#peanut gallery was loud today | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

mochegato · 5 months

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If You Bring a Friend to Dinner...

Kon eyed the multiple laptops Tim had scattered around himself as he lounged on the couch in the manor’s living room, not as hard as he was side eying Tim’s outfit, but he was still eying the technology situation hard. “Why are you researching this today? And why aren’t we doing this in the cave?”

“I’m bored and you know Bruce’s rule about suits in the cave,” Tim answered without taking his eyes off his screen except to switch to looking at a different laptop’s screen. “Also, I’m not changing.” He motioned to his quite comfy, oversized, fluffy dark hoodie, which gave the impression of an adult version of a toddler’s bear coat. The only thing it was missing was little ears on the hood.

“Lazy,” Kon scoffed and collapsed onto the opposite couch, feet hanging over the arm.

“Comfortable,” Tim corrected, now looking at the third laptop.

“You look ridiculous. You should be embarrassed,” Kon grumbled.

This finally made Tim stop and look up. “Of all the things I’ve done, this is what you think I should be embarrassed about? Buddy, this isn’t even in the top hundred this year alone,” Tim scoffed. “Besides, I'm not going to see anyone but you and my family today and I don’t care what any of you guys think.”

Kon opened his mouth to tell him that was probably a good thing because what he thought was that Tim look like a spoiled, sorority girl going through a bad breakup. But instead of passing on this vital knowledge, he snapped his mouth shut and lifted his head to angle it toward the rest of the manor. “No way,” he muttered under his breath.

Tim sat up straight, immediately switching to mission mode and scouring the Watchtower’s feed scanning for any crises popping up anywhere in the world. “What is it?” he demanded, his blood pressure steadily increasing with each negative result.

“No way,” Kon repeated again. He bolted up off the couch and flew out the door toward the west wing, moving so quickly, it was close to being literal. Tim rushed after him with absolutely no hope of catching him even if he hadn’t taken a few extra seconds to carefully displace his laptops.

Kon skidded to a stop at the end of the west wing’s hallway barely missing colliding into the two figures that had stopped in the middle of the hallway, the woman clearly didn’t let her significantly smaller stature hold her back as she stood staring up the other man, hands on her hips with a cocky smirk on her lips while the man didn’t look chastened in the least. The woman eeped and jumped back at the sudden intrusion while the man sighed heavily, the amused uptick to his lips dropping instantly. “What are you doing here?” he glowered.

“And good to see you too, Damian,” Kon grinned. He took a step to the side just in time to avoid Tim bowling into him as he rounded the corner but grabbed his arm to help him skid to a stop before running into the other two.

Damian leaned back and crossed his arms as he glowered at their dumbfounded stares. “Oh good, the peanut gallery.”

Tim and Kon would have responded any other time, heartily dished back the attitude Damian was giving them, but they were too dumbfounded at seeing Damian with a friend other than Jon, a female, non-hero friend, to really register his words.

The woman waited a few beats, looking back and forth between them before deciding to take matters into her own hands. She grinned at them and held out her hand. “Hi! I’m Marinette.”

Tim stared at the hand, still too dumbfounded to register what was going on. He leaned back closer to Kon, “What the fuck is happening right now?” He meant to whisper, and technically, he did, but it was still loud enough to travel crystal clear to both Marinette and Damian.

“It’s a hand… you shake it as a greeting,” she explained slowly.

Tim blinked a few times before he reached out and shook her hand woodenly. He looked over at Damian while still holding her hand, eyes wide in shock. “You brought someone home.” He didn’t realize he was still holding her hand until she chortled quietly at his astonished tone, only then letting go of her hand and offering her a sheepish smile.

“Obviously,” Damian retorted. He pretended to flinch when the woman elbowed him in the ribs and sighed dramatically. “This is my friend Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Marinette, this is…”

“She’s a gir…” Kon cut in. His eyes darted to Damian for just a second before returning to the woman in front of him. “You're a girl,” Kon stated to her, meeting her eyes with an incredulous stare as though she should understand why that was so problematic to his world view.

She straightened instantly and her eyes hardened. “Yeah, well spotted. Good job. Now do something impressive, like figure out what you are. I'm guessing cryptid,” she snapped with a coldness he hadn’t anticipated from someone dressed in so many pastels.

He blinked like he was really seeing her for the first time and leaned back to better view her with an assessing once over and raised an amused eyebrow as his lips curled up in a smile, “Nah, that's usually Tim. He dresses for it and everything,” he motioned toward Tim’s hoodie. “I’m a different type of legendary beast.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “I’m more one of the tall, sexy creatures that visit maiden’s dreams.”

“No, you aren’t,” Damian declared.

Marinette crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back, her eyes narrowing. “Like a Liderc maybe,” she scoffed.

Kon hummed in mock consideration and took a step closer to her. “Is a Liric…”

“Liderc,” she corrected.

“… tall and sexy?” he finished leaning closer to her.

She pushed him back with a smirk and a finger to his chest. “Not exactly… more like a little superhuman…”

“Supernatural,” Damian corrected quickly. He shook his head curtly for Tim without bothering to look over and see the questioning glance he knew must be on his face.

“…creature,” she continued without acknowledging Damian’s interruption with a nonchalance indicative of well-established prior experience, “hatched out of a pod…” Her smug expression dropped and her eyes unfocused for just a second before she turned to Damian, missing the way Kon’s face froze, “pod?”

“Egg,” Damian answered. He waited until she’d turned back to Kon before meeting Tim’s eye this time and curtly shaking his head. Tim raised his eyebrows higher and bobbed his head incredulously. Damian subtly shrugged then nodded. Tim’s face stretched in an impressed glower as he returned his attention to the conversation between Marinette and Kon with a renewed interest.

“…egg…” she continued oblivious to the silent conversation behind her, her smug expression fully back in place.

“Pod was more accurate,” Tim snickered just loudly enough for Kon to hear. Kon huffed and shoved his head away.

“…that flies around and attaches itself to single women,” she finished.

Tim doubled over, the sound of his roaring laughter echoing down the long hallway. Even Damian grinned at her description and Kon’s flabbergasted expression. “I thought…” Tim stopped to gasp for breath and grabbed onto Kon’s shoulder for support, “I thought you hadn’t met her yet. She seems to know you pretty well.” Kon scowled and shoved his hand off his shoulder, taking a small measure of enjoyment from Tim almost falling over with the loss of support.

“It also helps form the Hungarian word for nightmare,” Damian added with a smirk.

“See, there you go, she thinks you’ll visit her dreams,” Tim chortled and patted Kon’s chest. “Sounds like you were right after all.”

Damian’s smirk quickly dropped. “There will be no dream guest appearance except between us,” Damian insisted. He tugged Marinette a bit closer and into his side, moving her further away from Kon. “Let me know when Jon arrives.” Marinette glared at him pointedly. “I will not say ‘please’ no matter how hard you stare,” he stated, deftly avoiding her eyes and starting to move them out of the hallway.

“I’m not your assistant,” Tim growled. Damian stopped and raised an eyebrow at him and smirked. “You got something to say?” Tim asked sharply.

“Oh, I finally get to meet Jon?” Marinette asked, a bit louder than necessary for their proximity, and moved between the two, directly into Damian’s line of sight.

“Yes,” he confirmed as he finally lowered his eyes from the broken staring contest. His face softened as he continued moving them out of the hallway again. “He will be here in a little bit. He said he had something to do first, then he’ll be over and will stay until the New Year’s party tomorrow. He was quite excited to meet you as well.”

She quirked her head to the side slightly. “Will he be here in time to…”

“He will indeed,” he cut in sharply. He frog marched her away from the bedroom wing and toward the east wing before she could ask anymore questions.

“Wait! Damian, you haven’t introduced us!” Marinette objected and tried to turn around toward the men but had to settle for vaguely motioning over her shoulder. “I don’t even know their names.”

“Yes, good observation,” he praised with only a hint of condescension in his voice and a bit more force in his hands.

“Damian!” she tried to twist to smack his chest but his hands were unyielding. “That’s rude. I don’t want to start out by being rude to your family.”

“First, they are not both family,” he scoffed. “Second, you called one of them a Lidrerc and I’m being rude?”

“Yes! That’s different. And you know it,” she huffed.

He eyed her skeptically but shook it off. “Third, I tried and they interrupted. It is their fault if they did not get a proper introduction. Fourth, and most importantly, they are a waste of our time and attention, and I assure you they will not think of this as a reflection on you.”

“Damian!” She gasped and succeeded this time in twisting under his arm to confront him.

The only concession Damian was willing to give to indicate how impressed he was with her ability to break free from his grasp was a raised eyebrow. The rest of his face remained stoic, if a little exasperated. “I’ve known them for almost 10 years now. I stand by my evaluation,” he intoned as he turned her around again and continued to push her down the hallway.

“I’m so sorry,” she called over her shoulder as she attempted to give them a parting bright smile and wave.

“I’m not,” Damian called just as loudly but without taking his eyes off the path ahead of him.

Tim scoffed and shook his head at their retreating backs. “He brought someone home… a girl… and she seems…nice… and normal… and nice,” he murmured incredulously.

“Oh, she seems very nice,” Kon agreed, watching just as intently, but focusing considerably more on one of them in particular.

Tim smacked him in the chest. “No,” he ordered sternly.

“What?” he asked in mock innocence that he couldn’t have pulled off even fresh out of the pod.

“Damian’s friend… well, friend. You know, I’m not sure what that is,” he motioned vaguely toward the east wing, “but you will not interfere. Damian doesn’t make friends. This is big.”

“I haven’t done anything… yet.” He winked at Tim and started back toward the living room.

“Kon…” Tim started warningly.

“Come on, I’m not going to intentionally hurt him no matter how much of an ass he usually is.” He grinned devilishly back at Tim. “Tell you what, you go start the research on her we both know you’re going to do, and I’ll grab some food from somewhere. I can tell you what I heard them talking about when I get back and why he brought her.”

Tim sighed and jogged to catch up with him, smacking him upside the head as soon as he did. “Stop listening in on people’s conversations outside of missions. It’s creepy.” They made it all the way back to the living room before he broke. “But since you heard it already, tell me everything when you get back.”

Kon grinned and shrugged on his jacket. “I’ll bring back Batburger. That feels like a spilling the tea kind of food.”

><><><><><><><><><

“I know where the art room is, you know. I don’t need an escort,” Jon pointed out as he followed closely behind Kon and Tim on their way down the east wing’s hallway.

“Oh, we’re not escorting you,” Tim corrected. He met Jon’s eyes over his shoulder with a look that did not comfort Jon at all.

“We’re tagging along,” Kon clarified, giving Jon the same look, which was considerably more concerning for Jon when coming from Kon.

Jon eyed them suspiciously. “Why?”

“Curiosity,” Tim answered at the same time Kon said, “Interest.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed further. “Uh huh. That’s not fishy at all. I’m not remotely concerned now,” he grumbled.

“Nah, I researched her,” Tim assured him. He moved to the side and slowed his pace just a fraction to match Jon’s. “She’s clean. Seems like a good kid. Might even be good for Damian.”

Jon nodded unsure how to respond to Tim’s candor. “Good, well, that’s… that’s good.” He started to say more, to compliment Tim on looking out for his brother but before he could figure out how to form the words, Kon snorted.

Tim raised an eyebrow. “What?”

Kon waved him off like it was nothing, but the tightening of his jaw indicated otherwise. “Nothing. She's just complementing the composition and contrasts of his art and how talented,” he spit the word out like it personally offended him,“and he is absolutely preening at it.”

Jon smiled. “It’s good to know she’s supporting him. He really likes her, which of course he won’t say, but he talks about her a lot.”

“Really? I hadn’t heard anything until today,” Tim noted curiously.

“Not too surprising,” Jon shrugged. “Doesn’t really tell you anything about his life, does he? Dick maybe, but you…” He let the sentence trail off. They both knew what Tim and Damian’s relationship was.

Tim grunted a sound similar to an agreement but suddenly smacked Kon upside the head. “And stop listening in on other people's conversations. It's creepy.” They took a few steps before he leaned slightly toward Kon and lowered his voice as though Jon couldn't still hear him and said, “But let me know if he does anything embarrassing.”

Kon grinned and nodded at him with a wink, but his face quickly dropped into a pout as he scowled at the door just a few steps down from them. Tim looked from Kon to the door slowly, suspicion permeating his expression as he slowly opened the art room door, fully expecting the worst, which is why the fluffy sight in front of him was such a relief.

Damian and Marinette were standing in front of one of his paintings, her head on his shoulder and his arm around her waist whispering to each other as she pointed to different points in the painting. Tim looked back at Kon as he stepped into the room and snorted at his deepened scowl at the sweet sight.

The noise knocked the two out of their little bubble, seemingly affecting Damian more than Marinette based on the speed at which he dropped his hand and jumped away from her, causing her to almost fall. He reached out to push her back into balance but instantly returned his hand behind his back and straightened up to his full height before them.

“Jon, it is good to see you. Glad you could make it,” Damian welcomed.

“Of course,” Jon said warmly and hugged Damian, which Damian allowed to happen, but didn’t return. “I’m here for you.”

“We didn’t get that greeting,” Kon chortled.

“No, we did not,” Tim agreed. “It’s almost like he doesn’t want us here.”

Damian glared at them over Jon’s shoulder. “It’s not almost like it,” he corrected curtly. He returned his attention to Jon and continued before they, or Marinette, could respond to or chastise him. “Jon, this is my friend Marinette. Marinette, this is my friend Jon.”

Marinette smiled brilliantly, lighting up the entire room, and hugged him. She backed away just far enough to not share breath. “It’s so good to meet you! I feel like I know you already. Damian talks about you all the time.”

Jon blushed deeply and shoved his hands in his pockets, looking away sheepishly. “Thanks. It’s really good to finally meet you, too. He talks about you all the time, too. Like non-stop. I can’t wait to spend time with you and get to know you better.”

Marinette, whose smile couldn’t get any bigger, got warmer instead. “Absolutely.” She kept his gaze for a few moments before shifting it over his shoulder to the two figures standing behind him and waved. “Hey again! Sorry we didn’t get to meet earlier, because Damian is rude,” she added pointedly with a glare to Damian added in, to which Damian shrugged unashamedly, “and didn’t introduce us. “I’m Marinette. I believe I heard your name is Tim?” she asked uncertainly, waiting until he nodded before continuing. “So, you must be Tim Drake, yes?”

“I am” he grinned and ventured further into Damian’s art room than he had ever been allowed to venture before to shake her hand. “Nice to meet you… officially.” As soon as she turned her attention to Kon, he smirked at Damian, fully enjoying the glare Damian was shooting him.

Marinette stepped closer to Kon and held her hand out. “And based on the leather jacket, that would make you Jason Todd?”

Kon sputtered and Tim burst out laughing. “Uh… no, not Jason,” Kon corrected.

Marinette’s face dropped almost as fast as her hand. “I am so sorry. It is nice to meet you...”

Kon stepped forward with a small smile and opened his mouth but before he could comfort her Damian pulled her back closer to him and tried to physically angle her toward Jon and main part of the room. “His name is unimportant,” he stated firmly, making no doubt that the conversation was over.

Jon shook his head, exasperation bleeding from his expression and tone. “It’s the holidays. Be nice, Dame.”

“I don’t see how the time of year should affect my behavior,” Damian sniffed.

Marinette dropped her head into her hands and let out an exasperated sigh. “Damian…”

Damian sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. “Fine. That is Jon's brother.” He tried to angle her toward the room again, but Kon took her hand before he could, moving so quickly, it was dangerously close to exposing his identity.

“Kon. My name is Kon. And it is really nice to meet you, Marinette.”

She raised her head slightly and looked up at him, causing her to look through her lashes to meet his eyes, unintentionally taking his breath away. “Nice to meet you, Kon.”

“No, it’s not,” Damian grumbled and pulled her away from Kon, settling her on his other side next to Jon instead. He turned to face Kon full on standing between him and Marinette. “We were in the middle of something.”

“We were just about to go play a game,” Marinette added, popping up over his shoulder.

“We were not.”

“I’d love to play a game,” Jon cheered. Marinette grinned brilliantly at him and clapped like the decision was made.

Damian groaned dramatically and motioned toward the hallway. “Fine. The game room is down the hallway.”

Marinette nodded and started toward the hallway but froze mid-step. “You have a room just for games?”

Kon chuckled, taking more pleasure than he should from the fact that she’d stopped directly in front of him. “Rich people,” he shrugged.

She nodded contemplatively like that explained everything but suddenly popped up. “Oh! I know! Do you have Candyland?” She looked back to Tim and Kon with a wicked grin. “I get the feeling that's a game Damian would absolutely hate.” She made a noise somewhere between a squeal and exclamation and twirled in excitement at the prospect of Damian playing the game, heading out the door in full confidence he would follow her.

“It's pure luck!” Damian exclaimed following after her as expected. “There is no skill involved at all!”

“That's the point,” Jon chuckled. He jogged up to them and slung his arms over both their shoulders.

“What's the point if you can't win through your skills,” Damian grumbled.

“It's just supposed to be for fun,” Marinette chided.

“That does not sound fun,” he huffed petulantly. “It sounds like a children’s game.”

“It is a children’s game,” Jon laughed.

Damian stared at him incredulously. “Then why are we playing?”

“Because you’re just a big kid,” Marinette snarked, her smirk only growing in response to Damian’s aghast look. She turned back toward Tim and Kon who had stayed next to the art room door watching their interactions in wonder. “Did you guys want to join?

“They are far too busy,” Damian assured her hastily and loudly.

“Nah, we’re completely open,” Kon grinned. “And I’ve never even heard of Candyland.”

Marinette gasped loud enough Kon didn’t need to use his superhearing to detect it even from down the hall. She tried to turn back to them but Damian reached around Jon to keep her facing forward. “Damian, he’s never even heard of it! We have to let him play now.”

“We do not.”

“Oh, come on, Dame, it will make it more fun,” Jon insisted. His voice and eyes were filled with an excitement that Marinette seemed to feed off of, her own smile growing at Jon’s response.

Damian looked between them, his petulant frown staying firmly in place, but he let go of Marinette’s arm and continued forward, knowing full well she and Jon would take it as an agreement. “Including Drake has never made anything more enjoyable.”

“Come on,” Tim snickered. “Now I have to play. Plus, I bet she's right about Candyland and I want to see Damian restraining himself from ripping the board in half as he pretends to be normal for her.”

><><><><><><><><><

As it turns out, Marinette was, in fact, correct. Damian absolutely hated the game. If he had laser vision, the ice cream turrets on the Candy Castle would have been eviscerated. “This is stupid,” he groused as Marinette’s piece landed on the final rainbow square. He punctuated his displeasure by crossing his arms and pushing away from the table. He could have handled Marinette winning once, but three times was uncalled for.

“Cheer up, Damian,” she tried consolingly. “It’s just for fun. It has nothing to do with your skills.”

“It’s a game of luck, remember,” Jon chimed in, which was easy for him as his pieces were usually not far behind Marinette’s while Damian kept getting picture cards that inevitably sent him back toward the beginning of the board.

“Yeah,” Damian glared at Kon, “luck.”

Kon looked to the ceiling innocently and mimed whistling. At the same time, Marinette reached up to touch her earrings guiltily, “and I do tend to be a bit lucky. Sorry.”

Kon opened his mouth to ask if meeting him was an example of getting lucky, but before he could say the line that would definitely end in him getting hit with kryptonite-laced brass knuckles, Dick bounded into the room.

“There you guys are!” He smiled at all of them, but his eyes kept darting back to Marinette. He couldn’t stop moving, shifting from foot to foot and rubbing his hands as he waited exceptionally impatiently for her to be introduced.

Damian finally stepped up for the task, standing tall in front of Dick and motioning toward her. “Marinette, this is my brother Richard Grayson. Richard, this is my friend, Marinette Dupain-Cheng.”

“Marinette, it is nice to meet you,” Dick grinned, his grin widening as he looked between her and Damian. He took her hand with both of his to shake it, pumping it so hard in his excitement he was almost lifting her off the ground. “Please call me Dick.”

“And you,” she agreed breathlessly. It took a few moments after she reclaimed her hand before she could speak again. “He speaks very highly of you.”

Dick’s eyes sparkled as he watched Damian sidle closer to Marinette, dipping his head just slightly to catch her eye, raising an inquisitive eyebrow and only looking away again once she nodded back to him, but made sure to put his arm around her again. “He speaks of you at all,” Dick grinned, “so I know you must be important to him.”

Marinette blinked and plastered on a smile. “Thank you.” She waited until he’d dropped her hand before adding a quiet, “I think.”

Kon joined her on her other side and smirked. “Don’t worry, when Damian is involved, that’s a compliment.” Marinette pursed her lips and bobbed her head to the side nodding after a moment in agreement.

“Now, the reason I was really sent in, not that meeting you wasn’t absolutely at the top of my list,” he added to Marinette. “Dinner is about to be served. Alfred would like us to start getting seated.” He glanced over at Kon and eyed him for a second before adding, “you should lose the jacket before Alfred sees it at his table.”

Kon glanced down and looked back at him with a raised eyebrow, but finally nodded. “Right. Be right back.”

“Take your time,” Dick called as he replaced him by Marinette’s side.

“Don’t worry, I’ll put the game away,” Tim called after them.

“Thank you!” Dick called back to him. “So, you’ll get to meet almost the entire family. Cass and Stephanie are living in Hong Kong, but we hope they’ll make it for tomorrow. Hey!” he called out after a large man shoulder-checked him. “And that is Jason.”

Jason turned around and did a double take at Damian’s arm around Marinette’s shoulders. He looked up from the display to look between them. “What in the fuck knuckles…”

“Dude…” another man mumbled as he shook his head. He sighed and looked back up with a strained smile. “Sorry about him. Hi, I’m Duke.”

Marinette grinned at him and reached out to shake his hand. “It’s okay. I’m Marinette and I do like Pink and making pies, so…” she shrugged then snickered at Damian’s bewildered look. “But there is an important difference,” she met Jason’s eyes pointedly but not unkindly. “We are just friends.”

Jason raised an eyebrow but nodded and moved to take a seat on the far side of the table. “Impressed. Honestly did not think you’d know that one.”

She scoffed. “I have some pretty depraved friends.”

Jason mock gasped, drawing his hand to his chest to accentuate the scandal of the situation. “Depraved! Depraved? Liking that movie makes you depraved?”

Duke patted him on the shoulder as he took a seat next to him. “Sounds fair.”

“Oof,” Kon grunted as he walked in. “Hate to think what that says about me.”

“Probably something pretty accurate,” Damian clipped. “Marinette, you remember my father.”

Marinette straightened instantly at the figure walking in from the opposite side of the room. “Of course. Nice to see you again, M. Wayne.”

“And you, Ms. Dupain-Cheng. Welcome to our home. I hope your showing went well,” he answered warmly.

“It did, thank you,” she smiled back.

“Are you an artist?” Dick asked as he took his seat next to Duke, to the left of the head of the table.

“A designer, actually,” Marinette offered.

“A brilliant designer,” Bruce corrected. “I was quite impressed,” he assured Marinette firmly as he took his seat as well.

“I’d love to see it sometime,” Tim smiled.

Marinette blushed brightly but nodded with more confidence than she felt. “Okay.”

She eyed where Tim had sat, two seats away from M. Wayne, and Kon making his way to sit between him and M. Wayne, and knocked her arm into Damian, looking pointedly at the last seat next to Bruce. Damian nodded and cut in front of Kon to take the seat. Kon blinked at him but quickly changed course to sit on the other side. Jon stepped up next to Marinette and looked between the two remaining seats, one next to Kon and one next to Jason. He looked at Marinette questioningly. She shrugged and took the seat closest to her, next to Kon. Jon nodded and sat next to Jason.

Tim leaned around Kon to verify that was really where Marinette had sat. He was about to offer to switch spots with her so she could sit next to Damian, but Alfred entered at that moment and started serving the food. As it turned out, she was fine where she was. Marinette integrated with the family easily, laughing and joking with all of them. It may have worked out better that way anyway as it gave her the chance to chat with Jon and Kon about Metropolis and get more information on the city before she decided if she wanted to move there after graduation.

The dinner was going amazingly so naturally it had to get cut short. Everyone in the family knew something was wrong the moment Alfred entered mid-course. “Sorry to interrupt, sir. But there appears to have been an incident at Wayne Enterprises.” Alfred leaned over and whispered in Bruce’s ear. Whatever he said must have been really bad because he immediately stiffened, but in the blink of an eye, it was gone. He gave Dick a pointed look. He nodded at him, then bumped Duke and nodded to Jason.

Bruce stood up quickly, dabbing his mouth with his napkin, quickly followed by the other three men, although they didn’t bother to wipe their mouths. “So sorry for the interruption, Marinette. Please continue your night. It was very nice to see you again.” He was gone before Marinette could say goodbye.

Damain stood and moved over to Marinette whispering in her ear too low for anyone but Kon and Jon to hear. She squealed and hugged him, giving him a kiss on the cheek before he straightened up. Jon rounded the table to clap him on the back as well. Damian nodded to the two of them then followed the others as they made their way out the door at a considerably slower pace than Bruce.

“You don’t have to come, Dame,” Dick whispered just outside the door. “We have four people, we’re good. If we need another, we can call for Tim. Stay and keep your friend company.”

Damian glanced back into the room. Marinette was smiling at something Jon was saying, which apparently required him to use both hands in uncoordinated movements. He snickered at the scene. “No, she will be okay where she is. I won’t ignore my duty.”

Duke shook his head. “We really need to work on your skills, man.”

Damian looked at him affronted. “My skills are impeccable. It’s your skills that need honing.”

Duke opened his mouth to respond but shut it and shook his head instead.

><><><><><><><><><

The mission had taken considerably longer than the family had anticipated, but seeing as it was a rogue team up, it wasn’t entirely surprising. The only thing that was surprising, was the fact that Damian wasn’t acting like more of a constipated gremlin. In fact, he was positively beaming, well, not glowering, which for Damian was roughly the equivalent of beaming.

Nobody knew what to make of it. The mission had taken him away from his friend for almost the entire night and he seemed… happy about it. Nobody who had seen them together earlier doubted he cared about her, so the fact that he was so blasé about having left her behind for so long, even to do something he valued so thoroughly, was confusing. Even now as they walked into the living room, he wasn’t leading the pack to get to her sooner.

Which was a small mercy because it meant he didn’t have to be the first to see what they were seeing. “What the hell is going on!” Dick roared.

Marinette’s head jerked away from Kon, their lips separating with a pop. She eeped and tried to jump away from Kon, but he held her tight against him, allowing her to bury her face in his chest to hide her bright crimson cheeks.

“Oh damn,” Duke mumbled, eyes wide in surprise.

Kon kept one arm right around her and waved with the other. “Hey guys. You’re back early.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Jason hissed.

Kon scrunched his face slightly and looked to Dick for a clue, but his expression was just as thunderous. He quickly shifted to Tim who shrugged, just as confused about the reaction as Kon. “Uh… sorry I didn’t help?” he offered.

“Oh, no, its okay, you were too busy helping yourself,” Dick seethed.

“Helping my…” Kon trailed off. He gaped at Dick and opened and closed his mouth a few times but before he could formulate how to respond Damian finally came in, his eyes down as he focused on dusting off his shirt, missing the way the entire room had stopped to watch him.

It took several more steps before he finally sensed the hostile atmosphere of the room. He froze mid-brush and slowly lifted his head to take in the scene, just as slowly panning across the room until it settled on Kon’s arms around Marinette. He lifted his eyes up, pausing momentarily at her hands on his chest. His eyes snapped to hers. “What are you doing! How could you do this to me?” he yelled. Marinettes eyes widened in shock and confusion while the rest of the room except Kon moved to comfort Damian. “That is the wrong brother!”

“Excuse me?” Conner growled.

“Uh… what?” Duke asked uncertainly.

“You were supposed to end up with Jon not him!” he growled, moving in Marinette’s face and motioning harshly toward Kon.

Dick’s hands that were still perched from having been rubbing circles on Damian’s back slowly retracted. “Wait. I thought... why would you want that?”

Damian huffed and crossed his arms over his chest again, evoking the image of a child throwing a temper tantrum. “Because it would be extremely convenient for me if my two best friends were dating.” Tim had the misfortune of snorting when everyone else in the room had gone frighteningly quiet. Damian’s eyes shot to him. He pointed at Tim accusingly. “She was supposed to end up with my idiot not your idiot.”

“That's why you brought me?” Marinette asked. “You said you wanted me to be here to support you while you spoke with your father because I made you feel better. But you were just trying to pimp me out?” Kon’s grip on her tightened at the hurt lacing her voice. Damian’s eyes zeroed in on the movement and Dick had to adjust to holding him back instead of comforting him.

“I was not pimping you out!” Damian objected more annoyed than concerned. “There was no payment involved and sex was entirely up to you.”

Marinette stared at him incredulously. “Oh, thank you for that,” she snapped.

“You’re welcome,” he nodded, seemingly satisfied with her gratitude.

“She's not... isn't she here with you?” Jason asked carefully.

“Yes, she is here with me as my friend. I brought her here so she could meet Jon and start dating him,” Damian gritted out.

“So... you two aren't dating or pre-dating?” Dick asked again, hoping Damians answers this time would somehow make more sense. He had been so absolutely confident that they were just dancing on the edge of dating.

“Obviously.”

Dick stared at Damian, his answer not making the situation make more sense. The room was completely still for a few moments before Duke finally broke the silence. “What is pre-dating?”

Dick blinked at him. “It’s when… it’s like before you’re dating.”

Duke shot him the flattest look he could manage. “Yeah, thanks, got that from the ‘pre’ part. I know how the English language works.”

“It’s when you’re laying the groundwork. You haven’t actually asked them out yet but you both know it’s just a matter of time,” Dick clarified, his hands waving around in a pattern that seemed to accentuate his point in his mind but seemed completely non-sensical to everyone else.

Duke studied him. “Do you both have to know? What if it’s a surprise to the other when the one asks them out?”

“Still counts,” Dick answered at the same time Jason said, “That’s one-sided pining,” and Tim said “That’s just real life.” They stared at each other in confusion.

“Hold up!” Kon cut in. “I’m not an idiot.”

Damian scoffed. “Based on how long it took you to figure out I’d insulted you; you appear to be mistaken.”

“You thought I was dating him?” Marinette asked, finally breaking away from Kon’s chest, though his arms were still resting lightly on his waist to direct the question to the rest of his family. “We said we were just friends… multiple times.”

“Yeah,” Dick started slowly, “but I thought... right. No, we knew that,” he finished as casually as he could manage.

She wiggled out of Kon’s embrace, much to his enjoyment, so she could step closer to Damian and smack him on the chest. “I told you they would think we were dating no matter what we said.”

Damian rolled his eyes. “And I told you they would figure it out.” He motioned vaguely toward the rest of the room without taking his eyes off her. “Look at that they have.”

“Hey guys!” Jon greeted everyone as he tucked his phone in his back pocket. “Welcome back. Oh hey, you two finally separated. Nice. Perfect timing.”

Damian stared at him for a few seconds before rounding on Marinette. “You've ruined the entire plan,” he growled at her. “You were supposed to be here not separating from him!” He motioned toward Jon.

“Well, you didn't tell me the plan, did you?” she hissed back. “It helps to have collaboration on a plan when you INFORM YOUR COHORTS WHAT THE PLAN IS.”

“Yeah, Damian,” Jon added. "It wouldn't have worked anyway. I'm dating someone else."

“What?” Damian exclaimed, rounding on Jon. “When did that happen?”

“A few weeks ago. I was going to introduce you at the party tomorrow. I just got off the phone with him,” he motioned toward his pocket.

“You cannot be dating someone,” Damian scoffed. “I didn't approve of anyone. I haven't done research on them.”

Jon and Mari let out matching scoffs. "I don't need your approval to date someone," Jon reminded him.

"We are not chess pieces you can move around at your will to suit your whims," Marinette chided. Damian glared at her, a calculating look in his eyes.

"She was not issuing a challenge," Jon cut in before Damian could make any plans.

Damian huffed and rolled his eyes. "You're more like checker pieces anyway. Maybe even Candyland."

“So... you're not mad about...” Dick motioned between Mari and Kon.

“Furious,” Damian huffed.

Mari rolled her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder. The fact that he didn’t shrug her off signaled to the rest of the family more about his state of mind than any words either Marinette or Damian had said up until that point. “But he'll get over it. Are you guys going to join us for the movie marathon now?”

“You just missed Trading Places,” Jon nodded.

“We missed Trading Places?” Jason gasped.

“I mean, they pretty much did too,” Jon grinned, looking pointedly at Marinette and Kon.

Marinette batted at him, her cheeks blushing profusely, but Kon grinned proudly. “He’s not wrong. So, I’m okay with putting it on again.”

“Mon Dieu,” Marinette whimpered. Kon wrapped his arms around her from behind and kissed the crown of her head. But Damian pushed the two apart with a harumph.

“We will get popcorn while you guys get things set up,” he announced as he pulled her out of the room. Marinette grabbed Jon’s hand and pulled him along with them.

“So... you and Marinette…” Dick started carefully.

“Yeah…” Kon hedged nervously.

“Congrats,” Duke cut in before Dick could say anything.

“She seems like a good kid,” Jason agreed.

“She's our age,” Kon grumbled.

“But Damian's friend, so a kid,” Tim grinned.

“No. I'm dating her so we won't be calling her a kid. No matter what Tim says, I’m not creepy, and that would definitely be creepy,” Kon ordered, voice firm. He looked between Jason and Tim to make sure they heard him then narrowed his eyes at them. “But what is creepy? You two agreeing.”

Dick chuckled and popped up between Tim and Jason, throwing his arms over their shoulders. “Fair. Now come on, we need to get the room set up. Jason, get out the blankets. Duke, you’re on pillows. Tim, Kon, and I will work on a plan to keep Damian from killing Kon.”

“I appreciate that,” Kon nodded.

“We got your back,” Jason nodded.

“If only to keep Damian from stabbing you in it,” Duke grinned.

Kon’s appreciative gaze turned flat. “Thanks.” Duke snickered as he dropped more pillows on the couches and chairs. “Come on,” Kon implored, “he brought a beautiful, brilliant, creative, kind woman he wasn’t interested in dating home for the holidays. He should have known something would happen. You guys don’t bring people home because of that, right?”

Dick scoffed and threw a pillow at Jason who ducked easily under it before dumping his blankets on one of the chairs. “I just assume he’ll go after them after we’ve broken up.”

“Hey,” Jason objected. He threw one of the blankets at Dick. “I only did that once… that you know of,” he added under his breath.

“What was that?” Dick asked, eyes narrowed.

“Nothing,” Jason said innocently.

“I don’t think we have the same taste,” Tim shrugged.

“I don’t bring anyone around for entirely different reasons,” Duke snorted.

“What reason is that?” Jon asked with a knowing grin.

Marinette and Damian followed closely behind carrying trays. “We come bearing popcorn!” she cheered, holding up her tray with several bowls of popcorn.

“And candy,” Jon joined in, holding up his own tray with bowls of candy. “And drinks.” He motioned with his elbow to the tray in Damian’s hands, who grumbled and rolled his eyes rather than holding up his tray.

“Oh, this looks great!” Marinette squealed and started distributing the blankets. Jon and Damian angled one of the couches toward the television before plopping down on it. Marinette was slower to move, her eyes darting to Kon who grinned at her attention. He reached out to pull her over to the couch he and Tim had just angled toward the television as well, but before he could Damian yanked Marinette down onto the couch with him.

Kon huffed but Marinette broke down in giggles. When she finally stopped, she scooted closer to Damian and looked pointedly at the space next to her she’d just left free, a space just big enough for someone to fit in snugly. “Let’s get started,” Damian huffed.

“Can’t wait,” Marinette agreed quietly, her attention squarely pointed away from the television and on the man next to her.

Kon grinned and threw his arm over her shoulders. “Me either,” he agreed.

Damian made a retching sound and turned his whole body toward the television. “Disgusting. Never bringing a friend home again.”

#maribat #marikon #konnette #platonic damianette

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kiefbowl · 2 months

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Everytime I say to myself "im bisexual" i get this sense of deep guilt, and i just feel like crying flor some reason.

I know im not straight and i know im not a lesbian so the only logical conclusion is that I'm bi but i just dont feel like I am? I also dont feel like I'm allowed to have these feelings of struggle because i see people online say women are prtending to be bi for queer points so i feel like I'm overreacting you know.

Everytime I think of myself being in a relationship with a woman i feel a deep sense of shame.

I feel guilty like im a monster you know. I grew up in a homophobic country and only moved out like 3 years ago so i think maybe thats why ? Idk im just lost. I see people online just like being super happy about being lgb and im like why am I struggling? Im not supposed to feel this way. I feel like a fraud.

I was outed, kind of, I mean I wanst even sure i was bi but she told everyone and like my friends started behaving differently towards me and idk I just well first of all why did she tell people?? I didnt even know if i was into women i just wanst sure i wanted to make sense of it first i felt exposed in a way(dont worry my uni was chill so no physical harm or anyhting like thta)

Like that was my thing!! It was my fukcing thing and you don't get to tell people about it . Why did she do that. I know its not a big deal but now like if you ask me if im out i would say no ? Like no one knows im bi here in this new country.

Im rambling.

I have never said the word "im bisexual" out loud like ever

I'm going to give you permission about something you haven't specifically asked for, but in my wisdom I'm going to grant you this permission:

You don't have to know.

It's okay! You've moved, you're young, you're getting away from homophobia and finding new kinds of homophobia...that's too much stress, just stop worrying about it. So you don't know today, who cares? You'll figure it out. Maybe tomorrow, maybe in 50 years.

If it's causing you this amount of stress, and if all the voices of all these people in your head causing you doubt, then you aren't allowing yourself to discover by simply living. You're becoming a police officer in you head, and you're navel gazing as a form of punishment, and let me tell you, even if you were straight as ruler that wouldn't help you find love and fulfillment.

You're sexual orientation is something natural within you. So whatever feels natural, that's the truth of the matter. If you are trying to attack this as a thinking problem that needs solving, you just won't get there. Go out and party, go out and enjoy people's company, go set life goals and focus on them...and one day when you're not thinking about it you will meet someone you can't deny is the most lovely, beautiful person in the whole world and all you want to do is kiss them. And then you'll know.

This is about no one else but you. This is your sexual orientation, this is your life, and you don't need a peanut gallery weighing in. Fire your shitty friends if you have to. If people ask, you can say "I'm figuring it out" or even flat out say "that's none of your f*cking business." Or, if you want to be funny, pretend you have a very selective hearing problem.

Prioritize the things that you know are fulfilling you right now, and all the stuff you don't know yet will come back around in due time. This is true of love as it's true of everything else we obsess about. You don't have to know everything about yourself to be a good person.

Good luck, sis. Have fun smooching cuties, studying seriously, and enjoying the sun.

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amazingmsme · 8 months

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Think Fast, Move Faster

AN: Had a rough day today, so this one's a little late but with an hour to spare! Regardless, this one was super fun to write! Can't believe it took me this long to write a Top Gun fic, but here we are! Based on a gif I saw that I'll try & look for later, but basically Ice tried to spike the ball at Slider after the vball scene & it gets stuck in the net. This is totally what happened after that. Hope y'all enjoy day 9!

It was the perfect day to be at the beach. Clouds were few and far between, allowing the sun to shine uninterrupted. The sand was hot beneath their feet, crisp blue waves crashing against the shore off to the side. Cheerful shouts and playful bickering rang through the air as they whacked the volleyball back and forth over the net, taking an occasional dive for the ball and sending sand flying.

The game was called, and Iceman was a little surprised by how quickly the sandy court cleared, leaving only himself and Slider, Goose and Mav already standing off to the side. Iceman played with the ball, wondering what it was they were saying. Then Slider slipped under the net and was walking right in front of him: a perfect target.

"Slider, think fast!"

The words "think fast" never bode well for anyone, usually serving as a harbinger of a flying object to the face. Slider's head snapped over to look at Ice, who was sporting a devilish grin as he spiked the ball right at his head.

Slider yelped and tried to dodge out of the way, preparing for impact. Thankfully, the ball hit the net and bounced weakly to the ground. He locked eyes with Iceman through the net, watching how his smug smile turned to a nervous one.

"Did you just try to hit me?"

"No?" It was more of a question than the firm denial he'd been aiming for. Slider grinned and stepped under the net.

"Liar."

Ice turned to run, but running in loose, hot sand isn't ideal for a speedy getaway. Slider caught up to him easily and slammed the entirety of his weight into him, knocking them both to the ground. He wasted no time before digging his hands under Iceman's arms, sending him howling with laughter.

Maverick and Goose immediately turn to see what all the commotion was about, sly and amused grins on their faces. Slider had Ice pinned against the sand, sending it flying through the air with each frantic kick.

"Did you think it'd be funny?" Slider interrogated, raking his hands down his ribs. He threw his head back as loud cackles erupted from his chest and he thrashed around, desperate to get away. Or maybe not too desperate, seeing as he was getting nowhere, but he did a great job of putting on a show. It was almost believable.

Iceman shook his head frantically, snorting when he found a particularly sensitive spot at the top of his ribs. "Nohohoho! I'm sohohorry!" his pleas fell on deaf ears. Well, Slider wasn't paying him any mind. Goose and Maverick on the other hand proved to be quite the peanut gallery.

"What he do this time?" Goose shouted, cupping his hands around his mouth. Maverick snickered behind his hand, glancing away every now and then before his gaze was inevitably pulled to the scene. He wore a shit eating grin and chimed in, "He deserves it regardless, keep going!"

Slider looked up with a feral grin, kneading down Iceman's sides and sending him into a fit of boyish giggles.

"He tried to spike the ball at my face!" Slider yelled, drilling his thumbs in his hips. He shrieked, the sound abruptly cutting off with a snort.

"Ihihi dihid nohohohot!" Iceman denied.

"I looked you in the eyes as you did it!" Slider cried, shaking clawed hands over his sides. The sand that stuck to Iceman's sides created friction between his sensitive skin and Slider's wicked hands, and it was driving him mad. He latched onto Slider's wrists, pushing him away but not really. It was almost too easy to escape his hold and dive for his bare belly. Ice arched his back with an honest to God squeal, legs drumming against the sand.

"Ohoho shihihit! Ihihit tihihickles!"

"What? Nooo I had no idea!" he teased, feigning innocence. Iceman blushed, and in his senseless flailing, managed to grab a handful of sand and scrub it into Slider's hair. He gasped and froze before locking on Iceman with a predatory look.

He made a show of shaking the sand out of his hair before wrestling Iceman's wrists down by his sides, pinning them under his knees. Slider brushed some sand off of his toned stomach, making him giggle and babble out incoherent pleas, yet miraculously avoided saying the word "stop."

Once his tummy was sand-free, Slider took a deep breath and leaned down. Iceman knew what he was doing, had been a victim of these shenanigans countless times, and his eyes widened out of fearful excitement.

"Nonono wahahait!" Slider didn't wait.

Lips met skin, and Slider blew out as hard as he could. Iceman thrashed around helplessly, cackling and snorting occasionally. When Slider backed off, it took Ice a few moments to calm down. When he did, he sat up and gave him a shrug.

"Asshole! You nearly killed me!"

"You lived," Slider brushed him off, pushing him back down on the beach. Iceman scrambled to his feet and took off after him, hungry for revenge.

#tickletober #tickletober 2023 #tom kazansky #iceman kazansky #slider kerner #goose bradshaw #maverick mitchell #top gun #top gun fic #top gun tickle fic #ticklish!iceman

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fashionablyenigmatic · 2 months

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Family living room Court.

In the cozy living room of their family manor, Al smacked a gavel on a side table. "Court is now in session," he announced, his voice filled with a mix of authority and warmth.

Cad, laying on the couch, glanced at his father with slight interest and annoyance. "Where did he get a gavel?"

"I made it," Al replied with a grin, his eyes twinkling as he tried to maintain order among the family members gathered. "Silence from the peanut gallery, or you will be held in contempt." He pointed the gavel at Cadmus. "Now, Karnus, you are being charged with the high crime of Dangerous Zoomies and willful destruction of one very expensive vase. How do you plead?"

Karnus, the energetic youngster, stood tall, a mischievous glint in his eyes. "Not guilty," he declared confidently.

Al looked towards the family with a smile. "Who is representing the accused?"

Stan, Al's loving husband and a bit of a reluctant participant in the impromptu court proceedings, sighed and spoke. "I guess that's me, Your Hotness," he said with a grin

Al smiled stupidly, then composed himself and rapped the gavel once more. "I will not be swayed by flirtations from the defense counsel. Plead your case, counselor," he said teasingly.

Stan stepped forward, his expression a mix of determination and amusement. "Karnus having the zoomies is not something he can help, as it is in his nature. Also, that vase was clearly placed upon a pedestal within his zoomies running grounds, as noted by the repeated scratch marks on the floor."

Cad, their other child, couldn't help but interject. "Objection!"

Karnus shot back, "Who asked you to chime in?"

Cad, undeterred, continued, "You can't have court without a prosecution counsel."

Al glanced at Cadmus, waiting for him to correct himself.

Cadmus thought for a second before going, "Ugh, right, Your honor."

"Your objection is noted and stands. Cad, are you representing the prosecution?"

Cad affirmed proudly, "Yes, Your Honor. Karnus clearly and with malice destroyed the vase as it was overstimulating and frankly ugly."

Al pouted. "Hey! I worked hard on it."

Karnus hesitated for a moment, then added with a sheepish grin, "It was kinda..."

Stan put a hand over Karnus's mouth. "As your lawyer in family court, I advise you to shut up, kid," he said with a wink. Then, Stan spoke up again, this time in defense of his son. "We all know Karnus has a more direct way of causing destruction. If he wanted the vase destroyed, he would have done it on purpose and with malice, and then proudly told us about it. Because, well, he can be kind of a dick."

Karnus barked in protest. "Hey! Aren't you supposed to defend me?!"

"I am, son," Stan replied calmly. "He's a dick because he's young and stupid, but that also makes him loud and obvious. So it would be out of character for him to move a pedestal within his zoomies path. A: He likes to run uninterrupted, and B: It's one of the things we allow him to do to burn off his creatura energy. So I accuse Prosecutor Cadmus as the one who destroyed the vase!" Stan pointed an accusatory finger at Cadmus, turning the tables in the courtroom drama.

Alphonse, who somehow manifested a bag of popcorn, gasped. "J'accuse!"

Cadmus frowned. "Objection! You have no evidence," he said with a smarmy grin.

Karnus shouted, "Overruled!"

Al looked at Karnus. "Hey buddy, that's my job. Counsel, do you have evidence to support your claims?"

Stan replied, "Perhaps. I think you'll find that Cadmus called the vase ugly and overstimulating. Also, Karnus was with me the entire afternoon; the vase was only put on display around 3 p.m. today. This entire court knows that you, my dear, are quite precise when it comes to placement of your creations and who was alone in the house around 4-5 p.m., as evidenced by Cad's need to steal food from our kitchen because he never has food at his penthouse. It's practically routine."

Cad shouted, "FINE I DID IT! It WAS ME! It was just ugly, and I wanted to cause drama."

Al banged the gavel "Cadmus Dolore you are under arrest for False accusations general assholery and your punishment shall be. First of all cleaning up the vase, and secondly taking Karnus to and from Practice for the Next week."

"Uhg...fine."

@passimtemere @violeteyedkiller @satyr-gardens

#Alphonse Monroe #Stan Norman #Karnus #Cadmus

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goffilolo · 2 years

Text

Black Clover thoughts - devil edition

Quick! Black Clover is coming back from hiatus soon and I need to share my silly thoughts about the devil lore before Tabata ruins it. Some of it is vaguely based of demonology, and some it is just my usual brain rot.

I got so much shit to say about Beelzebub. First of all I need to know what that bitch actually looks like, because how else am I supposed to draw him as anything other than his shadow form or the gremlin form? C’mon Tabata, don’t be shy babygirl, show me the face of the devil that was subscribed to Zenon’s gay depression for the past 20 years or so.

Also regarding Beelzebub, I came up with this whole running joke about how he invented Christianity, which originally started off as an MLM that was ran by him and a human he was contracted to named Jesus. Basically long story short after Jesus’ death he ended up possessing his corpse for a few days, which is how the crazy rumors have started and the ‘apostles’ which really was just Jesus’ downline (minus Judas who was the only one to realize he was being scammed) ended up spreading the news further and over time it spiraled into a religion. I choose to accept it as canon in my heart because I find the idea of a whole religion being accidentally invented by a devil to be hilarious and if I incorporate it into my AUs it means that Astaroth has to grin and bear Orsi and Lily’s good natured offers to baptize his kids, while choosing NOT to tell them that their entire faith is a result of a devil scam.

I don’t have that much to say about Megicula as of yet, other than my personal belief that since in canon she ended up taking Astaroth’s place during the Qlipoth she could’ve been his student/successor back in the underworld. I’m imagining full on ‘crazy disgraced mana theory professor and his sidekick that thinks her superior should probably be institutionalized, but is also writing down everything he says’ vibe. Add in to the fact that Megicula canonically shows no understanding of significance on interpersonal connections and her fascination with things that strike her interest seems rather cold and calculating, and all I’m picturing is this devil critter with a clipboard aggressively writing down stuff while muttering ‘interesting’ at the most boring and benign things about humanity and human realm in general, and I’m saying this specifically within the context of my Peanut Gallery AU.

Adrammelech’s lazy ass during the entire Qlipoth? Iconic. We know nothing about him yet we stan for the personality alone. According to demonology he’s in charge of Satan’s wardrobe, so the idea of him being like a royal stylist? Spectacular, no wonder he acts the way he does with Lucifero. Peak troll behavior. Also, is that the reason why Lucifero looked the way he did at Qlipoth? Did Adrammelech roll up with some clothes on a hanger and say ‘today we’re doing a maxi skirt and tits out kind of look, people are gonna love this’? And Lucifero just went with it? I demand answers Tabata!

Speaking of the bitch himself! I sincerely believe that Lucifero is shit at what he does. I mean like Augustus level of incompetence. Silv and I had this running joke that the reason underworld is such a shit place to begin with is because Lucifero is very bad at managing it and that the lower rings of the underworld are their equivalent of forsaken realm, but worse,which explains why Liebe’s life there was so terrible before he got yeeted at the hellgates. Lucifero is the single most disliked political figure there but everyone is too scared to say it out loud because of his power. And all the other supreme devils in their political cabinet just have to put up with his ass.

And finally, for the honorary mention in this post - good old Lucifugus. According to demonology this guy is like the prime minister of hell, meaning that Lucifero just pushes all of his paperwork onto him. This man has not had a vacation in at least 5 centuries and he won’t have it for another 5. He hates his job, he wants to retire, he could sign Lucifero’s paperwork in fuckin crayon and his shitty king would be none the wiser because he does fuck all. No wonder he murdered Nacht’s family and all the other people at the ritual. He was probably pissed off at being summoned while he was in the middle of doing Lucifero’s work for him.

#black clover #beezlebub #megicula #astaroth #adrammelech #lucifero #im not gonna tag all of my au's but if you follow me you know exactly what the context is

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transxfiles · 1 year

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OH and for anyone keeping up with the X and Y drama. X came back to school last week fully masked for covid reasons and while she clearly tried to avoid Y, Y eventually got her alone and now they're kinda back in their old routine. however sometimes during the school day Y goes "missing" and can be spotted by local Y-watchers ducking around buildings visibly trying to avoid X like some sort of children's cartoon protagonist during a game of hide and seek. me and other concerned community members assumed that X and Y were mostly back in their old rhythm

BUT

today during english class we started reading hamlet and (as is the standard in english class) our teacher had some activities to get us started. one was a "spectrum" activity where the room was sectioned into two sides - one was "agree", the other "disagree", and you could stand anywhere on or in-between the two sides to express your opinion. then, the teacher read out statements (tangentially related to hamlet) and we had to walk to the spot in the room that represented our opinion on the statement. one of them was "i know that my friends always have my back."

me and my classmates watched as X walked straight to the "agree" side of the room. meanwhile, Y stood in the center, confused and looking around. she said out loud to herself, "well... i don't know..." and wandered in circles a bit. finally, she was the last person to decide, moving close to "disagree." X glared her down the entire time.

(meanwhile the class was a peanut gallery, i whispered something like "does anyone else see-" and Z whispered in my ear "i don't see anything i hear nothing i am not a witness i am not complicit" there was an audible gasp from another onlooker the drama is real.)

#cricket.chatterbox

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fromthedeskof-darkiplier · 2 years

Note

Hello snookums! How are you?

~ᗯIᒪ

Good afternoon, Wil. 🖤

I had a bit of a... rough start to the day, but holing myself up in the garage has done me wonders today. Sometimes all a person really needs is some lumber, a carving knife, and music loud enough to leave one's head vibrating after they've shut it off.

There: I'm sure that's enough for the peanut gallery to use as evidence to "accuse" me of being masc.

Regardless, I've been handling these stressors more gracefully than I thought I would. I do hope your day has been stress-free, amour. 🖤

-D

#what a dear you are #always leaving me such kind words to come back to #je t'aime tellement 🖤🖤🖤#ask darkiplier #ask dark #darkiplier #wilford warfstache #favorite color #darkstache

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tarydarrington · 3 years

Text

"Alright, everyone," Veth says with authority, and everyone else quiets down. "Tomorrow is the big day."

Caleb sighs and ducks behind his drink. There is a speech coming. This is exactly the sort of ceremony he had hoped to avoid by having this get-together at his home rather than the bar Veth had suggested. It's only five of them, tonight; Beauregard and Yasha are always in town, and Veth had insisted on coming. And Essek, of course. He's not sure when the elf's presence at his side became an of course, but in a careful way, he likes it.

“As the person in this world who cares the most about Caleb--”

Essek silently quirks an eyebrow at that, and it doesn’t get past Veth.

“Alright, come on, just because you got him into bed and I didn’t doesn’t mean--”

Caleb clears his throat loudly, and Veth’s smile snaps back into place.

“As Caleb’s oldest, dearest, truest friend,” she says, and Essek manages to look dignified even while rolling his eyes, “it is my humble duty to tell you all how amazing he is on this momentous occasion.”

“You know, I am starting a new job, not getting married,” Caleb murmurs in her direction.

“And we’re all very proud of you!” Veth replies.

Caleb takes a long drink as the others chime in with agreement. Yasha shoots him a sympathetic look, and he returns a tight smile.

“Come on, man,” Beau says from where she leans against the table, “aren’t you excited, at all?”

He takes a long breath. Excited is a word for it. Ready to vomit at a moment’s notice is perhaps more accurate. The Soltryce Academy is tricky. He’s been back there a few times in recent weeks, for interviews and preparation, and each time, it’s felt like walking through a dream of a place the mind could not quite capture properly.

For whatever purpose, Trent has always wanted Caleb - Bren - to follow in his footsteps. Those footsteps feel a touch too literal in those hallways.

“Caleb?” Beau’s voice brings him out of his thoughts. “You still with us?”

He shakes his head. "Ja. Entschuldigung. There is a lot to think about."

Veth lowers her glass, frowning. "Nobody threatened you, did they? Because I'll have words with them."

"No, nothing like that." Not lately, anyway. He sets his own drink down on the table. "Just a bit worried, perhaps."

"Worried about what?" Beau asks flatly.

Caleb lets out a long breath, looking down at the floor. Where to begin? He’s worried that everything will go wrong. Worried that he’ll turn up with his clothes on backwards, or spill coffee down the front of his shirt, or trip over his words before the lesson even starts. Worried, most of all, about what comes after.

“I hope that I will not…” He searches for the right words. “I hope that I will be able to serve my students well enough,” he settles on. “The examples I have had were, ah….” Trent Ikithon is not one he wishes to emulate.

Essek frowns. “Carve your own path,” he says. “Someone as brilliant as you are needs no one to emulate.”

“Ja, well, that is fine for throwing together a spell or two, but I imagine the students will need a little more structure.” These are young minds. Any mistakes he makes will stick with them. He, of all people, knows just how much.

“Maybe you could ask them what they want from you,” Yasha pipes up. “You know, make sure you’re doing alright.”

Caleb lets out a long sigh. “Ja, maybe. That is a good idea.” Of course, it also requires that the students in question trust him enough to give him a straight answer.

They sit in relative silence for a moment, working away at their drinks. He hopes Veth doesn’t resent him for stepping on the atmosphere.

“Seriously, man, you’re gonna be great.” Beau knocks back the rest of her drink. “You’re already the best professor I’ve ever known.”

“I do not think the owl counts as a point of comparison,” Caleb deadpans. “Regardless, I will settle for not making a fool of myself for a first impression. That will be difficult enough.”

Beau shrugs, and reaches over to refill her glass. There’s a devious look in her eye that makes him nervous. "So why don't you practice?" she asks.

Caleb looks at her warily. "Practice?"

"Yeah, man." She gestures at the others. "Here's your class. Teach us something."

Before he can object, she’s already begun to pull an armchair toward the coffee table in the center of the room. Soon enough, three more seats have joined it, all on the same side. She throws her arms wide with a challenging grin.

“First day,” she says. “Don’t be late.” With that, she flops down onto the rightmost chair.

Transfixed in bemusement, Caleb watches as Yasha and Veth rush to occupy the next two seats in the makeshift classroom. The Expositor commands a room, it seems.

“Are you comfortable with this?” Essek murmurs as he brushes past as well. “I am willing to be the, ah... wet blanket, if need be.”

Caleb sighs, briefly twining their fingers together and squeezing once before letting him go. “Not comfortable, no, but it’s not a bad idea.”

Someone wolf whistles from the peanut gallery, and Caleb turns a fond glare on them all. All three of them are, of course, the picture of innocence. He shakes his head as Essek settles down primly in the last remaining chair. It’s not exactly the picture of an academic setting, with their glasses of half-finished booze still on the table in front of them and the lot of them draped over armchairs and ottomans.

“Alright,” says Beau, who has not even bothered to put her drink down. She makes a trilling sound that he thinks is probably meant to emulate a school bell. “Hit us.”

"We will be brutally honest," Veth promises. "Which means we will tell you honestly how perfect you are."

"Or if there's anything you could do better," Yasha adds.

Caleb stares back at them. It’s nothing he hasn’t gone over in his own head a hundred times. Even once or twice, to a captive audience of cats. It’s a short class. It will be over before he knows it.

The others look up at him expectantly. Watching him. Waiting. Caleb clears his throat.

"I, ah... feel a bit silly,” he admits.

Without a word, Essek waves a hand, and the familiar faces before him shift to those of strangers.

It’s almost embarrassing how much it helps. Caleb takes a deep breath and lets it out, running through the lesson plan in his head.

"Guten Morgen, class, I am, ah… Professor Widogast." It's the first time he's said that particular pair of words out loud.

"Whoo!" the student who is not Veth shouts.

"Yeah!" the student who is not Beau chimes in.

Caleb gives them a look and straightens his coat. "This is Introductory Transmutation, in room 142, so if you are all in the correct place--"

"Professor?" The student who is not Yasha raises her hand.

"Ah, ja, Miss…"

"Lionett."

Not-Beau slaps a hand over her own mouth and mutters, “Holy shit,” into it.

“Was that too much?” not-Yasha whispers.

“Babe, it was so hot,” not-Beau hisses back.

Caleb clears his throat. "Miss Lionett, do you have a question?"

Not-Yasha seems to suddenly remember her role, and she folds her hands in her lap. "No," she says, "I have to use the bathroom."

Caleb pinches the bridge of his nose as not-Beau bites back a giggle. “Ja, okay, go.”

“Don’t let her go!” not-Veth interjects. “She knew it was almost time for class; she should have gone earlier.”

“Dude, if she has to pee then she has to pee,” not-Beau protests.

Pointedly, not-Essek raises his hand.

Caleb lets himself sigh with relief. “Ja, Master…?”

“Gross, Professor, we don’t need to know about your weird sex dynamics,” not-Beau says.

Not-Essek’s face blooms red, and Caleb presses a hand to his face to hide the same. “You know very well, Beauregard, that it is an honorific.”

Not-Beau shrugs, looking very pleased with herself as she takes another sip of her drink. Not-Essek glares very polite daggers at her before clearing his throat.

“Thelyss,” he answers.

Beau cups both hands around her mouth and boos.

“No, it’s better that he’s honest,” Veth says. “We already know he’s a terrible actor.”

“Herr Thelyss,” Caleb says, raising his voice above the heckling. “Do you have a question?”

Essek leans forward, resting his elbows on the table in a gesture that’s much too endearing. “I wondered what you will be teaching us today, Professor Widogast.”

Caleb tries not to dwell on the way the title hits differently on Essek’s voice, instead straightening up and waving one hand behind him. An illusory chalkboard appears in the air behind him to polite applause from Veth and Yasha. Back on track.

“Well, this is your first day,” he says. “So I know that - Beauregard, please remove your feet from the table - I know that most of your other teachers will be spending time going over the material that you will be covering this semester, but, ah…” What is he meant to be doing with his hands? They feel limp if they’re at his sides, but too formal behind his back and too awkward in front of him. Perhaps he should have a lectern? Somewhere to rest them, or shuffle with papers?

His gaze drifts back to his “students,” who all blink back at him expectantly. Essek inclines his head as though to prompt him on. He clasps his hands in front of his chest, hoping it will do for now.

“Right,” he continues. “Ja, so I thought we would take a look at something more practical to start. We will leave the reading for tomorrow; you have enough of that today.”

He waves his hands again, and behind him, a set of runes and diagrams appears on the chalkboard. Above it is written the word Prestidigitation.

“So, ah, partner up,” he orders. “Introduce yourselves. If there is someone on their own, a group of three is perfectly acceptable.”

“I call Miss Lionett,” Beau shouts, grabbing Yasha’s hand.

“Can I go to the bathroom, first?” Yasha asks.

Caleb gives her an incredulous look.

“I really do need to go,” she says.

He gestures towards the hallway, and she shuffles off. In the meantime, Veth and Essek scoot their chairs closer together. Caleb’s gaze lingers questioningly on Beau, who shakes her head.

“She’s not learning anything tonight, man. Go ahead.”

“Ja, okay,” he says distantly.

It feels silly, explaining the spell to this motley crew. Beau has leaned back in her chair, arms crossed, eyes glassy, clearly not paying an ounce of attention. Essek has produced a piece of paper upon which Veth occasionally scribbles, though the way he periodically nods approval at Caleb’s points betrays his own prior knowledge of the subject. After a few minutes, Yasha returns and attempts to take down notes of her own.

“Is everyone following along?” he asks after a while, knowing it’s a futile question.

“Yep,” Beau lies.

“Hmm.” Yasha hums.

“Perfectly,” Essek says.

“You’re doing amazing, sweetie,” Veth confirms with a wink.

He continues, running them through the various applications one by one. Beau gives him an occasional “uh huh” that he believes not one bit. At one point, he catches Essek take a passing glance at Veth’s paper, widen his eyes, and lean forward to murmur something to her. He isn’t sure he wants to know what that’s about.

“Let’s keep focused, please, everyone,” he reminds them.

Essek waves a hand to signal him to continue. Nothing too scandalous, then. He goes through the final few points, then comes to stop in front of the chalkboard, hands awkwardly clasped again.

“Okay, that is it,” he says. “You have as much time as you require to finish the spell, and when you are finished, I would like one person from each group to demonstrate.”

He gives the others a questioning look. It’s one of the points he’s most worried about. A way to take pressure off some of the slower students could just as easily be a way to unintentionally foster competition and resentment. But none of them objects, so he gives them another nod.

“I suppose we should skip the demonstration portion,” he mumbles.

“I can do it,” Yasha chirps. Without warning, she swings the massive greatsword from her back and sinks the tip into the table, making the others jump. “I made a small mark.”

Caleb covers his eyes with one hand. “Ja, will it go away in one hour?”

Yasha silently places her drink down over the indentation. Caleb sighs. It isn’t as though he has very many guests, anyway.

“I can probably swing producing an odor, for you,” Beau offers. “But I figure you probably don’t want that.”

He ignores her, and instead gives Essek a tight smile.

“Well, would my second group care to demonstrate?”

Beau jerks a thumb in Essek’s direction and fake-coughs to Yasha, “Teacher’s pet.”

Essek ignores her and sits back, fingers working in those little patterns he draws when something has piqued his curiosity. “I believe so,” he says, and nods to Veth.

Caleb raises his eyebrows as all eyes turn to Veth. Though Essek had the courtesy to leave her a halfling, her features and coloring are entirely different - but that wide smile as she stands and rubs both hands together would give her away, no matter the face it was set in. And as Beau swears under her breath, Yasha and Caleb look on wide-eyed, and Essek watches with a smirk, she pulls her hands apart to let loose a shower of sparks.

“You… learned the spell,” Caleb says numbly. He hadn’t imagined any of them were actually paying attention.

“It was an excellent lesson!” Veth replies.

As she takes her seat again, Beau and Yasha give her a smattering of stunned applause. Essek clears his throat pointedly.

“And I guess, maybe, Essek gave me one pointer,” Veth amends with an eye-roll.

“Hey, so your partner system worked,” Yasha points out.

It had. The lesson had worked, the procedure had worked - his teaching had worked. There’s still a little voice in his head reminding him that Veth is brilliant, and an adult, and perfectly capable of learning things like this without even so much as his help - but he can’t deny that it’s his guidance that taught her this particular spell. ‘An excellent lesson,’ Veth had said. In this moment, he’s inclined to believe it might be half true. Caleb realizes very suddenly that he’s beaming.

With a snap of his fingers, Essek dispels the disguises. The soft smile on his face - his real face, and Caleb always misses it dearly when it’s hidden - says he hasn’t failed to notice Caleb’s relief.

“Danke, all of you,” he says sheepishly, waving a hand to vanish the chalkboard.

“Thank you!” Veth says. “For the shiny new spell and for the masterclass in professoring.”

“You were really good,” Yasha agrees. “I’m, uh... I’m sorry about the table.”

He dips his head to hide the way his face is flushing. They exaggerate, the lot of them. But there is something to be said for having friends who will say such things. “Ja, well,” he says, “I am not convinced it will translate to an actual class, but I will hope.”

Beau takes another swig of her drink, wiping her mouth afterwards. “Dude, we were the worst and you still managed to teach somebody something,” she says. “Those kids have nothing on us. You got this.”

He offers her a smile, retrieving his glass from the table as Yasha, Veth, and Essek do the same. He hopes it’s true. He hopes that, separate entirely from his ability to teach them the how of magic, he will be able to keep them safe. That he will be able to keep from passing on any damage he received in his own time in those halls.

He catches Essek’s eye, and the knowing look there puts some of the anxious buzzing to rest. He will be better. He will struggle, most likely. He will stumble, inevitably. But he will give better than he got. He’s been practicing that part for years.

“To Professor Widogast!” Veth shouts, breaking him out of his thoughts.

“Professor Widogast,” the others echo, and Caleb smiles.

“To my very good friends,” he replies.

“To the hottest professor the Soltryce Academy has ever seen,” Veth shouts in response, and Caleb nearly chokes on his drink when Essek casually clinks his glass against hers with a nod.

They drink together. Caleb thinks, just a little bit, he might be excited.

thanks @peregrintook for reading this over and telling me it wasn't the worst thing i had ever written (in much more generous words than that), and @saturdaysky for catching me red-handed last time i deleted it and being so kind about it 💜

#okay here's the strategy. i posted a ficlet i'm happy with last week and i finished another one i'm happy with yesterday #so if i sandwich this in between the two surely i will not believe i am entirely worthless as a writer because of it #...probably #queueing it to post when i'm not home to physically wrench my hand away from the delete post button #shadowgast #background beauyasha #caleb widogast #mine #mine:fic #caleb #essek #veth #beau #yasha

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dreamlesswonder86 · 3 years

Text

His Personal Toy 18+

Boss!Vincenzo AU Genre: Smut

Warning: Thigh spanking & Fingering will be involved.

A/N: This is my first fic for this Drama and Go watch. There's fourth wall breaking at the end. Minors DO NOT interact. if i find out that you are underage you will be blocked no questions asked. If you see any misspelling or grammatical errors feel free to tell me and i'll fix it. negative and rude comments will be deleted. Also this is a reader insert so the you i'm referring to is the reader so no one is left out.

Working for Vincenzo as his assistant was harrowing enough. Screening his calls, picking up lunch and coffee for everyone in the office. You were quite the studious, sweet and demure kind of girl. You were an only child and the apple of your father's eye, Your mother had passed away in childbirth so he raised you the best he could. Always had excellent grades you stayed to yourself and had a few friends in your social circle. Mr. Cassano never looked twice at you unless you did an excellent job or to ask you for something small. You decided to step out of your comfortable clothes and wear something a bit more sexy With that being said you decided to call in and take the day off to do a little self intervention, hit the spa, go do something with that mess you called hair cause it wasn't cutting it anymore and you finished things off with a little shopping splurge for some new work clothes. You got up with a newfound sense of confidence, made your coffee and breakfast, took your shower and got dressed in a pencil skirt black thigh highs and a sexy garter belt with white lingerie underneath the red button up dress shirt and a sleek pair of red bottoms and pulled your hair up in a sleek high ponytail. He was sitting at his desk going over more cases that needed to be looked over and couldn't help but look up when you walked in, you weren't trying to get his attention you just wanted to feel sexy that day after Jang Han-seok called you dowdy and frumpy. You could've swore you heard Vincenzo growl at the mere sight of your thighs as your skirt rode up when you sat down. You had no clue that your boss had even remotely looked at you in such a manner, from what Cha-Young told you the man was cold and unfeeling towards anyone that wasn't within his small circle of friends, if you could call them that. Vincenzo had noticed the little change in you the very moment you walked in this morning with the coffee.He always saw you as quiet, meek and little to no self confidence until Jung Han-Seok made an appearance at their new office.

*Flashback* He made a few snide comments towards Cha-young and Mr.Nam but they just brushed him off and went about their work. Then he stopped at your desk with a sneer as he looked over the office before looking down at you and saying "You would never guess even the mafia hires the best looking even the frumpy looking mouse." *end flashback* Today he couldn't stop himself from looking at your legs in those heels and thigh highs, why did you hide those glorious thighs from him? He came up with a rather brilliant *writer speaking: it's fucking silly. Vincenzo glares writer: ignore the peanut gallery* "Ms. Hong, Mr.Nam would you to mind taking this case i have a few calls to make and i need the rookie's secretarial skills to schedule a few appointments and help ordering a few things." he spoke looking over at you and clicking his pen. The two lawyers thought nothing of it, nodded and headed off to court after collecting their things and case files. As soon as the door shut behind them he locked it and stood behind you as you worked. "Little one what are you doing to me? I have never seen this side of you before, Thank you for listening to Cha-young and getting this makeover." He said as he stood you up from his chair and taking your place and sitting you back down in his lap and began rubbing your soft supple,stocking covered thighs and snapping the fabric on your garter belt. "Now my little minx. Daddy needs you to be very quiet or the other tenants will hear those filthy,sweet noises coming from those plump juicy lips." He said whispering in your ear as he trailed his fingers along your inner thigh while his other hand parted your left thigh and pushed your skirt up around your waist, revealing the innocent, lacy white lingerie. He removed his hand from your skirt and popped open the buttons on your blouse revealing your soft, supple breasts."No bra? Princess such a naughty girl, i knew you weren't as innocent as i thought you were." He said gently tweaking the right nipple and massaging your left breast, kneading it like dough. As you bit your lip as you typed up the emails he gripped your jaw as to stop you from biting your cherry red lips and tilted your head back for a chaste but gentle kiss. Once he pulled away from the kiss he looked down at the white lace panties and matching garter belt eliciting a groan from his soft pink lips. "You don't know how hard you're making it for me not to bend you over this desk and make this pretty ass sore or have you begging for me to fuck you but i can't fuck you before i taste you and they'll be back soon." He said kicking his chair away from his desk and to the table in the center of the room and sat you down on it so he was eye level with your already soaked heat. "Look at you Princess. Already soaked for me and all i have been doing is groping your breasts." He whispered to you swiping a finger up your drenched core, making you shudder at his touch. You watched as he put his soaked finger in his mouth and closed his eyes with a groan as he tasted your essence. "You taste sweeter than i imagined my Goddess." He moaned as he pulled his chair close to the table then pulled your legs around his neck and pulled your soaked lace panties to the side then delved his tongue deep inside you drinking and eating like it was his last meal. You placed your hand over your mouth in an attempt to keep the other tenants from hearing you but a loud and low one manged to slip past your lips before you could hold it in. he pinched and slapped at your thigh at the sounds leaving your lips. "Make another sound and Daddy will stop." He said slapping your thigh once more as he dived back down below. Your hands gripped at his hair as your breathing grew heavier. Your toes began to curl and your back began to arch as you felt it getting closer and closer."Vi-Daddy please...please make me cum. i need to cum so bad." You said with a whimper and a whine when he reached up and started rubbing at your clit. Your eyes filled with tears as the intensity came to a head as you came hard, squirting all over his

face as your legs shook. He came up, drenched in your juices with a smile on his face at your disheveled state. "Honey....next time warn me before you pull something like this." You smiled down at your boyfriend with a tired smile knowing that he sent them away for the day and he was far from done with you.

Writer M: I hope you all enjoyed my fic and maybe when the inspiration hits i'll make a part 2.

Vincenzo: She's a lying lazy ass....*puts my hands over his mouth* Shut up He Who Keeps Dirty Secrets!!

#Vincenzo #nsft text #ns/fw imagine

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butgilinsky · 4 years

Text

sneaking around // rc

warning; language, familial issues (not super), alludes to sex but nothing graphic, soft rafe!!!!

summary; in which y/n routledge and rafe cameron are sneaking around, and john b gets annoyed with his sister’s secrets

word count; 3.1k+

the year had been a rough one for y/n. her dad disappearing was just as hard on her as it was on john b, but they seemed to deal with it in very different ways. john b threw himself into just about anything he could focus on. any task he found that was time consuming and needed a lot of attention, john b immersed himself in it.

y/n was bit simpler than her younger brother. she buried herself in parties, and boys. though, lately it had been the same boy, every time she needed to take the edge off. she’d labeled herself crazy after their first night together, soon changing the title to clinically insane after it had become a routine.

“i’ll see you later, cameron.” she tugged her shorts back up her hips, doing a small hop to get them up all the way.

she had barely looked for her shirt before the boy still laying across his bed grabbed her wrist and tugged her back down. she fell on the bed in front of him, and he moved on top of her quickly.

he pressed his lips firmly against hers, hands gripping her hips tightly while her arms snaked around his neck slowly. she hummed into the kiss but pressed her hands against his shoulders and pushed him softly off of her. he groaned at the gesture, trying to bury his head in her neck to make any move that would get her to stay longer.

“some of us have to work, rich boy.” he groaned again, rolling over onto his back while she pushed herself off of the bed and up on her feet.

“you always leave early because of the stupid wreck.” y/n rolled her eyes at the statement, knowing rafe didn’t understand how much she needed to work.

“easy for you to say, pretty boy. you’ve never had to wait tables to care for yourself, let alone you and your younger brother.” rafe rolled his eyes but let it go, knowing that she got annoyed when he pressed this issue.

“just wish you didn’t have to run off so soon.” she smile at the comment, but he didn’t catch that with her back towards him.

he propped himself up onto his elbows and watched her look around the room for her shirt for a bit, laughing slightly at the struggle she was enduring. she clicked her tongue and raised her eyebrows at him, testing him silently. he held his hands out slightly, not helping her in the slightest.

she nodded slowly, eyes locked on his closet before she grabbed the door handle and walked inside of it for a moment. she looked through the rack slowly, ignoring rafe’s burning gaze on her bare back. she found an old rolling stones shirt, figuring it would be hard for anyone to prove it was rafe’s, and slid it over her torso.

she tucked the front of the shirt into her jean shorts and stepped into her shoes before leaning over the boy and pressed her lips against his quickly. she pulled back up but he whined and pulled her back down, this time leaving a longer kiss against her lips. she laughed when she pulled back again and grabbed the remainder of her things.

her phone started ringing, just before she got out of the house and it made her groan softly. she shot rafe a look and pressed a finger to her lips in a warning, laughing when he mimicked her actions.

“what’s up booker?” her brother groaned at the use of his middle name, knowing that his sister only did it to bother him.

“where the hell are you? i know you work today, but kie said you’re not at the wreck.” y/n rolled her eyes at her brother’s question and sent a short wave to rafe before reaching for the door knob.

“i’m actually on my way to the wreck.” she jogged down the stairs, knowing nobody else was in the cameron household which was one of the reasons she was there in the first place.

“okay, but you’ve been gone for hours, y/n-”

“did you need something, booker, or did you just call to pull my leg?” she rolled her eyes softly as she made the short walk down the street to where her car was parked, not wanting to risk anyone finding y/n routledge’s car at the cameron estate.

“just worried, y/n. didn’t want you running off on another bender-”

“i’m gonna stop you there. i’m clearly sober as can be, though that’s unfortunate for you since you’re getting on my nerves. i’m going to the wreck now, so if you’d like to drive over and lecture me about my whereabouts, you can do so then.” she got into her car and shut the door a little harder than she would’ve normally given her slight agitation towards her brother.

“did you just get into your car? y/n, where the hell-”

“bye booker!” she ended the call quickly, tossing her phone into the passenger seat before groaning softly and driving off.

when she got to the wreck, her brother and his friends were already gathered around a table, which made her laugh softly though she rolled her eyes at them. kie hopped out of the chair she was sat in and skipped over to y/n with a wide smile.

“where have you been?” her question was the same as her brother’s, though it held a lighter tone to it.

“doesn’t matter-”

“that’s not the shirt you were wearing when you left this morning.” john b pointed out quickly, arms crossed his chest as he leaned back in his chair, an annoyed expression on his face.

“you’re very observant, booker. you should’ve gotten a trophy in school for that. teachers get hard ons for attention to detail.” she pointed her finger at her little brother, though all of his friends were gasping and looking at the older sibling with wide eyes.

“y/n routledge, did you get laid?” john b smacked jj quickly, sending him a harsh glare at the question.

“oh my god, by who?” kie squealed excitedly, almost bouncing on her feet in curiosity.

“i knew she got more action than john b.” john b would’ve hit pope for that one just like he did with jj, but luckily for pope, he was out of arms reach.

“alright, alright, settle down. i have to get to work.” y/n rolled her eyes at the questions jj and kie kept firing off and walked towards the kitchen.

kie followed behind her, being the only one of the group allowed back there anyways. she also knew hat y/n would tell her things that she wouldn’t tell any of the boys.

“so, who’s the mystery guy?” kie smirked at y/n, watching her laugh and roll her eyes while she gathered everything she needed for her shift.

“doesn’t matter, kie.” the girl pushed out her bottom lip and attempted to create puppy dog eyes, but y/n waved her off. “nobody knows, kie, so don’t feel so left out.”

“but i want to know!” the girl whined, which made y/n laugh again.

“it’s top secret.” y/n pressed a finger to her lips and winked at kiara who just groaned out loudly while y/n walked out into the dining room to start waiting tables.

y/n’s shift went as smoothly as it could with her brother and his friends sitting in the dining room. she’d pass by every once in a while, having short conversations with them and leaving every time jj tried to dig about her morning.

they eventually left, which made her shift a bit easier, though it made it less enjoyable. though her brother got on her nerves, she couldn’t help but find the group enjoyable to be around.

when she finally got off, she drove back to the chateau and saw kie’s car parked next to the van, which led her to assume they were all inside of the house. she didn’t mind, though it did make it a little harder to sleep at night with the house packed.

she walked in, hearing loud cheers and claps when she walked through the door. she laughed softly, doing a slow turn and a dramatic bow, which made the group erupt in a chorus of laughter.

“how was work?” she rolled her eyes at the question, knowing none of them actually cared about how her shift went.

“work was fine.” she opened the fridge and groaned at the low amount of beer, knowing jj would be begging her for another case soon. though she wasn’t old enough to buy beer, she had friends that were, given that she was older than the group that sat in her living room.

she grabbed a beer can and popped it open before turning back to the group that had gone quiet. all eyes were on her, which made her smile, feigning innocence as she stared at them with a mock confused look.

“tell us who you were with!” jj yelled, his impatience getting the best of him.

“spill the beans!”

“i want to know!”

“yeah, tell us.” she narrowed her eyes at her brother, not understanding why he was pushing this so hard.

“you want me to tell you, booker? you want me to tell you all the juicy details? who i ran off with and what happened? how many times i’ve jumped into bed with this guy, maybe how it felt when he-”

“okay GROSS!” john b yelled loudly, pressing his hands to his ears when his sister started giving too much information.

“suit yourself, dude i wanna hear it.” jj smirked at y/n, who rolled her eyes before laughing when a pillow collided with his face.

her phone buzzed in her pocket, which she knew meant trouble. she contemplated just ignoring it, knowing that it would cause a scene, but it sounded fun, so she answered it.

“hello?” she smiled at the group looking at her with wide eyes.

“you busy?” she let out a soft laugh at the question, watching the group wait for her to say something as they were practically on the edge of their seats.

“i guess you could call it that.” the scoff echoed through the phone, which made her roll her eyes as a reflex.

“well i’m bored, and i figured i could come pick you up, or-”

“that’s not a good idea.” she laughed gently at the thought of rafe coming to pick her up with the peanut gallery in her living room. “i can come meet you somewhere.”

“who are you meeting?” jj yelled, which made her roll her eyes while the other three all gave him small smacks to the chest or arm.

“ah, the chihuahuas are there.” she rolled her eyes at the name and moved into the living room, passing her beer to john b seeing as she would not be finishing it.

“i mean, you could come by and deal with-”

“no no, that’s not a can i want to open tonight, princess.” she rolled her eyes, though a smile tugged at her lips at the nickname.

“alright then i’ll meet you-”

“you’re not going anywhere.”

“booker, you can’t stop me from getting into my car and driving somewhere on my own time. i’m two years older than you and-”

“and you’re running off with a stranger!” she let out a loud groan, almost forgetting there were more people in the room and one on the phone.

“he’s not a stranger! god, you’re so fucking dramatic. i’ve been doing this for months, so get your head out of your ass-”

“MONTHS?” john b pushed himself off of the couch and stood in front of his sister, arms stretched out by his sides as he stared at her in anger laced with shock.

“yes, months. we seem to cope with our pain in different ways.” he rolled his eyes, the anger in his chest only building.

“if dad was here-”

“but he’s not! that’s the thing, john, dad isn’t here! he hasn’t been here for months, and i know that fucking sucks for you as much as it does for me, but if you haven’t noticed, you’re not here either. you’re always out on the boat or drowning yourself in anything that takes your full attention and while that’s fine and it works for you, it leaves me in the fucking dark. so i’m sorry that you’re mad that i’ve been seeing someone behind your back, but i have to find a way to not dive off the deep end.”

everyone in the room stared at her, shocked that she had popped off like that. for the most part, she was cool calm and collected. y/n routledge was always the girl that seemed to have her shit together, and when she didn’t she made sure she broke down behind closed doors.

for that moment, she had lost track of what was going on, along with the fact that there were people staring at her and the last person she wanted to hear any of this on the other side of the phone. she cursed under her breath, remembering that rafe was on the phone, and that kie, jj and pope were staring at the siblings that were just previously arguing.

though it didn’t mean much to anyone else, john b had froze the second she called him john. she hadn’t done that in years. it was always booker, or b, or JB, or quite realistically anything under the sun that wasn’t just ‘john’.

“i uh, shit y/n, i didn’t know-”

“i know you didn’t know, booker.” she rolled her eyes and turned back around, taking a few steps towards the counter to grab her keys. “if i wanted you to know, i would’ve told you.”

“so you would’ve just gone off the deep end without saying anything? you would’ve drowned yourself in your shitty coping mechanisms?”

she stood in front of the door, eyes shut gently as she held the still silent phone to her ear. she was breathing through her nose, but her chest was rising and falling heavily.

“i’m fine, booker. don’t wait up.” she kicked the door open, letting it shut behind her on its own.

she made it all the way to her car before she let out a loud groan and looked at the phone, half wishing that he had hung up a long time ago, but of course he hadn’t.

“sorry about that. guess that’s kind of a mood killer.” she mumbled softly into the phone, any thought of having sex completely wiped from her mind.

“who said there had to be a mood?” she smiled softly, leaning her head back against the seat for a moment before turning on her car.

“the usual spot?”

it didn’t take long for her to get there, but she got there first, which was strange. it was a spot right along the line that separated the cut and figure eight. the drive was almost even for both of them, though rafe’s driving usually got him there almost ten minutes before y/n every time.

it was strange, to be there before him, but it was slightly soothing to be there by herself for a moment. though, that moment didn’t last very long. soon after she had propped herself on the hood of her car, the area in front of her lit up from the headlights that pulled in next to her.

she looked over her shoulder, smiling brightly at the boy that stepped out of the truck. he smiled brightly at her and held up a bag in one hand and a cup in the other.

“what is that, cameron?” she pushed herself off of her hood and stood on the ground, watching the boy walk around his car to stand in front of her.

“it’s a box of sugar cookies from that bakery you like over on figure eight, and a white mocha, because i figured you’d have a headache after screaming at your brother.” she rolled her eyes at his last comment, which made him laugh softly, though she soon came back to smiling widely at the boy.

“you know, pretty boy, if i didn’t know any better i’d say you have a thing for a pogue.” he rolled his eyes, given that she always teased the kook king about falling for a pogue.

“just take your cookies and kiss me.” she stood on her toes soon after, wrapping her arms around the boy’s neck and pressing her lips into his.

both of them smiled against each other, though the kiss didn’t last as long as they wanted it to. y/n stood flat on her feet and thanked rafe before taking the cookies and the coffee from him. she shot him a confused look when he made a noise and ran back to his truck.

he opened the passenger side door and leaned into the truck, moving things around before pulling back and shutting the door. he held up a hoodie that she used to joke about stealing all the time.

she gasped softly, jumping softly in place at the sight, which made a laugh bubble from rafe’s throat. y/n put the bag and cup on the hood of her car, being careful to not knock the coffee over when she reached for the hoodie and pulled it over her head.

the familiar scent washed over her and she hummed softly before wrapping her arms around rafe’s abdomen and buried her face in his chest. he laughed softly but wrapped his arms around her, leaning down to press a soft kiss to the top of her head.

“i’m sorry you got into a fight with your brother, and i’m really sorry about what the fight was about. i’m sorry if i’m driving a wedge between-”

“don’t even say it.” she whispered softly while shaking her head. “you’re not doing anything wrong, rafe. you’re the only thing that has kept me from spiraling.” she looked up at the boy, her chin pressed to his chest.

“i’m just sorry you feel like that. i know you two used to be closer than anyone else on this entire island and this whole thing with your dad, i don’t know i wish i could help you.” she shook her head softly with a bright smile.

“you do help me.” she whispered softly, lifting herself onto her toes to press her lips against his.

he moved his hands to hold either side of her face, holding her lips against his for a moment before letting her stand flat on her feet again.

“let’s eat cookies.”

938 notes · View notes

gumnut-logic · 3 years

Photo

It started off as a mild annoyance.

Scott had fallen asleep at his father’s desk. Too much paperwork, most of which he was learning on the fly. Board members doubting his ability to take over from his father and juggle International Rescue. Virgil would kick his ass if he found out. John probably already knew.

Both elder brothers were doing their best to help. Virgil was taking on as much International Rescue as was humanly possible. John was juggling Tracy Industries almost as much as Scott while handling day-to-day IR.

His father’s shoes were massive to fill.

And he left a gaping hole in Scott’s heart.

Waking up with an imprint of his own knuckles on the side of his face and a massive crick in his neck wasn’t the best. Staring at the glow of the twelve reports still awaiting review did nothing to improve his mood.

Briefly wondering how he had managed to sleep what appeared to be at least an hour with no disturbance, he remembered that Virgil was still on the other side of the planet, John was likely busy with that same situation and the two youngest were in bed. Grandma had returned to Kansas to finalise some of Dad’s personal matters.

Scott groaned and let his head fall onto his arms again.

He was so tired.

Something tickled his neck.

Absently, he swiped at it and ended up hitting himself in the head.

A few things between his ears rattled loose.

The tickle climbed down his spine and found his ribcage.

Scott’s eyes widened and he jumped out of the chair, sending it spinning across the floor.

What the-?

It was under his shirt.

There followed a most undignified, full-bodied dance across the comms room as he attempted to get whatever it was out of his shirt.

It didn’t hurt, but it tickled like crazy. He was caught between screaming and uncontrolled giggling.

In the end, he resorted to ripping his shirt off and flinging it across the room.

The tickling stopped.

And was replaced with goose pimples as the pre-dawn breeze wafted across his skin. Scott found himself bare chested and breathing heavily.

He wasn’t afraid of bugs, but that was…strange. He eyed his shirt as if it was going to jump up and bite him.

Of course, that was the moment Gordon wandered through on his way to his morning training. The fish stood at the top of the stairs for a full ten seconds staring at his topless eldest brother standing in the middle of the room, lit only by the blue light of holo-projector on the desk.

“Interesting look there, Scott.”

Scott spared him a glare before grabbing the shirt off the floor. “Lights.”

The comms room lit up. Scott drew some satisfaction as Gordon cringed from the sudden brightness. Fortunately, the little fish scuttled off to his pool and left Scott alone without another annoying word.

There was no bug in or on his shirt. After examining it, he had no choice but to throw it back on, or continue to invite comments from the waking peanut gallery.

The sudden appearance of John on the central projector and the distant roar of the return of Thunderbird Two flicked all thoughts of bugs from his mind as the new day started even before the sun made an appearance.

-o-o-o-

Virgil was exhausted but he didn’t have time to sleep. He did give himself a few moments to sit in the kitchen, worship his bucket of coffee and stare out at Mateo as the sun rose over it. It was only blinding if he focussed on it and he didn’t have the energy to do that.

Two needed repair and she needed it now.

His last rescue had involved a volcano and she had far too many particulates in her filters. They would all need replacing before he felt comfortable taking her out again.

After that he needed to see to Alan and help him set up for the morning’s classes. He quite enjoyed helping his littlest brother, but he enjoyed it much more when he hadn’t been up all night.

But first coffee.

So warm. So inviting.

He closed his eyes as sipped the blessed liquid that was going to give him the energy to get through the rest of the day.

He nearly dropped the mug as something tickled him under his upraised arm.

He saved the mug, but didn’t manage to stifle the high-pitched squawk.

The coffee was deposited carefully, but Virgil was out of his seat and grabbing at his clothing in an energetic frenzy.

There may have been one or two more high pitched squeaks as red flannel was rubbed and scrubbed at frantically.

Out of desperation, Virgil tore off both his shirt and his grey undershirt and threw them on the floor. He resisted the urge to stamp on them.

It was his favourite shirt.

“Virg?”

He looked up to find Gordon, fresh from the pool, standing in the doorway staring at him.

“You okay?”

If Virgil flushed red, he wasn’t going to acknowledge it. “Bug in my shirt.”

“Really.”

“Really.” Frowning his grabbed his shirt from off the floor, eyeing it suspiciously. Screw it, he sat down shirtless in front of his coffee and resumed staring out the window.

Gordon walked past him to the stairs, frowning and shooting him the oddest looks.

Virgil ignored him.

-o-o-o-

Scott made it through to lunch and finally dug up the answers the factory manager in Oklahoma had been begging him for. He had also managed to answer the lawyers, read and sign a pile of holographic documents and have a long-delayed meeting with the Japanese CEO. At least John had been able to help with translation. To be honest, it had just been a relief to have a brother to talk to.

Surrounded by family.

Too damned busy.

The last task for the morning was a parent-teacher conversation with Gordon’s curriculum manager. Scott had suspicions that there was a little too much Olympic training happening versus school work. It was a fine balance that had to be maintained. Gordon was a good student, if a little out of the ordinary…but then what Tracy wasn’t? At least two were diagnosed geniuses, and the other three focussed on their goals to the point of blindness, himself included.

His short Air Force career flickered through his mind and he shunted it away.

He was where he needed to be. Fate saw to that.

Scott stepped into the sunken lounge and briefly wondered if he was going to be allowed to leave this room today at any point.

A resigned sigh and he his comms. “Gordon, time for the meeting.”

“FAB. Be there in two.”

Gordon was true to his word and appeared almost immediately, loud shirt and shorts as eye blasting as usual.

Scott reached out dropped a hand on his little brother’s shoulder. At sixteen, already Gordon’s accomplishments required a cabinet to hold all the trophies. With the loss of their father, Gordon had stumbled with the rest of them, but he was regaining his feet fast. He had to. This was his chance. The 2056 Olympics waited for no excuses.

This time it started on his wrist.

The faintest of tickles.

It was a tickle, not an itch. It played with nerve endings just like someone had their finger gently brushing across the surface of his skin.

It travelled up his arm as he snatched his hand away from his brother.

It was in his shirt again.

There were words as he once again found himself grabbing at his shirt.

“Scott, what?”

He was vaguely aware of the concerned expression on his brother’s face, but he was too busy trying not to giggle or scream.

His shirt ended up on the floor again.

Gordon stared at him a full five seconds, his face caught between incredulity, worry and hysterical laughter. Being Gordon, the laughter won out.

Scott ignored him and poked his shirt with his foot.

Of course, that was the moment John flickered in to advise that the curriculum manager was ready for the meeting. Scott had to admit that somewhere in the back of his wasted brain, there was something quite funny about the expression on the space monitor’s face.

Gordon, of course, had tears running down his face and was useless.

Scott had a lot of experience keeping his composure. He needed it all at the moment. “John, could you please ask Ms Smithson to hold for a moment, I need to grab a shirt.”

John bit his lip, obviously holding something back. But, ever the professional, he didn’t say anything but, “FAB,” before blinking out.

Scott picked up his shirt with two fingers and made a beeline for his bedroom.

At least he got a moment outside of the comms room.

-o-o-o-

A new shirt found, Scott made it through the interview. Turned out Gordon had been really working hard and with a small adjustment to his curriculum, he should be able to manage both his training and his graduation with only a small delay. Scott was satisfied that it would be the best for the athlete at this time.

The grin on Gordon’s face made it extra worthwhile.

Scott turned back to the desk after the meeting, but the list of messages awaiting his attention just hurt to look at.

Screw it. He deserved food, another room and maybe even some brotherly conversation. A quick check on Virgil’s location placed him, as expected, in the hangars. The engineer had not been happy that his ‘bird had suffered during last night’s rescue. Virgil was as bad as he was. His brother hadn’t slept, International Rescue his highest priority.

Scott sighed. How could they be expected to go ahead like this?

Lunch. Food. He struggled to focus his mind. Had he had breakfast? He couldn’t remember.

An elevator ride and he walked out into the cool underground caverns that housed the great green behemoth that was the love of his brother’s life.

It wasn’t hard to locate that brother. The profanity was extreme for Virgil and it had Scott quickening his step around the great plane. He found him harnessed and hanging in front of Two’s starboard intake. The swearing was moving into European languages, never a good sign.

Scott shouted up at the dangling engineer. “Virgil?!”

“What?!” A spanner fell and hit the concrete two metres in front of Scott. Despite himself, he jumped.

Virgil stared down at him owlishly for a whole handful of seconds. “Sorry.” It was muttered, honest, but grudging.

“Can you come down?”

“Why?”

“It’s lunch time.”

“I’m not hungry. I’ve got to get this done. I’ve got to replace part of the filter housing.”

“Well, I am hungry and you haven’t slept. Come down.”

“I’m fine! This can’t wait!”

“Damnit, Virgil, get down here now!”

The glare that hit him from above was dark and fuelled from the bottom of a desperate coffee pot. Scott had no doubt of that.

But one more muttered expletive and his brother rappelled down to the concrete floor. Dressed in flannel with his maintenance harness secured over ratty jeans, Virgil was covered in dust and grime.

Didn’t dull his fury though.

The fact he was so angry, so out of character for the generally calm and quiet engineer was more than enough proof that his brother needed rest.

“What do you want, Scott. I have to fix my ‘bird otherwise she can’t fly and we can’t answer the next call.”

“I’m having some serious doubts we can answer the next call anyway. Look at yourself, Virgil. You’re exhausted.”

“Kettle, pot, Scott.”

“Exactly! Eat lunch with me.”

Those dark brows wrinkled even further, brown eyes making that subtle switch between engineer and concerned brother.

Scott supposed he should have expected this. Maybe he was asking for it, hiding from a decision he knew he was going have to make.

Offering himself up as a sacrifice in order for Virgil to make the decision for him.

He was so goddamned tired.

This time the tickle started on his calf, just above his right sock.

He wriggled, frowning, shifting his feet.

It climbed up his leg and he let out a squawk somewhere between a giggle and a profane word that would have had Grandma washing his mouth out with soap.

“Scott?”

It was running around and around his thigh. Scott cracked and grabbed at his leg, spinning on the spot as Virgil reached for him.

Whatever it was, it was fast. Up and down his leg as if anticipated his attempts to grab it through his jeans.

“Scott, what is…oh, shit!”

The eldest Tracy spun to find Virgil hanging upside down in his harness grabbing at his shirt.

The tickle in Scott’s leg took the opportunity to breach his waist band and play with his navel.

Buttons flew across the hangar as Scott tore the shirt from his body.

There was nothing on his belly.

Virgil squawked and writhed, still upside down.

The tickle appeared back in Scott’s pants, this time behind his left knee. He didn’t hesitate, shedding his shoes, he shucked his pants and tossed them aside.

Finally, finally the ticklish feeling stopped. But Scott was left in his black short briefs and socks.

And damn it was cold in the hangars.

Virgil was still writhing upside down, unable to shed clothing due to his harness. “Goddamnit, Scott, help.” There was the sound of ripping flannel as heavy lifting muscles resorted to force.

Scott grabbed at his brother’s harness and wrapping an arm around those broad shoulders, released the safety line. Virgil weight was considerable, but Scott stabilised him enough for the engineer to get his feet beneath him. A fumble with the harness buckles and the support fell to the concrete with a clink of its metal links.

Torn flannel followed.

Two layers of shirt stripped, Virgil suddenly took a deep breath and dropped his hands to his knees, letting his head drop. “It’s stopped.”

Both brothers heaved in air for a moment.

“What the hell was that?” Virgil looked up at Scott.

“I have no idea. Third time this morning.”

“Second.” Virgil’s voice was all breath.

“Happened before?”

Virgil nodded. “Over coffee.” A frown. “Gordon came in afterwards. This isn’t a new prank is it?”

Scott stared at his brother for a moment. “Gordon was there both times this morning.”

Virgil’s shoulders dropped. “I’m going to kill him.”

“He’s not here now.” Scott looked around before hesitantly poking his shirt enough to activate his comms. “Thunderbird Five, could you give me a location on Gordon?”

“Scott? You okay?”

“I will be once I find Gordon.”

“He’s on the pool deck, apparently studying. The meeting went well?”

Scott frowned. “Yes, a few small changes will make room for his training. Gordon was very happy with the plan.” Could explain the studying.

“That’s great news.”

“Yes, it is.” He wondered how happy John would be if he could see him standing in his underwear next to a shirtless Virgil.

“Are you sure you are okay?”

Perhaps his brother didn’t need to see. “I’ll let you know after I’ve spoken to Gordon.”

“Okay. Remember fratricide is not an option.”

“Don’t spoil it for me.”

-o-o-o-

A clean pair of pants and two shirts later they found Gordon exactly where John said he would be. The sixteen-year-old was camped out on a pool lounger with a portable holoprojector, his tablet and even a print book open beside him.

“Gordon?” The strawberry blond head remained focussed on the tablet.

“Gordon!”

Scott jumped. Hell, Virgil could yell when he needed to.

Gordon looked up calmly. “Virg? Something wrong?” Scott watched his little brother take in their state of undress. Neither of them had shoes on or had done up their shirts, just in case. “What are you guys doing?”

“What do you think?” He stepped down onto the pool deck, gesturing to his open shirt. “This is on you, and you know it.”

A blink. “Know what?”

Beside Scott, Virgil lost it. God, a tired Virgil was a cranky Virgil. “What did you put in our clothes?”

“Er, nothing?” Gordon appeared to realise he was tackling the family bear in a fury, a rare, but never good thing. He put down his tablet and stood up, backing away a little. “Now, Virg, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“You’re kidding me.”

Another step back. “Uh, no. I really have no idea what you are talking about.” Pleading eyes darted to Scott.

If Scott wasn’t so tired, he might have found the whole reversal of roles between himself and Virgil somewhat ironic. As things were, he reached out and gently wrapped his hand around Virgil’s arm.

His hand only made it part way around one bulging bicep. When the hell had that happened? He tugged gently. “Virg…”

That resulted in a pair of furious brown targeting him. “What?! He could have caused a serious accident. What if it happened while I was up in the intakes? Whatever the hell he did, it was dangerous.”

Okay, so Virgil had a point.

Gordon held up his hands. “Honest, guys, I have no idea what you are talking about.”

“So, you know nothing about an…irritant in our clothing?” Scott stared him down.

“Uh, no?”

He held his little brother’s expression a moment longer. It would likely have been even longer, but Gordon suddenly frowned.

And grabbed at his pants. “What the hell?”

Both Scott and Virgil stared as Gordon started dancing around the pool deck tearing at his clothes. His squawk turned into a giggle as he squirmed. “Omigod, stop!” The giggle became a laugh and Scott found himself holding back from joining in. Beside him Virgil snorted before running in to help their struggling little brother.

He needn’t have bothered. Gordon gave out an exaggerated laugh before throwing himself in the pool.

The sudden silence was almost shocking.

“Gordon!” Virgil stood on the side of the pool staring down at his brother under the water. Two strides and Scott was beside him as Gordon resurfaced, hair in his face, gasping and shirtless.

“Oh my god, that was hilarious!” He coughed out another laugh and threw his shirt onto the deck. “I want to know how you did that.” Gordon grinned up at them.

“We didn’t do it.” Virgil’s voice was sharp.

“Wha-? You’re kidding?”

Scott shook his head as Gordon levered himself out of the pool.

“Then who? And how?” The swimmer shook the water out of his hair and coated his brothers in the process. At Virgil’s snarl, Gordon’s grin was unrepentant.

Well, when he looked at it that way, there were only two possible choices and this was not a Brains concept in the slightest.

It was Gordon who said it first. “Alan? Where are you? That was so cool! You gotta show me how you did it!”

Scott didn’t expect an answer. He expected to have to hunt his little brother down like he had Gordon, oh, so many times. So, he was surprised when Alan slunk out of the kitchen with some kind of remote in his hands.

“Alan?” Virgil’s voice spoke of the shock Scott was attempting to process in his head. Alan was a good student. Precocious and bright, but far from the prankster his brother was.

Gordon bounced over to his little brother. “That was so cool! How did you do it?”

“Nanobots.”

“Nanobots.” The word fell from Virgil’s mouth. “You used medical technology for a prank?”

Scott reached out and grabbed Virgil’s arm again. “Alan, explain yourself.”

The boy’s shoulders dropped. “Failed experiment for school.”

Scott blinked. “What?” None of this was making sense.

And suddenly he was shot with a pair of anguished eyes. “I only wanted to make you laugh!”

Scott stared.

The bicep under his hand wilted.

“Allie?” Gordon’s voice was curious, but soft.

Those blue eyes shifted to the fish. “They don’t smile anymore, much less laugh. So, I thought a little medical intervention might help.” And those hurting eyes flickered to Virgil.

The sound that issued from the engineer was heartbreaking.

While Scott’s brain was uncharacteristically caught in freefall, Gordon presented a parachute. “You made ticklebots?!” His amber eyes were wide with amazement.

As always, Gordon’s joy was infectious and Alan relaxed just a little, a small smile curving his lips. “Yeah, kinda.”

Gordon bounded over and grabbed his brother in a massive hug. “I am so proud!”

Scott let go of Virgil and took several of the steps between himself and his little eleven-year-old brother.

Gordon continued to gush, asking a range of technical questions with such enthusiasm that the small corner of Scott’s mind that was still functioning alerted him that this could be a bad thing for his future sanity.

But right now, he was fixated by those blue eyes, so reflective of his own that were staring up at him.

“Alan?”

Gordon stopped his babbling, but took up a defensive position beside his little brother. Something inside Scott bent and broke just a little.

But his focus was on Alan.

Those blue eyes looked down, breaking contact. “I’m sorry. I just wanted to see you laugh.”

“So, you tried to tickle us?”

Defiance shot those eyes back up. “Well, I wasn’t going to drug you, was I? Nothing else was working! You and Virgil are just so sad and busy and John is never here anymore and…and…no one laughs anymore!” A frown. Those eyes flickered past Scott and crumpled. “And you’re crying again.”

Scott turned and found Virgil struggling with his emotions, a tear running down his face. Aw, shit.

Alan turned away and took a retreating step, but a blur of red flannel and the youngest was swept up in desperate hug. “I’m sorry, Allie.”

A muffled “’s’not your fault.” But Alan was clinging to his brother like a life raft.

Scott blinked several times. The thought that his genius little brother had to resort to technology out of desperation to see a smile hurt somewhere deep down where he had buried his own tears.

An amber gaze saved him from drowning. Gordon stood on the other side of Virgil and Alan, his shoulders straightening. “So, Allie, can I borrow your bots?”

With that single sentence, the moment snapped with a chorused “No!” from the both eldest. Virgil tumbled backwards in his haste to stand up.

Gordon feigned innocence. “Why not? I have my own experiment to perform. You know, for mental health reasons.”

“No, Gordon.” Scott’s tone was full commander, but the fish just grinned up at him. Hell, he was caught wondering if Gordon would ever obey him.

“Gordon.” Virgil’s voice had that deep grumble of warning.

The fish shrugged and relented. “Eh, your loss. It was going to be brilliant.”

“Sure.” Scott’s tone dripped sarcasm.

“But!” Gordon grinned. “Allie wins the trophy for the concept and invention!” He wrapped an arm around his little brother’s shoulders. “I am so proud.”

Alan smiled up at the fish with appreciation.

Scott held out his hand and those shoulders dropped, the smile disappearing.

“Alan.”

More the reluctant and pouting tween he was, his little brother handed over the remote. Scott glanced at it before handing it off immediately to Virgil. The engineer would be able to make more sense of it than he ever would.

Scott held out an arm and blue eyes stared up at him for just a split second before dashing into the hug the eldest was desperate to give him. Both arms wrapped around Alan and he buried his face in blond hair. “I’m sorry, Allie.”

“’S not your fault.”

“Doesn’t matter. I will try to do better.”

“’S not your fault.”

A glance in Virgil’s direction only to find the big man fighting back tears again. Even Gordon’s expression was a little broken…until he realised Scott was looking at him, then the goofiest of grins split his face and he crossed his eyes.

The laugh that fell from Scott’s lips was almost strangled by a sob.

The devilry that suddenly appeared on that face overrode every other thought with mild fear.

Gordon didn’t disappoint. Sliding up behind a teary Virgil, he darted in and tickled their bear of a brother.

Virgil squawked and wriggle danced out of reach.

Scott couldn’t help it.

He laughed again.

“C’mere, Virgie, I wanna ticklebot you!” Gordon exaggerated tickling fingers at his brother before jumping into what became a hilarious chase around the pool.

Scott couldn’t help but grin even more.

Alan outright laughed.

And something lifted just a little from Scott’s chest.

“Thank you, Allie.”

Surprised blue shot up at him.

“You’re right. We need to laugh more.”

Virgil ended up in the pool.

Gordon jumped in after him.

And Scott hugged his littlest brother so much closer.

-o-o-o-

The afternoon relaxed into together time. Phones rang but were ignored. John was dragged down from orbit. The barbecue was lugged out, food found and cooked for dinner and a comfortable feeling that had been absent since their father had been lost, found its way onto the Island.

Gordon cherished it.

Virgil continued to be a touch emotional during the entire time, grabbing random brothers and attempting to smother them with his arms. Scott was quieter, but even Gordon noticed he was far from Alan at any point that entire afternoon and evening. John was quietly puzzled about the whole thing until he suddenly grabbed at his shirt and jumped and jiggled about.

“Oh, so that’s how it works.” Virgil was staring down at the remote control in his hand, poking at it.

John let out a squawk and fell onto the couch writhing.

His shirt was thrown off moments later.

“Hey, Alan, how do you turn them off?”

Therein followed some discussion on Alan and Virgil’s part, followed by Scott and his two cents when he felt it appropriate.

John started yelling at them after a very short period of time, still writhing on the sofa.

Gordon thought it was absolutely hilarious and had trouble keeping his feet while laughing.

All in all, it was a fantastic afternoon and evening.

Scott fell asleep on the couch with his arm wrapped around a snoozing Alan five minutes into the movie Gordon had chosen. Virgil lasted another five minutes before caving into a faceplant on one of the cushions. His snores made it difficult to hear the movie, but the remaining three brothers cared not a whit. By the time John joined them in the land of the exhausted, the movie was little more than soundscape.

But Gordon wouldn’t have it any other way.

This was something that they had been missing for so long. Gordon sat there fake watching the movie and honestly holding back a few tears at the thought. Alan was right. They needed more laughter. His big brothers, John included, were shouldering so much now their father was no longer with them, and yes, his thoughts stumbled on that acknowledgement. God, he missed his dad. But they all had to do their part.

If there was something Gordon wanted to do, it was bring back the laughter. If it took itching powder and dye, if it took silly hats and fake tattoos, if it took everything he had, he would see his brothers happy.

They all had to do their part.

And he would make this his.

-o-o-o-

FIN.

#thunderbirds are go #thunderbirds #thunderbirds fanfiction #Scott Tracy #Virgil Tracy #Gordon Tracy #Alan Tracy #John Tracy #nuttyfic reblog

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seungmoroll · 4 years

Text

Electric Love - Lee Felix

Word count: 1.5k

Genre: fluff

A/N: This is the sixth installment in the Electric Love Series. You can check out the others here.

There were a few cons that came with being neighbors with your best friend. Sometimes him and his friends were too loud and sometimes they would even barge into your house to steal your food. You swore you were going to murder Felix that one time they barged in and you were doing a face mask that made you look like an alien. Felix’s friends were hot, and a bunch of hot guys do not need to be seeing you like that.

However, there were definitely more pros of having your best friend live next door to you. Number one being that he had hot friends. You can’t help but stare at them from your bedroom window whenever they’re swimming in Felix’s pool. Another beneficial thing is that you literally can hang out whenever you want to. You guys basically have movie nights every other night. His sisters are basically your sisters, they even tell you sometimes that they prefer you over him.

While you mindlessly scroll through your twitter feed, you get a text from Felix that says, “You up for a swim?” You respond with, “Be there in 10.” Peeking out your bedroom window, you check to see if any of Felix’s other friends were there. You were especially keeping an eye out for Seungmin and Jisung. Seungmin because you thought he was kind of cute and Jisung because you were looking to get payback for that prank he played on you the last time you saw him. However, as you looked, you saw no silhouettes or figures. So, you figured that either it would only be you and Felix hanging out today or they were all inside his house.

After you finished getting ready, you made your way to Felix’s house and when you rung his doorbell, his mother had answered the door.

“Oh, hello dear. Felix is out in the backyard. You can go right on ahead. Oh, and let me know if you want me to make you guys something.”

“Alright, thanks Mrs. Lee.”

Making your way into the house and to the backyard, you spot Felix through the glass door. His back is faced towards you, so as quietly as you can, you slide the door and sneak up behind him.

“Boo.”

Frightened, Felix jumps and clutches his chest, “Y/N, don’t scare me like that, I could’ve dropped my croissant.”

You were about to tell him to stop making vine references, when you realized that he was actually holding a croissant. Shrugging, you rip off a piece of his croissant and pop it into your mouth.

“Great, first you scare me and then you take my food, what next? Are you going to take my friends too?”

“Felix, no offence, but I don’t want your friends. Speaking of your friends, they coming over?”

“No, why? So you can make googly eyes at Seungmin?”

Offended, you say, “I do not make googly eyes at him.” Felix gives you a look, “He’s cute, I can’t help it. I can’t help that all your friends are cute.”

“If all my friends are cute, does that make me cute?” Felix asks, raising his eyebrows at you.

Gently patting him on the cheek, “The cutest.”

You make your way to the pool, and slowly get into it. The water cools down your burning skin as it envelops you and you relax into it. Floating in the water, eyes closed, you find peace, but that peace is interrupted once you hear a loud “CANNONBALL!” Water all around you splashes everywhere, and you are forced to open your eyes.

Similar to the way Dave from Alvin and the Chipmunks screams Alvin’s name you yell, “Felix!”

He gives you a cheeky grin, “Oops.” He goes underwater and begins swimming away from you. You swim after him and reach out for his ankles when you get close enough. You pull at his leg, and when you hear his scream underwater, you come up and begin laughing. Felix joins you in your laughing fit once he comes up for air.

“C’mon Felix, two for two.”

“You’re such a meanie, Y/N.” He splashes water towards you. Suddenly he says, “Wait, I just thought of something.” He gets out of the pool and heads towards the table where all your stuff was. You see that he grabs his phone and a water bottle. Approaching the pool, smiling he says, “Let’s film Tiktoks.”

Felix was always on Tiktok, he even knew all the dances, you, however, knew nothing about it. You didn’t even have the app downloaded. The only Tiktoks you saw were the ones Felix showed you or the ones you saw reposted on another platform. Him and his friends were always filming Tiktoks, but he’s never asked you to film one with him, that is until today.

With a serious look on your face, you tell him, “I’m not doing the renegade, Felix.”

“Y/N,” he whines.

“Anything, but the renegade.”

“Fine.” He sets the water bottle by the edge of the pool and slips back into the pool, phone in hand. “You remember that song ‘Shake It’ by Metro Station? There’s an easy dance for it that we can do.”

The phrase ‘easy dance’ differs between you and Felix. Felix happens to be an amazing dancer that can easily learn dances, you on the other hand, were not that good of a dancer. You would have to watch the dance a hundred times for you to remember it. Luckily for you, Felix is a good teacher.

It takes you approximately 20 minutes to learn the dance and 15 more minutes for the two of you to record it. When the two of you watch the final video, you laugh at how stiff you look compared to Felix. He tells you that your stiff dancing is cute, and you thank him by splashing him with water.

“Let’s film one more Tiktok.”

“Fine. This better be the last one.”

“It’ll be the best one yet.”

“What’re we doing for this one?”

“All you have to do is be your pretty self.” You’ll never get used to Felix’s random compliments. He even does it in front of the guys and as the peanut gallery, they always go “ooh” and “awe,” at this point you’ve learned to ignore them.

Listening to Felix’s words, you lift your feet off from the bottom of the pool, and let yourself float, watching as Felix presses the record button. A song that you don’t recognize plays from the speaker, and Felix lightly paddles towards you. You look between him and the camera, curious as to what was supposed to happen.

Felix comes up to you and gently wraps an arm around your waist and begins to spin you around in the water. He does this all the time to you, so instead of screaming, you laugh to show that you’re having fun. Felix is laughing along with you and just when you’re about to ask him what you guys were supposed to be doing, when he suddenly holds you by your face. Before you could say anything else, he presses his lips against yours. You automatically wrap your arms around his neck and kiss him back.

You’ve always known that you had feelings for Felix, but you were afraid to do or say anything to him in fear that you would ruin your friendship. You would rather have him in your life as your friend than not have him in your life at all. Now that you’re in this position, however, you were ready to risk it all, obviously Felix was.

By now, the video and audio have stopped, but you’re still in each other’s arms, lips still moving against one another. Eventually you run out of air and pull apart from him, giggling. You examine his face and watch as a water droplet from his hair drops down to his eyelashes. You think to yourself, “Gosh, he’s so gorgeous.’ Another thought comes to your mind, and you can’t help, but let it escape your mouth.

“Is this how most Tiktoks end? If so, I think we should film more Tiktoks together.” The pair of you laugh at your remark.

“No, but if you want it to, ours can.”

“I think I’d like that.”

“Do you guys need anything-oh, uh, never mind, I see that you two are a bit busy.” Felix’s mother quickly leaves the two of you before you guys can even separate from each other.

“Well, dinner is definitely going to be awkward tonight.”

“I just know that my house is about to get a call from your mom.”

“If it makes you feel any better, I think this video is going to blow up.” You give him a blank look before you put your hands on his shoulders and push him into the water.

You hate to admit it, but Felix was right. He posted the Tiktok and it got a lot of views. It got so many views that you even downloaded the app to read the comments. The boys wouldn’t shut up about it for days, but it doesn’t matter to you, because of Tiktok you now have a boyfriend and you have a new favorite song.

A/N: Wouldn’t filming tiktoks with Felix be so fun? Feel free to let me know what you guys thought of this, and if you were in the areas affected by hurricane Laura, I hope that you are safe! ❤️

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marshmallow-phd · 4 years

Text

Catching Rain

Part of The Untamed - EXO Wolf Universe

Genre: Wolf!AU

Pairing: Minseok x Reader

Summary: You were more than satisfied with your life. You attended a nice college, had nice friends, a nice boyfriend. That’s what your life was: nice. You weren’t looking for anything more, so what were you to do when this seemingly harmless boy walked into your life and turned your nice little world into one much more dangerous?

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I Epilogue

Junmyeon stared at him for a few blinks. Awkwardness washed over Minseok as he ran a hand through his hair. Maybe saying it out loud was a mistake. Maybe he should have tried seeing you as a human first, just to make sure that the pull was real and not some weird effect of running for so long. Maybe the trees were giving off a weird perfume that messed with his head.

“Y-you think you found her?” Junmyeon stammered. “How? Where?”

“In the woods, just now when I was out with the others,” Minseok answered.

Junmyeon scratched the top of his head. “Wow. That’s, um… that’s convenient.”

Minseok scoffed. “Sure. It could be. Except that I was a wolf.

“Oh.”

Neither spoke for a minute or two. Minseok tapped his foot against the worn boards of his bedroom. He was tempted to tell Junmyeon never mind, to forget it and that he’d figure it out on his own – then go ask Jongdae for his advice. He was easier to talk to.

But a part of Minseok knew that wouldn’t be helpful. Given Jongdae’s reservations on the whole “mate” ordeal, his advice might not be the answer. “Ignore it” wasn’t exactly the best route to go down.

“So, you just need to meet her in person?”

Minseok looked over at the alpha, a bit surprised. Yeah, that would make sense. That would probably be the best way to solve all of this. You meet him in person, feel the pull yourself, problem solved. He nodded.

“Did she give you any hint of what her name is or any other clue as to how we can find her again?”

Minseok was unable to hold back the flinch at Junmyeon’s question. There was a moment’s hesitation before he reached under the pillow and pulled out your notebook. He really, really hoped this didn’t come across as creepy or inappropriate. “She accidentally left this behind,” he explained. He flipped open to the cover where what could only be your name was displayed.

“That’s a good start,” Junmyeon smiled encouragingly. Taking the notebook and securing it under the crook of his arm, he stood up from the bed. “It might be a long shot, but we can see if she’s a student at the university.”

Minseok jumped up. “Really?”

Junmyeon nodded, patting the older wolf on the back. “Being a professor has its privileges.”

Rolling his eyes, Minseok headed for the door. “Let’s just go and search the records, Professor Kim.”

“I really shouldn’t be doing this.”

“This was your own suggestion!” Minseok snapped. They were already in his office, Junmyeon in his chair with the registry search already pulled up on the screen. Now was when he decided to start questioning his own plan?

“I know, I know,” Junmyeon grumbled. “But now that I’m doing it, I feel like I’m crossing a line. I’m a brand new professor, I could get in serious trouble by using the registry for personal use.”

Minseok felt only a tiny bit of sympathy. Besides, a lie as to why he was looking up a particular student would be easy to make. “If the stories are true, then it’s worth it.”

Junmyeon’s hands hovered over the keyboard before he could type in the name. “You mean, the stories of what could happen after you find your mate?”

“Yeah…. Those ones scare me.”

“Hey.” Junmyeon turned in his chair and clapped a hand on Minseok’s shoulder. The latter looked over, anxiety more than apparent in his eyes. “It’ll be alright. Mates rarely ever reject their wolves. Besides, who would ever want to reject the smart and handsome Kim Minseok?”

To his horror, Minseok actually felt his face heat up from the compliment. He shoved Junmyeon’s hand away. “Stop it.”

Fairly pleased with himself, Junmyeon went back to typing in your name, snickering to himself.

“Alright,” Junmyeon sighed after clicking through several, somewhat unnecessary, search criteria. He hit the desk with his palm, very pleased indeed. “She is a student here. With the Fine Arts College.”

Minseok leaned in closer and confirmed with his own eyes that the ID photo on the school’s site matched who he saw in the clearing. By now, he was sure he’d know that smile anywhere. He just needed to learn about the rest of you. “That explains why she was out in the woods taking pictures.”

“Ah, a photographer.” Junmyeon smiled brightly with a twinge of mischief. “The others will have fun with that.”

“Can we not tell the others?” Minseok asked quietly. They’d already lied and said that they were headed to the university for “emergency meetings” with students. The pack hardly cared, murmuring “see you later”s as the two eldest members walked out the door. As much as the others would deny it, keeping secrets from them wasn’t as hard as they thought.

It wasn’t that they didn’t care. They were family. If something was wrong, they were there for each other. Despite what had happened in the past… well, they were a pack. They would listen and help - after a few jokes from the peanut gallery.

“They’ll figure it out eventually.”

Minseok nodded. “I know. But I’d rather have this whole thing figured out before they catch whiff of it. This is stressful enough without their antics.”

“That’s… accurate.” Junmyeon laughed a bit to himself at the thought. “Alright. I’ll keep it to myself. Besides, what harm could come from keeping this a secret?”

Relief helped Minseok relax his shoulders, the burden eased just a tiny bit. “Exactly. Now, though I’m sure I’ll regret it later because of how stalkerish it sounds, what’s her schedule?”

The next morning, Minseok was full of confidence. He was dressed much better than his normal laid back, might have just rolled out of bed, might have just come from the gym style. The guys always made fun of him for eighty percent of his closet being athletic wear, but he preferred being in clothes he could move in.

Today, well, he could still move in these jeans and the T-shirt was breathable, at least. Armed with the knowledge that you would have to cross this part of the campus to get to your morning class, Minseok leaned up against one of the trees littering the courtyard and waited. His watch slowly ticked the seconds by. Each little tock sent his heart racing faster. He was going to see you in person, as a human this time. Would the pull be different? Stronger? There wasn’t any other way to know until he saw you.

And there you were.

With slow, almost heavy steps, you made your way down the sidewalk. Your eyes were unfocused. Okay, that must mean you were preoccupied. Something was weighing you down. He almost chickened out, telling himself that maybe he should try another time when you didn’t seem so downcast.

The wolf in his chest, mostly dormant up until now, growled at him. That second part of his nature wasn’t usually pushy like this. Before the clearing, the wolf only showed up when Minseok’s frustration was getting the better of him. And that was usually Baekhyun’s fault. Right now, though, the wolf was pushing him to go forward with the plan, barking and clawing to get what it wanted. Because who knew when another good chance like this would happen?

Alright. Minseok gave in. After running his hands through his hair - a nervous fidget - he replaced his ball cap and strutted out to put his plan into action.

You were two seconds away from screaming. Or throwing something. Or a combination of the two.

Last night you hadn’t thought much about it, but this morning an idea came to you for an upcoming project in one of your classes and you wanted to write it down before it left you for good. Only problem? Your notebook was missing.

You tore through every pocket of your bag, became a tornado around your dorm, and even crawled around your car like a toddler to try and find it. But there was only one sorry conclusion you could come up with on its whereabouts: the clearing.

Whimpering, you sat down on the asphalt next to your open car door. Every possible scenario ran through your head. The dew from the grass ruined the pages and ran the ink, making every note illegible. A rabbit taking it back to use for its nest. That wolf making the leather binding its new favorite chew toy.

You laughed to yourself at that last thought. Do wild wolves even like chewing on things like their domesticated brethren? Then again, that wolf was an odd one. Given his behavior at coming across you in the clearing, you weren’t sure the ordinary rules of nature counted for him.

One last sigh and you picked yourself up from the ground. For now, you would have to put off going back to the clearing. Class started soon and you couldn’t really afford to miss it. You threw your bag over your shoulder and used your foot to shut the car door before clicking the fob and activating the locks. The beep-beep told you that all was secure so you headed towards the main campus.

The stress you were feeling seemed to be manifesting itself on the faces of the commuting students around you. Or, really, they were just as stressed as you were, since that was current college life. Though their own source of stress was probably vastly different from your own. How were you going to tell Erik that you’d lost your notebook? He was attentive about those kinds of things. Soon he would ask where it went or why you hadn’t used it in a while. Hopefully, it would still be in the clearing with only a minuscule amount of water damage and you wouldn’t have to come up with some lie as to how you lost it. The truth would only cause a fight that you would prefer to avoid.

“Oomph!”

Your shoulder suddenly crashed into a solid object, bringing you out of your thoughts. The sound of paper flopping through the air made you flinch.

“I am so sorry!” Still not looking at whatever poor soul you ran into, you crouched down and started to help shuffle together the insane amount of worksheets.

“It's alright, really.”

“No, I should have….” You looked up and nearly gasped.

Meeting the eyes of the person you’d ran into sent your head spinning. The world seemed to be tilting back and forth as if it were on a teeter-totter. Your breath caught in your throat. Never had you seen this person before. There was no rational explanation for why you were having this sort of reaction. Not even the handsome leads in the dramas you watched caused your heart to beat this fast.

Staring back at you were irises that were the deepest brown eyes you’d ever had the pleasure of connecting with. You were mere inches from the round yet straight nose and the wide, shining smile that revealed its owner’s pearly teeth. Though focused on the face, you could make out a fitted black tee and jeans snug tight.

“Been paying attention,” you finished lamely and awkwardly.

“No, I was in too much of a hurry,” the man countered. Or, boy? You weren’t entirely sure. He had a timeless face, the kind that could both easily make him a tenured professor or be asked for his ID at the liquor store.

“I’m sorry. Here.” You held out your poorly stacked papers out for him. “I don’t make you anymore late.”

“No! No, I-I’m not in a hurry!” he stammered. “I just… I just usually walk really fast. Having friends that are eighty-five percent legs created the habit.”

You laughed, nearly snorting out your nose between giggles at the joke. The muscles in your legs were screaming at you for how long you’d forced them to stay crouched, but you ignored them. To you, it was like time had momentarily paused. If you stood up or broke eye contact, then the clock would tick on again.

Guilt yanked you back into reality. You shouldn’t be reacting like this, thinking like this when you were committed to someone else. Clearing your throat, you pushed yourself up and broke the stare. Time started forward again.

“I, um, I should get going.” Yes. Yes, you should be getting to class. So, then, why were your feet refusing to comply?

The smile on his face didn’t dim as he, too, straightened up. “Right. You probably have class. I won’t keep you, but… I’m Minseok.” He held his hand out for you to take.

You hesitated a moment and then metaphorically shook your head. It was just a friendly handshake. Hardly cheating. Besides, you doubted you would see him again on this big campus. “(y/n).”

As soon as your palm met his, a strange heat or electricity ran up your arm, causing you to jump back in surprise. Minseok also seemed surprised by the charge.

Almost nervously, he laughed, “Static electricity is always a shock, isn’t it?”

“Ha!” You slammed a hand over your mouth as soon as the sound escaped. You should not have laughed at the pun. Trying but certainly failing, you covered the laugh with a pathetic cough. “It was nice to meet you, Minseok. I hope you have a good day.” You hurried down the sidewalk, barely catching his confused response.

“You… too.”

You didn’t stop until you made it inside the building, shuffling over to the side so you weren’t blocking the entrance. Back against the painted cement blocks that made up the wall, you forced your thoughts to cohesively straighten out.

This was a college. Funny, attractive boys were a dime a dozen here. Erik was one of them, no offense to him. You liked your funny and cute college boy. From your brief interaction, you didn’t see anything different or special about that Minseok. So why was your heart still refusing to calm down? You placed a hand over your chest as if that would put it back to normal. Taking the risk, you peeked out the glass doors, but the sidewalk you’d run into him was now empty.

Who was that boy?

A valid question, but one for which you were not going to actively pursue an answer for. Going forward, you were going to put the boy out of your head and move on with your life, leaving it nothing but a random encounter without consequence or side effects.

But as you headed down the hall to your classroom, something told you that this was nowhere near the end.

#exo #exo wolf au #exo wolf!au #minseok x reader #xiumin #kim minseok #exo werewolf au #exo werewolf!au #exo supernatural au #exo series #exo fanfiction #exo fanfic #untamed wolf universe #Catching Rain

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