#like wow! don’t care! like HIS EYES ARE BLACK DOTS IN THE GAMES LET ME HAVE THIS | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

rosie-moons · 3 years

Text

Doggy Paddling || jjk

~Pairing: swimming instructor!jungkook x beginner!reader

~Genre: so much fluffy fluff

~Word Count: 2.4k

~Warnings: reader flailing around in water, shirtless jungkook (sorry not sorry), wet haired jungkook (sorry not sorry), jungkook and reader just being the cutest fluffy lovebirds, loads of softness

~Synopsis: Step 1: Drive to indoor swimming pool classes. Step 2: Enter swimming pool building. Step 3: Change into bathing suit. Step 4: Learn to swim. Easy peasy. Er, at least it was easy peasy, up until step #4. That’s when you actually climbed down into the pool and found out that your swimming instructor was possibly the hottest guy you’d ever seen in your life. Not only that, but he kept smiling at you, and it was adorable, which doesn’t make sense since someone just can’t be hot and adorable at the same time. Ugh, why must you be blessed with him for 3 months?

~A/N: Hi! This is my first fic on here, and I'm veeeery nervous... I hope you enjoy it! P.S. If you liked it, feel free to heart it, but please don't reblog!

~''~

“Mmhm, yep, you’re g-o gorgeous today,” You say with confidence, making double gun fingers at yourself in the mirror.

You’d ordered a black bikini online, in preparation of wowing everyone at the swimming lessons. It was quite simple, really, with straps over your shoulders and ties across your hip bones. The curvy blonde models on the website looked stunning in it, though. So stunning, in fact, that you pressed “add to cart” faster than you could say “add to cart”.

Your face sagged a bit when you realized you, in fact, did not look like the models in the images. Tummy not as toned with light abs, chest not as big. You sighed.

Stuffing your t-shirt, underwear, and jean shorts back into your duffel bag and setting it in the tiny locker, you took one last look at yourself in the mirror and set out on your adventure- er, if you’d call swimming lessons that.

~''~

“Y/N? Hellooo?”

You blink rapidly, snapping back to reality. You take a few seconds to realize you’re sitting on the edge of the pool with your feet dipped into the water. “Um. Sorry?”

The guy laughs, and it’s an airy, happy sound. You blush. He’s incredibly attractive, with wavy black hair, parts of it sticking to his forehead from the water. He has big, starry, eyes, almost like a doe’s. It’s hard not to get lost in them. His bunny teeth are on full display, pearly white and adorable. His whole face is adorable, in fact.

“You’ve been staring at me for, what, 15 minutes?” He teases with laughter still in his eyes. “Am I really that handsome?”

You’re about to say “yes” when he pulls you down into the pool, one arm pulled tightly across your lower back and the other scooped around your neck. You squeal. “Put me down!”

He puts you down.

Bad idea.

You just remembered that you can’t swim, and if he puts you down then you are going to drown. “ACTUALLY- *spit sputter*- DON’T PUT- *cough spit*- ME DOWN!! I CAN’T- *sputter cough* SWIM!! PICK ME UP, HANDSOME- *spit cough*- GUY!!!”

He laughs again, a sound you’re already starting to love. “Alright, alright. Your wish is my command, after all.” He takes you back into a koala position so your legs are wrapped tightly around his waist. At that you blush again. Not just from the hug part, but from you actually taking a good look at his body.

To say the simplest, it’s amazing.

He definitely goes to the gym at least 8 times a day, definitely eats only brussel sprouts, definitely has never been to the beach, or anywhere with too much sunlight (explain his fair skin then, missy), and definitely is tall.

You don’t care if that’s what’s going through your mind instead of swimming, you only care about this gorgeous man that’s smiling and is holding you in his arms. This gorgeous man that’s currently asking if you know the 4 basic stokes. Or was it sokes?

“Um…” You stutter nervously. “The 4… um… yeah, I… definitely know the… 4… stokes. Or sokes.”

He shakes his head, faking disappointment. “Pay more attention, sweetheart. You’ll never learn if you just stare at and admire me.”

“I was not-”

He chuckles. “Yeah, yeah, you totally weren’t staring at my abs. Totally.” That makes you blush harder. He seems to like that, smirking just the tiniest bit. “Anyway, I was asking if you know the 4 strokes. Freestyle, backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke.”

You shake your head. “I’ve… watched them on TV though. In the Olympics. Does that count?”

“...No,” He bites his lip for a second, thinking. Then, as though he just had a brilliant idea- his smile grows wide as the day and he nearly drops you in excitement. “LUMI!!”

An attractive girl with big hazel eyes and her hair dyed bright pink pokes her head out of the shower room. “What’s up?”

“Get over here for a second,”

She steps out, and you nearly gasp (...nearly) at how damn stunning she is. In a magenta floral printed one-piece suit, her tiny waist, wide hips, and long, long legs stand out like a dot of black in a field of white. When she walks, it looks like she’s in one of those super high end fashion shows with paparazzi all around. To be honest, you wouldn’t be surprised if paparazzi started showing up right at that very moment.

When she gets close enough, you see her nametag reads “Lumianne”. Even her name is pretty.

“Did baby boy Jungkook lose his swimming trunks again?” She teases, rolling her eyes playfully. “Do I need to call mommy?”

The guy- Jungkook-’s grip on you momentarily tightens as you watch his face flush a tomato red. “No, actually. Did you?”

“I don’t wear swimming trunks.”

“Exactly. That’s why you shouldn’t ask me.”

“But you do wear swimming trunks.”

“... JUST STOP, OKAY? JUST BECAUSE YOU JUST DYED YOUR HAIR DOESN’T MEAN YOU’RE THE QUEEN OF THE WORLD.”

“Okay, okay. What do you want me to do? You know I’m supposed to be taking a hot shower right now after a day of screaming little kids kicking water in my face but you called me over so I can’t, right?. Are you gonna talk? ‘Cause if not, I’m leaving.”

“What I was going to say, before you rudely called me a baby boy, is that Y/N here has no experience in swimming-”

You kick his leg under the water.

“- and I need you to hand over the curriculum paper ‘cause I haven’t taught someone like this in a loong time.”

Lumianne rolls her eyes again. “Get them yourself. I’m going back to the showers. Bye, baby boy.”

“Wait!” Jungkook calls after her. “I can’t move ‘cause Y/N won’t let go of me!” Lumianne sighs, leaning down to pick up a few papers on a clipboard. She walks back to Jungkook, handing them over to him.

“Need anything else?”

Jungkook shakes his head, letting you squeeze him tighter as he lets go of the arm holding your shoulders. “Nope. Thanks though.”

She smiles mischievously. “I think I deserve a strawberry tart.”

Jungkook groans, swatting her away. “I bought you one this week already.”

“Only one!”

You can’t help but smile. Everyone here is so witty, attractive, and nice- you love it already. (“Only a tiny part of why I love it so much is Jungkook.” You mentally scream to your brain.)

~''~

“JUNGKOOK! NOOOO! I CANNN’T!!!!” You whine childishly, hanging on to Jungkook as though your life depended on it. He sighed for the millionth time that day.

“Y/N, the water’s only 5’6 deep. Plus, I’ll catch you if you drown. In fact, I’ll hold your back as you do it. Just please, please try to float on your back, okay?”

Only 5’6? Only 5’6?! Heck, maybe it wasn’t a lot for him, but for you…

“NO!”

Jungkook sighed again. “Listen baby, I need you to try, okay? I’ll help you, but if you keep refusing like this, you aren’t ever gonna learn to swim. Okay?” You stared at him, mouth hanging open slightly. “What?”

“Did you… just call me… b-baby?!” You nearly faint as Jungkook tilts his head slightly, adorably pouting the tiniest bit.

“So I did.”

“So I did?! That’s what you say after you call me baby?!?! Baby?!?!” You splutter, heart booming and threatening to leap out of your ribcage. You’re so stupidly in love, cheeks burning red and palms sticky with sweat, and here Jungkook is just tilting his head and acting like he did nothing.

It’s so unfair.

“So what if I called you baby?” He responds, big, starry doe eyes staring at you. Ugh. This is so stupid.

You’re about to yell again when Lumianne comes back out of the showers, pink hair wet yet still so stylish. She smirks.

“Hey lovebirds. May I take a photo?”

“NO!” You scream.

“NO!” Jungkook screams.

Lumianne takes a photo.

~''~

It’s been 1 month since you started at APC Swimming, (not Attractive People Center Swimming, but rather Amazing Performance Center Swimming. The cute red haired swimming instructor who just so happened to be Jungkook’s #1 target for his “games” named Jimin told you.) and you’re proud to say that you have mastered floating on your back, sticking your head underwater for 13 seconds, doggy paddling a very short distance, and talking to Jungkook without looking like an idiot.

Lumianne- whose hair is now a striking blue- also somehow became your best friend.

No idea how.

Anyway, you also bought a new swimsuit. It was a hot pink bikini that Lumianne insisted upon, saying that it "was made for supermodels like Gigi Hadid but you should wear it anyways since it will definitely wow Jungkook".

Yes, she knew of your crush on him, and yes, she was a Hadid superfan.

After pondering whether to wear the black swimsuit Jungkook was used to or the new pink one Lumianne liked for hours in the changing rooms, you finally decide on the pink one.

He’d love a surprise…

Right?

~''~

“Y/N! How was your- um.” Jungkook clears his throat, face burning red. He suddenly becomes very interested in a purple heart tattoo on his hand. “I… like your new… um…”

“Bikini?” You finish the sentence for him, blinking innocently.

“Erm… yes. B-bikini. It… suits you… very… um… well.” He’s still picking at the tattoo, cheeks flushed and voice stuttering.

“Thank you. Lumianne picked it out for me.” You smile sweetly, climbing down into the pool.

“Are you guys like best friends now?” He blurts out, trying oh so hard to change the subject. “I wouldn’t be surprised. You’re both annoying at times and you’re also both really… erm…”

“Un-stylish?” You suggest, trying hard not to smirk. You know what he’s talking about, and it’s not about style.

“No, um…”

“Like the color pink?”

“Not exactly, uh…”

“Then what is it?”

Jungkook’s face is a flaming crimson now, the skin where his tattoo is reddened from picking at it. He knows you know what he’s talking about. He knows you know that he was going to say that you’re both goddamn-

“You’re both attractive, although you’re way more attractive,” It comes out before he can control it, seeming like the words have a mind of their own as they stumble out of his mouth. “I-I mean…” You watch his hand flying up to cover his mouth.

"You think I'm attractive?" You question, smiling as your heart swelled with butterflies. "Well, you're also attractive.”

He smiles wide, bunny teeth showing and twinkly eyes dancing with something like shyness and joy mixed together.

“Th-thanks.”

You continue smiling at each other for a long time, and would’ve (for hours, maybe) if Lumianne hadn’t walked into the pool area holding onto the arm of an extremely tall and muscular blonde man. She smirks.

“Calvin, meet Y/N and Jungkook. Y/N’s the cute bookworm I went shopping with yesterday, and Jungkook’s that annoying guy with tattoos. Hey lovebirds. Looks like we’re in the middle of interrupting something…” She giggles. “So we’ll leave you two alone to smooch!”

Jungkook and you nearly topple over screaming a very loud “WE’RE NOT SMOOCHING” in perfect unison.

Calvin smiles mischievously. “Lumi, do you have your phone with you?”

Lumianne nods. “Yeah, why?”

“I think you should take a photo of them,” He smiles wider at the horrified look on your and Jungkook’s faces.

“Oh yeah.” Lumianne snickers. “I should totally take a photo. I already have an album in my phone of their pictures, btw. It’s called Jungkook&Y/N kissin in a tree. I should rename it though, I just learned Y/N wants to kiss JK at a fancy restaurant instead-”

“LUMIANNE!!”

The camera clicks.

“One more photo to add to my album!”

~''~

It’s your last lesson with Jungkook. 3 months passed quicker than you thought, and you’re sorry this might be the last time you see him. Lumianne seemed to notice you were a bit sad today, and she rushed off to “do something with Calvin”.

You knew what she was doing wasn’t about Calvin, but then… what?

When you entered the pool area, you were surprised to find that Jungkook wasn’t in the pool with his usual warm greeting. Instead, all you found was a note with messy handwriting reading: “hey Y/N, it’s kook :) meet me behind the APC building”. Furrowing your brow, you look around the pool. There’s no one except you.

Picking up the note, you walk out the doors.

~''~

Of everything you expected to see, none of it was Jungkook standing in front of you with wide, nervous eyes and a bouquet of flowers in his hands. “Jungkook?”

“Oh. You’re here. Um,” He looks around, although looking for something- or someone.

“Hey Y/N-pootsie,” Lumianne steps out, hair dark crimson with matching bold lipstick and eyeshadow. She smiles, looking very satisfied with herself. “I believe Mr. Jeon Jungkook has something to say to you.”

“Um,” Jungkook shoots her a look before clearing his throat. “I, um, in fact, do have… a thing… I mean, 2 things… to say… to… you…”

“Okay?” You stare at him, and it’s curious more than anything, but to him it just seems intimidating.

“Um… I… uh…” He swallows. “Ireallylikeyouandhavelikedyoufrom thefirstdaywemet and um doyouwannagoonadatewithme?”

You blink. "You... like me?"

"...Yes."

“I… I don’t know what to say to you. There’s just no way I could-”

“It’s okay!” Jungkook yells, hurt seeping into those eyes you loved watching crinkle up as he smiled. “I-I don’t want to pressure you or anything! I-”

“Jungkook.”

“Really! If you don’t feel-”

“Jungkook!”

He paused. “Yeah?”

“What I was going to say is that there’s just no way I could refuse something like this!” You say. His eyes go even wider.

“W-what?”

You kiss him.

He’s soft.

When you let go, Jungkook has the biggest dopey grin on his face. You mirror it, starting to laugh. Lumianne stands on the side with a small smile on her face, the kind of smile you give when your daughter gets married. Sort of half sad-ish half happy for her.

“Aww, you’re both so sweet. I guess it’s time for a ph-”

“NO, LUMIANNE!”

Click.

~''~

Whewwwwww! That was loads of fun to write. Welp, now that that's over, time for a new fic (or series!)

Please heart if you enjoyed, but don't reblog!

-*+ Rose +*-

#jungkook #bts jungkook #bts fluff #bts oneshot #jungkook oneshot #jungkook x reader #jungkook fluff #bts x reader #jungkook x you

51 notes · View notes

fruitcoops · 3 years

Note

okay so: coops and jily do the couple fear pong challenge (couple vs couple fear pong by cut for reference)?? pleaseee - m

Anon, you definitely read my mind with this. I’ve had this idea in the works for almost a month and I’m so glad you suggested it!! Sweater Weather credit goes to @lumosinlove!

TW for alcohol (beer)

“Are you ready to lose?” James asked as he set up a few lines of red Solo cups.

“Try me,” Remus shot back with a grin. Their respective partners shared an exasperated look.

“Hello, hockey fans, and welcome to Fear Pong! I’m your host, Marlene McKinnon.” Marlene set an armful of beer bottles on the ping pong table and began filling each team’s cups halfway.

“I’m Lily Potter, and this is my husband James.” Lily waved to the camera and stole one of Marlene’s bottles to take a sip. “Ugh. It’s like wheat-flavored moonshine.”

“I think she takes it as a challenge to find the worst alcohol,” Remus mused. “I’m Remus Lupin, the best winger on the Lions.”

“Shut it, Loops.”

“Bite me, Pots.”

“And I’m Sirius Black, the team captain,” Sirius said. “As you can see, this is going to get out of hand very fast.”

Marlene leaned on the table, looking between them with a grave expression. “The rules are simple. If you throw the ball and it lands in a cup, you have to do the dare on the coaster or drink the beer. The team who drinks all their cups first, loses. We’ll do the deadliest of games to decide who goes first: rock, paper, scissors. Choose your champions.”

Sirius and James moved to the front of the table. “Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!”

“Shit,” Sirius muttered as James’ paper defeated his rock.

James grinned as he headed back to his place. “I can already taste victory.” Lily took careful aim, and the ball landed perfectly in the center of their cups. “That’s my wife, everybody!”

Remus rolled his eyes and picked up the coaster. “Leave five hickeys on your teammate. Your opponent chooses where. Aw, man, everyone’s going to see them at practice.”

James raised an eyebrow. “Are you going to chicken out and drink?”

His jaw ticked. “Where.”

“One on his cheek, the rest on his neck.”

Sirius leaned down with a heavy sigh and Remus worked a hickey onto his cheek, pulling away with a soft pop and appraising it. “Not bad. Four more?”

“Four more.”

It took less than a minute for the rest of the marks to appear in a light lilac color. Remus licked his lips and picked up the ball. “Those are such weak hickeys!” James protested. “Come on, Loops, you’re better than that.”

“And yet they’re already done.” He picked up the ball and readied it. “Tragic.”

A few droplets of beer splashed out of the cup and Lily lit up when she read the dare. “Switch outfits with your partner. Oh, baby, you’re going to look gorgeous!”

“Do we get a screen or something?” James asked as Lily began unzipping the back of her dress. Two camera crew members came over with a large blanket and they stepped behind it; after a couple minutes of rustling, Lily emerged in her husband’s too-big sweatshirt with the cuffs of his jeans rolled up.

“Do you need a hand with the zipper?” she asked with a light laugh.

“Got it. Oh, wow, I look hot.” James came into view and Sirius held a hand over his mouth to stifle his laughter. The floral dress fell to his mid-thigh and the low neckline exposed quite a bit of his chest. He swayed back and forth, making the skirt twirl slightly. “Very breathy.”

“Alright, handsome, your turn.” Lily handed him the ball and he shot it—it bounced off the rim and Remus whooped.

“I can already taste victory,” he mimicked in a terrible Boston accent; James threw the backup ball at him and it smacked him in the forehead. “Ow!”

Unfortunately, Sirius’ throw also went wide, ending up down Lily’s baggy shirt. “Hang on, it’s in my cleavage. Nice aim, Cap.” She dug around for a moment as Sirius flushed, then emerged with the ball, giving it an elegant toss.

“Damn it,” Sirius muttered as he took the coaster. “Make out with your teammate for a minute, but one of you can’t move their lips or tongue. Again with the kissing? Really? Can’t we just switch clothes and call it a day?”

“Come on down to the front, pardner.” Marlene said with a false Southern twang, patting the backs of the two folding chairs she had set up. “Get your smooch on.”

“I can’t move my face, right?” Remus asked as he sat down across from Sirius. Marlene shook her head.

“Get it, Cap!” Lily cheered as he reached out to cup Remus’ jaw in his hands.

Sirius had to turn away and laugh for a second, rolling his shoulders out. “Okay, ready?”

“Ready as I’ll ever be. Why do you look like you’re gearing up for a game?” Sirius flicked him on the thigh and Remus pressed his lips together, still smiling slightly.

He started soft, placing slow kisses all over Remus’ mouth. “It says ‘make out’, Cap, come on!” James complained. “If that’s your idea of making out, you need to apologize to your fiancé.”

Remus raised his eyebrows and Sirius huffed a sigh, leaning back in for a proper kiss with a significant increase in tongue. Lily whooped and Remus’ shoulders began to shake with suppressed laughter—Sirius moved his hands to down to steady him as the timer continued counting.

“Ten seconds!” Marlene warned. The final buzzer went off and Sirius pulled away, wiping at his lips.

“That felt so weird,” Remus said as he dried his mouth off with his sleeve and tugged Sirius in by his wrist. “C’mere.”

Sirius bent down for a quick kiss before they walked back to their side. “Alright, our turn.”

“I get to throw it this time.”

“What? Why?”

Remus took the ball out of his hand and kissed his cheek. “I say this with all the love in the world, but you suck at beer pong. So does Pots, if that makes you feel better.” His shot spun around the rim of a cup before falling in with a clatter.

“Take an article of clothing off for every sexual partner you’ve had,” James read. “Aw, come on, I’m only wearing a dress and none of you want to see me naked.”

“You’re not wearing underwear?” Sirius looked mildly alarmed.

“I’ve had more than two partners, dude.”

Lily shrugged. “I’m not about to protest seeing you naked.”

“I would!” Remus and Sirius chorused with equal measures of horror. James rolled his eyes and downed the cup.

“James, you have to throw it,” Marlene interrupted as he handed the ball to Lily. “You need to switch each time.”

“Shit,” Lily muttered, giving it back. “Don’t fuck this up for us, honeybun.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it.” He took careful aim, tossed it, and landed a perfect shot in one of the cups without a coaster. Sirius and Remus groaned as Lily cheered. “Hell yeah!”

Remus drank the beer as Sirius lined up the ball; it sailed through the air and bounced off two cups before sinking into the third. They high-fived with both hands while Lily took the dare out. “Call your parents and tell them you’re pregnant—oh, we can’t do this.”

“Why?” Remus snorted. “You’ve already done it once.”

“I would break my mother’s heart if she found out it was a prank.” James shook his head and passed Lily the cup. “I would get the lecture of a lifetime.”

“Can you imagine pranking poor Effie with fake grandbabies?” Lily asked as she drank.

“The guilt would eat me alive,” Sirius agreed. Lily lined up for another shot. “Miss, miss, miss, miss—fuck.”

“Call a friend and ask for a threesome.” Remus’ eyebrows shot up and he looked at Sirius. “As much as I want to win this game, there’s no way we’re doing that.”

“Hell no, I’m the captain. That’s an abuse of power or something.” Sirius drained the cup and set it aside, moving so Remus could get a better angle for his throw. It landed in one of the cups they had already hit and Lily cursed as she drank again.

“Marley, we need to have a talk about your alcohol.”

“I want you guys to know that I specifically asked for the shittiest beer they had that would get people drunk real quick,” Marlene said off screen. “It comes from a place of love.”

They traded three more shots back and forth, each one bouncing off the table or threatening to take someone’s eye out before James got a lucky shot. “I thought you said he was bad at this!” Sirius protested as he took the dare out.

“I thought he was!” Remus defended. “What do we have to do?”

“Let them paint us with glue and pour glitter on us.”

“Alright, let’s do it.”

“Shirts off, unless you want to ruin them,” Marlene said as she carted two containers of glue and some small buckets of glitter out. Remus and Sirius obliged, then stood on the clear tarp she had laid out. “Pots, Lils, go nuts.”

“This is the best day of my life,” James said gleefully as he took a paintbrush and began drawing a wobbly smiley face on Sirius’ torso.

“It’s so drippy.” Sirius let out a long exhale and bounced on his toes as James added polka dots and squiggles all over the place.

“What are you writing?” Remus asked as Lily began touching up her work. “Are those words?”

“Maybe. Glitter time!” Without further ado, she dug her hand into the bucket and threw a handful at Remus’ chest. It exploded in a small poof and only some of it stuck; he wrinkled his nose.

“It’s in my mouth.”

“Gay rights—oh shit that’s cold!” Sirius yelped, batting James away. “Just do the glitter already!”

“Don’t rush an artist!” Nevertheless, James went over and shook about half the bucket onto Sirius.

He spat out a mouthful of sparkles and glared. “Look me in the eyes and tell me that was necessary.”

“Whatever you want, David Bowie.”

“He looks more like Freddie Mercury to me,” Lily mused as she continued sprinkling glitter over Remus, revealing her name written in careful cursive. “This is going to be such a pain to wash off, you two.”

“Really? I hadn’t noticed.” Remus shook his hair out and a small waterfall of glitter fell out onto the tarp.

“Back to your stations, everyone!” Marlene called.

The game only got rowdier after that as each team did everything in their power to prevent dares, ranging from shaking the table to sneezing loudly each time someone squared up for a shot. Remus finally sank one and nearly smacked Sirius in the face with his celebratory fist pump as Lily groaned.

“Let the opponent pour ice water down your pants.” James frowned and looked to the camera crew. “I’m not wearing any pants.”

“You’re wearing underwear,” Marlene pointed out. His eyes went wide as she came out with two bowls of ice water and handed them to Sirius and Remus, whose smiles were downright maniacal.

“I really hope you’re done having kids,” Sirius said as James turned around. “On three. One, two—”

Both of them shouted in shock; Remus burst out laughing as Sirius shook the final few ice cubes into James’ underwear. “That was not three!” Lily tugged at her pantlegs and ice cascaded out, darkening the fabric along the way. “Aw, it looks like I peed myself.”

James braced his hands on the table and leaned forward, taking deep, slow breaths. “I can’t feel my balls,” he managed. “Holy fuck, that’s so weird.”

“It’s like a punch bowl down there.” Lily grimaced and picked up the ping pong ball. “I hope you two are ready for payback.”

Her throw was immaculate, despite both Sirius and Remus blowing on it as it arced over the table. “This is terribly convenient,” Remus said. “Wear a childbirth simulator for fifteen seconds each.”

“Fifteen seconds?” Lily swung around to the camera in disbelief. “I was in labor for four hours!”

“You’re also way stronger than we are,” Remus laughed as Sirius helped Marlene drag a beanbag out onto the glittery tarp.

“Who’s up first?” she asked.

“Sirius,” Lily said without hesitating. “He kicked off my labor, he gets to know what it felt like.”

“Do I get any choice in this?” Sirius asked, though he was already laying down and brushing glitter off his torso to make room for the sensors. Lily took the remote and pressed a few buttons. “Should I apologize now or—shit! Shit, shit, mon dieu, c’est horrible, s’il vous plait, owwwww.”

His hand collided with Remus’ and he grabbed it, squeezing it tight as James watched, wide-eyed, from the sidelines. “Baby, you’re going to break my hand,” Remus wheezed.

Marlene’s timer went off and Sirius scrambled to tear the sticky pads off, practically throwing himself off the beanbag. “That was hell. Lily, don’t ever feel like you need to have children again.”

Remus swallowed thickly as he took Sirius’ place, settling back into the cushions. “Hold my hand?”

“Please don’t break my fingers.”

Remus’ knee jerked up on reflex as soon as Lily turned it on and he yelled, eyes flaring wide with surprise. “Motherfucker! Ohhhh my god this is what death feels like. This is what death feels like, I hate I hate it Sirius Black do not let go of my hand.”

“Four hours,” Lily said mildly as he gritted his teeth and Sirius winced at his grip.

The cheerful jingling of the timer made Remus nearly sob with relief; he peeled the sensors off his skin and immediately went over to hug Lily. “You are the most incredible person I know. Please never make us do that again.”

“You chose to do it, Glitter Boy,” she laughed, giving him a playful shove after returning the hug. “Fire away, Cap.”

James had to drink, then Remus, then Lily, and after her shot went wide, Sirius landed a miracle throw. “Let the opposing team shave your head,” James read. He looked up at them and narrowed his eyes. “Touch my hair and I’ll end you.”

“We only have two left,” Lily warned as he took the cup and drank it. “And only one has a dare.”

“I’m not going to sacrifice my hair to win bragging rights.”

His next shot was a laser throw that nearly knocked over the cup it landed in. Sirius’ shoulders slumped when he took the coaster. “Let the opponent smash a pie in your face.”

“Could be worse.” Remus shrugged. “I’m glad I didn’t wear my nice pants today.”

“These chairs are going to live in my nightmares,” he said as they returned to the tarp. Lily and James carefully took the whipped-cream pies from the camera crew.

“Woah, what’s that?!” Lily shouted all of a sudden. Remus startled, turning to look at her, only to get a full pie slammed directly into his face. James didn’t hesitate—he really put his hips into it, and some whipped cream splattered back onto the table.

“Moisturizing is very important,” he said, rubbing the pie in slow circles around Sirius’ face until almost all of it was coating his skin. “Sugar scrubs are all the rage.”

“Do I look exfoliated, sweetheart?” Sirius asked, turning in Remus’ general direction.

“If I could see anything right now, I would say no.” Remus wiped his eyes off and flicked the cream at Lily, who quickly stepped backwards. Sirius leaned over and licked Remus’ cheek, laughing, until Remus grabbed Lily’s mostly-empty pie tin and shoved it in his face.

“I deserved that,” he said, voice muffled by aluminum and filling.

The video cut for a moment, and when it returned, the four of them were pie-free and back at the table. The game had clearly continued off-camera, because each team only had one cup left. Their cheeks were significantly more flushed than before.

“Just out of curiosity,” Marlene cut in as Sirius picked up the ball. “On a scale of 1-10, how drunk do you think you are right now?”

Lily made a face. “Maybe, like, a four?”

“Three,” James said.

“Yeah, three.” Sirius hiccupped at the end of his sentence, clearly startling himself. “…three and a half.”

“I’ll have to agree with the collective,” Remus said. “Not anywhere close to drunk drunk, because it’s shitty beer, but pleasantly buzzed. Take the average of everyone else and that’s…about three and a third? The math is skewed if Sirius goes with three and a half instead. I dunno.”

There was a beat of quiet before James shook his head. “Only you would do tipsy math to calculate how drunk you are instead of guesstimating like the rest of us. Fuckin’ nerd.”

“Fuck off, you can’t even do addition.”

Sirius threw the ping pong ball before the argument could get any more heated and it bounced off the table, hitting James right on the cheek. “Oops.”

“Hey!” It was James’ turn to throw next, and he deliberately aimed for Sirius’ face—Sirius ducked and it flew past him, hitting something off screen with a clatter. “Sorry!”

“Ha! That’s what you get.”

Remus rolled his eyes and took the ball; it went into James and Lily’s final cup despite their defense tactics. “Ah, shit,” Lily muttered as she picked up the coaster. “Pour beer into your partner’s mouth using only your feet. J, do you trust me with this?”

“I love you, but no.”

“That’s fair. To the tarp!”

Remus and Sirius watched with far too much glee as Lily laid down and Marlene put a fresh beer cup between the soles of James’ feet. “Ready?” he asked her. She nodded and opened her mouth as he began slowly tilting it.

“Chug! Chug! Chug!” Remus and Sirius chanted from the sidelines. About halfway through, the cheap plastic cup folded and rolled out of James’ grip, bouncing off Lily’s nose and falling to the floor.

She sat up quickly, checking her hair as the last of the liquid formed a puddle on the tarp. “Is it in my hair?”

All three men squinted at her. “Nope,” James said after a moment. “All good. Did we complete the dare?”

Marlene made an ‘ehh’ noise as she tossed them a towel to mop up the spill. “You didn’t finish the cup…”

“The coaster said nothing about finishing!” Sirius protested. “They did what they were asked.”

“Babe, we want them to lose,” Remus muttered.

Sirius winced. “Right. My bad.”

Both Remus and Lily heaved a sigh as they went back to their positions. It was Lily’s throw next—neither of them tried to prevent the inevitable and the resignation on their faces when the ball landed with a gentle plop aged them by ten years. Remus slid the coaster out. “Huh. Not bad. Let the opponent give you both three-minute makeovers.”

“Dibs on Remus,” Lily said immediately. He looked rather flattered by that and Sirius groaned.

“Pots, I don’t trust you with makeup.”

“Smart boy. Get over here and let me make you handsome.” James grinned and took the container of makeup supplies from Marlene, patting the two chairs at the front. “Lils, I don’t know what half this stuff is.”

“That just makes it more fun!” she said cheerfully as Remus sat down and she rummaged through the various bottles and brushes. “If we only have three minutes, I think we should do something simple and pretty. The glitter is really going to make it better.”

“Three minutes is so much time!” James laughed. Both Marlene and Lily gave him incredulous looks. “No?”

“Honey, it takes me twenty minutes to do a full face of makeup in the morning.”

“Jesus.”

“Time starts…now!” Marlene tapped her phone and Lily uncapped a dark pencil; Remus leaned away from her as she neared his face with it.

“What is that?”

“Eyeliner.”

“Please don’t blind me.”

Lily scoffed. “Have a little faith, Loops.”

James on the other hand, grabbed some mascara and began shakily applying it to Sirius’ lashes. “This is surprisingly difficult. How do I know if it’s working?”

“Usually you can see the color transfer over.”

“My eyelashes are already black,” Sirius said, wincing as James jabbed the side of his nose. “Watch it.”

“They’re also really long,” Lily said as she continued drawing a steady line along Remus’ lids. “Mascara might not do very much for the lucky bastard.”

“It’s not my fault I have long eyelashes!” Sirius protested as James moved on to the second eye.

“Do you have any idea how many women would kill do have those?”

“Ten seconds!” Marlene called. Lily swore under her breath and began putting the finishing touches on the second eye. “And…done!”

“I don’t know about you guys, but I feel hot as hell,” Remus laughed, batting his eyes at the camera. Marlene handed him a mirror and his eyebrows rose. “Thank you, Lily, I look so fancy.”

“My eyes are sticking together.” Sirius grimaced and blinked a few times so the clumpy mascara would settle. He looked over at Remus and went still.

“What?”

“You—hmm.” He paused for a second. “You look really nice. Very punk rock.”

Remus smiled. “Thanks. Some of your glitter stuck to the mascara, so you’re very sparkly right now.”

“Re, you have light eyes, which helped a bit,” Lily explained as she tossed the eyeliner and mascara into the makeup container. “Contrasting colors always pop better, and everyone looks sexy in eyeliner.”

“I wore it for Halloween last year and it was awesome,” James said, heading back to the table.

“Final throws!” Marlene called. All four of them looked over in surprise. “Did you all forget the point of the game? Loser is whoever drinks their cup first.”

Remus turned Sirius by his shoulders and looked deep into his eyes. “Please, please don’t miss this throw.”

“As if I’m letting James fucking Potter beat us in beer pong,” Sirius scoffed, kissing his forehead before lining up for the shot; it bounced off the rim and dropped right in. The room exploded into noise as Marlene blew the victory airhorn and Remus and Sirius began jumping up and down, yelling incoherently. James and Lily both groaned as he drank their last cup.

“Do we get a prize?” Remus asked.

“Bragging rights,” Marlene said as she took their empty cups. “I might have some Lions merch—”

Four hasty ‘no thank you’s answered and she laughed, shaking her head.

“Alright, sign us off!”

“Thanks for watching, Lions! I’m Sirius Black—”

“I’m Remus Lupin.”

“I’m Lily Potter.”

“And I’m James Potter.”

Marlene popped into view one more time. “Quick disclaimer: we do have a designated driver waiting today. Remember to like and subscribe for more Lion Pride content!”

179 notes · View notes

countryclubstarkey · 4 years

Text

Competition - Rafe Cameron x Reader x JJ Maybank

Requested (I hope you like this! @countryclub-sloppytop)

Pairings: Rafe Cameron x Reader x JJ Maybank

Warnings: NSFW, 18+, Smut, Threesome, Drinking, Choking, No protection, Cream Pie, Anal, Squirting, Overstimulation, this is also extremely dirty (I don’t know why I keep doing this LOL).

Word Count: 3.5k+

A/N: The rivalry between the pogues and Rafe isn’t that big in this, so he’s basically the rude brother of Sarah. The beginning is kind of long because I want to introduce the character, but then it gets into it.

The Outer Banks, paradise on earth. Which is bullshit in your opinion, recently your parents decided to move you to the Outer Banks far away from your childhood town and friends. You were grateful for everything they give you, but moving you away on your last year of high school is stupid. They know that it takes you a while to open up to people, graduating with no friends isn’t that fun either.

The only thing that you don’t mind is the beach, and living by the ocean. You come from a big city, so going to the beach is a once in a while thing that you and your friends did.

“Okay, y/n, we have a family friend who lives here and they’ve invited us for dinner so please be ready by 7 pm.” Your mom says while walking into your room.

Rolling your eyes playfully at her, “Mom, I don’t want to have dinner with a bunch of adults,” you whine at her. Rolling her eyes at you, you can see where you get it from now.

“They have three kids, and two of them are around your age so please socialize tonight and come out of your shell,” she pulls out a black dress setting it on your bed. “Wear this tonight, and start getting ready, or else we are going to be late,” while walking out of your room. You let out a loud sigh dreading tonight’s dinner hoping it doesn’t end as horribly as you think.

Around 7 pm, you finally arrive at a mansion in the extremely rich neighborhood of the Outer Banks. You feel out of place right away, their kids are probably some snobby rich kids. You’re wearing a black deep plunge dress that comes to your mid-thighs. Earlier, You felt slightly overdressed, but now seeing the house you feel like you should have came in a gown.

A middle-aged man opens the door when you reach it, “Hello, oh you must be y/n, nice to meet you sweetheart,” he tells you while shaking your hands. You shake his hand and walk into the house amazed by the architecture and the decor. Your eyes land upon a blonde girl who looks about your age smiling widely at you.

“Hi, I’m Sarah, nice to meet you,” while pulling you in for a hug. You didn’t expect her to be so straight forward, but you return the gesture, “I’m y/n.”

She grabs your hand and begins to give you a tour of her house, you didn’t expect Sarah to be this nice. The rich kids at your old school looked down on everyone and laughed at everyone who they thought was beneath them. She takes you down to the basement where you heard laughter, which seems to belong to a teenage boy.

“Rafe, this is y/n and y/n this is my annoying older brother Rafe,” she says while ruffling his hair. He slaps her hand away and stands up where you can actually see his face. All you can say is wow. He’s at least a foot taller than you, broad shoulders, dirty blonde hair, and a chiseled jawline.

He looks you up and down, biting his lips before extending his hand out, “Nice to meet you, sweetheart.” You blush at his nickname and shake his hand. Sarah pushes him away from you, grabbing your arm and pulling you back upstairs.

“Please, don’t fall for my brother’s game, he has a reputation and I don’t want you to be added to his list,” she rambles on letting you know. You nod your head, but you know you’re going to fall into his trap at some point.

“Kids, dinner,” Ward yells out at all of you causing you to walk towards the dining room. You meet Rose, who is definitely an interesting personality. Also, Wheezie who’s Sarah’s younger sister, she seems a little bratty but it’s probably because she’s not close to your age.

You take a seat next to Rafe across from Sarah, who narrows her eyes at Rafe sending him a warning. Throughout dinner, it was just the parents talking, while the rest of you just ate your food in silence. Towards the end, you felt Rafe’s hand land on your thigh causing you to let out a slight cough. He smirks at your actions and removes his hand pretending like nothing just happened, just wanting a reaction from you. Before you can head out with your parents, Sarah pulls you aside for a second.

“There’s a party on the cut tomorrow night that my boyfriend and his friends are hosting, and you are going to come with me.” Debating whether or not you should go. “I don’t know, I don’t really party,” you simply reply to her. Back home, you preferred partying with your small group of friends rather than a large group.

She pushes you out of the house yelling, “I’ll pick you up at 7.” You laugh at her actions and realize that tonight wasn’t as bad as you thought.

The next night, Sarah picks you up on the dot with Rafe driving the car. While Sarah is talking, you glance at Rafe admiring his features. He notices your stare and sends you a quick wink causing you to pull away and pay attention to Sarah again. You notice the car stop by a huge beach filled with teenagers drinking and basically humping each other out in the open.

“Come on, I want you to meet John B and his friends.” You come face to face with a group of teenage boys who are extremely attractive and a stunning curly-haired girl.

“Guys, this is y/n, y/n this is John B, Pope, Kie, and JJ,” while pointing to each one. You all acknowledge each other, but your eyes linger on JJ a little longer than the others. He throws an arm around your shoulder pulling you towards the keg.

Handing you a cup, “You got to be a bit tipsy for these parties to be fun,” he whispers in your ear cheering his cup to yours and chugging his down. For the few hours, you try to keep up with JJ but the boy was like a machine. Downing each drink like its water, you’re slightly concerned but too drunk to care. You get to know him a little and can point out that he is a natural flirt, which you don’t mind at all.

You forget all about Rafe until you see him walking towards you and JJ. You notice JJ’s mood alter once he reaches you.

“Pogue,” Rafe sneers at JJ. Okay, maybe this really is paradise on earth, because you never thought you would be between two of the hottest guys you have ever seen. “Kook,” JJ replies with the same attitude. However, the tension is a bit much between the two of them, you don’t know why and you don’t want to know.

“Umm, the testosterone is a bit much here so I’m going to go find Sarah,” you say while patting their chests. The two watch your hips sway as you walk away, and look at each other before rushing after you. As they’re running after you, JJ pushes Rafe a little bit causing him to stumble a little falling behind. JJ grabs your waist spinning you around before you could walk any further. His fingers tickling your sides causing you to break out into giggles. Your fun is cut short when Rafe pushes JJ causing him to trip and land on his ass. You burst out into laughter at the look on JJ’s face, but he retaliates by pushing him back.

You sober up a bit when you notice the harsh expressions on their faces, so you stand between the two pushing them away, “how about you both put your toxic masculinity aside and not fight tonight.” The two scoff at you continuing to glare at each other like they’re arch-nemesis.

Feeling bold for the night, you pull the two boys closer to you so that you’re stuck between the two, “how about you fight it out another way,” you whisper at the two. The two boys frown at you not understanding your statement before smirks appear on their faces.

“I don’t know, I don’t want to humiliate you JJ,” Rafe tells the surfer boy. Letting out a low chuckle causing you to feel the vibrations through his body. JJ steps even closer to your body grabbing your hips tightly, “Don’t worry pretty boy, let’s just hope you can get it up.” You try to cover up your giggle with your hand, but JJ does it for you. He leans forward pressing his lips to yours, he tastes like cheap beer, weed, and surprisingly sweet like honey. You wrap your arms around his neck bringing him closer to you, feeling like putty under his touch.

Rafe grabs your body pulling you away before connecting his lips with yours causing you to let a soft moan satisfying him. He tastes like the opposite of JJ, you could taste the vodka that he drank earlier, and his mouth still minty fresh from the gum he took earlier. Rafe’s touch is a bit rougher than JJ, he’s kissing you like you are his last meal. You pull away not wanting everyone in the Outer Banks to see your business, “Is there a place where we can go that’s more private,” you murmur at the two. JJ nods grabbing your arm pulling you away from the beach with Rafe following you guys close behind.

The three of you pull up to what looks like an old fish shack turned into a little house, it looks extremely cozy. Rafe looks at the place in disgust, “you live in this trash?” Rafe questions. You slap his stomach, scolding him.

JJ rolls his eyes pulling you into his lap while sitting on the couch, “Sorry, my daddy doesn’t pay for everything.” You felt another fight coming, so you grab JJ’s face pulling him into a bruising kiss.

“How about instead of fighting, one of you fucks me,” you tell them and tugging your shirt off leaving you in your lacy light purple bralette. The alcohol is still in your system making you bolder than other times. They look at each other, agreeing to be civil just for one night before turning back to you looking you down like you’re their prey.

Rafe connects your lip, moving one leg on his lap, while the other remains on JJ’s lap. JJ leans forwards pulling one of your straps down exposing your breasts to them. He grabs the one closest to him and kneads it in his hands. Bringing it into his mouth, his teeth brush against your nipple causing your core to ache for him. His mouth begins to suck and nip the area, leaving love bites all over your breast leaving a reminder of the sinful night you’re going to have.

Rafe turns your attention back on him, biting your bottom lip bringing it in his mouth. His tongue envelops your own, his hand reaching up to wrap around your neck bringing you closer to him. Loosening his grip a bit, “Harder,” you whimper at him. He readjusts his grip slightly causing your breathing to become uneven. The mixture of the tight grip on your neck and his tongue in your mouth causes you to pull away for a second to catch your breath. Rafe immediately pulls you back in basically fucking your mouth with his tongue. The sensation from Rafe on your lips and JJ on your breasts cause your core to tighten.

JJ unbuttons your shorts, slipping his hands down feeling your pussy shudder at the sudden touch, “Fuck, she’s soaking,” he tells Rafe. His fingers move your panties to the side, slipping into your heat. You pull away from Rafe whimpering, panting from the pressure on your core. Rafe starts to rub figures on your clit joining JJ. The two begin to match each other’s pace, JJ pumping two fingers in and out of you with Rafe rubbing your clit leaving you wanting for more. Rafe’s other hand returns to your throat stimulating you further causing you to let out a loud moan, “Come on, let me hear you scream,” JJ mumbles in your ear-biting your lower lobe. You feel yourself getting closer, and let out a shrieking scream as you cum all over JJ’s fingers.

JJ slips his fingers out, glistening with your juices. He taps your lips urging you to suck his fingers clean.

You lean forward wrapping your pink lips around them tasting yourself, you lick a long strip gathering your wetness before wrapping your mouth around his fingers again pulling away when you feel satisfied. You felt their members poking your thighs, reaching out grabbing both of them rubbing them through their pants, “How about you suck us off like you just did with his fingers.” Rafe says while unbuttoning his pants and rolling them down his legs, JJ copies his actions urging you to get on your knees. It’s an intimidating sight, the two standing up with you facing them in their briefs, their bulges prominent.

You pull down each of their boxers, their erections pop out hitting their belly buttons. Grabbing each one in your hands, Rafe’s shaft is a lot thicker, while JJ is winning in length. You pump JJ’s length while wrapping your lips around Rafe’s thick shaft spreading his precum around with your lips. Rolling your tongue around his tip causing him to let out a muffled grunt, he grabs your head having enough with the teasing, “Open wide.” He begins to thrust in your mouth, grabbing your head as leverage letting you adjust to his length before delivering harsher thrusts.

On the other hand, JJ begins to thrust in your hands wanting some pleasure as well. You spread his precum around using it as lubrication before speeding up your movement making him let out tiny grunts. Your movement comes to a halt when Rafe thrusts a little too deep causing you to gag around his length. He gives one more thrust not moving back, causing you to control your breathing around his member. Finally, pulling away and looking at your face with your mascara running, a few tears blotched on your face and your plumped lips.

JJ turns your attention to his length before thrusting a little more in your hands and pulling you up from your knees. He pulls your shorts and panties down tossing them in a random corner of the house, “Come on,” he grunts at the two of you. He tosses you on a random bed before diving in between your legs and smashing his lips against yours.

You reach for his member, but he slaps your hands away. He spreads your legs, eagerly thrusting into you. Both letting out a sigh of relief, lifting your leg he puts it on his shoulder continuing his stirring thrusts. Rafe joins you on the bed, palming your breasts under his large hands. He starts playing with your nipples increasing the pleasure that you’re feeling all over. JJ moves you targeting your g-spot causing your body to rip away from the bed before Rafe grabs a tight grip on your hips pushing you down onto the bed. JJ reaches down rubbing your clit causing your orgasm to build up, “Fuc-k, JJ I’m coming,” you scream out. He places a harsh slap on your clit causing you to jolt and making you feel like you’re floating after calming down from your orgasm.

JJ lays down on the bed pulling you on top of him before Rafe reaches down circling his thumb around your tighter hole, “You’ve ever been touched here,” he whispers in your ear. You shake your head, body trembling from the previous orgasm. JJ pulls his lips against yours giving you an impulsive slap to your ass. Gasping out from the sudden action, JJ swallows your gasps slipping his tongue back in your mouth.

“You got any lube, she’s tight as hell here I got to stretch her out a bit,” Rafe asks JJ. He reaches for a bottle hidden in his dresser tossing it to Rafe who catches it with ease. Pouring some lube over your hole, and his fingers he slowly presses one in your rear. An uncomfortable squeak blurts out from your mouth, which JJ silences with his lips. Rafe continues to stretch you out with his fingers pausing when he feels you stiffen. After managing to get his third finger in, he decides to try it with his cock. He signals JJ to distract you, you feel his member press against your tight hole slightly whimpering, “It’s okay princess, you’re going to beg me to go faster in a minute,” Rafe grunts in your ear. Moving slightly, pushing his length inch by inch, feeling yourself stretch out, you grab JJ to steady yourself. He reaches down rubbing your clit to distract you from the uncomfortable feeling, you feel Rafe’s hips touch your backside when he finally enters you fully, “F-uckk,” he whimpers.

Not moving for a few minutes, he feels you clench on him causing him to give shallow thrusts, “I want you too,” you tell JJ. He grabs his cock watching it disappear between your legs again, Rafe’s thrusts stopping so you can get used to the feeling of the two. You shut your eyes in pleasure and pain, never feeling this full in your life. The two begin thrusting simultaneously, while Rafe would thrust in, JJ would pull out. Feeling yourself already getting close, you move your hands to your clit rubbing it pleasuring yourself further. Rafe pulls you up moving you towards his body, one hand on your chest while the other grabs your neck once again. JJ moves your hand out of the way replacing it with his own rapidly rubbing your clit.

A new feeling begins to build up with your core causing you to scratch at the air trying to grab onto something, the boys quicken their pace gripping every part of your body trying to get closer to their own orgasm. Beginning to see stars, you try to push JJ’s hands away, his strength preventing you. Your vision goes blurry as you let out silent scream falling limp in Rafe’s arms, “Fuck, she just squirted, that’s so fucking hot,” JJ groans. Finishing up their own orgasm the two fill you up with their cum, milking it out until every bit is inside of you.

Pulling out of you and watching their cum leak out of each of your holes onto your thighs mixing together with your own juices. Slowly opening your eyes from your euphoric state, you face JJ’s baby blue eyes, “Welcome back Sunshine,” he grins at you. Rafe begins leaving sloppy kisses all over your body, your body trembling from the new feeling.

He reaches down getting close to your heat before you can stop him, his fingers slip inside you gathering your wetness using it as lubrication. Your body moves off the bed trying to move away from him because of the overstimulation, “Please, Rafe I can’t anymore.” JJ pulls you on his lap whispering sweet things in your ears, “He didn’t see you squirt babe, you going show him how beautiful you look right?” JJ asks you while twisting your nipples between your fingers. Rafe nods his head giving you a pouty look, “You going to do it again right, just for me sweetheart.”

He speeds up his fingers while lowering himself and presses his tongue against your clit at the same time, your body craving him and inviting him further to continue his actions. He finds your g-spot when you let out a yelp, screaming “Right, there.” He claims the same spot over and over again, while JJ continues to whisper in your ear urging you to cum for them. The same feeling comes back building up in your abdomen once again, “I---,” you try to say but it’s too late you squirt all over Rafe’s fingers, tongue and body. Your body trembling and exhausted from the multiple orgasms you had that night. Feeling satisfied with seeing your shaking body because of what he did, he pulls his fingers out of you, slipping them in his mouth, licking your juices clean. You sigh at the sight, feeling turned on but no ounce in your body wanting to continue.

JJ leans in one more time leaving a passionate kiss on your lips before laying down beside you, while Rafe lays on the other side. The room is foggy smelling like pure sex and sweat with the only sound echoing through is your deep breathing.

Breaking the silence, “So who was better?” Rafe asks you. You look at the two boys and realize that they were serious, leaving you a giggling mess you shake your head at them.

“I never said I’ll choose, I just said you guys should do me instead of fighting,” you tell the two before wrapping your arms around Rafe pulling JJ closer to cuddle you from behind. They share a look before leaning in pressing their lips against your body again.

“Maybe, we need to try it again, so that you have an actual answer.”

#rafe cameron #rafe cameron x reader #rafe cameron smut #rafe cameron imagine #rafe cameron x reader smut #jj maybank #jj maybank x reader #jj maybank imagine #jj maybank smut #jj maybank x reader smut #outer banks

844 notes · View notes

lexpressobean · 3 years

Text

Parent/Teacher Night

In which Shikamaru steps in as Mirai's guardian to help her complete her unofficial assignment of the night and subsequently suffers from nostalgia induced shock from unforeseen circumstances.

**Modern AU, Mild Swearing, late 20-something adults who simply care about the same 10-year-old kid lol

Edit: Now available on AO3 too!

•••

Shikamaru had gladly accepted Kurenai's request for him to attend Parent-Teacher night with Mirai in her absence. It had been his day off after all, and he hadn't planned anything anyway. Plus, it'd only take, what, half an hour at most back and forth? Maybe he could even treat Mirai to dinner, just 'cause it had been a while. Normally, Kurenai would have skipped it all together due to her schedule, just this one time, but apparently Mirai's teacher was offering extra credit to the students as an incentive for them to have their parents come. And Mirai was very adamant that she shouldn't waste such an opportunity. Not for this teacher.

Shikamaru wondered what seemed to make this teacher so special to Mirai anyway. When he asked, Mirai seemed confused.

"You don't know, Shikamaru?"

"... Well, it's not like I've met the teacher either Mirai. But this teacher must be really good at their job if you like them that much already."

Mirai gave him a gleeful grin, "Watch, you'll see!"

And see he did.

Shikamaru wasn't expecting to run into such a classicaly "tall, dark, and handsome" form in the classroom. He certainly wasn't expecting that man to BE the teacher.

"Shino-sensei!" Mirai called, running over to greet him.

And at that, something froze Shikamaru in place. Something almost urgent... Wait... Shino? Shino... Why did that name sound familiar...?

The teacher turned just in time to take her glomp's impact with a deep, "OOF!" into his abdomen, and Shikamaru got distracted by the sound of his voice. Wow, deep... but then Shikamaru noticed his glasses misaligned in the process, and Shikamaru then realized they were... sunglasses? Indoors? Ha, this guy... Shikamaru wasn't necessarily gonna dock him points for that. But the only other person Shikamaru remembers doing that unironically was-

...

... Oh wait...

Oh... Wait.

OH. OH, HOLY SHIT!?

WAIT, THAT'S SHINO!? AS IN "SHINO ABURAME" SHINO!?!?!?

...

W H A T ! ?

"Ah... Mirai, hello. I thought you and your mother weren't coming. I told you it's okay, sometimes people can't come."

"Shikamaru came with me! I didn't want to miss the extra credit!"

"Shikamaru?"

"He's technically my godfather, so it counts, right?"

Shino stayed quiet for a moment and looked over towards the doorway where Shikamaru was still standing. As he recognized Shikamaru, Shino straightened up, gave a brief wave and... a smile?

Shikamaru was dumbfounded. Just a minute ago, he would've simply held up an open hand in response as he subtley and respectfully checked him out. Seriously, how could he not? But, now the movement of Shino's wave snapped him out of his thoughts and Shikamaru probably waved more than really needed to acknowledge the teacher. And he cursed at himself inwardly as soon as Shino looked back to Mirai. Was he blushing? It was feeling kinda hot in the classroom all of a sudden...!

"Alright Mirai, thank-you for coming, but for now please wait your turn, okay?"

"Alright!" Mirai walked back to Shikamaru, smiling widely proud of herself.

From far away, he could hear Shino's voice, "Sorry for the interruption. You see-"

"Surprise, Shikamaru!"

Mirai knew. This whole time. And the more he thought about it, Shikamaru at one point knew too. He just... simply forgot... Wow, what a thing to forget. Damn it, why didn't Shikamaru ask more questions earlier? Why didn't she just tell Shikamaru? Hell, why didn't KURENAI tell Shikamaru!?

"Yeah, I guess you're right..."

As Mirai led Shikamaru around the classroom, he started to try and recall more about Shino. It was all coming to him, slowly but surely. And if what he recalled was correct, this neat and organized classroom definitely would scream Shino. It was decorated with the typical posters meant to be both fun and helpful, and colorful and eye catching. Shikamaru even recognized many of the books in the shelves, though most he never actually read any of them. But there were traces of decorations here and there that were definitely conscious choices. Namely pictures of worms in apples, ladybugs, ants and bees symbolizing teamwork, things like that. Shino was a fan of bugs afterall.

Then Shikamaru found some board games and noted shogi was among them. He was tempted for a split second to pull it out and challenge Mirai to a game, but thought better of it. But what Mirai was most eager to show Shikamaru was her seat. Or rather, what was nearly right next to her seat.

In a terrarium, no doubt from Shino's collection if Kiba told him the truth, held a black and white worm. Except the worm had these orange like eye markings all along either side if it, and black dots in each eye shape... Shikamaru thought it looked kinda goth for a bug.

"We all decided to name it Daidai! Shino-sensei says this one will turn into a moth. Before Daidai, we had a catepillar we all named Marugao, because it's head was so big! But when he became a butterfly, he was so pretty, he almost shimmered!"

As Mirai gushed about how she got to sit next to Daidai, Shikamaru stole a glance at Shino once more. He was still making rounds, and it looked like no one else had come into the classroom either. Hm, looks like they were gonna be last.

Sunglasses had always hid Shino's eyes, ever since they were kids. Shikamaru couldn't quite recall if they were actually prescription or not, but up to this point, they had always been a constant. Otherwise... his former classmate really was virtually unrecognizable. And now that he thought about it, Shikamaru recalled that Shino had graduated from university with a teaching degree some years back, but this information had only been secondhand from Kiba on social media. Shikamaru wasn't even sure if Shino had social media...

Meanwhile, Shikamaru had barely been back in town for still less than a year. It wasn't his fault if he didn't know Shino's business. Medical school was gruelling, and anesthesia was no joke.

But still... Shikamaru had been expecting something similar from Shino. Maybe not a medical doctor, but a doctorate? Hadn't he been in the Environmental Club in high school? He seemed like he would've been very interested in the natural sciences, and definitely had the means... It was just kind if odd. He was an academic star that was always competing with both Ino and Sakura for top of the class as far as he could remember. And those ladies had gone to school to become a Pediatric Psychiatrist and Pediatric Surgeon respectively too. They were all a smart bunch, no doubt about that.

Yet, Shino had always been... different too. He had looked like a troublemaker with the beanies he wore, and his messy, nearly kinky curls always managed to find a way to stick out in the back. And he always had baggy looking clothing on in layers during any kind of weather. Plus he had a bad case of RBF Syndrome too, which would alarm a few others because he was always so good at blending into the background, yet when noticed, he looked like the kind of guy that would mess you up for just breathing funny. He had always been taller than most too, that probably didn't help.

But he wasn't a bad kid at all. Not like Naruto and Kiba anyway. Acording to Kiba, Shino's loner tendencies were due to simple shyness. And he would know, as Kiba and Shino seemed to grow close after they opted to join the Environmental Club separately in high school, which happened to be run by Kurenai-sensei. And that's all Shikamaru really knew, because when Kiba would come out and about Shino hardly ever came. Kiba could be pushy, which is how Shikamaru suspected the pair became friends in the first place, but apparently not enough to enjoy a party or things like that together outside of school... Maybe once or twice? Not even at Naruto's insistence could make him a regular, as Naruto was... an "unofficial" member of the Environment Club. Meaning he'd just crash the club's outings when they did plant specific activities. Naruto had a green thumb after all.

Actually, it always seemed like Kiba and Naruto were those extroverts that had the habit of adopting introvert friends so to speak. Funnily enough, their respective adoptees had already known each other too. But Sasuke was even LESS friendlier than Shino, and even Shino seemed annoyed with him, one of those rare times he let his thoughts show in his expression...

But today, in the yellowish glow of the classroom lights... something was definitely different. From his smoothed out hair tied up into modern bun on his hatless head and his open, light duty trenchcoat that really... accentuated his very... broad, adult figure... It was most definitely different... but the most dynamic change of all had to be that Shikamaru had never seen Shino so soft in the face before. Behind those shades, he looked... relaxed, and when he spoke, it sounded so... nice? Definitely not a bad thing at all...

And suddenly there was a hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"-kamru...Shikamaru?"

"HUH!? What?"

... Oh... Hell, he spaced out.

"... Shikamaru, are you okay? Busy day at work at the hospital maybe?"

HUH!? How did Shino know that? "Uh! Yeah, kinda..." he shook his head, "Well no, that's not it, today was actually my day off. I worked yesterday. Still a little out of it looks like," he added with a casual chuckle. At least he hoped he sounded casual.

Shino frowned, eyebrows knit into concern. Ah man, how embarrassing! Had Shikamaru been caught starting with a dopey look on his face?

"... I'm sorry, maybe extra credit was a bad idea this time around. Mirai is so dutiful, I didn't mean for anyone to be dragged here."

"What? No way, I wasn't dragged here. Mirai is my Goddaughter, Shino, so I'm perfectly ready to be informed about her progress. I agreed to come, it's no big deal."

The now teacher looked at Shikamaru with a slight head tilt to the right... And then another small smile. Wow, he really had to stop doing that!

"Well, all in all, Mirai is actually doing very well. She already excels in her studies and is easily one of our most engaged and top students at this time. She's still young, but she shows a lot of scholarly promise."

"Ah, I see. Do... do you see any areas in need of improvement?"

"Well, there's always room for improvement of course. But in Mirai's case..."

Shino looked over at Mirai who was at the snack table. She had walked over to get a couple of cookies and was seemingly cornered by a classmate into a chat.

"... I think, she could benefit from some encouragement to be more social."

"More social?"

Shikamaru followed Shino's gaze and saw Mirai talking to her classmate, her expression showing patience more than anything... It looked like the other little girl was chatting up a storm.

"Don't misunderstand, she's definitely a team player and is very respectful. However, her maturity level is above many of her classmates. As a result, she tends to prefer to study on her own..."

Well, that rang a bell. Shikamaru could've sworn that Shino was the same way back then. But Mirai didn't resemble Shino at all.

"Is she quiet?" Shikamaru asked.

"Oh, no, thankfully she's still quite engaged. If anything, sometimes she may overthink things. I've noted she's a bit of a perfectionist, and so is actually a little slower on average during tests, but she's an avid question asker too. If she just had some more confidence in her self and would... relax a little more, I think it'd be good for her. She's still a kid after all, she should feel allowed to act like one."

That was a strange thing to say... Did Mirai... not feel okay?

"... She's Kurenai-sensei's daughter, so I try not to favor her. It's kind of hard when she used to ride on my shoulders during reunions and things like that though."

Shino gives a small, warm smile in Mirai's direction. And Shikamaru is kind of touched. Despite the shades, his fondness for Mirai is so obvious. It makes Shikamaru glad to know she has Shino to come to during school time. At least that was something....

Then, Shino turned back to Shikamaru, who was TOTALLY not staring just now.

"But it's necessary. She's... too comfortable with me... If earlier didn't make that obvious."

Shikamaru did have it in his mind to scold Mirai about that, but that was a talk for later. More private.

"I had meant to bring this up with Kurenai, but Mirai also... has had a habit of staying in the classroom during lunch and recess. I've had to move to the teacher's lounge during just to get her outside..."

"What? Really?"

Shino nodded, eyebrows knitted and a smile that showed a regretful sympathy.

"... I wonder what that could be about..."

"I suppose some kids find it hard to socialize, but she needs a more... balanced perception of boundries. In no time, she'll have her own mother for a teacher too. Otherwise, she's generally doing pretty well."

Shit. Shino was thinking way ahead, Kurenai was a high school teacher. But... he was right, this couldn't be allowed to go on.

"Shikamaru?"

"Hm? Yes?"

"Did you have any more questions?"

"Uh... No, I... don't think so. But, even though I'm sure you don't have to be asked, please, continue to take care of her."

Shino perked up a little at that before smiling at Shikamaru again! It made it hard to stare him in the face, "Of course."

... Damn... Was Shino's smile... always this cute?

"Shikamaru! I brought you a cookie."

"Oh, thank-you."

"Did you want one too Buggy... I mean... Shino... sensei?"

"... Buggy?" Shikamaru repeated.

"... Ah, Sensei I'm sorry, I did it again...!"

Shino pat Mirai's head, and gave a small chuckle even. Shikamaru was all ears, "It's okay Mirai, I'm know you're trying. No offense taken."

"I really am, I promise!" she assured, "So did you want one?"

"No thank-you Mirai, it's for the guests. You go ahead."

"Okay, sensei."

Shikamaru couldn't help it. He just had to say something.

"Hey Shino."

"Yes?"

"You must be pretty suited to teaching."

"Oh? What makes you sat that?"

"I mean... It's been a while. Actually it's been a long time, but... well, I don't think I've ever seen you quite like this before..."

"Pardon?"

"I dunno, you just seem... Very much in your element here. I'm glad the whole instructor thing really worked out. You've been here for a few years already, haven't you?

"Oh... Thank-you, Shikamaru... And yes, I have. I appreciate that."

This time Shino GRINNED. And Shikamaru suddenly was very aware of his... jawline... uh...

"Y-Yeah, of course! Well, I'm sure there's other parents you need to talk to..."

"Right, that is true." A couple more stragglers had come in.

"But here, hold on a sec," Shikamaru pulled out his phone, "I don't think we've ever traded information before. Wanna trade now? I'll send you a text back."

"Oh," Shino was a bit surprised, "Um. Okay, sure."

After getting his number, Shikamaru sent a text and could hear one of Shino's pockets vibrate.

"There, all set! Thanks for talking with me, Shino."

"Thank-you for coming. And if you're not terribly busy, I trust you will be the one to come when Kurenai-sensei is unavailable?"

"Yes. Yes, that'll be the plan," Shikamaru decided right then and there.

"Alright, thank-you Shikamaru."

"No, thank-you. C'mon Mirai, let's go. Goodbye, Shino.

"Bye Shino-sensei!"

"Goodbye."

"Shikamaru! Can we go eat something? I'm starving!"

"What do you want?"

"Yakisoba!!"

"Haha, alright, sure."

Mirai gave Shikamaru a sudden and huge hug.

"Whoa, what's up?"

"I'm just so happy you came, Shikamaru! So thank-you!" she beamed.

It tugged on Shikamaru's heartstrings a bit. She really had missed him, huh? "You don't have to thank me, Mirai, but your welcome anyway. C'mon, let's go."

"It was nice that you and Shino-sensei got to see each other again too, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, it was quite the surprise. But a welcomed one."

Hmmm... It looks like Kurenai was gonna have to be unavailable for the next few parent-teacher nights....

••

I kept tweaking it and tweaking it until I decided to simply stop. So sorry for any grammar or syntax errors, but I just needed to get this out of my system haha

#shikashino #anime: naruto #fanfic #ahhh I almost don't want to tag them seperately...#k here it goes #shino aburame #aburame shino #shikamaru nara #nara shikamaru #modern au version of a bigger and more canon based story I'd like to write...#but this happened and I guess I might as well post it #quite self indulgent #as you can see #shikamaru is prone to what we call #~•☆gay panic☆•~#dusk's fanfic

17 notes · View notes

pink-imagines · 4 years

Text

just kiss me

request: glad requests are open! wanna drop mine in, hope you don't mind :3 prohero!bakugo has a crush on a prohero!deku's sidekick, or rather she's like nighteye, who lays the ground work for deku. he's always been jealous of izuku and would try to talk to her every now and then, especially during a team up operation. one night, they had a party, so they partied, bakugo gon mad and admitted that he wants to date the sidekick. everything onwards is up to you! thank you!

a/n: Y/H/N = your hero name, also i changed it a little bit.

warnings: drinking (everyone’s of legal drinking age tho)

masterlist

“All clear, take a left turn Deku.”, you speak into the headset as you keep tapping away at your keyboard.

“Got it, thanks Y/H/N.”, you heard Deku answer and followed the red dot, representing him, on your computer. Usually you would follow along on his missions, but today was a one man job and you were stuck on look-out.

“Anyways, I heard there’s a party tonight. Something about a new club somewhere.”, you started making small talk like you usually did when the mission wasn’t too serious.

“Wow, Y/H/N, I can’t believe you’re finally asking me out.”, he chuckled. Since you two started working together it had been a joke between the two of you, because literally everyone thought you were dating.

“Hah hah, very funny.”, you shook your head, “They want us to go for their reputations sake, we’ll get free drinks too. Besides, I don’t want to go alone.”

“I don’t have anything to do for tonight so sure I’ll go with you, as long as you promise me a dance.”, he said jokingly, “Where do I go now?”

“There’s a dead end if you go straight, but left and right are a no-go. Think you can bust through that wall?”, you asked, “There’s an open exit on the other side of it.”

“Got it. See you on the other side, then.”

Your velvet red dress was hugging your curves closely, leaving little to the imagination. For tonight, this couldn’t be better.

“God, these heels are killing me.”, you whisper to Izuku as you walk, arms linked together, into the new club.

“You’ve only walked from the car and your feet already hurt?”, he chuckled.

“I haven’t worn heels in a while, okay? Now let’s hurry, these camera flashes are making me dizzy.”, you sighed and smiled brightly for the paparazzi.

You looked around the club, it was actually kind of pleasant looking. Though you never really went to any clubs, but who could say no to free drinks?

At the end of the bar you saw the other people invited along with you; Kirishima, Ochako, Ashido, Denki, Sero, Todoroki, Yaoyorozu and Bakugo. Katsuki Bakugo was an interesting character, especially when he was around you. Everyone told you that the hero was a total hot head and to be careful around him. Still, Bakugo never actually acted like that with you. You had seen him like that but it was as if he was holding back around you.

“Hey guys!”, you grinned as you walked up to the group next to Izuku.

“Oh my!”, Yaoyorozu exclaimed, “Y/N! Those heels are wonderful!”

“They better be, my feet aree killing me!”, you laughed and sat down by the bar next to her.

“I can make you a new pair if you want to change.”, she took a sip of her drink.

“It’s fine, how are you guys doing?”

After a bit of talking and a few drinks in, you and the girls decided to go to the dance floor. While you were out there you felt someone’s eyeing you up and down and before you knew it Ashido had nudged you in your side with her elbow.

“Bakugo’s totally checking you out.”, she whispered in your ear. Your body went on auto pilot and looked over to the guys who were still at the bar. Bakugo quickly looked away from you while the others around him laughed at him.

“Well, he’s not gonna do anything... like usual.”, Ochako sighed.

“We can make him do something about it.”, Yaoyorozu chuckled devilishly.

Honestly, you had no idea what they were planning and the fact that they were talking as if Bakugo had liked you for forever was even more confusing.

“Guys, he was just looking at me. It doesn’t mean anything.”, you chuckled nervously.

“Okay, then we’ll try this out and see what happens!”, Ochako grinned.

“Yeah! What’s your plan, Momo?”, Ashido asked.

So now there you were, walking back up to the bar where the others were sitting and your eyes were set on Izuku.

“Hey, come on! I promised you a dance, remember!”, you acted a bit more drunk than you actually were. You could already feel Bakugo’s eyes burning your skin with rage.

“Wait, no, I was just joking!”, Izuku laughed nervously, looking between you and Bakugo’s enraged red eyes.

“Have a little fun already!”, you giggled and dragged him out on the dancefloor. You could hear the rest of the guys joking around with Bakugo as you left.

“Y/N, I can’t fucking dance.”, Izuku laughed.

“Then let me teach you!”, you smiled. For a moment you forgot about the stupid “plan” and just had fun with your friend, even though it looked like you were more than “just friends”.

After a while of dancing around Todoroki walked up to you.

“We’re gonna go to our usual place if you guys wanna tag along.”, he said, pointing at the door with his thumb.

“Sounds great!”, Izuku smiled and helped you off the dance floor.

The usual place was an old jazz bar who always had live music, different bands almost every night. It was your favorite place to hang out when everyone had the time to do so. Everyone wasn’t there tonight, but at least there were a few.

“I’m going to the bathroom!”, Ashido said and walked off.

“We’ll tag along.”, Yaoyorozu said and grabbed Ochako’s arm, “Find a table for us, will you?”

“Of course, we’re on it.”, Todoroki said and walked away and Izuku followed close behind.

“I’ll check the band list!”, Kirishima grinned and hurried away.

“We’ll go get drinks!”, Sero said.

“I’m guessing the usual for everyone!”, Denki added.

Left standing there were you and Bakugo. You could go with Kirishima, you always liked to look at what bands were playing before you sat down. Your focus shifted when you noticed shuffling beside you. Bakugo was unbuttoning three buttons on his black button-up shirt.

“What are you looking at? It’s hot in here.”, Bakugo scoffed and looked away from you.

“I’m sure it is.”, you played at his nerves.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”, he growled and you felt a shiver run down your spine. It wasn’t a bad kind of shiver, it was more of a nice surprise.

“I’m just saying that there are a lot of girls at this bar...”, you looked around, “...and I haven’t heard anything about you having a girlfriend so...”

“I’ll have you know that I actually like someone.”, he chuckled and just for a moment you could see genuine happiness in his eyes.

“Oh yeah? Do tell, please.”, you raised an eyebrow.

“Hey! We found a table!”, Izuku interupted the two of you.

It was the best spot in the bar. A table in the corner with a bunch of armchair’s and a couch. You sat down by the armrest on the couch and unexpectantly, Bakugo sat down next you. Everyone else gave the two of you meaning glances but you didn’t really notice.

The night went on as usual, a few drinks and lots of laughter shared... but when Bakugo’s thigh softly rested itself against yours you didn’t move your leg away.

“Let’s play a game of truth or dare!”, Ashido exclaimed suddenly.

“We’re not children, Ashido.”, Todoroki scoffed and drank yet another glass of scotch.

“It’d be fun though!”, Ochako chimed in.

“I’m in.”, you grinned. Soon enough everyone gave in and Ashido started by asking Izuku. It went around the table, back and forth, and eventually it landed on you.

“Y/N, truth or dare?”, Denki asked.

“Um... truth?”, you said nervously.

“Wuss.”, Bakugo grumbled beside you.

“Okay fine then, dare devil. I’ll take a dare instead.”, you chuckled. Ashido whispered something in Denki’s ear, making his lips contort into a wicked grin, and suddenly you regretted your decision to switch to a dare.

“I dare you to kiss Bakugo.”, he chuckled along with the rest of the table.

“Wow, are you five or something? That’s not that hard.”, you sighed and tried to hide the fact that you would be very nervous about doing that.

“Fine then, make out.” You regretted your desicion once again.

“Right here?”, you looked around to the rest of the table.

“Oi, you’re making her uncomfortable.”, Bakugo broke your embarrassed haze, “Besides, I never agreed to do it so it’s not happening. She picked truth first anyways, isn’t there a rule where you can’t change it?”

“Okay fine.”, Denki sighed, “Then you gotta answer this; do you like someone and if so are they in the room?”

“Yes and yes. So, is it my turn?”, you asked. You thought that Bakugo’s words had hurt you but just as you said that he looked away from you and the place where his leg had touched yours went cold.

After the whole ordeal was over, you decided to go home early. Your excuses varied from that you were tired to that you had work tomorrow and eventually you managed to get out of their tight grip.

Once outside you kind of regretted it, it was cold as fuck and of course you forgot to bring a jacket. That was until soft, warm fabric embraced your shoulders with a scent that was so very familiar. You looked up to see Bakugo.

“Hi.”, you said quietly.

“I’m walking you home, let’s go.”, he muttered and grabbed your wrist to drag you forwards. Your carefully turned your hand so that you were palm to palm with his bigger hand. As you laced your fingers with his he stiffened but then relaxed and closed his hand around yours.

“Thank you.”, you smiled slightly and wrapped his coat tighter around your frame. He simply grunted in response and kept on walking.

Throughout your walk together you kept catching him looking over at you before quickly averting his glance.

“Aren’t you cold-” “Does your feet hurt-”

You both stopped and then broke out into laughter. Why the fact that you said something at the same time was so funny, you didn’t know but appearently it just was. Besides, you weren’t complaining... seeing him laugh like that sent butterflies to your stomach.

“Sorry, what were you going to say?”, he chuckled out.

“Aren’t you cold?”, you repeated yourself with a smile.

“I’m fine, does your feet hurt though?”, he looked down at your very uncomfortable shoes.

“Well, yeah, but there’s not much to do about it.”, you sighed, “We’re almost there anyways.”

“You’re walking like a goose, you could at least take them off.”, he quirked an eyebrow.

“Hey!”, you exclaimed, “If I take them off I’ll freeze to death.”

“Then I’ll carry you. If you know do have work tomorrow you gotta walk, right?”, he crouched down to let you get on his back.

“Are you sure? I don’t want to cause you any more problems.”, you hesitated.

“What?”

“Well, the others already forced you to walk me home...”, you muttered.

“What are you talking about?”, he stood back up.

“I’m just saying, you didn’t do this on your own-”

“Why would I do anything they say? I did this on my own. Now, do you want to get a ride or do you want to look like a goose on the rest of the way home?”

You ended up taking the offer for the ride. He was very warm, even if he had been walking around without a coat and you thought that had got to do with his quirk. Softly, you placed your head against his back and tried to ignore the fact that your tight dress was riding up your thigh.

“This is your place, right?”, he asked out of the blue.

“Yeah, thanks.”, you smiled and tried to get off. Emphasis on tried, since you almost fell hadn’t it been for Bakugo catching you.

“You gotta be more careful, idiot.”, he sighed, but there was a slight smile that played at his lips.

“Sorry.”, you giggled and got steady on your feet, “And sorry for bothering you with walking me home.”

“I told you, I wanted to.”, he leaned forward slightly.

“... could I ask you something, if you don’t mind?”, you whispered.

“Go for it.”, he muttered, mere inches from your face.

“Could you kiss me?”

“I never thought you’d ask.” Bakugo closed the gap and kissed your lips softly... but sadly only quickly, leaving you a bit shocked.

“I’ll kiss you for real when you’re sober.”, he said softly, “That is, if you want to.” He then started to walk away and you stood there in shock for a while.

“Hey wait! Why didn’t you want to kiss me before!?”, you exclaimed, making Bakugo turn around.

“I don’t kiss with an audience.”, he grinned, “Besides, you were clearly uncomfortable.” Without saying another word, or waiting for you to answer, he walked away.

441 notes · View notes

izzyfandoms · 4 years

Text

Remile - Moonbeams and Poetry

(This is a part of my Clouds and Moss au, which is a gods au, though you don't have to read it in order or even all of it to understand this, as each oneshot in this au has been about separate characters so far)

GENERAL TAGLIST: @quillfics42 @ajdraws0430 @phantomofthesanderssides @creativity-killed-thekitten @phlying-squirrel @sly-is-my-name-loving-is-my-game @because-were-fam-ily @imtryingthisout @a-creepycookie @emo-disaster @littlestr @spooky-scary-virgil @fuyel @mimsidoodles @soupgremlinn @aroaceagenderfluid @birdsbookshiddeninrealbirdsskin @quirkalurk @gingers-trashy-stuff

CLOUDS AND MOSS TAGLIST: @emerald-and-fluorite @noisavalidmood @themagicheartmailman

WARNINGS: Crying, talking about death

Masterpost

Clouds and Moss AU Masterpost

Emile had a problem, and it was getting out of hand.

He fell in love far too often, and far too easily.

And not with people, either, not usually. No, with stories.

He fell in love with the handsome heroes and perfect princes that leapt off the pages of his favourite books, through the stories people told, right into his daydreams, and then into his poems. These were often his best works, his most favourites, coming straight from the heart, but he could never show them to another living soul. His family and few friends already thought him to be odd – an eccentric loner, one who didn’t belong. They didn’t understand him, they’d never understand this.

But, now? He had somehow managed to fall for someone even more spectacularly out of his league.

Emile had fallen for Remy, the god of the moon.

There were just so many wondrous stories about him – he was one of the most worshipped gods, after all, applicable to most everyone – about his various antics and adventures, about his countless lovers (both divine and mortal alike), with vivid descriptions of his eternal beauty. There were numerous statues, too, especially in his temples – which Emile frequented often – of his most-used form, and Emile couldn’t look at any of them without his heart skipping a beat.

Emile paused mid-step, running his fingers through his already mussed up hair, his eyes scanning over his piece of paper, over the words he’d just been writing, a third of them already scribbled out. It was okay, he could write a perfect copy later – dotting every I with a star and doodling hearts and crescent moons across the page – and add it to his ever-expanding collection, hidden in his desk drawer. His hands were speckled with ink stains, matching the freckles on his face, and there was a smear of black on his cheek that he’d yet to notice.

“His skin was woven from moonlight,” Emile mumbled to himself, before wrinkling his nose and shaking his head as the line still didn’t sound quite right.

He sat down on his bed, smoothing out the sheets beside him and pulling his legs up to sit cross-legged, his back against the wall, balancing his paper on one knee.

“His hair... no, his eyes...”

“I like the part about my hair.”

Emile yelped, his paper slipping off his leg and his pen falling through his fingers, cluttering to the ground and hitting the floorboards noisily. His glasses almost fell right off his face, but he caught them just in time, pushing them back up his nose. He couldn’t afford to let them shatter, not now. His head then swivelled around, his eyes immediately landing on the man now sitting casually on his windowsill, his legs crossed, one over the other, who definitely hadn’t been there just a minute earlier.

It took a moment for Emile’s vision to adjust, to separate the beams of moonlight that shone through the window from the moon god’s smooth, identical skin. They were one and the same, made up of the exact same material, Emile could only tell them apart because Remy wanted him to. His hair and his eyes were as black as night, matching his clothes and the sky behind him, speckled with tiny, near-invisible stars. He looked like one of those gorgeous, hand-carved statues had burst to life, stepping right off their pedestal and wandering up to Emile like it was nothing, and Emile was sure he was going to melt on the spot.

Remy grinned, showing off two rows of perfect white teeth that shone like moonlight, and tilted his head to one side, looking over Emile with an indecipherable expression.

“Wow,” Emile breathed, before he could stop himself. “You’re beautiful.”

There was a beat, and then his eyes widened dramatically, his hands shooting up to cover his mouth, as he certainly hadn’t meant to say that out loud.

Fortunately, the god didn’t seem offended in the slightest, just amused, and with a slight twinkle in his eye.

“Well, I’ve never heard that one before,” He mused.

Emile blinked, dropping his hands and tilting his head. “That... that can’t be right.”

Remy thought about it for a moment, humming. “Hmm, I suppose you’re right. But never from someone as pretty as you before,” He said, leaning forward, his hands still gripping the windowsill, watching Emile with a teasing grin.

Emile’s heart was going to burst (and what a way to die that would’ve been), it was racing so fast. He was sure that his face had turned even redder than a strawberry, his eyes wide, which couldn’t have been very attractive, but Remy was staring at him like he was the cutest thing he’d ever seen. He didn’t blink, he didn’t need to, which perhaps should’ve been a little off-putting, but Emile couldn’t stop staring at him.

(Was he dreaming? Was this all just a dream – a wonderful, fantastic dream? Simply a product of his subconscious? And did that really matter? Remy was the god of dreams, too, after all. Was he any more real in dreams versus reality? Did even he know the answer to that?)

“But you must’ve come across so many humans in your lifetime?”

Remy nodded, his eyes shining, entertained. “I have,” He said, as if that changed nothing. Then, he paused. “Can I see that?” He continued, gesturing to the paper that now lay face-up, abandoned, on the floorboards.

Emile slid off the bed, bending down and snatching it up quickly. He held it to his chest protectively, guarding the words like they were precious secrets he was desperate to keep.

“It’s, um... it’s not done,” He said weakly.

Remy didn’t say anything else, just tilted his head, waiting.

“Uh...” Emile swallowed, mulling things over for a moment, before he slowly walked up to the god, cautiously handing him the paper. “Here.”

Remy took it, his fingertips almost brushing against Emile’s, but not quite, barely a centimetre apart, though that was probably a good thing, as Emile likely wouldn’t have been able to handle the physical contact. He wouldn’t have put it past himself to pass out. He then took a step back, fiddling awkwardly with his hands and shifting his weight from one foot to the other, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth. He held his breath as the moon god’s eyes scanned the page, reading the lines, his expression unchanging.

Then, Remy glanced back up at him.

“It’s good,” He complimented smoothly. “Can I keep it?”

Emile nodded before he could really think it through, and then watched, wide-eyed and nervous, as the paper sunk into Remy’s hands, through his skin, disappearing as if absorbed. The unfinished words lingered on his skin for another moment or two, flashing silver, before they, too, were gone.

Emile didn’t understand what had just happened, but didn’t have the chance to ask, before Remy melted back into the moonlight, leaving nothing but a feeling of emptiness in Emile’s soul behind.

Had he ever really been there in the first place?

***

To Emile’s surprise, it turned out that, yes, Remy had been there, as he returned again three days later, sitting with Emile and talking with him for hours and hours about nothing, and everything.

And then two days after that.

(Remy read another poem, and another and another and another, complimenting them as he did so, and then gave Emile a charming smile that made him want to kiss him until he ran out of breath.)

And then a week after that.

(They held hands as they talked, Remy letting Emile ramble on about his day, and Emile couldn’t stop smiling for hours afterwards.)

And then three days after that.

(Emile fell asleep listening to Remy sing.)

And then, by the sixth visit, it had somehow become a semi-regular occurrence, which Emile couldn’t possibly hope to understand. Why would a god want to spend so many nights with him? It didn’t seem real, but Emile was too busy floating on cloud nine to care.

“Hey,” Remy greeted, his arms crossed and laying on top of Emile’s windowsill. His legs were floating in the air behind him, drifting up and down at a leisurely pace, and Emile wondered what his neighbours would think if he saw him. “Can I come in?”

Emile giggled, putting down his pen and smiling at Remy. “It’s not like you to ask,” He teased.

(He was teasing a god, a god. What had his life come to?)

Remy grinned widely, hopping through the window, and then strolled up to Emile’s desk, where the human was sat. He stopped just behind his chair, wrapping his arms around Emile’s neck, placing his chin on his curly head of hair, and peering over to see what he was working on. Emile froze, his breath hitching, but then immediately tried to pretend that that hadn’t happened, though there was no way that Remy hadn’t noticed. He leant forward, covering his paper with his arms, trying very hard to ignore his rapidly reddening cheeks, and Remy pouted.

“Why can’t I see it?”

“It’s not done, yet,” Emile explained.

Remy huffed, though he didn’t actually seem too annoyed, as he didn’t argue, and just stayed where he was, pressed against Emile’s shoulders.

After a moment, his grin returned, and though Emile couldn’t see it, he could practically sense it.

“Is it about me?” Remy teased playfully.

“Um...”

Perhaps Emile should have ceased writing these poems since meeting and befriending Remy, but he just couldn’t help himself. He continued spilling his feelings through his pens, onto the paper, into his poems, despite their newly blossoming friendship. His attraction to the god – previously shallow and based solely on stories and statues and appearances – had increased tenfold since their first meeting. He was just... perfect. Indescribably perfect. All of the tales and legends had described him as smug, self-centred and flirtatious – vain, too. And whilst these descriptions weren’t quite wrong, per se, they were incomplete. Missing multiple pieces. He was also playful and funny, teasing Emile almost constantly, and not quite as arrogant as he’d first seemed.

His beauty was unmatched.

“So, it is, then?” Remy smirked.

Emile opened and closed his mouth, his face warming further.

Then, suddenly, Remy took a step back, removing his arms from around Emile – to the human’s obvious disappointment – and flicking his wrist, causing Emile’s chair to spin around to face him. Emile blinked, surprised, his eyes widening, his face still flushed, his hands tightly gripping the arms of his chair so he didn’t slip off.

He looked up at Remy, who was still grinning smugly.

“Hmm?” Remy tilted his head, still awaiting Emile’s answer.

Emile cleared his throat, awkwardly looking down at his lap. “Um... maybe?”

He then bit his lip, glancing back up at Remy and watching as the god stared at him, his eyes drifting downwards, remaining on Emile’s lips for a few moments, before moving back up to look into his eyes. Emile’s heart was pounding in his chest, and he was sure that Remy could hear it. He could hear everything.

There was a beat.

(A heartbeat.)

And then Remy moved forward, placing one hand on the back of the chair, over Emile’s shoulder, and the other on his arm, leaning in close so their faces were only inches apart.

“Can I kiss you?” He asked suddenly.

Emile’s eyes widened even further, and he inhaled sharply in surprise, but before Remy could pull back and apologise, he answered quickly.

“Yes!”

Emile didn’t have the time to really process what was happening after he said that, as Remy’s hand immediately moved to cup his cheek, and then his lips were on Emile’s, and it was suddenly impossible to think of anything but him, him, him.

For a brief moment, it was like kissing a marble statue – cold and solid, too smooth and uncomfortable – but then Remy softened, his touch now gentle, his lips still cool but now feeling almost human. Remy kissed him like he was handling a beam of moonlight, like Emile was fragile and breakable (and he was, compared to Remy), but skilled, so skilled. He knew what he was doing.

Emile would keep kissing him forever, if he could.

When Remy pulled back – his mouth remaining oh-so close to Emile’s – Emile whined softly, involuntarily, and Remy huffed out a quiet laugh against his lips.

“Can we, um... can we keep doing that?” Emile asked, breathing softly, sure that his face couldn’t get any warmer.

Remy hummed an ambiguous answer, but Emile didn’t have the chance to question him any further before Remy’s lips were on his again, his hands slipping down Emile’s sides as the human wrapped his arms around the god’s neck, pulling him in closer.

They didn’t talk for a while after that.

***

It was impossible to forget that Remy wasn’t human.

Sure, sometimes he looked human enough, when he wanted to. Sometimes his skin was more peach than moon-white, his eyes more earth-brown than night-black. If Emile hadn’t known him so well, he wouldn’t have been able to distinguish this form – a near-perfect imitation – from any regular human’s. But, even then, his skin was perfect and unmarred, his cheeks never rosy, and his eyes shone with ancient, incomprehensible knowledge. They were the night sky; it was impossible to truly hide that.

And he never behaved quite human-like, either.

His kisses were like nothing Emile had ever experienced before, like touching moonbeams, like floating amongst the stars – cool and perfect and practically addicting. Whenever he held Emile, it was like being wrapped up in moonlight, protected from the dangers of the world, and he’d never felt safer, never felt happier. It was bliss: pure, unwavering bliss.

And Remy always moved like he was floating, dancing – flawless and perfect. He never missed a step, never stumbled, not even once.

He stared a lot, too: unblinking, unmoving, practically a frozen, marble statue. It often looked like he was staring right into Emile’s soul, reading him like a poem. Emile wasn’t sure he would’ve minded if that was the case.

Emile shifted, nudging Remy with his elbow and breaking the god’s trance.

“What are you looking at?” He teased.

(Teased, teased, teased.)

Remy blinked, like a statue coming to life, and then smiled, taking Emile’s hand in his own, much colder one. He didn’t squeeze it – Remy never wanted to risk hurting him, even though he was always perfectly in control of his own strength – just held it softly. His skin was like smooth, perfect stone for just a moment, before it changed, like melting into flesh.

“You,” He said simply, as he always did. “You’re gorgeous.”

That was always such a silly thing for him to say, in Emile’s opinion. Compared to the eternal beauty of a god, Emile was nothing. You may compliment and smile at a child’s first experiments with clay, but they will always pale in comparison to the flawless creations of a practiced sculptor.

He didn’t say that, though – didn't want to ruin the otherwise pleasant moment – and instead just smiled back, leaning forward to affectionately nuzzle his nose against Remy’s. The gesture was quickly returned, and Emile sighed contentedly, his eyes fluttering closed as he moved again, pressing his lips against Remy’s with a kiss that was immediately and enthusiastically reciprocated.

Cold, and then slightly warmer. Stone, and then flesh.

It ended too quickly, however, as, to Emile’s disappointment, Remy suddenly pulled away with an exasperated groan.

Emile tilted his head, making a quiet, questioning noise.

“My brother’s summoning me,” Remy explained, leaning back on his hands and rolling his eyes in annoyance. “He knows I don’t like to be disturbed when I’m with you.”

Emile blinked, surprised. “He knows about me?” He asked softly.

That was news to him.

“Of course, he does,” Remy answered simply, shrugging, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. “He’s my brother, and it’s been, like, six months, babe. I told him ages ago.”

It had been about six months since their first kiss – the best six months of Emile’s life. He had almost expected the god to never show up again after that first night, but he had, again and again and again, almost every night since, and Emile had found himself falling deeper and deeper in love with every encounter.

(This couldn’t end well. It just couldn’t. Remy would move on eventually; it was an inevitability – a relationship between a god and a human was unsustainable at best, and Emile’s heart would soon break. It would shatter like a mirror – seven years of bad luck – into a million tiny shards, and it would be practically impossible to put the pieces back together again.)

(But was that really certain? If Remy had told his brother, Thomas, the almighty king of the gods, who surely had better things to talk about, then... then, maybe Emile meant more to him than he’d thought. Maybe...)

Emile pushed that thought down. That kind of hope was dangerous.

“Ages ago?” He prompted.

Remy nodded, though he looked a little distracted, like he was listening to something: maybe a voice in his head, a whisper in his ear, or maybe something a little more abstract, more of a feeling. There was no way for Emile to know.

Emile smiled, though it was a little sad, placing his hand on Remy’s arm and squeezing it lightly.

“It’s alright,” He said sympathetically. “I get it. These things can’t be helped. You should go, it might be important.”

Remy sighed. “Ugh, you’re probably right.”

He looked up at the ceiling, like he was looking right through it, glaring at and silently cursing out the sky. This continued for another moment or two, before he turned back to Emile, taking his hand and pressing a surprisingly warm kiss to the knuckle. He held it there for another moment or two, before pulling back, giving Emile a small smile.

Remy was so close that Emile could see all the stars in his eyes (he could practically count them) a sight that he’d never tire of.

There was a beat.

“I love you,” Remy said suddenly.

Emile’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates, and he could’ve sworn his heart had just stopped in his chest. He felt a little faint, like he might pass out, his mouth opening and closing a few times. He didn’t know how to put into words the sudden wave of love and shock and pure joy that had just washed over him.

“I... I love you, too,” Emile whispered, when the words finally unstuck from his throat.

Remy smiled, reaching out and cradling Emile’s cheek with his hand – light and gentle. He then leant forward, pressing a feather-light kiss to his lips. He pulled back before Emile could really start to enjoy it, though, and it was like suddenly waking up from the best dream Emile had ever had.

“I have to go,” Remy said softly.

“I know.”

“I’ll be back tomorrow night,” Remy assured him. “If you’ll have me.”

Emile smiled. “Always.”

Another moment passed, with lingering eye contact that seemed to last eons, and then Remy disappeared, as quickly and suddenly as he often appeared.

In his place, he left a blurry silhouette, like a portion of the night sky had been brought right into Emile’s bedroom, stars and all. The edges were fuzzy, and if Emile looked too hard, it made his head hurt, like he wasn’t supposed to be able to comprehend it. But he couldn’t tear his eyes away, that wouldn’t feel right, so he just kept staring, watching as it melted away, until he was truly alone again.

Emile lay down on his bed, his limbs spread out like a starfish, staring up at the ceiling as the weight of the words Remy had spoken finally hit him.

Remy... loved him.

Remy loved him?

Remy loved him.

Oh.

Emile burst into thrilled, ecstatic laughter, burying his face in his hands as it spilled out of him like an overflowing waterfall of emotions. He was giddy with delight, beaming so wide his face almost hurt, but he couldn’t possibly have cared any less about the pain. He was so full of joy, it felt like he was amongst the stars, amongst the heavens, like the weight of the world had just been lifted from his shoulders. He felt like he could do anything, anything imaginable.

Remy loved him.

***

That night, Emile dreamt he was the size of the moon, floating in space beside the bright white crescent, feeling the stars’ warm light on his bare skin. The night sky was a blanket, wrapped around him, holding him right, keeping him safe. It was warm and soft, like the comfiest bed he’d ever been in, and if he hadn’t already been sleeping, he was sure he would’ve fallen asleep right then and there.

Then, the moon turned over, and suddenly it was Remy, reclining beside him, one leg over the other, watching him with the same half-curious, half-amused expression that he often wore.

Emile felt Remy’s hands on his skin – cool and soft – though the moon god hadn’t moved another inch, his hands still folded in his lap.

“Is this what you usually dream about?” Remy asked.

He didn’t speak the words aloud, his mouth remaining firmly closed, but Emile heard the words in his mind, as clearly as if they’d been spoken.

“Are you real?” Emile thought, the words projecting from his thoughts, echoing through the dream, and then landing in Remy’s mind.

Remy laughed, sliding closer and cupping Emile’s cheek with his hand. His touch wasn’t quite as light and careful as it usually was; it didn’t need to be, Emile wasn’t quite so breakable in here.

Remy ran his thumb over Emile’s lips. “Honey, I’m always real.”

“Always?”

“Always,” Remy nodded, tracing invisible constellations across Emile’s skin with his other hand. “In every dream, every nightmare, every star in the sky, I exist. It’s always night somewhere, there’s always a moon shining in the sky, always moonlight shining through someone’s window. Even if you can’t see me, I’m always there. I can exist in multiple places at once – I always exist in multiple places at once – and I’m existing right now, with you.”

Emile leant into his touch. “It must get confusing.”

“Not to me,” Remy smiled. “This is just how I exist.”

“What’s it like?”

Remy made a quiet sound – it was almost like humming, if the stars hummed back, a symphony of music – his hands still dancing over Emile’s body. The touch felt almost real; everything about this dream felt more solid and real than any other Emile had ever experienced, though he knew that that was likely due to Remy’s influence. Time passed differently there, too, like they’d been there for either a moment or an eternity. Both at once.

“I don’t know,” Remy admitted eventually. “It’s all I've ever known. I have nothing to compare it to. I can’t explain it.”

Emile nodded as if he understood.

“Oh,” He said. “Is it... nice?”

“Yes,” Remy answered. “But it gets lonely, sometimes.”

“Lonely?”

Remy laughed. It was a big, echoing sound, and Emile felt in resonate throughout his whole body. “I know. It’s silly, right? I’m a god – I have the whole world in the palm of my hand. I can do anything I want, see anything I want, see anyone I want. And yet, I’m... lonely.”

“It’s not silly,” Emile reassured. “It’s understandable.”

Remy smiled, though it was still a little sad. “There’s no one else like me in the whole universe, no one at all – not even my brother. We may both be divine, may both be immortal, but we’re opposites. Night and day. Darkness and light. Moon and sun. We oppose one another. I’ll never truly understand him; he’ll never truly understand me. That’s just how it works.”

“That’s... sad.”

Remy gave Emile an undecipherable expression, though it was unmistakably loving, looking him over, before reaching out and cradling his face in both hands.

“It’s life,” He said. “But I feel a lot less lonely when I’m with you.”

***

Emile wanted to cry.

His feelings, his dread. They only increased with every passing day. Whenever he was with Remy, they went down, overtaken by his overwhelming love and joy. When he was with him, he felt better, more at peace.

But when he was alone, especially during the day, it could become practically unbearable.

Emile pulled his knees to his chest, wrapping his arms around his legs and burying his face in them, trying his best to keep the tears that pricked his eyes from falling. His breath was shaky and his heart felt tight, like someone was sitting on his chest.

He had to breathe, breathe, breathe.

(Remy would move on eventually, leaving Emile behind. He’d had hundreds of lovers in the past, maybe even thousands, too many to count, who knows how many he’d loved and left. Once this was all over, Emile wouldn’t stand out amongst them, amongst gods and heroes, amongst all the people Remy had loved before. He’d be forgotten by the one he loved most.)

Emile tugged at his hair, like he was trying to forcibly remove those nasty thoughts from his head.

(And even if Remy never left him, Emile would die someday. It was the curse of mortality. The thought of breaking Remy’s heart like that was killing him.)

There was a bad taste in his mouth.

(But the thought of Remy moving on afterwards didn’t feel much better, and that filled Emile with guilt.)

(There was no point in thinking about that, though. Remy was a god; Emile was a human. Their views on this relationship were different. Remy knew what was inevitable, knew that this was only temporary, Emile just had to accept it.)

Emile finally allowed himself to sob, to let the tears drip down his face, his lower lip quivering and his hands shaking. He clutched desperately at the blankets beneath him, letting them bunch up in his fists, releasing them and then grabbing them again and again repetitively. He knew that his thoughts were ridiculous, that he was overthinking things, that he should just enjoy his time with Remy while it lasted and not worry about it, but he just couldn’t help himself, he just couldn’t calm himself down.

He exhaled shakily.

This was fine, he could handle this. As long as he calmed down by sunset, Remy would never know of his distress, and he could pretend that everything was okay.

(Remy. Remy. Remy.)

There was a flash of moon-bright light, and then suddenly Remy was right in front of him, standing in the middle of the room, his brow creased with worry. He immediately walked up to Emile, sitting on his bed and placing his hand on his arm.

“Honey, what’s wrong? Are you hurt? Did someone hurt you?”

Emile looked up at him with wide, startled eyes. “How- Remy, it’s daytime, what are you doing here?”

“You were praying to me,” Remy explained, the concerned look never fading. “I didn’t think you meant to, so I didn’t listen too hard, I didn’t want to pry. What’s wrong? Talk to me.”

He looked a little different during the day – a little less shiny, a little less divine, a little more down to earth. He was still obviously a god, but not in his natural habitat. Weaker, but still beyond anything Emile could ever hope to reach. The sunlight that shone through the open window seemed to make him uncomfortable, making him fidget, but not enough for him to move away from Emile.

Emile sniffled, looking down at his lap, fiddling anxiously with his hands as he avoided eye contact.

“It’s... it’s nothing,” He said weakly. “Sorry for pulling you away from the night.”

“You’re lying, I can see you’re lying. What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

Emile shook his head. “Nothing happened.”

“Then why are you crying?” Remy asked.

His voice was soft, gentle, like a moonbeam taken form. It enveloped Emile, comforting him, making him want to open up to Remy, to be honest and blurt out all of his feelings at once. He barely managed to suppress that urge.

“I...” Emile began.

He finally looked up at Remy, making eye contact with him – his brown, human eyes meeting the night sky as equals – and it was like a dam had suddenly burst. The tears started flowing again, dripping down his cheeks as his lower lip trembled.

There was a blur of motion, and suddenly he was in Remy’s lap, arms wrapped around him, holding him tight. Emile inhaled shakily, before he buried his face in Remy’s shoulder, allowing himself to sob against him as Remy drew invisible constellations on his back with his finger. It was reassuring, comforting, but not enough to keep Emile from crying.

His hands were in fists, bunching up Remy’s clothing, though he was sure the moon god looked as dignified as ever, despite the sobbing mess in his lap.

“It’s okay,” Remy whispered. “It’ll all be okay.”

“It’s not, it’s not okay.” Emile shook his head, pulling back and wiping his nose with his sleeve. He was sure he looked a mess, a very unattractive mess, but Remy was looking at him the same way he always did.

Remy cupped his cheek, his brow creased. “What’s going on?”

“I- I...” Emile trailed off, opening and closing his mouth a few times. “I don’t... I don’t know how to...”

“Can’t find the right words?” Remy offered.

Emile nodded.

“Do you want me to take a look?” Remy asked carefully, gently brushing a stray lock of hair out of Emile’s face.

Emile blinked, tilting his head, confused. “Take a look?”

Remy reached out, lightly tapping the centre of Emile’s forehead with the tip of his finger. “I can look inside your mind, see what’s bothering you. It... it might be easier, but only if you want me to.”

“Oh,” Emile said. “Oh, um... okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Emile nodded.

“I won’t look at anything else,” Remy said gently.

Then, he leant forward, pressing his lips to Emile’s forehead, and, for a brief moment, Emile saw stars – bright, twinkling stars – like there was a vision of the night sky flashing before his eyes: a shining moon and stars against a black backdrop. It was gorgeous, like staring right into Remy’s eyes, his hair, his clothes. Him.

Then, the vision was gone, like waking up from a dream, and Remy pulled back.

He was frowning, his brow pinched together, and Emile’s stomach filled with guilt. It rose in the back of his throat and left a bitter taste in his mouth.

(How could he? He shouldn’t have gotten so upset over an inevitability. There was no point, and now Remy was upset, too.)

“I’m sorry,” Emile whispered. “It was... it was a bad idea to let you see that.”

Remy shook his head. “No. No, I’m glad you did,” He said softly, reaching out and cupping Emile’s face with his hand, stroking his cheek with his thumb.

“It’s- it’s dumb, I know. You’re a god, I’m a human. We’re different. This relationship just means different things to us, that’s all. It’s... it’s just how these things work. I know that, and I should stop being upset about it.”

“No,” Remy said firmly. “I love you.”

Emile blinked, and then sighed. “Y-yeah, I know. I love you, too.”

Remy shook his head, taking his other hand and cradling Emile’s face with it, too. “No, I love you. I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone. Ever.”

Emile felt a little feverish – warm and red and a little bit fuzzy. He didn’t know what to think. Did Remy really mean that? He must’ve, right? He wouldn’t lie to Emile.

“Anyone?” Emile squeaked.

“Anyone.”

There was a beat.

“Oh, really?”

Remy nodded. “Mhm.”

“Oh, well... um. Me, too. I love you that much, too” Emile said, a little awkwardly. “What- what do we do?”

Remy gave him a questioning look.

“I mean... you’re a god, and I’m a human. I’m- I’m gonna grow up and die, and you... aren’t.”

“Do you want to?”

“What?”

“Do you want to?” Remy repeated. “To grow up and die, I mean.”

Emile tilted his head. “Is... is there another option?”

Remy’s expression – it was one Emile wasn’t used to seeing on his face. It was thoughtful, almost calculating. He looked like he was thinking deeply about something, something Emile wasn’t supposed to be able to comprehend. He was as still as a statue, frozen, unblinking, and it took Emile reaching out and touching his face to unfreeze him, to snap him out of it.

“Yes, there is,” He said. “We aren’t supposed to do it. It’s not really allowed, but I can.”

“Can do what?”

“It would bind us together – almost like you’d become another part of me, but not really. You’d become immortal, just like me. You won’t die.”

“You can do that?” Emile breathed.

Remy nodded. “We’re not supposed to, so it’s only been done a few times. I’d need Thomas’s permission. And Patton’s, and Janus’s.”

“Do... do you think they’d allow it?”

Remy grinned. “I can be very persuasive.”

“And- and you’d do that? You’d really do that?”

“Honey, I’d do anything for you,” Remy said seriously, not a trace of insincerity on his face.

Emile’s heart felt far too big for his ribcage, so full of love and adoration that it was practically about to burst, especially as – as a god – anything for Remy, meant anything. This almost felt too good to be true, but it was impossible to suppress the hope that built up inside of him.

“It’s a big decision,” Remy continued, taking Emile’s hand in his own and fiddling with his fingers, tracing shapes across his palm. “The biggest you’ll ever make, probably, and it would be difficult to undo, uncomfortable, almost impossible. But you don’t have to make it now – or ever, if you don’t want to. I’ll wait as long as you need. And even if you say no, I’ll accept it. I won’t be upset.”

Emile smiled. “Thank you.”

***

It was time.

After months and months and months of preparation and persuasion, it was finally time.

Emile sat down on his bed, drumming his fingers on his knees and repetitively tapping the floorboards with his foot – the rhythm of a song Remy liked to sing to him. It was in a language Emile didn’t understand, from a country he knew nothing about, but it was always the quickest to lull him to sleep. It was his favourite.

His eyes scanned the room – the drab walls, the little furniture (only a desk and a wardrobe, both worn out and second-hand). He’d miss this place, miss all the memories he’d made in it, but not enough to make him regret his choice. Nothing could ever make him regret this choice.

Excitement bubbled up inside him, like a volcano ready to blow, and he couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

The sun had gone down, the moon was high in the sky – full and shining brighter than usual, like it was happy, too. It was.

Ecstatic.

Emile laughed – loud and giddy. He couldn’t help it; he was just so overcome with love and joy and pure, overwhelming excitement. He kicked his legs, falling back onto his bed and spreading his arms out like a starfish as he giggled.

“That’s my favourite sound in the whole damn world.”

Emile sat up, spinning around and beaming when he spotted Remy, sat on the windowsill, one leg crossed over the other, an amused expression on his face, like the first moment they’d met. But before the god had the chance to get up and walk over to him, Emile hopped off the bed, bouncing over to him and wrapping his arms around Remy’s neck, kissing him quickly. He covered the god’s face in a million tiny kisses, before finally kissing him properly, without even taking a moment to catch his breath.

When they pulled apart, Remy smiled. “I can’t believe I’m gonna get to hear it forever.”

“Forever,” Emile repeated. “I can’t wait.”

Remy nudged him gently. “You sure you’re not having any second thoughts?” He teased, though there was a hint of sincerity underneath. He had to check.

“I’m sure.”

“Good,” Remy smiled. “I love you.”

“I know,” Emile replied. “I love you, too.”

“Are you ready to go?”

Emile nodded. “Mhm!”

“Alright.”

Remy looked around the room, scanning the furniture and Emile’s various belongings. The bed was made, the desk was empty. The clothes were all neatly tucked away in the closet. The poems were stacked in the desk drawers. Remy had read all of them, and loved and cherished every single one.

“We can come collect your things tomorrow,” Remy continued, wrapping one arm around Emile’s waist, settling his hand on his hip.

Emile covered Remy’s hand with his own, placing the other on Remy’s shoulder. “Will I need them?”

“Nah, but you might want them.”

“Okay,” Emile nodded. “Shall we go now?”

Remy smiled, pecking him on the cheek. “Of course. Close your eyes.”

Emile did as he was told, and as soon as he screwed his eyes shut, his vision filled with a bright white light, one that he was sure would’ve hurt him if he’d opened his eyes and looked directly at it, maybe even killed him – vaporised in an instant. The hand’s grip on his hip tightened, pulling him in closer, and for a moment, he felt like he was floating in mid-air, with only Remy pressed up against him.

Then, his shoes hit the ground, and he stumbled, but Remy caught him quickly.

He opened his eyes, looking around at his new, unfamiliar surroundings.

Emile was now in a large, white room, with no doors or windows, but he could practically sense that it was still night outside. It was always night here, or, to be more specific, here was always where it was night. Always moving, always changing. It followed the moon, or maybe it was the moon. Emile wasn’t supposed to know the answer to that.

There were numerous large, white columns that towered above them, intricately designed and holding up the ceiling. It looked like they was all made of some kind of white rock – almost like marble, but not quite – smooth and strong. There was little furniture, and, right beside them, there was a replica of Emile’s room, with the same furniture, all laid out identically, though excluding the walls and ceiling, a stark contrast against the bright white of everything else around them.

The only different was that the mattress, pillows and blankets all looked new – patterned like the night sky.

Emile turned back to Remy, tilting his head, giving him a confused look.

Remy gave him a slightly sheepish smile in return. “I figured I’d make things more comfortable for you. Is this alright?”

Emile stood up on his tiptoes, pressing a quick kiss to Remy’s ice-cold cheek. “It’s perfect, thank you,” He smiled. “Is this where you live?”

“Uh, kinda. I don’t really need to live anywhere, I just exist. But, yeah, this is my home.”

“I love it.”

Remy smiled, taking Emile’s hand and kissing the knuckle, squeezing it lightly.

“We should sit on the bed for this?” He said. “You... might pass out.”

Emile wrinkled his nose. “Is it- is it gonna hurt?” He asked nervously.

“I don’t know,” Remy answered honestly. “I think so, but I’ll do everything in my power to make sure it doesn’t, or to lessen it, at least.”

Emile nodded, and Remy tugged gently on his arm, pulling him over to the bed. They sat down on the edge, and Emile found himself practically sinking into the mattress – it was so soft and squishy, like a delicate cloud; he could imagine himself sleeping in this bed for an eternity.

Remy reached out, plucking the glasses from Emile’s face and placing them on the blanket on his other side.

“Don’t wanna break these,” He said, turning back to Emile and tucking a stray lock of curly hair behind his ear.

“Wouldn’t you be able to fix them?”

Remy nodded. “Mhm. But, still, they mean a lot to you.”

“Thank you.”

Remy smiled, cradling Emile’s cheek. “Are you ready?” He asked.

Emile nodded eagerly.

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! Yes, I’m sure,” Emile smiled, covering Remy’s hand with his own. “We’ve been talking about this a lot, and I’m certain. I love you, and I’ll love you forever.”

“I love you, too.”

Remy then leant forward, kissing Emile quickly, softly. It was cold, but comforting, and helped soothe Emile’s remaining nerves.

Then, he reached up, pressing his thumb against the centre of Emile’s forehead. For a moment, nothing happened, and then his head went fuzzy, like someone was slowly replacing his brain with cotton, bit by bit. His eyelids got heavier and heavier, and he closed them just in time for his vision to go bright white again. This time, it seared his eyes like burning fire, a white-hot flame, and he screamed, loud and painful, the cry being ripped from his throat before he could stop himself.

He heard Remy make a pained noise in front of him, helpless and distressed, but he didn’t pull his hand away. If Emile had been looking, he would’ve noticed that Remy was shaking.

And then Emile blacked out.

***

When he woke up, the first thing he saw was white.

The white of the ceiling, the white of the walls. The white of Remy’s skin.

Remy.

Remy was holding him in his lap, rocking him back and forth in his arms, mumbling words in a language that Emile was surprised he understood. It was full of sounds he’d never heard before, sounds a human mouth couldn’t make, sounds a human ear couldn’t hear. He wouldn’t have been able to understand it before, but he could now. The language of the gods.

It sounded like music, almost. Music that could lull Emile to sleep, if he let it.

Emile pulled back, meeting Remy’s eyes. He looked concerned, worried – almost afraid, even – but didn’t say a word, just waited, watching.

Emile’s breath caught in his throat (he didn’t even need it anymore, but old habits die hard), and his eyes widened. What Remy had looked like before, the eternal beauty that had stunned Emile every time he laid eyes on him, it was nothing compared to how he looked now.

It was like Emile was seeing him for the first time, with a fresh set of eyes. He could make out every detail of his face perfectly, even without his glasses. Remy still looked similar, recognisable, but so so different. Flawless. Divine.

He looked even more like a perfect statue – no pores on his face, not a hair out of place – like he was hand-carved by someone trying to create the perfect man. He matched the walls and the floor and the ceiling, like they were carved from the same stone. White skin. White lips. White teeth. Black hair. Black clothes.

Black and white. Black and white. Black and white.

Emile reached out, touching Remy’s face with his hands.

His skin was warm, soft, and he didn’t even need to change anything to feel like that. He and Emile were made of the same stuff now – like two humans, on the same level, but divine. They felt the same.

Emile’s fingers traced his features. His jaw. His cheekbones. His nose. His lips. Perfect. All perfect.

And his eyes, oh, his eyes.

Before, they were like windows to the night sky: gorgeous and hypnotising, but still just that: windows. Now, they were so much more.

Every star in the sky, every shooting comet – every swirling galaxy, every spinning planet. Emile had never seen the sky like this before, never seen these things so clearly, didn’t even recognise the majority of them, yet he could taste their names on the tip of his tongue. He didn’t need to say them aloud, to recite them like a poem, Remy already understood.

Infinity.

In his eyes, there was infinity.

Remy was infinity, and now Emile was infinity, too.

He could feel the power swirling under his skin, in the back of his throat, in the tips of his fingers. He could do anything, anything. Anything he wanted.

Infinite possibilities.

Emile leant forward, and kissed Remy.

#me #writing #remile #clouds and moss au #sanders shorts #cartoon therapy #remy sanders #sleep sanders #emile picani #fluff #gods au #human au

161 notes · View notes

multibug · 3 years

Text

i'm out of my head and i know that you're scared (because hearts get broken)

chapters: 19/? (chapter one is a prelude from my love square fluff series and is included) words: 51,441 relationships: adrien agreste/marinette dupain-cheng, alya cesaire/nino lahiffe tags: Alternate Universe - No Kwamis, Chatting & Messaging, Long-Distance Friendship, Identity Reveal, Slow Burn, Influencers, Aged-Up Character(s), Human Kwamis, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Lila Shakes Things Up summary: ren from ren and stimpy: think its the opposite u furry lookin ass

right chat: Rena, nooo!!

ren from ren and stimpy: rena yes

or, Adrien is a streamer on top of his modeling job, with the help of his long-distance friends Ladybug, Carapace, and Rena Rouge. Shenanigans ensue, and the masks they’ve hidden behind for years begins to break.

“You’re telling me that some bitch—”

Nino sputters out a mildly horrified laugh. “Alya!”

A strand of hair is tucked behind her ear by said snapback-clad boy and she huffs loudly. “What, Nino? It’s not as if I’m wrong. As I was saying before you rudely interrupted me, she stole my identity?!”

“Yeah, we only realized she wasn’t you when the two of you returned from your trip and messaged us,” Adrien supplies helplessly, shifting to tuck a leg under him.

Alya gives both him and Marinette the stink eye, though Adrien’s sure it’s just a test if he knows her well enough. “How could you ever think someone like that was me?”

“To be fair, Als,” Marinette starts off, voice gentle as she scooches closer to Adrien to lean against his arm. “We didn’t really get to talk to her. I tried messaging her on Discord and on Twitch, but she kept claiming she was busy anytime I reached out. I figured you were just upset over the breakup originally and needed your space, you know? I didn’t want to push it.”

The redhead’s harsh exterior fades, and they’re left with a sad one instead. “Yeah, it’s just bizarre that she’d even want my account? Is she that obsessed with sunshine over here?”

“Hey! Don’t say that.” Adrien’s cheeks flush a deep shade of red, which has Marinette pinching them. He grabs her hands and huffs. “Hey to you too!”

Marinette’s laughter is contagious. “Hey, what’s up?”

Alya raises an eyebrow in Marinette’s direction and leans in to whisper into her ear. Whatever Alya says has Marinette’s cheeks burning a bright shade of pink that travels to her neck and parts of her shoulders. She quickly removes her hands from Adrien’s, yet stays tucked against his side.

Both of them blinking over in Adrien’s direction has him believing it had something to do with him.

“Whatever the case may be,” Adrien begins, flicking his hair out of his eyes. He’s not thinking about those last few seconds. Nope. “We need to be smart about this, Ren—Alya. She has your account right now and has all of our subscribers like putty in her hands.”

“Adrien’s right. If we go about this the wrong way, they might think we’re lying, and we do not want for that to happen,” Nino chimes in, resting a reassuring hand on Alya’s shoulder as she begins to close in on herself.

“It’s weird seeing you be reasonable,” Marinette comments idly, her hair splaying out over Adrien’s arm and shoulder.

Nino hums. “Only when it’s needed.”

“That’s a good way to live.”

“Yeah, I try.” Nino flips his non-existent long hair over his shoulder.

“So what do we do?” Alya’s voice is soft, nowhere near as confident as the girl they know.

Marinette sends her a reassuring smile. “Max is working on getting the account back as we speak. Going through the conventional means won’t work, but if anyone can do it, it’s Max.”

“He said he’d call once he has the account back, so instead of sitting around all day like plebs, I’ve planned us a little adventure.” Nino’s lips curve into a smirk that excites Adrien. “Get dressed, lads and ladettes. We’ve places to be, things to see!”

“Do you have any idea what he’s got planned?” Marinette asks both Adrien and Alya as Nino disappears into the guest room to supposedly finish getting ready.

A light breeze travels in through the screen door of the balcony. It’s chillier than it’s been the last few days, though not nearly as cold as Paris is during this time of year. Birds still flock regularly on Marinette’s balcony, a few residing today with the leftovers of what she’d given them earlier.

Adrien loves it here.

(Marinette definitely isn’t the main reason, no. He wouldn’t admit it to himself if he was paid to.)

“No idea,” Alya replies with a shrug, a far-off look in her eye. “I’m going to go get dressed.” As soon as the look had appeared, it vanished, and she follows Nino to change.

“We have to keep an eye on her,” Marinette whispers, a bit too close to constitute a reasonable amount of personal space, but Adrien isn’t complaining. “I don’t like seeing her like this.”

His heart warms at how caring she is. “You’re too nice, Bug. She’ll be okay, but we’ll be there for her if she needs us, okay?”

He hopes his reassurance is enough to quell her worries.

It does seem to be enough, and a huge smile breaks out on her face. “Thanks, Adrien. You’re the best.” She leaves him with a quick, slightly wet kiss on the cheek and scurries out of the room with a giggle, much to Adrien’s amusement.

He raises his eyebrows with a smirk, shaking his head fondly. If that’s how she wants to play, then so be it.

Game on.

— — —

PANINI: gamers im taking the ladies out today if you guys want to come, let me know and i’ll dm you the details

Banana head: NINO, YOU IDIOT. I’M NOT A LADY. Who changed my name? I will end you.

chlo: rmbr u rmbr right?

Banana head: Chlo, I swear to all that is holy. Don’t tell that story.

chlo: how much?

RENegade: is sHE ASKING FOR SEX???

marimba: SEX???????? wheRE?????

chlo: GOD NO I’M A LESBIAN WHAT THE FUCK

Kagami: Lesbian, huh? ;)

chlo: kagami stfu is2g

Kagami: ;)

chlo: ANYWAYS how much money, adri

Banana head: You want another Louis Vuitton bag, don’t you?

chlo: IT’S THE NEWEST OF THE SEASON AND THEY WON’T LET ME HAVE IT

Banana head: Sigh. I’ll see what I can do.

chlo: thanks bitch! you’re the bomb bomb dot com bomb diggity someone take away my phone

Alix: hey, @Carapace, what time are you guys going out? rose, juleka and i are about to see a movie but if it’s after that, we can meet up

PANINI: we were gonna head out before the rain hit so in like five minutes

Juls: drat we can just hang out another time then :( have fun guys!!!!

marimba: YOU TOO JULES I LOVE YOU BITCH

Juls: I AIN’T EVER GON STOP LOVING YOU

Alix: BITCH

Banana head: Best meme. 10/10.

luka: how can you say that when the chicken nuggets meme exists

marimba: I ONLY HAVE 69 CENTS!! GOOD MEME!!!!!!

luka: see even marinette knows

marimba: haha it has 69 in it haha haha ha

Banana head: You’re such a child!!!!

marimba: COMING FROM THE MAN WITH THE NAME BANANA HEAD WHERE’S CHLOE I’LL GET HER THE LOUIS VUITTON BAG IF IT MEANS HER TELLING THE STORY

Banana head: I’M KIDDING. I’M KIDDING!!!!

marimba: that’s what i thought :)

PANIN(o)I: y’all better be ready we leaving now let’s GO

RENegade: I’M COMING BITCH CHILLLLL

marimba: wITHOUT ME????

Adrien’s been ready for a bit, but he doesn’t mind waiting.

He decided on wearing a pair of black jeans instead of shorts, just in case it rains while they’re out, and a black sweater with a thick jean jacket. His hair is a dark brown shade, still lightening at a slow rate, though he doesn’t mind it much at this shade.

He wouldn’t dye it again to match, but he’ll let it fade as he’s enjoying the brunet life.

Marinette’s bedroom door squeaks open and she appears through the door, dressed and ready to go.

And wow. No one should look that good, and she pulls it off so easily.

Her bangs frame her face like curtains, her hair just past shoulder length from being straightened. Her bright blue eyes blink amusedly at him, lips arching into a smile.

The only makeup he spots is on her lips, a lip gloss that makes her lips look super kissable. “Problem, Agreste?”

Laughter bubbles out of his lips, and he averts his eyes. “None, Dupain-Cheng. Just admiring your beauty, is all.” Lying won’t help his cause, so he might as well be honest.

She rolls her eyes, hard enough to hurt, yet her cheeks give her away. “Sure, whatever you say!”

His eyes flash over her attire. While she’s not dressed up by any means, the outfit she chose suits her so well.

Wait. Is she trying to kill him?

With the impending rain and whether they’ll end up caught in the crossfire, she’s chosen a black baggy sweater, denim jeans with large holes around the knees with fishnet stockings underneath, and black old-skool vans.

And to top it off, she’s wearing his merch. His Chat Noir sweater that’s completely black, with white lettering in the center that says, “I’m the Chat’s meow”. He hadn’t noticed at first, been too preoccupied with, er, other things—her lips—and he’d lie if he said his face didn’t get slightly hot at seeing her in person in his merch.

“I thought you only bought the sweatpants, Bug?” He asks offhandedly, eyes averting from her for a second time.

(He has no idea the nickname brings another bout of red to her cheeks.)

“Shut up or I will take it off right now—”

“Oh, please d—”

She’s in front of him in a second, her hand firmly covering his mouth with a menacing look in her eyes. “Adrien Agreste, if you continue with that sentence, I will murder you and I won’t tell anyone where I hid your body—”

Adrien bursts out laughing the best he can, and it sounds so bizarre with her hand muffling it. His own hand finds her wrist and wraps around it, gently prying it away from his face. “Bug, please, you’re going to kill me!”

“You’re not wrong about that,” she affirms with her eyes narrowed. She allows him to keep hold of her wrist.

“I was kidding,” he murmurs, eyes locking with hers as he brings her wrist to his lips and presses a light kiss to her skin. With how close she is, he can feel her breath hitch, so he sends her his best smile. “I would never want to make you uncomfortable.”

Marinette’s head tilts to the side, face softening. Her free hand finds his cheeks and she squeezes them gently. “You’ve never made me uncomfortable before, and you haven’t now. I was kidding as well.”

His eyes brighten. “Oh, so that means you—”

“You’re absolutely hopeless!” Her forehead drops to his shoulder as she whines loudly.

“There, there,” he says, hand wrapping around her to pat her back. “You’ll be okay, Bug, don’t worry. I’ve got you.”

She’s warm, so warm against him that his jacket feels stifling, and he tugs her closer, enjoying—savoring this moment with her. He doesn’t have many days left in Nice, and he wants to cherish every second he can.

There goes his heart again, pitter-pattering away, following hers like a lost puppy.

If only she knew.

#adrien agreste #marinette dupain cheng #alya cesaire #Nino lahiffe #streamer au #mine #miraculous fanfic #miraculous ladybug #i finally wrote it!#its' finally posted!!!!!!!!!!!#AAAAAAAAAAAH #i hope you guys enjoy #this is only part one of two tho :p #also this is not beta'd #ill probably fix it later but i aint give a FUCK #ladynoir #but unconventionally

15 notes · View notes

gabriel-agreste-has-no-rights · 4 years

Link

Rating: T

Summary: Home is where the heart is. And sometimes, home is a room Cataclysmed out of the sewers beneath Paris. At least it has a stocked fridge, a pretty comfy couch, and Chat Noir's Nintendo Switch. Oh, and some pretty good company, too. (Or, the one where the heroes from season 2 essentially move into a homemade apartment.)

Word Count: 1797 | Chapter 1/?

Notes: for @landturtlealyce, one of the @mlbforblm giveaway winners! The drive is now over, but it’s still always a good time to check out colorofchange.org! More notes on this AU are on AO3, but the tldr is everyone’s 20 in this and no one knows each others’ identities.

XXX

“Aaaaaah! This is so sick!” Rena Rouge clapped her palms to her cheeks as she took in the underground hideout.

Marinette knew it wasn’t much—practically just a boxlike room Cataclysmed out of the Paris sewers—but it was off the grid, a place Hawkmoth wouldn’t think to look for them. And thanks to a few rounds of her Lucky Charm, the room had furniture that wouldn’t have fit through the small door otherwise. A red-and-black spotted sofa took up most of the space in the middle, but a small refrigerator was crammed behind a stone counter that served as the division between “living room” and “kitchen.” A tall lamp cast a warm glow across the stone walls.

Extension cords hidden against the walls allowed them to borrow the sewer’s electricity. Was that stealing? Maybe, but even heroes of Paris had to keep their food cold somehow.

“Dude, you have a Switch? Please tell me you have Just Dance 2023.”

Carapace was already flipping through the games Chat Noir had brought. Marinette had tried to insist that they didn’t have time to play video games, but Chat said it would be good practice in case Hawkmoth ever akumatized Gamer 4.0. She couldn’t argue with that. (Especially since it was too much fun to crush him at Ultimate Mecha Strike V.)

“I do, but the Wii versions are way better,” Chat pointed to the other console he’d already set up. “We should play 2015. That one’s got Holding Out for a Hero.”

“We’re not here to play games, kitty,” Marinette reminded him. They’d have time for that later, but she didn’t want Rena Rouge and Carapace to think they were too casual about their jobs.

“But if we are, I’d mop the floor with you all.” Rena crossed her arms.

“Psh, have you seen my dance moves, fox lady?”

“I don’t need to. The only one who’s ever managed to reach my score is my boyfriend.”

“Well, the only one who’s ever managed to top my score is my girlfriend.”

Chat Noir sighed from his spot leaning against the rough-hewn wall. “I wish I had a girlfriend to kick my butt at video games.”

He turned and fluttered his golden lashes at her.

“Maybe you’d be better off practicing a dating simulator.” She smirked.

“Ah, but none of them could ever turn me down as cleverly as you.”

Rena strode between them and put her hands on her hips. “Alright, alright, enough flirting. We can play games after Ladybug tells us why she brought us here.”

“Hey, I brought you guys here too,” Chat pouted.

“Sorry, why you both brought us here.”

“Alright.” Marinette nodded towards the couch. “You guys can have a seat. Chat and I will take the bean bags.” Those weren’t created by her superpowers, so they were the soft pink of her old bedroom.

“Aww, you don’t want to cuddle on the sofa with me? I make a great lap cat, you know.” He winked.

She rolled her eyes. He’d gotten bolder ever since they’d started working on this hideout together. She didn’t really mind, though—it had actually kept him more focused during akuma battles, since he didn’t have to cram in fighting and flirting all at once.

“So you and Chat Noir still aren’t dating?” Rena asked, crossing her legs as she sat on the couch. Carapace lounged next to her, his arms over the back. “I thought, with the secret hideout…”

“And since there’s only one couch…” Carapace wiggled his eyebrows beneath his hood.

Marinette nearly faceplanted on her way to the fridge. That probably would’ve been less embarrassing than facing Carapace’s question.

“First of all, no.” She pulled out the gallon of milk and slammed it on the counter. “Second of all, this is a strictly professional hideout. For team bonding, meetings, and recharging kwamis.”

“I for one would still like to professionally cuddle.” Chat raised his hand from his spot on the bean bag.

Marinette gulped her milk straight from the jug. She didn’t have the energy to grab a cup after dealing with all this. (Plus, she’d forgotten to bring the cups here.)

“Guys, leave Ladybug alone,” Rena said. “She didn’t have to invite us to her ultra secret base.”

“Thank you,” she breathed in exasperation.

Chat pointed to her face. “You’ve got a little, uh…”

She felt the milk drip off her chin. Right.

She wiped her mouth on the back of her wrist, put up the milk, and plopped down on the other beanbag.

“Anyway.” She glared at each of the heroes, who each sat up straighter. “I really need us all to get serious for a moment. I’m sure you guys have noticed that things have changed. Mayura has become more active. We’ve faced sentimonsters as often as akumas, and more often both at once.”

Just thinking about it made her exhausted. She’d never been more glad to have help from her team than in these last few months. There was no way she could pass her second-year classes if she and Chat Noir were the only active heroes.

So the news she was about to give Rena and Carapace was long in coming.

“If you’re up to it, I’d like you to keep your miraculouses full time now.”

Carapace’s jaw dropped. Rena Rouge grinned, her faux ears quivering.

“No way! I mean, yes! Of course I’m up for it!”

“Me too, but… what about the Master dude?” Carapace frowned. “Wayzz is his kwami too, isn’t he? Won’t they miss each other?”

Marinette shared a look with Chat Noir. They’d discussed what they’d tell their partners before inviting them here, but this topic hadn’t come up. It wasn’t like Rena or Carapace knew Master Fu personally; the kwamis flew their miraculouses to them each time they were needed. But Wayzz must have shared enough stories for Carapace to care about him.

“If we’re going to be a team, we need to be honest with each other,” Chat said with uncharacteristic seriousness. “The Master is gone.”

“Gone?” Rena gaped.

“Gone, like… dead?” Carapace whispered.

“No, no!” Chat said, he and Marinette both waving their arms.

“His memory has been fading for a long time now,” she admitted. “He’s still able function, but he doesn’t want to risk making any mistakes with the miraculouses. He deserves the rest, anyway. Last week was his 192nd birthday.”

Carapace whistled, sinking further into the couch.

“Is he okay, though?” Rena’s eyebrows drew together.

“He’s all good, don’t worry,” Chat Noir assured in his own comforting way. “His friend is taking care of him. They’re heading back to China, so he’ll be safe from Hawkmoth, too.”

“Wayzz didn’t tell me that when he came today. I hope the little dude’s taking it alright.”

“It’s going to be hard on all of the kwamis. The Master has been their only friend for years.” Marinette stood, moving to open a cabinet at the top of the entertainment center. “That’s another reason I’ve invited you here. Protecting the kwamis is a greater responsibility than I can handle on my own.”

Rena, Carapace, and even Chat leaned forward as she gently set down the Miracle Box. Well, box was a loose term—it looked more like a giant polka-dotted egg ever since Master Fu had passed it on to her. She was still studying the grimoire to learn how to disguise it again. Until then, the Miracle Box was safer in this hideout than in the apartment she shared with three other girls.

“We won’t let you down, Ladybug.” Rena Rogue nodded with determination.

“Yeah, we’re with you, lady bro.” Carapace smiled. “Though I’ve gotta ask—are you showing this off to all us temp heroes? You don’t know who we are. If Hawkmoth got ahold of us...”

“It’s a risk we’re willing to take now.”

Only Chat knew how long it had taken for her to reach that decision. He’d been the one to suggest it, actually. Hawkmoth and Mayura clearly worked together in a unified offense. The only way the heroes could stand against them would be by relying on each other.

“Does that mean we’re revealing our identities too?” Rena Rouge asked.

“As much as I’d like to blind you with my beauty,” Chat Noir flipped his hair, “it’s still not safe enough for that.”

“Aw.” Rena’s ears drooped.

“You won’t need to stay transformed the whole time you’re here, though. I’ve made masks for each of you, in case your kwamis need to rest.” Since they were adults, they wouldn’t automatically detransform after using their powers, but it would take a toll on their kwamis eventually. Besides, they might want to hang out with their friends in the Miracle Box.

Marinette replaced the box, then pointed out the four hooks near the door. “Carapace, yours comes with a hood. I wasn’t sure how to make it resemble your suit otherwise.”

Rena sprung up and ran to grab hers. “Wow, I wasn’t expecting it to be so soft. Once we’re done kicking Hawkmoth’s butt, you could go into costume design.”

Marinette laughed nervously. “Oh, it was nothing! Just a little something I threw together.”

“Don’t be so modest, bugaboo. You’re amazing at anything you put your mind to.” Chat rested his elbow on her shoulder. She rolled her eyes, but didn’t push him away.

“There’s only four masks,” Carapace said, stepping up behind them. “What about Queenie, and Ryuuko, and the others? Are they not getting the VIP tour?”

“I told you they’d ask.” Chat’s voice betrayed the smirk Marinette couldn’t see.

“And I told you, I still don’t trust Queen Bee. And the others are too inexperienced. We can phase them in later, but I want them to prove they can keep their own identities secret before we trust them with our hideout.”

Ryuuko, Viperion, Pegasus, and King Monkey had technically been heroes for about three years, but they were called in so infrequently that the experience hardly counted. Plus, there was the fact that the secret base was simply too small to fit all nine heroes.

Rena nodded. “Can’t blame you there. Queenie reminds me of this spoiled brat I knew back in lycée.”

“Same, actually,” Marinette mumbled. If it wasn’t for the fact that Chloé Bourgeois would never lift a manicured fingernail to help someone else, Marinette would almost think she was Queen Bee. Maybe she had a slightly-less-obnoxious cousin?

“Hey, let’s be nice to our teammate. Pollen must have picked her for a reason,” Chat said. “...Even if none of us has a clue what that reason is.”

“We’ll still work with her, dude. I’m just happy we don’t have to share the party house.” Carapace grinned. “And speaking of partying… can we play Just Dance 2023?”

#miraculous ladybug #ml #ladybug #chat noir #rena rouge #carapace #hero fam #fic tag #tali writes #mlbforblm #home base

53 notes · View notes

gavemesomuchtoremember · 3 years

Text

Heartbroken

Thanks for saying this @raimi I really appreciate it, and @fandomsandxfiles-writes for also encouraging me to post a while back too.

Hey Everyone, so I finally have built up the courage to share the first Agent Carter fic I wrote. I wrote it back in May.

Dottie Underwood x Reader

Jack Thompson x Reader

It’s a Jack Thompson x Reader situation though y/n’s conversation is mainly with Dottie about it.

Summary: During a mission a drunk y/n has to distract Dottie, leading to sharing some secrets that she didn’t want to.

Another, Sameul y/n called out to the bartender, you knew it wasn’t very ladylike to be this drunk but you didn’t care; and you finally had a day off. You felt a tapping on your shoulder as you turned to see a worried Peggy Carter, a look you hadn’t often seen on the agent. “Peggy, what brings you here?” You questioned.

“I heard from Rose that you’ve been here all day” you watched her as she observed you. She noticed you had been slightly falling off the edge of the chair. “So I thought I’d come talk to you”.

“I’m fine Peg!” you exclaimed loudly, causing a table of men to turn and look in disappointment. Samuel placed the beer down in front of you, “Aah, my dear Sam, what took ya so long” you said taking a giant gulp of the drink.

“If I had put my money on it, I’d say this reaction is due to Jack”. You smirked hoping it would hide the fact she’d guessed correctly,”What makes you say that?”

“It’s the way he looks at you. I’ve also seen you avoid him”

“It’s a long story, are you going to the warehouse?” not wanting to continue the conversation as you sipped on your drink. “Yeah, we are. We need to catch Dottie.”

“She really is a pain in our backs, though I respect the diligence it takes to work that hard and love your job”.

“I really wish you weren’t drunk right now” She said quietly to herself but you heard the concern in her voice. “You need me don’t you. What’s going on, what do I need to do?”

“No, you stay, it’s your day off” “But, what’s the plan?” “We’re going to set up an electromagnetic field around the building to block her from leaving the premises. Four downstairs, four upstairs”. You stared at her for a second to process the information, “Won’t she see that?”

“I will be distracting Dottie while Rose, Dr Samberly, Mr Jarvis, Jack and Daniel set up everything” “Then what?”

“Dr Samberly will set it off”

You placed the glass down on the counter and fully gave her your attention, “don’t you or Sous need to be with him to help with that kind of power? I trust the guy but Aloysius crumbles under pressure”

“We don’t have a choice, they need to go set it up” “Exactly, so I’ll come. You need the help” “y/n, no you’re too drunk” “And you’re too outnumbered for a large space and a time limit, I can distract Dottie, everyone else can set up. You’ll have an extra hand downstairs and someone can be with Aloysius”.

“I said no, you’re drunk”. She gave you a look but gave in. Right outside the warehouse Peggy and you got to the meeting spot.

“You’re drunk!” Daniel called out to you when the two of you approached him. “I’m fine, let’s just focus on the task at hand” you said and waltz up to Jarvis and Rose to grab an earpiece.

Sousa turned his attention to Peggy, “you brought her here even though she’s drunk?”

“She insisted on coming along. Besides, I couldn’t stop her. She’s one of the few people we need right now. She can handle herself drunk, I’ve seen it”

You entered into the warehouse, making a mental note of the area, Jarvis split left and Peggy, with Rose went right on the bottom level. You continued to walk forward into the warehouse as Aloysius, Jack, and Sous went up the stairs to the second level.

Rose and Peggy reached their targets and started setting up the electromagnetic field they needed to cover the building. Jarvis reached his corner and had done the same. Jack and Daniel split up to cover all of the bases upstairs. Finally Aloysius had positioned himself above a steel box with an electromagnetic cannon ray thing Peggy was explaining on the way over. “I might have been a little too drunk to pay attention to the briefing” You thought to yourself.

You entered a smaller room located comically in the centre of the building. Your job was the most important, inside the box, the walls were a mint green and there was a little picnic bench type seating area. Dottie was sitting there with a book.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Brooklyn” “Dottie, always a pleasure”

You heard Peggy’s voice come in through your earpiece, “keep her distracted, were almost set up”. You made your way closer to the black widow, “What brings you here?”

“Wow agent, wasted on the job? That’s a new low, even for you. Boy troubles?” You ignored her comments, your eyes trailing her as she walked around the bench.

“You know what Dottie, I’ll do the talking here” “How about let’s play a game of truth?”

You paused a second and even thought about it. You really only had to distract Dottie, if she was doing all the work for you, why not. “Sure Dottie, what do you wanna know, my life is an open book”

“Have you ever been in love?” Dottie’s smile got bigger when she asked, it was a red flag but you were a little too numb to care, “I suppose I have”.

“When did you meet him?” She patted the bench as she sat back down, but you didn’t move a muscle, “We were six, We met outside a chapel, he popped my soccer ball and I hitchhiked in his daddy’s truck from Michigan all the way to New York”.

“You run away from home”

“I’m an orphan, thought I could start a better life in New York”

“Did he break your heart?”

That’s when it clicked, she knew exactly what she was talking about, she wanted specific answers out of you. “Hold your horses there missy. You’ve asked a bunch of questions, my turn”

Jarvis’ voice came though on the earpiece, “I’m all set down here”, and Sousa’s voice followed, “copy that, Jarvis, can you go see if the south tower is set, while Peggy and Rose finish up the others”, “Of course chief”. You focused on the task at hand, “What was it really like growing up in Russia?”

“Oh y/n, it was wonderful, as I’ve told Peggy I was jealous of women like her who could do whatever they pleased, but living here for as long as I have, there’s no respect for women. In Russia it was such a wonderful learning experience”.

“Being tied to a bed is your idea of wonderful?” “It was by choice”

In that moment you almost pitied her, she’d never known a life outside of that prison camp. “But here, even though some men don’t like it, we do have freedom”

“Women in your country are oppressed!”

“Not for long, I envision an America where women are in all positions of power”

“So tell me y/n, how did you end up in this line of work? You see I was born for this? In jail I heard a little rumour that a broken heart pushed you here”

And there it was, Dottie liked to pray on weakness, maybe it was because of her cold heart, but it was clear that the truth game was some sort of sick power move, “I don’t have to answer that”

“But you will, because you and I both know that this is an attempt to distract me. You won’t stop making mindless conversation with me until my dear friend Peggy tells you to”

You finally moved towards the bench, “well, if we both know this is a charade then I guess we don’t need to keep that up”

“I don’t do well when I’m bored. You can’t fight me because the SSR needs me alive and unless you tell me your story, I will walk out of here, ruining whatever it is that poor Peggy is up to”

You thought to yourself for a second, when Peggy’s voice rang in your ears followed by Daniel’s, “were almost done” “Us too y/n just hold off a little longer.

“I’m bored” Dottie said in a sing songy voice, “You seriously think I’m that drunk? That I’ll just spill all my secrets?”

She smirked, as she walked towards you, closing the gap

“You’ll never get away, not this time Dot” “y/n/n” “My name is y/n” “right, only Jack Thompson can call you y/n/n”

“That’s enough Dottie” You put your arm out to stop her from moving past you, but she just swatted it away and smiled again. You thought to yourself how could her smile possibly get any bigger. “Alright, you won’t tell me your story then I guess I’m leaving. Bye.”

You watched as she started to leave. There was no way you were going to tell her the story but she was leaving. Jack’s face appeared as you closed your eyes. You moved your hair behind your ear, revealing the earring mic. You couldn’t think straight, and she was right, you needed to wait for Peg’s order, so you couldn’t just let her leave.

“I set dinner for him”

Dottie stopped, immediately pulling a 180. Peggy and Rose shared a look, knowing this was not going to end well and Jack stopped dead in his tracks mentally kicking himself.

“I was young, in love, and, well stupid... I wanted to marry him” You started slowly, knowing they were almost done. “Rose and I are set, moving onto the next one” Peggy stated, “Same” Jarvis’ voice followed, finally Sousa spoke, “Jack, Samberly and I are working on it”

Dottie gave you a look and tapped her foot getting impatient, “He was drafted and I’d never been more proud of him. So I made this dinner, so we could celebrate. It was something he wanted to do. Fight for our freedom” Dottie smiled and sat down at the bench, once again trying to get you to sit with her. This time you did, “Go on” she cooed. “Keep stalling” Daniel’s voice rang in your ear. “His car was supposed to leave in 3 days, but he decided to get on the one that was leaving that night. I often think about why he stood outside my door, refusing to come in. All he had to say for himself was that he was leaving. I thought he was joking. But he was serious. And he left.”

“Then?”

You paused and stared at her. There was radio silence on the other end. You knew they were still working. You really didn’t want to talk about this.

“y/n, I’m waiting”

“Let’s talk about something else, maybe, say the great depression?” You tried to change the subject, “not a chance in hell. I won’t ask again”. You knew that wouldn’t work. Finally Peggy’s voice came through again, “We need more time”. You took in a breath to calm your nerves, sobering up having to talk about this while everyone could hear you, “I ran out after him, I begged him to at least talk to me, tell me why”

Rose and Peggy exchange a glance of utter shock as they’d never heard this story, not even on a girls night. Jarvis ran up to them to help finish the last magnetic tower.

“You know what I got as a response? His back walking down the street”

Daniel and Aloysius gave Jack a look, not surprised but disappointed.

You looked at Dottie, knowing that you’d have to continue, “On top of that, I was labeled as the broken one. The one who was left by-“

“People threw garbage at me, treated me like some sort of witch. One day I went for a walk and there were three guys that tried to abduct me. I beat them up and a Colonel saw it, Murdoch saw it, took me in and I ended up in Russia fighting more Russian assassins like yourself. It’s how I ended up in the war, it’s how I met Howard, it’s how I ended up in the SSR.”

Jarvis didn’t want to hear anymore of it so he removed his earpiece, “I can’t listen to this anymore” I heard Daniel say, “were almost done” for what felt like the millionth time.

“So to answer your question Dottie, yes. I did end up here because of a broken heart. It wasn’t the lifestyle I had always imagined, but I’m glad I’m not some blond asshole chief’s wife”

Aloysius had managed to get everything going, “give us 5 seconds” is all I heard.

“You know what Dottie, sometimes I feel like you like being locked up”

“Now”

You pulled out your gun and aimed at her, “Dottie Underwood, you are under arrest” She didn’t seem phased at all, simply replying, “wonderful”.

Dottie kicked the gun out of your hand and tried to escape, Luckily you saw it coming but your reaction times were a little delayed. She managed to free herself and kicked you in the face twice, but you weren’t having that, tackling her to the ground, in doing so activating bars that surrounded you. Inside a jail cell of electromagnets, “Well that was new” she said to herself.

“Looks like we’re both stuck in this prison”, you placed those handcuffs on her and she laughed in your face, “at least the prison I’m going to, it’ll be easy to escape”

Daniel and Peggy grabbed her by the arms and pulled her away.

Once again Dottie Underwood was caught, but she was right. Jack was y/n’s prison and he broke your heart, but you still loved him.

THE END

#Agent carter #Dottie Underwood x reader #Jack Thompson x reader #Jack Thompson #Dottie Underwood #Peggy Carter

42 notes · View notes

narukoibito · 4 years

Text

charity work

Wow, so I wrote a published a thing after 10+ years away from fanfiction. Please check it out if you’re so inclined!

Summary: He'd only meant it as a joke, but here she was. Ginny Weasley, his celebrity crush, armed with economy toilet paper rolls and three dozen eggs, ready to commit a misdemeanor all in the name of charity. Muggle AU Harry/Ginny

Tumblr prompt: "You're famous and I jokingly left a comment on your social media post asking if you'll go egg my ex-partner's house with me this weekend, and I never actually expected you to respond, let alone show up Friday night with dark sweatshirts, toilet paper rolls, and three egg cartons tucked under your arm" & hp_fangal's version where Harry is the famous one, Shooting for the Stars.

FF.net | AO3

Harry flopped onto the couch with a loud sigh, letting his bag slide carelessly to the ground. Sirius popped his head out from the kitchen.

“You alright there, Harry?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled from his dejected position.

Sirius raised an eyebrow and turned to Hermione, who lifted her head up from her book for a moment to give Harry a disapproving look.

“He’s been brooding all week,” she announced.

“Cho?” he asked knowingly.

“He hasn’t said, but…Cho,” Hermione nodded.

Harry made a rude gesture at his childhood best friend and godfather, who sniffed disdainfully and chortled respectively.

Yes, it was indeed his girlfriend — sorry, ex-girlfriend — who was once again souring his mood, but Sirius and Hermione didn’t know yet. He hadn’t had the heart to tell them that he’d caught her cheating on him with none other than Cedric Diggory. Not only had Cedric taken Harry’s position as a starter on the school team when Harry tore his ACL several months back, but then the recruiters who had originally come to see Harry had taken a shine to Cedric, and now several teams were making him offers. Hermione and Sirius had been going on for months about how Cho wasn’t being particularly supportive during Harry’s recovery period, but Harry had waved them off. Turns out they were more right than he could have imagined, and he simply could do without the knowing and pitying looks.

“This’ll cheer you up,” Sirius said, walking over to the wireless.

“I think something’s burning,” Harry grumbled as Sirius flicked through several stations. Sirius let out a yelp and jumped back to the kitchen, but not without first finding what he was looking for.

“Now tell me, Miss Weasley,” an unctuous female voice crowed, “about your victories off the pitch.”

Despite himself, Harry perked up. Ginny Weasley was his favorite football starter since she made a huge splash going pro at the young age of sixteen — and immediately proved her worth by leading her team to victory at her first game. He may or may not have several posters of her hanging in his closet.

“Oh you heard that I cook the meanest eggplant dish on the team?” Ginny’s sweet voice lilted over the wireless. When Harry laughed, Hermione peered at him over her book again, amused.

“That’s a very…lovely quality, my dear, but no, my avid listeners want to know all about your tumultuous love life. We all know how much you enjoy playing the field…”

Harry let out an ungraceful snort.

“I did always like playing with balls, yes,” Ginny quipped. “I’m pretty good at kicking them, so they say.”

The reporter cleared her throat loudly. “Too true. I believe one of your past paramours was reportedly found writhing on the floor when you parted ways.”

“Oh no, that was simply a handsy fan who didn’t seem to understand the meaning of ‘no,’” Ginny corrected her dryly.

“Your latest lover, Puddlemere team’s Michael Corner, and you seem to have had a bit of a nasty split,” the reporter’s voice oozed with false sympathy. “The photos of him and his assistant, Lavender Brown, in a passionate embrace —”

“You mean snogging in the dark corner of a bar?”

“Oh this must be so difficult for you,” the reporter sniffed. “You seem to have such trouble holding onto a man — they seem to prefer more feminine women over your company! Tell me, does it have to do with your being raised with six older brothers? Perhaps the rowdiness of such a boisterous family environment was not conducive for healthy relationships with men?”

Harry threw a stray cushion at the wireless, but from his horizontal position, he missed.

“Miss Skeeter, I’m not sure how my upbringing has anything to do with my boyfriends deciding to be cheating gits rather than about being forthcoming about their feelings.”

“Of course, dear. Please, tell our listeners as such a seasoned veteran, how you cope with heartbreak, especially when you uncover such deceit?”

“I’m a big fan of karma. People tend to find that what comes around goes around.”

“So mature of you.”

“And if they wake up with their house egged and teepeed, let’s hope they realize the error of their ways.”

Harry could picture Ginny’s trademark mischievous smile, and he felt his own lips curling up.

“Surely, Miss Weasley, you aren’t condoning such a crime?”

“All hypothetical, Miss Skeeter. But who am I to complain if the universe takes it upon itself to serve justice? Having grown up with my brothers, I find that anything is possible if you have enough nerve.”

As the interview wound to an end, Harry felt inexplicably lighter. He even managed to shift himself to a sitting position and found himself scrolling through Ginny Weasley’s public Instagram profile. He was momentarily distracted by a recent posting of her sticking her tongue out at the camera while cuddling with a kitten, where she alerted her fans to tune into her upcoming interview with the radio host of Me, Myself, and I.

He punched in a simple message in the comments: Caught my girlfriend snogging my replacement on my uni’s football team while I was supposed to be convalescing, and now I want to help push karma along the way this Friday. Care to lend a hand?

“You’re looking better,” Sirius observed, popping his head back into the living room.

Harry tossed his phone to the side and smiled. “Is dinner even edible anymore?”

During dinner (extra “crispy” chicken Sirius calls it, mashed potatoes, and vegetables), Harry finally caved in and told Sirius and Hermione what happened. They were so outraged on his behalf, it actually dulled his own anger enough for him to admit he was difficult to be around while he recovered, and he was probably not the best boyfriend at the time. They wouldn’t hear any of it though.

After Hermione headed home and Sirius to his study, Harry receded to his room where he took a moment to appreciate his hidden poster. Then he headed to the shower, where he may or may not have decided to relax by picturing a particularly sassy redhead. When his head hit his pillow, he immediately drifted off to a pleasant, dreamless sleep.

Harry let out a big yawn as he rose from his last class of the day. He paused to stretch out his right leg, which had a tendency of getting stiff after sitting too long post-surgery.

As his classmates trickled out, he whipped out his phone, already pondering where to grab take-out for his solo night in since Sirius was planning an evening out (don’t expect me home tonight). A red notification blared out at him, which was odd considering his rare use and minuscule follower-ship on Instagram. He clicked on it, wondering if someone commented on his recent post of Sirius with a big, black shaggy dog.

It was a message from…

The phone nearly slipped out of his hand.

Ginny Weasley? Bringing the phone closer to his face, he stared at the message beside her smirking profile picture.

I’m in. When and where?

Harry scrubbed a hand over his face. Was he dreaming? His celebrity crush since he was seventeen, the one he had just wanked to two days ago (and countless times over the years), wanted to help him egg and teepee his ex’s place?

After a moment’s hesitation, he began punching in the details of the closest station to Cho’s.

Meet around 10?

His thumb hovered over the send button. What did he have to lose? He pressed down. He swallowed hard as three hovering dots appeared.

See you soon.

“Fuck,” Harry said aloud to an empty classroom.

Harry couldn’t believe this was happening. Maybe someone had hacked into her account and was just having a lark. Maybe he was going to be mugged on arrival.

“Yes, that must be it,” he assured himself as he ascended the stairs to the front of the station.

“Are you H-P-Lightening?”

Harry looked around and nearly tripped over the last step. For a second, he thought he might have been right about being mugged, given the hooded figure that appeared on his right. But the figure pushed back her hood, and fiery gold-and-red hair spilling out like a curtain.

It was her. Ginny Weasley.

Standing in front of him in an oversized hoodie, a bag of toilet paper (economy size, she didn’t skimp), and several cartons of eggs. Her brown eyes glinted with mischief, and her lips were curled up in her devil-may-care smirk. She was close enough that he could not only make out the splattering of attractive freckles across her face, but he could catch what seemed to be the sweet smell of flowers.

“Er —” was all Harry could manage.

She arched an eyebrow. “You’re not him?”

“No — I mean, yes, I am. That’s me. Harry Potter.”

Her smile brightly. “Nice to meet you, Harry.”

“Yeah, nice,” he said stupidly. “I’m a huge fan. I didn’t think, er, I never thought —”

“I seem to be a terrible influence,” Ginny laughed, and the way it made her nose crinkle sent shivers down Harry’s spine. “Since I put the idea in your head, the least I could do was help out and prevent you from getting caught.”

“Do you always rescue brokenhearted blokes on your public profile?”

“Only the really particularly pathetic ones,” she grinned back. “My publicist is always encouraging me to take on more charity work.”

“Smart,” Harry nodded sagely. “It’s good to engage with the people from time to time. Humanize you.”

She was laughing again, and he felt ridiculously chuffed that he was making Ginny Weasley of all people laugh. It did loads for his self-esteem considering Cho was always either bemused or offended by his snarky remarks.

“Exactly,” she said, holding out an extra hoodie for him. He thanked her and pulled it over this head, reminding himself that he shouldn’t be so pleased that they were matching. As he took some of the supplies from her, and they began walking, she continued, “I don’t know, your comment kind of stuck out to me.”

He glanced at her when she seemed to hesitate and was surprised when she quickly looked away, a bit of color on her cheeks.

“And the fact that you didn’t give off any stalker murder vibes was a plus.”

He laughed. “But really, thank you,” Harry said. “I was, er, brooding, as my friends and family like to call it because of Cho, and your interview cheered me up — the way you didn’t let that awful reporter get under your skin was truly something else.”

“Ah yes, Rita Skeeter,” Ginny smiled stonily. “Should have known better than to bet against my twin brothers.”

“Bet?”

She shrugged. “I didn’t believe them when they said Michael, my now notorious ex, was shifty. Swore it wasn’t true, and they bet I’d have to go on Skeeter’s show if I was wrong. They constantly goad me about my poor judgment in men, which was really what got me riled up enough to take them on. Then a week later, I caught Michael doing some yoga with his new assistant. ‘Course they tried really hard to explain why they were working on her downward dog naked.”

Harry grimaced. “I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” she said airily. “He was a prat. If he’d just broken up with me like a decent human being, I wouldn’t have had to deal with all the latest tabloids. Besides,” she glanced at him curiously, “seems like I wasn’t the only one who’s had some bad luck with romance lately.”

“Ah yes, my tale of woe. I caught my ex snogging the guy who took my starter position after I tore my ACL. All around the time when there were recruiters coming around. Her timing and choice couldn’t have been better.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, her hand touching his arm. He felt heat shoot through him.

“Ah, it’s not really fun hanging around a depressed sod.” One side of his mouth twisted up with a touch of bitterness. “She didn’t much enjoy my moods.”

Ginny snorted. “Right, because what mattered then was her having fun.”

Harry shrugged. Aside from some awkward, fumbling, and a bit sloppy kisses, he wasn’t really sure how much fun Cho seemed to have around him. She’d always been trying to get him to talk about his feelings, like about his parents or how terrible he felt about his injury or the lost his dream opportunity to go pro. Her insistence often made him clam up or shut down.

Ginny started asking him questions about his uni and his team, and soon they were chatting like old friends about football strategies and tactics, favorite moves, new players with potential. It was very possible he revealed just how well he knew her team’s stats, but if she noticed, she graciously doesn’t comment.

“Here we are,” he realized, skidding to a stop in front of a blue house. Ginny pulled him back behind a tree. He peered at her curiously, but she was scanning the quiet street and the house.

“Doesn’t seem like anyone is home,” she announced.

“There was a game today, with a party that tends to go pretty late.”

“Well isn’t that perfect?” She smiled at him as she pulled the hood back over her head, and he mirrored her motion.

With remarkable coordination and teamwork considering they didn’t speak a word but rather communicate with meaningful glances and stifled laughter, they began decorating the bushes, garden, porch, trees, and roof with toilet paper. Then they returned to the pavement with the egg cartons.

“Care to go first, Harry?” Ginny asked, a softness in her eyes despite her artful tossing and catching an egg with ease.

He picked up an egg and hesitated. The anger and betrayal churned through him, but there was a part of him that still wondered if maybe he should let it go.

“Hm, worried you’re unable to throw from here?” she asked casually, her eyes flashing with mischief.

Was that a challenge? She gave him an assessing glance before turning to the house.

“Maybe you don’t think you can hit that awful thing,” she said, pointing at a crow sticker attached to a window, grinning wickedly.

“Watch it, Weasley,” Harry said roughly. He wound his arm back and with impressive accuracy, hit the crow sticker on the window. “Hah!”

“Seemed a bit aggressive there,” she laughed.

“That thing always gave me the creeps,” he admitted sheepishly, remembering how the shadow of the crow seemed to follow him in that room. “Now then, you may be a great starter, but what about your arm aim?”

Her egg splattered noisily right at the center of the door.

“If we only conditioned our legs, we’d be pretty lopsided.”

He laughed as they continued to goad each other with more and more difficult places. But soon, they began to throw with more ferocity, each seeming to exorcise some past demons.

His egg cracked against the porch stair where she first kissed him in the rain.

“I wish she had never kissed me.”

Her egg smashed against a different window.

“I wish I had broken things off when he kept pestering me about wearing more dresses.”

Another cracked against the roof.

“Wish I hadn’t pushed myself too far for those stupid recruiters!”

One landed against the door handle.

“What does my love life have to do with how I play, Skeeter?”

As they went through the eggs, they spouted all the things wrong with their previous relationships before moving to other frustrations until all three cartons of eggs were empty, and the house was a comically gooey, papered mess.

Harry dragged a hand through his tousled hair, dazed by how much better he felt. He met Ginny’s eye and warmed at the sight of her flushed cheeks and pleased smile. She reached out and took his hand, and without a word, he let her draw him away, leaving the tangled mess of feelings about Cho and his doomed football career behind. Her hand in his felt like the only real thing in the world.

They walked together, hand-in-hand, in comfortable silence back to the station. As they drew closer, he grew nervous and turned to face her.

“Thank you, Ginny,” he blurted earnestly.

“You’re welcome. It was really fun,” she said. She seemed to hesitate for the first time the entire evening, looking over his shoulder.

Panic shot through him — was this it? Would he ever see her again?

“Actually,” she said slowly, “I rode here. I could give you a lift if you like, instead of taking the train.”

“Rode?” He echoed, turning to follow her gaze. His mouth dropped open. There, parked surreptitiously, was a gleaming motorcycle. “Bloody hell, Sirius will love you.”

“Sirius?”

“Um, my godfather. He’s got a thing for motorcycles. Treats his like it’s a national treasure,” he explained, blushing. “I’ve been riding them since he took me in.”

Something shifted in her eyes, but it was gone so quickly that he may have imagined it. Back was the shining amusement.

“Well then, I take it you’re not afraid of a bit of speed.” She wound around him towards her ride. She opened the storage unit and tossed him a helmet. “You’ve always got to make sure you have a nifty getaway vehicle.”

“See, this is why I enlisted an expert.”

He provided her his address, and after a quick search on her phone, she mentioned she was familiar with the area. It turned out he lived close to an old friend of hers, a Luna Lovegood, who was responsible for those quirky magazines about mythical creatures that Sirius always got a hoot out of and Hermione would turn her head disapprovingly from.

Helmet secure, Ginny hopped on and looked at him expectantly. He slipped on his helmet and sat behind her. He floundered, wondering where he should grip the seat.

“You better hold onto me.” Her voice was muffled in her helmet, but it sounded crystal clear to him. “Wouldn’t want the next headliner to be how I killed a man by not practicing safety.”

“Right — hardly a way to repay you.” He tentatively slid tantalizingly closer, wrapping his arms around her middle. God she was fit. “That, ah, safe enough?”

Ginny nodded jerkily. “Yep, that’s great.”

She lifted her left leg, kicked into gear, and soon they were roaring through the winding roads of London.

Harry loved to feel the wind whip around him and the familiar rumbling underneath him. It made him feel like he was flying. But damn Ginny wasn’t kidding when she liked it fast, and he found himself gripping her a little tighter than he had expected but enjoying every moment of it — the feel on her in his arms, the elevated rush of adrenaline due to her speed. Watching the buildings, streets, and vehicles go by in a blur of lights made the night feel magical.

All too soon, Ginny was pulling up in front of his home. He hastily pulled away, hoping that his graceless way of removing his helmet would disguise his blush. She made it seem so effortless when she pulled her helmet off and threw her head back, her hair cascading down her shoulders. They smiled at each other, not sure what to say, but he didn’t want the night to end. Harry couldn’t believe his luck, and maybe he shouldn’t push it, but when else was the universe going to wink in his direction?

“Would you like to come up?” He cringed. “I can make you a cup of tea, I mean — as a sincere thank you for being both my partner in crime and my savior.”

He braced himself for the rejection.

“Oh,” she said, sounding both surprised and breathless. “Yes. That sounds nice.”

Harry led her inside, nervously watching her glance around the cottage. “It belonged to my parents.”

“It’s lovely,” Ginny smiled, walking over to the mantle.

“It’s a good thing that Sirius isn’t home — he probably wouldn’t stop pestering us if he were.” He scrambled to tidy some of the papers and books on the coffee table.

“Is that him?” she asked, pointing to a photo of Sirius with a ten-year-old Harry in his arms. Harry was laughing really hard, his wire-frame glasses knocked askew, and Sirius’s attention was completely on Harry, a wide grin on his face and affection shining in his eyes. It was one of Harry’s favorite photos, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about Ginny seeing him when he was a bespectacled, scrawny boy.

“Yes,” he said, as she continued to gaze at the photo thoughtfully. “Er, kitchen?”

She let him lead her away. “Your home is a lot cleaner than my parents’ place. Though I suppose that isn’t too difficult to achieve. I have six older brothers and all.”

“Sounds nice. It’s just been Sirius and me, sometimes a dog — he can never resist a stray — and occasionally my pseudo uncle when he needs a place to crash.”

She pulled the dark hoodie over her head, and his breath hitched when her jumper lifted to reveal a sliver of pale, freckled skin. Harry hastily set about heating up the kettle, trying to remember his train of thought.

“Can’t imagine what it would have been like with so many more people.”

“Rowdy and loud,” she said, her affection in her voice obvious. “Never a dull moment.”

“Was it hard? Being the only girl.” He rummaged in the cupboard, praying that Sirius hadn’t eaten the last of the biscuits.

“Sometimes, but it taught me to be…inventive.”

“Sneaky you mean?”

“When I had to be. They insisted for the longest time that I couldn’t play football with them, so I snuck out at night and practiced myself.”

“You certainly showed them,” Harry laughed, emerging victorious with a tin of biscuits he’d baked with Hermione a few days prior — hers had come out a bit rockish despite following the recipe exactly, but his were decent. “Did you always want to play professionally?”

“Yes.” She thanked him when he placed a steaming cup in front of her, offering sugar and milk. “What about you?”

Yes was on the tip of his tongue, but for some reason he paused. “I love football. I started playing as a kid, first with kicking the ball around the yard with Sirius.”

“Were you any good?”

“Um, was the youngest starter in secondary. Was scouted for my uni’s team.”

She gave a low whistle of surprise. “A lot of promise, then.”

“Hardly compares to you,” he smiled.

“If you want, I can refer you to some of the best physical therapists. You can be back to where you were in less than a year.”

Harry stared at the steam from his cup as he nibbled on a chocolate biscuit. For some reason, the prospect didn’t seem to strike a chord.

Ginny tilted her head. “It’s just a thought.”

“Oh — um, thank you. That’s really generous,” he cringed at his word choice, “I just —”

“This thing with your ex will pass, Harry.”

“I know — I mean, it kind of already has.” He fell silent, not really sure exactly what he was trying to convey. “I was really upset earlier about the whole thing — Cho and my replacement going pro in my stead. But right now, I just feel….relief?”

He rubbed the back of his neck, feeling foolish and confused, but Ginny sipped her tea and gave him time to sort himself out.

“I love football and always will, but don’t know if…if I was all that upset about the recruiters so much as — ” He faltered, not sure where he was going with this. She reached over and squeezed his arm encouragingly. “As disappointing Sirius.”

“Your godfather?” she asked softly.

Harry nodded jerkily. “Yes. He was best mates with my dad. Practically brothers.”

He went quiet again, lost in his thoughts.

“I don’t know Sirius, but the way he looks at you in those photos makes it hard for me to think anything you’d do could disappoint him, Harry,” she said, a fierce look on her face.

A lump formed in his throat, and he cleared it several times, feeling heat crawl up his neck.

“My dad was about to go pro when…” Harry swallowed hard, his voice thick. He reached over and took her hand in his, marveling at how small and smooth her skin was. “When he and my mum got in an accident. A drunk driver on Halloween.”

“I’m so sorry, Harry. We don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to.”

“No, I don’t mind,” he said and meant it. He was surprised considering he never talked about his parents, but with Ginny, it came so naturally. When she looked at him like that, he felt like he could tell her anything. “I suppose — I wanted to fulfill their dream — dad’s and Sirius’s.”

He stopped, taken aback by his admission. He glanced down at their joined hands as her thumb gently caressed his knuckle. Was that why he had been so upset lately? He and Cho had been on the outs even before his injury.

“Everyone always says how I look just like him. Except for my eyes. I’ve got my mum’s eyes.”

His heart pounded in his chest at the way her warm brown eyes stared up at his. “You’ve got the greenest eyes. They’re green as — ” She stopped, blushing.

Harry raised an eyebrow. “Green as?”

“Er — I’m blaming it on the relentless practice making me barmy, but I first thought green as a freshly pickled toad.”

They both burst out laughing, the mood lightening immediately. Ginny withdrew her hand to cover her face, which glowed like the setting sun. His hand felt strangely bereft without hers.

“So what is your dream?” “Erm — I don’t know,” he admitted. He thought hard about his hobbies outside of football. “I guess…maybe becoming a cop or detective? Solve crimes, help people.” “So you’re not usually the type to egg someone’s house?” she teased. “Ha! No, not exactly, but it was worth it.” Getting to meet you. “Though don’t get me wrong, I’m not above breaking rules. Had a bit of a reputation back in the day.”

She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively. “A troublemaker, are you?”

“Trouble usually finds me,” he grinned back.

They continued to talk late into the evening. Between all the banter, Harry found himself revealing a lot more of himself than he ever expected. Ginny, to his delight, seemed equally comfortable, even sharing a dark experience about a run-in with Tom Riddle, a wealthy and well-liked wealthy football team owner, which had Harry gripping his mug so tightly he nearly shattered it. But she carefully uncurled his fingers and her touch softened the edge of his anger. He never wanted to stop talking to her, getting to know her. Before they knew it, it was nearly three in the morning.

“It’s getting late,” she finally said, and he agreed reluctantly. They exchanged numbers and even took a photo together (would it be too creepy if he set it as his background?).

As he walked her outside, he wondered if it would be too strange or forward to offer his bed (he would obviously take the couch) or maybe call a cab so that she’d have to come back soon to pick up her motorcycle. He was jarred from his thoughts when he nearly walked into her.

“I had a wonderful night,” Harry said. “Best one in…I can’t even remember.”

“Yeah, me too.”

“Do you think we can — do this again?”

“Have more exes who have done you dirty?”

He barked out a laugh. “Maybe not an ex, but I know a bully or two. Really, I’d love to see you again. You can even decide whether we commit another crime or not.”

Her lips quirked up. “Not sure that’ll help you become a cop, but yes, I’d really like that.”

They stared at each other, neither wanting to move away first. When the pressure in his chest grew unbearable, he shoved his hands into his pockets and began to turn and walk back towards his house.

“I guess I’d better… Goodnight, Ginny.”

Stupid berk, he fumed. So much for being brave.

“Harry?” she called out.

He turned around to see her running toward him, a hard, blazing look of determination in her face. She threw her arms around him as he opened his, automatically wrapping around her. And without thinking about his nerves, her fame, his crush that had blossomed into much, much more in only hours, he kissed her. There was nothing else, just Ginny, her lips sliding over his, her sweet-smelling hair in his hands, her body pressed against his. He never wanted it to end. After what felt like several sun-lit days, they broke apart.

He pressed his forehead against hers. “That was…”

“Yeah,” she said. “It was.”

They finally pulled away. He probably looked like a besotted fool with his mile-wide grin, but he couldn’t work himself up to care when Ginny was grinning up at him like that.

“So I’ll call you? Maybe — maybe we can get together tomorrow, er — I guess today?”

She bit down on her lower lip as her grin grew. She reached up and adjusted his skewed glasses. “Yeah, today.”

“A proper date,” Harry felt the need to say.

“I’ll let you woo me and everything,” Ginny chuckled.

“Okay.”

But instead of moving away, they leaned in and kissed again. They’d go their separate ways…in due time.

#hinny #Harry/Ginny #Harry Potter #Ginny Weasley #fanfiction #i wrote a thing #tumblr prompt #Muggle AU #football | soccer player Ginny #football | soccer player Harry #lots of sass and flirting #i can't believe i wrote this after all this time away #meet-cute #Ginny is the famous one #fluff #humor #My writing

118 notes · View notes

thehungryplaice · 3 years

Photo

Go Back To The 80s With The Hungry Plaice....

https://www.the-hungryplaice.uk/go-back-to-the-80s-at-your-event

The 80s....What a Decade! I don't mind admitting we are big 80s lovers at The Hungry Plaice, it was the decade of our childhood filled with cheese and the start of the video game revolution and if we could go back in time that's where you would find us, I would love to go back to experience the feelings of being back there but with alot more appreciation for what we had as we didn't have a clue back then how fab that time was. There are loads of 80s revivals around, 80s pop stars relaunching their careers and touring again and TV shows picking up on the 80s themes. We love our 80s vans so much that we currently have two these are our Vintage Fish and Chip Vans Betty and Beryl, we try not to look around and see if there are any more for sale as we would be quite happy to fill up our driveway with more of these beauties!

The 80s was filled with fun, fun and loads more fun from the Neon leggings we all wore to the Arcades full of cool games that we used to play, things back then just seemed so much easier and we were still in the days when it was safe for us kids to be playing out all day without our parents knowing where we were rather than being stuck in your bedroom glued to a game, we enjoyed fresh air and freedom and as long as we were back for tea our parents didn't worry about us. We didn't have rules like we do nowadays, Health and Safety was in it's infancy and as kids we could do pretty much what we wanted, we had metal bars we would swing on in the playground at school with huge concrete stepping stones you'd jump across, I got a scar from banging my nose on one of those in my Primary School and I still think it was character building. At home we had a metal framed bunk bed I'm sure was from MFI, there was a metal netted bottom that the mattress sat on top of, I always used to get my hair tangled up in that and I'm sure I've probably got bald patches from where I had to be cut out to be freed. We had a pampas greenish coloured bathroom set in my childhood home which would be considered Vintage today and lots of brown 80s things around the house like pull down coiled lights in the ceilings. My parents were delighted when they had the chance to put an eye level oven in the kitchen and ditch the freestanding gas oven where you had the grill at the top and try to burn your hands when you were cooking your fish fingers, we did have a microwave at some point and that lead to a rebellion on proper cooking! I remember using libraries alot when I was younger, it was a treat going and picking out books you could take away home, there was a limit to the number that you could have and you had to be careful not to get a fine for taking it back late. Information had to be researched and you couldn't do that from the comfort of home, for school I had to go there to find books on certain subjects and I remember being fascinated when having to use those terminals to look at old newspapers. The music was so much better back then, there was a happiness to songs that just made you want to dance not full of rude words and sexual references like today, we had an array of one hit wonders and big massive stars like Madonna and Kylie, Duran Duran and Wham! The songs still get played today but they sound more superior as we no longer listen to them on cassette tapes.

Cassette Tapes.....they were the days, I forgot how you had to rewind them to the beginning to get to the start and you could use a pencil if the tape pulled out and how there are pauses between songs and of course whilst you can try to to rewind and forward wind you'll never find the start of a song, we are spoilt now that we can do that just by pressing a button. The most embarrassing bit was when I asked my husband if something was wrong with the tape as the pause was going on just a bit too long....he gently reminded me that it was the end of the tape and it needed to be turned over haha!! Of course we all had those high tech Pre MP3/IPod/CD Players to play our music with a set of headphones with the fuzzy ears, my brother had one of the early Sony Walkmans and never let me even see it, I bet that's worth something these days I bought a cheap one off Ebay recently I couldn't help myself! Toys were actual toys there were a few electronic ones around such as Speak & Spell or a talking doll where you had a pull a bit of string and it only said about three words, we really actually played with physical things I had Sindy and some Barbie Dolls in fact I had so much of it I'd carry it all in one of those old large blue plastic shopping bags funny there were sold by Tesco to put into your trolley when they introduced self scanning it seems the technology died a death all those years ago but it now all the range. My brothers had Action Men and loads of model cars, we had a huge floor mat that had map on it with roads and a town that you would drive your model cars around all day on. There were Garbage Pail Kids, Care Bears, Rubix Cubes Train Sets and Scaletrix and as we were a bit more money savvy in those days you'd only get something for your birthday and Christmas not just because your parents wanted you to be quiet!

TV Back in the 80s

When we wanted to watch something on TV we only had a few channels I remember the time before Channel 5 and we had one huge Brown TV in the Lounge where you had to press the buttons on the front to change the channel, I reckon you would have needed a forklift to move the damn thing it was so huge and took up half the room. Days were filled with whatever my parents wanted to watch, there was Rainbow and Playschool when I was little, I remember watching the very first episode of Eastenders (a bad TV habit I dropped a few years ago), programmes were quite limited back then but it wasn't a huge deal because we entertained ourselves as kids, sometimes watching a Film would be a big treat and made special times like Christmas were more exciting sitting down together as a family and watching a film just released on TV that we had never seen before. We didn't mind adverts if we were watching ITV or Channel4 they didn't drag on like you get these days.

I don't remember exactly when Video Recorders came on the market but I know there were Betamax and VHS, we had VHS machine, you could record programmes off the TV and playback at your leisure and you always knew someone who was copying VHS to VHS that would sell you some films. I still used VHS tapes when my daughter was little so they were around all the time I was growing up. Buying a VHS tape was a real treat, you might have been lucky enough to have seen a film in the cinema but there was always a really big delay until they were released on Video or so it seemed. Of course for a really special treat you would go Blockbusters to rent a video but they were quite strict if you forgot your video card I guess computer systems weren't able to let you confirm any of your account details you had!

80s Fashion

Then there was the fashion in the 80s.....wow it was great and brilliant all neon neon neon and bright colours, I had one of those multi coloured white and purple shellsuits and Hi-Tec Trainers. There were punk hairstyles and coloured dyed hair and clothes that didn't match, famous stars created looks from throwing clothes together like Madonna and Boy George. Colours like pink, yellow and blue where everywhere, we had shoulder pads and polka dots, tracksuits and fitness gear, an explosion of trainers and dungarees. There are brands that have come back into fashion nowadays like Kappa and Champion, I wish to god I had kept them all to have them now! We would shop in the local high street and independent fashion shops, I lived in London and would go markets at the weekend, Wembley market was a huge favourite. We had BHS and C&A and a shop called Madhouse in the High Street at the top of the road, I don't really remember when the supermarkets starting selling clothes and the rise of the bigger fashion names back then we were quite limited to only a few shops. I have to mention Woolworths of course, we had one in our high street and I would enjoy just walking around looking at the everything they had including the glorious pick and mix!

Rumbelows.... I remember when you wanted something electrical you could shop at Currys and Comet and even Rumbelows, you always had to go out to buy something and bigger electrical items were never in stock and always had to be ordered and delivered weeks later, we really don't know how lucky we are to have the internet and the ability to order online it saves so much time and give us the freedom of choice to buy from so many different places. Of course the reason we couldn't buy online was because we didn't have the internet in our homes, no mobile phones, I got my first when I was 18 and had to ask permission to call anyone from the house phone, if you wanted to meet your friends you had to arrange it all before you went out and you couldn't check if they were on their way to see you unless you have 10p and phone box nearby. You were lucky if you had a Games Console let alone a Computer....

Gaming in the 80s, well what can I say it put gaming on the map and if it wasn't for those early days I doubt the gaming industry would be what it is today. We had a Spectrum Sinclair 48k first, I'm not even sure what a 48k would be today in terms of processing or storage even a single Word document can be bigger than that. It was bought as a shared present in the family one Christmas and I rarely got to play on it. All I remember is that we had a small black and white TV that we would connect to the computer and you'd have a cassette player connected to, for the Sinclair 128k we had later on I know there was a cassette player connected to the right hand side of the keyboard. Anyway you'd press play and then hear this whizzing buzzing noise whilst the game was loading and the TV would go all fuzzy, sometimes it would take ages and if you had a copy your mate recorded it might not load properly, talk about building your anticipation and then letting you down! The games we had included Daley Thompson, Hungry Horace and Jet Set Willy, I've seen the Spectrum emulator and its a great reminder of the games we had in the days gone by, they now download in seconds....just think what we could have done with all that time we sat staring at a screeching cassette tape player waiting for games to load. We would use the keyboard to play or a joystick if that sort of thing was sold with the Computer you had and your parents could afford one, it was quite easy....left, right, up, down and fire. Us kids would normally have one type of computer, ours was the Spectrum and I know someone on our road had the Commodore and I think there was a Binatone in someone's house, you were royalty if you were lucky enough to have more than one Computer. Handhelds were around then like the Game and Watch ones I don't remember all the different ones they made there were so many sold, we had an early Donkey Kong split screen it was orange on the casing of course I hardly got to play that either, the newer generation of Gaming Consoles like the Sega Megadrive was a big surprise to us kids that you could just put your game in and not long after be playing your game how did that happen! We also had the launch of the Nintendo Gameboy at the end of the decade which changed our gaming lives forever! Another side of gaming that you don't really see today was the Arcades, they were places you hung out with your mates for hours and hours playing Street Fighter and Pac Man, we had a shop on the high street which only had one or two I think it might have been a cafe, when you scored a high score you'd put your three initials in, arcades are mostly for the seaside holidays today full of the boring 2p push machines and fruities, as we know the game industry moved from those high street arcades to bedrooms.... So next time you complain about having to wait whilst you're downloading that highly sophisticated game with the controller I would need a degree to understand how to use think about us kids and our gaming....!

The 80s....wow what a decade

what a time, full of colour, lights and fun, I do wish I could get in a time machine and go back there and have some fun but I know we will never go back to those easy days we will keep moving forwards so instead I'll enjoy our road trips in the vans with the crackling radios....

https://www.the-hungryplaice.uk/go-back-to-the-80s-at-your-event

#thehungryplaice #vintagefishandchipvan #fishandchipvanhire #weddingcatering #weddingfood #corporateeventcatering #eventcatering #1980sparty #1980s

1 note · View note

fanfoolishness · 4 years

Text

Home Cooking (SUF)

(Fluff and angst in nearly equal measure, Connverse, 8800 words. Set between Little Graduation and Prickly Pair. Steven experiments with home cooking and decides to share his creation with the Maheswaran family, but he finds himself getting unexpectedly emotional. Many thanks to @honestlyhufflepuff and @followerofmercy for help bouncing ideas around, and @taikova, whose tweet about the sadness of Together Breakfast is briefly referenced here.)

*************

Steven shuffled aimlessly down the aisles of Beach City’s small organic grocery store, his shoulders nearly brushing against the wares more than once in the cramped space. Grocery shopping was one of the few errands that got him out of the house these days. He supposed he should be grateful for that, at least.

He paused in the freezer aisle, wrinkling his nose as he looked at the lean selection of vegetarian options. He was getting sick of the macaroni, even though it came in three flavors, and he hadn’t been impressed with the tortellini or the enchiladas. They always seemed to come out mealy and weird when heated.

He left the microwave dinners in the freezer case, wondering what else he should get. He’d already loaded up on a few packs of protein shakes. He wandered into the spice section and noted a hand-written recipe card under some Cajun seasonings. He looked it over for a moment, raising his eyebrows, then took a picture of it with his phone.

He nodded to himself. He pulled a few things into his basket, then wandered back into the loaded produce section, piling peppers, celery, onion, okra, and garlic on top of the spices.

“Why not?” he murmured, and headed to check out. The worst that could happen was that he might ruin it, and messing up dinner sounded a lot less intimidating than some of the other mistakes he could make.

***

It had been a long time since Steven had properly cooked anything, and he was starting to realize it.

He did mess up in a few ways. Nicked himself badly, his eyes burning as he tried to cut the onion. He kissed his hand to heal it and tossed the bloodied knife into the sink, reaching for another one. Luckily the onion remained unscathed.

He was fine with chopping the okra, celery and peppers, getting into a steady rhythm. He julienned them first, then diced the resulting strips until he had piles of colorful, slightly unevenly chopped vegetables. The garlic was tricky, but he was more careful this time, using a smaller knife. His tongue poked out the side of his mouth as he focused.

The roux almost stymied him. It took three attempts before he stopped burning the flour and creating a sludgy black mess in the bottom of the pan. He summoned his shield to fan away the smell out the front door, grumbling to himself.

But he’d come this far, hadn’t he? The fourth attempt with the roux was okay. He had been tempted to give up and order another cheese pizza, but he was determined now. What else was he going to do with the vegetables he’d bought if he gave up now? He stirred the roux carefully, brow furrowed in concentration as he added more ingredients and allowed them to simmer.

It smelled so good. So different, too, from the greasy smell of pizza, the clean scent of tea, the dull lifelessness of protein bars. He really had been eating just to eat, hadn’t he? The kitchen hadn’t smelled this good in months.

He half wanted to text the Gems and ask them to try it with him, but he felt a little uneasy at the idea. They weren’t talking much these days; Steven spent most of his time working on his plants in the greenhouse, now that he’d left Little Homeschool, and the Gems were working hard to pick up his slack. They mostly saw each other in vague elliptical orbits these days, a hello from one of them running into a goodbye from another. He wasn’t sure how to fit back in with them again. Maybe he was just going through a phase. He stirred the pot, taking care to keep the vegetables from burning.

Besides, food wasn’t exactly the Gems’ thing. Garnet only ate occasionally, mostly at Steven’s request. Pearl would share a cup of tea with him once a month or so, though he knew she still didn’t actually care for it; tea was just the least offensive thing she had discovered in the entire lexicon of human foods and drinks. Amethyst would readily eat both the food and the spoon as well, but he didn’t exactly trust her judgment when it came to fine dining. Yesterday he’d seen her eating dry ramen in the wrapper with chocolate and motor oil.

He thought about inviting Dad over for dinner. But lately things had been kind of weird with Dad, too. Steven knew he was still having a hard time adjusting to losing his hair and being attacked, but he wondered if there was more to it than that. He also kept trying to ask Steven questions that made him uncomfortable, questions about plans and the future and how he was doing, and Steven wasn’t sure he was up for it right now. He let out a long breath.

His phone buzzed. Hi you! What are you up to? Connie asked.

He mentally kicked himself. Of course, it was a Saturday. Connie actually had a little time to hang out some weekends. Why hadn’t he asked her to do something earlier? Too wrapped up in his own head, he supposed.

Trying out a new recipe. It’s hard. I burned it three times already, but I think this time is the winner. It smells awesome. He sent her a picture, having to try twice because steam from the dish clouded the first shot.

That looks amazing! Wish I could try it. Actually, I’m getting hungry just looking at it!

He gulped, fingers firing off a reply before he could stop himself. Want me to bring you some?

The phone buzzed again. That sounds like a great idea! But I told my parents I’d hang out with them tonight. Dad found a new strategy game and he thinks he can take out my mom, but he doesn’t know how badly she’s going to stomp him. My mom gets really competitive. It’s gonna be hilarious.

He considered. Well, there’s a huge pot of this vegetarian gumbo. I could make some rice, and we could all share?

Let me check!

He paced back and forth with his phone in his hand, hoping to feel a familiar vibration. He gave the gumbo a stir, then nodded. It looked like the recipe had said it would, three hours after starting it. He dipped in a tablespoon and brought out a steaming spoonful, blowing on it gently, then swallowed a bite.

Oh.

“That’s… that’s really good,” he croaked to the empty dining room. Tears pricked his eyes unexpectedly. He tasted garlic and pepper, heat and spice. He felt warmer than he had all week, a warmth that had nothing to do with his jacket or the temperature outside. It seemed to fill him up from his chest and belly outward. How was food this powerful?

His phone buzzed. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand and read Connie’s reply, and his face spread into a smile.

They’d love that! Come by as soon as you can! Miss you <3

***

Steven rocked back and forth on his heels, standing on the Maheswarans’ doorstep, the food carefully nestled in his largest grocery bag. He could feel the heat radiating through the cloth bag against his leg. He rang the doorbell, his stomach flip-flopping as he did so.

She asked you to come, he reminded himself. Yet he was seized with a sudden fear that the Maheswarans were just being polite, that Connie must have talked them into pitying him, that they didn’t actually want him around --

The door opened. Doug Maheswaran grinned at him, looking comfortable and relaxed, no trace of pity in his warm eyes. “Young Universe! Good to see you. Wow, have you grown again? It’s been too long. Come in, come in.” Doug reached out and took the bag of food from Steven. “Thank you for bringing dinner, it smells delicious. Saves me from having to come up with something!”

Steven blinked, slightly overwhelmed by the sheer force of Doug’s cheeriness. “Hi, Mr. Maheswaran, you’re welcome! Um, well, it made a much bigger batch than I thought it would, so it seemed silly for me to try to eat it all on my own…”

“Doug, for heaven’s sake, let the poor boy get inside before you badger him to death,” Dr. Maheswaran called from the dining room. Steven peeked around Doug, hoping for a glimpse of-- “Connie! Steven’s here, come on down.”

A barrelling of footsteps down the stairs, and Connie burst into the living room, grinning all over. “Steven!” She wore a shirt he hadn’t seen before on her, a pretty purple one with little white polka dots. Her hair fell in loose waves around her face. He fought a burst of giddiness.

“Connie!”

Steven grinned back at her. Normally they’d go for a full-on, leap-in-the-air style hug upon seeing each other again, but he held out his hand for a stiff handshake instead, conscious of Doug still standing a few feet away and Priyanka leaning into the doorway between the living room and dining room.

Connie batted his outstretched hand aside and hugged him anyway. He closed his eyes, her hair soft against his cheek, and held her for just a moment before she pulled back. She was still taller than him by a good inch or two, but hadn’t grown since the last time he’d seen her. Good. It hadn’t been too long, then.

“It’s, um, good to see you,” he breathed.

“Likewise,” she said, blushing.

Doug coughed delicately. “All right, you two. Come on, let’s get dinner set up before it gets cold.”

Steven followed Doug toward the dining room, but couldn’t help but take the opportunity to grab Connie’s hand and squeeze it, for just a moment, before letting it fall. “You’re sure they’re okay hanging out with me?” he whispered to her.

She gave him a sweet smile. “Of course they are. My parents love you, Steven.”

He chuckled, his nerves catching up to him. “Are you sure? I’m surprised they don’t think I’m a bad influence on you.”

“I’m perfectly capable of being a bad influence on myself, Steven,” said Connie loftily. “Don’t flatter yourself.” She winked.

They entered the dining room, where the table was already set. He could see into their small kitchen through the propped open door, where Doug was already putting the rice and gumbo into serving dishes.

Priyanka pulled glasses down from the shelf. “It’s good to see you, Steven,” she said with a faint smile. “This is so thoughtful of you. Thank you.”

“Oh, uh, no thought at all, really,” blustered Steven. “I just was trying out something new and thought it would be nice to share it.”

“Were your father and the Gems busy?” Priyanka asked, opening the refrigerator. “Water, or iced tea?”

Steven glanced at Connie, who caught the look on his face. “The Gems are pretty busy these days, Mom,” said Connie. “And they don’t have to eat, remember? Iced tea for me, please.”

Doug laughed. “Oh, yes, I remember now. It was very nice of them to try that time we went out to dinner.” He set out the serving dishes on the table, faint wisps of steam still rising from the gumbo and rice.

“And Dad… doesn’t like Cajun food,” said Steven quickly. “Iced tea would be great.”

Priyanka gave Steven an odd look, but brought out their drinks without further questions. “Well, I’m excited to try this. Connie tells us you’re an excellent cook.”

“Aw Connie, come on.”

“You are!” said Connie, sitting down at the table. Steven sat beside her, and Doug and Priyanka took the seats across from them. “I mean, I know you don’t cook fancy things all the time, but when you do, they’re always really good.” Steven’s ears burned.

Doug doled out portions to each shallow bowl, setting out a scoop of white rice on each dish, followed by a full ladle of gumbo and a sprinkle of chopped green onions. The gumbo was rich and reddish, thick-bodied and clinging to the edge of the rice, glorious with the scents of pepper, onion, garlic. Steven peered into his bowl, hoping it tasted as good as he thought it had in his own kitchen.

Priyanka was the first to take a bite. She chewed thoughtfully, then smiled in satisfaction. “Steven, that’s quite good. This is your first time making this?” He nodded. “Well, color me impressed.”

Steven’s eyes widened. He knew exactly how much a compliment from Priyanka meant, and he blinked in astonishment.

Beside her, Doug dove in. “Steven, this is fantastic. This tastes just like something you’d have visiting the Crawfish State. Send me the recipe, all right?”

“Sure,” said Steven. “Really? You -- you guys like it?”

Connie licked her spoon. “That is insanely good. What did you put in it? It’s nice and spicy. Not exactly hot-spicy, but more of an earthiness? It’s delicious.”

“I just followed the recipe,” he said, shrugging and looking from face to face. They each kept eating, apparently honestly enjoying the food. He’d known he could cook, he supposed, but it was different sharing that with people besides himself. He felt a sudden stab of sympathy for Lars being nervous to share his ube roll cake, back before when Lars still worked at the Big Donut.

But Steven had no reason to be nervous, right? Connie was sitting beside him, relaxed and happily eating his cooking, and her parents both wore warm smiles. There was something strange and familiar both about this, a scene he’d seen a thousand times on television, a scene he’d tried to recreate at home more times than he could remember. He tried to imagine Dad and the Gems sitting around the table, each enjoying the meal, laughing together, conversation flowing as easily as breathing. It seemed both more and less possible than it ever had before. He watched the Maheswarans, eating and talking together, and he felt hungry in a way that had nothing to do with his food.

“Don’t you want some?” asked Connie, nudging him a little with her elbow.

“Oh! Yeah, yeah,” he said, carving out a bite of rice and gumbo. The whole reason he’d come here! He popped it into his mouth, heat and spice hitting his tongue, combining with the sharpness of scallion and the comfort of fluffy rice. He swallowed and closed his eyes, breathing deeply.

Oh. Oh, no.

There it was again, that warmth, a comforting feeling that seemed less about the food than what the food meant. He blinked, tears starting at the corners of his eyes. Not here! Not in front of Connie’s parents! He stared furiously into the depths of his bowl, willing himself not to cry. A losing battle. A tear trickled down his cheek, falling into his food before he could wipe it away.

The conversation fell quiet, and the Maheswarans’ faces shifted from open and relaxed to suddenly worried.

“Steven? Are you all right?” asked Priyanka, her voice cautious. Soothing. He wondered if she saved that voice for her patients. He’d only rarely heard her use it with Connie.

“Is something wrong?” said Doug. “It is a little spicy --”

“No! I’m fine,” Steven muttered, setting down his spoon and rubbing at his face with his right hand. More tears. Was he bright red? He felt his cheeks flushing. “I -- might have put too much garlic in, that’s all --”

He felt Connie’s hand on his left hand, nestled in his lap beneath the table. She took it in her own and squeezed. He didn’t trust himself to look at her without crying even more obviously, and that was not what he had come here to do.

She fumbled, trying to come up with something. “Steven Universe, afraid of a little garlic?” The words were teasing, but the tone was concerned.

He sniffed, straightened up, and let go of her hand. “You’re right. I’m being silly.” He took a few more bites, the food as delicious as before, his eyes feeling puffy. He smiled through it. “So, Connie said you guys were going to play a new board game?”

“Oh! Yes,” said Doug. “Now, Priyanka always claims to be above such frivolous things as board games --”

“I do not,” she protested. “Games have a place and purpose, as long as your responsibilities are taken care of first. Besides, they’re a good way to hone critical thinking skills and --”

“And crush everybody,” Connie supplied. “Don’t pretend otherwise, Mom, you love being competitive. How were you surprised at all that I took up swordfighting?”

Priyanka arched an eyebrow. “Because swordfighting is an archaic form of battle and you were twelve. But I have to say, I have always admired your determination.”

“She’s the best, isn’t she?” said Steven, finishing another bite. The comforting warmth in his chest was more manageable now that the topic had changed, and he found himself enjoying what he’d made, something filling, something delicious, something real. The stinging in his eyes faded. “She’s always worked so hard. She’s amazing at swordfighting, and science, and literary analysis -- I mean, the conversations we’ve had about books --”

“Steven!” Connie hissed. “You flatterer!” She giggled and nudged him again.

“All right, all right,” he laughed.

“I know it’s rough on you two not being able to see each other as often,” said Doug sympathetically. He ladled a second helping into his scraped-clean bowl. “What are you up to these days, Steven? I heard you’ve been busy.” He dug into his food.

“Hm,” said Steven, pushing a chunk of pepper around in his dish. What am I up to? “The school for Homeworld Gems is going well, I guess. We had our first graduating class.” Don’t think about the dome.

He kept babbling, aware that the Maheswarans were looking at him. “It went really well? They were all pretty excited to head back out to space and move on.” The chunk of pepper slid around in circles, aided by his spoon. “I kinda stepped back from the school, though… I figured the other Gems were the best ones to be in charge. You know, they actually know what it’s like, trying to adjust to life on Earth without being ruled by anybody. I… don’t. At all.” He shrugged glumly. “But I hear they’re doing great without me.”

Priyanka looked at Steven, then glanced at Doug, giving him a slight nod. Doug finished his second portion, letting his spoon rest back in his bowl.

“That’s excellent news about the graduation,” said Priyanka, her voice measured. “You must be proud. But I know that for me it’s always bittersweet, seeing the interns match to their new residencies and move on. It does sound like you’ve helped a lot of people.” She got to her feet and collected her dishes. “Doug, would you please give me a hand with these?”

“Of course, dear,” said Doug, gathering up his own dishes and following her into the kitchen. As soon as the kitchen door closed behind them, Connie turned to Steven, taking his hands in hers.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” he said, gazing into her dark eyes. He reached out, brushing a strand of hair back behind her ear.

“Thanks,” she said softly. “That was bugging me.”

“It was very cute though. It made your ear look like an elf’s. Just the way it peeked through the hair.”

She smiled, but the action didn’t reach her eyes. “Are you okay?”

He looked down at their intertwined fingers. “Ugh. You noticed that, huh?”

“Of course I noticed you getting teary at the dinner table, and don’t tell me it was garlic. You love garlic. If you hadn’t realized, I know you pretty dang well, Universe.”

He squeezed her hands. “I -- I don’t know if you do,” he mumbled. “I don’t know if anyone does right now. I feel like I barely know me.” He gulped past the sudden lump in his throat.

Connie leaned forward until their foreheads touched. “Isn’t that what being a teenager is all about?” They were quiet for a moment, their breathing matching.

“Are you okay, Connie?”

She spoke into the stillness, her words winding, wandering. Wounded. “I don’t know. Mostly? Not completely.” She shrugged.

“Come on. You can tell me.”

“I know, it’s… hard to get started, is all.” She held tight to his hands. “I swear, I feel crazy some days. It’s like I’m normal me, the same as I used to be. But then there’s this new Connie fighting to form inside me, trying to figure things out, and I don’t understand her. And in between the two of them, everything is just a mess. Sometimes I mouth off to my parents and get in trouble, sometimes I just want to cry for no reason, sometimes I just don’t care about school, sometimes I hate everything --” She squeezed his hands back, much harder than he had squeezed hers. “Mom says it’s pretty normal for my age, but if that’s the case, this is a stupid age.” Her eyes shone with sudden tears.

“That sounds really hard. And… kind of familiar, actually,” he said in a soft voice. “I didn’t know you were going through all that.”

“That’s because I didn’t tell you,” she whispered. “I knew you had your own stuff going on, and I didn’t want to pile on, especially when we don’t get to see each other as much as before. It’s been weeks!”

“I know,” said Steven miserably.

“But it’s all so frustrating, and I hate not feeling like the me I’ve always been. It makes everything more difficult. I have a harder time focusing on my classes, but I need to, because for the first time in my life they’re actually challenging and it’s weird. I got my first C on a test last quarter, did I tell you? And sometimes I try talking to friends at school like Jeff or Bri, and that helps with the human stuff, but they don’t understand how much I miss seeing you and the Gems all the time. Especially you. Because I do miss you, jam bud.”

“I’m sorry, I should have been around more -- I should have been here for you --”

“Don’t apologize, you dork,” said Connie, wiping her eyes. “It’s not like it’s your fault. Sometimes stuff sucks a little and that’s how it is.” She took a deep breath. “Now. Tell me what’s been going on with you. I went first because I knew you’d feel bad telling me unless I shared my stuff too.” She leaned back and stuck her tongue out at him.

“So rude,” said Steven, laughing despite himself. “I guess you do know me pretty well still. Um, as far as what’s going on with me, I -- I don’t know. It’s like, everyone’s growing up, you know? You’re getting ready for college prep stuff, and Lars and the Off Colors went back to space, and Lars, of all people, is… actually mature now. I think he finally has his head on straight. And it’s good, but it’s also confusing, because that was never the guy I knew. And he and Sadie never made it work, and they’re fine with it, and that’s fine, but it just feels weird.” He bit his lip. “Did you hear, the Suspects broke up --”

“No!” Connie gasped. “I heard about it, but I thought it was some sick prank --”

“Right? Me too! But they all have their own things going on now. Buck is going to medical school, Jenny’s got a little business going, Sadie has this new partner Shep and they have a totally different sound together… I don’t know.”

“Welcome to the club,” said Connie. “Why do things have to be so confusing now? I thought growing up was supposed to make things clearer. Instead it seems like everything just gets more complicated.”

“It does, doesn’t it?” Steven mused. “I keep thinking, it seems like Beach City is doing fine without me, and so are the Gems, too. I hardly even see them now. They’re doing great with Little Homeschool, and I wonder did they even need me at all? What was I doing, trying to run a school? I’ve never even been to school! I was making it all up as I went!” He huffed in frustration, then continued.

“I guess I’m glad my schedule’s opening up now, but I haven’t figured out what I should do instead. I have time to sleep in but I keep waking up in the middle of the night. I could do music stuff, but I haven’t felt like it in forever. Lately I’ve been messing with plants, growing them the old-fashioned way, but that doesn’t really feel like anything.” His voice trailed off.

“And…” He hesitated. He hadn’t told her yet about the dome he accidentally created on graduation night, how he’d nearly hurt everyone. Or what happened in the Reef with Pearl and Volleyball. He still wasn’t sure how to say that out loud. To anyone.

“-- and I think my dad is still messed up after what happened with Bluebird,” he said instead. “He was starting to get more comfortable with Gem stuff, but now he’s not coming over as much. He doesn’t say it, but I think he’s kind of worried something might happen again. I am too, I guess. It honestly scared both of us.”

“I still can’t believe they went after your dad,” said Connie, a glimpse of her warrior side shining in her eyes. “I know you let them go, but if I’d been there with my sword --”

“There’d have been no stopping you,” he chuckled. Could they have stopped me? If I hadn’t stopped me?

“So what we do, then? I’m a mixed up bunch of stupid hormones and you don’t know what to do with your life or your family, and I guess that makes us both at least a little awkward,” said Connie.

“I don’t know,” said Steven honestly. But not knowing wasn’t as scary with Connie holding his hands. There was that much, at least, and that was a lot.

The kitchen door swung open and Steven and Connie quickly let go. He wasn’t sure if holding hands would be frowned upon by the Maheswarans, but didn’t want to find out, either. “All done with your food?” asked Priyanka. They nodded.

“That was truly delicious, Steven,” she said. “Why don’t you help me finish up, Connie, and Steven, you and Doug can set up the game. That is, if you’d like to stay for it. You’re certainly welcome to join us. From what I’ve seen perusing the rules manual, this game is much better balanced with four players than three.”

“Oh, please stay, Steven!” said Connie brightly. “Maybe we could form an alliance and actually take my mom out for once.”

Priyanka let out a sharp bark of a laugh as Doug took down a board game from the bookshelf behind the dining room table. “You’d like to think that, wouldn’t you?”

“All right, I’ll give it a shot,” said Steven. “But no promises, Connie. Gemkind has abolished warfare, remember? Strategy’s not exactly my strong suit.”

“Well, check out the rules and see what we can swing. You’re going down, Mom,” said Connie. They retreated, and Steven joined Doug in the living room, where he already had the game out on the coffee table. Steven sat down beside him on the sofa.

“Have you played this one, Steven? It’s called Interstellar Showdown. It can be collaborative and cooperative… or intensely competitive!” Doug’s face glowed with anticipation. “Priyanka always wins no matter what we play, but I’ve been studying strategies for this game on the sly. Just between you and me, of course.” He opened the box and started rifling through the instructions. “Would you mind organizing the pieces for me?”

“Sure,” said Steven. He held up one of the small transport ships. “This is actually a pretty close version of some of the Gem ships I’ve seen,” he said. “Do you think it’s a coincidence?” He grouped the blue pieces across from him, where he guessed Connie would probably sit, and got to work separating the pink pieces from the plastic that held them in place.

“Hard to say. What’s that thing Connie was telling me about the other day -- convergent evolution? Sometimes nature makes things very similar to each other because it’s the best shape for the task, like bird wings and bat wings. I think that’s what she said. She’s always telling me about interesting things she’s learned in school,” said Doug.

“Me too,” said Steven. “I never knew our atmosphere was mostly nitrogen-based until Connie told me. Who knew, right?”

“Right! Nitrogen’s not the first thing you think of when you think ‘breathable.’ I always thought it was all oxygen, all the time.” Doug set down the instructions and picked up a deck, tearing off the plastic wrapper. He shuffled the cards, doing both the regular shuffling as well as the bridge where the cards fanned upward. Steven watched, slightly jealous. He’d never figured out how to shuffle like that.

“How do you do the bridge thing?” he asked Doug.

“Bridge thing?” Doug looked down at his hands. “Oh, with the cards. It’s not too hard. You basically do the same shuffling action, but in reverse. Give it a shot.” He handed the cards to Steven.

“See, I can do the regular shuffling just fine --” He demonstrated. “But then this always happens.” The cards limply collapsed between his hands, refusing to arc. “Splat.”

“Try again,” said Doug, pulling out another deck of cards from the box and shuffling them downward. Slowly he arced them upward, the cards bending into perfect semicircles. Steven watched his hands closely.

“Okay, let’s see --” Down shuffle. He fanned his fingers outward, trying to urge the cards to go up instead of sideways. They splatted again, and he frowned, mouth twisting. “I can never get it,” he muttered.

“It’s hard to explain. I think I had to keep practicing. And try to change the shape of your hands as you lift the cards. That’s key,” said Doug. He shuffled again.

Steven tried it three more times, getting more irritated each time. The third time the cards fluttered away from him, making a mess and knocking over the pile of pink spaceships. A few of them skittered onto the floor and Steven flushed, suddenly embarrassed at his own irritation. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he said hastily, picking the pieces back up.

“Hey, it’s fine,” said Doug, picking up a ship he’d missed under the couch. “No big deal if the bridge doesn’t work out for you. But if you want to keep trying, we can.”

Steven took a deep breath. “Okay.” He tried again, this time flaring out his fingers more widely, driving his thumbs downward as he did. A few of the cards finally arced, weakly, and he looked in surprise at his own hands.

“See, you’ve got this!” Doug showed him again, and Steven studied how his fingers curled beneath the cards on the upswing, the angles in relation to the table, how the thumbs moved.

Steven tried again, and this time the arc was actually visible, if not as neat as Doug’s. “Hey! I’m doing it!”

Doug set his cards down, smiling. “You just needed a little help. It’s tricky!” He clapped Steven on the shoulder, and Steven shuffled the cards once, twice, a third time, smiling. Doug switched decks with Steven, and Steven shuffled the cards, the action getting smoother with each attempt.

“Thanks, Mr. Maheswaran.”

“No problem.” They went back to punching out spaceship pieces from their plastic frames. Doug took the white pieces, and Steven took the pink ones, leaving yellow for Priyanka.

Doug cleared his throat. “I’m sure you already know this, Steven, but in general, there’s never anything wrong with asking for help.”

Steven’s hands stilled on the plastic spaceships. “With… shuffling?”

“With anything.” Doug kept setting out the yellow plastic pieces, one at a time, his hands steady and sure. “No one knows how to get everything right on the first try. Sometimes it’s shuffling cards. Sometimes it’s stuff at home, too.”

Steven’s cheeks flared. “It -- it was just too much garlic --” he faltered. “I wasn’t --”

“Hey, hey, I’m not trying to put you on the spot, Steven,” said Doug, turning a little to face him directly. He looked worried, but kind. “But you’re important to Connie. And you’re important to Priyanka and me, too.” He reached out again, and this time instead of a quick clap, his hand rested on Steven’s shoulder. “If there are things that are worrying you, I know you already have a lot of people in your life you can turn to. But when I was your age, sometimes the people closest to me were exactly the ones I didn’t feel like I could talk to. And if you’re ever in a place like that, I want you to know you can talk to me and Priyanka, even if you feel like you can’t talk to Connie or your family.”

Steven looked into his face, then sniffed, reaching up to rub his eyes. Part of him wasn’t sure what he could possibly say to Mr. Maheswaran. But part of him felt like he was thawing, a cold layer of fear slowly breaking up and dissolving in parts. Not completely. Still, though, the feeling was a good one.

“Thank you, Mr. Maheswaran. I -- maybe I will.” He let out a long breath. “Though we should probably finish setting up the game.” But impulsively he leaned forward, and Doug’s hand on his shoulder became a hug, brief and a little clumsy but warming all the same.

“Sounds like a plan, kid,” said Doug, smiling. His own eyes looked a little watery, or was that a trick of the light? “Come on, ladies,” Doug called. “Are we going to defeat you, or what?”

***

They did not, in fact, defeat Priyanka. Though it was very, very close. Steven’s Pacifist aliens did form a powerful alliance with Connie’s Warrior race, and Doug’s strategic use of the Zombie aliens constantly stymied them. But in the end Priyanka’s Virus aliens stood victorious with their colonies towering above the others’, with most of the other players’ ships lost to the warp.

Priyanka was a restrained, if slightly smug, victor. “Well,” she said, smiling faintly at her collection of yellow colonies. “That was certainly tricky.”

“Modest as always,” Doug teased, reaching out to squeeze her hand briefly. “Ahhh, one of these days I’ll get the perfect strategy together. Maybe.” He let out a long sigh. “I thought for sure that last gambit was going to work….”

“My dad, the eternal optimist,” said Connie. “What’d you think, Steven? It ended up being a very Gem-like game, didn’t it?”

“Uncannily so,” said Steven. He was glad he’d managed to draw the Pacifist card at the beginning of the game and could worry more about helping Connie win. Even in board game form with painted on planets, the idea of colonization couldn’t help but creep him out a little.

Despite that, though, it’d been fun to see Connie with her brow furrowed in concentration, poring over the board to come up with a strategy. He’d enjoyed Priyanka complimenting him on a particularly clever bit of negotiation, and it had been fun to cheer Doug on with Connie for the final encounter. “It’d be cool to play again as some of these other alien species. They all seem to have a special power that breaks the rules just a little bit. It’s a neat game.”

“I wouldn’t say no to a rematch another time,” said Priyanka. She checked her watch. “But it’s nearly nine o’clock. Won’t your family be getting worried, Steven? Beach City’s not exactly down the block.”

Steven met Connie’s eyes. He knew he’d probably be unable to convince the Maheswarans that it was fine to stay longer, that the Gems hadn’t had the concept of “bedtime” for him in years. “I hadn’t realized it was getting so late,” said Steven. “I hope I didn’t intrude on your family time --”

“Not in the slightest,” said Priyanka. “It’s been a pleasure to have you, Steven. We should do this more often.”

“Besides, you were kind enough to bring over a delicious dinner!” said Doug. “Don’t forget to send Connie that recipe for me.”

Connie reached out and poked him in the side. “If you don’t remember, he will hound me forever about it,” she warned. “You wouldn’t do that to me, would you, Steven?”

“Of course not,” he laughed. “Don’t worry. I’ll send it as soon as I get home.”

“Speaking of dinner, there was a little bit left. Let me go package it up for you,” said Doug. “There’s plenty left for a few more servings.”

Doug and Connie both stood from their seats, and Steven gave Connie a questioning look. “I’m just going to the restroom,” she said. Steven nodded, and realized he was now alone with Priyanka.

For a moment they didn’t speak, looking at each other from across the game board. Steven wondered about Doug and Connie both excusing themselves, remembering how long Connie’s parents had taken in the kitchen after dinner. After he’d cried. His cheeks burned as he put the pieces together.

He cleared his throat. “Dr. Maheswaran, can I ask you something?”

She blinked, looking as if she had been lost in thought. “Of course, Steven.”

He looked down at his hands, fingers twisting together. “Did you and Mr. Maheswaran plan on… giving me a talk?”

“What do you --”

“Mr. Maheswaran talked with me earlier. He told me I could always talk to you both.” Steven looked pointedly at his shoes. “That was planned, wasn’t it? After I got weird at dinner?”

Priyanka sighed, then rested her elbows on her lap, leaning towards him. “I suppose I can speak plainly, then. Yes. We saw that something seemed to be bothering you, and we didn’t want to leave it unremarked upon in case you needed to reach out.”

Steven blinked in surprise. He’d fully expected her to deny the whole thing. It was what the Gems would have done.

“Oh! You -- I thought so.”

Priyanka smiled ruefully. “You’re nearly an adult, Steven. I’m not too surprised you realized. I hope you don’t think that we’re trying to patronize you.”

Steven stopped twisting his hands and shoved them in his pocket instead, willing them to stay still. His leg betrayed him by starting up a quiet jitter. “No, I don’t think that,” he said in a rush. “At least, not exactly.” His leg stilled a little, remembering Doug’s quick hug, the way he’d felt like he was thawing. “It was… really nice, what he said.”

She nodded. “That’s why I asked Doug to talk to you, instead of talking to you myself. He’s far more approachable than I am. I have been told I can be… intimidating.”

Despite himself, Steven could feel a smile tugging at the edges of his lips. “I was pretty scared of you at first,” he admitted. “I think Connie was too.”

Priyanka’s gaze softened. “I can be very stern. Subtlety isn’t one of my strong suits, Steven. That’s why I wasn’t going to belabor the point by trying to corner you, if that’s what you suspected is happening right now.”

Steven looked anywhere but at her face. “Maybe…”

She chuckled. “No. I wasn’t planning on pulling you aside myself, and Doug really did just decide to go box up the food. And Connie wasn’t in on it, if you’re worried about that. This was solely a parental decision.”

Steven relaxed, a fear he hadn’t even fully articulated slipping away. “Oh. That’s, um, good to know. Thank you.”

“However, since you’ve brought it up… would you mind if I shared my thoughts?”

He thought for a moment. He was, quite honestly, still a little afraid of her. But he liked that she had asked. “I’d like to hear them,” he said cautiously.

Priyanka straightened back up, leaning against the back of the sofa and looking thoughtful. “I worry about you both,” she said, looking up at the ceiling. “To be frank, this is a terrible age. Every problem is magnified, large or small. Human brains struggle so much at this age to mature, to grow, to form identity. I wouldn’t go through it again if you paid me.” She let out a short, sharp laugh before continuing, still keeping her gaze fixed above him.

“I know Connie is having a hard time of her own, and sometimes she lets us in, but sometimes she doesn’t. It’s normal, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult.” She sighed. “And I know she worries about you. She’s always wanted to fight by your side, but soldiers often struggle after their war ends. I know that neither of you was a soldier in the traditional sense, but still… as I said, I worry.”

“Was I a soldier? I don’t know.” He’d never thought of himself like that. Yet he knew battle, didn’t he? Didn’t he know sacrifice?

“Maybe,” she said. “I don’t know all the details. But I know it was a war.”

“Yes. It was.” He swallowed. “There are things that happened to me I still haven’t told anyone,” he said, so softly that he could barely hear his own voice. He followed her lead and gazed up at the ceiling, its plain eggshell surface slipping and blurring in his vision. “And some things that only Connie knows. Terrible things.”

A moment’s pause. “I... wondered.”

“I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say them out loud. They’d be real, then, wouldn’t they? The war is over. Why do I still think about old scars?” The tears started again, but if he didn’t look at Priyanka, he could pretend they weren’t happening. He kept staring at the ceiling. “And then there’s new things. I’m not human. Not fully. And sometimes things happen that I don’t understand -- that I can’t control --” He sucked in a breath, suddenly remembering where he was. He snapped his head back down and tore his gaze from the ceiling. “No. I shouldn’t --”

Across the table, Priyanka’s eyes looked red. She folded her hands in her lap. “What if you did talk about it?”

Steven stared at her, his cheeks damp, his nose running. “I can’t. I -- I’ve already said more than I should. I’m sorry.”

Priyanka nodded. “All right. You don’t have to speak about it to me. Or to Doug. Or even Connie. But I would ask you… please think about sharing with someone. When you’re ready.”

Steven nodded blearily. “I’ll… think about it.”

She stood up, bringing him a tissue from the box on the end table and taking one for herself. She dabbed at her eyes. He got to his feet, feeling uncomfortable sitting while she stood. He wiped his face, then balled up the tissue and stuffed it into his pocket.

“You aren’t alone, Steven,” she said, standing beside him with her arms crossed, looking through the window to the darkened street outside. “Even if it must feel that way sometimes.”

“It does,” he mumbled beside her. “And I feel stupid for even thinking that, when you’ve both been so kind, when I have Connie, and my family, and --”

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t difficult. Sometimes, it makes it even harder,” she said, and the fact that she didn’t tell him it was fine, or that he was going to be okay, made his chest ache. He was more grateful to her for it than words could convey.

“Um… Dr. Maheswaran,” he said awkwardly. “I don’t, um, I don’t know if you’re a hugger, but --”

Before he’d finished his sentence, she put an arm around his shoulders and pulled him to her. He rested his head against her shoulder, closing his eyes, trembling only a little.

“Usually, I’m not,” she said, and he could tell by her voice she was smiling. “But I make exceptions for those I care about.” She embraced him a moment longer, then let go. He found the balled up tissue in his pocket and used it again.

“Thanks, Dr. Maheswaran,” he said in a hoarse voice.

“You’re very welcome, Steven.”

“Uh… what are you guys up to?” asked Connie uncertainly from the entrance to the dining room.

“It’s a clear night, and Steven was pointing out the regions of some of the nearer Gem outposts,” Priyanka answered without hesitation. “I was curious about some of the missions he’s been on. Once things settle down with school, hopefully you’ll both be able to explore further.”

“Thanks, Mom,” said Connie, though she still looked suspicious.

Doug appeared beside her, holding the bag of Steven’s food. “Thanks again for sharing with us,” he said. “Any time you want to come by and bring us dinner, you won’t catch me saying no.”

“Nor I,” said Priyanka. She nodded toward the front door. “If you two want a few minutes to say goodbye outside, take your time.”

“Just not too much of it,” Doug joked. He handed the bag to Steven, and gave him a warm smile. “We’re up for a rematch any time though, Steven. Take care.”

“Drive safely,” said Priyanka, smiling as well. “We’ll see you in a few moments, Connie. Goodbye, Steven.”

Steven followed Connie through the front door and onto the doorstep, where she promptly sat down, patting the step beside her. He closed the door and gratefully joined her, setting the food down between his feet.

“Um, what was that?” Connie asked.

“What was what?” said Steven, trying to keep his voice casual. Not that that would work on Connie.

“You and my mom talking.” Connie waved a hand at the night sky, which was covered in clouds. “I know she didn’t develop a sudden interest in astronomy.”

Steven buried his face in his hands, the ups and downs of the evening catching up to him. He took a few breaths before he lowered his hands and looked at her with a watery smile. “They worry. About you. About me.”

“About us? Being together?”

“Not like that. I think they’re fine with that. I do think they like me,” he admitted. “But they know we’re not exactly fine.”

“Mm.” Connie leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder and wrapping an arm around his waist. “I thought they might try some kind of concerned talk after I realized how long they were talking in the kitchen. I’m sorry I didn’t get a chance to warn you, but they came back too soon. That’s where they go to be sneaky. ‘Oh, we were just doing the dishes, Connie!’ And then the next thing you know it’s ‘we’re not mad, we’re just disappointed.’ They didn’t do that, did they?”

“No, no. They were kind. Really kind. Your mom… She’s actually a big softy, isn’t she? I never knew that before.” He reached up, putting his arm around her shoulders. He’d never stop marveling at how right she felt beside him.

Connie laughed, the sound sweet and silvery. “It took me a long time to realize that’s why she’s so scary sometimes. She doesn’t want anyone to know. Whereas Dad -- he’s just out there with it. He doesn’t care who sees.”

“Sorry if I made dinner weird.” He tried to think of a way to explain how he had felt. “I just… did I ever tell you about Together Breakfast? That was before I knew you.”

“You mean Garnet’s wedding cake that we didn’t get to eat? I figured there had to be a story behind it.”

“Yeah, we had one then, but there was an original Together Breakfast. There was one day I was trying to get the Gems to hang out with me. I was twelve, I think. I made this nasty breakfast -- waffles covered in chocolate and whipped cream and popcorn -- and I wanted them to share it with me so much. But they were all hiding in the Temple, and then Amethyst tried to eat the whole thing, and Pearl and Garnet were too busy.... Anyway, a Gem monster got out and it turned the breakfast into this hideous horrible whipped cream nightmare. We defeated it and went out for pizza in the end.”

“That sounds messed up, but also, completely normal for you.”

“Right?” he laughed. “But I thought about it a while back. The messed up part wasn’t the monster.” This was hard to say. Harder than he’d thought it would be. “Why’d I have to beg them to hang out with me? I was twelve.”

“Oh, Steven.” She was quiet. “They really are aliens, aren’t they? But that doesn’t make it okay.”

“I saw you and your parents sitting around the table, happy and normal and enjoying something I’d made -- something good, something I was proud of -- and I don’t know.” He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “I really enjoyed dinner with all of you tonight. But it was hard, too.”

“I didn’t know all this stuff was going on with you,” said Connie.

“I didn’t know about your stuff, either,” he reminded her gently.

She nuzzled against him, her face soft against the crook of his neck. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll talk to you if you talk to me. Deal?”

“That seems fair,” he said, though his mind raced with thoughts of pink flashes and white-hot rage. He forced the thoughts away, stuffing them down. He’d talk to her about more things. No need to bring up everything. There were still some things he had to figure out on his own.

“I don’t know if I can see you every week,” said Connie sadly. “Not until some of my classes start dying down. But we should do a video chat every week for sure. We’ve been bad at that lately.”

“Agreed,” said Steven. He’d been the one to say he was too busy for the past three or four calls. He swallowed his guilt and kissed her forehead again. “I missed you, Connie.”

“I missed you too, Steven.”

A gentle knock at the door. Connie let out a long sigh. “Ahh, that’s my cue. I could sit here with you forever, you know. But I guess they have a point. I’m freezing.”

He laughed, holding her close. “I’d better warm you up before you go.” A quick kiss, then a longer one, slower, softer. They broke apart, blushing furiously.

“Now they’re really going to give me a concerned talk,” Connie giggled. “‘Why are you so flushed, young lady?’”

“Because it’s cold outside!” said Steven, his eyes wide in the picture of innocence. They broke down laughing almost immediately.

She got to her feet and crossed her arms. “Go on, you. Before I do get in trouble.” She beamed at him.

“Oh, fine,” said Steven, standing up and grabbing the bag of food. He grinned as she kissed the tip of his nose. “But… call me tomorrow?”

“I will. And don’t forget to text me that recipe!” She blew him a final kiss as she opened the front door.

“Bye, Connie! Bye, Dr. and Mr. Maheswaran!” Steven called. He turned and headed back to the Dondai, gently swinging the bag in his hand until he remembered it held his food.

He drove back home, the car still pleasantly full of the smell of spices and peppers. This time of night there was an utter lack of traffic on the road. The drive home passed quickly, smooth and dreamlike in the cloudy dark.

The Dondai’s wheels drove over the gritty sand, coming to a stop just below the path up to his house. He sat in the car for a moment, considering, then pulled out his phone.

First he sent a text to Connie. Made it home, safe and sound. Here’s the recipe, he sent. He included a few photos and perhaps an overabundance of heart emojis.

Then he hit a familiar phone number and raised the phone to his ear. After three rings, it picked up. “Steven?” asked Greg. “Is everything okay?”

“Oh! Sorry, Dad. I forgot how late it was. Everything’s fine. I was just wondering… have you had anything for dinner yet?”

“No, I was just snacking around…”

Steven smiled, looking at the bag in his passenger seat. “Want to come over and watch a movie? I made dinner.”

Greg’s voice through the phone was surprised, but glad. “I’d love to, son. I’ll be over in five. Love you.”

“Love you, too, Dad.”

He ended the call and lowered his hand. He let out a long breath, then unbuckled his seatbelt and grabbed his dinner. He stepped out into the sand, heading up the path home, and he left behind the sound of waves upon the shore.

*****************************************

(Note: I chose gumbo based upon the meal I had at a soul food restaurant for my 33rd birthday, five days after my brother died. My family and my friends gathered there, and it was the first food we’d had all week that I could actually *taste.* It made me feel alive again. It made me feel human. And I thought Steven needed that too.

And yes, this is a real board game. It’s called Cosmic Encounter in our universe and it’s delightful.)

#steven universe #steven universe future #suf #connverse #connie maheswaran #priyanka maheswaran #doug maheswaran #the maheswarans #fanfoolishness' steven universe fic

197 notes · View notes