#i know it's been technically completed but i had a few extra gifs

[supercutszns]

Luke x reader where a girl, daughter of Aphrodite, flirts with him and insults the reader, causing her to avoid Luke, but later he manages to find her and confesses that he actually likes them... I don't know if they should already be together or not, but I believe in you!!! you write very well :ooo

Sorry if the idea is bad or you wouldn't want to write something like that, if that's the case please pretend you never read this 🤡🤡🫶

true colours; luke castellan

wc + pairing: 3.6k, luke castellan x child of iris! reader

synopsis: everyone wants luke castellan, including you. curse your mother for getting your hopes up.

warnings: friends to lovers, reader is very insecure, bullying, lee fletcher & will solace cameo!! some angst with a fluffy ending

notes: thank you for the request!! as always this is longer than i anticipated but hope you like it :) i also combined it with another request for a child of iris reader (i also identify as a child of iris sometimes so i lovee writing for them) also i’m pretty sure lee + a lot of parts of this are ooc sorry but i havent read the books in about a year so hopefully everything’s fairly accurate!🌈

You knew this summer would be different because your mother sent her wishes twice as much. On the first day of July, when children flood into Camp Half-Blood like a hive of wild bees, a rainbow always lights up the sky. 

This year, there were two. 

As a child of Iris you’re technically supposed to be in the Hermes cabin. But your love for art, for music, for fun, has made you a particular favourite of the Apollo cabin. Most of your friends are there. They tolerate you singing in your soft, often unsure voice. They love when you catch sunlight and filter it into prisms of colour on their cabin walls. 

You’d probably move in there permanently if it weren’t for Hermes. Or rather, his son.

Over the last few months, in the sticky summer heat, your mother knew you would fall in love. 

It's not any surprise you love Luke. Everyone loves Luke. A fact that's becoming more obvious every passing day. 

It used to bother you less. You’ve always been his meagre, hopeless friend, never any real competition to these girls. You’d basically taken yourself out of the running and instead decided to pine after him in the very back of your mind. A safe, deluded fantasy that would never happen. 

Until recently, where it seems less like a fantasy and more like a terrifying possibility. 

Over the past few weeks Luke has gone out of his way to be sweet to you. Or at least you think so. He’s spent extra time talking to you at lunch, laughing at your half-formed jokes almost in earnest. At bonfires he saves you a seat, grabs you a marshmallow on occasion. You even made him a friendship bracelet of sorts—admittedly a little ugly—but he’s never taken it off. Not since the day you gave it to him. 

Not to mention helping you last week before the archery competition. His hands lingering over yours as he steadied your bow, the curls of his breath on the back of your neck when he stood behind you. 

“Don’t be nervous,” he says, a tinge of mirth in his voice. “You just steady your aim and first is as good as yours.”

(You came in fifteenth.)

You don’t want to say that it’s him weakening your aim, making your pulse beat out of your neck. His nose brushes against the back of your jaw as he leans forward and you smell the pine on his skin. Is this friendly? Is he this close on purpose? Are you delusional?

It’s all you’ve been thinking about these past few days. So when Luke Castellan’s endless admirers come to the forefront of your mind, you feel like all those moments of potential buildup have been ripped away. 

“You alright there, sunshine?” 

He takes you out of your spiral with a teasing lilt you love. When you look at him, his face is a shimmering warmth, complete with boyish smile. 

“Yep,” you reply, trying to ignore the nickname making your insides flutter even though you know he’s saying it ironically.

You’ve always had a gift for identifying colour. It’s the thing you pay attention to most. Something inherited from your mother, you suppose. So you’ve memorized the way Luke’s eyes melt in the sunlight. How his scar blends with his pinking cheeks when it’s hot outside. You never told him, and you probably never will, but you’ve painted him from memory quite a few times in the Apollo cabin—always with the excuse that you were practicing. It's so blatantly obvious you're in love with him there's no point in your friends bringing it up.  

The two of you are meandering around camp before dinner, a tradition Luke started early on in the summer. You talk about high points of your day (mostly you) or share nuggets of gossip you’ve heard around camp (mostly him). It's the thing you looked forward to every morning. A time when his words are just for you. 

Idle chatter flows as you keep walking. Sometimes your arm brushes his and you have the embarrassing urge to tug yours away. You do your best not to stare at him too long or laugh too loud at his jokes. 

“Hey, Castellan!” Someone calls. 

Luke’s head turns. Your heart plummets. A beautiful girl, Aphrodite cabin, you think, is heading towards you. She’s all honey-spun hair and dazzling pink lips, and it’s obvious she knows it. You don’t know her name. But Luke does. 

They fall into conversation the second she arrives. It’s just greetings, pleasantries, but there’s a coy smile on the girl’s face that betrays any sense of disinterest. “Heard you’re not too keen on pairing up with us for the Chariot Race next week. What gives?” Her tone is pouty and playful as she taps Luke’s shoulder. She side-eyes you, lips curling imperceptibly. “I’m sure you’ll have a better chance with us.”

He lets out a strained chuckle. “Dunno, just thought it was fine to switch it up.”

Just like that, you’re out of the loop again. More of her friends flock after her, and soon Luke is tangled in a whole other world. They’re all glowing with a kind of righteousness you only get when you’re popular. You know Luke has friends, tons of them. He's the leader of the cabin with the most campers. Not to mention assertive and gorgeous. His presence is so inviting it’s a challenge not to fall in love with him. 

So you can’t blame this girl, the one that keeps touching his arm and giggling. It’s not like you’ve staked your claim on Luke—no one even knows you exist. As much as you want him to be yours, you know you’ll never stop someone from taking him first. It’s your fatal flaw, you think. Cowardice. 

You end up sidelined completely. Watching him swathed in people more charismatic than you plants an ache deep inside you. All your wishful thinking feels sour now, a pipe dream, a bedtime story to help you sleep better. Somehow it hurts more knowing that it’s nobody’s fault but yours. These people can’t be doing this on purpose. It’s just who they are. It’s who you are—always a step behind, always daydreaming. You are your mother’s daughter, after all. Just a prism reflecting everyone around you. 

Eventually, one of the boys in the group takes notice of you. He’s not nearly as captivating as Luke is—you don’t find the colours of his eyes hold as much depth. There’s also a haughtiness when he looks at you. He sneers, “What the hell do you have on your face?”

It draws the attention of others in the group. You feel like a naked sculpture in an art gallery. “Uh, what?” You stammer. 

Some of them purse their lips. The girl with Luke lets a laugh slip. You’re pretty sure you look like an idiot, waiting there with your brows wrinkled in a daze. Their gazes keep flicking over to your cheek, so your hand flies up there before you can delay any more. When you press your fingers to the side of your face, they come away tacky and pink. Mortification constricts you.

Paint. It’s leftover, half-dried paint. The colour of Luke’s cheeks in the sun. 

“Oh,” you say dumbly. It’s drowned by snickers. All you can do is find Luke, the only face you know, and ask, “Why didn’t you tell me?” without sounding too hurt. 

You know you failed when your voice comes out wrong and his ebony brows push together. “I thought it looked—”

He never gets to finish because the golden girl laughs a little louder, the pink tones in her face a little darker. “Oh my Gods, you’re that Iris kid that’s always singing, right?” She giggles sharply, cornflower eyes darting between her friends. There’s something in there you can’t quite pick up on, until it flushes the pupils of all her friends, and they all grin with a secret knowledge they want you to see. “You’re, like, really good!” The girl simpers, but her bottom lip pulls between her teeth to soften another laugh. 

“Oh, so good!” Another friend piles on. 

Their passive-aggressive chuckles start to sound like hail on a window. You shift further away from them. Dirt slides beneath your shoe, and you long to kick up more of it, displace yourself, disappear. 

You don’t look at Luke. The giggly, flaxen girl has already turned back to him, and you’re sure he’s enthralled once more. You try to stir up the image of Luke’s closeness during archery practice, the lilac bruise on his knuckles when he angled your bow, but it doesn’t take. Now, it feels like you’ve dreamed it. 

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Luke leaning down to catch a whisper from the Aphrodite girl’s ear. The boy that first commented on your cheek leans closer to you again. He’s suffocatingly smug when he grins, “Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you go … wash that off? You don’t want to look like that at dinner.” He snorts. “For an Iris kid, you really aren’t good at taking a message.” 

If you were a more confident person, maybe you’d point out how that didn’t really make sense, or how stupid it sounded coming out of his mouth. But the sentiment of it wounds you, and you’re weak enough as is. 

"Guess you're right," you mumble. You wipe your face of paint as you leave. The memory of Luke’s skin stains you until you wash your hands off in the sink. 

You haven’t talked to him since. 

It’s been a few days of you avoiding him, and it’s hard to explain to anyone why you’ve been doing it. How do you tell the truth? Luke Castellan is a work of art and you are … a weird doodle, or something. Despite your adoration, you know there’s no reason he should feel the same for you. Everyone loves him for a reason. Everyone must ignore you for one, too. 

“Why haven’t you been talking to Luke?”

The question breaks your concentrated silence in the Apollo cabin. You’ve been sitting here for a while now, humming to yourself over a mostly blank canvas. The cabin is dusted with a lilac haze, thanks to your manipulation of the light streaming through the windows. Helps you feel less like you’re at camp and more like you’re in a fairytale. 

“Helloooo, lady, I asked you a question.”

You begrudgingly look up. Lee Fletcher, head of the Apollo cabin, is at the mouth of the cabin, gazing at all your supplies strewn about the floor like they’re a bunch of unsavoury substances. “It looks like a hurricane came in here. Now why aren’t you talking to Luke?”

“How do you know I’m not talking to him?” You mutter as Lee sits beside you. 

“Uh, because you’ve been sleeping here multiple nights in a row and you never do that. And you don’t sit with him at dinner. And whenever we see him you drag me in the other direction—”

“Lee!”

“I’m just saying, you should probably talk about it. My beautiful voice can heal wounds, yes, but not of the heart.” He splays a hand across his chest in mock theatrics.

You don’t say anything. The familiar weight of the brush against your fingertips is far more comforting than trying to talk, so you busy yourself with your canvas again. “He waits for you, you know,” Lee continues, quieter. “In the morning. And before dinner. He always asks if you’re here.”

“Oh,” you say, and your wavering voice betrays your expression. But you think of everyone else at camp, their gleaming smiles and their celebrated parents, their own cabins and friends and dreams, how you don’t seem to have any of those. You think of the girl whispering in Luke’s ear. All her shades of beauty. You know it’s wrong to compare yourself, to be jealous. You’re just … sad.

The cabin darkens from a lilac to an imperceptibly gloomier shade. A blue sort of longing gets caught in your throat, blurring the colours on your canvas. But you keep your brush steady, focused on the scratch of its bristles so you don’t have to hear what you say next. 

“I think I love him, Lee.” And then, “But I don’t think he loves me.”

There’s no sound except the scraping of your brush when it’s run out of paint, and a sniffle when a tear rolls down your cheek. 

“Oh,” Lee fills the silence the way you did just moments before. Then he says your name, laced with pity, and hugs you on the floor of his lavender cabin. 

“You want to help me lead the bonfire song tonight?” He asks after a minute. “Or at least … come to the bonfire song?” 

“No to the first, yes to the second.”

You wish you said no to both. 

The spot you choose after dinner is right next to the fire so you can distract yourself with the golden flecks of flame. Fire is so fluid, so complex, from a colour perspective. But no matter how close you get, the searing warmth can’t hide Luke’s gaze peering over the embers. 

He will not. Stop. Looking at you. 

The singing from the Apollo kids usually soothes you but tonight it’s just making you anxious. All this attention so close to you. Will Solace has been sitting next to you this whole time, your unofficial assigned companion for the night thanks to Lee. One of his siblings beckons him over, and he shoots you an apologetic look, hesitating. "Just go," you wave off kindly. "It's all good." He's not entirely convinced, and you aren't either, but he squeezes your shoulder with thanks and leaves you anyway.

Now you’re acutely aware the space next to you is wide open. And so is Luke, it seems. There’s an awkward moment where your gazes slide over each other and he weaves out of his current crowd towards you. So you do the most mature, sound thing you could possibly do in this situation:

You say you have to go to the bathroom to no one in particular and get out of there. 

It’s dark, but you’ve got sharper eyes than most. Soon the noise of the campfire is behind you. You traipse through the camp towards the bathroom,but you don’t get far before you hear something that makes your stomach drop in the worst and best way. 

Luke, calling your name. 

At first you think you can get away with not hearing him. Then he calls a second, a third, a fourth time, punctuated with, “Come on, I know you can hear me, can you just turn around?”

He’s got longer legs than you so the next time he speaks it’s practically in your ear. “Hey, just look at me. Please. I want to talk to you.”

There’s something so tender in his voice that it makes you cave immediately. But you already feel so fragile, you can feel the tears behind your eyes. You know you won’t have the strength to talk to him. 

His hand curls gently around your wrist and it sends warmth all the way up your arm. He says your name again, softer, and you love the way it sounds. You can’t meet his eyes, but you already know what he looks like. Even in the dark you picture him crystal clear. 

“Look at me,” he repeats. “I just—I need to know what I did wrong.”

His dark eyes are full and apprehensive when you heed him. You notice how much you’ve missed studying his face—the slight bunch of his brows, the tensing in his jaw. And you almost delude yourself that he’s missed you just as much, the way he squeezes your wrist and rakes over your expression.

“Why are you ignoring me?” He asks. 

“I’m not—”

“You are. I know you. Just tell me why.” 

He looks so sweet, so earnest, and it kills you. You think of the way he looked when all his friends made fun of you. It all comes up before you can help it. 

“Do you always let me walk around looking like an idiot?” You ask bitingly, staring at the floor. “The thing, with the paint on my cheek—why didn’t you tell me? I looked so stupid and all your friends just laughed at me!” 

His face falls. “I tried to tell you, I thought—”

“It’s okay to say you don’t like me, or that you’re embarrassed, or whatever, but I …” You swallow, tears thick on your lower lashes. “Everyone makes fun of me. I don’t know why you don’t.”

“Because I do like you,” he states, hand moving up to your forearm. 

“Don’t say that,” you whisper. “You’re so much … better, you know you are, and I don’t want your pity, or your spare time. I just—I made something up in my head that wasn’t there and I only noticed it the other day after you talked to that girl and that guy made fun of me and I’m really, really sorry—”

“It looked cute. I was trying to say I didn’t tell you about the paint because I thought it was cute.”

There’s a lull.

“What?” You blink stupidly. 

“I know I should’ve told you about it, but I swear I was going to before dinner, I didn’t think we’d run into anyone before then.” His cheeks tinge red. “I had this whole dumb thing planned out where I’d wipe it off your cheek and tell you how cute it was once you got embarassed. I was waiting to tell you. I was thinking about it the whole time.”

His hand on your arm is a frighteningly grounding thing. You're dumbstruck by that alone. Your lips part, but all that comes out is, “Why?”

A gentle laugh tumbles out of his throat. “Why do you think?”

His other hand comes up to brush your cheekbone, where the paint had been, and you can imagine him doing it to you on that day. How you'd probably react just the way he said you would, the way you are now. A warm orange glow blooming in your chest. “But the girl—”

“She tried whispering to me how much she liked my bracelet,” he smiles fondly. “Told her you made it for me. It shut her up. I don’t know what that guy said to you but I chewed ‘em all out the second you left. They knew I wasn’t happy. I tried looking for you but you were gone. I don't like them, you know."

You don’t know what to say. It’s too difficult, too uncertain for you to jump the gun on this. So you just stare at all the shifting colours on his face as he moves closer to you. All this time going over his every detail, and there's still more to be enthralled by.

“I found the paintings,” he says, voice so close you can feel it brushing your skin. “The ones of me. I was looking for you in the Apollo cabin a week ago and you left one out. I knew it was yours because ... I mean, there’s no one in the world that can make me look that … beautiful.” 

The last word is apprehensive but it’s spoken with an unimaginable tenderness. He looks a little teary himself. You think you’re dreaming. “I knew I had to tell you after that. I’ve been trying to tell you. But you started pulling away from me so I thought I was making it all up.”

“Tell me what?” It’s a ghost of a question between you, an impossible thing, but the hand on your arm slips around to your back and he presses it there with such certainty. 

“You’re really gonna make me say it?” He cocks his head, but you nod. “I’m in love with you, I think.”

The words cascade over you in ribbons of warmth. Your brain feels fuzzy, seperate from the rest of your body. Your mouth opens multiple times but you can’t seem to control what comes out. “Luke, are you joking?”

“Not even a little.”

“But you’ve got so many other—”

“I want you.”

“I am literally the most incompetent person alive; I can’t sing, I can’t talk to people, I have a weird knee—”

"Your knee is fine!"

"I'm just saying, this makes no sense from an outsider perspective, it's—"

“Okay, clearly the telling thing isn’t working so I guess I’m just gonna have to kiss you.”

It happens so quickly you don’t have any time to think (probably for the better). You let out a surprised “oh” before his mouth silences you, stopping every other thought. He’s gentle, thumb still rubbing your cheekbone, other hand still firm at your waist. You want to panic—where should you put your hands? How do you know you’re doing this right? But he steadies you, the way he always does, and you give in. 

He starts to smile against your lips. You’re almost positive the intensity of your heartbeat could summon a storm. When he pulls away, he kisses the corners of your mouth and you think you’re going to evaporate. “I don’t think I’m very good at this,” you whisper.

“You’re perfect.” He grins a little when your hands tentatively tug at a curl on the nape of his neck. “And none of that stuff you say is true. I mean, you’re definitely a better singer than me.”

Leaning close to your ear, he warbles out a song you know but gets the words horribly wrong anyways. You can’t help but laugh. “Okay, maybe you have a point.”

He hums and chuckles with you. You swear the moon gets brighter when he wraps his arms around your waist to kiss the side of your face. “Next time you paint me, I want to be there when you do it.”

You blush harder than you ever have in your life. “Only if you try painting me,” you say quietly.

“Of course. You’re very pretty, so I’m sure my horrible artistic skills won’t even make you look bad.”

Luke lets you press your face into the crook of his neck. You soak it up for all it’s worth. 

In the morning, you wake up in the same position. Your nose tucked against his collarbone, the shade of pink you love freckled across his cheeks. You can't wait to paint him again.

When you look out the window, you say a silent, grateful prayer to your mother.

She's given you two more rainbows.

#perrie’s fics #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan #charlie bushnell #perrie's requests #pjo #pjo x reader #pjo fic #luke castellan fic #luke castellan imagine #luke castellan fluff #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo tv show #heroes of olympus #percy jackson

[supernovafics]

𝐎𝐍𝐋𝐘 𝐅𝐎𝐑 𝐘𝐎𝐔

"i'll be there for you" universe masterlist

pairing: bestfriend!roommate!steve harrington x fem!reader

word count: 2.9k words

warnings: explicit language, (slight) jealous!steve, brief mention of blood/injury (reader has a lil fall)

summary: in which everything has changed for steve after that night at the bar and morning in your bed, but he hasn’t admitted that to you yet. being honest is much harder than he thought it would be and no moment feels completely right, so he continues to pretend that nothing has changed. but, a day at the park playing basketball with you makes it feel a thousand times harder to keep the secret

author's note: the slow burn will end one day (eventually) (i promise) i just love dragging things out for absolutely no reason<3 (i’m sorry!)<333 anyways enjoy this very slight jealous!steve moment! he’s a bit of an asshole in this but also like not really and it’s only kinda for a second

general note: everything in this universe/series can be read as standalone oneshots but to understand the full “lore” it would prob be best to read the other stuff too<333

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Winter 1986

It actually wasn’t all that surprising when Steve asked you to go to the park— that Saturday marked the first slightly warm day in months. 

And maybe saying that he “asked you” was a bit of a stretch because this felt more like a hostage situation; one that you technically orchestrated since, as one of his Christmas presents, you promised that you would play basketball with him one time. And today, on one of the first few days of March, he decided to drag you out of the apartment and to the park that was a quick drive away and had semi-nice basketball courts. 

You changed out of your typical Saturday attire, which simply consisted of a hoodie and shorts, and into a cream-colored t-shirt that said, “Sports Suck. And you do too” in black lettering, Steve got it for you for your birthday, and it felt almost too fitting for this moment. You also had on a pair of black athletic shorts that had been your usual attire during high school gym class.

“You’re the only person that I would ever subject myself to doing this for,” You said to Steve as you stepped out of his car and grabbed the basketball that had been sitting at your sneaker covered feet during the drive. “So, I hope you understand how huge of a deal this is.” 

Steve laughed a bit. “I know, and I feel honored that you’re risking your life by doing this for me right now.”

“You say that jokingly, but I brought a first aid kit just in case this ends badly,” You said and handed the basketball over to him. “So, what’s first? A riveting round of HORSE?”

“Before we play any games, and I beat you at all of them, let’s just shoot around for a bit so you can get used to it. Was the last time you played basketball really at my eleventh birthday party?” He asked, shooting the ball from a little bit in front of the three-point line as he spoke and making it almost too effortlessly. 

You grabbed the ball as it bounced on the court and then took a shot. You were standing much closer to the basket than Steve had been but still missed. 

“If that didn’t just answer your question, yes, your birthday party was the last time I even thought about playing. I actually think it was that day that made me realize I should stay away from all sports.”

“You hadn’t been that bad back then.”

You gave him a look. “Steve, I hit your grandma with a basketball. I missed a shot so bad that it hit her.”

It was that day that you were banned from using the basketball hoop in Steve’s backyard, rightfully so. 

“Okay, yeah, but she was fine and forgave you immediately. And even made sure you got an extra piece of cake when you started crying because of how bad you felt,” He said, tossing the ball to you so that you could try another shot. 

“Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m horrible at this,” You said before taking a breath and shooting the ball. You missed again, but it at least hit the rim that time. 

“That’s progress,” Steve said and gave you an encouraging smile.  

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

Exactly twenty-three minutes had passed, and the only reason that you were keeping close track of the time was because when Steve had dragged you out of the apartment, you told him that you’d only be playing for an hour; unless you somehow turned into a prodigy. 

You had lost count of how many times you shot the basketball, but you knew that the number of times you successfully made a basket was four. It was an embarrassingly low number, and you definitely were not a prodigy, but each time you surprisingly made a shot, you’d gasp in shock and Steve would whoop happily and give you an enthusiastic high five while saying that the pointers he was giving you were working. You weren’t entirely sure that was true— and it wasn’t because he was a bad teacher, you were just a bad student. You were certain that each shot you made was based on pure luck and simple probability; if you kept shooting the ball, you’d eventually end up making something. 

And when you told Steve exactly that, he only shook his head at you. “No, you made those four shots because you’re good.” 

How happy and positive he was being about this entire thing was the only thing that made it bearable. 

You laughed a bit. “I love you and your encouragement, but that is such an overstatement.”

“For someone that hasn’t even touched a basketball in eight years, you are good.” 

“Thank you,” You said with an amused smile on your face instead of rebutting his statement. “I’ll make sure to try out for the local rec team when the time comes.” 

“That’s a great idea. I’ll coach you to help you prepare,” Steve said jokingly, and you only laughed in response. 

You were about to ask him to toss you the ball, but a group of guys walking past you two, probably headed to the empty hoop on the other side of the court, caught your attention for a second instead. There were four of them and one smiled at you as he passed by you and Steve and he was kind of cute so you smiled back. 

You were completely unaware, but there was something about that smile you gave the guy that made Steve have to look away from the entire nonverbal interaction and focus on the basketball in his hand instead. All too quickly he wanted to blurt it all out, everything that had hit him so abruptly that morning in your bed barely two weeks ago. 

I love you. I’m in love with you.

For the most part, that thought was the only thing that consumed his mind these days, especially when you two were together; which of course was way more often than not. 

There had probably been at least a hundred moments where he almost accidentally let it slip. Hours after it all had hit him, you two were sitting on the couch mindlessly watching some random sitcom and you leaned your head on his shoulder and he was so close to simply whispering it to you. And then when you two were in your Film and TV history class that Tuesday and writing unserious notes back and forth to one another in the margins of his notebook, he wanted to just write the five words down and slide the notebook back over to you. And just last night when you two were driving to the movie theater to see something with Robin and Eddie, he felt the urge to say it when a stupid love song that felt as if it cheesily summed up exactly how he was feeling came on the radio. 

However, he would always bite his tongue right before he told you because he was waiting for that perfect moment to be honest with you, and nothing felt entirely right just yet. And it especially didn’t feel like a good time in this moment where you were smiling at some guy that wasn’t him and a certain feeling that could only be deemed as jealousy sat in the pit of his stomach. 

Steve cleared his throat, bringing your attention back to him and then he tossed the ball to you. “Your turn.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

The first round of HORSE was started and finished barely fifteen minutes later, quickly ending with Steve winning. Even though you could tell that he was going very easy on you and trying to let you win, you still somehow managed to lose. 

“This loss feels so much more embarrassing knowing that you were trying to let me win,” You had said after you missed your shot and got an “E.” 

“I wasn’t,” Steve told you with a shake of his head and you only gave him a look that said you didn’t believe him. 

You reached down to grab the ball and stop it from rolling away, but you somehow tripped over nothing but your own feet and landed hard on the ground. 

You yelped as you collided with the concrete. Luckily, you thought fast enough to put your hands out so that you didn’t completely faceplant. “Ouch. Shit.” 

Steve was by your side in an instant and started helping you up. “Are you okay?”

You could only shrug in response to his question at first as you stood up with the help of his hand on your arm. 

“Okay, just kidding, that moment was a lot more embarrassing than losing the game,” You told him. When you looked down and saw the deep scrape on your knee and the blood already starting to rise from the wound, you immediately had to look away from it. “I put the first aid kit in the backseat.”

“What? You actually brought it? I thought you were joking,” Steve said, keeping an arm around you as he helped you walk over to the car and opened the passenger side door so that you could sit down. 

“Of course, I wasn’t joking. It felt inevitable that something like this would happen,” You said as you sat sideways in the passenger seat so that your feet were on the ground, and then you grabbed a couple napkins from the glove compartment to place it on your knee and help stop the bleeding. “Honestly, I’m surprised this didn’t happen in the first five minutes.”  

Steve grabbed the first aid kit before kneeling down in front of you and you looked at the four guys down at the end of the court. They were playing a two against two game and the one that smiled at you earlier just made a shot at the three-point line. 

You stopped looking at him and instead focused on the top of Steve’s head. “Ugh, I can’t believe I just fell in front of that cute guy.” 

“Maybe he didn’t even see,” Steve mumbled with a quick shrug.

“I doubt that,” You said and then sighed. “These last few weeks have been very humbling. First, things immediately going downhill with Jamie, and now this.” 

Steve didn’t know how things had ended with Jamie, you had yet to tell him the exact reasoning, but selfishly he had been glad that they did. Although he couldn’t find it in him to tell you the truth just yet, the thought of now having to see you with anyone else annoyed him. 

You tapped his shoulder so that he would look up at you. “It would be a bad idea if I went up to him and asked for his number, right?” 

“Yeah, it would,” Steve answered, pulling his eyes away from yours and focusing on grabbing something from the first aid kit instead. His words were a lie, for the most part— he personally would’ve thought it was cute if a girl did that to him. He immediately felt like shit for lying to you, but not enough to go back on what he said. 

You nodded at his response. “Okay.”

You kept your eyes away from what Steve was doing as he cleaned up your knee, looking up at the sky instead until he was done and placing the large band-aid over it. 

“Thanks,” You said and smiled at him. 

He looked up at you for a brief moment before standing up and simply giving you a small nod. He went over to grab the basketball, which had rolled into the grass, and then put it in the backseat. 

The drive back to the apartment was quiet and it felt more like Steve’s doing than yours. He suddenly seemed distant, maybe even mad at you, and the abrupt shift felt so odd.

You looked over at him. “What’s wrong?” 

He shook his head. “I’m fine.” 

It felt pretty clear that he wasn’t fine, though. You could tell that he was annoyed at you for reasons that you couldn’t decipher and that only made you annoyed as well. You didn’t even play with the radio during the drive back to the apartment, you just sat there with your arms folded across your chest as you stared out the window. 

You wondered if the prevailing silence bothered him as much as it bothered you, but then that question didn’t even matter because he was pulling into the parking lot of the apartment building and parking in the usual open spot next to your car, and you were unbuckling your seatbelt. 

“What happened with you and Jamie?” Steve asked before you could open the door and step out of his car. “You never really talked about it.” 

The abruptness of the question surprised you; and it wasn’t even the question itself that was the surprising part, it was more so the timing of it. Was that why he decided to randomly get mad at you? Because you never told him what happened on that dumb date? And why the hell would it even matter at this point? 

You weren’t even entirely sure why you hadn’t told Steve the full extent of what happened. When you came back from the date that night, you only said that things had gone badly. 

You turned to look at Steve. “He didn’t like you.” 

His eyebrows furrowed at that. “What?”

“Well, not you necessarily, but us; our friendship,” You said, looking down at your band-aid-covered knee. “When me and him went on the date, he asked about what my emergency was and why I had to cancel the date the first time, and I told him about your accidental phone call and you being drunk at the bar and me having to go get you, and he didn’t see that as much of an emergency; especially since you had wanted Eddie to pick you up. He thought it was a little weird how easily I canceled plans to go do something for you, and the whole night kind of shifted awkwardly from there.”

You remembered that entire conversation perfectly, and you honestly couldn’t even get that annoyed with Jamie when he said any of that because you didn’t think that your priorities would ever be able to change. Steve would probably always be at the top of your unwritten list, and you had come to the conclusion that whoever else wanted to be in your life would just have to deal with that. 

“Oh.”

You looked at him curiously. “What?”

“Nothing,” Steve shook his head. “I’m sorry.” 

Hearing him say that only confused you. “Sorry for what?”

He was quiet for a long moment before sighing. “I don’t know…” 

“Is that why you were mad at me just now? Because I didn’t tell you what happened on the date?”

“No, I don’t even know why I brought it up right now, I was just curious,” He said with a shrug before meeting your gaze. “And I’m not mad at you for anything. I promise.” 

“Okay…” You said as you found one of his hands and gave it a light squeeze. “So, what’s up with you? Clearly, something’s wrong, right? Is it something with your parents?”

“No, nothing with them,” He responded, which was an answer that only confused you more. It looked like there were a thousand things going through his head right then, and you couldn’t seem to decipher any of it, which felt foreign to you— you were so used to reading him like a book. “It’s just… it’s kind of hard to explain right now.”

If it really had nothing to do with his parents, you were unsure what else it could be and what else would be difficult to talk to you about. In your head, there wasn’t supposed to be anything that you couldn’t talk to each other about; you were best friends for a reason. It was easy to joke around and playfully banter with one another, but it had also always been easy to have the types of deep and honest conversations that neither of you would ever have with anyone else. 

You decided not to push him further in this moment, though. Whatever was going on with him, you knew that he’d tell you eventually. 

“It’s okay. Tell me whenever you want to,” You said softly and then decided to say your next words jokingly to shift the mood a bit. “But stop being weird about whatever it is, or I will think that you hate me or something.”

Steve only shook his head at your words at first. “I could never hate you.”

Maybe that was when you should’ve seen it, when you should’ve realized how he felt about you. There was something about the way he said his short statement— so certainly, so truthfully— that should’ve made you connect all of the dots. But, that was the last possible thing on your mind. You would’ve thought that he wanted to move out of the apartment for some random reason before you even considered thinking that he had any sort of romantic feelings toward you. You two had been friends for forever so that just didn’t sound like a plausible thought. 

Therefore, instead of any sort of “aha!” moment hitting you right then, you smiled playfully at Steve and said, “Good.”

.・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。. .・。.・゜✭・.・✫・゜・。.

let me know ur thoughts<333

(requests are open for stuff you wanna see in the universe/series!🫶🏾)

#steve harrington x reader #steve harrington fic #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington x you #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington x fem!reader #stranger things fluff #stranger things imagine #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington x y/n #steve harrington x reader smut #steve harrington series

[rogersideup]

｡°✩ ♊︎ The Gemini ♊︎ ✩ °｡

Chapter 3

Expendable

Series Masterlist

Previous part: wine and dine next part: pink peonies

Word Count 5,333

Warnings: My blog is 18+ only. All minors or blogs without an age in bio will be blocked. Minors DNI. Mentions and descriptions of sexual acts.

Standing in front of a human shaped dummy in the private training room, Steve was showing you all the best ways to direct an attack to assure your opponent goes down, and stays down.

After your mission and injury, Steve was out for a few days on a business trip the same day that you were medically cleared to get back to work. So, it had been a while since the last time you trained together.

You both decided it was a good idea to just take it easy and review what you already know as a means of studying for your final evaluation coming up.

Every agent had to take a final evaluation upon completing every single training course shield had to offer. It was a big deal, and though nobody had any doubts that you were ready for it, it could never hurt to review and improve.

"Knock knock, bitches." Bucky announced, causing both of you to stop.

"Hey, Bucky boy" You greeted him.

"What's going on, Buck?" Steve questioned.

"I dunno, I'm bored." He shrugged. "Can I just sit and watch?"

"Don't you have work to do?" You asked with a giggle.

"I finished!" He defended himself. "You two get to spend so much time without me, it's only fair I get to insert myself here whenever I want to."

"You act like this is personal and not us doing our jobs" Steve raised an eyebrow at him.

"That's a technicality I'm choosing to ignore." Bucky sat on the ground with his back against the wall.

Steve looked at you to make sure it was okay that he sat and watched, but he caught something he wished he hadn't. Just for a split second, you narrowed your eyes at Bucky, and he gave you a very subtle nod back.

He realized that it very well could've been nothing, but it definitely seemed like it was something.

Though Steve didn't bring it up at all, he made mental note of it. He was confident in his deep knowledge of both of his friend's behavior, and he was choosing to trust his gut on that observation.

The rest of your time together, Bucky sat and watched quietly, only occasionally responding to conversations that would break out that weren't work related. Towards the end, Steve wanted to confirm some scheduling, so he cut the physical work a few minutes early.

He sat on the bench with you as you pulled a sweatshirt over your head, and your everyday sneakers onto your feet.

"Okay, so, your final evaluation is one week from today." Steve noted. "So this week will be really simple, we can keep doing this, just reviewing what we've already been over. But our training together is still supposed to run until the end of the month so we have three extra weeks together."

"What am I supposed to do when this ends?! I'll be so bored without you!" You exclaimed.

Steve chuckled. "You should be happy that you survived my course!"

"I mean I am, but then what?"

"Maybe another Avenger will take you under their wing." Steve shrugged.

"I can only think of one Avenger with wings" you noted.

"What do you want to cover in the three weeks together after your evaluation?" He asked.

Your lips formed into a pout. "I know what it should be, but I don't wanna do it"

"Restraints?" Steve questioned sympathetically.

"Restraints... I guess." You grumbled.

Every fighter had a weak spot. Just one thing that made their stomachs turn and their hearts race, something that really scared them regardless of mental work or preparation. Some people couldn't handle heights, didn't do very well when they saw blood, and really freaked out over handling certain weapons.

You just happened to be terrified of being restrained, which unfortunately was a very plausible situation to find yourself in as an agent. There was no reason why you were terrified of it, nothing happened in your life to make you fear it as much as you did. But the thought of having your hands or legs tied made you feel claustrophobic in a way you couldn't even describe using words.

"It'll be scary at first, but we'll work on it" Steve reassured. "Wouldn't you rather learn how to get out of any sort of restraint with someone you trust then find yourself in a situation where you're tied up at the hands of an enemy with no way out?"

"Logically yes, but in reality I would like neither of those things to happen." You responded with a twinge of sarcasm.

Steve laughed, "okay well, I wouldn't like that to happen to you either! But once you learn how to escape from a bunch of different scenarios, you won't be scared of it anymore. Knowledge is power!"

"I know you didn't just knowledge is power me, you loser!" You joked with a snort.

"Oh I certainly did, and I'll do it again." He stated with a smile. "Confidently!"

"Okay, I guess I trust you enough to teach me." You committed to the endeavor.

"Good job, pushing yourself is how you grow better as a fighter." Steve praised your bravery. "We'll start with the easiest and work our way up to the hardest, then you'll be such a pro at it that nothing could ever hold you back."

"Yeah, yeah." You playfully rolled your eyes.

"Then after our training together is officially over, I'm going to block off my schedule these same two hours every day to just cry." Steve put a hand over his heart.

"Can you do that to my schedule too? Maybe we can cry together?"

"I'll see what I can do." Steve agreed, before opening his arms up for a hug. You happily hugged him back. "Good job today! You're going to do great on your assessment no matter who is assigned to asses you. We all know it."

"Thanks for teaching me!" You smiled. "In all seriousness, I've really enjoyed getting to learn from you. Thanks for all the time you've put onto me."

"Anytime, Bug. I've been enjoying it just as much." Then Steve turned to include Bucky in their conversation. "What are you guys up to for the rest of the day?"

"Nothing, well, I think that's pretty obvious considering I'm just sitting here" Bucky shrugged. "Do you guys want to hang out? Maybe we can walk to that cool park a few blocks from here? Watch the sunset and get some fresh air?"

"That sounds good to me." Steve agreed. "Buggy, you in?"

Both boys watched as you stood up and slipped your gym back onto your shoulder. "As fun as that sounds, I can't. You know Agent 563? We made plans to have an early dinner together so I have to get ready to leave here soon."

"Booooo, buzz kill!" Bucky announced dramatically.

"That doesn't mean you can't go on a cute little sunset date with your boyfriend without me, Bucky." You smiled at him. "By all means, you boys have fun."

"I think that's great." Steve told you, ignoring the boyfriend comment. "563 is a great agent, and I think it's important that you girls stick together.

"Lord knows we need some time away from the amount of testosterone in this place." You agreed.

“Even me?" Bucky pouted.

"Even you." You smiled at him, approaching him for a hug that you had to bend over pretty far to get. "And Steve. I love you both, but I need to interact with other people than just you two!"

"Hey! I only talk to you and Steve and I'm doing just fine" Bucky defended himself.

"What about Natasha?" Steve wiggled his eyebrows suggestively at him.

"Don't bring up Natas-" Bucky started passionately

"I'm leaving!" You announced before an argument broke out. "Love you boys! Have fun on your date! I hope you hold hands and kiss each other's foreheads!"

Steve and Bucky stared at each other as you walked out of the room. The door closed behind you, and your foot steps faded until completely inaudible to either of their heightened ears.

"Why are you actually here, Buck?" Steve asked.

"You're in love with her." He claimed deadpan.

Steve's heart sank, but controlled himself the best he could as to not bluff. "Why would you say that?"

"I figured it out last night." Bucky admitted. "I was trying to sleep but my brain wouldn't turn off. I was thinking about the dynamic of our little friend group and it hit me like a train. I had to come confirm it with my own eyes."

Steve puffed out a performative chuckle and put his hands on his hips. "You understand how crazy that sounds, right?"

"Is it though?" Bucky raised an eyebrow while standing up from his spot on the floor. "I never noticed it until today. Your eyes physically twinkle when you look at her. Your cheeks have been pink since I got here, and you never stopped smiling until she left the room. Encouraging, sweet, considerate..."

"It's my job to be encouraging towards her, Buck. I'm her boss." Steve huffed, feeling annoyed and attacked by this conversation.

"Why won't you admit it?" He asked.

Steve stopped in place and noted Bucky's furrowed brows. "Wait, why do you seem so upset about this?"

"I'm not upset." Bucky denied, shaking his head. "But if you're actually pining after her, Punk..."

"What?" Steve's heart was pounding.

"Do you like her?" Bucky asked one more time, his tone was nothing but serious. His face was stone cold.

"I'm her boss." Steve slumped. "There's a power imbalance, I can't break her trust."

"And if she joins the Avengers?" His head tilted.

"She just got out of a relationship."

"It's already been a month since then." Bucky insisted. "Steve, this is between me, you, and the grave. I'm serious."

Steve threw his head back with a groan. It had been a while since he had seen Bucky this worked up about anything, so he knew it was important. But getting the admission to slip past his tongue felt morally wrong and partially impossible.

"Steve."

"Yes." He said simply, staring up at the ceiling.

"How long?"

"How long what?" Steve sighed.

"How long have you had feelings for her?"

"Since the day I met her..." Steve mumbled.

"Oh my-"Bucky rubbed his face with his hand before running his hand through his hair. "You hid it too well."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Steve froze up as his mind ran laps around Bucky's behavior. He already knew what was coming before he could admit to it.

"You're going to hate us, but I need to tell you something..." Bucky said apologetically.

Meanwhile, you were having a fantastic time with Agent 563, Clara. Though the two of you were friendly around the compound, you never had the chance to actually sit and have a long conversation with her before. Both of you getting the chance to vent about the workplace environment and culture to someone who actually understood what it was like to experience it in the unique way you did was refreshing to say the least.

After dinner neither of you were ready to end the conversation there, so you grabbed ice cream on the way back, and walked the whole way home together. At a certain point, work was a topic long forgotten as you two bonded over other similar interests like movies, hobbies, family, you two even shared the same love for video games.

By the time you made it back to your apartment, there was a smile on your face and a lightness to your heart you hadn't felt in a while. It was obvious that work was making you feel heavy and alone for a while, but you didn't realize how bad it actually was until you got away from it.

That smile was wiped off your face when you opened the door to Steve sitting on your couch with a stiffness in his body and an anger on his face you had never seen before.

"Hey, are you alright?" You immediately asked as his head snapped over to you the second the door opened.

Alarm bells were instantly ringing. Your heart dropped into your stomach, and raced with a speed you didn't quite know was possible.

You had given Steve and Bucky a key to your place just like you had keys to theirs, but the three of you typically hung out at Steve's place. Either of them coming to your apartment was a rare occurrence, and them ever using your key was even more rare.

Steve watched you kick off your shoes and hang up your purse, he felt so many emotions all at once that he couldn't even begin to get the words out.

You hesitantly approached, he still didn't answer. "What's wrong?"

"Why didn't you tell me?" Steve questioned. His tone very obviously gave away his state of emotion, it only made you feel more anxious.

You had a suspicion what this was about, but number one rule as an agent was to never incriminate yourself. "Tell you what?"

"Don't do that with me." Steve denied. "Bucky already told me. I don't understand why you guys would do that and keep it from me."

Your posture slumped knowing that this reaction was exactly why you and Bucky decided to keep a dirty little secret from Steve. So you sat down on an armchair next to the couch he sat on so you could explain.

But, he didn't even give you a chance to defend yourself before he spoke again. "Did either of you even consider how hooking up with each other would affect me?"

"Hey now, let's get some facts straight." You didn't let him go any further. "I feel like the term hooking up is giving what we did way more credit than what it was worth, and yes, we did consider you, which is why we both agreed we weren't going to tell you."

"Great, thank you so much for the consideration. That makes me feel really secure in my friendships with both of you!" Steve said sarcastically, feeling betrayed and admittedly heartbroken beyond words.

"Wait" You shook your head. "I know that sounds bad, but you have to understand that we all have different morals and personal opinions when it comes to sex and we knew you wouldn't understand."

"What is there to not understand?" He questioned. "You two had sex with no regard to how it would effect our friendships with each other."

"First of all, it wasn't sex, there was no penetration." You corrected. "Second of all, we didn't think it would effect our friendships because that's all we are to each other."

"I don't care about the details or what actually went down between you. Had either of you told me you liked each other from the get go it wouldn't have been a problem. I would've been happy for you two." He grumbled.

"We don't like each other." You denied. "We were just at the right place at the right time, things moved fast, and that's that. There's no romance happening, nothing to make social group weird. We all know Bucky likes Natasha."

"Well it's weird now." Steve glared at you.

"What do you want me to do now? It already happened, I can't go back and change it." You noted. "Want me to suck your dick too and call it even?"

"This isn't funny and I really don't appreciate that comment." He scoffed.

"It wasn't weird for you until Bucky opened his mouth, huh?" You asked him. "Was it weird for you two weeks ago when it actually happened?"

"I don't care." He swallowed thickly.

Feeling quite taken back by his behavior, and a little more that a little annoyed that Bucky spilled the beans, your attitude came out. "I'm a grown woman capable of making grown choices, and I don't owe you an explanation of what I choose to do with my body, Steve."

"No, you don't." He agreed, but you made him snap. "But I'm feeling betrayed and disrespected by the two of you, and that, I do feel like I'm owed an explanation for."

"Are you mad at Bucky too?" You snapped right back. "Huh? Did you yell at him?"

"He told me the truth." Steve rationalized.

"Yeah, well I never lied to you." You pointed out. "And why did Bucky feel the need to tell you what we did privately? Huh? Do you feel like I'm allowed to feel betrayed and disrespected for him going against our word?"

"I'm not here to tell you how to feel. I'm here to try and rationalize any of the choices we're making right now." He raised his voice. "My friends are the only family I have, and I refuse to lose a friend I've already lost many times before over a stupid choice."

Just with that one sentence, he broke your heart. "And that right there, is exactly why I thought it was okay in the first place." You growled as all of your self defenses came rushing in to protect you from the words you always knew to be true but never wanted to admit.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm expendable to you and Bucky. I always have been." You stood up from your spot next to him. "You say you're upset because you didn't want to ruin the dynamic of the friend group but guess what? The dynamic has always been you and Bucky hanging out and me just kind've being there. You'll always choose each other, and everyone will always choose someone else over me."

"That's not true." Steve denied. Although he was seeing red with anger, your words made him sad for you.

"I'm never anyone's first choice, Steve. You'll always choose Bucky, Bucky will always choose you. My sister will choose her husband, Harvey will always choose literally anything but me. Nobody else here is willing to be my friend because it's like social suicide, and I had to completely isolate myself from my normal civilian friends for this job." You explained. "I'm the best agent so I get used and abused and harassed out of the pack, but if I become an avenger I'll be singled out as the worst one. You and Bucky claimed you'd always have my back but now I know that's not true."

"Stop saying that." Steve shook his head.

"Nobody wants me." You spat, Steve could tell you believed that to be true.

It shattered his already broken heart, because if you had even the slightest clue of how bad he wanted you, you'd never say those words again. But he couldn't tell you, it simply wasn't an option.

"Nobody wants me ever but that night, Bucky wanted me. So forgive me for latching onto any ounce of human connection I can get these days. That choice was never about you, and I'm sorry that it hurt your feelings but I'm struggling more than I ever have and right now I need to put me first."

"Bucky and I have always loved having you around."

"That might be true, but you proved my point with your own mouth." A single tear fell down your cheek, but you wiped it away just as fast as it fell. "You said you weren't willing to lose Bucky. But right now it feels like you're willing to lose me."

"Don't be mad at him." Steve shook his head.

"He had no right telling you that without consulting me first." You denied. "Unless he broke some kind of code or something there was no rea-" Your own words made reality wash over you like an angry ocean wave trying to swallow you whole. "Oh my god."

"No-" Steve shook his head.

"He broke bro code, didn't he?" You asked Steve, feeling suddenly nauseous.

Steve felt nauseous too. His brain couldn't think of anything but the truth at the moment, but he was horrified. Though he tried to formulate the correct response, nothing felt right at the moment. "You slept in my bed."

"Oh my god." You took a slow step back, unable to process what information you were just receiving. He watched as your face turned just as red as his. "You like me?"

A billion different things came to mind. So many scenarios, so many possibilities, every single time you suppressed your own feelings for Steve because you never thought a man like him could ever love you. It was wrong. Yet all this time, he was harboring a secret of his own. And even then it was still wrong.

"You slept in my bed while you had a boyfriend." Steve spoke so firmly you swore you could feel the bass vibrating the floor.

"This whole time you we're hoping I'd jump right into your arms after breaking things off with Harvey?"

Steve knew where this was going, and the look on your face was just as horrified as he felt. Your lip was wobbling, your hands were shaking, and with every statement you took a step back. "No. But I did think that there was enough happening between us that you wouldn't go for Bucky."

"I slept in your bed because I trusted you, you asshole." You cried, pointing a finger at him. "I slept in your bed while staying with Harvey because he was the only man crazy enough to actually love me and I didn't ever think anyone would be crazy enough to love me ever again."

Steve opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out. His jaw hung open for a moment, before it closed, then opened again. "Well then I guess you were wrong."

"I was wrong." You agreed, wiping your face once more as you watched his eyes tear up. "I trusted you to keep me safe in training, protect me against the people who are harassing me. I trusted you as a friend, a confidant. I even trusted you enough to see me naked, but I was wrong."

"This is exactly why I didn't tell you." Steve mumbled. "Because you trusted me and I didn't want to break it. Bucky didn't know."

"So let me get this straight. You had a secret that you kept from both of us, but Bucky's actions are excusable because he didn't know. My actions are inexcusable but I also didn't know, and we did the exact same thing together?" You asked. "You spend a lot of time talking shit about men's double standards around the compound for someone who turned around and is treating me the exact same way."

"I'm trying to talks through this so we can all go back to being friends."

"You we're never my friend." Your words cut through his heart like a knife. "You we're someone being nice to me in hopes of getting in my pants one day."

"No, that's not true." Steve pleaded, blinking back tears. "Our friendship means a lot to me. That's why I'm this upset in the first place."

"I don't think I can ever go back to being just friends with your or Bucky ever again." You cried. "All of you guys here are the same, I can't do this anymore."

Steve watched you clutch your stomach, as you spun on your heels and walked straight for the door. Little did he know, you felt so nauseous you were trying your hardest not to throw up.

"So that's it?" Steve asked, standing up from the couch. "You're going to throw away everything the three of us have built together as friends because we can't have a rational conversation?"

"A rational conversation? You can't even admit that you're only mad at me because you wanted to get into my pants and now you feel like you can't because Bucky got me first." You turned around to look at him. "That's all I am to anyone. That's the only relationships I've been able to form since I've gotten in this compound. You, Bucky, Harvey. I'm not a human to you guys, I might as well just be a glory hole."

"You're misunderstanding me." Steve shook his head, eyebrows raising upward like a sad puppy.

"That makes two of us." You turned back around and grabbed your packed duffel near the door that you always kept for emergencies.

"I care about you, you know that right?"

"It sure doesn't feel like it right now." You denied his claim.

"Where are you going?" Steve asked. "This is your house."

"The compound has never felt like home to me." The door swung open. You didn't even look back at him before stepping through the doorway. "Don't worry about where I'm going, just say the fuck away from me."

And just like that, the door slammed behind you and rattled the ground. You set off like a storm on the other side, and Steve was left on his own to crumble. Only when he was sure you were gone for good did he let tears fall down his face.

Trying your absolute hardest to hold it together you rushed through the compound hallways, desperately trying to avoid seeing anyone you knew before you made it to your car.

You didn't have it in you to have a face to face conversation with Bucky at the moment, but you did feel like you needed to tell him that the friendship was over, so you called him instead.

"Hey, bug." He answered sympathetically.

"Why did you tell him?" You cried.

"I had to." There was a deep sigh from the phone line. "What did he tell you?"

"Why the fuck are you protecting him?" You asked. It was admittedly a little harsh, but Steve had already amped you up.

"So he told you everything." Bucky stated. "I figured out he was in love with you last night. I couldn't in good conscience keep our secret anymore. He needed to know because the longer we kept it from him the worse this would've been."

"He doesn't love me, Bucky." You denied. "What he did wasn't love. It was control, and it was power, but it's not love."

"I can tell you're upset with him, but I don't think that was his intention." Bucky calmly denied. "Give it a few days to settle, alright? You can be mad at us all you want and I understand why, but emotions are high right now and it seems like both you and Steve are villianizing each other."

"I'm going to be gone for the weekend." You stated, needing to set firm boundaries. "I love you, but you hurt me and I need to get away."

"I'm sorry, bug. I really am." He apologized.

"You, Harvey, and Steve will all be blocked from reaching me unless it's during work hours. And as of now, I can't be a friend of yours."

"I understand" Bucky accepted the repercussions of his actions, though he was sad about it. "I hope you know we care a lot about you. I'm sorry this is all happening this way, but I still want you to be safe. Will you let someone know where you're going? Maybe Commander Bennett?"

"Yeah, I will." You agreed, feeling relieved that at least Bucky was being rational. "I hope in a little while we can figure this out between you and I, but it's going to take some time."

"I hope so too." He agreed. "Stay safe, and be smart. I'm here for you whenever you're ready."

You hung up, drove off, and the second the compound was in your rear view mirror it felt like the weight of the world was off your shoulders.

The weekend came and went simultaneously way too fast, yet painfully slow at the same time. You stayed with your sister who welcomed you with widely opened arms, and really took the time to listen to you when you spoke. She let you get it all out, she wiped your tears, then by morning you'd put on a brave face for Luca.

Spending a lot of quality time with him was truly the only reason you hadn't fully lost your mind. By Monday you felt well enough to face the shit show that was work, but it didn't last very long.

You had made it a whopping 4 hours into the work week before getting sent to Steve's office with an ice pack pressed to your cheek and Commander Bennett opening the door for you.

Steve looked up as the two of you entered, but your eyes were glued to the floor. You didn't need to look around to see where the chair was. You already knew.

He hoped that Bennett couldn't feel the thick tension that filled the room, but it was unusual for him to follow you to his office, and he did take note of how bad you looked.

Well, unfortunately for him he always thought you were stupidly beautiful, but your eyes were swollen. You looked exhausted, drained, and nothing like your usual fiery self.

"We need to do something about 212." Commander Bennett cut straight to the chase. "We can't keep cutting into her work time and having her get hurt because 212 and all his awful friends are picking on her."

"What happened?" Steve asked, trying to see what was under the ice pack.

"I saw them trip her with my own eyes. I don't know if they thought I wasn't watching, or if they thought they were being sly enough that I wouldn't notice, but this cannot continue." He stood firm. "Poor thing smacked her face against the floor, but she still is claiming that reprimanding them will make it worse. So what's the solution?"

Steve sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Do you have any ideas, Commander?"

"Give them one more strike. Let them all know that if they pull this again one more time before evaluation we will disqualify them from taking the test." He suggested. "That includes physical, and verbal attacks."

"That's a really good idea, thank you." Steve agreed. "I'll talk to them today."

"Are you comfortable with that, 306?" Bennett asked you.

"Yes, sir." Your voice was hoarse.

"I'm going to give her the option of cutting her work day short or continuing her training, but no matter what we all know she doesn't need more training." He noted. "I'll leave her with you so you guys can figure out your schedules."

"Thank you." Steve said politely.

Bennett left and the door clicked shut behind him, but your eyes stayed glued to the floor. Your options were go to your apartment and sleep the rest of the miserable daylight away, or spend two hours alone in a room with Steve.

You both already knew what the choice was going to be. There was no need to discuss the schedule change.

Steve knew you hated his guts right now, and he was still feeling hurt by you, but it took a few moments for it to dawn on him that he still needed to be a boss and a leader regardless. So he put his best foot forward.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

There was barely any compassion in his voice, he might as well have been a robot, so you didn't bother responding. You didn't even bother looking at him.

"Would you like to talk about the incident?" He pushed.

"No, Captain." You responded, coming to the same awareness that he was still your boss.

Your use of his title and refusal to look at him felt like a shot to the heart. "Would you like to be relieved of duties until tomorrow?"

"Yes, Captain."

"You are dismissed."

Just like the last time he saw you, you walked out on him without as much as a glance back knowing the next time you'd be forced to see him would be evaluation day.

Next Part: pink peonies

Ooooohhhh we have some ANGST! Who’s right? Who’s wrong? I want to hear ALL your opinions! Sound off in my inbox! Team Bug, Steve, or Bucky? Let me know!

Tag list: @saranghaey @firephotogrl74 @selella @talesofadragon @ss28 @nekoannie-chan @jaqui-has-a-conspiracy-theory @spikeluv84 @crazyunsexycool @callmissrogers @xxxalicerogersxx @whore-for-chris-evans @em8rin @mulbsstuff @qalijahbydior @awkotaco24 @buckybarnessimpp @nicoline1998enilocin @buckysteve @rogersbarber @mybuck @dbnightingale24 @ynstark

Tag list is still open! Lmk if you want to be added 🌟

#steve rogers #steve rogers fluff #captain america #captain america fluff #steve rogers x reader #captain america x reader #chris evans #steve rogers fanfiction #mcu x reader #chris evans fluff #nomad steve rogers #steve rogers recs #steve rogers fanfic #captain america series #captain america fan fiction #captain america fanfiction #captain america fanfic #bucky x y/n #bucky barnes fluff #bucky barnes smut #bucky fanfic #marvel x you #marvel #MCU #rogersideup #the gemini #angst #captain america angst #steve rogers angst #bucky barnes angst

[writingbyshiloh]

Cautious yet Optimistic and Graceful Part 2

Part 1 & Part 3

CW: Morally gray reader, F!Reader, John Wick-type universe (ie, killing, the reader thinks about past injuries from fights. training not descriptive). Not smut but suggestive thinking from both Vincent and the reader, mutual pinning, and worldbuilding but no description of the reader. Smoking, a nonsexual cigarette burn on the reader, brief drinking. MAYBE OCs (Fictional staff for the fictional hotel). NO BETA

Summary: The Marquis de Gramont still annoys you. But he needs help from you(r hotel). Like a good manager, you help. 

AN: PART 2 everyone!!! Thank u for the likes/comments/reblogs! This takes place a few months after part 1. IDEK if this is ooc the man had like 30 minutes of screen time overall and I’ve been writing this for a week. I read it a few times for spelling but something got messed up copy and pasting and a para or 2 got dropped. Part 3 will be out ???? soon(ish)

Something about today had his words bouncing around in your head. Out of all the ways to describe someone, he narrowed it down to three (well technically he used six). 

Cautious. Sure, you can see that. Out of a love of being alive, you tried not to take any unnecessary risks in your fighting days. You also tried to avoid having a marker whenever you could. There was one in existence with your blood on it. A favour for someone you thought was a friend. You held up your end, the bloody fingerprint stored in the New York Continental as proof. 

Optimistic. That also makes sense. You actually enjoy what you do, loving being part of the criminal underworld before and now. You haven't been the manager for too long but would already die for this hotel. 

The part that was throwing you was graceful. You didn't think you were that graceful physically. You have scars to prove that you've taken a hit, slash, or burn many times. Did he mean gracefully with people? Camille did so much for the hotel, you just deal with regular hotel things (like getting Monument Historique status for a collection of French weapons, take that, Vincent). The other part was implanting rules from the high table. Maybe just being graceful and polite when you were resisting the urge to claw your eyes out. 

It could also be flirting. You felt he wasn't the type to hit on someone out of the blue. Sure he was smart and confident, but it seemed like too big a risk for him to take. Unless he is just a playboy, which is something you find yourself tempted to google twice a day. 

You would rather die than admit it, but you almost like when he called you Mademoiselle. Almost. It was like a nickname, plus it brought out his accent more. When you found yourself enjoying.

To make things worse Camielle caught on to your crush immediately. While embarrassing, it did show how clever she was and you were glad she was the concierge. Her knowing also gave you an excuse to just tell Vincent your direct number, so Camille would stop reminding you how frequently he called.

You love the bar in the hotel. It is beautiful, decorated in an Art Nouveau style, with large windows allowing for the sun to filter in during the day. You were almost pleased that Vincent asked to meet you there, allowing you to subtly show off your business. 

Finding him at the bar wasn’t hard, no one else was wearing a dark green three-piece suit, complete with a complexly tied tie and their coat of arms pin. He looks good but tense, one long leg crossed over the other. Plus, you could see Chidi and another guard in their gray suits keeping an eye. You were thankful that you took extra time this morning on your outfit. 

You slid into the chair next to him, after shaking a few hands with other big names down in the bar for a late-night drink. 

“I hear you have a problem.” You say, while not knowing the full details, just that he wanted to meet you in the bar and something was wrong. It kicked your heartbeat up, even if you only told yourself it was the stress of him being here. 

“Correct.”. 

“I’m sure you know because of your love of rules, but I can only help those who are using the hotel services.” 

You didn't care that much, and would absolutely bend the rules to do him a favour, but couldn't resist a chance to get a dig in.

The Marquis pulls out two gold coins and slides them across to the bartender. He orders a top-shelf spirit before his eyes cut to you. Now he's buying you a drink in your own hotel. You would want him to buy you a drink in a different situation but at least he didn't order for you. That may cause you to actually kill him.  

Clearing your throat you order your usual, quietly thanking the bartender when the drink was placed in front of you. 

The bar wasn't loud, but he dropped his head towards you so you could hear him better and to give the conversation some privacy. 

“You have a cartographer here, no?”

You nodded. The cartographer is excellent. He had blueprints for buildings past and present, as well as the catacombs. He also had knowledge and keys to abandoned buildings if something had to be desponded and not be found. 

“How soon do you need him?” While one of the best, he was away for his daughter's wedding

“Tonight.” 

You took a small sip of your drink. You could probably get the information he was looking but you wouldn't be as efficient. 

“While we do have a cartographer, he's gone to a family event. If your plans are that urgent I can try my best to fill in.” 

Content with your answers, Vincent leaned back into his seat taking a swig of his drink. You took the finishing sip of yours before pushing out of your chair. 

“I have spare keys in my office. I’ll meet you back here in five.” 

For how commanding and prideful he is, you never expected him to need the services from your hotel.

The maps room was fairly boring. Three out of the four walls were filled with lockboxes to various maps. Blueprints, and documents for France and even some other countries nearby. 

“Are these your beloved catacombs?” The Marquis asks, studying the paper taped to the wall. You asked the map maker for more information and for ideas on what you could do with them. 

You hum in agreement, deep down thrilled that he remembered such a small part of your conversation ages ago. 

Your eyes jump over the numbered lock boxes in front of you, trying to find the one he needs. 

You half expected him to help you pull out maps and building plans, a blend of chivalry, showing off his height, and getting under your skin. He didn’t, letting you struggle with the lock instead. 

Vincent knew he should help you, but the way your back was arched as you tried to open one of the lockboxes out of the dozens was more interesting. His gaze moved over your legs, before looking at your ass in your skirt. 

Feeling the lock give a turn to the side, you peek inside the box to make sure the plans were there. Hand sliding in, you pulled the thin tube out, double-checking the label on the front to make sure it is the one you need. Leaving the box unlocked you turn to face Vincent, a triumphant grin on your face.

Maybe your grin and pride in getting the correct documents were a bit unprofessional but he didn't care. Not since the small room amplified the smell of your perfume and how the spent the better part of the last five minutes checking out your legs. 

Uncapping the tube, you pulled out the blueprints and spread them on the backlist glass table in front of you.

“Here are your prints,” you state awkwardly. You're not sure why he needs them, and why he personally came here. Chidi is keeping guard outside the map room, despite you repeating the hotel policy of no business. 

The Marquis nods in response already focusing on the table. You flatten a small map from the tube in case he needs context on the area. Not likely since he already knows what to look for, proven by his notebook and the constant sound of his pen against the paper taking notes. 

Watching him study the map may have been alright at first, but three hours later you are tired. There are only so many times you can look at his hair and wonder if he would get mad if you run your hands through, or gently tug it. Or what his hands would feel like, especially with his signet ring. 

The grandfather clock tells you that it's only 2:36 am but you feel like it's later. Even Vincent looks slightly less than perfect, hair falling out of place from where he had gelled it that morning.

He is a guest of your hotel so you're going to keep helping him no matter how long he stays. Just with a bit less optimism. 

“Mademoiselle?” Your eyes snap to his face at the sound of his voice, pulling you from your thoughts. 

“You look tired. You should go to bed,” he comments. 

Wow. Thanks, you think. 

“I’m okay. I’m happy to stay here as long as you need,” you say while hoping he leaves soon. “How are the plans going? The cartographer can help you with the finer details when he gets back.” 

“That is not necessary. I have all I need here.” He slowly stretches and starts to stand. You never considered it but being hunched over the table must have been hell on his back given his above-average height. Finally seeing your chance to go to bed, you quickly make it over to the door, opening it for him. 

“Merci, again.” He thanks you as if this is not your job. 

“Do you want me to walk you to the main door?” You have all your floor plans memorized. 

“We are fine.” He replies. 

He looks at you and you can't read his expression. He's less tense, obviously getting what he needed from the plans. 

“The high table did a good job making you the manager.” 

You feel pride swell in your chest, despite the exhaustion you feel behind your eyes. 

“Bonne nuit, Mademoiselle” 

“Bonne nuit. Bon matin.” You quietly wish him as he leaves, wasting no time putting the plans away and locking the map room door. 

You let out another exhaust of bitter smoke, watching it curl away on the cool night air. You didn't start smoking in Paris, but dropped and picked the habit a few times.

“Fumes-tu, Mademoiselle?” a voice behind you makes you flinch. You didn’t tell anyone that you have a secret smoking place, let alone that you went out to smoke. 

You spin around before relaxing at the sight of the Marquis, clad in a dark suit, his signature pin on the lapel reflecting the light. 

You nod, before realizing he probably can't see you well under the lights in the alcove. He is by your side quickly, long legs carrying him the short distance. 

You tip your head to the small table, where your rolling papers, tobacco and other smoking paraphernalia sit in a silent offer. Vincent looks at the table before facing you again. Guess he's too fancy to smoke you assume while taking a drag.

You turn your head to blow out more smoke, careful not to blow it in this direction, a hard feat considering he was extremely close to you. The smell of his cologne drifted under the smell of smoke. 

You move your cigarette down and out to the side, fully ready to see why the Marquis interrupted you. Watching his face, his eyes dipped down to your lips and then back to your eyes almost a silent asking. The smooth and sophisticated era was still there but there was uncertainty under it. 

You slowly leaned closer, not wanting to make the first move, but you want this to happen. He hand-cupped your face, the cool metal of the ring nice as he shifted closer, leaving a small gap for you to make the final push to kiss him. Just a few more inches and then -

Pain. A sharp burning pain on your pinky finger. 

You jerk back, trying to examine what happened. Your cigarette slipped while you were distracted and the glowing embers of the end dropped only to land on your pinky. 

“Shit. Sorry,” you apologize, letting out a nervous huff of a laugh while holding up your burn. The Marquis was unreadable, hand withdrawn. Does he think you rejected him? 

He reaches for your wrist and you let him take it. Slowly he brings your hand up to the outdoor lamp to inspect your burn. The stinging has subsided but you are sure the flesh is a bit swollen. 

With his free hand, he takes the offending cigarette and brings it to his lips. You can't help but stare, cigarette burns long forgotten as you watch him take a deep inhale, before exhaling over your head, so no smoke blows in your face. Part of you regret not making the final push to kiss him, while another hopes he takes another puff. 

Vincent brings your cigarette down to examine it in better lighting before placing it back in your hand, still firmly in his grasp. 

“It is not a well-rolled cigarette. It is too tight.”

There it is you think. The classic Vincent snark. But you secretly hope he rolls one so you can watch his hands and watch him smoke it. 

“You don’t have to smoke it.” 

“I just wanted to give you this.” He reaches into his suitcoat pocket, retrieving a white envelope. His hands brush yours while you grab it. 

You know his handwriting from the time with him in the map room, and you could easily tell he wrote your name on the front. 

“Thank you?” you weren't sure what was inside but you were being all the things he described you as. 

“I will go, and let you read it.” 

You watch him leave, thoughts racing too fast to try and save the situation.

Do you call out after him? Does he think you rejected him? Maybe not because he still gave you the envelope. 

You ash your cigarette before collecting your things and going back to your office. Maybe things would make more sense there.

Taglist: @heartrot666

#ONCE AGAIN ITS DONE !!!!! wooohoooooo #marquis de gramont x reader #marquis de gramont #marquis vincent de gramont x reader #Vincent de Gramont x reader #john wick movie x reader

[artzzyb00-27]

Fire-fam kids Teenage Adventures: Influences

The way I pulled and Evan Buckley and did an ungodly amount of research to find out if Christophers age here was still somewhat reasonable. I pulled out my calculator! Trigger warning: shootings

It had been a month and a few weeks after his first day of high school. Specifically at Theodore Roosevelt High. Sure Eddie had been more than a little worried, but Chris was confident he would be fine. Don't get it twisted, at first, he wanted to go to school with Denny and Harry. But after thinking it over, he decided it would be better to make connections on his own.

Buck was more than happy to let him try his own thing as long as he was being safe. After the painful slow burn, Eddie and Buck tied the knot and have been married for two years now. It was nothing but heaven. Of course, that didn't mean he wasn't scared his little boy was going off to high school.

"I declare you, officially a teenager. Welcome to angst and acne forever!" Harry had said that when Christopher's fourteenth birthday came up. Harry was already sixteen by now so he knew a thing or two. Denny, who was now fifteen, had recorded the interaction to show his girlfriend and Christopher's secret friend. Not really a secret but Eddie and Buck didn't know about him yet so it technically was a secret. There was a reason Christopher pushed so hard to go specifically to Theodore Roosevelt.

Manuel "Manny" Salvador Gutiérrez. Mouthful of a name to say at once. It's why he preferred going by Manny Gutiérrez. Harry and Denny met him when Chris invited them to the mall saying he wanted them to meet someone. Manny was the type of guy to be tough and stoic. To be known as the troubled kid who looked like could throw a mean punch(he could) and not get hit at all.

Always wearing worn-down Vans with slightly baggy jeans, sometimes ripped jeans, an oversized shirt with a jacket over. Or sometimes a graphic tee that color matched with his Vans and leather jacket.  He dyed hair at the ends, piercings(eyebrow and nose), and small tattoos because his mom let him.

Underneath that though, kid was a total dork. Once he warms up to you he's a complete softy. Like a big furry black dog. Looks intimidating, but is dopey at the sight of his favorite person. And that person was Chris. They had met in Junior High in math class, which was Manny's best subject. The teacher recommended extra credit to tutor Chris and since then they've been best friends.

"Wonder what's taking so long?" Eddie hummed in response at Chimney behind him. After learning they had a 24-hour shift, Hen, Chim, Buck, and Eddie had decided to carpool in the black minivan so it would be less gas on everyone. Noticing the time they got out, Buck texted Carla ahead to not worry about Chris because they would be able to pick him up.

"Not sure, he's usually out by now. The final bell rang like 20 minutes ago."

Looking around, he couldn't spot his kid. He'd begun taking on a different style of dressing recently. Drifting slightly away from bright colors but keeping his nerdy side. His hair was also slightly different. He had shaved sides that weren't vibrant but still shined. Wore more Converse than  Eddie had in his whole life.

Hen looked out through her window, which was closer to the school gates, and saw Chris walking out but without his backpack smiling.

"I see him at the gate but he doesn't have his bag." Buck and Eddie turned to look and were surprised that Hen was telling the truth. Chris had this thing with bags,  that if he didn't have it on him during school hours, he wasn't functional. That's when they saw a 5,6, light-skinned boy with purple-tipped hair in curls in a messy mullet, running up to their son with a backpack on his body and holding Christopher's bag for him on the other.

Eddie's eyes bulged, he barely even got to touch the bag, including Buck. He wondered how Christopher allowed the boy to hold his bag as carelessly as he was. As the two teenagers looked around, Christopher saw the minivan, smiled, and waved. The boy next to him doing the same. Buck, Chim, and Hen waved back smiling.

Not Eddie, he was still in shock and protective dad mode. As the boys walked over Eddie inspected the kid closer. He got a weird feeling and immediately disapproved. Then again he didn't know him so judgment was base level.

"Never would've thought Christopher hung out with punk rock kids," Chim commented making Hen snort and Buck smile while glancing at the back seat diagonal from him. Hen moved back through the open middle and sat in the very back seat. As the door opened, Eddie adjusted himself in the driver's seat so he could look at the pair better.

"Hey everybody!" Christopher said cheerfully.

"Hey!" Was the synchronized greeting. When nothing came out of Eddie except a soft smile, Chris raised an eyebrow but chose to ignore it for now. Turning to his friend while reaching for his bag Christopher spoke.

"Thanks again Manny, I'll text you when I get home." The blonde said whilst putting his bag on the floor of the van. Raising his hand waiting for Manny to do the same.

"Más te vale menso." He replied in Spanish while dapping up Chris. Walking away after Chris closed the car doors, he put on his headphones and walked off down the street.

"Who was that?" Christopher gained a weird expression, not because of the question in general, but because of the tone his dad used. Is he angry at Manny?

"My friend. Why?" Laughter came from the other three "adults" in the vehicle while Eddie started the van giving Christopher more confusion than before. After dropping off the other two firefighters at their respective homes, the family of three headed home. Once inside, Eddie wanted to start asking Chris about Manny but the person of interest interrupted with a phone call. Unintentionally.

"Hey, big man! How's the homework Garcia gave us? N-no! Oh, come on! Another Delta math-, I swear he secretly hates us-,..." The sound of conversation drifted away as Christopher dashed into his room for privacy. A small laugh pulled Eddie from his thoughts.

Turning around to glare at the man who he loved oh so much, but would very much beat up for making fun of him.

"What?"

"Yeesh, spicy Díaz, my favorite. Wish  I could have you to myself early." Buck sauntered over whilst pulling his lover in by the waist. Getting a petty pout from the shorter one.

"Siguele, aver como te va. Don't act like you're not worried either." Eddie sassed as he placed a soft kiss on Buck's lips, the latter happily reciprocating. Pulling away, smiling Buck sighed.

"Nah, especially cause I already knew." He informed his husband, who's eyes widened in shock. "I walk into Chris' room to put some clothes away and saw the Discord call open,... and their messages." Buck looks down somewhat shamefully.

If Eddie was immature, he would ask what the messages had said. However, today was not the day, he needed to know Buck's opinion. (He'll press him for details later when they go to bed) Smiling with jaw agape, he couldn't help but chuckle at his pale lover with blue eyes.

"So you're telling me that, you were judging me, for being too snoopy of my son.." burying his face against Eddie's shoulder to save embarrassment, "And you-!"

Laughing slightly cut him off, to be fair, he was laughing too.

"YoOU decided to SCROLL through our little boy's messages?? You?! The 'laid back' parent?!"

Cackling at this point Eddie was smiling uncontrollably whilst watching Buck wallow in shame.

"You guys okay?" Chris said smiling at how affectionate they were being peeking his head out of his door. The pair turned to look at their son. Damn, he'd gotten tall over the time he'd entered high school.

"Yeah, we're good bud. We're just laughing at something." Buck assured the blonde boy.

"Okay, hey is it okay if I go over to Manny's tomorrow after school? It's his birthday and we wanted to spend time together," Despite the emotional manipulation tactic(taught to him by Buck no doubt) Eddie caved and agreed to let him go, reluctantly, as long as he texted when they went anywhere different location-wise.

-------------------------------------------

So be it the next morning Christopher was gone for school earlier than Eddie and Buck were up for their 10-hour shift, and he got suspicious. The last time that happened Christopher made pancakes and burned Eddies. On purpose. Called it revenge for when he was a kid who couldn't fend for himself. He got noogied for a good bit after that one.

Looking at his phone after brushing his teeth, he saw a message from Chris. Saying he left early with some friends because they were stopping by the store near the school. They were grabbing snacks to eat in class because their teacher didn't care as long as they multi-tasked(they wouldn't), and finished their online notes(they won't).

Looking over his shoulder, Buck smiled in awe. He looked so proud of his son that it made Eddie's heart melt.

"He's growing up now huh?" Eddie nodded but stayed silent. Raising a brow in concern, Buck turned the shorter firefighter to face him and gently lifted his face with his index finger. Poor Papa Eddie, had small tears forming in his eyes. "Awh, Eddie, mi amor. It's okay."

If you think Buck didn't hold Eddie for a solid 3 minutes whilst rocking slowly from right to left? You're wrong. He even moved his hands against the man's face and kissed his forehead. Pulling back into the hug, Eddie nuzzled his head in Bucks' muscular figure.

"Don't forget he still needs us." Eddie knew that, but the thought of Christopher one day leaving to be on his own was terrifying.

-------------------------------------------

And need them he did. How did it go so wrong so fast? At first, it started like a normal workday. Mess with Chim and Ravi, gossip with Hen, work out with Lena, answer calls, and help Bobby make dinner. Stuff that was unexpectedly expected. That is till 1:30 when a call from a school. Saying that there was an active shooter in their walls.

"It's at Roosevelt," Bobby said without wanting to go into detail. Everyone in the back seat froze and gazed upon Eddie and Buck who quickly interlocked hands to try and pace their breathing to focus. "Think you can handle it?" Immediate nods from the pair answered. The others smiled solemnly.

Once arriving at the school they noticed police officers everywhere around the school, thank god, and students across the street on the far side of the park. They caught sight of Officer Morales, a good friend of Athena's, talking to the Principal.

Athena went up to them once seeing their arrival.

"Whoever it is, it's a student. The cameras Reid hacked showed no footage of anyone sneaking in on school grounds. I need you guys to go in and find some kids that are still in the building-" A loud series of gunshots were heard. People near but far enough away from the danger could be heard crying, yelling, or swearing. Reluctantly Athena looked to Eddie. "Christopher is in there still. Along with four others. We need to hurry. My group will flank left, you go right, I want this child caught."

Without wasting another second, and no time to fully think about what she said, the team applied bullet bulletproof vest underneath their jackets and broke a window to get in through the science labs. Walking around as silently as possible they tried finding the shooter without giving them a hint of an idea that they were inside. 

Granted, shattered glass in an empty room isn't the quietest. Walking around Eddie's heart was beating quicker than ever. Of all things, why a shooter at his son's school? Then Eddie thought back to what Christopher had asked him yesterday. Poor Manny must think today's the worst birthday ever.

Hearing a crack, they froze. Getting ready to duck into cover in the classrooms or run across the hallway. The sound of running gets nearer, with a shadow then rounding the corner to face them. Manny.

The sigh of relief from the kid was the opposite of what the firefighters felt. The boy was covered in blood and his hair was more messy and gross from sweat. Bobby prayed that it was someone else's blood in an attempt to trick the shoot. Manny scanned each of them till running up to Buck and Eddie.

"I know where Chris is! Come on!" He whispered. Looking at the other firefighters he gave them information on where the shooter was. "She's on the top floor, I drove her away from where Chris was and looped around. She thinks I'm still up there."

So it was a girl. Snapping out of it Bobby radioed Athena and told her to meet upstairs to corner the shooter and catch her.

"Her?" Athena's surprised voice could be heard.

"She's the daughter of a gun shop owner. She must've been pissed enough about Monday morning to pull this," Monday? "Careful, it's not a pretty sight in room S-16." This poor kid. Following Manny down the hall he came from, they made it to the Library and headed to the back.

Digging through the ripped wallpaper, he opened up a hidden room. Inside Christopher was having a panic attack, holding a pair of long scissors. Once seeing Manny he dropped them and lunged into the taller kid's arms.

"Manny! Dads!" The boy said hugging his parents whilst his friend watched. Taking a good look at him, Christopher wasn't injured. Smudged blood from hugging Manny in the relief of seeing his friend alive.

"We gotta get them outta here," Buck said before shots were fired upstairs.

"Go, I need to find Angie. She's still in the upper bathroom. I saw her text." Manny told Christopher, almost forgetting the adults were still there. Seriously?

"No time, come on!" Eddie yelled and went to pick up Chris. But Manny was two steps ahead and grabbed his arm running away. Groaning Eddie and Buck ran after the pair. Eddie was cursing in his head, what the hell is wrong with him!? Putting them in jeopardy like this.

Seeing them stop abruptly, Manny pushed his arm against one of the fire escape doors. It looked like one of the other students propped it open to let others out in case they were still inside. When Eddie and Buck reached them, Eddie walked through the door and tried, key word tried, to drag them towards the truck.

"No, I need to get to Angie! She's still in there!" Manny yelled out trying to rip out of Buck's hold.

"Manny! She's gonna be okay, I know you don't trust law enforcement but these are good ones. They're my family," Chris calmed(reprimanded??) his friend and led him towards the truck. Once they got to the truck, Hen ran over to inspect the injuries on Manny while Eddie checked Christopher to double-check if he was injured or not. A thump broke the inspection though. Looking up, Eddie saw Manny lying down in the truck with Hen panicked.

"Manny!" Chris yelled, leaning over his friend trying to wake him up.

"Oh my god-, Eddie I need gauze for pressure, he was shot in the stomach!" Scanning the boy, he noticed the splotch of blood on his white shirt over the torso was getting darker. Also spreading and staining the vehicle along with the boy's jacket. A brief sight at the jacket let Eddie read out a name on a patch on his right arm. U.S. Navy Airforce it read.

"Shit! Buck! Grab Chris!"

"No! Buck let me go! Manny!" Chris yelled trying to break free from his pop's arms. Looking back at the scene the kid was barely breathing but needed serious medical attention quickly.

"We need to get him to the hospital. Now!" Nodding her head, Hen and Eddie transferred him to one of the ambulances and rode off to the hospital nearby. 

"Stay with us kid, just a little longer!" Manny was looking around the ambulance looking at Eddie trying to respond to him. "No, no, no, don't talk, focus on breathing. I need you to stay with me! We're almost there!"

Looking out the window of the ambulance, Eddie's heart broke more. The sight of leaving Christopher behind in Buck's arms, still trying to break free and run after the ambulance. Eddie didn't doubt tears were streaming down his son's face.

-------------------------------------------

Later after arriving at the hospital and dropping the kid off, Eddie asked the nurses, whom he knew personally from all of his and his husband's escapades, to give him updates on Manny. She agreed relieved after inspecting the file quickly and said she'd let him know anything that happened.

After an hour of searching and a shot police officer, they were able to catch the girl responsible. Apparently, on Monday morning one of the teachers shamed her for her behavior. Saying it was her attitude wouldn't get her far in life especially because she didn't have a mom. the teacher didn't apologize and the people who she asked for help didn't do anything about it. That doesn't excuse the shooting and the lives it cost. The teacher she tried to get wasn't even hurt after the fact.

Parents were crying whilst firefighters and police officers consoled them. Returning to the scene for any additional tasks, Eddie scanned the area looking for his team. After catching sight of Buck and Chimney, he and Hen ran up to them.

"Where's Christopher?"

"Carla took him home, Bobby let me call her to make sure he was away from here," Buck said from behind him. Looking around slightly Eddie saw Ravi sitting on the curb with his head in his hands. "Ravi was up with some of the officers and Bobby trying to get the shooter. She aimed her gun at Ravi and a kid hiding in the corner jumped in front of him. It went right through his skull. Held him in his arms and took his parents into the building to mourn." Eddie grabbed Bucks' hand and walked up to Ravi.

This poor guy couldn't catch a break. Looking up, Ravi revealed his bloodshot eyes and pale face.

"It wasn't your fault," Buck said leaning on one knee with his partner copying. Putting an arm on the shoulder for comfort. Shaking his head, Ravi bit his lip to stop more tears.

"I'm sorry Buck, but right now I can't believe that. I don't think I ever will either."

After that Bobby told them all to go home and spend time with themselves and their families. Once opening the door to their house, Eddie and Buck were tackled into a hug by their son and then a softer one from Carla. After she left, Eddie gave Christopher an update on Manny. He was stable but wouldn't leave the hospital for a few days.

"Do you know his parent's phone number? I don't know if they followed to the hospital after getting a phone call." Chris gained a pained expression and rubbed his eyes, pushing his glass up in the process, before responding.

"They aren't home, they're in Miami. They're truckers, so they're never really around." Eddie took a glance at Buck who was looking down at the table saddened even more. "They're good people, just not around a lot. He was mainly with his uncle till last year. I can't say more than that, it's personal and should come from Manny."

-------------------------------------------

The next morning school was canceled for the next two weeks. Along with encouragement for parents to seek therapy for their kids. Chris already had one, but Manny had become a concern now in Eddie's mind. Birthday at the same time as shooting and almost dying was not a good combo.

"When Madison pulled out her gun she was in the English room. Me and Manny were walking down the hall from turning in papers when we heard the gunshots. We thought something loud hit the floor till she came out, saw us, and shot. I froze, but Manny reacted and shielded himself in front of me. Grabbed my hand and booked it downstairs. I was able to pull the fire alarm in time whilst someone else called the cops. Angie was the one that wasn't in the room so she dialed 9-1-1." By the end of retelling the incident, Chris was sobbing in his father's arms, trying to speak but couldn't.

After a small breakfast, they all headed to the hospital and saw the multitude of parents in the waiting room. Some with tears, others with anger on their face. Some blank.

"Why are we here?" 

"This is where we brought Manny, figured you'd want to see him. Plus he deserves a good party for his birthday. Sixteen's a big one." Chris brightened up at the idea but went back to somber at the idea of Manny connected to tubes keeping him alive.

"Hey there, you visiting that kid you brought in yesterday?" the same nurse from the other day asked. Smiling Eddie nodded, holding up a bag with a cake inside. They stopped at the store quickly to buy a mini one. Eddie hoped he loved carrot cake. It was the only one they had.

"If that's okay. Don't wanna overwhelm him after yesterday." Buck coaxed, probably trying to subtly tell Chris they might not let him in due to not being on the emergency list.

"Yeah, honestly better you three than no one at all." That brought frowns to Eddie and Buck. His parents weren't home yet then. Going up the elevators and walking the halls down, they got to the room. Taking a deep breath Chris opened the door and saw Manny awake looking at something on his phone. Looking up he visibly relaxed yet still looked worried. Meanwhile, Chris was just happy to see his friend alive running over to hug him.

Buck had his arm over Eddie's shoulder and leaned his head on the latter. This kid wasn't so bad. And he deserved so much better than what the universe handed him this week.

#911 show #evan buckley #eddie diaz #henrietta wilson #chimney han #bobby nash #athena grant #christopher diaz #orignal character #fire family #ravi panikkar #118 firefam #fire-fam kids #buddie #evan buckley x eddie diaz #buck x eddie #911 original character

[smartycvnt]

Title: Bad Idea

Pairing: Casey Novak x Reader

Prompt: "I trusted you."

Word Count: 744

Casey knew that she was well beyond the point of no return. She had crossed that line a long time ago. The active flirting with her boss had toed that line pretty hard. Elizabeth was the type of woman that Casey had fantasized about whenever she was younger. Ash was her girlfriend, and before that, they had been close friends. Ash was great, but there was something about Elizabeth that Casey couldn't stay away from.

"If you're not enjoying this, we can stop," Elizabeth said quietly. It was rare that they ever went back to Casey's place, but Elizabeth's was under construction and the hotel she was staying at was on the same street as the building where Ash worked. Casey couldn't go see Elizabeth there, and Ash was working extra late to make up some extra money.

"I am enjoying this. I always do, I was just thinking," Casey reassured her.

"A dangerous passtime." Elizabeth leaned over and pressed a kiss to Casey's lips. Casey leaned into the kiss happily. It had been only two weeks since they had seen each other last like this, but Ash had been busy most of that time. Casey didn't like to seem needy, but she knew that she needed a lot of care. Elizabeth had a tendency to keep to herself, but she was completely unselfish with her attention when it came to Casey.

"Not as dangerous as this," Casey laughed. Elizabeth let Casey pin her down to the bed. Kissing Casey was unlike anything that Elizabeth had experienced before. She had been with a few women before Casey, but none of them had the energy that Casey did. They could go for hours, and probably even longer before Elizabeth generally had to cut Casey off. She held herself too high to just lay around all day fucking like rabbits.

Elizabeth let out a giggle as Casey dipped her head down to kiss her neck. The giggle quickly turned into a moan as Casey nudged Elizabeth's thighs apart. They had finished not too long ago. Casey knew that despite Ash's late night, they were still technically crunched for time. She wanted one more round with Elizabeth before she had to take a shower and go to bed for the night. There wasn't court in the morning, but she had a lot of work to do with the so-called "case" that SVU had dropped on her desk earlier in the night.

"Fuck," Elizabeth swore. Casey was no stranger to Elizabeth's mouth. The woman had come up in a different time and could honestly swear better than most sailors. However, the tone threw Casey off enough for Casey to sit up and look around the room. Everything seemed normal until her eyes landed on Ash standing by the doorway. It took Casey a moment for her mind and body to catch up to each other, but once they did, she scrambled to cover herself up.

"I can explain!" Casey started immediately. Ash just put her hand up to silence Casey. She wasn't running out, so Casey counted that as a win. If Ash had stormed out, Casey wasn't sure if she would ever catch up to her. "It probably is what it looks like, but I swear that I didn't think you'd be home to find out."

"I trusted you," Ash's voice cracked as she spoke. Casey's face fell as she realized just how much she had fucked up. "Was I not good enough for you anymore? If you wanted to see other people, you could have told me. I trusted you, Casey. I loved you. I loved you more than I have ever let myself love anyone else because I trusted you."

"Ash, I'm sorry," Casey apologized. "I don't know what else to say."

"There's nothing you can," Ash told her. Casey nodded as she sat back on the edge of the bed. She watched Ash quickly gather a bag of her things. Casey knew where Ash was staying, but she also knew better than to try and go before Ash was ready to see her, if she ever was.

"I fucked up," Casey groaned as she fell back onto the bed. Her head landed beside where Elizabeth was still laying. Casey kept her eyes closed. She knew that Elizabeth was glaring at her with disappointment and anger, and Casey couldn't handle any of it at the moment. "I fucked up so bad."

"Yes, you did."

Tag List: @himbos-hotline @thepalaceofmelanie @polkadotpenguin16

#my writing #one shot #casey novak x reader #casey novak #svu x reader #svu #law & order x reader #law & order #law & order svu x reader #law & order svu

[lizzie-gains]

I've been struggling with my goals, so I'm breaking them down into weekly goals for the moment, to be more attainable. That said,

Weekly goals, 13th-19th November

Food and drink goals:

Take time to make a good breakfast in the morning - successful 6/7 days

Prepare lunch in the evening - eh... I had frozen meals for 2 work lunches, takeaway burritos for 2, and my meal delivery service meal for 1. Technically I prepared by having frozen meals?

Prepare some healthy/easy snack options for work, also some snacks/treats to nourish my emotions - successful, had fruits, granola bars, etc, plus some treats on hard days

Enjoy some of my variety of herbal teas, maybe in place of or alongside some of my coffees - successful, I've been enjoying my range of herbals, particularly turmeric and cinnamon tea each morning

Aim for 2L water/day, and consider playing around with fun additions to make it more interesting, like fruit or floral waters - only achieved this on a few days, wasn't tracking but I know I was dehydrated more days than I'd like

Movement goals:

Try to go for a walk 2x (treadmill or outside, depending on how I'm feeling + the weather) - not successful, 0/2 walks

Try to do some gentle movement like yoga 2x - 1/2 only

Utilise opportunities for incidental movement or adding movement to static activities - have been adding in extra movement when possible

Do my physio exercises 3x - also did not achieve this, 0/3

Self care goals:

Add meditation into my days; use short meditations to make this more attainable - successful, meditated at least 5 days this week

Practice mindfulness - sometimes, this is a work in progress

Allow myself time to complete my skin care routine - successful, have been reasonably consistent

Start reading a book on my to-read list - did not start reading anything yet

Practice journalling, or try writing therapy - have been journalling

Partake in a spiritual practice at least once this week - successful

Remember to listen to my body and be respectful of my needs, treating myself with kindness and love - I experienced fatigue and headaches for most of this week, which is why my movement goals in particular weren't achieved, so I'd say I listened to my body

This feels flexible and attainable for my current state (which is not great, but getting better).

#health #fitblr #healthy #personal #fitspo #fitspiration #lizziespeaks #healthblr #food #healthspo #goals #movement #exercise #chronic illness #chronic pain #ankylosing spondylitis #spoonie #self care #motivation #self love #self kindness

[dd122004dd]

The New Mistress Fuca: Part 4 Dinner and Diatribe

The first day of being the new Mistress Fuca moves swiftly, the day soon turning to night as the night brings forth unexpected company.

Warnings: None

A/N: Hey dudes, I'm back, yeah even I didn't think it'd happen, but yeah. Apologies for the extremely long wait. I don't know if there's anyone reading this anymore but I'll try to be more regular. Thanks for reading!

After parting from the little boy she turned to her husband, “He seems like a sweet boy.”

“Stay away from him, he doesn’t need to be distracted from his studies.” He stated harshly before stalking away.

Standing still, watching him walk away she merely tilted her head before straightening her spine before walking purposefully towards her quarters. ‘Fine, if he’s going to be so rude then I might as well ignore him.’

QingQing trailed behind her mistress in silence, wondering about the harsh exchange between the couple.

Once they reached her quarters, she ordered QingQing to fetch the ledgers that the Madam had sent her. Reading through the ledgers was a taxing task but once she completed going through the most recent ones, she told QingQing to gather the head-maids and the head-eunuchs.

The task was swiftly completed and a line of servants stood before her, heads bowed in respect.

“Good morning, everyone. You must be wondering why I have called you here.”

She was met with silence, before she continued, “I have been reading the household accounts and I must say, they’re extremely well-maintained. Which one of you wrote these accounts?”

“It was me, Young Mistress,” an old voice answered as one of the senior maids stepped forward.

“They’re very thorough, which I appreciate,” she said, motioning towards the maid who answered as QingQing delicately placed a piece of silver within the maid’s hands.

“Now, you must have heard that Madam Fuca has put me in-charge of the accounts for this month, so from now on you will report to me about any and all purchases made, even the smallest ones,” she said smiling, sipping on her tea before giving them more instructions and dismissing them.

Madam Fuca had been running the household with a lax hand, whereas Erqing though a tyrant, was adept at keeping the books in order, which made her work both easier and harder. The servants would now be cautious about what they did but on the other hand they’d be more honest in fear of being punished.

She sighed, leaning against her chair as she sipped her tea, planning what she’d do next.

~

The night came quickly as she found herself alone within their chambers. The room was cold and desolate, a pristine room with no inhabitants. She slowly entered the room, lighting the lamps as she smiled, settling before the small table in the center of the room, opening the dishes that QingQing had bought her from the kitchen.

A small feast of steamed tofu flavored with chicken broth, meat stewed with cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg and a blend of herbs along with steamed bamboo shoots and jasmine rice spread over the table.

The mouth-watering scents wafted around the room, making her eager to dig in. She took a few bites of the meat and rice, the flavors tingled against her tastebuds as she took another bite from her portion. Her attention was quickly drawn away from her food when she heard the familiar sound of the door sliding open. Her husband stood at the entrance, a calm look on his face as he took in her startled expression.

“You’re here,” he said.

“Well, where else would I be? This is my room, is it not?”

“Technically it’s my room, you’re just staying in it.”

“Technically, it’s my room, since I was here first.”

“That’s not how it works,” he said, frustrated at her childishness

“Well, that’s how it is. So, since this is MY room, what brings you here, to MY room.”

“Well, I had come to MY room to have dinner, but I suppose you’ve already started then,” he said, sitting down unceremoniously before her as he took one of the extra bowls as he started serving himself.

“Wha- that’s my food!” she shrieked indignantly as he smirked, piling more food into his bowl.

“Well, we’re married now, are you so cruel that you’d make your beloved husband starve?” he said mockingly.

She stared at him as he helped himself to her food, her irritation rising as he proceeded to fish out the best pieces of meat from the stew. As his spoon moved towards his bowl, she blocked his spoon with her own, preventing him from stealing away her meat.

“Beloved husband,” she said sweetly, “Isn’t it rude that you’re stealing my food and leaving me to starve? Are you so cruel that you’d let your dearest wife starve?” she finished, as she struggled to make him let go of his spoon, before eventually failing and letting him escape with his loot.

“Starve, dearest wife? I’d never let that happen. Consider it a small sacrifice for the privilege of dining with such delightful company,” he said, enjoying the meal he had claimed as his own.

“Oh, so you’re taxing me for the displeasure of your company? Fuca Fuheng, I didn’t think you’d stoop so low,” she said, gasping dramatically as she attempted to reclaim some of the fragrant meat from his bowl.

“I’m doing nothing of the sort! In fact, you’re the one so graciously hosting me, in MY room,” he said, grunting as he blocked her surprise attack.

“Oh really? Well then, shouldn’t the host have the honor of enjoying her dinner without any theft involved?” she bit back playfully.

“But my dearest wife, I’m just helping you finish all this food, I wouldn’t want any of it to go to waste,” he said, depositing another piece of meat into his bowl as he smirked at her.

“Fine, fine, but if you choke on something, don’t expect me to help you,” she said, spooning the rest of the meat into her bowl before he could get his sticky hands on it.

She continued eating as they fell into a comfortable silence with the rhythmic clinking of spoons against bowls the only sound in the room.

After they finished the meal, he stated that he’d be sleeping in his study, before going towards the sleeping area and picking up a bedroll he kept.

The cold line that had blurred for a moment was drawn again as he packed his belongings for the night and swiftly wished his wife a good night’s rest.

He felt conflicted as he exited the room. For a brief moment he’d felt surprisingly comfortable with her, but he knew better than to trust a few moments with a stranger. Memories of his misplaced trust in Erqing lingered in his thoughts as strengthened his resolve to be cautious.

Taglist: @kazenomegaminowanpisu@shiranai-atsune@hilea-love@cosmic-cares@mango-jj@hanhanartz@navierkalani@genderfluidsanta@missfancy29@canary3d@honeyformybees @melodypinky @shiranai-atsune@mufflerfluffler@gabaii@wxndi​ @lalisayeung @carrot-cheese-cake​ @bobamilkii @woahnotmecryingoverafanfiction @ciaratomioka1432

#fuca #fuca fuheng x reader #fuca clan #fuca fuheng #legend of yanxi palace #story of yanxi palace #the story of yanxi palace

[cambria-writes]

it certainly is december 24th! sorry for taking so long to update; i’ve been in a writing slump for a few weeks, and though the next few chapters of honey are already written, i just. completely forgot about them?

anyways i’ll be posting a nice lil winter/holiday special later today or tomorrow, depending on how i feel. for now at least you have the next chapter!

pairing: patrick jane x reader word count: 2,852 rating: T, each chapter rated individually warnings: swearing, alcohol consumption, reader goes a bit heavy on the wine lmao, implied homophobia

PreviousNext

𝕮𝖍𝖆𝖕𝖙𝖊𝖗 𝕱𝖔𝖚𝖗𝖙𝖊𝖊𝖓: 𝔐𝔦𝔵𝔢𝔯

It’s simple enough: have a nice dinner, get drunk (or, at least, look very drunk), approach the broody paranoid-looking rich boy, get him to follow you...

And then it gets a little vague.

“You’re still worrying about it,” Jane comments, sipping at the same glass of wine he had twenty minutes ago.

“Whatever gave it away, darling?” The smile almost hurts your face. It’s a struggle to keep your voice just this side of sickly-sweet. Jane gives you a toothy grin that nearly makes you shiver. The resemblance to a starving fox isn’t lost on you.

“Just use your womanly wiles. You’ll be fine, you’re not at all hard on the eyes.”

He takes a careful sip of his wine while you nearly spit out the mouthful of salad you’re trying to choke down. You can feel the burn spread from your face to your chest. You hate it.

“Don’t do that,” you mutter, washing everything down by finishing whatever wine was left. You wave down your waiter; you’re far too sober for any of this. You ask for a cocktail; you don’t care what it is as long as it’s sweet and strong. The waiter gives you a look but walks off to a small bar somewhere off to your left.

“Do what?,” Jane asks, and you hate the innocence in his tone. Everything about you says what.

“Fli-flirt with me,” you whisper, stabbing the remains of your salad with more vigor than necessary. You keep your eyes down. “It’s embarrassing.”

“Ah, but you don’t dislike it.” The victory is his voice makes you want to scream. You look up at him incredulously. There’s a retort, but it dies on your tongue when the waiter drops a crystal blue highball glass in front of you.

He rattles off its name and contents but you don’t care. Chug half of it in one go and finish your salad. You can feel the alcohol singing in your veins like fire. You raise your hand to down the rest of it, but... stop.

Sharpen your fear into a knife. That means you need fear to sharpen. Though arguably you are slightly inebriated, you are still a good, healthy measure of terrified. You’re in a restaurant too nice for your bank account. You’re sitting with a man you hardly know pretending to be his newly wed wife despite the fact that his actual wife is Very Dead. You’re expected to approach the handsome and paranoid son of a Russian mob boss like you have no idea who he is.

And you got shot at for knowing a dog a few days ago. Terrified probably doesn’t actually cut it.

The more you think about it, the more paralyzed you feel yourself become. Jane places a hand over your glass and forces you to lower your arm. The look he gives you is confusing.

“All you need to do,” Jane begins quietly. He never breaks eye contact. Somehow that unnerves and challenges you to do the same. “Is bring him to an empty table and talk to him. See the most you can in him.”

You notice that he noticeably doesn’t remove him hand from yours in a noticeable way. You start to think maybe you drank too fast.

“...I can do that,” you say slowly, losing track of the words as they exit your mouth. Your resolve doesn’t solidify so much as it coagulates. You look back to the paranoid brooding man by the window. Look back to Jane.

This’ll be fine. You’re technically single. You’re playing house with a handsome not-detective. And you’re closer to drunk than you’ve been in a while.

It’s fine.

There’s an extra sway to your hips as you make your way to the Window Man. His family eyes you cautiously but otherwise say or do nothing. You’d sigh if you had the presence of mind to. As it is, you feel nervous and flushed and a little bit breathless. You look over your shoulder to Jane, whose face displays everything from “look at my beautiful wife” to “look at all these sheep thinking there isn’t a wolf in their midst”. You swallow the bubbling giggles rising in your throat.

You stop a few feet away from Mr Brooding and lean forward to the side a little. Thank your stars you chose to wear the dress that shows at least a little cleavage. You don't touch him, and firmly hold your hands behind your back.

"Excuse me..?," you ask tentatively, and almost jump out of your skin when your target does. He whips around to glare daggers at you. Until he isn't, and his eyes follow your dress' straps down your neckline. Could use more class, but it's all whatever at this point.

"Wha—,” The man starts, but his voice sounds choked. Clears his throat and starts again. “What do you want?”

Can’t help but notice that most of the tension has left his shoulders. Was it really as easy as playing the part of the drunk bimbo?

“Sorry, gosh, I didn’t mean to scare you!” Place a hand low on your chest for emphasis and lean back on your heels. Ignore the slowly growing soreness in your feet. “My name’s Magda Wi—ah, Stephens!” Pretend to forget that your maiden name is gone. Seems to work; Brooding Man doesn’t seem to catch it.

The fake names roll off your tongue better with the alcohol. At least you hope; sounding believable while drunk is hard. How were you expected to ace this, again?

Brooding Man still eyes you suspiciously. You look over your shoulder and wiggle your fingers at Jane. He wiggles his fingers back at you. He makes a good show of looking far more inebriated than you know he is.

Turn back to the man in front of you with a dumb, apologetic grin on your face.

“Truth is, we just got married right? But I’ve always been kind of wild, you know, and he lets me get really crazy, bless than idiot, but—I’m sorry, geez, I’m rambling. Do you mind if we sit down? The wine’s getting to my head a bit but I really hope you can hear me out. Please?”

Clasping your hands right under your chest seems to work a charm; Brooding Man can’t help but look back down before looking back up at your face. Your very flushed face. It’s a miracle the people of Singapore can’t hear how hard your heart is beating.

“Sure,” Brooding Man answer’s smoothly. His entire demeanor changes. He offers you his arm to guide you to one of the few empty tables. The wait staff give you a look. The Family give you a look. Jane looks on wordlessly but with the starved attention of a predator.

“My name’s James Madore.”

James—Jim, Jimmy, Jamie—takes to you like a fly to honey. He hangs after your every word like they’re gold as soon as you mention you and your “husband” are looking for a +1 to your first honeymoon night. You rattle off the name of a hotel Jane had given you, and James seems pleasantly satisfied. Must be high-end, then. Not like you’d know.

You talk about yourself like the most self-absorbed, vapid girl on the planet. Your work in PR, you’re, like, so good with social media. You’ve worked with the Kardashians and Kanye and even Madonna for a little bit. You like the modest ring your husband have you because the chunky garbage is so overrated. You like indie music like it’s your lifeblood.

You make yourself sound like the worst hipster you’ve ever heard. And for whatever reason, it’s actually working. James is absolutely enthralled—both by whatever incoherent mess falls out of your mouth and by your cleavage.

You place a chilled hand over his on the table. He doesn’t flinch or pull away. He leans in closer. You’d almost be attracted to him if he wasn’t so, just. So arrogant.

“But geez, Jamie! You’re letting me do all the talking here!” Laugh like you’re pretending to be self conscious. You’re still not sober enough to know if you’re doing a good job of it. “What about you! What do you do? Is that your family over there? They look nice!”

They don’t look nice. When you wave at them, the older woman—presumably James’ mother—looks three seconds away from murdering you just for thinking about touching her son. Tough.

James tenses. Oh, that’s new.

Tilt your head to the side to feign ignorance rather than sudden intrigue.

“They’re alright,” James starts slowly, looking quickly over his shoulder before turning back to you. “Family business is rough though. My dad’s been trying to groom me to take over for years and my mom’s already decided who I’m supposed to marry. Can you believe that shit?”

A gasp. “Oh no! You’re kidding me! Seriously? Arranged marriages in this day and age?”

“Christ, right? It’s like they live in the 1700s!” James throws his head back in what looks like pure, unadulterated relief. You almost wish you could say you understand. When he bring his head back down, he looks... dismayed. You’d even say hopeless.

“Oh no,” you start, look around and lean in. Lower your voice. “You got your eyes on another girl?”

James looks stunned for a second, and then slowly shakes his head. You’re about to ask what, then, when it clicks.

Oh. Oh no. There’s a clear picture forming in your foggy mind and you’re not sure you like it. Force yourself you grin like a Cheshire Cat through your empathy and lean back in your chair.

“Well, if you don’t mind it, I’m sure you and my husband would get along just fine.”

James actually looks like he’s considering it for a minute. Looks back at his family—barely a fraction of a second—and then snatches his hand away from yours like it’s made of burning embers. Hide the confusion under a layer of what you hope is carefully crafted concern. You open your mouth to ask what’s wrong, or offer reassurances, but silence yourself when you see James’ hands. His fingers are nearly white from how hard he’s gripping he table.

“Look, no offence, I’m sure you’re some decent folk, but I’m not interested,” he says sharply. You can’t help yourself from grabbing at his sleeve as he gets up. Do your best to shake the wine from your head long enough to think before you speak.

“Please. I honestly started out just wanting to pick you up for a threesome—“ James’ face turns about five shades of crimson. “—but you seem like a good kid. I just—I want to help you. Even if it's just giving you a night to relax, no strings attached. Just one night of fun where you can forget who you are.”

James' face is impassive for a little bit, but you think you can see him considering the offer. Considering you, at the very least; his eyes are fixed on your face. It's a little unnerving, honestly. The more you watch him, though, the more he seems like he's faltering. And somehow, though your mission wasn't really to woo him or even reel him in, you find yourself determined to do something.

You catch yourself fidgeting with the pendant around your neck when the young man's eyes drift down to it. He has the decency to snap his gaze right back up to your face. Your hand wraps around the teardrop pendant—clear and blue—and move to take it off.

"How about this," you start carefully. "I'm kind of a fortune teller on the side sometimes. How about you ask some questions and I try and get some answers for you?"

Jane's grip on your hand is almost bruising as he pulls you along behind him. You don't really have the time to say anything. You don't really breathe, either. Your hand comes up to your bare neck. You kind of wish you hadn't dropped your pendant in Jane's haste to get you out. You kind of liked it.

"Quick, come on, get in," Jane orders calmly, but his tone betrays the set of his eyes. You swallow thickly. You don't even have time to buckle up before Jane tears out of the parking lot. Confusion, mild panic and inebriation make it impossible to actually tell and remember which direction he's heading towards.

"Okay," you breathe, finally snapping your seat belt in place. You let your head fall back and stare blankly at the car's roof. "Can you tell me exactly what just happened? Because I think I'm still too drunk to actually process."

Jane makes an ugly sound that's probably somewhere between choking and laughing. Great. Fantastic. This is absolutely not how you'd planned your evening and night to go.

"The Madore family's been linked to some pretty shady stuff for the past few years," he starts explaining. You vaguely notice that this is the first time he refuses to tear his eyes off the road while driving. You don't comment on it.

"James isn't so keen on following in his brothers' and father's footsteps. He's been trying to distance himself from the family business for a while now."

"Yeah, okay, makes sense that his family would seem like god damn flies in a soup then." Jane chuckles and continues.

"Exactly. They're trying everything to make sure James keeps the family business going, but he keeps sneaking right past them every other time. Like when he was spotted with a 'guy friend' at a bar last week."

You snort. "It's a dude in his twenties going to a bar with a friend, wha—," I cut myself off when I turn to look at Jane. While he's got half of a smirk plastered on his face, he looks... almost sad? Apologetic? "Oh.That kind of guy friend. The kind of guy friend who makes a man turn down a drunk girl propositioning him."

Jane laughs out loud and throws his head back. Your mind goes blank for a second; the column of his neck when he laughs is... You shake your head and shudder. Not entirely sure you like where you mind is wandering right now.

"Right, exactly. James hasn't been able to get a single minute to himself since that photographer caught them. Those pictures haven't been made public either, so you can guess what happened to the one who saw them." You make a face; yes, you can guess, and you would much rather not. "It's James' boyfriend who send me an email a few days ago to try and find out why he hasn't heard from James since their last date."

You make a sour face. The boyfriend has no idea, then? Who James Madore is? Did James lie about who he is? Or did it just never come up in conversation?

"Wait." You grab Jane's right arm in sudden realization. You don't mean to stun him the way you do but the way it makes him look at you makes your mouth go dry. The words get stuck in your throat. He's quick to look back at the road ahead.

"Yes?"

"I—you had asked me to—I never got him? To come back with us?" You're starting to think that maybe you aren't as drunk as you think and maybe there's something else entirely wrong with you. Your hand is still wrapped around Jane's elbow. You try desperately not to notice how his arm feels deceptively muscular.

"I didn’t, actually," he replies with a smirk. It almost makes you want to scream. “But don’t worry about it. I got what I needed from watching you.”

Oh come on, there has to have been a better way to word that. You can feel heat scorching your cheeks and neck. That's just not fair. You take your hand back like the contact with him burned you.

It probably did.

"Okay, so, what now then?" There has to be something else to be done after this, right? It can't just end with a single night of pseudo-investigation and being chased out by an angry mob family because you tried to touch their son's face after having answering a particularly sensitive question, right?

Jane shrugs like doesn't care. "I have some ideas, but it's not something you need to bother yourself with."

You let out an indignant scoff; all of this so you don't need to bother yourself with the end result?

"Beg your pardon, but what the fuck?"

"Language," Jane gasps, putting a hand to his chest in mock offence. When he turns to look at you and notices that your face still clearly displays shock and anger, he makes quick work of backtracking.

"I'm sorry, what I meant to say is that I have a backdoor for James if he wants one. There's just a lot of questionable paperwork and people involved, so..."

"Plausible deniability, huh? How kind of you," you mutter, shifting in your seat to rest your head against the window and watch the road go by.

The rest of the drive goes by in silence.

𝓣𝓪𝓰𝓵𝓲𝓼𝓽

please comment to let me know if you’d like to be added!

@fucklife-or-me @yearningforsappho @mamacakeishereforfun @newavenger

#honey and the hatchet #the mentalist #patrick jane #patrick jane x reader #the mentalist fanfiction #the mentalist fanfic #fanfiction #reader #reader insert #Tarot reading #pendulum reading #reader is a fortune teller #Fortune telling #Slow burn

[garciaasfluffypen]

Hi, May I please request:

An unsub has reader as a hostage and JJ and the team have to negotiate to get her back safely, as they trade off, the unsub shoots reader in the neck (JJ shoots the unsub) but she survives. (JJ is rs wife, r is also a BAU agent.)

hostage 

wc: 1.2k pairing: jj x f!reader  warnings: rape insinuations, gun mentions, sexual assult insinuations, toxic (past) relationship mention, general assholery, reader gets beat up, reader is drugged, shooting, reader gets hurt, happy ending, un beta’d writing

a/n: i put elle on this team because i am a firm believer that elle would fight to the death for you bc she’s protective af and since jj is technically supposed to be on the sidelines, we need her. she doesn’t have a big appearance but she’s there. also, this guy was inspired by lewis from svu but hopefully he ended up not as creepy as him, its been a sec since i’ve made up an unsub for writing purposes 

it wasn’t every day you found yourself being held hostage by a spree-killer. 

you and the team had been hunting him for months, following him around the states, being lied to countless times by him and the people he knew until you found yourself in a dive bar he frequented out in alabama. you had to admit, you were a little nervous, but it was something you had handled before, you’d be fine. at least, you thought you would. but somehow he had drugged your drink, and you woke up in a place that was unfamiliar to you and a pain in your lower half that you hadn’t experienced before. 

that was a week ago.

had it been a week ago? time had gotten so muddled since don - you can’t recall if that’s actually his name or not - had continuously pumped you with whatever low priced narcotic he found out on the street when he left you in the barren lake house. you could hear people outside sometimes, but you were so god damn tired you couldn’t find it in you to scream out for help. not anymore. you had already attempted to get out twice and he had caught you both times. the first time, he had gotten home earlier than you had anticipated and had beat you up so bad you still couldn’t see out of your left eye. the second time he had booby-trapped the front and back door, making it impossible for you to get out without falling into a trap, but you didn’t know that until you were actually in his trap.

you honestly would rather die than live another day here. 

it was late on what you believed was day eight of your capture when you heard the rustling of don coming in through the front door, and you braced yourself for whatever it was that was going to happen. it wasn’t pretty. you had gotten used to the pain at this point, it had become a daily part of the routine. don would come back drunk and you were his toy that he could hit and shove and push around and do whatever he wanted to. you let him, knowing that if you fought back it would be the end of your life. and you couldn’t die without saying bye to your wife. 

your wife. jj. the absolute love of your life. it had felt like years since you had last seen her, your last words to her being “it will be okay, i love you.”. it hurt you to think that you didn’t even say goodbye before leaving her. for all she knew, you were dead in a ditch and you didn’t even say goodbye. at the very moment, that hurt the most. 

you missed her so fucking much. she was so gentle with you, making sure you knew everything your toxic ex partner had drilled into your head was wrong, and that yes, you were the complete opposite. she made sure all your laundry was clean when you came home from working extra hours at the office, always remembered to pack your favorite bath soaps that always made her smell like lavender since she stole them from you. it was one of your favorite things about her, and god you just wanted to be back in her arms again.

unbeknownst to you, back at the police department, jj and the team were fighting to get you back. penelope, bless her soul, had found a few loopholes to jump through to figure out everything and anything about don, finding out who he knew, how he knew them and where the team could find them. 

“penelope” hotch looked up at the screen. “we don’t have all day.”

“right, yes sir. sorry. he has a lake house in a run down part of town, address should be on your tablets now.”

elle gave jj’s hand the biggest squeeze she could muster as everyone ran to the gear room to get suited up, promising jj they’d do everything they could to get you alive. jj knew she wasn’t supposed to be coming, but she pushed herself into one of the cars anyway and nervously fiddled with the necklace you gave her for christmas the past year as the team rushed as fast as they could to the house where you were. 

don was in the middle of beating you up when you heard the sirens getting closer, and almost cried tears of joy. they found you, you were going to be safe. that was, until don grabbed you and yanked you out the front door, holding you up by your neck as he put a gun towards your head. through your good eye you could see your team fighting for you, but the ringing you heard overtook whatever it was they were saying. your heart fluttered as you saw jj standing there, held back by derek and hotch. everything was mumbled and you were so tired, you just wanted to sleep. sleep sounded so good right now. maybe you’d be able to sleep soon-

you were tossed to the ground abruptly, your head hitting the ground as you rolled a few feet. there were two loud bangs and suddenly the ringing got louder, and there was a warm feeling on your neck. moments later, jj ran up to your side, practically sliding on her knees as she reached your body laying in the middle of the lawn. 

“baby, baby hey, it’s me, hey, stay with me.”

you did your best to look up at your wife, a small chuckle falling from your lips. “i never got to say goodbye to you.”

“don’t say that. don’t you dare say that, y/n. you’re gonna live, you’re gonna go to the hospital and you’re going to live. you’re not dying on me.” 

“i left without say-” you cut off as you choked on your own blood. “goodbye.”

“shut up. shut the fuck up.”  jj pushed the hair out of your face. “don’t you dare say goodbye to me.” 

you let out a shuttering breath. “i love you, baby. bye.” 

then the world went black. 

                                                             -----

a steady beeping noise lulled you slowly from your slumber, light making its way slowly through your closed eyelids. your body felt heavy, almost as if you were buried underneath a pile of rubble for the past two years. it was a bit of a struggle to open your eyes but you got them open, your head turning to the side as much as it could before you saw your wife hunched over your bed, asleep. hotch sat in a chair in the corner, definitely looking like he needed sleep. the newest stephen king novel was in his hand, but you weren’t sure if he was even paying attention to it. you sniffled a bit and hotch looked up, a small smile forming on his face.

“welcome back, agent. how are you feeling?”

“shit.” was all you managed to get out as your eyes fluttered. “dry.” 

“let me go get you some water, i’ll be right back.” 

hotch patted your ankle lightly as he walked out of the room, the movement jostling jj from her sleep. her head perked up as she looked around, blinking a few times before noticing you were awake. she sat up and scooted closer to you, her hand curling around the good side of your face. 

“i’m so mad at you right now.”

“hm.” you blinked slowly, hoping the emotion in your good eye was showing. 

“but i love you.” 

you slowly lifted your hand to cradle your wife's, a small smile forming on your face. 

“love you too.” 

#jennifer jareau x reader #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds one shot #an i (queue) of 187

[lovelyfanatical]

I Get a Sugar Rush Whenever I’m With You - Chapter 1.3

Happy Friday, fellow Drukkari stans! Thanks again for the support on this fic. Took a bit longer, but I am here with another installment! Bringing in a couple more characters this time, hopefully you enjoy the dynamics. We’re finally bringing Day 1 to a close. I honestly did not think I would spend this much time on the actual challenges, but they’re surprisingly fun to write about. If you missed the first two parts, you can find Part 1 here and Part 2 here. Now, without further ado, here’s Part 3 of my Drukkari GBBO au!

Druig was quite certain that technical challenges were a sadistic invention. He’d come in third place, but it was definitely pure luck that he’d made several Dorset apple cakes before, and it didn’t change the fact that it had been the single most stressful hour of his life. Having lunch with Makkari and Kingo had helped alleviate some of the nerves, but they had come right back once they were back at their stations. And even though he’d known what he needed to do, he’d still been on the verge of panic for most of the baking process. The judging and interviews afterward were a blur. Once they got back to the hotel, he was probably going straight to bed… or at least he would if he weren’t also incredibly hungry.

After another round of interviews, they’d piled back into the shuttle and were on their way to the hotel. This time, Makkari sat between Druig and Kingo. The two of them were so signing rapidly that Druig nearly missed it when Makkari asked him a question.

Do you want to eat dinner with us? Kingo says he can hear your stomach growling.

Yeah, thanks, he signed, feeling a smile tug at his lips.

-

Somewhere between the shuttle and the hotel, word had gotten out about dinner, and soon enough, they’d added two more to their impromptu party. After all, they could hardly turn Ajak away when she asked so nicely if she could join them, even if she did bring Kingo’s new (completely one-sided) nemesis, Karun, with her. It was too late to go out, but thankfully, the hotel’s kitchen was still open. They ordered room service and, at his insistence, had everything sent to Kingo’s room.

Druig thought all the contestants had the same type of room, but since Kingo’s was a corner room, it seemed a good bit bigger than his. Even with the extra space, however, the room hadn’t exactly been designed to accommodate more than two or three people, which led to the five of them sharing chairs and huddling around the meager table with their food. That said, Druig was crammed in next to Makkari, so he couldn’t complain. Ajak only knew a few signs and Karun didn’t know any, so Kingo sat across from Makkari so he could interpret.

“So, how was everyone’s first day?” Ajak asked once they’d settled in.

“Um, stressful!” Kingo threw out quickly. “I mean, I knew it’d be a lot of work, but that technical challenge is no joke.”

“Agreed,” Druig chimed in, at which point Makkari elbowed him in the ribs.

Says the guy who came in third, she signed, a hint of a smile on her face.

“Doesn’t mean it wasn’t stressful.”

“Congratulations, Mr. Druig,” Karun said warmly.

“Thanks, right back at you.” Karun had come in second. ”And just Druig is fine.”

“Ugh, I picked the wrong group to complain to,” Kingo lamented. Having not learned from his signature bake, he had again put way too much fruit in his cake and came in dead last.

At least you didn’t invite first place, then you’d look really stupid. The other early riser – Gilgamesh – had come in first.

“Oh, we should invite him next time!” Ajak interjected.

“If I’m even here for a next time,” Kingo said glumly.

“I wouldn’t worry so much,” Karun began gently. “I think that other handsome fellow might be in trouble as well.”

“Which one?”

“The one with the streak in his hair. What was his name… Ikaris!”

“Hm, you may be right,” Ajak replied, nodding her agreement.

That blue velvet cake was kind of a disaster.

Despite his numerous questions earlier in the day, it seemed nothing could’ve prepared Ikaris for the tragedy to come. Somehow, he’d gotten his sugar mixed up with salt. The resulting blue velvet cake had been nigh-inedible. On top of that, Ikaris had come second-to-last in the technical, leaving the showstopper as his only chance for redemption.

“I feel kind of bad for him. I wonder what happened…” Kingo trailed off before a glint appeared in his eye. “Maybe he was sabotaged!”

“And who would’ve done that? We all just met today,” Druig retorted.

“I don’t know, but how else do you mess up so badly?”

“Mixing up salt and sugar is a pretty easy mistake to make,” Ajak observed.

“Okay, yeah. Everyone mixes up salt and sugar at some point,” Kingo conceded. “It’s strange, though. He’s all the way in the back. That usually gives bakers an advantage.”

How so?

“Well, you remember how they told us not to cheat by watching each other? It’s easier not to look like you’re watching everyone else if you’re in the back and have to look forward at everyone anyway.”

“Thanks for the tip, Kingo. I can use it for the next technical,” Druig said with a grin. He’d been stationed in the second-to-last row.

“Ohmigod, I’m not telling you anything else!” Kingo exclaimed, as Ajak and Karun both tried to shush his sudden outburst. “You are uninvited from any future meals.”

You can’t uninvite him! He’s my guest, Makkari protested. While Kingo tried to argue, Makkari simply stared him into submission. After a solid thirty seconds, he let out a sigh.

“Fine. Druig, you are un-uninvited.”

“Appreciate it.”

As the others moved onto another topic, Druig gently bumped Makkari’s shoulder in a silent “Thanks.” She returned the gesture with a soft smile.

-

Who will be the first to leave the competition? My brain and schedule permitting, you’ll find out soon. Hope you enjoyed this! Likes, reblogs, and feedback would be much appreciated!

Part 4

#lovelyfanatical shares #drukkari gbbo au #drukkari #druig x makkari #eternals #eternals fanfiction #ajak is already the mom friend #karun is a sweetheart #and kingo is v dramatic as usual

[neoninky]

TWST Fic "Her Ivory Crown": Chapter 6

Aaand we're back~

Any newcomers to this story, be prepared...for immense fluff lol

You can find this and all other chapters on my Masterlist or read the completed stories on my AO3 page. Likes, shares, and comments are welcome!

Ch. 6: First Signs of Spring

No one except them and the Rosabyrine vice dorm leader knew what had happened. Given Reine's position, it was standard procedure that any 'incidents' like these were kept under wraps. That didn't keep Elise or Manari from wearing their worry on their faces, however. The two girls had been camped outside of Night Raven's infirmary for over an hour when the Headmistress finally exited into the hallway, her face as calm as ever.

"Miss Castilene is alright," the girls exhaled in relief, "she'll return to her room to continue resting after the nurse finishes a few healing spells, just for extra precaution. She is not to leave the dorm for the rest of the evening, understood? I will escort her back myself. You two should return to the festival for now." 

-

The sun was sinking in the sky, casting a soft glow across the festival grounds that normally would have made Elise feel absolutely dreamy but this was the first time since they arrived that she and Manari had been so somber. Most of the other students wandering about through the rows of booths didn't notice but a certain cat sniffed out their distress the second he spotted the girls. Che'nya came around the corner to meet the two of them, his smile not quite as bright as usual.

"Why so glum, girls?  You look as if the dormouse ate your favorrrite tarts..."

Elise mustered up a small grin and gave Che'nya a gentle head scratch between his ears, making him purr, "Hello Che'nya, sorry to show such a face. It's just...we're a bit worried about Reine." 

The princess knew that it was highly frowned upon to talk about this with someone outside of Sacred Crown or even the Rosabyrine dorm but Reine and Che'nya had always been very fond of one another so surely she wouldn't mind Elise letting him know, right? The boy's ears twitched at hearing his friends' name and for once his face didn't hold a smile. 

"Did something happen to RRReine??"

-

The trio left the main road and found a more secluded place to fill Che'nya in. His ears drooped ever so slightly at the news and even more so at Elise's distressed expression. 

"I don't know what happened. When we were walking back from the game, she said she was tired but she still seemed fine..."

Manari folded her arms and scowled, "You mean after she had that talk with Zehn?" She didn't bother hiding the venom in her tone, "Something always seemed off with him, even more so since we all got here! I don't like him. I don't think Reine does either. Seriously, he's gotta go."

"Manari..."

"Elise! You KNOW I'm right!" the fiery girl gave her friend a look, basically challenging her to prove her wrong. Elise just signed in frustration.

"Manari, you don't understand how complicated this truly is for someone in Reine's position...technically neither do I. While I am also a princess, I'm not the heir to the throne like she is. I have older siblings in line before me so the pressure on me is far less. Still...when you are the next in line, everything matters tenfold. Every last detail. Especially in terms of courtship and marriage." 

Manari knew Elise was right but she didn't like it, "I get it. I'm not a princess and I doubt I ever will be but...but ugh! We have to do something!"

Elise gently grabbed her friend's hand, "It's not our place to interfere. It'll only make things harder for her in the end. I understand your frustration, I do. Reine and I have known each other since elementary school. I don't know every detail but I've seen her struggle towards her goals for years. I don't want her to struggle unnecessarily anymore. Even if I'm not fond of him either, if she chooses him as her future groom then that's that."

The exotic dorm leader groaned in frustration but finally conceded, "Alright...damn you and your cool head, Elise Coralette," she laughed wryly. 

Che'nya's tail swished back and forth as he hummed to himself, taking in the girls' words, "Manyari has a point though~" he continued his thoughts when the girls turned to him with confused looks, "Zehn has never been too frrriendly, not to me or really anyone outside his little entourage...but something about these Night RRRaven boys really burns him up, hmm hmm~" his amusement shone through once again on that last thought. 

"I think it's gross," Manari said bluntly, getting a small laugh from Elise finally. 

"I stand by what I said, it's not our place to interfere...buuuut as her best friends, I think something to put her at ease is in order." 

"Definitely. Last time I checked, this is supposed to be a fun event to build camaraderie between our schools...granted the 'friendly' competitive spirit between the boys is pretty entertaining, not going to lie." Che'nya chuckled in agreement with that before going wide-eyed.

"Ooooh~ I know what would make RRReine feel much better!" 

-

Riddle sat with an annoyed expression, trying to ignore Floyd's teasing and stupid 'goldfish-chan' name-calling, as he and Azul were going over the current records of their standing in the sales portion of the festival at one of the more private tables in the mini cafe. It was an unofficial contest between the three schools over the course of the week: whoever brought in the highest amount of profit by the festival's end would not only be helping out their own school but they would also receive quite the boon in future events - first in line for the best Magift equipment, top-notch materials for stage building and the like at next year's official VDC, etc. Not to mention all the bragging rights one could imagine. And so far...

"Royal Sword is still ahead of the rest of us," the octopus gave a disgruntled sigh, "Sacred Crown is doing quite well but our lead over them is pretty far, putting us right in second." 

Riddle looked over the graphs and calculations Azul had put together on paper. It was unnerving how detailed they were, down to every decimal for every individual booth's profit and the demographic of patrons. Riddle couldn't help but notice that Azul's extension of the Monstro Lounge was doing very well and the majority of the credit went to female patrons.

"You seem to be doing quite well, Ashengrotto..."

Azul's charming smile quickly returned as the twins snickered behind him, "Ahh yes, such lovely, generous hearts these Sacred Crown girls have. I can hardly keep them away as soon as we open. Not that I would ever think of it. What a monster I would be to deny those precious pearls what they desire." 

The octopus was practically swooning over his patrons' "generosity" but Riddle's unimpressed expression judged him down to the bones.  Something definitely reeked of suspicion but as long as it wasn't illegal (technically or otherwise), Riddle couldn't do a thing about it even though he was the executive chair of the event's committee. 

"Excuse me?" a sweet voice interrupted, sending Floyd into a spell of giddy energy.

"Star fishiiiiie~" the taller twin zipped over to Elise and wrapped her in a hug before either Jade or Azul could stop him this time, "Heheh did you and Tiger Barbie change your minds? You want me to squeeze that guy until his head pops off? Heeehh~?" 

Elise, ever the good sport, patted the eel's long arms affectionately and tried not to squeak as Floyd held her tightly, "No no, Floyd, we actually came to speak to Riddle if he could spare a moment?"

"Tempting offer though..." Manari muttered as Azul stormed over to the twin and started fussing at him for his rudeness.  After some whining and childish insults thrown Azul's way, Floyd gently set the princess back down and shuffled away to find a good place for a nap. 

"Forgive my brother's enthusiasm, ladies," Jade had already procured extra chairs for the girls at the table, "he gets very excited about those he is fond of. It's quite adorable don't you think?" he said with a toothy smile. Riddle snorted at the notion of anything about Floyd being adorable and stood to properly greet the two girls.

"You were looking for me?"

Elise turned to him, with a shy grin, "Yes, we need your help with something. I'm so sorry to interrupt your and Mr. Ashengrotto's meeting though."

"Don't be, we were just finishing up this boring talk regarding sales figures and such," Azul ignored the eyebrow raised look Riddle was sending his way, knowing full well that Azul was blowing smoke, "Please, sit down, can we fetch you anything? Anything at all~?" 

Manari didn't even need a menu at this point, "Oooh! Yeah yeah! I'm just three points away from the next prize level!" the seashell embossed points card was already in Manari's hand as she rattled off her order, Elise doing the same. Azul and Jade both quickly set to work, grinning like cats who caught the canary. Riddle just rolled his eyes and turned back to Elise. 

"Anyway...how may I be of service to you?" 

"Thank you, Riddle. It's about Reine actually..."

The girl's absence didn't go unnoticed by Heartslabyul's prefect but now it caused him a bit of worry. Elise explained further without going into graphic detail about what had happened in a hushed voice as more and more students came and went from the cafe. 

"She isn't feeling too good right now and roses have always brightened her day. We figured if there was anyone who could help us with this, it would be you, Riddle." 

Riddle didn't hesitate, "I'll gather Heartslabyul's best roses for her room, to help her rest easier. Trey is also making delicious tarts for our tea party tomorrow. I'm sure he'd be more than happy to send some for all of you to enjoy once she is feeling better." His voice and gaze were so sure even though he felt a pang of anxiety in his chest. What could have made the princess suddenly fall ill? Maybe she wasn't getting enough rest? Was she comfortable on their campus or was this whole event just making her feel uneasy and she was too polite to say?

A spark lit in Manari's eyes as she watched Riddle, "Wow Riddle, you are such a sweetheart, you know?" 

He smiled at the girl's praise, "Thank you, Miss Manari. Not only am I a dorm prefect but also one of Night Raven College's top students. So naturally, I want our guests' first experience on our campus to be as enjoyable and pleasant as possible. Anything less is unacceptable." 

"A regular gentleman," the grin on Manari's face grew, "Say...you know what would really make Reine feel better? You should go get those roses and bring them to her at our dorm tonight!" 

Both Riddle and Elise's faces lept in surprise. Che'nya had suggested asking for Riddle's help but a personal visit was a whole nother story. Riddle quickly turned a bit flustered, "I-I'm not sure that is appropriate, a male student coming into the designated girls' dormitory, especially at night. Surely your Headmistress would be against it." 

"Oh, I'm sure it would be fine! Not like we're sneaking you in after curfew. Plus Elise is a third-year, your senior. Chaperoning a quick visit from one dorm leader to check up on another shouldn't be a problem!"

Elise gave her friend a skeptical side look out of Riddle's view. Technically...Manari wasn't wrong. The rules were very clear and VERY strict when it came to boys visiting the girls' dorms whenever their brother school had visited their campus in the past so naturally, the same rules would apply here. One of which was as the girl said: 'a male student could visit a female student in her dormitory so long as a senior student was present.' So it would stand to reason that Riddle could in fact pay a visit under Elise's supervision. Plus Riddle seemed to be the very last boy on the planet that would ever have ulterior motives and the flowers alone would certainly make Reine feel a lot better. 

"Red roses are her favorite. She doesn't have a favorite tea but she does drink mint tea when she's feeling particularly stressed. Just so you know," Elise smiled at the flustered boy, basically confirming what Manari said to be true and giving him permission, "and don't worry about the dress code. Your regular uniform is perfectly fine." 

As soon as they were done eating, the girls excused themselves and bid Riddle farewell, but not before exchanging contact info and cashing in their Monstro points for the next level of prizes. Elise was on cloud nine when presented with a seashell necklace that matched the hairpin that she was still wearing. Manari was just happy to get a ticket for a free side dish upon her next visit. 

"Byyye Riddllllee~ We'll message you once Reine is back and settled in, ok?" Manari was quite pleased with herself. That is until Elise was staring her down once they were out of earshot of the boys. 

"What???"

"I know you and I know when you're up. to. something."

The teasing girl just shrugged off her friend's suspicion, "I have no idea what you could possibly mean, your highness. Should I feel bad for helping out our sweet rosebud?"

"Do you not remember our conversation from earlier, Manari?"

"It's not interfering. I simply recognized how distressed poor Riddle was when he heard how the fair maiden had fallen ill. You saw his face. Are you really going to deny him the opportunity to console his dear princess in her time of need?!" she laid the showmanship on thick with an over-the-top gasp, "Really Elise...I never thought I would see the day when you became so cold-hearted!"

"Oh stop it," Elise tried and failed to keep a serious face on while she playfully shoved Manari, "it's a wonder you're not in drama club....alright fine, you win this one. But I stand by what I said before. No interfering in Reine's personal affairs or relationships...stop laughing, Manari, I mean it!"

-

The sun had set once Reine crawled out of her covers and looked at her tired face in the mirror. Taking a bath had helped but she still felt like her brain was marinating in bog juice. She was thankful that the other girls were simply told that Reine was tired and just needed to rest it off in place of what actually happened. The Headmistress had left the princess to her own endeavors about an hour ago right as Manari and Elise had returned to the dorm and helped her up to her room. She could hear a few distant voices down the halls but it seemed that most of the Sacred Crown girls were still out enjoying the last couple of hours of the day. She frowned a bit down at the already wilting flowers she left on the fireplace mantel earlier, kicking herself for not setting them in water at least. The soft feeling of the petals underneath her fingertips soothed her mind a bit before Reine remembered what happened before she collapsed. The room felt too stifling all of a sudden and Reine decided she felt decent enough to go downstairs for some water at least. What she didn't expect was someone waiting for her in the lounge as she reached the bottom step.

 "Oh Reine, you're up! Good, look who's here to see you," Elise said lightly with a hint of surprise as she gestured to a now shy Riddle sitting across from her, a perfectly crafted bouquet of rich red roses in his hands. The boys of Heartslabyul thought their perfect had lost his mind when they found him in the gardens, cutting roses from the already manicured bushes - that he explicitly said were to NOT be touched earlier - with a look on his face that spelled doom to anyone who said a word about his hypocritical behavior. He practically could feel Ace and Cater mocking him behind his back as he nervously sat there. 

Reine felt like leaping into the sea once she realized two things very quickly: that yes, Riddle really was in her dorm right now and that she was standing in front of him in her white, thankfully modest, nightgown, no make up, and her hair a mess of waves, clumsily tied back in an unruly low ponytail as if she never combed it. Manari was behind this and no one could change her mind about that or the fact that her best friend was going to get an ear full about this later.

 "R-Riddle! What brings you...here?" oh how she wanted to die right on the spot. Could this day get any worse?! Riddle stood and greeted her as he normally did, albeit a bit more skittishly, trying not to notice just how her skin was more exposed than usual. Or how nice and slender her bare legs were. Trying very, very hard. 

 "Miss Reine, I'm glad to see you're alright. I..I brought these for you," he extended the flowers to her with a bow of his head, "Miss Elise said red was your favorite. I brought them from Heartslabyul's own gardens. I-I hope they're to your liking!" 

The girl's heart melted at the sight of the perfectly chosen flowers and completely forgot about her embarrassment as she took them from him, "They're gorgeous...thank you so much, Riddle." Elise couldn't help but smile at the sparkle in her friend's eyes.

"Reine, sit here. I'll go take care of these beautiful roses and make some tea. Riddle was also kind enough to bring us some from his collection." And with that, the two of them were left alone momentarily. They sat in a bashful silence across from each other, completely unaware of the pairs of excited eyes spying on them from around the corner. Elise hushed the other girls as she entered the kitchen. If they were going to be so nosy, they could at least be subtle about it!

This wasn't the first time they had been alone and yet it felt so...strange this time around. The boy's eyes cautiously wandered up to the girl in front of him. His brain knew that she was the future queen of his home and deserved every ounce of respect he had to offer. But his eyes saw a very lovely girl wrapped in a pure white dress with delicate lace patterns and that hung loosely, comfortingly around her slender frame as her platinum waves gently cascaded over her exposed shoulders. A very lovely girl that seemed openly sheepish as she fiddled with the ruffled hem of said dress, not sure where exactly to direct her deep violet-colored eyes at that moment. Something about this picture just made his heart thump and his brain flail about to regain his senses. Riddle cleared his throat and took initiative before his nerves got the better of him. 

"How are you feeling, Miss Reine? Were you hurt at all?"

He sounded so sincere, it was actually pretty cute. She just nodded and put on her usual serene smile to the best of her ability, "Yes I'm fine. I promise. I think I just got a bit overwhelmed. But I've been wanting to ask you, were you hurt at all from when you fell?"

Riddle had almost forgotten about that moment from the game but confirmed in confidence that he was perfectly fine, "it was you who caught me wasn't it? I'm safe and sound because of you, Miss Reine." 

"I'm glad," her face flushed a light pink, "I just...didn't want anything bad to happen." 

"If you don't mind me asking, is that your Unique Magic?"

The girl nodded, feeling a sense of pride warm her chest, "Yes it is. I've worked on mastering it ever since I was in middle school. It takes a lot of concentration and precision. 'Bow to the Queen' is a trapping spell meant to disarm my target and keep them from attacking me or anyone else. The branches have thorns if I wish them to. If my target is pricked by them, they are temporarily paralyzed. But without the thorns, the branches be used as safety net like it was today." 

"That's incredible..." Riddle's eyes were full of admiration, his shyness completely forgotten, "you cast it so effortlessly and quickly. It's no wonder you won the throne." 

Reine's smile turned somber, "Yes, it was hard but I managed to win over both my parents' court and my cousins' court as well. My cousins in the Red Court are very talented as well so I am a bit surprised." 

Riddle felt a pinch of guilt; it seemed like the subject wasn't entirely a happy one. He started to apologize for overstepping but the princess just shook her head, "You have nothing to apologize for. The life of royals is complicated, to say the least." 

Riddle knew from his history lessons that in years past, the trials of the Rose Queendom heirs used to be much more violent but over time, the trials had became geared more towards gauging the wit and skill level of their contenders over just pitting them against each other in duels and whoever came out unscathed was the determined victor. Often, or so he heard, those who wished to become the Queen-to-be's suitor would also take part in their own trials and were then ranked on how favorable they were based on the results. Unlike the princess and other ladies aiming for the throne, the young men competing for her hand didn't shy away from dueling on top of the rigorous trials. The losers suffering permanent damage was not unheard of. Frankly, Riddle thought it was barbaric and an insult to their future queens' efforts...and he could see the strain such things had put on Reine herself. The redhead swiftly reminded himself exactly why he was there, to comfort her, and redoubled his effort.

"Miss Reine, tomorrow is a free day with no events on the festival's schedule. Heartslabyul will be having another tea party and croquet match tomorrow since it is the 5th. If you are feeling well, I would like to invite you and the girls of Rosabyrine to join us." Riddle's heart fluttered when he saw the excited look in Reine's eyes, which were now directly locked onto his.

"Really?? Wonderful! We will absolutely be there!" she giggled excitedly before catching herself and clearing her throat, hoping Riddle didn't see the hint of pink flood her face, "Thank you so much, Riddle, you are so kind."

As if on cue, Elise finally returned with a tea tray and setting down cups of what was undoubtedly mint tea. 

- 

"Thank you again for your help, Riddle. Reine seemed back to her old self again, if not even better." Elise had walked the boy outside after they bid Reine goodnight. Riddle had a content smile on his face, whether he realized it or not.

"Of course. I'm glad to be of service to new friends." 

His eyes managed to find Reine's window where she could be seen holding the vase of roses and talking with another, very excited girl, who was no doubt teasing Reine a bit judging from her demure yet happy expression. He cleared his throat as he felt his heartbeat speed up once again, "Goodnight, Miss Elise."

The senior princess waved him off as he walked to the garden gates before going back inside herself. Riddle made it to the gate and let out a deep breath. What. was. all. that?? He could only pray that he maintained even a fraction of cool during his visit but something in his gut told him otherwise. Riddle quietly groaned as he hid his face in his hand, trying to fight off the unforgiving waves of humiliation crashing over him to no avail. "Get it together!" he harshly whispered to himself as he continued to walk back to the Heartslabyul dorms, "She is the crown princess! She is a guest on your campus and here you are acting a damn lovesick puppy!" The prefect continued to remind himself of the situation at hand with austere clarity...until that last phrase really sunk in.

Lovesick? ....Love?? Oh no. Oh no no no NO. Riddle suddenly felt like the ground would swallow him whole under the pressure of this unbearably heated self-consciousness. He had to stop in the, thankfully empty, courtyard and sit on a bench before he fell over. There was no possible way this was happening. Sure, the princess was pretty-no-beautiful, more than any other girl he had ever met. Then again, how many girls did Riddle really know...? It wasn't like he was allowed an active social life the majority of his life. And the few times he did visit the royal courts in the past with his parents, neither Reine nor any of her royal cousins had been present. That had to be it, he was just starstruck, naturally smitten being in such close proximity with Her Highness. These excitable feelings held no actual gravity to them. It all made sense. He was being nice to her and she to him because it was the right and natural order of things. Riddle's mind came to a rough halt once he remembered the most important fact: she is the crown princess and she already had men, ready and able to be her suitor. Youngmen like Zehn Cavalier who didn't even have to lift a finger to get close to her to win her hand in confidence.

 "That's the way it's always been. It's to be expected," Riddle reminded himself...so why did his chest ache and his stomach seemed to sink? Why did it hurt to be reminded of that while also being reminded of the rare moments of seeing Reine's natural self? Her real smile when she felt excited, giddy even. Her modest, pink blush when she felt shy. Her fair skin...and deep eyes....her delicate hands and lips-

Riddle suddenly jumped to his feet with a frustrated groan, "Enough of this foolishness! You're better than this, Rosehearts!!" His face felt hot and his head dizzy. He rushed back to the dorm as fast as possible without stopping. Once he reached the Heartslabyul dorms, he caught his breath and decided some more air would do him good. He needed to calm down so he went into the gardens and sat down in his usual seat at their tea party settings. The night was calm, cool, quiet, everything opposite from how he was feeling. For a moment, Riddle allowed himself to honestly let these confusing feelings play themselves out in his mind while he sat alone in the garden, accompanied only by the sound of crickets and far-off voices of his dormmates, ringing throughout the Heartslabyul grounds.

He imagined what it would be like if he and Reine shared something more than just a budding friendship. How good it would feel to see her as she was naturally all the time, revel in her candid laughter and smiles, be by her side whenever she was sad or feeling unsafe, support her and share a life with her as she took her place as the Rose Queendom's beautiful sovereign ruler...these images made something stir in Riddle's heart, something new. Something absolutely wonderful and terrible all at the same time. 

Oh Great Seven....Riddle had a crush on the princess. A big, ridiculous, legitimate crush that he couldn't reason his way out of even if he actually wanted to. There was no rule in existence that could save him now. He covered his scarlet red face in his hands as if he were trying to out run his own shame. It only got worse when he remembered that he invited her and her entire dorm to their tea party tomorrow.

"What was I thinking?!" the poor boy ridiculed himself. 

"About what??"

Riddle nearly leaped out of his own skin when Trey's voice came out of nowhere. His vice leader stood a couple of feet away with a very concerned look on his face. The usual calm, confident and domineering Riddle Rosehearts had somehow been replaced with a very disheveled, flustered, and muttering-to-himself boy that now sported the same look as the hedgehogs when they were suddenly cornered.

"Riddle...? Are you feeling alright?"

"O-Of course I am, Trey!! I just needed some fresh air!" he retaliated a bit too quickly. His friend saw right through it. 

"Uh huh. Well, I'm glad you're back. Did they like the gift?"

"Wha...what gift?" Riddle was feeling more uneasy by the second and even Trey's calm smile wasn't helping. 

"The roses you picked. It's Wednesday. Rule No. 228 specifically forbids any flower picking on Wednesdays so it must have been for a very special reason that you made that bouquet right?"

Riddle's face fell into a look of devastation. Did he seriously break a rule without realizing it?! He of all people should have known but...it made Reine so happy so maybe it was ok this one time-oh NO. It was then Riddle realized just how badly, how deep into this now undeniable crush he was. He was absolutely ruined. Trey's concern only worsened with Riddle's shocked silence. He waited for some sort of outburst from his childhood friend but it never came. This was serious.

"If it's for a good reason, I'm sure it's alright. Especially if it made the person happy, right?"

"She did seem very happy..." the words fell from Riddle's mouth like he was trying to Trey about a dream he didn't fully remember. Trey's eyebrows quirked upwards. Did Riddle give flowers to a girl?

"She??"

Riddle snapped out of it, his mistake fully registering and reigniting his panic until Trey placed a hand on his shoulder with a look of empathy. The redhead felt a small bit of relief wash over him as he began to open up slowly to his trustworthy friend. 

"Miss Reine wasn't feeling well. I wanted to..t-to make her feel better, I suppose. Her friends told me how much she loved red roses and it just made sense to give her the very best roses we had grown here. She is my princess, of course, I would give her my best!" Trey smirked at the tiny burst of confidence Riddle displayed towards the end. 

"And you invited her to our tea party tomorrow didn't you?" he laughed as the accused look returned to his friend's face, "Don't worry, I made extra tarts just in case. And made sure every single flamingo and hedgehog was taken care of today so they'd be in a good mood tomorrow." 

"And the roses? They should be red and white; Rule No. 469-"

"Yes, yes, 'Flowers must be both red and white when you invite over a new acquaintance', Cater saw to it himself. Everything is ready."

"...Trey you are very good but this is uncanny. Who told you I was planning on inviting the Rosabyrine girls to the party tomorrow?"

"Che'nya overheard you tell Miss Elise your intentions," the clover laughed at Riddle's face that flushed a full red for the umpteenth time in the past few minutes. 

-

Elise peered into Reine's room when she noticed the lights were still on but Reine herself was in bed. She quietly walked up to the bedside and smiled at the sight before her: the sleeping princess had placed the vase full of her beautiful roses on the table next to her pocket watch but kept one rose in her hand as she fell asleep. Thankfully, Riddle had thought ahead and removed the thorns from the flowers. Elise tucked her friend under the covers properly before gently taking the single rose and reuniting it with the others. She whispered a soft 'goodnight' to Reine and turned off the lights, silently wishing her sweet dreams. 

Outside in the hall, Elise saw Manari leaning against the wall with a satisfied smirk. Elise rolled her eyes at her smug friend, refusing to acknowledge that Manari's scheme had worked. Not that she had to. Manari would tell anyone who would listen what a victory this was if they weren't all asleep already. 

"Go to bed before the ghosts tattle to the Headmistress," Elise quietly lectured.

"Only if you promise to tell me everything tomorroooow~" Manari quietly snickered to herself as the older girl smacked her arm and started shepherding her back to her room like a some sort of nanny.

------------------------------------------

Tagging: @foxwitchaine @iscarlettappel @nuitthegoddess @1ndigowitch @victoria1676 @wysteriadelights @aiimee9

#neoninky #ao3 writer #ao3 fanfic #her ivory crown #twisted wonderland #night raven college #royal sword academy #sacred crown hall #twst oc schools #twst oc dorms #sacred crown chronicles #riddle rosehearts #heartslabyul #twst oc x canon #trey clover #octavinelle #azul ashengrotto #floyd leech #jade leech #chapter repost #smitten villain bois #twitterpated #nrc bois coming to steal yo gurl #twst fluff #twst romance

[noodlecupcakeswritings]

An Eddie Munson Collection - Part 2 - Movie Date Night

Eddie and you go for your first proper date to a drive-in movie theatre with a few little extras afterward. More fluff and cuteness are to be found here.

A collection of Eddie Muson one shots ranging from fluffy to smutty. Let me know if you would like to be added to the taglist. If you liked what you read please leave some kudos or maybe a reblog or comment. Consider hitting the follow button too for more content.  

Warnings: Fluff, Kissing, Horror movies, Language, Mentions of drugs and drug use

Part 2

Having just gotten a new car and a provisional license gave you much-needed freedom from home. It meant you could get to and from work easier and it meant you and Eddie could now do more with dates. It had only been two weeks and having beers after work Tuesdays was getting a little the same old. So now you had the car, it seemed only fitting to do a drive-in movie theatre date. And Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge had already been out a week, and you were desperate to see it.

Riffling through your closet, you looked for something that you would not only feel attractive in but also would be warm in. It was November, after all. You settled on your black ripped skinny jeans and a Black Sabbath shirt, which you tied up around your stomach, so it was cropped and showing just a little skin to tease. After doing your makeup and hair, you headed downstairs, narrowly avoiding a lecture from your father about what you wear wearing.

Throwing your jacket on the passenger seat, you finished lacing up your boots in the car before starting the engine. It was roughly twenty minutes to the trailer park and when you arrived; you parked outside what you hoped was Eddie’s trailer. He hadn’t been completely clear with the description. Putting your jacket on, you got out of the car and climbed the steps to the front door. Before you could even knock, it was thrown open by an excited-looking Eddie.

“Hi,” he greeted. You had a sneaking suspicion he had been waiting by the window for you to show up, which would explain why the door had opened so fast. If it were true, that just made him twice as adorable. “Hey, ready to go?” You asked. “Hell yeah.” Eddie locked up the trailer before following you to your car. Producing a cassette tape from his pocket, he glanced at you for permission to play his music in the car.

“Do you mind?” He asked. “Not at all.” Once the tape was in, Iron Maidens, ‘Where Eagles Dare’ played. You were going for a later showing of the movie in the hopes it would be quieter. The last thing you needed was the date to be interrupted by any of the jocks from Hawkins High. Eddie had already made it abundantly clear how much he despised Jason. A part of you was glad you were done with high school now so you could avoid the drama, but it was also fun when Eddie filled you in.

You didn’t mind that he was still technically in school; he was pretty determined to graduate next year. And it’s not like you were dating a minor. Okay, so your parents wouldn’t approve that you were dating someone like Eddie, but you would not let that stop you. They’d approve even less if they knew he sold drugs. Again, you didn’t mind when he gave you free weed. And it’s not like he forced you to take it or pushed it on to you, nor did he take much of it himself that it was a problem.

Eventually pulling up at the ticket booth, you handed over the cash for the tickets. “Popcorn?” Eddie asked. “It wouldn’t be a movie date if we didn’t get popcorn.” Eddie handed you a ten-dollar bill, telling you to get whatever other snacks you wanted. You ordered two drinks and a pack of strawberry Twizzlers too. Eddie took the snacks from you so you could keep your hands on the wheel as you drove to the numbered spot. “You’ve seen the first one, right?” You asked. “Of course, I mean I’m more into Leatherface or Michael. But Freddy’s cool.”

“Freddy’s hot,” you said seriously. Eddie paused, glancing at you with a frown. Obviously, he’d missed the joke. “He’s hot because those parents set him on fire, duh,” you explained with a chuckle. Eddie burst out laughing, finally in on the joke. He was laughing so hard that he almost spilled one of the drinks. Smiling at the noise, you felt a sense of pride having gotten your date to laugh that hard. Normally it was the guy’s job to be funny, but fuck those stereotypes.

“That’s a good one, you really had me for a second,” Eddie said between chuckles. “I can reassure you, burnt guys are not my type.” “Good, I don’t think I’m willing to go to that great a length to impress you.” “But what lengths are you willing to go to?” “Hmm, well, I wanted to keep it a secret until it was completely ready, but I may be in the process of writing a song for you.” You couldn’t hide how surprised and flattered you were. Eddie Munson was so inspired by his feelings for you that he was writing a song. You’d never had such a grand gesture before.

“Well, as excited as I am to hear it, I want to hear it in full. So don’t tell me anything until it’s ready,” you explained. “I wasn’t going to. I’m not giving you a single lyric until it’s done.” The screen up ahead turned on and trailers started to play. Eddie put your drinks in the cup holders, and the popcorn sat between you both. Pulling your straw out of the top of your cup, you replaced it with a Twizzler and took a sip. Eddie raised an eyebrow, a soft smile on his face.

“What? They double as perfectly good straws. And it’s good for the environment as you eat it once you’re done,” you said a little defensively. “I’ve never considered it that way before. You’re so weird. But like in a good way, a way that matches my weird.” “Good save there, Munson.”

Finally, the movie started, Eddie reaching for a handful of popcorn before practically shoveling it into his mouth. “You’re not gonna get scared, are you?” He asked. “Why? You need an excuse to put your arm around me?” “Hey, I didn’t know what boundaries there may or may not be. Whilst most guys go straight in with one thing on their mind regardless of the girl’s feelings, I’m not like that.” “No, you’re not. But we’re also not teens anymore. If it feels right, do it.”

With that, Eddie put his arm around you and pulled you in a little closer. He didn’t try to cop a feel or anything to make you uncomfortable. Both of you reached for the popcorn at the same time, your hands brushing against each other. That familiar spark was back between you, his touch awaken something within you. Meeting each other’s gaze, Eddie Munson was once again all you could focus on. Leaning in, your lips met in a gentle, hesitant kiss. Both of you were now sure that the other was comfortable and kissed again.

The second kiss was full of confidence and longing. As if both of you had been starved of a good kiss for years. You wanted to take it further, but there were enough people around that you stayed in your seat. Even if you wanted to straddle him and take things much further. Eddie seemed the type of guy to kiss and not tell. He knew how to keep such intimate things to himself, unlike most guys who liked to brag about their conquests to their buddies afterward.

Pulling away, you noticed the soft smile on his face, the devotion in his eyes. It was enough to make your heart swell. “As much as I would like to make out with you, there’s people around, and I also really wanted to watch this movie,” you giggled. “It’s cool, I get it. That stuffs private, something that should just be between us.” “Exactly, I’m so glad you get it. It’s exhausting trying to find a guy who gets it.” His fingers threaded through your hair, pulling you in for another sweet kiss.

Afterward, you both watched the movie, completely unphased by the horror and gore elements. If anything, both of you were fascinated when Freddy tore himself out of Jesse’s body, both of you watching with jaws open in awe. “That’s fucking awesome,” Eddie mused. When the movie finished, you noticed how fast other cars were getting out of there, which just caused traffic to build up. You decided you would wait for a little while until it calmed down.

Besides, both of you were keen to discuss your thoughts and feelings about the movie. “I mean, we knew it wasn’t going to be as good as the first one,” Eddie declared. “True, but I guess my expectations were a little high. It felt like Freddy was hardly in it. The only good scene really was the pool massacre.” “Right, I still can’t get over the scene where he came out of Jesse’s chest. That was insane.” There was still plenty of popcorn left to snack on, so you both started trying to throw it into each other’s open mouths and seeing who could score the most points.

Eddie won with a total of ten whilst you lagged behind with a total of four. The theatre was mostly empty now. But you didn’t want this night to be over yet, you didn’t want to have to say goodbye now. “Did you wanna get burgers?” You asked. “Sure. There should still be a few places open this late. Even if it’s just a shitty little diner.” Driving out of the theatre, you headed into town looking for a place that still had its lights on and an ‘open’ sign on the door.

When you found one, you parked up and headed inside, unsure if to grab a table or not. “Do you wanna eat here or in the car?” You asked. “I have a better place we can eat. Cheeseburgers good?” “Yeah.” Eddie went up to the counter and ordered the food, handing over another crumpled ten dollars. You already noticed the looks you two were getting from the waitress and suppressed an eye roll. The moment the bag was placed on the counter, Eddie snatched it up and grabbed your hand to pull you out of the door.

Your hand fit nicely in his, and the sudden gesture distracted you from the staring. It almost felt like two puzzle pieces that just slotted into place perfectly, two pieces that had always meant to be together. The warmth of his skin and the cold metal of his rings were an odd but welcome contrast. Getting back in the car, you followed Eddie’s directions. Soon you found yourself out of the city and down darker, quieter roads.

“Eddie, this is looking kinda sketchy. You’re not taking me out to murder me, right?” You joked. “I wouldn’t have brought you a burger if I was planning on murdering you.” Both of you laughed at his joke before Eddie told you to head up another dimly lit road. At the top was a lookout point, overlooking the entire of Hawkins. And there wasn’t another car in sight, it was just the two of you. “You come here often?” You asked with a smirk as you realized how cheesy that question sounded.

“Yeah. Normally, I come here when I want to be alone. But now I like the idea of being alone with you.” Sometimes Eddie Munson was too sweet for his own good, this was one of those times. You felt flattered that he wanted to share his private spot with you; it was like he was letting you in more emotionally and you welcomed every part he wanted to show you. Leaning over, you kissed his cheek, feeling his smile grow. The truth was, you liked being alone with him, too.

Taglist: @fictionalhaven, @kittyofalltrades, @skvatnavle​, @rofoundsomethinginteresting​, @1800-fight-me​

#eddie munson #eddie munsonxyou #eddie munsonxreader #eddie munson fic #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson feels #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson angst #eddie munson smut #stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #stranger things feels #stranger things fluff #stranger things angst #stranger things smut

[cursivebloodlines]

"It's just wrong enough to make it feel right" - for logan (once again, a few that could've fit)

Frozen like a statue, even the devious smirk on his face lingered an extra few seconds more than they should have. Reality would set in soon enough. His face mere inches away from hers once again, his fingers dancing across her waist, a playful prelude where he was about to tickle her...he stilled. It was like pressing the pause button on the remote, remaining in the moment for as long as they could in their little fantasy world. Keep the framed picture perfect before hitting resume. Before their little fantasy ended.

Silence. Logan met Danielle’s words with silence. Brows pulled together, faint lines etching themselves between them; he couldn’t meet her eyes just yet. The words swirled around in his head, wondering if he had heard her right. Just wrong enough to make it feel right.

“Wrong?” He repeated the singular word, seeking clarification in her statement, the playful gleam in his eyes clouding over by the horror of her words sinking in as he reluctantly met her eyes. Reality hitting him at full force, their close proximity suddenly unbearable. Their bubble burst.

Logan finally pulled back, so he was looking at her, properly looking at her this time. “…Just wrong enough.” He didn’t know whether to be fuming at her or…hurt. A joke or hurtful truth? Whether it was confusion that made him feel empty or the weight of her words hollowing him out. He felt like a naïve child with an immature crush picking at petals from a delicate flower: she loves me, she loves me not. She loves me, she loves me not. The other day, she loved him. Today? She loved him not? More…focused on it being “wrong enough” to justify their connection.

If she had only been joking, then why did it feel like he’d just been stabbed through the heart again? He couldn’t be surprised if it had been too good to be true. After all, she had let him down time and time again. Now he was technically unavailable – he still had to call things off with Natalie. It wasn’t like he was purposely leading her on, but he was not exactly seeking her out to end it either. It was like he was waiting… waiting for a sign that he’d made a mistake with Danielle. Whether she would change her mind about this, about them.

Maybe he had been right after all. Such simplicity in words could have been perceived as a joke. But it stung. Maybe it was the pang of guilt finally picking at his veins like a woodpecker. The guilt that someone in their situation would end up hurt… maybe it was his own personal karma for indulging in his pre-existing feelings for Danielle whilst his heart was supposed to have belonged to another. Someone who didn’t deserve this. Maybe a culmination of everything. All he knew was that it felt like someone had hit their foot on the accelerate button, and they were careening across the edge of a cliff, dangling on the precipice of ruin and destruction.

“I…” Logan struggled for words, his mind a whirlwind of puzzled, conflicted emotions. Couldn’t wrap his mind around it, the anguish her words caused him making absolutely zero sense to him. “This shouldn’t feel wrong to you, Dan,” he finally uttered after a moment, completely perplexed by it all. About the possibility, of what she could have meant. “Is that why you wanted me? It feels so wrong because you believe you’re like… like a mistress? Is that what arouses you and has you waking up in the middle of the night in a sweat?” Bitterness laced in his words, the taste of pain on his tongue. Logan despised how crude it sounded; he had never spoken to her like that before. It sounded wrong. That’s what felt wrong. But he couldn’t separate his feelings, the shock had eroded his filters. “Is that really how little you think of yourself? How little you think I value you? You think that’s all you are to me? My dirty little secret?” He almost laughed at how stupid that sounded, wanted to laugh at how the thought made him feel sick. He couldn’t even pretend; the way he tried to joke and laugh about the first time he confessed his love for her when he got rejected.

No regrets. That’s how it was meant to be. Was he having regrets now? Was she?Logan wasn't sure he knew anything anymore.

SPEAK NOW PROMPTS | Accepting.

@overnightheartbeats

#overnightheartbeats #i'm upset #logan x danielle #muse ;; logan chadwick #logan chadwick ;; memes #overnightheartbeats ;; danielle

[elliothier]

A happy 26th birthday from the fun year of 2021, future me! It is nearly 1am as I write this, just at the start of my official birthday, unlike last year when it was midnight at the end of the day.

So, let’s start things off with how things have been going. Today we temporarily move out to get the renovations done in the house -- I hope this is the only time renovations will be a Bother, you can laugh bitterly if they continued past these 5 weeks, it’s okay -- so I anticipate not necessarily having enough time to write this out later. Or, y’know, my brain might just be entirely dead, because today has been quite eventful in its stead!

The day (yesterday, technically, the 24th) started off with the local grandparents vising for the bday, and you know how that is, she’s loud, which is perfectly fine, but hell on the waking eardrums. We had that 25-50-75 party on the 3rd this year if you remember that, but forgot to take a picture, so I brought that up and we did that. Gran fussed over not having lipstick on, mom cleaned hers off and offered it, and for the hell of it I joined in and for the picture all three of us were wearing the same lipstick. Very fun! Luke came by later as well to pick up his stuff, brought along a gf, which was lovely meeting her. I’d say we vibed.

And then, the main event. Well, first some gaming in between, A Dance of Fire and Ice, got 4 achievements today! Beat world 12, perfectly, then world 3 speed, and world 6 speed, which I barely completed in time for D&D. That’s right, just like last year, D&D plays a role, we were still on voice when the day rolled over and I couldn’t wish for a better start.

We were on a halloween one-shot (part 2), the Death House, where I got to play with Courage and made his instrument a kazoo. It was glorious. He was still possessed when we started, making him extra terrified and throw a minor tantrum when it became evident we had to go to the basement. Ace had to convince him to go down, scaring him with ghost stories of what could happen if he didn’t join them, which worked. Oh, how the table turns. Further in Ace first scares the crap out of Courage to pick the lock on the chest he was trying to open and steal the treasure from under his nose. Mini was nice, at least, but Courage really did not like Ace for that move. And then even further, in the very depths, the two of them get to the central platform when figures appear, chanting that “one must die”. Ace was the only one to realize what’s going on and immediately turned on Courage, trying to kill him and very nearly succeeding, living on 1 HP! Ka bit his ankles, but Mini tried to persuade the monster in the corner to devour Ace. It woke up. And Ace ran tf away, informing them that was the very reason he was trying to sacrifice Courage as it would devour them all. All make it out, barely, but phew! What a session! Including requested kazoo send-offs for the ghosts of the couple that owned the house.

Phew, that was a long story, but I had such a good time I had to remind you of it. I haven’t even shared it with Emily yet, but I will, probably after this. Today will probably suck, but the early celebration at least I would say has been a success. And no, there has been no new instrument this year (djembe last year, guitar the year before), but I did improve at guitar playing this year, so there’s that! I hope that by now the music room has been fully set up and has seen some use. I’d say plenty of use, but let’s be realistic here, yeah? A couple of sessions is already nice.

So how are you? Has the day been treating you well? Will the day be treating you well? What about the year? I had my correction shortly after last birthday, that’s recovered decently, I hope the scars have faded more since. Oh, and I started at the workplace that teaches coding a few weeks ago, been there 3 times now and do think I like it. Very curious to see how that will pan out in the long term. Came out as enby there too, reflexively, but hey they sure do try. Oh, did His Dark Materials season 3 come out yet? I’m looking forward to that, if it didn’t come out yet surely it will soon!

So anyway, after that exciting day, I hope you’ll have a similarly good experience either today or the day before or somewhere in the vicinity! And I hope you are very much starting to thrive, in whatever way that may be 💚

Now to write something for The Box, I sure hope I didn’t forget about that last year 😂

#timecapsule #happy birthday to me

[jeonstellate]

sunsets & silhouette dreams — range iii

bucky gets a hold of johan, thanks to his lucky charm.

⚝༄ platonic!bucky barnes x original character

⚝༄ language

⚝༄ paragraph format — 0.8K words

masterlist | s&sd masterlist

[gif’s full credit belongs solely to its owner]

James ‘Bucky’ Barnes had completed countless of missions with all the personas he donned.

There was Sergeant Barnes of the 107th Regiment and the Howling Commandos. Even the Winter Soldier, aka HYDRA’s best asset, albeit it wasn’t technically him. Then, most recently, there was also White Wolf of the Avengers.

Not to mention Bucky whose personal mission was to keep Steve out of alleyway fights. And Win who had unknowingly made it his mission to keep Tide human.

However, out of his decades-long experience with missions, nothing could’ve prepared him for the new one he just volunteered for. That was, to find Johan Collins using the scarce information he had.

"I’m borrowing your helmet," he informed his best friend without bothering to ask for permission. "I don’t have an extra and Johan will need one if I find her."

Steve immediately motioned in agreement, "You know where it is. Just take it." Bucky nodded in thanks, but didn’t move to get up yet. "Where are you heading?"

"Around Upper West Side," he responded thoughtfully. "I think Johan’s by the Seraphiel building."

Before anyone else could volunteer to help search, a muffled voice suddenly echoed from the section of the room where the super soldiers were. "I should’ve asked to see my birth certificate when they told me what my name was."

Startled, everyone turned their complete attention to the two’s direction. "Now I have to change my signature," they heard the voice continue with a sigh.

"Barnes, I think it’s coming from your pocket," Natasha pointed out helpfully.

Bucky immediately emptied out his pockets. Besides his phone, there were only a pocket knife, a few unopened gum sticks, and something that looked like an enamel pin at first glance.

"What’s that?" Scott Lang pointed at the enamel pin-looking object, curious.

"I’m not sure either," he admitted as he picked the object in question up from the table. "Johan left it inside my jacket that she borrowed. I’ve been carrying it around ever since."

"Is that where—" Bruce Banner’s question was already answered by the voice resonating from the small device even before its completion.

"Oh, shit, when did I push this on?" Now that the device was out of Bucky’s pocket, they were finally able to recognize whose voice it was. It was Johan Collins’. "I don’t know if you can hear me but sorry, Sergeant Barnes!"

"Is this a two-way transceiver?" Bucky started fiddling with the device on his hand, flipping it upside down and right side up as he inspected it. "How do I—"

"Try pushing that button," Tony advised him.

"Hello, Johan?" Bucky tried after pushing the button Tony told him to push. "Can you hear me?"

The Avengers waited for a response with bated breath. "Hello, Sergeant Barnes. Yes, I can hear you." Everyone visibly relaxed then. As it seemed, they were all unconsciously counting for the little device to work. "Did I disturb you? Are you on a mission? Did I give away your position?"

"No to all of those." He took note of the slight concern in her voice — as did the rest. "I don’t have work today."

"Oh. That’s a relief." Another thing they all noticed, albeit it was still unspoken, was the relaxed way she talked. She wasn’t speaking in code nor was her breathing labored. Although her voice sounded a bit guarded, they knew she wasn’t in any kind of mortal danger.

"Johan, did you make this?" He shifted the topic. "Why didn’t you give it with a manual? All this time, I was just using it as a lucky charm."

"I had help from Agent Mack and Agent Fitz," her reply was nonchalant — unwilling to get all the credit. "I didn’t think of writing a manual . . . Perhaps I should’ve."

"Who else did you give one to?"

"Just you so far. I’m still trying to finish up Jess’ and Luke’s."

The eavesdroppers perked up with the mention of her guardians. "Tell her they’re looking for her."

Bucky didn’t give any indication that he’d follow through with the suggestion. Rather, he merely pushed the button on the transceiver once more and talked. "That reminds me . . . Where are you? Jones came by looking for you."

"Why? She can track my location—" The line went dead for a minute. "—Oh. Fuck. I lost my tracker."

"Language," he jokingly said, much to everyone else’s — except Steve’s — amusement.

"Please. My language is the least of your worries." Somehow, even if they don’t know her well, they could still envision her rolling her eyes playfully. "I’m technically a runaway now."

"Will you actually?" There was no concern in Bucky’s voice, just mild interest. "Run away, I mean?"

"I do have the perfect circumstance for it, don’t I?" Johan paused. "Maybe I should."

next range >

#bucky barnes imagines #bucky barnes scenarios #bucky barnes oneshots #bucky barnes fanfics #bucky barnes fics #bucky barnes #the white wolf #the winter soldier #marvel #mcu #avengers #the white wolf imagines #the winter soldier imagines #marvel imagines #mcu imagines #platonic!bucky barnes x reader #platonic!avengers x reader #marvel x reader #mcu x reader