t be right,” he mocked.

“Well there’s that, but also there’s the fact that it would absolutely do nothing at all and just lead to them bickering more,” he pointed out.

“You, unfortunately, have a point,” he slumped back as another cat crawled on top of him.

“Also, I may have already tried that.”

“Wait? Really?” He sat back up and looked at the blue demon’s sheepish expression.

“Let me just tell you that seeing it on t.v does not really work the same way as real life,” he still remembered how they were both mad at him for locking them in a room together.

“Tell me about it,” Mac already knows the pain as both MK and Mei went through this phase as they tried to do the most ridiculous stunts or experiment with dangerous chemicals. Luckily he managed to stop or save them in time, but there were a few times where he was preoccupied or just missed it. Let it be known that they both learned their lesson after breaking bones and a fierce rash all over their arms. He still doesn't know what they were trying to prove with the lacquer tree. “Oh yeah, how did it go with flicker the other day? Didn’t give you too much trouble?”

“Oh nothing I couldn’t handle,” Sandy smiled at the mention of his newest client, “Can’t tell you much cause of confidentiality and whatnot, but he is open to another session.”

The monkey nodded, “that’s good, Gods know he needs it, now if Raki was more amenable to the idea, but she is the most prideful person I know and that is including her husband.”

The blue demon winced, “yeahhh I can see how that might be a bit difficult.”

“You're telling me.”

“Focus,” Macaque yelled out as he nimbly dodged a flying kick, “remember that when you strike, you make sure that strike will be your last.”

Mei didn’t say a word as she growled at her missed shot and jumped towards him then fainted for an upward cut then quickly proceeded to go into a low roll as MK came up from behind with a high kick.

“Good plan you two,” he praised as he simply jumped above MK’s head and said, “but try going for a grapple next time, it would have been more effective to topple me over rather than try to catch me off guard in the air.”

MK flipped backward and attempted to grab onto his tail, which he quickly realized was a mistake as he felt the tail wrap around his arm and flung him to Mei, who was charging at him.

“If I was an unskilled fighter then that would have been quite an effective weakness to exploit, but it’s too bad I’m not,” he mocked the two as he caught Mei sword with one hand and MK escrima stick with the other and casually tossed them back to the edges of the tree line.

“Oh come on!/We almost had him!” Both teens yelled out as they simultaneously punched a tree in frustration, which left a handprint etched into the wood when they took it out.

Only Macaque noticed this as both of the kids elected to split off from each other and try to attack him from both sides. “Guess they have adapted quite well to my energy,” he mused as he watched them run towards him, “Probably should tell them to take it easy else they’ll break their bones, again.” He then easily began to dodge from both of their attacks as they gave it their all to finally hit the damn monkey.

And this how it continued, with both seventeen year olds working together to finally land a hit on the speedy monkey, only for it to fail every time.

“You're getting better,” he said as he looked down on the two exhausted teenagers trying to catch their breath.

“One day,” Mei took a long deep breath before continuing, “one day, I don’t know when, but one day I will punch that damn smug off your face.”

“Ditto,” MK raised his hand in the air then dropped it then pushed his loose hair out of his eyes.

Mei saw this and gave a faint snort, “you know I can help with your hair-”

“I’m not putting pigtails in my head again,” he deadpanned.

“Come on, I can even get fluffy to join.”

“How about no,” he bluntly said as handed them two cold water bottles, “take a breather breezy, starlight. We can resume in a few minutes.”

“Okayy,” they moaned out.

“Awww, but I bet you would look cute in pigtails,” they all turned to see Minsheng hop in with a few others as well, “I know there will be a lot of demons just willing to pay for a pic, just think of the money.”

“Remember the glitter,” Macaque growled out.

“The bunny paused and crossed their arms as their friends laughed behind him, “ Well I’m just saying.”

“It took them ages to get all that out,” Daiyu stated, it didn’t even come off until a full month has gone by, and yet they still found small patches in their fur.

“Almost killed him when he tried to hug me with that on him,” Bohai huffed as he glowed a bit at the horrible image of him even having a speck of that abomination on him.

“They looked like my gremlin’s arts and crafts masterpiece when they were five,” Yanyu chortled.

“It was indeed horrible,” Ahmed lowly chuckled out as he slowly trailed behind them all, then all demons, and adult human, in the vicinity paused.

“Oh right this,” the bluenette human almost hit herself at how quickly she forgot, “we did come here for a reason.”

“Voices gettin to ya,” the long-furred monkey easily asked the lion demon.

“They have been a bit annoying,” he gave a weak chuckle.

“I feel ya,” he turned to his kids, “go towards the tree line with the rest of them, it seems that class will have to be cut short.”

“Okay?” Both were very confused, but obliged by the demon words as they walked over to the group, only to be pulled back by Bohai. “Hey!/What?”

“Oh trust me,” the jellyfish demon said, “you do not want to be anywhere near Ahmed at the moment. He’s a bit...unhinged.”

“Him? But he’s a total softie,” Mei shot a look to him.

“He let Mei put ribbons in his mane,” MK added.

“Oh there’s no doubt about Med squishy heart, but there are times where he just has to cut loose, ya feel me,” the vulture just received confused looks.

“Just watch,” the bunny demon grinned and took out a bundle of golden carrots, and began to eat.

“What do you mean-,” she was cut off by Macauqe voice.

“Come at me you overgrown cat.”

They saw Ahmed give a grateful nod before he went on all four, not even caring about his messing up his robes, and his body started to spasm as he let out a fierce roar that made everyone in the vicinity cover their ears.

ROAAARRRRR

He then flickered out of view and the monkey quickly had both his arms crossed in front of him as a plume of dirt and dust gathered around him without warning. It was only when it was settled that the demons and humans saw that the once flat field now had a decent crater in the middle with both lion and monkey. Ahmed gave a low snarl as he saw that the monkey was not harmed.

“Aww baby cub claws not working,” he mocked him as he sent a hard kick to his jaw, “how bout I help ya there.”

He growled as he quickly grabbed the monkey’s leg and flung him to the ground, he gave a nasty grin as he saw blood trickle from his head.

“Wouldn’t get too cocky, haven’t you already tasted the blood trickling out of your jaw?”

The lion stilled as he tasted the metallic tang covering his tongue, he let out a low growl in frustration.

“First blood to me,” was all Mac had to say before the lion gave a roar and lunged at him, thus the fight beginning once more.

MK and Mei were stunned silent as they watch the vicious battle as each time Ahmed tried to throw an attack it would either get dodged or redirected, but if he did manage to land one blood was always shed. Macaque was the same way as each time he managed to strike him down they swore that they heard bones loudly breaking.

But neither side gave in.

“Terrifying right,” they were slightly startled by Yanyu’s voice and couldn’t help, but fall over as they saw, not only her, but everyone casually laying down and/or eating.

“Oh don’t give us that look,” Daiyu said as she hummed and watched the lion attempt to claw the monkey's eyes out, “it’s only some bloodshed, nothing major. Though it would be more thrilling if a certain spider bitch was involved, I would love to see her blood splattered out,” she lowly huffed.

“What she means to say is that Macaque has this well in hand, this isn’t his first time dealing with ol Meddy when he’s primal,” Bohai tried to comfort them.

“Primal?” MK questioned.

“Basically it’s when someone instinct takes over,” Minsheng explained as they munched on their carrot while watching Mac throw him harshly to the ground, “sometimes it’s a good thing like you stuck in a corner and you got a colony you need to protect behind you, it’s one hell of a boost let me tell you. Other times not so much.”

Both kids blinked at that lackluster answer.

“What they mean,” Bohai continued as they casually looked away from Ahmed sinking his teeth into Macaque shoulder, “is that other times the bad times, to put it bluntly, it’s when the voices get so loud that it begins to control your entire being until you finally get rid of it. If you're lucky, it can be as easy as sleeping, if not well,” he looked at where the six-eared monkey had ripped his shoulder away from Ahmed red stained fangs and proceeded to knock out a few teeth in retaliation. “That.”

“He becomes bloodthirsty,” Mei quietly says.

“Yeah,” Yanyu softly brought them down next to her as she gave them a bag of popcorn, “it’s not pretty, but he just has to let it out.”

“But why is Dad the one fighting him?! Why not any of you!” He half shouted in nervousness and anger as he looked towards the demons, specifically Daiyu.

“Well I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a death wish,” Bohai bluntly stated.

“Here here,” Sheng raised his hand.

“Tried that once and I was beaten in a minute flat,” the vulture huffed, “if Mackie wasn’t there then my body would have been a nice dinner to the rest of the wake.”

“Thus their first meeting,” the bunny added.

“Wait, Mac Mac first time meeting Ahmed was when he was beating the shit out of Daiyu and then to each other,” Mei asked.

“Yep,” they collectively said.

“And he is literally the only one able to fight against him?” MK questioned.”

“Yep,” they repeated.

Both teens took a glance as the monkey continued his vicious strikes against the lion, who attempted to decapitate his head every time, but each time he missed he instead decimated any boulders in the unfortunate vicinity into dust. The primal lion retaliated with his own thundering roar, but Macaque was fast enough to dodge the attacks that uprooted a grove of trees.

“Well there goes any small lingering doubts on how he was able to go toe to toe with the Monkey King,” Mei deadpanned as she slumped and stuffed her hand into the popcorn.

MK followed suit as he ate some popcorn, “you’re telling me.”

“He is kicking major monkey ass right now.”

“I am so happy that he is going easy on us,” the ponytail boy whispered out.

“Holy shit, no kidding,” she agreed, “just think, we could have been less than paste on the side of the road with a single hit if he actually tried to let loose with us.”

“Nahh, you don’t have to worry about that,” Min waved their worries off, “other than this, the only other time he actually lets loose is around his exes.”

“I’m sorry, his WHAT?!/Wait? WHAT?!” Mei and MK sat up as Mei continued, “what do you mean exes?!”

“Dad dated?!?!?” MK followed suit.

“Oh yeah,” Yanyu grinned, “I even met some of them, and let me tell you that he has horrible taste in partners.”

“I don’t think it’s his fault that most of them fall on the insane scale and not in a good way,” Bohai deadpanned.

“By insane you mean impulsive as shit that tries to fight anything that moves, then yeah,” Daiyu nodded.

“It’s weird hearing those words coming from you,” the adult human teased.

“Hey, I may like fighting, but even I have my own limits. His partners take the entire train and then the second one charging at em.”

“I’m still trying to wrap my head around Dad dating,” the seventeen year old muttered as he gripped his head as he looked towards the blood stained battle. “This I can get, but dating?”

“…I am so never gonna let this go,” a twinkle of mischievous appeared in Mei's eyes as she looked at them, “sooo if you had to guess, which one is his most insane, or worst, partner.”

“I have to say Hui, that scorpion bastard seemed nice enough, but she was a raging alcoholic that always tried to get into the celestial realm for some booze” Sheng started as they stuffed the rest of the carrot in their mouth.

“Ju. He was a fishy one, that turtle was always looking for his next meal, no matter where it came from,” Bohai grumbled.

“Might have something to do with nature,” Yanyu teased.

“Shut up.”

“Both of ya are brain dead if you forgot who really takes the crown,” the winged demon interjected.

“Who then?”

Daiyu and Yanyu just looked at each other before saying, “Lemur bitch.”

“Fair point,” both aquatic and land demons replied.

“Who?” Mei asked, but it was met with grimaced faces.

“Just,” Bohai began, “just pray you never meet him, Shun is-,” he was cut off by a loud yell.

SLAM

“WE DON’T TALK ABOUT HIM!” Macaque screeched while all his ears flared up, his eyes twitch violently with a wild look. “NEVER!” He repeated as he pressed his foot and staff on the lion’s back, who was just growling out and thrashing wildly under him.

“Yeahhh, let’s just say that after him, doc swore off on dating,” Yanyu sighed as she ate a handful of popcorn.

“But what did he do?” MK said as he was careful to avoid the name.

“Trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“But I really do,” Mei leaned in.

“No you don’t.”

“But I-,” she got a mouthful of popcorn stuffed in her mouth.

“You don’t,” Yanyu pulled back her hand, “now let’s watch them beat the shit out of each other. 20 on Mufasa knocking him out this time.”

“I’ll add to that,” Min added.

“Well I bet 25 that Dad will knock him out!” MK shouted, “there’s no way he’ll lose.”

“And I’ll double that,” Mei joined in after she swallowed the popcorn, “no way pops is losing to an overgrown cat!”

“Get ready to eat your words.”

“The only thing I’ll be eating is some delicious double truffle swirl ice cream with your money.”

“Let’s just see about that.”

(Minsheng soon regretted those words as both Mei and MK happily ate their ice cream alongside a bandaged, but still a very conscious monkey, and a bruised up lion who was contently knocked out.)

“And that should be the last of it,” the eighteen year old boy grinned as he then noticed a violet headband hanging next to a stuffed monkey, “whoops, can’t forget that.” He quickly snatched it up and proceeded to put his hair in a ponytail then began to look around his room.

The room, once filled with clothes spread all over the floor, glow in the dark stars on the ceiling, pictures and posters covering the walls, now laid bare with only a few boxes left to the side filled with them all. MK couldn’t stop the sad grin that formed on his face as he took in the sight of his room-old room, he was going to miss this, but he felt that it was time to move out and try living on his own for a while.

Knock Knock

“Sorry I’m not in right now, leave a message,” he jokingly said despite fully knowing who is on the other side.

The door swung open to reveal Macaque fondly rolling his eyes, “Where’d you get that snark from, I’ll never know.”

“Neither shall I.”

The monkey looked around the room, “so it looks like you're about done, you gonna bring it all over to Pigsy?”

“Most of it, yeah, but I have a separate pile I'm donating or giving to Yan munchkins,” he pointed to a few boxes titled ‘Donations’ and ‘Yanyu Gremlins.’

Mac smirked at the name as he gave a little walk around the bare room and noticed that where the bed used to be was a splatter of red paint and a dent in the wall, “huh, so how did this happen?”

MK froze as he saw what he was looking at and gave a nervous grin, “so remember when Mei was over and we had a bunch of paint for that art project.”

“The one about the deities or the one about nature?”

“Nature, and well remember how you found us covered in paint in here.”

“After I told you to keep it in the kitchen or outside so it won't be too hard to clean up, yes.” He deadpanned.

“And we did at first,” he put a finger up, “buttttt I left some of my materials in my room and it was alot, so Mei followed, but we kinda forgot that we still had wet paint all over us and we began to freak out. One thing led to another and Mei may have accidentally used too much force as she was panicking and let to the dent in the wall, which then made us panic even more, so we had the idea of moving the bed to cover the dent, which worked...except now the covers had paint on it and well....”

“Is how I found the both of you freaking out on the bed covered head to toe in paint,” the monkey snorted.

“In hindsight, we probably should have taken off our shoes before walking inside,” he scratched the back of his neck and sat against the wall opposing the window.

“That would have been a smart idea, took us ages to get it all cleaned,” he smirked as he sat beside him.

The teenager sighed as he looked out the window, “I'm gonna miss this.”

“Pfft, who says you can’t come back?” He playfully ruffled his head, “this isn’t a goodbye, but a see you later, you're always welcomed back home anytime.”

“Even if I screw it up time and time again,” he leaned into the touch.

“Even if you managed to wreck the whole country and have a bounty coming from the heavens that could feed nations for lifetimes,” Mac shot back.

MK laughed at the image, “Havoc in Heaven’s sequel, now with more monkeys.”

“And dragons,” the demon added.

“Mei would kick so much ass.”

“She absolutely would,” he chuckled as he continued to thread his fingers through his son's hair.

It was silent and, like so many times before, the two of them took only comfort from it.

“Dad,” MK quietly began.

“Yes comet.”

“… I’m scared,” he curled up into him, “like super duper scared and I have never left you ever since you saved-,”

“You would have-,” Macaque interjected.

“Saved,” he emphasized, “me and I can never thank you enough for just being there but I really want to do this and I really want to try to do things on my own! But I don’t know why I am so scared-wait I do, but it just so stupid and I can’t believe that I feel this way, cause you won’t just up and leave, but I-,” he stopped as he felt his Dad arms encircle him.

“It’s a scary step and I know change is terrifying, but I am so proud that you want to do this. It will be hard, no doubt, and at times it may seem like the whole world is against you, but know that you still have tomorrow waiting for you. So,” he tilted his son's head, “keep your head held high and look towards the stars, cause that right there is your limit starlight.”

MK smiled at his father's words.

“Also I think you may have forgotten something,” he showed off his six ears fluttering. “I have six ears for a reason, so if you ever need help or just need me, just call and-,”

“You’ll come running,” he grinned as he pushed himself further into the monkey's soft fur.

“And don’t you forget it,” he pushed his face into his son's hair and gave a soft kiss on top.

“I won’t,” he whispered out and clutched onto him tightly as both curled up in content.

#lego monkie kid #monkie kid #mk #macaque #PlumTreeAU

[skyholders]

Kiro: Echoing Date [Translation]

Translations under the cut!

[Section Zero]

I leaned lazily against the balcony, with twinkling snow decorating the night of Christmas Eve. 

Just like last year, Kiro has gone to participate in the “Special Santa Claus Event.”

(Flashback)

“Special Santa Claus Event? Is it the one last year?”

Kiro sat on the wooden floors, surrounded heavily by stacks upon stacks of envelopes.

“It’s a bit different from last year. This time, I’ll be dressed like Santa Claus, and sneakily gift children their presents at night. But it’s still a simple event.”

As he explained, he skimmed through every letter with a deadly focus, his pen circling on the papers from time to time, muttering the names of the children occasionally.

“Aren’t these the letters they’ve sent to ‘Santa Claus?’ Are you reading all of them?”

“Yep, of course. I’ll not be in a live recording room this time. I’ll really be visiting the children’s homes, appear right in front of their eyes.”

“If the children can really meet Santa Claus, even hearing him call them by their names, and allow them to speak their hearts out.. that must be awesome!”

“I don’t know what Santa Claus really looks like, but I feel like I wasn’t good enough last year, probably because it was my first time. So this year, I must be the perfect Santa Claus! It’s just that..”

I didn’t know what he’s thinking about, but he looked at me, his expressions difficult.

“I can’t be with Ms. Chips for Christmas Eve this year.. But I..”

(Flashback ends)

“You’re not really waiting for Santa Claus, are you?”

Suddenly, a playful voice rang in my ear, halting me from all my thoughts.Rui held a cup of milk in her hands, sitting by the side. Though she’s only five years old, she pulls of a sour face with expertly. Her parents are friends in my production studio, and, due to some sudden urgent matters in the office, they’ve handed her to my house, asking me to look after her for a while.

I smiled, waving the sealed envelope in my hand.

“I’ve already received Santa’s present.”

”Near evening, I found a present box on my doorstep, and inside of it there’s a ticket for a concert show, along with a note:“As I’ve said, this is Santa’s first present (?)”

“What Santa Claus.. must be big sister’s boyfriend trying to surprise you or something..”

“There’s no Santa Claus in this world. It’s all a big liar adults like to tell to the kids!”

Rui had a face filled with pride as she said that.

“Rui, it’s ‘lie’.”

My mind’s filled with a certain Santa Claus’ silhouette, and how he’s dashing all over Loveland right now, fulfilling the children’s every whim and dream.I winked at Rui mysteriously,

“Maybe Santa does exist,”

“I won’t beli..”

Before Rui’s finished, a figure appeared right in front of my window, politely knocking on it.

He had a Santa hat on his head, and a fluffy beard covering half of his face. Even with a pair of round-framed glasses, they still couldn’t hide his brilliant sapphire eyes.

I slid the window open, slightly dazed. He jumped down onto my balcony, with snowflakes landing down with him.

“Who’s called my name?”

[Section One]

I looked at the Santa who’s “fallen down from the sky” with a look of surprise. He winked towards me with mischief, and smiled happily towards Rui.

“Hello to you, Rui.”

It was very apparent that Rui was very shocked. She blinked her eyes roughly, as if it’s all dawned on her that he does exist.

“You’re not Santa, must be an actor my mommy and daddy sent over! Why else will you know my name?!”

Kiro rolled his eyes, and kneeled down in front of Rui,

“Because you wrote me a letter!”

“Rui, who’s about to be an elementary student soon, for Christmas, she hopes her father..”

“Stop, stop!”

Before Kiro’s done talking, Rui’s face was completely flushed, her hand holding onto his faux white beard tightly.

“Turns out Rui wrote Santa a letter as well?”

I smiled and looked at Rui from behind Kiro, noticing her shy gaze shifting away. Maybe every kid is similar in some way or the other – they may say that they do not believe in it, and yet there will be a flickering hope inside of their hearts. Excited for a special existence that can help them say out the wishes that they cannot say themselves.

Rui fervently held Kiro’s hand, bouncing about. This is when I realised-In such a freezing night, Kiro’s back is completely soaked, and the well-hidden bungee cord tied to him had revealed themselves. Yet he didn’t seem bothered at all, letting little Rui hold his hand, sneakily using his other hand to hold onto mine.

“Merry Christmas Eve, MC.”

“Merry Christmas Eve, Dear Mr. Santa.”

The soundless blessings surrounded us like the snow outside the window, gentle and calm.

We crowded in the small living room, Kiro sitting on the wooden floor, listening to Rui as she told him stories.

“Santa, can you stay here all night?”

“Mm.. There are still many children waiting for me to give them their presents though..”

“But my friends don’t believe in Santa anyways! It’s okay if you don’t go!”

“Or maybe they’re the same as Rui~”

I sat aside, picking a candy from the trays of candy jars, and handed it for Rui. It was apparent that the little girl felt upset from my words, as she had her head lowered after she took the candy from me.

“Actually, I don’t believe Santa exists either.”

“Liar! You’re Santa Claus! How can you not believe that you exist?”

“Because.. Santa only exists because you believe in him.”

She furrowed her brows, puzzled and confused.

“There are lots of friends like Rui. They’re all very obedient, and they work very very hard to let themselves be the best kid they can be.”

“They believe that there is a Santa Claus, who knows if they’ve been bad or good, and that’s why they keep improving themselves.”

“It’s because you believe truly, that I exist. When I see you working hard, when I see your wishes, I want to reward good children like you.”

“So I’ll fulfill all your wishes today, and gift you presents.”

Kiro tilted his head, and ran his hand across his beard, his sly face almost making me laugh.

“But this is the first time I’ve seen you.. if ever received your presents before, does that mean I was a bad kid?”

Kiro was stunned. He blinked his eyes slowly, the lenses reflecting a face I couldn’t read.

“Actually.. Santa has a little secret, but Rui can’t tell anyone, okay?”

He purposefully lowered his voice, and I leaned in intrigued as well.

“Good children all around the world.. there are too many of them!”

“But Santa’s working hours’ just one Christmas Eve, so even if he runs until his legs break, he’ll not he able to visit every child in the world. So I’m only able to visit some this year, visit the others the next year.. seeing different good children every single year.”

“So to kids, Santa Claus may not appear every year. But if you believe, he’ll keep existing, he’ll always watch over you, thinking about the day he’ll give your present to you.”

“If you work hard on doing the things you want to do, and happily go through each and everyday, and if you’re willing to gift happiness to all of those around you.. maybe he’ll be late, but he’ll definitely appear someday.”

Kiro’s tone was slow, saying every word one by one, his truthfulness beyond compare.

“So when you’ve waited until the moment you receive your present, you should take it without any doubts and worries. Because you’ve been a good kid, you deserve this present, and you’re worthy of many lovely things too.”

Rui speechlessly looked at Kiro, grabbing tight to the corners of her skirt.

“I will try my best to be good!”

“It’s fine even if you don’t visit next year, next next year and the year after that, I’ll keep being good!”

“Thank you Santa Claus!”

She nodded fiercely, like she had made a very important promise. Then she took the tray of candies in front of me, and passed it to Kiro.

“Santa Claus must be tired, this is my present to you! Have some candy!”“But I have not eaten it yet!”

“Big sister will be fine with one.”

Kiro chuckled when he saw the pout on my face. I looked at the candy I’ve unconsciously held in my hand – “Rich Plum Candy”, and then I looked back at the biased child. I ate the candy quickly. The stinging acidity of the plum immediately enveloped my mouth, making my face sour. Under the strong attack of sourness, my tongue somehow managed to taste the mildly sweet aftertaste before became numb.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang.

“It’s now time for Rui’s present.”

Kiro raised his eyebrow towards Rui. As if she’d guessed something, she ran towards the door. My face scrunched up even further. I wanted to take the opportunity to deal with the sour explosion, but as I stood up..

A sudden strength pulled me forward, and I crashed into the blue of an ocean. The warm heat of his breaths swallowed my world, the soft beard tickling the corners of my lips, and in the moment between that I could still see Rui’s silhouette, dashing towards the entrance. The spikes of acidity in my mouth was then stolen away, and only the taste of the sweetness of milk remained. The entire universe, soundless, but heated.

‘Kala---’ The door opened.

[Section two]

There by the entrance stood Rui’s parents, most likely having finished their work earlier than expected, and rushed over here.

The basis of Rui’s wish was very simple, she only wished to celebrate this special, heartfelt day together.

“Wait wait! Where did Santa go?! He hasn’t eaten the candy I gave him!”

...But he did.

I could almost feel Kiro’s warm breaths circling around my face.

“Big sister, why is your face so red?”

I cleared my throat, quickly getting myself together, and pointed towards the window. Rui quickly ran there.

Kiro was already sitting in his sleigh downstairs, surrounded with presents. The soft streetlights embraced the falling snow, and it was as if Christmas Eve’s been blessed with twinkling lights.

“Mr. Santa! Thank you for your present!”

Kiro’s pointing finger reached onto his lips, creating a silent secret in the midst of winter night.

“You haven’t kept my present yet!”

“I’ve received it already!”

His gaze reached me, and he winked mischievously,

“This is the sweetest candy I’ve ever eaten.”

“Return me next time.”

I pulled up my fist, and pretended to threaten him.

“I will.”

“I’ll see you again, Rui.”

After his goodbye to Rui, Kiro’s silhouette slowly faded into the night. And after Rui’s left with her parents, I looked at what was once a crowded, noisy living room, suddenly feeling rather empty. I could almost see the sweat-soaked Santa Claus, ever so energetic and lively in front of all the children, correctly yelling every child’s names.

After a bit of thinking, I took out the concert ticket, put on my coat, and dashed out the door. 

It’s already close to midnight, and so it wasn’t as crowded in the streets. Yet they were still filled with Christmas decors. The bells of reindeers rang, and following the noise, I found the staffs following behind Kiro.

In the night of blessings, there were still plenty of people standing in snow, working hard just to fulfill those innocent and tender dreams.

Savin: “Ms. MC? What brings you here?”

MC: “I’ll just look around, I won’t bother you guys!”

Staff: “Kiro should be out in a while.”

The staffs cut off our brief conversation. After hanging the climbing ropes properly, and parking the sleigh, they hurriedly hid into a dead corner. Kiro skillfully climbed out of the window, and successfully used the ropes to drop himself into the ground. The snowy surface was a bit slippery, and he’d briefly stumbled when he landed, but he readjusted himself, and sat back on the sleigh.Just as a kid tilted his head out of his window towards the sleigh, Kiro posed.

“Thank you Santa Claus!”

“Merry Christmas, CeCe!”

The staffs activated the fixture, letting the sleigh slowly drive itself towards the corner close to the window. After guaranteeing that no children could ever notice them, they quickly rushed towards him.

“Kiro, did you sprain your leg just now?”

“I’m okay! Please don’t be worried!”

He smiled towards everyone as a proof that he’s fine, and requested for the makeup artist to fix up his makeup. The scenario seemed to have repeated itself multiple times that night. I didn’t go up to him, instead, I quietly followed the members of staff, and saw him stepping into the windows, perfectly dressed as the Santa Claus in every child’s hearts.

(MC wasn’t here in the break room yet by the way.)

After the last child’s came out of their homes, they arrived back into the break room, and it was then that Kiro finally sighed in exhaustion. It was already two in the morning.

“Thank you for your hard work. I’ll send you back home, please take a rest then.”

“Mm..”

His words were weary and unclear as he focused on the screen on his phone. He looked troubled.

“I’ll send you home after I’ve said goodbye to them.”

“..Yep.”

The screen stopped at the call button, and yet he couldn’t press onto it.

Suddenly, Kiro’s phone rang.

“MC?! You haven’t slept yet?!”

”“Santa Claus has been working all day long, how can I possibly leave him alone now?”

“Hehe.”

The sweat-soaked beard had sort of stuck onto his chin, and yet it revealed his tired yet satisfied smile.

“Are you done yet?”

“Yup.”

His voice showed a hint of hesitation, as if something hid in the corner of his lips, and yet he didn’t know how to say it.

“Miss Chips..”

“Yep, I’m here.”

“It is really late now, isn’t it?”

“2:06A.M, to be exact.”

“What if I tell you that.. Santa’s work hasn’t ended just yet, because there’s still a present I haven’t gifted yet, but it’s just a bit more special?”

“Will you?”

“I will!”

Kiro was dazed for a moment, before he curled on the couch, leaning towards his phone affectionately.

“I haven’t said anything yet though.”

“I’ll be okay with everything you say.”

“You’re lying. If you aren’t, appear right next to me right now.”

“Alright,”

I tilted my head from the reindeer decor right outside of the break room’s door, smiling proudly at the now surprised Kiro.

“So, which child needs a reindeer pixie to help them grant their wish?”

Kiro’s eyes widened in a delightful shock, and he rushed to close the door immediately, and pulled me into his arms.

“Slowly..”

“Your hands are freezing, how long have you been out there?”

“Ten minutes?”

“I am Santa Claus, so I can tell if you’re lying or not.”

“What about the ankle that Santa’s strained, does that count as a lie as well?”He paused for a while, gazing into my eyes as he smiled helplessly.“

Still running about all over when you’ve strained your ankle, it must be swollen now. 

“Does it hurt?”

“Hurts.”

It was uncommon for Kiro to admit that he’s hurt. He laid his head gently on top of mine,

“Let’s go home, I’ll tend to the wound..”

“But Santa Claus hasn’t gotten off of work yet, and his first gift hasn’t even been sent.”

Kiro looked at me pleadingly, as if he was begging, his eyes hidden with stubbornness. I knew I couldn’t possibly reject him.

“We must give you some medicines the first thing after you get home, okay?”

“Yes miss!”

Kiro giddily left Gavin a message, and together, we stuck out of the break room.

Kiro brought me to an empty snowy ground. It was already late into the night, and there wasn’t any street lights nearby. There were buildings hiding secretly in the dark.

As we followed along the path, I saw that in the middle of the snow, there was a piano.

“It’s right here.. I think The Intelligent Miss Chips has brought her concert ticket with her, hasn’t she?”

Still in his Santa costume, he bowed in front of me. I passed him the concert ticket he’s prepared for me a long while ago.

“And that’s the end of the ticket inspection. Let’s welcome my only audience in.”

He bowed to me once more, gestured at me to remain where I was, and turned towards the piano. It was then when the winds have quieted away, as if the whole of the night has been waiting for this special performance.

When Kiro pressed down onto the first key, a rainbow light in the shape of a firework decorated the sky from afar, creating a scene of floating snowflakes.

“I’m dedicating this performance to the one and only MC.”

The sound of gentle piano spilled, and in the seating tenderness of the night, a big Christmas tree was lighted up. Following his rhythm, an adorable reindeer decor yawned as it sprawled by the Christmas tree. Layers upon layers of technicolour light danced along the melody.

It was as if the world was a dark curtain, and, under Kiro’s commands, it’d turned into a wonderland that’s utterly otherworldly. As it followed the fall of a note, the world darkened once more.

In a split second, the flowing melody danced under his fingertips, and as they danced in fervency, the fireworks-like light display froze on the backdrop of cascading snow. The whole seemed to have shrunk, with only the small colourfully bright space and I, and my Santa Claus in the downpour of snow, sitting in front of the piano, orchestrating a performance just for me.

I didn’t know when the piano stopped, but Kiro slowly walked towards me, and became the only light against a dark backdrop, clean and bright, like if you’ve collected every wonder in the world.

“Merry Christmas, MC.”

[Section Three]

When we’ve returned home, the entire house was dark.

“Wait, the doorway-”

Before I’ve finished saying anything, Kiro had already tripped and fallen onto the floor.

Regretting and complaining about the way I’ve placed the decors, I switched the lights on.

Kiro sat on the floor l baffled, looking at the stacks upon rows of presents in the living room, trying to process everything. I smiled and sat by Kiro’s side, taking away the heard he’s worn for the entire night.

“Santa Claus has worked hard. But now it’s time for him to receive presents instead.”

Slightly frazzled, his empty hands didn’t know where to place themselves.

“When did you prepare all this..”

“Probably when you’re writing songs for the piano?”

“If that’s true, we’re quite in sync.”

He smiled casually, holding my arms as he held me into an embrace.

“Alright, I’ve gotten my present.”

His voice was content and gentle, as if he’s owned the world’s most precious treasure in the entire universe.

“This present won’t run away, so look at the other presents first – while you’re doing that, let me deal with your ankle.”

As he was waiting for me to get the first aid kit and return to the living room, Kiro was leaning against the sofa cushion, opening presents fervently. Part of those presents were gifted from the children who’d written to Santa.

“What about Santa Claus?” – When I’ve heard a child saying this, I suddenly thought of this ‘Special Present’. The children who were gifted presents, have presents to gift to Santa as well.. of course, that was the one thing being kept a secret.

Looking at Kiro’s ankle, so swollen it was almost incomprehensible, I quickly dabbed ointment on it carefully. I felt a bit heartbroken yet there was an odd sense of pride there as well.

“Don’t frown like that, Miss Chips! This is just..”

“A superhero badge?”

Kiro skilled gleefully, and pulled me to his side once more.

“Miss Chips, there are some kids who’d written me letters. He said, ‘Santa Claus is the greatest, most handsome person in the world, I want to be just like Santa!”

His eyes were red with exhaustion, but it couldn’t contain all of his light, like a full moon hanging above a deep blue sea, and unspoken sort of happiness.

“Whoa! It’s a new collection card! And a cute little plush..”

“..Worried that Santa’s hair will turn too white, so they’ve gifted me a black crayon?”

He excitedly unwrapped every present of every size, filled with everything imaginable, all of them the most heartfelt gift of every child. Just like how Kiro’s given his all to experience every child’s biggest wish, the children’s responded in kind as well. Like every echo in the world has settled themselves in front of Kiro.

Snow fell lightly outside of the windows, the tree we’ve picked last year stood brightly in the night, a proof of the unspoken time that’s passed between us.

Kiro was suddenly at a loss for words, careful and a bit panicked.

“-‘When you’ve come to a time to receive presents, just take them. You’re worthy of this present, deserving of many lovely things, too.”

“It’s Miss Chips who told me all of that.”

“..But I don’t remember ever saying it.”

“Some words don’t have to be said.”

“I’ve told you last year, that when I was little, I didn’t believe in Santa Claus at all. He’s never appeared, never given me any presents. Actually.. it isn’t like that.”

He held onto the little teddy bear in his hands, his head relaxed on top of mine.

“For me then, Santa Claus.. “Cannot exist.” Because it’s the only way that I could prove to myself that I wasn’t a bad child. Not a.. hated child.”

I held his hand lightly, his fingertips intertwined with mine.

“But then I realise later that Santa Claus does exist. It’s even been right by my side.”

“She is my wish itself, and she kept giving me gifts as well. Yet when I receive her presents, not only do I feel happy, I feel scared, too.”

“Why?”

“..Worried that I myself might not be worthy enough for this present.”

I wanted to tell him he’s wrong, but I did not, because I knew that he had more to say.

“Miss Chips, loving yourself is such a hard thing..”

“I always think that I’m not good enough, always wanting to do better, and better than that.”

“You’re already more than enough.”

He rubbed against my head tenderly.

“In front of you, I can always see the sides of me that I’ve never noticed myself.”

“The Kiro in front of Miss Chips actually looks like this.. Kiro will even do this and that, and it really looks like he can do many awesome things. In all actuality, Kiro.. he’s better than he thinks he is.”

His head tilted, his eyes gazing into mine.

“Because of you, I find myself loving myself bit by bit. Because I’m your choice.”

Kiro held my hand tightly, it’s almost like this was the first time he’s told me the answers in his heart with such honesty and sincerity.

“In my heart, you’ll always be the best Kiro there is.”

“And I’ll be an even better Kiro than the best Kiro.”

He lowered his head, resting close to my lips.

Those precious words followed his warm puffs of air and landed right into me, structuring my own breathing, flowing into the depths of my heart and lungs.

“So, my Santa will always look at me, and gift me gifts everyday of every year, right?”

“Doesn’t Santa only work during Christmas Eve?”

“It’s okay. My Santa MC only belongs to me.”

“When you’re here, everyday is a day where I receive a present.”

[END]

Hope you’ve enjoyed. Stay safe, and have a pleasant day!

-Shio

#mlqc #mlqc spoilers #mr love queens choice #zhou qiluo #mlqc kiro #mr love #mlqc translation

[ragingbookdragon]

The Christmas Cookie War

A Connor Kenway x Reader One-Shot

Word Count: 1,720 Warnings: None

Author’s Note: Aye! Day 14 of the Christmas fics! Bake some cookies this season! -Thorne

          Connor was sneaky. Which was good when it came to his career as an Assassin. On the rare times that she’d actually seen him in action, she was utterly blown away at how such a heavily built person could move with such stillness. She’d watched him take down every soldier in the fort within minutes, and not a single alarm bell had been rung, nor did any soldier see or hear him coming—he was a master hunter, and she was proud that he used his skills for the better. That being said, Connor had a streak of using his skills for the worse.

***

           She glared at him for what seemed like the millionth time and pointed to the doorway.

           “Out with you,” she commanded. “You’re not allowed to put one foot in this kitchen until I tell you to.”

           Connor shifted his weight between his feet, standing just outside the entrance to the kitchen. “But (Y/N),” he whined. “The cookies.” His eyes shifted to the tray she was about to put on the rack at the fireplace.

           Shaking her head, she denounced, “But nothing, Ratonhnhaké:ton. If everyone else has to wait for the cookies to be made, baked, and cooled, then so do you.”

           She narrowed her gaze and shoved the wooden spoon in his face. “If I catch you in here again, I will welt your hands black and blue.”

           He met her stare head-on and she could see him internally mulling the pros and cons over before his amber eyes flashed with indignation, and she knew he was taking it as a personal challenge.

           Connor conceded and tipped his head down. “As you wish, (Y/N).” He stood back up and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?”

           Huffing, she remarked “I know what you’re doing Ratonhnhaké:ton.” She spun on her heel and marched over to the table. “Please take this in the nicest way possible, my beloved,” (Y/N) met his gaze and hissed, “Get lost.”

           A growl sounded from his throat, but he turned and stalked off, the door slamming, signaling his exit. With satisfaction, she turned back to the bowl of flour on the first side table, watching as he walked past the window outside, glaring at her; she stuck her tongue out at him. Let the games begin.

***

           The entire house smelled like one giant, mouthwatering concoction of every dessert ever made, and on more than one occasion, Achilles had drifted in to see what she was making for the Christmas party. Happy knowing that it all smelled wonderful, she’d showed him the trays of cookies and pies, managing to ease his dislike of the giant mess along the table with a promise of cleaning later. He complimented her on the outcomes of each dessert, especially the chocolate chip snickerdoodles she’d made—which also happened to be the cookies that Connor was hellbent on snatching from her.

           Achilles wiped his mouth on the handkerchief he carried and nodded his head. “Those are excellent, (Y/N). Sweet, but not overpoweringly so.”

           A warmth grew on her cheeks at the praise, because she knew that the old man wasn’t one to give it unless truly deserved—and even then, it was hard to get it out of him.

           “Thank you, Achilles.” She murmured, turning her gaze to the crackling fireplace, a tray of apple pies baking to perfection.

           “Has Connor come in yet?” he asked, humor in his tone.

           (Y/N) tossed a glare over her shoulder. “Oh, he definitely has. Twice.” She scanned the kitchen, craning her neck to see into the dining room—he wasn’t in there. “I’m waiting for him to try again.”

           The old man leaned on his cane, umber eyes regarding her with an amusing look. “You think he will?”

           She scoffed and flattened the dough with a rolling pin. “I’d bet my last pound he will. The only thing bigger than his heart is his sweet tooth.” She paused and pointed the pin at him. “Mark my words, he’ll die by sugar coma if he doesn’t keel over of old age first.”

           Achilles simply snorted and the rapping of his cane against the hardwood floor left her alone in the kitchen.

           (Y/N) grabbed one of the cookie cutters and began cutting out the shapes of little men. With a smile, she placed them on the tray and switched them out for the pies that were done. Setting the pies aside, she swiftly turned and looked around, eyes narrowing with suspicion.

           She grabbed the wooden spoon and walked to the entrance of the kitchen, sticking her head into the entryway. It was clear, and a quick glance to the hallway showed a spotless center as well—still, it didn’t ease the wariness and she moved back into the kitchen.

           “I know you’re in here, Ratonhnhaké:ton.” (Y/N) walked to the dining room. “Let me catch you with a cookie,” she warned. “I’ll break a finger.”

           Grabbing the handles of the dining room doors, she swung them shut and with a click, she locked the doors. Only one way in and out. She thought with a smug smile.

           Though something felt off, she set the feeling aside and focused on the rest of the desserts, knowing that she had only a couple more hours until the Christmas party—she had to finish early.

           As she passed by the clothed table, she paused and scanned the surface, satisfied that nothing had been touched. (Y/N) yanked the cookbook over to her and leaned over, reading over the recipe.

           “Now let’s see…what were those treats that Father Timothy wanted?” she ran a finger down the page. “Sugar plums! That was it.” Her eyes drifted around the kitchen. “Do we even have any plums?”

           Frowning, she checked the baskets in the corner of the kitchen, standing on her tippytoes as she looked in. She rummaged around a bit, then smiled as she found a bag of them.

           “Here we go—” a thump sounded behind her and she whirled around, surveying the kitchen. She ran to the table and examined each tray until she came across the chocolate chip snickerdoodles—one of them was gone.

           A growl escaped her, and she ran to the entryway, glancing in both directions. “Where are you!” she yelled. “I know you were in here!” (Y/N) ran through the hall to Achilles’s study, glowering inside.

           The old man cocked a salt and pepper brow at her, but said nothing and she turned, sprinting up the stairs to check the bedrooms and galleries. Still, they were empty, and by the time she returned to the kitchen, she was about to tear her hair out. (Y/N) made thirty of those cookies—eight were missing.

           “Ratonhnhaké:ton!” she screeched. “When I get my hands on you, I’m gonna—I’m gonna—I’m—ARGH!” Snarling, she slammed her heel into the ground. “I am going to make you a sorry man.”

           (Y/N) sat down at the table and put her head in her hands, silently simmering with unbridled rage. Impulsively, she kicked out her legs and upon feeling her foot brush something she went still, suddenly calm.

           She placed her hands flat on the table and seethed, “Are you underneath this table?”

           A moment of silence passed, then she heard a quiet, “I love you, (Y/N).”

           She leaned down and raised the tablecloth, staring into Connor’s wide eyes. The smile she gave him sent shivers up his spine and warning bells in his brain.

           “I love you too, Ratonhnhaké:ton,” she said sweetly.

           He swallowed thickly. “You—you do?” he questioned warily.

           (Y/N) nodded. “I do.” Her face contorted from the kindness he loved to a wrath he’d never seen before nor wanted to see again. “But you have five seconds to run or I’m—”

           She didn’t even get to finish her threat and he was scrambling madly from beneath the table, her clambering off the bench after him. She’d never heard Connor scream before, but the howl of terror that left him as he sprinted from the kitchen to the stairs told her he was in a state of pure fear.

           “COME BACK HERE!” she fumed.

           Connor gave a cry as he stood behind the stair railings, her glowering at him from the top step. “FORGIVE ME (Y/N)!”

           If she’d been a cat, she would’ve hissed at him. “I’m gonna forgive you when I kick your butt!” As she set foot on the second floor, he turned on his heel and leaped over the railing to the back door.

           (Y/N)’s eyes went wide, and she ran to the railing, staring down at him. “Don’t you dare,” she growled, and he smirked at her before disappearing into the kitchen, returning moments later with the tray of cookies.

           “Put. Those. Back.” She demanded and he raised one to his mouth and took a bite.

           “You have outdone yourself Otsi’tsa. They taste fantastic.” He replied before shoving the rest of the cookie into his mouth and fumbling behind him for the doorknob.

           She glared at him as he pulled the door open and started backwards outside. “You’re a dead man when you come back tonight.”

           Connor shrugged. “I have lived off the land all my life.” He met her gaze and retorted, “Who says I cannot do it tonight?”

           (Y/N) placed her hands on the railings and leaned over. “Oh beloved, you’re gonna be doing it for a week after this little stunt.”

           “We shall see,” he winked.

           Sensing that her threats were falling on deaf ears, she stood straight and glared down her nose at him. “Come back tonight then. I dare you.” Connor chuckled and disappeared outside, leaving her to fume.

           A silence entered the manor, then she heard from the stairwell, “That was your fault for not checking under the table.” Her face pinched at Achilles’s quip, then a devious idea came across her.

           “Achilles, do we have any beet roots?” she asked.

           “Probably in the baskets.” He went quiet. “Why?”

           His question was hesitant and (Y/N) grinned evilly. “Rule number one of starting a war, Achilles. Don’t leave your gear where the enemy can find it.”

           She walked down the stairs and smiled at him. “I think Ratonhnhaké:ton will look absolutely wonderful in pink robes, don’t you agree?” He simply sighed in return.

#connor kenway x reader #connor kenway x reader imagine #connor kenway x reader imagines #connor kenway imagine #connor kenway imagines #connor kenway #ratonhnhaké:ton #ac3 #ac3 imagine #ac3 imagines #assassins creed 3 #assassins creed 3 imagines #assassins creed 3 imagine #ac imagines #ac imagine #assassins creed imagine #assassins creed imagines #achilles davenport

[jesuschristtakethewheel]

Plums and Chocolate

Pairing: Bucky x Natasha (BuckyNat)

Warnings: playful violence, some angst, mostly fluff

Word Count: ~1060

Summary: A look into the domestic life of Bucky and Natasha after they retire from SHIELD and being assassins. Natasha wants pancakes and Bucky is a sap (but a competitive one).

A/N: This is for @kumeko​ in @trekkingaroundasgardsevents​ Secret Santa 2020! I hope you enjoy!!

She always looked gorgeous. From the perfection of her hair - never a single strand out of place - to her toes, painted blood red and covered with stylish boots that always held her most precious weapon: an all-black dagger with a leather handle and an engraving of a blood drop. It was both a reminder of her past and a warning for her future. 

From the beginning, Natasha had to be a weapon to survive; first growing up in the Red Room, getting transferred to Hydra, then working for Shield. She couldn’t let herself be anything less than perfect - than the best of the best - not without disastrous consequences. She still had the scars from her mistakes.

So she always projected confidence. She portrayed strength. She embodied perfection. And she never let anyone else believe otherwise. To do so would mean certain death. Unless she was with him. 

Bucky had no expectations of her. She didn’t have to be strong around him. She didn’t have to scare him or fear him or be perfect. She could just be Natasha and he could just be Bucky. Two assassins, both created and feared by a terrorist organization, linked by the legendary Captain America, able to bond over shared trauma while believing, inexplicably, in the good that people possess, couldn’t have the happily ever after that everyone else could. They had to pay - in blood, sweat, and tears - to leave their pasts behind. 

And Natasha knew that leaving everything behind was the best decision she had ever made. 

__________

Natasha was sprawled over the bed, the sun illuminating her face as she slept. Her vibrant red hair lay messy on her pillow, and although she wasn’t wearing any makeup and was sleeping in baggy pyjamas, snoring slightly, Bucky thought that she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. He knew that every pound of blood, sweat, and tears it took to get to have this - her - was worth it. Rolling to the side of the bed, Bucky felt around for his obnoxiously bright pink slippers decorated with hearts - a gift from Tony. He leaned over Natasha as he stood up, pressing a lingering kiss to her cheek, and took a moment to smile softly at his wife. 

Padding softly to the kitchen, Bucky tied up his hair into a messy bun and put on his neon green apron with ‘Kiss the Cook’ in purple embroidered on it - another gift from Tony. Bucky put on the radio to the quietest setting and started getting out ingredients of the fridge. Slightly swaying his hips to the beat, Bucky turned his head over his shoulder and grinned when he felt two hands on his hips. He carried the eggs with one hand, and with the other, took Natasha’s hand and spun her around, cheesily whispering, “All I want for Christmas is you” in time to Mariah Carey on the radio.

He was met with a light punch to the shoulder - Natasha was getting soft in her retirement years - and a box of flour in front of him. He knew what she was asking for, even if she didn’t say it.

“Pancakes or waffles?” His voice was hoarse as he spoke, shattering the domestic scene they were in with his sudden question. But seeing Natasha in fluffy socks and his oversized hoodie, sweater paws even with the sleeves rolled up, filled something in him that he didn’t know was missing before he met her and soothed the panic of facing reality.

She swept her hair into a braid, nimble hands weaving through her hair, just like she did for him most mornings. “Pancakes? I’ll get the chocolate chips and the plums -”

“Even though plums are gross?” 

“Even though plums are gross,” Natasha said fondly. Bucky scowled, his eyebrow raised, but knew she was just teasing him. It definitely wasn’t weird to have stashes of plums around the house, no matter what she said.

They cooked in perfect harmony - moving around the other in a dance so synchronized that it could only be achieved from knowing your partner’s thoughts and actions before they did. The only noises that could be heard were the sizzling of the frying pan, the rhythmic chopping of plums, and the radio playing gently in the background. 

Taking the plates of pancakes, along with honey (which obviously went well with plums) and chocolate syrup (Natasha would never admit her sweet tooth to anyone else), Natasha and Bucky opened the door to their backyard, setting the plates down on a table while they went back for their drinks - hot chocolate with marshmallows for Natasha and coffee filled with cream and sugar for Bucky. 

Bucky noticed when Natasha started to shiver, pulling her chair closer, and playfully bumped her shoulder. “Need a blanket?” His voice was steady and quiet, not taking away from the cacophony of bird songs they had been listening to.

Natasha smiled and shook her head, leaning into Bucky’s warmth. She didn’t need to say anything. Once again, Bucky the husband became Bucky the blanket but he definitely wasn’t complaining.

They sat there for hours, sipping their hot drinks and listening to birds chirping, enjoying the tranquility of their lives while spending time with each other, knowing that they deserved both each other and the escape from violence.

__________

Natasha didn’t want to move. She felt like a cat in the sunlight - content with curling up in the middle of the room (or with a very warm husband) and taking a nap - but she had finished her hot chocolate and she didn’t want to sleep outside, no matter how comfortable Bucky’s shoulders were. 

Alas, responsibilities arose and she stood up, pressing a quick kiss on Bucky’s cheek. “Wanna wash? I’ll dry.” She gave him the most over-exaggerated puppy eyed look she could, batting her eyelashes. 

“Race you? Winner dries.” 

A slow smile spread on Natasha’s face. She wasn’t the best for nothing. “You’re on.” 

No one would ever say Natasha and Bucky were sane or had good ideas. This one, particularly, ended up with two broken plates, a fork lodged in the sofa, a broken nose, and the honey bottle in the upstairs bathroom. To this day, no one asks about the bet - and no one lived to tell about it (to make a long story short… Bucky tripped)

__________

My main masterlist is here. Please comment/like/reblog and tell me what you think!!

#marvel #natasha x bucky #natasha romanoff x bucky barnes #avengers #cute #fluffy #angst #secret santa exchange 2020 #my writing #natbucky

[carelessgraces]

𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐝𝐝𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐜 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐧𝐨𝐧𝐬.

1. What does your muse smell like?

her hair smells like honey. she’s been using the same shampoo and conditioner for ages, and it’s all a honey scent. sometimes, she’ll add argan oil for the curls, but she rarely uses any other kind of product in her hair — no gel or spray, and she doesn’t dye her hair normally. her skin smells like plum, vanilla, and bergamot — it’s nothing overwhelming, she doesn’t wear body sprays or perfumes, but that’s the scent of her soap and her lotion. the smell is dark and a little sweet and a little sharp, and at first it seems like a berry scent, but that’s the plum. her deodorant is scented like bergamot, too, so it’s all compatible. 

2. What do your muse’s hands feel like?

her hands are soft, mostly. she used to have callouses on her fingers from playing violin when she was young, but those have healed. she has long fingers — nothing too notable, but she has nice hands overall. she’s got a very, very strong grip. she’s not accustomed to physical labor and it’s fairly obvious when you touch her hands; she does, however, have some little scars across her palms and fingers, the sort of teeny tiny wear-n-tear scars you get from doing experimental magic that occasionally leaves a mark. 

3. What does your muse usually eat in a day?

she starts the day with fruit and something sweet — a pastry, a bread of some kind, something decadent — and a cup of coffee. for everything else it’s a largely mediterranean diet. lots of fish and white meat, red meat no more than once a week; lots of whole grains, a fair amount of pasta and rice; a lot of vegetables. when she’s in ireland after being gone for a long time, she’ll get fish and chips to sort of settle in and remind herself that she’s home. in terms of alcohol: she prefers her wines italian and her whiskeys irish. wine at least once a day with a meal; irish coffee on the weekends. she has a sweet tooth, and she indulges on days when she’s worked out more than usual, so it can balance out a bit. 

4. Does your muse have a good singing voice?

i mean, it’s fine. you won’t cringe listening to her sing along to the radio. she's a mezzo, and she sang in a few school choirs and had related voice lessons. she has a perfectly nice and largely unremarkable voice. if she gets training, she’d be lovely, and you can hear that she has the potential for it, but it’s never been something she’s been interested in, beyond putting on one-woman shows while driving a long distance with a broadway soundtrack on her spotify. 

5. Does your muse have any bad habits or nervous ticks?

when she’s very nervous or stressed she scratches at her palms. she typically only smokes when she’s drunk, but when she’s freaking out she chainsmokes and then she won’t touch a cigarette for months. ( this is only in her witch verse, or a verse where she can heal quickly — and in her lawyer verse, where she doesn’t care quite so much. ) she also has a habit of touching her own face that she doesn’t often notice.

6. What does your muse usually look like / wear?

she’s very well put together. for astoria, sartorial choices carry as much weight as anything else; her job is to manipulate perception, and your clothes are the first way to do that. she wears a lot of darker colors and neutrals, occasionally with a pop of color. sometimes heels, but most often boots with a lower and thicker heel. close-fitting clothes, often in layers. her clothes are well-made but not flashy, unless she wants to draw attention, and when she does want to draw attention she does it with contrasts: dark fabrics against her skin with a fair amount of skin showing, dark lace on a very light fabric, something form-fitting. if she goes for bright colors, then she likes contrasting colors that catch the eye. if she’s at home with a partner, then it’s usually just a tank top and jeans, or a hoodie and shorts. her hair is usually down, most often curly or wavy. if she wears makeup, she prefers a subtle eyeliner and a bold red lip. 

7. Is your muse affectionate?  How much?  How so?

with her pets — unquestionably. astoria would be happy to spend the entire day cuddled up with the cats, giving them kisses and telling them they’re perfect. beyond that — she’s fairly physical in her affection. she’s a very tactile person. she’ll hold hands with her friends, she loves being tucked up against a lover’s side or putting her hand in their pocket while they walk, she hugs her family often. with a lover, she’s very often touching them somehow; she’ll play with their hair, kiss them, adjust their clothes, little things. she likes holding hands because she’s a sap but it’s not often feasible, given that she needs her hands for work or for magic. she loves sitting with some part of her draped over a lover — her legs across their lap, her body leaned against theirs, whatever she can manage. she just likes being touched. with that said, when a stranger or someone who feels threatening puts their hands on her, she very often tries to put space between them. 

8. What position does your muse sleep in?

curled up and wrapped around the nearest living thing. when she sleeps with someone, she can put a wall of pillows between them and somehow, in her sleep, she’ll end up with her head on their shoulder or chest and her arm thrown across them. she likes being the little spoon because she’s short. if she sleeps alone, then the cats are with her, and she’s got one cat curled up against her stomach under the covers, and the other on the pillow next to her, and she’s petting both of them. if the cats can’t go where they usually do, because there’s a person there, then they tend to sleep on top of her, stretched out over her hip, or right behind her head on the pillow.

9. Could you hear your muse in the hallway from another room?

eh. depends. if she’s trying to avoid detection, absolutely not. if she doesn’t mind, then yeah, probably; she’ll hum to herself, she’ll talk to the cats, her shoes often click on the floor. it all depends on whether or not she wants her presence known. 

Tagged by: @starweald & @urobouris, angels whom i love

Tagging: @shieldrevive / @mercyburned ( for sahar & margo ) / @kcrclrezni / @shesacred / @murdcck

#i. she had a marvelous time ruining everything. ( about ) #( queue )

[yahboobeh]

Metanoia chapter 2

A collaboration with @weaponsmistress​

AO3 | FFN | Insta

"And it falls and it breaks and it turns into something new" - Why can't we be friends? The Academic

She was 11 the first time she saw him. Gai had sent Lee and Tenten into town to pick up some food. Hyuuga Neji had walked past them with purpose as if he knew exactly how high above everyone else he was.

He stuck out like a sore thumb, as every Hyuuga did. His skin was pale, almost like milk, and his eyes were the most peculiar shade of lavender that Tenten had ever seen. Despite likely having been born on the island, he dressed like a foreigner, wrapped in the silk robes that were popular on the mainland.

"Is that a Hyuuga?" asked Lee.

"Yeah. I wonder what he's doing here."

Lee shrugged.

"Probably shopping, like everyone else."

"Don't they have servants for that?"

"Maybe he wanted some fresh air?"

Tenten crossed her arms.

"Do you always have to find the good in everyone?"

Lee shifted the basket of plums he was carrying from one arm to the other, weighing his thoughts before responding.

"There is good in everyone, Tenten."

Tenten looked over at the sweets stand and started walking. The stand was stuffed with cakes, dumplings, and every manner of pastry she knew. Her eyes fell on the skewers of candied fruits. Tenten stuck her hand in her pocket and counted the remaining coins.

"Should we split something?" she asked, pointing towards the fruit.

Lee nodded, before continuing on the lecture that he'd, no doubt, memorized from their father's ramblings.

"You need to take a closer look at people to find the good!"

Tenten paid, grabbed her sweet, and chewed on the first piece of fruit before passing it to Lee.

They took their time walking down the street, enjoying each bite when Neji walked past again. Lee elbowed her, and she looked up.

"What do you see?"

Tenten chewed, considering her answer while she took in every detail of him.

"I see a stuck up rich kid," she finally said, swallowing her snack.

Lee frowned.

"I think he looks sad."

Tenten rolled her eyes, sticking the empty skewer into her basket.

"What could he possibly have to be sad about?"

"I'm not sure," said Lee, "but there's good hidden under it."

Three years later, as Tenten sat across from Neji in their sitting room, she still thought he looked like a stuck up rich kid. It had been a month since the last inspection, and, much to everyone's relief, Tenten had stayed home without putting up a fight.

She crossed her arms and legs, bouncing her foot impatiently while the older Hyuuga instructed Neji as they ran down their checklist.

Gai had set a tea tray down on the table in front of them. Lee had eagerly joined him in pouring and handing out cups.

"How are you enjoying your new accommodations?" Neji asked, looking up from his notebook.

"They are lovely," said Gai, "we still have a lot of work to do, but with the general's permission, I would like to have the school ready to go by spring."

Neji nodded and added to his notes, pausing only for a drink of tea.

Tenten ran her thumbnail over the chip in her cup, feeling frustrated.

"Will our people be allowed to train here?"

Neji met her gaze and shrugged as if she'd asked him about the weather.

"It's unlikely."

"So, we're just supposed to train the enemy?"

"Tenten," Gai warned.

Neji put his tea down and turned his full attention to her. His back was straight, and his eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you are expected to train members of my family. And you will do so gladly."

Tenten clenched the arm of her chair with her free hand, trying to keep her mouth shut.

"You will do this," continued Neji, "and will cease to refer to my family as the enemy. That type of language is prohibited."

Tenten put down her cup and stood up.

"You and your family are my enemies," she spat.

Neji sighed, setting his tea down too. He moved to stand. Tenten turned her back to him and stormed out of the room.

She could hear Neji's voice, soft, casual, privileged.

"Maito Gai, where are her rooms?"

Tenten stopped dead in her tracks. Her stomach sank as she waited for Gai's answer.

"In the upper quarter, on the east side. Lee will show you."

"Thank you."

Tenten remained frozen in place as Lee guided Neji and Hoheto towards the back of the compound. As he passed, Tenten heard Neji whisper to her.

"Learn your place." And then they were gone. She felt Gai behind her as she fought back angry tears.

"Why would you do that, baba?"

"You left me no choice, Tenten."

"But my room?"

"Your room has been searched before, Tenten, and it will be searched again. Hoheto rarely ever checks as he trusts us. Neji does not yet trust us and, and you are making it more difficult."

"Why should he trust us? And why do you trust them?"

"What choice do we have, Tenten?" She felt the weight of his arm on her shoulder. "This is what our lives look like now."

"I hate it."

"I know, but we need to make the best of this situation. If you want me to train more than just Hyuuga children, we need to form a positive relationship with Neji. If we are seen as an asset instead of a threat, then presenting that idea will be met with less resistance."

Both were quiet for a moment before Gai continued.

"I know you're hurting. We're all hurting, sweetheart, but in order to heal, you will need to learn to let go of your anger. What happened to us was not Neji's doing."

"If he is complacent, then how is he any better?"

"Because he and Hoheto are doing what they need to survive. And surviving is much easier if we are all amicable towards each other."

Tenten turned around, still unable to meet Gai's eyes, and buried her face into his chest, hugging him around the waist. He stroked her back and hair whispering soothing words.

"I'm sorry, Tenten. I know you feel like your space is being violated, but it will be over soon."

She wept silently into his shirt while, across the compound, her room was turned over.

--

Neji sat at his desk, looking down at his scant notes about the Maito family.

The search of Tenten's room had turned up nothing unusual. Even the journal she'd tucked under her mattress lacked anything substantial. It would barely be worth mentioning, except that Hoheto pointed out that her behavior would have to be noted this time.

Neji sighed. There were plenty of families in town that were much more suspicious but still provided less resistance than Tenten.

She'd written about him in her journal. It was nothing unexpected, just a recounting of their first meeting (she'd called him a few choice words) and the dread of having to see him again.

Initially, Neji wanted to write down every detail of her behavior and confiscate her journal, but Hoheto had advised against it.

"She is hurting very deeply," Hoheto cautioned, "it would be best if you two could learn not to challenge each other."

"She needs to learn to respect me," Neji had retorted.

"Ah, but Neji, respect must be earned."

And so, when Neji wrote his notes, he carefully stated that the Maito family was amicable and looking forward to training the Hyuuga. He briefly mentioned that Tenten had been upset about the prospect, but a search of her room showed nothing suspicious.

She is likely struggling with her new station and curious as to why we have chosen to work with her father.

Neji wrote down a few more notes before setting down his brush. He stretched out his back and waited for the ink to dry.

Neji wondered what his father might have done in his place. He thought a lot about the advice his father might have been able to give, had he still been alive.

But having lost him at such a young age, the advice of Hyuuga Hizashi was sparse, and often Neji thought it was a miracle he could remember his face.

He would probably say the same things as Hoheto, Neji thought. But he also liked to imagine that Hizashi wouldn't be as complacent as Hoheto. That being the brother of a general, he would speak up when Hiashi overstepped his boundaries. There was a faint memory of a tattoo under a headband, marring the skin of his father's forehead. Neji never knew why it was there, only that his father was ashamed of it. He knew it was a punishment, just not for what, and so as a child he'd imagined it was for acting righteously.

Someday he would find out if that was the truth.

There was a knock at the door.

"Yes?"

The door popped open, revealing Hoheto.

"Have you finished preparing your report?"

Neji nodded and stood up, grabbing the notebook. He handed it to Hoheto, who checked it over.

"Good. This is well done, especially the part about Maito Tenten."

"Why do we go through such lengths to protect them?"

"You should know, Neji, a happy village is a peaceful village. If we toss people into jail cells for every outburst, we'll have another rebellion on our hands before we know it."

"So that's our job? Not just to seek out any plots, but to discourage them from happening at all?"

"Now, you are beginning to understand. This is why you must make Tenten earn your respect. People talk. She has a fiery personality. It won't be long before people learn about your argument and subsequent search of her room. She may have been in the wrong, but her people will always side with her."

Hoheto handed Neji back the notebook, with a slight bow.

"Now, if you are ready, your uncle is prepared to hear your report."

--

Tenten laid back in the sand, relishing in the heat from the sun. She'd waited for Neji to leave the compound before shutting herself in her room to make sure nothing was out of place. But she could still imagine him in her space, pawing through drawers and her closet, seeking out anything that he could label as suspicious. Tenten stood in the center of her room and looked around. He could have trashed it if he'd wanted to, but nothing was out of place. It made her feel sick. If he'd come through in a blind rage and knocked things over and emptied drawers, she would have had something concrete against him. She would have been able to look at Gai and say, "See? This is what happens!"

But her room was exactly as she'd left it.

Tenten grabbed her bag and left, needing distance from Neji. She stocked up with snacks and allowed herself to be seen by Gai as she left.

She spent the rest of the day there, only returning home after it was dark, and she was cold.

When she fell into bed, Tenten was too weary to give much thought to the earlier search, and for that, she was grateful.

--

When Neji arrived for the next inspection, Gai met them at the gate.

"If I may be so bold, Hyuuga Neji, Hyuuga Hoheto," he said with a bow, "Tenten has promised me today she will behave. I ask only that you recognize she has a tendency to challenge authority. We have been working on that with her daily prayers and meditations."

It was a warning, a plea. Please don't antagonize her.

"I am glad to hear she finds herself in better spirits today," said Neji, "I expect things will go much smoother."

I will do my best. Neji hoped Gai understood his assurance.

They strolled through the first courtyard as Gai explained how he wanted to use the space for training his students. Neji nodded and commented on the improvement.

"You must have been working hard. Last month the garden was overgrown and full of weeds."

"Ah, well, as you know, the Yamanaka family are avid botanists. I had some assistance cleaning up."

"How does the Yamanaka family feel about your new station?"

Hoheto met Neji's eyes and gave him an approving nod. They would make sure to question the Yamanaka family about the visit.

"They are pleased to see us rise," said Gai, "and are eager to get their hands dirty with the sweet earth that nourishes life."

When they arrived in the sitting room, Neji was surprised to see Tenten with a tray of tea, waiting for them.

She set it down on the table and began pouring as everyone took their seats.

Tenten offered Hoheto the first cup and Neji the second, meeting his gaze as she spoke.

"It's chrysanthemum today. I hope you don't mind."

Neji could see the strain at the corners of her mouth. She was trying to be pleasant, not to lash out.

"Thank you," he said, and she seemed to relax just a little. His cup today bore no chips. She'd taken care to make sure they had the best ones. Neji took a sip. "Did you brew this, or was it your father?"

Tenten pursed her lips, preparing a retort if Neji chose to mock the tea. She took a breath and straightened her back.

"I prepared it."

"It's good."

She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"What? No comment about it being weak or poisoned?"

Neji smirked at her and took another sip.

"Not today."

--

The inspections slowly grew less formal. Tenten had taken over the role of preparing tea, as it gave her something to do the morning of the inspection. She would try a new blend every month. Tenten had made tea every month for six months when she realized, with a sinking feeling, that she was starting to look forward to the visits.

She was at the market, looking at the various tea blends when it hit her. Tenten looked up at the older man minding the stall. He spoke, but she didn't hear him. Was she really looking forward to making tea for him? After everything she'd been through and the way, he'd first treated her?

"Miss!"

Tenten returned from her thoughts, and the man's face fell into focus.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I didn't catch that."

"I asked what type of tea you would like today, miss."

"Jasmine," and even as she went through the motions of paying and accepting the package, Tenten's mind was gone again.

Her walk home felt surreal. Tenten felt separate from her body, watching from above as it wound through familiar streets. She looked guilty as if a packet of jasmine tea labeled her a traitor. Pleasant visits with Neji and Hoheto, were supposed to be a front, a facade, but she liked them. Was she betraying the memory of her parents? Of everyone else who had died in the rebellion?

Tenten thought she heard whispers about her and Gai, how their tea gave them away as traitors.

She shook her head.

Everyone loves baba; no one would say that.

She stopped at the familiar fork in the road. If she kept going straight, she would find her way home. If she turned right, she could walk the shoreline for a while.

While she struggled to decide, Naruto appeared at her side.

"Tenten! What are you up to?"

"Oh, hi, Naruto," she flashed him a brief smile, "I was just about to head home."

"Did you get anything good in town?"

"Just some tea. Our inspection is tomorrow, and baba insists we show them our hospitali-tea," she rolled her eyes as she placed the emphases into Gai's pun.

"Ugh, I hate inspection day. And the new kid, Neji? He's got a stick pretty far up his ass, huh?"

Tenten wanted to defend Neji but stopped herself. She wasn't supposed to want that.

"Yeah. I wish we could do something about them."

"Now that you mention it," Naruto leaned in close and lowered his voice.

"I head Kakashi talking last time Yamoto came over. There are people making plans."

"Plans?"

"Yeah. To get rid of them."

"The Hyuu—"

"Shhh!" Naruto pressed his finger to her lips, "There's meetings, I guess. I'm going to try and find out more about them."

Tenten felt something stir in her, a sensation she hadn't felt in years: hope. She took a deep breath and felt lighter.

"I want to know what you find out."

#nejitenmonth2020 #nejiten #fanfic #fanart #collabortion #booh writes

[randombtsprincessa]

Bold

Author: Randombtsprincessa

Characters: Jung Hoseok x Kim Seokjin 

Words: 4.1k

Genre/Rating: Smut/fluff (NC - 17)

Prompt: 2seok with bad boy Jin (think tattoos, motorbikes, intimidating af but rescues kittens type) and model student shy and sweet Hoseok.

Warning: Clubbing, social drinking, mentions of drunken sex, tattoed blond Jin, flirting, LGBTQ+ fic, MxM fic, bad father, bad childhood mentions, volunteering work, kissing, blowjob in a garage, unprotected oral (male receiving) [be safe folks].

A/N: The following work is a part of @ficswithluv ‘s amazing project Change With Luv. It was commissioned by the lovely Ducky ( @diedinwarofhormones​ ) Thank you for the commission and let’s hope the donation helps bring about some really needed reforms! It is my very first mxm fic so please be a little lenient in judgement and I kept the smut not very explicit just in case (also because I exceeded the word limit shhh) so yeah. I hope you enjoy! Please do check out the project to help bring some change to the world and art to the world! 

Now, do welcome the gif that brought together the last scene of the fic!

In life, there are three sets of people who go hand in hand.

There are the people who are completely alike, do everything together, share hobbies and end up being the ‘goals’ that are usually portrayed on every hyped up couples instagram.

There are people who seem to just mesh well, go about in their personal bubbles as things either go well or not.

And then…there are the people who are nothing alike. They are poles apart, one league away from each other.

Yet, they are brought closer and closer to each other and gel together in a manner that astounds the people surrounding them.

Or so Jung Hoseok had read somewhere; in a book, maybe in his adolescence, in those past teen years that seem like a dream.

He was grown up now, in college and while he had kept on the rosy tint in his cheeks, he had shed off most of his earlier romantic notions.

After all, college was a step forward towards the future he craved desperately. And he worked hard for it, to graduate and then carry on further into a blissful, stress free life.

So, when he came in touch with the circle in which Kim Seokjin moved, well…

All those ideals and notions came back like a sucker punch.

To be very honest, a club scene where there was too much light but nothing could be seen, where a bass thumped that irritatingly made you feel like you had a second heartbeat, too many sweaty bodies that merged, collided to a rambling beat and alcohol that cost half a days’ worth income – even on a campus ground, was not to Hoseok’s taste.

However, his best friend Namjoon had dragged him out of his room this time, screaming, wailing, and crawling – for once to pry Hoseok away from those chemistry books that still had equations pounding in his cranium.

Many minutes after arriving at the party, Namjoon had disappeared.

Hoseok had no idea where; if there was someone who was more shy, nerdy or awkward than him…it was Kim Namjoon.

He hoped he was getting laid somewhere, that way he’d be much less annoyed when Hoseok inevitably left to go home.

He turned his torso around to the crowd, and although he could see absolutely nothing clearly, he tried, he really did.

He reached up, straightened onto the bar stool so he could look over the multiple heads. Most of the flashing lights glinted against his glasses, blinding him and he sighed. Slumping back, he admitted defeat, looking along the length of the bar.

Maybe he should order another drink?

It wasn’t midnight just yet. He could make it till 12 and then slip away. After all, if Namjoon was around and…not otherwise occupied, he would come over so they could both go back to the dorm.

They both had early and lengthy classes for god’s sake.

As he stretched out a hand, to attract the bartender’s attention, he saw him.

The angle the man sat at made it impossible for him to get a clear look at his face. However, it was easy to discern the hunch of his shoulders, too wide, clad in a smooth leather jacket that exploded rainbows whenever a streak of light bounced off of the man.

Deep blond hair ruffled on top of the head and he could barely make out the hints of a neck tattoo.

The bartender soon came over to take his order and after refilling the drink, Hoseok decided that he could stay a bit more, just to see what the stranger looked like maybe.

“Buddy, take a picture. It’ll last longer.”

Hoseok started, the rim of the glass jolting against his teeth at the move as the man turned his head to look at him head on, one dark eyebrow quirked.

Suffice it to say, the man was breathtaking.

The soft blond hair accentuated the poufy lips of the man, glistening wet from the alcohol. The leather jacket showed off a swimmer’s body, a silver clasp at his thin waist.

Hoseok was tempted to think that this man put his last boyfriend to shame.

“I’m sorry; I must’ve just stared at you. I was zoning out.” Hoseok excused himself.

“Don’t worry about it.” The man grinned, leaning forward so he would be audible. “You here with someone?”

“My roommate…he’s disappeared.”

The stranger nodded, taking a swig from his glass. “Yeah, that happens around here. If you wanna zone out a bit more, feel free but only cause you’re cute.”

Hoseok’s mouth fell open at the flirting, gaping like a fish as the man grinned yet again, this time feral.

“I…I wasn’t…”

“Like I said, don’t worry about it, pretty boy.”

The man was taking the final gulp, placing the glass next to Hoseok, along with a couple bills under the glass. “Buy yourself a drink from me, would you?”

Hoseok could only stare at the glass and money, still shocked at the bold advance of a complete stranger.

“Oh and hey pretty boy,”

Hoseok turned to look at the exiting male.

“Next time, I’m gonna start charging.”

He turned after that, not hindered by any of the swirling bodies in his path, leaving Hoseok to wonder if maybe he should’ve gotten the name of the man, or at least given his own.

“You’re, like, not even listening to me.” Namjoon snapped Hoseok’s attention towards himself, a pen tapping insistently against his notebook.

“Yes I am,” Hoseok immediately defended but it was too late.

Namjoon had already shoved the study materials that were strewn across the table to one side, both arms coming up to cradle his head. “Go on, purge.”

“I don’t have anything to say to you, I swear.” Hoseok could hear the defensiveness in his own voice and while it was partly true, he knew he would have to cave in the face of his best friend.

“Fine…I met this guy at the club party a couple nights ago.”

Namjoon stared.

“The one you left me alone at.”

That seemed to jog his memory, causing a delicate sheen of plum to spread along his cheeks. “I said I was sorry, I mean...I saw Taehyung and he looked like –,”

“A dream, yes, I got that.” Hoseok stopped himself from rolling his eyes at the slightly…enormous crush that Namjoon harbored towards the popular junior.

“You didn’t tell me about this guy though,” Namjoon continued.

What was there to tell? Yes, he’d conversed briefly with an absolute stranger for not more than five minutes. Yes, he had never felt this wildly attracted to anyone before. At least, not so much that warranted mooning over him for more than a day. He also knew that there was a good chance that he would never run into him again.

He didn’t even know his name. There was nothing tying the both of them.

Unless he wanted to end up like Namjoon, in a puppy love with a guy he was too scared to talk to, he’d have to move on.

After all; Hoseok thought back to the sleek black lines that ran along the man’s skin, the tight leather that clung to him, smelling of liquor that was alluring in its own right; he was someone Hoseok would not usually find himself associated with.

He was probably a patented bad boy, and Hoseok well…he was model student.

“You just flaked on me again, bro.” Namjoon poked his arm.

“Sorry, so, you didn’t get laid that night then? Why didn’t you come find me?”

“I kind of did; but I don’t know if you can call it that. The chick and I both were pretty smashed and all I could think about was Taehyung’s --,”

“No thanks, I don’t need that imagery in my head.” Hoseok interrupted with a sharp flutter of his hands, raising them to cover his ears.

Namjoon broke out laughing, before shaking his head. “So, do you know anything about this mysterious man of yours?”

“No, but I do know, we have a test tomorrow, so let’s get back to work, shall we?”

Yes, he did know one thing. It was to never hold true to ideals about anything. Somehow they always got smashed to pieces.

Hoseok had been right to let go of past ideals as he grew up.

He was sitting in the café, books open as he checked the answers to his test. A smooth cream latte sat near his hand with a plate of the café bakery’s special made chocolate chip cookies. Hoseok and Namjoon being regulars meant the staff knew their preferences and it was a god send when the both of them would stumble in, bleary and hazy from their workload to a ready steaming cup and some desperately needed sugar.

He had attempted to put away thoughts of any blonde men that may have crossed his path to solely worry about how chemistry worked in anatomy and it had somewhat paid off, if only all his answers mirrored the ones in his notes.

So, when he heard that same voice, calling out from the wide open door that had haunted him for the past few days, he had to look up.

In the daylight, if possible The Stranger looked much more beautiful than what the club lights paid homage to. He was awfully tall and broad, the same leather jacket and belt still wrapped around him, only this time, he had a helmet clasped under an arm and his hair was mussed from probably being trapped under it.

Big boots thudded, as Hoseok watched the man make his way to the counter, a hard smile ready for the counter worker who clearly stuttered in talking with him, while boxing up a few things.

Must be another regular; Hoseok thought back if he had ever seen him around but glossed over him. Nothing came to mind, even as the man slid over his payment before grabbing the handles of the bag, laughing at something the barista said.

Sensing that he was about to turn about, Hoseok looked down quickly, nearly burying his face behind the book.

He prayed; eyes closed that he hadn’t been caught. While he had hoped for another sight of his stranger, Hoseok hadn’t accounted for what he would do if it did happen. All the times, he’d imagined meeting up in his daydreams, they always stopped short when it came to a response on his part.

“…hey, it’s you.”

Hoseok gulped, wondering why he wasn’t invisible as he looked up, caught in the dark gaze of The Stranger again.

“It is you. Remember me?” The man tilted his head, shifting the helmet in his arms.

“Oh…yeah, in the club, of course,” Hoseok’s voice shook, hands dropping the book to the table as he worked hard to form coherent sentences.

The man’s eyes flashed to the books, grinning with those teeth flashing. “You’re a student.”

There was no room to deny it even as Hoseok chuckled. “Yeah, what about you?”

“Oh I’m done. I just hang about now.” He lowered his voice as if admitting to a mock crime and after a deep breath, Hoseok let out a much more relaxed grin.

In the light, it was easier to tell how different they really were. He was leather-clad, motorcycle helmet laden. Hoseok was wearing a knit sweater and simple jeans and sneakers, a school bag at his feet and his books strewn about a table.

Worlds apart…

Hoseok was someone easy to approach, to talk to, while this man was obviously not someone who anyone would go to first. However, even with the dark aura that hung about him, the way he talked, to ease Hoseok up, revealed something much softer beneath him.

“Speaking of which, I need to go. I will see you around I guess.” The man said.

Your name - give him your damn name, Hobi.

“My name is Hoseok. I forgot to mention it last time.” He said quickly.

The man paused in opening the door, a quirk to his lips. “I’ll remember that.”

And he was gone, with Hoseok watching his walk to a Harley parked nearby, straddling it as he put on the helmet. The Stranger hadn’t afforded Hoseok his own name…

Maybe they were too different. And maybe Hoseok wasn’t the only one who was aware of that fact.

Even if - Hoseok thought as he stared at the boy sitting opposite him - he wasn’t the only one who knew how different their lives were, neither seemed too intent on cutting their losses just at the moment.

Hoseok hadn’t timed himself, he swore up and down that the reason he was frequenting the café more and more was the increased need for coffee and not the need to catch an elusive Seokjin, whose name he’d caught only accidentally when the barista called for his order.

However, now here they were sitting across from each other.

He was still just as intimidating at first glance, a cold tilt to his head at anyone who he didn’t favor approaching him. A light scoff followed whenever he overheard something particularly obnoxious and rough looking fingers that Hoseok couldn’t help but want to touch.

He was in too deep, he figured. His mind had compartmentalized the raging crush he harbored for the new and exciting addition to his world but he knew that amidst his straight As and glowing recommendations, Jin would not only not sit well, but also appear…unsavory.

And Hoseok absolutely, blissfully, just didn’t care.

He had had a bad childhood, Seokjin had told him. A rich father, who had abandoned his family to ‘fuck about’ as he put it, with packets of money deposited for their upkeep but Jin didn’t touch it.

His mother had paid through the money in a trust after he had graduated in business but instead of putting his degree to use, he’d started working in a garage, now partner in it.

That explained the motorcycle, Hoseok had joked while Jin had only shrugged.

“I also volunteer a lot of my free time. My mom, well, I love her but she’s got her own life now…and she puts all of my father’s money in the trust still so I don’t have to bother her about anything. I don’t think she enjoys having a reminder of my dad around anyway.”

All Hoseok could do was nod his head sadly at him.

So when Seokjin offered to show Hoseok about the volunteering he did, he jumped at the opportunity. He had a chance to see what the man really was like under the façade of the cool bravado and Hoseok could feel intrigue tingling at his fingertips.

He wasn’t disappointed.

Seokjin took him to an animal shelter first, filled with puppies with big eyes, kittens that purred and curled up under their chins, bigger dogs and cats that were soft to touch and clearly abandoned and starved for loved. There were birds too, brightly colored and some wild and a couple of pigs and horses. Each animal that Jin visited seemed to love him, curling under his touch, molding them to him.

The next place they visited was a children’s library. A large group of toddlers shrieked when they saw him, swarming up to him and begging for a story. Hoseok watched with a bemused smile for an hour as Jin made animal and vehicle noises to entertain the spellbound kids.

When finally, they visited a retirement home, it was then that Hoseok saw the brief haunted look behind Seokjin’s eyes. It was just a glance, as he wiped an old woman’s mouth as she chuckled motherly at him, the rice that clung to her chin not fazing Jin in the slightest.

“It’s like having a family of my own.” He whispered as Hoseok put a hand to his shoulder, still hesitant.

“You miss them.”

“I do, but I would rather do this than let them be burdened by my presence again.”

“Maybe, they don’t feel that way.”

Seokjin didn’t reply to that, instead standing with a lovable smile to the lady who waved goodbye. “I’ll drop you off at your dorm.” He said.

His voice scared Hoseok. There was an air of finality there, as if he knew he’d shown Hoseok much more than was necessary. More than he needed to, to a guy who he probably wouldn’t see much of in the future.

“I’m not ready to go just yet.”

Hoseok knew he sounded desperate but there was nothing he could do. He had to accept his reality.

Seokjin turned with a curious look, puzzled at the heaviness in Hoseok’s voice before smirking. “Then there’s one more place I can show you. Let’s grab some dinner first.”

“This is amazing.” Hoseok whispered, awed as Jin flicked on light switches.

When Jin had said he was going to take him to his garage, Hoseok expected something like a shed, greased and metal barred. This was, this was sleek, all black steel and huge lights swinging from the ceiling.

“I spent a good deal of dad’s money on this. Hence, why I got the partnership, I saved the place from sinking. The upscale décor brings in some solid clients so, I guess you could say my sense of style did the job.” Jin kicked at a few strewn crates, turning to throw a wink at Hoseok.

Hoseok looked down at the remnants burger in his hand, biting the piece down into his mouth so as to not answer.

He watched, surreptitiously as Jin undid the jacket, removing his arms from the leather sleeves to reveal an extremely thin white tank top that sent a swoop down Hoseok’s throat, settling somewhere in his gut.

Jin turned; pausing Hoseok’s ogling at his muscled back as he stretched out his arms over his head, a thin strip of his stomach showing.

Hoseok swallowed loudly, the bite of burger going the wrong path and he broke out in coughs.

“Hey, what…” Seokjin laughed, pulling out a water bottle from a mini fridge to pass it to the wheezing boy. “Calm down, pretty boy. I know the burger’s good but eat slowly.”

Hoseok pulled the bottle away, eyes still watering.

This was too much; here he was, Hoseok, a nice kid who tried to steer clear from all sorts of ‘trouble’ and he was here with Kim Seokjin, someone who people would say embodied trouble.

And what was he doing?

Why, all he wanted was Seokjin to ram against him on the surface of one of the cars of course.

He was worse than Namjoon.

“I think…I should go.” Hoseok stuttered, casting his eyes down. This was it, the final time he put himself in the path of such temptations. Jin would never look twice at someone like him. He was in way over his head.

“Hey pretty boy,”

Hoseok looked up at Seokjin, who now stood too close to his face, blond hair hanging in his eyes, lips pulled into his teeth.

“Tell me something, why are you so scared of me?” Jin asked.

Hoseok blinked, all previous concerns evaporating. “Wait, what…? I’m not scared of you.” He said, conviction strengthening his voice.

“Really,” Jin moved in, eyes dropping to the way Hoseok chewed on his bottom lip. “So, why do you keep pulling away? You stare at me, flirt with me, hold on to me on the bike, but when I bring you here and when we’re alone for too long you withdraw.”

Hoseok thudded back against something and Jin took advantage, lifting his hands and putting them on either side of his body, caging him in.

“I’m…I’m not scared of you.” Hoseok sighed, giving in. “I’m scared of well, my feelings, as cliché as it seems.”

“Why?” Seokjin asked smoothly.

“Because we’re so different; I mean you’re a rich kid who acts like a bad boy but is so kind and sweet under all that toughness and I’m…I’m a good sweet boy who would never - never be able to keep up with someone like you. I’m putting myself up for disappointment when you realize it too.”

Seokjin stared at Hoseok, hard and deep. He looked almost angry – dangerous...gorgeous.

“You know what I realized actually?” He asked. There was a pleasant lilt to his tone but Hoseok could feel the undercurrents of a threat to it.

He leaned in, making Hoseok press himself to the wall, his body almost vibrating from the proximity.

“I realized that you’re exactly the kind of person who can keep up with me. I realized that it doesn’t matter if we belong to different circles. I realized that I should probably kiss you right now because you might be a grade-A kid but baby, you’re fucking stupid.

Hoseok had no time to even draw a full breath. Jin had reared back and then slammed Hoseok back again. The hands that Hoseok had dreamed of touching now gripped his cheeks, Jin’s mouth fully on his, swallowing the surprised squeaks he embarrassingly let out.

Seokjin chuckled against his lips, pulling back just enough to nip at his chin. “Fuck, I should’ve done that in the club.”

Hoseok reached forward to tug Jin back, taking over the kiss this time as he delved into the older boy’s mouth, tasting the soda on his tongue.

“Not a complete good boy, then.” Jin commented, reaching back to tug off the tank.

Hoseok lounged against the wall, idly tracing over the tattoos that ran over Jin’s exquisite body. “What do they mean?” He asked as Jin tugged off Hoseok’s shirt too.

Jin paused, glancing down at his torso.

“This,” he raised his arm. “A compass to point me in the right direction,” He moved to his shoulder. “The lion to keep me strong and brave,” he smirked suddenly, grabbing Hoseok’s hand and placing it against the burning skin of his chest. “The tree keeps me kind and nurturing.”

Hoseok met Jin’s gaze, running his hand down to his belt, fiddling with the clasp.

“Wait,” Jin stopped him, shoving his hand away. “This is about you. Let me take care of you tonight.”

“What do you mean, oh,” Hoseok’s voice pitched higher as Jin fluidly sank to his knees in front of him. Deft, nimble fingers undid the buttons and zipper on his jeans, pulling the band and the underwear down to free his gorged shaft.

“Fuck,” Jin and Hoseok both let out as Jin swept his hands against the soft skin. He was hard, Hoseok marveled, hard enough to drip over Jin’s palms which he smeared back onto his skin to make the slide easier.

A loud moan escaped Hoseok’s parted lips when Jin engulfed him, first the tip and then most of his length. He jolted, head falling back as his hips pushed forward on their own volition.

Jin kept his eyes on him, a smirk straining his lips at the vulnerable stance of the lithe man. While he would usually be on the receiving end of this, there was something so sexy, so erotic about watching a man lose it over head as he throated as much as he could.

Hoseok meanwhile fumbled with his hands, alternating between fisting his own hair and tugging at Jin’s to further lower himself into the heat of his cavern. If he knew this was what he would be missing out, there would’ve been no way he would have agonized over it for this long.

Seokjin continued moving, squelching sounds echoing throughout the empty garage that sounded so wonderfully taboo, Hoseok nearly came right there. The thrill of it; the way someone could walk right in, catch them with Seokjin sucking him deep into his mouth caused his eyes to roll back.

“That’s it, pretty boy. Come for me.” Jin coaxed from below and before he could catch his breath, his throat closed up, his body hunching when Jin pulled him back, and the tip of his cock brushing the back of his throat, deeper still.

With an almost pornographic groan, Hoseok unloaded himself into Jin’s throat, his lover keeping him in till he was fully empty.

Jin pulled away from him, color flaming high in Hoseok’s cheeks at the wet sound that echoed through the near empty garage.

All he could do was fall into the surprisingly sweet kiss that Jin pressed to lips, the taste of him mingling in his own mouth. Jin handed him his shirt with an impish grin.

“Next time,” he pulled Hoseok in by the waist. “I’m going to make you pay for ‘zoning out’ in the club.”

#changeswithluv #ficswithluv #smutcentralnet #btsbookclub #jhope smut #jin smut #bts smut #jhope #jin #bts #bts fanfic #jhope fanfic #jin fanfic #jhope x jin #2seok fic

[avacrowder]

i know that the only things we’ve actually seen tim eating in the show are a string cheese and also i think some sort of orange or clementine maybe?? but i have extremely deep headcanons about how he eats and i realise they are not globally acknowledged so here i go 

he’s a picky eater!!!!!!!! he will try anything once but he knows what he likes and what he doesn’t like and he will not eat what he has tried and not liked even if he decided he didn’t like it like 25 years ago

he was only allowed like kool aid and sugary drinks on Special Occasions as a kid so he eats a lot of sugar now to compensate. his fav candies are pop rocks and anything that turns his tongue blue. but he’s not really a cakes and creams guy? he’s more of a citric-acid-candy person, like, his sweet tooth is right next to his Super Sour tooth. people give him those extremely sour candies for his birthday because they don’t know what else to give him

this is also because he is a giant child which is what happens when you join the army when you’re a kid and leave when you’re on the precipice of being a No Holds Barred No Holding Back adult person but you still feel like you’re 19. i will be taking questions on this particular headcanon but also i want to write fic about like all of this lmao so THERE

he is a HUGE lunchables fan. as a 30+ year old adult he still buys lunchables for himself and brings them to work to eat. he will bring like 6 lunchables to the office and meticulously assemble the worlds tallest lunchable pizza and try to shove it into his mouth all in one go. rachel and raylan are both uniformly disgusted by this but they watch him every time out of concern that he might choke to death

he really enjoys compact fruits, like, anything small and sweet that he can put in his pocket for later like a plum or a clementine, and he often has one of those tiny little raisin boxes in his pocket for snacking. he will joke about this but he has had an irrational fear of scurvy ever since he was like 7 and he read the encyclopedia entry on it while hiding out in the library at lunch

don’t mistake the raisin box for a love of surprise raisins, if he picks up a chocolate chip cookie and it’s actually an oatmeal and raisin cookie he is tossing that shit DIRECTLY into the garbage

he likes red bull (this is shameless self insertism because i also like red bull)

he doesn’t eat super duper unhealthy like ALL the time, he feeds himself, but he can’t really cook and he definitely eats like a kid. like, chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs hold a lot of fascination for him. he prefers sandwiches made with white bread. he makes a mean grilled cheese sandwich and he adds hot sauce to his mac and cheese and calls it gourmet but having tim gutterson cook you a meal is NOT a good thing. one day he will get pretty good at one pot chilli and maybe like huevos rancheros

THAT REMINDS ME: the one thing he is consistently good at is eating breakfast, breakfast is his fav meal of the day, he’s a big cereal fan. he definitely slurps up the sugary milk. sometimes he eats breakfast at work so there’s a box of lucky charms in that tiny kitchenette in the office and if anyone except tim dares to touch it they will have to deal with severe repercussions 

cereal first then milk because he’s not a complete freak but when nelson is watching he likes to upset him by doing it the wrong way

his coffees are always disgustingly sugary but very plain

he likes any food you can play with, like how you can pull apart string cheese and assemble your own lunchables etc etc

he is way past the point of accepting criticism on how he eats because he lived on jerry-rigged MREs for YEARS of his life and if he wants to eat like processed shit now that he’s not beholden to those mealreadytoeats then he will and there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him

he turns his nose up at anything ~hipstery on principle, like kale chips or quinoa or tofu. he’s definitely one of those people who rejects v3gan food just because it’s v3gan food

FRUIT BY THE FOOT BABY!!!!!!!!!!!

i feel like i didn’t affirm this clearly enough: if your candy doesn’t turn his tongue blue tim 👏 doesn’t  👏 give 👏 a 👏 fuck 👏👏👏👏👏👏

#tim gutterson #also. i have questions to answer in my askbox!! i see yall!! you are seen!!! i will get to them!!!!!!!!!!

[hidden-behind-the-fourth-wall]

Listen, it’s simple: don’t eat his dick, eat his heart

Pairing: Bucky x F!Reader

Summary: Because “it’s just sex” does not exist.

Warnings: Angts, Fluff, mentions of sex, swear words, a happy ending ( is that a warning?)

A/N: Ok, because I am an awful person and doesn’t seem to control my real life I was yet AGAIN late for yet ANOTHER challenge. I’m so sorry @stuckonjbbarnes​ , I hope you will still like it <3

Words: 3000+

Friends with benefits was a great deal. Well… Until it isn’t and then it just sucks. Because you are stuck in a situation where the sex is really amazing, but your heart breaks every time he leaves your room with a small smirk and a quick “See ya later, doll” in this annoyingly cute and sexy Brooklyn accent. 

And here you are, sitting with your best friend - Netflix, a bowl of popcorn and a beer, watching Princess Diaries hating and loving this movie at the same time. But you don’t really pay attention to it anymore. You were supposed to meet with Bucky for your little ‘routine’, but he went on a date. Of course, he sent you a message and you were happy for him. Of course, you were! You were friends after all. Friends first, lovers later… But well lovers wasn’t really a good word to use. Because there wasn’t really any love there. Well, not from his side at least. You loved him. Original right? You were the one who brought up the idea in the first place. 

It was after a mission when you both were sitting in your room watching something stupid on TV. And while flipping through the programs you stopped on porn. You couldn’t help the annoyed growled that escaped you. He raised his brow and looked at you questioningly. 

“You don’t like Porn?” He asked, amusement in his voice. You were both pretty close to each other. Bucky loved how you never tiptoed around him, always honest but still caring. 

“Oh, no trust me. I do…” You rolled your eyes and sighed. “It’s just you know... How long do you really need to take care of your own needs?” He snorted making the beer travel all the way back through his nose. “Don’t get me wrong, Bucky. A hand is better than no hand… But you know…” You smirked seeing his amused expression. “I miss the dick.” He couldn’t help but laugh at your simplicity. 

“How about you go on a date with someone? I know the guy from statistics has a crush on you.” You shook your head and took a sip of your yet another beer. You were slowly getting tipsy, which was the reason for this whole conversation. Yes, you were close to Bucky and a very open person, but you would never talk to him about those things sober. Not to him. Not to the guy you had an enormous crush on. But you were just friends and you knew from the fact that he was still not ready for a relationship. 

“No, no hell no. Come on Bucky I don’t have time for dates… Especially not with someone who would not understand my way of living.” Yeah being an Avenger was a hell of a time-consuming job. “You know what I need?” You turned towards him, putting your head on the back of the couch. “A friend with benefits.” He raised his brow, taking the same position as you. “A guy I trust, love in the most platonic way and feel comfortable with. Take that guy and fuck his brain out and vice versa.” He burst out laughing and you couldn’t help but smile at the sound and scene. You loved it when he laughed. He had such a nice, smooth laugh. 

“How about Steve?” You bit your lip and chuckled. “What?”

“I feel he’s a bit too vanilla for me”, his eyes widen and you could swear you noticed him take a deep breath. His pupils got a bit bigger than before, but there was still this amused smile on his face. “I would ask Sam, but I don’t know I see him more than a brother… Fucking him would be awkward.” He chuckled and shook his head in disbelief. “Ghhhh! I need sex!” You groaned annoyed, turning off the porn that was starting to get annoyingly unrealistic. Seriously? What guy can handle two orgasms in a row? 

You finished your beer and opened another one (having a travel fridge next to your coach was the best idea you have ever had) gulping it almost in one shot. 

“How about you, Bucky?” You finally asked, making him shift uncomfortably. “Don’t you need to have some fun?” 

“What makes you think I don’t already?” Your eyes widen but you laughed when he chuckled, shaking his head. “Seriously? What girl would like to do it with me? The ex-Winter Soldier, with this…” He raised his metal arm. Despite the joking tone of his voice, you knew how he hated it. 

“Don’t do that, Bucky!” You whispered, putting a hand on his thigh, making him look at you with seriousness. “You are an amazing guy. Sweet and funny. And this?” you encircled your fingers with his metal ones. A month ago he would probably flinch, but now? He actually enjoyed it. How open you were with him. Not afraid at all. “It’s pretty damn hot.” He raised his brow not expecting this. “Not to mention that you as a whole package is a yummy cookie.” 

“A yummy cookie?” He repeated, the sadness in his eyes disappearing. “And let’s come back to that left-hand thing.” You laughed and laid your head on his chest, trying to hide your embarrassed face. Jesus, he always smelled so good. “No, no, no way I’m letting you drop it.” 

“Well... “ You pulled back and bit your lip nervously. “There is something intriguing about it, you know… It’s a part of you, but so different. Not to mention that it gives this nice cold-hot difference.” You swallowed and took his hand and slowly pulled it up to your throat. You could see the hesitation in his eyes, but he didn’t stop you, trusting that you knew what you were doing. “That’s pretty hot.” A little moan escaped your lips when he clenched his fingers just a little bit. “Any girl would be lucky to be yours, Bucky.” You opened your eyes to meet his blown up irises, staring at your lips. 

“What about you?” He whispered, his hand moving from your throat to the back of your neck. You smiled at him and just kissed him. 

It was that day that all of this happened. It was three months ago and you established rules after your first night. Except for the normal sex-related rules, ins and outs, yeses and nos, there was this one rule. The most important one. If one of us wanted to get out, all they needed to do was say. But this was the problem. As much as you knew you needed to stop this arrangement before it breaks your heart into more pieces than it already has.

But you were just really pathetic. You didn’t want to end it, because you didn’t want him to leave you. Those moments with him were special. During those moments of intimacy, you could imagine that he was your and only yours. And it never mattered that when he left you just spent most of the night crying. Pathetic. You knew that and yet you couldn’t just stop it. 

You looked to the side of the sound and sighed. You shouted to anyone on the other side to come in, and you sat straighter when Bucky walked in. you looked at the clock and you just noticed that it was after 10 PM. Apparently, memories took longer than you expected. 

“How was your date?” You tried to make your voice as flat as possible. He couldn’t find out. If he knew that you felt something for him, you would not only lose the imaginary intimacy but him as well and that you would not survive. 

“Pretty good,” He smiled and you smiled back, faking. You wanted to be a good friend, but the thought of him being happy with some other girl, made you break a little. “She was cute and actually funny.” He leaned and put his head on the back of your couch, accepting the beer you took from the travel fridge. “We’re gonna see each other on Friday.” He sounded happy and excited about it, and you forced yourself to look excited as well. Because you were his friend first. And most importantly. “So… am... “ You frowned, when he turned towards you, with uncertainty written on his beautiful face. 

“Bucky, what’s wrong? You know you can talk to me, right” Your hand travelled to his arm and he smiled slightly. 

“Can we stop it?” Your heart skipped a bit, understanding completely what he meant. “The sex… friends with benefits. I really liked Lucy and I don’t want to…”

“Of course!” You stopped him. Your voice was annoyingly high-pitched. You smiled and finish your beer, taking your hand off his arm. If he noticed your change he didn’t say anything. He just thanked you, and giving you a peck on the cheek, he just left. Leaving you with your heart-broken and tears rolling down your cheeks. 

***

It has been a month and you know you should just let go. But you couldn’t. Not when Bucky and Lucy ‘call me Lu” were sitting in the living room with the rest fo you, watching some movie, you didn’t pay attention to. You hated it, but the girl was really great. Everyone liked her and you could see how Barnes looked at her. She was beautiful. Long blonde hair, with stunning blue eyes, small nose and plum, round lips. She had curves in all the right places. She was just fucking perfect. A bit shy at the beginning but now throwing cheeky comments here and there. Yes, she was lovable, but you couldn’t help but feel jealous. It was immature, you knew. But you loved Bucky before she came along, and you couldn’t help but wonder what if… What if you’d have told him about your feelings. 

“Y/N?” You looked up hearing her voice. Her lovely, angelic voice. “Would you like something to drink?” Of course, she needed to be nice. You forced yourself to smile at her in the most friendly like way. 

‘Thanks, Lu. I think I’ll head to bed.” Everyone looked at you in surprise. It wasn’t even 10 o’clock and none of you had any mission tomorrow. “I don’t feel good. That’s it.”

“You ok?” Bucky asked, voice filled with concern. Why did he have to be so nice? Couldn’t he just be a dick? Hate you? 

“Yeah. I think too much of the chips.” You laughed awkwardly and after saying goodbye to everyone to went to your bed. “Kill me…”

“Excuse me?” You looked up and chuckled and FRIDAY’s voice. “I don’t think I can do that, Miss L/N.”

“It’s ok, FRIDAY. I was talking to myself.” 

“Mrs Potts always tells Mr Stark that it's not a healthy habit. Should I maybe get you an appointment with a psychologist?”

“Gosh!” You laughed out loud at the machine. “No thank you. I am fine.” 

“Are you?” You jump hearing a voice next to the elevator doors. You walked out and looked at Natasha who literally showed up. How the hell was she able to come here before you? “Green is definitely not a good colour on you, and I am not talking about this sweater.” You looked down at what you’re wearing and sighed. Damn, you really loved that one. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about”, yes play damn. That always worked. You ignored her opened your doors, walking in, happy to see your bed. Yes, this is what you needed. Your comfy bed. 

"Lucy is a nice girl", she started and you just rolled your eyes. 

"I know", you sighed, taking pyjama from under your covers, heading to the bathroom. But this apparently didn't stop Nat, she just followed you in. Great… 

"Then, why are you being a bitch?!" You stopped and turned toward her, meeting with a smirk on her lips. "You lost your chance, you remember what I always told you?"

"Yeah, yeah your brilliant 'Listen, it’s simple: don’t eat his dick, eat his heart' shit…" with no complex what so ever you started to take your clothes off and walked under the shower, enjoying the warm water falling on your stressed shoulders. "But it was never as simple, Nat."

"Love is simple. Whether it's there or it's not…"

"Well, there wasn't" you hissed, letting the water, fall on your head.  "Not from his side… it was only sex. He made that perfectly clear every night he just left. Perfectly fucking perfect!" 

"Come on, Y/N you can't possibly read his mind. I doubt there was nothing there but sex." 

"Well, then fucking believe it!" You punched the glass wall, that was separating you and Nat. You watched the glass shatter the same way as your heart did. The tears running down your cheeks, the blood spreading from your hands, and Nat beside you, pulling you to her with a comforting hug. "I'm sorry, Nat." She shook her head and unable to stand any longer you fall on your knees, pushing her with you. "I fucked up big times, Nat… I should have ended it so much sooner… I… love him so much!" You just kept on crying while Nat tried her best to smoothen you, her heart, breaking just a bit with your pain. 

**

It was another month when you were finally able to act semi-normal seeing Bucky with Lucy. You stayed longer with everyone during movie nights.

You weren't sure how no one never asked you about your hands nor the glass doors to your bathroom that needed to be replaced, but you were sure Nat was behind it. 

You were still falling asleep crying but now you just started to live with it. Yo realised that you lost any chance to ever own his heart. What's worse, you realise you never did own his heart. 

"Y/N", you froze hearing his voice. Well, trying to be ok with his relationship was hard enough, which caused you to spent less and less time with him. You tried your hardest to make sure that you never stayed alone with him. And you did an incredible job with it, until now. 

"Bucky!" You smiled brightly at him, continuing on your sandwich. "Want one? I'm making a peanut butter one."

"Can we talk?" He asked quietly, watching your back. 

"We are talking." You chuckled wanting to get away from the topic you knew he will want to start. "So you want that sandwich?"

"Y/N, damn it, look at me!" You jumped hearing his shout. You slowly put the knife down and turned, and you swallowed seeing his sad expression. "Please… please tell me…" he walked towards you and before you were able to move away he leaned and put his head on your shoulder, sobbing. "What have I done, that you so desperately ignore me… run away from me…" your eyes widen and tears appeared in your eyes once again. No… you never wanted to see him hurt. That was the main reason why you kept on running from him. "What did I do…"

"You haven't done anything, Bucky", your hand landed in his hair, and slowly shuffled it. You closed your eyes when he pulled away from you. You couldn't look at him. Not when you both were so vulnerable. Not when you were so vulnerable. "Jesus, Bucky, nothing of this is your fault…" you opened your eyes and looked into those beautiful blue eyes. 

"Of this? Of what, Y/N? What is happening? I thought we were friends and supposed to tell everything to each other." His hands landed on your arms, the expression on his face showed how lost he really was. 

You took a step back and a deep breath. There was no way of escaping it now. You were trapped in a corner and needed to say everything you tried so desperately to keep to yourself. Afraid of losing your friend. 

“I made a mistake, Bucky…” You whispered, looking away unable to look him in the eyes when you confessed to him. “We decided that this all would just be sex… no feelings, no attachment and I lied to you since the beginning…”

“Y/N”

“No, please…” You shook your head and sighed deeply. “I loved you Bucky… Loved you way back… waaaay back before our little agreement... God!” You exhaled, shaking your head in disbelief, just now realising, really realising how pitiful you were. “Gosh, I’m pathetic… I could never tell you about my feeling because I knew you weren’t ready for any kind of commitment, but I wanted you… Jesus, Bucky I wanted you so much…” You laughed at your stupidity and hid your face in your hands when you started crying. “And it broke my heart every time you were leaving my room, but I prefer that than losing you… But then you met Lucy and fuck! She is perfect Bucky, really. Perfect for you. I see how you look at her. And here I am being selfish again! You’re finally in an amazing relationship and because I wasn’t able to keep my feelings chained, you will now hate me!” You let yourself look back and was met with so much sadness in his eyes. 

“We broke up…” You froze hearing his shredded voice. “She wasn’t ready to be Avenger’s girlfriend…” You opened your mouth to say something but nothing came out. “Every fucking night I walked out of your room, hoping you’ll stop me.” Your eyes widened, and you exhaled when he walked towards you, stopping just in front of you. You looked up into those beautiful eyes and bit your lip. “I came back every night hoping that I would be able to tell you how I felt, but you seem so sure about staying just friends with benefits! Fuck!” With no words more needed he leaned in and attacked your lips. It was different than the previous once. More passionate, more loving. “Fuck, Y/N! I love you damn much!” 

“Well, I guess Nat’s advice is always the best!”

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