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soradragon · 3 years

Note

I have a reauest if you have the time! Shinsou and Reader where Reader isn't scared of Shinsou's quirk and talks to him a lot and Shinsou is like "Nice person? Is this love?" (Tbh, I'd rather it end with just friends, but if you want romance then go for it) PS: Will you write for female characters if it isn't romantic?

Soup To Heal The Aches

~summary~

You were very odd in Shinso’s eyes. A transfer student who’s not even in his class keeps seeking him out to hang out. And you don’t seem to be afraid of him. After finding out you just want to be his friend, he has come to welcome your presence. Making his life brighter. Until one day you suddenly don’t show up.

Thank you for your request my dear @kawayuni !! I absolutely loved writing this fic!! And yes! I’ll write for female characters if it’s platonic like friendship! I also write for characters without reader like for example a fic about baku squad hanging out at the beach for example!

This is a platonic x reader fic but you can also see it as romantical however you wanna see it! ^^

Anyway! Come chat with me about fun things or story ideas! my box and dms are always open for you guys!

Warnings; angst with a happy end!

Shinso x gender neutral reader (in what way is for you to decide!^^)

Check out my main masterlist if you liked what you read!

If you want to be tagged in the next upcomming fic don’be afraid to ask me!^^

Please leave a little comment or reblog to let me know you liked it! I greatly appreciate it!^^

Anyway, enjoy^^

~~~~

You were a mystery to him, an odd, peculiar student, you were so different from the rest, a big contrast to the other students.

Ever since you transferred to UA, you've been stuck to Shinso like glue, going to him with all your questions, sitting next to him in lunches etc. Which was quite strange since the two of you were not in the same class. You could have gone to any of your classmates, some even went up to you to offer their help. Yet you politely reclined most of them and went towards Shinso.

You weren't annoying him or crossing some boundaries of his - you've asked if what it was ok if you sat next to him or talked to him, he didn't mind - it just left him confused is all.

After all, you knew what he was capable of, knew that he could use his quirk on you any time he wanted. Yet still, you talked with him, running up to him when you found him admits the horde of students wandering through the hall only to chat and actually listen to his opinions.

One day, he had asked you why you gravitated towards him when there are so many others you could be hanging out with.

Your response was quite unexpected: Your head had shot up from your lunch, staring at him as if he had just grown five separate heads.

"What..?" you had asked, thinking you hadn't heard him correctly Shinso repeated the question. After a moment of rapid blinking, you started to pout, frowning at your shoes you spoke, "is it so wrong that I just feel comfortable around you? You're nice and easy to talk to, can't that be enough reason to want to be your friend?"

Your words had surprised him, he had to admit. Your reasoning was simple and straightforward, leaving no room for doubt, it left him with a warm feeling. Not that cliche, warm, fluttery feeling characters out of a novel get when they fall in love. No, it didn't feel like that, it was the kind of warmth people get when they finally found someone who understands them, a friend who was trustworthy and wouldn't leave till the end of time.

It was new... but a good kind of new.

A couple of months passed, and he had started to accept the fact that you were his friend now. Hanging out most days when both of you were free.

You sitting in the support class gave you more freedom then Shinso. Thus when he wasn't free because of the amounts of homework he had to do, you would come over to help him out, sitting on his bed while he sat at his desk, mulling over the questions.

While your feet would dangle in a childlike enthusiasm, you gave him some good points and observations when Shinso was stuck, opening his eyes to different views he hadn't thought of before.

Shinso had become so accustomed of you being next to him that he couldn't think of a future without you by his side. Which is why he now was at such a loss.

Normally, you would already sit at your usual table at lunch, waiting for him. But when Shinso arrived at the cafeteria, he couldn't find your excited self waving at him. He checked his phone; no messages from you.

...Odd...

Shinso had pushed it to the side though, thinking you were held up by your lecture and you couldn't message him because of reasons. That had to be it.

He convinced himself that it was nothing and took a seat at your usual table, deciding switch things up and wait for you instead.

Surely you would arrive shortly.

You didn't come...

Shinso was more than confused, a bit hurt even.

Why didn't you show up? Did he do something wrong? Didn't you want to be friends anymore?

His thoughts went immediately to the worst, frowning he pushed down. That couldn't be... Surely there was an explanation.

Slight dread pooled inside his stomach, yet he pushed on. Convincing himself you were just busy a-and forgot to tell him, yeah, that got to be it.

Shinsou ruffled his hair to shake him from his doubts.

A thing you used to do when you knew Shinso was getting stressed, doing it himself didn't soothe him like when you did it. It just felt empty.

Shinso shook his head, deciding to wait and see. You would probably meet him when school ends for your daily hangouts, apologizing a hundred times for missing lunch together.

Shinso smirked, thinking about how he could tease you for making him concerned wait.

But when the time came, you weren't there.

Now worry really started to set in.

Did he scare you off? Surely he didn't, you firmly told him you didn't mind him and his quirk.

Did he anger you in some way? That couldn't be it either, you were not one to avoid someone after a conflict, trying to resolve it instead.

So many thoughts flooded inside Shinso's mind, each one he had a counter for except one...

You didn't care for him anymore, you didn't want to be friends anymore...

That set his mind in a destructive path, all kind of emotions swirled inside of him, he wanted to cry, panic, scream, find you, run away, so many he couldn't keep up.

It hurt.

His chest ached, his brain stopped working, it was just a blank space except for a couple words:

It was his fault.

He didn't notice it, but he had slumped down on a bench, staring at nothing while gripping his head.

Where did he go wrong? Everywhere, of course, why else would you leave. He was broken, awkward and unsocial. You must have gotten sick of his angst, must have gotten sick of his quiet self. Stupid, of course, you left. You deserved friends so much better then he could ever be.

A sudden tap on Shinso's shoulder woke him up, he shot his head up only one word stumbling out of his mouth in the sudden awakening from his trance.

"Huh...?"

It was a student, one he didn't recognize though.

They panted while trying to form words.

"A-are you...called...Shinsu...?"

Shinso stared at the student for a moment, not fully grasping the situation before nodding slightly. The slip up of his name going unnoticed to Shinso.

The student let out a sigh of relief, "thank god, you have no idea how hard it is to find you, I've been searching for you the entire day."

He said after catching his breath, grinning victoriously to himself like he just won the lottery.

"Y/N told me you wouldn't be hard to miss, boy were they wrong! Doesn't matter, now I'll get free food for a week!"

The boy laughed to himself, but Shinso didn't pay him any attention, your name echoed inside his head.

"Y/N..?"

Shinso asked hesitantly, looking up slightly unsure.

The boy nodded vigorously, "yes! They asked me to find you and tell you They couldn't meet up today since they're sick! Aaand... their phone fell in the toilet...That phone still smells like the fish from last night..."

"Sick...?"

"Yeah, there was something wrong in Y/N's food."

"Where are they now?"

"In bed at the campus, dude - hey, where are you going?"

The boy called out with confusion laced in his voice as Shinso rushed towards the dorm without giving the boy a thank you.

His mind was somewhere else, concerned thoughts of you circled around his mind he had to go to you and see if you were ok.

*(*)*(*)*

You were rudely awakened from your sleep by a soft knock on the door. You groaned as you rubbed your heavy eyes, "mgnnn...come in..."

The door was slammed open not a second later - which was not good for your searing headache - a worried Shinso barged in afterwards.

At least he had the mind to close the door softly before rushing to your side.

"Hey Y/N..."

Shinso mumbled softly, brushing some damp hair out of your face.

You squinted up at him, he had a soft smile on his face and a paper bag in his other hand.

"...Why do you look like you've run a marathon...?"

You slurred out weakly, making Shinso laugh, "well, I kinda did," he said, gesturing to the bag in his hand. "Had to get some necessary items to help fix you up. Want some soup?"

Your eyes slightly widened as you watched Shinso turn around towards your little kitchen. (It wasn't really a kitchen, it only had a sink, a small refrigerator and a microwave)

"You don't have to do that...Don't you have homework to worry about...?"

You tried to call out to him, but your voice was too hoarse to make much sound. Luckily he heard you, turning his head to look over his shoulder. Shinso smirked, bringing a finger to his lips, "don't strain your voice Y/N, you should be resting."

Oh, he could be such a jerk sometimes.

"Don't give me that look Y/N, I came as fast as I could when I heard you were sick."

You frowned. "Didn't Taka tell you not to worry...?"

"Heh, he probably did, but I hurried here when he said the words 'sick' and 'you'. It was all I needed."

Shinso chuckled to himself as he put the canned soup in the microwave. Leaning against the counter to watch you.

"And I'm not going until the fever breaks," he said before smirking. "Or when the teachers finally manage to drag me out of your room."

You groaned, burying yourself deeper into the blankets, the only reasonable thing in this room apparently.

Shinso snorted at your antics before grabbing a bowl out of the cupboard when the microwave started to beep. He carefully grabbed the can out of the microwave, remembering all the times he burned his fingers because he wasn't careful enough.

It was too many times for his taste. (You love to tease him about it every now and again.)

Shinso moderately poured - to avoid spilling the hot substance onto the counter - the soup into the bowl, adding a spoon soon after.

Shinso smiled at his creation, satisfied with his cooking skills he brought it to you.

"Wakey, wakey sleepyhead. Got some food."

Shinso said, poking you softly to help wake you up. You groaned in response, sitting up you looked at him with a dazed expression and coloured cheeks.

"Huh...? Waa...?" You mumbled, Shinso snorted at your coherent speech.

"Got food," he said, holding up the bowl as proof. "Can you eat yourself, or do I need to feed you?"

You glared at him, wishing you had enough strength to slap that smirk off his face. But alas, the revenge plan would need to come later.

"...Could you be anymore blunt..." You mumbled under your breath, glaring at the bowl of soup in Shinso's hand.

The man in question just sniggered, offering you the bowl as he spoke, "well, not to fret, you've still got your snark." Your glare had become even fiercer. "That's some good news at the very least."

"...Go to the moon..." You replied after taking a spoonful of soup.

Shinso's smirk got even wider, "I would love to for you Y/N, but first I'm going to take care of you. Maybe try that request again later."

You grumbled under your breath as you continued eating, refusing to look at him. Your blanket was far more interesting than his stupid teasing smirk.

Shinso grabbed a stool to sit next to you, watching as you ate the soup in your hands, continuing to ignore him.

Shinso's smirk turned soft as he watched you.

It felt good, the teasing and comfortable atmosphere hanging around the two of you, he wouldn't have it any other way.

It just felt right.

The dynamic you both have is something Shinso treasures dearly, a friend like you will only appear once in a lifetime. He's glad he's found you, his world has become a lot brighter thanks to your presence.

You looked up from your bowl, which startled Shinso out of his trance. He tilted his head when you glanced towards him with a calculating expression.

"Hm?"

You smiled, "...oh, it's nothing...I was just thinking..."

"Thinking?"

"...Yeah...I think I'm just very grateful you came instead of going to your own dorm...I think...I would've been a bit lonely without you here, so...Thank you for not listening to my advice..."

Shinso's eyes widened considerably, gawking at your smile. Although you looked sick, Shinso thought your smile was radiant.

Yeah, Shinso felt like the luckiest person in the world.

~~~~

Thank you for reading! And keep soaring high!^^

~~~~

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If you are on a tag list of a fandom or requested something you will get notified for Sora’s rambles. When I’m working on that fandom or request, i will post little ramblings about the story I’m working on, a sort of teaser if you will. If you don’t want to be notified on Sora’s rambles please let me know^^ ~~

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@vasharts-blog @an-adventureland @theincaprincess @strongholdinthedark @hannah-emily-zhang

#shinso x reader #shinsou x reader #my hero academia x reader #mha x reader #shinso #shinsou #my hero academia #boku no hero x reader #boku no hero #bnha x reader #sora's writings #writings

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totallytododeku · 4 years

Text

☁ studying together ( x reader hc's) ☁

characters: midoriya, bakugou, todoroki, kirishima, yaoyorozu, uraraka, + ashido

genre: fluff <33

☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁☁

I. Midoriya 🌳🍀🌻

this poor boy is so excited to be spending time with you

but he will not take his nose out of his textbook

he can't help it

he's so happy to be in the hero course he takes his schoolwork a little too seriously

however, you can use this to your advantage ;)

normally you're almost as invested in his journey to becoming the next Symbol of Peace and achieving his dream as he is

and you would never dream of doing anything that could jeopardize it

So you were silently bouncing off the walls with glee when you realized he was impervious to distractions when it came to studying

literally anything is fair game

which is why studying with him is your new favorite time of day

pet his hair

kiss his cheeks

climb into his lap

pat his head

hold his non-dominant hand

hug him from behind his chair

rest your head on his shoulder and take a nap

do whatever you want

you can basically do anything to him while he's studying without having to worry about distracting him

he will blush a little bit of you kiss him but but you think it's adorable

lol turn on whatever tv or music you want

but only if you're done with your work!!

hes very adamant that you keep up with your work as best you can do you can graduate side by side and be pro heroes together someday

K. Bakugou 💣💥 📢

he would totally be the one to invite you to study and he would probably want to study in his dorm

it's super quiet and nobody will bother you guys because they know it's that spiky gremlin's room

overall his room just has a really relaxing atmosphere

you love being near him as much as possible

and he's much more affectionate in the comfort of his dorm room

but that doesn't mean he's gonna go easy on u ;-;

he still has his gruff attitude and will make sure you're studying every day

or else he will call u baka and force you to sit down and study until you know all your material

he's actually a great tutor tho

he writes out all the work for each problem and explains them thoroughly

all while holding in you in his arms while you sit in his lap

sometimes you can convince him to play a game with you where every time you get an answer right he gives you a kiss

but you whine when you get one wrong and he won't kiss you

he huffs before giving you a kiss while still trying to look annoyed

stupid girl he mutters

but he pulls you a bit closer to him to hide his blush and moves on to the next problem despite your giggles

S. Todoroki ❄🔥🍜

he doesn't really need to study but he doesn't know how to just .. relax

like he doesn't know how to not do what his dad tells him to do

and his dad wants him to study

it's just easier for Todoroki to do what his dad wants than to rebel

that is, it was

Until he met you and the dekusquad

obviously everyone cares about their homework and wants to graduate well and go Plus Ultra!

but study sessions with Todoroki usually end up just being you guys trying to help him be less hard on himself while you have him as a captive audience

he doesn't really mind, though, especially when it's just you two

the intimacy of studying together in comfortable silence and just

enjoying each other's company

makes his heart go (*￣∇￣*)

like i said he doesn't really need to study so he'll just end up helping you review material

please just ... hold his hand :)

after you're done studying for the day just pull him into a hug and over to your bed

he needs a nap

you feel warm fuzzies inside from how caring he's been to sit with you while you finished your homework and bring you warm tea

you don't even think you just

Time for cuddles :3

it becomes your daily ritual to study together and then cuddle

he always falls asleep in your arms with a small smile

E. Kirishima 🗿🗿🗿

(HAHAHSHNSJ THE 🗿 EMOJI OMG I'M LITERALLY SO FUNNY LOL I'M CRYING)

"Okay, Y/N, let's study hard and do our homework like men!" *fist-pumping the air and grinning like an idiot*

"...what's so funny? "

he doesn't care if you're not a man it's his trademark

he likes to study at his desk because he says it's "important to stay focused and work diligently"

generally he is the least focused person, ever. besides kaminari.

however, he's so energetic and enthusiastic that once you sit down and start studying he'll be able to keep your motivation up until you've finished all your homework

GREAT at studying for tests and quizzes (in theory)

he will never give up

like I said he could keep studying for hours once he sets his mind to it

So you have to compromise and get him to study in short bursts throughout the day to help him have a better chance of remembering anything ;-;

his memory is not great but it's kinda cute

you, being the smart cookie that u are, realized the best way to help him memorize things was to study with flashcards frequently throughout the weekend while doing other activities

so you plan to hang out together and do something fun every week while having your study material on index cards in your back pockets

it's a literal study date.

a weekly date out to the mall or the park or a little coffee shop but with math trivia thrown in randomly throughout the afternoon!! :D

Of course he was ready to turn it into a game he's a literal puppy

he just wants to show you you can be proud of him

you giggle lightly when you hear him say that and let him know that you'll always be proud of him, no matter what

M. Yaoyorozu 👑🏆☕

studyblr wants what u have.

studying in momo's room makes you feel like a Victorian young lady studying moral philosophy, writing poetry about the mourning doves outside the garden window, and waiting for her husband to come home from sailing the seven seas

it's your Belle moment where she's in the royal library except it's every day

stacks of beautiful, old books

the smell of the crisp, white pages

soft classical music floating through the air

the window cracked open slightly

and you are the luckiest student in all of UA because you get to study with the smartest girl in the whole school

she's also gorgeous and sweet and perfect which def doesn't hurt

u know that joke that ur teacher can spend a year explaining something and u never understand but then a random indian guy on YouTube explains it in 2 minutes and you finally get it

she is that random indian guy

you will never struggle with a single concept after you start studying with her

And she's so proud of you for every little question you answer correctly

(even thought she's the one that explained it all so well in the first place)

it's the definition of comfortable silence

she insists that neither of you study too hard and that you take lots of breaks to stretch

she says its to help you stay concentrated but really she just wants to feel your gentle hands on her shoulders as you massage out the knots

you take turns kneading the tension out of each other's shoulders

you feel a pleasant tingle down your spine at the feeling of her soft breath on the back of your neck

She pulls away and you share awkward smiles, neither of you realizing the other one of blushing, too

(((*≧艸≦)ﾌﾟﾌﾟｯ

O. Uraraka 🌜🚀🙏

ur actually super productive study buddies

Like u started studying together and then all of a sudden you were almost at the top of your class

she's just so sweet that being with her gives you the energy you need to write that essay all in one sitting instead of procrastinating like a normal person

Shows up at your dorm with snacks and drinks to keep your energy up!! :D

even though she's still going to end up getting sleepy anyway later in the afternoon

You get most of your studying done at the beginning of your study date so it's not really a problem

you know she doesn't have a lot of money to be throwing around so you pay for dinner every night

It's usually takeout but sometimes you guys make your own dinner for fun!

it always turns out almost inedible and burned because neither of you were paying attention to the stove

don't let baku see it or he'll start screaming about how you need to try your best at everything so he can beat you fair and square and that includes cooking too

neither you nor uraraka can handle spicey food so you never eat what Bakugou cooks for the class

You grab a few bags of chips and some sushi and shut yourselves in your dorm to pull an all-nighter study session about once a month

it should make you tired but, again, studying with her is so enjoyable that you don't mind

u two enjoy each others company in studying so much that you sometimes read ahead in your textbooks just to be able to study more

overall, hanging out with her is just lighthearted and filled with giggles

and you just so happen to get all your homework done along the way

M. Ashido 👾👽🚿

"studying" with her is so much fun

Hanging out with Mina in general is so much fun

it's impossible not to smile when she's around so even if you have a huge exam tomorrow, all your worries fade away just from being with her

She is pretty distracting in cases where you actually wanted to get stuff done

But you don't care

Change of plans

you're doing mani pedi's with Mina

No more studying

it's not as bad as it sounds though

You're not slacking off or anything and you can still keep your grades up with help from your other friends like Momo and Iida

you guys are just goofing off in the privacy of your dorm room when you should be studying

"It's not a crime to be young, Y/ N ;)"

she's just so energetic and happy like a little pink ball of sunshine

you can't help but laugh at her silliness and cute antics after a long day of classes

she makes your heart beat faster like you're on a roller coaster but without the nerves

somehow you feel giddy and comfortable in her presence at the same time

it doesn't matter what you two are doing, you always have fun

make sure she goes to bed on time, though, or she might end up baking a seven-tier cake at 3 am and Bakugou will scream at you for waking him up

don't feed her after midnight lmao

i started writing this after i almost died of boredom in my online calc class. my senioritis is already kicking in and it's still September (｡-ω-)

#boku no hero academia x reader #bnha x reader fluff #bnha headcannons #bakugou katsuki x reader fluff #midoriya izuku x reader #todoroki shouto x reader #shoto todoroki #Uraraka ochako #uraraka ochako x reader #Mina ashido x reader #yaoyorozu momo x reader #yaomomo #Kirishima eijirou x reader #eijirou kirishima #mha x reader #my hero academia x reader fluff headcannons #study date #hc

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bluefirewrites · 3 years

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I'm sorry about your presentation, idk if your still doing hcs but can you do one where Reggie is julies older brother by 1 or 2 years and Julie in love with Luke and Luke likes her as well but neither will do anything because of Reggie. If not its ok. ☺

I brought up an idea similar to this a while back! But let’s rework it.

In this scenario, let’s say that the Molinas and the Peters' have known each other for a long while, ever since Julie and Reggie were kids. They’ve pretty much grown up together.

And then they get older and a lot of shit happens. Julie’s mom dies. And Reggie’s parents finally get a divorce.

As the two families are healing and trying to move on, eventually Ray and Reggie’s mom sorta just clicked.

And years later, they ended up getting married- officially making Reggie Julie’s brother.

They move into the Molina’s house and they transition to one big family so seamlessly that Julie often forgets that Reggie isn’t her brother in the biological sense. He’s always been an older figure to her, always looking out for her and Carlos.

She’s so used to having him around. And even used to having Reggie’s friends around growing up.

They all met when they were in middle school, but Julie hasn’t seen them much over the years, only seeing them during special occasions or whenever she would go to the Peters’ from time to time.

She remembers Alex, the shy blonde one who does his best to keep the peace when everyone got too rowdy.

And then Bobby, who is just hitting his stride in his sullen, moody teenager phase. Still nice though.

And Luke, the wild one. The guy was all long haired, energetic, and sporting some gnarly braces the last time she saw him.

She hears a knock at the door the night Reggie and his mom had moved in. Julie opens it and it’s the boys: Alex, Bobby, and- woah.

“Julie?” Luke smiles, his long hair cut to a still shaggy ‘do, braces gone, and now ripped, telling by how he’s proudly wearing his Nirvana cutoffs, “No way! Long time no see,”

“Y-yeah,” Julie instantly wishes that she wasn’t wearing her dinosaur slippers at the moment. She leads them all inside, telling them to make themselves at home while they wait for Reggie to come down.

Julie hurries off to her room, red in the face, internally freaking out about the idea of a cute guy coming over to her house on a regular basis.

A cute guy she cannot get involved with... imagine how Reggie would react...

The guys note the dreamlike expression on Luke’s face as he watched Julie go up the stairs. Once she’s gone, Luke whirls around, “Has she always been like that?”

“Squirrely?”

“No...” Luke drops his voice down to a whisper, “I mean, has she always been that cute?”

Alex and Bobby shoots this idea down real quick, “Woah! No no no! Off-limits! She's off-limits, Luke!”

“How come?”

“She’s Reggie’s sister,”

“Step-sister,”

“Still,” Bobby cuts in, “You know Reggie. He takes the brother role very seriously. He won’t let you stand a foot away from her if he heard what you just said.”

“If who heard what?” Reggie says, coming down the stairs.

“Nothing!” They all exclaim, and Luke silently thanks the boys for not ratting him out and invoking Reggie’s wrath.

He does know how Reggie can get when it comes to Julie. He’s already so protective of her. So he’s not going to try and do anything to piss him off.

And besides, he just finds her cute. It’s not like anything’s gonna come from it.

Wrong.

Luke and Julie are hardcore pining for each other the more time the boys spend over at the house.

And they’re over a lot.

Julie would come into the garage, now a studio space for the boys’ band, and watches them practice.

Somehow Luke finds a way to gravitate towards her. Always standing beside her, ready to show a song he’s been working on or just ask how she’s doing.

And Julie would find an excuse to hang around the boys, whether offering to help with songwriting or help clean up the equipment. One time, she hands Luke his guitar and their hands met. They both blush but quickly part before Reggie could see what transpired.

They sneak little casual touches here and there, both to gauge if the other person reciprocates their feelings and to hide whatever was going on between them from Reggie.

This all coming from the fear of Reggie flipping out on them.

Apparently when the boys bring up Nick from Julie’s class, joking about the way he was starry-eyed when dancing with Julie (secretly trying to get a rise out of Luke), Reggie immediately asks Julie about a thousand questions:

“Who is he? What does he do?”

“Do? He’s a student. In my grade...”

“Oh. No job? So he’s a deadbeat, huh? Doesn’t sound like a suitable match,”

“What are you going on about?”

“Does he like the Star Wars Prequels? Yes or No? There is a right answer”

“What does this have to do with anything, Reggie?”

“I need to know if he’s good enough for you!”

Reggie starts watching Nick like a hawk at school, going out of his way to intimidate the junior (well as much as he could. he’s still pretty much a puppy and super non-threatening).

It’s getting ridiculous.

So Julie goes to talk to Luke, to try and nip this in the bud before Reggie notices their weird behavior. She manages to play off needing help to get something in the laundry room to get him alone without suspicion.

“Look, we can’t do this anymore... whatever this is,”

Luke nods, “Agreed. Reggie’s my best friend.”

“And he’s my brother,”

“I don’t want to do something that would upset him,”

“Me neither. Glad we’re on the same page,”

“Right. Same page. So just friends. Deal?” she sticks her hand out.

He shakes it, “Deal,”

They lock eyes, appreciating how the other one looks under the warm dimmed light.

It takes only about .5 seconds for them to crash their lips onto each other’s, igniting a full on make out session. And by the time they finished, they realize their mistake.

Uh oh.

They can’t go back after this.

Now they really have something to hide from Reggie.

They sneak around the house, whenever they could.

Luke would make up an excuse to grab water or go to the bathroom in the middle of rehearsal, just to sneak up to Julie’s room to grab a quick kiss and maybe a small tickle fight just so he could hear that laugh he loves so much.

And Julie would join the boys at the dinner table, sitting next to him and discreetly slipping cue love notes into his pocket that she knows would make him blush and smile all goofily later (and if they turn into potential song lyrics? Well that's for them to know).

Alex warns Luke the next day, “I think he’s catching on. Be more careful,”

They spend more time together now that Julie starts writing songs for the band. Her and Luke would huddle over the piano, scribbling the night away, always sitting dangerously close to each other.

Once, Reggie observes them quietly from the couch with an unreadable expression on bis face.

“We are careful,”

Bobby raises an eyebrow at him, “Really? You tried to pass off the hickeys on Julie’s neck as rashes.”

“And Reggie bought it, remember? He went out and got ointment for her and everything,”

“He’s not stupid, Luke. You better do something about this. Fast,”

Luke sighs, “You’re right.”

Later that night, Luke pulls Julie into the upstairs bathroom, the one between her room and Reggie’s, to talk.

“Jules, as much I want to keep doing this... I can’t stand lying to Reggie,”

“Me too,” she says, “So, let’s just tell him. I don’t like hiding you.”

“But we need to plan it out. We can’t just spring it on him,”

“Catch him in a good mood hopefully, and we’ll tell him together,”

“Sounds like a plan, boss,”

“Love it when you call me boss,” Julie smiles, angling her head up to kiss him.

Just then, the door connecting to Reggie’s room bursts open and the said bassist enters in his bathrobe. His eyes grow wide at the sight of them tangled up in each other.

“What is going on here?”

The couple breaks apart. Julie and Luke jump to opposite sides of the bathroom, hands up in surrender.

“You didn’t lock the doors?” Julie hisses at Luke

“Was not my main priority!” Then Luke steps forward in an attempt to calm Reggie down, “Hey, Reg, pal, um, what you just saw-”

“You guys were kissing in here?” he yells.

Julie and Luke lower their heads, “...yeah,”

Reggie sighs, throwing his hands up in the air, “Unbelievable!”

“Reggie, we’re sorry-”

“In the bathroom, really? Can’t you guys do this in the laundry room like you usually do? My toothbrush is here, come on!”

Wait. What?

Did they hear him correctly?

“You knew?!” Julie all but screamed at her brother.

“Duh. You’re not really subtle,”

Luke splutters, “B-But Nick-”

“Found out real quick that he’s not the one I should be worried about,”

“And the... the, well..?” Julie gestures lamely at her neck, “Why did you get me ointment?”

Reggie smirks, “Just to mess with you.”

“So... you’re not mad?”

“Nah. Like I said. I need to make sure whatever guy you end up with, Jules, is good enough for you. And, well, I’ve known Luke almost all my life. And I trust him. Honestly, there’s no other guy I could think of that could be a better match for you.”

Luke’s hand rests on his shoulder, “You mean that, Reg?”

“Of course. I’m happy for you guys. But uh...” he sticks his thumb towards the door, “Could you like skip on out of here. I did come to the bathroom for a reason.”

“Oh, right,”

“Your Tia’s chicken went right through me-”

“Ok, Reggie! We’re leaving!”

“But one more thing,”

Luke and Julie stop in the doorway leading to the hallway.

“If you think I’m bad,” Reggie shakes his head, “Try breaking the news to Carlos,”

Luke pales, “Oh no,”

“’Oh no’ is right,”

The couple spins around to find Carlos in the hallway, arms crossed, staring them down, “Care to explain why you two were in the bathroom?”

“Well, uh, um, we were-” Luke turns to Julie, but the girl is nowhere to be found, having already yeeted to her room to escape an overprotective Carlos.

Luke throws a pleading look at Reggie, “A little help here, buddy?”

Meanwhile, Carlos is unamused, carrying so much tension in his small body that it has Luke gulping nervously.

“Nope you’re on your own,” he winks, “Make sure to tell him about the ‘rash’ while you’re at it.”

And with a laugh, the bathroom door closes.

“I can explain...”

#julie and luke sneaking around #is so much fun to write #and reggie being like bruhh #you think i'm stupid?#nah #julie x luke #luke x julie #juke #julie molina #luke patterson #reggie peters #reggie peters-molina #jatp hc #asks #blue answers asks

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heli0s-writes · 5 years

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I. What's in a name (that which we call a Bucky)

Summary: What kind of name is BUCKY? Your dog's name is BUCKEYE. Much better. Pairings: Steve Rogers x Reader x Bucky Barnes A/N: A more humorous work... be alert: everyone in this fic is a lil shit. Dog-lover reader. Enemies to friends to lovers and strap in kiddos, we’re going to Ohio!

Foot in Mouth Syndrome Masterpost

It’s past midnight when the bell on your doorknob titters. A high-pitched whine follows the noise and you drop the book in your hand before emitting a loud groan of annoyance. As a response to your complaint, footsteps quickly pad back towards the computer room you sit in.

“God damn it,” you scold towards the door, “I just took you out like an hour ago.”

It’s half-serious, half-playful as you point a finger towards the 50-pound mass of pure muscle now pitifully cocking his head to the side. Your dog, Buckeye, lovingly named after your alma-mater’s mascot whines pathetically as he falls forward onto his two front paws and gives you the saddest look he can muster. The slate-grey skin between his eyes bends upwards in crinkly folds as he continues to peer at your perched figure on the swivel chair.

You shuffle your desk space around, placing the heavy tome from your hand over the mountain of other paperbacks scattered about. Taking one final look over the paper you’d been working on for the last two weeks, you hit save, making sure it uploads itself to the online drive before stepping away.

The clock on the lower right-hand corner of your monitor reads 2:30. Fuck. Way more than past midnight. You had been so focused on writing you didn’t even realize how late it was. Sending an apologetic look to your dog, you rub his ear before heading down the hallway and grabbing the leash by the door. Poor guy, you hadn’t taken him out in almost four hours.

He’s striding towards you, tail wagging back and forth at the sight of your hand on the leash. His tongue flops out stupidly and you giggle at how dumb he looks. Before clipping the leash to his collar, you give him a big kiss on the head and push your face affectionately. He’d come such a long way in the past five months.

“Okay, big baby. Let’s go.”

The training bell hanging from the knob flails against the door as you step outside, closing it shut.

You and Buckeye head downstairs, your slippers squishing against the wet grass as he leads you over to his favorite sniffing grounds. Under the lamp, you scroll on your phone distractedly, making sure you’d replied to all the e-mails you had received earlier in the day. Eyeing him from time to time to make sure he’s doing what he’s supposed to, you tap out a quick response to a group message from some classmates. They’re probably awake at this time anyway, you muse bitterly, graduate school can be a real bitch like that. Tucking the phone into your back pocket, you fiddle a doggy bag from its container strapped to the leash and maneuver it over your hand.

“No sniffing that poo.” You command Buckeye, and he gazes back over his shoulder at you for a single brief second, as if truly contemplating your authority before giving it a quick whiff anyway. You scoff before tugging him from the pile and further back into the grass. “C’mon, Buck. Dude, I gotta get back in. Please poop. The bag’s ready for you.”

You wave it around helplessly as he traipses on, keeping close, but really pushing your patience. Ten minutes later, you decide you’ve had it with him and start tugging him back towards the sidewalk. He resists at first and you have to use your “mom” voice a couple of times before he follows your lead and drags himself back to your side.

This was the usual routine of your life: wake up, go to campus, work on campus, work from home, find time to eat, work some more, go to bed. In-between all of those activities was of course, take Buckeye outside to jog, pee, shit, and socialize… when he was up for it.

You “adopted” the big lug from the shelter six months ago, falling head over heels for that stupid white oblong patch (you called it his Penis Patch because c’mon… it looked like one) and that wrinkly-ass forehead of his. He had been abused as a puppy and then abandoned in an alleyway with a handful of other pit bulls. By the time he got to the animal shelter, he was massively underweight and terrified of being near humans. He was only two months old. It took a lot of work on your end to get him back to a normal weight and as much as people loved to praise how you “saved” him- it was honestly the opposite that happened.

Yes. It was cheesy and gross as fuck to admit out loud, but that dumb animal actually saved you.

If you hadn’t adopted him and decided he was going to be your tether to this fuck-ass world, you were cock-sure you’d have tied yourself a noose out of bedsheets already. It’s what you told your therapist because it was just the damn truth.

The spring air of Manhattan whips over your face as you make your way towards the stairs of your unit, taking glances here and there to make sure nothing scary was happening. Your location was relatively safe, but honestly, you never know with people. You had seen your fair share of frightening and inexplicable things from your time in New York.

As if you were summoning the bad luck to your doorstep, gunshots ring out from a few blocks away. At least you hope it is, because the echo throughout your apartment unit suggests that it’s much closer. Buckeye starts twitching, darting left and right at the sound. You’re steeling your body as he begins to pull and snap at him with your fingers, calling his name. He heads quickly towards the apartment. Another shot resonates between the buildings.

On your right, Buckeye lets out a high-pitched yelp and jumps as rapid footsteps approach behind you. You barely make it two steps out of the way before a heavy body barrels into you and knocks you onto the sidewalk. Both your knees hit the concrete hard and you immediately roll to your side and fumble to find the leash that fell from hand. Your dog is losing it, and frankly, you are about to as well.

He starts to take off towards the darkness of the grass and you’re screaming his name, trying to scramble up to catch the plastic handle of the retractable leash that’s dragging against the ground. His tongue is loose and panting as he whips his head back and forth between you and the darkness, unsure of where to go.

“Come here! Come!”

You ignore the searing in your kneecaps and reach out as you take a step. Before you can make it much farther, an arm swings itself over your neck and strangles the rest of your words.

A single shot fires off at your dog. Buckeye is outta there. He’s yelping the whole way and you cannot stop yourself from shrieking.

“Don’t fucking speak.” A voice growls behind you. The body it belongs to is distinctly masculine as they knee you in the back and prop you up to stand beside them. The cold barrel of a gun presses itself against your temple and you freeze, hands quivering at your sides. Your heart has either imploded or is about to because you can’t tell if it’s beating or not anymore. There is ringing in your ears from the gun being fired in such close quarters, your eyes struggle to focus.

You have so many questions, but your mind is currently a squirrel in traffic running between the front axle of two tires labelled: “Is this where I fucking die?” and “Is my dog okay?”. Getting splattered to bits by either one was dealer’s choice, and your dealer didn’t seem too choosy.

In the distance, footsteps approach and you see two large frames enter your blurry field of vision, lit up under the streetlamp. There are two glimmering silver shapes reflecting that flickering light, one in the shape of a … dinner plate? And the other… another dick. What the hell? Oh god, you think automatically about your dick-spot-shaped dog. Where is he?

“Let her go!” the dinner plate yells. The barrel presses further into your head.

“Drop your weapons!” your assailant calls back, “Or she dies!”

You’re in a bad procedural cop show or something, you swear. Or Ashton Kutcher is 50 years old and he is laughing his ass off in a van right now, filming a new season of Punk’d. You squeeze your eyes shut when the gun clicks against your head, which is generally right after it goes off, according to the movies. There’s a warm sensation against your back and you hope to god that it isn’t you pissing yourself. When you smell the coppery scent rising, you realize it’s the man’s blood. When he sways a little and your body droops with him, you are positive it’s his blood.

The funny silver California/dick shape in the distance moves and becomes a small circle, with a dark spot in the middle. Is that a fucking gun? You blink a couple of times to see the shadowy outlines of the two people stepping closer. There’s aggravated whispering from both of them and your attacker begins to yell about something before a deafening blast cracks past your eyes.

Warm blood sprays on your face when the man falls backwards, heavy limb taking you down with him. You get some of it in your mouth and you scramble to fuck off as far as you can from this now dead body. The two shapes are running towards you, one of them gripping you hard by the arm and pulling you up.

“Buckeye! That is not protocol!”

You dizzily shake your head at the sound of your dog’s name and find your balance on the sidewalk, toes pressing against your slipper to have it back on your foot correctly. In front of you were two enormous men, and you recognize them immediately: Captain America and Winter Soldier.

“You know I don’t miss.” The Soldier retorts, bottom half of his face obscured by his signature black latex mask. It muffles his voice, but you can clearly hear the agitation. Captain America looks over your dripping red knees. “You okay, ma’am?”

You ignore him. As far as you are concerned at this point, they’re both just as dead to you as this other fucker on the ground. You want to find your dog.

“Buck?” You call into the patch of darkness as you carefully tread into the grass, wincing when your knees sting with every step. You don’t see the two Avengers looking at each other in confusion.

“BUCK!” You scream again, panic returning to your chest as you think about your dog scurrying around in the dark, dragging his damn leash, and spiraling back into the hot mess he was six months ago. Damn it, it had taken you so long to train him out of being skittish, and now he was going to be right back in it. You look around the dark, turning the flashlight on your phone and follow what looks like to be a trail of blood. It’s not yours, so you correctly deduce it’s Buckeye.

You start to hyperventilate, shaking with every step.

“Oh, Buck, you piece of shit you, I swear to god, if you’re dead, I’m going to kill you.”

“…Ma’am?”

You whip around and glare at Captain America, “What!” He takes a step back, hands coming up as if to deflect your outcry. His partner next to him places his gun back in the holster at his hip with a quiet click, eyeing you suspiciously. Captain America looks around, like he’s surprised you’ve yelled, because he probably doesn’t get yelled at very often by people he saves.

“…Can I ask what you’re doing?”

“Th’ broad’s mental.” The Soldier scoffs, heading back towards the limp body on the ground. He digs his hands into every pocket of the corpse, even opening the mouth to peer inside. “We need to move this body.” He pulls out a tiny USB from a sewn-on pocket inside the vest and puts it in a pouch on his belt.

“I’m looking for my damn dog.” You hurl, “I’m looking for my fucked-up rescue dog, who was doing very well and on his way to being a proper good boy, before you fucks came along and shot him!”

You hear yourself being more and more hysterical with every syllable. Your pitch is increasing with your heart rate, and the part of you that fears retribution from super soldiers is raising its hand up to be called on by your dominant lizard-brain. Your lizard-brain is soaked in fear and refuses the hand.

“That guy shot your dog.” The Soldier nudges the body with a steel-toed boot.

“You scared him! He’s afraid of loud noises and you were shooting up the place, you trigger-happy motherfucker,” you point a finger to the offending Avenger, “You could have shot me, you bag of limp dicks.”

Winter Soldier lets your insults slide; you’re definitely off your meds, he thinks. “Like I said, I don’t miss.”

Captain America finally snaps his shield back onto his back and runs a hand through his hair. You’re half surprised he’s not wearing that dorky-ass helmet he’s usually sporting but turn around regardless and start walking faster, ignoring the muddier ground the further you go in. From the position next to the soon-to-be chalk outline, the two Avengers argue quietly before one of them groans and they both fall silent. You figure they’ve kissed and made up.

Grass is shuffling behind you as Captain America effortlessly catches up to your uneven steps.

“I can track your dog. Let me help.”

You say nothing because you’re so preoccupied with being pissed off that this happened in the first place and because you honestly couldn’t refuse the help regardless of how overinflated your pride was. You couldn’t see for shit in the dark and you’d rather have Buckeye back than any amount of satisfaction flinging insults could bring. Stepping back, you let Brown-Beard take the lead and follow him through the mud and into the back of a unit now five buildings away.

When you slip on a particularly wet patch, he’s quick to grab your elbow and support you. He also takes it as an opening to make conversation.

“What’s type of dog is…”

“Buckeye.” You say, pulling your elbow away and falling back into step. He turns around and raises a single eyebrow.

“Buck…eye?” The second syllable is dropped low- as if he’s unsure that it’s the right thing to say.

“….Yes. Buckeye.” You hiss back.

“Buck…eye.” He repeats again, moving the sounds around in his mouth carefully. You pull a face but say nothing. Boy they sure like to make ‘em big and dumb, don’t they?

“He’s a pit bull. He’s gray with a white patch on his chest. He’s not fucking lethal or anything- like people think he’s just… damaged. He’s not even full-grown; just an oversized ball of anxiety and post-traumatic stress.” Your voice becomes distressed the more you talk about your good boy, and you decide to shut up before you can burst into tears.

“We’ll find him, promise.” Captain tries to send you a smile, but it gets misplaced in the thick of his beard and you’re not even looking anyway, pretending to follow the trail so he doesn’t see your eyes well up. You’re thankful for his help. But fuck him still; he scared your dog.

“There’s no more blood, which is good,” He says, “Steps are getting closer together, so he’s not running anymore. There’s a funny… thing- though. What’s he dragging?”

“His leash.” You mutter.

“Ah.” There’s a pause, “You know, that’s actually a good thing- it’ll slow him down.”

It’s at least another twenty minutes of walking in silence as you follow Captain Star Spangled Banner out of your apartment complex and down three completely decrepit alleyways, at least one littered with broken glass. Upon entering the fourth one, you swear you hear clattering in the back and pick up your speed, calling out.

“Buck? Buckeye? Is that you?” Your voice is quivering in the dark. Your companion has stilled beside you, not letting his footsteps drown out your voice. “Buckeye, come here.” You’re as careful as can be as you quietly step forward, a tiny bit closer to the slow shadow in the corner.

When a car drives by on the main road, the shine of headlights reflects two glowing blue pearls that you’d recognize anywhere. His tail is wagging happily against the pavement of the alleyway, and it breaks your heart to see he’s battered in blood.

You put both your arms around him to settle him from possibly scurrying away at the sight of Captain’s figure, who hangs in the back, but is still so large that it disturbs Buckeye. “My big guy,” You sob into his stupid, dirty neck, “You’re all muddy... Oh Buck, you big idiot… you dummy.”

You find the handle on the leash again, but Buckeye is tentative to follow, stumbling when he stands up on all four feet. When you lean over to examine him, he’s all cut up on his paws and you see it now, the big streak of open flesh on his upper thigh that’s crusted over into a brown stripe. The shiny fur that’s beneath it is matted with more dried blood and it’s so large that you break out into tears all over again. You don’t think he’s able to walk anymore, which might have worked out in your favor; it did stop him from running.

Captain slowly makes his way toward the two of you and reach both hands out, kneeling and laying one gently underneath Buckeye’s snout to scratch him. Your dog inspects the hand nervously before giving it a quick lick. He pants happily at the scratch to his chin and you can’t help but snort at his simplicity. Captain offers to pick him up for you and you let him, surprised that Buck’s letting someone other than you be so close. You’re glad for it, though, since you would not have been able to pick him up out of the alleyway on your own.

“I’ve been compared to a Golden Retriever before,” Captain says amiably as he easily holds Buckeye in his arms, leading you out of the dark path. He’s got a glint in his eye like he’s real proud of himself for that quip. “I definitely think of myself as a dog person.”

You scoff and save your retort for another time, pointing him in the direction of your local pet emergency hospital instead.

It must have been a sight for them, Steve ponders as he sits in the waiting chair of the hospital, giving away smiles at the receptionists and nurses who occasionally gather to stare at him. When the automatic doors slid open, they probably weren’t expecting Captain America in full tactical gear to walk in with a dog in his arms. Not to mention the young woman who followed, looking in not much better shape than the dog.

He glances over to you as you lean back in the plastic chair resembling more of a bucket than anything comfortable. Both your knees are completely skinned raw and the trail of blood reached your feet, caked in mud. The woman at the front desk offered you some bandages and antiseptic, which you’d haphazardly sloshed all over yourself before resigning to let it be. Your eyes have slipped closed as you wait for the nurse to come talk to you about your dog; it is late, after all—nearly four in the morning, and Steve lets you rest when he hears your breathing slow.

He begins to check his phone, punching in a text to Bucky with updates, barely able to hold back the giddy energy inside of him. Bucky was going to flip when Steve cracks open the can of worms that is the dog’s name. And it’s going to completely boil his noodle when he hears that your description of your dog almost perfectly matched Steve’s own description of Bucky. He swears right now, under these old fluorescent lights and with God’s blessing that he would never, ever, let Bucky live this down.

“You… use…a … flip… phone?” Your disbelieving voice is so quiet that Steve thinks a ghost is making fun of him.

“Well, it does flip, and it is a phone.” He retorts, face completely blank for a couple of seconds before breaking out into a smirk.

Your sit up in the chair, looking over to Steve incredulously. “Who are you, my dad?” Your features twist into a disgusted sneer, but he catches the amusement in your eyes.

He chuckles in response. It’s not the first time Steve’s been told that his jokes were corny, at this point in his life, he’s decided to just go with it.

“Don’t you have someplace to be? Maybe more Avenging in another quiet neighborhood?” The snark comes out sharper than you intend it, but between the two hours of sleep last night and probable zero hours of sleep you’ll get tonight, you’re on autopilot.

“It’s being taken care of.” He stares straight ahead. Your comment implies that you’d rather him leave, but he feels in part responsible and obligated to stay. Besides, you’ll need a ride home and someone to carry your pet to the door. “I’m sorry about your dog.”

“He’s not fucking dead,” You huff, “If he was, you and Bicentennial Man would be fucked. You won’t believe how many knives I can carry in my mouth alone.”

Steve almost gives himself whiplash as he does a double-take on your completely placid and unfazed profile view. He thinks it’s better not to ask about the capacity of knives your mouth can hold or about how you know that very specific fact about yourself. However, he can’t help from letting out a wheeze of a laugh because the feral image frankly reminds him more and more of Bucky; Steve has definitely seen Bucky with a knife in his mouth.

Another fifteen minutes pass of drifting in and out of sleep before the nurse peeks her head out and calls you into the treatment room. She stares open-mouthed when Steve followed dutifully behind and closes the door with a quiet click.

Buckeye is lying in a lethargic daze on the table with a plastic cone around his neck. The large gash on his leg has been stitched and carefully covered by gauze and his paws are bandaged up as well. At the sight of the two of you, his tail begins to pat slowly against the smooth surface of the table in quick taps before trailing off and starting back up again. He is looking into your eyes, but Steve can see his gaze wander around the room in a medicated stupor from time to time.

His stomach tightens when you begin to sniffle and draw lazy circles on Buckeye’s head with your thumb. The nurse runs over the health diagnostic for your pup and all seems pretty well, considering the doleful state he’s in.

“He might not eat for the first day, but you’ll have to try to make him...” The nurse hands you a large zip-loc full of bandages, ointments, pills, and paper. “Keep the cone on for at least two weeks and stick to the dosage schedule… Do you have any questions?”

You shake your head, rifling through the various items in the bag before zipping it back up.

“Okay. Well, he’s doing really good, and I think he’ll make a speedy recovery soon.” The nurse offers you a smile and you reply kindly, thanking her for everything before sighing at Buckeye. Steve steps forward in the silent moment and scoops your dog’s tired body into his arms before thanking the nurse as well. She goes white as a sheet when you open the door to let him out. Steve hopes there won’t be any tweets later about Captain America saving puppies.

At the front desk, Steve watches you shuffle side to side when the receptionist rings up each cost. Dressed in an oversized Ohio shirt and pajama shorts, it’s obvious you are not prepared for this. You were probably just a college student, and since he didn’t see you make any phone calls to your parents or family members who might foot the bill, he assumes you’re on your own. Before the receptionist can hand you anything, Steve shifts and tilts his right leg forward.

“Can you reach into this pocket?” He asks, startling everyone in the vicinity: you, the receptionist, and your dog. You stare at him dumbly for a minute, grimacing at the leg pointed in your direction and the back-and-forth Captain America’s eyes keep sending you. It goes from your face to his pocket and every time it returns to your face your frown drops more.

“What?”

“For my wallet.”

“Fuck no!”

“C’mon… I don’t think you have any other options,” the sentence hangs on a truth you don’t need spoken. You pale and begrudgingly reach for the snap closure on his thigh, widening grimace now making your face look like a melted Dali painting. The receptionists’ eyebrows go higher and higher the closer your shaking hand gets. Captain America bounces his leg to shake the leather case loose as your hand digs inside and gets stuck between fabric and muscle. Buckeye grumbles in his arms at the jostling and his holder whispers a quiet apology before nuzzling him with his nose.

He doesn’t notice you staring. The receptionist does.

When the wallet is finally pried free (why are his pants so tight, anyway? This bitch is dummy thicc, too, you think) he motions for you to pull out a black card with a surprising bit of heft to it. You nervously hand it over and avoid eye contact with him as the transaction finishes, stuffing the damn thing back in and snapping it shut in one swift motion. You can feel your face stuck in a rigid expression of bewilderment the entire time.

“I-- uh... thanks... for that.”

He motions you with his head to go outside and when you follow him through the automatic doors, a black car is parked in front. The Winter Soldier is in the driver seat and reaches over to open the door. He’s taken his mask off and looks over at the Captain with your dog in his arms. He’s all stubbly and homeless-looking, you think, the complete opposite of Golden Boy Rogers in front of you.

An exhausted look passes over his dark features as he glances from Captain to Buckeye to your fucked-up knees. “...Just... get in.”

The ride is silent save for the sound of Buckeye’s soft whimpers in the fit of a nightmare. You hush him with soft pets and coo his name in his ears. “It’s okay, Buck. I’m here, Bucky.”

The Soldier snaps his gaze up to you from the rearview mirror. Captain America smirks. You catch neither of their expressions, transfixed on your dog who resembles Frankenweenie more than himself. Stupid fucking bad guy. Stupid Avengers.

“What did you just say?” Winter Soldier slowly asks, and you glare at him in the rearview mirror.

“What?” You snap back. What the fuck was his problem? “Mind your fucking business, I’m talking to my goddamn dog.” Buckeye whimpers again and you pat him lightly to soothe his crying. Captain America begins to chuckle quietly from the passenger seat the longer Winter Soldier stares at you. “Eyes on the fucking road.” You hiss when you catch his glare.

He’s probably going to shoot your ass, you think. Your dog begins to whimper again, a broken string of yowling erupting from him before he stills. The taped gauze on his side has started to turn a slight pink. “It’s gonna be okay, Buck.” You sigh.

“Jesus, what the fuck are you saying?” Winter Soldier nearly shrieks as he pulls sharply into a parking space in front of your building. His volume startles your dog and he shoots up with a loud whine, hitting the plastic cone on the back of the driver’s side. You quickly place both hands on his back to settle him down. “Buckeye, it’s okay.”

Captain America is in a full-on giggle fit now, having to hold his sides to stop himself from seizing. He briefly pauses to apologize and puts a hand on your dog’s head, quieting him with a lazy pet.

“It’s her dog, Buck!” “Yeah I know it’s my dog, Buck.” You snarl, confused as to why this is even a topic of discussion.

Red, white, and shit-for-brains starts up again with the laughing. “Th-the dog’s name--” He wheezes. “Is Buckeye.” There’s a flash of recognition that sweeps over the driver’s reflection in the rearview before it turns into one of annoyance. Then it turns into disdain.

“What kind of a fucking name is that?” He spits before smacking his hand into Captain America’s chest.

“Hey! Shut the hell up! That’s my alma mater you uneducated dickbag!” You point to your red Ohio State shirt with the big “O” right in the middle. It’s so worn and old that the red has faded, and the white print of the O is all cracked, but anyone with two braincells knows exactly what that means. You start bellowing the Ohio State Fight Song proudly and halfway through the second note Buckeye starts to howl weakly beside you.

Captain America bursts into another fit of laughter and pounds on the dashboard with his fists.

The Soldier whips around and slams his metal hand against your mouth, pushing your entire head back against the cushion. “Will you shut up!” To spite him, you continue humming to the best of your ability, even with your lip smushed up against your teeth and his cold palm. You raise your middle finger up between his eyes before holding the last note out particularly long.

Buckeye yowls and yips at your side, punctuating the tune with a quiet whine at the end. He lazily reaches up and licks the elbow joint between the front seat, leaving a slobber trail. He notices his reflection in it temporarily before getting distracted by Captain’s chuckle and lying back down.

Winter Soldier finally pulls his arm away and you take the opportunity to spitefully lick a similar stripe onto his palm, leaving it dripping with the spit you’ve accumulated in your mouth.

He crossly slumps in his seat. “I fucking hate this girl.” He mutters.

“It’s mutual, princess.” You retort, rubbing your stiff jaw and running your fingers against your lips. “What’s your problem with my dog’s name?” You’re a bit suspicious because he doesn’t seem like a college sports guy since he was non-responsive to your shirt but he sure as hell is not a fan of your dog.

“Do you know our names?” Captain America asks you, eyes alight. You shrug, because like, not really. World War II was interesting when you were in the sixth grade and morbid as fuck but it totally went in one ear and out the other for your entire college career. Even more boring was the Captain America propaganda, Super Soldier serum, humanity’s hubris bullshit. You were one of the few people you know who was not losing their mind when Tony Stark toured your university. More than anything, he annoyed you; he caused a huge traffic jam on campus and it ruined your route home. They just weren’t your thing—the Avengers.

“I mean, Stevie Ro… Rober—“ you gauge his reaction carefully, “Ronald— Ro— Ross? Rogers!” You breathe a sigh of relief as he memory of Emily Booth in fourth period doodling “Rogers” inside a million hearts appears in your mind. Then you turn to The Soldier and shrug. Plain as day, you could not recall his name whatsoever. You just called him the Dead Commando in that fourth period American History II final paper.

You got a passing grade, so “Dead Commando” stuck.

“It’s James Buchanan Barnes.” He grits out between clenched teeth.

“That’s fancy.” You deadpan, waiting for the other shoe to drop.

“Bucky. For short.”

“Buck, for even shorter.” Rogers pipes up, still all twinkly in the eyes, waiting for you to put two and two together. Yeah. You do. It makes you want to die a little.

“Ugh.” Is all you can manage.

He shows up the next morning in civvies: white T-shirt, navy blue bomber jacket, and well-worn dark jeans. You stare dumbly at him as he leans against your doorframe, almost as wide as the entrance itself. You’re half-asleep and dressed in the clothes you had on last night: crumpled red Ohio shirt, mismatched pinstriped blue and white pajama shorts.

Your phone had been misplaced amidst the ruckus of the search party, so you just planned on missing your meeting today. It wasn’t like you could properly function anyway, barely getting to bed at 5:30 and waking up at the asscrack of dawn with Captain Underpants at your door.

Even his knocks sounded patriotic. Big, strong thumping blows that rattled all the way into your bedroom.

“Rough night?” Steve Rogers asks as you try your best to smooth the flyaways of your bedhead. Stupid, perfect, blonde and blue-eyed giant man.

“Am I being haunted? What are you doing here?” Your voice sounds like gravel in a blender as you rub the sleep from your eyes.

He shrugs, looking down at his shoes and smiling secretively, like he’s got another corny joke up his sleeve. “Just wanted to see how Buck’s doing.”

“Don’t you have your own Buck to babysit? From what I remember, he needs a leash more than mine does.”

You let him in anyway, and your dog is waiting patiently by the couch, tail slapping the carpet as he remembers his savior from last night. Steve starts to coo as he scratches Buckeye’s chin and head, careful not to rile him up too much. He looks in complete ecstasy when Steve picks at a particularly good spot.

You shift awkwardly as you stand by the kitchen bar, leaning against a stool. How does one man still manage to look like his superhero moniker in civilian clothing? You bet yourself that his closet hung the same monochromatic color pallet—as if costume director dressed him, just in case he forgot he was Captain America.

“Well...” you begin, moving to the kitchen to brew yourself some coffee. Halfway to the single-serving French press, you trade it out for the larger one and add extra water in the kettle. You’re not sure what to say, so you shut up and groan inwardly as you grind the beans. You dip into the restroom and return with your toothbrush, scrubbing quietly as you watch Steve get on the floor to rub your dog’s pink tummy.

“If you pet him with your foot he won’t know the difference. Save ya knees, man.”

“This good boy deserves a real tummy rub, doesn’t he?” Captain America is using baby talk on your dog. It makes you feel... all funny.

Steve Rogers stands up and beams at you from across the counter. You frown because his perfect white smile is brighter than the sunlight streaming in through your window. You spit and rinse your toothbrush in the sink to avoid the shine, but he’s still there when you return. Great. Not a dream. Maybe a nightmare.

You take the kettle off the stovetop when it starts to squeak and blurt out another snarky comment just because you really hate silences and love being awkward. “Buckeye’s gonna get neutered soon. Wanna take yours too?”

Captain America chuckles and shakes his head, blue eyes twinkling at the hand on your hip. “You know, that smart mouth o’ yours is gonna get you into trouble one day.” You gulp as you pour the water suddenly aware that there is a real, live, broad-as-hell man standing in your living room and looking at you like you’re somebody... and he called your mouth smart.

You’re also suddenly aware that you look like shit and your hand shakes a little when you place the filter over the top of the floating coffee grinds.

“Fuck, I think I’m already in trouble.” You mutter into your shoulder as you turn.

Steve doesn’t catch the comment and digs his hand into his back pocket, producing the phone you’ve been missing since last night. You sigh in relief when you see it- as good as it was before, partially cracked screen, but still working. It’s warm when he puts it in your hand and you automatically pull a face.

“Butt heat. I mean--- hot! Hot ass!—Oh, damn it.”

You shut your eyes and the world feels like it’s stopped spinning altogether. Please god, you think, please let him be gone when you look again because you don’t think you can stand another minute on this Earth. Damn your stupid no-filter smart mouth.

He’s still there, though, because life is so stupid and whatever creator that exist hates you. His left eyebrow is raised, and he’s crossed his arms over his chest, smirking.

“You need to brush up on your compliments.”

“Not a compliment!” You hiss, “Don’t put people’s phones in your back pocket! You’re too fucking big to be sitting on them. But thank you for giving it back.”

Steve laughs as you push the filter down on the French press. He’s saying something about how Bucky wanted to put his hand through the device, but your ears are ringing too loudly to hear him. You feel relieved anyway, because you think that you’ve reached your quip-quota for the day.

You pour yourself a cup and he puts his hands up to stop you, excusing himself-- somewhere to be, some old lady to save, he says. You fumble around a bottom cabinet for a second before pulling out a thermos and dumping the rest of the press’ coffee into it.

“Since you did hand-deliver my phone to me, it’s the least I can do. It’s blue, too. Complements your eyes.”

He smiles and takes the thermos from you. “That was a good compliment.” He says, all twinkly again.

“Complement, not compliment.” You correct bluntly.

He takes two steps to the door before turning, “No, the compliment was that you noticed my eyes at all.” He laughs when your face scrunches up, miffed. Captain America was a real … sonuvabitch. “By the way... I left you a number for a dogsitter, just in case you need one.” You rotate the flat rectangle of your phone against your chest as he yanks the door open. “It’s a good service. Reliable. And they text, too.”

And just like that, he’s gone. You stare at Buckeye, who whines pathetically at the door.

You cock your head, looking at the time on the splintered screen. Might as well, you think, reading 7:15 flashing back at you. You could make it to campus by 9.

The meeting drags on with your advisor, and it’s almost noon before you realize that you’re going to get hauled into another one of those pop-up seminars the faculty has been putting on all year. You’ve managed to avoid two because there’s just no fucking time to go! How are they expecting you to finish your thesis, go to class, grade a hundred stupid student papers, hold office hours, respond to a thousand e-mails a day, and keep your sanity?

It’s something you’re eager to complain to your therapist about any time she starts asking about your personal life. Which, you’ve been dodging re-scheduling recently. Shit.

You calculate the hours you’ll be away as you sip room-temperature coffee from a fuzzy paper cup. It’ll be another four hours before you can make it home and Buckeye really needs to go outside and have his bandages changed before then. Shit.

Your thumbprint opens the home screen and you scroll through your contacts, searching for that aforementioned “reliable” dogsitter. You hope to hell they’re also immediately available as you part a crowd of undergraduates to exit the building. Tapping the message bubble button, you open up a new thread.

You: Hello. I was referred to your services by a friend. Are you available today by any chance?

Your phone almost immediately vibrates back and you sigh in relief.

Dogsitter: That was fast.

You’re confused, but another response pops up again.

Dogsitter: What time do you need me to come by? And for how long?

You: ASAP? If that’s okay? Um. My dog is really fine on his own, but he’s been in an accident and I need him to have his bandages changed and given medicine. Also, he needs to be taken for a potty-break.

Dogsitter: Potty break, medicine, bandages. Got it…. And what about your key?

You: Yeah, I’ll send you my location for my key. What are your rates by the way?

You open up your map and set the pin to your location before sharing it with the dogsitter. It feels way too good to be true, but you’re a little crunched for time and even if he’s a crazy serial killer, you’ve got a pit bull and nothing of value in your apartment. You feel pretty secure.

The attempt to share your coordinates is rejected and you close the notification. Your phone buzzes in your hand again.

Dogsitter: My rates really depend on the dog… and shouldn’t you be asking for my name, or some identifying marker to recognize me by before I show up and take your [1/2]

You stare blankly at the green speech cloud. What the hell… even twitter updated its character count to 280… who the hell is living so far in the past… before you can finish your thought, the following green balloon appears.

Dogsitter: house key? Stranger danger, ma’am. [2/2]

All the right gears start clicking in your brain and suddenly two perfect pieces of the puzzle fits together. The mystifying black shadow on the other end of the line begins to come into view.

You: ….Steve... Roberts?

Dogsitter: Rogers!

The sound that erupts from your mouth is inhumanly pathetic, a mixture of a groan and a whine. Who did you piss off in your last life to be this cursed?

Next Chapter

#marvel #mcu #Steve x Reader x Bucky #fanfiction #self insert #stucky x reader #FiMS #steve rogers x reader #bucky barnes x reader

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thdorkmagnet · 4 years

Text

Where in the World is Janna Ordonia?

Hello everyone! Here is my Carmen Sandiego AU/ Master Theif Janna AU, whichever you want to call it! So this is, as you probably guessed, inspired by the new Netflix series "Carmen Sandiego". Ever since I watched the first episode I've been picturing Janna filling this role so much and I just had to write it! But I did change some things around from the show like making Janna a straight up thief rather than a thief who only steals from other thieves. This will also be a Jantom fic since I don't think there are nearly enough of those out there right now and I wanted to help add to the collection. This ship needs more love!

Also big shout out to Andychipss for the awesome cover art! If you get a chance check her out over on Instagram! She always does an incredible job!

Disclaimer: Star vs and all its characters belong to Daron Nefcy and Disney. Carmen Sandiego belongs to Broderbund Software, Netflix and Lauren Elliott. All right go to them.

The city of lights was dazzling that particular evening, its namesake casting a brilliant and beautiful glow across all of Paris. Even the dark corners seemed to hold a life to them, making the whole city feel as peaceful and romantic as they say. And on one particular rooftop stretching high above the paved streets below stood a young woman. She wore a black long-sleeve shirt with matching pants and long black boots, giving her the outward appearance of a shadow herself. But blending in would be rather difficult for her since over that she wore a bright red trench coat and matching fedora. Her short dark hair hung slightly out from beneath her hat. She had tanned skin and brown eyes. Her appearance was eye-catching that was for sure, which was why it was a strange choice of attire coming from one of the most elusive and legendary thieves in the world. Her name which was known across the world was Janna Ordonia, the Scarlet Thief.

The girl looked coolly out from under the brim of her hat, holding a pair of small binoculars to her eyes. From her sight, she spotted her next target up ahead, a museum. She watched as some security guards made their rounds, in the exact pattern she memorized over the last few days of staking the place out. "Predictable," she sighed slipping the pocket-sized spying device into her coat pocket. "I was hoping for a bit more of a challenge," she groaned in boredom.

"Well y'know, you could wait until Acme shows up," came a voice from inside the communication device in her ear. "You know some of their agents are on your trail since you set fire to that shop earlier today." His voice was accusing now, clearly trying to make her feel guilty for her crime.

But Janna was unaffected by the attempt, saying plainly, "Come on, Alfonso, I can hardly be blamed for that, they were asking for it."

"How?" Alfonso asked in exasperation.

"Charging 30 bucks for a stupid model of the Eiffel tower is insane!" Janna scoffed. "And they call me a thief."

The young hacker just sighed burying his head in his hands. "Anyways, am I all clear to head inside?" Janna asked returning the conversation back to the task at hand.

Alfonso complied, doing a few keystrokes on his computer, but still grumbling under his breath in annoyance. "Yeah, hang on," he mumbled, shutting down all security in the museum as if it were no big deal. "There, done. But you better do this job fast before someone realizes it's down."

"Hey no problem, fast is my middle name," Janna said, doing a quick stretch to loosen up her muscles. It was important to stay flexible in this line of work.

"I thought you didn't have a middle name," Alfonso pointed out.

"Well I just gave myself one," the girl replied, before leaping off the roof. As she fell she whipped out a grappling gun she kept in her sleeve, firing it and attaching it to another building's side. She felt the string go taint as she sailed around the side of the building, detaching it fluidly off the wall before flying into an opened window and right into the museum.

Her feet hit smooth tile as she tried to slide to a delicate stop. But she didn't predict her momentum correctly as she stopped just short of hitting a wall and knocking a small pedestal holding some priceless vase on it. Janna didn't even have time to dive for it before it hit the floor and shattered into a million pieces. The young thief sucked in a breath waiting to see if the loud noise had attracted any guards, but after a couple beats of silence, Janna declared it a false alarm and let her body relax once more.

Alfonso, however, was less calm, as his squeaky voice spoke up from Janna's earpiece, "What was that noise?! Janna did you break something!"

Janna scoffed, kicking the fragmented pieces under a nearby fancy rug. "Aw, relax I'm sure it wasn't that important."

"Janna!" The young hacker screamed and the girl was tempted to take the earpiece off to avoid the inevitable rant but settled for merely reminding her friend, "Better keep your voice down, Al. Wouldn't want to wake your roommate."

The audible groan through the earpiece was her reward as she sauntered superiorly though the quiet museum, keeping her eyes peeled for her target. Alfonso's roommate Ferguson often got on the young hacker's nerve, especially when they were on a caper. The loudmouthed teen seemed to have no self-control as he would frequently butt in and distract Al while he was trying to hack, getting overeager and nosy over what the two were doing (treating it more like a game than a life or death situation), and just being a general nuisance, which frayed Alfonso's last nerve. But this seemed to do the trick as the boy stopped with his incessant whining and Janna was able to enjoy a couple minutes of silence, taking everything in. She walked with practiced ease through the marble halls, making sure her footsteps made no sound as she traveled deeper inside. Her brown eyes scanned the area, alert and precise, despite her relaxed posture, taking in slow breaths of musty air.

She always loved being in a dark museum at night, the empty and quiet always soothing to her. As much as she loved chaos, even Janna couldn't deny how beautiful and simplistic a simple trip through the abandoned hallways could be. It was like looking into a hidden world, a peek behind the curtains. During the day, the museum was close to bursting with tourists and tour groups and kids on school field trips, making the experience feel cheapened and hallow. But at night, that was when the museum could truly be itself, no lights, no spectacles, no overzealous explanations of what made its contents art, it could just exist and allow its art to speak for itself. And that was something Janna could relate too.

Her eyes glance lazily around at the paintings and sculptures and all forms of artistic achievements, each one a masterpiece in its own right and each one probably worth a fortune. But none of them were what she was looking for. She had a much bigger prize in mind.

The girl came to a stop in front of a large painting, the image a portrait of a sailor, the delicate paint strokes perfectly encapsulating the man's gruff demeanor. Janna cocked her head to the side as if admiring it closely as she said into her earpiece, "Alfonso, I'm at the painting."

"Great, the panel should be behind it, I've overwritten the security codes but you'll have to pick the lock yourself," the hacker replied, all business now.

Janna smiled mischievously. "Not a problem." She took a step closer to the painting, saying softly to the image, "Sorry about this, captain." She gently grabbed the painting's frame, lifting it off its hook and moving it as carefully and quietly as she could. As she did she noticed that her eyes were now level with the deep angry eyes of the painting and she muttered under her breath, "Hey, don't give me that look. You brought this on yourself." Without another word, she set the painting down on the opposite wall, before turning back to her next objective. It was a small safe, made of thick unbreakable metal, and Janna could see it had two sets of locks on its smooth surface, an electronic lock with a small series of buttons and a panel, as well as a combination lock next to it. On closer inspection, Janna could see that Alfonso had already done his part, the panel flashing the word "Entry". Now all that was left was for Janna to do her part.

Janna cracked her knuckles, flexing them a little to make sure they were nice and loose. She carefully grabbed hold of the small turn-style knob, putting her ear up to the door as she began to ever so slowly move the knob left. Soon she heard a click echo through the cold metal and smiled, immediately turning the knob the other way, waiting for the next click to sound. She continued on with this meticulous task, making sure to move slowly and preciously with each turn of the dial. Until finally, the last click sounded and she took a step away, whispering smugly, "Child's play."

With one swift motion, she turned the handle and pulled the safe door open, staring inside with a victorious smile. Inside the small metal box sat a plain black briefcase with a simple lock that took the highly skilled Janna only a minute to pick. She flicked up the latches before opening the container, wanting to make sure she had the correct package. And just as she had predicted inside sat a small golden statue sealed tight in the foam covering they had carefully placed around it so it wouldn't be jolted or damaged. The statue was in the shape of a woman, a ballerina, her arms raised in a graceful and beautiful pirouette.

"Is it there?" Al asked nervously, he always got anxious when he couldn't identify the item firsthand.

Janna whistled, eying the statue closely as she muttered under her breath, "Oh it's here all right."

The young hacker let out a sigh of relief, before saying, "Good."

"Must be pretty special if our client wants it so badly," Janna commented.

"The Golden Dancer is one of the rarest statues in the world. It is one of a set of three identical statues kept in hidden locations around the globe. They originated in-"

"Geez, Professor Al, I didn't ask for the history lesson," Janna interrupted, sealing the briefcase back up and closing the safe. It was time to cover her tracks. Hopefully, no one would even notice it was even missing, at least for a while.

Alfonso let out a groan of annoyance but decided to change the subject, informing the girl instead, "Okay Janna, you'll need to be extra careful moving around the statue, we don't want to risk damaging it."

"Come on, Al, we've worked together for how long now?" Janna told him, setting the large painting back in its place from before. "Don't you know me better than that by now."

"The fact that I know you so well is exactly why I said something," Alfonso deadpanned.

Janna made a hurt scoff into the tiny device, telling him, "Well that's just rude." Her face showed a different story though, as she just smirked and nodded in satisfaction at her work. The painting was now perfectly aligned on the wall again, not an inch of it out of place, you couldn't even tell it had been moved at all. She picked up the briefcase, saying smugly, "Okay, now I think it's about time for my dramatic exit."

Just then a loud shout sounded from elsewhere in the museum, the echoed voice bouncing around the walls and Janna turned to it with a start. "Jan, what was that?" a nervous voice asked in her ear, Alfonso clearly hearing the voice too.

Janna, however, just whispered softly to herself, "Hmm, I was wondering when they'd show." Her smirk widened as she added, "This should be fun."

…

The two Acme agents walked side by side through the dark museum, both on high alert, their eyes darting as they meticulously searched the room for any threats. Well the young man was, the other seemed too entranced by every painting, sculpture, and statue they came across, her blue eyes gleaming with admiration as she looked over each piece of art. This wasn't the only contrast between the two, the two seeming to be as different as night and day, despite their similar style. Both wore fancy black suits (the standard for all Acme agents) but where the boy's was well-pressed and had not a crease out of place, the girl's was wrinkled in a few places but still quite beautiful on her slim frame. The man's short spiky brown hair was perfectly styled and lay even on his tanned face, his brown eyes narrowed in grim determination, which was almost thwarted by the adorable mole just under his left eye. His blood-red tie was a stark contrast to the pure white dress shirt he wore underneath his suit. The girl's long blond locks seemed to almost flow down her back, a small blue butterfly clip resting just above her bangs. She had on a carefree smile and walked with a noticeable skip in her step. She had on a dark blue tie and wore a black skirt and dark blue stockings rather than the dress pants of her partner. The only similarity the two seemed to share were the matching golden rings they both wore on their right hands.

"Do you really think someone is in here, Marco?" the blond asked, her eyes still gazing around in curious innocence.

"Well according to our intel-" the boy began.

"Meaning you," his partner interrupted, giving him a teasing look.

Marco smiled and blushed slightly. "Well, yeah. I mean, I am a man of many talents." He cleared his throat, willing away his blush before continuing in a matter-of-fact tone, "Anyways, Star, I heard news that the Scarlet thief was recently spotted in this area earlier today after setting fire to a local shop..."

"Classic Janna," Star commented.

"And then the whole security grid for the museum just happens to go offline the same day," Marco continued. "A place where they are keeping one of the rarest and most priceless statues in the world, mind you. Seems just a bit too suspicious if you ask me."

Star shrugged, saying, "Makes sense to me."

"In fact, Janna is probably in here right now, so we need to stay focused and not get distracted by anything."

"Got it," Star said, doing a small salute. But as she turned her head she let out a small gasp, grabbing onto her partner's arm and squealing, "Oh my gosh, Marco. Look at that adorable painting of a kitty! I have to take a picture of it!" the girl pulled out her phone but it was quickly snatched out of her grip.

"Star," Marco scolded, pulling his arm free of his girlfriend's surprisingly strong grip. "We aren't tourists, we have a job to do, remember?"

"Okay..." the girl muttered, giving him a pouting look that caused Marco's stomach to do flips at how adorable she looked. But he held back his coo as he simply nodded and told her, "Good."

The two had only gone a few more steps before something new caught Star's eye, the girl saying, "Look Marco it's a unicorn vase, ooohhh I want one!"

"Starrrr," the boy said, gaining the girl's attention before gently reminding her, "Focus."

"Right, right," Star said, nodding, her eyebrow now furrowed in determination. "Focus, I got this."

The two continued on a few more steps only for Star to gasp in shock again, causing Marco to sigh in annoyance. "What is it now?" he asked in defeat. Star quickly pointed up at one of the large statues towering over them. A big, hulking ox looking thing with an angry expression on its stone face. "Oh my gosh, Marco that statue guy looks just like you!"

"What, that looks nothing like me?!" the boy exclaimed, putting his hands on his hips as he gave the girl an angry glare.

Star had to fight to hold in her laughter as the boy's expression and demeanor matched the statue creature perfectly, the girl barely managing to stifle her chuckle by slapping a hand over her mouth.

"I don't know, Marco, I think it's pretty spot on?" a voice said behind the pair, and Star and Marco both turned to see Janna staring down at them from the floor above, leaning against the railing with a casual ease.

"Janna," Marco growled under his breath, reaching into his jacket pocket and whipping out his stun gun. He aimed it up at the thief, shouting out, "Don't move!" Star did the same next to him, yelling up at their target, "Hands in the air!"

"Well, which is it?" Janna asked, an eyebrow slowly raising but making no sign of complying.

The two agents shared a look, their cheeks now slightly pink, before Marco said in slight annoyance, "Just stay where you are."

"Sure, no problem there," Janna said, leaning a little heavier on her arm. "I'm quite comfortable up here."

"Well hopefully you'll be just as comfortable in prison, cause that's where you're headed, Janna Ordonia," Marco commented bitterly.

Janna scoffed, shaking her head. "I see you haven't changed any, Diaz." She paused looking over at Star before asking, "So how have you been, Star?"

"Oh, I'm great," Star replied brightly.

"Hey, don't change the subject!" Marco shouted.

"What? I'm just seeing how you two have been. It's been a couple of months since the last time we hung out, after all."

"If by 'hung out' you mean you swiping my wallet and using it to buy drinks for every pub in Ireland," Marco muttered in annoyance.

"Hey, you should be thanking me, you're a local hero there, now," Janna replied.

Marco's eyebrow twitched, but he said nothing more. There was never any point in fighting with Janna.

"Look, Janna," Star took over, picking up on her boyfriend's increasing annoyance. "We all know you stole something from the museum so why don't you hand it over and then we can-"

"Whoa, hang on a second!" Janna interrupted her face and voice showing interest for the first time since they had arrived as her eyes finally spotted the matching rings on the agents' hands. "Since when have you two been engaged!" She quickly picked up on the intense blush that soon coated the young couple's cheeks, as well as the quick loving look that passed between Star and Marco, before their focus returned to Janna.

"For a few weeks now..." Star admitted, clearly overjoyed to be confessing this, even if it was to their enemy.

"Unbelievable, I can't believe you two didn't tell me!" Janna scoffed out, shaking her head in disapproval.

Marco rolled his eyes, muttering under his breath, "Maybe because it's none of your business."

"So how did it happen?" the thief asked, leaning closer to the two, her eyes shimmering with questions.

The brown-haired boy opened his mouth to remind her once again that their personal life was none of her business, only for his fiance to blurt out in an excited squeal, "Oh my gosh, it was the sweetest thing, Janna. You should have seen it. One minute we're beating up a group of VILE agents, the next Marco's down on one knee proposing!" Star let out a long sigh at the memory, putting a hand to her blushing cheek, her shoulder just barely touching her finance's side. "It was so romantic."

"So, where's the wedding going to be?" Janna asked with genuine interest.

"We decided to have it in Marco's old hometown," Star replied instantly. "Nothing too fancy, just a simple wedding with our closest friends and families. Don't want to attract too much attention, y'know."

"Staarr," Marco whispered to her in warning, trying to remind his future wife not to divulge too much information to the perceptive thief. He knew she was excited and everything but Janna was the last person he had wanted to know about their special day, considering her track record for making his life miserable every chance she got.

"Huh, sounds nice," Janna commented from above, sounding genuine and sincere, even going as far as to flash them what could almost pass for a warm smile. But Marco wasn't buying any of her act, he had been fooled by her one too many times. "So when can I expect my invite?" she added.

"Uhh, never," Marco deadpanned.

Janna gave the boy a fake hurt look, feigning ignorance as she asked, "What, why not?"

"Maybe because we don't want a common criminal hanging around during our wedding," the boy snapped, giving her an accusing glare.

"Plus, we're kinda arresting you, soooo," Star added, with an apologetic shrug. At that, the two agents held their guns up once more, their gazes hardening as they kept their focus and attention on their target.

The young thief let out a dejected sigh, sitting up and turning her back on the two but still keeping a light grip on the railing behind her. "Fine, I see how it is," she said in the saddest tone she could muster, watching out of the corner of her eye to see if they would let their guard down any.

She inwardly smirked as Star lowered her gun just an inch, her face softening in sympathy, while Marco only seemed to grow more suspicious, his eyebrows somehow furrowing more than they already were. "Look, Jan, just toss us down the briefcase and we won't have to use force," Marco said in a slow, even tone, but Janna easily caught onto the hidden threat that lay beneath.

She let out a deep sigh, before saying softly, "Whatever you say." The next few seconds went by in a flash as Janna instantly turned and jumped over the railing, now falling back to the first story. Star and Marco flinched, Janna seeing their fingers tightening on the triggers of the stun guns but before either could react fully, the girl threw the briefcase in her hands, it smacking directly into Marco's chest causing the boy to grunt in pain and surprise and crash to the floor hard. Star turned to her boyfriend in fear, Janna forgotten as she screamed out a panicked, "Marco!"

Janna, meanwhile, quickly shot out a grappling line from inside her sleeve, where it roughly attached to the ceiling. The string went taunt allowing the young thief to soar over the two agent's heads. She detached the line, tucking into a roll as she hit the ground and soon she was back on her feet once more.

Janna turned, seeing Star checking on her partner, who was more stunned than hurt and didn't even hesitate to shoot out another grapple line which latched onto the forgotten handle of the briefcase, before being zipped back over to her at record speed. Janna caught it with practiced ease, looking smugly over to the pair of agents now shooting her confused but angry glares, and she merely winked and tipped her hat toward them, saying in her typical sarcastic wit, "Thanks for holding onto that for me. But I think I'll be going now."

The thief took off at a run, knowing it would only be a few seconds before the two agents pursued her with a fiery vigor and she needed to put as much distance between her and them as possible. And just as she predicted within seconds Janna heard a loud voice shout, "Hey wait!" and she increased her speed, heading straight for the top floor of the building.

Star helped Marco to his feet before the two quickly ran after the escaping thief, the latter growling under his breath for being outsmarted again by the willy Janna. He ignored the slight heat in his cheeks, keeping his focus entirely on his target, whose head start was doing little to match his and Star's speed, quickly gaining on the girl.

The door to the roof busted open as Janna emerged, running toward the edge with Star and Marco right on her heels. Janna didn't even hesitate as she jumped off the roof, sailing flawlessly through the air before landing on the rooftop of the next building. She turned to give the two a victorious smirk before running away at top speed again.

Marco and Star, however, were far from beaten, the two racing ahead with no fear or hesitation as they too leaped off the building's side, landing on the next roof in perfect synchronization. Janna turned to see the two chasing after her again and she smiled to herself. This was just the challenge she had been hoping for.

The chase across Paris continued, Janna leaping from rooftop to rooftop, with little to no regard for her own safety, even the breakneck drop that waited below and the cold, bitter wind rushing against her face doing nothing to slow her pace. She began trying to dissuade the two agents from following as she took riskier and more dangerous jumps, knowing from experience that Marco would more than likely take the safest route available, rather than risk injury for him or his girlfriend. That boy was always too overly cautious for his own good, something Janna was hoping to use to her advantage.

But for once, Marco didn't seem to be falling back on his safe ways, keeping pace with his target as he precariously threw himself across every gap he came across. Star happily doing the same, looking like she was having the time of her life, chasing after the elusive thief with her boyfriend.

At this point, Marco's lungs and limbs were screaming at him to stop and allow them to rest. But the boy didn't listen, instead pressing them harder to continue. He was going to catch her this time, he was sure of it. And his hopes rose as he saw the row of buildings was soon coming to an end, instead opening up into a near-empty harbor, the light from the moon catching in the gentle waves and causing the water to shimmer and dazzle. That was definitely too far for even Janna to jump.

The girl seemed to notice this as she brought herself to a stop, just inches away from the edge. She turned to face the two agents, who were both huffing and puffing at this point, exhausted from the long trek over the Paris skyline. But they smiled at her with tired but victorious smirks, Star saying in a gasped breath, "Ha, looks like we win! You're trapped!"

"Just give up, Janna, there's nowhere else for you to run," Marco added, his voice low and full of finality.

"Maybe not," the girl said in a soft tone, keeping her face blank, before she smirked and added cryptically, "But maybe I don't have to." Her eyes snapped over to the waiting harbor below, before returning over to the two agents. Star and Marco gave her quizzical looks for a second before they both gasped in shock, realizing what she was saying.

"Wait, you aren't seriously going to try and jump that, are you?!" Star asked in disbelief, her eyes widening some in worry.

"No way, Star, she's just bluffing!" Marco said confidently.

"Are you sure about that?" Janna asked, taking a step closer to the edge, a gust of wind nearly knocking her hat off her head but she stood unmoving against it, bracing herself against its biting chill.

Star looked over to her boyfriend, cupping a hand around her mouth as she whispered to him, "I don't know, Marco. She seems pretty serious."

The boy agent paused, heeding his girlfriend's advice and giving his target a closer examination, taking in Janna's relaxed and almost teasing posture, her eyes showing no sign of hesitance or concern. Marco inwardly cringed, Star was right she was definitely up to something. But he didn't let it show as he again warned the girl, "You can't make that jump, Janna. Just surrender peacefully and things will go easier for you."

Janna cocked her head to the side, making a big show of thinking this over, tapping a finger against her chin in a clearly mocking manner. "Hmm, I don't know. 'Surrender' and 'peaceful' aren't exactly in my vocabulary." Keeping her gaze locked on the two agents she took a step closer to the edge, her foot now partially off the building, a wide smirk growing on her face as she added, "Besides since when have I ever taken the easy route."

Then, without another word, the girl turned and lunged forward, kicking off of the roof with all her might, sending her form flying smoothly through the air. At the same time, Marco lunged for her, hoping to catch her before she was out of reach. "Oh no you don't!" he screamed, his hand reaching out to grab onto her signature cloak. But he was just milliseconds too short, his fingers barely brushing the bright red fabric before it slipped through his fingertips, leaving him touching nothing but air... and falling quickly and precariously toward the waiting water below. Marco let out a high-pitched scream, his arms flailing in a desperate attempt to somehow slow himself, before splashing into the cold moonlit harbor, a spray of water sent hurtling through the air.

Janna, however, remained as calm as ever, holding out an arm and firing off her grappling gun once again, it easily connecting to the side of a building across the stream before yanking her quickly towards it, the trained thief doing a quick flip in the air before landing expertly on the rooftop.

Star, who had watched the whole display from the safety of the nearby building, muttered to herself, "Oh right, grappling hook. Forgot she had that."

Down below, Marco surfaced, coughing and spluttering as he spat out as much water as he could from his lungs, looking shocked and bewildered from the unexpected dive. His spiked hair now lay flat and clung to his head at awkward angles, his form shuddering in the frigid temperature.

Janna looked smugly down to the young agent and then back up to Star before saying, "Well this has been fun, but I got to run." The girl then began making her way across the rooftop, walking smoothly and steadily now that she didn't have to worry about being pursued. She kept her back to them as she waved her goodbye, shouting, "Congrats on the wedding by the way! Make sure to send me some pictures."

Once the girl was out of sight, Star turned her attention back to her boyfriend, asking in concern, "Marco, you okay?"

The boy let out an exhausted sigh. "I'm fine," he said dejectedly.

"You sure?" Star questioned, not looking quite convinced. "Nothing's hurting?"

"Just my pride," the boy admitted, looking sadly off into the distance, the exact direction his target was now headed.

Star gave her fiance a sympathetic look, before adding, "You want me to go after her."

The boy shook his head, slouching forward as his face hardening into an angry scowl. "Nah, there's no point. She's probably long gone by now."

"Okay well, in that case, I'm coming down to help you," Star replied.

Marco's eyebrow raised in confusion, not quite understanding what his girlfriend was implying. "Wait, what do you mean by-" he started to ask, only to be interrupted by a loud shout above, looking up to see Star diving off the building too, letting out a cheer of excitement as she free-fell through the cold, night air.

"Wait, wait, wait, Star don't, it's too cold!" The boy shouted in warning, waving his hands wildly but it was too late as Star splashed down into the bay right next to him, sending a wave of freezing cold water into his face and leaving him spluttering once more. Star surfaced a second later, water dripping from her bangs as she giggled at her Marco's startled face.

The boy let out a few deep breaths, still in shock from being pelted with the icy cold water but soon found himself smiling too, his fiance's laugh too infectious for him to resist. And pretty soon Marco was laughing too, pressing his forehead to Star's and bringing his arms around her, the two floating on the water's surface as one. "You know we're gonna be in big trouble for not catching Janna, right?" Marco reminded Star, though it was light and warm in comparison to just a few minutes ago.

"Aww, we'll get her next time," Star reassured the boy, cupping his cold cheeks in her hands, the warmth of her fingers causing Marco's whole face to tingle. "Besides, I already know where's she heading."

"Wait, you do?" Marco gasped in surprise.

Star gave her boyfriend a quick wink, saying in a flirty tone, "You're not the only one who can gather intel, y'know." Marco continued to give his partner a disbelieving look, not that he should be too surprised. Star was amazing and when she put her mind to it, there was nothing she couldn't do.

"So where's she headed?" Marco asked curiously.

"Welllll, judging by the direction she was going I would say our Scarlet Thief is heading for the train station. It's only like a block away from here and we both know Janna is known to try and skip town the first chance she gets," Star explained, while her fiance just listened in awe. "So all we gotta do is head over there and find out which train she got on."

"How do you know that?" the boy asked, raising a playful eyebrow at his bride-to-be.

Star shrugged. "Reasons," she said vaguely.

"Like?" the boy pressed, giving her a flirty look he knew she couldn't resist.

Star blushed slightly as she replied, "Let's just say I've had my eye on this place for a while now. You may be in charge of planning the wedding, but I'm in charge of the honeymoon."

The boy instantly froze, his face turning a dark shade of red that easily surpassed the color on his tie. He definitely hadn't been expecting that answer and he had to cough into his hand to clear his tight throat, looking away from the beautiful piercing blue of his girlfriend. "Oh yeah, okay, great, that's uhhh... that's great," the boy muttered nervously, Star holding back a giggle at the embarrassed blush on her Marco's cheeks.

Instead, the blond let out a loving sigh, giving her adorable fiance's small form a quick squeeze, as she squealed out, "Aw Marco, your so cute!" But she quickly added in a determined, serious tone, "But we can flirt later! Right now we got a job to do!"

"Yeah!" Marco shouted, pumping a fist into the air, too, before the two shared a quick high five. Just as their hands connected, a motorboat sped by them, sending a wave of freezing cold water washing over them. Both of the highly trained agents froze in place, their hands still touching as Marco muttered behind chattering teeth, "But first things first, let's get out of this water before one of us freezes to death!"

"Agreed," Star replied, her form shaking in perfect sync with her boyfriend's as they both began furiously swimming for shore and hopefully some much-needed warmth.

…

Janna was able to board the train out of Paris without any complications whatsoever. Mostly due to the fact that Alfonso had purchase Janna a ticket in advance, under his partner's direction, though being sure to give the conductor a fake name since Janna was a very wanted criminal at the moment. The young hacker had shown reluctant at first towards the plan, saying that even with a fake name she could still be recognized and that it would safer to just sneak onboard. But Janna had been quick to argue, saying that Al was just being paranoid and worried too much... which he absolutely did. But despite his concerns, Alfonso had gone ahead with the purchase, making sure Miss Hanna Orlandia had a ticket out of the city.

And just as Janna had predicted, nobody paid her any mind, the conductor barely batting an eye in her direction as he just lazily punched her ticket and sent her on her way. Janna, of course, making a smug comment to Alfonso which caused the boy to groan in annoyance and accept defeat... this time.

From there it had been as simple as stashing the briefcase in one of the storage cars, making sure it was buried under a pile of luggage and wouldn't be accidentally discovered by any noisy passengers, leaving Janna free to enjoy the trip.

She slowly walked through the row of cars looking for her seat, ignoring the irregular shifting beneath her feet as the train carried forth at rapid speed, already fast on its way to her destination. "Sooo that could have gone... better," Al said in her ear, trying to lighten the mood and the girl chuckled.

"Yeah, but we did get to see the power couple so I'd call that a win," she responded, ignoring the weird looks she was getting from the few passengers that went by. "And we just got away scot-free."

"I don't know Janna," Al responded nervously. "This just seemed too easy."

Easy. Yeah for him, maybe, all he had done was sit there and give out directions, Janna was the one who had been in a hot pursuit across Paris with two of the most highly-trained secret agents in the world. "Oh relax Al," Janna replied with a roll of her eyes. He could be so over-dramatic sometimes. "We're fine."

"Yeah, Al relax," came a familiar voice through the earpiece.

"Ferguson! How long have you been up?!"

"Mmm," Ferguson hummed thoughtfully. "Probably about three minutes or so."

"Well if you're up than can you do me a favor and clean the dishes, the sink is full again and it's your turn."

"Whaaaattt nooo," Ferguson whined. "Why can't you do it?"

"Because I'm busy helping Janna," Alfonso explained, sounding exasperated with the discussion already.

"Well let me help Janna and then you can do the dishes," Ferg suggested excitedly.

"No way! I'm not letting you touch my system, you don't know anything about it!" Al argued loudly.

"Aw come on how hard can it be if you do it?"

"Ferg, I said no!"

The speaker quickly filled with the sound of the two wrestling, Alfonso probably trying to push Ferguson back from his expensive and highly breakable equipment. After a few seconds of listening to the annoying grunts of them fighting, Janna pulled out her earpiece, knowing they could go on like this for a while and she was in the mood for some peace and quiet.

She reached her own reserved car, smiling softly to herself as she saw the door was already open, alerting her someone was already inside. And she had a pretty good idea who.

And the moment she stepped inside her smirk widened as her suspicions were proven correct, he was there. He sat with his legs crossed and his arms stretched out on the back of his seat trying to look as casual as possible. His hair was spiked just like she had remembered it and the familiar pink color made Janna inwardly chuckle. He wore a bright red shirt with a star on the front and a long black leather jacket, black gloves with the fingers torn off, and black jeans. His shoes were his typical orange boots. In short, Tom Lucitor looked as great as ever.

He gave her a devilish grin, saying in a smooth tone, "Thought you'd show up, took you long enough, though."

Janna put a hand to her hip and said in the teasing tone she reserved only for her greatest rival, "Aw, Pinkie what a surprise."

The boy's calm demeanor shattered as he growled at the hated nickname. "I told you my hair is salmon!"

"Mmm yeah I'm still gonna call you Pinkie," Janna replied with a shrug, taking the seat across from him.

Tom groaned, crossing his arms in a pouting gesture. "Yep your still as intolerable as ever," he grumbled, rolling his eyes.

"And your still as angry as ever," the girl replied, leaning back in her seat, crossing her legs and resting her hands behind her head. "So what brings you to Paris, the City of Love, don't tell me you've gone all sappy and turned into a romantic."

"You know me better than that, Jan," Tom replied, flashing her a cocky grin. He leaned forward a bit, before saying in a knowing tone, "And I think you already know why I'm here."

Janna smiled. "Yes, but I wanted to hear you say it."

Tom's gaze narrowed slightly before he began in a threatening tone, "I want you-"

"You want me?" Janna interrupted with a mock look of surprise. "Well looks like you are turning into a romantic."

Tom growled angrily under his breath as he spat out through clenched teeth, "I want you to give me the statue."

"What statue?" Janna asked, feigning ignorance.

Tom just rolled his eyes before snapping, "The Golden Dancer! The one you stole from the museum."

"What makes you think I stole anything?" Janna asked, her cryptic tone never ceasing and the smile on her face told Tom that she was very much enjoying herself, much to his annoyance. "Can't a girl visit Paris without having some ulterior motive?"

"Yes, but you're not most girls," Tom stated simply, and for the first time since she had gotten there Janna's cheeks got the slightest tinge of pink.

"Aww, you flatter me, Tom," Janna cooed coyly, winking at him.

"That wasn't a compliment," Tom stated, trying to hide the joy he felt at making her blush. She was so cute when she was blushing, it almost made him forgive how aggravating she could be.

"Yes, it was," Janna said calling his bluff, and Tom felt his cheeks heat up again against his will, growling to try and hide his embarrassment.

Almost. He almost forgave her. But something told him, she wanted it this way, which was why being around her was so frustrating. She always knew just what to say to set him off. "Look are you gonna give me the statue or do I have to make you," he threatened, wanting to just get to the point and get this whole confrontation over with before he was reminded anymore how much he had missed her. His hand slowly moved to his pocket, making sure his movements were subtle enough she didn't pick up on them.

"Hmmm," she hummed, tapping a finger to her chin, clearly thinking it over or at least pretending to. "Yeah no, I don't think so. I stole it fair and square. You want it so bad you should have stolen it yourself." Tom smirked. "Why would I do that, when I got you?" He leaned forward, his malicious grin widening with every word, looking proud of himself for conning the elusive thief. "I followed you all the way, here, y'know. And I didn't even have to try to find you, you made your presence well known. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were slipping Janna." His hand now grasped the electric stun baton from within the confines of his pocket, ready to draw it out and use it to knock his annoying rival out cold. But then Janna did something unexpected, she leaned in closer to him, freezing the boy in place as his heart began hammering in his chest. Soon their faces were just inches apart, Tom looking deep into Janna's brown gaze, a soft, almost sincere look on her face and he wondered if she was actually opening up to him for once. Her fingers began tracing lines on his shirt as she softly whispered, "Or maybe I wanted you to find me."

Tom tried not to shudder as her warm breath tickled his skin. Her lips were so close now, challenging him, teasing him to move in, but no matter how much he wanted to (oh man did he want to) he knew better than to let his guard down around her. "Wh-Why would you do that?" He asked, trying to hide the squeak in his voice.

And then Janna moved in even closer until her lips were almost touching his as she said in the most honest and sincere tone he had ever heard come from her lips, "Cause I missed you, Tom."

The boy gulped but found himself actually moving in for the kiss, all ulterior motives, all scheme, all logic thrown out the window as he attempted to capture that which he had never yet been able to steal: Janna's affection.

But just before their lips brushed, Tom felt a stinging sensation in his side, which then turned into a powerful burning. He let out a yelp of pain as he looked down, only to see Janna had snatched the baton from his pocket and had it pressed into his side, electrocuting him.

"Sorry, Pinkie," he heard Janna say to him in an apologetic tone, but it was distant and fuzzy as his brain began to shut down. "But you know the first rule of dealing with a thief. Never let them get too close."

Tom let out one last growl of annoyance before he lost consciousness, falling back against his seat, asleep.

Janna pulled the device away the second she saw the boy's eyes close and quickly pocketed the device. It was very nicely made, she might have some use for it in the future. For a few seconds, she just stared at his sleeping face, looking so cute and peaceful you couldn't even tell that beneath lie a hotheaded, temperamental thief. He was too much fun to tease when awake, but asleep he was irresistible. Which was why she couldn't help but lean over and place a gentle kiss on his cheek, letting her armor crack for a second as she whispered to his sleeping form, "See you around, Tom."

She stood, stepping back out into the hallway, giving him one last longing look over her shoulder before closing the door to the train car sealing the sleeping teen inside.

Once she had put some distance between her and her unconscious rival, she slipped her earpiece back on, saying smoothly, "Hey Al, what'd I miss?"

"Janna?!" Came the worried, expected shriek of her friend. It was clear he had been panicking for a while now. "What happened? I lost contact with you. Did something go wrong?"

"Nah, not really," the girl lied instantly. "Must have just had a bad signal there for a while."

"Well that's a relief," Alfonso said with a sigh. "For a minute there I was afraid you ran into that hot-headed rival of yours. That would have been a total disaster."

"Wellllll, actually," the girl said in a purposely overly hesitant way.

Alfonso let out a long sigh. "Spoke too soon," he muttered under his breath.

...

The train pulled into the station an hour later, a crowd of passengers emerging from the train in a hurry, eager to stretch their legs after the long trip. And hiding in plain sight, the thief in red whistled as she strode along, an almost skip in her step as she carried the large briefcase loosely at her side. She made her way to the dock, where a large boat waited for her, giving the captain a wink as she boarded, letting him know it was her and he nodded to tell her he understood. He said something over to one of the crew who ran off to inform them now they were good to go. Not even a minute later the ship was already plowing it's way out of the harbor and heading toward open ocean.

The captain went over to greet her, saying pleasantly enough, "Miss Ordonia, glad to see you made it." His gaze slowly lowered to the briefcase, eying it greedily for a second. "And by the looks of it, your heist was a success."

"Captain Carrots, a pleasure as always," Janna said with a smile. "I trust my colleague already paid you in full."

"Aye yes, your friend already sent us the cash."

"And did he give you my instructions?"

The captain nodded. "Aye, he did."

"Good, then since you know our destination, I'll leave the rest to you," Janna said, going to walk around him but he stepped into her way, blocking her path off.

"Why don't you let me take that off your hands," the captain offered slowly reaching down to grab the briefcase, Janna hearing the greed and desperation in his voice. "Me and my crew will make sure it reaches its buyer safely."

Janna quickly bat his hand away and positioned her body so the briefcase was no longer in his line of sight, wagging a scolding finger at him while clicking her tongue in disappointment. "Nice try, Captain, but I wasn't born yesterday," she said with a smirk, the captain gritting his teeth at her. "And I was given strict instructions by my employer to deliver the statue myself and to make sure I personally handed it over to him. But if you'd like I'd be happy to call and let him know-" Janna made a show of reaching into her pocket and pulling out her phone.

"No!" The captain shouted, putting a hand up to try and stop her. Janna gave him a knowing smile as he cleared his throat, continuing much softer, "No that won't be necessary." He plastered on a forced smile that was just priceless to the young thief who was enjoying every second of this, though she made sure not to let it show... not too much at least.

"Good," Janna said, slipping the phone back in her pocket, the superior grin never leaving her face. "Then I'll leave you to your job and you can leave me to mine."

The young thief then pushed her way past the man, leaving the fuming captain alone to rage as she found a seat near the back of the boat, her back literally against the rail that prevented her from falling into the crystal clear waters below her. The second she sat down she felt a lurch as the boat propelled forward at an even faster speed now that they had reached deeper waters, quickly on it's way to Janna's next destination. The girl set the package down at her side, before letting out a relaxed sigh, leaning back in her seat, feeling the cool breeze of the ocean washing over her as she stared out at the picturesque ocean waves for a second.

"You enjoyed that, didn't you?" Alfonso said in her ear.

"What messing with the captain, of course, I did?" The girl admitted, no shame in her tone. "He was trying to con me, so I just let him know who he was dealing with."

"You know, you wouldn't have to do that if you let me hire a law-abiding citizen instead of a dirty, crooked conman."

"Wheres the fun in that? Besides haven't you ever heard the phrase 'honor among thieves'."

"Yes, but the more time I spend with you the more convinced I am that it's a bunch of nonsense," Al deadpanned.

Janna chuckled at that, before saying, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It wasn't."

"I know."

Alfonso sighed and she heard the distinct sound of the young genius banging his head against his desk (it wasn't the first time one of their conversations had ended that way and the thief was slightly curious if there was an indent in his desk from how many times he had done it). Janna decided to show a little mercy for her friend and change the subject, saying, "Oh relax, Al. Look on the bright side, we got the painting with minimal damage, got to see our favorite power couple, and even managed to get away from Tom unscathed. Sounds like a pretty successful mission to me."

"Yeah," Alfonso agreed halfheartedly. "Guess there is that. Let's just hope we threw that hothead off our track for a while."

Janna smiled thoughtfully to herself, bringing up the mental image of the handsome thief into her mind. "I don't know, something tells me we'll be seeing him again very soon," she replied, unable to resist adding a knowing edge to her tone that the young hacker picked up on instantly.

"Janna, what did you do?" He asked in exasperation, hoping she hadn't done what he feared she had done. Knowing her, it was entirely likely.

Janna didn't reply, just smiling smugly to herself as she stared across the waves at the fading sunset on the horizon, wondering what the next day would bring her, while her head spun with the image of gorgeous red eyes.

…

Tom was furious the moment he had woken up with a splitting headache and a dry mouth, feeling a bizarre mixture of regret, disappointment, and rage. But mostly rage. And all of it was directed at one soul individual. Stupid Janna! He couldn't believe he had actually fallen for such an obvious trick and he silently cursed himself for actually letting her get too close.

And now here he was, storming through the nearly empty train with a sour scowl on his face. He ignored the few passengers remaining, wanting to just leave without any further complications. Not that he was worried about getting caught since he had swiped a ticket out of some unfortunate soul's pocket when he snuck onboard, he just didn't want to be bothered until he got the chance to cool down. He wasn't sure where he was at this point since he had no clue how much time had passed while he was unconscious, for all he knew he could be in another country, for crying out loud!

Stupid Janna! This was all her fault. If she hadn't tried to-

Tom growled as his cheeks lit up with a blush, willing them back to their normal hue. How could he have been so stupid! He should have known better than to try and actually do that with her. Of course, it was a trick, ugh, how could he be such a moron?!

Suddenly, Tom stopped in his tracks as he spotted a pair up ahead, his heart leaping into his throat as he recognized the well-dressed couple, the boy holding a picture out toward the train conductor while his blond partner practically lay up against him as she stared over his shoulder, these two clearly having no sense of personal space with each other.

Great, Star and Marco were here, as if he didn't have enough to deal with, now he had the two best agents in Acme on his tail and he doubted they'd be all that happy to see him once again. Tom didn't waste any time as he quickly ducked into the empty train car beside him, knowing they were sure to recognize him the moment they spotted him his few run-ins with them memorable enough for him to leave a lasting impression and make him weary from encountering them again. He left the door open only a crack as he listened to the two's conversation while cursing whatever force had decided to give him this string of bad luck.

"Please look closely, sir. Are you certain you haven't seen her, it's very important," Marco asked the conductor, his voice friendly but professional as he pressed the man for more info.

"Hmmm, now that I'm looking at it, I do think I've seen her before, pretty sure she was sharing a car with a young man, I'll go check the books, see if I can find out which car it was," the conductor said, Tom listening as a pair of footsteps faded off into the distance.

Perfect, just perfect, Tom silently groaned. Now those two knew about him! Hopefully, they wouldn't put two and two together-

"Sooo Janna was with a young man, huh? Are you thinking who I'm thinking?" Star said in a knowing tone and Tom winced. Never mind.

"What, Tom?" Marco asked, sounding like he was deep in contemplation. "It could be, but that's a pretty big conclusion to draw Star."

Star scoffed loudly, Tom hearing a light smack (probably the girl lightly tapping her partner's shoulder). "Come on, Marco. It makes total sense. Think about it, those two are always hanging around each other..." Well, she wasn't entirely wrong. "... and you know they can barely keep their eyes off each other." Again, it was true, just not for the reason the blond agent seemed to be drawing.

"So what you think their partners?"

"Well that and also secretly dating," Star added, sounding so proud of herself for figuring it out.

Tom nearly fainted right there, his cheeks filling with so much blood he nearly passed out from blood loss in the rest of his limbs. How could they seriously think he would have any feelings toward his annoying rival other than disgust. But his mind betrayed him, momentarily flashing back to Janna's form slowly moving in for what seemed to be a loving kiss and he vigorously shook his head to relieve himself from the memory, willing down his now racing pulse.

"Dating?" Marco said skeptically. "I mean I guess it's possible..."

"Of course it is!" Star said confidently. "Those two are crazy about each other." She paused before adding in a sappy, loving coo, "Almost as crazy as I am for you."

"Well I don't think anybody could be more in love than I am with you, Star," Marco replied in an equally flirty tone. Tom tried not to gag at the young couple's overly affectionate ways. Could these two be any cheesier?

"Aww Marco, you are too sweet!" Star squealed. She sounded more like a lovesick teenager than a highly trained agent.

The boy let out a long, disheartened sigh as he muttered, "But y'know, I still can't believe I fell for her tricks again!"

Marco face-palmed, flushing in embarrassment as the previous events of the night came back to him, looping through his head and making him feel more and more ridiculous with every cycle. "Why is Janna always one step ahead of us! Every time I think about what happened, I just feel like an idiot." He buried his head in his hands with an audible groan, while out of sight of the two Tom was nodding in agreement and annoyance. He could totally relate.

Star gave her boyfriend a sympathetic look, seeing just how badly he needed cheering up. Luckily, the blond knew just what to do to help. She gave Marco a flirty grin, grabbing onto his tie and lightly pulling him towards her, causing the boy to let out a startled squeak, their faces now mere inches from touching. "Well, I think I know a way to get your mind off of that," she whispered coyly, causing a shudder to jump up Marco's spine.

"Starrr," Marco muttered in embarrassment, his eyes jumping around the empty train car, making sure they were, in fact, alone. "This isn't a good time, we're on a mission, remember? What if someone sees us?"

But Star didn't seem to be giving up, simply replying seductively, "Let em look. I've been waiting to kiss my future husband all day and I'm not waiting any longer." With that, Star moved in for the kill, her fiance's lips about to be captured and claimed by her once more.

Meanwhile, the disgusted Tom was busy debating on either staying quiet or slamming the door open and turning himself in (both of which had some major cons) when the voice of the conductor suddenly cut into the moment, much to Tom's relief, saying pleasantly to the two agents, "Okay I think I found it."

Tom could hear a small shout from the two, followed by noisy shuffling as they obviously pulled apart from each other. The thief could hear a loud cough from Marco (probably trying to clear his tight throat) as he said in a forced, formal tone, "Uhh, good. T-That's excellent news, sir."

There was a pause before the conductor asked, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No!" the young couple shouted much to quickly and Tom couldn't help but smirk from his hiding spot. Geez, why were they acting all embarrassed? Weren't they about to be married or whatever? "Anyways, what'd you find out?" Marco asked, clearly trying to change the subject.

"Well according to the record, someone with your description purchased a ticket in advance under the name of Hanna Orlandia," the conductor explained.

Star scoffed loudly, saying in a disappointed tone, "Really, that's the name she went with? Come on, Janna you're more clever than that."

"Star, don't compliment our criminal," Marco scolded.

"I'm just saying, that's kinda a lazy fake name," Star said, defensively.

"Oh yeah, and what would your fake name have been?" Marco asked his girlfriend in a playful tone.

"I don't know maybe something cool like Carmen or something."

"Ummmm, did you want me to go on or-" the conductor asked hesitantly.

"Oh yeah, right," Marco said in realization. "Continue."

"Well, she was staying in train car 15 along with a young man with pink hair." Tom had to suppress the growl he felt rising in his throat. It was salmon, not pink? Why did nobody ever get that?!

"Ah hah!" Star exclaimed in victory. "Told you it was Tom!"

"Yeah, guess you were right. I mean, i don't really know too many guys with pink hair," Marco replied in agreement. Salmon!

"Can you take us to their car? Maybe they left behind a clue or something," Star asked, the conductor immediately complying, saying, "Right this way."

Tom listened intensely as the sound of footsteps retreated deeper into the train, fading into the distance, along with Star's long rant to her boyfriend about how he and Janna were clearly dating and working together (which he did his best to ignore). He waited until they were completely out of earshot before pulling the door to the train car open, doing a quick check left and right before smirking and making his way over to the exit.

Once he was outside on the narrow streets of some unknown city, he picked a random direction and started walking, needing to put as much distance between himself and the two agents as he could. That had been a close one, much closer than Tom liked, but at least he hadn't had to deal with Star and Marco directly. He still had bruises from their last encounter, those two packing a big punch despite their appearance... especially when working as a team. No, as annoying and inconvenient as it had been, it could still have turned out much worse for him.

Sure they knew he had been there, but they wouldn't find anything. That much he was sure of since he had made sure to leave nothing behind that could be used to track him, despite the blinding rage he had felt after-

Tom let out a low growl as the memory of earlier entered his mind, anger filling his chest once again. Right, he had almost forgotten about stupid Janna and her stupid tricks. Why had he even followed her there in the first place? Hadn't he learned by now to steer clear of Janna and her obnoxious, charming ways? All she ever did was make trouble for him. What had he been thinking?

The boy roughly shoved his hands into his jacket pockets, trying to ignore the obvious answer that kept popping into his mind, refusing to admit just how badly he had wanted to see her again. He paused though, as his fingers brushed up against something. Tom came to an immediate stop as he dug around in his pocket, his fingers tightening around what felt like some sort of ticket or something before pulling out a small slip of paper. Tom stared at it stunned for a moment, knowing instantly who it was from. There was only one person who could have slipped this into his pocket without him knowing, presumably when he was unconscious. Finally, after a few more seconds, he slowly unfolded the note, confusion pinching his eyebrows as he read the soft, delicate handwriting, his heart thumping once against his will. Can't wait for our next date. See you in Venice, Pinkie. -Love, the Scarlet Thief

For a few moments, all Tom could do was read and re-read the note over and over again, his cheeks pooling with more and more blood every time his eyes crossed the words 'Pinkie' or 'Love'. Finally, after several minutes of contemplation, Tom silently folded the note back up, slipping it back into his pocket.

He just stood there for another moment, letting the words sink in, his gaze slowly turning to the rising sun over on the horizon, its bright colors seeming to be a perfect representation of his heart right now. Glowing.

And then Tom did something he almost never did, he let all his barriers drop, allowing himself a long, warm smile. But this was not just any smile, this was the widest, goofiest, most lovestruck smile that had ever crossed his features, one only those who were hopelessly and passionately in love could conceive. And despite how annoying and obnoxious and difficult Janna Ordonia the Scarlet Thief could be... Tom would be lying if he said he wasn't excited to know he would be seeing her again very soon.

Hope you enjoyed! Jantom is impossible for me to resist and I had to put in my daily dose of Starco or it just wouldn't feel right to me. So I might continue this someday in the future but for now I'm keeping it as a one-shot. I just don't have enough time at the moment to make more (plus I don't really have any more ideas for heists or whatever) but if you want you are welcome to send me ideas for it in case I ever do continue. Like I said no promises.

Anyways that'll do it for me, hope you have a great week and stay safe and healthy! Stay awesome, Stardom! Especially all you Jantom shippers out there ;)

#Star vs #Star vs AU #My Writing #Where in the World is Janna Ordonia #Carmen Sandiego AU #Master Thief Jan AU #Janna Ordonia #Jantom #Starco

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san-station · 4 years

Text

No more sad songs • Bang Chan

Pairing: Bang Chan x Reader

(Fluff & Angst)

WARNING: Broken heart.

↝Word count: 1,9k

The things you've done for your best friend were uncountable, you would go to hell and beyond to bring him back to you, just like Dante did for Beatrice on his journey through the nine circles of Hell. Having the Lee Minho as your Thing #1 was what people would say: a blessing. But sometimes blessings weren't as great as they sound. Your relationship was a mess, he was known as the mighty fuckboy of SKZ fraternity and you were "Lee Minho's fan", "the girl who chases the unreachable", "the groupie" and more names you've heard around campus.

People didn't know that you've been friends since you could spell your name correctly, you went to the same school, you lived in the same neighborhood and Minho was the first one to approach the little shy girl who rather play alone with her dolls and paint some flowers than play with the other kids. Minho found you cute and weird (in a good way), you were the only girl that didn't want to give him a kiss or ask to be his friend, so he thought you were unique.

Over the years, you built a beautiful friendship based on him being the cocky fuckboy who dragged the bashful girl to parties; you being the responsible friend who dragged him to his house before he passed out and gave him painkillers in the morning to get him to his dance major classes. Him, distracting you from your music major homework to watch his new choreography, and more.

Your friendship was like any other friendship... the problem was that you were deeply in love with Minho from the very beginning. You loved everything about him and it hurt, you were in love with the one person who will never see you as more than just a friend because he loved to party, to live the moment and forget about the past, to blindly look forward and annihilate everything in his path, it didn't matter if his best friend was in the field, he'll destroy her without noticing and, even so, you loved him.

You've been through a lot due to that reckless behavior and he was oblivious, he didn't realize those sad songs you wrote were about him and the things he did impulsively. That time when he kissed the girl with the white dress on Lee Jeno's party leaving you all alone in a place where you didn't know anyone and ended up calling your friend Changbin to give you a ride back home; the time when you were eating at a restaurant with your other friends to celebrate your birthday and he didn't show up because he was having some fun at the dance studio with his choreo partner and didn't even apologize; that time when he got pretty drunk and kissed you in a SKZ party and then said "I'm sorry, Y/N, I thought you were another girl! Ewwww, I kissed my best friend this is so weird" and started laughing his ass off.

He never notice the tears in your eyes when he did all of that, he never stopped to ask how you were or if you wanted to go when you felt so unhappy on those parties. And you still did everything for him because he had your heart, yet, he was so stupid to understand it. All your friends knew it. Well, they all could read your lyrics and play your beats and be aware of your feelings towards Minho.

Now you were at the music studio with your fellow partners and friends: 3Racha, also known as Bang Chan, Seo Changbin and Han Jisung. Your appointment for today was creating two different beats with the same lyrics to see how flexible it could be, but all you were thinking were gloomy melodies and heartbroken songs.

The australian boy gave his friends a concerned look and text them on their group chat.

∼3RACHA Bros∼

Chan: I think it's Minho again...

Jisung: Yeah, saw him yesterday, he REALLY had some fun lololol

Changbin: Hyung, do something... this isn't working.

Chan: Why me???

Changbin: you're good with words :D

Chan: We all literally are good with words, Bin.

Jisung: c'mon Hyung, she'll listen to you, you have like a thing lol

Chan: ????

Changbin: Make her happy or we won't buy you food :D

Chan: I hate both of you...

Jisung got up from his sit in front of you and you looked up at him immediately. Changbin stood up as well and smiled at Chan.

"We're gonna buy pizza for the rest of the evening", Changbin said fixing the black beanie on his head. Jisung grabbed Chan's wallet over the table and he groaned.

"For real?", Chan questioned rolling his eyes and sitting back on his chair. The laptop in front of him stopped playing the track he was working on and stared at Jisung.

"We'll be back soon", Changbin said again and, before getting out of the room, he turned to you and groaned.

"And pleaseeee, I'm begging you, Y/N, no more sad songs", he pouted.

Jisung pushed him outside the room and yelled: "yeah! I'm the sentimental boy of the group, please, be happy for once, girl!"

You tensed and lower you gaze to your lyrics book tracing the words with your fingers. Chan sighed at the view of your dispirited body and sat next to you, closer.

"Let's talk about... the beautiful day!", Chan panicked a little and smiled at you brightly. You didn't see him, you couldn't find in yourself any strength to put a smile on your face or even willing to, it didn't worth it.

"I'm not in the mood, Channie", your voice sounded like a sweet whisper. If Chan wouldn't have gotten that closer, he wouldn't have listened.

"Would you like to talk about it?", he asked pouting. He really wanted to make you smile, it warmed his heart watching your amusement. Right now he felt sick watching you so depressed, he could feel as if all his energy would've left his body and needed proper sleep to regain the power or the enthusiasm he required for you to feel something more than sadness. He heard you sighed.

"Yesterday, in Mark's party... Minho was making out with like four different people at the same time while I was sitting on the couch waiting for him to go back home." You closed your eyes, images of last night travelled through your mind making you whimper. "It hurts so much..."

Chan kept silence, his breath was heavy, his eyes were on your face as you finally saw his expression and you got worried.

"Don't look at me like that, I'm gonna be fine soon!", you reassured him.

"It's just that... I've told you the truth about him so many times and you're still not over him, Y/N", Chan caressed a strand of your hair avoiding your hurt gaze.

"It's not that easy, you know? We've known each other since first grade... I've loved him since...", Chan frowned and hummed for a second.

"How could you tell it was real love when you basically were thinking about dolls and candies?”, he spoke calmly, pronouncing every word slowly for you to process the question. You frowned and opened your mouth, yet, Chan interrupted.

“Tell me something... Has he ever told you that he loves you? Has he ever thanked you for everything you've done for him?”, once again, he caressed your hair and stared deeply into your soul, his brown eyes made you swallow hard trying to remember a moment when all those things happened.

“Has he ever compliment you about your work? About your incredible music?”, he continued as the voices in your head screamed the real answer.

“Sometimes… I think...”, you finally mumbled and sighed in defeat. Chan was right, Minho had only said good things about her when she did him a favour, when he asked for things and she was there to help him; when he was tired of listening to her complains, he would say something nice to make her stop.

Your lips trembled as you tried to speak, but nothing came out, so Chan grabbed your hands and squeezed them.

“Y/N, you love someone who's too selfish to realize you've been crushing on him for years, I think it's time for you to understand that you have to move on or you're going to keep hurting yourself even more than you are right now”, his voice, in a way, made you feel safe, it made you feel that the decision you’d make was the right one, that there are others who could make you a better version of yourself, make you believe you were loved. Chan’s voice was really one of those who you wanted to hear before going to sleep and when you wake up. Chan always took care of your feelings trying to make you smile even when you had to write a sad song, even when you cried the whole night because Minho forgot your birthday, even when you were so fragile you could broke by negative thoughts. Chan was there and that was the most important thing in your life right now. You sniffed and avoided his gaze, it started to burn your cheeks unexpectedly.

“The past sometimes brings us joy, you have your good memories with him, he’s your best friend, for God sakes!”, he scoffed in disbelieve and that made you chuckled, his eyes became crescent moons when he smiled at that gesture.

“The love meter you have right here”, his right finger pointed the left side of your chest. “...you need to low that status a little. From 'I'm in love with Minho' to 'I love my best friend as much as he loves me, as a friend' and keep looking forward because you're a strong woman, okay?”, your seriously thought your body was on fire, your hands holding his made your stomach growl and you giggled due to his words.

“You are beautiful, Y/N, you are an amazing person and you have the kindest heart... Give it to someone who will appreciate everything you're willing to give and embrace real love…”, Chan died a little inside when he saw the effect of his words on you, you were shining, cheeks with a pink shade of embarrassment and giggling like a teenager girl. His heart was racing out of control but on the outside he seemed relaxed.

“Thank you, Channie… I really appreciate it”, you said trying to stop your smile from growing bigger.

“I promise that, once you forget about that crush, you’ll find someone who would be there for you in the good and bad moments”, he pinched your blushed cheeks. He stood up and you thought he was going to sit on his chair a few meters away from you, but he actually grabbed his laptop and sat on your side.

“So, what about we start making a happy beat for your lyrics?”, you nodded and opened again you lyrics book.

Both of you began to work on the melodies and changed a lot of the lyrics as they were too depressing. An hour and a half later, Changbin and Jisung came back with the pizza they promised and watched the joyful atmosphere around you. At the end of the day, you made two flexible tracks for your appointment and ignored the messages Minho had sent you inviting you to another party. You laughed when Jisung was making fun of Changbin, you laughed as Changbin was complaining about Jisung, you laughed when Chan laughed, you were happy there having your own party and you couldn’t think of any sad songs anymore.

Masterlist

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countless-dreamsss · 4 years

Text

Quarantined with Him.

Summary: With COVID-19 hitting all parts of the country, Team Flash has decided that it’s safest that they stick together, and live

Warnings: Slight profanity.

Primary pairs: WestAllen, Harrisco, Jecile

Canon/Head: Headcanon

Insight: So initially this was meant to be a fanfic written by a prompt that @catvampcrazines really wanted to see, which was Harrisco being sleep deprived and goofy AF. Tumblr, being the shitshow that it is won't even let me post the entire first part that I have now, so this is going to have a lot more parts than I intended it to. I do apologize for taking so long with writing this, but when covid-19 hit, it gave me the perfect timing and the perfect excuse to get all of Team Flash together to experience Harrisco's weirdness. Anyways, enjoy!

The members of Team Flash were dispersed throughout the Cortex at S.T.A.R Labs when Joe had entered the room. Iris and Cisco sat at the monitors while Harry hovered behind them, clicking on his pen anxiously as they watched Barry run through the streets of Central City. Caitlin sat at the desk just outside of the medical bay, going over some new material put put by a few of her friends from medical school. “Turn on the news,” Joe said, worry written all over his face. Everyone turned their attention towards the new presence, puzzled at his expression. “Dad, is something wrong?” Iris asked, turning her chair in his direction. “You guys haven’t heard?” Joe asked, his eyes looked to each person. “Central City is closing off all borders because of this whole virus thing.” “Again with this virus?” Harry groaned. He had been back on Earth-1 since December, when the first case was made public. Every time he heard the name of the virus it always seemed like bad news. “Got it,” Cisco called out. He hit a button on his keyboard, and just like that live-footage from Central City News was projected onto the main monitor. “Fast breaking developments in the Coronavirus emergency in the U.S. and around the world. The number of cases soaring just today. More than 700 thousand nation-wide. To decrease the risk of infection, Mayor Van Buren has just announced that Central City is now officially under lockdown. Starting today, no one is allowed to leave or enter the city…” “Well, it seems like your Earth is no longer safe to stay on,” Harry crossed his arms against his chest. “I guess I should be heading home soon.” Cisco immediately looked up to Harry. “Do you have to make comments like that?” Though his tone was rather crabby, his eyes screamed ‘don’t leave me’. Harry’s icy orbs met Cisco’s gaze. The older male clicked his tongue, knowing he had struck worry into the other. “Oh, come on now,” he placed a hand on the meta’s shoulder, his thumb gently tracing the seam of Cisco's sleeve. "You always do this," Cisco moved his shoulder away from Harry's hand. "I—" “Has Earth-2 seen anything like this?” Caitlin intervened in the small quarrel between the couple. Harry shook his head, “No, and again, my Earth is very much ahead of yours. I’m sure if anything like this was to even appear on my Earth, it would’ve been taken care of like,” he snapped his fingers, purposely right next to Cisco’s ear just to have his eyes on him again. “Either way,” Joe started, “This isn’t looking good at all. Are you guys sure it’s safe to have Barry still running out there?” he asked. “I could always make him a respirator to go with his suit,” Cisco said. “...along with temporarily closing down non-essential businesses, Mayor Buren has also announced a curfew at 9’oclock p.m. for all citizens of Central City. Yes, Flash, this includes you.” “Problem solved,” Iris looked back to Joe. “Criminals don’t care about curfews,” Joe replied. “I’m just trying to make sure you guys stay safe,” he looked to everyone in the room. “Last thing we need is any one of us getting this thing.” “We’ll be fine, Dad,” Iris grabbed Joe’s hand, squeezing it gently as if she could transfer all of his negative feelings to her. “I’ll talk to Barry once he comes back, and then we can all decide what happens then.” “If worst comes to worst, we just all stay here.” Caitlin pointed out. “We’re here everyday as it is.” “Yeah,” Iris agreed. “I can always do my work in the lounge while Team Flash is doing its thing.” “That could actually work,” Cisco said, gliding his tongue over his lips after taking a sip of his coffee. “We still have a few empty rooms that we could just set up some beds in,” “I’m the one that actually lives here, do I get a say in this?” Harry asked. “No.” Everyone responded. Harry rolled his eyes at their response. “Fine, but don’t go touching my rum,” he looked to Caitlin. “What? I never—” “Not you, I’m talking about Frost. Last time I was here, she drank all my whiskey without telling me,” he said. “Was it the honey flavored one?” Cisco asked. “Yes,” Harry hissed. “Ooh,” Cisco sucked his teeth. “Bad call, Frosty,” he said to Caitlin. “Guys—” Barry interrupted through the comms, “are you guys really discussing staying at S.T.A.R. Labs right after Iris said you guys would wait for me to come back?” “Decision has been made, Barry. Suck it up,” Cisco called out. “Since when?” Harry said, looking down at the younger male. “Just now. I did it,” Cisco affirmed “What? You have something to say?” Cisco asked, ready to retaliate any nonsense that could possibly come out of Harry's mouth. “Whatever the hell y’all do, just let me know, okay?” Joe said.“I’m gonna go make some calls, see if I can get a hold of Cecile. See you later, baby,” Joe leaned down, giving Iris a kiss on the cheek. “Stay safe,” he said to the rest, giving Harry a pat on the shoulder before exiting. Taking it upon himself to decide that Team Flash would be staying at S.T.A.R Labs, Cisco and Iris had also taken the time and thought of how things would run during the entire situation. He pulled over the drawing board and assigned everyone a certain task to do during the days of the week. “...and because we can’t live off of just coffee and candy, this coming Saturday, Barry and I will go out for a grocery run,” he said looking at all of them. “Sounds like a plan,” Barry nodded before leaning his head down and resting his chin on his wife’s shoulder. “What about me?” Harry asked, his arms held snug against his torso. “I’m not assigned anything.” “You can’t even leave the building, Harry. What makes you think I’d put you up here?” Cisco asked, playing with the marker cap. “Well, I live here,” Harry shrugged. “Something is better than nothing.” “Fine, fine,” Cisco turned back to the board and wrote ‘mi cama.’ Harry’s cheeks burned with a shade of red once reading his task. “Stupid,” he muttered under his breath, looking to the ground to hide his smirk. “Oh God, Cisco,” Iris laughed when she read the addition. “Take that down.” “Fine, but I give you props for being the only one to read it,” he chuckled, erasing what he had just written down and changing Harry’s duty to ‘trash.’ “There, you’re on trash duty.” Barry laughed, “Doodie.” “You gave me trash?” Harry asked, approaching the board. “You’re really giving me trash?” “Are you 12?” Cisco asked Barry, rolling his eyes before he turned to Harry. “You said give to you something, so I gave you something that you can actually do. You’re doing trash.” “You’re trash.” Harry spat, looking down at him. “No, you’re trash.” Cisco tapped the tip of the marker against Harry’s chest with each word spoken. “You wish I was trash,” Harry snatched the marker from Cisco’s hand. “Har—” “Anyways,” Caitlin interrupted, “How about we go get something cooked up right now?” “Yes please,” Barry said, “I’m starving,” he grabbed Iris’ hand then started to pull her towards the exit. “What should we make?” Cisco asked. “You guys decide,” Iris said, “Barry and I are gonna go set up our room.” “Liars,” Harry called out as they walked out. “I could really go for some of your lasagna right now, Cisco,” Caitlin said. “You’ve made her lasagna?” Harry asked. “After all the times I’ve asked you to co—” “Settle down, long legs” Cisco patted Harry's chest. “You guys want to help me make it?” he asked. Caitlin shook her head as she too walked towards the exit, “I’m going to work on my room as well,” she told them, “make it a little more snug,” then disappeared into the hallway. “What about you?” Cisco looked at Harry. “Do you want me to?” Harry asked. Cisco gestured for the other to tag along. “Come on,”

Surprisingly, Harry had completed everything requested of him without any opposition. When given the chance, he would use that time to get Cisco’s attention and ask him if he was doing whatever he was told to correctly, correctly meaning Cisco’s definition of correctly. The elder grabbed a half cut onion to mince when his sight became fixated on Cisco. Harry’s thumb and forefinger wrapped around the blade while he made parallel cuts through the vegetable, moving the knife downward and backward motion as his free hand held the onion in place. Spell-bound by a simple glance at the younger, who had no idea he was being watched, Harry had forgotten to return his attention back to the task in front of him. The meta took hold of his soft curls and waves, tying them back into a relatively messy bun. Once his hair was tied back, Harry saw Cisco advance towards him. “Woah,” Cisco grabbed Harry’s wrist in haste, his grip significantly strong. “What are you doing?” Fear filled his eyes as they gazed at Harry’s hand, the blade had just barely broken through his skin. “I—” Harry was brought back to reality. How was Harry supposed to tell Cisco that his attention was on him the entire time? “I know what I’m doing,” Harry lied with a scoff. “Do you?” Cisco snatched the knife out of his hands. “You could’ve hurt yourself,” he placed the knife down, and seized the hand that was almost assaulted, examining the now very light cut on Harry’s knuckles. A rather satisfying sensation overcame Harry when feeling Cisco’s soft, warm touch. “I’m fine, Cisco,” Harry responded. He tore his hand from Cisco’s hold. “I’m fine.” “Are you?” his eyes studied Harry’s face, searching for signs to disprove Harry’s statement before quickly gazing around to make sure they were alone. “Yes,” he nodded, holding Cisco’s hand to his chest. “I’m fine. Promise.” Harry assured him. Still worried, Cisco quickly decided to swap tasks. “I’ll finish up here,” he grabbed the knife, “can you work on the ricotta cheese mix?” “Cisco, I said I’m fine.” “And I said that I’ll finish up here.” “Fine,” he exhaled an agitated sigh. He knew that even if he protested against Cisco, he would simply end up doing what was asked of him anyways.

Once the food was prepared, Caitlin and Iris had set up the coffee table as Barry and Cisco made the drinks. Harry, now being treated as safety priority number one by his beloved partner, sat impatiently upon the round couch while being accompanied by Joe, Cecile, and Baby Jenna, who was sitting in the S.T.A.R Labs baby-chair made by Cisco. Cisco finally pulled out the steaming dish of saucy red noodles out of the oven. A warm heat kissing his cheek while the heavenly fragrance of juicy seasoned tomatoes combined with spicy ground meat fill the air. “That smells fantastic,” Barry eyed the dish. He could feel his mouth begin to water. “I’m telling you, man, no one knows how to make lasagna better than yours truly,” Cisco smiled. “You guys were going to start without me?” A male voice called out. Ralph had been absent at S.T.A.R Labs throughout the entire day, but he wasn’t going to miss his first Team Flash sleepover. “Of course not,” Caitlin smiled, holding up his plate. Ralph gave her a smile, throwing his jacket over his shoulder as he made his way through the room. “Oh my God, the baby,” Ralph cooed as he approached Jenna. “Ah—” Cecile picked up her daughter before Ralph could touch her. “What?” Ralph’s smile turned into a pout as he looked between the parents. “I just wanted to—” “Did you not just come from outside?” Joe asked. “I mean— I j-just,” Ralph stammered, hearing Joe’s fatherly voice coming out. “Ah, wash your hands first.” Cecile said. Ralph gave a disappointing sigh, “I’m not infected.” “Yes, but she’s still very young,” Caitlin commented. “There’s nothing wrong about staying cautious,” she said. Ralph pouted as he held his hands up then stretched them over to the sink. He washed halfway up his arms thoroughly, scrubbing his skin down with soap for a good 20 seconds. He dried his arms then returned his arms to their normal length. “May I?” Ralph’s arms eager to hold Jenna. Cecile nodded, “You may.” “Finally,” he smiled, taking hold of the giggling child from its mother’s arms.

Sighs and moans of pleasure filled the air as each person took a bite from their plates. Cisco’s lips were pulled to a grin, satisfied with the feedback, but Harry was the only one who hadn’t tried it yet. The couple briefly exchanged looks. Harry knew what Cisco was waiting for. He wanted Harry to try it. Harry gave a sly grin as he nudged Cisco gently with his elbow then dove his fork into the layers of delicate pasta. He quickly raised his fork into his mouth, fireworks exploded in his mouth while eating the moist layers. The spices of the sauce complimented the meat perfectly, providing a savory taste rather than a fiery one, and the warmth of the cheese over his tongue just added to the experience. Harry smiled as he took another bite, giving Cisco the answer he was looking for. “This,” Joe pointed to his plate, “is really freaking good. My compliments to the chef.” He winked at Cisco, whose body was filling up with content and joy. He was glad he was able to provide something other than just suits and tech. “It wasn’t just me,” Cisco’s eyes scanned everyone. “Harry helped too. “I did,” The older male nodded, “but it was your recipe, making you responsible for this.” “I told y’all,” Cisco chuckled. “No one makes lasagna better than Papi Ramon.” Laughter filled the room. “Papi?” Harry chuckled, wiping his mouth with a napkin. “Just let me have it, okay? Just this once.” Cisco requested. “Anyways,” Cecile spoke, “so when was somebody going to tell me about you two?” She pointed her fork back and forth between Cisco and Harry, which led to their ears and cheeks burning to a shade of red and Harry slightly choking on his food. “How’d it start?” “Uhm—” Cisco handed Harry his drink and patted his back. “If you don’t tell them, I will,” Iris said, taking a sip of her wine. “It’s cute,” Caitlin said softly. “It is,” Ralph nodded before feeding Baby Jenna a spoonful of lightly salted carrots. “Dish it!” Cecile incited. Harry placed his plate down. He kept his eyes down at his hands, trying to avoid Cecile’s gaze. “I mean I don’t really think there’s much to—” “Uh-uh-uh,” Cecile shook her head. “I want to know. I want to know everything up until the first kiss,” she demanded. The red shade on Harry’s cheeks grew darker. Hearing this, everyone leaned forward so they wouldn’t miss a second of it. “Well,” Cisco twirled his fork into his lasagna. “There’s not much to tell,” Harry cleared his throat. “It was a little after saving Jesse that we started talking,” Cisco looked at Harry, who was nodding along as he spoke. “After Jesse and I had left the first time, Ramon and I kept in touch,” Harry took a sip of his drink. “Just to get him to come over, sometimes I would ask him to help me with some experiments.” “So who asked who?” Joe asked, wiping his lips with a napkin. “Neither of us,” Harry responded, leaning closer towards Cisco. “No?” Cecile questioned. “No,” Harry confirmed. “It was just one of those things where we just knew,” Cisco lightly shrugged with a soft smile. “And the kiss?” Cecile asked. The two males glanced down at the white tiles beneath their feet. Harry shook his head. “You tell it,” Cisco said. “Why me?” Harry questioned. “You have total recall,” Cisco gave Harry a mocking grin. “Fuck me,” Harry whispered under his breath before being flicked in the head by Cisco. “What the—” “Baby,” Cisco pointed to Jenna with his fork. “Watch your language.” Harry gave the parents an apologetic look then proceeded with what he was going to say. “I’ll tell it,” he cleared his throat. “We were over in Cisco’s workshop. The both of us had stayed really late working on the earmuffs for Jesse and I. Cisco had gone out to go get us some ice cream. I had the butter pecan,” he looked over to Cisco, “and you had some sort of brownie sundae, right?” Cisco nodded. “It was a brownie fudge sundae with coffee ice cream,” “The one that comes with the dinosaur shaped brownie?” Barry asked. “Are you judging my dino brownie?” Cisco asked. “Damn,” Iris pouted. “Now I want brownies.” Everyone laughed before Harry continued his anecdote. “Anyways,” the scientist ran his tongue over his lips, “so Ramon was sitting across from me and I had noticed that there was chocolate fudge on his lip. I told him, and yeah…” Harry trailed off. “Uh-uh” Iris shook her head. “That’s not a first kiss story.” “What?” Harry scoffed. “I just—” “You have to describe what happens from Point A to Point B,” Ralph spoke. “Point B being the kiss.” “Fine.” Harry groaned, his face was red as Barry’s suit now. “Go back to the part with the fudge,” Barry teased. Harry’s teeth gently took hold of his bottom lip as he tried to find the right words. “Okay, so the fudge,” he chuckled. “I had grabbed a napkin, and held it out for him, but his attention was completely elsewhere,” he turned to Cisco, “I don’t know what the heck you were doing, but I was waving it and everything, and he just never looked up, so I leaned forward and used my thumb to wipe it off. Being, y’know so close,” he used his hand to gesture how close he was to Cisco’s face, “I saw the chance and I took it,” Harry clapped his hands in accomplishment of telling the story without running away. He sipped his drink once more before returning his unfinished plate into his hands. All the women awed at the stories. “Now that’s a cute first kiss story,” Cecile smiled before finishing her meal. “I think that’s the cutest first kiss story here,” Caitlin said looking around, Iris nodded in agreement. “What?” Barry asked. “You don’t think our first kiss-” “Barry, you erased that timeline.” Cisco butted in. The speedster wanted to keep his mouth shut, but still managed to say “I still think ours was the cutest,” he muttered. “If you say so,” Iris said, patting Barry’s shoulder.

For the first time in years, S.T.A.R Labs had a peaceful night. There weren’t any metas to chase tonight, no one randomly breaking into S.T.A.R. Labs. It was just chatter and joy. Joe and Cecile had decided to retire for the day, taking Baby Jenna along with them, leaving Harry as the designated meta-babysitter. He leaned back against the couch, his arm placed upon the backrest, which left a cavity to his torso which was soon filled by Cisco's body. He invited the pressure and warmth the younger's body provided. Harry looked at Cisco’s cards then back to the deck when Barry put down his card. "Uno dare #5" Cisco read aloud then leaned forward to read the dare card, “flip the table...” “Finally,” a wide grin plastered itself along the speedster’s face. He quickly grabbed the edge of the table and flipped it over. “Good job, Allen,” Harry said looking at the mess. “Now clean it up,” Barry rolled his eyes, but did as told. His golden lightning zoomed around until everything was put back into place. “I think I’m gonna hit the hay,” Barry stretched. “Same,” Iris stood up and made her way over to Barry. "Yeah, I think I'm gonna go too." Caitlin added. "What? You're all just gonna leave?" Cisco asked. The three exchanged looks before nodding. "Yeah," they said in unison. "Add me to that too," Ralph took off his jacket. "Ope, there's another one." Harry commented before sitting up straight. "Y'all are no fun." Cisco pouted. "We'll play tomorrow," Barry said, wrapping his arm around Iris. Cisco held his pout as he watched them exit. Harry tapped the meta's shoulder. "You coming to bed?" he asked, lifting himself up from the couch. "I'll be there in a bit," Cisco responded. "I have something I want to work on," he said. "Oh?" Harry raised a brow. "Mind if I join?" "I don't mind at all," Cisco smiled.

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narutofanfactsorrussianfanfics · 4 years

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Not by the rules

(https://ficbook.net/readfic/2621386) author: Diabolik_Alice fandom: Tokyo Ghoul

Description: Nakiyama Ohiko is a high school student with teenage problems and a normal life. It just so happened that she met the rather eccentric owner of the "HySy ArtMask Studio" - Uta, who from the very beginning surprised her not only with an unusual appearance, but also with his character. Ohiko, not understanding the strange childhood attraction to this person, begins to get closer to him. Although the guy also had completely different plans, over time, their communication resulted in something more. Author's Notes: Uta's age in this fanfiction is 25. And, no, it is not indicated anywhere in the official sources, the Author just wanted it that way.

Chapter 1 "Deja Vu"

Today, from the very morning, my day, to put it mildly, did not work out. I managed to forget to set the alarm clock yesterday, oversleep and be late for class. And even after this "funny" morning, the failures did not leave me - they set an unexpected test in mathematics, the automatic machine with drinks broke down, to which I ran with all joy after physical education, and even forgot the bento at home. All just great.

"Hey Ohiko, don't pout!" my friend - Yui - lightly pushed me in the side. "Do you want me to share my bento?" “Yes, yes, and I'll share,” Tetsuya immediately perked up, already bringing a piece of salmon to my mouth. I, without thinking twice, accepted it. And even if that is indecent, but I really want to eat.

"Hey, I was the first to suggest!" Yui was indignant and did the same "trick", only with carrots. “Yui, don’t shout to the entire dining room,” I sighed heavily, furtively glancing around everyone present. The blonde chuckled and just pushed her bento towards me. "I'm on a diet, you can eat," she took her phone out of her bag and began scribbling sms to a miracle unknown to me and Tetsuya. “You’re like a stick,” my friend and I sighed resignedly. "And by the way," he quickly moved to Yui, "who are you writing this to?" the brown-haired man began insolently to look through the messages on her phone. "Fool, give me the phone!" the blonde shouted and tried to take her cell phone away from the guy.

"Enough for you already," I began to eat the food offered to me. To be honest, my friend's bento never shone with special content, and certainly meat or chicken. Yui just goes on another stupid diet, so she doesn't eat meat either. "By the way, will you come with me after school to the same place?" the girl suddenly asked. "Go with Tetsuya, I immediately go home after school, I need to feed the cat, otherwise I forgot in the morning in a hurry," I sipped the juice from the glass. "Nah, I can't," the guy held out. "I will go to practice: they send me to the basketball competition." "What about ?!" Yui and I were surprised. "Why didn't you tell us ?!" we hit him on the head on both sides with the edge of our hand. "Come on, better late than never!" Tetsuya ruffled his hair. I chuckled.

"Then we'll throw a party about this!" Yui shouted to almost the entire dining room. Some students who were not yet used to us began to look around. “You’re having a party every day,” I sighed. "Moderate your ardor, beauty, after three minutes the change ends," I left the table, quickly cleaned up the bento of both, grabbed them by the scruffs and dragged them into the classroom until they had the same thoughts for the next party.

After the other two lessons, Yui dragged me "there" without telling me where we were going at all. All the way I walked, hooked on her sleeve and corresponded with Tetsuya about the competition. Naturally, a couple of times I almost fell, stumbling over this or that pebble, but my friend caught me all the time, long accustomed to my peculiarity of not looking at my feet. We approached the right place at about four o'clock in the evening, and then I realized that we had just approached when Hirogawa exclaimed: "Oh, this is it! I almost turned the other way!" Hmm, it would be fun. A friend dragged me into some room. In general, outside I heard music, which means that somewhere very close to the club. If this fool brought me to the club, I will kill her.

"Um ..." the girl slowed down, not seeing anyone in the room. I looked up and grinned - I know this place.

Where we came to was HySy ArtMask Studio, if I remember the name correctly. There was very good lighting inside, so that you could see everything your heart desires. The studio was spacious. There were glass showcases with masks against the walls, one of them - a square one - stood in the middle of the room. In some windows there were scattered various photographs, papers, and the heads of masked mannequins. Next to the entrance was a skeleton on a stand. On the wall, in addition to masks, there was a stand with photographs. In the corner there was a work table, filled with everything possible. Two more walked from this room.

"Uta-san, are you here?" I unhooked Yui's sleeve, letting her walk around the studio to make sure the owner was not there. Then a friend went outside to check if he had gone where.

For the sake of appearance, I also had to walk around a small studio, looking at the heads of mannequins and pretending that I was very puzzled. Passing the shop windows, my gaze fell on one mask. She was half-face, black, with cat ears, a small slit for the eyes. What interested me the most was the "cat" tears, which were somehow red. Suddenly, something jerked me on the side of the jacket. I thought it was Yui calling me home, but when I turned my head, I saw only a white cloth. There was clearly a mannequin under it, but the mannequin would not have been able to pull my jacket, so curiosity overpowered, and I lifted the fabric.

"Boo."

For the next five seconds, I experienced all the feelings that could be experienced, but they were clearly dominated by fear. I screamed, as did Yui, who, it turns out, was standing next to me, and clung to the display case, clutching it with a death grip. Yui was less fortunate - she fell and hurt her tailbone. Beneath this white cloth was none other than the owner of the studio. Realizing that he is not a ghost or any other creature, but a human, I sighed with relief and helped Yui to get up.

"You can't scare people like that," I muttered. "Uta-san, what were you doing there?" Yui was surprised. "I was hiding," the mask-maker answered quite calmly and climbed down from the mannequin stand. “Wonderful place,” I quipped. Suddenly, the phone in my hands started flashing. I looked at the screen, my mother called. “I’ll go out, and you hurry up,” I gave Yui my bag and went outside, answering the call.

Mom often called me before the weekend, asking how I graduated this week, and was interested in my well-being. To be honest, she most often called at the most inopportune moments, but I always tried to answer her, because when I just fold, she starts to worry with my father and almost call the police. Since I live separately from my parents, they are very worried about me, because times are turbulent now: ghouls are beginning to increase their attacks on people.

After talking with my mother for about twenty minutes, I went back to the studio, surprised that Yui still hadn’t come out. Well, or the owner of the studio still hasn't come out, being banged by Hirogawa to a decent roof exit. Entering the studio and not even having time to be indignant at the slowness of my friend, I saw that she thanked the masker from the bottom of her heart, bowing to the right and left. My eyebrow began to twitch slowly - she sprinkled thanks all this time? No, of course, this is in the spirit of Yui, she always apologizes to the elders, especially to the guys, for everything that is possible and impossible, but twenty minutes is too much. "Yui, I still need to feed the cat at home," I pointed to the exit. "Oh, exactly!" dawned on the blonde. "Thanks again, Uta-san," she smiled sweetly at the owner of the studio, who, in turn, also faked something like a slight smile. “Your phone is ringing,” I noticed a vibration in my friend's jacket pocket. Yui caught herself immediately and answered the call right here. "HOW MUCH TIME?! Sorry, father, I'm already running home!" she dropped the call, bowed to Uta again and flew past me, loudly asking for forgiveness and disappearing. "It's always like this," I sighed heavily. "Although, no, I'm lying, not always, but often. By the way, why did she come to you?" "Give the umbrella, I lent it to her," Uta replied. "She was with me yesterday: she came to buy a mask." "Without me?" I was surprised. "You came to me too without her," the guy tilted his head to one side.

I was familiar with him relatively recently. A week ago, I came to him for a mask for a school exhibition. To be honest, he immediately impressed me with his appearance: a bunch of tattoos, piercings, strange clothes, hairstyle ... And in general he is all strange. Although, his "strangeness" arouses interest in me, thanks to which I almost bombarded him with all sorts of questions when we met, barely maintaining my composure. It's always like this with me: if I see something interesting, I always strive to find out about it. My curiosity will lead me to something bad someday.

"Well, then she twisted her leg, I wouldn't have taken her here," I shrugged. “I see,” he drawled. "Maybe another mask?" he spoke with such a childish, but at the same time imperturbable air that I already shuddered. "No, I really like that one," I smiled. “Well, okay then,” he swayed in his chair and turned to the table, stowing his umbrella in a drawer. "By the way, are you not going home?" “By the way, yes,” I adjusted the bag over my shoulder. More precisely, I wanted to fix it. But there was no bag. "Pancake!" "What happened?" the guy looked at me.

"Yui has the bag!" I quickly dialed my friend's number. Beeps went, went and went, but there was no answer. I sighed heavily and sent her an sms. "We'll have to go to her house." "I doubt it," the mask-maker got up from his chair and headed into another room. "Coffee?" he looked out from behind the kitchen curtain. "Yes, thanks," I answered mechanically, and the guy disappeared. "Stop! Why are you in doubt?" "It's pouring out on the street," he drawled and left the kitchen with two mugs of coffee. I listened: there really was a shower outside. When did he just go? "Well, if you want to catch a cold and get wet to the thread - please," he shrugged and put a mug on the table next to me. “You have an umbrella,” I glanced at the masker. "There is wind," he replied without emotion and sipped some coffee. "Of course, I can lend it to you, but you will get sick anyway. Your business," the guy handed me an umbrella. I hesitated a little, but refused the umbrella. "Can I wait for the rain here?" I took a mug of hot coffee in my hands and blew on it.

"You can," Uta began to consider some schemes. Glancing at me, he pulled a chair closer to me, as if hinting that I could sit down. "Thank you," I flopped into a chair. "I'll wait until Yui sees the message and realizes that she took my bag, or until the downpour stops. And anyway, what did it start out of nowhere?" "You need to watch the weather forecast in the morning," the mask maker chuckled. “I overslept today, I had no time to watch TV,” I looked away, pretending to look at the skeleton. "Even so," the guy raised his eyebrows. "Are you sleeping soundly?" "I forget to set the alarm," I chuckled. "Although, this too."

I remember a week ago we also talked to him. And the situation was the same. When I came to him last time, it started to rain. Naturally, I didn't take my umbrella with me, because it was sunny in the morning. I asked to wait out the rain in the studio ...

"Deja vu," I said syllables. "Mm?" the guy got interested. "Deja vu?" “It was the same last time,” I explained. "Rain, no umbrella, you, me and the skeleton," - yes, last time I tortured my poor bone friend. “But last time you came alone and asked to stay,” Uta chuckled and put something in the coffee, I didn’t attach much importance to it. "Little things," I brushed aside. "By the way, how long have you been making masks?" I turned the mannequin standing on the table to face me and began to examine the mask. “I started right after high school,” he replied, and turned to me. "Oh, how," I whistled inwardly, considering his age. "Why do you wear sunglasses all the time?" "True deja vu." "In terms of?" I did not understand. “Last time you asked a lot of questions too,” explained the mask maker. "Well, not that much," I clicked my tongue. "So why?" “Just like that,” Uta reached out and touched the barrette on my hair. “Just like you wear a hairpin. You don't have a bang, so you just like to wear it,” then he ran his hand over my braided braid. "Or this braid. You could do some hairstyle if you have long enough hair, but you braid it just like that." “Okay, consider yourself screwed,” I smiled. Uta removed his hand. "And, yes, why did you frighten us?" "I love to scare people," the masher finished his coffee while I hadn't even half. "It's fun." “Well, yeah, I wasn’t having much fun,” I snorted, but then smiled again. "Unless just a little bit," I covered my mouth with my palm, yawning. The guy didn't answer anymore, and I didn't ask any questions, just put a mug of coffee on the table and leaned the back of her head against the wall. I wanted to sleep terribly. I don't think Uta will mind if I get some sleep ...

...............................................................................................................................

"Hey ..." someone was shaking me by the shoulder, from which I involuntarily winced. "Wake up!" I opened my eyes and saw Yui. "Finally came for me?" I arched an eyebrow. “Sorry, I just didn't notice the message,” she handed me my bag. "And the bag, apparently, too," I chuckled. "Well, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she folded her hands in prayer. “Come on, whoever doesn’t happen to,” I smiled. "Where is Uta?" I shook my head. "Uta-san is talking to his friend on the street, why?" “No, nothing,” I threw the bag over my shoulder. "Is the rain over?" "Yeah, the rain was short," Yui nodded. "Okay, let's go, there, a taxi is waiting for us at the entrance!" my friend pulled me to the exit. "Father said that we shouldn't go alone in the evening," the girl pushed me outside. There was indeed a taxi in front of the studio, and Uta and a man with white hair were chatting nearby. "Bye, thanks for the coffee," I smiled and waved to Uta, who in turn also smiled slightly and waved to Yui and me.

My friend and I got into the car. The blonde quickly dictated my address to the driver.

"And what were you doing there?" Hirogawa suddenly asked. "Experienced deja vu." "What is it like?" Yui didn't understand. "I'll tell you later," I waved my hand and stared out the window. “Okay,” Yui took out her cell phone and scribbled a message to someone. “Listen, I bought food for Sango here,” the girl showed me a small bag of food. "As my apology," she smiled. “You were already forgiven a long time ago, you fool,” I smiled back. "I think Sango will be glad if you play with her." "Really?!" Yui's eyes shone. She adored my cat. "Yeah," I chuckled and stared out the window again. ‘I wonder if Uta loves cats?’ flashed through my head.

#fandom oc #tokyo ghoul oc #tokyo ghoul #oc #romance

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winryofresembool · 5 years

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Fic: A Birthday to Remember

A/N: Happiest of birthdays to @mcgonnagle!! :3 ♥ When I started writing this fic, I was not imagining it to become 3k+ words, but somehow that just happened :’D But I still hope you are going to enjoy it! I sure enjoy myself some parental Edwin and I hope you do too :D

Summary: Edwin daughter Emma’s 10th birthday (sorry, I have no idea how to summarize this mess otherwise :*D)

words: 3400+ (woops)

genre: floof, I guess some hurt/comfort

warnings: Ed’s language

...

”Emma?”

”Yeah, dad?” the eldest daughter of the Rockbell-Elric family lifted her gaze from her book. Her father, Edward, was standing next to her, staring at her with a weird expression.

“Is there something you’d like for a birthday gift, Bean?” he asked.

“Sure. That the twins would go away and I could hear my thoughts so I can read.” She gave her dad a pointed look. She had made it clear many times the twins annoyed her, and Ed sighed.

“Listen, Emma. We know that the constant crying is getting into your nerves. Heck, it’s getting into all our nerves. But they are just babies, Truth knows you were just as loud when you were of their age.”

“You’re not helping, dad.” Emma rolled her eyes but decided to change the topic. Slowly, she said: “If you really want to know what I want though, it’s someone to play with. Alan… is always tinkering something in the workshop when he’s home, and Elena likes playing with her pretty dolls. I want to go out and explore and there’s no one I can do that with.”

“You’re not having friends at school?” Ed asked worriedly. He could still remember what it felt like when he only had Al to rely on.

With brutal honestly Emma answered: “They’re all stupid, they don’t understand when I rant about my favorite books and they call me know-it-all behind my back just because I know the answers to teachers’ questions better than they do. So no, I don’t want to be their friend.”

“I’m… I’m sorry,” Ed grunted, not sure what else to say. He wished he had Winry to help him with this talk. “You know… sometimes we misinterpret things a lot. And we judge other people too fast. Do you know how I got to know the Emperor of Xing? He was in Amestris illegally, without anything to eat or drink, so he bought some with my money when we had just met. A shitty thing to do, right? But I learned to know him better and found out he was actually very serious about his country, and he seemed less bratty after that. Not to mention, he and Greed actually turned out to be pretty valuable on the Promised Day. But my point is, sometimes we find friends in very unexpected situations if we just keep eyes open. I’m sure you will too.”

“Uh, thanks dad. I hope you’re right,” Emma said awkwardly, focusing her eyes on her book.

“I know I am. And Emma,” Ed added after a brief silence.

“Yeah?”

“Your old man may be an annoying guy a lot of the time…And I know the twins have taken a lot of our time lately… But whenever you need to talk, know that I am always here. And I do want to know how you’re doing. And so do your mum and your siblings.”

“Oh… Yeah, I’ll try to remember that.” Emma nodded. She wouldn’t admit it, but she had needed to hear that.

“Good,” Ed said and turned to leave.

“Dad?” Emma said hesitantly when Ed was almost out of the room.

“Mmmh?”

“Can I… get a hug?”

Ed was caught a bit off guard, but he was happy about Emma’s question nevertheless. “Sure thing, Bean,” he said and returned back to her.

“Don’t call me that,” Emma mumbled against his shirt, but was still happy to wrap her arms around him.

“You’ll always be my Bean.”

“Ugh, why do you have to ruin the moment like that?” Emma growled, although not very seriously.

“Because that’s my job, right? To annoy my kids. Anyway, I should probably get going because I just got an idea,” Ed said mysteriously.

“Oh?”

“You’ll see eventually!” He shouted from the door and left a very confused Emma behind.

…

“Winry, did you say you had seen Major Hawkeye recently?” Ed asked his wife only a few minutes after his talk with his eldest daughter.

“Yeah, Riza and I had a cup of coffee together when I was in Central to meet up with a client last week,” Winry admitted.

“Right. Did she mention anything about the puppies? I heard from the Gen… I mean Mustang that some of them have already been claimed…”

“Why do you ask?” Winry asked with surprise. “I thought you were against taking one when we visited them the last time.”

“Yeah but… sometimes opinions change.”

“They don’t usually change when it comes to you,” Winry eyed her husband suspiciously. “What caused this?”

“Well… It’s Emma. Remember how much she loved that black puppy? She… she just told me she wanted someone to play with, but she doesn’t like her classmates. And I can’t just magically change people’s attitudes, so… what’s a more loyal friend than a dog? And we haven’t had one since Den… Maybe it would be about time…”

“I guess we could consider that,” Winry agreed. “But she has to take the main responsibility herself because you know we don’t have a lot of extra time in our hands.”

“True. But if given the chance, I think she’d be more than happy to accept that challenge.” Ed grinned at his wife.

…

“Hello Edward, what brings you here?”

True to his old habit, Ed hadn’t called Riza Hawkeye, now ranked a Major, before arriving to her doorstop. Riza didn’t seem too perplexed by this fact though; she brushed it off and instead wanted to know what the reason for his sudden arrival.

“It’s my daughter. She wants… well, I was thinking that this might be the right moment for a new dog, after all. Despite what I may have said during our last visit.” Ed shrugged.

“Oh! Well, you were in a luck because one of the people who had planned to adopt one of our puppies just canceled the other day. Apparently their kid has allergies. So, we do have one left!”

“Which one is it?” Ed asked, hoping it would be the one that Emma had bonded with earlier.

“Come see yourself,” Riza invited Ed inside.

“General Ba… Mustang, why are you here?”

Ed found his ex-superior in Riza’s living room watching the puppies intently, a mildly amused expression on his face.

“I just had to drop some work things to the Major…” Roy answered casually while leaning against the puppy fence.

“I almost believe you,” Ed rolled his eyes and stepped closer to look at the puppies. “One would think you have gotten soft and want to get a puppy of your own.”

“Tell me, Fullmetal, how many puppies do you have at home, though? I have lost my count,” Roy claimed.

“They are human children, Mustang, and there are 6 of them, have been almost a year now.” Ed glared at him.

“Don’t mind him, Ed, he’s just… doing what he usually does,” Riza said, a tiny, mischievous smile on her face. “The other day he asked me weirdly specific questions about them, so he does actually remember their names and even birthdays.”

Ed wanted to throw Roy another snarky comment, but when he saw that the older man was looking at him with a serious expression now, he decided to change the topic. “The thing is… Emma really needs some company. Winry and I… can’t really offer her what she needs, even though we are trying our best, and her siblings, besides Alan of course, are still too young to understand her mindset. I know a pet can’t talk to her back, but it can at least give her some distraction and company when she feels the family isn’t enough.”

“That does sound like a good idea,” Riza nodded. “Hayate and the ones after him have been a very big help to me as well.”

“If I remember correctly, the one Emma seemed to bond with the most was the black one with a tiny white dot in his neck. Is he free still?” Ed asked, trying to spot that one among the puppies.

“I’m afraid he has been claimed…” Riza said apologetically. But then a smile spread on her face. “But I remember that the person who claimed him seemed to like another one too and he was debating between them for a long while… I could pull a couple of strings and see what I can do!”

…

15 minutes later, Riza had managed to call the person who wanted the dog Emma had fallen in love with. At first, he was reluctant to switch it to another puppy, but when he heard it was for a 10-year-old girl, he eventually softened and gave in. Ed promised to compensate for it somehow, even saying that he’d fix roofs or anything if needed but the man laughed it off and said that the husband of Winry Rockbell didn’t owe him anything. It turned out Winry had helped the man’s wife with her prosthetic limb a few years prior and they both were still very thankful for her help. Ed thanked his wife in his mind and sighed of relief when the phone call ended.

“Emma will be so happy!”

“I’m sure she will. I wish I could be there to see her face,” Riza said.

“Oh but you can,” Ed told her enthusiastically. “After all this trouble, the least I can do for you is to invite you to her party. I’m sure she’d be happy to see you too” Then he casted a dark look at Roy. “I suppose you can come too. If you really insist.”

“You know I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” Roy smiled smugly.

“Right,” Ed snorted. “Anyway, remember, no one is allowed to know about this! I want it to be a surprise.”

“Don’t worry, Fullmetal, the secret will go to the grave with us.” Roy said wryly and got another poisonous glare from Ed.

…

Emma wasn’t in her best mood when she woke up in her birthday morning. The twins, who slept in the room right below hers, had been screaming a lot the previous night (she had heard her dad suspecting they were ill, but Emma was positive they had done it just to ruin her night), which naturally meant also Emma had slept badly. She had tried to read for a moment but her flashlight had run out of batteries and she didn’t have candles in her room either, afraid of turning on the big light because her parents may notice and ask her why she was awake at that hour. So, it was no wonder that when she marched into the kitchen for breakfast, she was far from the “sunshine” as her dad described her when he greeted her.

“Happy birthday to my sunshine! Big 10 today, huh? How does that feel?”

“Would feel better if I wasn’t tired as hell,” she gave her dad a pointed look, letting him know nonverbally that she had been awake because of the twins.

“I’ll let that language slip this one time because it’s your birthday. But don’t let me hear that again,” Ed warned, cocking his eyebrow.

“Whatever,” Emma snorted, knowing full well Ed had probably been worse than her with his language when he had been 10. She buttered a bread and then started looking around, asking: “Why isn’t there a cake on the table? I thought it’s a tradition…”

“Bean, we’ll get it later this afternoon, we’ve been so b…”

“Busy, yeah, I know,” Emma said, disappointment clear from his voice. “I feel like that’s what you always say these days when you need some excuse…”

Ed glanced at his other kids who gave each other vary looks and decided this was not the place for this discussion. She told Emma to follow him into the living room, and she did, arms folded over her chest.

“Listen, Emma. I can understand why you are bummed, but the twins simply need more attention right now because they can’t help themselves, unlike you do. I’m pretty sure they’ve been crying a lot is because they have an ear infection or something like that bothering them. And your mum didn’t want to take that new patient, but she had to, because her pride wouldn’t let her say no. She wanted to keep this as a surprise, but she already told me that once she was done with the automail and got the payment for it, she’d take you to Central for a trip. So please, don’t imply that we don’t care because we do. I hope that today we can show how much.”

“Are you… saying… that you have actually planned something for me?” Emma wasn’t sure how to react, but her face reflected both genuine surprise and relief.

“Of course we have! Why would you even think otherwise? Have we ever forgotten your birthday?” Ed asked.

“No… of course you haven’t…” Emma said regretfully. “Sorry. I guess… I just wasn’t expecting anything because you have had your hands full…”

“Well, I promise that something you’ll like will happen today but I can’t say anything else because it would ruin the surprise.”

“Okay. Then you don’t have to. But where’s mum?” Emma realized suddenly. “She’s always the first one at the breakfast table.”

“She… Uh… I think she may have run out of some automail parts and went to buy them,” Ed lied quickly, but from his face it became quite obvious it wasn’t true. In reality, she had gone to buy some necessities for the dog.

“Dad, you are a bad liar. But don’t worry, you don’t have to tell me.”

Ed swiped his forehead in relief. “Good, because I’m pretty sure your mum would have killed me if I had slipped something…”

Emma seemed already happier when she said: “It’s rare to see you so mysterious, dad, I really can’t help but wonder what you’re hiding! But guess I’ll see soon enough, right?”

Ed ruffled his daughter’s hair a bit. “Of course you will, Bean. Now, let’s go back to the others, your porridge is getting cold.”

“Daaad, do I have to eat porridge on my birthday?”

“Of course you do! Otherwise you won’t grow big and strong like me!”

Emma couldn’t help but snort at his dad’s silliness, but she elbowed him on his side softly, letting him know they were good now.

…

In the afternoon Ed and Winry kept staring from the window nervously. Riza was supposed to bring the dog any moment now, but the problem was keeping Emma out of the way so they could bring him in without her noticing. Thankfully Alan knew about his parents’ plot, so he took Emma out for ice cream before his dad started showing signs of exploding from keeping the secret.

Finally Riza brought the puppy and she, Ed and Winry took him in the livingroom where Emma’s gift pile (including a lot of dog necessities) was waiting. Ed had built the puppy a wooden box with cushions inside to make it comfortable, and that’s where he was planning to put him when Emma got home.

Soon Winry had finished decorating the cake Al and Mei had brought for them, the younger kids were hanging out quietly upstairs, even the twins sleeping, and Alan and Emma would probably be arriving soon. Riza, Roy (who had not wanted to miss a chance to tease Ed for being a doting father), Al, Mei and their kids were already waiting for the birthday girl, and the rest of the guests would visit later that evening.

While they were waiting, the puppy was acting a bit restlessly, as if it was sensing something interesting was going on. Riza tried her best to keep it occupied by clinging her keys. It seemed to have developed a weird interest on them; when Emma had first met the puppies, she had showed this same puppy her keys to her diary and the puppy had kept following her since then.

Finally, Ed saw some movement on their yard and told Riza to set the dog to the spot he had planned for him. For a moment that plan seemed to work. The puppy sniffed his surroundings and tried to mouth the pillow in the box a bit before laying on it. But when he heard the door going, he didn’t want to stay in the box anymore. Unfortunately, Ed had underestimated the puppy’s jumping skills and when he turned away for a moment, he was already out, running mindlessly towards the hall. On his way there, he managed to push a broom Ed had left leaning against the dining table, hitting the juice jug on it, which fell over and spilled the contents on the tablecloth, floor and Ed’s clothes. Emma and Alan could hear their dad’s cursing from the livingroom before their attention moved to the black little storm approaching them.

“What… is this?” Emma asked with wide eyes when the puppy stopped right in front of her, jumping against her legs excitedly. She stared at it for a moment, her eyes suddenly flashing with recognition. Then she took out the door keys she had had in her pocket and made a ‘clink’ sound with them. The dog immediately reacted.

“Oh my… Truth! It’s him!” She exclaimed and crouched down to pet him. Finally, she turned her head to address her parents: “Mum? Dad? What does this mean? Is he… Is he…” Her voice was starting to break.

“He’s all yours, sweetie!” Winry said softly.

Emma was silent for a moment. She looked between the dog that was now licking her hand, and her parents, and suddenly she jumped up and squealed louder than Ed and Winry had probably ever heard. Then she almost tackled her parents as she pulled them into a hug and shed a few tears against Ed’s shirt.

“I wished… I wished… but I never thought you actually would…”

“For you we’d go through the portal of Truth again, Bean,” Ed was the first to speak.

“Emma, sweetie,” Winry added. “I wish you had told us earlier how you felt. I’m so sorry for not seeing it until your dad told me about your discussion. If you want to, we can try to switch schools after the summer break so you can meet new kids. And we are going to do our best to give you the attention you need. But for now, will you take care of this puppy? I have a feeling he likes you already.”

“Of course I will,” she mumbled emotionally, wiping the corners of her eyes quickly.

“Remember, he’s a lot of responsibility,” Winry said as she was stroking her daughter’s hair. “We are expecting you to help with the feeding, training and walking because we can’t do it alone. You can do that, right?”

“Of course, mum!” Emma said without even thinking about it.

“So,” Riza stepped in, “How are you going to name this boy?”

Emma looked at the puppy for a moment, and without hesitation she noted: “Key!”

…

A couple of weeks later, Emma took Key to a local park. They had been doing surprisingly well considering the puppy had only recently been separated from his family: Key already seemed to enjoy sleeping in Emma’s bed, did pretty well with the potty training and even knew how to sit already. That’s why they were allowed to go out on their own without the watching eyes of Emma’s parents. The two of them were simply enjoying their time together, Key sniffing everything he found from the ground and Emma being happy when someone stopped to compliment the puppy.

Just when they were about to leave, Emma noticed a little girl by the road staring at them. She was probably a little younger than her, her curly hair kept under a big sun hat, but even that couldn’t quite hide the fact that she had a lot of freckles on her face. She stopped there only for a moment, giving them a tiny wave when she saw Emma noticing. However, that moment ended fast when the girl’s mother came out of the shop she was standing in front of, and urged the girl to continue walking in what seemed a pretty cold fashion to Emma. The two girls continued to their own ways, but little did they know that one day the fate would reunite them and create the most beautiful form of bonds between them. Meanwhile, Emma just scratched behind Key’s ears and smiled at him, her face expressing that she had just met a friend.

#edwin #edxwin #i mean this is not a shippy fic but #edward elric #winry rockbell #fullmetal alchemist #my fics #edwin babies

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charissegempesao-blog · 4 years

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BIOGRAPHY

“She is a girl with unresolved issues”- before.

Charisse Diego Gempesao was born on July 31, 2000, in Biao Guianga, a small barangay in Tugbok, Davao City. She is the youngest of six children of Rogelio Gempesao, a farmer, and Lerio Gempesao, a woman nearly 13 years younger than her husband. Both of her parents are catholic but they are not that devoted. Her mother would rather let her do household chores than playing with other kids. Charisse’s early childhood is tedious and unhappy. She never experience being a child- playing with friends, and escaping from afternoon siesta. She never remembered her family going to church together- a perfect picture of a family every Sunday.

Sunday is the best day for other children but not a typical day for Charisse. She consider it as worst day of the week. Seeing those so-called perfect Aunties’ visiting them every Sunday is a curse. Since she was young, Charisse have a great animosity with her Aunt. She regarded her as a loud siren and short-tempered perfectionist adult that would scream and scold you for a nonsense reason. She was afraid to be with them even in a single second. Starting from that experience, Charisse easily get irritated and build hostility towards people with the same voice tone with her Aunt. If that young girl has a power to control the time she would definitely skip forward that day; and if primary schools were open every Sunday, she would definitely choose schooling rather than staying at home.

Growing up, Charisse idolized her father but, everything changes when she was in her third grade. Charisse was an honor student in her elementary years. She announced as 3rd honor when she was in grade three. Her father was so proud of her that time and even decided to be with her at stage to pin the ribbons and medal. They even celebrated her success as an honor student. However, one event rip that happiness in her memory. One night her father asked her one question but she failed to answer it correctly. It was devastating for a young girl at that time because, the person she thought who is been so proud of her called her stupid and escorting her in stage is a shame. From that moment, Charisse started building self-doubt and felt unworthy. The little confidence she boost in her early years drastically falls in one statement. Charisse still carrying that description up until she was in college. Every time she was recognized as an honor student she was never be proud of it because she believed that she’s still that little 3rd grader that doesn’t deserve any recognition. Art seems to be her best friend at that time- writing poems and making crafts makes her feel better.

Luckily, she was able to finished her Senior High School in 2018, but she don’t have any idea on what course she may took up in college. She decided not to proceed in college after she graduate Senior High, so that she can be able to think what would be a nice course to take up in the next school year. She planned to go inside the convent to realized her purpose and identity; and if she is called to serve or not but, her father did not allow her. Therefore, she look for a sign that will help her to decide what would be a nice course for her. Time adds pressure in deciding, she only have a couple of weeks left before enrollment. Out of nowhere she remembered the k-drama series which she was so interested. The movie was related in psychology and for that reason she decided to pursue Psychology though she don’t have any background about this.

Her college years in Davao Doctors College was tough. Her unresolved issues always hunting and ghosting her. Identity crisis, self- doubt, and unworthiness makes her college year unbearable. She is a girl with unresolved issues. Until Sheena Nazareno, a professor in Psychology at Davao Doctors College, make her realized that she need to solve her issues as young as possible. In Gods grace, Charisse conquer four years in college and gradually feel in-love in Psychology.

Although she experience a roller coaster experience in four years, she was able to graduated in Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology in 2022. In the same year, she took the licensure examination of Psychometrician. Right after she got her license, she applied for work in a prestigious company. She continued her studies and finished her Master’s Degree in Psychology at Ateneo de Davao in 2025. In the same year, she was hired in Psychiatric Center in Davao. She took Doctorate in the same school and graduated in 2030. She was a licensed Psychologist and a life couch when she meet Karl, a Physician and a colleague in Ateneo. Soon after, they got married and had two children. They moved in American after she give birth with her youngest child named Claire. In 2045, she published a book about her success journey in becoming a Psychologist. In the same year, the couple build their own clinic in America to continue their profession.

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peachymhaechan · 5 years

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“You have to do better than that, darling.”

Genre: angst to fluff, street racer! au

Warnings: language, drinking, smoking, and I have a very limited knowledge of cars lol pls don’t come for me in the replies

Pairing: lee jeno x reader

Summary: Lee Jeno was one of the best (if not the best) street racers in Seoul. All of that changes when a new racer joins the scene, that racer going by the name Y/N. Will Jeno be able to hold onto his title, or will newcomer and naturally talented Y/N dethrone him?

Author’s Note: hey y’all, I've been dying to write this for a while now, so here ya go. school is finally out so at this point all i’m doing is getting ready for tsa nationals (if u know what that is, you’re a real one lol) and working, so I have a lot more time on my hands to write stuff!! if you want something specific, just send a request or something!!

Fog curled around your vision, making it difficult to navigate the back streets of Seoul you had only ventured through a few times before. Factor in that it was well after eleven pm, and the whole thing seemed even more daunting. Rain gently fell down and ran into your eyes, and you hoped it would stop soon. After all, rain would have put a damper on your big splash into the new street racing scene.

Music playing from the speakers in your Mazda MX 5 Miata, you quietly rolled through the streets until eventually, you found it. You knew you reached your destination when there was more and more chatter from excited people who, albeit, were shady looking.

And as much as you hated to admit it, you were shady looking, too.

There was no denying that fact, seeing as you relied on illegal street racing to stay afloat.

Having been in only one race beforehand, you were still new to this whole racing thing. Most people would have called you insane if they knew you went to Seoul for your second race. Even if you won your first race, no logical person would head all the way to Seoul for their second, no matter how big the first race was.

Pedestrians moved out of the way, pointing and whispering as you drove past. They had heard rumors that a new racer would be there tonight, which definitely helped raise attendance and betting. Hey, that means either more money to get and people to impress, or more money to not get and people to embarrass yourself in front of.

You drove to the finish line, front tires behind it and turned your music off. Leaving the car on and in park, you got out and tried to find whoever was in charge there. To your understanding, it changed every night, but some of your friends from the races in Busan had told you that you should look for a man named Taeyong, or a younger guy named Mark. Apparently, Taeyong had pink hair and Mark had black hair, and neither of those pieces of information helped you much, because everyone there had outrageously dyed or black hair. Great.

You must have seemed lost, because a group of boys your age approached you. “Hey, you new here?” the tallest one asked, with a quirked brow and boys following him. Don’t let them see that you’re nervous. Head held high, chin up, shoulders rolled back. Just because this place is unfamiliar doesn’t mean it should be scary, a race is a race no matter what, you thought.

Looking up at the boy and staring him directly in the eyes, you said, “Yes, I am. My name is Y/N and I’m looking for either Mark Lee or Lee Taeyong. Do you know where I can find them?” Crossing your arms over your jacket clad chest, you stared down the group of guys in front of you. The tallest had a head of blond hair, the kid right next to him had bright pink hair, making him seem younger than he actually was. There was a boy with raven locks who gave you one hell of a death glare, right by a boy exuding confidence and charm with peach hair. He gave you a wink as your eyes rolled to the one with sun kissed skin and highlights of pinks, greens, and much more in his delicately styled hair.

Finally, your eyes landed on the last boy there, and everything about him screamed cockiness. He looked like he was at ease, at home, there, and it made him comfortable. So comfortable, in fact, that he could get away with anything. And if that meant picking up what he called die hard fans every night for a good time, then so be it, that’s what he was going to do. His lean figure towered over you, staring you down, and it dawned on you that you’d be racing against him. Immediately, the list of names your friends in Busan gave you of the top racers in Seoul ran through your mind: Na Jaemin, Huang Renjun, Lee Haechan, Kim Doyoung, Wong Yukhei, Johnny Seo, Nakamoto Yuta, and Lee Jeno. Most importantly, Lee Jeno, seeing as he was practically the reigning champion, having lost only two races out of all twenty eight he had been in during his tenure. And, it became even more intimidating when you recalled that he was your age.

You knew right away that that was Lee Jeno.

“Ah, Mark hyung is over that way, if you’ll follow me. I’m Jisung, by the way,” the tall boy told you, finally giving you a name to pair with his face. The rest of the boys stayed behind, whispering and shooting you glances as you walked away.

“Yo, Mark!” Jisung exclaimed as you two approached a young guy with black hair and ink curling around underneath his skin. Despite his stereotypical intimidating nature, his eyes lit up and a huge grin broke out on his face at the sight of Jisung, and that scary façade fell away at once. He caught sight of you, and asked, “Are you the flag girl for tonight?”

You tried to not be insulted, but you couldn’t help but to lace venom in your voice as you responded, “No, I’m not. I’m Y/N, I will be racing tonight.” Mark broke out into an even bigger grin and asked, “So you’re Jeno’s competition for the night?” Obviously confused because each race had at the minimum of three racers, Mark took note of your raised brow and said, “Wong Yukhei will be competing tonight, too, but he isn’t any competition for Jeno. Make sure to kick Jeno’s ass, Lord knows the kid needs it.”

“Don’t worry, I was planning on it. Otherwise I wouldn't be here.”

“YOOOOO, I like her, man!” Mark exclaimed, clapping and hitting Jisung’s arm, who stood there laughing. They both stood there for two minutes just cackling. When Mark composed himself after a bit, he said, “Alright, let’s get down to the business part of this, I need all the information on your past races, your car, all that jazz that you can give me. For starters, what kind of car do you have?”

“A black Mazda MX 5 Miata.”

“Oooooh, dope, dude! Where are you from and where have you previously raced?”

“Busan.”

“Okay, and how many races were you in there?”

Gulping, you said, “One.”

Silence. Mark and Jisung took a step back in confusion and Mark repeated the question to make sure he heard you correctly. “One. One race,” you repeated, confirming what he thought he heard.

“Okay.... and how did you place?”

“First, with the second place competitor reaching the finish line twenty minutes after me.”

“Holy shit, okay. How old are you?”

“Eighteen.”

“Not to go all mom on you, but are you sure you should be doing something so dangerous this young?” Mark asked, writing everything down with a concerned look on his face.

“It’s either this or deal with my family, and I refuse to go back to them. I’d rather you act like my mom than my actual mother,” you told him, making him raise a brow in response. “Fair enough. I don’t know you, but I feel that one,” Mark said, finishing everything up.

“Okay, I have everything I need. The race starts in about half an hour, park your car right next to that red Toyota Supra, and get ready. Oh, and good luck!” With that, Mark waved you two goodbye, and ran off to one of the boys you saw earlier, yelling, “RENJUN! TELL THIS TO THE BETTERS!”

“So, only one race, huh?” Jisung asked, falling into step with you as you walked to your car. “Yep, only one,” you told him, already preparing for the same dialogue you had with yourself.

“Why did you decide to come here if you’ve only been in the Busan races? Well, race, really.” Jisung kicked a rock by his feet, looking down at you and occasionally waving to people as you guys walked by. “Well, I don’t know if you’ve been to the Busan races, but they’re surprisingly large. Your race here has a minimum of three racers and rarely get more than that because the route is so intimidating. In Busan, there is a minimum of fifteen racers because the track is moderate, so the people in charge rely on the high amount of competitors to make it difficult. The route in Busan normally takes forty minutes, it took me twenty. Driving is easy for me, it has been ever since I started. I figured why not come out here and at least try, you know? Even if I lose tonight, at least I know what to expect when I eventually come back.”

Jisung absorbed your words, and instead of calling you stupid like you thought he would, he said, “That’s pretty smart, Y/N.” A small smile made its way onto your face and you replied, “Thank you. You’re the first person in a long time to say that.”

Jisung looked like he wanted to push the topic, but decided it’d be better to just drop it and wish you luck. “Good luck tonight. Oh, I agree with what Mark said earlier, too; kick some ass.” He turned on his heel and left, giving you the opportunity to relax some before the race started. Instinctively, you pulled out the pack of cigarettes in the glovebox and placed one between your teeth, lighting it and puffing out curling smoke. Your phone provided a much needed distraction and you were so lost in your own little world that you didn’t notice the person standing in front of you until the cigarette was taken out of your mouth and put in his.

Taking a drag, Lee Jeno looked down at you from between his dark lashes, and stared you down for a bit. “Take a picture if you like the view that much,” you quipped, his behavior annoying the shit out of you. You were hoping that line would frustrate him, but all it did was get him started. A small smirk went on his face and you knew you were in for it.

“You know, I came over here to wish you luck because you’ll need it, but I think I’m going to take it back,” he explained, smirking an infuriating smirk. “Oh, what a shame. Maybe I should be wishing you luck instead. After all, I am a nobody. Who knows what I am capable of doing?” You knew you got him there, so you took your cigarette back and held eye contact with him while waiting for a response.

His tongue poked his cheek out and he chuckled, looking at you and then the ground, back at you again. “You sure do seem confident for someone I’ve never heard of.” That put a smile on your face, simply saying, “Trust me, you’ll hear of me after tonight.” You took the cigarette out of your mouth and stepped on the butt, smearing the wet ground with ash.

“Good luck, Jeno,” you said as you opened your car door and got in, finding a playlist for the ride. Deciding on a song by Childish Gambino, you rolled your neck and tried to focus. Two minutes later, a new car pulled up to you on your right and presumably Wong Yukhei got out of the drivers side. The white Toyota 86 blasted Jay Park, and Wong Yukhei strutted over to your passenger seat. He opened the door and slid into the seat.

“Hey, I’m Yukhei, or Lucas,” he greeted, flashing a goofy grin, not paying any mind to the ridiculousness of the situation. He held out a large hand for you to shake, head bobbing slightly to the music leaving your speakers. “Um, hi. I’m Y/N,” you said, shaking his hand.

“Y/N? I don’t think I’ve ever heard of you. You race before?” he asked, stretching in his seat and putting his hands behind his head on the headrest. “Only once before, in Busan.” He stopped relaxing and jumped, then turned to look at you. Lucas’s jaw dropped, looking almost comical.

“Once? You’re serious?” he scanned your face, then said, “Oh my God, you’re serious. Oh, well. We all have to start somewhere, right? But why Seoul if you were already in Busan?”

“Had to get away from my family. They weren’t very fond of my career choices, friend choices, or any choices, really, so I had to get out of there. I bought this car with the last of the money mommy and daddy promised me, went to the race in Busan, took the winning money, and dipped. Now... I’m here,” you told him, his eyes lighting up due to having a similar background.

“Mommy and daddy’s money? Damn, what did your parents do?” Genuine curiosity latent through his voice, he wanted to know you more.

“They, um.... they own one of the biggest chains of business corporations in the country and United States.” Something that you had hated ever since being a small child, your parents felt the need flaunt their wealth at any given moment. A part of you understood that yes, they had earned that money and that privilege, but they never made any attempts to help those less fortunate than them. You, on the other hand, would take your monthly allowance and donate it to the homeless shelters nearby, and when your parents found out, it angered them to no end. So, yeah, you held no remorse for leaving your parents as soon as you could.

“Holy shit, so you’re rich rich,” Lucas said, a bit taken aback considering your appearance and attitude. Sporting ripped jeans, beat up boots, and a leather jacket, you were hardly what he imagined new money looked like. Factor in your over-all-this-bullshit and straight to the point attitude, you didn't act like how he imagined new money to act, either. Chuckling, you corrected him by saying, “My parents are rich rich. I’m not my parents, nor will I ever be.”

“Fuck, I should get back to my car, the race is about to start. It was nice getting to know you, princess! Oh, and one more thing: don’t ride Jeno’s ass, he can and will slam on the brakes to make you rear end him.” After that he got out of the car, leaving you a bit confused as to why he gave you advice when you both were in a competition. Shaking your head to clear your thoughts, you put all your energy into focusing on the task at hand: winning the race. Out of the corner of your eyes, you spotted Jeno ducking into the drivers side of his car and blowing kisses at a crowd of girls gathered by the side of the road to watch him and Yukhei. Gross. They have fan clubs.

You could feel Jeno looking at you, so you turned to look at him with a what-the-fuck-could-you-possibly-want? look. Smirking, he revved his engine, annoying the shit out of you. You rolled your eyes and turned your attention to the girl confidently walking out into the middle of the road, checkered flags in her hands and smile on her face. At least the flag girl seemed excited. Adrenaline taking hold, anxiety furling in the pits of your stomach, you took a deep breath and watched the flag girl like a hawk. She made sure she was standing between the cars, then raised the flags in a big arc, and lowered them promptly. From then on, it was like you were on autopilot.

Jeno, as expected, took the lead, with you behind him but a bit to the left, and Yukhei directly next to you. Vaguely, you could her the cheers of everyone watching, the girls crying out a mix of Jeno and Yukhei. Paying no mind to it, the music filled your ears, a melody by Cyndi Lauper allowing you to focus on the road in front of you. A T in the road quickly approached, and you called upon all the studying of the Seoul map you did just a few days ago.

Before you left your hometown, your racing friends had helped prepare you for the confusing streets of the racing route in Seoul. You studied that thing with their help for days on end, and by the time you left, it was committed to memory. And thank God it was, because Jeno was an expert, with Yukhei being a close second at having it memorized. You knew that at the T, if you took the right you would be able to reach a short cut and that would give you an edge at getting Yukhei off your tail, and maybe even getting ahead of Jeno.

As expected, Jeno made the right turn and Yukhei made the left. You felt bad, but you knew that Yukhei was pretty good at what he did, but he had never been especially daring when it came to taking risks. Jeno, on the other hand, did not care. His whole being exuded not giving a flying fuck, and God did you wish you could be like that. Tonight’s race, however, would determine whether you could live in Seoul and be away from your parents, or have to move back to Busan and keep on the move to prevent them from dragging you back home.

Grinning slightly, Yukhei left your lane and you were left directly following Jeno. Don’t ride Jeno’s ass, he can and will slam on the brakes to make you rear end him. Taking Yukhei’s advice, you made sure to stick close to him but not too close. Close enough that you could see his eyes flicking to the rear view mirror, you decided that it was time to drive next to him. Pushing the gas down, you made sure that the move would be made quick enough that you wouldn’t hit any of the trash cans on the side of the alley and none of the stray cats would get ran over. Successfully, you drove up beside him and were concentrated on everything around you. The alley opened up into a four way intersection, and you knew to make the left. You already knew Jeno would choose the left, so all you could do is rely on drifting to get you there quicker and put you ahead of the boy. Thankfully, when you were learning to drive a few years ago from one of your friends, he had taken you to an old run down part of town and taught you how to drift. Never did you think that skill would come in handy.

Feeling your muscles come into play as you drifted, you scanned the rear view mirror and found Jeno in complete shock. He mouthed, “FUCK!” right as another car cut him off from pulling out behind you, making you smirk. Your tires left marks on the ground as you peeled it out of there, taking that opportunity that was given to you by Yukhei making the wrong turn but eventually catching up with you two. Yukhei realized what he did and laughed at the expression of the boy in the car behind him.

“Thanks, Yukhei!” you yelled out your window, hoping he’d hear but knowing he wouldn’t. With you in the lead, you made the next shortcut you could, opting to drive straight ahead rather than turning right. The dangerous part of shortcuts, you had found, was that there was no guarantee of no other drivers on those roads. On the main route there were hardly ever any other drivers, something you greatly enjoyed. However, on the shortcuts, you an the risk of hitting pedestrians, or even worse; cops knew when the races were happening sometimes, and seeing as the whole activity was illegal, they’d be waiting for the racers to slip up. You, though, knew to be careful and not risk too much.

Yukhei and Jeno followed you that time, the two of them fighting to be directly after you. You rolled your eyes at their childishness and kept focused on the road ahead of you. Crowds of people congregated on the sides of the outskirt streets and cheered you on, shock plain on their faces at seeing something other than Jeno’s car in first place.

There were only three turns left in the race, and then it’d all be over. Right as you were calculating your next move, Jeno swerved in front of you. Smiling into the rear view, he really thought he had done something. He took the next left, you right on his heels. Don't ride his ass. Don’t ride his ass. Throwing that out the window, that is exactly what you did, and it proved especially helpful, as you were able to drift around him and out of the next turn while he slammed on his brakes. One more turn and you had it in the bag. Jeno hesitated starting to drive again as he had been so shocked at what just happened that Yukhei got in front of him again. Easily, you made the next left and found yourself at the finish line, a small smile on your face.

“You have to do better than that, darling,” you mumbled to yourself, and partly to a Jeno, who could not hear you.

Your front tires went over the finish line first, with Yukhei and Jeno at a close tie following you. Off to the side of the street you saw Mark, Jisung, and all the other boys standing there, jaws to the floor in shock. Slowly, you parked the car and right as you were about to get out, you felt someone open the car door for you.

You found yourself looking up at Wong Yukhei, who held a hand out for you. “I’m thoroughly impressed, and also kind of thankful,” he told you, giving you a huge grin and patting you on the back. “Thanks? Why though?” you asked, obviously confused. Yukhei guided you over to a floored Mark, who had wads of cash in his hands.

“Because, silly,” Yukhei started as he winked at the crowd of fans trying desperately to get his attention, “you managed to fuck over Jeno and get me in second place. Well, kind of.”

“I’d say fucking over Jeno was a joint effort,” you told him, taking the money from Mark. “I wasn’t expecting that, Y/N,” Mark said, still in shock. The boys from earlier encircled you, asking a million questions at once.

“HOW DID YOU DO IT?” “HOW DID YOU KNOW THE ROUTE SO WELL?” “HOW DO YOU KNOW HOW TO DRIFT?” “HOW IS THAT YOUR SECOND RACE EVER?” “CAN YOU TEACH ME?”

“Holy fuck, give her some space,” a familiar voice said, making the boys all take a step back. Jeno walked into the middle of their little circle and looked directly at you. “Can I speak to you for a minute?” he asked, taking your hand and dragging you away from them before you could answer. Taking your hand back, you huffed and shoved the money in your jacket pockets, still following the boy.

“I guess I just wanted to say... congratulations on winning tonight,” Jeno muttered, leaning against the side of your car and admiring how clean it was. “Um. Thanks? You’re not... mad at me or anything?” you asked in disbelief. “Oh, I am a little mad, but not at you, exactly. More so, I’m mad that someone as inexperienced as you beat me in my own realm. How did you know the route so well, by the way?”

Chuckling, you rubbed the back of your neck and said, “Well, funny story, actually. I studied a map of Seoul for days to commit the track to memory.”

“And the drifting?”

“One of the first things I learned how to do when driving.”

He took a step back, then stared at you with an unknown look in his eyes. “Who are you?”

Smirking, you recalled what you said earlier that night.

“I told you you’d know of me after tonight.”

[Time Skip]

“I can’t believe it,” Renjun said, pulling you out of your trance. “This is the fourth time this week!” You stepped out of your Mazda, grinning and giving him the what-else-did-you-expect? look. He shook his head in shock and handed you your money, a whopping amount of bills and enough to support you for two months, at least. It had been a few weeks since the first race you had been in in Seoul, and to say that you were a regular there would be an understatement. You had earned regular betters, people that could only be referred to as fans.

“Neither can I, Renjun, but it happened,” you told the boy, giving him a smile and a pat on the back. “Meet up at mine?” you asked he boy, hoping for your group of friends to come over after. Well, the closest thing you had to friends in Seoul. That group consisted of Renjun, Jaemin, Chenle, Jisung, Mark, Lucas, and Jeno, mainly because they were all in your age range, although occasionally some of the older boys would come over. Jeno, despite being your age, didn’t come over as much. You wrote it off as him being your biggest competitor, but the others claimed it was something else.

“Dude, he has the biggest crush on you,” Mark told you one evening, messily eating nachos you made in the kitchen of your tiny apartment. The earnings from the races were enough to keep you afloat and still have some pocket change. “No way. He always seems so cold when I’m around, I think it’s the opposite, really,” you told the Canadian boy, earning groans from everyone else. “Y/N, you’re a dumb thot,” Jaemin called out from the living room couch, causing you to roll your eyes. “Whatever.”

Renjun and the others agreed to meet you at your place in an hour, as they had to finish some things up at the race. Giddily driving to your humble abode, you noticed a familiar car in your rear view mirror. Jeno?

After parking outside of your building, you got out of the car and walked over to what appeared to be Jeno’s car.

“I didn’t mean for that to be creepy, just an fyi,” the boy started, getting out of his car to stand next to you, who had been incredibly confused about the entire situation. “Alright, noted. But why did you follow me home? I didn’t even know you were there tonight,” you told him, nothing making any sense. Jeno had stopped racing as frequently after you arrived, as you kept messing up his statistics. Kind of hard to be the best driver in Seoul when he had some legitimate competition.

“I uh, I need to talk to you about something before the boys get here,” he explained, rubbing the back of his neck and avoiding eye contact. “Can I come inside?” he asked, gesturing to the apartment building behind you. “Oh yeah, of course, Jeno. You’re always welcome at my place,” you told the boy, turning on your heels and heading up the stairs to your place. Your tiny apartment was a one bed, one bath small little startup on the fifth floor of an old building, with most of your neighbors being elderly or young college students trying to avoid living in dorms. That was okay with you, though, as you were rarely home.

“Can I get you anything to eat or drink?” you asked as soon as you two got in, trying to break the awkward silence. Jeno shook his head and made himself at home, plopping down on the couch and turning the television on.

“So, what did you want to talk about?” you asked, taking your jacket off and pulling him out of his zone. “Oh shit, that’s right. Two things, really,” he clarified, making you even more confused.

“Okay, shoot. You may have the floor,” you joked, allowing him to take the reigns on the conversation. “Okay. First things first, I would like it if you stopped racing as much.”

You didn’t know what to say, other than, “What?”

“You are ruining my reputation, and not that many people are betting on me anymore.”

“Woah, I do what? You still win against me sometimes!”

“That might be true, but you win more often than I do. Do you realize that I wan the number one racer here before you showed up?”

“Okay, and? Not my fault.”

“Y/N, you’re dragging me down-”

“I’m not though, you’re sinking just like everyone else did when you first started.”

Right as you said that, the door opened and the rest of your guests arrived, arms full of junk food to snack on. “Uh.” They all could sense the obvious air of tension the second they walked in the room, and felt the aura crackling with annoyance. “Hey, guys,” you and Jeno said at the same time, voices both monotone and not very amused.

“Are you two okay?” Jisung asked, not even bothering to try and beat around the bush. Leave it to the youngest to not give a fuck. “Yes, we are... fine, we are fine.”

“If you say so,” Chenle says, grabbing one of the bags of chips and flopping down on the couch. Jaemin grabbed a can of beer from your fridge and hopped onto the couch. He grabbed your wrist and pulled you down, so you were laying across his lap, legs over Chenle. “Yooo, what the fuck?” Chenle complained, throwing your legs off him and standing up. “Jaemin, what are you doing?” you questioned, annoyed at his antics.

“Taking your mind off things, sweetheart.” Scoffing, you stood up, shoving him away. “You’re such an idiot, Jaems.” “An idiot for you, honeybun.” “Gross,” you laughed, smacking his chest. “What do you mean gross? You didn’t say that last night-”

“I’m going to go, something came up,” Jeno suddenly announced, distracting everyone from the disaster that was Jaemin fake flirting with you. “Here, let me walk you out at least,” you mumbled, only for Jeno to shake his head. “No, it’s fine, you don’t have to.”

Regardless, you followed him out and left the boys to bicker and choose something to watch (a terrible idea, never trust those few to pick a movie for movie night, it’ll only end in tragedy). “I said you didn’t have to do this,” Jeno said, not even looking back at you following him. “I’m aware. I don’t care, I don’t like how that conversation ended and even if we didn’t fight, you’re still a guest at my house and I want to see that you made it to your car okay.”

Rather than saying to fuck off or something, he kept his mouth shut and kept walking. “I feel like we should resolve that argument we had,” you started, grabbing his wrist and turning him around so you knew he was listening to you. Jeno didn’t push your hand off him as he stood there, waiting for you to speak. “Okay, then you get to speak first.” His voice was cold, but there was a tone of openness. For some reason, no matter how much you two butted heads, you would always be civil with one another. Your dumbass wrote it off as not wanting things to be awkward around the others, even though you were told it was due to other reasons.

“I cannot stop racing as much, Jeno, simply because you told me to, because it is tarnishing your reputation. You know as well as I do that that money is far too tempting to just give up,” you explained as you two exited the apartment building and were almost at his car. Jeno took the keys out and unlocked his car, the beep echoing through the little parking lot for the building.

“Why can’t you give it up though? It seems like to me that you’re not even spending all of your money, so if you can obviously budget yourself to not need it, why get it in the first place?” At that point he was just nitpicking, looking for anything to piss you off.

“Jeno, do you realize how ridiculous you sound right now? I put that money in my savings account, and use it to pay my bills. You know why I’m here, and you know that I’ve been cut off from my parents. If I am going to survive, then I need that money. And I know that you need that money, too, but at the end of the day, there is a solid chance that either one of us wins. And you know that I have only ever been supportive of you when you win, when it seems like I’m good at nothing and even this one thing I’m relying on to survive isn’t doing that great.”

He didn’t exactly know what to say to that, so he stood there, leaning against his car and crossing his arms over his chest. However, you didn’t expect him to apologize. “I’m sorry, I just.... I haven’t been thinking right. You’re right... I shouldn’t be expecting you to just give up your way of living.”

“I... It’s okay, Jeno.”

He shifted his weight forward and leaned toward you, pulling you into his chest and holding you close. Your eyes instinctively widened, hands down at your side, not knowing what to do in response to his sudden actions. After a few seconds, you melted into the warmth of his body, the feeling of his hand caressing the back of your head soothing. Automatically, your eyes shut and your arms wrapped themselves around Jeno, not controlling your own actions.

All too soon he let go, taking a step back and not making eye contact. Jeno’s cheeks were dusted with pink, shocked at his own actions. “Good night, Y/N. Sorry if that was weird,” Jeno whispered, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck and kicking a rock on the ground. Still in shock, you said nothing and instead focused on that rock and tried to hide the blush on your cheeks. Jeno got in his car and gave you a small wave before driving away, never telling you what that thing that popped up was. All you could do was stand there and give him a tight-lipped smile, your racing heart screaming at you to say something, anything, to the beautiful boy who had been stuck in your head since you arrived in Seoul. He was the one constant, an admittedly frustrating constant, but a constant nonetheless. The boy knew exactly how to pull on your heartstrings without trying, and you hoped that maybe - just maybe - you did the same to him.

Little did you know, you did.

You did it so much that it pained him to think about, sometimes.

[Time skip]

Rain was pouring down again, meaning that normally there wouldn’t have been as many people waiting to hear the roar of the car engines, smell the intoxicating exhaust, and get an adrenaline rush from the high speed chase of the races. However, seeing as it was the last race of the week (and the next few weeks), hundreds of people lined up to watch it all go down. Of course, Jeno had his fan club, Lucas had his, Yuta had his, and you had your won. Nobody, it appeared to you, was as popular as Jeno, though. Like always, he strolled over to the barricade and started “talking” to a group of girls. You knew what “talking” meant by then. That meant that Jeno would end up in her pants by the end of the night, only to be gone by the morning and never speak to her again. It happened time and time again, and as much as he made your heart race, you could never put yourself through something as emotionally taxing as that. Right?

Stop thinking like that. It took everything in you to keep a level head when unsurprisingly, again, Jeno sauntered over to a dyed-blonde with bright pink lipstick and started doing what he did best: stealing hearts. “Hey, baby,” you heard him say all the way from over there. Rolling your eyes and scoffing, you threw the cigarette butt on the ground and focused on someone else, someone else who would make you happy and still make your heart beat. Not as fast as Jeno could. For some reason, that boy had a strong hold on you, one you’d never get out of.

“Peaches, what are you thinking about?” Lucas curiously asked, wanting more than anything to know what was running though your head at that moment. “How you’re going to eat ass and lose to me again tonight,” you playfully told him, warming up instantly at the boy in front of you. Ever since you moved to Seoul, Lucas had taken a special interest in you and had gotten increasingly closer. Any outsider could see that the gentle giant was smitten, but you simply did not care. Part of you wanted to get lost in his chestnut eyes, forget your worries in his touch, but the other part of you knew better. Not only was it damaging to play with hearts like that, but it was also stupid. Yet there Jeno was, doing it without any problems.

Jeno again. Stop thinking about Jeno. “Xuxi?” you asked, knowing fully damn well that Yukhei loved it when you called him that. “Yes, Y/N?” His fingers delicately played with yours, trying to memorize the shape of your small hand in his large one. “Do you ever get jealous?” That was quite the loaded question, so Yukhei had to take a step back to think.

“What do you mean? Do you mean like when people ask for your number, or when you stare at Jeno?” That question was enough to send ice through your bloodstream. So, Yukhei knew. It didn’t look like he particularly cared, though, which had been the scariest thing about it all. “I- Yes, then.”

“In all honesty? I don’t get jealous, but it does hurt a little. I know I don’t have your heart, though, and that’s okay. Your heart belongs to you, and you only.” “You’re right, and that means I can’t keep stringing you along like this...” Lucas gave you a small smile, pain in his eyes right alongside knowing. “Y/N, I’d let you hurt me anytime, any day. My heart is yours to break, but... yours is not mine. Go talk to him.”

Kissing the boy’s cheek, you decided to say fuck it and follow his advice. Why you were doing that, you had absolutely no idea, because you two could barely make it through a conversation without arguing. But there you were, marching right up to the boy to get his attention and speak your mind.

“Lee Jeno, we need to talk,” you told him, a commanding tone in your voice. The tone of your voice pulled Jeno away from the random girl, his cheeks flushed at your sudden presence. The girl scoffed in annoyance, sending him a who-the-fuck-is-that? face, only for him to wave her off, dismissing her from his life entirely.

“Well?”

“I think I like you.”

A beat of silence, and then, “You think?”

“No, I know. I know I like you. I don’t know why, because all we ever do is fight, and I haven’t known you for that long, but I-”

A pair of plump lips cut you off, silencing your rambling with a soft kiss. Your first kiss with Jeno had been everything you had dreamt of and more; his soft lips crashed on yours, taking your breath away and breathing air into your lungs at the same time. He grabbed your waist and pulled you in closer, gently cupping the sides of your face and holding you there, making you feel like the most precious thing on the planet. And to him, you truly were.

“I like you too, dumbass,” he mumbled against your lips after finally pulling away, resting his forehead on yours. The feeling of him was foreign, but felt so familiar, as if you were meant to fit together.

A smile made its way on your face, and stayed there until the flash of a camera pulled you two away from one another. “What the fuck?” Jeno murmured, holding you close to him, his head atop yours. Mark and Renjun stood there with shit eating grins, Renjun with his phone out, snapping a picture. “It’s about time!” Mark exclaimed, getting the attention of the other boys. “This,” Renjun said, showing you the image he snapped of the both of you awfully close to each other, “is my evidence for my side of the bet.”

“Bet?” you asked, confused as to why Renjun needed evidence of you kissing Jeno, and Jisung and Chenle groaning in the back and pulling out their wallets. “We all placed bets for when you guys would finally kiss. I called four months, and they all put money on six to twelve months. I should be getting.... a shit ton of money,” Renjun explained, a smug grin pulling his lips up. The boys started forking off cash to him, and all you could do was stand there in disbelief.

“Anyways, if you don’t mind us, we are going to go race now,” Jeno announced, pulling you away with him. The boys all hollered behind you, laughing and being how they normally were: loud and obnoxious, but sweethearts all the same. The announcers got in place, all the betters taking their seats and fans standing up and waving signs. Well, the race was about to start. You made eye contact with Yukhei, who winked and gave you a thumbs up, then got in his car.

“Well, this is it. Wish me luck, baby,” Jeno said, looking down at you and kissing your temple as you two reached his car. Smirking, you started to chuckle and played with his fingers in yours.

“Oh, you’re going to need it, honey.”

“Is that a threat?”

“Not a threat, a promise.”

“You know what? How about this: if I win, I take you out on a date. If you win, then...”

“If I win, then we still can go out on a date, I’ll just keep tonight’s money and clown your shitty driving the whole time.”

“Wow, that’s so tempting, you drive a hard bargain, Y/N.”

“You know you like it, though.”

“You’re right. It’s a deal.”

Needless to say, Jeno was not a fan of being the butt of the endless jokes the next day, but he certainly was a fan of hearing the chiming of your laughter and the pure joy spread across your face as you poked fun of him.

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missvgj98 · 5 years

Text

It’s a Match! Chapter 1

Confrontation

It’s midnight and I am still up working on a paper for my Anatomy class that’s due tomorrow morning. No, I did not procrastinate. I worked on it throughout the two weeks we were assigned them. I just decided to take on the hardest and most elaborate topic: Cancer. There are multiple types of Cancer and I have to write about every single one making this a ten paged Research Paper.

Ugh, Kill me.

Hinata is also with me but, not physically. Through facetime. We decided that this semester was gonna take some of the same classes. She’s in school to become a doctor. Following the footsteps of her infamous Father. And I’m in school to become a nurse. We told each other it would be better to do it together even though I’m not going to be in school for the same amount of time.

“Temari…” Hinata groaned out.

“Yes.” I said keeping my eyes glued to my computer screen.

“I’m dying.”

“That sucks,” I said still not looking at her.

“Temari.”

“What.” I looked at her.

“I’m tired of reading about how Ischaemic heart disease is the number one leading cause of death across a number of countries.”

“I’m not the one who told you to take that topic.”

“Can we take a break?”

“It’s midnight, I don’t think we have room for a break.” I looked back over at her again and watched as she began to massage her temples. I know she’s stressed out because not only is she doing school full time but, also shadowing her Father in the Lab. He’s a big-time Bio-Medical Researcher and a Surgeon. He wants Hinata to take after him and continue on the Empire that is Hyuga. And not only her but, her older cousin Neji as well, and her younger sister too, Hanabi.

“Hinata, you know I’m not going to be easy on you. When we graduated High school, we talked about this.” I said.

“I know.”

“I asked you, do you want to become a doctor? And because of your Dad, you said ‘Yes.’ I said to do this only if you want to do this.”

“I know, Tem- “

“I know you’re overworked. I know you’re stressed. But Hina, the time to change your mind is over. If you back out now, all it’s gonna bring is trouble.”

“I should’ve listened to you. You knew I wanted to follow my own dreams but- “

“But the fear you have for your Dad is more than the wants you have for your dreams.” I took off my glasses and massaged my neck. “Hinata, you need to get over this fear. Not only for your Dad but, fear over all things that scare you. Cause one day you’re gonna look back at your life and you’re gonna regret not doing this or doing that. And I don’t want that for you.”

“Well, how about you?”

“Don’t turn this on me. You know why I made my decisions. You have freedom, you just don’t take it. I have to take consideration of my family and the benefits it makes on them.”

“And you’re happiness? When are you going to take that into consideration? You’re becoming a nurse, yes, because it’s gonna make more money for your family. It’s a lot quicker than anything else; you’re gonna be in school for only two to three years and off to work you go. But that’s not what you want to do either. You’re just doing it to make your mom happy. So, you’re in the same boat as me.”

“Yea, but you had a choice. You have a dream. I didn’t know what to do exactly after high school. This gave me something.” I told her. “Hinata, we can do this. Slowly, over time maybe we’ll start to love it.”

She took a breath. “Okay…” Her breath was shaky.

“Don’t cry…” I said.

“I-I’m not…” She wiped her eyes. “Let’s just talk about something-“

*DING*

A text message had popped up on my phone.

“Hidan?” Hinata guessed with an attitude.

I sighed. “Yeah…”

Hidan: Hey Babe… U awake?

“This brings up another thing…” Hinata said. “Hidan.”

“Hinata I already know what you’re going to say. We’ve been through this before.” I said while texting him back.

“Why are you responding?” Hinata complained.

“Why not?” I put her back on the screen. “He’s my boyfriend.”

“A BAD one at that.” She shot back.

“He’s not bad. You just don’t like him.”

Me: Yea… still studying ☹

“I have my reasons. A. He associates himself with the wrong crowd. B. He has a bad influence on your brother’s, and you know that. C. He does drugs- “

“Weed is not a serious drug and was made legal.” I defended.

“It’s not like he has a medical reason to be smoking it. D. He-“

“Are you going through the whole entire alphabet?”

“That’s the problem Temari! I could literally go through the whole entire alphabet listing his problems. And that’s not even enough! I’d have to make up new letters.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

“Am I?” Hinata crossed her arms.

“You’re just bringing this up so you don’t have to focus on your paper,” I said.

“I’m bringing this up because I love you and I care about you.” I rolled my eyes. “I’m being so serious right now, Tem. You’re too good for him. He’s just playing you in an act. Keeping an eye out for your brothers, giving you money-“

“He takes care of me!”

“Yeah, just so he can get the one thing you haven’t given him yet. Sex.”

“That’s not it.” I glared.

“It’s been six months Tem! Since the day I first met him all he’s eyes screamed was LUST after you. He’s trying to get with you! And then he’s going to throw you away like trash. He’s buttering you up for easy access. It’s. An. Act.”

“Hina…”

“You know I’m right. And it’s not just him who is at fault here, you are too. You’re using him too-“

“Enough!”

“No! You confronted me. Now I’m confronting you. It’s my turn.” I huffed. “I know you’re in a tough situation. Your mom is working two jobs, she’s barely in the house, your brothers are messing with the wrong crowd, getting in trouble with the police and at school, you’re juggling school and work helping your mom pay bills. I know- it’s tough Tem. Ever since your Dad died things have been stressful. And I get it Hidan helps distract you from it all. But there are better ways Temari.”

“It’s not like I’m doing anything bad,” I said.

“But eventually you could…. Your mingling yourself with people who entertain the lifestyle of drugs, sex, and alcohol. And that’s not gonna keep your brother’s away from them if you’re in stupid love with one of them. They’re gonna think, “Oh, my sisters cool with them so, it’s okay now.” It’s just going to bring them into more violence and more issues. You’re their leader, Tem. They look up to you. If you want them to do good, then love what is good. Right now, you’re loving the wrong side. You may not see it now but, stay there long enough and soon it’s gonna hit you.”

*DING*

Hidan: Meet me outside.

“He’s there, isn’t he?” She guessed correctly.

“I’ll call you back?” I felt bad…

“No. I’m just gonna finish this paper then head to bed. I’ll pick you up in the morning.” She said simply.

“Ok…” I paused. She looked at me with a face of slight disappointment. “I’m sorry.”

“I’m sorry too.” She gave me a small smile then hung up.

*BEEP BEEP BEEP*

I sat at my desk for a minute before I got up, threw my hair into a messy bun, and made my way outside to meet Hidan.

Hinata’s not wrong…but, I just need him now.

“Heyyy!” He smiled at the sight of me and threw his arms out before him. “How’s my baby doing?”

“Good.” He embraced for a while as if he was taking every bit of me in.

“Ah, I missed you today. Sorry, I was so busy. We had a delivery today.” He wrapped his arm around my waist keeping me close. “Almost got in a mix up with a couple guys but, I took good care of them.”

I smiled looking longingly into his eyes with my arms around his neck. “Wow, you're sooo strong.”

He grabbed my waist as I planted my lips on his. It felt so good. It made me feel… like I’m alive… like I matter. Hidan saw me when I felt like no one did and even if he’s not the right guy…

He broke the kiss and looked me in the eye. His eyes looked hungry and before he said a word, I knew what was next.

“You wanna… go to your room?” He smiled.

I nodded.

I want this.

_______________________________________________

When I woke up, it was six o’clock in the morning. The sun was barely up. And Hidan laid with one arm over me, snoring softly. I starred up at the ceiling as I wrapped the sheets around my bare chest and took in a deep breath.

My family and I moved here to Kohona about six years ago and through our cousin Sasori, my brothers met Hidan and the rest of the gang. Ever since then… it has been hell but, we’ll get into that sometime later. Hidan and I got together about six months ago. I would pick up my brothers from time to time at his place and obviously, he noticed me. Since the beginning, Hidan always had tried to get with me and I always rejected him. Because back then when I still had some sense I knew that he was apart of a gang, does drugs, sells drugs, and has a bunch of women at his disposal anytime he wants. So, to be with him (for the longest time) was ridiculous to me. I would never put myself through that… but then as years passed and my life getting no better… I became vulnerable. I became desperate.

My parents fought and my dad was in and out of the house. My brothers being disobedient and getting in all types of trouble. And ever since my father’s untimely death I felt as though I had to carry my family. Whenever one of them was down or in a ditch, it was me who was there for them. It was me who heard them out, paid the bills… it’s like I sold my soul for my family. I sacrificed everything for them. And in return, I didn’t get anything back. So, I felt like nothing but, I felt like something when Hidan was around. He noticed me and gave me attention so I… gave in. And I saw that I could get something out of this.

I turned and looked at him. He was still fast asleep.

It wasn’t love at first sight. Not at all. He didn’t woo me into it. Never really even felt a spark. This isn’t love. Hinata’s very correct. He’s nowhere close to being the one for me. But I am so empty… depressed even… The sex, the alcohol, the occasional drugs that I take from time to time….

I turned back towards the ceiling shedding silent tears. I muffled sobs with my hand.

It gives me something to live for… and yet… it’s still not enough. I’m just using him. In high school, there was no one really there that peaked my interest. I only talked to Hinata; she was my only friend. No one even tried to mess with me because they knew who my brothers were and their reputation. So, no one bothered. And it wasn’t like I was searching for attention at the time. I was so fixated on taking care of my family that I didn’t have time to enjoy my youth and fool around. I had to grow up pretty quick. And take care of my mom. After my dad died, that’s when I became desperate and loneliness really became a burden to me. And Hidan kept bugging me.

So, one day, I asked him, “What are you willing to give me?”

“Excuse me?” He smiled.

“What am I gonna get out of this?” I turned to him completely and played with the hem of his shirt.

“I’ll take care of you,” He said. “Whatever you need baby… I got you.”

And I gave in. I gave into it all. I gave into his whole lifestyle and now I feel worst. I don’t want to tell Hinata because it would just kill her. And I wish I could but, I’m in too deep.

A/N: Please comment, like, share or whatever!

How did you all like the first Chapter? And don’t worry Shikamaru will make his first appearance in the next upcoming chapter. Hope you all enjoyed 😊

~ MissV

#temari #shikamaru #Shikamaru Temari #shikatema #naruto #fanfiction #akatsuki #hidan #Gaara #Kankuro #shikadai #shikatemadai #story #fanfic #Suna #KOHONA #romance

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mahkaria · 5 years

Text

Of novelists and stray dogs - Chapter 2

On a rainy day

At the back of the university, whilst the sky cried and rain fell on all windows, stood two people : a teenager and a boy. Although surrounded by books, they barely paid attentions to the objects. The eyebrows of the older were furrowed in frustration.

“Wait Atsushi, are you telling me you spent the evening with three people you didn’t even know? How could you do something so damn stupid?”

“I really didn’t want to. I just didn’t manage to say no.”

“For fuck’s sake, take care of yourself a bit, would you? I don’t want to find you dead one day just because you followed a suspicious person.”

“I won’t, don’t worry.”

Atsushi looked at the blond man in front of him. Kunikida Doppo, the man who had accepted to resolve his education’s shortage. Right now, the teenager was busy obtaining his degree in order to become a teacher.

If not for the two months he had spent as his student, he wouldn’t have thought him to be such an amazing mentor.

It was a frosty day.

Atsushi had now been living in Yokohama for one week. Buying furnitures had been both the best and worst experience of his life. So much possibilities he barely knew what to choose. He didn’t have the money to buy anything fancy but the feeling of control this situation had offered to him was overwhelming.

However, no matter how happy he was, he needed to get back to work if he wanted to keep his independence. Using Internet was still a mystery to him except for sending mails. He had no other choice but to go to the closest library. One of his neighbour, a nice old lady had affirmed him, he could find one popular with students not too far away.

Until now, the orphanage’s library had been enough to learn a decent amount of informations. Enough for his first short stories to be coherent and interesting (he hoped) but he couldn’t rest on it.

He walked into the building, afraid that at any moment someone might order him to go out. No one would, he knew it but integrating it would take a while. The feeling of being an imposter refused to vanish.

I can’t live my whole life thinking everything I do is wrong. I have as much rights as any other person to be alive.

As he was about to go to the history section, a shout startled him. A few meters away stood a blond colossus. A furious blond colossus.

“We are in a library ! A place of knowledge and study, disturbing everyone as you are doing is an insult to all those who want to succeed. So shut the fuck up !”

I should probably stay as far away as possible from this guy , Atsushi thought.

His interlocutors looked at him with an expression akin to someone seeing an exploding volcano. Absolute terror.

Despite his victims’ remorses, the man kept screaming. It reminded him painfully of the headmaster.

I’m definitely not going near him.

A librarian went to see him and ordered him in angry whispers to be quiet. Red blossomed on the man’s ears as he stuttered with embarrassment.

It doesn’t concern me. I need to find books.

He continued his journey and arrived to shelves with old front covers. It seemed to be about north american folklore. How interesting.

Or at least it could be if he was able to reach them. The awful consequences of being under a meter and fifty centimeters. As he struggled on his tiptoes to catch what he wanted, a hand invaded his vision and caught it before handling it to him.

“Thank you very much.”

“Aren’t you a bit young to be here? Do not cause trouble.”

“I-I don’t intend to.”

In front of him stood the man from before, his serious eyes entirely focused on Atsushi. How lucky he was !

“It is a library dedicated to students, you should probably go somewhere else if you’re just looking for something to read.”

“I’m not ! I’m doing researches.”

“Is that so? Alright then.” He didn’t seem to be convinced.

Careful to keep looking at the man in case he started yelling again, he sat to the closest desk and started reading.

“Shouldn’t you be at school at this hour?” The man asked with the same suspicion again.

“I’m not skipping, I just can’t go.”

“I see. Sorry for asking.” He said and also took a chair. Almost immediately he took a notebook out of one his jacket and started writing in it.

“It’s… fine.”

His focus went back to the book. Some of the words didn’t make sense. He wasn’t familiar enough with the american culture to know them however he could almost guess their meaning. One however…

His brows furrowed in confusion. What could be the significance of this one?

“What’s wrong, kid?”

“Nothing, I-”

“Just speak, I’m not going to scold you for asking a question and it’d be annoying to have someone in trouble next to me.”

“I’m just not sure of what it means.”

“Which word?”

“Orora Borealiz?”

“Aurora Borealis, it’s a latin word so you don’t pronounce the s as if was a phonetical z.”

“I see.”

“It’s a natural phenomenon when lights from different colours - especially green - appear on the sky. It only happens in the northern and southern pole and if I remember correctly it happens because photons from the sun interract with the particular atmosphere.”

As the man spoke, Atsushi kept writing what he said. The first thing he had bought after arriving in the city had been a notebook to remember informations and ideas for his stories.

It must have been the right thing to do since his interlocutor looked at him with appreciation.

“Did you understand everything?”

“I think so.”

At the orphanage, most of the books weren’t exactly suited for children. They were donations from people who no longer needed them, hence why school books had found their way to the place. Atsushi had once read one about physics (far too complicated for him to understand everything) but enough to learn about basic particles.

“Do you have any other questions?”

Despite his grumpy behaviour, he still had the air of someone avid to help.

First impressions really are misleading. He isn’t at all how I thought he’d be.

“Do you know books I should read?”

“Well it depends of what you’re interested in.”

“It doesn’t matter. I’ll read anything.”

“Really? Well then there are quite a few books on mathematics which are really interesting.”

“Won’t they be a bit complicated ? No one ever taught anything about it.”

“You’ve never what ? Got maths lessons?”

“Yes?”

The man suddenly rose up and left.

What had happened?

Did I do something wrong? Maybe he doesn’t like being around people who never got any real education.

He looked around. No trace, he had just vanished.

Or at least, that’s what he thought.

A deep bang surprised him. He had come back with a pile of books.

“I think it should be enough.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I can’t let a kid be ignorant of this kind of subject so if you want I can - I can tutor you. Only if you’re motivated, though, I won’t accept any half-assed work.”

“That’s so nice of you ! Thank you so much ! But I don't want to impose...”

“I’m not nice !” He blushed ? “I want to be a teacher so it’s normal for me to practise by mentoring kids so don't worry. My name is Kunikida Doppo by the way.”

“Then, nice to meet you, Kunikida-sensei. I’m Nakajima Atsushi.”

When he heard the honorific “sensei”, Kunikida could only emit a sound which could be compared to a dying whale’s.

“I don’t have the right diploma so it is not right for you to call me “sensei”.”

“Would “senpai” be better?”

“I guess it would be.”

The blush hadn’t subsided which was endearing in a way. Kunikida-senpai could really only be described as an amazing person.

“So anyway, I thought about some questions to evaluate your level and if you’re not able to answer I swear I’ll go punch those who raised you.”

Although quite a violent one.

From here, their relationship had quickly evolved. They'd meet at least thrice a week and worked together. Being the youngest of his class since he was only sixteen, Kunikida tended to be quite isolated from the rest. Tutoring Atsushi was his only consequent social interaction. Exactly like Atsushi who, too focused on his next short stories, barely went outside.

A day, when Atsushi - too lost in his work and worried about the next full moon - had forgotten to eat one too many meal, he had grabbed Atsushi by the scruff of his neck - like a furiously protective cat with his cub - and had brought him to his home. This had also marked the day Atsushi had met Kunikida’s grandmother.

“One would think you’d be able to take care of yourself.”

“I’m really sorry !”

“Don’t apologize, just make sure it never happens again.” He had huffed.

The old woman had softly giggled before serving him again. Her udons were to die for.

“Listen, next time you meet one of them, just call me. I’ll make sure they don’t hurt you.”

“Ango-san and Oda-san were really nice so I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“And what about the last one? Dazai was it?”

“I don’t know how to describe him? He was a bit weird but I’m sure he’s not that bad.”

“Chuuuuu - yaaaaa ~ Guess what I’ve got !”

“If you’ve stolen one of my hat again, I swear I’ll destroy your annoying face.”

“Such a violent chibi… Why would I want one of your ugly hat anyway apart from burning them? No, no, I have something much more interesting.”

“I don’t want to know.”

Chuuya kept sending his fists into the punching ball, imagining with pleasure it was his partner’s face instead of leather.

The other kept looking at him with shiny and expectant eyes. The bastard could have almost been convincing.

Minutes went away and he quickly grew tired of the other’s presence.

“What the fuck do you want?”

Like a magician very proud of himself, Dazai produced a rectangular object (a book, his mind quickly supplied) from his sleeve.

“Guess who just got a signed copy from your favourite author?”

“Don’t lie, bastard, Tsukishiro-sensei doesn’t participate to book signings.”

“You instantly knew who I was talking about. Chuuya has a celebrity crush.” Dazai singsonged. “How embarrassing.”

“Shut the fuck up, I don’t, I just respect his job.”

Paying attention to such a dumbass would only result in a lowering of his IQ, Chuuya decided, no need to give him more attention. He went back to his training.

It had been a year since he had joined the Port mafia and he was pleased to see his strength and endurance had significantly increased. Probably a consequence of a good diet and a direct access to necessities such as medicines. In opposition to the mackerel, his physical strength could rival anyone and he was decided to keep it that way.

Don’t adopt a pattern while fighting, if you can think about it so can your enemy. You must be as impredictible as possible. Be -

A soft whistling interrupted his thoughts.

“Why the hell are you still here, fucktard?”

“Chuuya hasn’t looked at what I wanted to show him.”

“And I won’t.”

He tried to focus once again.

Dazai wouldn’t stay stil for so long if he didn’t have a real way to annoy him. Just like a worm in a fruit, the thought that - maybe - his meeting with Tsukishiro could be real invaded his mind.

He bit his lip. No way in hell would he give him the satisfaction of -

“Did you really get a signed copy?”

Dazai nodded. “There are even small annotations in it, it’s really cute.”

“Did you steal it?”

“Wow, even for a slug you’re really slow. I told you I met him yesterday.”

“No way in hell am I believing you.”

“If you don’t, ask to Ango and Odasaku they were with me.”

Now that was interesting. Oda Sakunosuke often followed Dazai’s shenanigans without even noticing but Prof Specs didn’t. The guy was far too stuck up. Chuuya even doubted he knew what a joke was.

“Give me Sakaguchi’s number.”

“As you wish ~”

He quickly dialed it. “Sakaguchi Ango, how can I help you?” A very tired voice answered.

Did the guy even sleep?

“Hey, prof Specs, I just wanted to know something.”

“Nakahara-kun, let me guess, Dazai-kun told you about our meeting with Tsukishiro-san.”

“He did, that’s bullshit, right?”

“Not at all. I was as surprised as you are - for such a young kid to be a writer - but yes, we did meet him.”

“Understood, thanks.”

Behind him, he could hear Dazai snort as he hanged up.

That’s all that was needed for him to explode.

“Why the hell did it have to be you !? I hope you didn’t bother - nevermind, it‘s you, of course you bothered him.”

“How mean. I acted like a perfect gentleman, look, he only wrote nice things : “It’s been a pleasure to meet you, Dazai-san. I hope we’ll meet again soon.”’

“That’s bullshit.”

“How mean, if you keep acting that way I won’t introduce you to each other.”

“Do you think I care ?” He yelled.

“O I think you do. That’s why I’m going to milk this situation for all it’s worth.” The asshole smiled.

“Try it if you dare, I’ll fucking punch you in the face.”

“As if you can. Chibi is far too predictable.”

“Let’s see if you still think after I sent you in a wall.”

“I’m so sca-”

Before Dazai could give his usual snarky answer, Chuuya jumped toward him, ready to turn his threats into actions.

In a quick step to the side, Dazai managed to avoid him.

It only resulted in a broken wall.

“You’re such a violent little dwarf.”

“Shut the fuck up !”

“Make me.”

“Well if you’re asking for-”

“WHAT DO YOU BOTH THINK YOU’RE DOING?”

A beautiful almost ethereal woman entered the training in furious steps. Her face as red with anger as her kimono.

“Ane-san, he started it !”

“What ? Already having memory troubles at your age. It’s obviously your fault, slug.”

“I’m not the one who bro-”

“Stop acting like children right now ! I want you to clean this mess and this place better be in a perfect place when I come back. Am I being clear?”

“I’m an executive, you can’t give me orders anymore, Ane-san.”

“I have a meeting to attend to, Ane-san.”

“I said : Am I clear?” She repeated, the usual glow which usually announced Golden Demon’s apparition all around her.

Dazai and Chuuya, being the brave soul they were, both reacted as they usually did in this kind of situation.

“Yes, Ane-san.” They chorused.

“That’s what I thought. Start cleaning.”

After two hours of work, Atsushi walked home a bag full of exercises to do for their next meeting. His brain was fuzzy in the best way possible. For a kid who had never been to a real school, this situation could almost be called heavenly.

His thoughts were interrupted by big drops on his face. It was still raining a lot and the bad weather had even gained in intensity. On his way, he crossed the shopping arcade. Because of the meteorological conditions, there was hardly anyone here. A strange mist had even started to spread all around. Clap.

Clap.

The sound of expensive shoes touching the ground.

Atsushi turned back.

No one…

Yet he could smell it. A sweet but metallic scent which spread like a toxic cloud. Where did the smell of blood come from?

He kept walking, his footsteps faster despite his tentative to remain calm.

I’m being paranoid, there is no one. Just breathe.

A soft chuckle.

He looked behind him but still nothing. What…

He froze.

A few meters away stood a man he had never seen before with long white hair and red eyes.

“So I have finally found you.” It was but a mere whisper yet still hit him like a thunderclap.

The beast inside of him ordered him to run away but his body no longer obeyed him. It was only when the man was so close he could almost distinguish his teeth, that energy suddenly came back to him.

He had a distinguishable expression of pure bliss on his face. As if seeing Atsushi was the single greatest event of his life. Like he couldn’t wait to destroy him.

It was all he needed to get the control of his body back.

He ran.

His hands still reeking of cleaning products, Dazai Osamu stood in front of his boss’ office. Washing the training area had been quite an annoying task especially with Chuuya trying to drop water on him every second.

“You can come in, Dazai-kun.” A sickeningly sweet voice announced.

To anyone who didn’t know his owner, it almost could have passed for a caring father’s tone. However, it was a widely known fact that monsters didn’t have emotions.

Dazai knew it from first-hand experience.

He went in.

“You wanted to see me, Boss.”

“Thank you for coming so quickly.” As if he had the choice. “A rather… concerning fact came to my attention not too long ago.”

“Is it about Kinoshita Kin’s health?”

“Indeed, one of my spies informed him he had met an unfortunate end.”

Kinoshita had been one of the most well-known ability user of Yokohama. Not because of his power but thanks to his fortune. The man was so rich it literally made salivate all gangs which were desperate to develop.

“They’ll want to get the hand on his money.”

“Glad you understand, Dazai-kun. I hope you know what it means.”

So much money would lead organisations on the warpath. It would eventually disturb the Port mafia’s business which they couldn’t allow.

“I’ll make sure my subordinates are ready to act when things start heating up.”

“It should be fine, I tasked the Colonel to take care of it but you never know what might happen so be ready, Dazai-kun. I also want you to take Chuuya-kun in your team for the time being, you’ll have to work together if things don’t go our way.”

Damn it. Why was this slug everywhere?

The colonel, a codename given to an executive who had once been part of the military, was known as one of the most powerful ability user (apart from the gremlin) so it should be fine. Why did he have to bother with Chuuya for the timebeing?

“Understood, Boss.”

“Don’t make such a debjected face, Chuuya-kun and you get along so well !”

They obviously had quite a different definition of the expression “get along” but whatever.

“I’ll go back to my duties then.”

“So soon. Don’t leave, Dazai-kun ! Elise-chan went to see Kouyou-kun and I’m so lonely right now.”

“I’m sorry to hear it but I have work.”

“So go take care of it and have a nice day !”

“I will, boss.”

He’ll never understand why Mori insisted on keeping his amiable mask in front of him.

Atsushi was franctically looking for his phone.

The man was still following him, he could feel it. Although his silhouette had faded, his dark obsessive presence hadn’t. The tiger jostled in his mind, ordering him to let him gain control.

His phone seemed to have transformed into water. No matter how hard he tried he just couldn’t grab it.

Finally, with a shaky sob he managed to catch it.

He quickly opened it and called the first number he found. The only ones were from people he knew he could trust : Kunidika, his grandmother and …

“Nakajima, what’s wrong?”

He had totally forgotten about Oda-san.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t want to call-”

“Don’t worry, it doesn’t matter. Did you need anything?”

He quickly bit back the sob who desperately wanted to split his throat apart. He didn’t want to worry the adult.

“Tell me where you are. I’m coming.”

“You don’t need to-”

“Nakajima. Tell me where you are.”

“Oniyuri street. In the alley close to the clothes shop.”

“I’ll be here in a few minutes.”

“Th- Thank you.”

Why was he so nice toward him ? He didn’t deserve it.

An awful, insidious feeling grew in his stomach. The mist kept coming closer from him like tendrils. A relentless predator who wouldn’t leave him alone no matter what.

Flashbacks from the orphanage resurfaced.

Don’t let anyone touch you, it’ll only lead to pain.

He sank into the alleyway.

His heart beat loudly in his ears. The pressure was unbearable. As if every part of his body wanted to break his skin. He couldn’t even feel his tears fall out his eyes.

Hands suddenly grabbed his arms.

On instinct, he kicked the one who had caught him. His eyes jolted upside.

“It’s me, Nakajima.”

“O-Oda-san. I’m so sorry.”

God, he really was pathetic, wasn’t he? Panicking for nothing and kicking the one he had called for help.

“Don’t worry, it’s alright. Can you stand?”

His legs shook like those of a crazy puppet. No doubt he’d fall if he even tried.

“Stay still. I’m going to help you.”

As careful as possible, he carried Atsushi almost cradling him.

Why are his hands so warm? Atsushi wondered, his mind fuzzy.

“I’m going to bring you to your flat. Can you tell me where it is?”

Atsushi nodded.

Oda’s face was contorted with worry. So he sometimes did give up his cold expression.

A hand softly parted away the sweaty bangs stuck to his face.

“Everything will be alright.”

“Thank you.”

No one had ever touched him in such a kind manner. He both wanted to run away and to never let go.

As Oda went out of the alleyway, carrying the young kid as carefully as he could, his eyes moved to the muddy ground. The rain had washed every trace of people’s move yet…

Footprints stood in front of him. Far too big to belong to a kid and too unfamiliar to be his. Far too recent since they had barely started fading.

Someone was here.

#bungou stray dogs #dazatsu #atsushi nakajima #dazai osamu #oda sakunosuke #kunikida doppo #nakahara chuuya

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cawthelesbian · 5 years

Text

Don't Cost A Thing - Chapter 1

Dan would say he was okay for who he is. He's not really out there when it comes to socializing whether it's with the number of friendships he's gotten over the years or the number of relationships he's had in the last decade of his life. He has a few friends who don't really care about him and seem to be into him because he happens to be there but he doesn't necessarily care because at least he has someone. Sure, his romance game sucks but when he gathers the courage to go to a bar at night, everyone is staring at him and there's at least one guy with a fetish for cross-dressing so that helps whenever he wants to get off by something that's not his left hand. He lives the average life really. He just happens to like wearing flower crowns and pretty so-claimed feminine clothes. Sure, maybe a skirt or two with some pretty ruffles on his numerous blouses was out of the ordinary for most boys but he had a decent upbringing.

Maybe his father liked to drink more than he liked to spend time with him and his brother. Maybe his mother preferred working with her clients more than she cared about making sure her sons felt loved and safe within their own home. Maybe his grandmother was the only person he had to raise and love him but she was so religious that he felt like he suffocating whenever he woke up in the morning but that's average. A lot of people have problems with their families and people have their flaws, some worse than others. He's twenty-two years old, trying to manage through university fees with a shitty mandatory paycheck at the end of the month from the stupid overpopulated shop that he works at down the block from his school. He knows how to stay on his two feet even when times get tough. He's got no romantic partner whatsoever, his classes and work hours barely give him enough time to sleep for a few hours before his alarms ring off to kick him out of sweet dreamland and send him off to suffer for another shift or another hour-long class.

He's tired constantly but who isn't at University? Especially with a major in something like Psychology and Law. Yes, you heard that correctly! He's doing a double-major! He thought it would be more beneficial for him but he was being naive. It didn't help his Law professor looked at him in disgust. He assumed perhaps it was because his clothing style didn't scream 'lawyer' or 'prosecutor'.

But now, he just really wants some sleep. For the first time in two years since entering University and grabbing himself a spot at his job, he's taken a day off just for himself. Somehow with the grace of God, he got his birthday off and he couldn't wait to sleep in.

"Dan, where are you going?" Charlie, one of his peers who doesn't particularly like him, stared at him with narrowed eyes. He didn't just particularly like him, he seemed to hate Dan for whatever reason. He wasn't really sure why but he didn't have the courage to ask. He was far too shy and withdrawn for that.

"To go marry my bed," Dan joked, trying to find the right goddamn key. Why did he have so many keys? He should really get rid of some of them.

"Like you don't slack around enough," Charlie spat, making Dan roll his eyes silently. Charlie caught him bringing one of the tech students back to his dorm room since the jerk lives right across the hall from Dan's. He had tried to avoid this situation by getting a dorm room alone but apparently, that didn't matter to whatever forsaken force that seems to want him to suffer.

"Ah, isn't that what University is about? Drinking booze, throwing your insides out, and praying to the Lord overhead that you, by some miracle, pass that final on Monday you have a hangover?" Dan joked again, trying to the lighten up the mood a little. He wasn't a witty or talkative person, not at all, but people like Charlie light a fire underneath his bum. It wasn't fair how Charlie berated and degraded him but he could live with it, he supposed.

"Maybe for you. Some people here actually have some dignity. You're probably fucking your professors to get your As." Charlie spat behind him, his eyes burning Dan's body with the intense hatred he knew was directed his way. He really hated Dan and the curly-haired male couldn't figure out for the life of him as to why.

"I have female professors, Charlie." Dan laughed, shaking his head at the ridiculousness of him sleeping with a woman. He's about as straight as his hair. "I'm far too gay for that."

"Yeah, you'd be the type to be cockslut." Charlie scoffed, making Dan silently sigh. He was so mean but from what Dan heard he had a boyfriend so it's not like he could insult Dan's sexuality without being a huge hypocrite.

"If I like cock, I like cock." Dan managed to find the goddamn key, finally. He hurried to slid the key in and turn it, unlocking the door. He hurried beyond the doorframe before Charlie could insult him again, closing the door behind him. He let out a huff of relief, falling against the wooden worn-down door that was covered in stickers and writings from former residents. He let his eyes fall shut and breath in.

"Okay, finally! I'm away from that fucking twat." Dan slid off his bookbag, tossing it and his coat onto his couch as he walked past it to the mini-fridge he kept in the room. He bent down, opening the door and looking for something to eat so he could finally relax. Seeing as he was poor and in need of food, he grabbed Totino's pizza rolls like an angsty fourteen years old who was too interested in Call of Duty game to worry about what he was shoving into his piehole and put them in his microwave.

His eyelids felt heavy as he fought to stay awake, watching the plate spin in the golden window of the cheap microwave. But he couldn't sleep just yet! He had to eat and change first. Watching the numbers tick down on the timer, he figured it was better than any time to change down. Standing up - a little dizzy at first - and went to the drawer embedded in his bed frame, fishing clothes out of it. He chose his white pajamas that have different color stars imprinted on them. Some are pink, some are purple, some are blue, pretty much all the pretty colors that he adored on it. He smiled, finally cozy.

Hearing the ding of the microwave, he pushed it open and grabbed the plate from it. Finally feeling a little bit at peace, he let himself relax into the comfort of his bed and turned his laptop on, ready to watch his favorite show on repeat until he falls asleep. He breathes in, feeling the comfort of the soft beneath his bum and the warmness from his plate. It's nice. Finally being able to relax after the numerous hours he spends working whether it's at the shop or with thesis papers. Now it's time to watch a show he's seen fifteen and a half times and become fat from stuffing it with pizza.

"Finally, some me time! Now, more of The Office." He smiled, watching the opening of the show happily.

-x-

Strange. His back was stiff - which is normal considering his poor self-care skills - and his limbs felt immobile. No, he could move them. Sure, he could but it was more like a struggle and the most he did, the most his wrist seemed to burn almost.

"What the-" Dan peeled open from eyes that were heavy from sleep, looking down and seeing a terrifying sight. His heart began to race, beating loudly in his fears, letting him know how scared and anxious he was like he wasn't already aware.

He was fucking tied to a chair! What the fuck?! This can't be happening! One moment he was sleeping comfortably in his bed at his University to the sound of The Office playing and now he's fucking tied to a chair in the middle of a dark and cold room.

"I see you're finally awake," An unfamiliar voice that was strong like honey and rich as chocolate scoffed. His flight or fight responses began to try to kick in as he struggles to get his confinements undone or loosen. He's not sure what he would even do if he got free from the chair, after all, he's in a small dark room with cracks and water dripping through the weak ceiling. Where would he go? Surely this small room is just apart of a huge terrifying building surrounded with other people ready to shoot his head off if he dared. He isn't even sure where he is in the first place. Was he still in Manchester? Or was he in another part of Britain? They couldn't have flown him out of the country, right? Someone would have noticed!

"Oh, come on. There's no point of struggling. We have an ex-navy officer so those knots aren't loosening for someone like you." Someone like you? What the fuck is that suppose to mean? How did he liking acclaimed girly clothing equal to him being weak? What bullshit!

"I see you're a little feisty thing, aren't you, Doll?" The man chuckles, his lit cigarette being the only thing lighting beside the cheap light overhead barely hanging onto its wires. 'Doll'. Doll is a name that strikes fear in him from a previous relationship that went way downhill way too fast. By downhill, he means violent and toxic. It took everything out of Dan to end it. He feels himself stiffen, his head lowering as he stares at the stars on his white pajamas. He can hear his breath hitching, his breath slowly becoming uneven as the memories flood back and crash down on him like a rollercoaster.

"...Don't call me that," He protests weakly. He knows he sounds small and weak and pathetic with the way it comes out.

"Aw, what? Is it embarrassing? Do you not like it, Doll?" The man sneers, completely unapologetic. Dan, somewhere back in his mind where logic is, understands reasonably why the man is like this. Dan is his kidnapped victim, after all, he can call him whatever he pleases and Dan can't do a thing, even if he wasn't bound to a chair.

But Dan is running on adrenaline and emotions right now, not thinking clearly with any logic or reasoning. He just wants out of this chair, away from wherever he is, and back in his dorm room. He'll take any work hours and a hundred thesis papers to get out of this mess that he somehow got himself into. Speaking of which, how did he get into this mess? Why would this man want him? What use does he have? Furthermore, how the fuck did he kidnapped Dan? He was on University grounds for fuck's sakes!

Dan had so many questions but he's studied Law which means he's studied cases but he's not just any student. He's not talented in the slightest bit nor is he genetically born with intelligence. He has to work twice, no, three times as harder than anyone in his classes. He studies all the cases he can in order so he can ace the exams and stick in those rich bastards faces who do nothing but drink away and then get to pass because they were gifted with smart genes.

He's read up on kidnapping cases, all with different reasons, different victims, and different outcomes. He needs to follow what the victims did in the good outcome, the one where he's rescued and survives. The best way to do that is complicit to the kidnapper's wishes and just try to say alive as long as he could. He needed breath in and calm down. He needed to survive. He could do this. With his understanding of the Law and Psychology, he just might make it out alive if he plays his cards out right.

"You're quiet," The man whispers lowly, footsteps following after his statement. They get louder and louder meaning he's getting closer and closer. He steps out of the shadows and closer to the cheap light, allowing Dan to get a look at his kidnapper. The man is more handsome than he expected.

He expected someone more bulky and dirty, one that smells of cheap booze and lousy cigars from old run-down gas stations. But this man is lean and muscular with tattoos lining seemingly each every of his collarbone that was peaking out beyond that muscle tank top and his arms was covered all the way down to his wrist that was seen thanks to the denim jacket's sleeves being folded a few times up. He had high hips, reminding Dan of those Vogue models he would see on magazines at his work. The male's skin was pale all over with a slim figure with bright enticing blue eyes and soft black hair that was brushed up into a quiff, making him having this graceful look about it.

"I would expect you to be screaming your head off, givin' me a headache." The male walked around the chair. Dan could tell he was wearing tight jeans from how his plump legs were spilling out of the ripped patches of the dark pants. He should stop focusing on his kidnapper's looks and start figuring out on a way to play him so he could get out of here unscathed. "But you're really quiet. I don't even have tape on those pretty pink lips."

He's not sure if he should take that as a compliment or not. It didn't help his kidnapper was more than just attractive. No, bad Dan! Don't let your dick take control!

"It's too bad that your boss didn't protect you more," He purred. Dan hated how much he loved that sound. "How did a pretty thing like you end up in a gang like that?"

Wait, what?

This situation was already crazy as it was. With him waking up on his birthday tied to a chair in an unknown location in a crappy room with a stupid light that's about to snap off and fall on his face was already crazy and insane and mind-blowing as it was. But now, they believe he's in some sort of gang? What the fuck?

Were they seriously that stupid? Did they grab the wrong person? Who the fuck were they looking for on campus? Oh, boy would they be disappointed.

"W-what?" He squeaked out, narrowing his eyes at his kidnapper who stared back into his with complete confidence. The man's pale pink lips turned up at his pathetic voice probably. Even if they were that stupid, he was still terrified out his mind.

"Yeah, you posh should stick back where you grew up. Manchester is ours." The man's cigarette dropped from those soft-looking lips, landing on the ground not too far from Dan's foot. He smiled sinfully, stomping down on the addictive killing machine, crushing it. "I mean, really? You steal one of our best men and then demand half a million from us? I'm offended that you guys think that's all he's worth. I was expectin' least a million, buddy." Literally what the fuck?

How did Dan scream gang? What made him a 'gangsta'? He was anything but gang material. He wore pastel and feminine clothing every day. He's studying Law, that and criminals don't typically mix, you know. He worked all hours of the day and had too many classes to just count on his hand so where would he get the time to even be in a gang? Who did they think he even was?

"PJ, that's his fucking name, you bastard!" A flip seemed to switch in just a millisecond as the unnamed male snatched onto Dan's curls, yanking him forward. It really stained his neck and ow, his scalp! "I don't know you think you're doing with trying to bribe us but you've got another thing coming!"

He saw the fist and his heart beat a ridiculous pace. Such a pace that he thought for a second he was having a heart attack.

"Daniel James Howell!" He screamed, squeezing his eyes shut in preparation for the hit.

"What?" The guy sneered.

"Daniel James Howell!" He hollered again, hearing his breath hitch and become uneven. "I'm twenty-two! I have a mom, dad, and older brother! I'm taking a double-major of Law and Psychology! I work at the Joy House near Manchester University! I work so many hours and have too many classes to be in a fucking gang! And I'm far too poor for it!"

He hoped that when he opened his eyes that the guy would understand and back off and maybe even let him go. After a few moments of silence, he peeled open his eyes but saw nothing but the hard glare of bright blue eyes. Of course, that wouldn't fucking work. They weren't so playable as normal people.

"Do you really think I'll believe that? You fucking twat-"

"I'm not lying! The dorm you kidnapped me away from is registered with my name!" Dan's chest heaved. "I swear! I don't know who you think you've got but it's not who you think! I'm just a student who took a day off for his birthday! Please, just-just look into it! At the very least!"

He seemed to take mercy in Dan, letting his hair go with a shove of his head. Dan watched in horror, trying to gather himself again for the second time since he awoke, as he huffed at the door of the room.

"Don't even try to fucking leave," Phil glared back at him. Damn, even his neck had tattoos on them. That boy must be loaded with the known amount of money it costs to get each tattoo. Well, he's in a gang so he must be or maybe he got it for free by scaring the tattoo artist to death. "Though, I doubt you will. You know, being tied to a chair and all."

Was this dude bipolar or something? One moment he was silent as a mouse when he was sneaky and cruel as a snake. Out of nowhere, he became as feisty as a bull and now he was back to cruel as a snake. Dan couldn't get a good read on him.

By the way he walked and spoke, he was confident in himself and what he was doing. By that logic, he must have done this a thousand times before and knew how each one went. Dan assumed it always went in the gang member's favor. But now, he was left here to just stare at the light that was bound to hit him in the face anytime soon. Or he could count how many times he heard the droplets of water splattered away the cold floorboard. Was it concrete or wood? Maybe even metal? Dan couldn't tell. Perhaps he could trace the cracks on the walls with his eyes.

"Well, well," Before he could decide which one to do first, he heard a familiar voice. He snapped his head forward, staring speechlessly at the brown-haired male before him. "What do we have here, hm?"

"Charlie!" Dan gaped. Charlie knew who he was for a fact. Did he see them take Dan? Was he apart of the gang? He had to be if he had access to the rooms! "What- what is going here...?"

"Well, it won't cost you a thing to find out now, will it?"

Dan didn't like the sound of that. He felt the subconscious shiver run through his limbs, shaking against the wooden chair. The one he was tied to, rendered completely helpless to whatever Charlie was planning. Dan knew this couldn't be good. Not with Charlie.

"Now, let's play." Charlie cracked a grin, cocking his head to the side. Dan didn't like that look in his eyes. "Don't you wanna?"

'Survive. Just make it through everything. You just have to survive.' Dan reminded himself, biting his lower lip in worry. He latched onto the handles of the chair's arms for support, breathing in deeply to calm his nerves once more despite the frantic thumping in his chest.

"Sure," Dan mustered up an awkward but polite smile, hoping for the best.

What could happen? Surely Charlie didn't despise him so much as to murder him.

Hopefully, at least.

#phan #phanfiction #phanfic #phan smut #phan angst #phan fluff #pastel!dan #punk!phil #gang!phil #punkxpastel #implied abuse #implied neglect #implied alcoholism #kidnapping #danxphil

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limitededitionsanderssidesblog · 6 years

Text

Speech Impediment - Chapter 12

Ships: logicality, prinxiety, platonic dlamp

Summary: Virgil reveals a bit of his past to Dexter, just enough for him to understand his friends pain. Afterwards Dexter confronts his family.

AO3 - Here

Chapter One Previous Next

TW: past suicide, mentioned parent abandonment, chocking.

“Why didn’t they love me?!”

The night was already quiet around them, the only sound provided being the wind howling against the windows. The freezing temperatures outside began to seep into the vehicle as the heater had been turned off when Dexter removed the keys from the ignition. Virgil shuddered in his seat, most likely from more than just the cold. Dexter had to get them out of there and to a better location.

Getting out of the car, Dexter went around and opened the door for the other, helping him out and escorting him to the dorms. Asking where he wanted to go, Virgil murmured in a hoarse voice that he wanted to go to his dorm room, so Dexter took him there. The room was empty, Roman still being at work, and shy of any warmth. So it wasn’t too much better than where they had been previously. The building didn’t have heaters, meaning that the students had to buy them themselves. Helping him to sit down on his bed, Dexter went over to the long, cylindrical heater and turned it on high.

By the time he turned around to face him again, Virgil had already gotten under his covers and curled up in a ball, hidden from sight. Dexter smiled sadly and walked over, sitting down gently beside the blanketed ball and resting a hand on what he thought, and hopped, was his shoulder.

“Virgil?” He called out quietly, “Are you feeling bad?”

He was answered by a unhappy whine.

“You know you can’t talk to me right?”

The anxious emo didn’t respond and instead just curled up more on himself, Dexter, not wanting to push his friend out of his comfort zone, made himself comfortable and pulled out his phone and opened the YouTube app, putting on a vine compilation. If there was anything he knew would cheer Virgil up, it was vines.

“Hey bro what do you want to eat?”

“The souls of the innocent.”

“A bagel.”

“No!”

“Two bagels.”

A muffled chuckle came from under the covers.

“He doesn’t deserve you. If he doesn’t treat you right by now, you’re gone.”

“I’m gone!”

“Now go chop his dick off!”

The vines continued on, and so did the soft giggles. After about ten minutes of the first vine compilation, Virgil poked his head out of the covers. Soon after, he was sitting side by side with Dexter watching the vines, his manner becoming more relaxed and his tears dried. About forty minutes of mindless entertainment had passed until he was finally calm and sure enough to talk.

“Thanks Dee.” He murmured tiredly as he rested his head on Dexter’s shoulder, exhausted from his emotional episode.

“Do mention it.” The sneky boi replied, “Feeling worse?”

“A bit.” Virgil shrugged, “Just... just remembered something is all.”

Dexter looked sideways at the older, but slightly smaller, student, noting the distant and sad look in his eyes,

“Do you not want to talk about it?”

Virgil stayed quiet for awhile more, appearing to be at a miniature war with himself over whether or not he wanted to speak. Dexter waited patiently until he decided what he wanted to do.

“Long fucked up story short: my dad left when I was ten, my mom killed herself when I was thirteen, and I lived with my homophobic grandparents until graduation.”

Well shit, what was he supposed to say to that? Whatever explanation he had cooked up in his mind was nothing compared to that, now he’s going to look like an uncaring asshole if he doesn’t speak up fast-

“Wow.”

FUCKING PERFECT!

Virgil gave a halfhearted chuckle, completely different from the one earlier.

“Yeah, it’s not your typical story... but it’s mine. Guess we can be fucked up together, right?”

“I’m not fucked up?” Dexter echoed, well, tried to anyway.

“Yeah, I mean look at you!” Dexter faltered and looked down at himself, trying to find the flaw that Virgil saw. Realizing how he sounded, Virgil quickly backtracked, stuttering an apology. “N-n-not that there’s anything wrong with you, you’re a great person. I just meant that your family is a bit fucked up.”

“Is that why you didn’t yell at my mother?” Dexter questioned, feeling relieved that it was him that Virgil saw as a mistake.

“Yeah... seeing her act like you were... some kind of monster really pissed me off. I mean you were just hugging your sister! Why the fuck did she have to act like that?!”

“I’m aloud to be around her. That wasn’t the rule ever since she was born.”

“It’s a fucking stupid ass rule! You’re family not a stranger. A family should accept one another, stick it out through the bad, encourage each other and lift them up, no matter the flaws. At least that’s what I always thought. Not really how mine turned out either.”

“I haven’t gotten used to it, it’s never been this way-”

“But it shouldn’t have to be! Just because shit happens doesn’t mean everything needs to be shit. Fuck your parents, if they don’t treat you right by now, you’re gone.”

Dexter looked over at Virgil, and saw that the other was smirking at him. It took a moment, but eventually his brain processed what he needed to say next.

“I’m not gone.” He whispered, grinning as well.

“Now go chop their dicks off.”

The next day Dexter sat through several meetings with his parents and professors. His little sister Daisy often sat to the side while they talked, watching some kid show to pass the time on her tablet as she waited. The conversations with his Anatomy and Calculus professors went fairly well. Professor Mraz noted his early struggle with calculus at the beginning of the semester, but praised his tenacity and hard work with the subject to be able to come out with a B+ on the final. His parents seemed pleased enough that he was doing well.

The tricky part came at around three in the afternoon when they pad a visit to Professor Sharps’s room. Her room was so obviously a writing class, Dexter could only hold his breath and pray to God that his parents wouldn’t take too much notice. Miss Sharp was sitting at her desk when they all walked in, working on some kind of paperwork as she waited for them to arrive. Dexter had made sure to give all his professors a few hours notice prior to each meeting.

Her long ginger hair was pulled back into a french braid and she was wearing one of her favorite green dresses with a red blazer. Seeing the family walk in, Miss Sharp rolled her wheelchair over to greet his folks, each with a handshake and a polite hello.

“Hello, I’m Professor Sharp, your son’s Classic Literature teacher.” She introduced herself, giving a small wink and a smile towards Dexter, which he returned.

“Hello Miss,” His father replied, shaking her hand, his mother doing the same next, “I’m James Woodbrooke, and this is my wife Katrina.”

“How do you do?” She greeted with a smile.

“Simply splendid I solemnly suppose.” She giggle as she spoke, “That’s an alliteration, a little exercise I like to do with my students because it helps with- their study of classic literature!” Miss Sharp quickly corrected herself from spilling the beans. Dexter could find any fault with her however, she was a writing enthusiast after all. Trying to turn her switch off is as easy as lifting ten tons of bricks. That was an oxymoron.

“Hm, well I came here to ask about Dexter’s performance in your class. Has he been... behaving well? Been a decent student?” James asked delicately, trying not to appear suspicious in his concern. Miss Sharp’s eyes furrowed ever so slightly at his question. She glance over at Dexter before she answered, making him squirm a little in embarrassment.

“I like to think of Dexter as my best student. He is always here on time, never misses a day, is well prepared, and fully attentive during lectures and interactives. His grade is the highest in the class and is work is commendable.” She answered curtly, holding herself with a firm stance, not breaking eye contact with his father. His father huffed and crossed his arms, apparently not impressed in the slightest.

“Well he did say he wanted to be an English teacher. Still, with his disability I don’t he’ll be able to make it very far in the field.” James said nonchalantly.

“With his abilities I believe Dexter will exceed in this field.” Miss Sharp wheeled herself back slightly, smoothing out the creases in her blazer, still not once breaking eye contact. “We met, we discussed, we concluded. I could do this forever, but time is money. Work will not wait. Anaphora, Hyperbole, Metaphor, and Alliteration.” She grinned widely, enjoying the offending face of her mother, and annoyed look of his father. “Don’t have a good day.”

His parents busted out of the doors shouting in anger, screaming complaints about her audacity to speak to them that way. In fact, they were so angry that they didn’t even notice that Dexter was holding hands with Daisy as they walked after them. He savored every moment of contact he had with his sister, and so did she, knowing that this would be a rarity for them.

Once they all climbed into Dexter’s buggy, directing them to take him to a decent place for dinner, their shouts became loud, angry talking.

“That woman thinks she knows our son? She must be just as insane if she thinks he could ever exceed.” His father scoffed, “Why are you even in school? I thought you were going to work at the shop with me.”

“I thought it would be a bad idea to have a backup career.” Dexter mumbled next to him, trying to not let his words sting and focused on the road.

“It is a bad idea. Maybe if you could talk correctly I’d be okay with it, but how the hell are you going to teach with your impediment?”

“James please, we’ve discussed that Dexter isn’t just cut out to be a mechanic. That’s why you’re training his cousin, remember?” His mom said from the back seat.

“Whatever.” He grumbled.

The restaurant he had taken them all to was a personal favorite of Logan and Patton called Romello’s Italian Restaurant. The two often went here on their dates and would sometimes bring back leftovers form him and the others to share. The clam linguine was to risk death for and he’d definitely be getting it tonight.

The four of them sat at a booth, Daisy and his mother on one side, and him and his father on the other. Dexter suspected it was to keep him away from his sister. Conversation would have been nonexistent if it wasn’t for Day, the little girl loved to talk the ear off of anyone who would listen to her rambled about what element Neptune’s atmosphere is comprised of and all the like. And at the moment, they had no chance but to listen, as neither he nor his parents budged.

The server came with their drinks and took their orders, leaving them to, once again, listen to Day talk about everything she knows about space. It seems that his little sister already knew what she wanted to be, and she claimed that she’d be the first human to reach beyond our solar system.

It wasn’t until their bread sticks were brought over that she had quieted down, shoving her face full with the snack. His father decided to take the opportunity to speak.

“Dexter, I think you should drop Professor Sharp’s class,”

“James,” His mother spoke in warning, but was ignored.

“She’s filling your head with delusion. I wouldn’t be surprised if she was mentally ill as well.”

“James,”

Dexter shifted uncomfortably in his seat from cheek to cheek. Daisy watched curiously as she ate, filling her mouth with an amount of bread beyond what any small child should consume at once.

“But I don’t love her class. I thought-”

“That isn’t important, this woman is filling you head with... fantasy. You’ll only raise your expectation beyond your capabilities.” James argued, focusing solely on his son. For once, his mother did too, not watching Daisy eat all of their appetizer.

“If you love the class so much, perhaps you could simply request a different professor next semester?” Katrina suggested, trying to be the mediator in the family. “Whatever Sharp is telling you isn’t true, and you know better than to lie, right?”

“Mother please, Professor Sharp is the worst in her subject. You wanted me to not have a good education.”

His mother sighed and rubbed her temple, looking exhausted. No one noticed, but Daisy suddenly stopped eating.

“It’s ‘best’, Dexter, and yes I do want you to have-”

Daisy interrupted the conversation, slamming her hands on the table. James was about to scold her for being indecent, but then noticed that something was wrong. The three of them all turned their attention to Daisy, her little, plump face was turning blue and her small hands pulled at her throat. His little sister was chocking.

“Daisy!” The three of them shouted simultaneously, hopping out of the booth and surrounding her.

“It’s the bread!” His mother said in panic, pushing the girl out from her booster seat.

“Obviously, do something!” His father demanded, looking frightened and unsure of what to do. Katrina wrapped her arms around Daisy’s stomach and started to squeeze her, having no effect. Daisy started to become worse, and looked as if she was about to black out. The staff were on their way to help, but Dexter acted first. If she passes out while chocking, it’s very likely she’ll die before an ambulance arrives.

Pulling Day from his mother’s hands he positioned the thumb of his fist slightly over her bellybutton, grasped his fist with his other hand, and thrust multiple times. It took several attempts, but after about twenty seconds of trying, a wad of soggy bread fell onto the ground. Daisy gasped for air and coughed horribly. Dexter let out the largest breath of air ever in relief.

“Daisy!” His mother said joyously, wrapping her arms around her daughter loosely to allow her room to breath. His father kneeled down and hugged the both of them. Families and groups around them cheered, all apparently having witnessed the scene and had been just as worried.

Standing from the floor, Katrina lifted Daisy up on her hip, and his father stood by his side. He placed a hand on Dexter’s shoulder and stared at him for a moment, then pulled him into a hug.

“Thank you for saving your sister.” He murmured into his son’s shoulder. “You knew what to do when I didn’t, perhaps you have more abilities than I thought.” Dexter had the largest smile on his face because he was certain that was the closest his father has ever came to complimenting him. “You can stay in your class. Although maybe you should be a doctor.”

Dexter chuckled lightly, “Yes, I’d still like to be a teacher.” He lied.

Their meal was free that night, and apparently for the next year as well. They were all still a bit shaken however, so they had their dinner to go and went back to the hotel, and this time the invitation was extended to him as well. They sat together and watched the Hallmark specials until late in the night.

His parents still hadn't fully accepted him, but Dexter was patient and decided not to say anything. After all, they had promised to pay his tuition if he graduated, and he wasn’t about to pass up on that opportunity. He’d tell them one day, and now that day felt just a little closer.

His parents allowed him to spend the night over with them, having him share the bed with his little sister, no longer visibly upset about the two of them talking to or being with each other. If this was his late Christmas gift, it was the best they had ever given him.

His family flew home the next morning.

Yep, hi.

Tag List:

@noneed4thistbh @romanasanders @fuckingemoace @bunny222 @sea-blue-child @astraastro@helloitstimetofight @blue-wolfbane @applecannibal @ryuity @anxiouslyfred @i-identify-as-a-mango @shadowjag @scorching-scotch @cyberpunkjinx @im-so-infinitesimal @witch197 @sparkly-rainbow-salt @calvindientesblancos

#sanders sides #deceit sanders #deciet sanders #ts deceit #sympathetic deceit #virgil sanders #roman sanders #logan sanders #patton sanders #sanders sides deceit #sanders sides virgil #sanders sides logan #sanders sides patton #logicality #prinxiety #princiety #speech impediment #platonic dlamp

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